An eyebrow flew up and before he could say anything, Vera elbowed his side and squeezed in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty rose color, and her eyes were bright.

Being mated must be suiting her well. Christine had never seen the Kategan sister so happy, and that was even with the occasional fights she and her mate got into.

“Hey, what’s up, Christine?”

“I came to talk. If that’s okay.”

Vera’s mouth formed a little circle as understanding settled in. It made Christine shift back and forth on her feet. She never talked to other girls about men, probably because she didn’t have many friends and because she never had “relationships” as Dmetri enjoyed pointing out.

The bastard.

“I completely understand, come on in.” She turned to Jackson and gave him a little push.

“You, too, move big guy.” He grunted but moved.

“Is this about Dmetri?” he asked.

Christine bit her lip, which did nothing to help the awkwardness of the situation. Talking to a girl about her ex when her mate was in the room was not easy.

Luckily she was saved from answering. “Of course it is, babe. Why don’t you give us some room?” She snuck up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He looked down at her with a stern frown on his face.

“I don’t like this.”

“I know sweetie, but I promise it won’t take long and besides I’ll repay you tonight with something special.”

His eyes darkened as he looked down at her. The love and heat in his eyes was enough to make Christine blush and jealous all at once. It took some more promises and sweet kisses, but then finally Jackson grabbed his jacket off the rack and left.

“Good, now down to business,” Vera said, rubbing her hands like an evil doctor. “Take a seat. I’ve been waiting for you to stop by. I knew it was only a matter of time.” Christine laughed. “Really, it’s that obvious?”

“Of course, and I think this calls for a drink. What do you prefer?”

“Tea is fine.”

Vera’s eyes lit up. “Wait, I have a bottle of wine that Sarina gave me as a wedding present. I’ve never touched it and we don’t keep much alcohol in the house because Jacks has a past with it. He’s fine with social drinking a beer or two but no hard stuff in the house. What do you say I pop that baby open and we give it a taste?”

“That’d be great.”

Vera all but ran into the kitchen in her excitement. She had the bottle popped open and glasses filled in under a minute. “Sarina said this is expensive wine. That means it’s good, right?”

Christine shrugged; she had no clue. Then, she remembered. “Well, I have had expensive wine once, and it was delicious.” Of course that had been with Dmetri in the French restaurant.

They took their glasses and sat on the couch. A small fire burned in the fireplace creating a soothing warmth and orange glow in the room. Vera set the bottle of wine on the coffee table within easy reach.

“So, let’s talk about Dmetri. He’s something, huh?”

Christine nodded, slowly. “Oh yeah.”

“He’s a dick.”

Surprise lead to laughter and soon they were both laughing together. There was no indignation at hearing him called that, because after all, it was just so accurate.

“He is. He really is but it’s...different. I don’t know how to describe it.” Vera nodded quickly. “Oh, I do. He’s an endearing dick. You can’t help but love him.” Vera’s eyes rounded. “Not that I mean I love him, anymore. That’s ancient history. Honestly, I never even think about him anymore. Not with Jacks in my life.”

“Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have come here if I thought you were still harboring feelings for him.”

Vera sighed. “That’s good, because honestly I used to love him. I did. But then when I got to know Jacks, I realized that...the love I felt for Dmetri doesn’t even come close to what I feel for Jacks. It’s just so different. I never knew it could be like that. So intense.” Christine downed the glass of wine and let Vera refill it. The wine was red, warm, and had just a hint of sweetness that reminded her of grapes and apples.

Lost in her thoughts, Christine hadn’t realized Vera was watching her until she glanced over. Vera smiled slow and sure.

“Ah, you love him.”

She wanted to deny it. She really didn’t want to have any feelings for him above “like” but it was the truth. “I’m afraid I do...the bastard.”

“So tell me what the problem is, not that I don’t already have a pretty good idea,” Vera said, twirling the glass in her fingers.

Christine finished her second glass of wine as she thought about it. Honestly, she didn’t know where to begin. She held out her glass for a third refill. The thought that it might be a bad idea mixing drinking and gossiping about Dmetri never crossed her mind. Hell, the more she drank the better she felt. Soon she lounged back in her seat feeling warm and fuzzy like a teddy bear.

“He wants me to go with him, move in with him, after he catches Master Claude.” Vera nodded gravely as she listened.

“Of course, I can’t. I need to mate with an Alpha. You know how my mother is.” Vera stood up, and either she wobbled on her feet or Christine’s vision was shaky. Vera sat down right next to her and tossed an arm across her shoulders.

“Listen honey, I know your mom. I mean, I know your mom. She’s...determined. I know it’s hard for you, but you gotta do what your heart needs.”

“God, you kind of sound like Dmetri now.”

“No, no, nope. It’s true. If I wouldn’t have listened to my heart I would have never gotten close to Jacks or taken the chance to be with him. And honey, it was so worth it. Just for the sex, I mean this man can do things with his—”

“Okay! That’s enough, please.” Christine scrubbed a hand over her face, surprised to find she wasn’t sweating.

Vera chuckled. “Sorry. Tell me, putting your mom’s opinions aside, what do you want to do?”

Christine didn’t have to think about it, she already knew. “I’d go with him,” she said softly.

Vera sighed. “I don’t envy you right now. I wouldn’t want to be in your situation.”

“And I love him,” Christine said, throwing up her hands.

Vera nodded gravely. “That does make things harder. The man has a complex against the L-word. After I told him I loved him, the temperature dropped fifty degrees every time we were in the same room.”

Christine’s heart wept, she didn’t stand a chance with him. She couldn’t change him.

“I’m just going to let him go and put this all behind me.” She hoped Vera didn’t hear the sniffle in her voice.

“Love’s a fucked up thing. Great and awful all at the same time. Like...a thunderstorm or something.”

Christine chuckled at the analogy. “I don’t think I could let Mom down like that. It’d devastate her. She’s spent most of my life since Dad died preparing me to marry an Alpha.”

“What about what you want?” Vera asked softly.

“I want to go with him.”

Vera rested her head against Christine’s shoulder, and they stared into the crackling fire together. “Then do it, I say. You know I laughed when he said he was going after you. You’re both so different. He’s all stiff and business and you’re so carefree and spirited. But the more I think about it, the more I see it. Like two ends of a spectrum naturally attracted to each other, though different.”

“I think wine makes you philanthro...philisophical.”

Vera’s snort turned into giggles. “And you can’t talk. Would it be so bad if you disappointed your mother?”

Christine’s eyebrows shot up. Bad? It’d be awful. The one thing her mother ever wanted her to do she’d fail. Would her mother even talk to her after that? Could she risk losing that relationship for Dmetri? A horrible thought ran through her mind.