by Diane Leyne
They’d never actually seen a Mating Ceremony, but they’d grown up hearing about them and knew what was involved. That was a sacred event that only the people involved were a part of. It had to be conducted by the Alpha under the full moon, with all the Mates taking part. It could be conducted anywhere but had to take place on one of the nights of the full moon, so there were three nights a month they could do it. The men surprised Penelope with their desire to carry out the ceremony in the clearing by the waterfall where three generations of Harmony wolves had Mated their females.
The ceremony was both simple and profound, involving a mating of the bodies and an exchange of fluids as first the Alpha bit the shoulder of his Mate during sex and then the other males followed suit. The ceremony was complete when the alpha took his Mate again and came inside her once more and the seed of all her Mates mixed together inside her as he bit her a final time as they both climaxed together.
Once it was done, it could never be undone, so no wolf-shifter ever casually entered into a Mating Ceremony, although many an Alpha had enjoyed the thrill of the lusting bite, which could be done at any time and produced sexual results in the female much like the Mating Ceremony did, but the result lasted only for a single night and not a lifetime.
On the first night of the first full moon after her twenty-fifth birthday, they all went out to the glade together. With Kent being the oldest, they’d just all assumed that he was the Alpha, but when they did the ceremony, they’d felt nothing. The sex was hot, but they just instinctively knew that they weren’t Mated. Indeed, if they needed any additional evidence, the mating bites on Penelope’s shoulder hurt. Normally, they would have healed at an accelerated rate because of the men’s saliva mixing in her bloodstream but even with their semen mixing inside her, the unbreakable bond didn’t happen.
The sex, of course, had been fantastic. But not Mating-fantastic.
They just shrugged it off and didn’t even try again that cycle. Then they next monthly full moon cycle arrived and they tried again, figuring that this time it was a sure thing, but when it didn’t work, they tried again the next month. And again. And again. They’d tried for a full year, in every possible combination on all three nights each full moon. Penelope’s shoulder where the mating bites needed to be ached with the memory. The bites had taken time to heal, and with three sets of bites, one for every night of the ceremony, by the end, she was really hurting and the healing was slow, the teeth marks leaving small scars.
The men had been horrified when they got a look at her shoulder one day a few months into their mating trials, as they took to calling them. Normally things happened in the dark, and Penelope made sure that they never saw her shoulder in the daylight. She was ashamed of the marks because they signified her failure as a woman, a Mate.
She put on a positive front of her men though, and the rest of the town. Not everyone in Harmony was a shifter, but there were plenty of them and they all wanted to know when the five of them would make it official and start popping out pups. It was getting harder and harder to smile and joke and deflect the questions, especially since she owned a café and many of these people were her customers.
After six months of trying, they’d even made the trip to New Harmony to talk to the Pack elders. They’d even talked to Lena’s father, who was a vet who specialized in wolf-shifters, to make sure there was nothing physically wrong. They’d talked to Rory McAllister, the elderly Alpha of the Harmony Pack, but he’d never heard of such a thing. The Mating had always worked. They’d tried everything they could think off to make it work. Rory had been able to give them the names of a few shifting experts who might be able to help. Lena’s father had only been able to admonish them for taking so long to ask for help, but even he couldn’t do anything but prescribe some ointment to use on the bites on Penelope’s shoulder after yet another failure.
And something alarming was happening. With every failed attempt at Mating, there was a growing distance between them all, the feeling of failure permeating their every encounter. After the first few months, sex had become a duty more than a pleasure, something they did each month with the attempt to Mate, and each time it didn’t work, it drove them further apart.
Last night had been the first anniversary of the first failed mating, and they all knew without talking about it that it likely wasn’t going to work this time either and that if it didn’t, they weren’t going to try again. They all had talked and talked and talked, and a month ago, after the last failure, they’d decided to try just the one last time. For three nights, they’d do everything they could and if the mating didn’t take, then that would be it. They would still love each other and spend time together and have sex frequently, but they wouldn’t try to Mate again.
Maybe, eventually, they’d even move on and Mate with someone else, they’d said, but Penelope knew in her heart of hearts that she was meant to be with them, and if they found another Mate, then she’d live out her life alone.
And last night was the final night of the full moon. They’d gone back to the glade to try to make it special, but even before they’d started, Penelope had known that it wasn’t going to work, and looking at her men’s faces, she’d known that they knew it, too, and were only going along with it to humor her.
When they’d bitten her shoulder, she’d flinched from the pain. But she’d only cried when they’d all finished and she’d lain there with them knowing they’d failed again. It was only 10:00 p.m., but none of them had the heart to try again, and for once, even her Mates weren’t aroused. She’d never seen them naked and not hard for her. It showed her the depth of their despair, that they were as limp as she felt.
In that moment, she resolved not to put them through another Mating Ceremony until she figured out what the problem was. They weren’t going to suffer through another failure again.
She felt Kent and Tucker get up. They never used an alarm. Both had one of those inner clocks that seemed infallible.
“Wake up sleepy head. Want us to get you some coffee?” She felt Tucker brush her hair back and kiss her cheek lightly.
“Yes, please. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Kent walked over to her and paused. “You okay?”
