Then he saw it. Annalia’s inhaler. It must have tumbled from her purse last night.
Oh no. What if she needed it? What if she had an asthma attack? Shit! He had to get it to her. He could Shift, and Elissa could tie a bag with his clothes around his neck. Yes, that could work.
“Nari,” he said, and opened the door, “can you help me, I’m going to-”
“Go outside and get the keys from Brayden?” she supplied with a knowing smirk.
“What?”
“He’s pulling up now, Lance,” Hunter walked over to him, sans baby slings, and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“What you did was dumb as fuck,” the Neta growled, “We all make mistakes. Now, go make it up to her.”
“Look at him go,” Elissa wiped a tear from her eye as the babies played on the carpet, “remember to sweep her off her feet. And for f- fudge’s sake, talk to her,” she smiled at her mate who tsked his wife.
Their whole effort to not curse around the two precious cubs was hardly working out. But they were still the best people Lance knew.
They were his Pride. They were his family. And that meant everything. But he knew he would leave Maverick Point if she wanted him to. He would do anything for Annalia. She was his entire world now.
Nothing else mattered, except bringing his mate back home. And home was where she was. Hunter would understand. Lance nodded at his Neta before running outside to where Brayden had just parked one of the Maverick Development SUVs.
“Hear you have a mate to track down?” the enormous Black Bear Shifter grunted.
“Yeah,” Lance agreed, “But what if I fuck up?”
“You will,” he grinned, “But making up is half the fun.”
Lance nodded at the older man and climbed inside the vehicle. The Beta closed the driver’s door, and Lance gunned it down the highway. He was pulled over and got a speeding ticket on the way to the coastal town of Maccon City, which was run by a Pack of Wolves.
Just more bad luck, which had his Tiger growling even more. But once he explained his wife had forgotten her asthma pump, the cop had let him go.
Seems he had a daughter with the same terrible affliction. Lance thanked him, took the ticket, and pledged to send a large donation to the Policemen’s Ball the next time around.
Once he entered the city limits, finding the Villa was easy. It was a large banquet hall that had been rented out for the Graves Enterprises unveiling event. In fact, Randall Graves was a member of the local Pack if memory served him right.
Lance parked the truck and jumped out, booted feet crunching the snow as he did. Shit. There had to be a thousand people there. Maybe more. As he moved inside, he saw it was set up like any other convention. At least two-hundred booths and half as many stands were arranged in rows selling or demonstrating new advancements in gaming tech and graphic art.
At the center of it all was a small dais and podium. He recognized a few members of the neighboring Barvale Clan, as well as some of the Macconwood Pack Wolves milling about. Lance nodded politely, but he was scanning the crowds for one person only.
Finally, his Tiger breathed in deeply. Every single cell in his body tensed. His stomach did somersaults, and his heart went crazy off the rails like a runaway train. The familiar scent of chocolate, cherries, and chili pepper mixed with just a hint of Tiger reached his nostrils.
It was only moments then till Lance located her with unerring accuracy. Need raced through his veins, desire spiking his blood. It made it difficult to think, but that was natural. He’d marked her as his. Claimed the gorgeous female.
She was too good for him. He knew it, and yet, he could not let go. Everything he knew about her solidified his belief that she was an absolute gem. A brilliant graphic designer, being an avid player meant he knew and recognized her skill when he saw it.
The Graves Enterprises Battles series were the best games out there. And her name was listed on all six. So? Yes, he googled her when he was in the shower. Of course, he did. He’d been dying to find out all he could about his sweet, sexy mate.
But now he was standing there like a deer in headlights. Fuck. What if she rejected him? What if she turned him away? Lance had no doubt his Tiger would go insane almost immediately. The animal needed her almost as much as the man did.
But she was worth the risk. He knew that without a doubt. Anna coughed, and Lance was on the move.
Sweet mate needs us, the Tiger chuffed. Yes, he agreed. He just had to prove he could be everything she’d ever want and more. And he would, happily too, for the rest of their lives.
“Annalia,” he called out, his voice hoarser than he would have liked.
“Lance? What are you doing here?” she blinked at him curiously.
“You were gone,” he began.
“I know, I left a note,” she said, but he shook his head.
“No, no note.”
“It was taped to the front door. Anyway, I’m sorry I just didn’t want to be there when you woke up and asked me to leave,” she bit her lip.
“What? Why would I ever want you to leave, Anna? I, uh, well I claimed you last night, I thought you knew,” he was still fucking this up. She was gonna kill him.
“I know, well, I mean,” she shrugged, “I, uh, didn’t know last night. I just thought all that growly mine stuff meant you liked me a little.”
“Like you? Honey, you are my mate. My beast knew it the moment I breathed in your scent,” he knew his eyes were glowing as his Tiger peered through, but he couldn’t help it.
“I, uh,” she bit her lip nervously, “I called Gerri Wilder this morning and she explained it a bit.”
Lance stood anxiously. This is what he rushed here for, right? To tell her what she meant to him. He probably should have played out some scenarios in his head where she told him to fuck off.
“Lance,” she looked up at him, “Are you really twenty-six?”
“What?” he asked, but he nodded, “Yeah. I am. Why?”
“Well, I’m thirty, so maybe you want to reconsider this-”
“Shifters don’t care about things like that, love,” he smiled gently, “I want you. All of you.”
“You do?” disbelief swam in her eyes, “but you hardly know me-”
“I know everything I need to know, sweet. If you would just give me a chance to prove it to you,” he whispered. Please, he begged in his mind, please give me a chance.
Those deep brown globes were bright and beautiful under a curtain of wildly curly hair. And Lance stilled. Wait. What?
“Your hair is curly,” he grinned.
“What? Oh, yes,” she straightened her shoulders as if daring him to say something, “It frizzes all the time. Yesterday, I had to sit in that salon chair for an hour and a half to get it to look like that. And it’s not something I do very often. Also, the clothes, I don’t dress like that a lot as you can see,” she pointed to her leggings and sweater.
“Anna, not that you didn’t look gorgeous last night, because you did,” he stalked closer, “But why on earth would you be worried about how you look? You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
“Oh,” she swallowed.
“Can I?” Lance reached up tentatively, noting her tension.
Some women hated to have their hair touched, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to get his hands on the wealth of hair atop her head. Like a crown, he mused.