The Mating (Black on Black, #1)

by BJ Cunningham

  Yawning and glaring at the annoying chirping coming from her phone, Serra inched closer to it, wondering how bad she would feel if she chewed the damned thing a little. Stretching, she shifted human and picked it up to read the text. “Fuck my life.” She groaned falling back on the bed and covering her eyes with her arm.

  Poking Jared with her toe, she waited until he blinked up at her. “Pops is here. I don’t blame you if you’d rather not join in the family reunion.” Scooting back down the bed to rub her face against his with a purr, she headed for the shower, texting Damion the code as she walked. [Let yourself in. Will be down after I hit the shower.]

  Damion read the text, his brow arching. She was going to make him wait? Her face when she’d seen the panther in flames filled his head and humbled him a bit. Not much, but enough that he wouldn’t be pounding on her bathroom door and demanding that she see him this very moment. He pressed the numbers on the alarm keypad beside the door and went inside. His brows wrinkled at the decor that was nothing like his little girl. What the hell was going on with her and where had she been for the last decade? He found the kitchen and the makings for coffee, busying himself with building a pot while he waited.

  Serra took the quickest shower of her life, dried off and ghosted on some clothes that wouldn’t have Pops riding her ass too bad. Grabbing her phone as she left the bathroom, she stopped to kiss Jared again. Taking a deep breath, she opened the bedroom door and went down the stairs chewing the inside of her lip nervously. Serra scanned the empty rooms, following the scent that had always meant home to her. She hadn’t seen him in so long, and she had missed him so much. A smile spread across her face when she spotted her father, even though she could cheerfully choke the living shit out of him. It was a struggle to keep her cool and not run into his arms. As always, he stood tall and strong, his long dark hair gathered at the nape of his neck, accentuating his sharp and beautiful features. Her throat tightened, making it hard to talk. “Hi, Pops. I’ve missed you.” Her voice was barely more than a scratchy whisper She dropped her gaze when she felt the tears prick at the backs of her eyes.

  Hearing his daughter’s voice, Damion turned his head and smiled, opening his arms, cradling her head in his large palm as he pulled her into his embrace. “Behold. My daughter IS still alive. How is my girl? And what’s up with that skirt? Short enough?” He smiled as he pulled back to look at her, but the gleam in his eyes said that while he was teasing, he did not approve.

  Still gripping his black leather jacket, she laughed and rolled her eyes at the typical comments about her clothes. “I’m okay. How’s everyone back home?”

  “Hungry or thirsty? I made coffee.” He wiped a tear that slid over her cheek away with his thumb and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I was surprised that you had my favorite Sumatran blend.”

  “Old habits die hard.” She smiled softly, leaning into him and for the first time in so long, allowed herself to take comfort in his touch. “Just coffee, please. I was up late and just woke up.” She kissed his cleanly shaven cheek and stepped away to pull the painfully dull white mugs from the cupboard above the coffee maker.

  He pulled out one of the stools at the breakfast nook and leaned against it, watching her. Something was different in the way she talked and moved that he couldn’t put his finger on. She’d always been the wild and rebellious one, like her old man, but there was an age in her eyes now that replaced the innocent twinkle that had bailed her out of more punishments than either of them were willing to admit. “Your mother is worried to death about you, Dakota is away at college, Seth as well. Your sister is in New York doing who knows what since she’s so secretive. What have you been getting into here in New Orleans?”

  She shook her head and smiled softly. “Dakota’s just like that, and we both know that the only thing Momma is worried about me doing, is causing her trouble.” She sighed. That was a can of worms that she had no interest opening right now, so she changed the subject. “Why are you always assuming that I’m into something?” Shaking her head, Serra tried to look offended until he dropped that ‘Dad look’ on her. “I was scoping local talent like I told you.” She rubbed at her neck and pushed the steaming mug across the counter to him.

