Read Online A Bear of a Reputation by Ivy Sinclair - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ivy Sinclair
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sighed and glanced at Marilee. Her look was openly questioning.
“So, are you going to tell me what you’re doing here, Maren?”
I was wondering that myself.
CHAPTER SEVEN
There was coffee set out in the small kitchen of the lodge, and I sipped mine gratefully. I finally felt like my head was starting to clear from my earlier wine binge. Now that it was, I was starting to wonder if I was really going to go through with Lukas’s proposition.
“You and Lukas always were inseparable,” Marilee said as she sat down across from me. “I always thought there was something going on between you, but then I’d hear of another one of Lukas’s conquests.”
“You and me both,” I said, trying to keep the jealousy out of my voice. “We were just friends.”
“I saw how you looked at him,” Marilee said. “After his first phase, I think every girl here in White Oaks was after him, but he was always so aloof. Then there was all the trouble that he seemed to be in on a regular basis. It was like he wanted to be sure he didn’t look like an attractive mate.”
“Mate” was such a strange word to me. It belonged to a different world than mine, but yet I seemed to be willing to step into it. I wasn’t sure that I was ready for it, no matter what I said. “Seems like that whole mating thing happens pretty early for shifters, but I don’t really know anything more than that,” I said. That was the truth, but I was also leaving the door wide open for her to tell me more.
“It cuts down on all the drama, in my opinion,” Marilee said. “As soon as you’ve gone through your first phase, you’re considered of mating age.”
“Oh,” I said. “How do you know who your mate is?”
I could tell that Marilee was thinking about her response. That was common when talking about shifter customs. They’d give you the tiniest smidgeon of information and then clam up. “It’s complicated,” she finally said, “but still makes a lot more sense than human mating rituals.”
I wanted to roll my eyes. How hard was it to answer a simple question? I had to admit that I was as intrigued by the shifter community as my father was, but I wasn’t as driven to find out all the answers, at least until now. Lukas was offering me a way to do that: unprecedented access to the inside workings of a shifter community during a Summit, which only happened once every five years.
“I heard someone say that you were dating Billy Miller,” Marilee said.
I inwardly cringed. I wished that Lukas and I had strategized a bit more about how we were going to introduce this idea of me being his mate, given all the other factors affecting it. I had to choose my words carefully so that I didn’t have to contradict anything I said later.
“We’ve hung out a few times,” I said. “But like you said, relationship dynamics can be complicated.”
“Like when old flames roll back into town?” She was digging for information, too.
“Lukas and I have a lot to catch up on,” I said neutrally. I thought about the way he’d kissed me, and I felt heat rise in my cheeks. I couldn’t help but wonder if those things might include some other more pleasurable things.
“If Lukas really does think that he’s got a shot at keeping the alpha claim, it’s important that he chooses the right mate,” Marilee said evenly. “Most of the clan thinks that Sheriff Monroe is the better choice. They want Lukas to rescind his claim.”
“What do you think?” I said. I felt a flash of anger at the not-so-subtle insinuation that Lukas’s choice for a mate shouldn’t be me.
“I don’t know yet,” she said. She sipped her coffee. “What I remember about Lukas was he had a horrible temper, and he didn’t make friends easily. But when he wanted to get something done, it always got done. He had natural leadership qualities, and kids followed him, even if it was straight into trouble.”
I chuckled. “Yes, they did. What was funny to me was how
“So, are you going to tell me what you’re doing here, Maren?”
I was wondering that myself.
CHAPTER SEVEN
There was coffee set out in the small kitchen of the lodge, and I sipped mine gratefully. I finally felt like my head was starting to clear from my earlier wine binge. Now that it was, I was starting to wonder if I was really going to go through with Lukas’s proposition.
“You and Lukas always were inseparable,” Marilee said as she sat down across from me. “I always thought there was something going on between you, but then I’d hear of another one of Lukas’s conquests.”
“You and me both,” I said, trying to keep the jealousy out of my voice. “We were just friends.”
“I saw how you looked at him,” Marilee said. “After his first phase, I think every girl here in White Oaks was after him, but he was always so aloof. Then there was all the trouble that he seemed to be in on a regular basis. It was like he wanted to be sure he didn’t look like an attractive mate.”
“Mate” was such a strange word to me. It belonged to a different world than mine, but yet I seemed to be willing to step into it. I wasn’t sure that I was ready for it, no matter what I said. “Seems like that whole mating thing happens pretty early for shifters, but I don’t really know anything more than that,” I said. That was the truth, but I was also leaving the door wide open for her to tell me more.
“It cuts down on all the drama, in my opinion,” Marilee said. “As soon as you’ve gone through your first phase, you’re considered of mating age.”
“Oh,” I said. “How do you know who your mate is?”
I could tell that Marilee was thinking about her response. That was common when talking about shifter customs. They’d give you the tiniest smidgeon of information and then clam up. “It’s complicated,” she finally said, “but still makes a lot more sense than human mating rituals.”
I wanted to roll my eyes. How hard was it to answer a simple question? I had to admit that I was as intrigued by the shifter community as my father was, but I wasn’t as driven to find out all the answers, at least until now. Lukas was offering me a way to do that: unprecedented access to the inside workings of a shifter community during a Summit, which only happened once every five years.
“I heard someone say that you were dating Billy Miller,” Marilee said.
I inwardly cringed. I wished that Lukas and I had strategized a bit more about how we were going to introduce this idea of me being his mate, given all the other factors affecting it. I had to choose my words carefully so that I didn’t have to contradict anything I said later.
“We’ve hung out a few times,” I said. “But like you said, relationship dynamics can be complicated.”
“Like when old flames roll back into town?” She was digging for information, too.
“Lukas and I have a lot to catch up on,” I said neutrally. I thought about the way he’d kissed me, and I felt heat rise in my cheeks. I couldn’t help but wonder if those things might include some other more pleasurable things.
“If Lukas really does think that he’s got a shot at keeping the alpha claim, it’s important that he chooses the right mate,” Marilee said evenly. “Most of the clan thinks that Sheriff Monroe is the better choice. They want Lukas to rescind his claim.”
“What do you think?” I said. I felt a flash of anger at the not-so-subtle insinuation that Lukas’s choice for a mate shouldn’t be me.
“I don’t know yet,” she said. She sipped her coffee. “What I remember about Lukas was he had a horrible temper, and he didn’t make friends easily. But when he wanted to get something done, it always got done. He had natural leadership qualities, and kids followed him, even if it was straight into trouble.”
I chuckled. “Yes, they did. What was funny to me was how
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