Mated in the shadow of my sister by lady gwen

Chapter 0245

(James POV)

It was finally show time. Again.

Was I nervous? I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t… especially after what happened last time.

However, things were different than before. The last time that we were on the cusp of taking over the

pack, I knew that I loved Lily, but I did not know where I stood with her. In contrast, this time, I know Lily’s

heart. I wear her mark and she wears mine.

Just as importantly, this time is different because Lily and I will be taking over the pack together, while

standing side by side. We also have more tools and the blessing of the Moon Goddess.

Things could still go wrong, but I am more confident than ever.

Just as the car pulled up to take us to West Mountain Pack, Lily stepped out of the bathroom.

“Holy sh&t,” I exclaimed.

“Do I look okay?” she asked me, as she did a small twirl. “I was going for party professional but serious.”

She was wearing a sleeveless black and gray business dress. It was conservative in the sense that it almost reached her knees, but it hugged her curves perfectly, and its v-neckline exposed more than a hint of her ample cleavage. She paired the dress with black high heels and a pendant necklace that fell

directly in the middle of her perfect breasts.

“Lily, you are killing me,” I responded.

She

looked at me in confusion, and then looked down at herself. “What’s wrong with it?”

I walked over to her and pulled her close to me. I then took her hand and placed it on the tent that had formed in my pants.

“This. This is what is wrong with the dress. How am I going to be able to concentrate while you are wearing this?”

Lily rolled her eyes and giggled. “I am pretty sure that I could be wearing a garbage bag and there would be a tent in your pants.”

“Maybe… ok, probably… but seriously, sweetheart. You look… wow.”

Lily blushed at my compliment. Goddess, how I love when she does that. “Thank you, James. You look handsome yourself. Are you ready to go?”

“With a tent in my pants?”

“I would offer to help you with that, but they are waiting for us downstairs.”

I squeezed her butt and kissed her. “Fine. Give me a second to ice my balls and then we can go.”

Lily laughed again, clearly feeling exactly zero sympathy for me..

Joey and Nick ensured that we got through border security without any issues. Once through security, Lily and I easily made our way to Joey’s house with a few trusted guards from Brady’s pack. I did not think that we needed guards, but Dr. Hyder had insisted.

After I knocked on Joey’s front door, Joey quickly opened it and ushered us inside.

Joey and Jessica stood nervously side by side, staring at Lily. It was the first time that they had seen Lily since she went to Brady’s pack.

“L-Lily,” Jessica said hesitantly.

I almost laughed. The two of them looked the way I am sure that I looked when the Wolf Packers

baseball players invited me to play with them. It was a mix of awe and fear.

Lily only hesitated for a moment. She went up to each of them and gave them a huge hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered to both.

They looked back and forth between Lily and I with confusion.

“Why why are you thanking us? We should be thanking you.” Jessica asked.

Lily gave them a warm smile. “No. I know what you did for me. You saved me, and you saved us,” she said, gesturing to me. “I do not know if I would be standing here with James if it was not for the two of

you.

Jessica started to tear up.

Joey, meanwhile, continued to look at Lily with shame as he rubbed his neck. “Lily, I… I am so, so, so sorry for everything that I did to you in the past. I cannot

I

1

well you how

much I regret it all.”

“I appreciate your apology,” Lily responded. “However, James has filled me in. I feel like I have gotten to know you all over again through the stories he has told me. None of us are who we were in the past.

Jessica reached out and hugged Lily again. “Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have no

idea how grateful we are that you are here.”

After a minute, Lily pulled back. I could see a couple of tears in her eyes as well. Lily had told me how

much she valued Jessica’s friendship when they were younger. I think getting Jessica back in her life

meant almost as much to Lily as getting Lily back meant to Jessica.

“Its 6:10. Are you ready for the meeting with your father?” Joey asked, pulling himself back into business

mode.

“Yes,” I confirmed. I was meeting with my father at 6:30; Margie’s party started at 7:00.

“Are you sure that you do not want Joey or Nick to go with you?” Lily asked me in concern.

“I am sure. The meeting will be short and sweet. My father will tell me to f&&k off and then I will meet all

of you at the party, okay?”

Lily kissed me gently. “Okay. Good luck.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

I love you.”

With that, I headed back out the front door, our plan was for Lily to stay with Joey and Jessica until the

party.

As I left, I saw Nick pacing on the sidewalk outside. I looked at him curiously.

What are you doi

“What are you doing out here, Nick?” I asked.

“I… I wanted to come and see Lily before the party, but I … I wasn’t sure if Lily would be willing to see me.”

I gave him a sad smile and gripped his shoulder. “Your sister has an amazing capacity for forgiveness.”

“But I am her brother. I should have done more to protect her. I should have-

“-And I am her mate. I did far more to hurt her than you did.”.

“But-”

“Nick, go in there and talk to her. See what she says. Your sister is an incredible she-wolf, and she believes in the power of people to change. You have done a lot of that lately, so I think you might be pleasantly surprised by her reaction to you.”

Nick

gave me

door.

a half-smile. He continued to look worried, but I watched as he slowly walked to Joey’s

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