Her Mates by Tamara White
Eleven
“No! I’m not wearing it!” I adamantly refuse to wear something so frilly.
Dad came to my room not long after I slammed the door in the boys’ faces. I was lost in my own world, going over everything I heard, trying to come to my own conclusions about this big secret. Unfortunately, I’m unable to form a concrete theory. It could be anything.
“Dani, you need to be dressed appropriately when we introduce you. You can’t just walk out there like a slob,” Dad argues, exasperated with my refusal.
What did he think would happen? He had walked in with a big, pink, poofy dress that’s so huge it would be impossible to walk in. He should know me better than that. Where the hell did he get it anyway?
“No, Dad, I don’t care that my grandparents want to announce me. I won’t wear that!” I cross my arms over my chest, making it clear I mean business.
A knock at the door stops my dad from responding. I rush to the answer it, grateful for the reprieve.
“Hey, Laura, come in,” I greet, inviting her into my room, glancing at the bags she’s carrying.
“I brought back up,” she offers, grinning when she sees Dad still holding the dress.
“Oh, thank God,” I mutter, relieved, taking the bags from her hands and laying them out softly on my bed.
“You’re welcome, honey. When I saw that hideous, pink thing your grandmother called a dress, I knew I had to intervene. Now, Greg, I know you want her to wear a dress, but if she’s with the pack tonight and decides to go on a run, then she needs to be able to run without ripping her clothes. Unless you want her running through the woods naked with her mates?”
God, I love Laura. I can see my dad caving. The “naked” comment made him pale considerably. He may be okay with me having mates, but being naked around them is too much for his mind to handle.
“You’re right. I’ll just leave you two alone. I trust your judgment,” Dad blurts, hurrying out of the room as if we’re pushing him out of the door. Once it closes firmly behind him, Laura and I break out into laughter.
“Thank you so much. I would rather die than wear something that gaudy. So what did you bring?”
“Well, I brought some nice, classy black jeans that I got on sale a while back. I’m glad I got a few sizes, because I doubt you’d fit into mine with your hips. I must admit, I’ll be jealous watching you pull them off better than me. I barely have a butt or hips to fill them out. You, however, have the perfect figure to accentuate these jeans.
“Now, for the tops, I have three I think will be perfect, so I’ll let you decide which one. There’s a silver one,” she says, opening the first garment bag to reveal a beautiful, button up silk blouse.
“I love it, but that’s way too pretty to wear at a pack get-together. What’s next?”
“Well, there’s this one, though, if you thought the silver was too pretty then this one might be too underdressed for a party,” she tells me, pulling out a cerulean blue tube top that’s definitely not party material, especially when being announced to a whole pack of wolves.
“Yeah, I thought so,” she adds, laughing at the look on my face.
“Okay, now I know this is the one. I’ve had this sitting in the back of the closet waiting for someone who could use this. I send it to the dry cleaners every six months to keep it in good condition.”
I’m speechless. The top she pulls out of the last bag is nothing short of amazing. It’s a halter top in a deep forest green. It will go remarkably well with my pale skin.
“Yes! That’s perfect!” I pull the shirt from her hands, pressing it against my chest. I can’t believe I get to wear something so nice. It must have cost a fortune.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re happy. I’ll leave you to relax for the day, but if you’re interested, I can come back at around three and help you do your hair and makeup,” she offers hesitantly.
Laura brings tears to my eyes with such an innocent suggestion. I never do anything special with my hair or makeup because I don’t know how. Any friends I’ve had at school never really showed me how to match the coloring to my skin tone, so I ended up looking like a clown when I tried it on my own. It’s something a mother would do for her daughter.
Her gesture is so sweet.
“Sure, that would be lovely,” I tell her.
When she opens the door to leave, she almost runs straight into Pete who has his hand raised to knock.
“Um, hi! Sorry, if you’re busy, I can come back,” he offers, hesitating at the door. Laura slips past him, sending a subtle wink his way.
She doesn’t seem to show a preference toward any of the boys, giving them all little nudges my way. It just makes my decision even harder.
“Come in, I’m done now. Laura was just helping me choose an outfit for tonight so I don’t have to wear the big, pink dress my grandmother recommended. Look,” I say, holding up the dress in question for him to see.
“Oh, God. Burn it, burn it now before anyone else sees that hideous thing called a dress,” he declares, holding a hand over his heart like he’s absolutely appalled being caught in the same room as something so atrocious.
I laugh at his antics and throw the dress over a chair by the door. I’ll have Laura take it when she comes back later.
