The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 138: Chapter 138

“What if they don’t like me?”
“How could anyone not like you?” Lance looked at his gorgeous mate as if she’d lost her freaking mind.
“I don’t know, Lance, I am not exactly a people person.”
“Baby, you are amazing, and you’re mine. They will love you.”
He still couldn’t believe she’d said yes. Sure, he’d jumped the gun when he’d claimed her. Hadn’t at all explained what it meant to be his. After she’d gone through the Puspa, he thought for sure, she’d be pissed as hell.
But Annalia surprised him 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 Uncle Uzzi, 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 replied and flashed that wicked grin she seemed to love so much.
“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 commiserated and placed a hand on her thigh, squeezing gently. “But you don’t have to go through any of it alone. I am here for you.”
“I know.” She smiled at him, and there it was, Lance’s own personal ray of sunshine.
Her curly brown hair was down today, and he loved the way the spiral tendrils framed her face.
Absolutely beautiful.
“What?”
“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.”
“It was all your fault anyway,” she said and 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 told him.
“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 Melly 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 said and smiled. “I’ll just get them.”
“Sure, thank you,” 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 just amazing with her. No one was pushy or rushing her in any way. He just sat back and watched his Annalia blossom.
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 said and took a second bite of the small beef and potato stuffed empanada.
“Thanks, I was a personal chef before I became the Nari,” Elissa told her and grinned. “Now, I guess I am the personal chef for the whole Pride.”
“Thank the gods for that,” Reg said and laughed with his arm around his very pregnant mate, Gretchen.
“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 said and laughed. “If by mean you mean terrible.”
They all giggled then and spent the next hour chatting pleasantly. Someone brought in a board game, and soon they had a wicked round of Uno going. Pierce grumbled after losing twice in a row, but everyone just laughed as the last single member of the Honor Guard stormed away.
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 said and teared up. The Nari pulled the younger woman in for a big hug.
“Thank you,” Annalia swallowed and hugged her back. “I haven’t really had that before, but I promise I will make you both glad I am here.”
“we already are,” Elissa reassured her, and Lance’s heart warmed watching the two females bond.
Anna 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 will 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 the Nari whispered words of comfort, promises of friendship, and most of all, happiness as she told his Anna that she belonged right there with them. For Always.
“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,” Anna replied and 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.
That night, 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…
“Lance,” she moaned his name as he slid his cock between her thighs, along the crack of her ass, grazing her outer lips in a slick, sensuous tease.
“Yeah?” he growled.
The flex of his hips increased, and moisture pooled between her legs. She pushed back, trying to get him where she wanted.
Fucking sweet torture, she moaned.
Anna wanted him inside her, filling her, fucking her, making her come. He was her fated mate. That instinct that drove him to the source of her pleasure was un-fucking-canny. He would always know how to touch her, where to kiss her, and when to strike.
With one enormous hand, he captured her breast, rolling the nipple between his fingers, and Anna moaned. His fangs scraped over the mating mark he’d given her and sent shockwaves of heat straight to her pussy.
“Need,” he whispered.
Licking and sucking her skin, his dick continued to tease her slit. Anna knew then things would never be any more perfect than when he was with her.
All her childhood fantasies came flooding into her brain, so, she decided, why the hell not?
“Will you marry me?”
The second the words spilled from her lips her mate stopped moving. Her heart thudded inside her chest. Did she read him wrong? Fuck. Why did she open her mouth?
“Uh, you don’t have to,” she said and tried backtracking, “It’s stupid. I’m sorry I mentioned it.”
But Lance had her turned over, and himself situated between her thighs before she could finish the thought. His blue orbs glowed with his beast and his entire body trembled like a leaf on a tree. The snowstorm raging outside was nothing compared to the battle she saw taking place within him.
“Do you mean it?” his voice was thick with his beast and the emotions riding him.
“What?”
“Did you mean it when you asked me to marry you?”
Annalia swallowed the lump in her throat. Fuck it. She wasn’t a coward. It might seem ridiculous to the people who knew her. Hell, she had a tough time believing it herself, but the fact was this man was her fated mate, and what’s more, she was completely in love with him.
