Mated in the Shadow of My Sister novel Chapter 17

Chapter 0017

(Lily POV)

As I walked back to the packhouse after the fight with James, Rose was silent. That left me alone with

my own thoughts and feelings, which I appreciated. I needed time to process.

I do not understand what just happened, much less why it happened, and I definitely do not know how to

feel about the whole thing.

On one hand, my heart feels broken. Shattered, really.

Despite James‘ comments to the contrary, I have never wanted or expected to be mated to him. In fact,

if

you had asked me yesterday to give you a list of ten males that I would be happy to be mated to, James

would not have been on the list. Heck, he probably would not have made a list of twenty males either.

At the same time, I had always dreamed of being with my mate, and James was….

Uuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhh.

him?

I have fantasized about finding my mate since I was young, perhaps as early as 8 or 9 years old. I think all

werewolves do, do they not? At least the females?

For me, I thought finding my mate would mean finding someone who would love me, and who would

treat me as though I was important. I longed for that… especially after my world was flipped upside down

after Stephanie died.

Until this morning, I could only imagine what it would feel like to be loved and appreciated by a mate.

Now, thanks to the short encounter with James, it is no longer something that I have to imagine. I now

know very well what it feels like to be looked at with love, and what it feels like to be treated as though you are important and valuable.

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that so many pack members, including my own f—-ng mate,

have not recognized me. I was just here for Stephanie’s birthday memorials around nine months ago.

Why did I not have these troubles back then? Surely I have not changed that much in nine months.

“You have changed more than you realize, Lily. It is not so much how you look, but how you carry yourself. Nine months ago, you looked down and did not dare to look anyone in the eye. You dressed in baggier clothing. You acted timid and scared. You carry yourself different now because you are much

stronger. You may not realize it, but it impacts how the wolves around you perceive you.”

“Whoa — What are you doing listening to my internal thoughts, Rose? You know that it creeps me out

when you do that, especially without telling me. Common courtesy is that we do not listen to one.

another’s thoughts without permission.”

“I know and I am sorry, Lily, but after the letter you wrote to the Moon Goddess and what happened with James back there, I was worried about you. You have made so much progress since we went to medical school in Red Rock, I do not want to see you begin to doubt yourself again. You are a wonderful human and I am lucky that the Moon Goddess decided to pair us together.”

I wipe a tear from my eye. It is the first one that I have let fall since I realized that James was my mate.