Chapter Sixteen
The next morning found Betty sharing a pot of coffee with her mother while her dad chased the dogs in her yard in a game of pull the tail. He was a huge puppy at heart.
Her mom sighed, chin in hands as she watched her massive husband fake a death faint for the happy pack of dogs. “Do you think you and Ken can give me grandbabies soon?”
Betty’s coffee went down the wrong hole and she coughed her wind pipe clear.
Her mother just smiled.
“Nice, Mom. Ken will be here soon. Can we hold off on the puppy talk? I have more pressing matters to take care of.”
“Yes, like the soulmate ceremony.” Mom clapped her hands. “We’ll need new dresses and we need to find out about the pack celebration venues. I wonder if they’ll let us invite some of the Riverbend Pack? Everyone there is so happy for you.”
The bottom went out from Betty’s stomach. The ceremony. Dresses? She didn’t have money for food, let alone a new dress. Her parents had just filled her fridge without question. Tears threatened to well up in her eyes. She fought valiantly, blinking like a warrior.
Mom reached across the table and dabbed her eyes with a paper napkin. “I know, I’m so happy too.”
Betty forced a watery smile. Mom didn’t understand a whole lot when it came to pack politics. What shifters thought of as logical, she considered crazy. Betty decided not to explain the problem of her inability to shift and Ken’s claim of her being his soulmate. Being born and raised human, Mom didn’t have their instincts. There had been…incidents, such as showing up to the alpha’s house uninvited to discuss policy changes. You know, like he was a mayor and her a voter. Packs weren’t a democracy.
Her mother would probably just say, “Why not get married then?” That would have worked if Ken hadn’t publically claimed her. His mouth had taken that option away.
“Hello?” Ken’s voice called from the waiting room.
“We’re in here.” Betty gulped the rest of her coffee.
Mom sat up straighter at Ken’s arrival. Betty’s handsome mate looked good enough to eat in jeans that hugged him in all the right places and a short-sleeved polo shirt.
He beamed his charming smile and she melted a little in her chair. What was such a professional looking guy doing in her life?
She, on the other hand, looked like she’d fallen off a Grateful Dead tour bus and had been dragged for a mile. Well, she felt like she’d been dragged. Her parents had used her bed, so she’d slept on the couch. It had more springs than cushions.
Betty pulled on a thin long sleeved sweater.
“Where are you two going?” Mom rose and set their empty cups aside.
“I’m introducing Betty to my best friend. Want to come?”
Mom laughed. “No, go have fun.”
He leaned on the back of an empty chair across from her mother. “She’s a dragon,” he added.
Betty’s heart stopped. “You never mentioned that.” There were only two dragons in New Port. “Which one?”
Please not the black one, please not the black one.
“Angie’s the white one.”
“Well then, let me get my purse. I’ve never met a dragon.” Mom hurried to the apartment.
Ken eyed Betty’s sweater. “It’s a little warm for long sleeves.”
She shrugged. He was right though. She would sweat her ass off, but she wanted to keep her tattoos covered. She had learned the hard way that people jumped to conclusions before even getting to know her, so when she wanted to make a good impression, she covered them. No matter how hot or itchy.
She eyed Ken with his perfect boy next door looks. What would the dragon think of her?
She and Ken came from such opposite backgrounds. Her family and friends weren’t judgmental. They were wild and crazy so no matter what they’d accept him as he came. Business suits and all. And Ken had an alpha dad with money and they were both professionals. These things were just words in her vocabulary, not a reality. Not until now. How would they ever fit in each other’s lives?
She dropped her gaze and clutched her arms around her abdomen. “I’ll be fine.” She wore her cleanest T-shirt under the sweater and a pair of jeans. Not saying much since she worked with dogs everything had some sort of stain. “Should I change? I could wear a dress.”
The puzzled expression on his face almost made her laugh. “What’s going on?” He glanced above her where they could hear her mom tearing apart her home, swearing under her breath, trying to find her purse. “Did your parents say something?”
“No, what do you mean?”
“You’re acting weird.” He sniffed. “You smell upset.”
“Don’t—” She growled, more at herself than him. Pulling off her sweater, she showed him her tattooed arms. The artwork was gorgeous but not everyone saw inked skin as beautiful. “This is me. Tattoos, stained clothes, and dirt poor.” She rubbed her elbow, suddenly feeling more naked than when her dad had walked in yesterday. “Are you sure you want to introduce me to your friends?”
Being beta was a political role. Being his mate meant she’d be under pack spot light. She wanted to throw up.
Understanding dawned on his face. He ran his hands over her arms, tracing the designs with his fingertips. “You’re a little nutty, you know that?”
She snapped her teeth at him, hearing the tease in his voice.
“You’ll fit in with my friends better than I do.”
“Are you sure?” She pictured business suits and coiffed hair, briefcases filled with file folders, serious conversations while they sipped expensive wines and contemplated the hint of wood in the flavor.
Then she woke up from her worries as she stared into his eyes. Ken hadn’t done any of the things she’d pictured. Why would he have friends that did? “Do you own a briefcase?”
He scratched his head. “I think so. Why, do you want me to buy you one?”
She hugged him. Hard. “Never.”
“Ow, that’s a rib cracking.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Ready,” Mom declared, purse in hand.
In the yard, Dad had the Great Danes leashed. “I thought I’d take them swimming. It’s supposed to be a hot day.” He eyed Mom. “Where are you going?”
“To meet a dragon.” She kissed his cheek and patted the bulge in his shirt pocket. It yipped and Betty’s teacup Chihuahua’s head emerged. Mom scowled. “We’ve discussed this. No more dogs, Chuck.”
