by Alanea Alder
"Did you really mean all that?" Rebecca asked. Aleks nodded, afraid to move forward. He would let her make the first move. She bent to set the cat down. It immediately twined around Liam's legs as the man leaned against the open bay door. She walked over and stood before him.
"We could have dinner together," she said, looking up at him. He just nodded like a bobblehead. He was surprised when she crooked her finger at him to lower his head. He leaned down. She smiled and lightly kissed him on the lips. He jerked up, then smiled widely.
"See you tonight, bear. Oh, and I'm keeping my car," she said before waving at his father. "Bye, Pa."
"Bye, baby girl," Pa replied.
Aleks growled at Liam, who gave him a shit-eating grin before wiggling his fingers at him behind Rebecca's back as they walked away.
"Pa, how long before you get the car fixed?" he asked rubbing his chin.
"A couple years," Pa said, smiling.
"Sounds about right to me," Aleks said before he headed back to the station to pick up his car. He was on a mission to make arrangements for the most perfect date night in the history of all date nights.
CHAPTER FOUR
"He really cares about me," she said for the third time. She still felt amazed from hearing Aleks' confession in the garage.
Liam just nodded. "Of course he does, you're his mate," Liam said as they walked.
"I heard what he said to Connor. He said he wanted a shifter mate," she said quietly.
"He wanted a shifter mate because to him it was safer. We can't hurt shifter females the way we can human ones," he explained.
"Liam, did I take you away from your job today? What would you normally be doing?" she asked. They finally turned off of Main Street. She could see the clothing store down on the right.
"I work from home, investments and stock management. At this point in my life I really don't have to work much. I mostly keep my raggle-taggle group of lions from eating each other. We're a backward bunch in that we're a group of males. Normally in the wild it's a group of lionesses with only one male. But females are so rare." His voiced drifted off.
"I know Fate has someone just for you, Liam. You're too awesome not to have a mate," Rebecca said. Liam smiled.
"I hope you're right, because if something doesn't change, lion shifters will become extinct." He sounded sad. Rebecca hugged him.
"Come on, I need to find something to wear. I only have jeans and sweaters. I want something pretty for tonight." Rebecca giggled as he rolled his eyes.
"How did I get stuck clothes shopping?" Liam asked.
"Because you're my friend," Rebecca said simply, looking up at him.
"You sure know how to hit a guy in the gut," Liam said, ruffling her hair.
"Hey!" she said, batting at his hand.
"Come on, kitten, time to get your date outfit," he said, grinning.
* * * *
"I can't choose!" Rebecca yelled, dramatically falling back onto Liam's leather couch. She had no idea which dress to choose. After shopping, Liam had spirited her off to the pride house and she was currently surrounded by male lion shifters.
"This one is simply divine, you have to wear it." The dark-haired Adonis held up the black slip dress that she had initially chose. It was simple, yet extremely sexy. He laid it to one side to rummage around in her make-up bag that she had picked up from Leona's on the way to Liam's.
"Rian, are you blind? This one is clearly the dress to wear. It's elegant and shows a more refined side." The auburn-haired man held up a modest pink chiffon dress that screamed vintage elegance.
Rebecca sighed. That had been the crux of her internal argument as well. She went back and forth between the two at the store, so in order to preserve his sanity, Liam had bought her both despite her protests about being an independent woman, then marched her to his car so that he could enlist his pride's assistance in helping to get her ready.
"Damian, that one is a little too good. She will never get him to claim her if she wears it. Maybe later, after they've been together a bit she could bring it out when she wants to tease him," Rian explained, now looking through the bag for the matching shoes.
"You may have a point. She does want him to be out of his mind with lust. The claiming is always better that way." Damian agreed.
"Hair up or down?" Rian asked, holding up a pair of three inch black heels.
"Definitely a half-'n'-half. Half up to show sophistication and half down to look tousled." Damian nodded his approval at her shoes.
