Chasing Cristabel (Ashland Pride Six)

by R. E. Butler

  “I’m too tired to eat,” Chase whispered.

  “I am, too, but I meant for later when we wake up.”

  “Good thinking,” Hunter said.

  Dylan silently left the room and headed to the kitchen, where he found Jilly and her two mates, Wyked and Fate, talking quietly over an enormous ice cream sundae.

  “Hey, Dylan,” Jilly said.

  “Just getting something for later,” he said.

  Wyked leaned over and whispered something in Jilly’s ear, and she giggled and slapped his shoulder. Fate rolled his eyes as Wyked said, “That’s why we’ll have a mini fridge in our bedroom after we mate, little kitten.”

  Dylan laughed. “That would be a great idea.”

  “I guess since you’re not staying in the boarding house, though, it doesn’t really matter. You’ll have your own place,” Jilly said.

  “We’ll have our own place, too,” Wyked said, “if we plan to join the clan. If we stay here with your pride, then no we wouldn’t.”

  Dylan opened the fridge and looked for Cris’s favorite foods. He wasn’t sure what she’d be in the mood to eat when she woke up, so he grabbed a bag of red grapes, a two liter of ginger ale, and large packages of deli sliced chicken and sharp cheddar. Setting the items on the island, he grabbed a serving tray from one of the cabinets and a pack of pita bread.

  “Do you think you might want to stay here, or you aren’t sure yet?” Dylan asked as he sliced pitas in half and filled them with chicken and cheddar.

  Jilly put her spoon in the sundae. “I’m not sure. I think we would be happy here in the boarding house, but I like the idea of traveling, too. I guess I just don’t know which family I’d be happy to be away from, because that’s what it boils down to for me. Either we only see Wyked and Fate’s parents and clan once a year, or I only see my dad, family, and pride once a year.”

  “The clan won’t stay after you guys are mated officially?” Dylan asked. He dug through the fridge and found the dill pickle slices, which he stuffed into Hunter’s sandwich, then he spread Cris’s with mayo and spicy mustard, Chase’s with yellow mustard, and his own with pickles and mayo. Hunter liked his sandwiches condiment-free.

  “It’s in our nature to be nomadic,” Wyked said, digging his spoon into a large mound of marshmallow-topped chocolate ice cream.

  “But you would stay for me,” Jilly pointed out.

  “We’d do anything for you,” Fate said.

  She shook her head with a sigh. “It’s not helpful when you’re so easy going.”

  “Really? I thought you loved that about us,” Wyked said, wiggling his brow.

  Dylan chuckled. “You have a couple more years to go before you have to make the decision, right? I’m sure that by the time you’re ready to be mated, you’ll know the answer.”

  She arched a brow. “How can you be sure?”

  He shrugged. “Destiny’s a funny thing. If we’d never left King, we wouldn’t have been part of this pride, working at Kickers the night that Cris walked into the bar. Similarly, if Lily’s brother hadn’t needed to sell his place, then Cris wouldn’t have had a reason to come to Ashland and wouldn’t have met us. Destiny led us here so we could be in the right place at the right time to meet our mate. It’s the same for the three of you. The clan is nomadic and led you to be in the woods when Jilly was having a crisis of conscious. Whatever you choose to do with your future, it will be the right thing for you all, I’m certain.”

  “Thanks, Dylan,” Jilly said. “Cris is lucky to have you and your cousins as her mates.”

  “We’re the lucky ones,” Dylan promised. As the trio turned their attention back to their ice cream, Dylan loaded the sandwiches into a small cooler with ice packs and set it on the tray, along with cups, a bag of cheddar and sour cream potato chips, and a plastic box of chocolate chip pecan cookies. Tucking the two liter under his arm, he said good night to Jilly and her mates and headed back upstairs.

  He wasn’t surprised to see that he’d lost his place at Cris’s side with Hunter and Chase sandwiching her, both fast asleep. It didn’t bother him, though, as he closed and locked the door. He set the tray and soda on the dresser. He’d been doing something to take care of all of them, and that filled him with pride. It also gave him an idea about what to do in the future.

