by Erin R Flynn
She said it in between bouncing on his lap, his hands playing with her breasts as they had lots of fun.
“This is not how our mating ceremonies are,” Luca breathed in my ear, nibbling on my neck, obviously turned on. “So powerful. So beautiful.”
“It is,” I agreed, moving his hand into my wrap dress we’d all changed into. At the same time, I rubbed my hand over Brian’s thigh and leaned in. “When they’re done, I have to get back out and say something.”
“Oh, that would mortify me,” he breathed.
“Yeah, but I’m Alpha.”
He nodded, moving his hand over mine and interlacing our fingers before raising them to his lips. I felt a thrill go through me at the surprising, romantic gesture as we watched two people have sex and another man was feeling me up.
Maybe Brian really had changed. Hadn’t we all though?
Joan and Nestor finished once that way, and while most seemed to think they were done, I had already been warned they wouldn’t be. For the magic of mating, tradition, whatever, someone had to mount someone and take a bite of the other.
I moaned as Joan hurried to submit to Nestor, remembering what I’d done with Dain and Luca. I met Dain’s gaze, and he groaned when I licked my lips without thinking. I hurried to look back at the stage, the two of them grunting and seriously fucking like wolves. When it was time, Nestor moved Joan’s hair and bit the nape of her neck, all the wolves in the club howling in celebration of their mating like humans would clap.
She collapsed this time when they were done, Nestor carefully not falling on her. One of the shot guys raced over with a couple of towels for them to clean up with as I moved over Brian and waited for my cue.
“Shit, that was so hot,” he moaned in my ear, kissing my neck as he moved me so I felt how much he liked it.
“You should hear what I did down in the dungeon earlier with Dain and Luca,” I teased him, glancing over my shoulder to see the heat in his eyes.
He raised an eyebrow, frowning even as he gave me looks he might eat me. “Who’s Luca?”
“I kind of stole an elf,” I explained, smiling when he frowned deeper. Joan and Nestor recovered enough to clean up, and I headed towards them, giving my siren a talking to about starting unneeded trouble. Damn, abuse her for a few months, and apparently she was just pissed and wanting everything to be about her.
Which actually sounded like most people I knew, so I couldn’t even blame her.
I turned to face the crowd, deciding to add a bit to our show. “Yes, this is an insight into how we mate. An abbreviated version, as I’ve heard some go all night to prove their worth of each other. In front of all of you, members of our community or not, they each pledged that they will do no less for each other than what you saw. How many of you can say that of the men in your lives? The women you’ve dated?
“It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a community to support healthy relationships, as what they did is more than signing a piece of paper. That bite ties their lifelines together, and breaking it could maybe kill them. So it’s a bit more than a marriage, as every male here who would want her saw what he will go through to prove himself again and again that he is worthy of such a wonderful woman.
“And her too. He is a Beta of our pack, strong and a leader who helps many. He deserves a mate that understands that, supports him, and is willing to prove herself worthy of him as she did. It’s not about sex or being nude. This isn’t porn or something cheap but them sharing with us how strong their bond is and what others should demand for themselves, as I wouldn’t accept any who couldn’t stand up to that as I’m Alpha.”
I waved at Hagan, and he jogged over, handing me the large envelope as he clapped Nestor on the back and leaned in to kiss Joan’s cheek in congratulations.
“And as Alpha, it’s my greatest joy to be part of your remating,” I told them, sniffling and wiping under my eyes again, much to most everyone’s shock. “Quiet, it’s my first. It’s making me mushy.” I moved my hand to Joan’s stomach and kissed both her cheeks. “I pray you conceived, as it is what you both wish. If it is meant for another day, we will all support you for as long as it takes.
“We will welcome your child into our pack and love them as one of our own.” I stepped back and handed them the envelope. “When I learned you never got a honeymoon, as Engle forbid such travel as people might have asked for help then, the pack decided to give you a gift.” Nestor raised an eyebrow as Joan hurried to open it, looking over her shoulder. “You both have helped this pack so much and in that, making alliances.
