by R. E. Butler
“It’s your culture that made the rules,” James pointed out.
“I was told as a kid that the reason the mating age rule came about is because there was a clan leader a long time ago who didn’t want his only daughter to mate with a panther he considered to be a bad egg. He thought if he gave her enough time that she would eventually find another mate, or the male would run off, but that didn’t happen and the law stuck.” She looked at her mates.
John said, “If it were us in that situation of waiting for everyone to turn twenty-one, I’d definitely be hating life right now.”
“But because it’s your daughter, you’re happy with the waiting?”
He shrugged. “I know it’s a double standard.”
She took his offered hand and reached for James. “I get that you don’t mind about the waiting, though, since she was gone for so long and you just got her back.”
James held the door open for her. “Do you plan to enforce the rule for Dom?”
The stairs creaked under their feet as they walked up to the second floor. She kept her voice low so she didn’t wake up anyone. “No. We’re not part of the clan anymore, and the lions don’t have that rule. If Dom and Henry find a mate to share, I’m not going to put an age limit restriction on them, even though I hope that they wait to find her until they’re a little older.”
John shut the bedroom door and yawned. “Did you have a good time hunting, sweetheart?”
“I did. Thank you so much.”
They stripped and climbed into bed, and it didn’t take long for exhaustion to claim her. Somewhere in the last bit of wakefulness, she smiled to herself as James and John took up their positions on either side of her and held her between them. She was safe now in so many ways. Before, she’d forced herself to feel safe — extra locks on the door, carefully covering any trace of her panther nature, never letting anyone know her. James and John offered her safety. Through the many members of the pride who stood with them, the easy way they accepted her into their lives, and their hands on her even as they slept, told her she wasn’t far from their thoughts at any time.
More than physical safety, though, was the safety of her heart. They both whispered they loved her, and then James placed a tender kiss on her neck at the same time as John kissed her forehead. As she whispered the words back to them, she closed her eyes. She was theirs and they were hers, and she was one lucky girl.
* * * * *
James walked with Rue through the woods to the clearing to meet with Dag and his family for dinner. John was working, and what James really wanted to do was keep Rue locked up in the bedroom, naked and screaming in pleasure. But he wasn’t the kind of guy to keep his mate from being around others, and so he kept his grumbling cat leashed in his head, promising that they would return to the bedroom soon enough to enjoy some alone time with their mate.
Rue was quiet as they walked, and James didn’t push her to talk. He’d learned quickly that if she didn’t want to talk, no amount of cajoling would open her mouth. If she wanted to talk to him, she would.
They broke through the trees and into the empty farmland that the clan was renting. The RVs the clan lived in were parked together in a loose circle. Generators hummed, providing electricity for the RVs, and in the center of the circle was a large bonfire. A grate was set over top of the bonfire, and Dionne was laying thick steaks on it using a long-handled fork.
“Hi there,” Dionne said with a smile. Rue and James greeted her and watched as she finished putting the steaks on the grate and then came around to them so she could hug Rue. “I’m so glad to see you. Congratulations on your mating and engagement.”
“Thank you,” Rue said.
Dionne called over her shoulder for her husband and then gestured to the folding chairs that ringed the bonfire. Dag opened the door of their RV and stepped out, followed by Hanai.
“I bet it seems empty around here with all the clans gone,” James mused, accepting a beer that Dag offered.
“It’s certainly a lot quieter,” Dag said, giving a beer to Rue and settling in a chair next to Dionne. He looked pointedly at Rue. “How is Domino?”
“Great, actually. He and Henry act like real brothers, and he’s fitting in with the pride like he belonged with them his whole life,” she said. “He wants to enroll in community college for the winter semester, and he’s already asked if he can make a studio for himself in one of the unused rooms on the first floor.”
“And how are you?” Dionne asked, her face soft with emotion.
Rue reached for James’ hand and laced their fingers together. “It’s better now. I know that my former clan can’t hurt me or Dom anymore, and I feel safe — truly safe — for the first time.”
Hanai nodded. “Race will be a good leader and drag your former clan out of the dark ages by the scruff of their necks.”
James said, “I have a question about that. You told us when we first met Rue that Race had been banished in the same way as her, so why did they accept him as their leader and how the heck did he show up at just the right time?”
Dag smiled. “I called him. I told him what Rue had been through and about Domino’s kidnapping, and he came to help. He wasn’t too far. Like Rue, he had left the southern states where the clan had traveled and was living in southern Indiana, so it didn’t take him too long to get here.”
“He was planning to take over the clan in a coup and oust the former leader. I believe that enough of the clan members were horrified by what was done to Domino that they would have embraced Race no matter what, but the fact that the former leader was killed just made it easier for Race to take over,” Hanai said.
“Why do you keep calling him the ‘former leader’?”
“It’s forbidden to say his name,” Hanai said, smiling.
“Race was banished for wanting to mate with a human. Did he mate with her anyway?” Rue asked.
“No, the female he loved has since moved on. When he was branded, she was told that they would both be killed if she ever saw him again, so she fled. He told me that he went looking for her, but she refused to see him, too scared that he would die if they were together,” Dag answered.
