by Cara Adams
They’d unpacked their suitcases and stored them under their beds. The many boxes and parcels—including the purple satin sheets which made him blush every time he remembered his mother giving them to him and Robert—along with his toy box, were neatly stored on the floor of the closet.
He and Robert had hung their towels up tidily after their showers, the toilet seat was down—another instruction from his mother—and the cabin looked orderly enough to please anyone, he hoped.
He checked his fly was zipped, then watched as Robert shrugged into his jacket. They’d both decided to wear a suit tonight, not knowing exactly how formal these parties were going to be, and determined not to look like the country cousins, even though that’s what they were, he supposed. Their pack lived in the south western corner of the state, almost on the border of Kentucky and Indiana. It hadn’t been a very long drive, less than four hours, but it wasn’t exactly big city life.
He looked down at the back of his left hand, where the number eighty-seven was stamped in bold blue ink. Ink that wouldn’t wash off over this week, although he’d been told it would gradually fade and be gone inside a month. But hell, no way was he going to argue. It’d been a big enough miracle both he and his brother had made it all the way through the preregistration tests without balking at a temporary tattoo on his hand.
He knew two other wolves from their pack hadn’t passed the preregistration tests and it wasn’t because of their personalities. Both were good solid men. It must have been all the stuff his mother had been drumming into his head these past few weeks. So he did need to be grateful to her. And he would do his best to follow her instructions, including the purple sheets, if only there was a woman he and Robert both liked and who was willing to date them.
“What’s your trivia fact?” asked Robert.
Oh, yes. During the registration process, they’d had to provide a conversation starter fact about themselves as a way to begin talking to people if they were nervous. “That when I was a child, I always wanted a pet kitten, and everyone thought I was crazy. What’s yours?”
“That I want to go for a flight in a hot air balloon. I thought a woman might agree to do it with us for part of our mating ceremony.”
“I don’t really see why you’re so keen on doing it, but I’m happy to come along with you, if that’s what you want. Let’s go.”
He checked he had his keycard in his inner jacket pocket, then they left their cabin and began walking down the path toward the main building. There were a few people wandering around the grounds. Some were still in jeans just looking around, but one or two others were heading in the direction of the front building where the party would be held.
“Konference Kabins. It’s a bit of a strange name, but I like all the open space here. So much grass and gardens and trees, it’s refreshing that it’s not just a multistory building,” he said to Robert.
“We’ll be able to take her for walks and talk to her. Or perhaps she’d prefer to sit in the hot tub, although that wouldn’t be very private,” said Robert.
“The hot tub might be a good place to start. So she doesn’t feel it’s confrontational with two of us and one of her, because there’ll be other people there so the conversation can’t get too personal.”
“Good point.”
There were actually two hot tubs in the garden near the front building, and a whole bunch of little stores on the ground floor surrounding the entry to the ball room. He and Robert walked around looking at the various booths. There were flowers and a chocolatier which meant it would be very easy to follow their mother’s instructions about giving flowers to their date. But there was also a range of other stores and food bars, which meant they could sit and talk there, buy her a drink, or even lunch. Edward heaved a sigh of relief. He’d been wondering just how they would fill in the days while getting to know their woman. Assuming they could find a female they both liked and who liked them. What if no one they liked was interested in them? What if someone only wanted to be with Robert? What if the fact he was a Dom frightened their woman away?
Edward squared his shoulders and refused to be unnerved. They’d gotten this far. They were here, at the DADISP. They’d even listened to their mother and obeyed her instructions. They would succeed. They would find their perfect mate.
They lined up at the door to the party. Already music and laughter could clearly be heard even though it wasn’t due to start for fifteen minutes yet. A lot of other people must have decided to arrive early, too.
The biggest man he’d ever seen stared at him and said, “Photo ID?”
Edward handed over his driver’s license.
“Left hand?”
Edward showed his number.
Then the man scanned his driver’s license into a machine, looked at the readout and nodded.
Another man opened the door just wide enough for one person to enter and Edward slipped in moving just a little way into the room to wait for Robert.
It had begun. Would they find their mate here? They had to. They’d never have such an opportunity as this again in their lives. Ms. Right had to be here waiting for them. She just had to be.
Chapter Two
Bethany was filled with excitement and hope. No matter how often she told herself that just because there were almost two hundred male wolves there, that didn’t mean that one or more of them would be right for her. She still bubbled with the thoughts of finding someone who would love her for herself. Part panther, part human, not a tiny piece of wolf in her, but a woman who was willing to live in an interspecies relationship and do her best to make her partner happy and content.
She wished the same for Jill, a woman with a heart bigger than all of Texas, and for all the other women here, women who’d been brave enough to say they would marry someone from another species and move to a new home with them.
As for tonight, she didn’t expect anything much from the first night of the DADISP. “I guess everyone will be a bit hesitant tonight. Looking around, sussing everything out.”
