Tuesday Teaser 8/6/19 Gina’s Wolf Part 49

Here it is, already August. School in North Dakota starts on August 22, just over two weeks from now. We start early so we can have lots of snow days. Some years we don’t have any, and some years we have a dozen. Well, as dozen is unlikely, but 1 or 2 is about guaranteed. 3 or 4 are usual, and 6 or 7 are not uncommon. So we start early.

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And now, here is this week’s snip from Gina’s Wolf. See? Martine? I listened! 🙂 Enjoy!

Gina said, “I know. My mom shot him to save me. And then Tanner― Oh, God.” She struggled to sit up, new horror icing her lips. “Tanner tried to kill her.” She caught an odd expression on his face. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

“Sh, sh, she’s okay.” He tried to get her to lie back down against him. “Everything will be fine. Tanner and Jon are dead. The Kansas-Missourians surrendered to Omaha. We won.”

“But what about my mother?” she demanded.

“She’s okay.” He finally gave up trying to make her lie down again and sat up too. Gina couldn’t decide if he was nervous or guilty or just hesitant. “Have you met Jay, my dad’s beta?”

Gina gripped his forearm. “What? Who cares? What does he have to do with my mom?”

Cole took a deep breath. “Well, see, Jay’s wolf has chosen your mom to be his mate.”

She blinked. “Mom? Really?” A giggle gurgled up. “That’s wonderful.”

“It is?”

His cautious tone made her blink again. “Isn’t it?” She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you so nervous? What’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing! I thought you wouldn’t want another stepfather.”

She pushed a little further away from him, eyes still narrowed. “What’s he done to her? Is he mean to her?”

“Of course not.” Cole sounded horrified that she would even suggest it. “He took her to the hospital. There weren’t any rooms left, so he put her in with Ray and dragged a doctor to her to fix her.”

“Dragged a doctor to her? Literally?”

A glimmer of a smile lit his face. “Literally. I wasn’t there, but Patia told me about it. Jay grabbed him by the arm and ran so fast down the hall that the doctor tripped. Jay just yanked him along, yelling that he had to fix his mate.”

Gina smiled, imagining it, but the smile faded. “How badly hurt is she?”

“She’s hurt, but she’ll live.” When she continued to stare at him, he sighed. “Her cheekbone is fractured. Her nose is broken. She’s lost some teeth.”

Gina shuddered. “That sounds so painful. And her face … She must look awful. When can I see her?”

“Soon. Maybe tomorrow. The doctor is making her sleep. He put a needle in her arm and it’s connected to a bag that puts medicine in her to make her sleep.”

“But she’ll be okay? You’re sure?”

“The doctor says she will.”

She searched his eyes and finally let out a relieved breath. “That’s good.” She laid her head back down. “Tell me about Jay. Is he bossy like you? Sweet and funny? Has he been married  before? Will I have step-brothers?”

He made himself comfortable. “No, Jay’s wolf never chose a mate for him until yesterday. He’s my dad’s age. Maybe a little younger. I think he’s been lonely. Every time a wolf found a mate, he congratulated them, but I bet he wondered if he would ever find a mate of his own. Now he has. But only if your mom accepts him.”

“She hasn’t accepted him?”

“She hasn’t been awake long enough.”

Gina was quiet for a moment, considering how a new stepfather would change her relationship with her mother. “For a long time I wanted my mother to love me more than she loved Todd. I never thought she did until she shot him to keep him from killing me.” A faint shudder made her head throb. “Will Jay truly love her? I mean, will he be good to her and not use me to control her?”

“He will love her and protect her. He will love and protect you.” Cole laid his arm over her waist to give her light squeeze. “I’ve known him since before I could walk. He’s always been patient and kind. He’s a good man who has waited decades for a mate. He will treat her like a princess.”

What would it be like to have a stepfather whose love was true and pure? Would she feel safe? What an alien thought. “I hope mom accepts him.”  

 He brushed a kiss over her nose. “Me, too. I want Jay to be happy.”

“I want my mom to be happy. Tell me more about him. Is he bossy?”

“Like I said, he’s about my dad’s age. He’s been the Pack’s beta since before I was born. He’s an Alpha, so I suppose he is a little bossy. Just a tiny bit.” Humor colored his voice. “Not as bossy as Uncle Shadow. But then, no one is as bossy as Shadow.”

“Not even you?” she teased.

“I am not even close. My dad is pretty mild tempered, and Jay is even more laid back. Not that he lets people walk over him. Did I ever tell you about the time Jay caught me trying to sneak out of the den when I was thirteen?”

Peace settled over her. She drifted to sleep with his deep voice in her ear.