“But it’s so small. It doesn’t count.” He cradled it in the palms of his hands, making kissy faces at the pup.
“We have enough pets.” Mom rolled her eyes.
Dad winked at Betty. “Have fun storming the castle. Don’t let the dragon eat your mother.”
“Sure thing, Daddy.” She scratched him behind his ear and kissed the dogs.
Ken watched silently by the door. As she passed, he whispered in her ear, “You’re very lucky.”
She squeezed his hand. “The luckiest.”
Now if only some of it would rub off on her shifting skills.
Sardined in Ken’s sport car, they drove through New Port’s poorest section and past the large wooded lot that housed the orphanage. She made a mental checklist of what she needed to prepare for the fundraiser. Maybe Trixie would let her use the work truck to transport the dogs and cats here. Betty added that to her to-do list.
They just had crossed over the invisible line that separated her part of the city and the wealthier downtown area when they stopped in front of a salon called Scratch Your Itch.
“Back scratching for shifters in need.” Betty read the small print. “I should have brought Dad.”
“Don’t worry, honey, he gets enough of that at home.” Mom crawled out of the back seat with a groan. She patted her bottom. “I guess I have more junk in the trunk than I thought. For a minute, I thought we’d need to call for the jaws of life.”
Ken held the door to the salon open for them.
Inside, a pretty blonde shifter female all but bounced in excitement at the desk. Her curls were pinned in a perfect twist and she moved more gracefully on heels than Betty did in sneakers. “Are you Betty?” the blonde asked.
She nodded and took a step toward the exit, which Ken blocked. Betty scanned for other options. Not sure she could handle a bubbly werewolf.
The female grabbed both of Betty’s hands and dragged her across the room with uncanny strength. “I’m Beth. The pack omega.” Beth pulled her into a spine cracking hug. “I’m so excited for your soulmate ceremony.”
“Don’t break her, Beth.” Ken growled as he pried Betty out of her arms.
Beth rushed to the desk, gesturing to a huge stack of binders. “I have all the pack associated companies in New Port in these binders. When you’re done with Angie, we can sit down and start planning the event. Everyone’s so jazzed.”
“Oh.” Betty leaned against Ken. “The whole pack wants to attend?” Dollar signs flashed before her eyes and the room spun.
“Duh, soulmates don’t happen every year.” Beth tilted her head. “Are you feeling all right? You look a little pale.” She gasped. “Don’t tell me you’re with pup already?”
Mom squealed next to her.
“No!” Ken and Betty shouted at the same time. He ran his hand down his face and Betty fanned hers.
A woman with a dark pixie haircut leaned against the wall. Betty wasn’t sure when she had slipped in but the strange woman hadn’t been there when she’d arrived. An amused smirk lifted her lips as their gazes met. She held out her hand. “I’m Angie.”
“The dragon,” Betty whispered, still staring.
Angie pointedly looked at Mom. “And this is?”
She snapped out of her state and shook her hand. “Sorry, this is my mother, Charlene.”
Mom curtsied. “Pleased to meet you.”
Angie hid a smile behind her hand. “Don’t you have work today?” she asked Ken.
“I took the day off.”
“Ryota let you?” Angie raised an eyebrow.
“He didn’t have a choice.” Ken set his hands on Betty’s shoulders. His strength bleeding into her.
“Look at you being all rebellious.” Angie winked at Betty. “I like your influence already.” Her gaze traveled to her tattooed arms.
She covered her forearms with her hands.
“Nice skin work. My mate is covered in them.” She drew closer. “They all look similar in design. Vampire artist?”
Her eyes widened. “Dhampir, actually. She did them at cost since she was still learning the trade.”
“Oh, Eoin’s artist lives here in New Port. Maybe he’s one of her teachers.”
Betty liked Angie already. She seemed easy going, even if smoke trickled from her left nostril.
Angie rubbed her hands together. “So when do we get started? I cleared the rest of the afternoon and thought we’d go to the castle for some privacy.”
Betty caught Beth’s fallen expression that matched Mom’s.
“Why don’t you both go through those binders and make a list of your top three choices of…everything?” Betty didn’t even know where to start when planning a mating ceremony. They’d be doing her a favor by narrowing down her choices.
It was like a super nova of excitement went off. Mom and Beth dragged two chairs together and grabbed a binder each.
Ken pulled out a credit card from his wallet and handed it to her mother. “There’s no limit on the card.”
She blinked and gave Betty a surprised look. “It’s customary for the bride’s family to pay for the wedding.”
“For humans, but in the pack, the most dominant of the couple pays.” He guided Betty toward the exit.
“Uh, Ken.” Angie shook her head. “Girls only.”
He set his hands on his hips. “But I thought we would use my call to pull her through the shift.”
She nodded. “First let us work on some tricks. Why don’t you meet us at the castle in a couple of hours? Bring lunch.”
His grip tightened on Betty’s shoulders before reluctantly letting go. “You okay with that?”
Her heart flip flopped at the idea of being alone with a dragon. “Sure.” Angie was his best friend, but was Betty about to be her lunch.
Ken pulled her outside of the back-scratching salon for a kiss. Panty melting, hormone raging, tear his clothes off—
“Let her breathe.” Angie smacked him in the head.
“How will you get there?” He rubbed his ear.
Betty leaned against the building and caught her breath, admiring the way his shirt hugged his broad shoulders.
“We’ll fly,” Angie responded.
Betty’s squeal sounded too much like her mom’s. Heat scorched her cheeks and she pressed her cool hands to them. “I’ve never flown before.”
“How many times have you flown with a passenger?” Ken’s eyebrows furrowed as he questioned Angie.
“I won’t drop her. Scout’s honor.”
He snorted. “You were never a scout.”