by R. E. Butler
Chase pushed open the door to the kitchen. “Cris is here.” He skidded to a stop and looked at Dylan critically. “What’s wrong? Shit, you’re bleeding.”
Dylan looked down at his wrist and saw the blood welling in the nicks on his skin. Sighing, he moved to the sink and turned on the water, rinsing off his skin as Chase pulled the emergency kit off the wall.
“Theresa’s getting fired. At least I hope, anyway,” Dylan said. He used paper towels to pat his skin dry and then bandaged the shallow cuts. They were already healing thanks to his shifter healing abilities, but the idea that she’d had her hand on him long enough to do that still rankled his cat.
“What the hell is her problem? I’ve never known a human female to be so aggressive. It’s weird.”
Dylan didn’t particularly care. He wanted her gone. “I told Perry that I would quit if she wasn’t fired. He said he’d handle it.”
“He should have handled it when she first started acting inappropriately. That would have solved this issue.”
“I shouldn’t have been so nice in the beginning.”
Chase snapped the lid shut on the medical kit and hung it on the wall hooks. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You’re a nice guy.”
“You and Hunter wouldn’t have let her get close enough to touch you.”
Chase shook his head. “Cris needs you.”
Dylan stared at his cousin. “What?”
“She can’t have three males who are aggressive. It wouldn’t work. If we were all like Hunter, Cris would be overwhelmed. The three of us balance each other out. Me, I’m more of a planner. I look at the big picture, what I want to see for our future. Hunter worries about everyone’s safety, so he’s like the family bouncer. And you’re the caretaker. You worry about us, but not like Hunter does. You want us to all be happy. You’d do anything to make Cris smile, and hell, so would me and Hunter, but it’s not the same as it is with you. You crave it, right?”
There was no use denying it. Dylan did want Cris to be happy, no matter the cost. “Yeah.”
“Maybe Theresa’s one of those humans who just wants to fuck a shifter, and she knew that you’d be the best bet of the three of us.”
“Because I’m weak,” Dylan said.
“Hell no. Because you’re nice. Now, our mate is out in the bar and wants to see you for a bit.”
His cat perked up. “Why did Hunter bring her here? It was their time to be alone until you got off work.”
Chase’s brow rose. “Judging from the shit-eating grin on Hunter’s face, I’d say they had plenty of fun alone. He said that she missed us. All of us. Since you’re closing tonight, she won’t get to see all of us at the same time until tomorrow.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “I think her cat is bothering her.”
Dylan recalled the conversation Chase had shared with them about Cris’s mating concerns. Dylan worried about marking her throat again, scarring her lovely skin another three times, but he definitely liked the idea of her biting his wrist.
“Then we need to do the ceremony with her. If it’s what she needs to feel like we’re a fully mated group, then that’s what we should do.”
“Plus, it has the added benefit of her going into heat so we can start our family.” Chase smiled.
“We need to find a place to live away from the boarding house, and the sooner the better.”
“I’m working on it. I’ve got some places for us to see later this week with a realtor.” Chase straightened and clapped his hands together. “Let’s go see Cris before my shift is over. Our sweetheart’s waiting.”
Dylan couldn’t stop from smiling at the idea of seeing her. He followed Chase out of the kitchen and into the bar. It took only a heartbeat for him to locate her at a table against the wall, with Hunter seated next to her, his arm over the back of her chair. Chase hadn’t been overstating Hunter’s shit-eating grin.
Cris stood as they joined them and slipped her arms around Dylan’s waist, hugging him tightly. “Hey, love,” he said, holding her close. She smelled like summer sunshine, and he breathed in her familiar scent.
She purred and he smiled as he kissed the top of her head. He cupped her face and lowered his head to kiss her properly when she growled suddenly. Her eyes flashed as she grasped his wrists.
“What happened?” Her voice was low and furious.
“It’s nothing.”
