Whatever rhythm Brooke had managed to find in her relationship with Jasper completely vanished as the Cowrie Cabana scrambled to prepare for the upcoming feast. Gone were their outings to Periwinkle Port, away from the other werewolves' prying eyes. Now instead of kisses they only exchanged furtive glances, with Jasper always finding excuses to avoid talking to her.

Was it something she'd said? Had she embarrassed Jasper so badly that he didn't want to be anywhere near her? Had his meeting with the other werewolves gone so poorly after he'd partially shifted and ruined his outfit that he was angry at her for coaxing him to wag his huge, fluffy tail in the first place?

Whatever had happened, Jasper's parents shared his foul mood as they helped him and Brooke decorate the banquet hall. Or, more accurately, she decorated the banquet hall while Jasper's parents argued and he set out silverware so aggressively she was tempted to take the knives from him.

"I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this." Mr. Stillwater's jaw twitched like a sea snake preparing to strike. "You forfeited your right to be involved in Cedar Pack's business the day you left for Duskvale."

"This isn't about the pack. This is about my son trying to find his mate." Mrs. Hoffman refused to look at him, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the vase full of flowers she'd spent the last ten minutes fiddling with. "I already missed far too much of Jasper's life."

Her ex-husband rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean you can meddle in pack business."

"It's been wonderful to see you and Jasper spending time together at Periwinkle Port," Brooke said hurriedly, hoping to prevent their argument from spiraling out of control.

"Especially since Steven's been enjoying it here even more than I have." His mother chuckled. "He came back to the room covered in so much sand yesterday we could have built a sandcastle out of it."

"It's safe to say the seagulls won't forget him anytime soon," Jasper said, his lips twitching into a smile.

But his happy expression faded as soon as it came. He returned his attention to the silverware with his eyes downcast, mechanically rolling spoons, forks, and knives into dark blue napkins.

What had happened to the adorably flustered werewolf who had strolled with Brooke through the gardens? She'd seen Jasper stressed far more often than she'd like, but never had she seen him so forlorn.

"Speaking of your family," Mr. Stillwater said, "shouldn't you be spending time with them? I'm sure your husband isn't exactly keen on attending an event where all the other guests will be werewolves."

"All the noise and crowds would be too much for him, so we agreed he'd stay in the room and keep Steven busy for the evening." Whatever courtesy Jasper's mother had begun the conversation with evaporated like sweat in the sun as she lowered her voice to a growl. "This may be hard for you to understand since you spent more time on business trips than with our son, but Jasper needs our support now more than ever."

The hair on the back of Brooke's neck stood on end as Mr. Stillwater's eyes flashed amber. Goddess, she had to calm them down before they attacked each other!

"Have either of you gotten the chance to go on a dolphin tour yet?" Brooke filled her voice with the same gently encouraging cheerfulness she used whenever she was trying to distract a pup who was having a bad day. "I think Jasper and I can take things from here, and there should be plenty of time for you to get tickets. I heard they even saw calves playing by the reef yesterday!"

"I wish I had time, but unfortunately some of us have to clean up a certain mess." Jasper's father blinked his eyes back to a human brown, but his voice stayed as harsh and unforgiving as a wave crashing against the shore. "Things would have been much easier if Jasper had told me exactly what he was doing to try to find his soulmate, but now all I can do is try to salvage our relationship with Kudzu Pack."

Mrs. Hoffman set a vase down so firmly some of the water sloshed onto the tablecloth. "Don't drag Jasper into this. Your unwillingness to do anything but work until the Goddess has raised the moon into the sky has nothing to do with him."

"It has everything to do with him." Mr. Stillwater crossed his arms. "In case you've forgotten, I have to do everything I can to make sure he and the rest of my pack have a future. Not all of us can run away when business goes south."

"You're one to talk." Mrs. Hoffman sighed. "Just because I didn't spend nearly enough time with Jasper doesn't mean I can't try to fix things now, and it certainly doesn't mean you have any right to push me away from him."

Brooke wished she could dive into the sea. A cacophony of starving seagulls wouldn't be as awful to listen to as these two arguing. Even worse than the constant digs Jasper's parents made at each other was the fact neither of them stopped and asked Jasper what he wanted. All they did was argue with each other like two wolves fighting over the last scrap of meat on a bone.

Jasper didn't say a word to either of them, nor did he glance their way. All he did was set out the silverware firmly enough for each thud to ring in Brooke's ears.

She had to do something before he accidentally indented the table with one of the steak knives. "Why don't you two go ask Mr. Evergreen what he would like us to serve for dessert? The Silver Scallop serves a lot of delicious stuff, so I'm sure Marina would appreciate someone narrowing things down for her."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Mr. Stillwater said. "We'll get out of your hair for a while, but I promise we'll be back to help you put the finishing touches on everything."

