by V. A. Dold
“So what happens if I have this birthmark? I’m not going to get locked away and forced to do things during the new moon, am I?”
Emma busted out laughing. “Where do you get these ideas? Of course not. A mate with the mark is very prized and held in the highest esteem. In the old days, pilgrimages were made to the homes of women with the mark on a new moon. Villagers far and wide would bring offerings in exchange for healing of troublesome ailments that required a super-boost in magic to cure.” Emma’s expression became wistful. “I miss those days–it was such fun on new moons.”
El stood and looked out the window and over her rolling pastures. Finally she softly admitted, “I have the mark on my left thigh.”
Emma gasped and her eyes went wide. “Three mates with marks. I’ve never heard of so many in one family before.”
Mémé reached for the coffee carafe and suggested, “Perhaps this is a good time to take a break and freshen our cups?” She could tell both El and Emma needed a few minutes to gather their thoughts.
Anna waited about ten minutes as everyone enjoyed a pastry and some coffee before she called everyone’s attention back to the reason for the visit.
“El, do you have anything else you would like to know, or would you prefer to ask Stefan the rest of your questions?”
“I’ve been wondering about the process of shifting. Do you have to learn it, or is it instinctual?”
Anna nodded. “Excellent question. You have to learn it. The process is simple and yet takes a lot of practice to get good at. To shift, you visualize yourself as a wolf. Any wolf will do because you’ll become the correct wolf regardless. But, don’t make the mistakes I did and forget to visualize the characteristics of the wolf ‘without’ human clothes. I ended up a wolf in a jogging suit my first try.” Anna giggled at her memory. “When you picture the wolf in your mind, you imagine yourself as a wolf with paws instead of hands and feet. And fur instead of clothes. That kind of thing.”
El was nodding along to Anna’s explanation, paying very close attention like a karate student with the Sensei. “I can see why you said it’s simple and yet takes practice. I’m almost afraid to ask. What does the ritual involve?”
“I think it would be best if Stefan went over that with you. It’s rather personal and involves–how should I put it? A wedding night.”
“Oh.” El clapped her hands over her cheeks.
Anna could sense El’s exhaustion. They had given her a lot of information to process. “I think we should be going.” Rose gave Anna a hand rising from the couch. “El, if you think of anything, and I mean any little thing at all, call me and I’ll answer as best I can.”
Marie stood with El to show their guests out.
As they were leaving, Emma turned to Marie. “If you don’t mind, I would like to talk with Stefan in the barn before I send him in.”
Marie nodded. “That might be best. Thank you, Emma, for bringing the girls over this morning.”
Emma hugged Marie deliberately not squeezing so hard. “My pleasure.” Then she turned to El and hugged her as well. “Welcome to my family, cher.”
“Thank you, Emma.” El didn’t know what else to say. Everyone seemed to be assuming this mating thing was a done deal. Problem was, El still had reservations.
Chapter Fifteen
Stefan Takes Advice
Stefan sat on a bale of hay with his head in his hands. El’s emotions and confusion were buffeting him mercilessly. His head was pounding.
I have to teach her to shield as soon as she accepts me.
“Stefan. Baby. How are you holding up?” Emma knew her son and could see his anguish.
Startled, he shot to his feet. In his misery, he hadn’t heard her approach.
“I’m all right. How’s El? Will she even talk to me now?”
Emma smiled lovingly at her second son. “Of course she will. But, as you already know, your chickens have come home to roost. I warned you that all your catting around would bite you in the behind one day.”
Frustrated, he scrubbed his hands through his already disheveled hair. “I know. I should’ve listened. So, how do I fix this?”
“We explained everything to her except the ritual. My suggestion is take it slow. Go out on dates. Build her trust and let her get to know you and not your playboy image you hide behind. It won’t be easy, but anything worth having never is.”
“Okay. Dates. Like what?”
“Are you serious? You’re out with women all the time.”
“No, I pick up women and take them home once. I’ve never dated anyone.”
“Oh, My. This is much worse than I thought.” Emma paced down the line of stalls mumbling quietly. When she reached him again she asked, “You’re making her dinner at your place soon, right?”
“Yes, in a couple days.”
“That will be date number one. After that, ask her out dancing. Take her to Julia’s, even help her run everyday errands. If you act like a husband, she’ll begin to see you as husband material. And for goodness sake, pour on the romance, the thicker the better.”
“Romance, check. How do I do that?”
Emma threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “Where have you been all these years when I was teaching all you boys how to treat a lady?”
Stefan rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Since you didn’t listen to me, you can take your sorry ass to your brothers and ask them for advice.”
“Momma!” he whined. “Don’t make me ask them. They’re going to make my life hell.”
“Maybe you need a bit of humbling. While you’re at it, you can ask your sister-in-laws for advice, too. I’m sure they’ll have ideas for romantic dates. Now, give me a hug before I go.”
Stefan sighed in defeat. He did not want to go crawling to his brothers. Halfheartedly he stood and hugged his mother and said goodbye.
As the women disappeared from sight, he slowly walked back to the house. His nerves were frayed not knowing what to expect when he opened the door.
