The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 132: Chapter 132

Lance nodded at the Bear and climbed inside the vehicle. The Beta closed the driver’s door, and Lance gunned it down the highway. About ten minutes out, he got pulled over, and received a speeding ticket for his efforts. The seaside town of Maccon City was about an hour away and run by the Macconwood Pack, Wolf Shifters the lot of them
The cop insisted on a license check, which was simply more bad luck. His Tiger was growling even more now, so Lance did something he never thought he would do. He called the Macconwood Pack house, and they got in a call to Cat Maccon-Nighthawk of the Sheriff’s department.
He explained to the officer that pulled him over that his wife had forgotten her asthma pump, but the cop was being a hard ass. It wasn’t until the Werewolf named Cat had put in a call that the officer had let him go with a handful of tickets and a warning to mind the law.
Lance thanked him anyway, took the tickets, and even 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. Anna had mentioned working for Randall Graves, a member of the local Wolf Pack, if memory served him right. The guy was a software genius, and the founder of many popular video games.
Lance parked the truck and jumped out, booted feet crunching the snow as he did. He could not scent her with all the different smells in the air, and one long look had his Tiger was going nuts.
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 already claimed the gorgeous female, and though new, their matebond was already strong.
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 one in a million—a gem among the gravel.
The Graves Enterprises Battles series were the best games on the market, and as he neared her, his eyes glanced at the huge banner that listed the designers and developers. Her name was credited on all six of the games.
His sweet Anna had been modest when she said she made a pretty good loving. She was a brilliant graphic designer, and responsible for some of the best levels on those games. Being an avid player, Lance recognized skill when he saw it. She was so smart and talented.
Too good for me.
No. She is purrfect, his beast growled.
he stood 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. It 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?” Anna asked and 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. Didn’t you see it? I’m sorry, Lance,” she whispered, and pulled him over to where they would have less of an audience.
“Why did you go?”
“I just didn’t want to be there when you woke up and asked me to leave,” she explained and bit her lip.
“What? Why would I ever want you to leave, Anna? I claimed you last night.”
“Claimed me?”
“I thought you understood,” he growled and ran a hand through his hair. He was still fucking this up. She was gonna kill him.
“Understood what?”
“I told you I wanted to make you mine. You said yes. I claimed you with my bite, Anna. Marked you as mine.”
“What does that mean?” she whispered the question, brown eyes glued to his.
“Anna,” he whispered, afraid to lose her. “It means my Tiger chooses you. I choose you to be mine.”
“Oh,” she whispered, eyes wide. “I just thought all that growly mine stuff meant you liked me a little.”
“Liked you? Honey, I love you," he told her, eyes on hers. "I know it seems impossible and fast, but that is how it is for Shifters. I love you, Anna. You are my mate. My beast knew it the moment I breathed in your scent.”
“I have a confession,” she said. “I called Uncle Uzzi this morning and he explained a little to me. You see, my parents always told me and my sister it was love at first sight for them. Sandra thought it was dumb, but I never did. From the second I saw you lance, I knew too. I love you,” she told him, and his heart soared.
Lance moved to kiss her but she stopped him with one hand raised. Fuck. What was wrong? She looked sad and nervous, so he waited for her to find the words she needed. Giving her space was difficult, but he would always give her what she needed. Even if it killed him.
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.
“Okay, first, I have to ask you something, Lance.”
“Okay.”
“Are you really twenty-six?”
“I wasn’t expecting that question, but yeah. I am. Why?”
“Well, I’m already thirty. Maybe you want to reconsider this whole mating thing.”
“Shifters don’t care about age, love,” he explained and smiled gently. “It would not matter if you were thirty or three hundred, I would still choose you. I want you, Anna. All of you.”
“You do?” Disbelief swam in her eyes. “But you hardly know me.”
“I know everything I need to know to pick you, sweet. Everything else we can learn together. 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.
“Oh, yeah.” Anna 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 said and pointed to her leggings and sweater.
“Anna, not that you didn’t look gorgeous last night, because you did,” he said and stalked closer. “But I have never seen a woman look as hot as you do right now.”
“I look hot in leggings with my hair sticking up?”
“Fuck yeah. Like a sexy little nerd girl with a smoking body and a killer grin. Anna, you are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen.”
As if to prove it, Lance grabbed her in his arms, pulling her against the hard evidence of his ever ready arousal. He nuzzled her neck, loving the way she fit inside his embrace and sighed into him.
“Oh,” she replied and swallowed.
“Can I touch your hair?” Lance asked, reaching 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.
The corkscrew curls were held together by a simple black band on top of her head. He could not stop grinning, imagining them spread across his pillow. They were so awesome, tumbling down like curly ribbon or spiral pasta.
He sounded like a fucking idiot, but what did he know? He wasn’t a poet. Still, Lance knew pretty, and that was her. All her. His Annalia with the incredible hair.
“Your hair is gorgeous,” he said and touched the tendrils carefully testing its softness after she nodded her assent.
He cupped her face, kissing her head, then her nose, and finally her lips.
“I love you, my beautiful mate.”
Everything that had gone wrong the last few hours seemed to slip away under the warm, steady pressure of his mouth on hers. She was in his arms, and she was allowing him to kiss her. Hell, she was kissing him back.
Anna’s ready acceptance and submission was his undoing. He deepened the kiss, tasting the apple she must’ve just eaten along with her own spicy chocolate sweetness. She was perfection itself as she sighed and leaned into him with her luscious body.
Christ, he loved this woman. More than anything. He ached for her, his cock throbbed, body trembled, and Lance could hardly catch his breath as their kiss slowed.
He pressed his forehead to hers, and she rubbed his shoulders and nuzzled his neck. Soothing him, calming the beast like no other. He never wanted to let her go. He would do anything to keep her right there where she belonged.
“Annalia? You’re on,” a young man with a microphone interrupted her.
He turned his head and growled at the young punk. How dare he interrupt when he was holding his woman?
Grrrr.
But Anna was pushing out of his arms, and albeit reluctantly, Lance had to let her go.
“What? Oh damn,.” She looked at him then at Lance, indecision in her eyes. “It’s my job, I have to go and talk to the crowd—” Her cheeks were bright pink, and he smiled, realizing she wasn’t leaving forever. Just for a moment.
“Go on,” Lance said. “I’ll be waiting. Oh, here. In case you need it.”
He handed her the pump, and some of his speeding tickets.
“Whoops, those are mine,” he mumbled and scratched the back of his neck with embarrassment.
“You got a ticket trying to bring me my pump?” Anna asked and smiled at him.
It was like the sun shining down on him and him alone, basking him in its warmth, even though he knew damn well it was eighteen degrees outside. Anna was his own personal sun, and his world revolved around her. Always would.
As it should, he thought.
Mate, chuffed his beast happily.
Anna blew him away with that smile.
“Annalia,” he breathed her name, taking her in with his eyes.
“You’ll wait?” she asked, deep brown eyes boring into him.
“Always.”
Of course, he would wait.
“Then we’ll finish talking,” she repeated.
Lance wondered what he’d done to deserve such a beautiful, honest, and deliciously sweet mate. Yes, they would talk. And hopefully more.
“Yes, love, I am not going anywhere without you,” he vowed.
“Okay,” she said and took the microphone from the increasingly anxious convention worker and approached the dais.
“Everyone,” a tall man with long hair and a beard, Lance recognized at once as Randall Graves, owner of Graves Enterprises.
“It is my privilege to announce one of our most talented design artists. A woman whose work allowed Fire Battles to take the gamer into an entirely different world all together, Ms. Annalia Reese.”