by R. E. Butler
While Annie told her story again, Hemi texted his sister to tell her he wouldn’t be coming home that night. They shared a split-double home, and while they didn’t technically live together, they were often in and out of each other’s places for one reason or another. He enjoyed swiping her flavored coffee creamer. She liked to steal his flannel shirts.
You found your heart-match? That’s freaking awesome!
He smiled at her text and replied with a quick note that she was in danger from a crazy coyote shifter and he was going to stay with her at the bar.
You’re so sweet to stay with her. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it. When can I meet her?
Breakfast tomorrow at the diner?
Sure! How about nine?
Sounds good. See you then.
He put the phone away and tuned back into Annie’s conversation with Killion.
“So, what now?” she asked.
“Where are you staying tonight?”
“Here,” she said.
Killion cast a glance between Hemi and Annie and then nodded. “If I hear anything, I’ll contact Hemi. In the meantime, I’ll get the paperwork going on the restraining order and you’ll have to go to court. Once it goes into effect, we’ll deliver a copy of the order to his residence and make sure he understands what’s going on.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Have a good night,” the other officer said.
Killion stopped to talk to Duke on the way out.
“Are you hungry, sweetheart?” Hemi asked.
“You asked me that upstairs,” she said, giving him a raised eyebrow.
“Well, it’s been a while. You were running on adrenaline before and now things have calmed down.”
“I’m not hungry, but thank you.”
“Of course.”
The bar door opened, and Doc strode in. He greeted everyone and set his medical bag on the table. “Annie, I’m the pride doctor. You can call me Doc. How about we head upstairs so you can have some privacy and we can talk? Then I can get you an exam and make sure you’re comfortable.”
“Thank you.” She looked at Hemi.
“I’ll come up when you’re done.”
She smiled and nodded, then followed Doc upstairs.
While Titus went to open the secured door to let them into the upstairs area, Hemi conferred with Duke. “They found her car and a tow truck is on the way to pick it up. The consensus is it’s totaled, but we won’t know for sure until the mechanics check it out tomorrow.”
“Any sign of the coyote?”
“They followed his scent to the road where Annie’s car is and there were tire marks where his scent ended, so he took off in his vehicle.”
Hemi rubbed the back of his neck, his lion of two minds—to comfort Annie and to hunt down Roy. “I don’t know whether to be glad he’s gone or not.”
“I get it. For now, we’ll let Killion handle things and hope that this is what Roy needs to hear to leave Annie alone. If you need anything, give me a call.”
“You bet. Thanks.”
Titus was waiting at the door. “The key to Duke’s place is hanging on the key holder inside my door. When Doc’s done, take her over there and get settled. Call me if you need me. I’ll be in the bar with Blu.”
“You got it.”
Hemi headed up to Titus’s apartment. The door was open, and he could hear Doc asking Annie questions about her ordeal. Hemi stood nearby but didn’t sit, not wanting to interrupt.
When he was finished, Doc dug inside his bag and pulled out a tin. He opened it and withdrew two tea bags, which he offered to Hemi.
“Put one bag in steaming water and let it steep for three minutes. It’ll promote rest and healing.”
“Sure thing,” Hemi said.
“Can I talk you to for a minute outside?” Doc asked as he put his instruments away and zipped up his black bag.
“Sure. I’ll be right back, Annie.”
He followed Doc out into the hall. “She’s okay?”
“She’s scratched up from running, most likely from branches and trees hitting her. She has some aches on her left side from the accident and a headache, but it doesn’t appear that there’s anything that requires any further testing. What she needs is rest. The tea bags are a combination of holistic and traditional medicine to help with pain and also boost her body’s natural healing abilities.” He handed Hemi a small plastic bag with several oblong pills in it. “She’ll most likely feel worse in the morning. These are straight-up pain pills, but they won’t make her drowsy. I already gave her one. She can have one every four to six hours. Call me if you need anything at all. She should feel back to herself in a few days. If she needs a note to get cleared from work, I can email it to you.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“It’s what I’m here for.”
Hemi said goodbye to Doc and walked into the apartment. He asked Annie, “Ready to go next door?”
He offered her his hand and helped her stand. He grabbed the spare key and opened Duke and Ree’s place. Once inside, he turned on the lights and locked the door, placing the keys on the wall hook.
“Let me get some water going for your tea.”
“I’ll help.”
“You should rest.”
She followed him into the kitchen anyway. He stared at the stove and then the cabinets. “I don’t know if they even have a teapot.”
“We can heat it up in the microwave.”
He opened the cabinets until he found the mugs, then filled one with water and set it in the microwave. She set the time and started it. As it whirred to life, she looked at him. “I’d like to ask you a question.”
“Anything.”
“You said I was yours.”
He blinked. “What?”
“When you were holding me outside. You told Roy that I was yours and under the pride’s protection.”
