AllFreeNovel
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Ford’s brothers waved from where they sat on the couch as everyone introduced themselves.
The only seat left (other than the one between his brothers) was a big, cushiony chair, so Ford sat down in it and I plopped down on his lap. I didn’t fit quite as well on his lap as his brother’s teeny mate fit on her man’s lap, which I was slightly self-conscious about, but I kept my mouth shut about it.
And the way Ford’s fingers slid just under the hem of my top, brushing slowly back and forth over the strip of skin on my back just above the waist of my jeans, distracted me from my self-consciousness pretty damn thoroughly.
“I can’t believe how fast you came around to all of this,” Elizabeth said, gesturing around the room. “Christian hunted me for almost five months before I’d finally wrapped my mind around the idea that we were going to be stuck together forever. It was another two months before my wolf decided she was in.” She rolled her eyes, and I wasn’t sure whether she was rolling them at herself, or me, or what.
“My wolf doesn’t seem to be in a hurry either,” I admitted with a shrug.
“Beta females are usually much slower about the process than beta males,” Ford’s mom agreed.
I glanced over, surprised that she’d brought the whole pack-organization thing into it.
“Betas are the pack’s guardians,” she explained, noticing that she had my full attention. “Beta males are more physically protective than anyone else in the pack, while the females are more emotionally protective. The beta men usually claim their mates quickly, so they can better protect them, while the females hold their hearts close to their chests and wait until they’re absolutely certain to make a move. I’ve never met a beta female whose wolf made her decision in less than three months.”
Three months?
That wasn’t that long.
“My wolf chased this hunk for almost a year,” she said, patting her husband on the leg.
Damn.
That was definitely longer than three months.
And… it made me feel better, knowing that my wolf wasn’t in a rush. That I had time to get to know Ford before we jumped into the next level of whatever we were.
Alright, I knew what we were.
Mates.
But she was right; I wanted to take my time getting there. Because even if we were living together, and sharing our lives, it would be a while before I really felt sure about Ford, and all of the werewolf stuff.
Playing along was one thing, but really being confident in calling it my life was a completely separate one.
“She tells us that all the time,” Ford’s unmated brother drawled. “She loves to remind me and Ford that we’ve got to be patient, since we’re betas.”
“What are you guys?” I asked Elizabeth, curious.
“Deltas.” She flashed me another smile.
I knew Dax was Ford’s pack’s delta, but other than that, I still couldn’t remember what Elliot had said about them.
“So Ebony, you’re in school?” Ford’s dad prodded. “What are you studying?”
I launched into an explanation about my nursing degree and the fast-grad program I was in, which led to everyone else (except Ford) sharing what they did for a living.
The evening went by quickly, and it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Elizabeth didn’t bring up the make-out session she’d witnessed, and Ford’s mom brought out a plate of what had to be the best cupcakes I’d ever tasted.
When we got back in the car, Ford pulled out of the driveway and turned the music on quietly. The drive back to his place was less than ten minutes, and his hand was on my thigh the whole drive.
He seemed to realize that I needed the time to go over my own thoughts, to figure out how I felt about all the werewolf stuff after the time we’d spent with his family.
“So?” he asked, as he turned the car off.
“It was nice. Dinner, and dessert, and second dessert.”
He nodded, waiting for more of my thoughts I assumed.