  Dropping his jeans, he climbed onto the bed and settled on a pillow, drawing a fleece blanket up from the floor where it had been pushed off the bed at some point during their marathon lovemaking. With a yawn that made his whole body shudder, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts full of the realization that he’d finally figured out his place in their family.

  Chapter 16

  Cris’s eyes felt like they weighed a thousand pounds as she forced them open. Her first thought was that she’d been asleep for a really long time, but as she lifted her head, she could see the faint glow of daylight through the thick curtains. On either side of her, her mates were breathing deeply in sleep, and she stayed as still as possible, letting them have their rest. She’d put them through the wringer when her heat struck. They’d already made love after their mating ceremony and fallen asleep in one another’s arms. And then she’d woken up feeling as if her body was on fire from the inside out. She could think of nothing except having sex with her mates.

  Which on a normal day wasn’t anything new. She loved her guys and loved taking them to bed. But what had been different was the empty feeling she’d had deep in the center of her being. Her cat craved the sex between them and had been clawing at her to keep going. She’d finally gone contentedly silent and the heat, which had been a writhing, twisting need, had evaporated. Her mates had seemed to sense she was done, and although she’d been too exhausted to say or do anything, she was aware that Hunter had lifted her from the bed while Dylan and Chase laid down extra soft blankets to cushion her over-sensitive skin, and then they’d curled around her, and she’d been aware of nothing else until now.

  Hunter’s large hand pressed lightly into her lower abdomen, and she turned her head to look at him. “Morning, gorgeous. How do you feel?”

  “Like I made love to my mates all night long. It is Monday morning, right?”

  Chase snorted, and she turned her head to look at him. His brown eyes danced with amusement. “It’s Tuesday morning. We made love all Monday. You don’t remember?”

  She hummed. “I know what we did, but I wasn’t aware of the time. Did we…make love for a whole day?”

  “Just about,” Hunter said, covering his mouth as he yawned.

  Dylan sat up and smiled at her. “Are you hungry?”

  Her stomach took that moment to growl and she blushed. “Definitely. But I want to use the bathroom first and maybe take a shower?”

  Hunter slipped from the bed and lifted her up, cradling her close with a kiss to her forehead, before carrying her into the bathroom and then shutting the door so she was alone. She flipped on the light and groaned at the intensity. And then she really groaned when she got a good look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles, and she had light fingertip-shaped bruises on her arms and hips. She didn’t mind those bruises, though, because they reminded her just how well her mates had loved her. If she’d had any doubts whether they could share her, they were entirely gone now.

  They’d seemed to instinctively work well together, giving her everything she needed to combat the heat without complaint. She’d been pretty blinded to everything going on around her because the cat was so vocal in her mind, but she’d known how easily they shared her, as if it was just part of their nature, all of them working together to satisfy her need. And she’d needed a lot.

  She turned on the shower to let the water heat up and then used the toilet. When the water was almost too hot, she stepped under the spray and grabbed the soap off the corner shelf. Wetting her washcloth, she lathered it and began to wash herself, yawning several times in the process. She could probably go back to sleep, but she actually d
idn’t want to. She wanted to talk to her mates; she needed to. Mountain lion females didn’t go through a heat, so she wasn’t sure that they truly understood what the heat had meant when it started, and what it meant when it was over. Excitement washed over her as she thought about sharing the news with them.

  She turned off the water and wrung out her hair before grabbing a towel from the rack and wrapping it around her head. With a second towel in hand, she dried off her skin, noticing that many of the bruises had faded away entirely. She was very thankful for her fast healing.

  Unwrapping her hair, she removed a claw clip from one of the drawers, twisted her hair, and secured it in place at the back of her head. Wrapping a towel around her body, she opened the bathroom door and hurried across the hall to the bedroom. Her mates had stripped the bed and were attempting to get the fitted sheet to stay put. Hunter glanced at her and purred. “Hey, baby, wanna mess the bed up again?”

  She laughed. “Why don’t you actually make it first?”

  “Aw, spoilsport,” he said with a wink.

