Jake Stevens looked up from his mocha and tried to be discreet as he watched Jessie enter the cafe and walk up to the counter. Bruce, the cafe owner and a Beta wolf, took her order for a cup of Assam tea and a slice of carrot cake. 

“…” Jake leaned back on his chair and he narrowed his eyes on the back of Jessie. He took in her appearance and tried to imagine this woman being best friends with Emma. Pink highlights and blinged jeans to draw the eye to her ass? Really? He just couldn’t see Emma, intense and all about the job, with this sort of woman. Jake half turned in his seat and blew his mocha as he watched the human pay for her tea. His mousy brown hair was combed back today, but a few stray locks slipped forward to the right of his face. What could my Luna possibly have in common with this woman? The black alert message said she studied nursing with Emma, but would that be enough for them to be best friends? His wolf grumbled with envy. Jake has worked very hard to try and befriend Emma, not for pack status, but because he genuinely liked the woman. Even then, he felt her holding him at arm’s length at times. Yet you are so close to my Luna, that you’ve driven for hours to surprise her? You have the best friend mantle…how did you do it? “I’m just-”

“-don’t even think about it.” Tim warned his husband, but it was too late. Jessie finished paying, turned to look for a place to sit, and Jake waved her over. She raised a brow and wondered why this stranger was waving her over. He had mousy brown hair, kind brown eyes, a slim figure, and a cheeky smile. What stood out more for Jessie was the white doctor’s coat he was wearing. She smiled and walked over to join the stranger and clocked his tall, buff companion. He had an army hair cut if she ever did see one, and the blond had a hard expression that was nowhere near as welcoming as the grin Jake wore. 

“Good morning.” Jake pushed out a spare chair for her to sit beside him. “Forgive me if this sounds strange, but I have a friend who has shown me pictures on her phone, and they look exactly like you.” 

“Oh? Is this friend a fiery red head?” Jessie accepted the seat, crossed one leg over the other, and blew on her tea. 

“Emma Carter?” Tim averted his eyes, wishing his mate would stay out of this. The Pack Master and Luna would be here any moment, and Emma might not like Jake getting cosy with her human friend. 

“Yup.” Immediately Jessie fished her cell out of her purse. She had no signal, annoyingly, but she had plenty of photos backed up to her phone. 

“So you’re…Jessie?” 

“Jessica Garland. At your service.” She did her best to do a playful curtsey in her chair, and put her tea cup down on the table. That signalled that she intended to stay at the table. “How do you know Em?” 

“I’m both a friend and a work colleague.” Jake offered his hand to her and she happily shook it. The smell of sweet lilacs ebbed off this woman. She was human, but she had a pleasant scent. “Jake Stevens.” He shook her hand and released it. She pointed down at his white coat with a brow raised. 

“Doctor Jake Stevens?” 

“Guilty.”

“So you’re colleagues with Emma because you’re a doctor and she’s a student midwife?”

“She’s nearly a qualified midwife.” Jake countered and sipped his mocha. “She’s been hitting the books, sitting her exams, and delivering babies like a pro on her fast-course apprenticeship she’s doing.” Jake leaned closer to her, like he was giving her top-shelf gossip. “I consult with her and assist when emergency medical intervention is required.”

“And she’s doing well?” 

“She is thriving, like a boss.” 

“Yas queen. That’s my Em.” Jessie did a little dance in her chair and Jake giggled at her. She was certainly energetic. “Last I spoke to her, she’d been put in charge of the clinic and hired more midwives?” A damn good job too, as it was criminal to make Emma work every hour like that. Jessie nearly got in her beetle so many times to come and help, but Emma always shot down her offer. 

“That’s right.” Tim shot his husband a look. They shouldn’t be having this conversation without Caleb and Emma here. “So you and Emma know each other from college?” 

“I’ve known that blunt-force princess since high-school.” The door to the cafe opened, and the smell of eucalyptus and buttercups announced the arrival of the Pack Master and the Luna. “We have been studying and partying since we were 13, and we had matching braces then.” She tapped her teeth to indicate that they both used to have dental braces, though her teeth were flawless now. 

“Tell me you have a picture of 13-year-old Emma with braces.” Jake begged, and Tim tried to kick him under the table, but missed. 

“I am her best friend. Of course I do.” Jessie started to swipe through her photo library on her cell, and Emma stormed over ahead of Caleb. She reached down and grabbed Jessie’s phone just as she found a particularly embarrassing picture of them both with braces and pigtails. 

“Jessica Annabelle Garland, don’t you dare show embarrassing pictures of me within the first five minutes of being in town!” 

