“I’ve never heard of that happening.” I mumble more to myself than to anyone in the room.
“You said being what I am caused this. What am I?” Bloom asks, scooting to the edge of the couch cushion.
Amelia releases her mate’s hand, and leans forward to take both of Blooms into her own. Forrest looks at me, and responds to my statement. “It doesn’t happen, normally. Only a very few, rare couples experience this kind of reaction. Amelia and I were the last pair to go through it.”
“Bloom you’re an Oracle. Just like every other female ever born into our family.” Amelia informs us watching her niece’s face closely.
“I’m a w-w-what?” Bloom stutters.
“You’re a Oracle.”
“Like those virgins in that 300 movie?” Bonnie asks, shock evident in her voice.
“Do I have to stay a virgin?” Bloom’s asks Amelia, but her attention turns to me.
“No child, you can be intimate with your mate. Actually that’s the cure for this pain.”
“What?” Bonnie, Bloom, and I all ask in unison as all attention turns to her.
Her eyes come to mine and she explains. “You missed a step wolf. Most pairs mark each other while they’re also consummating their bond. And for them it would be fine if they did those steps in the wrong order. Bloom being what she is, though, things needed to be done a certain way or there would be complications, like she’s experiencing now.”
Bonnie begins laughing so hard she’s doubled over. Glaring at her I ask. “What’s wrong with you?”
“The.” Laugh. “Cure.” Laugh. “Is.” Laugh. “Your.” Laugh. “Co…” Tucker covers his mate’s mouth with his hand to stop her from finishing her sentence. Her laughing stops immediately as she narrows her eyes at him.
“The cure is what?” I ask still lost.
“I think she’s saying you need to make love to your mate.” Tucker offers the answer. My eyes lock on Bloom’s, whose have gone to the size of saucers.
“Oh.” I reply, trying to keep the grin off my face.
Chapter 11 – Bloom
“Um…uh…I…” I try to form an appropriate sentence but find myself unable to, so I snap my mouth shut. Really what can you say when you’re long lost Great-Aunt just informs you that you’ll need to knock boots with your mate to get rid of the pain you’re experiencing? Where’s a free room? That doesn’t seem appropriate. Especially when you’re in a cabin filled with shifters who have super hearing. I know we were surrounded by them in Tennessee too, but at least there those shifters weren’t a room away. It gave us a semblance of privacy.
Amelia gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, bringing my eyes back to hers. She smiles a warm smile. “How about Forrest and I talk to you and Pike in private about this?”
“I…I…” I mumble incoherently. This is all too much. I look at Pike for help out of this awkward mess, but I find him grinning like a fool. He’s liking this solution apparently. Men! Geesh!
“This really is something we should finish discussing in private, Bloom.” Forrest joins the conversation, causing my eyes to move from my grinning mate to him. He’s an older man, and though I don’t know his age I can say he’s aged really well. Like freakishly well. It’s got to be a shifter trait because every older shifter I’ve met thus far has still had this youthful beauty to them. Not in the sense that time has stopped for them, more like they’ve aged slower. Or had extensive plastic surgery without it causing them to look like their faces are frozen. I allow myself to admire his beauty. The rich brown hair with flecks of grey. His tanned skin. The little creases that line his warm brown eyes. Thin lips that as I’m watching stretch into a smile to reveal straight white teeth.
“Bloom?” I watch his mouth form my name.
“Hmm?” I ask, distractedly, because I’m too busy wondering if Pike will age this well.
“Can we move this conversation to somewhere private?”
I snap out of my shifter-aging brain fog and look around the room. All eyes are on me. I swallow the nervous lump that forms in my throat. Then I nod my head. I want to scream no and run away from all of this. I don’t like going through this pain, but I’d put up with it the rest of my life if it means I can avoid this talk I’m about to have. I’m imagining it like the talk my dad tried to give me when I got my first period. Completely and utterly uncomfortable. Not to mention I’ll be going through the talk with Pike! It’s bad enough when it’s just you and the person administering the talk, but now it’s like we’ve been caught in the act and have to be lectured on being safe.