All for you.
PENELOPE.
Liam holds my right hand while Parker holds my left. Cole is in the back and Aiden in the front.
I’ve grown used to this system. They like to make a circle around me. Maybe I should be annoyed, but I’m not. I think it’s sweet that they want to protect me. Tonight, I feel like I need protection.
I’m meeting their families.
And…
My family.
It’s weird to think that, but tonight I am meeting my grandfather for the first time. Or maybe it’s not the first time. Maybe I met him when I was a baby and just don’t remember it.
I have so many questions. Questions for Margot Westwood, who is apparently my aunt, questions for this grandfather of mine, and questions for my mom and dad. Even my older sister. She was eight when I was born. Certainly she remembers me being adopted. I don’t understand why my parents would lie to me.
But all of that is for another day, because tonight I’m meeting my boyfriends’ families.
That’s definitely not something I thought I’d ever say.
I have multiple boyfriends.
Kind of.
It’s complicated.
I feel like there will come a point where I will have to choose between them, but for now I will enjoy this while I have it. Above everything, these guys are my friends. My only friends in this world, and they mean everything to me.
“You ready?” Liam asks.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a second, before nodding my head.
I’m ready.
I can do this.
I am Penelope Rose Monroe. I can do anything.
“Your middle name is Rose?” Parker asks.
“Yeah.”
“I like it. It fits you,” he says.
I smile.
“Your eyes are pink again.”
Pink.
That’s so weird.
No weirder than having purple eyes, I guess.
We walk into the main castle, which is full of people.
And I mean full.
It’s not just students. There are adults here—so many that I know they can’t all be their family.
Liam looks at me. “I didn’t want you to be nervous. But me meeting my mate is kind of a big deal so… everybody is invited to come meet you.”
I am going to kill this boy.
Murder him.
All of them, I think, as I look between the shared look of guilt on their faces.
Murder will have to wait for now though. Still holding onto Liam and Parker’s hands, I let them lead me through the crowd of people, who are all now staring at me.
It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever wanted to know what somebody is thinking.
Do they think it’s weird that I’m holding the hand of two different guys? Do they think my purple eyes are weird? What do they think of me?
“She’s so short,” I hear somebody whisper.
Ah.
Well, I am short. Though there is nothing I can do about that.
“…not strong enough… alpha’s mate…”
“…strange eyes…”
“…beautiful…”
Well, at least somebody thinks I’m pretty.
“…strange smell…”
Really?
I smell?
I took a shower this morning.
I try to discretely sniff myself. I smell like cotton candy, like my body wash. What are they even talking about?
You don’t smell like any creature we’ve smelled before, Cole answers my unasked question. Each supernatural being puts off a signature scent so everybody knows what they are. But you… nobody has ever smelled anything like you.
And now I want to know what I smell like.
Like sunshine and happiness, Aiden answers.
Yeah, but I think my mates are a little biased when it comes to me. Which is a good thing because I want my mates to like the way I smell. I want them to like everything about me.
I continue to pick up on whispers of conversations and pretty much everybody is saying the same thing—I’m short, I’m weak, I have weird eyes, and I smell funny. So far, being introduced as the alpha’s mate has been great. Obviously, everybody loves me.
Stop with the sarcastic self-deprecation, Liam says. Everybody will love you once they get to know you.
Once they get to know me? What if they hate me?
I’m not exactly a likable person. Paige, yes. She’s the one who makes lots of friends. She was homecoming queen for our junior court. And she is captain of the cheerleading squad. And everybody adores her. The only reason people tolerate me is because I am her sister.
I guess it’ll be the same here.
People will tolerate me because I’m Liam’s mate. Or because of Cole, Aiden, or Parker.
Nobody ever likes me for me.
Even the guys only like me because of the supernatural bond we share.
What did I say about the self-deprecation? Liam asks.
I really, really wish they would show me how to block them from my thoughts. Some things need to be private. And my thoughts today definitely need to be private.
What if I don’t like their parents? What if I have to pretend to like them? I won’t even get to pretend because they’ll be in my head. They will know if I’m lying.
I hear Cole laugh behind me.
At least I am entertaining him.
“Just relax,” Liam says. “Everything will be fine.”
His words wash over me, and I can feel it down to my bones. I actually relax a little.
