Shifters on Fire: A BBW Shifter Romance Boxed Set (41 page)

“Isn’t that how wooing works?”

“I don’t know.”

There was a card without an envelope on a little pick in the flowers. It said simply:
To my gift from fate.

“I have never been properly wooed.” If this was wooing, Zara was pretty darn confident that there were very few women who had been.

“Look at you.” He eyed her up and down, his eyes darkening as he did. He like what he saw. Good fate. “I hardly doubt that.”

“I said properly,” Zara clarified, not wanting to talk about her past. It was time to make a future. “Now, if you think you are up to the task.”

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I believe I’m your man.” He scented her before pulling back and looking her in the eye once more.

“Perfect.” That whisper had set her on fire. All thought of fate stealing her choice or him not liking fate’s choice was gone. What replaced it? Her need to feel his lips on hers. Her lion pushed at her to take what she wanted. “Then we should probably start with a kiss.” She tried for teasing and light hearted, she really did, but it came out all raw and needy.

“That sounds like the ideal plan.”

Dylan leaned in and brushed her lips with his. Just barely a peck. She put her arms around his neck, wanting it to become more. She went to deepen it, take what she wanted when he broke his lips from hers with a groan.

“If you do that, my spitfire of a mate, then the wooing will be after the claiming and we can’t have that.”

Groaning she let her arms drop from around his neck. He was right. Kissing would lead straight to claiming.

“So dinner?” Her lackluster attempt at enthusiasm showed and he chuckled, offering her his hand as he did so.

“Dinner.”

Choices

Wooing was the understatement of the century.

The walk to the restaurant was almost magical. He was an uber nerd, her soft spot, yet he was an alpha lion shifter. He had chosen not to accept the challenge offered to him in his pride, instead opting to go rogue until he could find a place that was a better fit. A pride less archaic than the one he had been in. That was how he and Conor had become such good friends. Two rogues needing some semblance of pack, even if they hadn’t realized it at the time.

As they walked, hand in hand, he asked about the things that were important to her, steered her away from broken glass, and let her pick where to eat. He was a true gentleman in a bad boy body. She was a lucky, lucky lion. If only she had figured out sooner that fate wasn’t the enemy. But then maybe she wouldn’t have met him. He was far from an important shifter in her clan. He was a rogue.

The restaurant was one she had walked past a hundred times but always ignored because it looked too romantic. Tonight it was perfect. Nestled at a cozy little table for two, they talked and ate mouthwatering food. Every moment she spent with him she was more sure, Dylan was the one. Fate was right. Go figure.

“Would you like to see the dessert tray?” the waiter asked as he cleared their places.

“Yes, please.” Zara was full, but she didn’t want to see this night end. It was one of the weirdest days of her life, but also the best. The waiter finished clearing their spots and went to snag the dessert tray.

“You know, you’re not what I expected.” His eyes were warm and focused completely on her.

Her nose, however, was focused on the vile scent of Asshole Anderson approaching.

“You mean you weren’t expecting a disgusting cow?” Anger rolled off her weasel of an ex-boss. How had she missed him coming in? Fan-freakin-tastic.

“You will not talk about her that way.” Dylan’s voice sounded calm, but you would have to be blind not to see the tension in his face as he spoke. Her mate could be out and out scary. Good. Weasel needed a scare.

“You have no idea what she cost me.”

She’d always known he wasn’t a smart one. Even in his fear, which was now oozing off him, he kept talking.

“You bitch, how dare you.”

“Dessert?” The poor waiter looked like he was about to cry, and used his dessert tray as a way to separate the disgusting man from them. He was so getting a ginormous tip.

“Oh, that would be lovely.” Zara did her best to sound light and happy. She was not letting Marc win. Just not going to happen on her best day ever. “What do you have?”

A slow rumble began to build in Dylan’s chest and she squeezed his hand to calm him. They couldn’t eat the wretched man. It was just not how things were done.

“We have New York style cheese cake with a homemade raspberry sauce, a chocolate hazelnut tarte, homemade ice cream with an assortment of homemade cookies, and banana cream pie.” He dutifully pointed out each dessert as he spoke, the tray slightly shaking.

