you ladies are ready, we can leave.”
Carol tried to puzzle out what his statement meant the whole way home. Was he saying there was a chance she and Mark could be together? But how? Even if the pack would accept a human as her mate, she was forbidden to reveal to him what she was. Not only that, but Mark had big city dreams. She couldn‟t ask him to follow her to Refuge, where the population was small and the job opportunities few, and she couldn‟t betray the confidence the alpha and elders were placing in her. If True Mates: Carol’s Mate
49
that wasn‟t enough, Alex needed her. There was no way she‟d leave him to handle things alone.
They were silent on the drive, each busy with their own thoughts.
When they arrived at the town house, Carol went upstairs to put fresh sheets on the bed in the master room while Tom removed their bags from the vehicle. This wasn‟t the first time her guardians, as well as other members of the pack, had come to visit. It‟s one of the reasons she didn‟t have a roommate. Well, that and the whole being-a-shifter thing.
Once finished, she opened the window in her room and closed the bedroom door, hoping it would lessen some of the smell of sex. Mark‟s scent permeated the room, sending a surge of lust and longing through her. No matter how understanding Mona might seem about her having an “adult” relationship, there was no way she could call Mark over to spend the night. Not while they were here.
Besides, she might as well get used to sleeping alone again since that‟s what she‟d be for the foreseeable future—alone.
She could hear Mona moving around in the kitchen as she fixed their usual after-dinner pot of coffee. The alpha came up the stairs to deposit their bags in the room, and though the two bedrooms were separated by a long hallway that spanned the length of two full-size bathrooms, a hall closet, and the HVAC unit, his nostrils still twitched and the look he shot her showed his displeasure. Carol flushed guiltily and ran down the stairs to join Mona. When the alpha arrived, the conversation picked up where it had left off.
“We‟re not just dumping the pack on your laps,” Mona stated. “Tom and I will be there to assist and offer advice when needed. We simply want them to get used to coming to you.”
“We‟ll ease you and Alex into it,” the alpha added. “Slowly turn more and more of the responsibilities over to you until you‟re running the whole pack. We think that will allow everyone time to adjust to the changes. Besides, with both you and Alex still trying to get established in your respective careers, and the medical clinic 50
Zena Wynn
we‟re trying to get up and running, there‟s no way you could do all of that and handle the pack too.”
“And then there‟s the fact that neither one of you are mated,” Mona said.
“Which brings us to our next item of discussion,” Thomas said as he settled on the couch with his coffee. “Mark.”
On the oversize ottoman, Carol drew her legs up to her chest in an unconsciously protective movement. “I already know the pack won‟t accept a human as my mate, even if I could tell Mark what I am and he accepted me.”
“At this point, you have no choice but to tell him what you are if he is what we suspect,” Mona told her.
“I don‟t understand,” Carol stated after a few moments of quiet.
“What we‟re about to tell you, while not exactly a secret, has occurred so rarely that most shifters believe it to be a myth.”
“We teach the males about it during the course of their training because frankly, with the growing lack of available mates, they need the small bit of hope it provides. But rarely, if ever, do we mention it to the females, with good reason,” the alpha said.
With each word they spoke, Carol was more and more confused.
“Do you remember what I taught you about mates?” Mona asked.
“That mating is forever, so be very careful in my selection. Find a male
Carol tried to puzzle out what his statement meant the whole way home. Was he saying there was a chance she and Mark could be together? But how? Even if the pack would accept a human as her mate, she was forbidden to reveal to him what she was. Not only that, but Mark had big city dreams. She couldn‟t ask him to follow her to Refuge, where the population was small and the job opportunities few, and she couldn‟t betray the confidence the alpha and elders were placing in her. If True Mates: Carol’s Mate
49
that wasn‟t enough, Alex needed her. There was no way she‟d leave him to handle things alone.
They were silent on the drive, each busy with their own thoughts.
When they arrived at the town house, Carol went upstairs to put fresh sheets on the bed in the master room while Tom removed their bags from the vehicle. This wasn‟t the first time her guardians, as well as other members of the pack, had come to visit. It‟s one of the reasons she didn‟t have a roommate. Well, that and the whole being-a-shifter thing.
Once finished, she opened the window in her room and closed the bedroom door, hoping it would lessen some of the smell of sex. Mark‟s scent permeated the room, sending a surge of lust and longing through her. No matter how understanding Mona might seem about her having an “adult” relationship, there was no way she could call Mark over to spend the night. Not while they were here.
Besides, she might as well get used to sleeping alone again since that‟s what she‟d be for the foreseeable future—alone.
She could hear Mona moving around in the kitchen as she fixed their usual after-dinner pot of coffee. The alpha came up the stairs to deposit their bags in the room, and though the two bedrooms were separated by a long hallway that spanned the length of two full-size bathrooms, a hall closet, and the HVAC unit, his nostrils still twitched and the look he shot her showed his displeasure. Carol flushed guiltily and ran down the stairs to join Mona. When the alpha arrived, the conversation picked up where it had left off.
“We‟re not just dumping the pack on your laps,” Mona stated. “Tom and I will be there to assist and offer advice when needed. We simply want them to get used to coming to you.”
“We‟ll ease you and Alex into it,” the alpha added. “Slowly turn more and more of the responsibilities over to you until you‟re running the whole pack. We think that will allow everyone time to adjust to the changes. Besides, with both you and Alex still trying to get established in your respective careers, and the medical clinic 50
Zena Wynn
we‟re trying to get up and running, there‟s no way you could do all of that and handle the pack too.”
“And then there‟s the fact that neither one of you are mated,” Mona said.
“Which brings us to our next item of discussion,” Thomas said as he settled on the couch with his coffee. “Mark.”
On the oversize ottoman, Carol drew her legs up to her chest in an unconsciously protective movement. “I already know the pack won‟t accept a human as my mate, even if I could tell Mark what I am and he accepted me.”
“At this point, you have no choice but to tell him what you are if he is what we suspect,” Mona told her.
“I don‟t understand,” Carol stated after a few moments of quiet.
“What we‟re about to tell you, while not exactly a secret, has occurred so rarely that most shifters believe it to be a myth.”
“We teach the males about it during the course of their training because frankly, with the growing lack of available mates, they need the small bit of hope it provides. But rarely, if ever, do we mention it to the females, with good reason,” the alpha said.
With each word they spoke, Carol was more and more confused.
“Do you remember what I taught you about mates?” Mona asked.
“That mating is forever, so be very careful in my selection. Find a male
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