“So now try it as if you didn
’
t know Riley but were interested in him being your moon mate.” That was the second time I heard that term and I
’
d be asking about that next. I kissed his neck as I moved my hands under his shirt and on to his stomach. “Yes, perfect.”
“Okay, so what do I do for someone like you?” I asked Alena as I moved away from Riley, not missing the lust in his eyes directed at me.
“If it
’
s someone you feel you
’
re at a draw with but are friends with, then you can give a slight baring of the throat.” She showed me as she moved forward, not giving me full access but more just tipping her chin up. “You would either approach me the same or refuse me and declare you thought you were dominant to me.”
I mirrored her movements and she kissed my cheek so I did the same. “Now what about if I
’
m not friendly with the person?”
“Then you tip your head straight down while keeping your eyes locked on theirs.” She showed me what she meant. “It
’
s our way of saying that you
’
re not trying to pick a fight for dominance but you don
’
t trust the person enough to take your eyes off of them.”
“Cool. So now I
’
m all caught up with how to greet wolves? Or is this all shifters?”
“This is how all wolves do greet each other. Most cats conform to this, and, as a wolf, you would still greet them this way. Tigers do things a little differently among their own, but they wouldn
’
t expect you to do it. So yes, this covers all shifters,” Alena finished with a nod.
“I want to know more about what a moon mate is, but let
’
s table that for now. I do need to catch some sleep, but I want to talk more about my siren first.”
“Good prioritizing,” Alena agreed. She and I grabbed a pop while the guys started packing. I led her in to my room and we sat down on the bed. Normally this would have been weird for me. I didn
’
t have any female friends, or really any friends until recently, but we were just plopping on my bed like it was a sleepover. Which I
’
d never been to and would make me feel out of place even in my own room.
But right then, I was too fucking tired to care about my hang-ups in life.
“Has your siren found her voice yet?” she asked me, jumping right in to it.
“Yes, right after Tristan pissed me off last night and I was walking away to go to work. She wasn
’
t happy about that.”
No, I wasn
’
t, but your compromise was acceptable,
my siren informed me. Great.
“She wanted you to make him pay for his betrayal. Tell me exactly what happened.”
I did, making sure to go in to detail on what I saw and heard in my head.
“That
’
s good,” Alena said with a smile when I was finished. Then her manner became more serious. “Your siren isn
’
t evil, Sera, no matter what people around you might think. They can
’
t understand. You
’
re right to have referred to her as your inner evil bitch because she
’
s like the little devil on your shoulder. But she
’
s not
evil
as in dark magic, forces of hell, straight to the fire pit.”
“So kind of like my evil twin but not sociopath, kill the world type?”
“No, not in the slightest.” She chuckled, shaking her head. She took a sip of her drink and then was quiet a moment, glancing around at the sparse décor of my room. “How would you have normally handled what happened with Tristan if she hadn
’
t interfered?”
I thought about that a moment. “I would have calmed down, discussed it with him later and made sure that he understood what he did wasn
’
t acceptable. Which I did after I went back for him and Riley later.”
“Now here
’
s the difference between you and her,” Alena
explained
gently. “He embarrassed you in public, so resolving it in private wouldn
’
t be enough. Our sirens are very much the
eye for an eye
type.”
“Yeah, mine said she wanted her pound of flesh.”
“Exactly. You as a logical woman who was a human for many years until recently and used to human ways wanted to handle this in private. You
’
re very straightforward and probably don
’
t like to make drama and like to resolve things in the quickest way possible. Your siren isn
’
t like that. She isn
’
t human any more than your wolf is. She doesn
’
t care if it
’
s rude to have a screaming match in the middle of Vlad
’
s living room.”
“So she
’
s like the selfish girl in high school? It
’
s always all about her?”
“Yes in that she won
’
t stand for things others might. But no in many other ways. We
’
ll use your analogy. That girl in high school turned conversations around, picked fights, and caused trouble to where attention was focused on her. That
’
s not how your siren is. When someone
starts
something with you, she will get them back equally or raise the level for payback as she sees it. It
’
s not like she
’
ll just go around and cause trouble.”
“Okay, but she also let me know that one of the guys on my team, you met him, Agent Harris, would make a great addition to our lives.”
“Yes, but she didn
’
t force it or push you, right?”
“No, not at all. Actually when he started acting inappropriately, she gave him a shock of power and said we were on the same side.”
“Yes, she
’
s also your protector like your wolf. But she doesn
’
t care that it would complicate Agent Harris
’
s life or take away some of his choices. She
’
s not held to human morality like that. She saw something inside of him that would either help keep you safe, fill some need you have in your life, or she thought he would just be a great lover.”
