by R. E. Butler
“I like it here,” he said, gliding his fingers up and down her back.
“I like you being here.”
“In a perfect world, you’d be invited to join the prowl as my mate, and we could decide where we’d like to live. Maybe staying here during the week and being with the prowl on the weekends.”
“I’d like that. But I feel like you don’t believe that’s going to be an option.”
“Honestly? I don’t know. I have no idea what we’re walking into tonight, and it scares me that I might be taking you somewhere that you could be harmed. It goes against everything within me to take you somewhere I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“I know you’re worried,” she said, rubbing her cheek on his chest. “But I can defend myself if I have to, and you, too.”
“I don’t want you to have to.”
“I know. But I can.”
He hoped that tonight there would be no need for either of them to defend each other. That they’d be lovingly welcomed into the prowl as a mated pair, the past forgotten, and the future wide open.
He hoped for that.
But he didn’t think he’d get his wish.
Chapter Nine
Thea packed a knapsack with a few essentials including two outfits, PJs, and toiletries. She could tell Savage was hoping but not expecting they would be allowed to stay with the prowl, so she packed a bag just in case. She had no idea what they were going to walk into when they met with the queen.
She’d never met a queen before.
“Do I look okay?” she asked, glancing down at her maroon broomstick skirt that brushed her ankles when she walked and the cute white top she tied at the waist.
He blinked at her as if his mind had been anywhere but in her bedroom. “Of course. Why?”
“We’re meeting your queen. I was wondering if maybe I should change?”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not. You look amazing. It’s not as if she’s the queen of a country, so while there are protocols, our people aren’t as strict as how humans view royalty.”
“So no curtsying?” she asked, popping her foot behind her ankle and grasping her skirt as she settled into an awkward curtsy.
He snorted and stood from where he’d been sitting on the bed. Drawing her against him, he smoothed his hand down her throat and let out a soft purr. “Baby, you’re the most adorable person I’ve ever met. No curtsying or calling her Your Highness. You can address her as Queen Angmar and her daughter as Princess Sybil, but I don’t expect you’ll be asked to speak at all. They’ll be addressing me because I’m the jaguar.” He sighed. “But, if she does address you, just be respectful and honest.”
“I will, I promise.”
She cupped his face and drew him to her lips. Her heart sped up a bit and her skin flushed. Everything feminine within her wanted to grab hold of this sexy man and never let him go. “Ready?”
His brows drew down. “You know I wouldn’t take you to my prowl if I didn’t have to, right? If this wasn’t part of our customs and our laws, I’d ask my parents to pack my place up and bring it here.”
“That worried about how I’ll be received?”
“Honestly? Yeah. Not by my family because they’re happy for me, but the others are questionable.”
“I hate that you feel like I can’t be in your home. It shouldn’t be like that. Aside from your mating laws being horridly archaic, you found your true mate and that should be celebrated, not called into question.”
“It would be nice if that were the case.”
She turned and zipped her bag and he placed it on his shoulder. “If we can stay,” she said, “I’m happy to. If we can’t, that’s okay as well. My home and the coven are open to you, no matter what.”
“I’m crazy about you, Thea, and it hasn’t even been a day. I already can’t imagine what my life would be like without you in it.”
“Me, too.”
She grinned. He was crazy about her! The feeling was one hundred percent mutual.
They left her bedroom and walked out of the house. She let out a little gasp as she saw the entire coven standing in front of the house. Every one of them held a lit candle and wore beaming smiles.
Her parents and Anne were in the front, and the three of them held beaded necklaces.
“Oh,” Thea said, emotion welling within her. “This is the sweetest thing.”
“What are they doing?” Savage whispered.
“They’ve come to give us their blessing.”
She took his hand and led him to her family.
“When word got out that we have a new son-in-law,” Brom said with a big smile, “the coven wanted to have a party to celebrate. We explained you needed to go to your people first, and considering that the situation is uncertain, they offered to bless your union.”
“We’re doing our own blessings,” Luanda said. She lifted her hands with the necklace hanging between them and Thea ducked her head and let her place it around her neck. She could feel the warmth and power that surged as the beads made contact with her skin. “With this, I bless your union and ask for protection against those who would do you harm.”
Anne gave her another necklace. “With this, I bless your union and ask for peace and harmony.”
Her father had a necklace for Savage made of dark stones. “With this, Savage, I bind you to our family as a beloved son, and I bless your union, and ask for peace, protection, and harmony.”
“Thank you,” Thea said, kissing each member of her family on their cheek and hugging them.
They each hugged Savage, and she could tell by the way his eyes glistened that he was overwhelmed by the show of support.
“Now for the coven,” Brom said.
The group split into two long rows.
“Thank you, everyone,” Thea said.
