Hunting a Mate

by Celia Kyle, Mina Carter

  Squeak!

  Archer stiffened and reached up to secure Paige with one hand, but his attention remained on her mother. But instead of telling her to back off, he… hissed. Pure, full on, pissed off feline, hissed. With fangs and everything. His human teeth were sharp and long, glistening in the hallway’s low lighting.

  With that single drawn out sound, he silenced Mom, and Lucas froze in place. There was no mistaking the fear that consumed the air around them, the stink of both ferrets’ terror teasing Paige’s nose.

  Archer jiggled her keys and then the door slowly eased open beside her. He kept his gaze trained on her mother as he lifted her from his shoulder and carefully eased down. “Go ahead and shift if you feel comfortable and put some clothes on, baby. This’ll take a second.”

  Her mother’s anger struck her and she squeaked, nibbling and tugging in his fingers after he released her. It’d be super great if he went inside with her and not remain near two people who could beat this mating to shit before it got a chance to start.

  On one side of her mate was her mom who only thought of Paige as a disappointment, and on the other… the guy she’d been fucking once a year for ten years.

  Yeah, that wasn’t happening. She squeaked and tugged again, finally drawing his attention. She didn’t let go of his finger, simply bit a little harder and pulled.

  “Baby…”

  “She doesn’t like terms of endearment,” Lucas murmured.

  He was right. She didn’t like them from him. Archer on the other hand…

  “If I wanted your opinion, I woulda asked for it.” Her mate’s voice was bland, but with his gaze on her, she saw his eyes flash gold. Oh, that wasn’t good.

  She licked and nipped his finger once more, tugging on him. “You want me with you?”

  Paige gave him a little nod. Finally, he got it. Now she just needed him inside, in her room, and away from these people.

  “All right then.” He scooped her back up and she snuggled in once again, wiggling in his arms until she got comfortable. “I’m gonna let them in until you can shift and kick ‘em out, baby.”

  Sexiness dripped off him. Dripped.

  “I don’t think you know who you’re talking to, young man.” Her mother made young man sound like a sneer.

  Archer glanced over his shoulder and sniffed the air, nostrils flaring. “A relative of Paige’s. I’m guessing her mother.” He jerked his head. “I don’t know about this one though. And I gotta tell you, cougars don’t like single men around their unclaimed mates.” His voice dropped to a delicious, vibrating rumble. “And when I say don’t like I mean I’m fighting the urge to beat your ass for even showing up at her front door.”

  “This is Lucas Wainright McConnell the 4th. He’s assisted Paige with her heat since she was—”

  Paige winced. If Archer didn’t like another man around her, then he’d really have a problem with the guy who used to fuck her being so close. She was kinda hoping to avoid revealing that tiny fact.

  Archer slowly turned to face her mom and Lucas. One finger jabbed the air and pointed at Lucas. “You. Go. You get that dick anywhere near her again and I’ll fucking rip that shit off and eat it like a mother fucking Kobayashi at his last hot dog eating contest.”

  That… was not sexy. He lost sexiness points with that one.

  Then he turned on Mom. “You. You can stay because you’re her mother and I don’t wanna start a whole bunch of crap while she’s shifted and can’t ask me to back off. So right now, I’m gonna go into her bedroom, convince her to shift and then she can come out here to tell you to leave.”

  “You—”

  “Lady, I’m not normally this much of an ass, but I have a mate in my arms who shifted because of stress, a guy who used to put his dick in her on my right, and you on my left. Something’s gonna snap and when that happens, it ain’t Paige who’s gotta be worried. Are you hearing me?”

  Paige licked his hand, trying to bring his attention back to her and soothe him with her feretty kisses.

  “I—” Her mom’s mouth worked like a fish’s. Opening and closing with hardly any sound escaping. “Who are you?”

  “Archer Moore. Paige’s mate.”

  “Moore…”

  Paige wondered if her mom would make the connection to Chloe and—

  “Are you related to Holt—”

  “My younger brother.” Archer smiled and it was anything but polite or sweet.

