by Ruby Knoxx
Wanted Lion
Lion Shifter Romance
Black Ops Mates Book 6
Ruby Knoxx
Copyright © 2021 by Ruby Knoxx.
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of the book only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form, including recording, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Chapter 1 – Leon
Chapter 2 – Justine
Chapter 3 – Leon
Chapter 4 – Justine
Chapter 5 – Leon
Chapter 6 – Justine
Chapter 7 – Leon
Chapter 8 – Justine
Chapter 9 – Leon
Chapter 10 – Justine
Chapter 11 – Leon
Chapter 12 – Justine
Chapter 13 – Leon
Chapter 14 – Justine
Chapter 15 – Leon
Epilogue – Justine
About the Author
Books by Ruby Knoxx
Chapter 1 – Leon
“Happy birthday, buddy,” I said as Jonas opened the door. I passed him a wrapped box which held a couple of plane tickets to Mexico for a get-away for him and his mate, Natalie.
“You shouldn’t have,” he said, turning the box around in his hands. “Wrapped and everything.”
“It’s amazing what they’ll do for you at the mall,” I said, smiling. “Don’t open it now. Wait until after the party.”
I didn’t like the attention. I didn’t like getting thanks for gifts or even acknowledging them. I wasn’t the best at finding them, either. This time it was easy, since I’d heard them talking about Mexico more than once.
I patted him on the shoulder as I pushed my way into the party, going down the row of people, giving the appropriate greetings, hugs, and kisses on the cheek until I made my way to the kitchen. I found a stack of plastic cups, an ice bucket, and the collection of alcoholic beverages to choose from. I popped two ice cubes into my cup and poured a generous helping of whiskey.
I’d come because I cared about my former ops brothers. But really, I didn’t want to be there. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy a good get-together, but as my friends mated up, expanding our group of six into a group of eleven, I was beginning to feel like the odd one out while everyone else was playing “happy families.”
I supposed that wasn’t fair to say. I had called them my brothers, and if I was honest, I still considered them as such. And along with my five brothers who had served by my side over the years, I now had acquired five sisters as each of my brothers found their mates. I was happy for them, truly.
Well, part of me was.
While they were the closest people to me, we couldn’t be as close as we were when we worked together. They just had to be kept at a little bit of a distance, now that none of them were a part of the black ops with me anymore. None of them were a part of my team. Which meant I couldn’t share completely with them. Not anymore. I didn’t know if I ever would.
It wasn’t a big deal of a party. Just a potluck with a nice selection of alcohol to choose from, with the sea breeze wafting through from the balcony. It was really like any of our other get togethers, except this time with balloons and a little more emphasis on drinking and encouragement to dance.
I was not in the mood for dancing.
We all watched as Jonas blew out the candles of the birthday cake that Natalie had made (though I had heard whispers that in a panic, she asked Ginger to make it). I took a sip of my whiskey as I leaned against the wall away from everyone, watching them cut the cake and pass the pieces around. Reina approached me with a slice of cake offering, but I shook my head.
She made a determined face, holding the cake in place, but I still declined.
“What’s up with you?” she asked. “You’ve been over here in the corner all brooding since you got here.”
I shrugged. “Just not that big into parties.” I sipped my whiskey and swirled the cubes of ice in my glass.
“Now that’s a lie if I ever heard one,” she said, smiling. She pushed the piece of cake toward me. “I have heard plenty of stories of you all at parties during your time together.”
“We were never partiers,” I said. “We were always on assignment which required us be at parties.”
“Well, you’re not on assignment now,” she said. “This isn’t a mission. Come on, let that mane of yours down and have some fun.”
To get her off my back, I took the piece of cake and stuck the fork into it. She nodded, as if I passed a test and returned to the crowd. I looked down at the sweet mess. This was just Jonas’ sort of thing: red velvet with a cream filling and caramel drizzled on top of it. The kind of thing that makes your teeth hurt just looking at it.
I brushed the tip of my fork into some of the filling and tasted it. It was loaded with sugar and strawberry flavoring. Definitely not my thing. As the one remaining black ops member, I needed to remain sharp and on my game. Dumping sugar and carbs into my system wasn’t good for the mind or the body. While these guys could all relax, I had a new assignment starting the next day. One that I wasn’t looking forward to but an assignment nonetheless. And as a hired mercenary, I needed to be on my top game, regardless of how degrading I found it.
I put the plate down on a side table and wandered outside onto the deck to get some fresh air.
Of all the places I’d lived in, I loved LA most. I loved the combination of city and ocean, the heat of the sun, and how I could hop on any flight at LAX and get to where I wanted to be. The only thing it was missing were more palm trees. I couldn’t get enough of those.