Nodding her head, she opened her mouth to tell him everything.
“Yes, I meant it, but⁠—”
But that was as far as she got before he was filling her pussy, stretching it with his cock, and crashing his lips to hers. Lance made love to her like a wild man.
“Yes.”
Every time he touched her, it was more intense than the last. The sensations growing felt better and better. Her own she-Cat rose, taking this lovemaking as the affirmation it was.
“Yes,” he said again.
She needed him. Like as in needed, needed. The seeds of affection had taken root, were growing each minute they spent together. And maybe it was silly, but she wanted to marry him.
She always thought adults had no use for fairytales. Her parents’ death left her sister in charge of raising her, and Sandra was not a very imaginative or demonstrative person. But Anna had always dreamt of her true love.
Now that she’d found him, she wanted to stand up in front of a crowd and speak her vows. She wanted a real wedding with a dress, and a cake, and doves. The whole shebang.
“Yes. Yes. A hundred times yes,” Lance purred while he drove into her. “You are mine, Annalia. Mine. Mate. Soon to be wife.”
“You’ll marry me?” she asked again, the pleasure building inside of her was growing so intense at his words.
“Fuck, yes,” he promised.
She pushed against his chest, using her hips and newfound strength to flip positions. Once astride, she sat up. His hands reached up to cup her breasts, and she took a moment to adjust to the even deeper invasion of his incredible length.
He grunted as she lifted and slammed back down, impaling herself. Together they moved, a communion of bodies and souls, and she’d never felt so perfectly in tune with another being. But Lance was hers, and she was his. And this was only the beginning.
Her love swelled within her, she acknowledged the feeling, knew in her heart it was true as his love was for her.
“Love you, mate,” he sat up, pressing his hungry mouth to hers.
It was more than a kiss. It was like oxygen. She needed it to live. Breathing him in, tasting him with her tongue, filling her womb with his seed as they rocked each other into another world, Annalia gorged herself on him.
“You’re all I will ever need,” he said, “Love you. Wanna marry you. I’ll be your husband, and you will be my wife. My mate, my love, my best friend,” he whispered as they held each other.
“I love you,” she said, and the truth of her words filled her with peace.
Inside her mind’s eye, she saw her she-Tiger with his own magnificent animal. Together they lay under the shade of a tree in that metaphysical plane where the two existed. Their matebond pulsed around them, a thick blue rope that glowed with love and happiness.
Life was full of changes and turns, the unexpected was about the only thing a person could count on. Annalia had not been lucky for most of her life, but this, this blew everything else away.
“This is just the beginning,” Lance whispered.
“It’s been purrfect so far,” she grinned.
And she meant it. They were purrfectly bound as one unit, one love, mates forever.
The end.
Uncle Uzzi stretched as he looked through his mail. One thick envelope stood out among the rest.
“How nice,” he smiled as he read the invitation.
Spring Weddings were lovely. He had just the gift for Annalia and Lance too. Since neither one of them was a good chef, they’d no doubt appreciate the cookbook filled with his liebling’s own recipes and the brand new 6-quart Insta-pot he planned to send.
The Maverick Pride was growing in leaps and bounds. One of Uzzi’s most successful groups, he mused. His blue gaze travelled over the other pile of letters, and a frown touched his face as he came across one of his itineraries.
Whenever travelling the Garden State, Uncle Uzzi chose to be driven by Falcon Limousine Service with Hank, the business’ owner, as his trusted driver. But it looked like Hank was taking a hiatus.
Hmm.
Hank Garrett was the son of a very good friend of Uncle Uzzi’s from long ago. He’d worked hard to build his company and only drove him around himself because of that relationship. And yet, he’d refused his offer, stating repeatedly, he needed no help finding his mate.
But the clock was ticking for the Falcon Shifter. Eventually, he’d be calling, and as always, Uncle Uzzi would be ready.
“I know what you need, Hank Garret,” he clucked his tongue to his empty apartment.
“Stop being so stubborn. Fate is unavoidable.”