Chasing Cristabel (Ashland Pride Six) (17 page)

Hunter was right. A new chapter of their
lives waited just hours away. Her cat purred, prowling in her mind,
anxious for the mating ceremony so she could mark her mates just as
they’d marked her. A brand of fangs and blood that was
oh-so-permanent. A testament of their commitment to one another,
and their promise to always be there.

“Let’s get the cake and get back to the
boarding house,” she said, reaching for the handle.

“In such a rush, love?” Chase asked with a
chuckle.

“You know it. My fangs are itching to make an
appearance, and my cat can’t wait for tonight.”

“We’re all yours already,” Dylan reminded
her.

“I know.” She looked at him and smiled, and
he wiggled his brows at her.

She pushed open the door and got out,
inhaling a deep breath of the chilled air. Her cat didn’t much care
for the cold, but there was part of her that liked how crisp winter
air was. Her cat stirred in worry, and she felt a tickling
awareness as she turned to face the parking lot and saw her father
get out of his car.

Everything inside her froze as she watched
her father stride to the front of his car and stop, his arms folded
and an angry frown marring his face. Her mother joined him, with
her hands folded in front of her and her head down, as if she
couldn’t bear to even meet Cris’s eyes. There were three vehicles
on either side of her dad’s sedan, and all the doors opened. Mostly
males emerged, but two females who looked vaguely familiar stepped
out also. And then a male she hadn’t seen since she was a child
joined her dad in the center of the group of lions. Salem Gregory,
only son of the king of the St. Louis pride, was joined by his
mother and younger sister. Salem had been a handsome and arrogant
young male, and he looked like an older version of that now –
white-blond hair slicked back and trimmed perfectly, an
aristocratically angular face, giving him a superior look, and his
eyes a pale ice blue.

He slipped his hand into the inner pocket of
his jacket and pulled out a bracelet. Her whole world narrowed down
to the golden chain dangling from his fingers.

Hunter, Chase, and Dylan joined her. She knew
they didn’t understand what was going on, but they were ready to
protect her against anything. She gulped in a great breath of icy
air, searing her lungs, and then her cat gnashed its teeth.

“Tell me you didn’t, Dad,” she said. He was
fifty feet from her, close enough that she could see the hard line
of his mouth and the glare of I-dare-you-to-defy-me in the dark
blue depths of his eyes. “Tell me you didn’t promise me to Salem
when you know that I’m already mated.”

A male growled angrily at her, most likely
because she addressed Salem by his first name. She scanned the
group and didn’t see Salem’s father, which meant he was most likely
haj now. Well, he was not
her
haj.

“Cris?” Hunter asked, turning his head only
slightly to look down at her from where he stood partially blocking
her view of her family.

“It’s my parents and a few of my pride
members, and that male with the bracelet is who my dad arranged for
me to mate.” The words tumbled from her lips so quickly that she
felt like she had a big case of verbal diarrhea.

“That’s too bad for him then,” Hunter said,
with a snarled grunt. “You belong to us.”

“Oh shit, I…this wasn’t supposed to happen.
I…where can we go?” Her lungs squeezed as she panted for breath;
her skin felt clammy and her fingertips tingled.

Dylan put his arms around her and held her
close. She shuddered against him when Salem and a few others
growled. She wanted to cover her ears with her hands and pretend
like this wasn’t happening.

Chase moved up next to Hunter and said, “I’m
Chase Hall, and these are my cousins, Hunter and Dylan. We mated
with Cris last weekend, and she’s ours. If you’re here to
congratulate us on our mating, then thanks. If you’re here to
protest, it’s too late. We’re not about to let her go for any
reason.”

“I don’t recognize your mating, daughter of
mine,” her dad said. “You are still my child, the pride princess,
and you will do as tradition demands.”

Her entire being snapped to attention at her
father’s words. He was right in a way – she was a princess, she was
part of the pride, and she was required to behave a certain way.
But he was also glaringly wrong. She had a new pride now, and a new
future she’d mapped out with her gorgeous mates. Hunter’s body was
poised and tense. Even in the thick coat he wore to brace against
the cold, she could see that he was coiled and ready to strike if
anyone came too close. Chase was the leader, of that much she was
certain now. He would make the decisions for their family going
forward – he would be the head of their house. And her sweet Dylan,
who didn’t have a confrontational bone in his body, was ready to go
to war for her.

