“I hope so too, love. You’ll be an amazing mother. Beautiful little girls with your eyes and Eddie’s hair…” I was caught off guard when Greta turned back to me, transfixed by the serene look on Jaz’s face. She’d always been this scrappy tomboy. To see her getting misty eyed about kids was a welcome shock. Greta was right, she would be an amazing mum.
“So, Shannon. Did you want to have children?”
Shit, back to me again.
“Ahh…” I said, stalling for time. “Look, I’ll be honest with you. I never really thought about it. No one I’ve been with really made me feel that having kids was a good idea.”
Jasmine looked smug for some reason, like this was some sort of show of loyalty for her brother.
“Well, that complicates things a little. Jai has obviously mentioned that your body is changing in response to his pheromones? Those changes make human birth control…unpredictable. Condoms are not a great solution either, due to obvious physiological differences. I don’t tell you this to try and influence your decision, but you need to be aware that choosing to have penetrative sex may result in the birth of children. We are not a prolific people, so it may not be an issue for years, or ever in the case of poor Beth, but it is something to consider.”
“Jesus…” I hissed, my eyes dropping to the floral tablecloth, following the way the vines and blooms all twined around each other.
“It’s why we handle this side of things, help our girls make the transition. I admit, it's usually the girls who marry outside of the families, as it’s an easier relationship to manage, but there’s a precedence. We can help you through this.”
Greta reached across and took my hand, something that startled then touched me. She was always a big presence in the pack gatherings, her voice carrying clear across a field to stop an errant kid from mucking up or to call them in for dinners. I’d always been low-key terrified of her when I used to come around here as a kid. She was never mean or cruel, but she was firm in ways I’d never experienced with Nan or Mum. She held my hand and told me it was going to be OK, and weirdly, that was what I needed to hear.
“She should stay here with us,” Greta said when Jai arrived back.
“No.” His arm went around my shoulders as he sat down beside me.
“You can’t just bamboozle her with dick, Jai,” Jaz said.
“Don’t talk about my dick,” he said with a dismissive shake of his head. “Anyway, have you told Mum about staying over at Eddie’s that time you were supposed to be at Rita’s for a ‘movie night’?”
Jaz’s face fell as Greta’s eyes swung around.
“Ahh…” She laughed nervously. “Young love and all that?”
“So, you’ve decided on Edward, formally?”
“Not…yet. Like, I know he’s the one but… Look, we just fooled around a bit. I spoke to Nana Heller, and she said you and Dad did the same. Said her and Pa caught you guys out in the barn, upsetting the cows with your noise.”
“That we did,” Greta said, nodding. “Just don’t toy with the boy, Jaz. He’s set his heart on you, and if you don’t want it, be kind enough to say so early.”
When I looked up, I saw Jai’s eyes burning into mine, a question in them that neither of us wanted to answer just yet.
“I’ll bring her back regularly so you can keep talking to Shannon, or you can come around my house, if you can leave off bitching about my housekeeping skills,” Jai said.
“Jai, I raised you better than that. You’ll at least make sure there’s clean sheets on the bed for the girl and no dirty dishes in the sink. If I find you’ve dumped all the domestic work on Shannon like those upstart Spehr boys…”
“Not what I had in mind.”
Jai’s tone had my eyes whipping up. His thumb rubbed against the back of my hand, in slow steady strokes, something that reminded me of last night. My eyes dropped to his mouth, full-lipped, well-shaped, and able to wreak havoc on my body. I felt the ghosts of those caresses in the pleasure-pain tenderness of my nipples, in the ache deep inside me, wanting to be scratched again. To my complete shame, I felt a flush of dampness between my legs. Not quite the deluge of last night, but the herald of things to