The door to the kitchen creaked as it opened, and Cris turned slowly to stare at Theresa as she walked out. Cris looked at Dylan, and her nostrils flared. He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong when she shot out of his arms like a missile, heading straight for Theresa. She growled sharply as she pushed the female into the kitchen. Theresa screamed, but no one in the bar seemed to notice.
Dylan raced for the kitchen, with Hunter and Chase on his heels. Dylan skidded to a halt inside the kitchen as he witnessed Cris manhandling Theresa, the human’s arm twisted behind her back as Cris’s eyes glowed with her beast.
“Ow, let me go you fucking bitch!” Theresa shrieked, trying to twist out of Cris’s grip.
“Dylan is mine. Mine!” Cris roared the words. “You put your hands on him. You cut him. He’s too nice to beat you until you get a clue, but I’m not.” She twisted her free hand into Theresa’s tangled mass of hair and wrenched her head to the side. Theresa screamed in pain.
“Shit,” Chase said under his breath.
Hunter stepped ahead of them and put his hands up. “Sweetheart? Let her go.”
Cris bared her teeth, her fangs flashing in the light. She pushed up against Theresa’s arm, eliciting a groan. “She touched Dylan. He’s mine!”
Dylan moved around Hunter, sucking in a breath at the sheer fury on Cris’s beautiful face. She looked like a lioness ready to devour prey. “I’m yours, love. You know I am. Let her go, and I’ll take you home.”
Cris gnashed her teeth, her gaze pinging between the three of them. “Why are you guys looking at me like that?”
Chase said, “Because your eyes are gold, and your fangs are elongated. We don’t want to have to bail you out of jail because you snapped a human in half.”
Dylan wasn’t sure that Cris even realized how furious she was. She ran her tongue along the front of her teeth and seemed surprised that her fangs had descended. Dylan held his hand out to Cris. “Love, come to me.”
Theresa started to cry, and Cris gave her a shake, seeming unsure of the next step. Putting a little more authority into his voice, wanting to get her away from the human before she really hurt her, he said, “Cris, now.”
Baring her fangs, Cris shoved Theresa away from her. Dylan and Chase both rushed to Cris, caging her between them and moving her away from Theresa, who fell to the floor in a crying heap.
Theresa scrubbed her fist over her eyes. “It’s not worth it! I don’t even like him. I just want to get the hell away from those women and go back to my old life.”
Hunter frowned. “What women?”
Theresa stumbled to her feet and glared at Cris. “I should call the police on her. She’s nuts.”
Cris’s whole body vibrated as she growled. Theresa darted behind Hunter and screamed. “Don’t let her hurt me! I’ll leave town, and I’ll never come back, I swear. They said they were going to skin me alive if I didn’t get Dylan, but I’ll just go back home. I don’t even want the money now.”
Hunter stepped away from Theresa and joined their trio. “What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.
Theresa, her face running with mascara, said, “I was panhandling in Indianapolis, and these two women approached me and offered me five grand and a place to stay if I’d get Dylan to come back to the hotel with me.”
Dylan hugged Cris closer as she snarled softly at Theresa. “You can’t kill her, love,” he whispered.
Cris’s fingertips curled into his chest, gripping his shirt. “Mine.”
His eyes stung with tears. He couldn’t help the rush of emotion as he rested his head
on top of hers and said, “I am. Honestly and truly.”
Hunter looked at Cris for a long moment and then turned his attention to Theresa. “What women?”
As Theresa began to describe the blonde women, dread filled him.
“Do you know their names?” Chase asked.
Theresa sniffled. “Tanya, Bella, and I think the other one is Hannah. They caused the car accident that got the other waitress, Claire, out of the way. Then they told me to bring Dylan to the hotel, and they’d give me some more money. It wasn’t supposed to take this long.” She made a face at Dylan. “What’s the matter with you anyway? I’ve been throwing myself at you, and you’re not interested. There must be something wrong with you.”
Dylan felt Cris’s whole body tense, and he held her tightly and swung her away from Theresa, pushing her against the wall and caging here there. She roared, a sound so furious and loud that it made his ears ring, but he didn’t let go of his hold on her. Chase and Hunter left the room, pulling Theresa behind him.
