Taming Mia

by Misty Malloy

  She weaved her way through the throng of girls, careful not to get kicked or punched, and took a big drink of her water. She drank until it was all gone then pushed open the door to exit the room. She stopped at the water fountain to fill her bottle, sucking in deep breaths as her heart pounded. Sweat dripped down her body and between her breasts. She pulled her tank top away from her damp skin.

  “Seriously, are you okay?” Drea asked, and Mia looked up in surprise. She didn’t realize her friend had followed her out.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks.”

  “Nope. You’re not. Come on, spill it.” Drea put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “I know you decided not to stay at Tristan’s last night. I thought I’d be getting all kinds of juicy details by now, like, he kissed you here and there, and you liked how he used his tongue. Or you rode him like a freight train all the way to sexy land. The usual stuff, you know? But, instead, all I got was Zombie-Mia all morning. And not in a good he-fucked-you-senseless kind of way.”

  Mia sighed. “Yeah, I didn’t stay. Because you were right. I like him.”

  “So? Isn’t liking him a good thing? Having sex with someone you don’t like sucks.”

  “No…I mean, I really like him. But there’s no way Tristan and I will ever work out. There’s no point in trying.”

  Drea shook her head. “Of course you guys could! You mean because you’re a lion and he’s a jaguar? There’re tons of shifters in mixed relationships. Like, my wererabbit friend is currently dating a werefox, like me, and—”

  “No,” Mia interrupted. “Drea, it’s not like that at all. My dad’s already picked out someone else for me. Even though I didn’t think I’d have to deal with it for the next two years.” The lump in her throat thickened.

  “No shit!” Drea stared at her. “You don’t mean that guy at the party, right? Mr. Preppy Pants?”

  “Yes. Mr. Preppy Pants.”

  “Well, I think you need to tell your dad exactly where to stick it. And that means not in your business.”

  Mia glared at her friend. Drea had absolutely no idea. She turned on her heel and headed back to the kickbox class. There were fifteen minutes left of class, and, at the rate she was feeling, she needed all the kickboxing therapy she could get.

  ***

  Dane grunted and heaved the barbells onto the bench press rack. He scowled at Tristan. “Dude, are you even paying attention? I could have smashed my face in. You’re supposed to be spotting me.”

  Tristan reluctantly tore his gaze away from across the gym, where Mia and Drea talked by the water fountain. “Um…sorry. I’m…uh….” He shrugged, not even bothering to make any sense. He waved his hand vaguely in Mia’s direction. “I just saw her come out of class. I didn’t realize she was here.”

  “So…you’re saying you’re a flubbering fucking idiot?” Dane laughed and got up from the bench. “So, go over there and talk to her. What’s the problem?”

  “What? Now? No. Look, she’s going back to the class.” There was no way he could talk to her yet. He hadn’t thought of what he wanted to say.

  Dane shook his head. “I’ve never seen you this pathetic. One day you’re the biggest chick magnet on campus, and now you’re…. I don’t even know how to explain. She’s got your balls wrapped around her little finger.”

  “Dane, shut the fuck up.”

  Dane laughed again and grabbed Tristan in a rough headlock. “You know I’m kidding, right? Didn’t I save your ass when you almost turned cat last night at the party? I’ve got your back, man. Go ahead—it’s your turn to bench.”

  Tristan lay on the bench and gripped the bar. “Ready?” he asked Dane, who loomed behind him.

  “Well…if you want me to spot you, you’re going to have to say I was right. About everything.”

  “You’re such a dick.” Tristan glowered at him. “Fine. You’re right.”

  His friend grinned. “See? That wasn’t so bad. I’m also right about other things, you know.”

  Tristan blew out a big breath. “So, what do I do about it? She didn’t even want to stay the night last night.”

  “Ohhh. Ouch,” said Dane. “Well, not a biggie. First, you’re going to do this bench press. Then, you’re going to have to get your dick outta your ass long enough to actually go talk to her.”

