The Mating Rules

Jamie-Lee’s POV

It’s been three days since we rushed Bailee into the pack clinic and she’s finally been allowed home, though she’s whining constantly as our mother is fussing over her like she’s fatally wounded. The only time she plays up the sick child look is when our father mentions her returning to training, then she’s touching her neck and wincing before lying back on the pillows saying she needs to sleep.

I’m trudging back to my room after a particularly gruelling training session of my own. I’m covered in mud, my hair has twigs and grass stuck in it and I must smell awful. For the first time I’m starting to wish I had an excuse not to train because Dorien was a slave driver! Two hundred push ups! I’m a werewolf, not a bloody body builder!

Pushing open my door weakly, I step into my room and my foot connects with a small white envelope. Bending down, I scramble after it as it slides across my floor and disappears under my bed.

‘Dammit!’ I hiss to no one, lying on the floor and fishing around in the darkness for the letter. Something brushes my fingers and I snatch my hand back to find a monster spider clinging to my fingernail. Screaming, I shake my hand around like a maniac, sending the venomous bastard flying across my room.

‘What! Who’s attacking?’ comes Ashleigh’s breathless voice moments later over my shrieks as I glance over my shoulder to my best friend standing in my doorway, fighting stance with a lamp in her hand.

‘Spider!’ I wail, ‘huge a*s spider as big as my head! Tried to eat me!’

I point wildly toward the other side of my bed, before scrambling backward toward the door as my beyond brave best friend rolls her eyes at me. Walking across the room, she drops the lamp on my mattress before starting to look around the furniture in search of the carnivorous monster.

Ten minutes of hunting and she finally stands up with her hands clasped together, holding them toward me as I shake my head, pressing myself into the wall.

‘Big as your head?’ she repeats, arching an eyebrow.

I nod, ‘get rid of it! NOW!’ I hiss, wrapping my arms around my knees as she cages the menace in one hand, opens my window and throws it unceremoniously outside. Closing my window again, she turns back to me with a smirk, ‘WOW, I don’t know how you survived, that almost bit my leg off.’

I stand up, glaring at her, ‘It was a lot bigger when it attacked me, obviously it has magical shrinking abilities and was cowed by your advanced warrior skills.’

Ashleigh snorts, picking up her lamp from where she dropped it on my bed and placing it on the table beside her. ‘So what were you doing when you were attacked by a vicious arachnid?’ she asks, noting my position on the floor and thus reminding me that I was trying to find my letter.

There is no way I’m sticking my hand under that bed again, the death spider might have a family! They will be none too pleased about my best friend throwing their loved one out of a window, so I point it instead, ‘had a letter, kicked it under there.’

Nodding, Ashleigh gets down on all fours, crawling into the small space before backing out, the white envelope clutched in her hand.

‘My hero!’ I squeal, reaching out for the white square and opening it with my finger.

Dear Jamie-Lee

We cordially invite you to meet us in the gardens at 2pm this afternoon, wear something comfortable.

Your very sexiest of mates.

Reading upside down from above me, Ashleigh frowns, ‘which one is that from?’ she asks

I snigger, ‘Caden’ I reply immediately, yeah, I already know my mates, there is no way Hadley would refer to him and his wolf as the sexiest of mates.

‘What do you think he has planned?’ my best friend muses, glancing at me.

Jamie-Lee’s POV

It’s been three days since we rushed Bailee into the pack clinic and she’s finally been allowed home, though she’s whining constantly as our mother is fussing over her like she’s fatally wounded. The only time she plays up the sick child look is when our father mentions her returning to training, then she’s touching her neck and wincing before lying back on the pillows saying she needs to sleep.

I shrug, ‘knowing him and Cobalt’ I murmur, ‘he probably wants to go for a run with Skarla.’ I blush slightly as I peer up through my lashes at her, ‘he likes to chase her.’

Ashleigh’s grin widens as she looks down at me, ‘oh I bet he does’ she purrs, ‘and I can just imagine what he does when he catches her.’ She starts to make obscene gestures with her finger poking into her closed hand as I swap my letter at her leg.

‘Get your mind out of the gutter, you dirty hoe’ I growl as she laughs.

‘Please tell me you have tapped at least one of those hunks’ she replies, backing up and dropping onto my mattress. ‘Hell if either of them were my mate, I’d be climbing them like a tree every time they stood still’ she added.

‘Ash! You are mated! Don’t let Dexter here you say that’ I shriek, ‘and excuse me but those are MY mates you are drooling over’ I add with a huff.

‘Yeah, Yeah, all yours, keep my hands off, I know. But surely there is no harm in a girl having a little private fantasy starring herself as the middle of a Alpha, warrior, beefcake sandwich once in a while.’

‘Leave’ I growl, pointing at my bedroom door whilst giving her the stink eye.

Ashleigh throws her hands up in defeat, ‘fine, be like that’ she huffs, ‘and after I saved you from a killer spider as well! I should go outside, find him and bring him back.’

I shake my head quickly, ‘no! it will crawl over me in the night, wrap me up and use me as a living b***d donor until one day it get’s over excited like the b***d sucking vampire it is and drain my body, leaving me a corpse to rot in this room alone!’

