You Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 3)

Chapter 13: Jeannie

I wake up to Simon in my bed again, not that it’s a surprise. I did tell him it was okay. And to Gabe’s credit, this time when I come out of the bathroom, he’s up and has clothes on.

“Since my wolf is so obsessed with you, I guess you have no choice but to move in with me,” he teases, smirking.

“Sorry, not happening. I just built my chickens a new home, and I’m not moving them ever again if I have a say in it,” I shoot back at him, returning his smirk.

“Fair enough,” he concedes. “But one of these days, I am going to steal you so I can spend a night in my own bed.”

Well, I suppose that answers the question of whether it bothers Gabe that Simon has attached himself to me. He’s being good-natured about it, but I suppose it would be bothersome to be dragged back into staying with his parents when he has his own place that he worked hard for. I don’t know how I feel about spending the night in his bed though. It somehow feels different than him spending the night in mine. Intimidating almost.

He walks with me down to my chickens this time, lingering awkwardly nearby as I tend to them. I know for a fact that he has a job he needs to be getting to, though I suppose there are perks to being family with the Alpha, who from my understanding is his boss.

“These chickens, do they respond to you the same way as all the critters from yesterday?” he asks, leaning against the wall and watching me clean.

“My bond to them is stronger, so the effect is greater, but yes,” I tell him. “They’re the best-trained chickens you’ll ever meet.”

“Chickens can be trained?”

“That I don’t know. I can train chickens, but I have no idea whether that’s normal,” I admit, shrugging. “Here, make yourself useful.”

I hand him a sack of their feed, gesturing outside to where the chickens are. I don’t mind his company, especially now that I understand why he’s always trying to touch me, but he’s a large person and this is a small shed. It’s also feels a bit strange and awkward between us this morning, though I don’t know what’s changed.

He takes my less than subtle hint and goes outside to toss the feed at the chickens, though I notice him still watching me through the window. He obviously has something on his mind, and I wish he would just spit it out already. The weight of whatever is left hanging unspoken between us is oppressive.

“Well, I hope you have a good day,” he says when he comes back, handing me the empty sack. “I need to go home and shower so I can get to work.”

Simon is frustrated, that much I know, but I can’t tune into his thoughts. I think he might even be blocking me from going deeper, which is different. He’s been doing it since partway through yesterday, but I don’t think it’s because he’s upset with me. I think it might just be that he figured out what I was doing once I confessed my abilities, and now he wants his privacy. I can respect that. I just wish I knew what seems to be bothering both man and wolf.

Stella is upstairs when I get back, stretched out on the couch in the living room. Mr. Bentley told me before I even came here that she’s only a little bit older than me and he thinks we’ll be good friends, but so far, she’s just been quiet. I don’t think she dislikes me, but she also doesn’t seem that interested in me either.

“Hey, Stella,” I greet her, deciding maybe I should take the initiative for once.

“Hey,” she returns, sitting herself up and watching me come into the room.

Then we just sit there for a few awkward minutes until she says, “I like your hair. It’s cool.”

“Thanks. I like yours too.”

Hers is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. She has long, thick, curly hair that is so big it makes her seem taller than she is. She’s already tall, but her hair adds at least three or four inches to her full height. Plus, the ringlets are so tempting that I’m afraid to sit too close or I might reach over and pull on one to see if it springs back into place, and I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate that.

But this “conversation” we’re having is so awkward it’s almost painful. I suppose Mr. Bentley hadn’t considered that we’re both so quiet when he was picturing us being the best of friends. There has to be something we can talk about though.

Oh, wait. I know.

“So, do you have a mate?” I ask her, remembering that werewolves can discover their mates when they’re as young as 16, and Stella is a few years older than that.

She looks over at me, seeming stunned and perhaps even a bit confused by my question, and I realize it might have been too abrupt of a subject change. I’m also suddenly appreciating Gabe and Garrett more. They’re so easy to talk to by comparison.

“Uh, no,” she answers after a moment. “Mine must not be from this pack because I haven’t found him yet.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Did Gabe tell you?” she wonders, seeming almost suspicious. And now I’m wondering if it’s some werewolf secret he wasn’t supposed to reveal to me.

“Yeah, he and Garrett were telling me a lot about werewolves yesterday, and they explained mates to me. I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to know about it. They didn’t tell me that.”

“No, it’s not …” she starts to say and then clamps her mouth shut part of the way through, seeming to change her mind. “It’s fine that you know. There’s no rule against it or anything. I’m just surprised that he … I mean, he should have … you know what? I’d just rather not talk about it.”

Maybe it’s a touchy subject for her the way that it seemed to be for Simon, and I suppose that makes sense. It must be kind of heart-breaking to know that there’s someone out there made specially for you but not be able to find them.

After another few painfully quiet minutes pass between us, she finally breaks the silence, asking, “Have you ever been shopping?”

“Uh, no. I wasn’t allowed to leave the farm,” I explain, probably confirming her suspicion.

“Okay. Let’s go see my mom,” she commands, hopping up off the couch and turning to wait for me to follow.

I hope this is going where I think this is going. I’m guessing she wants to go see her mom so we can get permission to leave, and I think she’s suggesting we go shopping. I don’t have money, but I also don’t need anything. I’ll gladly go and watch her buy stuff just to have the experience.