“Em-train!” Jessie squealed and jumped up from her chair to throw her arms around Emma. She ignored the embarrassed scowl on her friend’s face, and instead lifted Emma up to hug with a mock bear growl. Meanwhile, Jake and Caleb mouthed ‘Em-train?’ at each other. That was banked for later. 

“Good Lord, put me down, you lunatic?!” Emma was conscious of everyone watching, and wriggled until Jessie put her down. 

“Alright alright.” She returned Emma to her feet, and then pulled her in for a big hug. “It’s been too long.”

“Yeah. Yeah it has.” Emma sighed, with a smile. She could so easily fall into sync with her dear friend. The urge to link arms with her and leave everyone here, so they could get a booth somewhere and catch up was great. She wanted to do that, she did, but first things first. “So?” Emma held Jessie’s arms at arm’s length and darted her eyes briefly at Jake. He was beaming with mirth and winked at her. She ignored him for now to focus on Jessie, the loaded giggle-grenade. “What brings you to town without any sort of warning?” 

“It’s hardly a surprise if I warn you, Em-train.” Caleb snorted to one side, and instantly gained the glare of his mate, and the smirk of her friend. “Well well well? Eyes like lakes and cowboy boots?” She looked Caleb up and down once, and then moved Emma to link their arms together. “Is this the Caleb Johnson.” 

“The one and only.” 

“Previously creepy Mayor and now your fiancé?” She asked Emma, and the Luna wanted to find a hole to hide in. 

“Ye-er-yes, but-”

“So he must have some winning qualities to have 180-ed your opinion.”

“I like to think so.” Caleb answered smoothly with his thumbs in the loops of his belt.

“Men always do.” 

“Jessie?!” 

“Em?” 

“Jessie!” 

“EEeeeeeeeem.” She bumped her hip with Emma’s and wiggled her eyebrows at her. “He’s pretty to look at, I’ll give you that.” Jessie sniggered and nodded down towards Caleb’s crotch. “Does he have big assets, then?” 

“Say what?” Caleb asked, and Emma was mortified. 

“Dear God, woman!” She groaned and yanked Jessie around to face her. She dragged her off to one side to have a private word with her friend, but she forgot that this distance would mean nothing to all the werewolves in the cafe. Already, Jessie was snickering with glee, and Jake failed to smother his laughter behind his hand. Jessie gave him a look like they would soon be co-conspirators. Jake had to agree. His previous envy melted away, and now he felt he might have ally in Jessica. “Did you seriously just ask if my fiance has a big-”

“Heart? Yes. Oh wow, Em-train, did you think I meant his dick? When did you get so filthy m-m-” Jessie couldn’t maintain the farce and devolved into giggling. 

“Well, does he?” Emma’s left eye twitched, and she looked over her shoulder to see Caleb smirking at her, like he was daring her to answer that question. “Are we talking mini-weinie? average manana? Or are we talking, I need to sit down for a week afterwards cucumber?” Jessie started moving her hands, like she was gauging the scale. Jake spluttered on his mocha and desperately wanted to shout out, ‘what about an aubergine?’, but his husband was glaring at him to behave himself. 

“Stop that!” Emma slapped her friend’s hands down like an angry cat, and could tell from the way Caleb was chewing his lips together, he thought this was hilarious. “Tell me you did not come all the way to Glen Valley just to ask me how big my boyfriend’s dick is.” 

“No, but-”

“Then why are you here?” Emma narrowed her hazel eyes on her best friend. Jessie’s grin fell and she lifted her hands to hold Emma’s elbows. 

“Do I need a reason to come and see you?” Jessie cocked her head to one side so her curly pink and blonde hair bounced to one side. “Do I?” She glanced over Emma’s shoulder and for a moment, it was almost like everyone in the cafe was staring at her. Then they all looked away at the same time, and Caleb came over. 

“Excuse me, ladies?” He put his arm around Emma’s waist to hold her right hip, and gave Jessie his friendliest smile. “Emma and I had plans, so if we need to change them for your visit, let me know and I can rearrange some of my meetings. And you’ll need to adjust your shifts at the clinic too.” He tried to steer the conversation, and Emma was grateful for that. It was like she could see the red flags above her head through Jessie’s green eyes. For once, she was the one causing the red flags, and it felt so wrong. 

“…well I was hoping to spend some girl time with my bestie.” Jessie hugged Emma’s arm raised a brow at her friend. “You don’t have to change your shifts, though. I could come and help out? I’m in between jobs at the moment. Would you like a pair of extra hands?”

“You came all this way to see me. I’m not putting you to work.”

“Why not?” Jessie rested her chin on Emma’s shoulder and winked at her. “We can always get take out and beers as we wind down after our shift? Like we used to after clinic hours at college?” Emma smiled with nostalgia. “Besides? There’s no rush. We have plenty of time to talk about your wedding and what’s new.” 

