by Ally Summers
“No. I don’t think I can do this.” She stood from the couch and stared at me. “I admit I’m attracted to you. And you’re hot. And my God I want you in my bed. And I want to know what line I’m from, but this is too much. I can’t marry you, Drew.”
I reached for her arm, but she snatched it to her side. “I’m going to bed alone. I don’t expect to see you here in the morning. I’ll find my answers on my own. I don’t need you. I don’t need family.”
I heard the door close behind her and the small sound of the lock clicking into place. That wouldn’t keep me out, nothing would. But she was my mate and no matter what I wanted I had to fucking wait.
I sat down. Now what was I going to do?
12
Francesca
He had said mate, and marriage. I thought he also said cub, but I shook my head and paced my room. No, that couldn’t be right. I was supposed to have a baby with him? I glared at the bedroom door and the tangled mess we had made of my sheets.
Now I knew why my body ached for him. Now I knew why the fire raced through my blood when I was close to him. He and I had been betrothed and even though I was fairly ignorant when it came to my heritage, I knew there was strong magic involved in our relationship.
Nothing was coincidence. My body was drawn to him because I had been pledged to him before I had a say. I finally sat on the edge of the bed, hugging my pillow to my chest. And yet, could I even deny him? Did I want to?
My entire life I had looked for my family. I had looked for shifters like me. I had mourned the human parents who hated me. And now everything I had searched for was sitting in my living room, proposing to me.
But what did I give up to be his wife? I could feel the feathers poke through the seams in the pillow as I clawed at the fabric. I sat there while my body called to him. I sat there while my blood, hummed for him. I sat, wanting his jaguar like I wanted air to breathe.
Damn it.
I opened the door and walked down the hall.
“Drew?”
The living room was dark, but I could see his silhouette on the couch. “Yeah?” He sat forward.
I walked toward him, stopping in front of him, his knees were on either side of my legs. I didn’t know if it was instinct or if he wanted to feel that I was there, but his hands slid to my waist. I sighed. He pressed a kiss into my stomach.
“I don’t think I could stay away from you if I wanted to.” My hands played with his hair, twirling the strands through my fingers.
He lifted my tank top enough so his lips could brush against my stomach.
“I know I couldn’t,” he whispered.
I dropped to my knees, taking his jaw between my palms. “How soon?” I asked.
His lips landed on mine, crushing them with sudden force. He lifted me into his lap as my arms wrapped around the warmth of his shoulders. I rocked into his hips.
“Not soon enough,” he growled.
My head reeled back as his kisses moved from my neck to my shoulder.
“And we can’t do this until we’re married?”
His breathing was erratic. He bit my lower ear lobe. “We can do some things. But I think it might be too hard.”
I nodded. “Too hard.” He had shoved my tank top over my head and his mouth sucked one tight nipple between his lips.
I didn’t know how we were going to do this. We had to get married before we could be together and perform whatever bonding ritual we needed to do. I was as turned on as I was scared.
He lowered me to the couch where he rolled the free nipple between his fingers. “I don’t think I want to wait,” I moaned. “I don’t.”
He sat back. “Shit. We’re getting carried away again.” He picked my shirt up from the floor and covered up my perky breasts.
“Just take me, like this.” I straddled him again, feeling his hardness between his legs.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He pushed me off of him and left me sitting on the couch. “I did bring something to do this properly.”
He dug through his overnight bag and returned. I looked in his eyes as he kneeled in front of me. He tugged open the lid of a velvet box. I didn’t need to turn the lights on to see the emerald stone nestled inside.
“We have to make this official.” He eyed me. “You have to invoke the bond between us.”
“I do?” I asked. I couldn’t take my eyes off the rock. It was gorgeous.
“Francesca, will you be my mate? Will you carry the Maddox line? Will you marry me?”
His eyes looked expectant. I wasn’t sure if yes was sufficient, so instead I repeated each question with a full answer.
“Drew, I will be your mate. I will carry the Maddox line. And yes, I will marry you.” I grinned as he slipped the ring over my finger.
He pulled me into a kiss and I felt the hunger for him surging through my veins. I looked into his eyes. “Is it possible that I feel different?”
He nodded. “Yeah, your answer invoked the magic the council intiated when they matched us at birth. It’s sealed. You belong to me, Francesca.” His eyes lit with happiness.
“Then why don’t you take me?” I teased.
“Wedding first,” he reminded me.
“And how am I supposed to plan that with finals this week?”
“When is your birthday?”
“Five days.”
“Shit.” He looked worried. “We don’t have much time. I was hoping we’d have more time together.”
I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand any of it. I only knew that I was drawn to him with magic and destiny. And now that I was wearing his ring I could feel it with every breath I took.
“Tomorrow?” I suggested. “Justice of the Peace?”
“It’s our first wedding. Don’t you want the dress and the flowers?”
