“And it will be, Leo,” I told him softly. “Do we go out for dinner, or would you like me to cook something for us? Maybe we could go traditional. We can see the newest Marvel comic flick? But I don’t know how the whole cinema thing works around these parts.”
“Sounds great.” Leo instantly took a shine to the plan. “I’ll look up the nearest cinemas in Arapahoe, Oxford, Alma, Norton, Curtis, and McCook. Since they are all one screen theaters around here usually they show something different from each other. Not as convenient as the multiplexes you’d be used to in San Diego, but it works fine here if you know what you want to see.”
“I didn’t say anything bad about single screen theaters.” I motioned my arms in surrender. “But I guess you’re used to people saying things like that if they’ve come from a city.”
“Yeah, sorry.” Leo was bashful. “But anyway, I’ll look up what’s playing where and text you the info.” He pulled out his cell phone. He tapped the phone’s screen. He then grinned at me. “Could I have your cell number?”
I rattled off the digits and saw Leo tap on his screen more. After I gave him the number he mumbled something I could only guess was “one more minute” as he must have saved my number.
“Done!” He grinned at me.
My phone went off. My message tone was the phrase ‘curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal’. A quote from the television series Firefly. It was certainly something that separated the Brown Coats from everyone else.
“And now you have my number.” Leo looked like the proverbial cat that got the cream.
“Looks like I do.” I smirked but didn’t waste time in saving the number to my contacts list.
“What is that tone by the way?”
At first, I feigned hurt that he did not know something as awesome as Joss Whedon’s cult series Firefly. He told me he had never seen it or heard of it before. I wondered what rock he’d been living under for the last thirteen or more years. “Being my mate, I will forgive you, but one day I will show you the light and you will love it.”
“At this point I’ll take your word for it.”
He didn’t know it yet, but the actual ring tone for my phone was a piece of Celtic-like music lifted from the same television show. I always try to go for a unique tone whenever I decide to change ring tones, and I always aim for the obscure.
“Maybe we can wait ‘til after you claim me, just in case you don’t like the show,” I said with a wink, showing I was joking.
Leo let out a booming laugh. “I don’t know about your taste in entertainment yet, but I certainly like everything that I see about you.”
I felt myself blush bright red. Thankfully, it was dark and Leo couldn’t see me.
I cleared my throat. “Um, thanks.”
There was an awkward pause.
After a couple moments, I spoke. “So, tomorrow night?”
“How about I ring you at lunchtime and we can take things from there? We can work out where to eat dinner once we work out what cinema we are going to.” Leo had quickly regained his composure and was back to planning our date.
“Sounds excellent. Just text me the movies when you can and I’ll try to think about them before you ring me.” I nodded. “By the way, I have lunch between one and one-forty-five.”
“Noted,” he replied with a curt nod. “Now, I better go or all my good intentions will be for nothing.”
I let my mate go. He wanted to do this, even if he believed he wanted to do this for me. “Good night, my sweet lion. Can’t wait for tomorrow night.”
“I’ll be counting down the hours,” Leo told me in a gruff voice. He pressed a quick kiss on my lips, then took my hand and kissed the back of my palm. Then he slowly turned around and went back in the direction of his uncle’s home. I assumed his car was one of the few still left on the street.
“Night!” I called out one final time when Leo looked at me from the sidewalk.
I unlocked my front door and walked back into my home.
I closed the door and leaned against it. I caught myself on the verge of laughter. It was exactly like a scene you would see in the movies.
I went to my bedroom and stripped out of my clothes. The smile did not move from my face.
I had met my mate today! We were going on a date tomorrow night!
I fell onto the mattress, naked. I took my cell phone with me and sent the words ‘Good night’ with a smiley face to Leo. Within a minute, he shot back a text. ‘Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite’. I smirked reading the text.
The mention of bedbugs made me itchy, but I wasn’t about to let the thought of tiny insects get in the way.
I knew that I should be sleepy. It was getting close to midnight and I had seven and a half hours before I had to be up and getting ready for work.
But the fact that I had met my mate had me all hyped up.
Looking at the time I knew it was too late to call my mom and dad, even if they would love to hear the news.
The next thought was for me to call Elijah, or Eli as he was known to close family and friends. I knew that my big bro would love to talk to me and he would, just as much as mom and dad, love to hear the news that I found my mate.
I know it seemed stupid that I didn’t want to ring my parents. As if they were too infirm to be awake on the Fourth of July. Honestly, I think I would be more worried about interrupting them while doing the deed. They were still very young in shifter years, what else were they to do?
In the end, my excitement won out.
I scrolled through my contacts and called my brother.
Chapter Four
Kit Pryde
So I took the plunge and called my brother.
I needed to talk to someone and my big brother was my best friend. Well, I did have other best friends in the pack, but Eli definitely ranked higher than them in my mind.
“What’s wrong, Kit?” Eli said as soon as he picked up the phone. “I didn’t expect you to call this late.”
“Shit. Sorry, Eli. It just occurred to me that you might be getting some sleep before going to the office tomorrow.” Honestly, it really did just occur to me in that moment. San Diego is two hours behind Nebraska, so usually if I’m awake it’s safe to ring. I could hear the sleep filled daze from my brother’s tone. “It can wait. I’ll ring you tomorrow.”
