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Jack and Packmaster Sanders were still talking, apparently oblivious to my dilemma.
“We just found out today that Madison here is a Were,” Jack was telling the other man. “She’s coming into her first Heat Cycle and having some…difficulties. I was hoping…” He stopped for a moment, as though he was having trouble getting the words out. “Hoping she might be able to join the Open Breeding,” he said at last, his voice coming out in a hoarse growl.
I shot him a sideways glance. Why couldn’t he see that this was wrong? He was the only man I wanted—the only one for me. And I was the only one for him. Why was he trying so hard to get me bred and knotted by another man when it was clear he wanted me for himself?
“It’s a good thing you brought her then,” Packmaster Sanders said gravely. “I’ll be honest—I had heard from Drake Wilkes and Billy Masters that your Blood-ward was becoming a ripe bitch.”
“Excuse me?” I demanded, too offended to hold my tongue any longer. “What did you call me?”
“That’s Were terminology—not an insult, Princess,” Jack said quickly. He looked at Sanderson apologetically. “Patrick and Melissa, her parents, never told her anything about the Were world because she didn’t have a Mark,” he explained. “So there’s a lot she still doesn’t know.”
“Well, I can understand how it might sound strange or offensive the first time you hear it,” the Packmaster said. “I was just saying to your Blood-guardian that your body is getting ‘ripe’ for breeding and since you’re female, that makes you a ‘bitch,’” he explained to me. He looked at Jack. “I’m glad you brought her yourself, so we didn’t have to track you down.”
“Track him down? Why would you do that?” I asked.
“Well, it’s against Pack law to keep a female that’s going into her Heat Cycle from getting bred,” Sanders explained. “For instance, sometimes the parents of a female Were who matures early might want to keep her from going to the Pack grounds to get bred. But that’s highly illegal, because a female who goes into her Heat Cycle and doesn’t get bred could die of Heat Fever.”
I wondered exactly how young they started breeding their females around here and felt almost as sick as I had when the Packmaster had shaken my hand.
“So…you would have come to Jack’s cabin to get me tonight if he didn’t bring me himself?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
“We would at least have come around to see if you were in your Needing yet—the stage where your Heat Cycle is ramping up,” Sanders said frankly. He leaned towards me and inhaled deeply. “Which it clearly is,” he finished, nodding in satisfaction.
“Oh, uh…” I bit my lip—feeling suddenly naked, even though I still had on a skirt and blouse. I had put on one of my too-small bras and layered some toilet paper inside it to hide the shameful secret of my dripping nipples. The straps were cutting into me horribly but it was still better than having big wet spots on my front.
“So if your guardian hadn’t brought you tonight, we would have assumed he was keeping you from being bred or else breeding you himself—which as I’m sure he’s explained, is completely unacceptable,” Sanderson went on.
“Because of the Unbreakable Laws, right?” I asked dully.
“Exactly!” Sanderson nodded. “I see you’re not completely in the dark about Were matters,” he added.
“No, I’ve, er, explained some things to her,” Jack said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. “But maybe you can tell her what to expect tonight.”
“Certainly! In fact, why don’t I take Madison over to the other unmated females? There’s a whole group of them right there, under the trees.” He pointed to the other side of the clearing. “The Alphas will be here soon and then we can start the Breeding run.”
“The Breeding run?” I asked, feeling a knot in my stomach.
“I’ll explain everything,” the Packmaster promised. “Come on now—let’s get you with the other bitches.”
He tried to put an arm around me, presumably to lead me over to the small group of women under the trees, but at the thought of him touching me again, something seemed to break inside me. I ducked away from him and turned back to Jack. Standing on tiptop, I threw my arms around his neck and clutched him tightly.
“Please don’t make me do this,” I begged him.
I was close to panic. The thought of having any other man but him touch me made me feel like my skin was trying to crawl off my body! I had forgotten my plan of running and hiding—at the moment all I could seem to think of was the fact that I was soon going to be hunted by men whose sole aim was to chase me down and fuck me.
