Snow Red

by Ellis Leigh

  That was the moment my mother decided to make her presence known once more. She jumped from the top of a bookcase, landing on me and rolling me away from Mateo. Howling, hissing, slashing at me with her claws. Mateo huffed and started to charge again, but there was nothing he could do. We were too tangled together, too close for such a big beast to come between us. I knew the only way to get out of this was to separate myself from my mother, which meant going on the offensive. Something I had never done.

  It’s for your mate.

  Yes, it was. I had to fight off my mother to help my mate. That thought was one heck of a motivator.

  With a yowl that screeched through the air, I clawed at my mother and bit any part I could reach. She jerked as if surprised but didn’t let up, coming for me with every swipe possible. It took me three lunges at her to finally bite her ear hard enough for her to retreat even an inch. The second she released me from her claws, I raced for Mateo. He lowered his head, and I jumped on, before he raised it again and hollered his displeasure with the other cat in the aisle. I settled myself atop his skull, right between those book-covered horns, likely looking like some sort of goddess cat with tomes of knowledge floating around her.

  If anyone saw this, they wouldn’t believe their eyes.

  Mateo charged with me riding along, his heavy feet making the shelves shake and the books crash around us. Wearing his crown of books. He chased my mother down the aisle and toward the front door of the library. I worried for a few seconds that she’d escape, run back to Indiana to turn up again in the future. To rattle my life once more just for the fun of it. I should have known Mateo was too smart to let that happen.

  My mate bellowed as he galloped, initiating a coordinated event I hadn’t seen coming. Obviously, neither had my mother, who raced across the rotunda likely thinking she was going to run right out the front doors. Instead, she fell right into a trap set by Brittani and her mate, Griff. One second, my mother had been running across the floor toward the door to escape, and the next, she’d been lifted into what looked like a fishing net with Griff holding the ropes and wrestling the contained cat to the floor. It was actually somewhat…comical.

  And by the looks of my library teammates staring with wide eyes and slack jaws at the sight before them, that wasn’t the only funny thing happening. Guess it wasn’t every day they got to see a bull in the library with books covering his horns and a cat sitting on top of his head.

  “I wasn’t expecting this,” Margaret said, her voice breaking the heavy silence.

  Brittani just shrugged. “That woman messed with the bull. She’s lucky she didn’t get the horns.”

  “The books got the horns instead.” Margaret stepped closer to Mateo, looking downright fearful. “Do you need some help with that?”

  Mateo ducked down, giving his permission, though I kept my eyes on the two women who came to relieve him of his burden. I may have trusted them, but this was my mate they were touching. Each woman moved slowly and carefully, never disturbing my mate. Never taking more liberty than they should have. I appreciated the help they offered him and the respect they showed me in their care.

  I still didn’t like them touching my mate’s horns, though.

  “Got her, Mateo,” Griff said, holding up the net from across the rotunda and making the women with the gored books in their arms spin around. “I never could stand it when people made money off others’ suffering. Usually there was nothing I could do about it, but this time, I’ve got assault and battery charges to file. Maybe even attempted murder depending on what we find in her possession.”

  Brittani sighed, glancing around the library and running her fingers over the gored books in her arms. “I know this needed to happen and am thrilled you’re safe, Arabella, but I wasn’t quite prepared for this mess.”

  She reached up and tugged a book off Mateo’s horn, a little rougher than before. More distracted, it seemed. My cranky mate jerked and grunted, but my boss just shook her head.

  “We’re going to need to shut down for the week to get everything back to rights.” She sighed again and tugged the last book from Mateo’s horns before giving me a small smile. “I really am happy you’re safe. You’ve got a brave mate there.”

  Matthew walked up to us, stopping behind his Margaret, both looking a little shell-shocked. He tossed a couple robes over Mateo’s broad back. “There’s an empty server room down the hall to the right. Just look for the double doors. I think that’ll work to give you both some privacy.”

  Without a sound, Mateo turned and walked in the direction Matthew had indicated, taking me with him. Thankfully free of the impeding horn decorations. Once we reached the room, he pushed open the doors with his horns, allowing us inside. I jumped off his head as he backed into the doors to close them, putting a little space between us for our shifts. There were no sounds verbalized, no words spoken or communication attempted. There was simply us alone, shifting human at the same time.

  We ended up on the floor in front of each other, both of us naked and raw from what we’d just been through. Both of us shaking but not from the cold floor. It was Mateo who found words first.

  “Arabella, I am so sorry—”

  “I’m the one who should be sorry. I never should have cut you off from me. Of course you weren’t trying to hurt me.” I sniffed, shaking harder. Needing so much from him. “I’ve missed you so much. Will you hold me?”

  Without a word, he reached and grabbed me, yanking me into his lap and wrapping me up in his arms. Tangling our bodies together as he finally whispered, “Never. I would never hurt you.”

  I snuggled into him, breathing a sigh of relief even as I collected my words for the hard part. Telling truths you’d kept hidden for years wasn’t an easy feat. “She lies and manipulates. She’s not some nice old lady missing her daughter.”