  ***

  Mia came home to find Drea watching a movie on the sofa. She held out the pint of chocolate chip ice cream she’d picked up on the way. “Peace offering? I’m sorry.”

  She’d run out of class right after it ended and hadn’t waited for Drea. She wanted to be by herself for a while. But she felt terrible—she knew her friend was only trying to help.

  “Hey, no problem.” Drea patted the spot next to her on the couch. Mia grabbed two spoons from the kitchen and went to sit next to her roommate. They sat in silence for a while as they ate out of the carton.

  “Remember when you asked me about the true-mates thing?” asked Mia, breaking the comfortable silence.

  “Yup. I do.”

  “Well, I hadn’t thought much about it then. But now…I don’t know.”

  Drea nodded, waving her spoon. “You know, I’m no relationship expert, but you guys just have a thing. I could tell right away at the bar when I saw the two of you together.”

  Mia sighed. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have a choice.”

  “Why the hell not? What would be the worst thing that could happen if you told your dad you’ve already picked your own guy?”

  “Um, pretty much all of the most horrible things that could ever happen. Like, I wouldn’t be able to go home again. The Sewell pride would be pissed. My family would never want to see me.” Mia shook her head. And even though she’d roundhouse-kicked her dad’s imaginary face several billion times this morning, she couldn’t deny she missed him, too.

  “Okay. I get that.” Her roommate paused and studied her for what seemed like forever. “Hold on one second.” She stood and headed to her room.

  She returned a moment later and handed Mia a sticky note. “My sister gave me this number when I first left home. She said I should use it if I ever needed help.”

  Mia looked at the sticky note which read 555-ROAR. “Whose number is it?”

  “It’s the ROAR hotline. For shifters. If we’re ever in trouble, or not sure what to do, they’re supposed to help. It’s run by two people…Hui and Min. I’ve never used it, but maybe you should try it.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Mia stared at the number. “I’ll think about it.”

  Hers was a lost cause, and she didn’t know how Hui and Min, whoever they were, would be able to help her. Did they answer text messages? She ate another spoonful of ice cream and settled into the comfy cushions of the sofa.

  Oh, what the hell. It was worth a shot. She grabbed her phone and began to type.

  Hi. My name is Mia. I think I need a little bit of advice. Do true mates really exist?

  A moment later, her phone vibrated with a response.

  Hi, Mia. This is Min from ROAR. Yes, true mates do absolutely exist. We’d like to help you more. Would you like to ask another question?

  Okay, so true mates were real. That didn’t help her situation at all. If anything, it made her feel worse, like rubbing salt into a wound. Yes, I do want to ask another question. How do I get Tristan out of my head?

  Chapter Nine

  Tristan bounded up the stairs in the chemistry building, two at a time. He grabbed his phone out of his jeans pocket when he reached the third floor. Shit. He was going to be late.

  His plan had been to catch Mia before class and talk to her. He’d waited downstairs for her, but he didn’t see her. He assumed she would try to take the main entrance, closest to the stairs, but now he wondered if she had gone a different way. It didn’t make sense. Unless she was trying to avoid him.

  Tristan blew out a big breath. At this point, all clues led to yes. What the hell was going on? First
, she’d walked right past him at the gym after her kickboxing class the other day. She had barely glanced at him. Then, in the past two days, she hadn’t responded to even one of his texts or calls. He didn’t show up at her house, but yeah…he’d thought about it, for sure. He didn’t want to go that far. She was making it clear she didn’t want to talk to him and he didn’t want to push it.

  But maybe if he could catch her before lab, talk with her…he could finally figure out what the fuck had happened. He had racked his brain over and over again, replaying the events from the night of the party. Saw Mia with douchebag lion boy. Almost lost control of the jaguar. Ran with Mia in the canyon. Had mind-blowing sex. Had even more mind-blowing sex.

  Then she was gone. He had no idea what went wrong. Did he piss her off so royally she never wanted to see him again? Did she not feel the connection between them?

  Tristan was relieved to see a few students trickle into the classroom before him. Callie stood at the door, propping it open and welcoming the last few stragglers in.

