“I think we should plan Aimi a first date.” Cam said laying over her sleeping bag. It was dinner time but instead of having dinner at the table like we normally did, we had ordered Chinese and had it delivered by the staff down to the basement.
“Cam, as much as I think Aimi likes you, I think she would prefer her first date to be with Zander.” Sara said tossing a piece of shrimp into her mouth. Cam threw a fortune cookie at her, her aim getting much better as it hit Sara in the forehead.
“I think I would prefer it if my first date was planned by the guy.” I admitted. Ever since our secret game everyone had been talking about the things we all confessed. We had tried a few times to get Sara to sing for us some fifties songs but she refused. Angelique and Dominique had gotten up though and sang a duet of “Wind beneath My Wings.” Andrea had giggled the whole time.
“You honestly think Zander Blake is going to plan a first date?” Cam asked in shock and I had to admit the chick had a point. Most of his most romantic moments had been with the encouragement of Cam.
“Give my son some credit.” Dominique said though I couldn’t miss the fact she was smiling when she said it. She didn’t have much faith in him either.
“Were all the men like him?” I asked suddenly unable to help the question. The women all had amused looks on their faces but different reasons each.
“Aidan was never a playboy. Too much of a goof. Our first date he took me to dinner. It was nice nothing romantic though. I had a hard time trying to figure out if we were just friends. The second date he took me to shoot pool. The third one he took me to play miniature golf. The fourth date he took me to the batting cages. The fifth date I told him no, I had another date already.” Megan reminisced.
“How did he take that?” Cam asked feeding Andrea some rice.
“He tracked me down and stormed into the bar we were at. Told the guy to stay away from me, to change colleges, find a new pack. Then dragged me out of the bar and banned me from ever going out with anyone else again, I was his.” Megan shook her head laughing.
“And a few dates later you met Zander.” I laughed remembering that part of their love story well.
“Oh, yeah! The idiot Alpha who took me on a first date and ended up with another she-wolf in his lap when I went to the bathroom. I actually didn’t know Aidan was the Beta until he brought me back here. Once I figured that part out, things made a whole lot more sense.”
“What about you and Alpha Jon?” Sara asked Dominique. She folded up her legs so she was sitting Indian style.
“Our first date, he took me on a picnic. Ten years later he built the home we live in now on that same spot.” She smiled and all the women awed at the thought.
“You and your Damian?” I turned to Angelique.
“He took me dancing. I was so shocked to learn the man had such good moves on the floor. When I announced my mating to him, my mother told me that if a man could move well on the dance floor he could move well in the sheets.” We all laughed as the twins shook their head at the memory of their mother. I smiled sadly when the laughter died down, I would never have that peep talk before with my mother.
“I hear you and Chris are an item now, Sara.” Megan interrupted my thoughts. I looked at Sara who sighed heavily.
“We are dating. But I wouldn’t call us an item. He treats me just the same as when we weren’t dating. Honestly, hearing all of your stories and the way you feel about your men, even the bad feelings. I don’t know about being with Chris.” She laid down on her stomach and looked up at us all.
“Good.” Cam blurted out and it was the second time I had seen Cam actually look angry at the idea of Chris and Sara together.
“I know you don’t like him, Cam.” Sara said shaking her head.
“I like him fine. I just don’t like anyone who hurts my friends. He may not be hurting you now, but he will.” She sounded so sure like she knew things she wasn’t yet ready to tell. And knowing Cam that was very possible.
“People change, Cam. Look at your own brothers.” Megan offered gently but she knew like I did, Cam didn’t talk out of her ass.
The rest of the night was oddly normal, even for us. We popped in movie after movie until there was no one left awake. It was a nice feeling just being there with the women and having girl talk. As much as I knew them, as much time as I spent with each of them there were still things I didn’t know. They were all complex and different. Like their love story was.
The next morning I woke up to Cam hitting me in the head with a pillow. I growled at her lowly and looked around the room to see everyone was already awake and smirking down at me. I wiped my face quickly thinking I had been drooling or something, which only made them laugh even more.
“What?” I asked them, frowning now at them laughing at a barely awake me.
“Zander, slow down.” Sara mimicked me and my mouth fell open as I looked around the room.
“Too fast, Zander.” Cam gushed holding the pillow to her chest and looking dreamy eyed. Have I ever mentioned I hate my friends?
“What were you dreaming about, Aims?” Megan joked picking up her daughter who was giggling in her arms.
“It’s not what you think.” I tried to defend myself but could feel the embarrassment growing.
“Its ok, Aimi. We all have some spicy dreams about our men from time to time.” Dominique said trying to be reassuring though she was laughing too.
