Forever Mine (Westin Pack Book 3)

by Julie Trettel

Turning I saw a girl that I didn’t recognize at all.

  “Um, hi. Have we met?”

  “Chase, you rocked my world last night. I’m Anita, remember?”

  Shit! I wracked my brain for any memory of the previous evening.

  She started laughing, “I’m just messing with you. You were pretty wasted last night though. I really am Anita. You and some of your friends partied at my house last night?”

  “Oh, you’re a panther?”

  “You say that with disgust. I suppose my sisters’ reputations have preceded us. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

  There was something different about the girl and I liked her immensely.

  “And, you’re not like your sisters?” I asked.

  “Oh God no! I’m not a sex goddess, or think I’m the greatest thing ever to walk this earth. I actually love the inter species policy here at Archibald Reynolds. My sisters are just a bunch of snobs and our chief strongly encourages keeping our line pure, if you know what I mean.”

  “And you don’t? By the way we call it the ARC. Archibald Reynolds College. A-R-C. Kind of a pun from the, well, ARC.” I shook my head. It sounded stupid trying to explain it, but she just laughed.

  “I like that. And no, I don’t, well, I’m not against finding my true mate of course. I just think it’s okay to friend other shifters. I don’t see the issue there. How about you?”

  I shrugged. “Never much thought of it. I assumed I’d find my one true mate someday and settle down. In the meantime, I wasn’t going to stress it. My brother went to school here, so I was exposed to all sorts of shifters before coming here. My nephew is half tiger. I guess I just didn’t think it was really that big of a deal anymore.”

  “You have a half-breed nephew?”

  “It’s a long story, and not really mine to tell.”

  “I didn’t even know that was truly possible.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, what is he going to be when he grows up?”

  “Not real sure. We have a theory that God only gives us one animal spirit, so I guess he has a fifty-fifty chance of getting either a tiger or a wolf.”

  “Wolf?” she shrieked. “I thought you were a jaguar. You were hanging out with Matt Williams last night.

  “Yeah, he’s my brother. My fraternity brother.”

  “Matt’s in a fraternity with a, a dog?” She must have seen the look of surprise on my face because she immediately began back stepping and talking really fast. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded. I’m just surprised. Until yesterday I had never even met a shifter that wasn’t a black panther or the occasional jaguar. And we were discouraged from even talking to the jags. So yeah, other species are kind of new to me. I guess I just assumed Matt hung out with other cats.”

  I snorted. “Nah, Matt was insistent he was going to be a Dog. Trust me he took a lot of shit when we were pledges, but now, he’s just one of the brothers. They do call him Kitty, but don’t tell him I told you that.” I smiled enough to flash my dimples and unlike the ice queen Ayanna, Anita actually reacted to it.

  “Wow, this is well, kind of cool. I’ve been excited to meet other kinds of shifters, just wasn’t sure my sister was going to let me out of her sight long enough to actually make any friends here. Ayanna can be a little, well, okay, I’m not really sure how to describe her without it sounding horrible.”

  I laughed. “Ayanna is your sister? Like real sibling sister or sorority sister?”

  She sighed, “My real sister.”

  “Wow, it must really suck to be you.”

  She grinned, “You have no idea. So, what are you doing out here anyway? I was just getting ready to go for a run.”

  “As was I. Want to join me?”

  “A wolf? You want a panther to run with a wolf?”

  “I promise not to eat you, and I’ll even go slow enough for you to keep up.”

  “In your dreams dog-boy!”

  I wasn’t sure why, but I turned away from her when I stripped out of my shorts and shifted. She was still in human form staring at me in shock. She put her hand out like one would when meeting a stray dog. I quirked my head to the side.

  “What, I’ve never seen a wolf this close before. Okay, I’ve never seen a wolf in real life before. You’re all black, just like me.” I nodded and finally gave in and walked towards her outstretched hand. “Wow, your fur is so soft too. Okay, so turn away or go over there or something while I change. I can’t believe you just stripped right in front of me like that. Clearly dogs have no sense of civility.”

  I laughed and she jumped. I had no doubt it sounded creepy coming through my wolf. I ran a short distance away, and keeping my back to her I waited for her to shift. My heightened animal ears let me easily track her even without seeing her.

  I was surprised to find she was as large as my wolf. I nodded my head towards the woods and took off. She easily kept pace with me. When we heard movement approaching she disappeared into the treetops. That was definitely not something a wolf could do, I thought.

  Recognizing a small pack of my brother wolves running with Matt in his jaguar form, I nodded and barked, then joined them on their run. Anita would find her back, of that I was certain.

  Jenna

  Chapter 2

  Half my closest was strewn across my bedroom. It was my first day of classes and I had no idea what to wear. I had never been allowed to meet anyone or anything outside the family. My parents had kept my sister and I close to them.

  I was just a kitten when the panthers organized. Felines were already at a disadvantage because of our loaner personalities. We didn’t run in packs or even prides, like the lions, but as our numbers dwindled, particularly the black panthers, we banded together and formed our own family unit. My father was the chief and my sister and I were considered the princesses.