  “Hey, Tristan,” she said. “We’re starting class at the lab tables today. Oh, and you have a new lab partner. Hope that’s okay. You’re sitting with Jenna now.” Callie smiled brightly at him and turned her attention to another student.

  Oh, God. No. He glanced over to Jenna’s table. She saw him and waved. For a second, Tristan considered bolting out the door.

  Mia sat in the next aisle of lab tables, beside Jenna’s lab partner from last week. His heart fell like a heavy weight into his stomach. There had been a clean switch of lab partners, and he certainly wasn’t the one who had requested it.

  Her attention was focused on her chemistry book. Even this far away, her familiar scent enveloped him, sparking a surge of voltage that flowed through his veins. His cat urged him to stalk over to her, toss her across his shoulder, and immediately take her home. He forced himself to sit next to Jenna.

  Jenna smiled sweetly at him. “Well, Tristan Tanner. I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve never seen anyone quite so pussy-whipped as you.”

  ***

  “Hey, it was nice to, um, meet you today.” Mia’s new lab partner, a skinny brown-haired guy, grinned awkwardly and fidgeted with his backpack. He hovered near her while she put away her class supplies.

  “Nice to meet you, too!” said Mia absentmindedly, shoving her lab manual into her bag. “Uh…Kurt, right?”

  “Kyle.” He laughed nervously. “No worries. See you next week?”

  Mia forced herself to smile at him before he walked away. It wasn’t the poor guy’s fault her mind had drifted a million miles away during the experiment today. Or rather, it had been focused just across the aisle in the chemistry lab. She couldn’t remember how many times she’d looked up to see Tristan, intently bent over the lab table. Or how many times his new lab partner, the perky redhead, had leaned over to giggle in his ear or touch him in some way. Mia sighed. Her cat had been almost unbearable, snarling and hissing with jealousy.

  She had only herself to blame for the switch, so now she had to deal with it. What else was she to do? She needed this class, and she couldn’t fit it in anywhere else in her schedule—there was no way she could get a schedule change. She was stuck in this class with Tristan. When she had gotten to class early today, Kyle and Jenna were the only ones willing to switch lab partners. After watching Jenna hang all over Tristan, she realized why she was so eager to drop her current partner like a bag of bricks.

  She quickly checked his table—phew. No sign of Tristan. Being so close to him—but knowing the two of them could never be together—was pure torture. She could only do her best to avoid him.

  “Bye, Callie!” she called to her TA before she headed out the door.

  And ran almost smack into Tristan. He leaned against the wall in the hallway, waiting for her.

  “Oh, hey,” she said. Her breath caught in her throat. “I should probably get going….”

  “Mia,” he said, cutting her off. “What’s going on?”

  His smoldering gaze questioned her, as if seeking the truth between them. Heat emanated from his strong body, and a jolt of desire pulsed through her. It took every ounce of her control to not wrap her arms around his neck, pull him close, and kiss the living fuck out of him.

  She paused, unsure of how to continue. “I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding your calls. I just…can’t do this.”

  Tristan looked at her in perplexity. “So, what is it? Another guy? I pissed you off? I suck in bed?”

  Oh, hell no. Especially not the last one.

  “No. Tristan…I don’t know how to explain.”

  “Mia. Tell me. Please.”

  Do it. Tell him the truth.

  “I thought I only wanted to have a fling with you. But now…I know it’s turned into a lot more than that.”

  Tristan’s eyes pooled dark with pain and confusion. “So you’re saying you have feelings for me, too. That you can feel this…whatever it is we have.”

  Mia nodded. Yes. I think you’re my mate. “But it’s not going to work out between us. My dad’s the alpha of our pride and he’s already picked out a mate for me. I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you…about all of this.”

  “Your dad picked out some guy for you? What the fuck is up with that?” Anger rang in his voice.

  “It’s the way things are in the pride. I have to do what’s right for my family.” She blinked away the tears threatening to spill out. Tears of frustration and anger. Oh stop! Lionesses don’t cry.