The instant Jasper's parents left the room, he relaxed his shoulders with a thunderous sigh. "I swear they never acted like this when I was a pup. At least, not in front of me."

"I'm sorry you had to hear all that." Brooke wrapped her arm around his back, her heart quickening at how his muscles loosened at her touch. "Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?"

"I don't know." He pulled away from her looking as forlorn as a lifeboat lost at sea. "I've needed to talk to you for days now, but I've been having the worst time figuring out what to say."

Oh Goddess, he was breaking up with her, wasn't he? That would explain why he'd been avoiding her, why he shied away from her touch.

"If I'm not your soulmate, then I'm still really glad I got to know you." Her voice caught in her throat as she forced herself to swallow a sob. Dammit, this must be hard enough for Jasper without her making everything worse. "I just hope whoever you end up with makes you happy."

"It's not that!" Jasper pulled her close, brushing away her tears with his lips. Each caress warmed the icy despair that had wrapped its frigid fingers around her heart until all that remained was the faintest chill of uncertainty. "Sorry, I can't even try to talk about all this without putting my foot in my mouth."

"Maybe we should put something else in your mouth instead," Brooke whispered playfully. "I've got a whole stash of emergency chocolate."

Jasper huffed a laugh against her cheek before leaving one last kiss. "Maybe later."

"Will you at least tell me what's bothering you?" Brooke internally cursed herself for giving him any reason not to keep kissing her, but they couldn't keep avoiding whatever was on his mind. Or hers. "I've been thinking about something my dad said the other day, and there's something I need to tell you, too."

"Why don't you go first?" His fingers fiddled with his moonstone pendant. "I'm not sure you'll want to talk to me by the time I'm done."

Well, that was concerning. Not that what she had to say was all that pleasant, either. Her next words tumbled out of her as she rushed to get them over with. "Dad knows we've been seeing each other, and he's only giving us until the end of tomorrow to tell everyone."

She expected Jasper to groan or sigh or do a million other things showing exactly how stressed he was about telling the other Alphas about their relationship. What she didn't expect was for him to laugh. The sound tore through the air as sharply as sea glass.

"That's the least of our problems." He shook his head as another bark of disbelieving laughter escaped his lips. "They're all going to hear about it tomorrow, anyway. The Alphas found out we've been seeing each other, and they're making me take you to a Luna so they can check if we have a mate bond."

Goddess, they knew?!? That meant it would only be a matter of time before someone told her mom. Then she'd really be screwed.

"At least now we won't have to worry about keeping everything a secret anymore," she said with a nervous laugh. "So all we have to do is visit a Luna to find out if we're soulmates? Why didn't we do this sooner?"

"It's not unheard of for werewolves to visit a Luna to confirm their mate bond, but it is frowned upon," Jasper said. "Our arrangement with Kudzu Pack made things especially complicated since they could have seen me taking someone to see a Luna as desperate at best and insulting at worst, especially if it the Luna didn't find a bond." 

That made sense. Kudzu Pack's Alpha wasn't exactly the most pleasant werewolf, so it was easy to imagine him making a fuss if Jasper did anything that made it seem like he wasn't happy about marrying his daughter.

Jasper wasn't done explaining. "Honestly, I've been scared what it might mean for you if you really are my soulmate. When my mom found hers, she left my dad and moved so far away we didn't see each other for years. If you feel drawn to me as strongly as she does to Dr. Hoffman..."

"You think I would leave my family behind." The mere thought of moving away from the Cowrie Cabana made her feel as hollow as an empty nautilus shell, but what would happen if she was Jasper's soulmate? He and the rest of his pack were supposed to fly home after their vacation was over, and she couldn't imagine him abandoning Uncommon Scents or his pack. "Jasper, I could never—"

"I know." He cupped her face with his hand, his thumb stroking her cheek. "But if we solidify our mate bond, we will never feel complete without each other again. Being apart for longer than a day would make us crave each other in ways I can't even begin to describe." His voice softened as he cast his gaze to his shoes. "I've been wondering if I should take silver and sever any mate bond we might have."

She waited for him to say he was joking. For something in his expression to tell her she'd misheard him. Yet, all she saw in his face was a hopeless sadness as he waited for her to react.

"Why would you even think about doing something like that?" An icy wave of fear crashed over Brooke. "You didn't take some already, did you?"

Jasper shook his head. "I'd feel like crap if I did. Ingesting silver makes werewolves sick even if they don't have a mate bond, and I'd never break off whatever we have without talking to you first."

"But you had no problem avoiding me for a week and not bothering to ask me what I thought about all this." Now that the initial shock had faded, Brooke was left with nothing but anger that Jasper would hide so much from her for so long. They were supposed to face all this together, yet just like everyone else, he hadn't trusted her enough to treat her like an adult.

