Chapter 28

On the other side of the door was a locker room of sorts, only instead of lockers, they had cubbies. I guess they had enough trust in their pack that they didn’t fear someone stealing their shit. I waited on a wooden bench while Fay checked the shower and bathroom areas, ensuring we were indeed alone.

A low sigh escaped me as I let myself relax. I never realized how exhausting it was having others watching your every movement. It made me feel like I had to be careful of every single one of my actions, not wanting to do or say something wrong and piss off the wrong person—werewolf.

“Now that it’s just us girls, is there anything you want to know but don’t want to ask Cass? He wasn’t kidding; I’m an open book,” Fay said as she returned from the bathroom area and grabbed a towel from the stack. I’d been expecting her to head into the shower area, not for her to randomly start stripping out of her clothes.

Even though it made sense for her to be changing in a locker room, and it wasn’t like I was a prude, I still wasn’t ready for her to begin changing in the middle of a conversation. “Whoa.”

Fay’s giggle was light as she finished undressing and grabbed her towel. “You guys don’t walk around naked all the time, do you?” I asked once I was over the shock. I figured they all probably saw each other naked when shifting, but what if some of them walked around naked, finding clothes cumbersome? I had yet to see it, but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Fay giggled again as she picked up her towel. “Come on, Cass will be pissed if I leave you alone”—she used her free hand to make air quotes—“while I shower.” She draped the towel over her arm, whereas most people would wrap it around their body.

Laughing along with her because I could easily see Cass getting pissed about that, I followed her into the next room. The shower area was as I expected: a white tiled room with drains built into the floor and multiple shower heads along the walls. Under the shower heads were containers attached to the wall with pumps at the bottom that I assumed were soap, shampoo, and conditioner. With how comfortable they were with being nude, I was a little surprised to find barriers between the showers. Although, they were only five feet tall.

“To answer your question, we only walk around naked if we’ve shifted before taking off our clothes and accidentally destroyed them or if we’ve forgotten where we left them. Trust me, it’s happened before,” Fay said as she headed toward the stall in the back corner to our right.

I remained quiet as she turned on the water, staying back several feet so I wouldn’t get sprayed. It also seemed a bit weird to me to stand so close to someone I didn’t know all too well while they showered.

One thought came to mind and refused to leave. I had to know the answer, and as Fay already said, she was an open book. I sure as hell wasn’t in the mood to ask Cass, so if I wanted any answers, now was my chance.

“Tell me about Lindsay and Cass.”

Fay had been working conditioner on her ends, but she now paused, letting out a sigh as she rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known that bitch would already be starting shit. I have no fucking clue what Cass ever saw in her.”

It might’ve been my jealousy at how she and Cass were once a thing, or maybe it was because of how bitchy she was earlier, but I already didn’t like her. So, the knowledge that Fay also didn’t like her made me feel better. It may be petty and a little childish, but I liked knowing I had someone who’d probably be willing to talk shit about Lindsay.

I didn’t say anything, patiently waiting for her to say more as she washed the conditioner out of her hair. “They started dating near the end of our freshman year, but in the fall of sophomore year, he dumped her without an explanation. My guess is he finally saw through her fake bullshit.”

Chelsea’s words from almost a month ago came to mind, something I hadn’t thought about for a while. I clamped my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stifle my laugh but failed miserably. “Oh my god, she’s Threesome girl.”

Fay jerked her attention back to me as her light eyebrows shot up. “I’m sorry, what?”

Moving closer to her but still staying far enough away to not get sprayed, I dropped my voice to a whisper. “My one friend told me she’d been invited by Cass’ girlfriend two years ago to join them in the bedroom, saying they needed to spice things up.”

Pure shock painted Fay’s expression, probably waiting for me to say I was joking. “A fucking threesome?”

“It gets better.” She leaned closer, eager for gossip. “Not only did he say no, but he broke up with her soon after.”