“Hell, I have had them right next to Jason and woken up to him teasing me relentlessly.” They laughed each shaking their heads but I was still too embarrassed.
“Really, it’s not what you think. I was dreaming about Zander but it wasn’t that kind. We were in the woods.”
“Oh, steamy.” Cam interrupted me, I picked up the nearest pillow and through it at her face.
“We were racing!” I yelled at the group and threw the blanket over my head. It was true we were but their teasing only made me embarrassed. Did she-wolves really have those types of dreams about their partners?
“Aims, we are sorry. We believe you, honey.” Angelique said gently but there was still humor in her voice as she said it. I had to admit if it had been Cam I would have teased her too, so I let the blanket fall and smiled at them.
“Though our version is so much better.” Leave it to Cam to make me rethink my forgiving them.
“We all aren’t horn dogs like you, Cam.” I glared at her but the room erupted into laughter causing me to look at them like they were insane.
“You do realize every time we leave you two alone someone ends up catching you two in a lip lock, right?” Sara said first while all the women were nodding. I ducked my head knowing they were right. Since the day we became engaged every chance Zander got he was pulling me into his arms.
“It’s Zander’s fault.” I shot back at them only causing them to laugh more.
“His fault he is so hot and you can’t stay away from him?” Cam asked elbowing me in the side. I snickered softly.
“It is his fault. He always starts it, I never initiate it. I never even kissed a boy. I mean, I never like went up to them and kissed them.” I said looking around the room, ducking my head at all the surprised faces again. I don’t know when they would stop being shocked I had so little experience with the male sex. It was pathetic enough as it was without them helping matters.
“When was your first kiss?” Megan asked slowly, carefully.
“That night of my first date.” I didn’t need to say more, they knew the story. “Until Zander, I count him as my first kiss because well, I wanted it I guess.”
“Zander will be your first for everything, won’t he?” Dominque asked, I could only nod because it was true. Zander was my first everything. First hand hold, kiss, boyfriend, and all the things that will start to come.
“You don’t have to let him control everything, Aimi.” Dana said, a small smile on her face. I scoffed.
“The man is totally domineering, you all know this. Besides,” I smiled sheepishly at them before continuing. “I can’t help it. He pulls me in his arms and then I just lose all focus.”
“Oh, we can tell. We all heard about how Darius found you two on your run.” Dana was smiling but I could tell there was a lecture coming. That was the whole point of the weekend after all, wasn’t it?
“Aimi, you know how I promised that we would help you with the mate stuff too?” Dominique asked, her eyes smiling at me but there was no mistaking the intent. I looked around the group. Everyone’s eyes were on me. Dana and Cam were both smirking. Sara, Angelique and Megan looked unsure what reaction to have, they were changing from amused to concerned.
“Well, here is some advice. Your mate is a very caveman type of man. Possessive, protective, and downright territorial. And his wolf isn’t taking too kindly to the fact you don’t have his mark on your neck yet.” Dominique said slowly, gently making sure I understood everything she was saying.
“Not to mention, I am sure the dude is in blue ball hell right now.” Cam added laughing heartily.
“What they are trying to say, some better than others.” Megan said shooting a look at Cam who was still laughing her head off. “You can’t just let him run the show. You stand up to him about almost everything else, you need to stand up to him about this too.”
“I think what they are trying to say is, Zander is trying to stay in control. He is in a high powered, high pressured position. He is, as Cam put it so crudely, trying to stay in control in a physical way with his mate. His wolf is probably giving him hell. Right now he might be losing more battles of control then winning them.” Angelique said.
“You have to take some control sometimes, Aimi. You have to push him away sometimes when it’s getting too hot and heavy, and trust me almost all of us in this room knows how hard that is. Even without the mark on your neck, you two are bonding, your primal sides are claiming each other and we can see it more and more daily.” Dominique said and I looked at her in shock. There was a lot about the mating I still didn’t know, I admitted that much.
“They are claiming each other even without a mark?” I repeated, forming it into a question as I looked at the older women. Dana was looking at interested as I was, Cam and Sara right behind us.
“Your primal sides are claiming each other and I wouldn’t be shocked if it had been happening for a while now. It would explain the way you two bonded even before you both knew your feelings. The mark that he will someday place on you will be a sign that you are taken and his. It will increase the bond, of course, but even without the marking it won’t stop the two of you from bonding more. But as an Alpha male he will want to mark you, that territorial thing.” Dominique explained and all I could do was nod.
