by R. E. Butler
She hummed. “Okay. Just a suggestion.”
“Tomorrow though, since it’s technically the start of our weekend, I’d love to take you out.”
“I’d like to try the new Italian place. I could go for some cannolis.”
After arriving at their house, she showered and changed, and they walked to Caesar’s house. When he opened the front door, the scent of fried chicken hit her nose and she purred at the thought of eating one of her favorite things.
Her stomach growled loudly. “Hungry?” Devlin teased.
“You know it. Plus, I love fried chicken.”
“Me, too.”
They joined the pride at the table and ate, conversation flowing smoothly between them all. She marveled at how easily Devlin fit into her world. He joked with the pride and they treated him as if he’d been with them for years instead of just a month. They’d even started working out together a few times a week, and she’d loved watching Devlin push himself on the weights that made his muscles bulge and filled her mind with all sorts of wicked thoughts.
She’d thought she might never find a mate, but she had, and he was perfect. Well, he did leave his wet towels on the bathroom floor and more often than not forgot to put his dishes in the dishwasher, but those were all things she didn’t really mind because she was crazy about him. It hadn’t taken long for her sexy, tattooed soulmate to burrow into her heart, but there he was. She loved him. And she couldn’t wait to tell him.
The table was cleared and she pushed her chair out so they could head home, but Devlin stopped her. “Hold on, sweetheart,” he said.
“What?” she asked.
He pushed his chair back and dropped to one knee. Her breath caught in her throat and every instinct within her focused on his hand and the diamond ring glittering in the overhead light.
“Jenni, I feel like we’ve been together for years and not just weeks. I never imagined I’d be settling down with such a beautiful woman, or that she’d be able to shift into a lioness whenever she fancied, but I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I wouldn’t want to go to bed without your sweet scent enveloping me, or wake up without you next to me, and I never, ever want to go back to a place where I was just existing and working, and not really living, the way that I am now that we’re together. I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?”
She stared at the ring, her vision blurring as tears filled her eyes.
“I love you, too,” she whispered, her voice filled with emotion. “And yes, I will.”
The pride cheered, clapping and roaring their happiness, as Devlin pushed the ring onto her finger and stood, drawing her to her feet and kissing her.
Celeste and Jupiter opened the bottle of sparkling wine that Devlin had brought, and glasses were passed around. She and Devlin sat down and she brushed at her wet cheeks. She couldn’t stop smiling.
Caesar stood and lifted his glass. “Years ago, we didn’t think about humans becoming our soulmates, because our people found mates within our own kind. But it’s easy to see with the love between the two of you, and the other mates at the zoo, that this is a whole new chapter for our people. Welcome to the family and the pride, Devlin.”
Their glasses clinked and she sipped at the sweet and bubbly drink. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said, “I love my ring.”
“One diamond for you and one for me.”
“And the other little diamonds?”
“How many kids we’ll have.”
She looked at the ring more closely. “That’s a lot of kids.”
He laughed and kissed her. “However many kids we have, our family will be amazing.”
“Because we’re both so awesome.”
“And modest,” Caesar said.
She and Devlin laughed and the pride joined in. As the conversation turned to their engagement, excitement brewed within her. Even though they were soulmates, she still wanted to be his wife, and his proposal was a dream come true. And maybe soon they’d get started on their family. Little boys with his blue eyes and infectious smile, and little girls with her blonde hair and fierce lioness nature. She hoped their kids could shift, but even if they couldn’t it wouldn’t matter. She’d learned something about having a soulmate – the outside package didn’t matter as much as the heart, and in her mind, Devlin was as fierce and protective as any shifter she’d ever met.
He was a lion in his heart, and she loved him from head to toe.