Rue squeezed James’ hand a little tighter. “I hope he finds someone worthy of him. He’s a good male.”
Jilly, Wyked, and Fate came out of one of the RVs, and James thought they looked a little flushed. He raised a brow at Jilly and she averted her eyes, looking guilty. James shook his head with a smile. “I just realized that you’re my daughter now, too, Jilly.”
“Are you going to be like Dad and give me a hard time about everything?” she asked dramatically.
“Of course not. John has a corner on that market.”
She snorted, sitting down in a chair between her mates. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“You do that, honey,” James said, smiling. Jilly had enough trouble coming to terms with her emotions. The last thing she needed was James coming down on her for following her heart. And besides, he agreed with Rue that it sucked that they were mates but unable to truly join together for three more years.
Dionne gathered plates from a nearby picnic table, and Dag lifted the cooked steaks from the grating with the fork and placed them on the plates as Dionne held them out. The plates were handed out until everyone had one. Then containers of side dishes were passed — pasta salad, potato salad, corn, and coleslaw — until everyone’s plates were filled.
James balanced his plate on his knees and cut his steak; the smell of the perfectly rare steak made his mouth water. No one spoke for a long while, but eventually they talked about the kids, the clan, the pride, and everything related to them. When the meal was over, James felt as though he knew Dag and his family even better.
James helped the kids clear the dishes and said goodbye to the clan, and then he and Rue walked Jilly back to the boarding house.
“Are you going to tell Dad about earlier?” Jilly asked.
“Feeling guilty?” he teased.
She snorted. “Kinda. My cat is really furious that we can’t be with them full-time. I thought three years wasn’t any big deal, but it feels like forever.”
“Probably because you’re not busy,” Rue pointed out. “When you start college, you’ll have less time to sit around thinking about how much you want them.”
She hummed quietly in thought. “Dom said that we could drive to college together if I enrolled for the winter semester. I just don’t know what I want to do. I never thought I’d be going to college.”
“Want to be a cop?” James asked.
“I think we have enough cops in the family,” Jilly answered. “I don’t know what I want to do, but I think I’d like to just take some general classes and get out into the real world. I feel like I missed out on a lot of experiences because of the females. No prom, no graduation, no sneaking out to party with friends.”
“Your dad and I will pay for you to go to college, so whatever you want to do, just know that we support you,” James said as he opened the door to the boarding house and let Jilly and Rue in.
“Thanks, Uncle James. Oh, I mean Dad.” She laughed lightly, kissed his cheek, and then hugged Rue. “Thanks for lunch today.”
“It was my pleasure, honey. Sweet dreams.”
James locked up as Jilly headed upstairs, and Rue filled two glasses with sweet tea. He guzzled the ice cold, sweet drink and set the empty glass on the counter with a dull thud.
She laughed. “Thirsty?”
“I guess so.”
She tipped the rest of her tea into his glass with an indulgent smile. He finished the drink and put the glasses in the sink.
“Ready for bed, love?” he asked as he took her hand and walked upstairs.
“Eventually.”
He paused as he pushed open the bedroom door. “Eventually?”
She stepped inside and whipped her shirt over her head. Her eyes glimmered with heat as she walked backward toward the bed, stripping as she moved.
“Ah,” he grinned, shutting the door and matching her steps with his own, shedding his clothes quickly.
She paused, one knee on the bed, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a sultry smile. “Unless you’re tired.”
“Not yet,” he growled and pounced on her. She shrieked with laughter as he rolled her underneath him, the sound dying into a deep moan as he palmed her breast and sucked the tip.
They had some time before John got home from work, and James was going to take advantage of the time alone with his mate and see how many times he could get her to scream his name.
Lots, he hoped.
Chapter 22
Thursday evening, Ray Fiero wasn’t feeling much like working. In fact, lately, he hadn’t much felt like anything except figuring out a way to get Scarlett back. He was certain that if they could just see her again, they could convince her to walk away from her pack. He knew he was asking a lot of her — to trust her future to two guys she only met once — but he and Wes were certain she was their mate and she had to be feeling it, too.
Ray dipped the paintbrush into the bucket of white paint and applied it to the interior of the gazebo. Jericho, Ray, and Wesley had built the gazebo for Lisa over the last few weeks, and once the paint was applied, it would be finished and Lisa could enjoy it. Ray liked working for Rhett on the farm. There was always something to do, and they were always doing different jobs. He liked spring the best, when they prepared the fields for planting and the heavy scent of freshly churned earth was everywhere.
Wes sighed nearby and Ray laid the brush across the top of the bucket and faced his brother. “If we just drive down to Bent Creek, we might find her somewhere. She’s not in the phone book, but the town isn’t much bigger than Ashland. We could run into her somewhere.”
Wes put down his own brush and sat back on his heels. “I fucking hate this.” He lowered his head. “I wish we’d never gone to sleep that night. “
Ray nodded in agreement. One night with Scarlett was not enough. It had been heaven while they were making love to her, sharing her together in a way that he and Wes had never experienced before. Their bliss had quickly turned to hell when they woke up and she was gone and refused to have contact with them. Knowing that she was being forced to mate with someone chosen by her alpha father made him want to find her father and see how he liked having his choices taken from him.
