Menagerie

Chapter 3 - Charlotte

As midnight ticked closer, Penny grew antsier. I, myself, was feeling admittedly nervous. Everyone I'd talked to said that the older you got, the stronger mating pulls got. I'd never felt one that was particularly strong, but who knew how magnified everything would be this year? That wasn't mentioning the fact that my mating season didn't always start with the werecoyotes. Oh, it did most years... but sometimes if the winter was particularly bad it would stall. There was one summer when I had a week-long mating period. I'd been all kinds of freaked out, but Serena had shrugged it off as normal.

The bottom line was that I didn't know what to expect tonight. By 11:50 we had all gathered at our table. Serena was drinking something peach-colored, Jasper was buried in his phone, and I was sagging with exhaustion. It was only an hour later than I liked to stay up, but traveling was too exhausting for midnight.

Thank goodness all of our other events wouldn't require that we be up so late. The next step in Rose's itinerary was a luncheon tomorrow. I looked forward to being on more familiar ground.

I put my head down on the table, trying to ignore the nausea swirling in my stomach. It's in your head, I told myself sternly. You're just nervous. But knowing that didn't make me feel any better. I endured it for several minutes before giving up and lifting my head. Avoidance gained me nothing.

Midnight was ticking ever closer and I wasn't ready. Then, was I ever?

To distract myself, I wondered aloud, "How do our bodies know when it's midnight on the right day?"

Jasper frowned. "How do our bodies morph in to a different animal?"

I shrugged, conceding the point. "But what would happen if we went into a different time zone?"

Penny was bouncing her feet against the ground under the table in a rapid staccato. The water in our glasses was shaking as a result and it was the kind of thing that would normally drive me up the wall. Instead of snapping at her, I squeezed her hand. "Two minutes," she whispered breathlessly.

"Mmm," I agreed wordlessly. My body's anxiety had graduated from nausea to a curious, enduring lightheaded feeling. Was this really just nerves? Maybe I'd eaten something rancid. Or maybe my this was what it felt like to be going into mating season at an older age.

Serena threw back her drink and slammed her cup on the table, jolting us. "One minute to go, ladies. Shape up."

I studied her closely. Could she tell whether werewolf mating season would be starting now, too? How could she be so calm?

My eyes met Jasper's and he gave me a small smile. At least he didn't have to worry about tonight, since he was set on saving himself for Sam.

People started shouting out the ten-second countdown to midnight. I panicked through the ten-nine-eight. Time had gotten away from me. When did a minute become so short?

I squeezed my eyes shut like a coward and held my breath through three-two-one.

Nothing happened. I cautiously opened one eye and surveyed the room. A tentative inhale had me sagging in relief. Everything was completely normal, for me at least. No mating season yet.

Penny was gripping the arms of her chair, muscles strained. Through gritted teeth she said, "Get me out of here."

"Don't you want to do a lap?" I asked. If her soulmate was here she wouldn't necessarily know it. This was a big room and we were tucked off to one side.

"No. Get me out. Now!" Her eyes filled with a growing panic and I scrambled out of my seat. Together Jasper and I supported Penny and helped her stagger out of the room. Jasper, himself, was strained. He was old enough now that it had to take serious willpower for him to walk away from here. Maybe Penny and I had hit that age, too. I looked at the obvious pain she was in and felt a shooting stab of fear.