“Banana cream pie is my favorite.” She pushed her power out, trying to keep Dylan from losing his shit. She was afraid it would tick him off, but she could deal with that later. For now, they needed to get out of this peacefully. His eyes shot straight to hers, he wasn’t mad. He was… dare she think… proud. Good mate.

“I think I will have the ice cream.” Dylan’s voice sounded the same to everyone else there, but she heard the difference. He had relaxed. He took her push of power as a sign that Marc the weasel really wasn’t worth their time.

“Coffee?”

They both shook their heads. The waiter took that as a sign to bolt. Now came the tricky part. How to get Marc out of here without a bigger scene than he already caused, or worse yet… bloodshed.

“This him?” Dylan asked, his eyes pleading for her to answer in the affirmative. He had a plan.

“It is. Marc the weasel, my ex-boss at your service.” She hammed it up, hoping that by both giving her mate more information, and Marc more time to stew, that it would speed things along.

“So listen here, Marc. My fiancé here told me all about what you did and you deserved what you got. Do you really want word getting out?”

“No one would believe her.” Weasel-face was now shaking as he spoke what he knew was a lie.  She had the recording and they both knew it. He’d messed with the wrong lion. Again.

“You don’t believe that do you?” Oh, her smexy mate pushed some of his alpha power out. It shouldn’t be hot to watch him make a man quake in fear, but it so was. Damn hot.

“No.” His voice was barely a whisper.

“Now apologize to Zara.” Dylan was giving Marc a way out. Now, was he smart enough to take it? She hoped so. She wanted to get back to the wooing.

“I’m sorry, Zara.” His voice quaked and she just shook her head. He was a pathetic excuse for a man and not worthy of either of their time.

“It looks like our dessert is on the way.” Zara pointed to the door. “See ya.”

“Look at him scamper.” Dylan sounded oh so proud of himself. “You’re going to have to tell me that story.”

“After dessert.” She took a bite of her pie, making all of the appropriate yummy noises. There was zero chance she would share what happened with that weasel with Dylan while he was in such close proximity. It could only lead to bloodletting and that would ruin her pie, which really was as exceptional and distracting as she tried to make Dylan believe.

“Why?” Her mate was as observant as he was smolderingly hot.

She took another bite, buying a few more seconds of weasel’s escape. “Because he needs to be long gone when I tell you.” She put her hand on his knee, partly to feel him and partly to encourage him to stay.

“Good mate,” he whispered close to her ear before giving her ear a nip. She needed to eat fast so they could go home. Or to an alley, or the woods. Heck, she wasn’t picky after that nibble.

“
Your
mate,” she whispered back, quivering with need.

“
Mine
.” He gave one last nip. “Check please.”

Yes, indeed, they were on the same naughty page.

Just a little Nibble

“Thank you for dinner,” Zara crooned in what she hoped was her sexiest voice as she fiddled with her keypad, pushing the door open when her fumbling fingers finally got it right. “Would you like to come in?” She really wasn’t asking.

If need be, she would happily drag him in. Why wait? Fate had sent him to her. Goodness, he hadn’t even hunted down Marc once he found out what he did – simply because she begged him not to. She could see him physically struggle with his lion for control over that one, but he did it. For her.

“It is probably best if…”

“Zara!” Stinks, her brother was here.

“Oh, brother of mine,” she shouted to Leo, using his relation to her to preemptively strike Dylan’s jealousy. His lion would remain too close to the surface until they claimed each other, and the last thing she wanted was a misunderstanding as to why another man was in her apartment. “You are early. Days early.”

“I needed to get out of there.” As she looked to meet his eyes, she saw it. Leo was barely hanging on. The pressure of his new responsibilities too much. “Who is this?” His eyes widened before narrowing in on her mate.

“Alpha.” Dylan gave his neck. Such an odd reaction for a rogue, especially given his own innate strength.

Zara shut the door before she bound over to her brother, giving him a bear hug, which he all-out ignored. “This is my mate, Dylan.”

“When did you get a mate?” His eyes still stayed on Dylan who was no longer offering his neck, instead looking at his mate with a smile that could light up a room.

“After I talked to you.”

“That was today.” Leo ran his hand through his hair.

She so liked tormenting him this way. It was a sibling privilege she planned to hold onto even when she lived in town with him and he was her alpha in more than an abstract way. If Dylan was fine with still moving there. They still had some much to discuss.