She straightened her spine and took Dylan’s
hand, stepping up next to Hunter and putting her other hand on his
shoulder. “I don’t really care what you think. You can’t force me
to mate with Salem. If my mating doesn’t agree with you, then
you’re free to hate me for the rest of your life and that’s your
baggage. Put the bracelet away, Salem. You’re not mating anyone
today, and you’re definitely not mating
me
.”

* * *

Lily closed the lid on the cake box after
placing the cake she’d made for her bestie inside. She’d thought
about making a really feminine and lovely cake, like a white-tiered
confection covered with edible pearls and lots of piping. But when
Cris had told her that it wasn’t traditional to have a cake for a
mating ceremony, she’d decided to go the route of making a fun and
whimsical creation.

After calling her baking instructor for
advice, she’d baked four dark chocolate sheet cakes, whipped a
crapton of buttercream frosting, and dyed fondant a pretty tawny
shade. While researching African lionesses online, Lily had printed
out a dozen pictures and then got to work. The dense cake was
layered with buttercream, and then covered with the golden fondant,
creating a cake in the shape of a lioness. The confection slowly
came to life, the lioness reminding her of the first time she’d
seen Cris shift when she was a teenager. To Lily, shifters were
magical and amazing. She was human, without even a tiny trace of
shifter in her DNA. There wasn’t anything wrong with being human,
but sometimes she wished for something more. Cris’s life seemed so
exciting, at least from an outsider’s perspective. She got to shift
into a pretty lion and go stalking into the woods to find something
to eat.

Lily made a face at that thought. Maybe being
a shifter wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. She wasn’t sure
she could eat a bunny. Turning her attention to the counter, she
signed the card she’d bought for her bestie along with a gift card
for a mani-pedi at the Ashland Day Spa & Salon. Even though
this ceremony wasn’t a wedding, Lily thought it would be prudent to
get Cris something as a gift.

As she slipped the card into the envelope,
she heard yelling coming from the parking lot. She moved to the
front window and saw Cris and her three guys facing off against a
large group of people. Peering at the group, she saw Cris’s
parents. Her dad looked pissed, but Lily wasn’t sure she’d ever
seen him actually happy. He’d always had a permanent scowl on his
face.

Lily scanned the group who stood in front of
Cris, a wide gap between the two sets of people. Cris’s mom looked
miserable, like she couldn’t even find the strength to lift her
head. With Cris’s parents were men and two women Lily didn’t
recognize. As her gaze flicked from stranger to stranger, one man
caught her eye. Damn, he was gorgeous. Tall, hot, and hunky. Just
the way she liked her men. Or, she would if she had time to date.
Between the diner and school, she hardly had time to fantasize
about guys, let alone actually go out on a date with one. But this
guy…she’d skip classes for him.

She snorted at her teenage-worthy crush.
She’d been single for a
long
time.

Grabbing her coat, she opened the door and
headed for the parking lot and for Cris. She was worried about her
friend and the friction that zinged through the air. As she
approached the group, two things happened simultaneously: Cris
shouted for her to get back inside, and the tall, hot, and hunky
man growled at Lily with flashing golden eyes.

Well, shit.

* * *

Cris saw Lily out of the corner of her eye.
She hadn’t expected her to come out of her apartment, or that she’d
even realize that anyone was there.

“Go back inside, Lily!” Cris shouted.

Salem growled so loudly that everyone froze,
even Lily, who was mid-step; her booted foot hung in the air as if
she weren’t sure she should put it down on the ground. He moved
like a missile, sweeping Lily into his arms and pushing her behind
his back. He snarled and snapped his teeth. Was he…protecting
her?

“What the fuck?” Hunter asked. Which was
exactly what Cris had been thinking.

“Salem?” his mother asked, her voice soft
with curiosity and tinged with wariness.

He growled deeply, and Cris’s eyes
widened.

“No way,” Cris said under her breath.

“What? What’s going on?” Dylan asked.