  While they wrestled the too-tight fitted sheet onto the mattress, she dressed in a pair of wiener dog-patterned lounge pants and a long sleeved tee. Black and white fuzzy socks completed her comfy outfit. When the bed was made, Dylan patted the comforter, and she sat down with Chase while Hunter went to take a shower. Dylan set a tray on the bed and opened a cooler, extracting pita sandwiches sealed in plastic wrap.

  “Oh, yum,” she said, taking the one he handed to her. “When did you make these?”

  “Before I went to bed. I knew you’d be hungry when you woke, and I didn’t want to have to leave to go make something for you.”

  “You’re so thoughtful,” she said as she unwrapped the sandwich, which was exactly her favorite kind – chicken, cheddar cheese, mayo, and spicy mustard.

  “It’s my pleasure,” he promised.

  Chase opened the bag of her favorite kind of chips, and Dylan set grapes on the tray after pouring cups of ginger ale. The spread included all of her favorite foods, including chocolate chip pecan cookies for dessert.

  “My mom hates soda, but she loves ginger ale. It was the only kind of carbonated drink I was ever allowed to have,” she said.

  “Humans use it when they’re sick,” Chase said. “We had a friend in grade school whose mom always had it on hand in case someone in the family got ill. I never had it until you came along, though.”

  “Do you like it?” she asked.

  “It’s not bad, and I like it better knowing it’s something nice from your childhood.”

  By the time Hunter was done with his shower and Chase had taken his place, she’d eaten her sandwich, half of Dylan’s, and three-fourths of the bag of chips.

  “Do you want my sandwich?” Hunter offered.

  She finished chewing a mouthful of chips and took a long drink of ginger ale. “You’re sweet, but no thank you. I’m ready for cookies.”

  Her mates held up their hands as Dylan pushed the package in her direction as if she were a pacing lion and they were helpless zookeepers.

  “I do know how to share,” she said with a smirk, opening the package and pulling out two cookies.

  Dylan leaned over and kissed her cheek before getting to his feet. “They’re all yours, sweetheart.”

  She cupped his face before he could stand and kissed him. “Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

  “It was a joint effort,” he said.

  When he disappeared into the bathroom, she took a bite of a cookie while Hunter stretched out at her feet and rubbed her ankle. “Do you want to go out? We could see a movie or go for a drive.”

  “Could we go for a walk?”

  His brows rose. “It’s cold out.”

  “I know, but we’ve been cooped up in the room since Sunday night, and it would be nice to get some fresh air.”

  “This is why we need our own place,” Chase said.

  “But first, we need to talk.”

  Hunter and Chase went very still and stared at her as if something terrible were happening. She laughed and shook her head, “It’s nothing bad. When Dylan’s done, we’ll talk, okay?”

  They both nodded, and she changed the conversation to their jobs. She’d asked Dr. Radcliff for two days off last week, because she’d had an idea that she’d be tired after their mating ceremony. She was thankful she’d had the foresight to do that beforehand otherwise they’d have been too locked up in her heat to even be aware of the need to call out of work.

  Dylan walked out of the bathroom, his skin flush from the hot shower and with a smile on his face. She patted the comforter for him, the way he had done for her. His smile slipped as concern took over.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Of course. Even though I told you about the heat, we never really talked about exactly what it meant. It wasn’t just that I was overwhelmingly turned on; it was that my cat, and my body, were ready to be impregnated.” She wrinkled her nose at the clinical sound of her words. Shaking her head, she said, “That sounds weird. What I mean is that part of what the mating ceremony does is not only bond the mates together through blood and marking, but it also prepares the female to go into heat. A pregnancy early in a mating is considered good luck. I have to guess that because there are three of you for me that it sent my cat into some kind of rapid heat. Usually it takes a little while for the heat to come, maybe a week or longer. The thing I didn’t really explain is what it means when the heat is over.”

  She looked at them, and her heart swelled at the love she saw in their gazes. Although each one was different in his own way, they all cherished her. She could think of nothing sweeter than what she was about to say.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Hunter’s brows rose so high that they almost disappeared into his hairline. “I’m…you’re…really?”