All three actually.
I told Alena what my siren said and she laughed.
And the woman is right. I don
’
t care what it means for Harris. I only care about what
’
s best for us. Him being in your bed would make us happy and he
’
s loyal. He would protect you with his life and he
’
s easygoing enough that he wouldn
’
t try to Alpha us.
Again, I filled Alena in and she nodded.
“You probably noticed that Zeno isn
’
t as strong as I am.” Her tone and face softened as she lovingly referred to her mate. I nodded warily, not wanting to insult anyone. “I am actually a Dorcus. Zeno was born a wolf but I claimed him as mine and he took my name. It
’
s typical with wolves who decide to mate. There
’
s no human bull that the woman takes the man
’
s name. The weaker takes the stronger one
’
s last name.”
That was really interesting. “But your siren is okay with you just having one mate?”
“One mate, yes. One man in my life, no. Your siren will never allow you to be exclusive. Being tied to one man who holds power or love over you is not something she will accept because it could lead to you getting hurt. I have several men and a few women that I
’
ve sirened back at home who live with us.” She held up a hand when I balked at that last part. I wasn
’
t into women.
“I
’
m not a lover of women either though I will kiss them here and there but mostly because I know it turns my men on. But I agreed with my siren that having some women that were mine would help keep my men happy and not demand as much from me.”
“You
’
re saying I have to basically have my own harem?” I asked, fear shooting through my body, making its way all the way down to my toes. “I can
’
t do that.”
“I didn
’
t say harem,” she snapped at me, her expression darkening. “The people in my life are not mindless sex slaves.”
“I
’
m sorry. I didn
’
t mean it like that.” I let my remorse show in my voice. I would never offend Alena or her ways. I just couldn
’
t seem to get my mind around all of this.
“I know this is hard for you, Sera, since you were human for so long,” she replied, her tone much calmer now. “But with the people I
’
ve sirened, I give back just as much as I take. Your siren isn
’
t cruel or malicious. She won
’
t want Riley or Tristan hurt just for shits and giggles because they are yours. But she won
’
t take their feelings in to account either when she feels something is for the best. Like more protection in the form of strong men who want to please you.”
“Okay, but how do I keep from having a house full of people I sirened? That
’
s just not me Alena. I couldn
’
t handle that.”
“Talk to her and lay down some rules. It seemed you got a good handle on things last night. You can
’
t ignore her or deny her, saying you won
’
t do what she wants. Come up with a suitable compromise like you did with Noah. She wanted you to stick up for yourself with Tristan and hurt him in a way that he understood and made sure he wouldn
’
t ever pull the same crap he did last night. The better you work with her, the less likely she
’
ll just take over and do like she did to Riley.”
“Okay, I think we can handle that. What else?”
“I
’
m sure by now that you understand how sexual wolves are and we have no issue with giving in to our baser needs. Your siren is the same but even more so. The more you give in to that, the happier she will be. I think humans call them sluts but to us it
’
s just being free with your sexual nature and taking what you want when it
’
s freely offered. That will appease her more times than not.”
Oh goodie. I always wanted to be a big slut. Insert sarcasm here.
Chapter 16
I had thanked Alena for her help, realizing that was enough for the day. I couldn
’
t take anymore harsh truths about what I was. I said I would call her in the morning after I knew what was going on with my case and we would go from there. I needed to know more about this moon mate thing, though I figured I would just ask Riley about it.
Then I took a nap. That is, if one could call six hours a nap. When I got up, the guys were packing the last of my stuff up and I offered to go get us some take-out.
Going outside, I was glad I tended to always be armed when I left my apartment. I
’
d just gotten to my car when I heard a noise and very obviously smelled nothing as if someone was masking their scent from me.
In one move I pulled out my gun, tucked my keys back in my pocket, and spun around to face whoever was there. I saw him in the distance across the parking lot and aimed accordingly.
“Come out with your hands up,” I called out evenly. I wasn
’
t scared because he hadn
’
t gotten the drop on me, and, no matter how fast he was, I could still get him before he crossed the couple hundred feet to me.
“How did you sense me?” he asked curiously in
a
deep voice, walking slowly to me as he kept his hands about shoulder height. “You couldn
’
t have
smelled
me because I masked my scent.”
“You also mask all the
odors
in the vicinity when you do that. I couldn
’
t
smell
anything
,
it was
as if I walked in to a white room of nothingness. When I heard a noise, I zeroed in on you,” I answered, seeing no reason we couldn
’
t talk as he got closer so I had a better chance of hitting him if I took the shot. “I assume you
’
re here for me?”