Aric would need a mate. Bone-crushing sadness enveloped her. She wanted to go hit something. Maybe shoot something. Dryness took over her throat. “So they’re going to get mates during this ceremony as well?”
Ellie nodded, her lips pursing. “If my mom has her way, yes. She’s invited a bevy of females for Aric, Mason, Nathan, and Jake to choose from.”
Her stomach knotted at the thought of Aric choosing another woman while she watched. Distress twisted massive knots in her stomach. It was definitely best for her to watch from a distance. If she caught some woman sniffing Aric, she might forget her composure and let her well-known temper loose.
“Are you sure you still want to do this?” Ellie’s gaze held a note of sympathy.
She nodded, folded her arms over her chest, and bit her lip. “If I want to write an accurate account about your kind in the book, then yes, I do.”
Where the hell were Karla, Emma and Nicole? This was ladies night. Okay, more like “let’s get drunk, man bash, and eat a lot night” but still. Her friends had never been late for wine and food.
She was about to open her mouth when the doorbell rang. The three consecutive rings indicated at least Emma and Karla had arrived. Emma always rang the bell three times in a row. It was like a nervous tick or something.
Jordan stood to open the door and her legs tried to fold under her. Shit, how many glasses had she had? She slowly made her way to the front door to let her friends inside.
Another round of rings met her at the door.
“I’m here, cool your heels.”
She jerked the door open and found the three missing amigas.
Emma’s gaze roamed her face. “Damn, Jordan, how long have you been drinking?”
She licked her lips, tasting the residual wine on them. “Not long. Why do you ask?”
Karla tickled her side as she sashayed past her. “You’re all red in the face. You only get flushed like that when we talk sex or you’ve had like a ton of wine. We all know that.”
Jordan was probably flushed from all the thoughts of Aric. Damn man made her get all flustered without even being in the vicinity. “Get inside and stop whining or you won’t get any food.”
Emma shoved her aside and made a beeline for the kitchen behind Karla and Nicole. “Thank God. I’m starving.”
Jordan snorted. Her friends would never change. “Yeah, okay. I didn’t cook this time. Sorry.”
Emma turned to her with wide eyes. “You mean you didn’t make the flan or the empanadas?”
She shook her head. Her friends loved the chicken and shrimp filled dough. “Sorry. It was my night off.”
“Since when? You and Ellie are the cooks. Nicole and Karla are the bakers. And I’m the eater.”
Jordan laughed. “We’re all eaters. I don’t see a single skinny person here. Now go. We have take-out in the oven. We’ll eat now that you’re all here.”
She followed the others into the dining room. For as long as she could remember the five of them being friends, Ellie had always been the worrywart in the group. Though the others had met the Wolfe’s back in college, she and Ellie had been friends the longest. It worried Jordan to see Ellie so quiet. Somehow, she knew that the scenting ceremony was not as simple for Ellie as she made it sound. While her family may not be putting pressure on her to mate, it was probably not the case with the others in the pack.
“Alright! Pizza!” Nicole cheered.
“Thank God. I swear I could eat a horse.” Emma rubbed her stomach dramatically.
Jordan lifted a brow. “Um, didn’t you already eat horse when you did that stint in China during your semester abroad?”
“Hell no. I did take a stab at the fried bugs, but I just couldn’t go past a single bite.” She wrinkled her nose.
Nicole grimaced. “Damn woman, I couldn’t even take the one bite. You got bigger balls than me.”
“It has been established that Emma has bigger balls than most men.” Jordan ran her fingers through her hair.
“Will you all get in here already? You know I can hear you, and I’d like to participate in how big Emma’s balls are,” Ellie yelled.
They brought the warm pizza boxes into the living room. Jordan opened a new bottle of wine and maneuvered it with the extra glasses onto the coffee table.
“Alright. Now that we are all here, I need to inform you that Ellie has agreed to let us watch the scenting ceremony.”
Everyone spoke at the same time.
Emma lifted her wineglass. “That’s awesome!”
“Finally,” Nicole said between pizza bites.