A Mate for York

by Charlene Hartnady

  “I’ll be fine.” Oh flip! What about her shift. Dammit! “I need to call Chris. I need to let him know I won’t make it.” Her voice was still croaky. She couldn’t go to work looking like this.

  “Forget Chris for the moment.” They made their way back. “I think it’s time you pressed charges. You weren’t serious about going back to that madman, were you?”

  Kerry wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to go back but she also didn’t want to put her family in danger. Jeff was deranged. He was acting like a lunatic.

  Barry touched her arm. He stopped walking. “Please tell me you aren’t seriously thinking about it. Tell me you said that just to get him to leave.”

  “Oh god!” Susan’s eyes were wide. The baby still on her hip. She rushed out to them. “Look at you.”

  “It’s not as bad as it looks.” She tried to smile but it hurt like hell so she stopped.

  Her sister blinked away a tear. “That bastard. I—” They heard the sound of a siren. Susan turned towards the noise. “That’ll be the police. You have to press charges against him this time and stick with it. He needs to be arrested.”

  “I don’t want to put you guys in danger.”

  Susan looked at her like she did the kids sometimes. “You have to press charges. He can’t get away with this.”

  Kerry nodded. “Okay, okay. I need to make a quick call first.” She needed to be sure her family would be safe before she took on her ex.

  “Chris can wait. I’m sure he’ll understand,” Barry said.

  Her old boss had gone out on a limb to get her that shift. She was letting him down. There might not be another chance waiting for her at The Pink Butterfly. Even if Chris gave her more work after this, staying here would put her family at risk. “Not to Chris. I was offered a job…um…two weeks ago. It’s a live-in position.” The wail of the sirens grew louder. “I’m beginning to think I should have taken them up on their offer.”

  “What offer?” Susan asked as a cruiser pulled up next to them. “And if it was so good why didn’t you take it?”

  Kerry couldn’t say why exactly. Maybe because it was too good to be true and usually if it was too good to be true, there was a catch or something. She was sure there was a something, she just wasn’t sure of exactly what that something was. In the end, Kerry shrugged. “I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of sharing a house with six guys. Doing their laundry and cooking.” It had more to do with him and those intense golden eyes. On how huge he was. “I was wrong though. Hopefully the opening is still available.”

  “Oh, and it came from that agency you contacted?”

  Thankfully she didn’t have to answer because the two police officers who had just exited the vehicle were making their way over to them. Their expressions grave. “A call came in about a domestic dispute.” One of the officers looked at Barry with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “My ex. He just left,” she quickly added.

  The officer’s stance relaxed some. “Would you like to make a statement?”

  “Yes, yes I would.” She nodded again.

  Susan gripped her hand and squeezed.

  Chapter 8

  “There are so many females here,” Locke said, eyes wide and jaw gaping. His gaze was fixed solidly on a female’s breasts. It was weird to see the male with blue eyes. Unfortunately, contact lenses were a must if they were going to be together in a group. Having a very similar, unique eye color would draw too much attention.

  “Don’t look at females like that,” Cadon said. “Especially the ones who are here with a male. They don’t like it. Human males like it even less.” The female Locke was staring at happened to be with a male who indeed didn’t look very happy.

  Locke made a growly noise. “I don’t care about what human males think.”

  “Let’s not go there. We are here to observe and—”

  “Observe?” Zaire snarled. It was loud and vicious. A perfectly reasonable response for a Feral. To a human, not so much.

  Many heads turned in their direction. Several females shrieked. The ones in close proximity moved away, clutching at their chests and tittering to one another.

  Oh hell! This wasn’t going well.

  “Your behavior would be considered aggressive to a human,” Cadon said under his breath. He sipped his drink and tried to smile, hoping to defuse the whole thing. “Do not snarl, growl or shriek in public.”

  He looked around them, still holding fast to that smile. Go back to what you were doing. Nothing to see here.

