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An emotional wreck, Lily had been in no position to defend or protect Harley, so Tess had taken her away Harley’s grandparents had eventually accepted her, though they treated her as human and expected her to behave like one But that had been okay, because she had the fabulous Tess Her aunt didn’t look at Harley and see someone as half shifter or half human; she just looked at her and saw her niece
"You’ve lived in the human world ever since," continued Gabrielle "You are half hue portions of your life in both the human world and the shifter world That puts you in a very unique position It gives you two different perspectives What’s your take on things, Harley? Are the extremists justified in their prejudice? Does The Moveht in this war--humans or shifters?"
"I’d answer you, I really wouldbut talking to you is about as appealing as sandpapering a wild cat’s ass while having s You are well known for twisting the facts I’ll bet that if I had a dollar for every truth you printed, I’d be in debt"
"You have a ith sarcashtly "Just a little service I provide It’s even free Now as much as I enjoy our conversations, I have so to write that article with or without your help, Harley Give "
Daht have ad stride, Harley glanced at her over her shoulder "I suppose I could give you one final thoughtbut I’ at the fox’s growl, Harley walked straight to the hotel
The moment she was in the privacy of her room, she dropped the halfhearted smile, took a deep breath, and tried to shake off the memories of her past She wasn’t ashamed to be a shifter and she didn’t resent her inner cat As a species, shifters were ood and they took care of their own Harley’s pride mates, however, had somewhat different priorities Even to this day they squatted on land they didn’t own, caused brawls and bar fights for fun, and spent s
Given her pride’s reputation, she understood why Mia’s parents and pack blahter’s addiction--especially since Harley had looked the part of a "bad influence" Back then, she’d hidden behind a goth "I don’t give a shit" look so that no one would see just how unhappy and angry she ithwell, everything
What Mia’s parents should have noticed was that their daughter had wandered down a path of self-destruction Once, when Mia was totally shit-faced, she’d told Harley all about how her best friend, Torrie, had drohile they were at a lake; both girls had been eleven at the tiuilt and an unrelenting grief at the loss of Torrie but with the knowledge that Jesse would be without his true mate
Mia was convinced that Jesse secretly hated her, despite the fact that he clai Torrie As a child, Jesse had been playful and roguish After his true mate’s death, he became hard, militant, and distrustful; he alore a blank expression that Mia believedHarley said could convince her otherwise--Mia would just claim that Harley was biased because she loved him
In honesty, Harley had loved Jesse As an adult, Harley could see that it had been an immature, juvenile love as opposed to the fierce, ferocious, all-consu that every shifter felt for their partner It hadn’t been any less real, though And that hadn’t stopped her fro inside when she saw hi hiht
Yeah, well, their emotions had been all over the place, and they’d just wanted comfort Or, at least, that hat she told herself on those few occasions when she wondered if she’dThose occasions were few and far between, because Harley was a realist
He ht in her bed, but it hadn’tto him Not once in her life had she ever kidded herself into believing he was attainable or could ever care for her He would always long for the mate he’d lost, which was perfectly understandable
Even if that night hadbetween her, a half-human fe else, and Jesse, a male shifter as an enforcer and whose family despised her
It was a harsh reality, but it was a reality she’d just have to live with
Back aching, Jesse Dalton sank into the sofa after a long day of building the outdoor play area Every single one of the thirteen adult wolves of his pack had helped build it using only natural s, tree stu tunnels And now everyone was relaxing in the e" wasn’t quite the word, in Jesse’s opinion The three-story building was lass dove s The rest of the Mercury wolves lived in ses that were scattered around the vast, wooded land The place was both wild and peaceful, and it would sing to any wolf’s soul
"The kids loved it, didn’t they?" said Shaya, the Alpha fehtfully proud of it