But Annalia was a surprise at every turn. Beautiful and curvy goddess that she was. He’d spent the morning raining kisses along her soft skin. The spicy chocolate cherry taste of her forever imbedded on his tongue.
He thanked the gods, and Gerri Wilder, for bringing them together. Of course, there was still a lot they needed to learn about each other, but she was willing to try, and that meant everything to him. Lance was not going to fuck this up.
“I called the company Sandra used to pack my things. Instead of returning them to the apartment, they will be at the cabin sometime tomorrow, if that’s okay?”
“Okay? That’s perfect, love,” he grinned.
“Good,” she said, but she was nervous.
“What’s wrong?” Lance frowned.
“I guess, I am just worried about my sister, about us. A lot of changes, you know?”
“Yeah,” he placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed, “but you don’t have to go through any of it alone. I am here for you.”
“I know,” she smiled at him and it was like a ray of sunshine.
Her curly brown hair was down today, and he loved the way the spiral tendrils framed her face. Absolutely beautiful.
“What?” she laughed.
“Just thinking how lucky I am.”
“Yeah right,” she snorted and even that was charming, “Wow, look at all this snow!”
He’d called Brayden that morning about keeping the company mode of transportation, and the Beta had agreed it wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t his range Rover, but it would do the job.
“Sorry about your car,” she bit her lip, picking up on his thoughts.
“Don’t even worry about it, love. I ordered a new one already,” he winked.
“It was all your fault anyway,” she tried for haughty, but his mate was all giggles once his fingers found her ribs.
He lifted her up and pulled her over onto his lap, tickling her then kissing her some more. Someone knocked on the window, and they broke apart.
“You two coming inside, or what?”
“Who is that?” Annalia whispered, tiny hands clutched at his shoulders.
“That’s just Pierce,” he said, and nodded at the man, “In a minute, bro.”
Lance wasn’t rushing her. He just held her and waited until she was breathing normally again. The she-Cat would take care of most of her allergies, but she’d been born a human. Her asthma was still going to be an issue, though nowhere near as bad as before.
“I’m fine,” she rolled her eyes.
“You sure?”
“Yes,” she pushed against him, “Come on.”
Lance walked into the Pride House first. Hand on the small of his mate’s back, he guided her to the large living room. He liked the feel of the soft ivory sweater she wore over dark brown leggings and knee-high boots.
The fire was roaring and the curtains that covered the sliding doors leading outside were open, revealing the gorgeous snow-covered yard. A couple of Tigers prowled outside, playing in the white fluff, and Annalia gasped. He had to remember she wasn’t used to such sights, even if she was one of them now.
“Hi!” the Nari walked in with two babies on her hip, and promptly handed one over to his mate, “I’m Elissa, and you are Anna, right? Would you mind? Celia has been cranky all day.”
“Not at all,” Annalia smiled at the little cherub, her nerves disappearing at once.
Lance nodded his thanks and Elissa winked as she handed little Milly to him. The Nari was a kickass female and knew exactly how to break the ice.
“Thank you both, I made some snacks earlier,” she smiled, “I’ll just get them.”
“Sure, thanks,” his sweet mate answered.
They sat down on the rug with the precious cubs and Lance pulled a chest filled with toys over so they could play. Little by little, more of the Pride came in to meet her.
They were an amazing family. He knew and recognized that as fact. Grateful for the way they’d arranged this so as not to overwhelm Annalia, Lance cleared his throat and nodded his thanks to Hunter and Elissa. They’d brought in a couple of trays filled with homemade goodies.
“Wow, these are great,” Annalia took a second bite of the small beef and potato stuffed empanada.
“Thanks, I was a personal chef before I became the Nari,” Elissa grinned, “now, I am the personal chef for the whole Pride.”
“Thank the gods for that,” Reg laughed with his arm around his very pregnant mate.
“Amen,” Brayden said, holding his own little cub, “We used to take turns, and it wasn’t good.”
“Hell, I made a mean chili,” Lance insisted.
“Yeah,” Hunter laughed, “If by mean you mean terrible.”
They laughed and chatted pleasantly for over an hour. Couples came and went until it was just the two of them and the Neta and Nari once more.
“Annalia, we understand you have experienced the Puspa, and are now a Shifter,” Hunter began, “as Lance’s mate, you would have been an honorary member anyway, but since you are now a Shifter, we would like to officially welcome you to our Pride.”
“That means you are family, sweetheart,” Elissa teared up and pulled the younger woman in for a big hug.
“Thank you,” Annalia swallowed.
She wasn’t used to that sort of thing. He knew from the way she talked about life with her sister. Sandra and Glenn were not exactly dripping affection. But his Annalia deserved that and more.
She would get used to it, he promised himself. Because like it or not, she was his now, and he was going to spoil her rotten with how much he loved her.
Love filled him as his mate’s eyes overflowed while she returned Elissa’s embrace. The Nari whispered words of comfort, promises of friendship, and most of all, told her she belonged there with them.
“The Pride is a family like nothing you have ever known. We have our squabbles, but we will always have your back.”
“Thank you, I, I don’t know what to say,” she wiped her eyes.
Lance knew what she was feeling. Through their matebond, he was keenly aware of her emotions. Truth was, he was quite overwhelmed himself.
The Pride had not only welcomed his mate with open arms, but they cared for her already. It was there in the link that connected all the Tigers of Maverick Point. He’d never been so honored in his life.
Except, of course, when she’d said yes.
Mine.
Epilogue
Annalia welcomed Lance’s arms around her. The day had gone better than she’d expected. The Pride was wonderful, and she just knew Elissa, Jessica, Pamela, Gretchen, and Kylie were going to be amazing friends.
Already, she had a lesson in how-to-be-a-kickass-she-Cat scheduled with her new Nari. Smirking, she snuggled deeper into Lance, who she’d thought was still asleep. The bulging evidence at her back said otherwise, of course. Thank god.
“Mate,” he purred into her ear, the sound eliciting an instant response.
Pussy dampening, Annalia moaned and pressed against him again. The she-Cat couldn’t get enough of her big, protective, sexy male.
Good mate. Strong. Ours.
The human side of her was quick to agree. She understood the link that bound them was more perfect than any human license or declaration, and yet…