  Damion’s brow arched when he saw the scarring on her neck. Standing and walking around the kitchen island, he brushed the hair back from her neck he stared at the twin puncture scars. A growl vibrated through his chest. “Serra. Michelle. Mangus. What in the living fuck?” He stared at her incredulously, tapping an index finger against the mark that told the world that she had tied her life force to another. His jaw began to tick again, and he squeezed his cup so hard that she could hear it crack. “Tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”

  “Umm, well, I...” She sipped her coffee, stalling for time. “Yeah, that kind of happened.” In her head, she counted down from three, waiting for the shit storm to start and took the cracked mug, dumped it into the sink and tossed it into the trash before getting him a new one. “I didn’t plan it. Neither did he.”

  “And who is this Panther?” Damion demanded even though he knew goddamn well, which one it was, as he hit her with a look that could burn through titanium.

  Pushing the hair back from her face she sighed. “His name is Jared...” She trailed off, realizing that she didn’t even know his last name. “You remember him. You set him on fire in my back yard?” She sipped her coffee and looked up at him through her bangs, daring him to deny it or play dumb. “He’s a good male. You shouldn’t have done that.”

  Damion glared at her arrogant tone and his jaw ticked more. Closing his eyes, he counted to ten, hoping to regain some of his composure. He was going to kill the bastard. Simple. To say the shit he had and then tying Serra’s life to his? That was some fucked up shit that demanded retribution. So what if he was right about the shifters vying for his seat on the tribunal? It didn’t change the fact that he had violated Damion’s daughter. “Bring him here, Serra. Now. Let me meet this,” he made a face that showed how distasteful he found this. “Mate of yours.”

  “No.” She shook her head and met his glare.

  “Now!”

  “Not going to happen. You owe him an apology, and you don’t sound like you regret torching him. Until you do, I don’t think I have any reason to introduce you.” She shrugged and drank more of her coffee. Serra knew that look and tone. She’d pushed her father there too many times, not to, but she wasn’t going to let it work on her this time. She wasn’t the same little cub that he remembered, no matter how much she wished that she was, and she wasn’t going to pretend it was otherwise.

  Damion blinked at her, his jaw hanging open with shock. She stood up to her mother, but never him. He didn’t like it. “Don’t make me find him myself.”

  “And what are you going to do, Pops?” She arched a brow at him. “Kill him? Go for it. We share one life force now. Save yourself the trouble. Just shoot me now. The result is the same. So the question is, do you want to hurt him more than you love me?”

  The tick of Damion’s jaw became more pronounced, and his words burst out in a whisper. “Serra Michelle Mangas. What the fuck have you done?”

  Jared stopped on the stairs, smirking as Serra refused to back down to the Panther version of the Boogie Man. Damion Mangus was the stuff of urban legends, meant to keep shifter cubs in line. She had balls. No doubt about that. Shaking his head, he continued down the stairs and pulled on a shirt as he entered the kitchen.

  “I grew up Pops. It had to happen eventually. Didn’t it?”

  Damion stared at her, waiting for her to look away first, but it was him who did when a male walked into the kitchen.

  “Morning.” Jared walked past them to open cupboards until he found the mugs and poured himself some coffee. “Am I interrupting? I can go back to bed and wait there,” he looked at Serra, keeping a straight face even though he found this hilarious.

  “Hey Baby,” Serra rolled her eyes and tried not to smile. ‘Funny,’
she mindlinked Jared before turning back to face her father. “Pops, this is Jared. Jared, you remember Pops?”

  Damion sized up the male, only slightly regretting their altercation a few days ago. One brow arched at the T-shirt and jeans that the panther was wearing. He motioned to a stool and sat down. “So you are my daughter’s mate?” He watched Jared while his jaw slowly ticked.

  Jared held out his hand, smiling tightly. “We met, for the first time, awhile back.”

  “We did?” Narrowing his gaze as he took Jared’s hand, it came back to Damion. “I do remember you.” A half smile crept over his face. Well, fuck, if that didn’t complicate things. He had to owe this son of a bitch?

  Serra’s brow wrinkled as she looked back and forth between them. She sipped her coffee and leaned her hip against the granite countertop. “A good remember or a bad remember?”