  “I,” her mother cleared her throat. “I see. And you’re…” She wiggled a finger between Paige and Archer.

  “I am. She knows it, too. We just got off on the wrong foot.”

  “I see,” she murmured.

  “Well, I don’t—” Damn, Lucas had to open his mouth, but it wasn’t Archer who shut him up.

  “Don’t say a word. Not. A. Word. Do you know who his family is?”

  “My father is—”

  “An appetizer to Holt Moore and possibly a midnight snack to this one.” Mom was much stronger than she appeared because it looked like it took no effort for her to spin Lucas around and shove him out the front door. Once on the threshold, she turned back to them. “I’m leaving under protest.”

  “Noted.”

  “I want to talk to her later.” Aw, her mom cared.

  “Fine.”

  “I want you to put her down and let her come to me. Maybe you’re holding her against her—”

  Oh, god. Enough.

  Paige wiggled and squirmed, pushing her ferret to the back of her mind while she tried to get free of Archer’s hold. But he was a persistent, strong cougar and instead of dropping her to the ground as her body went from two pounds to, uh, a lot more than that, he held tightly.

  Tight enough so that by the time she was done, she was buck ass naked in Archer’s arms while her mother stood not eight feet away. Nice.

  Now it was her mom’s turn to squeak and cover her eyes. “Paige Baxter.”

  “Mom, this isn’t some biblical tale about seeing who cares about me most and whether the king is gonna chop me in half.” At least she thought that was the story. Something about King Solomon and a baby and… “This is Archer. My mate. I love you. I will call you. But for now, I need to figure out what the hell is going on and I can’t do that with you bringing Lucas here.” She ignored Archer’s snarl and tried really hard not to get aroused by the sound. “Okay?”

  “You really want him?” Her mom sniffled. God, not tears.

  “Yes. My ferret wants him.” The rest of her wanted him, too. Except the human half. It was still trying to wrap its mind around having a mate, but it’d get the memo soon enough. “So now we’re gonna figure things out.”

  “You’ll call me?” When did her mom get needy?

  “Yes. First thing tomorrow, I’ll call you.”

  Archer leaned down and murmured against her ear, “Better make that afternoon.”

  Paige glared at him, he smiled widely, and her mom snorted.

  Her. Mom. Snorted. Mrs. Perfect and Pristine.

  “I’ll speak with you tomorrow, Paige.” With that, her mom stepped into the hallway and tugged the door shut behind her.

  They were alone. Blessedly alone.

  And she was naked.

  “So…” Archer’s voice was sex personified. “You want me.”

  * * *

  Four words and his mate was back to being a ferret. Fuck.

  He needed to keep his mouth shut.

  Archer sighed and cuddled her close. He used his nose to guide him, leading through the apartment until he came to what could only be her bedroom. He carefully lowered her to the ground and gave her a small nudge. “Take your time. Shift, get dressed—” he waggled his eyebrows, wanting to lighten the mood “—or not and meet me in the kitchen. I’ll see what I can whip up for lunch or something.”

  She remained in place for one beat and then two before spinning and disappearing into her room. He slowly drew the door closed, giving her privacy and him a chance to get his wa
yward cock under control. He was hard as a rock and his cougar was hissing and spitting because he didn’t follow her.

  Archer thumped his dick. He couldn’t pounce on her. Yet. Her shift was obviously on a hair trigger and moving too fast could end up with another armful of ferret and a dick hard enough to hammer nails.

  Not a pretty picture.

  He padded back the way he’d come and quickly found the kitchen. Right. Food.

  His little mate, as it turned out, was a foodie. His stomach, another beast he was a slave to, rumbled in approval at the vast array of fixings and ingredients the kitchen contained. Mostly low-fat alternatives to the real stuff but he could work with that. For now. Later, they’d have that conversation about her curves and how much he liked them. Scratch that. Loved them. Most of the women who tried to cling to him were the type who picked at lettuce leaves and complained about getting fat. Screw that. Who wanted to snuggle a stick?