“No, do not hang up on me, Kit. This is not the time to be a brat.” Eli’s tone was forceful. The late night phone call really had him worried. I suppose because I had never called him this late in my life. “It must be important. Please, tell me the reason why you rang.”
“Ok,” I said. I was suddenly nervous. This was big fucking news and saying it over the phone this close to midnight did not seem right. “So, I got really big news. And I mean really big news. You have to promise not to say a word to anyone until I call Mom and Dad and tell them tomorrow morning.”
I was pretty sure that my brother had just rolled his eyes, even though I was here in Nebraska and he was all the way in San Diego. “All right, you drama queen. I promise not to tell Mom and Dad. Now spit it out.”
“After I spoke to you and then Mom and Dad today, I got an invite from my neighbor to go to his barbecue. So, it ends up that my neighbor, the town’s pastor, is actually the alpha to the local lion pride.”
“Oh yeah, and what does that have to do with the price of eggs?” He sighed, clearly thinking that I was rambling too much and just couldn’t tell where I was going with this. Poor guy, I had to hold back my amusement.
“I’m getting to the point, Eli. Don’t get your panties in a twist,” I retorted. “The point is when I was the alpha’s barbecue, I met some hot lion shifters and one of them, an enforcer for the pride, scented me as his mate. I met my mate and he’s a lion, and on top of all that he’s a hot cop, too.”
I really didn’t think that I burst my eardrum.
I really did underestimate my brother, big time.
I thought he was some meek and mild acc
ountant who happened to be a coyote shifter. But apparently that was all just a front.
My brother screamed and cheered in my ear. I put my phone on speaker and placed it as far away from me as possible. I really didn’t want to damage an eardrum or damage my hearing in some other way. It took maybe half a minute, but Eli calmed down enough formulate a coherent sentence.
“This is fantastic news!” Eli gushed. “You have to tell me what he looks like. If I could, I would take the time off work and come visit you.”
My brother suddenly sounded tired at the mention of work. The guy worked too hard and pushed himself so much more than he needed. Then again, the human he worked for was an asshole. But before I could worry about my brother, my thoughts were occupied with my hot lion shifter mate.
“He is just…he’s…everything, a complete package, you know?” I rambled on. “He’s tall. His hair is wavy but short—but totally sexy. It’s that typical sandy blond color you expect in lions in the wild.”
My brother snorted. “Better not tell your mate you’re comparing him to a lion you saw at the zoo, Kit.”
“Whatever,” I retorted. “Oh, and of course, he has an impressive dick and I can’t wait for him to f—”
“I don’t need to know about that!” Eli cried out. “You’re my baby brother. As far as I’m concerned you’re basically the Virgin Mary, except you can’t get pregnant.”
I laughed at the comparison before replying, “My poor big brother.” I pouted even though my brother could not see me. “He has such delicate sensibilities.”
“Stop pouting, Kit, it’s not going to get you anywhere.” Eli knew me too well. He continued speaking. “And besides, why aren’t you with this hot and sexy cop of yours? Surely, he wouldn’t let you out of his sight, let alone bed, once he met and claimed you.”
“That’s the catch.” I let my disappointed and irritation become obvious in my voice. “He said because I’m human I deserved to be…I don’t know…he wants to go on dates and stuff.”
“Nawww,” cooed my brother. “Your enforcer is a romantic! What’s his name by the way?”
“Leo Pard.”
My brother laughed now, not bothering to hold it back. “What the fuck name is that? What were his parents thinking? Leo seems a tad clichéd for a lion. And if you say his name fast enough it sounds of leopard.”
I was not happy about the slight against my mate. Even as a human I could feel what could only be called love at first sight, but was really the mate pull, working its magic. I left my phone on speaker so that I could look up “Pard” online. Thankfully, Wikipedia saved me.
“Ha!” I crowed triumphantly. “You are wrong, Eli. A pard is an imaginary animal that is listed in…Blah, blah, blah, whatever but it’s medieval in origin. They are felines with spotted coats and were heaps fast.”
“Like a leopard,” Eli replied dryly.
“Like a cheetah,” I countered. “And…” I chuckled. “It was said that pards and lions mated with each other to produce leopards. Isn’t that cool?”
“Cool.” My brother’s tone was still dry on the other end of the phone. “So your mate has a mythical name. He is out of this world gorgeous. He is an enforcer for the pride. He’s a cop. And because you are human he wants to date you before claiming you. Am I getting it right now?”
“Yep. That about sums it up.” I sighed heavily. “I argued that I grew up for most of my life shifters. I know what mating is. I’ve known about the prophecy that my mate would be found far away from San Diego. I just…I don’t see why I have to wait.”
“Maybe he’s using you being human as an excuse? Maybe he wants to take it a bit slow? Maybe he wants to make sure that he does things right with his mate? After all, mating is both your chance at happily ever after, just like our parents. You don’t want to fuck that up by treating your mate like a quick fuck.”
Curse my brother for being so logical.