"Because I'm trying to do whatever would be best for you. If the Luna tells everyone you're my soulmate, you'll be miserable, just like..." Jasper's voice cracked. "Just like me."

That admission knocked the wind out of Brooke, leaving her gaping like a fish that had been dragged above water. "Like you? But you're so good at your job! You work so hard, and—"

"And I hate it!" Jasper's teeth sharpened into fangs as his breathing grew more ragged. More frantic. "I hate having to carry the whole pack's future on my shoulders. I hate working so hard I literally dream about attending meetings. I hate that I can't imagine ever bringing you home to my pack."

"You can't?" Brooke's throat tightened. Seeing him so upset hurt worse than a thousand jellyfish stings, but she couldn't let herself cry. Not when it would send him over the edge.

Jasper took a deep breath, with his fangs shrinking as he released a rattling exhale. "Would you be happy cooped up in an office, stuck working your ass off and only getting to see your family once or twice a year?"

"I'd be with you, right? It couldn't be that bad." No, it would be much, much worse than what she did now. Just thinking about having to leave someone else in charge of planning all the Cowrie Cabana's birthday parties and volleyball tournaments made her heart hurt. "I mean, at least you guys have those swivel chairs, right?"

Jasper gave her an unamused look. "You'd be bored out of your mind before lunch."

"You don't know that." He was probably right, but that didn't make the possibility of a happy future together slipping through her fingers like sand hurt any less. Nor did it make her any less upset that once again, she was being treated like a stubborn pup who couldn't be trusted to make her own choices. "You don't get to decide how all this would make me feel."

"I know." Jasper ran a hand through his hair with a groan. "I'm just trying to find the least shitty outcome for all of us. If we're soulmates, Kudzu Pack will force us to get married, and if the Luna says we're not..."

"Then you'll marry Gwen," Brooke finished for him. 

"And if I have to marry her, my pack..." Jasper shook his head, casting his gaze to his shoes. "My pack will never forgive me."

"Why not? I'm sure you'd all be much happier with someone who'd actually be good at working with you." Someone who wouldn't make a fool of herself and get her heart broken.

"I don't think I'll ever be happy no matter who I end up with!"

Silence swallowed the room as Jasper trembled. Her strong, dependable Alpha squeezed his eyes shut. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse with unshed tears.

"I can't imagine anything that would make me hate my life more than forcing you to share it with me."

But he wouldn't be forcing her. This would be as much her choice as his.

Unless he was trying to get her to break off their relationship so he wouldn't have to go through the humiliation of a Luna telling him he'd wasted the last few weeks with a selkie who couldn't make him happy.

"If the idea of being with me makes you that miserable, then take silver. That's what you want, right?" Brooke blinked back tears, silently cursing herself for ever thinking an Alpha would ever be happy to be her mate. 

"That's not what I'm saying."

"Then give me one reason you taking silver wouldn't solve all our problems."

"Because even though it would sever any mate bond we may have, silver wouldn't change how I feel about you. I love you!"

The words hung in the air, leaving an ocean of silence between them.

"I love you," Jasper said, softer this time as if he was tasting how each syllable rolled off his tongue. "You're as wonderful as ice cream on a hot summer day. I've never met anyone who could make me laugh as much as you have or who is even half as sweet to everyone. I may not know if the Goddess chose you to be my mate, but I do know that even if She didn't, I will still love you."

Brooke's heart caught in her throat. Her mom had given her one simple task: make sure Jasper enjoyed his stay at the Cowrie Cabana without causing any issues for the Blue Moon Ball. More than their stolen kisses or the other Alphas finding out about them or even Jasper saying he loved her, one thing guaranteed she was beyond screwed.

"I love you, too."

And now she couldn't take it back. Like a seagull hatching out of an egg, their relationship could never go back to what it used to be.

But she couldn't let herself think about what it might become. Not now.

"I need to go help Marina with tonight's banquet." Marina wouldn't be the least bit happy if she found out why she was offering to help, but she couldn't deal with all this. Not right now.

"Wait a minute, we still have to figure out how we're going to handle all this," Jasper said. "What are we going to do about the Luna?"

"There is no we, Jasper." Maybe there never had been, just a werewolf who was determined to keep doing what made him miserable and a stupid selkie who'd fooled herself into thinking they could make each other happy.

Jasper followed her to the door of the banquet hall, not moving to block her path but still making it a thousand times harder for her to leave. "Please don't—"

"I have to."

Brooke ran from him, but she couldn't escape everything they'd talked about and how much it hurt. She could only hope the saltwater in the travel tunnels would wash away her tears.