She leads me back down to the same hallway I went down just yesterday to get to Gabe’s office, though it’s the door across the hall that interests her.

“Damn,” she curses, sighing. “I suppose I should have sent her a mind-link to make sure she was here.”

The door is closed, and it looks like the lights are off inside.

“Can’t you just do that now?” I ask her, assuming that her mother could give her permission just as easily over mind-link as in person.

“Sure, but she’s probably busy, and I’m guessing her purse is in there.”

She points to the door, and it finally clicks for me that it isn’t permission we’re here for. It’s money.

“Do I detect a shopaholic in distress?” Gabe calls out from his office.

Stella rolls her eyes, walking the few steps to go and stand in his open doorway instead.

“Yeah screw you, Gabe,” she sasses him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well, that’s no way to talk to your savior,” he teases her. “I was just about to offer you this, but I think I’ve changed my mind.”

He pulls out his wallet and shows her a credit card, holding it temptingly between his fingers.

That snaps her to action, and she hurries into the room and over to him.

“Have I told you lately that you’re my favorite brother?”

She abruptly changes her tone from sassy to sickeningly sweet, and I can’t help laughing at the exchange between them.

“You know, you could afford a lot more shopping trips if you’d just take one of the jobs our parents have offered you,” Garrett points out, not even bothering to look up from whatever he’s working on.

“And you’re my least favorite brother,” Stella adds, shooting him a playful glare.

Then she turns her attention back to Gabe, trying to take the card from his fingers, but he pulls it back at the last second.

“There’s one condition,” he insists, smirking at her and seeming to enjoy his game of keep away. “You can only spend what Jeannie does, so if there’s a thing you want, you’ll have to convince her to get something too.”

“How much can I spend?” she asks eagerly, finally snatching the card from him.

“Whatever Jeannie does.”

Yeah, thanks Gabe. I’m trying to befriend your sister, and she’s going to hate me once she finds out how uncomfortable the idea of spending someone else’s money makes me.

“Jeannie’s getting spoiled today,” Stella declares, grinning over at me.

“Yeah, that’s the idea,” Gabe tells her. And then he locks eyes with me, a more serious expression on his face. “Just be sure to keep away from the trees, okay?”

I have to suppress an urge to roll my eyes at that one. Though I appreciate how accepting and understanding Gabe and Garrett have been about everything they learned about me yesterday, I do regret telling them about the trees. They seem to have let their imaginations run wild with it, worrying that any of the trees around here might steal me away at any moment or something.

“What?” Stella seems amused, shaking her head. “You’re so weird. We’re going to the mall, silly.”

“Just be sure to leave some stuff at the stores for other people,” Garrett teases.

“Ugh,” Stella scoffs. But then she turns her sickeningly sweet persona back on and gives Gabe a hug and a kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks, favorite brother,” she tells him on her way back over to where I’m standing in the doorway.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re not fooling anyone,” he chides her, but he’s smiling as if he’s enjoying her antics. “Have fun and be safe, ladies.”

“Have fun going broke, Gabe,” she calls out, grabbing me by the arm and leading me away from their office.

“Ain’t that the truth,” I hear him mutter from behind us.

Once I feel like we're far enough away that he won't be able to hear, I whisper to her, “Does he do this often?”

“Offer to finance my bad habits?” she asks, side-glancing me as we walk.

I nod, though that wouldn’t have been how I worded it.

“No, never. Usually, he just mocks me and complains that our parents have coddled me too much,” she explains, rolling her eyes again. “But he has a thing for you, and probably just wants to impress you. If I happen to benefit in the process, then who am I to complain?”

I was afraid of that. I’m suddenly feeling quite anxious and uncertain about this shopping trip. I still want to go because I’ve never been to a mall before, but there’s a sickening feeling brewing low in my belly. The issue of Gabe being interested in me aside, I don’t like the idea of spending his money, nor do I appreciate the way that he’s made it almost impossible for me not to.

No, wait. I can’t just push the issue aside after all.

“You think Gabe has a thing for me?” I ask her uncertainly. I’ve been suspecting it, but I also figured I’m just paranoid about men.

“I don’t think it, I know it,” she grins at me, patting my upper arm.

Then she opens a side door in the kitchen and leads me out into a large garage filled with vehicles. She points to a shiny green one and starts heading over to it, so I’m guessing that one’s hers.

Once we’re both buckled in and ready, she starts up the car and spends a few moments adjusting some of the knobs and buttons. Some music starts playing softly, and then she turns to me with quite a serious expression on her face.

“Look, Jeannie. Deep down, Gabe’s a good guy. He has his flaws, like we all do, and you’ll probably hear all kinds of things being whispered about him around here, but let it roll off you. None of it matters. What matters is he likes you, and that’s a good thing.”

I mull that over during the time that it takes her to pull the car out of the garage and start driving the long path that I remember will take us through some of the town and then eventually lead back to the highway.

“I kind of like him, but his interest worries me,” I finally confess to her. “Not only am I completely inexperienced with all this stuff, but he has a mate out there somewhere. So, what is even the point?”

“He’s such an i***t,” she mutters under her breath, shaking her head.

I don’t even know how to take that, so I just don’t say anything more about it for the rest of the drive and neither does she.