“So, I was sent by the others to make sure you’re not mad,” Pete begins, flinging himself onto my bed.
It’s sweet to know they all sent him, even if I don’t need it. I understand the importance of secrets. I just have to trust that my mates know what they’re doing.
“No, I get it. If it’s really that life changing, it’s probably better I don’t know before meeting a pack of wolves. I’d be hostile…well, more than I normally am,” I reply with a smirk.
“Yeah, if this is you bright and happy, I don’t think I want to see your attitude when you’re hostile.”
I laugh, taking a seat beside him, wondering what the real reason for him coming in is. I sense there’s something he’s holding back.
“Pete, is there something else? You guys don’t seem like the type to just check on a girl because of her feelings,” I press, trying not to be too bitchy. I don’t want to be coddled if there’s more bad news around the corner.
“Jeez, you’re good. I did want to check on you, but I guess I may be a little nervous. If you tell anyone, I’ll deny it, but with you meeting more wolves tonight, I’m worried. Not that you’ll be hurt because I know you’ll give them an ass whooping if they try something. It’s just alarming that there might be more mates. At least with my friends being your mates, I know any one of us would be lucky to be with you, but if you end up with someone we don’t know, it will be harder to accept. You know what I mean?”
Sadly, I know exactly what he’s talking about, and I have my own fears about tonight. Each of these new wolves could say they’re my mate, and I would have no idea if they were telling the truth.
“You know, it’s funny. A few days ago, my biggest worries were going to school and being on the lookout for any wolves that would try to kill me. Now, I’m meeting a whole pack of wolves and making my claim for Alpha Pair known. Life changes when we least expect it, and what I’ve learned from the past few days is that you can’t change fate.
“You can kick, scream, and punch your way out of a situation, but if it’s meant to be, nothing you do will stop it from changing.
“My advice for you guys is to just keep being the way you are. I like all of you for how genuine you are when you’re with me. Like earlier, watching you play around with each other like that made me feel like a part of your friendship, which is the best way I’ll get to know and trust you.
“Until we get further into the trials, there’s nothing more we can do about our situation. Then, when that day comes, we’ll deal with it and see where we all stand,” I tell him, pushing the confidence I feel into my voice.
I know it may seem stupid to push it all to the back burner, but I can’t keep running on what-ifs.
This is one of the most important decisions I’ll ever have to make, so I want to be sure I’m making the right choice rather than just going by instinct. Not that I really could. My wolf is so conflicted over each of the boys. She likes them all, which is so much harder. She needs to accept our choice as mate too. I don’t want us living a life divided by my decision.
Hopefully, once I shift, I’ll be able to tell who she likes more.
“Thank you,” Pete murmurs.
“For what?” I ask, puzzled.
“For giving us a chance. As much as you will probably hate this, you’re a human at heart, and any human faced with the dilemma of choosing us would just go for whoever was more attractive. They run on primal instincts, just as we do. However, our instinct is for the survival of our races. Some of the things humans go through are nothing compared to what we do.
“Look at Cam. Do you think humans go through that? Sure, I know some do, but if their father did that to them, they would end up in prison. Cam still has to see his father at least once every three months as some sort of sick, controlling game. If I was in his shoes, I would have gone rogue by now. Well, I almost did,” he whispers softly.
What’s he talking about?
“I’m not sure I understand. Do you mean you almost went rogue or Cam?” I ask, afraid of the answer.
“I did. My father, like Cam’s, was not the best. He did terrible things before he was finally killed. I wanted to go rogue so badly it almost killed me. The only thing that stopped me was that I hadn’t shifted yet. Everything changed the day I shifted.
“We heard my mother screaming and I found my father attacking her. My wolf went rabid, ripping him to shreds, but there was nothing we could do for my mother. He had already killed her,” he murmurs, making my heart break for him.
What is with it with these wolves? Who could do such a thing and not be punished for it? It makes me want to be Alpha Queen just so I can punish anyone who ever dared hurt my mates!
“Wow! I don’t even know what to say other than I’m sorry. To think you went through something as traumatic as Cam, it just…boggles my mind. You should be protected, cherished, and loved. I promise, if we become mates, I will do everything in my power to take care of you,” I vow, giving into the urge to comfort him.
There is nothing I wouldn’t do for them. Even if they don’t end up being my mates, they should be treated like they deserve and not left to feel discarded.
It would kill me seeing any of them with other women, but if that’s the price it takes to make them happy, so be it.
