“Thank you. To answer your question, it is very uncommon for a male Canis lupus to take anyone but his mate lightly.” Fane grinned at the euphemism they were using to keep from having to actually say 'making love'. Jacquelyn caught that thought. “Nope, it’s called not taking it lightly, deal with it.”

Fane laughed out loud at her embarrassment, which caused everyone in the room to look at him. He couldn’t help himself, she was such a joy to his heart. He didn’t care if she never called it what it was, just so long as she would be his.

“Are you two ready to share the conversation with the rest of us, or would you like to take this to another room?” Jen asked sarcastically.

“Nope, no need to leave. We're just all one big happy family, sharing, talking, and getting all the gory details of life as a werewolf. Just another typical Wednesday night,” Jacquelyn rambled on nervously.

“Are you ready for me to continue, my Luna?” Fane asked her.

“Bring it on.”

“The blood rites ceremony is performed by the Alpha of the pack you are joining, so it will be performed by my father. In some ways it is much like a human wedding. There are usually only a few witnesses – family and close friends. We will exchange vows...” Fane took a breath because he knew what he was going to say next she would not like. “...and then we do the blood rites,” he finished vaguely. He knew she wouldn’t let him off that easy, but he thought it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“Fane, darling, what exactly are the blood rites?” Jacquelyn asked him with sweetness that he knew better than to believe.

“Understand, Jacquelyn, we are not human. There are some things that our wolf nature demands, one of those things is a blood rite. A male Canis lupus wants the world to know his mate is his. There are several ways this happens. For example, his mate takes on the markings that he has on his body. The markings on Canis lupus reveal their place in the pack. For instance, I am a dominate so my markings are on the right side of my body. They are also very elaborate and go to the front of my chest, indicating that I am an Alpha. My father explained to me that when an Alpha finds his mate he develops new markings that are visible even with clothes on, like on the neck, in order to tell all Canis lupus that he is mated. A mated Alpha is a much stronger Alpha.”

Fane paused to give her a chance to ask any questions, and then just to humor her he turned and looked at Jen, who responded with, “Oh, I’m good. Carry on, this is great stuff.”

Fane winked at her and grinned.

To his and Jen's surprise Jacquelyn reached over and slapped his arm. “Quit winking at my friends. Jen’s gonna hyperventilate and Sally’s gonna pass out. Get on with this whole blood rites thing,” she growled at him.

“You’re a violentlittle thing, aren’t you?” Fane teased.

She gave him a look as if to say “I’m waiting.”

So he continued. “That is one way the male's mate is marked.”

Sally raised her hand like she was in school.

Jen rolled her eyes and said, “Put your hand down, you dork, and just ask.”

“How do the markings identify her to other werewolves if no one can see them unless she wears a low shirt like Jacque did tonight?” Sally asked.

Fane growled and that earned him another slap on the arm from Jacquelyn.

“Don’t growl at my friends, either.”

“I wasn’t growling at them, love. I was growling at the idea of another seeing your markings. The markings on the female are meant only for her mate to see, they are precious to him because it is the first thing that indicates she is his. Male Canis lupus do not like other males to see their mates' markings. It was very difficult for me tonight with yours showing, it helps that your hair covers up most of them,” he told her.

“So it’s kind of like some guy looking in her lingerie drawer and seeing all her hot little outfits, huh?” Jen stated with a grin.

“Only you would come up with that analogy. You know that, right?” Sally asked her.

“I’m just clarifying things. You know, breaking it down, making it chewable,” Jen responded.

“Jen, Sally, I love you guys but zip it, okay?” Jacquelyn asked them in exasperation.

Both girls ran their fingers across their lips as if to close a zipper and gave her the thumbs up sign. Jacquelyn nodded her thanks.

“Another way a male Canis lupus shows that he has found his mate is the ability to speak to her by thought. I cannot speak to anyone else, nor hear anyone else’s thoughts but yours. It is the same for you,” Fane continued to explain. He noticed the look Jacquelyn was giving him was less than pleased and asked her, “Does that bother you, Luna?”

“Well, there are some things I don’t want you to know,” Jacquelyn told him shyly.

“Oooh, like that time we snuck out and went skin-” Jen started but was quickly interrupted by Sally.

“JEN!” Sally hollered. “Let's get that popcorn. I think you need something to keep your mouth occupied or we are going to shove your foot in it, okay?” she finished sweetly.

“Once again my parade is saturated in the downpour of hurricane Sally,” Jen retorted.

Jacquelyn watched as her two best friends walked to the kitchen, and then she turned to Fane.

“So what’s the third way a male marks his mate?” she asked him.

Fane simply sent her the thought, I think you would be more comfortable if we talk about it privately.