Page 12 of Love Bites Hard

“You turn from human to wolf. And have a mental connection, apparently.”

She waited.

I pulled a few crackers from the package and bit down on one.

“That’s it?”

“Yep.”

She sighed heavily.

I took another bite.

Sitting down on the bathroom floor, she leaned her shoulders up against the cabinet beneath the sink. “Remember the way Porter bit you after the challenge?”

“It’d be impossible to forget the utter shock, horror, and embarrassment.”

“That happens frequently around here. It’s not seen as an embarrassment—it’s a show of possession. Public claiming is a big thing for wolves. Evan’s instincts might push him to bite me as soon as I’m with him and Porter, just to declare me his.”

Some part of me still despised the sound of her with Porter, but I mentally shoved that stupidity away. My irritation was at an all-time high, considering the voices in my head.

Someone wanted to steal a pair of Curtis’s shoes before the bonfire.

Another person was considering challenging Porter, but his friend was reminding him what a shit idea that was.

A group was trying to figure out the best gift for a new alpha.

“Without public claiming, the pack won’t be able to acknowledge you as the alpha’s mate,” Kim said.

“Well, he already did that.”

Her expression was hesitant enough that I knew there was more to it.

“Kim,” I warned.

She grimaced. “After a mate bond is sealed, there’s always a larger public claiming. During a pack run, the newly-mated couple has sex beneath a gazebo in the forest. It has curtains you can unroll for privacy—but most women just wear their mate’s t-shirt to keep themselves covered while they screw.”

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not. And there’s more.”

I waited.

She dragged a hand over her face. “Porter should probably be the one to explain this.”

“Kim,” I warned.

“Have you ever heard of a knot?”

“Pretty sure everyone knows what it means to tie a knot.”

“Not that kind of knot.” Her grimace deepened. “Male wolves—and wolf shifters, by extension—have a knot at the base of their erection that swells when they get off. It’s wider than the rest of their cock. An unmated shifter’s knot is barely noticeable, but after the bond is sealed, it gets significantly bigger. The whole point of public claiming is to prove that the man can knot his mate, and his female can take it.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“Does it hurt?”

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