Emberly (Tails Book Three)

by R. E. Butler

He lifted his head, his gaze full of awe. “Yeah, actually. It’s... it’s amazing. The ache is barely there, I feel practically normal.”

  She moved to him and hugged him tightly. He lifted her off the ground with a purr and kissed her neck. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thank you,” he said, setting her on the floor.

  “For what?”

  “Everything. I mean, hell, Em, it’s not just that you spent ten minutes massaging my leg – it’s that you’ve given me so much. I don’t feel like I’m doing anything for you, but you’re doing so much for me.”

  She pinched his chin between her thumb and forefinger. “You’re everything to me, Diesel. I can’t imagine going to bed and not having you there in the morning when I get up. I was worried about my parents and the coffee shop, and what it would mean if I had to take over sooner rather than later. But you stepped right up to help me without me even asking. I didn’t expect it, but I adore you for it. Even though it hurts your leg to be so active, you still give me every ounce of your attention when we’re in bed, and then you put that same effort into everything you do. You’ve given me hope about the future, and I’m not so stressed about what might come because you’re by my side. So, spending time rubbing ointment into your leg to give you some relief? It makes me so happy to be able to help you like that.”

  He kissed her sweetly, his lion’s familiar growl making his chest vibrate against her as he held her tightly.

  “I love you, Emberly,” he whispered against her lips. “You’re my everything.”

  She blinked at the sting of tears and smiled. “I love you, too.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Diesel’s phone rang as he swung into the parking lot of Tails. “Answer that, would you, love?”

  “Sure,” Em said, picking his phone up from the cup holder and putting the call on speaker.

  “Diesel?” Barron said.

  “Hey, man. We just got here. What’s up?”

  “Got where? The bar?”

  “Yeah. You need something?”

  “That female and her dad showed up.”

  Diesel shifted the car into park and turned off the speaker. Putting the phone to his ear, he said, “What female?”

  “Valerie, the one who walked away from your arranged mating.”

  “She’s at the bar? What the hell for?”

  “She came here looking for you. Her dad made a big fuss and Titus called Duke, who just got here. They’re all up in Duke’s office.”

  “Shit.”

  “Titus asked me to call you. Duke wants you to come up to his office.”

  “Em’s with me.”

  “She can sit at the bar. He said just you.”

  Diesel snarled. “Fine. I’ll be right there, thanks.” Ending the call, he looked at his sweetheart. “I’m sorry, baby. I have to take care of something.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “The female who broke off the mating contract with me because of my leg is here with her dad. I don’t know what they’re doing here, but Duke asked me to come to his office.”

  “Without me.”

  “Yeah. I’m not happy about it, but if he doesn’t want you to come into the office, it’s because he’s trying to protect you from whatever bullshit this is about. You’re my mate and that puts you under the alpha’s protection.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  “Me either, but he’s my alpha, so it’s not like I can tell him no. Let’s just get this over with.”

  He met Em at the front of the car and took her in the employee entrance of the bar and straight to the counter where Hemi was working. Demi swiveled on the barstool and faced them.

  “Hi.”

  “Hey, Demi, this is my heart-match, Emberly. This is Demi, Hemi’s twin. She’s the nicer of the two.”

  “Oh, fuck you very much,” Hemi said as he tossed a towel over his shoulder and joined them. “I’m far more awesome.”

  “Negative, big brother,” Demi said.

  “I’m only two minutes older than you.”

  “Still counts.” Demi stuck her tongue out at her brother and then smiled at Diesel and Em. “It’s nice to meet you. I thought you weren’t working tonight.”

  “I’m not. We came in for a drink and some dancing, but Duke just called me up to his office.”

  “You can hang with me, Emberly,” Demi said. “I’m supposed to meet some pride females here, but they haven’t shown up yet. I’ll fill you in on all the pride gossip.”

  “I’d like that,” Em said. She turned her gaze to Diesel, and he hated how worried she looked.

