by E A Price
Antonio nodded his thanks.
His jaguar groaned as he noticed Diego now embroiled in a fight with a huge guy who was undoubtedly the pretty girl’s boyfriend.
Speed dating. Right, couldn’t hurt. At least they couldn’t be kicked out for loitering, as they were in the library, the mall, and the aquarium – yeah, they’d been hitting places pretty hard, all to no avail. But maybe their luck was turning.
*
February 13th
Hester smoothed out her nametag one more time. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d made fun of her friends for going to speed dating events, and now here she was. Two friends had met mates through this, and she was going to give it her best shot.
Or at least, she’d try her best not to bully and belittle all the men she met. Judging by the cream of the crop here tonight, it wasn’t going to be easy. Two words – hair plugs. Jeez, Louise. Not to mention the guy in the rust colored corduroy suit who had to be in his fifties. There was supposed to be an age limit here – twenty-five to forty. This guy must have a fake ID. Honestly, you spend your childhood trying to be older and your later life trying to be younger.
Hester ordered another white wine. She was going to need it.
*
The host fluttered around Antonio and his three leap mates. “I’m sure you four are going to be very popular.”
She batted her eyelashes, and yes, she was pretty, right up until he noticed her wedding ring. Now she was just annoying.
Antonio grunted and slapped the nametag on his shirt. The three younger males sidled up to the bar, garnering admiring glances from the women.
Lord, this place was worse than the last four. They’d been trawling speed dating events, spending an inordinate amount of money to talk to women who had zero interest in moving up to Honey Blossom Mountain and becoming a dutiful mate. And those who did… well, they reminded him of a movie he once saw where a bunny was boiled. It didn’t surprise him that they were single.
This place did look a little classier than the last few places. The men all wore suits… of a fashion, while the women were decked out in smart, plain clothes - like they were going to a funeral or something.
He looked down at his jeans and flannel shirt. Maybe he should have dressed up a little. At least he should have cleaned his boots. He tried to shine them on his jeans, for all the good it did.
He joined the other jaguars at the bar, grasping the beer Tomas handed him.
Lorenzo was consoling the other two, telling them that at least they could try again next year. And maybe during that time, they would find a mate within the leap. Tonight was their last night. They had until midnight to get home with their new brides to be able to present them to the prime on Valentine’s.
Fat chance.
The younger males were intent on just enjoying the time they had left.
Yep, they had nothing to worry about. Antonio scanned the amassed crowd. There was a sweetness in the air, something that had his beast panting, but he really wasn’t going to get his hopes up.
*
Martyn – four divorces. Hell no. Hester spent their five minutes talking about how much she enjoyed shooting things for sport. She didn’t, but she suspected he was a serial cheater – and she kind of thought that him worrying about her shooting him if he cheated was enough to put him off. It was.
Carl – lives with his mother. Double hell no. She told him horror stories about her own meddling mother. Apparently, she sounded like she was too much for him to handle. Yep, one smothering mother was enough.
Diego – delicious. Her cheetah let out a rawr. This was much more liked it. The young male – a jaguar shifter no less – shot her a cocky grin and asked her a few questions about herself. She answered honestly, trying not to sound too eager, and for some reason, he went completely off her. Hmmm.
Tomas – yummy. He had similar features to Diego but was quite a bit larger. She guessed they came together, probably from the same leap of jaguars. Mmmm hmm, this was one jaguar she would like to leap all over her. He asked similar questions, and she gave the same answers and he… went cold on her. What the heck was she doing wrong? She gave him flirty smiles, made eye contact and was actually very pleasant – a change from the norm, and yet in place of a red hot jaguar, she had a cold fish on her hands.
Next up was Lorenzo. Her time with him went pretty much the same as the last two jaguars. Her cheetah was utterly frustrated, so when it came to the next one, she might have been a little terse.
*
The jaguar snarled in frustration as the female in front of him complained about her ex-husband. Yeah, the last thing he needed was a woman still hooked on her ex.
