The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson - 14

The problem with calling myself Tess’s friend is that I don’t think that friends think of each other the way I’ve been thinking of her for the last week. We’ve been perfectly friendly when she comes to me with questions or asks for my help in making decisions regarding her current project; her brothers have also been a tad friendlier when interacting with me. Even if one of them keeps asking me if I have fangs.

I have to assume that’s a shifter question.

The problem, I think, is that after that day in the snow…I can’t stop looking at her. My eyes gravitate toward her whenever she’s in the same room; they search for her when she isn’t. And even if it’s biology, if it’s just instinct, it feels impossible to stop. I’m doing it right now—watching her chatter into the camera that her brother Kyle holds as she gushes over the original wood floors she’s unearthed by ripping up the seventies-style carpet that was covering it. She’s so much more animated in front of the camera, so light and not nearly as serious as she normally seems, and I…like this side of her. It makes me want to get to know that side of Tess.

“If you keep staring at that girl, you’re going to burn a hole in the side of her head.”

I jolt in my seat at the front desk, whipping my eyes away from the opening to the great room, where Tess is working, to find Jeannie looking down at me with an amused expression.

I feel my cheeks heat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her lips purse; she’s holding Reginald in her arms, the massive fur ball giving me a look much like his mother’s that screams, Bullshit .

“You wanna tell me why I can smell you on her?”

I tense. I’ve been so concerned with making sure Tess’s brothers didn’t suspect anything that I didn’t give any thought to my very much shifter aunt, whose sense of smell would no doubt be the biggest threat to our little secret. I try to make myself look busy by typing something nonsensical on the ancient Gateway computer—I’m not even sure how it still works—and shrug.

“Maybe we bumped into each other.”

“ ‘Bumped into each other,’ ” she echoes blandly.

I shrug again. “Maybe.”

“One hell of a bump,” Jeannie chuckles.

I glare up at her from my seat. “Say what you want to say.”

“I’m not saying anything,” she urges. “Just worry about you is all.”

“Well, I’m fine.”

“I just remember how you were after Chloe—”

“It’s not like that,” I cut her off forcefully. “She’s…going through some things.”

Jeannie cocks her head. “What sorts of things?”

I glance back at Tess, who is still recording. It’s not really my place to spread her business, but then again, I know that Jeannie won’t say anything, and honestly, I could use advice from someone who isn’t my android cousin.

“She didn’t know she was an omega until two weeks ago.”

Jeannie rears back. “What? How is that possible?”

“We talked about it.” After I talked her through an orgasm. “Apparently, it’s called ‘late presentation.’ Her entire life, she thought she was a beta. Then the day she shows up in Colorado, she finds out that she’s actually an omega.”

“Wow.” Jeannie glances in the other room, scratching Reginald’s head idly. “Poor girl.” Her eyes widen suddenly. “Wait, does that mean she’s never shifted before?”

“She hadn’t,” I tell her. “Not until a week ago. I…taught her how. I’ve gone out with her a couple evenings this week to help her practice.”

Unfortunately, with no more happy endings.

Wait. Unfortunately? That’s not right. It’s a good thing she hasn’t shown any more symptoms.

“That must have been terrifying,” Jeannie notes.

I think back to Tess’s alarm after first shifting, nodding idly. “Yes, I imagine so. She seems to be doing better now though.”

“And you’re just…helping her? Out of the goodness of your heart?”

My brow furrows. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“Well…” Jeannie chuckles to herself. “You aren’t exactly known for doing anything out of ‘the goodness of your heart,’ so…”

I roll my eyes. “You make me sound like an asshole.”

“I prefer the term ‘stern,’ ” she says.

“Whatever. There’s no one else around to show her.”

Her brow cocks. “You could have asked me.”

That gives me pause. Mostly because it’s the simplest solution, but it didn’t even occur to me until this very moment. Even now, considering it, something inside me withers at the thought. As if my instincts have decided it’s my responsibility to help Tess.

Jeannie, sensing my internal struggles, just laughs.

“Goodness of your heart.” She hums. “Right.”

“Don’t you have something you should be doing?” I grumble.

She pats my shoulder. “Yes, bothering my favorite nephew.”

