by R. E. Butler
Gustav snarled and spun on his heels, heading for their vehicles. Leandra looked at Cris and shook her head sadly. “I’m so sorry.”
The pride left swiftly, their vehicles peeling out of the parking lot and disappearing.
Cris made a choked sound and coughed, trying to cover it up. “I guess he doesn’t approve. I guess…he’d rather be gone than admit that it’s okay I made my own choices.”
Dylan’s heart broke because Cris’s heart was shattering at that moment. She might have expected that they wouldn’t accept her choices, but to witness the truth firsthand was difficult to process.
“I’m so damn sorry,” he murmured.
Cris cried in their arms for several minutes, and then, when the tears had subsided, she said, “I told myself this morning that even if I lost them, I would still have all I needed because of you three. I wouldn’t trade you or our life together for anything in the world, even my parents’ acceptance.”
“We’re honored to be your mates,” Chase said.
“And damn lucky,” Hunter added. He put his hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “For a guy who doesn’t like confrontation, you sure put yourself in the middle of the firing line.”
Dylan shook his head. “It would have hurt Cris if Salem had attacked her dad. I couldn’t let that happen to her.”
Cris wrapped her arms around Dylan and tipped her face up. Her eyes were glittering with tears, but she was smiling. “My sweetheart has a fierce side.”
He chuckled as he cupped her face and kissed her. “Only for you.”
“Let’s go see Lily and then go home. We’ve got a ceremony to get to,” Cris said. Her eyes were bright from her tears, and although she still seemed shaken by the events, she put on a brave face and smiled. Dylan loved her even more for it.
“My fierce, beautiful lioness,” he said, kissing her briefly. “You are a wonder.”
* * *
Cris knocked on the apartment door. The door opened, and one of the male’s from Salem’s pride stood in the doorway.
“Cris?” Lily called. “Come on in.”
The male stepped aside and she and her mates walked into the apartment. Lily was sitting on the couch with Salem, his mom, and sister.
“I’m sorry about what happened, Salem,” Cris said. “My father’s pride left.”
Salem had his arms around Lily, staring at her as if the sun rose and set with her, but he managed to drag his gaze away from her long enough to look at Cris. “I accept your apology, but you didn’t owe me one. You were the victim in this.”
Salem’s mom said, “Sometimes parents think they know best. Sometimes they do, but there are definitely times when they don’t. For our part in this situation, I’m sorry.”
Salem nodded. “Me too. I can’t be too sorry, though, since your father’s behavior led me to my mate.”
Lily extracted herself from Salem’s embrace and said, “Come see your cake. It’s in the kitchen.”
Before Cris even had an opportunity to see the cake, Lily hugged her and squealed. “Holy crap!”
Cris laughed. “Is that a good holy crap or a get-me-out-of-here one?”
“No, no it’s definitely good. I mean, you’ve seen him.” Lily fanned herself. “Yum.”
“Well, he’s yours, so enjoy.”
Lily’s nose wrinkled as she laughed. “Funny. This morning I was frosting your cake. Then I walk out of the house, and I’ve got a lion mate. Life is weird.”
“Definitely. So what’s going on with you two?”
“He needs to get home to his pride. He said we could stay for a few days so I can make arrangements, but then I’ll be leaving with him. It feels fast in a way, but it also feels very right, too. He’s a stranger, but I feel like we’re old souls.”
“Truematings, the ones where our hearts choose, are like that. I’ve only been with my guys for a week, and I know exactly what you’re talking about. Life makes sense when you find your mate. Or mates.”
“Just one for me, thanks,” Lily said with a laugh.
Cris caught sight of the bracelet sparkling on Lily’s wrist. She lifted her hand and looked at it. In the tradition of their people, it was a charm bracelet that held one charm – a detailed lion that looked as if it would start prowling any moment. “Did Salem explain the bracelet’s significance?”
“He said that he’ll add a charm for every milestone of our life together.”
“Right, like one for each child.”
“Do you think our children will shift since I’m human?”
Cris shrugged. “It’s impossible to tell. Depending on whether the children take more after the shifter or the human, they may or may not be able to. Sometimes, a mixed child will have some shifter tendencies, like the ability to have fangs or claws, or changing eye color. Sometimes mixed children can shift, and sometimes they’re entirely human.”
“The important thing is that we’ll love and accept them no matter what, right?”
“Definitely. It’s weird, because until you and Salem met, I don’t think my parents believed that a lion could choose a mate on his or her own. We all basically watched a powerful lion fall head-over-tail for a human. It was the best way to show my dad, and every other lion out there, that truematings are important and should be honored. Not that it changed his mind, of course.”
Lily smirked. “I’m so glad that my love life has helped you out so much.”
With a laugh, Cris said, “Even though I wish he had just accepted me and my guys outright, I’m actually happy that he brought Salem here. You deserve to be treated like a queen, and now you will actually be one.”
Her brow arched. “You’re not disappointed you won’t be queen?”
“Not remotely. Besides, my guys treat me like one anyway.”
