Chapter Thirty - Coming of Age

The few remaining days before the Wolf moon had flown by. Selene was still unconscious, but the silver was removed from her blood. She had fully shifted to her wolf in the middle of her first night sleeping in the moonlight. Seeing a scruffy white wolf on the cot made everyone much more confident that she would heal well as soon as she got enough hours with the goddess. Every morning her coat seemed to have filled in some, which was a good sign. The lycan appeared to have left, but the guest houses still smelled recently used, so nobody in the pack was quite as comfortable as they would normally be.

Jake had fallen back on his traditional pack party plans, omitting most of the birthday and mate announcement plans he’d been making. He really wanted to count on both Lia’s shift and their mating, but he understood Lia not wanting attention from a bunch of werewolves who were still mostly strangers to her, so he’d agreed to keep those things just between them for tonight. Knowing most of the night would be a private affair seemed to have eased her nerves significantly.

Instead of joining the pack for the big dinner in the hall, he’d invited her friends up here for an early dinner. They would have liver fried with onion and poutine with beef gravy as a side. Apparently, those were Lia’s favourite foods. For dessert, rather than cake, she liked raspberry pie with French vanilla ice cream. Marie Rogue was going to see to all the food so that it was exactly the way Lia liked it. After the meal, Lia’s friends would then join the festivities on the lawn and he and Lia would go out onto the privacy of their balcony where she could experience her first shift without a bunch of curious onlookers. The image of her lying naked on the lounge made him growl in anticipation, both he and his wolf hopeful and excited. Would they mate today? Would it be before or after she sifted?

He stood on his balcony in the cool morning air wearing nothing but his jeans as he watched the sun come up over Cloud Lake. He drummed his fingers on the railing, a bit of nervous energy making him restless. He took deep breaths, letting the wintry breeze calm him inside and out. Lia usually woke soon after sunrise. Would she scent him as her mate right away or would they have to wait for that until after she’d shifted? Would it take even longer for her wolf senses and awareness to develop? How would she react to him if her awareness was awakened first? Would she want to shift tonight? She was still really nervous about it. Would she want to try shifting more, or less, if she scented he was her mate first? He shook his head in disbelief, realizing Lia’s way of asking a million questions all at once was rubbing off on him. A hint of mint-scented air made him smile, and he was certain Zinnia would soon send him an image of the breakfast awaiting them. It was Lia’s warm hands smoothing down his back that sucked him out of his thoughts.

“I thought you smelled good before, she said in a husky voice, “but this is amazing.” He felt her nose touch his back, right between his shoulder blades. She slid it up towards his neck, inhaling all the way. “I think that Lycan was right about me.”

“In what way?”

“My wolf side wants me to be very spontaneous, but my human side is more reserved. She kissed his back as her hands slid around his waist.

“Which side is going to win?”

“hmmm… I might have to lick you to find out.” Heat rushed through Jake and he gripped the railing tighter, his breathing growing more ragged as she slid her hands up his chest and held him close, pulling him towards her as she pressed her cheek between his shoulders. “Remember the morning of the movie, when you fell asleep on your bed right after the other pack left?”

“You saw me?”

“Mmm,” Lia kissed his back, then his neck, her hands sliding down his sides and then around to squeeze his bottom as she whispered in his ear. “If it hadn’t been for the buzzing in my head and my two best friends standing right there, my wolf would likely have convinced me to curl up beside you right then. She wanted to lick you so badly I could taste your scent!” His breath hissed between his teeth as her hand slid to the front, sliding down over him, feeling his shaft, and sliding lower to cup him between his legs and massage him gently. “My wolf is definitely winning,” she said as she licked up the side of his neck. “I never would have done anything like this before. I never would have even considered being this bold.”

“Maybe we should wait?” The cold air bit into his flesh as she stepped away from him.

“You don’t want me?” Jake spun around and grabbed Lia’s hips, pulling her tightly against him. He growled and she gasped as her hips came in contact with his. His nostrils flared as the scent of her arousal surged up from her center.

“Does that feel like I don’t want you?” He growled, pulling her tight against his erection and thrusting it against her. “I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want this, as much as I want you, right now. But you aren’t a typical werewolf, Lia. With everything that's been going on for you lately, I need to know you know what you're doing. I need to know you aren’t going to regret this—neither your wolf nor your human half. Werewolf mating isn’t a one-night stand. Once we start, we won’t be stopping until our scents are joined. That’s it for life, Lia. We’ll be connected forever.”

Lia stepped away from him, her head slightly bowed as she looked up at him through her eyelashes

“Yes, Alpha Jake.” His wolf was screaming at him to take it back, so it took him a moment to realize she had grabbed the hem of her nightgown and tugged it up, over her head. His hungry eyes devoured all she bared, moving up her long, slender legs to the patch of white curls at her apex, over her flat stomach to her little round breasts. Her nipples tightened into little red buds as he looked at them. “I understand that. And I know what I want,” she said as her arms fell back down to her sides. His desire-fogged brain finally kicked in and he reached for her a moment too late. She flashed him a cheeky grin, tossed the gown in his face, and ran for her room. Jake inhaled, filling himself with her scent before he dropped the gown to the floor. He smirked at the sight of her pert bottom disappearing around the corner and began to stock after his mate. He hadn’t seen much of this fun-loving side of her yet. Teasing, flirting, molesting him...his mate was going to be a lot of fun.