She and Savage walked slowly down the path that was created between the two groups. Each person laid one hand on them, saying “we ask for protection and blessings,” and then blew out their candle. She could feel the love of the coven like it was a material object, blanketing them. When they’d reached the last person, she brushed tears from her cheeks.
When they arrived at her car, he opened her door, then got behind the wheel. As she buckled up, she saw him scrub at his cheeks.
He backed out of the driveway and turned down the road toward his prowl. “What did you think?”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I loved it. I love them. They’re so welcoming. Even after I tackled Bernie.”
She giggled. “I think that actually endeared you to them. Especially Bernie.”
“The candles were different colors. Did they mean different things?”
“Yes. Each color has multiple meanings, but the coven used ones most related to our union and protection. White candles are for general blessings, black and blue are for protection, red is for passion, and orange is for luck.”
“That’s pretty damn cool.”
“I thought so, too. It just shows how accepting some groups can be. I know we’re unsure of what we’re walking into with your people, but it’s heartening to know we’ll always have the coven. They don’t care that you’re a shifter, they care that you’re mine and I’m happy.”
“Are you?” he cast her a sideways glance.
“Am I what?”
“Happy.”
“Deliriously. I’ll be even happier when we can make our way to another bed.”
He let out a manly chuckle. “I love how you think.”
While they drove to the prowl’s territory, he told her more about his people’s mating traditions.
“How did the necklaces even get started?” she asked, touching the one he’d put on her the night before and rubbing one of the stones between her thumb and finger.
“Queens have always been unmated. They choose a male among the prowl and bear a cub with him, but she only raises the females. If she bears a male, she gives him to his father to raise. Anyway, the
story goes that prior to her daughters coming of age, males and females petitioned the queen for the right to mate each other, and it was a mutual decision. But, the First Queen had twin daughters who were interested in the same male, and when they reached mating age, they fought over him. The queen didn’t like disharmony, so she declared her daughters would hunt for the male one night and whoever found him had the right to mate him.”
“Did the male like them?”
He snorted. “It’s not noted in the history, and I think it’s because it didn’t matter then and it doesn’t matter now.”
She shook her head at how crazy the whole situation was. To think that one person’s wants were entirely ignored for something as serious as a lifelong commitment made her wonder if that First Queen had several screws loose.
“The First Mate Hunt began, and the queen gave the male an hour to hide in the woods. It was her belief that the daughter who was able to track him down first was the one rightly destined to be his mate. He went off into the woods and when the hour passed, the twins followed, using their senses to locate him. A few hours later, the twins came before the queen with the male. They both said they found him at the same time. When the queen asked the male who touched him first, he said he didn’t know because he couldn’t tell them apart in the dark. But one of the twins had grabbed hold of a necklace he was wearing and broke it during the scuffle with her sister. The queen declared that the twin holding the necklace was the rightful winner of the Hunt and he had to mate her.”
“Sounds like the necklace portion of the tradition was kind of a fluke.”
“Yeah, it does,” he said with a chuckle. “Anyway, the losing twin was angry that she didn’t have a mate, so she begged her mother to do another Hunt. The queen agreed but declared it would only happen once a year, so the twin would have to wait until that time. It always sounded to me like the first males in the annual Hunt didn’t mind being caught by the females, that it was more of a game than anything. They all made necklaces and taunted the females to find them, promising lots of passion and not really trying hard to hide themselves in the darkness.”
“It changed, though,” she said.
He hummed in agreement. “It was a few decades later when the First Queen died and her twins fought for the right to rule. The unmated twin had found a male the next year, but he died from an illness a few years later and she didn’t do the Hunt again. When her mother died, the unmated twin killed her sister. At the next Hunt, the male refused to join in, saying he was still grieving and was a widower and therefore not technically eligible. The new queen changed the laws and forced him to join in the Hunt or face severe punishment.”
“What happened to him?”
“He killed himself on the stage next to the queen in front of the prowl.” He brought Thea’s hand up to his lips again and she felt the warmth of his breath as he exhaled. “From that point on, the Hunt was no longer a game – it was taken very seriously. All the laws changed so that the males didn’t have the ability to refuse to mate with a female, and the necklace became the symbol for the winning females. Becoming a widower meant the male was eligible the next Hunt as well, but a female had the right to refuse to participate in Hunts after the loss of a mate for as long as they wished.”
Thea said nothing, her mind reeling.
He let out a chuckle. “I can practically hear you rolling your eyes.”
“Sorry, your people’s mating rituals are so screwy. I’m kind of surprised that you’re allowed to know the true origins of the Mating Hunt, but I guess the punishments are harsh enough that it doesn’t really matter if it’s always been this way or not.” She rolled her lips and then sighed. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Could you leave the prowl?”
“Do you mean ahead of the Hunt?”
“Yes.”