“It’s actually why when we were growing up it was discouraged to date the way you young people do now. Because as shifters we would form bonds and if we formed a bond and then had to break up, it would hurt. The deeper the bond the harder it is to break.” Angelique explained. I had to admit that made sense and it made sense why older people pushed their kids to find a mate as close to shifting for the first time.
“So, it is going to be harder and harder to not stop him. You aren’t going to want to push him away and he is going to want to mark you. And after the marking he is going to want to mate and complete the bonding. Make you fully his.” Dominique continued explaining to the younger women.
“Not to mention the heat.” Megan said shaking her head sadly, totally looking sad at the thought of it. But Cam, Sara, and I both looked confused and turned our heads to look at each other.
“Huh?” Cam asked, the older women smiled at us and exchanged looks. I could tell they were trying to figure out who was going to break the news to us.
“When you are marked, you go into what is called a heat. All female wolves go into it and like our cousins, true wolves, we do too.” Megan started and I could tell she was really uncomfortable.
“It is like our human’s side, monthly menstrual. There are days as our human side we are more prone to become pregnant then others because of that cycle, and then there are days when we are absolutely safe from becoming pregnant.” We nodded at Angelique, I knew all about that part.
“Well, like our cousins, as shifters we go into heat as well. Unlike them where they go into it every year at the same time once they hit maturity, we only go into it after we are marked. It’s a safety precaution Mother Nature gave us to limit males forcing us.” Dominque said catching each of our young eyes. I caught Cam’s and Sara’s and wondered if my face was the same shocked one as theirs.
“So, you are telling me that not only do we have to go through our monthly cycle, we have to go into heat every year too?” Cam looked pissed off. I had to admit I was not a fan of Mother Nature right now.
“It gets better.” Dana mumbled, though the words were dripping with sarcasm.
“Yes, but unlike the human cycle it is indeed just once a year for the heat. Upside is, it’s only after the marking and once a year. Downside is, it’s so much more intense then the monthly cycle women go through.” Angelique said eyeing her sister to continue.
“The heat is pretty much to force the male to impregnate the female. Its sole reason is to make the female so appealing to the male he can’t keep his hands off of her. And the female is so aroused the whole time that she is just as desperate for the male.” Dominque was smiling now and I could tell she found that amusing. I wasn’t seeing the humor. I didn’t want to be impregnated right after being marked. I wasn’t ready for that.
“So, after he marks me I am going to go into heat every year until he gets me pregnant?” I asked, I had never heard about the heat before. But then again I was raised by Dad and we didn’t talk a lot about that stuff.
“No, you are going to go into heat every year period unless you are already pregnant when it comes around. It will always be the same time each year until your body can no longer produce children.” Megan said and she was laughing now at our horror stricken faces.
“How come you aren’t pregnant all the time then, Megan?” Cam asked her sister which only caused the women to laugh harder.
“Well, birth control is why. But it only works on our human side, so when my heat comes around unless your brother and I are trying to get pregnant, I don’t shift when he is around. If he and I were to fool around when I had shifted then each time I would end up pregnant by the end of my heat.” Megan was laughing between every other word now, I think she was mostly amused by the look of disgust on Cam’s face at the idea of her brother and his wife fooling around.
“So, pretty much birth control and staying away from him during shifts is how you get through it?” I asked the women, they all exchanged looks and were trying to be as serious as possible.
“Well, yes that’s how you come out of it not pregnant. But,” Megan started but Dana jumped in.
“You think you have a hard time now when he puts his hands on you? When you go into heat, it will be worse. You will be wanting him to put his hands on you, practically begging him to.” Dana was laughing at her own words as were the older women while Cam, Sara, and I were exchanging looks like this was horrible.
“Mother nature wants us to create more, to ensure we don’t die out. So, if you don’t act on the desire she planted inside of you after the marking, you will pay for it.” Angelique said laughing and shaking her head. I lifted my brow at the women who were finding all of this so damn amusing.
“It’s payback for not procreating and resisting. If you don’t act on the desire she plants in you and your mate, she makes sure you are in pain for it. It gets to the point you WANT to act on it just to make the pain go away. It can drive you insane to the point you end up shifting and then your primal side loses its senses and goes after your mate willingly.” Megan explained and I looked at her like she was insane. How were they laughing at this?
“In other words if you resist screwing like rabbits the way mother nature wants you to, you will be in pain your whole heat. You will go insane with the pain and desire until your wolf takes over and forces you to shift and act.” Dana put it bluntly.
“So it’s either act on the desire or be in pain?” I asked and they all nodded. I knew that just because Jason allowed Zander to mark me didn’t mean he would allow him to mate me. It was stupid to not allow both at the same time I was seeing now. Like all things in my life lately, things that should have been simple were much more complicated.