Rebecca watched in rapt fascination as the two men plotted her outfit as if they were commanders on a battlefield. When she voiced that observation, all the men stopped and laughed.
"Honey, it is a battle, and we're going to make sure you are the victor. Now what is your objective for the night?" Rian asked pulling her over to sit between himself and Damian. Rebecca looked up in search of Liam. When she met his eyes, he smiled then nodded.
"They may appear to be crazy, but these men represent the most reliable group when it comes to dating advice," Liam said.
"Except you forgot me!" Kate exclaimed from the foyer shutting the door behind her.
"Kate! Katie Belle! Kate!" The group exploded in welcomes.
"How dare you sequester her away planning a date night and not call me, Liam. I am hurt! I had to hear about this pre-dating party from Leona, after I went to the bed and breakfast looking for you after I heard about the dating shopping spree from Miranda who was gloating that you were shopping in her store," Kate said with a mock growl, then unable to keep up the angry façade collapsed into laughter on the sofa across from Rebecca.
"Besides, I come with the best components. Rich red wine, rich dark chocolate, and rich vanilla cheesecake," she said, grinning when the men erupted into cheers.
Rebecca laughed. "My objective is to make him regret rejecting me, make him pant after me, and make him realize I could be a good mate even though I'm not special like y'all," she said.
Kate frowned and sat up. "You are special, Rebecca," she said. Liam made his way to the couch, moving Rian over to sit next to her.
Rebecca shook her head. "Not like y'all. You are freaking awesome. You can shift into these amazing animals. I'm just a boring old human," she said sighing.
"I bet wherever you worked you were well liked," Kate said.
Rebecca nodded. "A lot of people are well liked at their jobs," she said.
"I bet you knew everyone on your block where you lived," Liam continued.
"A lot of neighborhoods are close," she replied.
"I bet a lot of people smile at you for no reason," Damian added.
Rebecca looked at them in confusion. "But that's normal stuff," she refuted. Everyone smiled at her.
"One, maybe two of those, but all of them? Kitten, you have a way of bringing people together. Ma is a wonderful Alpha Mother because we know that she will protect us and she runs a tight ship. But you, kitten, will be a perfect Alpha Mother because you will love everyone in this town, and for the first time, make this feel like a real community. Not bears, and wolves or lions, but families and friends. That is why Ashby has already given you his allegiance. He sees in you what I do. Someone who will not just protect us, but love us and help us grow," Liam said softly.
"He's right, baby girl. Ma has our loyalty and respect, but I could see us giving you our love. Even though we haven't known each other very long I know you'll put the people of this town first. I honestly believe that Fate delivered you to us when we needed you the most. We may be a safe haven for shifters, but it doesn't feel like home. You could do that for us." She handed Rebecca a slice of cheesecake.
"I don't think I can do all that," she said, suddenly feeling very small.
"That's the thing, kitten, you already are. Kate and I are normally at each other's throats, bickering, you know the whole cat, dog thing. But we instinctively put that aside to help you. Aleks may be the one enforcing the laws, but you will be the heart. Our leader. Kate was
right when she said we need you now more than ever. We need someone who can unite not just the town but also different species outside of Arkadia." Liam reached over and grabbed her fork, stealing a bite of cheesecake.
"Is it too late to join the party?" a soft voice asked timidly from the foyer.
Everyone looked up to see two men standing in the foyer waiting for permission to come in.
"Ashby!" Rebecca launched off of the sofa. She ran over and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. "The guys are helping me pick my outfit for tonight. I have a date with Aleks," she announced, smiling.
"We know. Nicholas and I were closing down the coffee shop when Miranda came in to tell us how Liam had you out shopping. I'm afraid you are the only source of gossip right now." Ashby looked over at the room full of lions nervously.
"We brought coffee," Nicholas said shyly. Rebecca met Nicholas when Liam took her to The Grind. She was just as taken with him as she was with Ashby. Where Ashby was blond and ethereal, Nicholas felt like an old friend. He had brown shaggy curls that fell carelessly perfect about his face. He had sinfully creamy skin and warm, rich brown eyes.
