by Eva Chase
Aaron followed me a moment later with a bow of his head and a harsh inhale. Then he was easing himself out and down onto the bed beside me.
All four of my mates tucked themselves around me, so that every inch of me really was enveloped by the most joyful warmth I could imagine.
“I love you,” I said with a sudden bubbling of emotion from the depths of my chest. “I love you so much.”
“Oh, Sparks,” West said, tucking his head against my waist. “It’s an honor to be able to say I love you.”
Nate brushed a stray strand of hair from my cheek. “You’re everything I ever hoped to have in a mate and more.”
“The only woman I’ve ever loved and ever will,” Marco said, his voice almost a purr. “My Princess of Flames.”
Aaron smiled. “Every time I think I couldn’t love you more, the feeling keeps growing. I’m not sure there is a limit.”
Surrounded there by my mates, I let my eyelids slide shut. Just for that moment, nothing at all weighed on me, nothing at all could penetrate the haze of happiness that contained us. And in that circle of peace, I drifted off too.
CHAPTER 6
Ren
“THIS ISN’T my kind of Christmas,” Kylie said cheerfully as we tugged a satin tablecloth straight in the feline kin’s banquet hall. “Give me paper streamers and dorky plastic Santas.”
I shook my head at her with a smile. “I can only imagine the looks of horror I’d get from these shifters if I dared to disgrace their alpha’s estate with anything even slightly tacky.”
“Me too,” Kylie said. “That’s why I think it’d be worth it. Let them squirm.” She winked at me and straightened up, brushing her hands together. She must have recently re-dyed the bright pink in her hair, because her pixie cut gleamed almost neon under the crystal chandeliers. “Okay, what’s next?”
My best friend had flown down from New York to meet up with us here in Florida even though she’d also be joining us for the final celebration on West’s estate, much closer to her home. “Why only have one Christmas with my bestie when I can have two?” she’d said. “Anyway, I know you. You’re going to need someone jumping in to make sure you don’t try to do everything yourself, mama-to-be.”
I’d grumbled something about how I already had four alpha mates hovering over my every move, but I hadn’t really protested the idea. I didn’t get to see Kylie anywhere near as often as when we’d been making ends meet on the streets together. She was the one who’d really helped me get back on my feet after I’d fallen in with a bad crowd, stealing just for the privilege of getting to sleep on a concrete floor and share a little food. We’d finally gotten an apartment together, ready to build a new life, when my mates had found me.
Of course, I hadn’t exactly left Kylie behind as I’d moved into my new new life as queen of the shifters. She’d fought alongside us in the battle against the vampires—and caught the interest of one of West’s lieutenants, a fennec fox shifter named Felix. West had sent Felix to New York to act as liaison with the new vampire king, and as far as I could tell Kylie and him had been honeymooning it up together ever since.
“The candle sticks are in that box,” I said, hustling over to it as I pointed. “I’m thinking four per table, spread out at equal distances.”
“I don’t think they’re going to measure the spaces in between them,” Kylie said.
“Have you met these people?” I said, only half joking. “Some of them totally will.” The feline kin, like cats everywhere, didn’t take all that well to authority—especially when the person calling the shots for them wasn’t even feline. They gave Marco a hard enough time of it now and then, and he was one of them. They’d been skeptical of me and my questionable upbringing in human society from the moment I’d turned up. And calling them finicky would have been a huge understatement.
“They’ve been going a little easier on you, haven’t they?” Kylie said as she grabbed a few of the silver candlesticks from the box. “I mean, you’ve been kicking butt since you showed up. What could they possibly complain about?”
“Mostly I get the impression they’re still reserving judgment,” I said. “Which means, waiting until they find a moment that they can judge, when they’ll happily jump all over me for making a mistake.” Which was why I wanted this particular celebration to be absolutely perfect. Why wasn’t the wine here yet?
But the tablecloths were almost as shiny as the chandeliers, and the wine that had arrived was an uber expensive Italian red that Marco had approved of, and the kitchen staff were whipping up all sorts of delicacies from rare ingredients I’d ordered in from around the world. The feline kin liked to feel they were a little superior—well, tonight I was going to cater to that sensibility completely. Other than the little surprise I had planned for the end, which I was hoping would appeal to a different side of their natures.
This night had better work out without a hitch.
As if echoing my anxiety, my daughter twitched restlessly inside me. I paused for a second with my hand braced against the table, the other rubbing the shape of her through my belly. Hey there. Settle down. And can we try to keep those heels away from my liver?
“Are you okay?” Kylie said, her eyes wide, immediately on high alert.
“Just a normal bit of kicking,” I said, straightening up. “She’s definitely a strong one—and she doesn’t let me forget it.”
“Hmm. Sounds like someone else I know.” Kylie grinned, but her gaze lingered on the bulge of my belly, concern still shadowing her face.
“Hey,” I said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “I’m all right. Really. I’m pretty sure it’s the job of all babies to make their moms as uncomfortable as possible in the last few weeks so we’ll be looking forward to the part where they come out more than dreading it.”