That’s strange.
He’s alpha. He can do that for anybody who is freaking out, Aiden tells me.
Interesting.
Why hasn’t he used that on me before?
Because I didn’t know you were half wolf, Liam answers.
Ah, makes sense.
We walk into a part of the castle I’ve never been. Normally, the large, brass double doors are closed. Now, they are proudly open and there is a…
Ballroom?
It’s a large, empty room. The marble floors have a beautiful design and there are pillars at the side holding up a balcony. People in the middle are dancing to music, and there is a small orchestra playing.
When we walk in, everybody stops dancing and turns to look at us.
If I wasn’t nervous before, I definitely am now.
I swallow hard.
Liam’s “order” has worn off and I’m back to being scared. I’m not sure he could actually help me now.
We walk forward, and I spot Alpha Mutatio. He’s smiling at us as we approach him. I wonder if I could curtsey. He is the king, right? But I just stand there because that is what the rest of the guys do.
“Alpha,” Aiden says, greeting him. Aiden steps to the side so that I am now directly in front of Alpha Mutatio. I’ve met him before, but we were sitting down in that room. Now that I am standing before him, I feel a bit like a shrimp next to him.
He’s tall. The same height as Liam. But he has this authority… this power that surrounds him, nearly choking me. I want to cower behind the guys, but I won’t do that. I want to prove to everybody in this room that I am worthy to be their future alpha’s mate.
“Penelope.” Alpha Mutatio nods and smiles at me. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
He seems genuinely happy to see me.
He holds out his hand to shake mine, which surprises me. He knows what I can do—he knows that when we touch, I can read his thoughts. Yet, he still offers his hand to me, unafraid. I like it.
Chin up, darling, he says to me through his thoughts. You’re the envy of every female in this room tonight.
I doubt that but hearing him say it certainly makes me feel good about myself.
“Thanks for… all of this,” I say, as he lets go of my hand.
“It’s all for you.” He winks. “Enjoy it.”
I will.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
Then another thought hits me.
“Is everybody going to want to shake my hand?” I ask, turning to Liam.
Because that would be my literal worst nightmare—to have to touch a lot of people. I don’t want to hear their thoughts or feel their emotions. Just thinking about it literally terrifies me.
“Nobody is allowed to approach you without the permission of your mates,” Alpha Mutatio answers. “Nobody would dare touch somebody else’s mate, especially not this early on. You won’t have to worry.”
Thank God. Because the last thing I need is one of the guys punching somebody for thinking I’m a slut, which I’m sure a lot of people are thinking right now.
“Stop thinking that, please,” Liam groans.
“Please. Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard my son say “please” in his life.”
I look at Liam. I didn’t realize how much my negative thoughts were bothering him. “Sorry.”
And I am sorry. I don’t mean to think the things I do. It’s not like I can help it. Cleary, none of the guys have the same self-esteem issues I do. Maybe it’s because I’m a girl. Or maybe it’s because they’re freaking hot and they know it.
Parker, Cole, and Aiden laugh.
“You’re the most beautiful girl that any of us have ever met,” Liam says softly.
My face grows warm as I look from Liam to his dad who is still standing there.
“You completed the mate bond?” Alpha Mutatio asks Liam.
“Not yet,” he answers. “Whenever she touched each of us, it opened our mind links fully.”
“Interesting,” the alpha muses aloud, then looks at me again. “Penelope, I would love to get together later and fully find out what you can do.”
He’ll be disappointed.
“What did I say?” Liam asks.
I roll my eyes at him. “If you don’t like my thoughts then stay out of my head.”
Alpha Mutatio chuckles. “You have many people to meet tonight, so I won’t monopolize your time. Have a great evening.”
Okay. So, Liam’s dad definitely still likes me.
One down.
Three to go.
Well, two, technically, cause I already know Cole’s family and I love Hannah.
Maybe I’m worried for nothing. The guys are great. I’m sure their families will be too.
And in a few months, I am going to do the same thing to them.
Except my family won’t know I’m dating them all…
What would my family think if they knew?
I push that thought aside for another time, because right now it’s about the guys.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Cole says. “It’s always about you.”
My heart races at his words.
If we weren’t in a room full of people staring at me right now, I’d kiss him.
But we are.