“Both the Paris and Tokyo packs we are friends with have offered you a week’s stay with them, permission granted by the Alphas and accommodations arranged. The pack bought you first class plane tickets and gift certificates so you can get what you need for the trip. You both deserve a vacation, and we hope you have an amazing time starting your new life together.”
I let out a yip as they both grabbed me together, laughing as they hugged me and rubbed their cheeks against mine.
“Be safe and have fun,” I chuckled, patting them so they let me go. I raised an eyebrow when they both dropped to a knee and moved closer, rubbing their cheeks against my thighs. Hagan let out a small snicker, and I realized something else was going on that I wasn’t aware of.
“Alpha, we thank you for your blessing and this amazing gift,” Nestor said formally, both of them staring up at me. “My mate and I are always here for you and the pack, swearing loyalty again to our Alpha. We also hope you show us your favor, as we would welcome it and you always.”
I blinked at them and then glanced over to Hagan, before back down at them.
“Did they just invite her into their bed anytime she wants?” Brian asked quietly, but not quietly enough for all the paranormals there.
“Yes, and she looks like a deer in headlights,” Dain practically groaned. My cheeks flushed as I glanced at them without even thinking about it, my brain racing as to what to do.
Eva interrupted by bursting out laughing, much as Alena had when I’d blushed at being flirted with at the first shifter group gathering on pack lands months ago. I used to cover to admit to Hagan and them I had no idea what to do.
“You can say no, Sera,” Joan assured me, smiling up at me.
“I didn’t know you swung my way,” I confessed, rubbing my arm nervously.
“Not often, but sometimes it’s fun and adds spice for my mate, as he does for me some full moons. This is more formal though, as we’re inviting you tonight to share the fun marathon, as it is a privilege of the Alpha to partake as you gave your blessing. Not everyone does it, but we’re both born wolves and it’s—you’re welcome to join us.”
I leaned down and kissed both of their heads. “Thank you, you honor me with such an offer, but I’m spoken for tonight. You go and keep working on that baby because you’ll both make amazing parents.”
They jumped to their feet, and each kissed my cheek again before hurrying off hand in hand.
“Leave something out of the instructions?” I hissed at Hagan as we walked back to my table.
“We’ve not been a part of a pack since we were kids, Sera. We were too young to attend mating ceremonies. I thought it was an old, old thing no one did anymore,” he told me firmly as I slid in next to Brian, his face priceless.
“No, it’s quite customary,” Zeno informed us, having a hard time not laughing as Eva and Alena were. “It dates back to times when arranged matings were common between different packs and young wolves would have their first time ever at their mating ceremony. It was considered a blessing that the Alpha then join in and share his—because it’s normally a male as Alpha—strength with the couple.”
“Okay, that was before condoms, so what if the Alpha got her pregnant?” Brian asked quietly, the background music coming back on as people recovered from the show and chattered or went for drinks. I was glad there wasn’t silence anymore, as too many might hear the discussion otherwise.
Zeno shrugged. “That would be considered a blessing for the woman and even the male, as his mate was fertile for the Alpha, and a pup born of such strength to them would raise their stock among the pack. There were no DNA tests, so none ever really knew unless something was clearly obvious, but most smelled it. Pack is family. There is no not loving a child if they are not theirs by blood as sometimes humans have.
“We love Seraphine as ours, and she is not of our blood. She is of our bloodline and one of us, smells of us, and that is all that matters. You have to think of sex as a base need. It is just like eating to us, needed and something we hunger for. Nestor and Joan could have invited her to join them at their first meal together as mated and it would show them her favor. We look upon it the same to join in their bed after their consummation.”
“I mean no disrespect, but it kind of sounds like a pretty way to dress up an excuse for some power hungry douche to get sex from all the women of the pack.”
