Mistress of Blood and Fur

Chapter 5 - b***h

Grace

Opium Hills isn’t that bad. I’m probably feeling this way because three guys have already flirted with me on my first twenty-four hours. I should feel awkward about being one of two girls surrounded by several male werewolves, but I’m not. It feels exhilarating, almost. Okay, I’m not even sure if what they’ve been doing with me is flirting. Maybe they’re just friendly? Then again, I’m here to find a mate. I’m supposed to help repopulate Opium Hills. So, it can’t be that. The conversations, innocent or not, are headed for one thing. The thought excites and repels me at the same time.

By the third day, I’ve spent the most time with Dash. He’s cute and friendly, and even has a really awesome job as a medic. However, I’m disappointed to not feel anything beyond the superficial attraction. He’s just a really handsome guy you can get along with. I’m not a fool, though. I haven’t gone with him anywhere alone, although I’ve seen Justine making out with Logan in the fields. I mean where else will you date around here? Mating must be done in a prim and proper way in bedrooms or out in the wilds. I shiver at the idea of me being with one of them in the grass. I imagine being taken under the moonlight. I don’t even know what s*x feels like.

“I feel comfortable with you,” he says, answering a question I haven’t even asked. “Justine’s a nice girl but somehow I gravitate more toward you.

Even as we walk down the paved slope of hill from the main house to the smaller ones, I feel like we aren’t alone. I mean we obviously are not from the chatter that follows us as wolves heckle each other while others follow Justine around. But there’s always that feeling of being watched. Unsurprisingly, every time I feel this way, I simply have to turn a little to my left and right and I’ll, see Onyx not too far away. Each time, he doesn’t look happy. He has that almost fixed sour look on his face. My brothers may even describe it as a constipated face.

“Do you immediately know who you should mate with or is it just a matter of survival at this point?” I ask Dash.

He smiles at me, but I feel like he does it to delay his answer. I don’t know why but he reminds me of a male version of a beauty pageant contestant. He’s nice enough, though. Non-threatening.

“Well, I must be honest with you. My wolf is mostly silent when it comes to mates these days. It’s almost like the Opium Hills wolves are so quiet so that their human versions - us - can be free to choose our destinies.”

“I get it. You choose to save your pack. I’m here simply because I’m a distant relative of your wolves. I don’t even -,” I hesitate and stop myself. I’m not ready to tell Dash that I don’t have a wolf. I’m just me. I shift sometimes, but don’t really enjoy it. I hate it. It won’t be easy to tell a pack of wolves who are passionate about saving their kind.

“You don’t even?”

“Never mind.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll show you around so that you’ll feel more at home.”

That’s what it’s like to be with Dash. He doesn’t push me to say things I am not ready to say.

I’ve also spent time with Fox but he feels more like a brother more than anything. He’s a teacher’s assistant in the city, and seems to be of a milder disposition than most of the other wolves. Maybe that’s why he’s bidding himself on me rather than on Justine. If I need a respectful husband, I’ll know who to choose. He looks like he can take care of me.

“Are you also looking for a mate?” I ask, not quite sure because he can be a little awkward. He likes to cook, though, and I know he won’t let me starve. Yeah, I can cook, too, but Fox’s dishes are delicious! Our first private conversation is over beef sandwiches he prepared himself. His arms carry books for me to choose from.

“Yes. I’m here, aren’t I?”

“What happens if you don’t find one?”

“I’ll go back to the city. Nobody can tell me I didn’t try but I’m glad that the other wolves will at least have two or three women to choose from.”

“Three?”

“There’s talk that Carlotta will be here soon.”

“Who is she?” I ask, wondering how the name seems to roll off his tongue. She’s familiar to him, and maybe to the other wolves.

“She was Onyx’s ex,” Fox says, inbetween bites. “Also Dash’s.”

“Oh,” is all I can say.

Apparently, I need to keep Fox close as well. He seems to be the most ready to tell me things. I like that, I think, as I tuck in the books he brought for me. The Giver. The Go-Between. I have read the first one and have heard of the second. Both of them have been said to be books about the loss of innocence.

Then, there’s Onyx himself. I don’t know quite how to feel about him. He seems dangerous - almost feral, but I know he has an engineering degree so he’s probably just intense. He’s made me say the most foolish things, like not wanting to be a good girl when I’m around him.

Nobody can blame me. He’s gorgeous, with eyes that are pools of black but can glint almost green when something seems to ignite from within him. His dark hair is almost as long as mine, and seeing it arouses images of our hair tangling together as we kiss.

Whenever such images come over me, I feel like a b***h in heat. I can’t believe that within seventy-two hours, Onyx has me touching myself to images of him. He doesn’t even seem like he likes me. Dash is the most obvious one. He is not shy about his feelings, not playing games. He sends me flowers and little notes. Text messages take awhile to reach on top of these hills, but he sometimes still sends them. They come in late, but they come. Fox, on the other hand, is going through the motions. He wants to still feel like he’s part of the pack but I can tell that they don’t make him feel welcome just because he’s quiet and bookish, and not as overtly macho like the rest.

The only sign Onyx has chosen me over Justine is that he lingers near my side. He’s always watching, and every time I know he’s watching, I get goosebumps.

“Are you ready for me now?” he whispers into my ears, startling me because despite my strong sense of smell, I didn’t detect him until he was right there by my back.

“Ready for what?”

“I gave you time with Dash and Fox. Now, you’ll see that I’m the best choice.” He turns me toward him and I don’t even protest. His words are arrogant and his touch possessive but I can’t help but want to look at his face and see where this goes.

“How are you the best choice? I don’t even know you’re going after me.”

“Have you seen me with Justine? Do you think I’m the sort who wastes my time? I shouldn’t have left my job in the city.”

“I don’t know you. So, I’m not sure how I can answer your questions. I think that your dad forced you to come here because he’s the Alpha of all the Alphas here on Opium Hills.”

He scoffs, but I know I’ve caught him. He rakes his hair with his fingers. Then, he looks at me and I marvel at how his eyes can go from stormy to dancing and mischievous in a short span of time.

“I’m still here. That counts for something,” he says, as he comes so close I can’t breathe. Fox has kept his distance, and Dash may have wanted to go closer but he is more reserved with his feelings. Onyx is more reckless. He doesn’t care what I see in him, as he inhales me again. I do the same to him, and he chuckles.

“Well, there’s that, too. You’re a scent wolf and I’m intrigued at the prospect of you and me, Grace. That’s what they want from you, but I won’t hide that fact. It’s what made you look at you twice, but there’s more to you. Your scent drives me wild and I’ve watched Fox and Dash enough to see that they’re not taking advantage of that.”

Before I can respond, we hear a clamor from a few yards away. Some of the young men are growling and hooting as they scramble down toward an approaching car.

“Well, I’ll be,” Onyx growls. “It’s the bitch.”

I turn to see a curvy woman with dark blond hair who’s probably only a couple of years older than me.

“Who’s that?” I ask, my throat dry.

“Carlotta.”