  Damion looked over to Serra with a crooked grin still on his face. “Do you remember when you were still just a cub, and your mother was gone, sick for a month? The truth is, she was attacked by a group of demons while I was at a tribunal meeting with Salvation. Luckily, your,” he shook his head with distaste. “Mate was there with The Violent Offenders. This male was the one that stopped the demons from killing your mother. It’s been so many years. I didn’t recognize him.”

  Jared nodded, remembering it all. “Well, I’m just glad I could help get Monica back to you and her children. I didn’t think this would come of it. Serra told me you wanted me for the club. Is that right?” He arched a brow, knowing that he was pushing Damion and loving every second of it.

  Still looking over his daughter’s new mate, he sighed. “Serra has a gift for picking performers that pack the place. So yes, if she says I want you there, then I do.”

  Serra smiled at Jared. “You did that? Damn, and you didn’t mention it?” She shook her head and shook the hair back from her face. “Wow, Pops, you must feel like an ass right about now.” She grinned over the rim of her mug.

  The smile dropped from Damion’s face. “I wouldn’t go that far. I am grateful for what you did, but this is my daughter, and I don’t know you. How do I know I can trust you with one of my children?” He gave Jared a hard look and waited for an answer. Sipping his coffee, he eyed him over the top of his cup and ignored Serra’s groan at his over protectiveness.

  “First off, I get that. Second, we didn’t ask for this. It just happened. So you wanna get pissed off? Take it up with the gods.” Jared kissed Serra’s cheek. “This was lovely, but I have to meet Brian for work. I’ll see you soon.” He purred when she stroked his jaw and pulled is lips to hers for a quick kiss. “And for the record Damion,” Jared looked at his new father in law. “Monica was once young, and someone’s daughter too. Keep that shit in mind. You don’t know me, but I know you.” He ghosted to The Pit, shaking his head.

  Serra watched Jared leave and growled at her father, drawing an arched brow and not caring. “He has a point, Pops. It is what it is. No changing it now. He’s my mate, and you don’t have to like it, but you’re going to have to suck it up and accept it.”

  Damion watched Jared ghost out and gave Serra a dark look that used to make her sink back, but had no effect now, as he grabbed his cup and finished his coffee. All that could be seen was the soft glint of his dark eyes over the rim. He placed the cup on the counter. “He’s ballsy, has an attitude but enough respect to only kiss your cheek in front of me. I could like him.” His smile disappeared, and his tone went back to deadly serious. “But you hear me, Serra Michelle Mangas. If he hurts you, I will break every bone in his body.”

  Standing up, he patted her shoulder. “I probably should head home so I can tell your mother about all of this. Bring him for Christmas if you wish. I love you, Munchkin.” He kissed her cheek and ghosted home to Sun Valley before she could make him feel worse.

  ’Not until you apologize and mean it.’ She linked her father and picked up his mug to put in the dishwasher, wondering if Jared would ever speak to her again after all of that.

  Jared put the child gate around the Christmas tree and sat down on the floor with the Cubs. Eyeing them, he smiled and picked up his phone. He hadn’t seen Serra since she’d ‘introduced’ him to Damion. Ruffling the fur on Theo’s head he shook his head. He would never have believed that she’d stand up to her father. And that she did it for him? That blew his damned mind. No one did that. He was an asshole at best most days, and the last person anyone wanted to defend. Serra was something else, but was she different enough to try and make this mating work? Hell, he wasn’t even sure that he had it in him to give it an honest try. Too many times it had ended with his heart ripped from his chest and wishing he was dead. Jared remembered that moment when their lives had become bound as one. He was buried deep inside her core. Her blood was on his tongue, and he’d felt peace and knew that this time, it was right. That was new and, as much as he hated it, gave him hope.

  [Come over and meet my Cubs?] He typed and pressed send, grinning when Justice jumped for the phone.

  Serra pulled her vibrating phone out of her pocket, praying that it wasn’t another member of her family giving her shit. She smiled as she read the text from Jared, relieved that he didn’t seem to be holding what Pops had done or said, against her. Typing a quick reply, she turned off the stove. [Would love to. On my way.] Cuddling with Cubs was way more important than dinner, she dropped the pan in the sink and ghosted to the porch that she was almost sure was Jared’s house and knocked.