Ten women in and not even a spark.
The mousy librarian barely able to look him in the eye had done nothing for him. The door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman wore far too much make-up and cared way too much about her skin. The giggly hippy girl trying to ‘live off the land’ made him want to claw his own ears out so he didn’t have to listen to her anymore.
Ten more women, which equated to fifty more minutes of his time, was all he had to get through before the night was over and he could get drunk and pretend he wasn’t about to be mated to a nightmare. He knew who the prime would force him to marry. Born females were few and far between in the leap – hence the need for the unmated males to hunt elsewhere. But there was one unmated female - Valentina. Prettiest jaguar in the pack, and the worst personality to boot. She was the daughter of prime’s girlfriend, and Marta was pushing the prime to force the union because for some reason Valentina wanted him. God, the thought of being at the whim of the selfish, spoiled she-cat for the rest of his life infuriated his jaguar. The prime – his fucking uncle – really was a piece of work. He hadn’t always hated his uncle. Used to love him when he was a kid. Then his dad died in an accident at the timber mill - because of the prime’s lax safety procedures – and prime started paying Antonio’s mother just a bit too much attention. Even now, even though Marta was pushing to become his mate, his uncle lusted after Antonio’s mother. Not fucking happening.
“Hello? Hello?! Jeez, am I talking to myself?”
Antonio snapped back to attention to see the irritating woman clicking her fingers in front of his face.
Bzzzzzzt!
The buzzer started, and he gratefully said goodbye and moved onto the next harpy – woman!
Without any expectation of anything, he was pleasantly surprised to find himself sitting in front of a svelte woman with intense blue eyes, tanned, golden skin, honey blonde hair and naturally rosy pink lips – which were currently scowling.
His jaguar let out a small yowl as he inhaled her vanilla scent. Not just vanilla – the slightly wild scent of a shifter tickled his nose. Another cat. A cheetah if he was any judge. He should try to refrain from making jokes about her being fast.
Antonio gave her a devilish smile and held out his large hand. “Antonio Chavez,” he rumbled.
She shook his hand in a brisk, businesslike fashion. “Hester Carter.”
“So, Hessie,” her eyes flashed pale gold. She didn’t like that, and for some reason, he enjoyed her reaction. “What do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer, okay?” she snapped in a challenging tone.
The jaguar flicked his tail.
“You enjoy living in Los Lobos?”
“It’s fine,” she said through gritted teeth.
Antonio tried to stop the grin from spreading across his face. He didn’t know why she was so riled, but she was adorable when she was pissed.
“You ever think of moving?”
Hester slapped a hand down on the table. “Sure! Why not? In fact, I can think of nothing I want more than to get out of Los Lobos this very night!”
Her cheeks turned pink, and Antonio chuckled. He studied her for a few more moments. A cheetah – that was certainly an interesting prospect. The leap never had a cheetah. Honestly, there were jaguars and humans, and that was it. Techn
ically it wasn’t against the rules to bring back another species, but no male ever had. Maybe because dragging humans back was a lot easier than shifters – who tended to get very bitey in situations they didn’t like. But there was something about this cheetah – this irritable blonde with a scowl that could melt a thousand popsicles – that really called to him and his beast.
Hester folded her arms. “We only have thirty seconds, don’t you want to ask me anything else?”
“Nope, can’t think of a thing. You want to ask me anything?”
“Are you really serious about finding a mate here?”
“Very,” he breathed, baring his fangs.
Hester inhaled sharply, and yes, he could scent the intoxicating smell of her burgeoning arousal
The buzzer sounded, and Antonio stood up to move on. “See you soon, Hessie.”
Her mouth opened in surprise and he was pleased to note that during all her remaining dates, her eyes sought him.
Yep, this trip hadn’t been a bust at all.
Four
Hester pulled off her shoes and threw them into the closet.
Hessie? Hessie?! Who the hell did he think he was?