  “I am aggressive,” Locke announced.

  “Interesting.” Zaire took a sip of his own drink. “The females didn’t like your display.” He frowned.

  “What display? I was speaking. I could put on a display.” His eyes brightened up and he tightened the muscles on his chest.

  “No!” Cadon said, a little too harshly. “No displays. We spoke about this. No fighting or showing off muscle. That’s not how things are done.”

  “Oh right.” Locke frowned. “We talk and then talk some more. If we are lucky we’ll eventually be permitted to mount.” He shook his head. “That’s crazy.”

  “Tell me about it,” Zaire snorted. “Surely compatibility must first be proven. If it’s a good match, talking is fine.” He shrugged.

  “It works the other way around with humans.” Cadon shook his head. “We’ve been through this. Talk first and then establish compatibility.”

  “Then mate,” Locke growled, his voice had grown gravelly. He was thinking about taking a human female. They were far too eager. There would be no actual contact tonight. These males were far from ready.

  “No.” Cadon bit back a smile.

  “No?” Locke asked. “Why no?” He sounded incredulous.

  “Humans need plenty of time to establish compatibility. They don’t just consider mounting, strength and fighting ability. They are looking for a deeper connection. They do not get the mate call like we do.” Although they mated for life, and humans didn’t, in many ways, the human connection was much closer because it was based on so much more than compatibility and an urge to procreate. It was hard to convey that to these males.

  “There is no deeper connection than mounting with one’s mate,” Zaire threw in, his eyes hazed over in confusion. “And no mate call. Why not?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s just how it is. For humans it is about more than just mounting. They want to get along with their potential mate. Have good conversations. Do fun things together. When I said deeper connection, I wasn’t talking about—”

  “Like mounting.” Locke smiled.

  “Stop thinking with your prick,” Cadon said, a little too loudly. A couple at the bar turned and looked at him like he’d sprouted tail feathers. “No, not like mounting,” under his breath this time. “Yes, there would be plenty of that as well, but—”

  “I knew it!” Locke yelled, spilling his drink.

  Brimstone and hellfire and by all that had feathers, he wasn’t sure he could do this. His king had sent him on this mission because he was one of the most patient. Right now though, that same patience that had won him the mission was sorely lacking. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Put your drinks down and come with me,” he said.

  “Where to?” Zaire looked excited. There was a grin on his face that was about a mile wide. “Are we going to talk to some females?”

  “The bathroom.” Cadon quickly burst that bubble. “I need to go and I don’t want to leave the two of—”

  “We are not fledglings,” Zaire countered, eyes narrowed.

  “Yes, we are capable of looking after ourselves for the time it takes you to piss.” Locke glared at him.

  “Fine,” Cadon huffed. “Don’t leave this spot. Do not approach anyone. Do you hear me?”

  They both nodded. “Loud and clear.” Zaire smiled.

  Moving quickly, Cadon made his way to the restroom. This place was filling up fast. The music had been turned up and the lights dimmed a
s night fell.

  He fumbled with his zipper. Damned human clothing. Then he sighed with relief as he did his business. He’d been holding this one in almost since they got there two hours ago. He finally finished and zipped back up. Quickly washing and drying his hands.

  Cadon stopped dead as he left the restroom. Locke was talking with some females. They were standing at the bar next to the males.

  Blast!

  His hearing was better than a human’s, but not nearly as good as the other shifters. Still, he could just make out what Locke was saying. There was some lip-reading involved as well.

  “Can I buy you females a drink?” Had the male not listened to a word he had told him?

  Human females hated to be called females or girls. They preferred women or ladies. Cadon moved in closer, straining to hear above the noise.

  “Um,” the female looked him over. “We’re good, thanks.”

  Shot down! Back off Locke!