  He kissed Em’s cheek. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

  Hemi said, “I’ll keep my eye on your mate, man. Go take care of business.”

  Nodding, Diesel stalked away from the counter. Titus opened the door that led up to the second floor just as Diesel lifted his hand to knock.

  “You got here fast,” Titus said as he stepped aside and motion him in.

  “I’d just pulled into the parking lot when Barron called. What’s going on?”

  “This is super fucked up. They came here looking for you.”

  “I can’t imagine why. She walked away from me, not the other way around. And I’m mated to Em.”

  “They know. No matter what bullshit they say, just remember that we’ve got your back.”

  “Okay.”

  Diesel’s lion was incensed that they’d had to leave Em down in the bar to deal with these people again. He trusted Hemi to watch over her, but he wouldn’t feel right until he was back at her side.

  Titus opened the office door, and Diesel strode in. Duke was leaning against his desk with his arms folded. Valerie and Rick were standing off to one side, and another male Diesel didn’t recognize was grimacing as he swung his gaze toward Diesel.

  “Duke,” Diesel said. “You called for me?”

  “I did. I’m sure you remember Valerie and Rick. This is Benecio, the alpha of their pride, and also Rick’s brother.”

  Diesel stared at the trio. “Why are you here?”

  “We’ve come to fulfill our end of the mating contract,” Benecio said. He lifted rolled papers in his hand. “You simply have to sign, and we’ll set a date for the mating day.”

  Diesel glanced at Duke. “You told them I’m mated, right?”

  “I did. And so did Abbie. The problem is that they don’t care.”

  Diesel snorted and turned his attention to the trio. “It doesn’t matter what you think about my mating. I’m a fully mated male, and my heart belongs to her alone. You rejected me. This contract is useless.”

  “You will go through with this mating,” Benecio said. “Or we’ll bring war to your pride’s territory.”

  “You’re seriously trying to start a war between our prides over this? Newsflash, I didn’t break the arranged mating – Valerie did. Even if the contract were enforceable, I’ve found my heart-match and according to the mate-matching laws, that would have voided the contract, anyway. I have nothing to say to any of you.”

  “I want what you promised me,” Valerie said. She moved toward him, her eyes at half-mast and her cat purring loudly.

  He put his hand up. “I promised you nothing. No matter how you look at the situation, the contract is null and void.”

  “We’ll look at it any damn way we please,” Rick said. “We’ll come for you and that human you’re calling a mate, and you’ll be sorry.”

  Diesel growled and took a step toward them. “Don’t threaten my mate.”

  Benecio bared his fangs. “Ditch the human or pay the price.”

  “I’ll take care of this once and for all,” Valerie said. She raced past them and out the door.

  Diesel frowned, and then he realized where she was going.

  Em!

  * * *

  “So, you and Diesel, huh?” Demi asked, swirling a red straw in a glass of clear, carbonated liquid.

  “Yeah. Do you believe in fate?”
r />   “Hell, yes!”

  Em chuckled at her enthusiasm.

  Demi twisted on the stool to face Em and she mimicked her. “I mean, yes, I absolutely do believe in fate. I think that being a shifter means I feel like there’s more magic in the world, you know? I didn’t know that humans believed in fate.”

  “Maybe not all of us, but I do. Now, anyway.” Em explained meeting Diesel. “How else can I explain coming here that night when Diesel was working and us meeting so perfectly? So many other things could have happened that night, from the other bar still being open to me leaving with the bridal party instead of sticking around. It’s all fate.”

  Demi chewed on the straw and dunked it back in the drink. “I don’t want to do an arranged mating. My parents want me to. They’re very traditional – they think it’s foolish to leave something like a mate to chance.”

  “You want to wait, though.”

  “Of course. Now that we don’t have to leave the pride if we mate with someone who’s not a lion, there’s no reason for me to toe the line. I can mate who I want, when I want.”

  “Excuse me?” Hemi said incredulously. “After I vet him fully, of course.”

  “You’ll scare everyone off!” Demi complained.