“I’m your only nephew,” I mutter.

Which is true, since she’s my only aunt on my dad’s side.

“Still.”

Movement catches my eye, and my heart rate picks up slightly when I notice Tess heading toward us from the other room. Then I have a mini internal inquisition about why my heart rate would be picking up at all from such a thing. I conclusively reason that it’s definitely because I know what she looks like naked.

Which is to say…good. Very good.

Jesus, it’s been too fucking long since I’ve been with someone. I’m practically acting like a virgin when it comes to Tess.

“Hey,” she says. “Thomas and Chase have finished sanding down the floor in there. Want to come look at the stain samples we brought? I’m leaning toward a cedar-esque shade; I think it will go really well with all the rustic elements we’re keeping original without overpowering the shiplap we’re putting up on the walls. But I want to make sure you agree before we move forward with staining.”

I’ve noticed she talks with her hands a lot when she’s excited about something, which is usually only when it has to do with the project. Even now her slim fingers are waving around her face and her animated expression lights up while she’s describing something as simple as wood stain.

I glance over at Jeannie, who clearly caught me staring at Tess while she talked, ignoring her smirk as I answer, “Sure, I can do that.”

“Great,” she answers with a grin, one that makes her cheeks dimple and her eyes crinkle at the corners. They’re a few shades lighter than mine, with green flecks near the iris, which somehow makes her eyes seem even larger than they are, and her moods easy to read just by the shape of them.

“You should come see too, Jeannie,” she says.

Jeannie shakes her head. “No, no, I need to get started on lunch. I’m sure Hunter has everything covered.”

She winks at me as if sharing a joke, and I roll my eyes again. Of course she would have fun with this entire situation. Heaven forbid she ever finds out about Tess’s mini heat situation; I’ll never hear the end of that one. Jeannie will have us mated off in her head by sunset.

I hop down from the stool at the counter, circling it and following after Tess as she explains the shots Kyle needs to get while they’re staining the floors. I have to admit, I know absolutely nothing about the TikTok side of the things she’s doing, but she sounds so confident when she talks about it, so sure of herself, that it’s a little hard not to sit up and pay attention. It’s a far cry from the uncertainty she exudes regarding her sudden change of designation.

Her brothers are in the opposite corner of the room, by the fireplace; the new stone they’ve brought in admittedly makes the old thing look warmer and more inviting even being only half-done.

The largest brother, Chase, nods at me when our eyes meet. “Hey, man, tell my sister her cedar is too light, yeah?”

“Don’t listen to him,” Tess grumbles. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“I know you don’t pair cedar floors with this sandstone fireplace,” he chuffs.

She rolls her eyes. “You do when the walls are going to be as dark as they are. You need the contrast.”

Chase gives me a look that seems to say that his sister is off her rocker, and my alpha prickles at his ribbing her, so much so that I have to shove it down. This is her brother , I remind myself. They’re just teasing each other. It’s fine.

“So this is the cedar I was talking about,” she says, pointing at a swatch of stained wood. “And then there’s this one, which leans more cherry. I personally think this one overpowers the space, but Chase likes it, which means we’ve been arguing about it all morning—”

“Because it’s better!” he calls from the other side of the room.

“— which means that you get to be my tiebreaker.”

I look between the two wood samples, honestly not seeing much of a difference other than one being darker. I can tell by the look in Tess’s eyes that she’s dead set on the one she’s holding out just a little closer to me, as if this will influence my decision, her eyes big and hopeful in a way that’s actually…adorable.

Adorable?

I brush the thought away. Truthfully, if it were up to me , I would go with the one Chase seems to be championing. I also can’t see the lighter color working in the space, but then again, there’s still so much to do that it’s hard to visualize. I can tell that Tess is completely sure in her assertion that it will work, and the pleading look on her face calls to the baser part of me.

That means I’m opening my mouth before I’m even fully aware what’s about to come out of it.

“I like this one too,” I tell her, pointing at the cedar swatch. “I think you’re right about the contrast.”

I have no idea if that’s true, but with the way her face lights up, I decide it’s the right answer anyhow.

