Scent of a Mate
Authors: Milly Taiden
For
Wolf Fever
“Wolf Fever is just another great example of Milly Taiden knowing what it takes to make Paranormal hella' SEXY!”
—Shayna Renee, Shayna Renee’s Spicy Reads
“This book was a rollercoaster of ups and downs. I loved the plot, the characters and the hot, hot sex! Milly Taiden’s Shifters are always a crowd pleaser and Wolf Fever is no exception!”
—Sheri & Jen, Two Bibliophiles Guide
“WOLF FEVER is full of hot sexy scenes that make you rethink wearing underwear while reading. And it has a heroine that is tougher then even some of the toughest alpha wolves.”
—Barb Hicks, Bad Barb Reviews
Copyright Warning
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
New York, NY 10456
Scent of a Mate
Copyright © 2013 by Milly Taiden
Edited by Rachel Firasek
Cover by Mina Carter
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden September 2013
For the people who rocked and made this book shine in one way or another:
Rachel Firasek
Mina Carter
Jennifer James
Michelle Wilson
Iris Montalvo Pross
Julie Duran- Fernandez
And
My Sexy Biter Book Pimps
Because you all love me and my wolves. I can’t thank you all enough for your support.
To all my readers: I hope you’re ready for your mission: Scent your mate…
Finally,
To all the writers out there: KEEP WRITING! Don’t ever quit and don’t give up on your dreams.
Please?” Jordan leaned forward on the sofa and gave her best imitation of what Ellie called “puppy eyes.” A soft squeaking protested Jordan’s wiggling on the leather. She knew her enthusiasm probably rivaled that of a four year old at Christmas, but she was so close to cracking Ellie, she didn’t care.
“No.” Ellie’s voice didn’t sound as sure as it had the first five times Jordan had asked the same question.
“I thought you wanted me to write this book on shifter mating rituals? Don’t you think I need to watch it? I mean, I can’t just write a book on your history, for your family’s records, based solely on what you tell me. I have to see it.” Not really, but she was not telling Ellie that and messing up her chance of watching something so cool.
Ellie frowned. “Well—”
“Come on.” Jordan huddled closer to the edge of her seat, almost falling off in the process, once again rubbing the leather and making it whine. “Look, I swear to you, I will be on my best behavior. I won’t do anything to call attention to myself. I will just observe from the sidelines. Heck, I’ll observe from the distance with binoculars.”
Ellie rolled her gorgeous blue eyes and ran her fingers through her short blonde bob, making the strands glimmer under the light of her sitting room’s lamp. “I don’t remember a single time you have ever been on your best behavior.”
That was true. Jordan’s mouth always got her into some kind of trouble, especially with the other faculty at the school where she taught.
“Okay. I pinky promise.” She lifted her hand, curling all her fingers until only her wiggling pinky stood.
Ellie bit her lip and groaned, still unsure.
“I know shifters are not exactly common knowledge with most of the world. But you have to admit that with more human-shifter interaction, it’s only a matter of time before you guys lose a lot of your history. I promise to write a specific detailed account. Nothing but the history behind this event.” Her heart pounded so hard. She wanted to shake Ellie and order her to agree already.
“Jorda-a-an!” With the way Ellie said her name, in that soft sigh of defeat, Jordan knew she had her. “If I agree to this insanity, you have to swear not to do anything to let anyone know you guys are there! You will get me in so much trouble.”
Jordan struggled and failed to stop the smile from splitting her lips. “I promise! I promise! You know I am dying to see this whole scenting ritual.” She rushed to say. “Now why is it such a big deal to keep this all quiet?”
“Because,” Ellie leaned back on her sofa and stared at the ceiling, “this is an old tradition. Males and females from all over will come together to meet each other, some for the first time. Kelly and Marco are going to see if they are compatible.”
“But they’ve met once, right?”
“Yes, at a family gathering some months back. They didn’t even get a chance to talk. From what Mom said, their eyes did the talking for them. Apparently, it was instant. It’s why we’re having this ceremony. Tradition dictates we have it yearly, and the family is hoping it works out for Kelly and Marco.”
Jordan frowned remembering Ellie’s cousin Kelly and the guy they’d kept referring to as her potential mate. She tucked a long strand of dark hair behind her ear. “I still don’t understand. How can you guys just allow some tradition to tell you who your mate is?”
Shit. Jordan had a hard time with anyone telling her what to do to begin with. It was why she loved being an independent woman.
Ellie’s smile was weak. “We are part of a pack, and my father is Alpha. As such, I need to follow rules like everyone else. You’re lucky you’re human and don’t have to worry about any of this. And we don’t allow the tradition to tell us who our mate is. This is like a first date.”
“In front of a whole bunch of people.”
“Right.”
“Who happen to watch to see if you hit it off?”
“Yes.”
