by Tamara Hoffa
“Nothing, girl talk.”
“Mm-hmm, I’ll bet.” Bern turned to Alice. “We didn’t get properly introduced. I am Bern Allen Helms.” He took her hand and kissed the knuckles.
“Alice Miller. Nice to finally meet you. Jenna has been singing your praises.”
Bern gave Jenna a heated look. “Have you been kissing and telling my sweet?”
Alice burst out laughing. “You can’t ask that.”
Bern looked at her startled. “I can’t?”
“Nope, it’s against the girl code.”
“Girl code?”
“Yep, men are not allowed to know what best friends talk about. That’s the girl code.”
“Oh really. Does the same apply for men? Am I allowed to have secrets with my men friends?”
“Of course not,” Alice and Jenna said together.
“Well now, that doesn’t seem fair,” Bern replied.
Alice and Jenna laughed. “Nobody ever said life was fair,” Alice said.
Bern laughed. “No, that’s true.”
He turned to Jenna. “I’m sorry, little one, but I need to get going. I have some work I need to get done before tonight.”
Jenna leaned up and kissed him. “That’s okay, we have a ton of catching up to do and it will take us half the day to get ready for tonight,” Jenna said with a smile.
“We’ll be here to pick you up at six.”
“We’ll be ready.”
Bern pulled her close and kissed her deeply. “Until then, little one.”
Alice and Jenna spent the morning on the couch, drinking coffee and catching up on each other’s lives. Jenna had little to talk about besides Bern, he seemed to have taken over her life, even though they’d only known each other a week. It hardly seemed possible that they had been together that short a time. It felt like she’d known him forever.
Alice on the other hand droned on and on about her job. She was a career girl down to her toes. She was working at a prominent advertising agency in Chicago and had just landed a plumb account. It looked like a promotion was on the horizon and she was over the moon.
Jenna glanced at the clock, it was almost noon. “We’d better start getting ready. I get the shower first!” she called, jumping up and rushing for the stairs. Since there was no fancy salon in Honey Corners, the girls had decided to do each other’s hair and makeup. It would be just like when they were back in college.
Jenna took her time in the shower, shaving every inch of exposed skin and exfoliating with her body scrub. She shampooed and used a deep conditioner on her hair and then rinsed all the lather down the drain, finishing with a cold spray to close her pores.
Shivering, she jumped from the shower and briskly toweled herself off, lightly spraying her skin with Channel body satin spray, it smelled divine and left her soft and silky. Wrapping the bath sheet around herself, she quickly finger dried her hair with the blow dryer, and plugged in her hot rollers.
She rummaged in her vanity for her nail polish case, it was practically a suitcase. She was kind of a nail polish whore. She carried the case out into her bedroom to find Alice laying on her bed.
“’Bout time you got out of there. I was about to send in the SEALs for a rescue mission.”
Jenna laughed.
“Did you leave me any hot water, bitch?” Alice griped.
“I have a tankless water heater.”
“Damn, that rocks.” Alice high fived her on the way to the bathroom. “If I don’t come out in an hour, send in the SEALs,” she said with a wink.
“I’ll get right on that, but I don’t know if we have any seal shifters in town. How about a wolf or a bear?”
“Ha ha, you are so funny. Not.” Alice slammed the bathroom door behind her, and Jenna fell on the bed laughing hysterically.
Once her mirth subsided she stood up and dropped the towel on a chair and slipped into a silky robe. She padded to the closet and pulled her dress for the evening. She hung it on the closet door and stared at the glorious creation.
Jenna had prowled the internet and been so lucky to find the perfect dress and have it delivered in time for the dinner. It was a deep emerald green, empire waisted, halter dress, the skirt was full and flowing, chiffon. It was so beautiful. She had an adorable pair of sparkly silver peek toe pumps to go with it, and squee, she got to wear heels! For once, she could wear a heeled shoe and not be taller than her date.
