The other woman’s sorrow was a tangible thing. “I’m so sorry.” Bethany didn’t know what else to say. So far she hadn’t seen much good in this whole werewolf thing. It seemed to have brought nothing but trouble to all of them.
“You’re going into heat,” Meredith interrupted, her tone brisk. “It means you’ve reached sexual maturity and are ready to make your first change. Werewolf females are late bloomers. We come into our sexuality in our early twenties.”
Well, that certainly explained a lot. She’d never been very attracted to men. She’d thought she simply didn’t have much of a sex drive. Turns out she had one that was kicking into hyper drive and was ready to spin out of control. She shoved that thought aside and turned her attention to the one part of the situation that intrigued her the most.
“That’s good, right? That I’m ready to make my first change.” Bethany wasn’t too sure how she felt about the bones in her body cracking and reforming. It was going to hurt. It had to. Didn’t it? But in the end she’d be stronger, better able to protect herself. Not that it would be much help against that tranquilizer that Dr. Morton had developed, but she’d feel better, not quite so vulnerable.
For a brief moment, the image of Quinn popped into her head. Why she thought of him as a protector, as a safe haven in an angry, crazy world, she had no idea. She was on her own, as always. She needed to depend on herself and not on anyone else. Certainly not a man, werewolf or human.
“It is a good thing, but it does have conditions attached.”
Bethany knew she wasn’t going to like what Meredith had to say next. “Tell me.” She needed to know the truth. She was tired of feeling like she was trying to solve a puzzle with most of the vital pieces missing.
“Mother Nature wants the species to continue. That means she wants you to procreate.”
Bethany swallowed hard as the folds between her legs grew slicker with cream. She could easily imagine Quinn naked. All that hard, hot flesh sliding over her, around her, inside her. She shuddered.
“You have to mate.”
Meredith’s blunt statement shocked her. “You can’t be serious.” Sex was one thing, but this entire mating idea sounded complicated and a whole lot scary.
“Very.” Meredith took Bethany’s hands. Even though she only looked a few years older, Bethany was struck by the fact that she was probably much older than she seemed.
“How old are you?” Bethany blurted out. Her cheeks heated as embarrassment swept over her. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business.”
Meredith laughed and the happy sound made Bethany smile in spite of the gravity of the situation. “I’m eighty-five years old.”
“Get out.” Bethany wasn’t sure the other woman wasn’t pulling her leg. Her skin was flawless and there wasn’t a wrinkle in sight. Her long black hair fell to her waist like a curtain of silk. Meredith looked liked a vibrant, beautiful woman in the prime of her life. Bethany would have guessed her age at early to mid-thirties, tops.
“We live to be around five hundred years old. I don’t know about half-breeds, if you’ll live that long or less. Only time will tell.”
“Wow.” That was a lot to wrap her head around.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’ll get used to it in time. I was lucky to find Teague right around the time I went into heat for the first time. Neither one of us really had much idea about the whole mating thing. We came together because we fell in love. I know this is a much different situation for you.” Neema gave Bethany’s arm a reassuring pat. “If you have any questions about being a half-breed female, please don’t hesitate to ask. I may not have all the answers but I can answer a lot of your questions. And anything I can’t tell you, Meredith can.”
“Of course. Anything I can do to make you feel more settled. You’re welcome here at Haven as long as you need a place.” Meredith’s offer helped settle her frazzled nerves. It helped to know she’d have a roof over her head while she tried to figure out how to reclaim her life. She might be proud, but she wasn’t stupid enough to turn aside Meredith’s generous offer.
“Thank you.” Bethany didn’t know how she felt about talking to virtual strangers about the weird turn in her life but it was nice to know she had somewhere to go for answers to her questions.
“We don’t have much time.” Meredith glanced at the door. “The men will be ready to leave in another minute or two.”
Bethany was afraid she wasn’t going to like what came next. “What do I need to know?” Better to have all the information she could than to remain ignorant about her condition. She’d been kept in the dark all her life.
Meredith leaned back against one of the three sinks and answered in a crisp, business-like manner. “You need to be claimed by an unattached male. He’ll mate with you, mounting you from behind and marking you as his own. When you have sex in that way it will unlock the wolf inside you, enabling you to make your first change.”
Bethany leaned more heavily against the wall and swallowed the large lump in her throat. This was a lot to process. “So if we have sex then I’ll be able to shift any time I want.”
“Yes.” Meredith’s gaze went to the door a second before a heavy knock sounded. “But the mating bond is strong, not something you can easily walk away from. You need to be sure before you let a male claim you. He’ll never let you go once you’re his. Males are nothing if not possessive.”
“We’re ready.” The male voice was tinged with impatience.
“My mate isn’t known for his patience, but he has other virtues that make him worth keeping around.” Meredith opened the door as she finished speaking and smiled at Isaiah.
“I’ll show you my other virtues later,” he promised Meredith. Bethany felt her cheeks heating at the sexual tension crackling around the couple. Neema just chuckled, obviously amused by the sensual byplay.
Bethany’s head was whirling. She had a lot to think about—claiming, mating and last but not least, shifting. But first things first. Chrissten was still a captive. Until her friend was free, Bethany couldn’t think about her own life. She owed Chrissten her freedom. Her fellow captive had sacrificed everything for her and Bethany could do nothing less in return.
“Let’s go.” She pushed past the other women and Isaiah and headed for the door of the bar. Quinn fell in beside her as she stepped outside in the cool early morning air, but she didn’t look at him. She needed to get her wayward emotions and her body under control.
Two hours later, Bethany was almost ready to dissolve into tears and drop to the ground with exhaustion. They’d been searching nonstop, spread out over a large area of decaying streets and waterfront warehouses. It all looked the same to her.
“Anything seem familiar?” Quinn had asked her the same question every five minutes for the entire two hours. His desperation was getting to her, making her feel like a failure for not being able to pinpoint the right building immediately.
Why hadn’t she paid more attention? Because she’d been too busy running for her life. She knew that but it didn’t make this situation any easier for any of them.
She shook her head. “No. Nothing.” She ignored him as best she could. It really was impossible to ignore six-foot-two of lean muscle and barely leashed power.
Bethany was surprised they weren’t having any trouble with the gangs of young men who were hanging around. Of course, this early in the morning most of them had disappeared off the streets and were sleeping wherever it was they called home. A motley trio with tattoos and piercings had approached them about an hour ago. Quinn had turned their way and growled, his teeth lengthening and his face changing until it resembled that of a wolf. The men had yelled and taken off as fast as their legs could carry them, one of them saying a Hail Mary as he ran. She would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so dire.