Coming Next from R. E. Butler
Every Angelic Moment (Hyena Heat Seven)
~*~ November 12, 2017 ~*~
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Also from R. E. Butler
Wiccan-Were-Bear Novella Series
A Curve of Claw
A Flash of Fang
A Price for a Princess
A Bond of Brothers
A Bead of Blood
A Twitch of Tail
A Promise on White Wings
A Slash of Savagery
Awaken a Wolf
Daeton’s Journey
A Dragon for December
A Muse for Mishka
The Wiccan-Were-Bear Series Volume One
The Wiccan-Were-Bear Series Volume Two
A Wish for Their Woman
The Wolf’s Mate Series
The Wolf’s Mate Book 1: Jason & Cadence
The Wolf’s Mate Book 2: Linus & The Angel
The Wolf’s Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats
The Wolf’s Mate Book 4: Michael & Shyne
The Wolf’s Mate Book 5: Bo & Reika
The Wolf’s Mate Book 6: Logan & Jenna
The Wolf’s Mate Book 7: Lindy & The Wulfen
The Necklace Chronicles
The Tribe’s Bride
The Gigolo’s Bride
The Tiger’s Bride
Ashland Pride Series
Seducing Samantha
Loving Lachlyn
Marking Melody
Redeeming Rue
Saving Scarlett
Chasing Cristabel
Hyena Heat Series
Every Night Forever
Every Dawn Forever
Every Sunset Forever
Every Blissful Moment
Every Heavenly Moment
Every Miraculous Moment
Every Angelic Moment (Coming November 12, 2017)
Wilde Creek Series
Volume One (Books 1 and 2)
Volume Two (Books 3 and 4)
Volume Three (Books 5 and 6)
The Hunter’s Heart (Book Seven)
Saber Chronicles Series
Saber Chronicles Volume One (Books One - Four)
Norlanian Brides Series
Paoli’s Bride
Warrick’s Bride
Dex’s Bride
Norlanian Brides Volume One
Villi’s Bride
Dero’s Bride
Were Zoo Series
Zane
Jupiter
Win
Justus
Devlin
Arctic Shifters
Blitzen’s Fated Mate
Dasher’s Fated Mate
Prancer’s Fated Mate
Vixen’s Fated Mate (Coming November 2017)
Cupid’s Fated Mate (Coming December 2017)
Uncontrollable Shift
The Alpha’s Christmas Mate
Stand Alone Stories
The Alpha’s Honor (Howls Romance)
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**Coming November 12, 2017**
Every Angelic Moment (Hyena Heat Seven)
Angel Cooper didn’t expect to love working at a campground run by hyena shifters in Pennsylvania, but she feels like she’s finally
found the place she belongs. She’s happier than she’s ever been, even if she wouldn’t mind meeting Mr. Right sometime soon. Her sort-of adopted sister, Brierley, is certain that Angel is meant to be the special mate to a hyena clan, but Angel’s not so sure.
Brin, Ian, and Quill Mercer left New Jersey with their father’s ashes and their tails between their legs. They’d spent the better part of their lives believing that their father had found the perfect mate for them, but it had all been a terrible lie. Brin and Quill are ready to move on and find a special woman to share for the rest of their lives, but middle brother Ian can’t let go of the pain that their father’s obsession and betrayal left him with. Ian doesn’t trust himself to be their clan’s protector, and deals with his sleepless nights by joining an underground were-fighting tournament. Fighting keeps him sane, but not happy.
When Angel heads into the woods to pick flowers, she follows an enticing scent to a campsite where she meets the three sexiest men she’s ever laid eyes on. Ian explains the violent way he’s been spending his nights, but after meeting her, he’s walking away from the fights for good. Not everyone is happy about Ian’s change of heart, and when a sweet little owl shifter is caught in the crossfire, Ian will make sure that no one ever crosses his family again.
Be prepared for three hyenas who will do anything to make their mate happy, a human with a heart big enough for her clan, sexy times galore, plenty of growling, and a happily ever after worth fighting for. Contains m/f/m/m interaction.
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~*~ Kelley (Were Zoo Six) ~*~
Coming in 2018
Kelley London has been taking care of the non-shifting animals at the Amazing Adventures Safari Park since he was a kid. As an elephant shifter, he has a unique take on what it means to be an animal in the zoo, gawked at by humans, and he does his best to make sure that the animals are happy and well taken care of. He’s not sure that the VIP tours are going to bring his soulmate to him, but he’s hopeful that someday he’ll find the one female meant to be his.
Rhapsody Caine is the last surviving member of her panther shifter pride. Before her aunt passed away, she told Rhapsody about a shifter zoo in New Jersey, and urged her to find other shifters to live with. She’s never been around other types of shifters, and she’s wary of just waltzing in the front gates and announcing herself to the zoo’s inhabitants, so she signs up for a VIP tour of the safari. What she doesn’t expect is to be staring at her soulmate through a chain link fence, or for him to be an elephant.
Rhapsody breaks all the rules and climbs the fence during the tour to be with Kelley, but the big male doesn’t care that she’s impetuous. The only thing he cares about is that she’s the new center of his universe, and because she’s all alone in the world, he wants to become her family. When a panther male shows up at the zoo, claiming to be Rhapsody’s arranged mate, Kelley is willing to fight for his claim to the beautiful female.
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