The Burning Claw: Book 10, The Grey Wolves Series (17 page)

“Yeah, now that you’re no longer on the let’s try and stay alive wellness plan,” Jen continued for the healer. “Your body is remembering that it actually serves a purpose more than just taking up oxygen.”

Jen stepped out for a few moments and then returned with an array of products meant to aid during the monthly cycle. She laid them out on the floor before Bethany. The Alpha female was kind enough to explain to her the pros and cons of tampons vs. no tampons. It was all quite informative, but still didn’t take Bethany’s mind away from the fact that she’d have to face Drake again soon, and she was sure her face would end up ten shades of red.

“So this should stop in seven days or less?” Bethany asked Rachel.

“Yes. It varies from woman to woman but a typical cycle is seven days or less.”

Bethany turned to look at Jen who was already shaking her head. “No,” the blonde said, holding out a finger. “You are not going to hide at my place for the next week. He’s your mate. He’s going to have to deal with this for the rest of his life. You are going to have to get over it. Drake is like a millions years old…okay probably not a million, but I assure you he’s older than us. He’s well aware of what’s going on down there, I promise you.”

So, no help there
, Bethany thought and looked over to Rachel.

“She’s right. You won’t hear me say that often in Jen’s presence.” Rachel shot Jen a grin. “But in this instance, she is right.”

“Maybe we should start singing some passionate ballad with a catchy chorus and belt it out at the top of our lungs. Then suddenly everything will be golden,” Jen suggests.

Bethany wasn’t sure what to say to such a suggestion.

“What?” Jen shrugged. “It works for all those Disney Princesses. They come upon a dilemma or difficult situation and then start singing, in which case animals almost always join in and then BAM!” She clapped her hands together. “World peace is accomplished and starving children everywhere suddenly have full bellies. I’m just saying we could at least give it a go just to see if the animals do indeed join in.”

“You really have nothing to be embarrassed about,” Rachel said turning back to Bethany. “All you have to deal with is your monthly menstrual cycle. Jen, well, she’s stuck with herself, so she’s dealing with a whole lot more than just a period. So you should be smiling.”

Bethany was smiling, but not because of what Rachel said. She was smiling because Jen was currently singing something about bare necessities and werewolves necessities. It was an interesting mix of lyrics and music. She floated past them, her arms stretched out wide as she sang. On her next pass by, she paused and looked at Bethany. “Okay, I don’t know what it is about this bathroom but it’s got some serious happy vibes. Maybe the air is thinner in here and I’m just experiencing a lack of oxygen to the brain.”

Rachel laughed and stood up, helping Bethany gather the plethora of feminine products she’d been loaded down with, courtesy of the singing Alpha female. Bethany found an empty drawer and stuffed it all inside. Along with the feminine products, Jen had also brought the younger girl a change of clothes. After pulling these on, Bethany was now wearing a skirt with a very high slit up the side and a dark blue shirt.

Just as they were about to exit the bathroom, Jen stopped in front of her. She grabbed the skirt and tugged on it until the slit was on her right side, clearly revealing the markings.

“It looks better with the slit on that side. On the other side, it looks like you have it on backward or something,” Jen explained.

“Okay.” Bethany shrugged. Bethany remembered how Jen had mentioned that males can get jealous when other males see the mating markings, but she figured that there wouldn’t be anyone in their suite so Drake shouldn’t have a problem with them showing. And she was secretly hoping that seeing the markings would distract him from the whole screaming over the period thing.

They stepped out into the quiet suite and Rachel gave Bethany a quick hug. “If you ever need anything and don’t want to deal with Jen, my door is always open.”

“Be glad you aren’t in my pack, female, I would so order you to be my sparring partner. Every. Damn. Day.” Jen bit out at the older woman.