  “Come in,” Jared yelled as Theo jumped on the gate. “No, son.” Pulling him down, he sat him on the floor.

  Hearing the familiar voice, Serra pushed the door open and poked her head inside. Following the voices, her heart melted when she saw him sitting there trying to stop the Cubs from getting to the tree. A never ending battle, she’d learned the hard way. “Hey.” She cooed, not wanting to startle the little ones as she dropped to her hands and knees to meet them on their level, laughing when she got pounced on. “They’re beautiful, Jared.”

  Jared smiled. “Thank you and totally stubborn.” Theo looked at him and gave his father a look. “I have thought about mindlinking him to see what he’s thinking, but I’m sure it’s FU old man!”

  She laughed. “Probably pretty close. If they’re stubborn now, you end up with Cubs like me when they grow up. And you have two.” Serra teased. She crawled across the floor, before flopping onto her back, with her head on Jared’s leg while she dangled her hair for Justice to play with. “I think that’s why Pops wants me to come home for Christmas so that I can cub sit.” She smirked up at him.

  “You’re leaving for Christmas?” Jared asked, confused as he watched her play with the cubs. He hadn’t thought about the holidays or her not being there for them and found that he didn’t like it.

  She shrugged. “Probably not. I haven’t decided yet. I mean, it would be good to see everyone, and Pops told me to bring you. But, I always wonder if he’ll let me leave again, and he hasn’t delivered the apology that he owes you yet. So, I don’t know. I’d kind of like to spend it with my new mate.” Smiling she bit her bottom lip and stroked the cub that climbed onto her chest.

  “Well, we all know that the great Damion Mangus doesn’t say he’s sorry for anything.” He smirked and watched how naturally she played with his cubs. “I could try being the bigger panther, and we could all go. I’ll have to talk to Daniel and see what he’s doing.”

  “Yeah, you really would?” She couldn’t help the smile that broke over her face. “And he will apologize, or him and me are going to have problems.”

  “If you say so, Princess.” Jared nodded and chuckled. “I can’t leave you alone.”

  Reaching up, she stroked his face. “You are sweet to me, baby. Thank you.” She purred at the cub in his lap, laughing as it smooshed her nose with a paw. “I like the idea of you being there with me if I go.”

  Jared leaned down to kiss her. “Good, because I know that club is a little rough. I get th
at it’s a family thing for you, but still.”

  Kissing him back, she sighed happily. “I was raised there. I can handle it. But I like that you worry about me.” Stroking his face, she met his hazel gaze. “So this is feeling like the real thing, isn’t it? I mean you and me.” She blushed and covered her eyes. She didn’t know where that had come from, and she hadn’t intended to say it out loud. The simple fact was that when she was with him, it felt like she was enough, as she was, and could finally breathe again. It didn’t make sense. Maybe there was some weird mojo that came with accepting one’s mate after all.

  “Yes. Just wait until you’re knocked up.” He grinned at her. “I’m not worried about you. I'm concerned that your Pops will have a stroke.”

  “Planning for that already, are you?” Laughing, she nipped at his lip as a cub pushed in between them. “And you’re right. Pops kinda loses his shit when things go wrong. And by wrong I mean, not as he planned.” Damn, enough talking about her father. He’d caused enough drama for one lifetime. “What do you do with these two when you work?”

  “Daniel or Paula watch them. I need to get a sitter.”

  “That can’t be easy. Finding someone you trust, that doesn’t freak out that they’re Panthers.” She brushed her face against the closest cub with a purr, not sure which one she had. “I can help if you need me. I’ve had a lot of practice with the Mangas horde.”

  “If you want to.” A thought hit him. “Where are we going to live?”

  “We?”

  “Yes. Us. You and me.”

  It was her turn to look confused. “Together? Do you mean which house? Or are you talking location?” It hadn’t occurred to her that he would want to live with her or where that would be. She didn’t want to move again.