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My breathing evened out as I accepted how close I’d come to being mated against the wall of the motel. The idea wasn’t as repulsive as it should have been. In fact, I would have welcomed it if my body had anything to say about it.

And that was what scared me the most.

I wouldn’t have told him no.

I wouldn’t have even attempted to stop him.

My body had been fully in control and it hadn’t cared about consequences at all. As ridiculous as the term was, I understood what it meant when he said I was in heat. We weren’t so far removed from animals, and my body wanted what he offered. Wanted to feel him against me and inside of me, wanted to be claimed and declared his. I pressed my thighs together with a whimper, my thoughts not helping as my body realized it wasn’t getting what it wanted today. My head thumped against the wall as I wondered how much longer I could hold out against the mating call.

Chapter Eleven

Dusk was falling as we finished the preparations for the party. Someone had rounded up a huge grill and the scent of smoke drifted around the clearing as members of the Pack slipped from the woods. Platters began to fill the long tables as low conversation filled the air and I saw Anna’s mom greet some of the braver women. A few hung back nervously, but the kids had no inhibitions. There were a few shrieks and it wasn’t long before a game of tag formed.

“Looks like a success to me,” Trent said and I searched for him in the growing darkness. My passable night vision finally found him propped up against the building, chewing on a sucker stick, as he offered me a smile.

I made to move closer and he shifted away from me. “What? Do I have cooties?”

“As good as,” he chuckled, taking the stick from his mouth and pointing it at me. “You stay over there. I don’t need to get on Dom’s bad side tonight.”

I rolled my eyes at the reminder of Dom’s little command but my feet stayed where they were. “He’s in control now,” I told Trent, who laughed.

“No. He’s not,” he replied, shaking his head. “Not that I can blame him. You two are doing something most of us have never seen before.”

I glanced at him sharply. “Most of us?”

“I think he means me, my dear.”

I jumped at the sudden arrival of a newcomer, but was unsurprised when I saw who had spoken. “Gregory.”

“Jess,” he replied, inclining his head slightly.

“You haven’t died yet?” I asked the oldest member of the Navarre Pack, his face wreathed in wrinkled folds of skin.

“I’m afraid not. We’re a long lived bunch,” he answered lightly. “At least when we’re not cut down prematurely.” I sobered at his reminder of the Alpha’s death. “You are doing a good thing here,” he mentioned, waving his hand at the slowly mingling guests. “A lot has happened and our focus may not have been where it should have been.”

I shrugged. “We all play our part. Everyone here is trying. That’s what’s important.”

“Spoken like a true Alpha’s mate,” Gregory replied and I glanced at him uneasily. “Don’t worry. I’m not one to push an agenda at a get-together,” he informed me quickly and I narrowed my eyes.

“And if you were?” I asked pointedly. “What agenda would you be pushing?”

“Sometimes we don’t know what we want until we’re presented with it,” Gregory answered cryptically, disappearing into the shadows before I could question him further. I growled in frustration as I glanced over to see if Trent had heard, but he had disappeared as well.

“Great turnout! Is there a reason there are no lights?” Leah popped up next to my shoulder, startling me.

It took a second for her question to register and when it did, I jerked my head. “Follow me.”

I headed to the side of the building, stepping lightly over several cords. Leah tripped, muttering about how dark it was, but even with my less than stellar night vision, I could easily pick out the cords in our path. I shrugged it off as I went to the outlet Trent had shown me earlier where I needed to plug the main cord. “I was waiting till it was full dark,” I murmured, plugging in the cord. Tiny white lights winked into existence, crisscrossing the yard as a chorus of “ohhs and ahhs,” filled the air.

“Sam told me they shouldn’t hurt their eyes but it’ll give us enough light to see by,” I commented absently, my attention on the twinkling lights.

“Why would it hurt their eyes?” Leah asked, puzzled, and I cursed myself. It was too easy to slip up when I was used to being around people who knew exactly what being Pack meant.