“Well, we’ll do the same. We’ll look for a sexy hunk who can hold an intelligent conversation. Any man who can raise his gaze higher than my tits will be worth considering,” said Jill.
“At least you’ve got tits. Everyone tells me they wish they were as slim as me, but a man like breasts to touch—or so I’ve been told plenty of times.”
“That’s why we need to stick together, sweetie. Between us we have one of everything.”
Bethany laughed, determined to forget the comments of the panthers in Texas who’d wanted a date who was model-thin, yet had big breasts and a round ass. She’d never been fat, but she’d never had much in the way of curves, either. And there was no way she was getting silicon enhancements just to please the panthers she’d dated. For a moment she worried that she should have had a Brazilian wax before coming to this event. They’d liked their women with no body hair either. Oh well, there was a beautician here. Likely she could get that done if her date wanted her waxed.
They waited in line for a short time, then passed through security and into the party. Even though it had only just started, Bethany guessed most people were already here. The band was playing an upbeat number and maybe thirty couples were dancing. Over at one side of the room was a bar and a lot of men were standing around it with drinks in their hands. Another couple dozen men were talking in groups, some of them with women as well.
Bethany followed Jill over to a side wall where there was a row of seats and they sat together and watched the dancing. Almost immediately four men joined them. A dapper blond man in skin-tight black jeans and a loose, flowing white shirt bowed in front of her. “May I have this dance, please?”
Bethany looked at Jill but she was already talking to one of the other men, so she stood up and walked with the blond onto the dance floor.
He was an excellent dancer. His hand on her back was firm and helpful, guiding her through the steps, dipping and swaying, turning her, moving her around th
e room, but he was never harsh and bossy, just decisive. He was undoubtedly the best dancer she’d ever met. “Do you dance professionally?” she asked.
“I was a keen gymnast as a child and young man. Dancing seemed to be the obvious next step. You’re very light on your feet and easy to lead. What’s your name?”
“Bethany. And yours?”
“Sloan. I was the only man in my pack who passed the pre-registration tests. My job is to find a woman who will mate with me and at least one other man of her choice in our pack. There are ten eligible wolves in my pack. You would be free to choose one or more of them to join with the two of us.”
He stopped dancing and held her in his arms facing him. “Would you consider that?”
Bethany stared at him. She’d been at this party less than ten minutes, and had met him about five minutes previously, and he’d sort of proposed to her already. Never had she expected anything to happen so fast. “I would need to know you much better. To know what kind of man you are and how you’d treat me. I’d also want quite some time to get to know the other man or men who would join with us. I’d need assurances that these men would all treat me with kindness, and respect. Why don’t you meet some other women? You can come back and talk to me in a few days time if you haven’t been accepted by a woman already.”
“Thank you. You’re generous. I promise I would love you completely and utterly. I would devote all my attention to any woman who agrees to mate me.”
“You’re a good man, Sloan. Good luck in your search.”
Bethany walked back to her chair and sat down. Holy fucking shit! A proposal already and by a man who’d sized her up in one minute flat. This was going to be some party indeed.
Man after man asked Bethany to dance. Almost all of them were polite and helpful, although one grabbed her ass until she twisted out of his arms and walked away from him. She’d just made her way across to the bar, and was watching the bartender pour her a glass of Cherry Coke, when two men approached and smiled at her.
“My name is Edward.”
“And I’m Robert.”
“May we join you while you rest with your drink?” Edward pulled a chair out for her at a little side table.
“Thank you. I’m Bethany.” She slid into her seat and sipped her drink.
“Where do you come from, Bethany? Where is your home?”
“I live here in Ohio now, but I was born in the Rocky Mountains. I also lived in Texas for several years.”
“So what brought you to Ohio?” asked Robert. Bethany stared up into his bright blue eyes. He seemed to be younger than Edward and his hair was light brown. Edward had dark hair and eyes. Both his hair and his eyes could be either brown or black. She’d need to see them in daylight to be sure.
“My family split up some years ago. I went south with my mother and one brother whereas my older brother went east. I came to Ohio to visit with him and have stayed.”
“Our home is in the southwestern corner of Ohio, almost on the border with Kentucky and Indiana. It’s a good place to be, with a reasonable climate. Are you tired of moving around?” asked Edward.
“I quite enjoy traveling, but I’d like to do it in a bit more luxury than when I first went to Texas. These days I like a bed to sleep in and a private shower and bathroom.”
Bethany thought she wouldn’t mind traveling around at all. And it wasn’t as though she had a huge number of possessions to haul around with her. But sleeping rough in a national park no longer appealed to her. When her father had made them leave, they’d had only what fit into their mother’s car, which, with three people in it, wasn’t a whole lot. Her dad had also cut her mother off with no income, so they’d slept by the side of the road most of the way to Texas. It had been a traumatic time for her mother, forced to realize that the man she’d devoted all those years to no longer loved her and couldn’t wait to free himself of her. But traveling in a RV or staying in hotels would be fine.