"Thank god!" Rebecca stood on tip toes to kiss Nicholas on the cheek. He blushed furiously.
Everyone sat down and started to talk at once. Rebecca noticed that Ashby and Nicholas stayed close by her side, and Kate and Liam seemed to take the roles of hall monitors. Rebecca smiled as Ashby and Nicholas seemed to open up.
"It's like you guys never hung out before," she said and everyone looked at her.
"We haven't," Ashby said, looking into his coffee cup.
"If you weren't here, we wouldn't feel safe enough to surround ourselves with predators. But we know you would keep us safe," Nicholas said.
Rebecca swallowed hard. She didn't feel comfortable with the level of absolute trust they all seemed to have in her.
"We wouldn't hurt you," Damian said, pouting.
"You wouldn't intend to, but we have seen the aggressive natures of predator animals take over. It's never pretty," Ashby said.
"Now you know they won't hurt you, right? Because we're all friends now," Rebecca said assuredly.
Everyone just stared at her.
"Right?" she asked.
"You wouldn't hurt Ashby or Nicholas because you all are amazing men and wouldn't hurt anyone that was smaller than you. I trust you all," she beamed at the room.
"Not everyone believes as you do. We get judged because we're male lions, but we're really not aggressive, or we would never be able to live together like this. Normally a pride is a group of females and one or two males. We're a group of misfit males," Rian said, wrapping an arm around Damian.
"We are left out of town decisions and are picked on because we're small," Nicholas said, mirroring Rian's action by wrapping an arm around Ashby.
"Everyone thinks I have a say in the pack, but we have a faction that is close to going rogue and who doesn't listen to me. I know that Bran would object to me discussing pack business but it's true. None of us seem to know each other or what is really going on in this town because we've never just sat down and talked to one another," Kate said, hugging a pillow to her chest.
"You knew you could come to me, we may bicker but you had to know I'd be there for you," Liam said, moving to sit on the sofa. "I would have helped."
"You would have, but would your pride have helped?" she said and saw the conflicted looks on the faces of the pride members around her.
"But all that is in the past, because from now on we're going to help one another, just like you're helping me for my date," Rebecca said happily. When her words sunk in, she looked at everyone in panic. "My date! It's in less than two hours and I haven't even showered!" She stood up and started moving toward the stairs but didn't know where a shower was. She still didn't even know which dress she was going to wear. She started to hyperventilate.
Immediately everyone sprang into action. Kate grabbed her by the hand and started to drag her toward the stairs.
"Liam, get the guys to decide on a dress. Ashby, Nic, I'll call you in a few minutes to do her hair and makeup. Someone call Aleks so he knows to pick her up here. Uh, Liam, not to be funny, but it should be you. And don't torture him too much when you call." Kate got Rebecca up the stairs. When she looked over the bannister Liam stood in the middle of the room.
Liam looked around at the men staring at him.
"Well, you heard her," he said and everyone started to move.
* * * *
"Aleks, hey, buddy," Liam said lazily after the grouchy bear answered his phone.
"Hey, asshole," Aleks replied sounding distracted.
"I just wanted to call and let you know that you'll be picking up Rebecca at my house for your date." Liam waited. Three, two, one and... he held the phone away from his ear at the roar.
"What the hell is she doing at your house?" Aleks growled.
Liam smiled. He was making this too easy. "Well at the moment her luscious little self is in my shower and wait, yes, I smell coconuts. She's bathing." He once again held the phone away from his ear at the roar, as everyone stopped what they were doing to listen.
"If you so much as lay one finger on her, cat, I will rip you apart," Aleks threatened.
"What was that, Rebecca? You need help getting into your dress? Don't worry, kitten, I'm coming. Sorry, Aleks, have to run. Toodles." He stayed on the line long enough for one last roar to come through before disconnecting the line. He turned around whistling and saw everyone staring. "What?" he asked.
