Hope(less) by Melissa Haag Read Free Book Online Page A

since breakfast.  My
stomach wanted to do a flip, but I firmly smashed down my emotions.  Emotions
around werewolves gave you away.  They could smell some and hear others.  I
needed to figure out what was going on before I reacted in anyway.  He’d looked
guilty at breakfast, hurried to get here, and now wouldn’t meet my eyes.
    He straightened, pencil and paper in his hand.  “I’m not
sure,” he said still not meeting my gaze.  He kept himself busy by tucking the
pencil into the spiral of the notebook.  “All of the Elders put a call out
since it’s your last one.  Ready?”
    “Yep.”  I fell into step behind him and asked, “So, what
does that mean?”
    “That there are more ears than usual,” he tossed over his
shoulder as he opened the door for me, a reminder that others could hear what
we said.  We moved out into the hallway.  A werewolf fun fact to keep in mind
at all times… their excellent hearing.
    Sam typically stayed very open with me, but something definitely
felt different about tonight.  I followed him down the hall, our footfalls
echoing softly on the hardwood floor.
    Despite my effort to not react in any way to the oddities I
kept noticing, a tension built inside of me.  Not about the Introductions.  I’d
grown used to those.  They could throw as many unmated at me as they wanted.  I
knew it wouldn’t work.  In the two years, not once had I felt any physical
interest in any werewolf.  There’d been some nice ones I’d enjoyed talking to,
but nothing more.  No spark that Sam insisted I’d feel.  He’d stressed that
whatever I felt, the male would feel infinitely stronger, a compulsion that
they wouldn’t be able to deny.
    No, the tension kept building as I puzzled over what Sam hid,
whatever made him act so nervous and guilty at the same time.
    When we didn’t turn to go to the commons, but instead down
the hall I knew housed the infamous Introduction room, his odd behavior made
sense.  It appeared they would be going old school for my last Introduction.  Sam
had stressed a formal Introduction could be dangerous to me, so I could
understand his nervousness and guilt.  But I didn’t understand why they thought
this necessary.  Did they really think the results would be different?
    “Sam, you should have told me first,” I scolded under my
breath, trying to make it as quiet as possible.  I knew others would probably
hear it anyway.
    He said nothing as he stopped and opened the door at the end
of the hall.  He motioned me inside.  The windowless room with the same
comfortable log cabin design as the rest of the compound, held only a few chairs
set to the side for Elders to wait and observe.  Having Elders in the room meant
disputes were resolved quickly and without bloodshed.  It also meant better protection
for the female.
    Near the center of the room, ten worn X’s taped to the floor
formed a gentle arch.  A few feet away, a solid line ran from one side of the
room to the other, separating the front and back halves of the room.  Each side
had a door.
    According to tradition, five werewolves would enter from the
opposite door, which led outside, and remain in the room for five minutes.  The
Elders present would watch my reaction to these werewolves and their reactions
to me.  Five minutes gave enough time for me to introduce myself to them.
    It seemed pointless to me though.  Through their own
admission, true mates would know within a minute of meeting each other.
    All ten marks came into play during Introductions for older
unmated were-females.  Once Introductions started, unmated males traveled from
distant states until the Elder network announced a claim.
    By nature, the males competed aggressively for a mate since
fewer females were available to men.  Sam had told me statistically the birth
rate was about three to one - male to female.  Some thought it nature’s way to
keep the werewolf population low.  Other’s disagreed, arguing with the