El was sitting alone in the living room deep in thought when he came through the door.
“Are you all right?” he tentatively asked.
“I think so. That was a lot of information all at once for a person to digest.”
“I can imagine. I’ve grown up with it and it’s easy to forget how much is unknown to the human population. Sorry I interrupted early.”
“No. I’m the one who’s sorry. I had no call to attack you like I did. I was rehashing those teenage years we already discussed and I lashed out. I was wrong to do that out of hurt and frustration. I apologize.”
He joined her on the couch, and, though unsure how she would react, reached for her hand. Amazingly she didn’t pull away. One small win for the shifter.
“Did you want to ask me anything?”
El winced. “No. I’ve learned more in the past two hours than I ever wanted to know in a lifetime.”
Stefan quietly apologized again. He didn’t know what else to do. A mate was something he never planned for and so far was a complete failure at.
“I was going to get a soda. Would you like one?” El offered.
Finally something easy! “Yes, please,” he sighed in relief.
She returned with two sodas and a little less tension. He was going for it. Time to ask for a proper date. “Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight? You know, act like normal people and go out on a regular date?”
“Sure, I guess. Given the situation I suppose I should try to get to know you so I can decide what to do about all...” she waved her hand between them, “this.”
His mother was right, his chickens were definitely roosting and solidly on their nests.
“Is the diner good for you? That way we can sit in their private room and talk. Plus, you won’t have to get dressed up with a cast on your arm.”
“That sounds good. What time?”
“After I get cleaned up from the afternoon chores.”
&
nbsp; “Perfect.”
Minutes later, the uncomfortable silence was deafening. He needed a solid plan, and there was no option but crawling to his brothers for advice.
This is going to suck.
Stefan drained his drink and stood. “Thank you for the soda. I have some things to take care of today. If you need me, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll pick up no matter what I’m doing. This–” he waved his hand between them much like El had minutes before, “is a drop everything kind of thing. If you need me for anything, I’m yours.” He took a big leap and kissed her cheek. When she didn’t pull away, he and his wolf silently rejoiced. With a twitch of a smile tugging his lips, he walked out the door.
*****
Thirty minutes later he knocked on Cade’s door.
Cade pulled it open and frowned. “What are you doing, Stefan? You never knock. Are you ill? Suffering from amnesia?”
“Funny. Real funny. So, do I get to come in?”
“Oh, yeah. Your strange behavior threw me for a minute.”
Stefan walked into Cade’s house and felt like he was walking to the gallows. This was going to be the end of his life as he knew it.
“What’s up, little brother? I haven’t heard from you in quite a while and Anna won’t tell me a thing about the ladies’ coffee clutch this morning. How’s it going with El?”
“Not good.”
Cades eyebrows shot to his hairline. “How is that possible for the Don Juan of New Orleans? Oh shit! Did hell freeze over?”
“You’re a real comedian today,” Stefan groused and flopped into a chair. “I have a major problem here and you’re cracking jokes.”
Cade frowned. “You’re serious?” He lowered himself into the chair next to Stefan. From his brother’s behavior and the scent of despair, Cade realized he was telling the truth. His mating was in trouble.
“Serious like a heart attack,” he sadly said. “If a shifter could have a heart attack anyway.”
“If it’s that bad, we need all the troops. Let me get you a beer and I’ll call the guys to join us.”
“Sure. Why not? Everyone can enjoy my pain at once,” he murmured.
Ten minutes later Isaac, Simon, Marcus, Lucas, John, and Thomas walked through the door. If these eight men couldn’t solve Stefan’s problem, it wasn’t ever going to be solved.
Everyone had a drink of choice and were seated in a circle, serious expressions worn by all. Stefan may deserve every poke they could give him, but now was not the time.
Simon was the first to speak. “If you give us a breakdown of what has happened, we might be able to offer advice and help.”
Together with nods and comments of encouragement all the men agreed.
Stefan backtracked to the morning after the ball and ended his depressing tale with the women’s visit that morning. Not a sound was heard as the men took turns staring at each other and gaping at him.
Lucas broke the shocked silence. “El was attacked and almost died, and this is the first we’re hearing of it!” Lucas was angry, really angry.
Thomas sat forward nodding his agreement with Lucas. “Sorry, Stefan, but I have to agree with Lucas. We should have been told immediately. The minute you learned her truck was tampered with, every woman in this family was labeled a potential victim. Without that knowledge we couldn’t properly protect them.”
Stefan scrubbed his face with both hands. “Shit. I really screwed up. You’re right, I should have reported to you and called a meeting. I was so wrapped up in her recovery and winning her heart I failed the rest of you. I could have gotten one of the girls hurt or killed.”
Marcus put his hand on Stefan’s shoulder. “It must have been truly terrifying for you. There’s no way you would have forgotten about the danger to the rest of us unless you were horribly overwhelmed.”
The anger swirling around the room dissipated as the men considered how bad Stefan’s situation had to have been.
