"Quinten," I growl out. "Let's hear it." I avoid Jayden's curious gaze.

Eric jumps in. "What are you going to sing, young man?"

"Well, sir. I was hoping you'd let me sing something I wrote myself."

Eric sits up a little taller. "You're a songwriter. Very impressive."

It is, and I already know that even if Quinten sings “Happy Birthday,” we're all going to be entranced. Eric looks at me for approval.

I look away. "Go ahead."

Quinten starts off strumming his guitar, and I immediately recognize the melody from when he changed my tire. The song he was working on that day sucked me into his spell. I cross my arms and try to remain resistant to his charm, but it doesn't work, because as soon as he begins to sing, all my defenses slip away.

He sings the lines about his love’s voice wrapping around his heart as his deep tone wraps around mine. I see myself in the picture he paints with a cabin in the woods and the kids in the yard. I smile when he croons about his love deepening like the wrinkles on their faces from time, and my hand lifts a little before I catch myself wishing I could stroke his cheek the way he’s stroking my heart. It's as if he's looking at only me, and by the end of the song, I’ve fallen for the man who’s just bared his soul to the love of his life. I want it to be me. As he holds the last note, I think I am.

Silence falls for a moment before I let out a sigh. So do Jayden and Eric.

"Wow," says Jayden.

"Amazing, Quinten," says Eric. "Simply amazing."

But the warm glow I just felt is gone, because yet again, Quinten's sucked me into his spell, and it's not fair. Anger begins to simmer in me, and I narrow my eyes at him. "Yes. Very nice."

Quinten tilts his head and asks, "Nice, Chelsea? Nice? I pour my heart out to you, and that's all you have to say?"

Jayden gasps. "Oh my god!"

Eric says, "Ahhhh. I get it now."

Alisha steps out from behind the curtain, and with her clipboard tucked under her arm, she gives me two thumbs up as if this is a great thing.

I shake my head. "It was amazing, Quinten. You've got a lot of talent. Thank you." I look at Alisha. "Can you send the next one out now?"

Quinten's face is impassive as he gives me a nod and moves off the stage. My heart swells with more empathy than I thought I could feel. Empathy I don't want to feel.

Jayden whispers, "What is wrong with you? He's your true mate."

"I know," I whisper back, even though it's possible Quinten heard me with his sensitive ears. "That's exactly what's wrong."

"I don't understand, Chelsea. Everyone wants to find their true mate."

"I don't. Or didn't. And I definitely don't want to be a werewolf." Now Jayden looks hurt, but I've had enough of people's assumptions. "I'm sorry. I know you guys think it's the best thing ever. But I'm not willing to settle for being a mate and mother. I want a career."

"Sure," she says. "Fine." Jayden looks down at her clipboard. "Whatever."

"Jay." My heart squeezes with pain, and I reach out to touch her on the shoulder. "This isn't about you."

She snaps her head up and spits out, "I'm not making it about me. I get it. You think there's something wrong with Alisha and me for wanting to be werewolves and mothers. You think we're weak and disillusioned, and this life is never going to be good enough for you."

"I never said that."

"Not in those exact words, but you do plenty to tell us what you think. You’re not as good at hiding your facial expressions as you think."

Jayden struggles to get up, and Eric stands to help her. He moves her out of the aisle and looks up at the stage, where the next singer is standing. Eric says, "Alan, I'm going to ask you to hold on for now. We need to take five."

"Jayden?" I say.

She won't look at me as she walks away. "I need some air."

I stand to follow her, but Eric grabs my arm lightly. "Let her go. Come with me instead."

I hesitate for a moment before I realize he's right, that Jayden does need to cool down before she’ll listen to me. Eric leads me down a hall that brings flashbacks of high school as I see rows of lockers and the shine of a freshly buffed floor. We stop at his office, and he lets me inside. Instrument cases litter the floor, and he clears stacks of folders off a chair for me to sit. I hear the pop of a mini-fridge door when Eric leans down under his desk, and he rises back up to hand me a cola. "Thanks."

He opens his drink and leans back to take a sip of his soda before he lets out a sigh. "There's nothing like sugar." He pats his slightly rounded stomach. "My mate won't let me drink this at home because she says it's why I'm fat."

"You are not fat."

"For a werewolf I am." He sits up. "And since I haven't stopped, I'll probably stay that way." He lifts his can and inspects it as he chuckles. "It's funny how we do things we know we shouldn't because someone tells us not to."

"Isn't that the truth."

"It must be exciting working on a big-name show. Do you hang out with a lot of famous people?"

I frown as I think about his question. "I do meet a lot, but none of them are people I'd call friends. I work a lot too, so it makes it hard to do much socializing."

"I can imagine. But you've got your girls here whenever you need them. Alisha told me you've known each other since your first year of college. I've got a few buddies like that. They're the kind of friends who tell me what I don't always want to hear. We should all be lucky enough to have that in our lives."

I take another sip of my soda and savor the sweetness I don't usually allow myself to have. I think about how my friends and I are honest with each other. And I've never held back when I thought one of them needed to hear the brutal truth about a situation they were in. Shame burns in me when I recall what Jayden said.

I say, “I suppose I haven't done a good job of hiding my judgment about her new life. The thing is, I am happy for her. But I resent that she and Alisha keep trying to push their newfound joy down my throat.”

“Maybe it’s time you told them.”

My stomach churns with my sugary drink as I think about what Eric said. I know he’s right, but I don’t like it.

Eric sets his can down with a thump. "That Quinten is something else, isn't he?"

It takes me a second to realize he's talking about Quinten’s voice. "Yes. I've never heard anything like it."

"Me either. I wish I'd known when he was in school."

"I'm surprised you didn't. He's not exactly shy."

"No," Eric grins. "He's definitely not. He has charisma, that one."

"Charisma. So, he's always made people want to be around him?"

"Not at the level you feel, Chelsea." Eric takes a final swig of his soda and stands up. "But writing for Zip Code Star is a big deal. I get why you don't want to stay here. You should fight the true mate attraction with all you've got."

I stand up, finish off my cola, and smile at him. "Thank you for saying that. You have no idea how many people in my life seem to be telling me the opposite."

My heels click loudly down the hallway as we walk back to the auditorium, and it hits me what Eric just did.

I quietly say, “I see what you did.”

A small smile turns up his lips. The only trouble is, he didn't tell me to do something I don't want to do.

When we get back to the auditorium, Jayden is standing with Alisha.

"Hey," I say as I approach them. "I'm sorry, Jayden. I lashed out at you because I'm frustrated." I look at Alisha. "I don't think either of you have settled. You decided to be here, but I feel like you two want me to be with you so badly that you aren't listening to what I want."

"You're right. I do get that your job is important and is what you want to be doing right now. I'm sorry too," says Jayden. She opens her arms for hug, but it’s not the tight embrace we used to enjoy because her big belly juts between us. It makes me think about how our lives are growing apart and that I'm going to have to work at making sure I don't lose my best friend.

As we hold each other, she says. "You know I only want the best for you."

"Me too, Chelsea," says Alisha as she wraps her arms around both of us.

"I do know that," I say. "I love you guys, but it's going to have to be from California."

"Understood," says Jayden.

"Awww," says Alisha as she releases us. "We're good again."

When Jayden and I break apart, I smile at my friends. "We have a rock star to find!"

But as we all return to our places, my heart aches as I can’t help but think about the overwhelming desire to be with Quinten, and I wonder if it will ever fade.