Asking her those stupid questions and then staring at her with that supercilious grin on his face?
Ugh, she hated him – hated him!
Just because he was tall, sexy, muscled and freaking well perfect gave him no excuse to act like a total jackass. Her inner, traitorous cat purred like a kitten who’d just seen a piece of string for the first time.
Well, she was never seeing him again, so her damn beast better get over it.
She may have looked for him after the speed-dating event ended. Some of the couples who had clicked went for drinks, and she wondered if he might have been around to get one with her… yes, she was pathetic. But no, he and all the other jaguars were nowhere to be seen. Not that she cared, no not at all. Stupid jerk.
Hester was all out of sorts. Annoyed by the idiot, handsome jaguar. She tried watching TV, filing her nails, doing some work, baking cupcakes for the office – they turned out like rocks, so she threw them away, and after twenty-nine minutes had passed she decided to go out for a run. If she were too tired even to move, she’d be too tired to pant after the damn jaguar. Her cheetah didn’t like the sound of that but… tough sugar.
*
Hester had gone maybe ten feet before she felt the prickling sensation that she was being watched.
Her cheetah snarled, and Hester picked up her speed a little.
She couldn’t see anyone, couldn’t even hear anyone, but she sensed someone was there.
She was about to go full metal cheetah when the delicious spicy scent from earlier invaded her senses.
Was that Antonio? Her defenses mellowed, and she felt warm and secure – feelings she would kick herself for later.
She didn’t have long to ponder why Antonio was following her because she soon found out.
Large, warm arms wrapped around her and a cloth was placed over her mouth, and everything went black.
*
His jaguar prowled as Antonio drove. He was already having second thoughts. Meeting Hester, he knew she was the one, but the actual taking part… yes, it was tradition, and countless jaguars in his leap had done it, but when it came for him to do it, it just seemed barbaric.
He’d lucked out. He didn’t know how he was going to get into her fancy apartment building without just asking for permission. But when she went running, it was like a dream come true. His jaguar had particularly enjoyed stalking her. Something they would have to do again later.
After he’d picked her up, he used her keys to get in, pack a bag and they were on the road… after picking up his lovelorn leap mates. Yep, unexpectedly, they had all met their mates at the speed dating, too.
He adjusted the mirror, glancing at Tomas as he cradled the mousy librarian, currently whimpering in her sleep. The young jaguar looked smitten. Lorenzo was stroking the hair of the cosmetics saleswoman – who was snoring loudly. And Diego had his arm around the hippy, currently drooling on his shirt. Hester was passed out and breathing heavily. He might have overdone it a bit with her, but the last thing he wanted was to have the cheetah waking up and going loco on the way home.
Antonio had the feeling she was going to be pretty darn angry, and it was best she get that way when he had plenty of open space to get away from her claws.
Hester snorted in her sleep, and he smiled. He was sure he could easily win her over… ninety-nine percent sure.
Five
February 14th
Hester let out a snarl as she tried to leap out of bed. Her cheetah roared and her foot tangled in the sheets. She fell to the ground with a thump.
“Ooh, baby, take it easy,” cooed a soft, feminine voice.
Hester fought with the sheets – finally won – and jumped up, fangs out, cheetah furious and claws ready to scratch to death.
The small Latina woman in front of her merely smiled. “You’re probably a little confused right now.”
“No, I’m really fucking pissed right now! Where is that fucker, Antonio?”
The woman’s smile fell. “I’ll let him know you’re awake.”
She scurried out the room, and Hester threw herself at the door as the woman locked it. She banged her fists and screamed.
Fear tinged her nostrils, and she spun to find three humans staring at her. They were scared. But whether they were more scared of her or of the situation wasn’t clear.
“What’s happening?” snapped Hester. “Who are you?”
