Catching Her Mates

by Rebecca Airies

  The line progressed at a crawl. Leslie shifted from foot to foot. She glanced up toward the front of the line once more. Crap, could they get a move on already?

  “Nervous or anxious to get in there?” Judge rubbed her shoulder.

  “Anxious. I want to see if Maggie’s here yet.” Leslie leaned back into the touch.

  “If she is, you’ll find out when you get into the club. It won’t be long.” Judge leaned down and kissed her neck.

  Step by step, they moved until they reached the front of the line. Maybe she should have called Chloe for an intervention. They went in. The red-and-white lights flashed, faded, and whirled to the thumping beat of the music. Oh, yeah, this is exactly what I need.

  Leslie swiveled her head, scanning the nearby tables. Where were they? She drummed her nails against her thigh before moving forward. Chloe probably snagged a table near the dance floor. Convenient when she dragged her mates onto the dance floor.

  Even if Tony was busy most of the night and couldn’t dance, Chloe favored that spot. Leslie straightened and grinned. Now, she had her own men that she could drag onto the dance floor and lose track of all notion of where she was.

  She wove her way around the tables. Judge’s warm palm pressed against her back. A redhead at a large table caught her eyes. There they were. The girls had grabbed a slightly larger table than normal.

  Chloe, Shonna, and Dixie stood near the table. Why weren’t they sitting? No sign of Maggie or Penny, yet. They either hadn’t arrived or had gone over to say hello to someone else for a little while.

  “Leslie!” Chloe waved at her.

  A big smile curved the red-haired woman’s lips. Her skin glowed a little more golden than usual simply from the contrast against the black-and-white dress she wore. No sequins or sparkles, but the stark color didn’t look austere on her.

  Leslie waved back and laughed a little. Well, Chloe didn’t appear down tonight. At least not outwardly. Perhaps it had been some early mating troubles.

  “We’ll walk you over there. I see that Jase and Tony have a table nearby.” Archer tugged on her hand.

  “Yeah, they like to dance with her when they can get the chance.” Leslie grinned at him. Would the thought of a little discreet rubbing and gyrating out on that big dance area excite him?

  “Well, though I do prefer a different type of bodily contact with you, I’d like to dance with you, too.” Archer leaned down and brushed a kiss over her cheek.

  “You can count me in.” Judge rubbed up and down her back.

  “Well, I’ll look forward to that, but give me a little time to talk with them.” She gnawed at her lower lip. Unfortunately, a dance would have to wait. “I have to explain, and it might take a little time. I shouldn’t have left this so long.”

  “They’ll understand.” Judge leaned down. His breath feathered over her ear as they drew close to the table.

  Hopefully, they would. She hugged Archer and Judge before they strolled over to join Tony and Jason. Both of them had been so much more easygoing, acting more like dates than guards.

  “Now, you have mates to join mine in guard duty.” Chloe grinned.

  “Well, I’m not calling it guard duty since there isn’t even a threat to anyone other than John.” Leslie folded her arms over her chest. It might become full-fledged guarding at some point, but until there was proof it was needed, they were just with her.

  “Deluding yourself, kitty cat?” Shonna raised a brow. She’d twisted her black hair into a loose updo. A silver sleeveless shirt highlighted her rich brown skin while the black jeans emphasized her long legs and slender form.

  “Nope, puppy, just quibbling over finer points. They’re here to watch, but there’s nothing to guard against.” Leslie reached over and tugged on one of those loose strands. It came free and hung around Shonna’s face.

  “Hey, watch the hair. I just managed to get it the way I wanted it.” Shonna tucked the strand back up with a pin.

  “I see you and gorgeous cat one and two seem to be getting along well. Things go better than you hoped with the big reveal?” Dixie grabbed her drink. Her curls danced around her face. Yep, those little coils were an outward sign of the energy and personality within the woman.

  “Actually, they didn’t get as angry as I thought they would. I guess I overanalyzed the matter of their reaction to being maneuvered like that.” Leslie frowned. It had delayed her mating. She’d change that if she could.