“Ah. Right.” He cleared his throat. “What was your question?” He knew he was purposely being obtuse, but she’d just told the story of her nightmare with the coyote many times in the last couple of hours. The main point that he kept coming back to was that Roy said she was his mate and wouldn’t take no for an answer. What kind of asshole would he be if he told her basically the same thing after what she’d been through? Even if he could feel in his bones that she was meant to be his, she still shouldn’t have to deal with it right now.
“Am I yours?”
He stared down at her. “You just had a terrible week, Annie.” He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I said what I said to make sure Roy would take off.”
“So, you don’t think that?” Her brows drew down and she frowned.
Shit.
“Annie, I don’t want you to worry about anything except resting. We can talk tomorrow if you’d like. All you need to know is that you’re safe here and I’m not going anywhere.”
She seemed to think about what he said and then sighed. “Okay. Tomorrow.”
The microwave beeped. He took out the mug and dunked the bag in, then set a timer for three minutes. While it steeped, she headed to the bathroom to clean up. By the time the tea was ready, she was sitting up on the bed in the spare bedroom, the blankets pulled around her. At her urging, he sat on the bed and they talked while she sipped at the tea.
He found out they shared a love of action movies and chocolate desserts. She didn’t have any siblings and lived in the garage apartment next to her parents’ home. She knew next to nothing about shifters, and now she had a bad impression of coyotes. Thankfully, she liked lions.
When the tea was finished, she yawned and snuggled down in bed. “You’re not going anywhere, right?”
“I promise. My ass in on the couch all night.”
“Good. Did I say thank you?”
He stood, his lion pushing at him to climb into bed with her. “For what?”
“Everything. Saving me, protecting me, watching out for me.”
“You’re welcome. I
’m glad I was outside so I could be there for you.”
“Goodnight, Hemi.” She covered her mouth as she yawned again, but this time her eyes didn’t open, and she drifted off to sleep.
He bent and kissed her forehead, inhaling her sweet scent. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
Chapter Eight
Roy was on her heels. His snarls and the pounding of his paws on the ground filled the air. Annie ran as fast as she could, pumping her arms and driving forward even though she couldn’t see anything. She could only hear him behind her and knew she’d never really outrun him.
He grabbed her, latching onto her wrist and digging his fangs into her skin. She screamed and struggled, panic blooming fully within her.
“Annie!”
She froze and opened her eyes, seeing Hemi hovering over her.
With a gasp, she sat up and hugged him tightly, her eyes stinging with tears.
“You were having a nightmare,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “Your screaming woke me up.”
She shivered as she thought about what her mind had conjured up. “Thanks for coming to wake me up.” Easing away from him, she brushed her hair from her face and took a few slow breaths to calm her racing pulse.
“Of course.” He sat on the edge of the bed. There was a light on in the hall, which lit up the room enough so she could see him.
Really see him.
He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and the top button of his jeans was undone. It was then that she realized how muscular he was. She’d been too panicky and scared to look at her rescuer before. She drank her fill now.
How had she missed all those muscles when she’d practically climbed him like a tree outside?
She flushed and Hemi let out a soft growling purr, which he covered by clearing his throat.
“You want me to leave the light on?” he asked as he rose to his feet.
“Would you stay with me?”
He looked down at her. “If you want me to.”
“I think you’ll keep the nightmare from coming back.”
“Sure, sweetheart. Light on or off?”
“If you’re staying, then off is okay.”
He walked to the hall and turned off the light, then returned to the bedroom. She’d taken off her jeans before she’d climbed into bed but left on her shirt. He joined her but didn’t get under the covers. As he stretched out on his back, she did one more impulsive thing—she turned on her side and snuggled against him, resting her cheek on his chest. His skin was warm, and he smelled amazing, like the best cologne with wild and spicy notes.
She could hear his lion rumbling, but it was a soothing sound.
He put his arm around her and yawned.
She wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn’t think of what. Like how even though Roy had scared the crap out of her with his stalking and nearly killed her that night, she was actually glad because she’d met Hemi. He said she was his, but she knew why he wanted to wait to talk about it. He thought she was too fragile and freaked out by Roy’s behavior to want another man to tell her she was his.
Which was true and not true.
Roy’s declaration and insistence on who and what she was to him hadn’t had a note of honesty in it. She wasn’t sure if he really believed she was his mate, if he just wanted to believe it, or had decided that’s what she was to him. Regardless of how he’d come to the conclusion, it was clear he wasn’t a good guy because he hadn’t listened to her when she told him no.
But Hemi wasn’t like Roy. He wasn’t trying to get her to bend to his will or force himself on her. There was no urgency with him. He’d told Roy she was his, but the claim he’d staked hadn’t felt suffocating the way Roy’s had.
There was something about this lion that was unlike anything she’d ever known. He was special and she felt like she’d been destined to meet him.
It was a little too much to think about right now, though, with Roy in the wind and her future at stake. Hemi wasn’t trying to push her in any direction—he was clearly giving her time to heal, and she appreciated that.