James had told them what the deal was with her and encouraged them to go after their hearts, but wisely. It was sage advice; the problem was he just didn’t fucking know where she lived. His worst fear was going down there and having someone alert her father that they were looking for Scarlett and something bad happening to her. A male who treated his daughter like collateral might also be the sort of male who would hurt her to prove a point.
Someone walked toward them, and Ray turned to see Rue closing the distance between the house and the gazebo. “Hi, guys.”
He and Wes greeted her. They hadn’t spent much time with James and John’s new mate, but from what he’d witnessed during the clash with her clan over her son, he knew her to be fiercely loyal and tender to the core.
She opened the gazebo and stepped inside. “It looks amazing in here. I know that Lisa can’t wait for it to be finished. Apparently she likes to sit outside and read but she doesn’t like bugs.” She looked up at the ceiling fan that Jericho had installed several days earlier. When the paint was dry, a thick rug and wicker furniture would complete the interior.
Ray grunted. He turned to pick up the paintbrush and finish the job when Rue’s phone appeared in front of him. He blinked and eased away until the screen was in focus.
It was an address.
He looked up at her in confusion. “I don’t know what I’m looking at.”
Her brows rose slightly. “It’s the address to the Luna Arms Apartments in Bent Creek. Apparently a certain she-wolf lives there.”
Ray’s heart thumped in his chest as he rose to his feet and grabbed Rue’s cell. Wes joined him, gasping in surprise.
“How did you get this?” Wes asked.
“I was helping Melody address thank you cards for the wedding gifts they received and one of the address labels was Scarlett’s. I told James I was going to tell you where she lived, and he made me promise to tell you, ‘Be careful and let us know if you need any help.’”
Ray whipped his phone from his pocket and entered Scarlett’s address into his contact list. “Thank you, Rue,” Wes said, hugging her.
“Thanks, Rue.”
“You’re welcome, guys. And let me say this: Dom told me that her dad was a badass alpha. Wolf packs are nothing like the pride. They’re led by the alpha and his word is law. Scarlett’s being given away for her father’s agenda, and by interfering with that, you’re going to be looking at a fight on your hands. Just be prepared. You might get her away from her family for a while, but she’s a breeding queen, and that is some serious business as far as we can tell. He’s not going to let her go easily.” She shook her head and tucked her phone into her back pocket. “The slightest hint of trouble and I expect you to call for help, got it? You look like you could hold your own in a fight, but two cats can’t go up against a wolf pack on their own, no matter how noble their cause is.”
“We’ll be careful,” Wes promised.
“Good. I don’t want you to leave the pride. I know I just got here, but things are tense and no one is happy, and it’s because they know you’re miserable. So go get your girl —safely — and then come home and make things right with the pride.”
She smiled at them and turned, opening the door and stepping down onto the grass. “Holy fucking shit,” Ray said, staring at the address. He couldn’t believe they knew where she lived.
“Get painting, man,” Wes said, crouching down and jabbing his brush into the paint. “We need to get home and pack.”
Ray’s mind raced as he returned his attention back to the gazebo. They were going to find Scarlett. No matter what happened,
they were going to get their mate. No wolf pack or alpha wolf was going to stop them. She was theirs and they were hers, and that was all that mattered.
* * * * *
Rue smiled to herself as she walked back toward Lisa and Rhett’s home. James and John stood waiting for her on the porch. “I take it they were happy with what you told them?” James asked.
“Oh yeah,” she promised, joining them. They hugged her between them. “I hope they’re able to be with her. They’re so torn up about her it was like I gave them a million dollars.”
John kissed her forehead. “We certainly wish them all the happiness that we have.”
Lisa opened the front door. “If you’re done molesting Rue on my front porch, dinner’s getting cold and we have a lot to get done.”
Rue blushed and apologized to Lisa, hugging her before stepping into the warm house. The inviting smell of roasted meat and freshly baked bread made Rue’s stomach growl, and she headed with her mates to the kitchen to eat. The topic of the evening was the wedding, which they decided would be scheduled for the first Saturday in November. That choice left them with only a few weeks to get ready.
Fortunately for her, Lisa was a pro when it came to wedding planning, and by the time they had finished dinner, had dessert, and the men had escaped into the den to watch sports, she and Lisa had mapped out the basics from flowers to attendees.
Lisa closed the notebook with a sigh and rubbed the space between her eyes. She settled back into the comfy couch and looked at Rue. “I’m really happy that James and John found such a sweet mate. I’ve been worried about them.”
“Oh?”
“Well, they take on so much with the pride. I know that they wanted to find their mate, but since Rhett doesn’t share me, no one knew if there would be a mate for each of them or one to share.”
“You never wanted to have a second mate?”
Lisa shook her head. “Our situation was different. Rhett was here all by himself. He left the pride long before anyone else did. Maybe if he’d come with his brothers, things would be different, but I wouldn’t trade a second of our life together for anything in the world.”