After a few moments, Chase joined him. “Hunter and I are going to call the pride and have them go with us to her hotel. If the females are actively trying to abduct you, then we’ve got a much bigger issue here than some human trying to get in your pants. We’ll have Aaron come and get you two and take you to the house.”
“I can take her home myself,” Dylan said.
“Absolutely not,” Chase said. “You stay here with Cris, and don’t leave until you have an escort from the pride.”
Dylan’s cat protested, but Chase snapped his fingers in front of his face. “This isn’t about you being strong enough to protect her. What if the females are just waiting for you to be on the road? Don’t forget that these are the same females who rammed Micah and Melody’s vehicle and nearly killed them both in an attempt to get to her. They could do the same thing. Can you protect Cris when you’re unconscious?”
Dylan relaxed his hold on his beast. “You’re right.”
“Good. Hunter’s already on the phone with the pride. Theresa is back in Perry’s office. I suspect that Eryx and James will come with us to see where the females are.”
When the kitchen was empty, he looked down at Cris. “I’m sorry, love. I’m so fucking sorry about all of this.”
Her eyes bled back to the pretty blue he loved so much, and she sagged against him, as if the cat had finally released its hold on her. “It’s not your fault you’re so irresistible.”
He chuckled. “It’s not just that, though, is it?” He cupped her face and brushed a few stray tears from her cheeks.
Her eyes brightened as more tears welled in them. “I need to mate with you guys for real. My cat went nuts because you’re not marked. She’s afraid you’ll leave.”
“I would never.”
“My heart knows that, but my cat needs the physical evidence.”
Even though the thought of scarring her neck again, without the benefit of her being so blissed out on pleasure that she wouldn’t feel them biting her, made him feel terrible, he hated even more knowing that her cat was insecure.
“We’ll do it as soon as you’re ready. We’ll show you that we’re yours and you’re ours forever.”
She closed her eyes with a sniffle, and he hugged her close, letting his cat out as he purred so she’d be surrounded by his scent and strength. He’d make it up to her tonight in any way that he could, whatever it took. She was worth it.
Chapter 11
Cris sat next to Dylan in the backseat of a cruiser as Aaron, who was an Ashland police officer, drove them to the boarding house. Aaron and Dylan were both quiet, and she didn’t mind the silence since she was still dealing with her own actions. She’d never attacked another person in her life before. Her cat was still kind of pissed about the whole thing.
It had taken only ten minutes for James, Eryx, and John to show up at the bar. Theresa rode in the back of Eryx’s cruiser, which Cris had appreciated. She wouldn’t have been able to handle the human in her mate’s vehicle. Dylan had explained to Perry about their situation with Theresa, and although he was human, he did seem to understand that there were bigger issues than finishing their shifts. Dylan closed out the tickets in the kitchen while Cris sat on a chair and tried to soothe her cat with the knowledge that the human was not coming back to the bar to work again, and then they’d waited for Aaron to pick them up.
Aaron parked in front of the boarding house. Light illuminated the huge building against the darkness. He turned off the engine and got out. Dylan opened his door, and she followed, sticking close to him. He didn’t seem to mind that she wanted to plaster herself to his side, and she was glad. What she really wanted was to be with all her mates right then, but she understood that there was something bigger going on than her cat having a panic attack because a human touched Dylan.
“We’ve got the pride on alert,” Aaron said as he unlocked the front door. “The panthers are helping us patrol. Until we know for sure what’s going on with the females, we’ll keep up the patrols.”
After they stepped into the house, Aaron shut the front door firmly and locked it. “Until further notice, no one goes anywhere alone.”
Dylan looked down at Cris and said, “We understand.”
Aaron said, “This isn’t anyone’s fault, you know.”
Dylan’s head shot up, and he said, “What?”
