Chapter 3 Dates For Mates

• Eliza held up a hand, her cloak fluttering about her as she stepped in front of the younger Redclaw. "Lucas, hold! You are interrupting a sacred-"
• "You feel it," Lucas interrupted her, snarling. "I feel it, too. I wanted to deny it, to say that all this Fated Mate garbage is just that. Garbage. But I feel it." His features softened. "I want you, Eliza. And I know you feel the same."
• "I..."
• The werewolf packs snarled and snapped at each other, baring teeth and claws, their thick fur bristling as their packs prepared to join them. The air was heavy with the stench of impending violence, but before it could break out...
• "HOLD!"
• It was not Eliza who had commanded the wolves, but Imelda. The old woman stamped her cane on the marble steps, shaking her head sadly. "There shall be no bloodshed here tonight. I understand how confusing this all is, but the Goddess's will is sometimes as the moonlight through clouds; it cannot shine clear. The truth of the matter is that we summoned you both to help determine which of you is Eliza's mate based on who was attracted to her. Clearly, that hasn't gone well."
• "She is MY mate," Viktor insisted. "I feel it. This runt," he pointed a long claw at Lucas, "is simply pretending!"
• "LIAR!" Lucas snarled, still ready for a scrap. "You are the one pretending! I am the one who truly feels the call of the Fated Mate. Eliza, tell him! Tell him what you feel about me!"
• Eliza gulped. "I feel...an attraction. The pull I feel in my chest is undeniable. It is as if something in my heart is yearning to call your name, howl your name in the moonlight. But I feel it for both of you. Both to you and your father. I am sorry. I cannot tell who is to be the next Alpha based on these feelings alone."
• "And we are right back where we started," Imelda sighed.
• "There is a possibility," Eliza gulped, staring at both werewolves' powerful arms, wondering what it would be like to be held by them. "That both Alphas are using pheromones to attract me to them."
• The growling and snarling stopped among both wolf packs.
• "I am not excreting pheromones," Lucas said calmly. "I came to fight, not to...you know."
• "Neither am I," Viktor said. "The attraction you feel is real, Eliza."
• "Nevertheless, I must ask you both to shift," Eliza said. "Shift back into human form. At least you will speak more plainly to each other, without the call of the wild in your veins, and there will be no bloodshed."
• Viktor scoffed, and Lucas hesitated. "Is this really necessary?"
• "Yes," Eliza said, insistent. "Now change, so I will know you're not just using your scent to make me want to have sex with you."
• Lucas was the first to accept. Slowly, his form changed, his fur receding into his skin. His ears shrunk, as did his snout. He stood on his legs before finally standing tall as a human man, dressed in a plain loincloth. He was handsome and young, with thick muscles and a well-defined chest that caught Eliza's attention. She bit her lip. The sight of him like that, all strong and masculine, made her heart flutter.
• "Well?" Lucas spoke, and Eliza felt her heart melt. His human voice, deep and thrumming like a bass guitar, was as intoxicating as the sight of him. "Is this satisfactory?"
• Eliza bit her lip, eyes wide as she drank in every detail of him. "I said...stop trying to drive me crazy."
• "What? I have changed. I-" he stopped and turned away as he realised Eliza's joke. He looked so adorable, Eliza thought, when he was embarrassed. "Hmmm. Joking. She's joking, at a time like this..."
• Eliza turned her gaze to the older wolf, and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
• Viktor shifted, his bones shortening, fur receding into skin, his tail shrinking. His long claws retracted as his hands became human, and he stood on two feet as a human man once more. Like Lucas, he was dressed only in a simple loincloth. Despite being older, his human form was also very muscular. He was taller than Lucas, with a regal beard and short-cropped hair that spoke to his age but also showed the wisdom that had brought him this far in life. His eyes remained yellow, a hint of his werewolf nature lingering even in his human form.
• "I am now at a disadvantage, being older," Viktor harrumphed, and Eliza thought he looked respectable even when admitting weakness.
• "Oh, I see no disadvantage," Eliza said. "Don't wink at me, Viktor. I may order you to pounce on me."