Giggling, Ashleigh stands up, giving me a wave before exiting my room, leaving me alone.

Eyeing my bed warily for a moment, just to make sure that no spider widow is going to crawl out and seek vengeance on me, I climb to my feet and check my watch. I have under two hours before I need to meet Caden and I still smell like someone dunked me in a box of horse dung.

Heading into the shower, I reach in and turn the dial, cold water spraying my arm for a second before the hot water kicks in. Stripping out of my muddy clothes, I throw them into the washing basket and step under the spray, a m**n of pleasure leaving me as the hot water hits my skin.

I scrub every inch of my body before focusing on my hair, getting the knots and tangles out, staying under the stream until the water starts to cool.

Stepping out, I wrap a towel around my body and haul a*s back into the bedroom, glancing at the clock to find I’ve spent over forty five minutes in the shower.

Yelping in shock, I rush around the room, grabbing my hair dryer, brush and serum. Sitting down in front of the mirror I start to try and make my hair look half way decent whilst swearing under my breath that I kicked Ashleigh out.

Once done, I’m pulling open every drawer trying to decide if this is a situation that requires nicer underwear or not. Not that I’m thinking I’m going to sleep with him, but if we are shifting, he’s going to see everything so maybe I want to give the man an eyeful of the goods. Every girl likes to be appreciated after all, so really it’s a good reason to bring out the big guns surely?

Agreeing with my reasoning, I pull out a lacy black number with bright pink lacing to the side and slip them on. Making an effort, my mother would be proud of me.

Hurrying over to my closet, I stand inside looking over the options, comfortable he said, but if we are shifting for a run it doesn’t really matter what I wear as I’ll be taking it off.

I finger a couple of my dresses thoughtfully, letting the material run through my fingers before shaking my head and moving toward my trusty jeans. Caden said comfortable and lets be honest, the present inside is always so much better when the wrapping doesn’t outshine it anyway.

Shimmying a pair of dark blue ripped jeans up my legs, I button them closed and turn to the choices of tops, running my hand along each item before stopping on a sparkly black off the shoulder number, best of both worlds, comfortable, casual with a little pizazz.

Pulling it on, I grab my boots and walk back out into the room, sitting on the edge of the bed so I can pull them on.

One last look in the mirror and I’m nodding in approval, not bad if I do say so myself.

Glancing at the clock, I realise I have twenty minutes before I have to meet my mate, so I slip out of my room and head toward the stairs eager not to be late.

In my head, Skarla is wagging her tail excitedly, looking forward to getting out and stretching her legs. Well more likely she’s looking forward to being chased by Cobalt, the hussy, but who am I to judge? I put f*ck me panties on, seems I’m just as wanton as my wolf is.

Walking down the stairs, I leave through the front door and take a breath, enjoying the fresh scents of our territory before turning my feet to the left and heading toward the gardens at the back of the packhouse.

Entering the floral rose archway that according to the pack stories, was planted by Caden’s great great great great grandfather for his mate, I’m hit with the fragrant scents of the flowerbeds. Each Alpha since has planted a flower for their mate since the archway was installed and I smile as I pass the beautiful blooms on either side of me, following the meandering path in search of Caden.

As I reach the middle, I round the final corner to stop in surprise, ‘Hadley?’ I call out to the warrior who turns toward me a single rose between his fingers.

He smiles brightly, ‘Hey sweetheart’ he rumbles, ‘you look surprised to see me, disappointed?’ he teases.

I shake my head, taking a step toward him, ‘no, of course not, I just expected . . . ‘

‘Star’ he fills in for me as my voice falters.

I nod sheepishly, ‘the sign off, it’s more something I would have pegged for Caden’ I muttered.

Hadley laughs roughly, ‘why would you say that?’ he asks curiously, ‘come on, you can tell me, I won’t take offence.’

I fidget as I avoid his gaze, ‘you called yourself the sexiest of mates, that’s more something I would expect from Caden, his ego is . . .’

‘What was that about my ego baby?’ came Caden’s rough voice from behind me, causing me to spin around as my other mate walks toward me holding an identical rose in his hand.

‘What’s going on?’ I stammer, my head flitting between the two men in shock.

Caden reaches me, handing my his flower, Hadley on my other side, also holding out his bloom. ‘We are taking you on a date’ Caden supplies with a wink.

‘Together?’ I squeak, my shock obviously evident on my face as the two men grin back at me.

‘Yes sweetheart, together’ Hadley replies, ‘we think it’s time we put aside our issues with each other.’

Caden nods in agreement, ‘for you baby, we realised that us not getting on was making this whole decision thing harder on you, so for the rest of the moon cycle, Carrington and I are going to get along.’

‘Even if it kills us a little inside’ Hadley adds making me snort in the most unladylike fashion.

Smiling, I nod, ‘OK’ I agree, ‘so what have you both got planned for this trio mate outing?

Caden smirks, holding out a hand to me, ‘how about you come with us and find out?’ he offers.

‘OK’ I agree shyly, slipping my hand into his and allowing him to lead me further into the garden, Hadley at my other side, his hand on the small of my back.