“I think he’s claiming Lily.”

“Um, hello? Cris?” Lily called from behind
Salem.

Hunter turned slightly, casting a wary gaze
at her father and then turning his attention to her. “The male your
dad brought to mate with you found his truemate in Lily?”

“It sure seems like it. Look at him,” Cris
said, waving a hand in his direction. Although no one had moved
much since he’d grabbed Lily, Salem still looked furious, ready to
fight if anyone tried to get near her. “She’s his mate. His
heart-chosen mate.”

She shook her head. Things had just gone
sideways in a way she never expected. Her dad brought Salem here
for her, and he ended up picking another girl. Life sure could be
strange.

She hooked her arms through Dylan’s and
Hunter’s and tugged. “Let’s go talk to Lily for a sec.” Chase came
with them, all three of her mates with the same
wtf
look on
their faces. They approached Salem, who looked ready to go all
claw-and-fang against the world, and Lily, who peeked around his
broad shoulder with her brows so high they disappeared into her
hairline.

“Lily? This is Salem Gregory. He’s a lion
shifter from St. Louis. Salem, this is my best friend, Lily St.
James. I think you’re scaring her, which is not the right way to
meet your mate, or to treat her. She’s human, and although she
understands some aspects of our kind, she doesn’t understand
everything.”

Salem blinked and shook his head, his eyes
going back to normal and his fangs and claws receding. He pulled
Lily to his side and turned to face her, cupping her face with his
hands. “You’re perfect.”

Lily’s cheeks flamed crimson. “I’m definitely
not. But you’re pretty damn close.”

He purred softly, and Lily’s eyes widened.
“We have much to discuss, Lily. Is your home here?” He glanced past
them to the apartments.

“Uh, yeah. I’m…what’s going on?”

Cris almost laughed at her friend’s
confusion, but then she saw her father and the rest of the pride
members coming toward them, and she could practically feel how
angry he was.

“This is about to get bad,” she said to
Hunter.

Chapter 14

Dylan couldn’t get a handle on how fast
things had changed in the parking lot. One minute they were facing
off against her pride and another male, and the next, Lily seemed
to be the male’s mate. It was uncanny how swiftly the tide had
turned. But it hadn’t changed her dad’s fury. His face was red, and
fur had sprouted on his cheeks.

He stalked over to their small group with his
people trailing behind him. His claws were out, black tipped
against his skin, and his fangs flashed.

“Salem, I did not bring you here for you to
slum it with a human. You agreed to mate with my daughter, and you
will do as you swore!” He spat the words at them as he came to a
stop a few feet away.

There was a long moment of silence, and then
Salem roared. Judging by their white-blond hair, the two females
who scooted behind the enraged male were most likely his mom and
sister, and two more males moved to stand in front of Salem in a
defensive position.

“You will watch your tongue!” Salem
shouted.

“It’s insulting! Worse than a different breed
of cat, she’s useless to breed children with,” Cris’s dad said. Her
mother gasped and then bared her teeth at him.

“Gustav,” she hissed.

“Stay out of it, Leandra,” Gustav said.

“Isn’t it bad enough that you pushed like
this? She said she was mated.
Look
at her.”

Hunter took a big step back, pushing Cris
with him, moving all of them out of the line of fire. Dylan’s cat
chuffed in worry. There were too many women in the parking lot. He
didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Cris whimpered, biting her lip.

Dylan saw Salem tense and the dusting of fur
that bristled on his cheeks. He knew exactly where the male’s fury
was going to go. The last thing Dylan wanted was for Cris to watch
her dad get attacked. Although, judging by his bad attitude, Dylan
suspected that her dad could handle himself.

Dylan knew he could let Hunter handle things,
whatever might come, but in that moment, Dylan knew that
he
was the one who could ease the tension.

Stepping away from Cris, Dylan moved between
the two groups. Salem’s eyes were glowing a fiery, molten gold, and
he sported some very serious fangs.

“Dylan!” Cris cried out. Hunter stopped her
from moving forward, and Dylan was thankful for Hunter’s quick
reflexes. The last thing Dylan wanted was for Cris to get in the
middle of things.