Chapter Ninety-Six

Vince walked up to the counter with a few things. “Now, now, Brandon might have gone about talking to you in the wrong way, but he only had good intentions.” He put everything on the counter.

“Yeah. I heard what his intentions were through the wall most nights.” I snorted a laugh. “I can appreciate the effort. Really, I can. But I have a rule. I don’t date someone a friend or family member has dated.” I met Brandon’s eyes. “I sure as heck won’t sleep with the same men.”

I watched as he deflated. “What? You can’t be serious…” He looked at his dad. I could see the disbelief on both their faces.

“What are you saying here, Amy?” Vince tapped a finger on the countertop. “That you would only be with a virgin man?” His laugh was annoying. “If that is a requirement, I think you will be alone for your entire life.” Brandon chuckled.

I nodded. “I mean, it’s possible.”

Vince straightened. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why not? Are virgin male wolves that elusive?” They both stared at me like I had lost my mind. “What?”

“When a male wolf enters shifting age, their aggression and hormones go haywire. The only way to stop them from killing others in the pack is to ensure they have a partner to take their excess energy on.” Vince widened his stance like he was teaching me something, but he wasn’t.

I nodded along. “Yeah. I remember learning that in school. I was so blown away, I brought it up to my father the following summer. He said he was punishing a wolf coming into his shifting time, his second gamma now, back then just another wolf. I pointed out that it wasn’t fair. His hormones were so out of whack, and he had no one to take his anger out on.” Vince nodded. “But my dad froze.”

“Why?”

“He then explained that it was a lie. Older male wolves told the next generation that it was normal, and even expected, that male wolves would have a harder time controlling their wolves. And that it should be expected that men would sleep around because they did that themselves.” I met Vince’s eyes. “And all the following generations built this whole lie so that their sons, and their sons, wouldn’t be judged the same way female wolves were if they lost their virginity before mating. They wanted the excuse so that men could do whatever they wanted, and it could be blamed on hormones.”

“That’s not true. Males do have a bigger surge of aggression.” Vince sounded disgusted at my father.

“True. But aggression can be channeled in a million different ways. My father’s pack uses warrior training for all the wolves coming of age.” I lifted a shoulder. “Each pack has their own way, I guess.”

I pulled his stuff towards me. But Vince slammed his hand down on the counter and growled. “Are you talking down about our pack, MY pack?”

“No, Alpha Vince, just pointing out that there are other ways, other than sex, to work out aggression. Each pack has their way. If I grew up just here, I would follow your way without question.” I looked down. “I would probably feel exactly as you do, that men need their release to be safe.” Brandon looked confused. “But I wasn’t just raised here. I have seen other ways that work. So I guess that gave me unrealistic expectations from my mate. My father trained through this aggression.”

“He also cheated on your mother,” Vince tossed out. “He betrayed her and left her vulnerable.”

I felt my hackles rise. But my mother and Carl banged in from the back door. “Thank you for coming with me, Ainsley. You always negotiate better than I do for the sorrel.” Carl carried in a giant bag of leaves.

Chapter Ninety-Six

“It’s no worry. I’m just happy they met us—” They both looked up and froze. “Alpha Vince, Brandon. What are you two doing here?” My mom’s eyes bounced between the three of us.

“We came in to buy a few things, and Amy here was explaining the practices of her dad’s pack,” Vince growled out.

I smiled and nodded. “I explained dad uses training to deal with the extra aggression of male wolves.”

“Why?” My mother walked closer to me, and I saw the tightness around her eyes.

“They were just surprised why I had such high—”

“Unrealistic standards,” Brandon cut in.

“High standards.” I glared at him. “For my mate, or anyone I want to date. I was just explaining that I wouldn’t date or mate with anyone that had slept with a friend or family member. That I wanted my mate to be just for me, like how you and dad taught me.”

Chapter Ninety-Seven