Chapter Three
The Alphas, Amelia found out, had a weakness for old cars. Really old cars. She laughed when they showed up at her house in a refurbished Model-T Ford. The top was down, making it look slightly less bulky, but it was so ridiculous to be riding in one of those ancient things that Amelia offered to drive her own car out to the packlands. Xavier and Timothy wouldn't hear of it.
"This is our baby," Xavier said, stroking the hood with tenderness. "She's served us well for years."
"It's the first car we rebuilt," Timothy added. "And what better way to bring you to meet the packs than in our most iconic vehicle?"
Xavier helped her into the backseat and slid in next to her. The engine was smooth and quiet, probably from the modernization that the Alphas had put into it. Amelia's heart thumped, producing butterflies in her stomach as they made their way down the highway, the wind blowing through her hair. She was so nervous that she thought she might throw up.
She and the Alphas had only had that one date thus far, although they had been texting and calling each other every night for the past couple weeks. Life was so busy for all three of them that this was the first time they had been able to get together again, and now she was going to meet the packs.
Shifters, it seemed, had no concept of going slow. But, then, she supposed that they weren't looking for a dating experience. They wanted a mate, and they wanted her to be their mate. Jumping off the deep end directly into the werewolf waters was probably the best way to do this… It was better to find out as soon as possible whether she was going to go through with this.
What made her really nervous was the fact that the Alphas had warned her that not everyone was happy with their decision to mate with a human. She had no idea what that meant. Was she going to have to engage in a fight to the death to prove her worthiness?
Her fears ended up being unfounded. The moment they arrived at the packlands, dozens upon dozens of werewolves were hugging her and kissing her cheeks and asking when the mating would occur. They also seemed to think it was appropriate to pluck at her hair and sniff it. When she demanded to know what they were doing, she was told they wanted to know if she was pregnant yet. Xavier and Timothy plastered themselves to her sides, fending off the worst of the attention, though they couldn't protect her from it all.
Having two guys is really nice sometimes, she thought, smiling, as both loaded plates of cookies for her from the potluck table. Not long after this, and an older man with a cane walked over to the trio. Xavier and Timothy both tensed. Amelia could feel their mood go instantly from proud to protective, and she swallowed as they pressed in on her.
"You're crushing me," she complained, using her elbows to push them apart. She looked at the old man and stuck out her hand. "Hi. I'm Amelia. It's nice to meet you."
The old man stared at her with slightly narrowed eyes. This must be someone unhappy that the Alphas had decided to look for a mate among humans. A shiver ran down her spine, but she refused to back down. Instead, she smiled and did what the werewolves had been doing with her this whole time–she stepped forward, throwing her arms around the old man and kissing his cheek. She drew the line at sniffing hair, though, especially with a man who smelled like licorice. Amelia hated licorice.
"It really is so good to meet you," she repeated and turned back to the Alphas to kiss their cheeks. "I'm going to go get cake, darlings."
She left before any of them could stop her, and let out a pent-up breath as she approached the dessert table. She needed a cream-filled donut after that! Amelia wasn't usually one to initiate physical contact with strangers – at least not hugs and kisses. Yet, she did like catching people off guard, and it appeared that she had definitely caught the old man.
A pretty woman stepped up beside her as soon as she got to the dessert table. Amelia smiled vaguely at her.
Please don't sniff my hair.
"Hi, my name is Lucinda," the woman said holding out her hand.
"We might as well hug. Everybody else has," Amelia pulled her into her embrace.
Lucinda laughed. "Well, that was unexpected. I can see this is a little overwhelming for you. Why don't we step into the house?"
Amelia sighed in gratitude. "I think I love you."
The other woman laughed again as she led her inside. The din lessened, and Amelia gratefully bit into her donut. Mmmmm. Heaven! She closed her eyes in rapture. There was no way this was store-bought. Whoever made this ought to have a shop, if they didn't already.
"I'm glad to see you're so comfortable with me. I didn't expect it," Lucinda said. "I have heard that humans can be skittish with multiple partners."
Amelia's brow furrowed. "Well, we're taking it slow but… What do you mean you're glad I'm comfortable with you?"
Lucinda's eyes widened. She pressed a hand to her mouth. "Didn't they tell you?"