The glamorous young woman with teased red hair and – in spite of apparently being kidnapped – perfect make-up said, “I’m Sadie.” She nodded at the girl in tie-dye pajamas. “That’s Laurel, and this is Mary.” She pointed at the mousiest looking female in the room, trying to curl herself into a small a ball as possible. “Apparently we have the honor of being jaguar mates.” Sadie rolled her eyes.
“You’re kidding?”
“Afraid not. You were at the speed dating too, right?”
“Yep.” Currently topping the list of worst decisions she ever made, and that included when she tried the home perm.
“So were we. It was those four jaguars. They drugged us and brought us here… wherever here is.”
“This is insane.” Hester banged on the door a few more times and snarled.
“Whoa,” said Laurel. “You’re a shifter, too?”
“Cheetah,” hissed Hester, sending waves of irritation at her beast for allowing her to get kidnapped. The beast had the decency to hide behind her paws.
“What are they going to do to us?” whispered Mary, biting her already raw lip.
“Nothing,” stated Hester, firmly. “They’ve already broken countless laws; we’re not letting them do anything else. When that asshole, Antonio comes in here, you guys distract him while I bite his balls off.”
As if on cue, the door flew open and Antonio, even sexier than she remembered ambled into the room, chuckling softly. He was followed by the other three jaguars, looking more than a little sheepish as they eyed the three human females. “That’s not very nice, Hessie.”
“Neither is kidnapping and rape!”
Mary squawked in alarm. Tomas looked crestfallen.
Antonio growled, and her cheetah had the audacity to incline her neck in submission. Stop it stupid cat!
“We would never rape anyone.”
“Oh, but drugging and kidnapping is hunky dory with you degenerate perverts?!”
Antonio rubbed the back of his neck, and the easygoing smile returned. “You know, Hess, you’re making this sound a lot less romantic than it was.”
“Romantic?!” spluttered Hester. And even her cheetah had to scoff at that.
“Sure. It’s a tradition of our leap that unmated males have a week to seek out their mates, they carry them back to the homestead and then they are joined together after two weeks in a big celebration. It’s a tradition that goes ba
ck over a hundred years. We seek out our perfect mates and give them a better life.”
“Bullshit. You horny dickwads see a female you like, and then you decide that rather than give her a choice, you drag her back to your lair and force her to mate with you. It’s not romantic – it’s barbaric.”
Antonio looked uncomfortable for a moment, and Hester realized she might have hit a nerve. “What’s wrong, Annie? Not all woman desperate to fall into the arms of an asshole jaguar?”
“We brought you all some breakfast.” Diego placed a huge tray down on one of the beds. “If you don’t like this, just let us know, and we will get you something else. The bathroom’s through there, and we brought some of your clothes. Let us know if you need anything.”
“I need to go home!” screeched Hester.
Antonio’s lips quirked. “Something other than that.”
He nodded at the three younger males, and reluctantly they followed him out the room.
Hester screamed and yelled obscenities for a few more minutes, intermittently joined by Sadie. Laurel tried to meditate while Mary appeared to be crying.
Eventually, Sadie gave up and started rifling through her suitcase. “Wow, they packed all my good underwear.”
Hester huffed and slumped on the bed next to Mary. Unused to soothing people, Hester patted her leg, awkwardly. “It’s going to be okay. I won’t let him hurt you. Whichever one it is. Which one was it, by the way?”
“Tomas,” she sniffled.
The big one. Antonio was big, but Tomas was enormous. He looked like he might crush the tiny woman.
“He came by my apartment after the event and said he wanted to talk about books.”
“So you are a librarian?” Sometimes you can read a book by its cover.
“I was. I lost my job after cutbacks at the local library. My family all live in Colorado, and my only friend is on a month long cruise – no one’s going to notice I’m gone!”
“Same here,” said Sadie as she slipped out of her tiny nightie into a pair of jeans and a shirt. “I work for myself. I’m just visiting Los Lobos as a sales rep for a couple of months. The company I work for won’t know anything’s wrong until like a month has passed. I don’t know anyone, that’s why I was doing the speed dating thing.”