  The male didn’t listen to his mental plea because he went on. “Very nice weather we are having,” Locke tried again, using a different tact. The female gave a half-smile. Maybe Locke would be okay. Maybe he had been listening after all. Cadon began walking towards them, he needed to get closer, just to be sure. Needed to be able to intervene if—

  “Errr, yeah, I guess,” the female replied. “If you like the cold. Forecast says snow.”

  “Might be better to stay home, in bed,” Locke said, he grinned. Cadon knew that look, he picked up his pace, not liking where this was going.

  “Want to leave?” He looked down at her chest. No! No! “We can go back to my room and get warm together,” he added.

  “Excuse me?” She was frowning heavily. “Did you say room?” Now she smiled, her brows up. It wasn’t a flirty look she was giving him but more of a ‘hell no’ look. Unfortunately, Locke wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two.

  He smiled back. “Yes, I did,” he answered, making Cadon want to slap a hand over his eyes. “We can fuck,” Locke blurted, looking pleased with himself. “I have a big prick.”

  Oh hell, he hadn’t just said that. Cadon prayed he had heard wrong. By the way the female widened her eyes, by her deep intake of air, he knew that Locke had indeed said just that.

  Cadon gripped Locke by the arm as he reached the male. He squeezed, trying to shut him up.

  “Asshole!” the female flung back, using a sharp tone.

  Locke frowned. “No, not in the asshole.” He shook his head.

  “Stop talking,” Cadon pretty much begged.

  Locke shrugged. “Unless you want it from behind in that way. I’ve never tried mounting the rear end.” He looked like he was imagining it, eyes drifting upwards. He didn’t look like he found the idea half bad.

  The female’s jaw fell open and she gaped at Locke for a few seconds. Then she made a sound of disgust and walked away. The two friends chatted to one another as they left. Looking agitated and even angry. The female’s friend turned back and glared at the two of them for a second or two before turning back to her friend. That could not have gone worse.

  Cadon couldn’t blame them. “You can’t do that,” he whispered. “I told you that human females like to talk first.”

  “I did talk. I offered her a drink, like you told us to, but she turned me down.”

  “So you strike up a conversation?” Cadon asked.

  Locke gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Yes. You said to talk, I talked.”

  Zaire took a sip of his drink. “There is nothing wrong with talking with a female, is there?”

  “Generally, if a female refuses a beverage, she isn’t interested in talking unless she gives off specific signals that she is.”

  “What kind of signals?” Locke asked.

  “Yeah, this is confusing,” Zaire chimed in.

  “Um…flicking her hair. Smiling. Laughing. The way she looks at you.”

  “How would she look at me?” Deep lines appeared on Locke’s forehead. “This is confusing.”

  “Not really,” Cadon said. “You will get the hang of it. Like I said before, it’s going to take some time. I told you not to talk to any humans while I was away. You defied me.”

  Locke shook his head. “I did not! You said not to leave this spot and told us not to approach anyone. We didn’t approach them, they approached us.”

  “Semantics.” Cadon looked at the male head-on. “You aren’t ready yet.”

  “We’ve waited years,” Zaire moaned.

  “Yes, I don’t want to wait anymore.” Locke shook his head.

  “That much was evident. You can’t talk for all of twenty heartbeats and expect a female to allow you to mount her.”

  “Why not?”

  Cadon huffed out a pent-up breath and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

  “So, let me get this straight, that wasn’t sufficient talking?” Zaire said, not sounding impressed.

  Cadon dug deep, summoning every ounce of patience still remaining. That particular well was almost empty. Already! They had barely begun. “Not by a long shot. You need to talk for hours, days, even weeks, sometimes even months.”

  Cadon had to bite back a laugh when the two males’ faces dropped and their eyes widened. You would swear he had just told them they were losing their right arms.

  “I can’t wait that long.” Locke shook his head, his eyes filled with panic.

  Zaire shook his head just as hard. “I might just—”

  “Are you the guy harassing those two ladies?” Two large ‒ for human ‒ males sidled up to them. The male who had just spoken had his hands on his hips. The other male had two deep grooves on the bridge of his nose. His eyes were narrowed. Feet evenly apart. The male was ready and in a fighting stance.