• Viktor smiled, the perfect gentleman, and bowed to her. "I obey the will of the Goddess, if pounce on you is what she wills."
• "All right, that's enough, Eliza," Imelda cackled. "Naughty girl. You should be ashamed of yourself, flirting with these alpha werewolves so openly. I don't care if they are both your Fated Mates or none of them are, you're not getting any from them until you decide on who it is you choose!"
• Eliza flushed red, and the two packs of wolves laughed heartily as both Alphas looked away shyly. "F...forgive me. We've gotten off-topic," Eliza said, but deep down she was secretly relieved. The laughing wolf packs meant the situation was defused, at least for now. A minute ago they were at each others' throats. Laughter was good. Laughter meant being relaxed and calm. "Unfortunately, I...I still feel the call of the Fated Mate to both of you."
• "I told you I wasn't excreting any pheromones," Lucas sighed. Eliza had to resist the urge to go over and kiss that pouting lip. She turned her gaze away from him.
• "It doesn't matter now," Viktor replied. "It is clear this method of determining who the next Alpha is was a failure. What do we do now?" he turned to Imelda, who drummed her fingers upon her cane and shrugged.
• "This is most irregular, true," she said, stroking her chin. "The idea of the Fated Mate was to remove doubt, not cause it. I cannot recall a single instance in the past of two alphas being drawn to the same mate. There is no precedence."
• "What if we..." Eliza gulped. Any longer with these two men and she might lose control of herself. "What if we consulted the Divine Daughters again? See what they see in the moonlight?"
• "Don't you think we've done that already?" Imelda sighed, as if Eliza were a child asking an obvious question. "Night after night I've asked the oracles to divine the future in those dank moon pools. Night after night I've asked them for a sign from the Goddess. And night after night all the Divine Daughters see is the same; you are fated to mate with the next alpha. No further instructions as to who that alpha is."
• "Lay no blame upon the werewolves for this," Viktor said, arms crossed. "Either me or Lucas."
• Lucas raised an eyebrow at his father. "Why would they blame us?"
• "When you've dealt with the Ordo Luna as long as I have, you can sense a pattern of behaviour. It's never their fault, it's always someone else's. Watch, they're about to blame us for fighting, having two alphas and thus confusing poor Eliza."
• "Well maybe you are at fault for this," Imelda scolded. "I don't know how, but maybe this is the Moon Goddess's punishment for your sins. Perhaps if you think about what you've done..."
• Viktor groaned. "See?"
• "Rare indeed is the occasion that I agree with you, father. This is one of those times."
• "Why you little runts, I'll spear silver into your hides," Imelda cursed, but Eliza put her hands on her grandmother to restrain her.
• "Calm down, grandmother," Eliza said, "We're getting nowhere like this."
• "True," Lucas said. "I will not relinquish my claim to Alpha and to Eliza, and neither will father. What path forward remains?"
• "There is always the old way," Viktor sneered, and fur began to grow on his skin as he prepared to transform back into wolf form. "Alpha Challenge. Challenge me, pup. Only with my death will this end."
• "I'd be glad to, old man," Lucas sneered back, his features growing more wolf-like. "Vengeance for Richard."
• "Or we could try a compromise." Eliza looked from her grandmother to Viktor, then Lucas. "There is a way for us to determine who is my Fated Mate. One that will not result in bloodshed and one that does not hang me like a prize to be won."
• Both alphas stopped their transformation.
• "I...I apologise, Eliza," Lucas said, scratching his head awkwardly. "I...I didn't consider how you felt about all this. Are you okay with this?"
• "More than okay, I'd say," Viktor laughed. "Look at how red her face is."
• Eliza blushed, looking down. "Okay, maybe it's a little hot that two werewolves are fighting over me. But...I'd like to make the decision myself, rather than have you decide for me." She looked up, suddenly angry. "I'm a human being! I won't be claimed as if I am a simple possession, Fated Mate or no."
• "Then what do you suggest?"
• "You know, us humans do things differently. If you want to mate with me," Eliza smiled coyly at both alphas, "maybe buy me dinner first."