I could just see the sea down the road and the sun turning the surface of it golden as it set. The lights of the surrounding buildings lit up the skyline, while the streetlights and cars below kept the day going.
There was a series of dull thuds coming from the crowd of couples inside. I turned and leaned on the banister outside as I watched as Maxen, Jax, Neo, and Zane all put their arms around their mates, as if there was an instinctual timing in them to do so, something I just didn’t understand. All their heads turned toward Natalie, who was holding up her plastic cup filled with cranberry juice and tapping it with the side of a fork.
I supposed I needed to wander back inside, and I did so, though not venturing too far beyond the sliding glass door.
“I’m so happy you all could come here today,” she said. “I know, I know, it’s just another birthday. We all have them every year. But this one is particularly special.”
Her eyes met Jonas’ and seemed like they sparkled as she smiled. He matched her smile before turning his attention to the rest of us.
“This is my last birthday as things are now,” he said. “Natalie and I are going to have a cub.”
The women gasped, the men clapped, and Natalie’s hand went to her middle. It was everything in me to hold onto my own plastic cup with the last little bit of whiskey in it. I was going to need a top-up.
Everyone stepped forward, wanting to wish the couple their congratulations. I did my part, shaking Jonas’ hand and giving him a hug, giving Natalie a kiss on the cheek, all on the way to the kitchen where there was more booze.
I splashed some of the whiskey in the cup, downed it, and then added to it, aching to feel the relaxation that accompanied the burn on the way down. Why wouldn’t it come?
“Pretty wild about Natalie, huh?” Jessica, Neo’s mate asked as she came into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of w
ine and retrieved a bottle of beer from the fridge. “I know I’m new to the whole shifter thing, but I never thought about what you’d call a baby. It took me a minute to realize what they meant by ‘cub.’”
I shrugged, leaning against the counter. “It’s different depending on the parents,” I said. “We know that because Jonas is a lion, it’ll be a cub. But, if he was say, a goat, then it’d be a kid.”
She laughed. “I suppose it would. I just never thought about it.” Jessica lingered for a moment, studying me. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I said, finishing my drink. I wanted to pour myself another but thought that maybe three in as many minutes was pushing it. Instead I studied the empty cup, as if I were reading tealeaves.
“You don’t seem fine,” she said. “I mean, I know I don’t know you that well, but you seem like you’re the odd one out.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way.” Jessica gestured to the group of people in the dining room and living room of the lavishly large apartment. “We’re all matched up. You don’t seem to be. Is there a lady in your life at all?”
“No,” I said, nearly growling at her. My fingers tightened around my cup, denting the edges inward. I watched the white creases of the plastic at the folds as I continued to crush it.
“I mean,” she went on, “if you wanted a date, you only had to ask. Between the rest of us, we know plenty of women who would die to have a chance to go out with someone like you.”
“No.”
“Alright,” she said, her voice light. “It’s just … I know how close you guys are. And I want to make sure you’re alright. Are you just not interested in dating? Or is it women?”
I shook my head, wanting badly to be out of this conversation. “I have other things to focus on,” I said. “A dating life isn’t one of those things.”
She nodded, her finger tapping the side of her wineglass as she searched for something more to say. “I just thought I’d check in with you is all.”
“Thank you,” I said, trying to curb the edge in my voice. I knew that she meant well and didn’t deserve me to snap at her.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like her. I did. I liked all the women that found their way into my friends’ lives. They were good people, and I was happy for them. But I didn’t like to be asked about my personal life, especially when it went along the lines of my romantic life.
I had very specifically tried not to think about my romantic life. It was too painful. It was just too much, especially when I needed to be happy for my friend. This was a day of celebration, wasn’t it? He was the first of us to become a father. I should have been happy for him.
I knew that somewhere deep inside of me, I was happy for him. But for whatever reason, that part of me was buried. It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy for him but more that I couldn’t even concentrate on him. All I could think of was her. And the last time we had been together.
I thought that was the last time I was ever happy, when we were in the house together, ignoring the world and creating our own fantasy life. She was in my arms, and I was completely dedicated to her. It was the last time I could remember being fully and completely happy, opposed to relabeling “content” as “happy.”
It had been nothing short of sublime, that week with her. When I had told her I loved her, that she was my mate, I had showed myself to her.
And then she died.
Chapter 2 – Justine
I left the daycare center, the twinge of leaving my daughter there getting a little lighter each time I did it. I hated that I had to leave her. She had spent her whole life being able to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa while I worked, and now I was leaving her with a bunch of other kids.
I supposed it was good for her social skills, if nothing else.
I stepped out of the building and into the sliver of sun creeping between the city’s buildings. I loved to be in the sun. Even the morning was warm enough just being in the shade. I knew I would love living in LA, and not one part of me regretted the move. My apartment was excellently located, within walking distance of both the daycare center and my work, which mean I got plenty of exercise. There was a park nearby that I could take Kitty to on the weekends, and the city was just full of life. Every day the walk felt like a new experience.