  It wasn’t easy growing up as part of the royal family. We had been sheltered and protected our entire lives. While Tessa had rebelled starting in our early teen years, I had never even considered it. I was the epitome of the good girl. It was exhausting at times. I just wanted to be me.

  When I had applied to Archibald Reynolds College, it was the only act of rebellion I had ever displayed. I hadn’t considered Daddy would send Tessa and relocate our entire sorority to the other side of the United States just because I wanted to attend a different school. I tried not to resent them all. It wasn’t their fought. When the chief issued a command, everyone followed. That’s just the way it was.

  I finally settled on a pair of jeans and a dark green shirt. I grabbed my backpack, shoving my new books inside and stepped out into the hallway. Tessa was there. I stared at her noticing she had on nearly the exact same thing, like my own reflection in the mirror staring back at me.

  “Dammit, Tess. Now I have to change.”

  “You don’t have time, we’re going to be late for our first class,” she scolded.

  “Wait, we’re in the same class?”

  She shrugged. “Daddy’s really worried about you, Jenna. He wants me to keep an eye on you, and you know if he’s asking me, of all people, then he’s really worried.”

  I sighed knowing it was pointless to argue. We headed across campus to our first class. I was excited despite the bomb my sister had dropped on me.

  “Wait, I have calculus this morning, Tessa. How did you even get in the class?” I loved my sister, but Tessa wasn’t exactly known for her brains. I had always been a nerd. I loved learning and got good grades. Tessa, well, she liked to cook, and dance, and was a phenomenal artist. Basically she hated all core classes, and only excelled in the electives in high school.

  She grinned back at me. “I’m pretty much banking on you doing all the work for us in this class.”

  “Tess, I can’t take two tests at the same time.”

  “Why not? It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”

  I looked at her like she had two heads. “That was high school. This is college. It’s not that simple.
Plus, we weren’t in the actual same class. Remember?”

  There were definitely benefits to being an identical twin, at least for Tessa. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. The only class I almost flunked was PE in the ninth grade. I wasn’t really the athletic type, that was Tessa’s department. She was great at all sports, but especially volleyball. I didn’t really envy her. I had my art, and loved seeing the world through a camera lens, but unfortunately physical education is still mandatory in high school.

  You’d think that a panther, sleek in movements with great agility would excel in sports, but not me. I could dance. That was about the closest thing to an actual sport as I got, and that wasn’t offered as a high school course alternative to gym class. The funny part was, while Tessa was extremely athletic, she had no rhythm and couldn’t dance to save her life.

  At that time, Tess had been failing algebra, and fortunately for us, the classes where on the same block. So she would pose as me and downplay her athletic skills just enough to get me a passing grade, and I attended her algebra class to do the same for her. It had been beneficial to the both of us.

  It wasn’t the only time we had changed places over the years either. Even our own parents had a hard time telling us apart, so it had always worked in our favor.

  “Okay, you’re right. Why didn’t I think of this before? We can’t both be in the class. I’m going to go over and see about transferring. Same classes, different schedules and no one ever has to know, especially Daddy. He’ll just see that we had the same classes and assume we were in them together. Right?”

  “I guess so,” I said doubtfully. We were twenty years old, Juniors in college, and hundreds of miles away from the man. Why did we still care so much?

  “Okay, have fun, take good notes for us,” she said giving me a quick hug as she headed off to student resources in hopes of changing her class schedule.

  I looked around me. Alone. I was alone, or as alone as a person could possibly be on a campus of eight hundred students. I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my face as I walked to class.

  “Tessa, over here,” I saw my friend Anita.

  “It’s Jenna,” I told her.

  “Oh, sorry. I thought Tessa said she was going to be in this class.”

  I tried not to laugh. “Tessa? In physics?” Anita laughed along with me.

  “Yeah, it sounded like a long shot to me too. I should have known.”

  “She actually did sign up, then realized I couldn’t do her work for her if she was in the same class, so she’s working on getting her schedule changed now.”

  “Okay that sounds much more like Tessa,” Anita said.

  I followed her to empty seats at the front of the room as she chatted on. Anita was a true friend. I had always liked her, unlike her sister who came across as condescending. I was a princess. She was not. I had the right to be condescending, if I wanted to be, not her.

  Who was I kidding? I just wanted to be left alone. I didn’t have it in me to be as mean and calculating as Ayanna. She would definitely make a far better princess, and if I could give her the job, I would in a heartbeat.

  As the teacher entered and called the class to order, I took in a deep breath. It was something I always did to calm myself before class, but as I inhaled, I was assaulted by an unfamiliar woodsy scent. No, I had smelled it before at the party we hosted over the weekend. It had caused such a tingling sensation across my skin that I had retreated to my room and locked myself in for the night.

  I had heard of such a feeling. It was very much like my mother had described as the call of true mates. No no no no no, that couldn’t happen here, I knew for a fact there were no male black panthers attending Archibald Reynolds. It was one of the things that had attracted me most. There were some male jaguars though. I said a quick prayer under my breath that my true mate was not a jaguar.

