We were still looking at each other, trying to figure out what Charlene expected us to do, when her muffled voice came from the building.
“What part of all of that upset you?” she asked.
“Winifred wants to know how you knocked them down,” Mary said.
I moved forward, waiting to hear the answer. Gregory, Grey, and I had put humans in situations where they’d needed to fight for their lives; but I’d never seen a human do what she’d done. Even though we all knew she was different—no human had ever called to any of our kind that I’d ever heard—we hadn’t realized just how different.
“Does Winifred want me to stay?” Charlene asked, her voice growing softer as she moved further into the room.
After what had happened, I wouldn’t have been surprised with a no. I waited for Mary’s response, but she remained quiet.
“If this next bite fails,” Charlene said, “and they agree to leave me alone, it’s better if I keep my secrets.”
Winifred wouldn’t allow that. She couldn’t. Not for our safety.
“And if it doesn’t fail?” Gregory asked.
I’d forgotten he was still inside.
“It will,” she said firmly. “No one understands why this ritual of yours isn’t working because no one is acknowledging the obvious. I’m different. Winifred said it. They know it. Yet, everyone keeps trying to treat me like I’m one of you. If I’m not one of you, why would you think the same ritual would work?”
There were several long moments of silence as the males began to move restlessly around the door. I didn’t like her line of thinking either. Were we failing because our methods were never meant to work on her?
You need to decide, Gregory sent to me. Do you want her to stay? Even if it means she’s someone else’s Mate?
Given what she knew about us, and what we now knew about her, I didn’t see there was a choice. She couldn’t leave. Whether by me or some other male—the thought soured my stomach—she needed to be Claimed. I looked at the building. As she’d pointed out, she didn’t have fur. No matter who her Mate, she would need to stay at sanctuary.
She needs to stay. Even if I’m not her Mate.
Then, we need to work together.
“I’d like to join the others outside,” Gregory said to Charlene. “I have no desire to try to Claim you, but I’d like to help them come up with better ideas than what’s been tried already.”
“I promise I won’t choose you. Or anyone else who doesn’t want to be chosen.”
Gregory stepped out and shut the door behind him.
As soon as he saw Grey and me, he moved toward us, motioning the rest of the men over.
“Charlene will choose the male. Only one more chance for any of you. You heard what she said, we can’t think like we’ve been thinking because she’s not like us.”
“How should we think then?”
“Like a human,” he said. “Our way of finding a mate is instinct. She smells right. We look at her and we feel the pull and we know. Humans don’t have any of that. They…court each other.”
“How do you know this?” one of the males asked. I was wondering the same thing.
“Winifred. I asked.”
“What does that mean?” I asked. “To court each other.”
“First, you need to find each other attractive, physically appealing. If you look at Charlene and think you’ve seen a prettier female, step back from her choosing. Give a male with a stronger attraction the chance because it’s more likely to work.”
Since Gregory, Henry, and Paul weren’t interested in Charlene, they went through the males present and asked just that. Any male who couldn’t honestly say she was the prettiest he’d seen was out. It didn’t cut back as many as I’d hoped.
“Next, she needs to find you attractive. Winifred believes that will be how she chooses, but the one she chooses will have a better chance if he does something nice after he’s picked.”
“Like what?” someone asked.
“We should give her flowers.”
A few of the males looked around as if expecting to find flowers in the trampled down grass of the clearing. If there had been any, they were long dead now. The rest of us shared disbelieving looks.
That’s foolish, I sent to Gregory.
It’s Winifred’s idea. She’s spent a lot of time with humans, Thomas. She wants Charlene to stay more than any of us. We should listen to her.
“Where do we find them?” a male asked.
“Winifred said we should look in the meadows to the northwest on the other side of the lake.
I had no idea what meadows were to the northwest but knew we’d look. We were all desperate for this last chance to work.
“First one to find the meadow should call out.” I looked at Gregory. “Does Winifred have any other instructions?”
