Trace sat on the couch across from her. “Relax, baby. Please. Your nerves are palpable. Nothing’s going to happen you don’t beg for.”
His words made her gasp. What a strange way to verbalize their arrangement. Beg? She couldn’t imagine begging for anything in this lifetime. It wasn’t her style. She was a strong woman. Confident. Outspoken. And usually on her game. Her ability to perceive things before they happened had followed her all of her life. More of an intuition that was sharp than anything specific. But tonight she was so foggy from the need to mate, she couldn’t discern anything at all.
She untucked one hand from under her thigh to take the glass of pink wine Keegan handed her as she lifted an eyebrow. “I’m drinking alone?”
He nodded and took a seat by Trace. “You look like you could use it.”
She took a long sip. He wasn’t wrong. And both of them had undoubtedly had a few beers earlier in the evening. She’d been unable to enjoy any aspect of the party from the moment Rebecca went into labor.
The wine was smooth and sweet and went down perfectly. If only it calmed her more… She didn’t drink often, but tonight it seemed to be called for.
“So, tell us about you.” Trace leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his hands together.
“Does it matter? It won’t change anything.” She immediately regretted being so adversarial and winced. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, baby.” Trace’s lowered his voice. “No need to apologize. You’re right. It won’t change anything. Even though you and Keegan are obviously going to bump heads in a daily battle over environment versus modern advances. Even though there are still a lot of members of your tribe who would prefer you not mate outside the pack. Even though we have ten thousand logistics to work out and we don’t live super close to each other currently…”
He hesitated, meeting her gaze. “Baby, this is a sure thing. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to get to know you, make you feel comfortable, take care with your feelings. We aren’t jackasses.”
He was right. Neither of them seemed to be an asshole. They’d been nothing but polite and careful with her from the first moment she’d met them. “You’re right. I live outside of Sojourn on the rez in a small condo. You already know I’m a member of the Yobuka Tribe. All of us are Native American and lupine. Over the centuries there has been a surprisingly low number of tribal members who have mates outside our own tribe. Fate hasn’t let that happen many times. The Yobuka have always been rather isolated when it came to other shifters in the area. Until recently.”
She scrunched up her brow, thinking about that some more. “My mother may have been the first to really break tradition. Not that anyone has a say in who they’re mated to, but there must be a reason she was fated to a white man—and then Miles and myself too.”
“Two of them at that,” Trace said.
“Yeah. What’s up with that?” She forced a smile and then took another sip of wine. She would ponder the implications of ménages in the area more another time. Perhaps nature was making a strong case that it was time for the tribe to branch out. It was the twenty-first century and about time their bloodline melded with others.
She shook the thought out of her head for the time being. “Anyway, I own a shop in town that sells locally made Native American products. It’s called Dreamcatchers. I have a degree in business.”
Both men smiled.
She continued. “My grandmother—we call her Mimi—raised us. My father was a dickwad from the reservation that raped my mother when she was young. That’s how Miles and I were conceived.”
The smiles fell as they both gasped, eyes wide.
“Jesus, honey, that’s awful. I’m so sorry.” Keegan scooted forward.
Trace probably knew a lot of this story, but she wasn’t sure what Griffen would have shared.
She licked her lips. “Oh, it gets worse. My mother later met her mate when Miles and I were three. She got pregnant. He was white. And the elders of the tribe chased her off the land. We spent the next twenty-seven years believing her to be dead. Until today when she showed up before the party. Oh, and apparently I have three half siblings I’ve never met.”
Keegan stiffened, not moving an inch. “Fuck. I’m so sorry, hon. Griffen told us a little about your mother when we first got to the party tonight. But that was before we knew you were ours.”
“Yeah. So, I’m a little on edge. My mother just showed up. I barely got to spend any time with her. My sister-in-law had a baby. And not one but two men stepped into my life with the intent of claiming me. That’s not the average day.”