She yawned and snuggled a little closer to the purring man holding her, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
* * *
She woke to the smell of coffee and rolled to her back to stretch. The bed was empty, but she could hear Hemi moving around in the apartment. It might have been one of the best nights of sleep she’d ever had, even if the night had started out shitty and she’d had a nightmare.
She stood and grabbed her pants, then headed to the bathroom. After using the facilities, she dressed and went out to the little kitchen where Hemi was sitting at a small table and looking at his phone.
“Morning,” he said. He stood and kissed her cheek. “There’s powdered creamer if you like that.”
She smiled as she put a pod into the coffeepot and set a mug under it. “I take it you don’t.”
“I like flavored coffee, especially caramel. My sister has this salted caramel creamer she buys and it’s fantastic. You?”
“I like regular coffee unless it’s iced, and then I like vanilla or mocha. What’s your sister’s name?”
“Demi.”
“Hemi and Demi, huh? You guys have interesting names.”
He chuckled and told her how they’d come to have their names.
She sat across from him and stirred the powdered creamer into the mug. “I love that. Names that have a special meaning are so cool.”
“Annie’s a lovely name.”
“Actually, it’s AnnaRose. My mom was raised by her Aunt Annie, who loved roses. She died before I was born, but my mom wanted to honor her, so she combined the two names. I’ve always gone by Annie.”
“Our parents don’t call us by our full names, unless they’re pissed, of course,” he said with a laugh.
“Me too.”
“How are you feeling? Do you want some tea or pain pills?”
“Actually, I feel really great. Some minor aches, but nothing I can’t handle with ibuprofen. That tea is amazing.”
“Doc’s really good at that kind of thing.”
“Shifters heal faster than humans, right?”
He nodded. “Yes. In both our human and shifted forms.”
“That would be awesome.”
He tapped his phone screen. “Your car’s at the shop in town, which is run by lions. The owner was in early this morning at Duke’s request and said it’s totaled. He’ll fill out the information for your insurance company and has a loaner you can use until you get a new one.”
“Damn,” she said. “I liked that car.”
“Sorry. I can take you over there today so you can get your things from it.”
“Okay.”
“And they found your phone too. It’s down in the bar.”
“Oh! That’s awesome. How did they find it?”
“They were on your scent trail and it was near where they also smelled some of your blood.”
“Probably when I fell over that log and scraped up my arm.” Which was now nearly completely healed. She’d been scratched up pretty badly when she’d fallen, but only a few minor red marks remained.
He tilted her arm and looked at the marks. “Other than that, you feel good?”
“I do.”
“I’m glad.” He smiled, and it took her breath away. How the hell had she landed in the presence of such a sexy guy?
She took another drink of coffee and set down the mug. Before she could think of something to say that didn’t involve the suddenly inappropriate thoughts that kept coming to mind, he said, “Demi would like to meet us for breakfast at the diner in town, if that’s okay with you. She and I live in a split-double, so I told her last night that I wouldn’t be home because I was staying with you, and she wanted to get together.”
“I’d love to meet her.”
“She’s looking forward to meeting you. She’s a teacher at the lion school, so you two have that in common. We’ll leave in an hour, and then afterward I
’ll take you to the garage.”
“Perfect.”
They moved from the kitchen to the couch in the family room to be more comfortable.
“Can we talk now, about the things that were said last night?” Annie asked.
He cleared his throat, then nodded. “I want to let you lead things, Annie.”
“Lead what things?”
“Us. You just came from a traumatic situation. I don’t want you to feel rushed into anything, particularly since that coyote was so intent on bending you to his will.”
“You’re not like him, though. I don’t feel pressure from you, I just...” She wasn’t sure if she should say what was on her mind. It was too soon, wasn’t it?
He took her hand. “You can tell me anything and you can ask me whatever’s on your mind. You’re leading us, and however we go forward is okay with me. Just know that I’ll do my damnedest to keep you safe and I’d never try to force you into anything you weren’t ready for.”
She smiled at him. “I don’t feel rushed at all. But I’m human and you’re a shifter, and I don’t understand what mate really means for you.”
“Our people believe in two kinds of mates—a mate-match and a heart-match. Well, actually, there are technically three kinds of mates. The third would be when a lion decides to mate someone because they believe they’re a good match, not necessarily a heart-match. Like my sister, for instance.” He shared the story of Demi and the insistent Benecio.
“You know it’s not a heart-match between them because she doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Right. A real heart-match means that both the male and the female feel that pull to be together. What Benecio wants from Demi is more like an arranged mating, but not through a match-maker. It’s not usual, though. But you’re basically going through the same thing with Roy.”
“Your parents are really supportive of Benecio?”
“Because he’s alpha.”
“You’d think they’d support Demi and not a stranger.”
“You’d think so,” he said with a snort. “They get it in their heads that something is right, and they don’t waver. They don’t see him as a bad guy who won’t take a hint, they see him as the perfect mate for her. He’s got money and power and he’s promised to take good care of her.”