“We didn’t say that’s not why the tradition started,” Alena drawled, chuckling softly and waving off Brian’s apology. “Yes, that might certainly be how it all started. There are many traditions that started off as something crazy or selfish but really have become something of a deeper meaning. Some see it as a way to show loyalty to their Alpha, giving everything to them including their body.
“For some it’s the only chance they might have to be with their Alpha, as they cannot compete with the level of men or women the Alpha is propositioned by. Think about it. Would you ever have looked at either of them before this? Would you not have thought it a joke if they had said anything sooner? There wasn’t exactly a good way to say you were welcome if they wanted without the tradition.”
“Oh boy, oh boy,” I breathed, reaching for my frozen drink Dain had brought over earlier. “That’s one heck of a tradition I get as Alpha.”
“Yeah, quite possibly every couple that mates will invite you into their bed. You poor, poor woman,” Brian drawled, moving his arm over my shoulders. “You’re right, you’ve changed so much and are such a slut now you blushed so red even I could see it.” He leaned in and kissed my hair. “God, you are so damn adorable sometimes.”
“This is why you like him to become her mate, turn him into one of us and be her official mate?” Eva asked Alena and Zeno.
I flinched, and Brian went perfectly still as I felt tension coming off Hagan, as I knew he and Reagan wanted that official spot.
“It was discussed as a possibility given how hard being infected is for her as opposed to born,” Zeno answered carefully. “But it was shelved when Hagan and Reagan, who we’ve known for years, assured us they wanted the role and understood what that meant, as she is a siren, not just an Alpha wolf.”
“We thought it might be best she mate with born wolves who would give her insight, but we are no longer so sure,” Alena added.
I could feel the despair coming off Hagan as they basically said they didn’t think he and Reagan were good enough for me after they’d fucked up. “I forgave Reagan, and I think a lot of what happened is more my fault than I thought, as I still don’t get the tithe system really. That seemed to drown my Betas because I refused it. It comes across as a bribe to do my job.”
“I could see that, but Alena and Zeno explained it to me more as how the congregation pays the salary of the priests for what they do for the community, as they can’t do that and have a different job,” Brian explained. “I had a problem with it too, and they went over it with me. I didn’t know you threw it out.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “The tithes get paid at the end of the year like taxes, so everyone was already paid for the year, and I was thinking of not doing it anymore besides to pay taxes on the pack land. I mean, we have the land, we tore down the old Alpha house, and the new place is being designed now that we’re done with the club. But I was doing that more from the money I got from Igor since it’s all technically mine.
“I don’t like feeling like I’m a little lord getting taxes for being Alpha, as they have to be part of the pack in my area, unlike a church. But I get that Hagan and Reagan have been doing all this stuff for the pack like a full time job and trying to get side jobs so they’re not just mooching off of me. It’s complicated, and it makes my head hurt, so I kept pushing it back, which wasn’t fair.”
“I understand your battle with the concept being police, as it is too close to a bribe,” Eva cut in, shocking me that she would see my side on something I was sure she’d never thought of like doing away with the tithes. “However, you have to look at the pack as more than a church or club. You paid for security at your home. That is what the pack pays for. The security of strong Betas who will protect them if it’s needed.
“They are deterrents to keep others from taking over, all the way down to if their business is being harassed that any of the Betas would be available to them, as that is their job. And everyone pays for it while making money needed to support them so they can. Just as you hired security for this club, made deals for extra help I heard of, that is their role. If you do not do the same as Alpha, that is fine, but it is a needed role.”
“I understand,” I said after a few moments’ thought, looking up at Hagan. “Inform the Betas we’re officially doing it, and we’ll handle the rest of the year and whatever we didn’t do so far from the funds we got from Engle’s accounts. I also agree now that the fae should chip in, and maybe we have a few warriors like Dain who that’s their job too. He’s going to be an FBI trainer and paid, but you know what I mean.”
“I do, and I think that would be a huge help and worry off the pack that we’ve settled the matter,” he assured me, relief in his own eyes.
