by Cara Adams
Besides, both these men were decidedly handsome and they’d won time with her and her sister fair and square with their clever idea.
* * * *
Merek’s heart was pounding as if he’d run a mile in a minute, instead of simply hurrying across a small patch of lawn. He’d been watching one side of the building and Benedict the other, waiting to see Ebony arrive. He’d half expected her to be surrounded by a dozen or more wolves as well as her sister. The fact they’d been alone was the greatest gift the gods could have bestowed on him and Ben, as it gave them their first opportunity to spend time with Ebony and to lead the conversation to learn more about her. Merek was well aware that from here on out likely he’d be lucky to get more than a single dance alone with her and even that would be endangered if he annoyed either of the women now.
“We’re so pleased you agreed to join us. I’m Merek—”
“—and I’m Benedict. Please call me Ben.”
“I remember you both from this morning’s classes. You did the first two sessions,” said Ebony.
Merek set out the various packages he and Ben had bought on the blanket. “We weren’t sure what you’d like.”
“If none of this appeals to you, just tell us and we’ll go get whatever you’d prefer,” added Ben.
“Good heavens, no. There’s enough food here for an army already,” said Ivory.
Merek’s gaze was on Ebony, who stared at the array of fresh fruit, bottles of water, soda and beer, tiny chocolate cupcakes, several different kinds of muffins, and four large sandwiches. “What’s in the sandwiches?” she asked curiously.
Merek pointed, hoping one of the combinations he’d chosen appealed to her. “Tuna salad, egg salad, chicken salad, and ovo-lacto-vegetarian salad.”
“I suppose some wolves are vegetarians. Do you want to go halves with me?” she said, picking up the chicken salad sandwich and looking at Ivory.
“Absolutely. More than half of that enormous sandwich and I won’t be able to eat a cupcake as well. But I expect the vegetarian choices are more aimed at the women.”
There was silence for a few minutes as they all started eating, but Merek was still watching Ebony. She was clearly thinking about something and the little line marks on her forehead were a warning to him that she might have agreed to eat lunch with him, but he had no idea yet whether or not she liked him and Ben.
Ebony swallowed her mouthful and asked, “Are you related to each other? Or best friends from kindergarten or something?”
Ben shook his head but it was Merek who answered. “We’re members of Jasper’s pack, and when the Supreme Alpha of North America said ménages and interspecies marriages were approved, we joined together to work toward sharing a woman. We actually passed the tests to come last year, but the numbers were capped, the same as this year, and we didn’t make it to the cutoff line.”
“I’d heard that Jasper was just as strict with his own pack as with everyone else. He’s a wise and fair leader,” said Ivory.
“I’m glad you got here this time,” added Ebony.
“We applied as soon as the website opened,” said Ben.
Merek’s heart lurched. It’d been such a gamble taking the tests immediately when the website opened for registration. But they were determined not to miss out again and worried that if they took too long practicing they’d face a repeat of the previous year.
“How did you get your names? Ben and I’ve been fascinated by them. I don’t know whether you know, but quite a few people in our pack have jewel names. It’s kind of a tradition with our people,” he asked.
Ivory put down her partly eaten segment of sandwich and picked up a bottle of water. “Daddy could never make up his mind whether he was proud of fathering two daughters, or sad not to have a son like most people. When Ebony was born he wanted to give her a different name. A name that would stand out and be special. So he picked Ebony for her hair. She was born with a full head of black hair. When I came along just thirteen months later he and Mom had a boy’s name all sorted for me. Then, since I was blonde, he thought he’d just keep on with the theme and call me Ivory.”
“That was despite Mom saying her hair would likely go dark as she grew older, which many kids do. Lots of blond babies end up as brunettes,” said Ebony, taking a bottle of soda and twisting the cap off.
“But your hair didn’t go dark like Ebony’s so your father has beaten the odds again, just as he did with having two girls,” said Ben.
“Except we’re human like our mother, not wolves. We can’t shift,” warned Ebony.
Meek caught her fierce look but it didn’t disturb him. He liked that she was proud of her heritage. “Have you heard of the werewolf family history project? The people running it have wondered if the wolf gene might come out later, especially if women like you marry a wolf. But it doesn’t matter really. The fact that you’re both female and prepared to consider a werewolf for a mate is quite special enough.”
“I think your names prove that you have a unique link to our pack.”
Merek flashed a look at Ben. That was a strong thing to say. He hoped it didn’t discourage the women rather than encourage them.
“I don’t know that ebony and ivory are exactly jewels. One of the boys in Dad’s pack called us ‘the piano keys’ for a while. What other jewel names do people have in your pack?”
“How did you stop him? Or did one of the adults discipline him?” asked Ben.
“Oh, no. We sorted it ourselves.” Ivory burst out laughing.
“Well don’t leave us in suspense. Tell us the story.” Merek couldn’t imagine what they’d done. He’d have punched the kid on the nose, but he didn’t think Ivory would be laughing if that’s what she’d done.
“We took a hacksaw blade from home and waited until he was in class, then we sawed the lock off his locker and took all his things, then put a note in his locker, and glued his lock back on again.” Ebony was giggling now and Merek was looking from her to her sister and back again.