  “I still say it could have gone either way. So you had a few reasons to worry.” Chloe lifted a shoulder. “Male ego, you know.”

  “Yep, can’t ever count out male ego.” Dixie nodded. “So, how is newly mated life?”

  “Actually, pretty good, but there are a few things to get to first. I guess I should start out with Mags and Penny.” Leslie glanced around. Good, the two women weren’t anywhere near. Maggie would be pissed if Leslie blew her secret before she could explain to Penny. “Maggie wants Penny to have more whyr friends. She’s been introducing her to everyone she knows. She wants Penny to have someone to turn to.”

  “Is something going to happen to Maggie?” Shonna frowned.

  “She’s taken a position at another hospital and will leave in a few months. She’s wanted an opportunity to get into research as well as practice. It will probably keep her out Casworth for at least a year. And she said that Penny’s been a little withdrawn, but there’s also the fact of what Maggie revealed about Penny before.” Leslie looked around the table. Penny had mates.

  “Yeah, she’s going to need a few friends to talk to if the mating happens while Maggie isn’t here.” Chloe nodded. “And if there’s trouble, she’ll need them more than ever. She seems nice, so I’m more than willing for her to join us.”

  “The more the merrier, but just from what I saw, that girl probably has some secrets. She’s a quiet one.” Shonna tilted her head. “It’s always the quiet ones that cause the most trouble because no one ever expects it of them.”

  When a waitress popped by, Leslie ordered a beer. It would give her something to do with her hands while she talked.

  “I wouldn’t doubt that she has some secrets. From what Maggie said, the two of them have been living two different lives even though they share a house.” Dixie frowned. “I also think she’s more aware of what Maggie’s doing even if she doesn’t know the why of it. I love her hair. I’d so totally do purple or blue if the dress code at work didn’t forbid it.”

  “Thanks. Maggie’s worried about her. I know she feels responsible for her, especially since there seems to be some sort of stupidity and man-whore virus going around among the males.” Leslie rested her palms on the table. One thing down, still way too much to reveal.

  “Now, what else did you want to tell us about?” Dixie leaned forward and braced her arm on the table.

  “Well, I haven’t been totally honest with you guys for a while.” Leslie bit her lip. How should she tell them about this? And do it without making them think she didn’t trust them. That had nothing to do with it.

  “About what?” Chloe frowned.

  “Well, my job for one.” Leslie took a deep breath. Best go with the easier one first.

  It was more natural to talk about the bad times there. Pretending that everything was great had been hard as hell. For years, they’d been the people she turned to. When she spent half the day stocking in one area, only to move the same items to another spot five feet away, she had ached to dial one of them. Not to mention when her boss just acted like a jerk.

  “What about your job?” Dixie’s head cocked to the side.

  “My job hasn’t been so great for a long time. I’ve been telling you that everything was all right except for some minor irritations, but the atmosphere changed in that place. The people there, especially those above me, are downright confrontational and hostile sometimes, as if they want me to go off on them.” Leslie clenched her fist. Not the brightest people. Those sly little jokes about hot-tempered whyr hadn’t gone o
ver her head.

  “What happened, Leslie?” Shonna reached over and put her hand over Leslie’s. “You loved working there.”

  And this was why she’d tried so hard to keep from telling them. The truth would lead to a deeper secret. Her stomach churned, and she wriggled in her seat. Time to put her big girl panties on. Even if she decided to wimp out now, they wouldn’t let it go.

  “I asked for a different shift because I was taking classes at the college and needed to be off at a certain time.” Leslie clenched her fist.

  That still pissed her off. What made her so different from the other person who had been taking college courses? Why wouldn’t they work with her?

  “And it changed when you asked for that?” Dixie scowled. “Those bastards. You should have told them to stuff that job then.”

  “I kind of needed to pay my bills and for the college courses even if they weren’t going to work with me on the time.” Leslie relaxed a little. If she hadn’t, she would have walked.