Plucking the dress from the door she held it front of her and danced around the room. She caught sight of herself in the dressing table mirror and stalled, was that girl really her? The deep green of the dress set off her cream colored skin beautifully, and her eyes shone like emeralds in the night sky. She looked…glowing, effervescent, happy.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror and smiled dreamily, all her dreams were coming true. She was the luckiest girl in the world. Tears threatened, but she blinked them back, turning and placing the dress back on the closet door.
The bathroom door opened emitting a burst of steam into the room. “Hot damn, that shower is amazing,” Alice said. “I’m moving in.”
Jenna laughed. “I wish you were serious, that would be the second best news of my life.”
Alice walked over and hugged her. “Well, I would if I could, but you know I’m a Chi-town girl. I don’t think I’d ever leave Chicago, except maybe for New York. I’m city all the way, babe.”
Jenna kissed her cheek. “I know, I know. You have green beer in your veins, and Polish sausage in your heart.”
“You got that right!” Alice chortled. “Speaking of, I’m starving. You got some food around this joint?”
“Are you kidding me? Who are you talking to, girl? I’ll go make us some sandwiches. You get out your dress and find a nail polish to match it while I do. Okay?”
“Gotcha.”
Jenna jogged down to the kitchen and made them some sub sandwiches, grabbed a bag of chips, a couple of cokes and headed back up the stairs. She wondered what Alice’s dress would look like. In college everyone called them Mutt and Jeff, because as big as Jenna was, Alice was tiny, five foot two inches tall, one hundred and ten pounds, soaking wet. Alice only had two big things on her body, well I guess you would say three, her mouth and her boobs.
She was not anatomically correct. The boob fairy had given her a double dose, she had a tiny waist, tiny hips, tiny feet, tiny everything, and huge knockers. She always looked like she was about to fall over. While Alice had the most beautiful big cornflower blue eyes you ever saw, men never looked at her face, they stared at her chest.
Jenna pushed into the bedroom balancing the sandwiches on two plates, she had the chips hanging from one hand and the sodas in the pockets of her robe. “Room service,” she called.
“Yum.” Alice plopped onto the bed. “Bring it over here girl.”
Jenna crossed to the bed and saw Alice’s dress hanging next to her own. It was a strapless silver sheath, with sequined accents at the waist and bodice. The color would look fabulous with Alice’s blonde hair and blue eyes.
“Oh, your dress is beautiful,” Jenna said.
“Thanks, yours is fab too. Where did you get it?”
“Internet.”
“Awesome.”
The girls were quiet for a few minutes as they wolfed down their sandwiches and drinks.
Four hours later Alice and Jenna were finally ready. Toes and fingernails painted. Jenna’s hair fixed in an elegant French twist, with tiny curls framing her face. Alice’s short hair bounced in soft waves around her pixie features. Both had perfectly applied makeup and they sat in Jenna’s living room sipping a glass of wine and waiting for Bern to arrive.
At six o’clock on the dot a knock sounded at the door. Jenna opened it to be stunned breathless. Bern stood on the doorstep decked out in a black tuxedo, a tall handsome gentleman at his side. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, then took her hand and kissed her palm. “You look beautiful my little one.”
“Thank you,�
� she mumbled, almost incapable of speech. “Come in, we need to get our coats.”
Alice had come to stand behind her.
“Let me introduce my friend, and second, Martin Kramer. Martin, this is Jenna Raynes, my mate, and her friend, Alice Miller.”
Martin nodded and extended a hand to Jenna. “We have met before, Miss Raynes, at your interview with the school board, but it is a pleasure to see you again,” Martin said.
“Please call me Jenna.”
Martin nodded and kissed her knuckles, he then turned to Alice. “Miss Miller, pleased to meet you.”
“Since you’re supposed to be my date for tonight, I think you can call me Alice,” she teased.
Martin kissed her fingers. “As you wish, my lady, Alice.”
Alice giggled. “Oh this is gonna be fun!”
“We best get going,” Bern said. “Where is your wrap?”
Jenna had placed her black rabbit jacket over the chair in the foyer, it had been a graduation gift from her father and she loved the coat. She picked it up and Bern plucked it from her hand and held it for her while she slipped her arms into the sleeves.