“Did the note tell him to apologize?” asked Ben.
“We’re much smarter than that. It was a riddle. When he solved it he knew where to go to look for his books. But that first riddle only took him to a second clue and then a third.”
“It was the most fun we’d had all year. We waited on the top floor of the school, looking out the window where we could see him going from place to place. I must say he was smart enough to solve the clues, although he was slow with some of them. And older than us.”
“That was a really clever way of getting even.” Merek was sure he wouldn’t have thought up anything half that good when he was in high school. He pointed to the cupcakes and muffins. “Are you going to have some dessert?”
Ivory picked up one of the cupcakes and then repeated her earlier question. “What other jewel names do people have in your pack?”
Ben started answering, but Merek tuned him out. Merek was watching Ebony. He knew she’d take a cupcake as well. He’d guessed right in that they both did like chocolate. But they’d chosen different drinks. They were sisters, and different, even though they were obviously very close to each other. He liked them both, but held by his original thought. Ebony was the one he wanted. Ivory was great, but Ebony had a little more strength of character, and was a fraction more independent. Of course it was much too soon to form opinions, but he’d be following these women around as much as they’d allow him to, so he and Ben could get to know Ebony better. A whole lot better.
* * * *
“Jasper is our Alpha and he and Cornelian are mated to Taige, who’s human. Jett and Morgan are mated to Eve, who’s Taige’s friend and also human. The third human woman and the third one of the friends is Ginny, and she’s mated to Zircon and Malachi, so as you can see there’s a few precious gemstones in among their names,” said Ben.
He was answering the question but he was watching Ebony. A small group of men was standing only a few paces away from them. Their time with Ebony and Iv
ory must be up.
The women acknowledged the other men by turning to sit side on, so they could see everyone.
The conversation became general immediately as the other men came closer, many of them sitting on the grass and a few leaning against the trunk of the tree. Ben watched Ivory and Ebony. But women had immaculate manners. They were always smiling and polite and both seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. The men were talking and laughing among themselves as well as with the women. Ben actually found himself joining in and sharing the conversation after a little while. After all, he and Merek had no claim on any woman as yet. No one did. The fact that having lunch with Ebony had simply made him want her more than ever wasn’t in any way her fault. In many ways it was a bonus. Now that he knew who they wanted he could concentrate on her. Other men still had to keep looking around for their woman. Unless Ebony rejected them.
A horrible pain knifed through his chest at that thought. Surely not. Surely she must soon come to know how he felt. But no, that wasn’t realistic. There was no guarantee she even did more than tolerate him and Merek. What they had to do was demonstrate to her most clearly that they liked her very much and wanted to get to know her completely so they could prove their love and devotion to her.
Yes, it was much too soon. He couldn’t possibly know yet that she was the one for them. But right now he couldn’t imagine being wrong. He was more attracted to her than he’d ever been to anyone else. Yet even greater than that was the link he felt between the three of them. A link that would bind him, Merek, and Ebony together for all eternity.
He watched her, learning her face, the little flick of her hair she gave when the long braid fell forward over her shoulder, and the way her breasts moved under the cotton fabric of her sundress. That lime green was the perfect color for her. It highlighted the midnight shine of her hair, and made her blues eyes appear even brighter and more sparkling than any gemstone.
Just when Ben was starting to worry the women might decide to leave soon, Merek said, “Tonight’s party is a formal dance. Please may I claim you for the supper dance, Ebony?”
No wonder Merek was the Dom. That was a damn smart move. Of course any number of people might sit around a table with them at supper, but this way Merek got to dance with her and to be assured of a place at her side over supper.
Ben scrambled to decide what would be better. To claim Ivory, who’d want to be with her sister, or to ensure he booked a dance with Ebony?
He was too slow. Even while Ebony was replying to Merek, one of the other men asked Ivory for the supper dance so Ben jumped right in to ask Ebony for the first waltz. At least he’d get his arms around her for a waltz. Any other dance might be line dancing or something that meant he’d be lucky to even hold her hand.
Most of the other men started speaking at once, so Ivory took her cell phone out of her pocket and began typing names and requests into it. Finally she held up her hands. “Enough, stop. I’m sure there won’t be that many dances tonight. There’s a party every night and I’m not taking bookings for tomorrow today.”
“We can’t stay up too late. We have classes to teach tomorrow morning,” added Ebony.
That was smart. Every wolf at the DADISP would likely turn up to one of their classes tomorrow. Ben was thinking seriously about going to all three. Until he’d arrived he’d considered going on a run most mornings, but now he knew that where Ebony was, he wanted to be there as well.
Ebony and Ivory stood up simultaneously. They moved with such lithe grace they might easily have been wolves. “Thank you, Benedict and Merek, for lunch. Thank you, everyone, for your company,” said Ebony.
Half a dozen wolves moved to stand beside them.
Ivory shook her head. “We’d appreciate it if you all stayed here. We have things to do before the party tonight.”
