Page 18 of The Scent of Seduction

“Do what, baby?”

“Detect your emotions?”

“I bet if you look deeply enough, you can sense them now. You don’t need special powers to know how your mate feels. Try it.”

Nicole lifted her head and took a step back. She stared at Jaryn, and he stood under her scrutiny. Her nose scrunched up and her eyes squinted in thought. It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

“You’re happy.”

He nodded. “Go on.”

“You… you’re eager for me to meet your family.” Nicole’s head tilted to the side as she studied Jaryn. “But you’re a little nervous, too. You want me to like them?”

“And what is it that tells you all that? You keep asserting that there’s no shifter blood in you, so you shouldn’t have a wolfie sense.”

“Well, you’re smiling for one, hence the happiness. You eyes keep shifting to the door to see the people inside, hence the eagerness. And your pulse is throbbing at the base of your neck, which could be from excitement, but I know that if it were me introducing you to all my family, I’d be nervous about everything going well. So maybe chalk that one up to transference.”

“See? There’s nothing to it. There will be a few biological changes in your system after we mate. I’m sure you’ve heard of them from one source or another over the years. You’ll take my DNA through the enzymes from both my saliva and semen, and it will alter yours. You’ll still be you, but… I guess the most appropriate word is enhanced.”

“Will I be able to shift like you?”

“No. Only someone with the actual shifter gene can change shape. We’ll talk more about that later. For now, let’s have some fun.”

Nicole nodded and smiled.

Jaryn pulled open the door and led Nicole inside. As soon as they stepped into the open interior, the clapping of almost one hundred and thirty shifters and town members close to the pack filled the space with a roar. There was a handful that’d shifted and now howled. Their song filled the rafters, and Nicole jumped. Jaryn steadied her with his palm on the base of her back.

He placed a little kiss on the back of her ear. “It’s okay, baby. They’re just welcoming you home.”

“They startled me, is all. It was beautiful, but I hadn’t actually expected to see any of them like that.”

“You mean in their wolf forms?”

Nicole nodded.

“It’s not typical of pack meetings, unless we’re all going out for a run. But they wanted to make the occasion special for you. Come on. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Jaryn took Nicole’s hand and led her deeper into the barn-like structure. Members of the Phantom River pack surrounded them, and Jaryn smiled as Nicole turned in circles, trying to see everyone.

Jaryn held up his hand, and the room went silent. “I know many of you have met this young woman since she came to town, but it is my honor tonight on the night of our harvest moon celebration to introduce to you Nicole Holland, my mate.”

More applause and howls rang out, and dozens of well-wishers quickly surrounded him and Nicole. When the excitement simmered down, he took Nicole on a tour of the lodge. There were several cozy pockets of sitting areas scattered around, made up of furniture donated to the pack when members updated their homes. Large rugs scattered around softened the wide-planked wood floors. When pack business took place they set the space up like a conference room, but this was a social gathering so all of Jaryn’s friends and family were drinking and dancing and having a good time. Pups darted in and out of the crowd, playing and searching out their parents. The smell of rich homemade food floated out from the kitchen, and Nicole’s curvy little body filled his arms. There was nothing better in his mind.

Nicole accepted a drink from Jody, one of the female pack members. Over the course of the night, she’d learned much about the man who was her mate. Small towns were splendid for getting to know someone’s intimate secrets. She heard all about the pranks Jaryn had pulled in his youth, as well as his academic achievements from a couple of his former teachers. Nicole had talked to them for some time about the possibility of joining the faculty at the high school.

She’d met Jaryn’s parents, who thankfully had welcomed her with open arms, and his little brother, Charlie, who was a laugh riot in Nicole’s opinion. He was a bright young man, and it was clear the younger Chaunterel had no intention of shriveling under the bright aura of his older brother.

Her eyes instinctively sought Jaryn, as she had been doing with regularity since they’d separated a little while ago. Most of the time, Jaryn spent the party plastered to her side, his arm secure around her waist or their hands locked together, but unfortunately a little while ago, one of the pack members had needed his counsel and Jaryn had stepped away.

When their gazes locked, the glow of his silver eyes caught Nicole. How such a cool color could emit such heat was a mystery. As they continued to stare, his lids got heavy and his chiseled face softened somehow. His wide shoulders seemed to fill the surrounding space. His look of lust and need caused every rational thought to flee from her brain.

“Wow. I don’t know how you’re actually able to stand still over here. If my mate looked at me that way, we’d be half naked already.”

Nicole broke away from Jaryn’s spell to see Jody smiling over at her. “Yes, well. Um…”

“Honey, I suggest you leave politeness at the door. The mating heat between the two of you is so obvious, it’s making everyone a little frisky tonight.”

Nicole looked around in shock. Sure enough, tucked into quiet corners, there were several couples doing some heavy petting on the couches. In the open area, mates embraced each other tightly, dancing and talking between kisses to their partners' necks. A couple of teenagers were watching over the pups in the annex. It was still odd to think of children as pups, but Nicole assumed she’d get used to it.

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