“And who’ll know who she has sex with at the end of the night.”
“Correct. Wait. What?”
“Sounds like the perfect date.” She snickered and almost choked on her wine.
“This is why I didn’t want you there. You, Emma, Nicole, and Karla are so going to get caught.”
“We won’t! We won’t. We’ll be super–spy, research ninjas. Quiet, but sexy smart.” She grinned.
“Oh brother,” Ellie groaned.
“Speaking of brothers. Are, um, your brothers going to be there?” What she really wanted to ask was if one particular brother was going to be there. God, she hoped not. The first time she’d seen Aric Wolfe, she’d been a thirteen-year-old with a crush the size of Alaska. One look was all it took, and her poor teenage heart had been in puppy-love for years. And though it’d been a crush for a long time, it had never gone away. In fact, with years, it had grown. She’d tried to date other men and rid herself of the idea that he’d ever look at a non-shifter for more than a friendship, but it was useless. With time, her attraction for him had grown deeper, into something she didn’t want to think too much about or it would make her hyperventilate.
Blue sparkles lit in Ellie’s eyes. “Yes,
all
my brothers will be there.”
Oh hell. “Then, yeah, I will hide off somewhere and never move a muscle. I promise.”
Ellie’s laughter, filled with unabashed delight, made her smile. “I still don’t understand why you’re so afraid of being around them.”
Yeah well, Jordan knew all about that super smelling-power shifters had. The last thing she wanted was for Aric to know how one glance at his body and those damn sexy muscles got her so turned on she’d likely start a fire. She could probably melt butter on her skin. “I think it’s best to keep my distance. I know your parents weren’t fond of their only daughter hanging with so many humans.”
Ellie shrugged. “It was either send me to regular school, or deal with packs of horny wolves hitting on their baby girl.” She grinned, grabbed her glass of wine, and sipped. “They knew humans don’t have our scenting or go into heat, so they decided to take the chance.”
Jordan drank her own wine, letting the fruity flavor slip and slide over her tongue. “Yeah, but I bet they didn’t think you’d end up bringing home an annoying, fat Latina for your new pet.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Who’s the wolf here, you or me?”
Good point. Ellie’s parents had cared for Jordan. A lot more than Jordan herself could ever understand. Even after all those years being so close to them and Ellie, she still couldn’t make any sense of why they done so much when her parents hadn’t cared at all. What was it about them that made them different? And there had to be some resentment in there. They’d practically adopted her.
“Alright. I’ve become like a second daughter since we became friends. That has to be annoying for them. I mean if they wanted more kids, they’d have had more the old fashioned way.”
Jordan found the whole shifter community absolutely fascinating. If it were up to her, she’d be all in their business trying to figure out how the whole animal-human thing worked.
“Why would you say they’d be annoyed by you?” Ellie’s face creased in a frown. “They like you. Heck, they love you more than any of their sons’ previous girlfriends. In fact, they like you more than most family we have. You’ve grown on them.”
Jordan snorted. “Yeah like fungus or a rash.”
“No, not like that. Like an unusual but lovely woman who needs a mate.”
“What?” She spit out the wine she’d had in her mouth. “Who said I needed a mate?”
Ellie laughed, put her glass down on the coffee table, and settled into the sofa with her feet under her. “My mother. She thinks you just need a strong man to help you realize what you are missing out on.”
“And that’s a mate?” Jordan coughed, trying to stop the choking. Her tummy churned with anxiety. She held Barbara Wolfe, Ellie’s mother, in high regard. But Jordan would never think a long-term relationship would fix her. Thinking of any kind of dependence on anyone made her feel slightly sick. She didn’t really trust most people enough for that.
“Yes. She was highly upset when I told her you broke up with your last boyfriend. She thinks you just haven’t been chased by the right one.”
Jordan continued to cough while Ellie giggled. “Mrs. Wolfe thinks I need to be chased?”
Well hell, maybe she was on to something. Chasing sounded fun. Usually Jordan was too prickly for men to make a move, unless they were sure of themselves. But even then, most of them turned out to be full of shit.
Ellie nodded, flipped on her back and stretched, rubbing her bare feet on the leather. “Of course, dad thinks you’re too independent and need a man to rein you in.”
Rein her in? What the hell was she, cattle? Tristan, Ellie’s dad, was so old school. “Yeah, that sounds like your dad.”
“Although, Aric—”
Jordan’s gaze jerked to Ellie’s face. The bemused smile on her was one Jordan had often seen when Ellie was up to no good. “Aric was present during these conversations?”
Ellie knew Jordan liked Aric to some degree. It’s not like she could hide it from her. The woman was a wolf. She could smell Jordan getting all kinds of turned on when Aric’s name popped up. But what she never told Ellie was how deep her feelings ran. That was something Jordan had trouble even thinking about.