“I suppose, you could be right there.”
I tempered my words, not willing to give Eli the satisfaction of knowing that I acknowledged he was right. Weird, I know, but it’s a brother thing.
“You know I’m right, little brother.” Eli chided. “But that doesn’t matter. Maybe what you need to do is go along with your mate’s wish to date you. At the same time, though, you can think of your own plan to get him to date you and claim you a bit quicker.”
“Devious. I knew that I loved you for a reason, Eli.”
“I know, I know. I’m way too awesome.” Eli cleared his throat, a signal that his next words were going to be serious. “And no matter what happens with your mate and dating, you need to ring mom and dad first thing in the morning, Kit.”
“That’s what I was going to do.” I couldn’t hold back the goofy grin on my face now. “But I had to ring someone and tell them about mate. And lucky you, Eli, were on the top of my list.”
“As I should be.”
“Awww, I love you too big brother.” My pout was going to make a reappearance.
“And I love you, you brat.”
I made a kissing noise. “See you later, Eli. Good night. You have to come soon so you can meet my mate.”
“I will. I’ll have to check my holidays at work, but if I can’t come for a couple weeks, I’ll try and at least come on a weekend. That will be difficult to time though, too.”
As I said, my brother worked way too hard, but I admired that about him. I suddenly wondered if he worked hard because he was lonely. Eli wasn’t the type of guy for empty relationships. He was a realist, but he was also a romantic and he had always wanted to find his mate and have a family.
“I know. I understand. We can always do video calls if you want to wait until you can come down for a couple weeks.”
“Sounds good. I’ll catch you later, Kit.”
We finished saying our good-byes and I disconnected the call.
I sighed heavily.
I really did need to begin to plan how I was going to tempt my mate into cutting this dating business short. I didn’t want to be wined and dined before being claimed. I wanted my mate in my bed claiming right this moment. If he wined and dined me while we made our connection stronger over the next few weeks I would never say no to that.
* * * *
I had a pretty sleepless night that night, despite the fact I had to work the next day.
I spent most of the night lying in bed, tossing and turning.
I jerked off a couple times thinking about my new mate.
I planned some romantic gestures of my own that could get the man to claim me quicker, but nothing really seemed to be the right way about it without me looking like a pushy asshole. With the shitty ideas that I was coming up with, I was much better off doing the whole date thing with Leo and letting nature take its course.
It was definitely better than hoping to get him alone in the back of a movie theater and seducing him. Or inviting Leo over for a home-cooked meal and a movie—and seducing him. Find a way to make Leo so jealous he only feels the compulsion to claim me. They were really terrible ideas. It was definitely better to date and build the sexual tension with a couple lunches or dinners, or maybe a stolen kiss here and there—hell, another blow job could also be in the cards, as long as I didn’t push Leo into sex or claiming me.
I reluctantly rolled out of bed and prayed that a shower would not only remove the scent of my jerking off, but hopefully somehow wake me up better. No doubt any shifters near me would be able to smell that if I didn’t shower. I dressed and trudged down to the kitchen where I made myself some strong black coffee to get me through the morning.
I had a little bit of time before I had to drive to work. I took advantage of the spare few minutes to call my parents and share with them the good news.
“Hello, Dad,” I said into the phone when my dad answered. “I know I spoke to you guys yesterday, but I got some really good news. Is Mom there?”
I knew that my mom would cry, from both happiness and relief, and I
really didn’t like how she fussed about me so much. Yet, in this case, I didn’t mind the thought of my mom’s tears and her fussing. I knew that Dad would be happy and relieved for me, too, but mom was another thing altogether. Dad, overprotective parent that he was, was even somewhat pleased that my mate didn’t just take me to bed and claim me straight away. Somehow, Dad decided that this was the sign of a good man, in addition to everything else I had told my parents about Leo, which admittedly was not a lot.
“I will start looking into coming down to see this mate of yours, Kit,” My dad told me after I told him I had only a few minutes before I needed to go to work. My dad had taken the phone from my mom, leaving her crying somewhere in the background. “I will also tell the alpha today so that he can talk to your Alpha Andrew.”
“I hope you guys can come down soon,” I replied. “You and Mom can stay here. I only got a fold out couch, but it should be comfortable.”
“I’ll ring you later when your mother and I have some of the details sorted.”
And just like that, my parents knew that I had a mate and were already planning a visit to meet him.
Chapter Five
Leo Pard
“You, my man, are as cool as a cucumber,” one of the uniformed officers said, who was in fact also a bear shifter belonging to the local clan. “And probably nuttier than a bowl of nuts at a bar.”
I cocked an eyebrow at the man. “Simmons, what is so weird about wanting to date my human mate?”
Simmons, the bear shifter, snorted at me. “Seriously? You want to date your human mate before claiming him when the man grew up with a pack of coyotes. I mean, seriously, his reaction to the cub, hilarious.”
The man began laughing, he had heard about my finding my mate through the gossip mill before I even stepped into the office. He had even heard about my mate talking to the lion cub about manners.
Typical small town life.
The Vet's Big Cat [Furnas and Gosper Shifters 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Page 4