Lily lifted the lid of the box, and Cris leaned over. The cake was a stunning lioness, far more detailed than Cris had thought possible. When Lily had offered to make a cake for their mating ceremony, Cris had expected something akin to a tiered wedding cake. Her bestie went above and beyond.
“Oh, Lil, it’s gorgeous.” Cris hugged her again and felt tears sting her eyes. “I’m gonna miss you.”
“St. Louis isn’t that far, and we can text and video call each other anytime. I’m nervous to leave Ashland since I’ve never lived anywhere else, but I’m anxious to start this next chapter of my life. I thought humans didn’t get truemates, but I guess we do when the other half of our hearts can shift into an animal.”
“I always thought that Salem was very arrogant and very typical of royal males, but I also witnessed him treat his mother and sister kindly. I think the males can sometimes be very focused on the outward appearance, as if they need to be a ruthless leader or they won’t be an effective haj.”
“His family seems nice, too. I’m sorry that your dad tried to marry you off to him, but I’m not disappointed with the results.”
“What does your grandma think?”
“I haven’t called her yet. I was waiting for your situation to be resolved. She’ll be happy for me, even though she’ll be disappointed to lose her main waitress.”
“You’re moving on to bigger and better things. Soon you’ll be baking for your little ones. You could start your own bakery.”
“Maybe I will, eventually. For now, I just want to get to know Salem.”
Cris kissed Lily on the cheek and hugged her once more. “I need to get on the way for our ceremony. Before you leave town, we need to get together again.” She lifted the cake box from the counter.
“I promise.”
Lily walked with her out to the living room where her mates were talking to Salem and his pride members. “Take good care of my bestie, Salem.”
“It will be my honor,” he said. “Take care of yourself, kori.”
After saying goodbye to the pride members, she handed the cake box to Dylan and followed her mates out of the apartment. Chase opened her door for her and asked, “What does kori mean?”
“It’s the pr
ide term for princess.”
He hummed. “I like sweetheart better.”
“Me too.”
They left the parking lot and drove toward the boarding house. Because she’d anticipated performing the ceremony with just her mates, she had spent the morning with Dylan setting up Chase’s bedroom into a ceremonial chamber of sorts. They’d pulled the mattress from the bed and set it on the floor, removing all the linens but the fitted sheet. The bed frame was dismantled and put in the closet. They’d set up electric candles on every flat surface, ready to softly illuminate the room.
She knew she could dwell on what had happened with her parents, but she didn’t want to mar the day with more tears. Tonight was her mating night, and that was all that mattered.
* * *
Cris was deep in thought as they crossed town to the boarding house. Chase didn’t like seeing her torn apart by the situation with her parents, but he knew that there really wasn’t anything he could do about it. It wasn’t as if he could force her dad to accept them as Cris’s mates, although he wished it were that simple.
He parked next to the boarding house and turned off the engine. He snarled softly, and Cris looked at him in concern.
“Baby,” he said, his voice a low rumble, “your parents and their pride just parked behind us.”
Cris inhaled sharply and turned in her seat to look out the back window. “They don’t look happy.”
“They must have followed us,” Chase said. “I didn’t notice them until they pulled up behind us. Stay in the car, Cris.”
As he got out, Cris reached for her own door and said, “No way. We face them together.”
Dylan and Hunter exited swiftly, and the three males gathered around Cris to face her parents, making sure she was surrounded. Her parents got out of their vehicle, and the other lions exited, joining her parents in front of their vehicle, a few yards away from where Chase and his cousins stood with Cris.
“What are you doing here?” Cris asked.
Her father’s face was stern, but then he exhaled slowly and the anger that had marred his face slipped away into grief.
“I made a grave error,” Gustav said. “I couldn’t see the truth of this situation because I was too blinded by tradition and by my own wants.” He looked at Cris and cleared his throat roughly. “I thought when you saw Salem that your cat would overpower your desire for these males, but I see now that it’s impossible for you to mate with anyone but these three. I don’t understand your mating, but I don’t have to because it’s yours and not mine. These are the males your heart chose, Cristabel?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“You don’t need my approval, but you have it.” He squared his shoulders and said, “Any males who would stand between two warring lions are worthy mates indeed. You protected her when I should have been doing it.”
Gustav kissed her mom on the temple, and tears surged over her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, honey,” her mom said as Cris broke from between Chase and his cousins and met her parents in the center, hugging them tightly.
Chase hadn’t teared up in a long while, but watching Cris hug her parents was just about his undoing. It was easy to see how relieved Cris was that her parents were there and had approved of their mating, but it had come on the heels of a very serious situation that could have ended terribly.
It wouldn’t have mattered to Chase if her dad had brought a dozen males he wanted to match Cris up with. She was theirs, and no amount of parental meddling was going to change that. The hardest part had been watching Cris’s devastation at her dad’s actions and her mom’s silence.
Cris parted from her parents and returned to her mates. “This is so not how I pictured this day going,” she said.
“It’s got a happy ending. For everyone,” Dylan said.
“I want you to officially meet my parents, Gustav and Leandra. Mom and Dad, these are my mates – Hunter, Chase, and Dylan Hall.”