"Aleks Arkadion is going to kill you," Ashby said, white as a sheet.
"No he isn't. If he didn't kill me for wrecking his Charger, he won't kill me now," he said, sitting down on the sofa. He reached over and grabbed a magazine and started to flip through the pages.
"That was you?" Rian asked, his eyes wide.
Liam just chuckled.
* * * *
"Aleks. Can't. Breathe," Liam gasped as Aleks squeezed his hands around Liam's throat. Aleks was surprised at the lack of interference he was getting from the pride. They just shrugged their shoulders.
"Ashby told him you were going to kill him," Rian said shrugging.
"Where is Ashby?" Aleks asked, his hands still choking Liam.
"He's upstairs finishing Rebecca's hair. Nicholas did her makeup. She put in a lot of effort for you, bear, so you better not fuck this up," Rian said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Aleks raised an eyebrow. The pride seemed to be more protective of Rebecca than their Alpha, whom he had pinned to the wall.
"Oh for God's sake, Aleks, let him go! You'll upset Rebecca and ruin your evening before it begins," Kate said, coming down the stairs. Aleks immediately dropped Liam.
"Kate, why are you here?" he asked.
"How could I miss the opportunity for actual girl time? We don't have much of that in the pack," she said, swiping a piece of chocolate.
Aleks opened his mouth to say something when he heard a door open and Rebecca appeared at the top of the stairs. Her scent hit his nose, and he felt his chest constrict. How could he have possibly thought he could stay away from her? She gracefully made her way down the stairs, with Nicholas and Ashby following behind her. Once she stood before him he got the full effect of the dress. It had tiny spaghetti straps that seemed to accentuate her delicate shoulders. The black dress made her creamy skin glow, but it was the lone slit up one side was nearly his undoing. He didn't realize he was growling until Liam hit him in the ribs. Rebecca just blushed and smiled up at him.
"Ready?" he asked, holding out a slightly trembling hand. She nodded and moved forward, placing her hand in his.
"Goodnight, everyone, thank you, for everything," she said, smiling at the room.
"Have her back before midnight, young man," Liam said, standing in front of the pair his hand on his hips.
"Out of the way, cat," Aleks muttered. Rebecca stepped forward and gave Liam a hug.
Aleks growled. She ignore
d him.
"Goodnight, Liam." She kissed his cheek. Aleks growled again.
"I'm serious though, if you don't want to go back to the bed-and-breakfast we made up a guest room for you. That's where Sebastian has been hiding. I let Leona know you may be staying here," Liam said, smiling down at her.
"Watch him for me?" she asked. Liam nodded.
"Who's Sebastian?" Aleks asked.
Rebecca waved. "Goodnight, everyone." She started walking toward the door.
"Who's Sebastian?" Aleks asked again, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Once outside he stopped in front of her to open the car door. Blushing furiously she sat down and he closed the door. He quickly made his way around the car and got in.
He pulled away from the house. "Seriously, who is Sebastian?" Aleks asked when they turned onto the main highway heading away from town. Their reservation was for eight, which gave them plenty of time to get there.
"How was your day?" she asked, smiling up at him. He sighed then smiled back at her.
"Better after having seen you in the afternoon," he said.
"Did you catch any criminals?" she asked.
He laughed. "No, mostly I help to mediate disputes between families. Today I followed up with Bran's men about checking the perimeter. Everyone in town knows not to hunt near the road. We believe there may be hyenas close by," he said.
"Hyenas don't follow the laws put forth by the council, right?" Rebecca asked.
Aleks looked at her in surprise. "Exactly, did Liam tell you that?"
"Yes, he has been explaining a lot to me, Leona too. This is all completely outside my realm of knowledge," she said.
Aleks frowned. "I should have been the one to explain these things to you. I'm sorry," he said, meeting her gaze.
Her eyes widened. "Let's not think about that right now. Let's pretend this is a typical first date with no drama," she said.