  “Did you say rude things to her?” the same male tried again.

  The back of Cadon’s neck prickled, alerting him to the presence of a third male at their rear. By the way Locke stiffened next to him, he knew that he too had sensed the presence. “Stay calm,” Cadon said.

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” the angry looking human said.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” Cadon said.

  “The three of you need to leave. Now,” the first male said, allowing his hands to drop to his sides.

  “We didn’t do anything wrong,” Zaire all but growled.

  “One of you is a pig. We don’t serve pigs in this establishment.”

  “Pig?” Locke shifted his weight. “You are mistaken. We most definitely are not pigs, not even by a small margin. I wasn’t being rude. I offered sex, that is all.”

  “So you’re the pig?” the male asked, brows raised, his full attention on Locke.

  “I told you, I’m not a pig,” Locke growled, jaw tightening.

  “You need to leave,” the angry male growled back. “Out. Your friends can leave with you.”

  “We have not yet finished our drinks,” Zaire said, a bite to his voice.

  Blast!

  “You are done because we say you are done,” the angry one countered. “Get out or we’ll make you leave. We don’t serve pigs.”

  “For the last time,” Locke clenched his jaw, “I’m not a pig. Call me that one more time and—”

  “And what?” The angry one stepped in closer, eyes hard.

  “Chill, Sam!” the other male interjected. “We don’t want a fight. It’s not good for business. We just need you to leave right now.” He looked them each in the eyes before his gaze came back to rest on Locke.

  “We can do that,” Cadon said, putting up his hands to show he didn’t want a fight either.

  “Why?” Zaire shot back. “We shouldn’t have to leave.”

  “Yeah, I’m enjoying myself,” Locke added.

  The angry male took another step in Locke’s direction, fists clenched. “Leave or…”

  Cadon’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket. What? Who could be calling him?

  Blast! Only one answer to that, there must be trouble at ho
me. It had to be Worth. He put a hand on Locke’s chest. “Calm down.” Then he fished out his still vibrating phone.

  It was a number he didn’t recognize. For a second, he thought about ignoring it. Then he remembered who it could be. The human. It had to be. It wasn’t like he had given his number to anyone else. This was one call he couldn’t ignore. His gut told him she was in trouble. There was no way she would have called otherwise.

  Locke had his finger in the angry human’s face. The other male stepped in between the two of them. “We’re leaving,” Cadon said. “Follow me now,” he continued as he answered the phone. He walked towards the exit.

  Chapter 9

  Just when she thought he wasn’t going to answer, she heard him pick up. It was noisy in the background. Music, people laughing. Flip! She was bugging him. He was probably out on a date. She was calling him at the complete wrong time. Who was she kidding? It was evening already. Definitely long after office hours.

  “Hello.” It was that same deep, beautiful ‒ stupid thing to think ‒ baritone.

  It made her want to put the phone down. Or mumble wrong number. Cadon had told her to call if she was in trouble. Well, sitting in the reception at the police station, afraid to go back to her sister’s house. Throbbing lip. Her neck already sporting reddish, purple bruises… she’d call that being in trouble.

  “Hello,” he repeated, a hint of uncertainty in his voice this time. There was a thudding sound and the noise drowned out. He must have gone outside to take the call.

  “Hi.” Her voice came out a touch croaky. She tried clearing her throat but it only hurt. Just like it hurt to swallow. “Am I calling at a bad time? It’s Kerry,” she quickly added. “The lady who—”

  “I remember who you are. Are you okay? Do you need me to fetch you?”

  “Um, is that job opening still available?”

  “Yes,” he answered. Too quickly for her liking. “Are you okay?” he added, sounding concerned.

  “Um …” She licked her lips, making a noise of pain when her tongue hit her busted lip.