Imperfect Mate

by Lia Davis

  He yawned and shook his head. It was seven in the morning. Man, what a night.

  Slowly, he walked over and pressed a hand on the bed and waited. When the tiger didn’t move, he sat next to her then lay down on his back. Once he settled in place, the tiger nuzzled her nose into his neck. He could feel Sam as if she was in human form snuggled up to him.

  Smiling, he shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  Sam watched Gavin sleep for the past half hour. His light snores amused her. Was this what it was like to wake up next to her mate? If so, she wanted to do it every day for the rest of her life.

  His eyes blinked open, and she smiled. “Morning, handsome.”

  He sat up and started to gently pat her down. “How are you feeling? When did you change?”

  She cradled he face in her hands and kissed him. “Once I healed, I changed back to my human form. I’m back to new again.”

  He gathered her in his arms and lay back down. “I was so scared. One of my dorm mates said he saw you with Viktor, and you can imagine what went through my mind? When I didn’t find you at your dorm, Camile told me to focus on you and follow my intuition. Do I really want to know how many shifters go to Harmony?”

  Laughing, Sam snuggled into him. “Not as many as you think.” The thought of school and Viktor made her frown. “I guess I screwed things up pretty bad.”

  “Why do you think so?”

  “Because I cut classes with you. I was supposed to retake the test I failed. Then I killed Viktor. I won’t be able to return to class. All because I can’t control my temper.” She closed her eyes and sighed. There were always other schools. Hell, she could take online classes.

  “The ROAR hotline was able to get in contact with the right people to pull some strings or something. I told them I pushed Viktor because he attacked you. The police ruled it an accidental death.” He kissed her temple and continued, “Psychology is an elective. You can take an extra class online to make it up. And if you ask for help with things you don’t know, I’ll help you.”

  She crinkled her nose. “Yeah, I can do that.”

  They lay in silence for several moments, peaceful. The only sounds she heard were her parents in the living room talking. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but heard the soft murmurs of their voices. “I guess you met my parents.”

  “Yep. I like them.”

  She studied him, unsure. Her family could be intense at best. Suffocating most the time. “That surprises me.”

  He nipped at her nose. “They were worried about you.”

  “I know.” She stopped talking to listen. Crap, her uncle was there. “We have to get up. You’re about to meet the alpha.”

  Pushing off the bed, she stood and smiled down at Gavin. Her mate. He was inside her heart, and the bond between them grew a little more each day, strengthening. And she was in love.

  He stood and searched her face. A frown formed, creasing his forehead. “What is it?”

  She opened her mouth but closed it just as her uncle Colt entered the bedroom with his twin behind him. Sam smiled and ran to him, hugging him tight. His power wrapped around her, soothing the tiger and strengthening them both. “I’m sorry….”

  Colt pulled back and shook his head. “Viktor would have attacked someone else if you hadn’t stepped in.”

  “I was irresponsible in my methods, went against my training. I let impulse rule my judgment.” She glanced to Gavin then the floor. Fisting her hands, she pushed away the self-pity of her mistake. She’d do better. “I’m changing my minor to psychology. I need to understand behavior, especially in humans. It will help me become a better sentinel one day.”

  One of Colt’s dark brows rose. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Plus, I have a study buddy.” She held out her hand for Gavin. He took it, linking their fingers together. “Also, I want to see if we can get an apartment together. I’m not sure how focused my tiger will allow me to be with him in a different dorm.”

  She laughed at how Gavin stiffened beside her.

  Colt glanced between them, then at her father in question.

  Con gave a short nod. “I’ll talk to Martha tomorrow.” Her father looked at Gavin and asked, “Are you sure you’re ready for this. We mate for life. There is no divorce.”

  Gavin squeezed her hand and straightened his shoulders. “How long have you been mated?”

  Sam’s heart stopped for a brief moment as she watched her father and uncle glance at each and laugh. Her father was the one to answer. “Mary and I have been together since we were your age. That was over two hundred years ago. And to answer your next question, the spark you feel now never dies. Once bound, there is no other.”

  Gavin smiled and hugged her close. “Then I’m ready. I’m in love with your daughter. We’ll just figure out the long-life-span thing later.”

  Studying Gavin, giddiness bubbled within her. “Say that again.”

  With a crooked smile, he said, “I love you and accept you as my mate.”

  She threw her arms around her neck and kissed him. “I love you, too. Forever.”

  “And always,” he finished.

  ~A Letter From Lia Davis~

  I’m always looking for diverse ways to expand my creativity. Writing for the Decadent ROAR line challenges me to do something different while keeping me within the genre I love, paranormal. I hope you love Harmony Springs and the students at Harmony University as much as I do writing their stories.

  Thank you so much for your love and support.

  http://www.authorliadavis.com

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  Coming Soon!

  Book 5 in the ROAR Series

  Shifted Plans by Brandy Walker

  Chapter One

  Avery Hillman pulled open the heavy wood back door to her home away from home and breathed a sigh of relief. Tension knotting her neck and back eased. The numbness in her ass started to dissipate.

  River Rock, the home of Shifter U, may technically be two hours away from her home in Mischief, Wyoming, but this time the trip felt like it took forever.

  The summer break with her pride had been filled with bickering siblings, rambunctious cousins, and near nonstop work at the Hillman Family Medical Clinic.

  Working her butt off at the clinic, she could handle. All day, every day. It filled her with a sense of accomplishment to help others as the behind-the-scenes girl. The one who made sure appointments ran smoothly amidst the chaos of emergencies and various unexpected complications. The master’s in health services management she would receive at the end of the school year would be the last item in her toolbox, the final key she needed to solidify her position in the family business.