  “I know that now.”

  “She was so horrible to me.”

  “I know that too. Griff will help press the charges on her. And if that doesn’t work to keep her away from you, I’ll take care of it.”

  “I don’t want you exposed to her. She’ll twist everything—”

  “And I’ll untwist it. No one will come between me and my mate. Period.” He kissed the top of my head and slipped a robe over my shoulders. “Rest for a bit, my princess. I think we both need a few minutes to calm ourselves.”

  He was right—we did need some time to just be. To feel the warmth of each other’s skin melding together. I stayed wrapped in his arms for as long as I thought was reasonable, breathing him in. Relaxing enough to stop shaking.

  Finally, though, I sighed. “I guess we should go out there and help them start to deal with the mess we made.”

  “No.” He tugged my robe around me as I sat up, running a soft finger down the cheek my mother had scratched so viciously. “You’ve had a horrible day. Not one person out there would blame us for taking the afternoon to go home and recover.”

  That actually sounded amazing. “You’ll stay with me?”

  “Every single second.”

  I nodded, clasping his hand. We rose to our feet, and I grabbed his robe, placing it over his shoulders as he’d done with mine. He tugged the garment closed, keeping his eyes on me. Both of us lost to the other. Needing time alone.

  “Let’s go,” he whispered before dropping down to place a soft kiss on my injured cheek. “That blood is making me anxious.”

  I reached as if to cover my cheek. “I can wash it—”

  “No,” he said, gently moving my hand away from the injured skin. “I’ll do it. Once we’re home and you’re safe, I’ll take care of you.”

  He squeezed my hand, and we walked out of the server room in our matching robes, both of us quiet and focused forward. Matthew and Margaret stood in the rotunda of the library with Brittani beside them. There was no sign of Griff, which allowed me to relax just a little. If he was gone, that meant my mother was no longer in the building. Something I hadn’t even realized I’d been
stressed about.

  Mateo’s hand tightened around mine as we approached my coworkers. “I’m going to take her home. She needs some time.”

  It was Brittani who nodded. “Of course. Take as much time as you need, Arabella.”

  “I’ll come in tomorrow,” I said, hearing the quiver in my voice as I was sure they did. “To help clean up. I’ll be here.”

  “We’ll be here,” Mateo said, squeezing my hand a little harder. Reassuring me. “It’s my mess.”

  “A worthwhile mess,” Margaret said with a nod before looking my way, seeming almost excited. “I can’t believe you’re related to the Belle Gunness. The Lonely Hearts Killer.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know that I truly am, but that’s the legend of my family.”

  “Just go with it,” she said with an almost dismissive wave. “It makes you infinitely cooler in my eyes, even if you do tend to call me Bob.”

  I laughed, unable not to. “Maybe I’ll stop.”

  “You don’t have to.” Her smile turned softer, more supportive and concerned. “Rest for a day or two. You need it.”

  I nodded, giving Mateo’s hand another squeeze. He took my cue without issue, walking us toward the front doors without another word. He tugged at his robe the entire way to his car, trying his darnedest to keep the fabric closed around his body. When I was finally in the vehicle, safe in the space with the man I trusted more than any other, I sighed.

  “We should stop at the motel to get your clothes.”

  He threw the vehicle into gear—having never turned it off when he’d arrived, apparently—and glanced my way. “I want you home.”

  “And I want you home. With me. In our home.”

  He looked my way, his forehead furrowed. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes. So long as you think you can put up with my plants and birds.”

  He sighed, quiet for a moment as he drove toward the motel. “This may be a reaction to the traumatic event you just lived through.”

  “It may be, but trauma didn’t make me fall in love with you.”

  He grabbed my thigh, squeezing my flesh with his big hand. “Love you too, princess.”

  “Then stop arguing with me. We’ll collect your things, and you’ll move in with me.”

  He nodded once. “Yes, ma’am.”

  And with that, he slammed his foot on the gas and took off, racing across town. Apparently anxious to get our life started. To begin our own happily ever after.

  To wash away the nastiness of the day and begin again.

  Epilogue

  Arabella

  Being pregnant with a bull shifter’s baby was not my idea of a good time.

  “I’ve got you,” Mateo said as he lifted me out of the car and set me on my feet. “Got it?”

  “Yeah.” I sighed and rubbed my hand over my extended tummy, having never been so uncomfortable in my life. “I need a restroom. Your son is having a blast kicking my bladder.”

  “I believe that would be your daughter.”

  Ah, the never-ending argument. “Nope. This child is a total boy. I have no doubt.”

  Mateo took my hand, raising it to his mouth to place a soft kiss on the back. “We’ll see.”

  I would have argued more—it seemed to be our latest pastime—but I was too tired, and I really did need to use the restroom. The child in my uterus gave my bladder no breaks. I, of course, was thrilled for every movement and sign of life and already loved the little one with all my heart, but I was getting really tired of being beaten up from the inside every day.

  Just a couple more weeks.