  “Mia, if you don’t want to be with me, I get it. Just say so. But I think you should make your decision based on what’s right for you.”

  He skimmed his hands along the outside of her arms. Her skin tingled, and a burst of electricity awakened all the nerves in her body. She melted into him, letting her arms wrap around his waist, pulling her pelvis against his. A hot pool of liquid heat, deep in her belly, expanded throughout her body.

  The sound of students laughing and making their way down the hall jolted her. She pushed herself away from him.

  Dammit, Tristan. No.

  She glared defiantly at him. “Tristan, I’m sorry. I am doing what’s right for me. This just isn’t going to work out.”

  She hoisted her bag over her shoulder and, without turning back, made her way down the hallway to the stairs.

  Chapter Ten

  “Okay, so here’s how I do it. You ready?” Rob grabbed the warm tortilla out of the basket and waggled it in front of Mia. “So, I take the tortilla. Then I put some chicken on it. Then…some of the veggies. But not too much of the veggies ’cause you don’t want an overflow. Now, you put some sour cream on it and some salsa and some cheese. There.” He held up his masterpiece. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Fajita fucking madness.” He took a big bite, closed his eyes, and moaned.

  Mia nodded in approval. “Okay, got it.” She forked some of the chicken onto her tortilla.

  “I mean, really, you can make it any way you want. But you have to pronounce it right. Fa-HEE-ta. Yeah? Not like fa-JAI-ta.”

  Mia grimaced. “Oh. Yeah. That sounds like….”

  “A little too close to vagina. I know. Something you don’t really want to be eating for lunch, right?”

  “Well, not me, personally, but you maybe…?”

  Mia laughed, and Rob joined in. She was still annoyed with her cousin, but she could always count on him to cheer her up. It had been like that since they were kids.

  “Thanks for taking me out to dinner today.” She eyed her tortilla warily. She had clearly overfilled it, and she wondered how she was going to bite into it without everything falling out.

  “Sure! Anytime.” Rob wolfed down the rest of his tortilla in a few bites then sat back to wipe his mouth. “So…uh…you still mad at me?”

  “Yeah. Maybe.” Mia took a big bite and savored the food. Yum. Fajitas were the bomb. She was quiet for a few minutes as she ate, and he helped himsel
f to more.

  “Mia. I’m really sorry. You know that, right?”

  “Yes. But you don’t have to worry about it, Robbie. I’m mad about the whole thing, but it’s the way things are. You were doing what you were asked to do.”

  “Yeah, but…I don’t know.” Rob looked at her strangely. “I was thinking about what you asked me last week. About mates and all. And so, I started really thinking about it, you know? Like, why can’t we pick who we want to be with?”

  Mia shrugged. “Because it’s not worth being disowned and hated by our family the rest of our lives? I don’t know.”

  “No, really. I mean, it’s not like I’m seeing anyone now or anything. But what if I met a girl, like, next week? And really liked her? Sort of like how you met Tristan.”

  She glanced at her cousin in surprise. “How do you know about me and Tristan?” She hadn’t said anything to Rob at all about it, and she trusted Drea not to tell.

  “Dude, word gets around fast in the shifter community here on campus. People see things, hear things, ya know? After the party on Friday night, pretty much everyone knows about the two of you.”

  Mia stared at Rob. “Knows what? There’s nothing going on.”

  “Oh, I dunno about that.” Rob grinned smugly. “Let’s just say Tristan Tanner doesn’t usually go nuts over a chick. And I can tell right now, by the way you’re trying to push things off, you like him, too. Seriously. Can you really say there’s nothing going on between the two of you?”

  Mia sighed. Of course she couldn’t. She had been up half the night thinking about him.

  “So, this might sound crazy. But…why don’t you tell your dad about it?” Rob shrugged. “I mean, could it really be that bad?”

  Oh, yeah. That would go over great. Hey, Dad! So, I think I’m in love with a jaguar. Right, he’s not even a lion. Oh, yup, and we had sex the other night. Like three times. So, I’m not going to be able to do the Asher thing. Is that cool with you?