“I guess I never thought about it. I never thought that would happen for me.” I was ashamed to look at him. “I don’t need all of that. I just need my mate.” I brushed the hair above his ear.
He was gorgeous and sexy. He was perfect. And he just proposed. I’d marry this jaguar in a trashbag if I had to.
“Let’s see what we can do in two days? Ok?” He brushed his lips over mine. “I want to see you in a white dress. And I want you to have flowers. Whatever flowers grow in a cold spring.”
“The white dress means something to you, doesn’t it?” I asked, searching his eyes for answers.
“It means I get to take it off of you and make you mine.”
“Shit,” I whispered. Why didn’t I have a white dress now?
He laughed. “Two days, baby. We’ll pull this off in two days and then we’ll have a night that neither of us will ever forget.”
“And tonight?” I taunted. “What about tonight?”
He grinned wickedly. “I think I can think of a few things.”
13
Drew
“So, do you think you can make it?” I asked Case.
“To your first wedding? Hell, yeah, I’ll be there.”
I was relieved. I wanted some sort of family at the wedding. Francesca deserved something normal. She never had a great human life and she was only now learning about her panther life. I felt like I owed it to her as her mate to give her a perfect wedding.
“And the rest of the Tribe?” I questioned. I didn’t know what the guys were up to. I called Case before any of the others.
“I’ll see who can drive over. They’ve got their own quests.”
“I know. I know and I don’t want to interfere. But I want Tribe members here. I want the council to know I’ve fulfilled my first duty.”
“They will, brother. Don’t worry.” Case sounded distant.
“Hey, are things going ok in Sullen’s Grove?” I was surprised he hadn’t started gloating about his mate, yet. Maybe his hunt wasn’t going well. If that was the case, he’d be the last to admit it.
“They’re fine. Look, I’ll see you tomorrow I guess.”
“Yeah, tomorrow. It’s craz
y here. We’re trying to put this whole thing together in forty-eight hours.”
“And the bonding?”
I smiled. “I’ve got that worked out. She’s going to be swept off her feet.”
“As she should be,” Case agreed.
“She should. She deserves it. All of this.”
“Hey, I’ve got to go, but I’ll be there with a tux on,” my older brother reported.
“No problem. Thanks, Case.”
I hung up and dialed Josh next. I wanted him to know I had found Francesca and she had invoked the bonding. I wish I had known her birthday was so soon. It didn’t give us much time to plan the wedding. But when I thought about how things were when we were together, there was a chance we would have rushed the wedding anyway. I couldn’t keep my hands off her. And she was all over me. Finding each other had brought out the shifter in us more than we knew possible.
She could purr and roar with the strum of my fingers. She drove me wild. Wilder than anything in my dreams. And her body was incredible. Sexy, beautiful, a paradise that I wanted to bury myself in.
But she still had questions. Lots of questions. Coffee this morning was another lesson on the cat lines. She was desperate to find out where she came from, and why her mother gave her up.
I had a few theories, but I wasn’t about to share them with my bride-to-be right before our wedding. The next forty-eight hours were about giving her the perfect wedding, and the most perfect wedding night.
“Hey.” She poked her head out the front door. “Finished with your calls?”
“Yeah. You’ll get to meet my brother and some other Tribe members.”
She smiled. “I can’t believe how many other shifters there are. And all this time I thought I was the only one.”
I stood to pull her in my arms. “Oh no, you are far from the only one.” I snaked my hands under her shirt to feel the heat of her skin. There was fire in our touch.
“I asked Alexa to be my maid of honor.” She reached up to kiss me. I inhaled her lips. “She thinks I’ve completely lost my mind marrying a hitchhiker, but she said yes after I refused a psychological exam.”
“That’s good.”
“Sort of. If anyone on campus finds out they are going to think I’m crazy.”
“It’s not like you can tell them we’re fated mates.” I winked. “In our world you can.”
She smiled. “That sounds nice to finally be able to talk about it. To finally be able to be open about who I am.”
There was a twinge of guilt under my ribs. Later, I’d tell her the rest of her duty later, after the ceremony.
“Is there anyone else you want to call?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. My parents wouldn’t want to be there and they’d be more appalled by the fact I’m marrying a jaguar, so it’s best to leave them alone.”
“All right. If that’s what you want.”
“It is.” She sounded resolute.
I had met them in my quest to find her and they weren’t the friendliest of people. It was hard to believe someone so good and kind had come from that home.
“I’m headed into town to get the licenses, the wedding bands, and the space for the ceremony and the bonding.”
She nodded. “Right. And I’m meeting with the florist, caterer, and baker.”
I caught her looking at the green stone on her hand. “You still like it?”
“I love it. I understand the green. I know why it’s not a diamond.”
“Yeah, the council has always handed out emeralds.”
She twisted her lips together, and I had quickly learned she was debating on whether to say something.
“See you back here in a few hours?”
“Definitely.” I kissed her hard before jogging down the stairs. Tomorrow we would be mates. And tomorrow night we would be bonded.
