Page 89 of Mates: Posy

"Besides," she continued, "that sexy beast could walk around inanythingand still make me hot and bothered, and he knows it. I can’t wait to be alone with him. If he doesn’t mark and mate me soon, I think I might jump out of my skin."

I wonder if I’ll ever feel so confident about myself with my mates,I thought wistfully.And how is she ready to mate after just meeting him? I mean, I know shifters move pretty fast, but they literally met hours ago.

I knew there was a process to being fully mated. It wasn’t only meeting and living with each other, although the boys hadn’t pressured me to do more than that, and Peri said they wouldn’t. There was marking involved, which we’d already talked about, but as far as the mating part, I was clueless and nervous and a little scared.

A little?Lark teased.

All right,I admitted with a scowl.A lot scared.

"You only met him a few hours ago. How do you know him so well already?" I asked, when what Ireallywanted to say was, "How do you trust him so much already?"

"Did you not know your mates the moment you met?" Gisela tilted her head to the side and wore a puzzled frown. "Maybe not their favorite colors and brand of boxers, but their essence? Who they are at their core?"

"Well, my father was beating me half to death when they found me, and my wolf was in a coma from a dose of wolfsbane. That was on Monday and— Wow. It seems like a lifetime ago."

I stopped rambling to reflect on that. Today was Friday. So much had happened over the past few days, it was hard to process.

The more I considered her question, though, the more I realized I knew them better than I’d thought.

Wyatt, for example, was a great tease. His favorite thing to do was irritate someone, but never me. He only tried to get me to smile or laugh, although he embarrassed me sometimes by saying wildly inappropriate things. He was the most talkative of the group, which I liked and could listen to him ramble all day. He got along well with everyone, although he clashed with Mason on occasion. I’d learned that this was because he looked up to Mason and desperately wanted his approval.

Mason was as quiet as Wyatt was chatty. As the oldest, he was responsible and serious and kept the others in line. He was methodical and calm and took the time to think before he gave an answer. He never lost his temper, at least not around me, and I rarely heard him raise his voice, yet everyone stepped carefully around him. He was so closed off most of the time that it worried me, but I knew now that it was because of his father and was determined to change that.

Cole had the worst temper of all my mates, but it was counterbalanced by his grumpy bear way of joking. He liked to hassle Wyatt, who ate that up and poked right back. Something I especially liked about Cole was that, when I talked to him, he gave me his complete attention. It was as if there was nothing more important in the world than whatever I was saying.

Ash was cheerful and had boundless and intense energy. He seemed to never stop moving during the day, but needed a solid eight hours of sleep every night. I wondered if that was because his body had to recover from sixteen hours of constant motion. He was sweet and appreciated small things. His enthusiasm was always genuine, too, not fake.

And then there was Jayden. Just being near him made me feel like I was wrapped in a fluffy, warm blanket. Quartz might be the most violent of their wolves, but Jayden was only ever gentle and kind to me. He was sensitive and perceptive and seemed to know what I was thinking before I did. He was everyone’s peacemaker and seemed to enjoy the role. Ash and Wyatt were used to going to him for advice and guidance, even though Jayden was only a year older.

So, yes, I guess I do know them,I mused. And I love each of them more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life.

They feel same way, Posy, Lark murmured.Your name, your face, in their minds a thousand times a day.

While I was doing all that thinking, Gisela fetched a brush and carefully combed Lilah’s long hair, then put it in a braid. She laid the brush on the nightstand when she was finished and looked at me.

"Luke told me your father was abusive. I’m sorry that happened to you. Are you scared of your mates?"

"Not of them so much as loud noises, yelling, angry voices, their hands moving too fast toward my face." I hung my head. "I’m pathetic."

"No, you’re not." She stood up from the bed and hugged me. "You’re a trauma survivor. That doesn’t go away overnight just because you found your mates."

"They keep saying I’m strong, but I’m not. Today, for example, I froze. I couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. I was helpless and useless. How could they love a coward like me when they’re all so strong?"

Tears spurted from my eyes before I knew I was going to cry.

"Hey, hey." Gisela’s arms squeezed me in a tighter hug. "You’renota coward. You reacted with a response that was conditioned into you by your father. You can work on changing it if you want to, but no one thinks less of you because of it."

She released me to frame my face in her palms.

"But not everyone is a warrior, either, Posy. That doesn’t mean those who aren’t are weak. There are other kinds of strength, which is probably what your mates mean."

"What kinds?" I quavered in a watery voice.

"Don’t you know how much courage it takes to be kind and gentle? Your father hurt you and isolated you and ruined your teen years. You should be cold and unsociable and mistrustful of everyone, yet here you are," she waved a hand toward Lilah’s sleeping form, "worrying and fussing over a girl you’ve known what? A day or two?"

"I met her last night," I mumbled.

Gisela laughed.

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