Kylie laughed. “Okay, okay. You know, you’re my first friend who’s gone the mom route. I don’t have any practice at the whole godmother thing yet.”
“You’ll get plenty,” I promised, and then couldn’t help waggling my eyebrows at her. “And maybe I should be watching for you to ‘go the mom route’ sometime soon? You and Felix just seem to get cozier and cozier.”
Kylie laughed again, but she also blushed. Ah ha. A year and a half was by far the longest I’d ever known Kylie to be hooked on or hooking up with a guy—clearly they had something special. Not that I could picture her totally settling down any time soon.
“I was worried things might go off the rails when we moved in together,” she admitted, her voice dropping. “But… it’s actually been even better. Not that we never have little arguments or anything, but he gets me. And I get him. It’s the first time I’ve ever had that. With a guy, anyway. Obviously he’ll never replace you as bestie.” She tapped me playfully with her elbow and went back for more candlesticks.
“You’ve been holding out on me,” she called over her shoulder. “What’s my god-daughter’s name going to be, huh?”
“If I’m holding out on you, then I’m holding out on myself too,” I said. “I don’t know yet. I think I’ve got to see her before the right one will come to me.”
Kylie made a disgruntled sound. “Since when are you indecisive? You’d better spill the beans as soon as you’re ready.”
“Of course,” I said. My throat tightened a little. Maybe it wasn’t like me to waver over a decision for months. But my daughter would have her name for her whole life. She was the first person I’d ever given a name to. When I picked one, I wanted to be completely sure of it.
As I fished out the candles themselves, elegantly tapered cylinders of pure white that gave off a pleasantly warm waxy smell, a couple of feline kin passed the doorway and peered into the room. They only paused for a few seconds, but their vaguely impressed expressions as they took in the décor gave me a boost of confidence.
Maybe I could pull this off without any of Marco’s prominent families making snarky remarks about my tastes or approach. They were so good at getting in those
subtle jabs. It was a delicate political dance, setting them in their place without seeming phased.
Who would have guessed that maneuvering cat shifters would end up becoming one of my main concerns in life?
Nate appeared a few minutes later holding a handful of forks. “Apparently each of these sets is equally fancy silverware,” he said, fanning them for my inspection. “I didn’t know which design you’d like more.”
I blinked at them. “Of course the feline kin’s kitchen would have five different sets for fine dining. Um… Let’s go with this one.” I tapped the one in the middle, simple and sleek. When in doubt, going with a less-is-more philosophy had served me well so far.
“Got it! I’ll grab the rest. And I think Aaron and West have settled on the plates.”
Kylie shot him an amused look as he left. “You’ve put all your men to work too, huh?”
“Oh, believe me, they insisted on pitching in however I’d let them. I had to give them jobs so that they weren’t following me around offering to take everything I’m doing off my hands.” But even as I said that, I smiled fondly. The whole parent thing was new to all of us. I couldn’t blame them for being nervous when I, well—
I pushed that thought away before it could completely solidify in my head and hustled the candles over to the tables. By the time Kylie and I had one in every holder, Aaron and West had arrived with the plates. I glanced at them and gave a thumbs up before motioning for them to help us set them out.
One of Marco’s attendants bustled into the room. “The French delivery is here!” she called. “Where do you want it?”
Oh, thank God. “Bring it here—no. Sorry. Have them take it to the kitchens.” The serving staff would bring around the wine. The feline kin weren’t much into buffet style dining.
The attendant nodded and darted away. I scanned the tables. “Glasses—we still need the glasses for putting that wine in.”
“I think Marco was seeing about those,” Aaron said.
“Well, where is he then?” I muttered. “The dinner is supposed to be starting in an hour.”
West gave me a wry look. “I think an hour is plenty of time to set up a few glasses.”
“More like two hundred,” I said. “Oh, and I should check the sound system. Crap.”
“Hey.” Aaron came up behind me and rested his hands on my waist. “It’s all coming together. You’ve thought of everything important. And if anyone suggests anything else, Marco will bite their head off.”
My mouth twitched at the image that provoked. My shoulders came down as I exhaled slowly. “I know. But I want them to have a good time because I pulled it off, not because he bullied them into pretending to enjoy themselves.”
“If they complain about this set-up, then I don’t think even the queen of England could impress them,” West said, making a face.
“Is anything else bothering you?” Aaron asked quietly. “Everything you’ve been doing this week—it is a lot.”
I made a frustrated sound and turned to steal a quick kiss. “I just want everyone to have a great Christmas. Nothing so weird about that, is there? You don’t have to worry about me—I say for the hundredth time.”
Aaron wrapped his arms around me. “We want you to have a great Christmas too, you know.”
“I am,” I said firmly. “The last two days have been wonderful. So we’re going to make the next two amazing too.” And then the five of us could have our own little Christmas, before everything changed all over again.
I just had to make it through two more days without melting down from the stress along the way.
Marco came in at that moment with a few attendants in tow, all carrying platters of wine glasses. I gave a little cheer and jumped at the chance to get back to prep and away from conversations about my well-being.