“Plenty of time? Are you planning on coming back another day?” Caleb’s smile was cool as ice, but on the inside he wasn’t happy with the prospect of having Jessie sporadically visiting. The pack wouldn’t like it either. 

“Come back?” Jessie raised a brow at Caleb, but she focused on Emma. “No need. I’ve brought my suitcase and I thought I’d stay in town for a while.” Everyone who wasn’t human felt their heart skip a beat. None more so than Emma. “Just point me in the direction of the nearest hotel or motel, and I’ll check in. I’ll meet you at the clinic, and then we can go back to my motel room to have take our and beers.”

“Oh I don’t-” Caleb started, but Emma cut him off. 

“That sounds great.” All eyes snapped towards Emma, but she ignored them, so Jessie didn’t notice this odd behaviour. “You know, I’m sure my old landlady Holly still has the one-bedroom apartment I used to rent from her. Caleb, give her a call for me so she knows we’re coming, would you?”

“Emma?” She shot him a look to play along. The last thing she needed was for Jessie to worry something wasn’t quite right about Glen Valley, and try to ‘rescue’ her best friend. Much like Emma did with Beth when she first smelled a rat in this town. Jessie would be the same. Only, the blonde wouldn’t accept no for an answer, and would drag her ass into her pink beetle to burn rubber before she could blink. “Sure.” 

“I’ll call you once she’s settled.” Emma started walking Jessie out of the cafe, but the blonde dug her heels in as they passed Jake. 

“Oh, Jake, right?” 

“Hmm?” He asked, and then all eyes were on him. Oh fuck a duck. “Yes?” 

“Your a friend of Emma’s, right? So you’ll be going to the wedding?”

“Of course.” Technically, Emma and Caleb hadn’t had the time to send out invitations yet, but Jake didn’t hesitate. 

“As the bestie, I’m maid of honour. Do you want to be my wingman?” Jessie’s grin was cheeky and she quickly tapped her cell screen to bring up her address book. 

“I would be delighted.” He grinned, and took out his own cell. Emma mouthed ‘fuck’ behind Jessie’s head, which Caleb would have found funny, if it wasn’t for the human that was apparently planning to stick around in Glen Valley for a while. The pack would not be happy about this. “And that’s my number.” 

“Excellent. Will you both be part of the hen party plans?” She waved her cell over towards Tim, who shook his head awkwardly. 

“My husband is more of a stag-do kind of guy. Me? I’m more than happy to drink champagne and fuss over glitter and bows.” 

“And share Emma stories and talk boys, I hope?”

“Fuck my life.” Emma said out loud, and Jake toasted Jessie with his half drunk mocha. 

“I like you.” Jake giggled. 

“Bitch, once you get to know me, you’ll love me.” She blew him a kiss. “I’m the Ying to Emma’s Yang. She does serious, I do party animal, and together, we make a normal, balanced person.” 

“There is no universe where you are normal.” Emma chided her friend and proceeded to push back to march her away from the table. Jessie resisted and cackled over her shoulder. 

“I’ll call you to talk about Emma’s hen-do! Prepare for dancing, champagne, and more dick-paraphernalia than you can shake a cock at!” 

“I can’t wait!” He called back. 

“Jake?” Emma, Caleb and Tim all chorused his name to chide him. He put his hands up in surrender, and Emma finally shoved Jessie out of the cafe. Caleb watched through the cafe glass wall as his mate and her human friend drove off in Jessie’s pink beetle. He fired a text to Holly to warn her, and then turned to glare down at Jake. He had his head turned to the right, his neck offered, and his palms facing Caleb. This would be a sign of deep respect, if he wasn’t still giggling like a wind up doll. 

“I-I like her. I see why those two work.” Jake pointed towards the window, indicating Jessie. “She pushes Emma out of her comfort zone and makes her have fun. Emma probably reality checks Jessie, and acts as the common sense police.” 

“Good Lord, that woman had more energy in her than a toddler on crack.” Caleb groaned. 

“Or Joey after too much sugar.” Tim agreed. 

“Either way, I think she’s a hoot, and if she is staying in town, I officially offer myself as the human’s babysitter.” Jake had his hand up like a child at school, and didn’t seem to be all that put off with the sulking expression on Caleb and Tim’s face. “Hell, if you end up wanting to make her pack, I’ll sire her. Happily.” 

“Not happening.” Caleb barked, and this time Jake calmed his mood, having stepped on a nerve. “That woman makes me think of trying to catch a slippery eel. It may seem like an amusing idea, but in practice, you’ll end up losing a finger, if you’re lucky.” Especially as there is no way Emma will want her friend to be turned into a werewolf. “No. We need to trust Emma to get a handle on how long her friend is staying, and then send her on her way. Without risking exposure.”