I had been there a few weeks now, but I still couldn’t get used to it. I couldn’t believe how far I had come after everything, and now, I was running a company, all on my own. Just like that.
I found my own building and opted for the lavish stairs leading up to the fifth floor. The building wasn’t actually that fancy, though it had once been. Now it was just a collection of businesses and boutiques, which meant that I didn’t have to go too far if I wanted to treat myself to something.
I unlocked my suite, you could call it, which had a deceptive reception area. It beheld a set-up to make coffee and a unisex restroom. There was seating space in case it was needed and a desk in case I hired a secretary, though so far, I had found little need for either. Beyond the reception area was my office, where I conducted all of the company’s business.
My office and the reception area were decorated similarly, with photographs of past clients. It amazed me how well this company had done with such minimal task force over the years.
I looked around my office and smiled. Even though I had been there long enough that I should be used to it, I still couldn’t get over the fact that it was my office. It wasn’t much, but it didn’t need to be much. I had a nice big window that overlooked the crowded street below. I was only a block away from a parking lot filled with every kind of food truck I could possibly want. And this new job was enough to support me and my daughter.
New job. New city. New life. It was time to get back to being me again and remembering what it was like to be independent. I needed to remember what it was like to be Justine Justice Wilson again.
It had been so long since I’d been able to get out on my own. The accident years ago really did a number on me. Between recovery and having my daughter … I was just fortunate that I had my parents nearby to help me over the years. There was a lot that I had to get over just so I could start working like this and have my own apartment. And my parents had supported me all through the recovery process, learning to walk, learning to be able to hold my little girl. There were times where it felt like both me and my daughter, Kat, or Kitty, as I liked to call her, were learning some of the same skills at the same time. It felt pathetic at the time, but hey, no one said healing was an easy task.
After therapy, both physical and mental, and after working jobs enough to save up, I was finally able to get out of Sacramento and get closer to the coast in LA. I had always wanted to live there, and after my accident, I didn’t think it would be possible. I had thought that I had a lifetime of living on disability ahead of me.
So while it looked like there was water damage on the ceiling, and I had found an old mouse trap behind one of the file cabinet, and no one had taken a duster to the corners of the office in years when I arrived, I was grateful for my new work space.
Other than clean it up a little, I didn’t do much to change it. I loved that there were photos all over the place of client success stories, and I found them to be somewhat inspiring regarding my role in the company. My goal was to fill the walls with more photos. More success stories. More happiness.
I turned on the computer and logged into my email, just as Jan had showed me to do. I was taking over the company for her. It seemed weird to say that when I was in such a small office. But most of the company was online. We didn’t have many people working for us: technical support, a couple of girls working social media, and me, the new face of Mail Order Mate.
I had never thought that I would be into the idea of mail order brides. And to be fair, when I saw the ad looking for someone, I was shocked that they were even still a thing. But as I looked into it, I saw that it was just like a step up from online datin
g. It was more personal, more hands-on, and everyone involved in the site was in it for one goal: to get hitched.
But this company was a little different, and when I stepped in for the interview, I watched Jan’s nose twitch before she said, “I’m sorry, you’re not the right fit for us.”
I knew that nose twitch. I had seen it on a few people. But they weren’t people—well, human, anyway. They were shifters. Once I knew that shifters existed, I was able to pick them out. It took a lot of paying attention, but I was able to see the little gestures that acted as indicators. That slight movement of her nose was Jan’s senses telling her that I wasn’t a shifter. Which told me that this wasn’t a job for a human. This was a shifter job.
I didn’t leave when she tried to wave me out the door from her desk. I would never have done something like this before, but I wanted the job. I wanted to have a reason to get set up in Los Angeles. I wanted something that would support me and my daughter.
I closed the door behind me and said quietly, “I know.”
Jan didn’t look up from the file that was open in front of her. “Then why are you still standing here?”
“No,” I said, feeling bold and taking a step closer. “I know. This isn’t a company to match humans.”
That stopped her. She raised her eyes to me and studied me before folding her hands on her desk. “Are you married?”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “No,” I said. “But I know about the shifter world. The secret of it is safe with me, but please don’t dismiss me because I’m only human.”
A slight smile came to Jan’s lips. She gestured to the chair in front of her. “Then let’s get started.”
As she walked me through the job and told me about Mail Order Mates, she explained that every shifter had a mate. There were plenty out there who had loved and lost their mates, generally due to death, and they might want companionship. And the company tried to match like with like. But for the most part, they were almost certain that they could find a client their true mate or someone close to it. And who didn’t like a happily ever after?