The feline kin might have believed in being fashionable in most ways, but they weren’t fashionably late. About fifteen minutes before the time on the invitations, the first guests started to drift in. I was crouched by the sound system, just finishing tweaking the volume. Faint strains of classical music drifted out into the air.
I left the speakers to stand at my and my alphas’ table on the dais at the front of the room. As more and more feline kin arrived, I watched gleams of delight come into their eyes at the elegant styling. The highest families would get to sit with my mates and me at our table, but none of them had appeared yet. They wanted to make an entrance when enough of their kin were here to see.
A smile crossed my lips as our guests took their seats amid the glinting candles and glossy tablecloths. My hand stroked over my belly. This place will be part of your rule someday too, I thought to my daughter. Even if they like to act as if they don’t need you. That’s part of the reason why they do.
CHAPTER 7
Marco
THE LIGHT from the chandeliers glimmered over Ren’s dark hair as I spun her in a gentle circle in time with the music. All around us, my kin were dancing on the floor now cleared of dining tables, but I felt I could say without a doubt that not one of them compared to my mate.
I pulled her back to me and tucked my arm around her waist. We swayed with the graceful strains of violin and piano, the sort of refined classical piece that made even the snobbiest elitists among my kin perk up. Ren beamed at me, some of the strain I’d seen in her earlier gone from her face now.
She shouldn’t have been worried. In the past year and a half, she’d gotten to know my people and their whims awfully well. Every element she’d chosen for tonight had been perfectly tailored to their tastes. I’d heard their exclamations as the staff had brought out each of the dinner’s delicacies; I could see the pleasure they were taking in the party in every expression around me, even if some tried to keep a poker face.
Oh, my kin would be talking about the Christmas celebration that our dragon shifter had orchestrated for the whole rest of the year—while looking forward to the next one. It really couldn’t have turned out better.
Her part of it, at least. Mine—that remained to be seen.
“It seems like the dinner has gone over well,” Ren said.
I smiled, dipping and turning her, careful of her balance in her current front-heavy state. “Understatement of the year, princess. Anyone you hadn’t won over before today I expect is ready to kiss your feet now.”
She rolled her eyes at me, but they shone even brighter at the same time. “I can’t imagine many felines ever lowering themselves to foot-kissing.”
“Possibly I was speaking in metaphors,” I allowed. “Don’t argue about it. Tonight was a triumph, Ren. Your triumph.”
“It’s not over yet,” she said, with a sudden glint of mischief. She’d kept quiet about whatever she’d been setting up with a few of my staff—sworn to secrecy—over in the immense greenhouse attached to the mansion, where anyone visiting the estate could blow off steam in their feline forms without worries of being spotted by humans in the wilds beyond.
“When do I get to hear about this secret plan of yours?” I asked, leaning close enough that my nose grazed hers.
Ren grinned, apparently unswayed by my powers of seduction, formidable as those generally proved to be. “You’ll see when everyone else does. Don’t you like surprises?”
“Not particularly,” I said.
She tapped my chest. “Curiosity killed the cat, isn’t that what they say?”
“Oh, if I have to wait, I suppose I’ll survive the suspense.”
She eased closer to me again, and as the song petered out, I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the feel of her body next to mine. Her body and that of our daughter so soon to come contained within it.
Straightening out affairs in the shifter realm after sixteen years without a dragon shifter and a interspecies war on top of that had taken a lot of work, with even more ahead of us. We didn’t have many moments where we could simply be together without any pressing responsibilities nagging at us.
The melody of the next song swelled f
rom the speakers, and a hand heavy enough that I knew who it belonged to before he spoke came to rest on my shoulder.
“You can’t hog our dragon shifter the whole night, even if this is your estate,” Nate said in a genial tone. “May I cut in?”
I let out a huff of breath as if offended, but grinned to show I didn’t mean it. “I suppose I should share a little.” I gave Ren a kiss, quick yet sweet enough to send a tingle down to my groin. “I’ll be back to reclaim you later.”
She laughed. “Not if I find you first.”
I left her in the bear shifter’s arms and wove through the crowd toward the tables bunched together at one end of the room. I did actually have one responsibility that still needed taking care of, even if it’d been a completely optional one. Our dragon shifter wasn’t the only one who knew how to put together a surprise.
Stepping onto the dais that held the alphas’ table, I peered around the room until I caught the eye of Coreen, lion shifter and matriarch of the most established lion family among the kin. At the tip of my head, she left the friends she’d been talking with and came to join me.
“I think this is as good a time as any to do the presentation,” I said. “Can you assemble the others?”
“Of course,” she said. Coreen had been skeptical of our new dragon shifter at first, but after she’d watched Ren put down her husband’s murderer without hesitation, she’d been one of my mate’s most loyal advocates. Trust was not a concept that came easily among my kin, but I’d have depended on her through dire circumstances if need be.
She slipped through the crowd, finding the other figures from families prominent enough to have gotten a seat at the alphas’ table earlier tonight: husband and wife cheetah shifters, a broad-nosed tiger shifter, mother and daughter mountain lion shifters, and another couple made up of two leopards. At Coreen’s gesture, they ducked out of the banquet hall and returned a few moments later each with a parcel wrapped in gold foil paper.