“Based on what you’ve said, you need to prove to El that you’re not the insensitive horn-dog she thinks you are.” Isaac held up his hand for silence when everyone started talking at once. “Also, you have El’s own troubled history mucking up the waters.”
Stefan frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s had bad experiences with wealthy, handsome men. Marie told me she never goes near them and normally won’t even speak to them. Her acceptance of you in her home is actually a major step for her. You’ve made a lot more progress than you realize.”
“Mémé said something about a dick in college. She must have been referring to one of those bad memories.”
“Hold on. Since when did you start calling anyone Mémé?” Lucas asked cocking his head looking both confused and amused. “We never even met our grand–mère.” Lucas asked cocking his head looking both confused and amused.
“She told me to call her that, okay? So drop it.” Stefan gave Lucas an annoyed look. “We have more important things to figure out.”
Lucas put his hands up. “No need to get all riled,” he poked in fun.
“Lucas! Lay off,” Isaac commanded. “You can’t begin to imagine the torment and suffering Stefan has gone through since finding his mate.”
Lucas looked like a scolded child, not the tough, mature shifter he was.
“It sounds like you need to not only change her opinion of you, but good looking wealthy guys in general,” Marcus thought out loud.
“I paid attention to the things Anna seemed to enjoy doing and took her on dates to do those kinds of activities. Oh, and a woman loves to play, laugh, and have lighthearted fun,” Cade offered.
“Good point, Cade,” Simon said. “When she’s up to it, take her riding, and while you’re out, stop for a romantic picnic. Ask Marie if she knows El’s favorite place to ride and go there. She’ll be pleased that you pay attention to her likes and dislikes.”
“Excellent suggestion,” Cade nodded, then said, “Take her to Julia’s. She has country karaoke and line dance night on Saturdays. Sing a song for her. Anna told me if she hadn’t already decided to accept me before I sang at the Cat’s Meow, that alone would have made up her mind.” Cade had a sappy grin on his face as he talked about his mate.
“You’re making her dinner in a few days, right?” Isaac asked.
“Yeah, Momma already mentioned that this morning. She brought up Julia’s, too, but not singing her a song.” Stefan rubbed his chin and grinned. “I know just the song to sing.” He was beginning to feel a little more positive about winning his mate.
“All right, that gives you at least three good dates to start with. Based on how the first ones go, if you need more advice we can put our heads together again,” Simon pointed out.
Cade looked at Thomas, John, and Lucas. “You guys are very quiet. Any suggestions for Stefan?”
“I don’t date,” Thomas snarled.
“I’m new to this shifter stuff,” John said as an excuse. “Plus, I haven’t asked anyone out since we moved here.”
“I’m no help, either,” Marcus said shaking his head.
“Are you good, Stefan?” Marcus said, looking upset that he hadn’t been able to offer advice. “Do you need more ideas?”
“No, you guys have been a lot of help. First thing I’m going to do is get Mémé alone for a private conversation. If I have a better idea of what happened to El with these past men, I’ll know what to avoid. I don’t want to accidently do something that will set her off.”
“Good idea,” several men said.
“Are you going to talk with the ladies, too?” Isaac asked.
“If they have the time I was going to stop over at your place, Dad, and see if they had pointers for being–romantic. Mom said I had to romance El. I have no idea how to do that.” He threw his hands up in defeat.
Cade patted his leg. “The ladies won’t lead you astray. I’m sure they’ll have lots of good advice for you.”
Thomas looked each man in the eye, then said. “While St
efan is talking with the women, we should discuss my thoughts on protecting them from whomever attacked El. None of our women here on the plantation have the fighting skills to fend off an attack like El did.”
“Good idea,” Isaac agreed.
Stefan stood and looked at the men sitting before him. “Thank you, guys. Really. I appreciate all your help.” With that he gave them a nod and a few fist bumps and walked out the door.
It was only a short walk to his parents’ house where the women were gathered in the living room. He knocked once and walked into a room full of surprised faces.
“Hello. You’re all a sight for sore eyes. The men were nice enough to give me dating advice,” he admitted, as his face grew hot. “As embarrassing as it is, I’d like to ask you ladies for romance advice.”
Emma patted the open chair next to her. “Take a seat and listen well.” She waited for him to settle in his chair, then continued. “The main thing to understand about romance is it’s all about the thought and emotion behind the gesture or gift.”
Anna was nodding excitedly. “A sweet note on the bathroom mirror means ten times more to me than a dozen roses purchased at a florist.”
“For sure,” Rose agreed. “Coming home to a candlelight dinner I hadn’t expected that Simon prepared himself melts my heart. It could be grilled hamburgers and potato chips and it wouldn’t matter.” Her expression went dreamy.
“So if I’m understanding you, do little thoughtful things without being asked. Plus, show her how I feel through little surprise messages and actions.”
“Yes,” they all said at once.
“Also, a single rose given during a date as a surprise is a deal clincher,” Anna added.
“Oh, yeah!” Rose squealed. “One time Simon took me to an expensive dinner and half way through pulled a single rose from inside his suit jacket. I was ready to rip my clothes off on the spot.” Rose blushed like she just realized she said that out loud.