  Em nudged her new friend. “If he’s a good guy, he won’t be scared by muscles over there.”

  “Good point.” Demi looked thoughtful. “I’m sorry your friends were assholes who don’t like shifters.”

  “Does that happen a lot?”

  “Humans not liking us?” Demi shrugged. “Sometimes. On first glance, we just look human. It’s not like we have fur in our human forms, or weird eyes or ears. So most of the time, no one even knows if someone is a shifter unless they hear them growl or purr or see an eye color change from emotion.”

  “Or if they’re in a place where shifters like to congregate,” Em said.

  “Exactly. Some humans hate shifters for reasons like your friend’s family, and some humans hate us because we’re different. There are shifters who don’t like humans for the same reasons.”

  “People are jackasses,” Hemi said.

  “Which people?” Em asked.

  “All of ‘em.”

  Em chuckled but stopped as she felt something coming toward her. She couldn’t explain it exactly, but she felt menace bearing down on her.

  Hemi’s eyes went wide, and before Em knew what was happening, the big guy had vaulted over the bar and was standing next to Demi, both of them blocking Em.

  Demi growled. “Back the fuck up.”

  Em twisted on the bar stool and looked between the two lions to see a woman standing a few feet away. She was flashing her fangs and her fingertips had lethal-looking black claws protruding from the ends. While she was tall and pretty, wearing clothes that looked like they came from a designer boutique, she also appeared to be about two seconds away from killing something. Or someone.

  “You!” the woman said, pointing at Em. “You ruined everything! But I’ll fix it. I’ll fix you.”

  * * *

  Diesel had never run so fast in his life. He tore out of the office and down the stairs, slamming his shoulder into the security door. He saw Em on a stool at the bar. Demi was in an aggressive stance in front of her with Hemi at her side, and they were facing off against Valerie, who was pointing a menacing finger at Em.

  Diesel stopped in front of Demi and Hemi and snarled at the audacious female. “You need to leave, Valerie. I’m not going to allow you to do anything to my mate.”

  She growled, her upper lip curling to reveal fangs. “I will take what I’m owed. If you won’t fulfill your end of our agreement because of that human, then I’ll take her out of the equation.”

  “I’ve never laid a hand on a female before. I warned you about threatening my mate, so if you push me – if you try to harm her, I will stop you.”

  Valerie’s wild gaze darted between Diesel and Em. He felt Em get off the stool and move between Hemi and Demi to stand at his back, her hands gripping his shirt. He could scent her fear and it made his lion nuts.

  There was a commotion at the security door leading upstairs. Diesel’s gaze broke from Valerie’s as he watched her father and alpha barrel toward them. Valerie seemed to sense his distraction because she lunged, claws and fangs bared.

  Then Demi stepped in front of him.

  Her fist shot out and she nailed Valerie in the center of her face, her nose breaking with a sickening crack. She fell to the floor in a heap and didn’t get up.

  “Lucky for you I do hit girls,” Demi said, smiling at him over her shoulder.

  “Thanks.” Diesel brought Em around to his side and held her close, eyeing Valerie’s father as he knelt at her side and cradled his daughter’s bloodied head. Duke roared suddenly, his lion all-out and fully pissed. The entire bar went silent and the music clicked off.

  “Everyone out. Now.”

  Titus scrambled with several of the high-ranked males to open the doors and usher the patrons outside. In minutes, the bar was clear save for their small group.

  “You okay, baby?” Diesel murmured to Em.

  She swallowed audibly. “Yes. No. I’m... What’s going on?”

  Duke pushed between their groups and snarled at the visitors. “You came here with the intention of destroying a mating. You threatened to bring war to my borders if we didn’t comply. And to top it all off, your female attempted to attack a mate under my protection in my damn bar. By our laws, your lives are mine. I could kill you and I’d be fully in line with what our people expect. So, tell me why I shouldn’t end you all right now.”

  Benecio looked at the still-unconscious Valerie and then turned sideways and stared at Demi with an inscrutable look.