  The waitress stopped by their table. She put the beer in front of Leslie.

  “What were you taking at the college?” Chloe leaned forward.

  “Courses for accounting. I could only do a couple at a time, so it’s taken me time to get close to finishing.” Leslie smiled. Her muscles loosened. She wrapped her fingers around the mug.

  “So, kitty, tell me why you didn’t tell us and if you were suffering from a head injury during the entire intervening time between the first course and now. Because there better be a good reason, or I’m going to try Chloe’s new sport of bowling with cougars.” Dixie straightened, planted her palms on the black tabletop, and leaned forward. “I’m pretty sure I could get a strike if I sail you into that group out there on the dance floor.”

  Leslie chuckled. Ooh, Dixie was pissed. “I didn’t have a head injury. I wanted to be sure that I didn’t back out of it before I finish. I’ve done that before.”

  Shonna sighed. “Leslie, you’ve got to stop buying into your mother’s crap.”

  “Yeah, she had a clear favorite. Nothing you did would have made her think much differently about you.” Dixie narrowed her eyes. “You are not a fuckup. You’ve held that job since you got out of high school and worked your way up to manager.”

  “I didn’t want you to think that I couldn’t finish anything. I wanted to make sure that I’d actually found what I wanted to do this time.” Leslie grimaced. Dixie was right about her mother having a favorite.

  “Leslie, you have the stubbornness to get things done. We know that. You were smart to back out when you realized you didn’t know what you wanted. You could have searched for five years and not gotten any closer to the right answer. That would have left you even more frustrated.” Chloe reached over and touched Leslie’s hand.

  “You are not a butterfly or whatever she described you as when you left college.” Dixie rolled her eyes.

  “She called me flighty.” Leslie grimaced.

  “You’ve never been flighty. You’re so steady and reliable that you make a few of the wolves around here look bad. We’re the ones who are supposed to be prepared and ready to have your back.” Shonna shook her finger. “Cats are supposed to be fickle.”

  “I get to throw you a graduation party.” Chloe grinned.

  Leslie winced. “That’s part of the problem. I don’t know when that will be because if I lose my job, then I won’t be able to pay for the classes. And with the worsening attitude lately, I know they’re looking for some excuse to fire me.”

  “Leslie, you’re not alone anymore. Those three men that you caught are your mates. If it’s important to you, then it’s important to them. And if it’s not, they’ll be the first test candidates for the new game until they see sense.” Chloe turned and glanced over at the table where the men sat.

  Leslie choked on a gulp of beer. She coughed and grabbed a napkin to wipe at the beer dripping down her chin. Her eyes burned, and she struggled to draw in air. Chloe would so try that.

  “The only problem with that are the innocent people you and Dixie are contemplating using as pins.” Shonna grinned.

  Dixie waved her hand. “We can have some nonliving pins made up or something for the occasion.”

  Such a generous offer. The idea of Archer or Judge sliding across the floor into some pins brought a smile. If anyone would do it, it would probably be Dixie. The girl could be outrageous sometimes.

  “Now, on to you, Chloe, you’ve been more introspective than normal when you think no one will notice.” Leslie turned her attention to her red-haired friend.

  “There’s nothing wrong.” Chloe shook her head.

  “Yeah, try telling that to someone who might believe it.” Dixie folded her arms over her chest. “I was talking to you on the phone two days ago, and you faded out on me. That’s so not you.”

  “I would have bought it through last week, but now, no, there’s definitely something circling up in that brain of hers.” Shonna lifted a brow. “She walked out and left her iPad in my home earlier this week after getting a call on her phone.”

  “Did the call upset her?” Leslie leaned forward.

  “Not that I could see, but she did get tense. When she left, she walked out without the iPad that means so much to her. It’s almost tantamount to her walking out without her panties.” Shonna lifted a shoulder.

  “That imagery is so not right. Could you not have said pants or shirt?” Chloe sighed, but a small smile kicked up her lips.