You know you’re just trying to appease her because of your instincts , my brain whispers, right as I emphatically tell it to shut the hell up.

“Great,” she says cheerily. “I think so too.”

“You’re going to give her a big head,” Chase calls.

She waves him off. “It’s not Hunter’s fault he has better taste than you.”

I notice there’s sweat on her brow, and whether or not that’s due to her work or…something else, I can’t be sure. Again, my mouth opens before I figure out what’s leaving it.

“How are you feeling, by the way?” I ask, lowering my voice.

Her cheeks tinge pink, and her eyes dart over to her brothers, who have begun to talk among themselves while Kyle films some close-ups of Thomas and Chase working on the fireplace.

“Okay,” she admits. “Nothing too pressing since…” Her cheeks darken even further, her eyes averting to the floor. “Since the last time.”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” I tell her. “It’s just biology, remember?”

She nods. “I know. Still. I’m not exactly used to people fussing over me.”

“You’re going through an entire life upheaval,” I remind her. “ Someone should be fussing over you.”

She tucks a stray lock of chestnut hair behind her ear, her neck flushing slightly. “I guess so.”

“You can tell me if you start feeling strange again, okay? There’s no reason for you to hurt needlessly.”

“You mean tell you if I start feeling unbearably horny again,” she scoffs, her voice low.

I can’t help the way my mouth quirks. “Yes. That.”

“Is this not incredibly weird for you? I mean, you didn’t ask to take on my biological nightmare.”

“It’s fine,” I assure her. “I want to help. We’re friends, remember?”

“The weirdest friends,” she snorts.

I grin fully then, noticing that her eyes linger on my mouth as I do so. “I’m fine with being weird friends.”

“Hey, yo, Hunter!” Thomas calls.

My head swivels, and I find him looking at me expectantly. “We’re all hitting the bar this weekend. You want in?”

I frown. That’s no doubt Cat’s doing. Honestly, the idea of piling into the crowded bar in town, surrounded by people who mostly look at me with pity, even so many years later, sounds like a chore.

“No thanks,” I tell him. “Not really the bar type anymore.”

Thomas shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

I swear I hear a whispered mention of vampire , but surely I’m just imagining it.

“It’ll be fun,” Tess says quietly, studying her wood swatch intently as if she’s not invested. “You should go.”

That gives me pause. Is she saying that to be polite? Or is she saying that because she wants me to go? And why does that matter all of a sudden? This game we’re playing becomes more confusing by the minute.

“I’ll think about it,” I say, knowing I most likely won’t but not wanting to disappoint her.

Her lips curl slightly. “Sure.”

I take one last glance at her brothers, making sure they’re occupied before I gently touch her elbow and lean in. “I meant what I said. I want you to tell me if you start feeling…off. I don’t want you to make yourself suffer.”

I actually can’t stand the thought of her suffering.

“Oh, I…” I notice her throat move with a swallow, and then she nods slowly. “Okay.”

“Good,” I answer, not missing the way she shudders slightly with the praise.

It’s just hormones. That’s all.

That seems to be the motto of my life lately.

“I’d…better get back to it,” she says.

“Okay,” I answer, letting go of her elbow once I realize I’m still touching her.

There’s a slight blooming of her scent that threatens to distract me, and I feel a tension in my chest from breathing her in. Which is probably my cue to put some distance between us, something I’ve been trying to do whenever I’m not helping her practice shifting. Just in case.

I leave her to her work and return to my counter, knowing I have paperwork from the bank that’s calling my name no matter how much I’d like to pretend it doesn’t exist.

Still, as I settle back on my stool and start shuffling through the small stack once more, I can’t help the way my eyes shift up every so often to take note of whatever Tess is doing in the other room. I glance her way far more times in the next hour than I’d like to admit, actually.

I can’t help but think back to my conversation with Jeannie, once again wondering why it never occurred to me to seek out her help when Tess needed guidance. It was obviously the most reasonable answer, one that would have meant I could keep my distance, which would probably make for a much easier time for the both of us. For reasons I don’t want to examine too closely…I realize that the idea of anyone else helping Tess leaves me feeling irritable and unsettled.

And I have no idea what to make of that.