Fay’s roaring laughter echoed off the tile walls as she threw her head back, and her body shook from how hard she was laughing as she doubled over. She ended up having to rest her hand on the barrier to stabilize herself. “Oh, this is pure gold.”

She finally got her laughter under control, wiping the tears from her eyes before turning off the shower. “I swear, if I find out Aspen knew about this and didn’t tell me, I’m kicking his ass. He should know better than to keep good gossip from me.” Unlike the times I mentally thought about beating up Cass, she probably could make good on her threats. I pitied Aspen if he kept this a secret from her.

As Fay dried off, she glanced my way, the humor gone from her expression. “You need to be wary of her. For some reason, she has it in her mind that she and Cass are mates. And not only in name. Delusional, I know, but she hasn’t let this go, and it’s been two years.”

What the shit? My face pulled into a frown as I tried to make sense of her words. “Mate?”

Fay looked confused for several moments until understanding dawned on her. “Right. Shit. So basically, we don’t have marriages or titles like husband or wife. We have matings. Most of the time, the matings are just in title, basically like a marriage in that we choose to be together with a few added benefits.”

“But she thinks it’s more than that?”

Fay blotted her hair with the towel, still fucking naked and not even attempting to cover up. “Occasionally, a pair will have a mating bond that ties them together without having to mark each other. But there’s no way that applies to her and Cass. Our kind knows right away. Our wolves recognize them by their scent and know they’re our mate. If she was his mate, Cass would’ve known the moment they met. Hence why she’s a delusional bitch.”

My heart hammered against my rib cage. “How often does that happen?” I held my breath as I waited for her answer. For some reason, this didn’t sit right with me. The idea of Cass meeting a woman and realizing she was his mate bothered me.

“It’s rare.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding. Thank god. “Is that everything? There are only two types of matings?” I might as well be fully aware of all this shit. It wasn’t like I thought I had any future with Cass—which was why I hadn’t asked if werewolves were allowed to be with humans.

Fay’s movements stilled as she pursed her lips, and my pulse picked up even more. “No, there is another, but it’s even more rare than a true mating. A human mate. It’s like a true mating; only one of them is a human—usually, the human is a woman. It’s incredibly dangerous for the human and more often than not, results in their death. The poor women are lucky if they make it to their twenty-first birthday. It’s a position I don’t envy—for both the human and the werewolf. Luckily, it hasn’t happened in over fifty years.”

A sudden knock on the locker room door had me jumping. “It’s probably just Cass or Aspen getting impatient.” Fay’s casual words contradicted her tense posture as she headed for the door. I followed close behind her, keeping my breaths as quiet as possible. A sigh escaped her when she opened the door just enough to look at whoever was on the other side. “Can’t a woman shower in peace?” Her response had me relaxing since she sounded more annoyed than worried.

“This is what you call keeping an eye on her?” Cass’ rumbling and annoyed voice had me chuckling under my breath.

“We’re the only ones in here—I checked—and I’ve kept her in my line of sight. It’s given her a break from the audience and made it easier for me to answer some of her questions. Win, win.”

Cass let out a weary sigh. “What have you told her?”

“Nothing she shouldn’t already know,” Fay said with a shrug, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “Did you find an empty room?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, she’ll be out in a minute.” Fay shut the door before he could respond, and I heard his swears through the door.

“Can they hear us on the other side?” I figured the room was warded like the others, but now I wasn’t too sure.

“We can hear them, but they can’t hear us,” Fay confirmed as she headed to a cubby. “Any more questions?”

I hesitated for a moment, afraid of the answer, but I needed to know these kinds of things. “Can werewolves smell arousal?”

Please say no. Please say no.

Fay snorted as she pulled on her shirt. “Yep. Just like how I can smell Cass’ scent on you.”

“Well, I did sleep in a bed with him.”

Fay shook her head, a rueful smile lifting her lips. “That’s not what I meant. The way his scent is covering you… well, it usually happens in one way: a good fucking,” she said with a chuckle at my horrified expression.

My face heated. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Fucking werewolves.