I hear Trevor first. His Australian accent even comes out in his bark. He’s happy. Good. That will make this easier. I was initially worried that he would be a problem, but I know he can be made to see reason. He even got a little taste of her from the moment I walked in on in the bathroom. It probably took the edge off.
Bryan and Chuck are chatting and laughing with each other and sound in great spirits. I’m already feeling better about this.
All I need is Darren, and we’ll be able to wrap this up in short order and go hunting. A pleased sort of hum escapes me as I pace on the beach and greet each of my podmates in turn.
Darren finally walks up the beach and my confidence takes a hit. He’s pensive. That’s never a good sign. But there’s no time to find out what his damage is. We have work to do.
“Well, men, you probably know why I called this meeting,” I begin, clapping my hands together to get their attention. “With an activated Matestone, we need to formulate a plan to handle the next two weeks of the attraction phase so as to keep any potential issues managed.”
Darren scoffs and I raise my eyebrow at him. “Got something to say, D? Spit it out.”
“She’s our Mate,” he says flatly, “I can feel it. She calls me no matter what form I’m in. We don’t know what she is, so we don’t have any idea what the mate-call feels like for her—but I know, without a shadow of a doubt, she’s ours.”
My eyes narrow and I clench my fists. This is not how this conversation is supposed to go.
Darren sees my expression and his expression softens, “Earl. You know it too. I know you do. We can make a contingency plan if you want, but what we should be doing is figuring out how to make her stay. Whatever she is, she was raised human and the idea of being Fated is so foreign to her that she will probably fight it at every stage.”
“Do the rest of you feel this way?” I ask tightly, staring them down. They all look uncomfortable but none of them drop their eyes.
Well, shit. Shit, shit, shit.
“If you’re wrong,” I warn Darren, but he puts his hand up before I can finish.
“I’m not wrong, Earl. She’s meant for us. We just need to win her.”
Bryan and Trevor start talking at once, shooting out ideas and making plans. They don’t even notice when I step back into the shadows and turn to walk down the beach. They’re too caught up in strategy and feelings. It comes so easily to them, this idea of wooing a Mate.
I reach up and touch the mark where she bit me and grimace. She broke the skin, goddamnit.
Bryan has the charm. Trevor has the accent and goofy approachability. Darren has the soul intensity.
I don’t have any of that. To her, I’m just the big asshole who runs the place.
To have a mate and finally complete our Pod would be the greatest thing to ever happen to us, but I can’t help but fear that she’ll fall for them and make her choice without me.
I don’t hear Chuck until he is right next to me.
“She’s beautiful,” he starts, staring out at the surf with me.
I grunt in agreement. It’s an easy statement. Ronnie is stunning, all feminine softness, and curves for days. Enough for all of us to lose ourselves in.
“She’s drawn to you too, you know,” Chuck says suddenly, turning to look at me. I don’t know what to say to that so I just nod. “Let yourself feel it and she might surprise you.”
Chuck walks off, kicking seashells back into the water and whistling.
I look over at my podmates who are laughing and joking, confident that we will win our Mate after so many years of waiting.
I hope they’re right.
I also hope they know how to fix everything when I fuck this up because there’s no way I’m getting out of this without messing up at least once. Maybe twice.
CHAPTER TWELVE: RONNIE
TURNS OUT, LIVING WITH four strange men is actually kind of awesome. They keep trying to one-up each other in their attempts at making me comfortable. At first, I feel bad...like I’m taking advantage of their hospitality, or manipulating them in some way—but they just keep doing it. If anything, their attention borders on stifling.
We coexist in a comfortable way, and even develop a routine as the days pass. I want to get out of the compound and explore, or even go to the beach, and they take me on little outings to show me their town. I’m never alone outside of the compound, and I suppose life could be worse than having four men, five if you count Chuck, fighting over showing me around a charming beachside town.
I don’t care where we go. Anything that gives me a break from the sexual tension that permeates our every move in the house is a welcome distraction. I have a weird chemistry building with each of them that I’ve never had before, certainly not with strangers I’ve only known for six days.
Trevor gets me my coffee every morning and sits with me while I drink it. He tells me about his childhood growing up off the East coast of Australia and the adventures he had before he ended up here. I could listen to him talk for hours. Sometimes I catch him looking at me with such longing that I want to climb up into his lap and kiss him until neither one of us can think straight. I don’t.