Rachel simply pulled Jen into a hug and then on her way out looked back at her over her shoulder, “Remember that I’m headed back to the Romania pack mansion, so if you need me quickly you’ll have to send the fae to get me. Oh, and I’d wipe the floor with you, Alpha, no disrespect.” Rachel winked at her just before the door closed.

Jen was speechless. Bethany had a feeling that Jen was rarely, if ever, rendered speechless.

“Well,” she finally said after several minutes. “That was unexpected.”

Bethany laughed. “She tells you she can kick your butt and all you have is ‘That was unexpected?’ ”

“If a woman has enough backbone to trash talk me, then I will give her the respect she’s due,” Jen said as she headed toward the door. “My duty here is done. Jacque and I will be having hot chocolate and Oreos around midnight in the library if you’d like to join us,” she told her.

Bethany thought about it. It would be nice to get out a bit and stretch her legs. Midnight seemed late, but then again it wasn’t like she had to be up at a certain time the next day. “I might take you up on that.”

“Good, I’d hate to drag you from your room by your hair” —she opened the door and stepped out— “but I will,” she added just before pulling the door closed behind her.

Bethany walked over to the couch and sunk down into it with a sigh. What an evening. She turned onto her side and shifted down lower until she was laying with her head resting on the end pillow. Her eyes began to drift closed and the events of the past hours slipped away.

D
rake took in the sleeping form of his mate as he stood, freshly showered, at the doorway to the bedroom.  The run had been much needed and he felt relaxed, or at least he had been. But as he stared at the exposed thigh bearing his marks, that relaxation was quickly turning into something else entirely.

She was lovely regardless, but she was especially lovely laying there peacefully asleep with her legs stretched out and the slit of her skirt falling open to reveal the creamy flesh. Drake felt like a creeper and yet he couldn’t look away. The markings called to him. They cried out to his wolf to come and lay claim to what was his. His feet were moving before he even realized it. He’d crossed the room in less than four strides and was kneeling next to his sleeping female.

Drake’s hand inched out, longing to trace the skin bearing his marks, but not wanting to cross a line she wouldn’t be comfortable with.

“You can touch me,” a breathy, sleepy voice caused his head to jerk up.

“What?” he asked, his voice barely recognizable as his wolf pushed to get out.

Bethany’s eyes met his. “I said, you can touch me.”

That was what he’d been afraid she’d said. She was giving him permission, but it still felt wrong. She couldn’t possibly understand what a simple touch could lead to, what he wanted it to lead to. And that made him sick.

He felt her small hand on his pulling it from his lap and lifting it until she could place it on the thigh that taunted him. Her flesh seared him and his fingers flexed against her. She felt like silk, warm silk. Drake knew he was playing with fire and oddly enough he wasn’t scared of being burned. Rather, he was scared of frightening his young mate.

“Bethany,” he practically groaned as he pulled his hand away. He felt as though there should have been some sort of applause or fanfare of music cheering on the amount of self-control it had taken in order to stop touching what his wolf believed to be rightfully theirs.

“Am I repulsive to you?” she asked. Though her words were calm and seemingly asked without emotion, he felt her turmoil through the bond. “We are supposedly true mates, destined to spend our lives together. And I assume we are supposed to get married or whatever Canis lupus do and eventually have babies. But how can any of that happen if you won’t touch me?”

He didn’t know how to explain it to her without insulting her, but Drake could tell she wasn’t going to let it go. “You’re mistaking my reluctance with a lack of desire, Beth, and I assure you that I don’t hesitate because of lack of desire. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I want you. By all that is pure and good, I want you like I’ve wanted nothing before but I don’t think you’re really ready for that.”

“How can we know that unless we try?” she pleaded.