A ball of dread slipped into Amelia's stomach. "Tell me what?"
***
As soon as she got home, Amelia phoned her brother. She knew that he'd give her a lecture about dating men he hadn't vetted first, but she was too heartbroken to keep what had happened to herself. Her fantasies of having found not one, but two perfect men to spend the rest of her life with was shattered. She had been so upset that she hadn't even waited for them to drive her home, instead asking Lucinda to do so after the female werewolf told her the truth.
They weren't looking for a female for their alpha triad. They had already found her in Lucinda. They wanted Amelia not to be their mate, but a broodmare and nanny. Apparently, it was an Alpha's duty to have as many children as possible, but Lucinda would have too many duties herself to spend time popping out babies and then raising them.
It was no wonder they lied to me, Amelia thought bitterly. Who would agree to that?
Yet, what upset her the most was that she actually believed that she had finally met men that didn't put themselves first in everything. She had believed that before and she always ended up heartbroken. Why should this time be different? Because they were shifters? Men were men.
"Why did you get involved with werewolves in the first place?" Adrian's voice was pitched in anger when she finished telling him what had happened.
Amelia choked back a sob. "The whole true love thing sounded good. I'm tired of the losers I keep dating… I guess I just don't know how to pick them."
"No, you find one tiny flaw and decide it's a deal breaker. I'm going to call Daniel and you two are going to start dating again."
Mr. Abs? She wasn't that heartbroken. Amelia protested, but Adrian wouldn't hear it.
"You never gave him a proper chance. If nothing else, at least he won't ask you to have group sex!"
Amelia pressed her lips together. That wasn't something she could argue with. There was hardly enough room in Daniel's bed for anybody other than himself, let alone her. Unlike some others, he never cheated on her or tried to pressure her into sex while they were dating. She wanted nothing to do with Mr. Abs or his self-worship, but she had to admit that she could do worse.
Besides, she would just sit around sobbing her heart out over her shattered fairytale if something didn't happen. Maybe a date or two, even with a loser, would help her come back to the real world. It might lower her expectations for next time. Sighing, she agreed to call Daniel the next day.
She had just hung up on Adrian when her phone rang. Timothy. What could he say to make this better? Amelia turned off the phone and went to the freezer. A tub of ice-cream sounded good right now.
Make that two tubs of ice-cream. One for each broken heart.
***
The phone went right to voicemail. Timothy hung up, shaking his head. It hadn't taken the Alphas long to realize that Amelia had left early. When they called her, she had sent a text back telling them that she was tired and had gotten a ride home since they were busy. All attempts to contact her since then had failed. Timothy was kicking himself as he paced, phone in hand.
"It was too soon," he said. "We should have waited until we had sex before introducing her to the pack. I'm surprised she didn't run away screaming at the first moment she was sniffed! One or two others at first, not all of them at once – didn't I tell you?"
Xavier ground his teeth. "Something happened, Tim. Amelia isn't the kind of woman who lets herself get overwhelmed like that. A woman as assertive as she is getting overwhelmed that easily? I don’t think so. Somebody must have said something that offended her."
Timothy wanted to believe that, but he was a realist. They had always known it was a long shot that a human would accept them and their lifestyle. He knew they should have eased Amelia into it. Now they'd frightened her away, and it was doubtful she was ever coming back. This was the exact reason the council didn't want them looking for a mate among humans, and he hated that they had been proven right.
"Tim, I can see what you're thinking and you have to stop," Xavier said firmly. He grasped Timothy's shoulders. "Amelia is tough and smart. Even if she was overwhelmed, she'll come to grips with it. She's the one. I can feel it. Can't you?"
"I thought I did, but if it starts like this, we’ll end up like my parents."
"Their union was arranged; they were never true mates."
"Does it matter? If Amelia left us once, she'll leave us again."
"Tim—"
"I'm going for a run." The Lakeland Alpha pulled away and began peeling off his clothes as he headed for the door. "Don't wait up for me."
"Tim!" Xavier called after him.
Timothy ignored him, shifting as he leapt through the front door. Right now, he didn't want to think. He just wanted the dirt beneath his paws and the wind in his face. He wanted to leave all his memories and hopes and dreams behind and focus on reality.