“I also want you to set an appointment with that therapist Joan and Nestor were going to for the three of us. I think we need it, not just as Alpha and Betas, but live in lovers who have been drowning since the moment we met.”
Hagan’s eyes filled with shock and relief that I would declare that in front of everyone. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but I got distracted… namely by my hand moved to Brian’s groin, and I growled at my siren’s behavior.
“What is going on with her?” Dain asked, leaning in. “I’ve never seen her acting like this.”
“She is upset you broke your agreement with her,” Alena answered. “You admitted it yourself that you weren’t feeding her as you should, nor giving yourself the pleasure you need as wolf or siren. Plus, you had a deal she behaved during work and other important times if she was allowed to choose your moon mate. I believe you owe her several now.”
I cursed under my breath and took a time out to talk to her, finding out Alena was exactly right and my siren was throwing a fit basically. I got pissed and reminded her we’d just taken Luca as a lover, had kinky sex that week with Brian and Jason who she’d never been with either. Plus the amazing everything with Dain earlier.
Yes, yes, you are not as abusive to me, but you are still ignoring me. There is a pick I want. Luca is lovely, but you did it mostly to save him and will keep him, probably rarely touching him as you do with the ones you collect. I want my fling. I want the one that’s visiting, and if I wait as I have for so many months, you will ignore me and we will miss our chance!
I was about to ask who she wanted, but she flooded me with lust as she flashed two faces in my mind. I bit my lip to keep the moan in.
“Is she going to make you orgasm right here?” Brian asked, and I nodded. “Shit, Sera, now isn’t the time for this. Give her what she wants because seriously, you owe her if that was the deal you made.”
I agreed and told her that, sighing when she backed down. I grabbed Brian’s wrist and glanced at his watch, realizing there was just over an hour before the goddess show where I had to make an appearance. I let out a few slow breaths and looked up at Hagan. “Please invite the Memphis, Tennessee Alpha and his Beta to a private meeting if he’d be so inclined.”
“Before you go have some muc
h needed fun, I wanted to ask you about something delicate, Granddaughter,” Eva interjected. She waited until I nodded. “You did not take the Martins up on their offer, but I did not want to step on any toes if I did.”
“Not at all,” I assured her, trying to swallow my shock. “No toes in the way at all. The only ones I would take issue with are those I’ve been with, as we might be free and open, but we’re still family, and that isn’t something I can get myself to change on.”
“Understood. Thank you, Granddaughter.” She waved for everyone to get out. “I will speak with them before I meet up with Gayle. Enjoy your meeting.” She laughed as my cheeks flushed again and headed off. So did Hagan, returning a minute later and saying the Alpha and his Beta were at my disposal and they’d put it that way.
Awesome.
I kissed Brian and Luca, apologizing as I stood.
“Stop apologizing,” Brian said firmly, grabbing my hand. “You didn’t dump me because someone’s better in bed or toss me aside in some humiliating way. Will you come back to me and treat me like I’m a good date?”
“Of course,” I swore, my eyes going wide at the idea of being so mean to him.
“Would you let me join in if it wasn’t weird to bring a human to wolf stuff?” I nodded, and he smiled at me. “Then I’m not mad. It’s uncommon, but I’m getting used to this expanding world. It’s fine, Sera.”
“You are, faster than I am even,” I murmured, studying him.
He shrugged. “You have to be in it. I don’t. It makes everything less pressured if you know it’s your choice.”
When he said it like that, it made sense.
Hagan and I met up with Alpha Virgil and his Beta, Ross, at the elevator, pushing the button when they saw me so it arrived when I was within three feet of it. He waved me to go in first, watching me cautiously. I hit the button for the basement once we were on, he and his Beta exchanging a look.
I didn’t say a word on the ride, not even when we got off and I led them to that dungeon room I’d been in earlier in the day, Hagan having told me it was open and reserved for now, as it had all of Luca’s stuff.