They had no idea how foreign what they just said sounded to me.
“Hey, Gabby, you don’t have to worry about Introductions if that’s what’s scaring you,” Paul looked at me with concern. “For you and Charlene, the attraction works different. She explained it to us when she said that you were coming. You guys have a level of appeal, or chemistry, with just about all werewolves.” He is not helping, I thought while he continued. “Because the level of attraction to you varies, it wouldn’t be safe to put you in an Introduction room.”
“Yeah,” Henry agreed leaning forward on his chair with a spark of excitement in his eyes. “That’s when the mating duels happen. It’s rare with a werewolf couple, but when Charlene was first brought here, I heard the guys went crazy because they didn’t know what was happening. They fought over who had the strongest tie to her. But you don’t have to worry about that with us. Paul and I think you’re okay and you smell good and everything, but we knew when we met you that you’re not right for us. That’s why Charlene left you alone with us,” he said.
They both gave me encouraging smiles as if their explanation should put me at ease. Werewolves were going to start fighting each other for me? No thanks. My stomach churned. They probably thought their explaining things to me helpful, but the information they threw at me kept stunning me. I thought my pull wouldn’t work on werewolves, that there would be less of the constant male attention. But apparently, they just hid it better. Sam hinted that they possessed a keen sense of smell. I hoped that all werewolves, like these two, would use it to correctly determine my unsuitability. I didn’t want to be the right one for anyone at this point in my life.
“What did you mean by ‘claim’?” My voice came out light and airy with anxiety, but I needed to know.
“It’s when we bite our mate. The bite draws blood, but doesn’t hurt.” Paul explained reassuringly.
“What!” I nearly shouted. My freak-o-meter bypassed meltdown.
“Oh, not for you, Gabby,” Paul said, quickly leaning forward making shushing motions with his hands. My head spun dizzily, no doubt all the color had drained from my face. “We can’t claim humans like that. When your mate finds you, it’s up to you to claim them.”
So, I would need to bite someone? Not going to happen. Knowing I had control made it easier to calm down.
I heard the main door to the common room swing open and saw Sam walk in with an older woman and another older man. Sam nodded to me and then moved with his group to another area of the room further away. They sat down and started talking. Paul and Henry shifted their attention to the new people, listening. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but had no doubt they could. Just as I knew Sam would hear if I asked either Paul or Henry tell me what they said.
I decided to calm down and change the subject, “What about sports? I noticed there are no TV’s in here. Do you guys play or watch any sports?”
“Nah, the television tends to hurt our ears, but we do like to play football. There aren’t enough of us for a team.”
The door behind us opened again and I watched two younger werewolves, about our age, enter. They glanced our way, but headed toward the group with Sam. I turned around and took another drink of water thinking about this mate business. According to these two, I needed to watch for a werewolf that acted toward me as most human men would, intense and weird.
Sam startled me out of my thoughts when he spoke next to me. “Gabby, I’d like you to meet, Eric and Derrick. They are the twin sons of a couple that lives here. They’re home from college and have to leave again tomorrow.”
I smiled and said hello. They both nodded to me, but didn’t speak. Awkward. Uncomfortable, I looked back at Sam who nodded at the two. They turned and left. If they represented the normal reaction to me, I needed to watch out for someone even more intense and weird. Maybe I just needed a plan to avoid them all.
Sam waited until they’d walked out of the room to explain, “I want you to get to know the people who live here. In summer, we’ll spend a lot of our weekends here.” He looked at Paul and Henry, “You two keep an eye on her. I’m counting on you to help explain our ways.”
Sam walked back to the group and I looked from Paul to Henry with an arched eyebrow. Was it just me or did that feel weird? I wanted to ask, but remained quiet. I didn’t want anyone to overhear. They both shrugged in return.
Sam interrupted our conversation a second and third time, each time bringing someone to introduce to me. My mind caught on the word ‘introduce’. Introduction. I caught on even if Paul and Henry didn’t.