14
Francesca
I drove into town blasting a cheesy song on the radio. I was singing with the windows down. I had a meeting with the florist first. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Was it happening? I was getting married. Married.
“How about tulips?” the florist asked.
I looked over the selection of flowers. It wasn’t as if we had time to have things ordered and delivered. I had to choose from what the local greenhouses had in stock.
“Tulips would be fine,” I decided. “White, please.”
“That sounds lovely. And what about your bouquet?”
“Hmm.” I flipped through catalogues and old pictures she used as a portfolio of previous brides. The flowers were gorgeous, but they seemed over the top.
“What does your dress look like, dear?” She pulled the glasses to the tip of her nose.
“Dress?” Holy shit. I know Drew and I talked about a dress, but I hadn’t even added it to my to-do list today.
“You do have a dress, don’t you?”
I shook my head. “I’m headed to the bridal store next.”
She patted my hand. “How about this? I’ll get the tulips started. You come back with a picture of your dress and then we’ll choose the flowers that will compliment it. I just don’t think I can do a bouquet without a dress.”
I chewed on my lip. I was a bridal novice and a nightmare to this woman. I had no idea what I was doing.
“Oh, all right. That makes sense.” I signed off on the tulip order and headed for the door. “See you soon.” I waved at the woman and walked across the street to Bella’s Bridal.
I was instantly hit with a barrage of satin and lace. It was almost blinding.
I didn’t know where to start. I could only think about Drew’s words. He wanted to peel this dress off of me. I blushed and started flipping hangers on a sale rack.
“Can we help you?” A saleswoman approached me.
“Yes, I need a dress.” I paused, embarrassed about what I had to tell her. “For tomorrow.”
Her eyes popped. “T-tomorrow?”
I nodded. “It’s a little sudden. But the wedding is tomorrow and I need something. He wants white.” I eyed a dress with delicate lace straps.
“And what do you want?” she asked.
I shrugged. “To be honest. To make him happy.” I heard the words slip from my mouth and realized how lovestruck or idiotic I sounded. Two weeks ago I would never have said something like that, but Drew had changed everything.
All I could think about was being with him and making him happy. It was a craving I couldn’t shake. To be honest, I didn’t want to shake it. I liked how he made me feel. I liked craving him. Needing him. Wanting him.
I turned to face her. “I want white, but sexy. Something fitted and feminine.”
“All right.” She turned her back to me. “That’s going to be on this rack over here. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll pull a few things for you?”
“That sounds nice.” I waited on a faded velvet couch while she sorted the dresses into an enormous fitting room.
The instant I slipped into the first one I felt like a bride. As if my entire life was meant for this moment. To be Mrs. Drew Maddox. To finally have a family. To finally belong to another shifter. To no longer be alone in a confusing world where I didn’t understand my strength and power.
I knew why I found Drew on the side of the road. Looking at the girl in the mirror I understood why he was in my life. He could teach me. Show me how to harness my skills. Love the panther in me as much as the girl.
I flattened the satin with my palms. He was here to finally make me whole. Drew could bring both sides of my life together.
“Is this the one?” the girl asked after the fourth try.
I smiled at my reflection. My hands smoothed over the lace and the delicate crystals. “Yes, definitely the one.”
15
Drew
I walked to the door to let Josh in. He had driven from Georgia overnight. He was banging hard.
“Hold on.” I pulled on the handle, worried he’d break down Francesca’s door.
“Can’t believe this.” He slapped me on the back as he walked inside.
“Me either.” I grinned. “Wait until you meet her.”
“Any beer around here? We need to celebrate your first wedding.” He strolled toward Francesca’s fridge.
“Yeah, yeah. Plenty.”
He tossed one to me across the kitchen. We cracked the tops and chugged a few times before stopping to talk.
“Have you had any luck?” I asked.
“We’ve met.”
My eyebrows rose. “And?”
“Working on it.”
I laughed. “The system has its flaws I guess.”
“You think?”
I looked at him sternly. “Don’t let my brother hear you say that. He’s all in on this.”
“Yeah, your brother is a king. I doubt he’s going to have any problems getting his she-panther to agree to marry him.” Josh sat on the edge of the couch. “But in my case, she had no idea I was coming. It caught her off guard. I’ll work things out when I get back to town.”
I tipped my beer bottle back. “At least she knows where she came from. She knows her duty. I’m still going through the shifter encyclopedia with Francesca. She was adopted by humans. It’s like starting at the beginning of time.”
“Where is the bride anyway?” He looked around the small house.
“She texted and said she was stopping by the florist one more time before coming home.”
“So how did the council do?” He waggled his eyebrows. “She’s hot, right?”
I growled. “You’re talking about my mate.” My protective instincts kicked in. Josh was my best friend, but I didn’t want him to think about her that way. One look and he might see what I did.
“So? Tell me, is she the mate you want?”