  Daddy was very insistent on the purity of the family line. Black panthers were rare enough without polluting the gene pool. I had always assumed my one true mate would be a black panther, just like me, but technically there were several species of compatible cats to the panthers. I sunk down in my seat hoping the sensations I was feeling were nothing more than first day jitters.

  As we were settling into class, Anita turned and waved to someone at the back of the room. I wasn’t surprised to find she was already making friends. Most panther shifters were loaners. We didn’t naturally run in groups like other shifters. Anita was somewhat of an exception. She loved people and was a quirky sort of extrovert.

  “Did you know Matt Williams is in Delta Omega Gamma? The Dog frat. Seriously, I’m not even kidding. I met one of his brothers yesterday and I couldn’t believe it. I mean he was cute and all, but I just assumed he was a jag. Imagine my shock when I went running with a wolf.”

  “A wolf? Anita, they’re dangerous, you can’t be hanging out with their kind,” I reminded her.

  She just rolled her eyes at me. “Jenna, we’re at the ARC. Why else are we here if not to mingle with all sorts of shifters?”

  Because they have the best photography program of any college Daddy would approve, I thought honestly. I wouldn’t dare confess it though.

  The teacher started class before I could answer, and I got out of there quickly the moment class ended. The smell had continued to haunt me throughout class until it became uncomfortable just sitting there. It had taken everything in my power not to turn around and search out the source of that delicious smell that caused goosebumps to rise on my skin. I just couldn’t do it though. If my true mate was nearby, and he wasn’t a black panther, it would be best if we just never met at all, because Daddy would never approve. Keeping our family line pure was more important to him than the bond of true mates. I had always known it, but until that moment, I had never given any thought to how that could affect me. For a brief moment I even considered switching classes. One thing was certain. I needed to stay as far away from that smell as possible.

  Check out more great books by Julie Trettel!

  The Compounders:

  Book One

  In the wake of terrorist attacks, economic collapse, and martial law, America has become a nation at war and a country at odds. Mike Jenkins was well prepared, and moved his family and friends to his totally secure compound on a remote mountain in western Virginia.

  After several years, Holly Jenkins couldn’t wait for the elders to open the bunker doors, allowing her to roam at will, and feel free once again. Escaping to the sanctuary of her hidden cave would set in motion changes in her life heretofore unknown.

  The AMAN presented a threat to the compound and the nearby towns; a threat that could not be ignored. They were prepared for war, but nothing could prepare Holly for her own battle between the two men she had grown to love… and the third she might be forced to marry.

  Chaos will reign! Will love survive?

  Visit

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018HKIU7O/?tag=kp-jtret-20

  The Compounders: DISSENSION

  Book Two

  Holly Jenkins spent most of her life sheltered by the Compounders in a secure bunker on a remote mountain in western Virginia. After a battle with the AMAN, the oppressive group that reigns over the area, her life is set on a new course. Leaving behind the comfort and safety of the Compound isn’t a choice for her. It’s something she has to do.

  When Griffon Maynor is captured by the AMAN, Holly’s squad springs into action on a rescue mission without question, even when it becomes obvious to them that her feelings for him have changed. But can they rescue him in time?

  New love ignites. New friends are made. New enemies are encountered. The lines between good and evil are blurred. Not everyone will survive. And when they finally make it home, everything has changed once again.

  Visit

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6FSGLE/?tag=kp-jtret-20

  DISCONTENT

  A Compounders Novella

  Charlie Jenkins has big shoes to fill in the wake of hi
s father’s death. He hasn’t always done the right things in the past, but he’s trying his best for his family, the Compounders, and all the residents of nearby Wythel, Virginia, the small town just down the mountain from the Compounder’s bunker. When his sister, Holly, goes missing, Charlie is fueled by anger, hatred, and resentment. Can he get past his emotions to be the man he was raised to be?

  They aren’t safe. People are scared. The stakes are high. The enemy now knows exactly where they live. Change is inevitable. With the Compound once compromised, and Wythel more vulnerable than ever, it’s clear that both need a leader who can step up and give them hope. Can Charlie be that leader … or will his anger drive him to destroy them all?

  Visit

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07215QYL1/?tag=kp-jtret-20

  One True Mate

  A Westin Pack Novel

  Kelsey Adams is alone, and has been since childhood. Running away is all she knows and necessary to preserve her deepest, darkest secret. She can not afford for anyone to get close, or know about the monster within. But when she lands a lucrative job as an administrative assistant to Kyle Westin, CEO of the Westin Foundation, her life changes and everything's at stake. Can she conceal her growing feelings and her true self from this enigmatic, strong willed man, or will her world fall apart?

  Kyle Westin, an alpha male who always gets what he wants, has watched and waited for the little she-wolf he knows is his perfect mate to show any signs of recognition. For two years he endures her unnecessary formality and daily rejections with a patience he did not know he possessed. But even Kyle has his limits.... Can he make Kelsey notice him as someone other than her boss and break down the walls she built around her heart? Or will Kelsey do what she has always done --- run?

  Visit

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071HXL3R2