  “Are you sure?” Chase asked.

  “How can you tell?” Dylan asked.

  Chuckling at their overlapping questions, she said, “I’m sure that I’m pregnant because the heat is over. That’s how it happens. The heat is when the body prepares to be impregnated. When the heat is over, it’s because there’s no need for it any longer…because there’s a baby on the way. Plus, that was really intense. Can you imagine if it kept going for a while?” She fanned herself thinking about how hot things had been between them. Three sets of hands on her, bringing her body to plateaus of pleasure she hadn’t known existed.

  With three happy shouts, her mates hugged her, passing her from one to the other as they kissed her, cheered for their good fortune, and made her feel very loved. Dylan pressed his hand gently to her stomach as he gazed at her. “Cris, this is the most amazing thing ever.”

  “Isn’t it?” she asked, happy tears pricking her eyes. Chase’s and Hunter’s hands joined Dylan’s and she topped them with her own. “Whoever the biological father is, this cub will belong to all of us.”

  “This is the best news I’ve had since you walked into the bar and agreed to be ours,” Hunter said, his hazel eyes shining brightly.

  She kissed each of her mates, and even though they’d agreed to take a walk in the woods with her, they first decided that the best way to celebrate their wonderful news was to make love.

  Twice.

  Chapter 17

  Chase stood in Rhett’s family room, rubbing his hands together and wishing he’d thought to bring gloves. It had snowed again overnight, which was nothing new in Ashland in the winter. Then again, he hadn’t planned to be walking around outside.

  “We’ll take the four-wheelers back to the property,” Rhett Fallon, the oldest of the Fallon males, brother to James, John, Aaron, and Grant, and mated to a lovely human named Lisa, said as he walked into the family room. “Here’s a pair of gloves. It’s cold as hell out there.”

  “Hell’s not cold,” Lisa called from the kitchen.

  “Yes, dear,” Rhett said as he tugged a bright orange stocking cap onto his head. “Ready?”

/>   “Yep,” Chase said, zipping up his parka and pulling on the gloves. He left the warmth of their home and walked with Rhett to a large barn, where four ATVs sat under tarps alongside other farm equipment. Rhett had moved to Ashland many years before the pride had split from King and joined him. He was the first among them to have enough of the females’ behavior and decide to start over on his own. He was also the only pride male who didn’t share a mate.

  “How big is your property?” Chase asked as he removed the tarp from one of the vehicles, folded it, and placed it on top of a bale of hay.

  “Five hundred acres. Last fall we were able to buy the farm next to ours so it nearly doubled our land. The other owner had been renting the land because he was too old to farm it himself, and he decided he’d rather just get out of farming altogether.”

  They pushed the four-wheelers out of the barn, and Chase sat down on his and turned it on. The engine rumbled to life, and he put it into gear, pulling away from the barn and following Rhett as he drove over the frozen, snowy fields. In the spring, pride members who worked with Rhett would plant crops. They also tended to the land and animals that helped Rhett provide for himself and Lisa. They’d never had kids of their own, but with Callie, Eryx, Ethan, and their three young kids on the same property, they had more than their fair share of time with the young ones. It wasn’t unusual to find the pride kids over visiting their aunt and uncle, too, especially in the summer when Lisa would bake pies and cakes to sell at a local farmers’ market.

  Rhett and Chase traveled over the field and through a large opening in a stand of trees to another snow-covered field. In the center of the field was an old farmhouse, far back from the dirt road. A white-picket fence separated the field from the large yard, which was also home to a shed at the back corner, a huge maple tree in front of the house, and an old, rusty swing set.

  In a heartbeat, he could see the home as theirs. Sitting in the shade under the tree in the summer, a new swing set for their cubs to enjoy, and a home filled with a lot of love. He didn’t even need to see the inside of the old house to know it would be perfect for them. The heat had been so intense for them all, but especially physically for Cris, and he couldn’t help but think how much easier it would have been if they’d been in their own home, not confined to a room because there were others living in the house, including impressionable young cubs.