  Since women were funny about their diets, he set about cobbling together something healthy. Seared steaks and salad. Getting salad onto the plate, he set about the steaks while keeping an ear out for noises from the bedroom. Away from him, she should be able to shift back. Shouldn’t she? His brow furrowed as the steaks sizzled in the pan. What kind of alpha let a member of his pack suffer like this? And her family? The mom seemed more interested in getting Archer out of there than actually dealing with the problem. And the guy… the snarl slipped from his lips before he could stop it. Neither he nor his cat was happy about a man who had fucked their mate in the past being anywhere near her in the present. Never. Again.

  The sound of the shower made him both breathe a sigh of relief and smile. Unless she had way more ferrety adaptations in this place, she’d managed to shift. Did ferrets like water? He paused mid-stab of a steak and searched his memory. Nope. Couldn’t recall any funny pictures on the Internet of ferrets swimming, although the interwebs as a whole had a preference for cats. He couldn’t blame them really. Cats were awesome.

  Although, he was rapidly reassessing his position to include ferrets in the awesome category. Except for Mr. Rich-kid the 4th, asshole. Archer would quite happily use him as a scratching post, then…

  “Did that steak piss you off personally or just by association?” Paige asked from behind him.

  Archer whirled, the smile on his face widening as he saw his little mate framed in the doorway. For a moment he took the opportunity to study her sans fur. She. Was. Gorgeous. Utterly perfect.

  “Hey, there. How you feeling?” He deliberately kept his voice quiet and pleasant, turning away from her to tend to the steaks. He was a predator, so a face-on look scared the shit out of most other creatures, especially smaller ones. Ferrets could be ferocious, but one snap of his jaws and she’d be toast. And their beasts weren’t stupid, so he needed to avoid triggering her survival instincts, thereby stopping insta-ferret making an appearance.

  “Good. Thank you.”

  She slid onto a barstool situated on the other side of the breakfast bar and he allowed himself a sideways glance. She was wearing a wide-necked shirt and jeans. Denim loved her, hugging all her curves like a lover’s hands. Like his hands should be. He squashed the need to stride around and tear the damn stuff from her body. If he did, it was a short ride to spreading her over the counter top and having himself a very different, but entirely satisfying lunch.

  “Look, I’m really sorry about…well, that.”

  “Your mother?” He deliberately didn’t mention the triple-barreled IV asshole. “Don’t sweat it. You should meet mine. Bringing up a passel of cougar boys? She’s hard-core. Thankfully, with Holt’s cubs on the way, she’s riding his back. Not ours.”

  Not that the situation would remain that way for long. Not with his big-mouthed brother looking for a way to shunt some of that parental concern onto his brothers. Archer finding his mate would be like a gift from above. Crap.

  “You?” She laughed a nervous little laugh, but a quick glance confirmed she was fur-free. “I can’t imagine anything bothering you.”

  “Me?” He chuckled and slid steaks onto plates. “Me, big mean cougar. Look, I purr and everything!” The low sound filled the kitchen. His best kitty cat purr, like he was something domestic, a persian.

  She giggled, taking the plate but being careful not to touch him. He tried not to feel hurt. No doubt it was ingrained behavior, to protect herself from an unwanted shift. From the corner of his eye, he’d noticed she wasn’t looking at him directly, just occasional glances, then she flushed and looked down again.

  Great. Just great. How were they going to mate if they couldn’t even look at each other?

  “Oh, this smells fantastic. What did you do to it?” She looked at the plate in front of her with something approaching awe and her nose twitched. In a good, not insta-ferret, way. He breathed a sigh of relief as she reached for the cutlery. Then, their hands brushed and they both froze.

  Shit. Awareness raced between them and he lifted his gaze to hers. Her eyes were wide and panicked.

  “No, no, no, no, stop it!” she moaned. As he watched, a whisker popped free, right in the middle of her cheek.

  “I’m not doing anything!” He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice and almost managed it. Almost. Okay, not at all. Another whisker broke out, then another and another. Her nose started to change shape.