“Our pack lives right by a national park, but I can assure you our homes have all the usual amenities such as bathrooms, electricity and cable TV,” said Robert.
Bethany smiled at him. She liked a man with a sense of humor. “Oh well, as long as the TV works, it’s all good.”
“Don’t forget the Internet. You can sit in a rocker on the porch and update your Facebook status, as well,” added Edward.
Now she really did laugh. “Well, that’s a relief. What will my two thousand closest friends think if I don’t do a daily status update?”
She set her glass down on the table and immediately Robert said, “Can I get you another drink? Another Cherry Coke, or would you like something different this time?”
“No. One drink was enough for me, thank you.”
“In that case, may I have this dance?” asked Edward, bowing slightly at her.
“Of course.” Bethany went to stand up, but Robert pulled out her chair for her and Edward offered her his arm to lead her back onto the dance floor. As she walked away she noticed Robert pushing their chairs back in to the table and taking her empty glass back to the bar. She couldn’t quite decide if it was lovely to be waited on so carefully, or if it was a sign they were a pair of control freaks who’d expect every last thing done exactly their way all the time.
* * * *
Bethany was the fourth woman Edward had asked to dance. Each of the first three remained on his list of potential mates, but there were areas where each one didn’t measure up to what he and Robert really wanted. They needed a woman who could make them laugh and hold an intelligent conversation. He knew many men just wanted someone beautiful and sexy. All they wanted was a hot body in their bed, and possibly a few children in the future. Oh, and maybe a home-cooked meal on the table at night, although even that wasn’t such a big deal these days when just about every take-out place in town offered home delivery.
But he and Robert wanted a hot body to fuck and someone they could talk to and share their life with during the days as well. He was aware he was asking a lot, especially when there were far more males than females, and he was well aware any of the previous women he’d danced with would likely make him happy, but Bethany appealed to him much more deeply than anyone else he’d met so far. Robert had smiled and nodded, so he knew Robert agreed, but Robert would need his turn to dance with her and talk to her alone as well.
Edward had been carefully following his mother’s instructions all evening. He held the woman gently, he looked into her eyes when he spoke to her, and he remembered to say please and thank you. He also managed not to stand on her feet, a bonus when he was concentrating so hard on his manners while dancing.
In his arms, her slender body in the slinky silver dress made his cock grow huge and hard, aching to get out of his pants and into hers. She spoke intelligently on a range of subjects, and she made him laugh. As long as Robert agreed, the only question was, should he run back to the cabin and put the purple sheets on the bed so they could seduce her or not?
At the end of the dance, he bowed to her again, and led her to his brother. Robert gave him the tiniest nod, which made his cock even harder, if possible. As Robert took her from him and back out onto the dance floor, his dick begged him to get her back, to take her to their cabin and to kiss every inch of her skin.
He and Robert had planned their seduction carefully, knowing that likely they would only get one opportunity to get it right. Her body had to be worshipped. She had to know she was special to them, and that they would always please her. Not just tonight, when they were trying to convince her to consider them as her mates, but forever. She had to know they would never betray her or toss her aside, but would always love and cherish her. And he could see himself loving and cherishing Bethany forever.
Oh, yes, sure, no one ever fell in love with ten minutes of conversation and one dance, but it had been long enough for him to know that if they were mated, he’d be prepared to ensure their union worked and that they were all happy.
He thought agai
n about rushing back to the cabin and making the bed with the purple sheets, but decided tonight was too soon. Besides, he wanted to keep watching her. She danced gracefully, and he could tell Robert was doing his utmost to make her happy. When she smiled up at Robert his gut burned with jealousy, and he knew he’d have to control that. They would share her. Well, if she agreed to be their mate, they would. So her smiling at one of them was the same as if she smiled at both of them. Everything Robert did to make her happy advanced their joint cause. He had to be a man, and bigger than any jealousy or pride.
When Robert brought her across to him, he pulled three chairs out, and sat her between them so they were in a tiny circle and could see each other’s faces. As they talked he watched her light blue eyes sparkle with intelligence and happiness, and the way her hands and body moved as she spoke. She was so alive and beautiful he was stunned she’d pay attention to them.
The party would be finishing soon. “May we walk you back to your cabin?” he asked.
“Let me just see if Jill is still here.”
He had no idea who Jill was, unless she’d been the brunette he’d seen her standing with a few times. He looked around the room and didn’t see a brunette in a red dress, but that didn’t mean much. He wasn’t even sure if he had the correct woman in mind.
“I can’t see her, so thank you for offering to walk me back.”
Each of them took one of her arms, but at the door security insisted they each pass though separately and that Bethany go first. Edward let Robert be second but his gut was churning. What if she’d changed her mind and left without them? He needed to know her cabin so he could send her flowers, and also he wanted to make arrangements to spend time with her tomorrow.