  With her father’s promise, she would take over the management and running of their clinic completely upon her return. Six grueling years of schooling and she would travel home one last time to start her new life. A small thrill skittered through her at the idea of settling down on her own. The comfort of familiarity mixing with the prospect of doing things how she wanted, when she wanted, and with whomever she wanted. She would be a bona fide adult, able to make decisions, whether good or bad, that would dictate her future.

  Clearing the visions of life after college from her head, she sucked in a deep breath, allowing the scents and warmth of the house to calm her, bringing her back to the present.

  “This is it. My last year,” she announced to the empty townhome as she closed the back door.

  She knew there wouldn’t be anyone else in the house. Her roommates from the previous year had either graduated or found their mates, leaving her the last woman standing.

  Mate.

  The word whispered across her subconscious as she moved through the kitchen. She had yet to find the guy who called to the lioness within. And trust her, she had looked. At home. At school. At bars and parties. Well, the few she had gone to when no
t studying.

  She even checked the patients coming into her father’s practice over the summer. Nothing. Not a twitch or a nudge. Her lioness lazed about not caring whenever presented with someone new.

  She wasn’t in a hurry to find her mate. At least she tried to tell herself that each time disappointment spiraled through her when it didn’t happen. At twenty-five, she felt like an on-the-shelf spinster, destined to live a life of solitude with only her nieces and nephews to keep her young.

  I might need to cut back on the historical romances. That’s a bit dramatic even for me.

  She couldn’t deny she wanted what her friends had. They juggled mating ceremonies, completing college, and finding a home or place to be closer to each other. She welcomed the stress most would cringe and shy away from. Finding her mate would be a dream come true.

  For as long as she could remember, she’d woven fairy tales of meeting her mate, falling in love, and having the perfect family and life.

  Their eyes would meet across a crowded room, the glow of the mating connection reflected in their stares. Drawn toward each other, they would come together in the middle of the room, their scents mingling, weaving into one, and start the bonding process. He would be reluctant to leave her side, insisting he couldn’t be away from her for any length of time. He would woo her, tempt her with his words and actions. Then he would beg her to mate with him, do anything to be with her.

  A soft, dreamy sigh escaped her lips, startling her from her musings, as she pulled her bags behind her through the living room.

  Mating wasn’t all hearts, sparkles, and rainbows. She knew that. Not all mates were lucky enough to fall in love. With the mating connection the couple generally got together regardless, the pull from their beasts too much to resist, but nothing guaranteed they would be perfect mates. For mating to turn into love, to become perfect mates, hard work and dedication were required. There would be arguments and compromise followed by passionate nights filled with apologies and forgiveness.

  Days when you questioned your sanity about agreeing to become someone’s mate for all eternity. Nights when you wondered how the two of you could make it work when it felt as if your path was littered with every obstacle known to man.

  The negatives didn’t dissuade her from the romantic, heart-thumping, breath-stealing ideas floating through her head. She had lived with them for so long she didn’t want her mating to go any other way. Didn’t know what she would do if it did.

  Her mom told her she would find the One when she was supposed to. Probably when she least expected it. Avery wrinkled her nose at the thought. She could admit to not being a fan of surprises, not when it came to something as important as this. Then again, it could be her inability to let nature take its course as to why she hadn’t found the elusive One. She anticipated his arrival around every corner, in every room she entered. She was constantly on the lookout for this mysterious mate destined to be her perfect match, her perfect mate.

  “Not this year, Av,” she murmured as a reminder. She promised herself she would try to let it happen as the Fates intended. Live in the moment and not actively look for him. She wanted to enjoy her time with her friends, not stress over finding a man to complicate her life. She needed to embrace this last year of being responsible for nothing other than graduating.

  “And I shouldn’t have to keep reminding myself either,” she muttered.

  The urge to drop her bags at the foot of the stairs tugged at her when she looked up. Two flights of steps. One steeper than the other. She knew once she set them down, she wouldn’t want to pick them up. Trudging up the well-worn wooden stairs, her footsteps echoed throughout the house. She passed the second floor and continued to the third.

  Being the residential manager of the townhouse meant she had the coup of living in the top floor loft, basically a studio apartment.

  She had a bedroom separated from the small but functional living room and a nice little kitchen with all of the amenities, including a bar and two tall-backed stools, creating the perfect eating area. Her bathroom was bigger than all of the others in the house—garden tub; shower; a pretty, single-sink vanity with under-cabinet storage. If she could find something similar in Mischief, she would be one happy woman. No way did she plan to move in with her parents and obnoxious siblings like her mother hoped. The promise of the finished basement not nearly alluring enough to put up with that madhouse.

  Avery trudged through her living room before dropping her bags in her bedroom. She popped open a window to let in some fresh air and checked her phone. She needed to let her parents know she made it and wanted to see if there were any girls slated to move in with her.

  Three text messages waited for her. The expected one from her parents, to which she fired a quick reply. One from Shifter U’s Housing Management Office, notifying her of three new roommates expected over the next couple of days. Last, but not least, one from her best friend Reese, confirming their plans for dinner.

  A sorority girl and member of the elite Gamma Liontari Phi, Reese’s education groomed her for an advisory role to help plan the future of the prides in their hometown and the surrounding areas. She would work with other sisters of the sorority, past and present. Eventually, attaining a high-ranking position on the Council of Prides—one coveted by women across the country and not just because of the hot men with equally high-ranking positions.

  Avery would have to be content to spend time with her best friend when she wasn’t mired in sorority work. It wouldn’t be as often as she liked.

  Shooting off a quick text, she confirmed the five o’clock meet up at Chugs for beer, beef, and boot scootin’—the perfect way to start the new school year.