A heartbeat of silence stretched between them and then Gustav and Leandra closed the distance between them and shook their hands. Leandra hugged them.
“I understand that you were planning to have a mating ceremony tonight,” Gustav said.
Hunter nodded. “Cris said her cat was unhappy because we weren’t marked in the way of your people.”
“Our kind of lions are particularly sensitive to traditions. It’s no excuse really, but it’s why I wanted her to be mated with someone like us. I can see that she’s happy with you, and I should have understood that all that mattered was her happiness. I walked away because I was furious at being rejected, but after my temper cooled, I was able to see how wrong I was.”
Leandra cleared her throat.
Gustav chuckled. “With some help from my tenderhearted mate.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Cris said.
He nodded. “I’d like to oversee the ceremony. If you’d be willing to let us be part of it.”
“Oh, Dad, I’d really love it,” Cris said.
“Where were you planning to have the ceremony?” he asked, looking around.
“Here, where we live,” Hunter answered. “It’s only temporary.”
“What is?” Leandra asked.
“The boarding house. Most of the pride lives in the house, but we’re looking for a place of our own,” Hunter said.
“Well, whether permanent or temporary, the mating ceremony’s location isn’t as important as the bond between mates,” Leandra said.
“If you’ll follow us, we’ll introduce you to the pride and show you where we were planning to have the ceremony,” Dylan said.
Chase linked his fingers with Cris’s as they walked toward the front door. “Are you happy, sweetheart?”
“I was already happy because I have you three as my mates. But I get to have my parents here and they’ve accepted us. It makes it even better. Like butter pecan ice cream with extra pecans and a waffle cone. How do you feel?”
“Like I’m getting everything I ever wanted.”
She beamed at him, stopping to rise onto her toes to kiss him. “Me too.”
Chapter 15
Cris used the flat iron to straighten her hair. Her mom stood next to her, holding up a section of already straightened hair so Cris could get to the slightly wavy locks underneath. She still wore her robe, not wanting to put on the outfit she’d chosen for the ceremony until it was the right time. She was in their shared bedroom, and her mates were getting ready in Dylan’s old room.
She glanced at her mom and then turned her attention back to her hair.
“You can ask me, you know,” her mom said softly.
“Ask what?”
“About what happened earlier.”
Cris frowned. “I know you were just doing what Dad said.”
“Yes, but I also thought he was right.”
Cris’s hand stopped moving the iron on her hair, and she stared at her mother’s reflection in the mirror for long enough that her hair started smoking. “Oh, shit!” she yelped, pulling the iron from her hair. Waving the smoke away from her hair, she inspected the place where there were indents in her hair from the iron, but she decided she hadn’t entirely ruined her hair, so she put down the iron and turned to face her mom.
“What do you mean you thought he was right? I thought you of all people understood and respected my desire to make my own way.”
Her mom’s head tilted as she smiled sadly. “I was like you, once upon a time. When my father talked about choosing my future mate, I envisioned running away and mating whoever my heart chose instead. I never had the nerve to follow through. When my father brought Gustav to me, I put away my childish yearnings and embraced being with my arranged mate. Your father and I fell into a natural love. It wasn’t love at first sight, but my cat adored him from the start because he was the strongest male we’d ever known. He’s fierce and determined, and he only wants the best for those he loves.”
“Do you think you would have picked him on your own, if you’d had the chance?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to say what life would have brought my way if I’d left the pride and struck out on my own.” She wrapped a lock of Cris’s hair around her finger, rubbing the strands with her thumb. “I encouraged your dad to let you go away to college. He wanted to pull you back, to forbid you from leaving the pride. I knew you might never come home, but there was a part of me that hoped you would return to us and embrace our traditions.
“When you called to tell us that you had chosen three mountain lions for mates, your father was so furious, and he blamed me for encouraging him to let you spread your wings. Contacting Salem was my idea.”
“What?”
She shrugged with a sheepish smile. “He was a handsome young male with a strong character. Your father agreed. We thought you might see him, and your cat would realize that choosing a lion like us was more important than following the longing of your heart. I feel foolish now, though. It’s easy to see that your males adore you.”
“Why didn’t you just talk to me? If you’d asked me how I felt about Hunter, Chase, and Dylan, I could have told you the truth. You…could have ruined so many things. What if Salem had wanted to fight for me, or what if Dylan hadn’t stepped in when Salem and Dad were acting like overgrown apes fighting over a banana?”
“My life is built on the traditions of our kind, Cristabel. You exist simply because I let my father arrange my mating. I wanted your fate to be like mine. What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t want the best possible outcome for your future?” She shook her head. “The moment we came into the parking lot and saw you with your males, I started to cry. I knew in my heart that you were with the males who were the right ones for you. You practically glow with happiness.”
“How did you even know where we were in Ashland? Were you tracking my cell?”
“We looked up Lily’s address. I thought you were still staying with her. After we left the apartment parking lot, we parked down the street for a while. When your father cooled off, we talked about what had happened. We saw you and your mates leave and followed you.”