“Yes, now shoo. I have another ten minutes before I have to get up, and I intend to enjoy every last second of it!” She waited until Kent kissed her cheek and both men headed downstairs before she let the tears start flowing.
“Fuck the ceremony,” Penelope decreed as she sobbed quietly. “Fuck shifter lore and mating ceremonies. I love them. They love me. It will be enough.” Her voice dropped lower. “It has to be,” she almost whispered. “At least until I can find the answer.”
Chapter Three
Four years later
The lunch rush was finally over, and Penelope could finally take a few minutes and catch up with her friends. Ginger and Samantha were enjoying an after-lunch coffee while they waited for Lena to join them. Ginger was a very successful real estate agent, and Samantha had been a teacher in Florida where she grew up but now lived in Harmony and was a writer. She’d just sold her first book and was working on a sequel. She was also one of them even if she hadn’t grown up in Harmony.
The Harmony Wolf Pack dated back to World War II when Rory McAllister had been saved by a French farmer who had taken the wounded soldier in and made him a wolf to save his life. In turn, Rory had fallen in love with and returned after the war to marry the farmer’s widowed daughter-in-law Elise. Before the final battle, however, he and his men had been trapped and he’d turned them all into wolf to save their lives.
Returning to the US after the war, they’d settled in Harmony, Washington, which had lived up to its name. Being wolf hadn’t really changed the men. They’d been hardworking, honest men before the transition, and afterward, they were hardworking, honest wolf-dog-shifters. Other than occasionally running in packs at night through the wilderness, enjoying the strength and stamina of their wolf-dog form, they pretty much stayed th
e men they were before the transformation.
Harmony had been a sleepy little town before the war and had lost many brave men, but the infusion of new blood had done wonders for the town and the economy. Over time, the soldiers had become integral members of the community, with Rory himself becoming mayor, a tradition his grandson Gabe continued.
It was hard to say just how much the humans knew about the wolves among them. Obviously many did as their daughters married the soldiers. Others may have guessed but turned a blind eye since the wolves never abused their power and worked hard to be an asset to the community. There were always a few haters, but it was politely discouraged.
Only one soldier hadn’t adapted well to life as a shifter. Arthur Daniels, Samantha’s grandfather, had eventually moved away, trying to cut ties with all things wolf. It was only a few months ago that his granddaughter, Samantha, had come to Harmony at the behest of her grandmother to learn more about her wolf heritage. She’d met and Mated with the five McAllister brothers and was happily settled into her new home.
Penelope had liked her from the time they first met. No one had realized Sam’s connection to the town at first or that she knew about shifters. In fact, in some ways, Sam knew more than they did, having researched the subject for years. Her grandfather Arthur had always been ashamed of the wolf inside and had done his best to pretend it didn’t exist. When his daughter, Sam’s mother, didn’t show any signs of being able to shift, he’d taken it as a sign that the curse, as he called it, hadn’t been passed down. But what he didn’t know was that the women of the pack didn’t shift. Just the males did, and he was devastated when his triplet grandsons were born and from an early age began to shift.
Sam had helped her brothers with their gift, or curse, depending upon what side of the debate you were on. Even Arthur was conflicted. He would most certainly have died if he hadn’t been changed, but he’d come to terms with death. What he couldn’t seem to come to terms with was three rambunctious shape-shifting grandchildren.
It was her grandmother, Arthur’s widow, who had encouraged Sam to visit Harmony and learn more about that side of her heritage. And, who knew, maybe her brothers would come, too, someday. They were having too much fun now. Samantha had told Penelope that they’d joined some kind of security firm after serving a stint in the army. They’d all been Rangers and now provided private security, but she didn’t say much. Apparently their jobs were all hush-hush. Penelope hoped they’d come now that Sam and the McAllisters were Mated. The sounded adorable and a lot of fun.
Ginger was the only one of the four of them who was unattached. She swore up and down that she was going to find herself a nice human male, but to do that, she’d probably have to leave Harmony, and she showed no sign of doing that, so she became their sounding board and voice of reason when they complained about the wolves in their lives. Penelope resolved to ask Sam to get her brothers to visit. She had a feeling they’d do Ginger a world of good.
Just as Penelope was carrying out her own cup of coffee to the patio where the others were enjoying the nice weather, she saw their fourth friend approach. Lena was the town vet, having taken over the practice from her father. She was Mated to the three James brothers.
Like Penelope, Lena and her men had known from an early age that they were meant to be together. Unlike Penelope and her men, who had jointly decided how to handle the years away from Harmony her schooling would necessitate, Lena’s Alpha Alex had taken matters into his own hands and had left Harmony to join the military, shocking not only Lena but his brothers, too. He had returned only recently, severely injured from his service. Human doctors had been baffled when his hip injury didn’t heal like they thought it should, but that was because they didn’t understand shape-shifter physiology.
In the end, Lena and a doctor she knew who understood shifters were able to heal him almost completely. He’d abandoned the cane and barely even limped anymore. And, most importantly, the pain was gone. He’d never be running marathons, but he was close to whole. The best part was that he and Lena reconciled and now she was Mated to the men she’d always loved.
