Page 62 of Claimed

We both hop up on stools at the kitchen island.

“How’s mated life so far?” I ask.

She gives me a surprised look but says, “It’s good. He’s… he’s really… um… kind.”

“Cheers.” I hold my drink out. “To Greyson Blackwood.”

She lifts her drink, bumps mine with it, then we both take sips.

“I’ve known most of my life that Grey was born to be a leader and a husband. He’s always been so protective. You’ll be the envy of a lot of the unmated females in the pack. The super alpha pickings are slimming down and everyone’s watching.”

She smiles hesitantly and takes another sip of her drink.

There’s uncomfortable silence for a long minute when I decide to fill it, hoping to put her more at ease.

“Girls from other packs are often jealous about the alpha situation here, wishing they could live here and have more chance of landing a super alpha or even a regular alpha. I can’t imagine in smaller packs with just one that it’s the same culture since girls won’t necessarily be clamoring the same way.”

“I have no idea. This is my first experience with females in another pack.”

“Really?” I ask.

She nods. “We kept to ourselves at home. And nobody in my pack was clamoring for our alpha.” She makes a face of distaste.

“Unattractive?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “My brother is considered attractive. But he’s as mean as a honey badger. Are you… um…unmated?”

“Never even had a boyfriend. That could be because of who my brother is. It could also be that nobody is interested.” I shrug.

“You’re very pretty. You have a great figure. Beautiful skin. You seem very nice. I’m sure there are many males who are interested.”

I shrug. There’s only one male I want to be interested in me, and he seems like he still sees me as a six-year-old in pigtails.

“I’m not overly familiar with mating to one person,” she says. “Our alpha doesn’t really believe in one mate per alpha, so all this is new to me.”

“Doesn’t believe in it? How?” I ask. “How old is your alpha?”

“Twenty-nine.”

“And he’s sexually active, I take it…”

“To put it mildly,” she mutters.

“No offspring, obviously.”

She shakes her head.

“Well, that he hasn’t had kids yet should tip him off. Alphas can’t mate until they knot their fated mate. After that, they can mate again if they lose their mate, reject her, or she’s barren. He’s not curious about the fact that he hasn’t had kids yet? Clearly he knows he’s not found his soulmate because he wouldn’t have knotted yet.”

She shrugs and takes a big sip of her drink. After swallowing, she adds, “He doesn’t ponder life stuff with me, so I don’t know. This is really good.”

And it is, but I suspect she wants to change the subject.

“It is, isn’t it?” I take another sip and decide to lighten the conversation. “I’m not much of a drinker but this combination – a Malibu sunset – it sounded yummy. I forgot the grenadine, but I figure it’s mostly for color. I was going to make it for our next girlie get together at Amie’s because she loves watching the sun set over the lake behind their place, but she and her sister are now pregnant, so it’ll be a while before we have a cocktail get together. I guess you and me are test pilots. If I am gonna drink alcohol, I prefer to drink alcohol that tastes like juice.”

“I’m not much of a drinker, but I like this much better than my father’s moonshine, which I tasted as a teenager and blech.” She takes another mouthful. “Amie. Is that one of the newer mates? One of the humans?”

“Mason’s mate, yes. Amelia Quinn, formerly Brennan. She’s human. The alpha council order goes like this…” I count on my fingers, “Tyson, Mason, Riley, Greyson, Jason, Lincoln, Joel.”

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