“Don’t damage the flowers. Leave the steams long so you can put a bunch of them together—it’s called a bouquet—and when you give them to Charlene, don’t try to bite her right away. Tell her something nice first. And if you damage Charlene trying to Claim her, Winifred will kill you. That’s it.”
“Paul and I will stay here to keep an eye on things,” Henry said.
Gregory and Paul stayed behind with Henry while the rest of us ran through the woods. Grey stayed beside me as we made our way around the lake and started looking for the meadows. A howl went up a short while later and we followed the call to the open grassy plain. There were a few flowers scattered throughout the tall grasses but picking blooms without damaging them was challenging.
We all spread out to gather as many as we could. As I searched, I saw the male Charlene had allowed to bite her, Anton, doing the same. I had to fist my hands to keep from lashing out at him as he drifted closer to me. I hated that he’d been allowed to touch her instead of me.
“Why are you still here?” I asked.
He looked up from the grass to eye me.
“I want to see who she picks and if he has any better luck.”
He was right. The next bite might not work any better than Anton’s had. That meant we would need to leave her alone. No more chances to Claim her. But without a Mate, she’d need help surviving at sanctuary. If the next bite didn’t work, I would stay to help and maybe to see if there was another way to make her mine. Looking around at the other males, I wondered how many others had the same idea.
Annoyed, I moved away from him to pick another flower. The petals were so tiny, a human would barely see them. What was the point of these things?
Grey started to laugh as I scowled at it.
“You should pick another one for your hair.”
“I thought you were here to help.”
“Nah, I’m here to soak in your misery. I hear it’s what older brothers do.”
He followed me around for several minutes then grew bored and left. I watched him jog through the grass to check what everyone else had found.
“I think we have enough,” he called. “We should head back.”
Glad the pointless exercise was done, I turned and started toward the lake. The rest of the males sprinted around the water with me.
Anything new? I sent Gregory as we ran back through the trees.
Nothing. Mary and Charlene are still inside. Everything’s quiet here.
Here too. I hope this works.
By the time we arrived, half the flowers were damaged. Collectively, we only managed a small bouquet.
“Set them on the ground. The more you touch them, the more they droop,” Grey said, poorly containing his laughter.
“Winifred says it’s almost time. Start thinking about what you’ll say if you’re picked,” Gregory said.
Those of us still hoping to be picked moved closer to the building. I frowned as I listened to the males around me. One was considering telling Charlene that her breasts looked like they would adequately feed any cubs they might have.
Grey laughed. “Tell her she looks pretty. Or that you’re glad she chose this place as a home. Don’t mention her breasts or her tail end.”
We spread out enough so Charlene would have a clear view of all our faces. Even though Grey said Charlene was the prettiest female he’d ever seen, he stepped back when the door opened.
Where are you going?
Thinning the competition. Good luck.
Charlene stepped out and studied us.
“Was two hours enough time?”
If it wasn’t, more time wouldn’t help. A few of the males nodded in response to her question.
“Okay. One chance,” she said.
Then she looked straight at me.
“Prove your theory.”
I was torn between elation and disbelief. She’d picked me. After all her anger and narrow-eyed stares, she’d picked me. Did that mean she found me physically appealing?
“Flowers,” the male next to me said under his breath.
Aw, hell.
I turned and went to the spot where we’d left the undamaged blooms and picked them up. Feeling like the fool I probably was, I turned and moved toward her.
The males stepped back, giving me room to pass, then crowded in to watch.
Her gaze dipped to the flowers in my hands, and I heard her heart skip a beat. When she looked back up, some of the impatience was gone from her eyes. I couldn’t believe the blooms meant more to her than the male holding them.
I held out the flowers.
“Thank you,” she said softly, reaching for them.
One of the blooms quivered in her trembling hands. My impatience and annoyance at the human rituals disappeared as I looked at her.
“Don’t be nervous,” I said, lifting my hand.