“I could have, but choosing to leave means facing harsh punishment from the queen. To leave properly, you have to basically throw yourself on her mercy and ask her to let you leave. If she does allow a male to leave, he doesn’t walk away – he gets carried out of the territory after a brutal beating from prowl warriors, left naked and close to death outside of the territory – no belongings, no money, and the promise of swift death if he returns to the prowl for any reason. And, of course, she can choose to not allow a male to leave at all.”
She mulled that over for a moment. “So, the only way to get out of the Hunt is to be mated.”
“Right.”
“If you’d found me before this year’s Hunt, would she have accepted our mating?”
“Yes. The three hundred and sixty-four days between the Hunts are not heavily regulated. Males and females find their mates, mark and mate them, and then present them to the queen. I’ve never heard of a mating being disregarded.”
“There are human mates in your prowl?”
“One female, and there’s an older tigress who mated one of the males a couple years ago. The queen doesn’t seem to care about matings except for the times during the Hunt. Then our females take precedence over everything.”
He pulled into a parking spot in front of a coffee shop and turned off the engine. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face him. “I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be.” He rubbed her wrist where the marks he’d given her tingled. “You’re mine and I’m yours. My parents are standing with us, and we’ve followed the rules.”
“I don’t want you to lose your family because of me.”
He looked out the windshield and a smile curved one corner of his mouth. “I’m not worried about that.”
“Well, I am!”
He chuckled and gestured to the sidewalk in front of the shop where a small group was gathered. “They’re here for us, baby. My family supports us, and if I have to leave the prowl to be with you, then I’ll happily do that.” He kissed her and gave her wrist a squeeze. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Thea. We’ve got the rest of our lives together, so let’s get this over with and see where we stand. Whatever happens, we’ve got each other, and that’s all that matters.”
Thea didn’t share his confidence, but she trusted him. As she exited the car, she inhaled deeply and rolled her neck. She hoped her smile hid the fact she was scared to face the queen and have their budding relationship called into question. When Savage met her at the front of her car and took her hand, she pushed her worries away and focused on this first step – meeting his parents.
There would be time enough for panicking later.
Chapter Ten
Savage led Thea to his parents and introduced her, then hugged his mom. He wasn’t surprised when his mom gave Thea a big hug, and his dad shook her hand enthusiastically.
“Welcome to the family,” Brom said.
“Thanks.” Thea leaned on Savage and squeezed his hand tightly. “I’m glad to meet you.”
“Let’s have a cup of coffee,” Millie said.
They walked into the shop, and once everyone had their drinks, they sat at a table. Savage listened as his parents and Thea got to know each other. He was grateful for the brief peace before they went to face the queen.
He and Thea followed his parents’ car into the territory, parking next to them in front of their house. Cannon and his parents, who were family friends, were waiting on the porch. Savage introduced them to Thea and then listened as his parents and Cannon’s parents – Devyn and Trace – looked at the two of them.
Trace ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “The queen and Sybil have kept a tight lid on what happened last night. It’s clear that something’s up, but they’ve sworn the people around them to secrecy.”
“I don’t think that bodes well for you,” Devyn said, giving them a sad smile. “But we researched the laws along with your parents, and it’s pretty cut and dried. You were claimed by a female and you left with her. They can’t say you did anything wrong officially, but it doesn’t mean that the queen will like it.�
�
Thea spoke up. “So, Savage might have to leave the prowl because of me, if the queen doesn’t like what happened?”
Brom shrugged. “It’s possible. The truth is we don’t know. As my father liked to say, in cases like this you need to hope for the best but expect the worst.”
Savage nodded and pulled Thea a little closer. He kissed her temple and inhaled her sweet scent. He could still smell himself on her skin, their scents mingled together – his woodsy jaguar and her spicy witch – and he adored the smell. His cat let out a satisfied purr.
“We should get going,” he said, looking up at the slowly darkening sky.
The group agreed, his parents leading the way toward the clearing where just twenty-four hours ago, he’d felt like his future had depended on him keeping hidden for the night, so he’d have a chance to make choices for his own future. But, conversely, if he hadn’t found the hiding spot he did, he might never have crossed paths with Thea. What he’d come to think of as the curse of the Mate Hunt, had become a blessing in disguise.
They reached the clearing and their group stopped just outside of stepping into view. Much of the prowl was milling around, curious looks on their faces. He remembered many nights after the Hunt, coming to the clearing with his parents to see who was newly mated. Usually, the queen would wait until the entire prowl was gathered before she ascended the stage and sat on her throne. But tonight, she was already seated, her head tilted as she listened to Sybil speak into her ear. Neither looked happy, and he couldn’t help but notice that Sybil was holding one of the books of law in her hands. And there were pieces of paper sticking out of it as if she’d marked passages.
“I don’t think that’s good,” Cannon whispered. “I can’t recall the last time someone brought one of the law books to the stage, particularly a day after the Hunt.”