  “Shut your eyes,” he ordered, and she did. “Okay, now breathe deeply and imagine yourself on a beach. There’s sand all around you, and the waves are lapping at the shore. Gently. Softly. You’re safe here. This is your place and no one can intrude here.”

  She took a deep breath, eyes closed and…nothing else changed. No more whiskers and her nose didn’t shift anymore. He tilted his head to the side. It was actually kinda cute like that, but he didn’t think that was what she wanted to hear.

  “Okay…You stay there on your beach.” He reached forward and cut her steak as he talked. Deliberately he added a purr to his voice, just to keep the growl away. That’s what he told himself at least. In reality, he liked her reaction to his purr.

  “Now… I’m not going to touch you, but open up.” He lifted a loaded fork and popped a morsel of steak past her parted lips.

  She moaned, and chewed. “Ohmygod, that is so good.”

  Her eyes opened and, as he watched, a whisker disappeared with a pop. Then another and another. He lifted another morsel, his eyebrow raised in question and she nodded. His cat rumbled in pleasure. They were feeding their mate. This was acceptable mate-type behavior. It proved they were a good provider. She couldn’t refuse to mate him if he showed how well he could take care of her, right?

  She nodded and he popped another morsel in, feeding her as companionable silence wrapped around them. Her little noises of appreciation warmed him to the core. He wasn’t a master chef by any stretch of the imagination, but the fact she found his food appealing did something to him deep inside.

  Before long her plate was clear and she dabbed at her lips with the corner of a napkin. It was adorable. She was adorable. Without thinking, he leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. Just once, with all the speed of his cat nature.

  Pop. And there they were. Whiskers again.

  “Archer! That was unfair!” She yelped, covering her cheeks. She looked so mortified he couldn’t help the smile that wanted to crawl over his lips.

  “It was, but you’re so sweet, I couldn’t help myself,” he admitted, sitting down to attack his own plate. “And, for the record…” He waved his fork at her. “Whiskers on you? They’re hot.”

  Chapter Four

  Paige stood on Chloe’s front stoop, smoothing the fabric of her dress, pressing out wrinkles with her palms, and ignored the way her hands shook. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous. She knew what she was walking into, knew at least half of the people within the house, and yet…

  She really hoped Archer meant it when he said he found her furry tendencies attractive. Mainly because it was simply a
matter of time before they busted out once again. Any. Second. Now.

  “Whiskers on you? They’re hot.”

  Right.

  This had seemed like a good idea yesterday. Just a fun, sibling infused barbecue at Chloe and Holt’s. Nothing heavy, nothing high drama. Friends getting together and shooting the shit—what the hell did that even mean?—while Paige got to know Archer a little better.

  “Come to the family barbecue tomorrow. Just the sibs, no parents. It’ll be fun.”

  It’ll be fun. Her only saving grace was that she knew Chloe’s family—had known them since she was a kit—and Holt wasn’t a stranger any longer. She’d at least waved to his other two brothers Donovan and Sawyer in passing, though she’d never been officially introduced. Some people, apparently, found Holt scary—his brothers included—and kept their distance.

  Conceptually, she knew everyone at the party. So why was she so nervous?

  Because it’s about to get real.

  Paige prodded at the hem of her dress, one tiny spot flipping up, annoying the hell out of her and—

  The metallic thud of the front door being unlocked reached her ears a split second before it swung inward to reveal… Archer.

  And pop!

  There went a whisker. At least it was only one, right?

  “Hey, baby.” His gaze flicked to the tiny whisker and then he met her gaze. He eased toward her, his few steps slow and careful. “Gonna stand here all day or come in?” He snared one of her trembling hands and drew her nearer until hardly an inch separated them. “Everyone’s in the backyard waiting for you so we can get this party started.”

  Then he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers, just a soft caress she felt from her toes to the very tip of her whiskers. Whiskers. Because… pop.

  Paige squeaked, embarrassment heating her cheeks. When Archer pulled back, she didn’t find amusement or hateful teasing in his expression. Nope, it was all sensual heat and wanting. That was further proven when he wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her that last inch until their bodies were flush.