As happy for her and Sam as Penelope was, it made her sad, too. She loved her wolves, too, but it seemed like they’d never be Mated.
Penelope watched Lena approach. Lena wasn’t alone, and it took Penelope a moment to realize that she wasn’t with one of her Mates. It wasn’t until they got close that she realized who it was. Doctor Oliver McKay had been the doctor that had operated on Alex. She hadn’t known he was so cute. He looked to be in his late thirties, and he was tall and lean and redheaded. She thought he might be a runner based on his build. And based on his scent, he was human.
And most shockingly of all, she found herself feeling an attraction to the newcomer. Obviously she had been attracted to other men before. George Clooney. Matt Damon. But they were actors and safe to enjoy from a distance because there was never any chance of a meeting, and even if there was, never any chance of a relationship. It had been years since she’d felt any attraction to a real-life man other than her Mates.
She looked up to see Lena was laughing at something the stranger said as they approached the table. He laughed, too, and it lit up his face, making her stomach do a little flip-flop.
“You all remember hearing me talk about Oliver, don’t you? The surgeon who fixed Alex.”
Penelope put down her cup and walked over to shake Oliver’s hand and hug Lena, followed by Sam and Ginger.
“Won’t you join us?”
“I’d love to, ladies, but I have to get back to my place in Portland and get things in order if I’m going to get things wrapped up and my stuff ready for the movers. I’m not sure how I accumulated so many things, but I seem to have become a bit of a pack rat!”
“Oliver’s rented Sam’s place while he gets settled here in Harmony.”
Penelope felt her insides clench as he laughed. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think the handsome doctor aroused her. That was nonsense, of course. She had her four wolves. She didn’t want or need another man in her life. And she most certainly didn’t like the idea of Oliver moving her, not at all.
“Nonsense. You need to eat before you start that long drive. And then Penelope will give you some coffee for the road. Real coffee. Not like that vile beverage you served me when I visited your clinic!” Lena turned to Penelope. “Do you mind? I can go back and make both of us some sandwiches if you want to rest and chat.”
“No way. I have seen you in the kitchen. Oliver, do you prefer chicken or beef? Or are you a vegetarian?”
“Oh, I’m definitely a carnivore.” He grinned wickedly, and if she didn’t know that he was human, she’d have said wolfishly. “But I don’t want to put you through any trouble.” After that grin, he then seemed sincerely bothered at the thought of putting her to any trouble. “I can stop at somewhere on the drive. Don’t go to any bother just for me.” Her clit was definitely tingling. She had to get away.
“No problem. I have everything laid out for Lena’s sandwiches. And mine. I’m going to have a sandwich, too. There’s plenty. I’ll just make you one or two or maybe three for the drive, you know. I’ll be right back.”
Penelope fled before she babbled some more. There was no other word for it. Fled. Once she was in the the safety of her kitchen. She leaned against a counter to catch her breath. She knew the others were watching her and were puzzled by her behavior. Hell, she was puzzled by her behavior.
She paused at the doorway to the kitchen, trying to calm down. She was breathing quickly as if she’d just run a mile, and she felt a throbbing between her legs. She didn’t know why she was acting like this. Oliver McKay was tall, blue eyed, with shaggy red hair and a sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of his nose. And his build? He had the lean, whipcord build of a runner. Her men were tall and muscular firefighters, their eyes dark, their hair also dark and cut short. That was what she was attracted to. Her men. Not this stranger with the beautiful smile.
/> Unfortunately, the kitchen wouldn’t be the sanctuary she was seeking. Jack was in there tidying up. With his super wolf senses, she hoped he wouldn’t smell her arousal, or if he did, he’d think it was for him.
Or maybe, if she was lucky, he would have already finished and left. He knew she was planning on spending the afternoon with her girlfriends. Yes, he was probably gone.
She pushed the door open and walked into the kitchen, shocked at the feeling of disappointment. She’d never before felt that way about one of her Mates. Ever. And it shocked her.
And to make things worse, not only was he not gone, but his brother Jack was in there with him. They were both lounging against the counter, chatting, and clearly waiting for her.
“What are you doing here?” The words just popped out.
“Pots and pans.” Jack frowned. Damn. Did he know? “Lots and lots of pots and pans, so I persuaded John to come and help.” He frowned harder, walking up to her, concern on his face.
“Are you okay? You look flushed. Are you coming down with something, because if you are, it’s off to bed for you, young lady. No late-night partying with the girls. Just lots of pampering from your men.”
Penelope felt the relief surge through her body and her knees almost give out in relief. “No, no, I’m fine. Just been a bit rushed. And now I’m going to make sandwiches for me and Lena and Oliver.”
“Oliver?” It was John’s turn to frown.
“Yes. Dr. Oliver McKay. He’s the one who worked on Alex. He just arrived with Lena. Apparently he’s moving into Sam’s old place.”
John and Jack looked at each other and grinned.
“We’ve been hoping to meet him and thank him. And it never hurts to make friends with a doctor who knows how to help shifters. There aren’t many around.”
“Yes, you go back in there and make sure he doesn’t leave. Jack and I will make the sandwiches and bring them out. You look dead on your feet.”