  “Well, you haven’t been wearing a lot of pants lately. Dresses and skirts have dominated your wardrobe in the last few weeks.” Shonna smirked.

  Chloe’d probably try to deflect this and turn it into a discussion about sex that would have Dixie cringing. Something lay behind that distraction. Leslie wouldn’t let her friend avoid it when they’d be there to help her.

  “You know you can tell us anything.” Leslie tilted her head. She ran her fingers over the cool glass.

  Chloe sighed. “There’s nothing really to tell. I don’t know what I’m going to do, or if I should do anything.”

  “Spit it out.” Dixie tapped her fingernails on the tabletop. “Before Jason and Tony notice your anxiety and come over here to check on you.”

  “Well, I told you I tried to contact my family when I turned eighteen, that I’d written them a letter.” Chloe ran her finger down her glass, tracing the path of a bead of water.

  “Yeah, you told us that they never bothered to respond to you, that the bastards just ignored you.” Shonna’s lips pulled back from her teeth.

  Maggie and Penny arrived at the table, but they remained silent as Chloe searched for words. Was Chloe even aware of their arrival? Her gaze focused beyond even the dancers.

  “Yeah, well that was true until a couple of weeks ago. They sent me a letter. Well, at least, a couple of the younger members of the family did. I don’t know how they found me.” Chloe grimaced.

  “Younger members? What did they want?” Dixie grasped Chloe’s hand and squeezed.

  “According to the letter, they found the one I sent all those years ago when their father had them come over to see if there was anything they wanted from their childhood stuff. They wanted to talk to me, to meet.” Chloe frowned. “But it’s been a long time, and I don’t think this is a family thing. I’m fairly sure it’s just these two.”

  “You’re afraid you’re going to get involved with them, and they’ll just disappear on you,” Penny said quietly.

  “That or they’ll catch trouble from their family and then regret meeting me.” Chloe bit her lip.

  “They make their own choices, Chloe. You don’t know what went on whenever they discovered that letter. Perhaps the person who held onto the letter wasn’t as against contacting you as you fear.” Shonna lifted a shoulder.

  “I have to agree. You go on what you feel. Not what might happen to them or what might be going in their life. So what do you want?” Leslie tilted her head. “Would you like to meet them or tel
l them ‘It’s too late’?”

  “I think I’d like to meet them even though I suspect it will be a one-time thing. They meet me and leave never to contact me again. I’d like to talk to someone who could tell me about my parents, but that’s something that will never happen. That generation ignored my letter.” Chloe grimaced. “I remember through a young teenager’s eyes, but don’t know much about my parents as people.”

  “If it’s one time, then at least you tried to let them in your life. When they’re gone, you can give them a mental ‘fuck you, too.’ They don’t deserve to be considered part of your family if they do that, but they might want the connection to become something more.” Shonna patted Chloe’s arm. “Just give it time and relax. You’re not going to know until you let them meet you.”

  “And if they’re particularly heinous assholes, we can give them an escort out of town.” Dixie grinned.

  “I don’t think that’s technically your job.” Chloe shook her head.

  “Regardless of that, you’ll have some help dealing with these people. And I’m sure your men won’t let them bother you too much. If they make you cry, well, they are going to end up hurt. Your three men might stomp them into the ground if you even tear up while they’re there.” Leslie cupped Chloe’s shoulder. “So do I get to yell at you for not telling us everything?”

  “No, you’re still on the list. I know Jason, Tony, and Logan will be there for me, but you know how it is. Hell, they’re even more helpful than usual, but I don’t want them going too protective and scaring them off when it’s happy tears or something like that.” Chloe rolled her eyes.

  “That’s fairly typical for newly mated males, especially if there’s a possibility of cubs on the way.” Maggie chuckled. “And you have so much more to look forward to when you do get pregnant.”

  “Ooh, that girl you told me about who went after her mates with a rolling pin was pregnant, wasn’t she?” Penny glanced over at Maggie.