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“Until what?”
“Until you turned twenty-five, and then you would not age like normal humans. You would live much longer. That’s why when I moved to our present location, I decided to be your sister. If I were your sister, no one would suspect me looking like I was only slightly older. I wanted so much for you to have a normal life, Tameca.”
They cleared the trees for the second time. Now the area was a flurry of activity, people coming and going. Cute little houses dotted the lane. At the far edge of the small town, people without a stitch on transformed into wolves and disappeared into the forest.
“Wow, this place is amazing,” Tameca commented. “It’s like a private little community.”
“It was. Now, we live scattered over several cities and countries, keeping hidden, trying to live normal lives. The hard part is that at a certain age, a male will find his mate and claim her.”
Tameca swallowed. “Like Marcus found me.”
She nodded. “Yes, he found you two years ago, picked up your scent from Canada, if you can believe it. I like to think it’s a spiritual awakening, something inside that leads your intended to you. And then when he’s closer, he catches your scent.”
Tameca’s eyes were so wide they hurt. “He approached you, asking about me?”
Renee ran a hand over her forehead. When it dropped to her sides again, tears ran down her face. “Yes. I asked him to wait until you turned twenty-five and until I could tell you the truth. But how would I? I’ve lied about who we are all this time. I knew what it would mean for you to mate with Marcus, that you would leave me.”
“I won’t. Um . . . Ma . . . don’t worry. I’m not going to leave you.” Tameca hugged her, and Renee cried harder hearing her for the first time call her Ma. “Besides, Marcus’s mansion wasn’t that far from us. And it looks like he has plenty of rooms. You can move in.”
“Marcus bought that house until it was time to reveal who we are. He lives in Europe. He told you he would travel, but he meant he would go back home and take you with him. Your place will be at his side.”
Tameca frowned. “I would love to visit Europe, but not live there. My life is here. Marcus and I can discuss it like equals and . . . ” She turned at the rustle of trees behind her. Marcus stood and waited. This whole thing was both weird and familiar at the same time. She remembered what her mother had told her. When she bonded with Marcus, she would go where he went. Deep inside, she knew, if Marcus did not consider her feelings about staying in America, she would still go with him, like it or not. She wanted to tell him where to go, but when he raised his hand, she went to him.
“Where is the evidence that you can’t resist me like I can’t resist you?” she demanded. “Why is this all one-sided?”
“Baby.” He kissed her lips and lingered, as if to breathe in her essence. The knowledge that he seemed to savor it gave her tingles. “I traveled across the world looking for you. I would do it again and for the rest of my life if I had to. As I said, your existence tempts me. Tami, I need you. Mate with me.”
“Y-Yes. Yes, I will.”
Tempting a Wolf
Chapter Nine
Tameca stood just outside the doors leading to the room where she and Marcus would mate. She had already seen inside earlier. The room was a virtual bordello, decked with silk and satin in shades of crimson and white. Marcus didn’t stick with the old ways of mating in the woods, somewhere in the darkness.
That thought made moisture break out on her forehead and her hands shake. She had clenched them at her sides, had rubbed them along Marcus’s cape, and had run them through her hair. Nothing helped. Her legs threatened to give out before she stepped through the doorway.
Marcus had said she must be a virgin for him, but Renee disputed the claim. She hadn’t been. Knowing her mate was controlling to the point of not allowing her to share another man’s bed before they came together almost made her walk away. But the torment in his eyes. The uncertainty she saw there now as he stood waiting came through to her befuddled mind.
What would he do if she left, right now, just walked out the door and never came back? Would he come after her, force her to mate with him? Would he try to seduce her or threaten to kill any man she dated? Her mother had said Marcus picked up her scent after he had entered the States. Was there anywhere she could hide from him? She didn’t think so. This was her life, and it felt like she didn’t have a choice.
Sensual music played, and the family all sat around on pillows, their attention trained on Tameca and Marcus. She knew the ritual was for her to go to him and wait for him to make a speech about choosing her, but fear rooted her to the spot.
Marcus strode out of the circle to meet her at the door. He cupped her face in his palms and tilted her head to look him in the eyes. “Stay with me, Tami. Even though I don’t deserve you. Please stay. We did this all wrong . . . I . . . did this all wrong.” He slipped a hand in hers and led her out of the room amid protests and her mother’s call. They were disrupting the ritual. He ignored them all. “If you want, we can take it slower. I will wait. This ceremony will not take place until you are sure, until all of your questions are answered.”
She breathed in his scent, taking comfort in it. “But the night. It’s perfect. Halloween, the blue moon. We’re not werewolves, but I feel something special in the moon. I feel like I want to howl at it.” A tremor threaded her laugh.
He nodded. The gentle pressure of his hand at her lower back encouraged her to rest in his arms. “The moon is special for us. We take our mate on the night of the full moon. The blue moon, rarer still, makes our joining more powerful, but we don’t have to do it tonight, Tami.”
“No, I want to.” She ran her hand down his taut abdomen. “This goes beyond all that I thought I wanted, to have sex with you, to lose my virginity. But I’ve never felt anything so right.
Marcus, if I wanted to live in the U.S. instead of Europe, what would you say to that?”
“I would say you must follow me, Tami. That’s how we have lived for thousands of years.”
She slumped, curled her shoulders toward her chest, and wrapped her arms across her belly.
“And then, I would say, I choose to live in America.” He grinned. She thumped his chest and took his hand to lead him into the room. He hesitated. “Are you sure?”