“It was. So play nice with my kitty.”

Leo visibly relaxed after that. Zara knew her brother enough to know he was forcing his posture to look more relaxed than he actually was.

“Did he claim you?” Leave it to Leo to get straight to business.

She smacked him in the chest. Hard. “If you must know, we were about to get to that when your sorry butt was sitting in my dark apartment like a creeper.”

Zara looked to Dylan, who just shrugged. It was the truth of it after all.

“I will be a good mate, alpha.” Dylan sounded so prim and proper. Not the nerdly sex on stick guy she was so enamored with. This was Dylan from pride days. He was trying to fit in with her clan, even as a rogue.

“He will,” she agreed as she flitted across the room to his waiting arms. She had been too far away from his touch for too long. This mating call crap didn’t mess around. “Will he be clan?” She looked up at her mate. “Do you want to be clan?”

“Why are you rogue?” Leo’s alpha flowed, asking before Dylan could think.

“Alpha, I’m rogue because they wanted me to fight to the death for a position of absolute power I didn’t believe in.” He hadn’t mentioned that to her before. Maybe he wouldn’t want to be clan. Was she all right being rogue and breaking from her brother? Could her brother allow him to be so closely connected to her clan, yet not of it? Crappity crap. This was getting complicated fast.

Moments passed by, feeling like minutes as Leo just stared at her new mate.

“What position?”

“Alpha.”

“And you don’t believe in Alphas?” This was going downhill fast. Zara hung onto her mate.

“No, Alpha, I don’t believe anyone should have absolute power.”

Zara rubbed circles on his back, just as much for her as to help give him the connection.

“Just because we are shifters, doesn’t mean we need to let the animal in us control how we treat each other and rule. There are two sides to us and a lot can be gleamed from using the best of both of our natures.”

Leo gave him a nod and went back to staring. She wished Leo would share what he was thinking with her. He had the ability, but no. Here she was, in the dark during what felt like a life changing conversation.

“And your pride was only lions. No other shifters or humans.”

“Yes sir.” Silence filled the air. Leo wanted him to continue and the look in her mate’s eyes told her the next part was not one he liked to share. She slipped her hand under his shirt. Skin on skin. It made all things seem better. “If a lion took a mate that wasn’t a lion, they were either bled or their bond to the pride was broken.” He said it nonchalantly, but his eyes told Zara a different story. This broke him.

“And how do you feel about that?” There was not an ounce of emotion in her brother’s voice. He was testing Dylan and Dylan felt it. Dylan gently pushed her behind him before he spoke. Her mate must not be sure where Leo stood and didn’t want her to get caught in the middle of things. His pride must have sucked. Big time.

Even if he told Leo the most outlandish, horrible things, Leo would never endanger his sister or anyone else in the clan for that matter. It was not his way. Not the clan’s way. The more she heard about the way other shifters ran things, the more grateful she was for her grandfather and all he did as Alpha before handing the clan over to Leo.

“Honestly, I call bullshit,” Dylan said. Zara raked her hands down his back, under his shirt. Standing up to her brother, even if they were both on the same side, was stupid hot. Darn pheromones. “Love is love. I will not join any pride that treats their own that way. Not even for my mate. She deserves better than that.”

Oh, she was going to fall hard and fast for this man. This nerdly genius. This lion. And then it hit her. Dylan was why Leo was here. Dylan. She began to laugh at her own stupidity.

“Why are you laughing, Zara?” Leo’s perturbed voice had her laughing harder. Such a serious one. He always had been. She walked around her mate, who cautiously let her. He was still on alert, if she read his eyes accurately, but her laughter must have loosened his tension a bit.

“What did Frank tell you before you called me?” Zara composed herself as best she could as she asked. The situation wasn’t actually funny. The tension just got to her, and once all the pieces fell into place, laughter was the end result.

“He told me to call you and tell you to come home because I needed my beta.” She nodded and signaled him to continue with the circling of her hand. “And what did he tell you that had you scared and running all these years?”

She could practically see the light bulb clicking as he spoke.

“That my mate would be an important member of my clan.” Joy filled her as all of Frank’s words and what they could mean for her future truly meant. She not only could, but would have it all. “Does it feel right?” Oh, she knew the answer, but he had to come up with it on his own.