Martin had done the same for Alice and the four strolled out the front door. As Bern was checking to make sure the door locked behind them, Jenna stared in shock at the limousine that sat perched in her driveway. Holy shit! She knew this was a fancy dinner, but she didn’t know it was this fancy.
Bern led her to the door of the limo, where Hans acted as chauffeur and held the door open awaiting their entrance. They pulled out into the street and Jenna noticed three dark SUVs following them. “Are those your guards?” she asked.
“Yes, those are my men.”
“How many are coming with us?”
“Only ten.”
“Ten? That seems like an awful lot.”
“Not really. It is a small contingent when going into another’s territory.”
Jenna raised an eyebrow. “If you say so.”
Bern kissed her. “I do.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Okay.”
Alice leaned forward and tapped Jenna on the shoulder. “Everything okay?”
“Yep, everything is peachy.”
“Uh-huh,” Alice murmured. Everything is peachy was code for something’s up but I can’t talk about it, or don’t want to talk about it. The girls had used it for years, so Alice now knew something was up.
Martin tried to make small talk, but the atmosphere in the limousine was strained and he finally gave up. They rode the remaining fifteen minutes in virtual silence. Bern held Jenna’s hand and gently stroked her knuckles, trying to soothe her agitation. She should tell him it wasn’t working.
After what seemed like forever they pulled into a long tree lined drive. A huge plantation style house sat at the end of the drive. As soon as the limousine stopped a uniformed attendant opened the car door and extended a hand to assist Jenna out. Bern growled. Jenna ignored him and exited the limo.
She stood quietly on the sidewalk as Alice climbed out, followed by Martin and Bern. A tall dark man stood in the open doorway to the house. He was backlit, so Jenna could not see his features, but he exuded power and strength. This had to be Bastian Von Drake, the alpha.
Bern placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her toward the door, Martin and Alice followed. The man stepped forward and extended his hand. “Good evening, Sippe Helms. How good of you to come.”
Bern clasped his hand and nodded. “Good evening, Alpha Von Drake. I thank you for your kind invitation. May I present my mate, Jenna Raynes, her friend, Alice Miller, and you know my second, Martin Kruger of course?”
A strange scent suddenly filled the air and Jenna could have sworn the alpha wolf’s eyes flashed amber for a moment, but he closed them briefly and when he opened them they were the normal dark brown they had been before. She blinked, wondering if she had imagined the whole thing. She tried to catch Bern’s attention, but all his concentration was on the alpha.
“Sebastian Von Drake,” he said with a slight bow, leaning down to kiss Jenna’s hand, he repeated the gesture with Alice. Then turned her hand over and kissed Alice’s palm, did she imagine it or did he sniff Alice’s wrist? What the hell was going on?
He briefly shook Martin’s hand and turned on his heel. “Come, let’s adjourn to the library for a drink before dinner.”
Alice leaned into Jenna’s ear and whispered. “What bug crawled up his ass?”
Bern cleared his throat loudly, and whispered back. “Shifters have very good hearing.”
Alice covered her mouth with her hand and then mouthed, Sorry, my bad.
Bastian’s back was ramrod straight as he led the way to the library. He gave no indication he had heard Alice’s remark. He paused at an open doorway and gestured for them to enter. Bern stepped back allowing Jenna to enter before him, and then followed her into the darkly paneled room.
Heavy leather furniture filled the center of a room surrounded by bookshelves filled with tomes. Everything from modern day spy novels to rare historic manuscripts filled the shelves. Jenna could go crazy in here.
“What a lovely room,” she remarked.
“Thank you, my dear.” Bastian replied. “What can I get you to drink? Wine, or something stronger?”
“Wine would be lovely,” Jenna said.
“Wine for me also,” Alice replied.
“Whiskey, on the rocks, for me, thanks,” said Bern.
“I’ll have the same,” Martin said.