  Mateo escorted me into the French bistro that had become our absolute favorite place to eat then led me to the restroom at the back. Ever the gentleman, he kissed my hand again before letting me go, keeping guard in the hallway. I’d never felt safer than I did with my mate watching over me, even when it seemed ridiculous for him to be doing so.

  After I washed my hands, ready to return to my mate and our table, I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror. I stood up straighter and turned to the side, taking the opportunity to really see myself. I was much bigger than before I had met Mateo—pregnancy and water retention were not friends of mine—but I’d never looked happier, even without a smile. When people told me I was glowing, I believed them because I felt as if I glowed. With my mother in jail awaiting trial and a new circle of friends in Kinship Cove, plus the absolute gift of having Mateo in my bed every single night? Of being mated to the kindest, sweetest man on the planet? I had never felt so blessed.

  I jerked as another kick rocked me from the inside. My hand immediately fell to my belly, and I rubbed as close to the spot as I could get.

  “Easy, young man,” I whispered, knowing Mateo would have immediately argued that our child was a girl if he could hear me. “Give your momma an hour to have dinner, then you can go back to roughhousing in there.”

  Not that he would listen.

  With one last sigh and pat to my belly, I hurried out of the restroom. I spotted Mateo at the end of the hallway immediately, my brave mate always keeping an eye out for me. My smile came unbidden, my joy a physical force that had me moving faster so I could touch him once more. I could imagine no stronger love than that between the three of us—me, my mate, and our unborn child. He cared for us, protected us, and spoiled us silly every chance he got. I loved him, pure and simple.

  My mate returned my happy expression, his eyes practically twinkling.

  “I can’t get enough of the way you smile at me when you see me from across the room,” he said before placing a hand on my lower back to guide me, bringing his other to my belly for just a moment. “You two okay?”

  And there it was—the concern. My heart practically swelled. “I love you, Mateo.”

  His smile grew, and he leaned down to plant a kiss on my lips. Not a soft or sweet one—no, ma’am. This kiss set my body on fire and made me want to go home so we could be alone. Immediately.

  Which was not part of the plan for the evening. Not yet, at least.

  Eventually, Mateo broke the kiss, moaning just loud enough for me to hear. “I love you so much, my beautiful mate. Are you ready for dinner, or should I take you home and make you my meal?”

  Choices, choices. The baby chose that moment to kick again, reminding me that I needed real food. “Dinner first. Home later.”

  “Whatever makes you happy.” With that, he led me across the room to our usual table. A waiter approached as Mateo helped me into my chair, already bringing sparkling water for the two of us. Once seated, we took a long moment to relax and look out over the mountain views. The restaurant overlooking the Cove may have been the fanciest in town, but this was my favorite. Mateo’s too. This had become our spot. A thought Mateo must have been having right along with me.

  “I love this place.”

  I sighed, reaching for his hand. “Me too. We’ve spent so much time here over the last year.”

  He nodded, still clinging to my hand. “What are we going to do when our daughter joins the party?”

  “I guess we’ll have to ask if they have high chairs…for our son.”

  Mateo laughed, the sound big and booming. The argument never stopped, though I supposed it would once the baby arrived. I couldn’t wait to meet him—because I was absolutely certain it was a boy inside me—but if by some chance of fate, they ended up being a girl, I’d be just as thrilled. No matter what, I had a man by my side who would love both of us to the ends of the earth.

  And apparently a waiter who had overheard us. “Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Torres. Of course we have high chairs. Our head chef is a mother and is fully prepared to welcome the newest Torres member to one of her tables when the time comes.”

  I laughed at Mateo’s surprised face, shrugging when he looked my way. “Guess that takes care of it. We’re all set to return here once the baby is born.”

  My mate’s grin reappeared, spreading wide. “I can’t wait.”

 
I dropped a hand to my belly, staring into the eyes of the man I loved. The man the fates had chosen for me to be my perfect match. They had been so right.

  Happily ever after, indeed.

  Thank you so much for reading my take on the Snow White fairy tale. Want more Kinship Cove? Have you read them from the beginning? If not, check out…

  CANDIED WOLF

  At the Cake-ily Ever After bakery in Kinship Cove, three sisters are about to meet their matches and prove that a man with a little silver in his hair can make one heck of a mate…if the fates allow it.

  I hurried out to the sales floor carrying the tray of éclairs. “Misty’s still broken, and I am not having sex with a dad. That’s a nonnegotiable.”

  “I guess it’s too bad I have a son, then.”

  I slipped and wobbled hard, meeting deep, dark eyes as I bumped into the counter. As he smiled at me.

  And then I died.

  Not literally—that would have been way too dramatic for me.

  But he was so…

  I nearly dropped the tray.

  Thankfully, the man grabbed the end and righted it before we had a baked-good catastrophe. His arm bulged—actually bulged—with the movement, as if the muscles were trying hard to get my attention. They truly didn’t need to try that hard at all. This guy—this customer—was the living, breathing epitome of the word man. Tall and thick, with broad shoulders and a tapered waist. His simple black button-up shirt clung to his arms, the sleeves cuffed and rolled in that way that made me drool.

  Arm porn was a real thing, apparently.