  Demi straightened, warily eyeing the alpha.

  “Tell you what,” Benecio said. “I recognize that my people didn’t act right, and that I supported them coming here and trying to enforce the arranged mating. The attack against the human was not something I agreed with, however, and for that part, I apologize. I would like to make amends for the situation by swearing that Valerie and her family will never set foot in Kedrick again, under threat of death. From me.”

  Duke’s eyes narrowed. “And?”

  “And I’ll come back for the female when tensions have settled.”

  Benecio looked right at Demi, and she jerked in surprise. “The hell?” she sputtered.

  Hemi growled angrily and stepped in front of his sister, cracking his knuckles. “You’re off your nut if you think I’ll allow my sister to mate an alpha who stands by while his people act like assholes.”

  “I can speak for myself,” Demi said. “And I’m saying hell no.”

  “We’ll see,” Benecio said. “Rick, get your daughter and let’s go.”

  “You promised you’d help us,” Rick said. “You wanted a strong male for her to take over the pride.”

  “The only way the situation would have resolved in your favor is if Diesel was willing to walk away from his heart-match. He didn’t, so there’s nothing I can do about it. Duke has made himself clear, and you and Valerie are no longer allowed in this territory or to contact anyone in the pride for any reason, or you’ll deal with me personally.” He looked at Demi. “I’ll be seeing you.”

  “Fuck off,” Demi said.

  The trio left, escorted by Duke and his high-ranked males.

  Diesel waited until they were out the door before he turned to Em and cupped her face. “You okay, sweetheart?”

  She wrapped her hands around his wrists and took in a shaky breath. “Yeah. That was... scary.”

  “I’m so sorry you were frightened. I had no idea it would go sideways like that. Those people are certifiable.”

  Duke joined them, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’ve got males following them out of the territory. You guys all okay?”

  “They’re fine,” Demi said, throwing up her hands. “I’ve got a freaking stalker now.”

  Hemi grunted. “I sh
ould track him down and kill him.”

  “You know you can’t, even if it is tempting,” Duke said.

  “He can’t really force Demi to mate with him, can he?” Em asked, looking up at Diesel.

  “Hell, no,” Demi said. “I’m my own female. And there’s no way I’m going to mate with some entitled jackass.”

  “We’ll assign protectors to watch your place while Hemi’s working,” Duke said.

  “Thanks,” Demi said. “Man, I need a drink.”

  “I think we all do,” Duke said. “You two okay?”

  “We will be,” Diesel said. “What a strange night. Do you know why that female was so insistent on breaking up my mating?”

  “The alpha told me that after Valerie rejected the mating contract, she returned to the pride to discover her one prospect had entered into a contract with a female from another pride to join Benecio’s pride. Because the male was high ranked, he would be eligible to fight for alpha,” Duke said. “Benecio wanted Valerie’s mate to also be high ranked so he could fight for alpha and keep the line in the family.”

  “I thought the alpha was passed from father to son?” Em asked.

  “It is, unless the alpha doesn’t have kids,” Diesel said.

  “Oh. So she could have mated the high-ranked guy in the first place but wanted to get mate-matched by Abbie? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “I think Benecio didn’t like the male, so he wanted Valerie’s mate to be strong enough to fight for the alpha position,” Duke said.

  “And no one counted on my leg injury making me a low-ranked male. There’s no way an alpha would entertain a rank fight for someone like me.”

  “You’re the fiercest, most protective man I’ve ever known. Anyone who looks at you and only sees your leg isn’t seeing the whole picture.”

  “I agree,” Duke said. He put his hand on Diesel’s shoulder. “I saw how fast you moved, how protective you were. I think our people’s rank system is screwed up, just like our mating laws. You shouldn’t be stuck in the low ranks.”

  There had been a time when Diesel wanted very much to be higher in the pride rankings. He’d attached value to the ranks because that’s how lions looked at them. Now that he had Em in his arms, he didn’t want anything to do with a higher rank. She made him feel like he was the most important male in the universe.