The four of them chose seats around the room. Jenna and Bern on the sofa. Alice on the loveseat and Martin in the arm chair across from her. Bastian uncorked a bottle of wine and brought it and three glasses to the table, he left the wine to breathe while he fixed Bern and Martin their whiskeys.
He handed the men their drinks and proceeded to pour a tiny sip of wine into a glass, he swirled the liquid around, held it to the light and then handed it to Alice. He bowed again. “For your pleasure, my lady.”
Alice looked at Jenna and cocked an eyebrow in a what the hell question. Jenna shrugged and mouthed just go with it. Alice tipped the glass to her lips and swallowed the small sample.
“Delicious,” she said.
Bastian beamed and filled the three glasses handing one to Jenna and Alice and keeping the last for himself, he sat next to Alice on the love seat. Jenna watched as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“So Bastian, while I appreciate the invitation. I’m curious as to what prompted it. You have never invited me to your home before,” Bern said.
“I heard of your good fortune and wished to meet your mate. Is that not reason enough?” Bastian asked.
“I suppose, but tell me, how did you hear of my mating? I had barely announced it to my clan when I received your invitation, and how did your wolf come into my territory undetected?”
“Come now, Bern. This is not the time to talk of such things. We are in the company of two beautiful women, politics can wait until we are alone,” he said sternly. “We will talk after dinner, I have some things to discuss with you, for now let us enjoy ourselves.”
Jenna could feel the tension radiating off of Bern, but he controlled it and pulled back. “You’re right, my friend. Let’s take this time to get to know each other better. You come from Russia, yes?”
“Yes, though I have been in the United Stated for over four hundred years.”
Alice gasped. “Four hundred years? How the hell old are you?”
Bastian looked down his patrician nose at her. “I am five hundred fifty-seven years of age.”
“Holy shit! I didn’t know you guys lived that long.” She turned to Jenna. “Did you know shifters lived that long? What the hell? You’re gonna get old and wrinkly and Bern’s still gonna look like that. How the hell is that going to work?”
Jenna could feel the blush crawl across her face. What the hell was she supposed to say? Bern said she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. Not even Alice.
Bast
ian took the dilemma from her hands. “It is not common knowledge, but shifters can change their mates. Once a shifter claims and bites his mate, she turns, becomes a shifter like him.”
Alice’s eyes practically bugged out of her head. “You didn’t fucking tell me that!” she yelled at Jenna.
“Um, sorry. I was told I couldn’t. It wasn’t allowed.” Jenna looked at Bern. “What’s going on? Why did he tell her?”
“I’m not sure. Bastian?”
Bastian took both of Alice’s hands in his. “I told you because you need to know, krasivaya—beautiful—because you are mine. You are my mate.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Alice burst out.
Bastian did not look amused. “It is true, sweet Alice. I knew the moment we met.”
“Look, I get you shifters have this whole, I sniff you, you’re my mate thing, and it works for you. It worked great for Jenna. She’s super happy and I’m glad for her, but I’m not interested. I have a career I’ve been busting my ass for. I’m up for a big promotion, I just signed a new client. I’m leaving in eight days. So you can just go sniff somebody else’s tree.”
“It doesn’t work that way Alice. It is a rare and wonderful thing to meet one’s mate. I never thought to be lucky enough to meet a second mate in my lifetime.”
“You already have a mate? Well see there, then you don’t need me.”
Bastian’s eyes filled with sadness. “I had a mate, in Russia, four hundred years ago. She was killed, along with my unborn child. I thought I would be alone for the rest of my years.”
Jenna saw Alice’s tough veneer crack for just a moment, but she quickly shored it up. “I’m sorry for your loss, but really, I’m not interested in a relationship, and as I said. I’m leaving in a week.”
Bastian nodded, but Jenna could see that he was only backing down to regroup. Alice may have won this battle, but she hadn’t won the war. The alpha wasn’t going to give up that easily.
A knock sounded at the library door. “Enter,” Bastian called.
“Your other guests have arrived, Alpha, and dinner is ready to be served. Do you wish me to bring your guests into the library or will you be adjourning to the dining room, sir?” A suited gentleman asked from the doorway.