The men all said good-bye and thank you and followed the two women with their gazes, but none of them left the area. Ben was amazed, and then understood. None of them wanted to be told to leave the conference for upsetting a woman. Everyone was here to win a mate and disobeying a spoken request from a woman would be a fast track to expulsion. But still, it took inner strength to follow such an instruction which was the absolute opposite of what they would all like to do.
These were all good men. Men he should be proud to call his friends. If only they weren’t all also competitors for the woman he wanted.
* * * *
Ivory led the way back to the main pathway to the cabins, and Ebony walked at her side. She had a hell of a lot of things to think about, yet she was fairly sure there wouldn’t be time for thinking until midnight. They now had their dance rehearsal for the party tonight, then they’d have to get all prettied up for the party itself. They also needed to get their costumes over to the ballroom. Hmm. She’d need to make a few phone calls once they were alone. Unless Ivory had already organized the whole costume thing.
Without saying a word, they both stopped at the first branch pathway between the cabins. They’d turned enough corners that the men over by the tree could no longer see them and no one nearby appeared to be watching them. Nevertheless Ebony took the longer option and they circled around the block their cabin was in, returning to it from the opposite direction. Likely they were wasting their time, but Ebony was not keen to have a dozen men standing on her doorstep every time she entered or left the cabin. Clearly Ivory felt exactly the same. So often they agreed on everything, unlike some siblings who seemed to do nothing but argue.
“Remember Barbie at school?” she asked.
“Barbie who?”
“That girl who shared a bedroom with her sister. She had her side of the room painted in fluorescent pink.”
“Oh yes. And her sister had her side of the room in red and black for her football team. Their dad had to hang a curtain down the middle of the room to stop them fighting!”
“I’m so glad it was never like that for us,” said Ebony, smiling at Ivory as she unlocked the door to their cabin.
“Well, there was that one time you…”
They both burst out laughing.
Once the door was shut, they turned and looked at each other. Ebony took her key card and her cell phone out of her bra and checked the time. “We still have almost an hour before the dance rehearsal for tonight, but we’ll need to figure out what we’re going to do about the costumes first. Do you think we’ll be able to leave them in the ballroom or not?”
Ivory shrugged. “I was hoping Dorothea would have organized all that. This is her idea after all. I’ll call her now. I don’t want to be dragging this stuff all around the conference center unnecessarily.”
Ebony relaxed back on her bed and waited. She’d enjoyed dancing to the YouTube video Dorothea had sent them the link for. Six people were doing a display dance at the party this evening in among a passel of other items such as singers and musicians. Dorothea was the event coordinator for this DADISP and had arranged for them to participate, but none of them had actually danced it together yet. They’d all learned the steps and practiced separately, but the rehearsal this afternoon was to practice working as a group.
Ivory hit speaker as Dorothea answered the call.
“Hi, Dorothea. What happens with our costumes this afternoon? I know—”
“Don’t sweat it, sweetie. I’ve gotten it all sorted. We’ll practice in ordinary clothes until I’m sure we’re all okay with the steps, then change and run through with the costumes just to make sure that doesn’t throw anyone off their stride. The conference center manager is going to lock them in one of the bathrooms and reserve it for us all to use as a change room so no one gets to see them before the actual dance. There’ll be other acts changing in that bathroom during the night as well, and I’ll collect all the costumes at the end of the evening and take them to be dry cleaned and returned to the hiring company.”
“That’s great. Thank you.”
“No sweat, sweetie. See you in a bit.”
“That�
�s good. I was hoping we weren’t going to be up half the night trying to sponge dirty shoe prints off the hems of our dresses or something,” said Ebony.
“Yes. I wonder who the three men are who she’s arranged to dance with us. Maybe they’re other workers here, or people from her own pack. Wait. Is she a wolf?”
“I have no idea. Marbella’s a wolf, and all the stall holders here are either shape-shifters or people used to working with shape-shifters, but about Dorothea herself, I have no idea. She’s associated with the shape-shifter clinic. She helps them with rehabilitation exercises and planning for their return to their communities, and things like that. But she could be either shape-shifter or human. Both of them work there.”
Ebony was more interested in thinking about who the three male dancers would be. Of course, it wouldn’t be the delicious Merek and Benedict who she was already coming to like and respect. But would it be two even more attractive men? Well, as long as they kept their feet off her toes it didn’t really matter, she supposed. She’d be wearing a floor-length dress. If one of her foot movements wasn’t quite correct, she could always hope no one had noticed. The men were wearing skin-tight pants. Any misstep they made would be instantly obvious to everyone. The pressure was on them, not her, to get it right.
But hmm. Who would she be dancing with?
* * * *
Ben knew Merek had made a shitload of plans for the evening. It was part of Merek’s character as a Dom to think up and weigh through every last little possibility so that no matter what might happen along the road he would still achieve his desired outcome. Ben wasn’t so sure it could happen. Each of them had only secured one dance with Ebony although Merek had been smart enough to claim the supper dance. And Ben knew neither woman would appreciate them hanging around her all night when she was talking to other men. They’d agreed between themselves to keep moving around the ballroom and to talk to other people so they didn’t appear to be stalking Ebony. They didn’t want to be told to leave the convention. That would be dreadful. The end to all their dreams and hopes of building a relationship with their mate.