“The females won’t leave us alone. They always seem to be trying to find a way to get us back in their lives. From what we’ve been told by Theresa, they targeted you and your cousins because you were the youngest unmated males in the house. You’re more likely to be swayed by the females than Holden and Jackson, who are older. And you are the youngest of the three of you, and let’s face it – you’re the nicest cat in the house.”
Dylan made a face. “I’m not.”
“No, really. You’re genuinely a nice guy, and I’m sure that the females knew that when they targeted you guys.”
“What would they want with Dylan?” Cris asked. She was still thoroughly confused by the females’ behavior.
“I don’t know,” Aaron said, scrubbing his hand through his hair. “Hopefully, we’ll find out and be able to prevent another situation like this from happening in the future. Whatever they wanted, you can bet that it’s not good.”
Dylan said, “Thanks for coming to get us.”
“Anytime.”
Aaron left them alone in the foyer. In the kitchen, she could hear the low murmur of voices, and farther into the house, she could hear the television.
“I want to take a shower,” Dylan murmured.
She nodded and walked beside him as they headed toward the stairs. Whether he wanted a shower because he smelled vaguely of french fries and grease, or because the woman had touched him, Cris knew he needed it, and that was okay with her. She followed him into the bathroom.
“We don’t have to,” he started to say, but she shook her head.
“You took such good care of me tonight. You knew what my cat was thinking before I even realized it. If you hadn’t kept hold of me I could have...really hurt her.”
“It kills me that your cat doesn’t trust us because we’re not wearing your marks.”
Her eyes stung, and she blinked back the tears. “I do trust you. The cat just has her own opinions of what a real mating looks like. I know now that we can’t wait. I need to call my parents and tell them that you’re mine and, with or without their blessing, complete the mating ceremony.”
It wouldn’t be bad to have another set of marks, knowing it would mean that she would go into heat and be able to carry one of their cubs. Females went into heat once a year after they were mated, unless they were carrying a cub or nursing. Her mother had never had any other cubs, because she’d lost the ability to bear any when she’d been injured during a hunt. She’d almost died when Cris was little, and although Cris had always wished she’d had sisters or brothers, she was thankful her mother had survived.
The hot water stea
med up the bathroom, and Cris turned her attention back to Dylan, who had stripped completely. He stepped into the shower and looked at her as he held back the thin curtain. She could see the heat in his eyes, twined together with a deep regret for the events of the night. He clearly felt as torn as she did about what had happened. Stripping out of her clothes, she joined him in the shower, where they quietly cleaned up, their gentle motions more for reassurance than anything. Then they’d hurried across the hall to the bedroom and made love, Dylan holding her so tightly and so perfectly that she almost cried. She didn’t want to add any more tears to the night, so she held them back. He’d fallen asleep curled around her, and she lay there staring at the wall where the moonlight made a pattern of tree branches through the window.
She heard the knob rattle an hour later and realized she’d forgotten to unlock the door. Thankfully, there was a tiny key hidden on top of the door, and in a few seconds Hunter and Chase let themselves into the room.
Chase knelt in front of her and kissed her gently. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“I am now that you’re here.”
“We’ll talk in the morning, love,” he said. “It’ll be okay.”
She watched Hunter and Chase silently strip to their shorts and join them on the bed. Hunter took the space next to her, and she wiggled away from Dylan enough to rest her cheek on his chest so she could hear his heartbeat and drape her arm across his massive body to hold hands with Chase. Touching all three of them at the same time soothed her cat and settled some of the restlessness she felt. The elephant in the room was still there – the fact that she craved marking them and carrying their child – but she could breathe a little easier knowing that they were with her.
* * *
Dawn came far too early in Cris’s opinion, but the world kept spinning no matter what occurred in the day-to-day. The calendar still flipped, the hour hand still swung around, and the sun rose and set no matter if people were feeling upset or needed a break. Hunter’s heart was a steady beat under her ear, his skin warm and soothing in spite of being well muscled. She felt like she could shift into her form and curl up on his lap and be the most contented person who ever existed.