“It does.” A small smile formed on his face. A smile and something else. Relief. Zara was confident it was relief.

“Anyone want to let me in?” Dylan’s arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. Exactly where she wanted to be.

“Dylan, I’m Leo, Alpha of the Lionville Clan.” He stepped forward and offered his hand to Dylan who gave it a good shake. “I’m going to declare you my beta.”

She gave her brother the evil eye. He should have at least asked.

“You what?”

“Beta, you know second in command and all that jazz.” She nuzzled into her mate as she spoke, trying to distract him from the rudeness that was her brother.

“I know what it means, mate.” He kissed the top of her head before focusing back on her brother. “But why me? And don’t you think you should have asked?”

“Because, my future brother-in-law, my Uncle Frank cut through all the garbage and handed us to you.”

“Aaaaand?” Zara more than hinted.

“And I should have asked.”

“I won’t challenge to the death. It’s not my way.”

“It’s not our way either.” Leo sat on the couch, signaling a more relaxed negotiation. She pulled Dylan across the room before pushing him onto the loveseat and plopped on his lap, as her brother’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. Closing them, he continued. “Think of it as an appointment.”

“And women, humans, bunnies... they all are equal in your clan?” Good. Her mate was cautious. Not jumping into anything before he knew all the details. He would make an excellent beta. Grandpa was right.

“We currently have no bunnies other than the ones we hunt, but in theory yes.” Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. “There’s still some work to be done. Some people still hold onto the ways of old, but we are getting there. You can help.” Help. That was what her brother so desperately needed. She hoped her mate would say yes. She would never pressure him to do so after hearing the little she had about his last pride, but she had her toes crossed.

“And my career?”

“He’s a structural engineer,” Zara piped in, partly to brag and partly to give Leo the information so they could get on with this. She had mating to do.

“My sister the nerd found herself a nerd. Nice.” Why yes, she did. “I’m sure you can find some work in town, but you would have to balance it with being a beta.”

“You have no idea what I do, do you?”

Zara held in a laugh because it was so true.

“Not a clue,” Leo confessed. “I’m really needing a beta, and all signs point to you being the one.”

“We could be close to family, you know, when we start our own.”

His hand immediately fell to her belly. She hadn’t meant to bring that up so soon, but her mouth got ahead of her. As usual. His response couldn’t have been more perfect. They needed to get Leo on his merry way.

“And beta would give me enough to provide?” It wasn’t his career he was going to miss. He wanted to be a good mate for her. She nestled in even closer.
Hers.
“I have savings and can get us a home easily enough, but Zara and our cubs will need to come first.” He was negotiating terms. That was a good sign. Terms meant “yes” was in the future. If her brother didn’t bung it up.

“Beta pays well enough and Zara already has land you can use to build.”

“It looks like we have a lot to discuss, my mate.”

“So here is how I see it, brother.” This was taking far too long for her liking and they seemed to be at an impasse, so she was going to move things along. “You can either, stay on the couch and listen to me claim my mate tonight, or you can snag a room somewhere else and come back in the morning.” Leo grunted, putting his head in his hands. “Either which way, my plan for the night is to claim my mate, discuss all things, and then in the morning tell you that he accepts the job.”

“Wouldn’t that be where I come in?” her mate teased. Her declaration that he would do it seemed to have the effect she desired. Amusement.

“I said this is my plan.” She kissed him on the cheek, his scruff from the day tickling her cheek. “I must warn you, though. Historically, my plans have a tendency to not work out the way I envisioned them.”

“You say that like it is a good thing.” Dylan rubbed his cheek on her shoulder, earning them a groan from her brother.

“It got me you.” She straddled his legs, cupping his cheeks with her hands. “Seems fate has a better plan than I did.” She leaned in close, all done with waiting. Her brother knew the score, he would leave before she even deepened the kiss. They could deal with the alpha beta crap in the morning. Tonight was for her and her mate.

She grazed her lips over his and with one touch, he took control of the kiss. The graze became a nibble and the door slammed closed. Perfect. Now she could get to the important stuff. “We’re alone now,” she mumbled against Dylan’s lips before giving them another nibble. The rumble in his throat told her this night was only going to get better.