Jordan’s gaze jerked to Ellie’s face. The bemused smile on her was one Jordan had often seen when Ellie was up to no good. “Aric was present during these conversations?”
Ellie knew Jordan liked Aric to some degree. It’s not like she could hide it from her. The woman was a wolf. She could smell Jordan getting all kinds of turned on when Aric’s name popped up. But what she never told Ellie was how deep her feelings ran. That was something Jordan had trouble even thinking about.
Ellie’s eyes widened, filled with innocence. “Oh, yes.”
Fuck. Sweat gathered in her palms. Now her nerves were getting the best of her. Her stomach did all kinds of acrobatic flips. She’d have to ask or die wondering. And she was too curious not to know. “And what did he say?”
“It doesn’t matter. We both know you’re not looking for long term anyway. You like your independence.” She shut her eyes and sighed.
“Ellie!”
Ellie jerked her eyes open with a chuckle. “Fine, if you want to know, Aric thinks you are fine just the way you are.”
“Which means what?” She asked before she could stop herself. She’d always tried to control her interest in Ellie’s older brother, but sometimes Jordan’s hormones just ran away from her.
Aric. With his piercing dark eyes, eyes she swore begged her to strip every time he glanced her way. And that tall slightly tanned hard body filled with boundless muscles. So many muscles.
She cleared her throat. Visuals of running her nails down his six packs and nibbling on his belly button made her reach for her wine again. But it was the strong jaw and “I’ll eat your * really good” smile she couldn’t stop thinking about.
Ellie’s smile dimmed. “Aric said, in time, you’d find your mate and for everyone to leave you alone to decide your life yourself.”
Her hope deflated. It was what she’d always told everyone. Somehow, hearing that he’d said the same made her want to run to the liquor store and buy a barrel of wine.
A sharp pain pierced her heart, deeper and deeper until she wanted to cry. Though Jordan would rather dance around naked in public than admit her feelings for Aric, she had secretly continued to hope. Now, that hope was dead.
“That’s true. I can decide my life myself.”
She remembered thinking the same thing the night of her senior prom, until Aric had seen her. Memories flooded her mind. She’d walked down the hall in her sapphire blue dress to find him in the living room with Ellie. He’d given her a look she’d never forget. It was the kind of look she’d always wanted to see from him. And he’d lifted a hand to her face, caressed her cheek, and told her she looked beautiful. She’d almost melted into a blue spot on the floor. Her previous concern at going to the prom dateless with only Ellie as her companion had flown out the window. He’d been the only thing on her mind the rest of that night.
She cleared her throat, unwilling to think about Aric any longer. “So, back to this scenting ceremony, what exactly happens?”
“Well…” Ellie’s pale features turned a dark crimson with embarrassment.
Jordan started to worry about what went on. Would it be some rated R stuff? “Well what?”
“First, they start out as wolves and sniff each other.” She glanced at Jordan and bit her lip. “To see if the animals feel any kind of attraction.”
That made sense. Considering they were going to be mated forever, they needed to know if they were both compatible as humans and wolves, so nothing strange there. She stared at Ellie expectantly.
“They shift into their human bodies and scent each other that way too.”
If Ellie’s face turned any redder, Jordan would need to throw some water on her to bring her temperature down. “Wait, they’re naked after their shift, aren’t they?”
Ellie nodded, glanced down at her glass of wine, and took a gulp. Oh. Yeah that would be little more than Jordan had expected, but nothing she couldn’t handle.
“It’s okay, Ellie, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you’re thinking.”
Ellie cleared her throat and downed the rest of wine.
“Why haven’t your parents pushed you into mating? I mean Kelly is like five years younger than you, so that makes her around twenty-five, right? But you are still unmated. And your parents don’t seem like they’ve lost their values. I mean your whole shifter history is based on pushing the males and females to mate as soon as they reach the right age. Go forth and make some fur balls and all that. Isn’t that what you’ve said before?”
Ellie shrugged. “Mom and dad are the pack leaders and don’t feel I need to be pushed into mating until I’m comfortable. Mom kind of had a hand at getting Kelly and Marco together, so that kept her occupied for a bit. Besides, the males are the ones that need to mate first. They continue our line and need mates as soon as possible.”