“Try what?” Drake demanded. His words were harsher than he intended but he needed to make her understand. “Do you even know the things that happen between mates? Aside from kissing, Bethany, do you have any idea of the things they do together in physical intimacy to show that love to each other? Can you name one damn thing and if you can, can you say it without giggling or blushing or acting like a child?” Drake had stood up at some point during his rant and was standing over her. His need to dominate her, to make her submit to him, was riding him hard and it was only verification that he still wasn’t in control of himself. He took a step back from her and glared down at her prostrate form. “Do you have even the tiniest clue of how I want to touch you? I don’t just want to hold your hand, Beth. Mates do more than kiss and hold hands and usually it involves clothes coming off. Are you ready to take your clothes off in front of me? Are you ready to be touched somewhere other than your shoulder or back?” When all she did was stare up at him, mouth hanging open, it only made him angrier. “ARE YOU?” he bellowed.

Suddenly she was on her feet, all five foot nothing of her, and she was shooting him her own death glare. “Did the first man and woman created know what the hell they were doing? Did Adam have any clue how to touch Eve or show her how he felt about her and did Eve know how to reciprocate? Probably not! But they freaking figured it out because, oh wow, look around the entire world and see all of the people walking around. They all had to come from somewhere and, guess what, apparently they figured it out too. Do you think I am incapable of learning? Do I need to be talking to someone else about this? You are supposed to be my mate. Do you want some other male to teach me?”

His wolf surged forward and his hand phased into a paw with long, sharp claws and fur. He snatched up the nearest thing, a lamp, before he’d even realized it and hurled it across the room. The lamp shattered into a thousand little shards as it crashed to the wall and fell to the floor. “Never speak of being with another male in front of me. I would kill a man for even thinking of touching you. That
is
something you need to understand. You are mine and I will not share you, no matter how pissed off at me you get.”

“You may think that I am this poor, naive little girl, but I’m a grown woman. Maybe I’m ignorant in some ways, but I’m grown nonetheless and you will respect that and acknowledge it or I will walk away. I was a prisoner for eleven years and I’ll be damned if I’m going to be one again. Not in any way.”

Drake didn’t understand where this was coming from or why it was so important to her. They’d only known each other a week and he figured she’d want to get to know one another better before they even started kissing, but she just kept pushing. “Why?” He was attempting to focus on that question so that he could distract his wolf from the fact that their mate had just threatened to leave them. If he allowed himself to dwell on that he was pretty sure that he’d destroy a hell of a lot more than a lamp. Maybe anger management classes were something he should look into.

“What?” she snapped, caught off guard by the question.

“Why?” he repeated. “Why do you want this so badly? Why do you want something you don’t know anything about?”

Bethany threw her hands up in the air and began pacing back and forth in front of the couch with quick little steps. She felt as though standing still had suddenly become beyond her ability. “Why? Are you freaking kidding me? You feed me this bull about your kind, your species,” she spit the word at him. “Needing touch, needing closeness, because it’s so important and necessary and yet you hardly ever touch me. You feed me all this crap and then question why
I
want to be touched. For eleven years the only time I was touched was when they fed from me. The only touch I’ve known was violent and vile. My skin crawls every time I think of it and every time I shower I scrub myself raw hoping that I can get the feel of their cold flesh from my own. Why? Why?” Bethany laughed a humorless, empty laugh. “Can you imagine living for eleven years without a hug, without a pat on the shoulder, without a squeeze, a nudge, even a handshake? Why does anyone need touch, Drake? Canis lupus aren’t the only ones who need to feel wanted, needed, loved, desired. Those are human needs too.” She glanced over at the clock on the wall and when she looked back at him her face was devoid of the emotions that only moments ago were written all over her.

Dread filled Drake’s stomach as Bethany took a backward step toward the door. “You know what? Just forget it. I don’t want your hands on me. In fact, you aren’t allowed to touch me.”

“Bethany, don’t,” he warned.

“You forfeited that right when you decided I was too stupid to understand my own feelings and wants and needs. Do not attempt to touch me, Drake.”

“Don’t say that,” Drake said his anger turning to desperation. “You don’t understand how our magic works. You have to be careful with your words. Take it back.”