The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Jessica gently pushed her aside and faced the shelf of jars with her hands up like she was ready to duke it out with the pickled cauliflower. Elissa snorted.
“Are these all freshly canned?”
Row upon row of gleaming jars of canned fruit, vegetables, preserves, and pickles sat next to bundles of dried herbs. It was beautiful.
“Oh. Well, yes.”
Elissa beamed at her, and the younger woman cleared her throat.
“I can’t cook, but I do grow things. What we don’t eat, I sort of can,” Jessica said, tucking her hair behind her ears.
The woman blushed bright pink, and Elissa reached out and hugged her. She had nothing but love for someone who could grow and pickle veggies. Back in her apartment, she had a small herb garden on the fire escape, but the thought of having a vegetable patch was just amazing.
“Is the garden here? Can I help? OMG! I am so excited, tell me more,” Elissa said and pulled a few jars of peeled plum tomatoes off the shelf.
With her grandmother’s recipe for her Sunday meat sauce simmering on the stove, Elissa instructed Jessica to fill a huge pot with water and salt before setting it to boil.
“Wow, that much salt?”
“Oh yeah. Then you don’t need any extra when you sauce it,” she explained.
Elissa figured four pounds of pasta should be enough if Jessica was telling the truth about Shifter appetites. Judging from Hunter’s insatiable lust the previous night, she tended towards believing the pretty redhead. On second thought, she turned and grabbed two more boxes of the 100% pure semolina pasta.
After mixing up the ingredients for meatballs in a giant stainless-steel bowl, Elissa taught Jessica how to scoop and mold them properly. After a while they had roughly six dozen ready for the oven on cookie sheets. Once the ovens reached the correct temperature, in they went.
“This really is some kitchen,” Elissa sighed, and set the timer.
“Wow. I can’t believe we did all this already,” Jessica replied, looking at all the food they’d prepared.
“Wait till you see how I cook for the holidays,” Elissa said, only half joking.
“OMG! I can’t wait. Hunter is going to love this. He’s been looking for a cook for a long time, and the interior designer who worked with him on the renovations thought she was the woman for the job. I have never seen my brother shut down a woman like that, and fast. He never was one to mess around, though he’s had plenty of girlfriends. Oh no, I, I didn’t mean-” she stuttered when Elissa’s face fell.
“It’s okay, Jessica, I mean, of course he’s had experience. I mean, just look at him,” Elissa replied and tried to shrug it off.
The sting of unshed tears had her blinking, and she turned away. Sheesh! Why was she so emotional? She turned back to the fridge to dig out some grated cheese.
“No seriously, Lissa. Hunter hasn’t dated anyone in years. He’s been waiting for his mate all this time. He’s been waiting for you,” Jessica said in earnest.
Elissa nodded. She wanted to believe her, but it was difficult. How could she compare to a Shifter female? Looking at Jessica’s tall frame and pretty face, Elissa figured she was up against some serious competition when it came to the women he was used to.
“I see what you’re doing, Lissa,” she said and shook her head.
“Don’t go there. Look, I opened my big mouth when I shouldn’t have, but I swear on my mother’s grave, a mated Shifter never ever cheats on his mate. Like never ever. He couldn’t, even if he wanted to. The animal inside of him wouldn’t allow it. Besides, if my brother ever thought about it, I’d kick his ass for you!”
“Okay,” Elissa said, laughing now. “I believe you. It’s just new to me.”
“I understand, and I apologize again. You have no idea how relieved we all are that he found you. You see, the whole Pride needs you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, someone’s been starting a rumor that he wasn’t fit to lead because he did not have a mate.”
“What? Is Hunter in danger?”
“Huh? No! He’s the strongest one out of all of us. His leadership wasn’t even challenged or anything, just empty rumors from some faceless guy who cited some old Pride laws about needing a mate to rule,” Jessica said.
She shrugged again, but Elissa’s stomach clenched. Was that why Hunter had contacted Uncle Uzzi? She’d thought he wanted a mate for himself, but if this was true, then it was possible he had ulterior motives.
His position as Neta was being threatened by someone who was too cowardly for an outright challenge. That was truly a terrible thing, but it made her wonder.
Was yesterday real? Was that his actual response to her or to his circumstances? Maybe he faked it to keep her by him, and, therefore, keep his position safe? Last night had been the most poignant night of her life, but what if it was all just a lie?
The sounds of heavy footsteps coming towards her made Elissa jump. She frowned as a group of enormous, slightly sweaty men came trudging through the door. Each was a giant to her, and one stood a full head above the rest. They looked tired and worn, a layer of dust covering most of them. Not that it took away from their attractiveness. She had to admit, they were a great looking group of guys.
“What is that awesome smell?” one asked.
“Don’t tell me Jess learned to cook overnight or something?” added another.
Elissa was standing off to the side, unnoticed so far, but she watched as one young man stepped closer to the pot of sauce. It was the guy from last night, the one who’d handed Hunter the towel. She figured he was Lance.
Waiting for his reaction, she watched him as he sniffed the pot of sauce and moaned, but not before getting a whack to the back of his head from Jessica.
Good for you, thought Elissa.
“Sheesh! Have some manners in front of your Nari,” snarled Jessica.
Elissa was too pleased to see all the men sniffing the air and rubbing their stomachs, to be offended by anyone’s behavior.
“Sorry, Nari,” Lance said, rubbing his head.
The men stilled and turned, staring at her. Gulp. She heard more than one growl and panicked for a moment. Were six pounds of pasta going to be enough? They looked like they could eat twice that.
“Everyone, your Nari is making lunch.”
“She is?”
“Yeah, so you better go wash up, and make sure you leave your work stuff in the mudroom!” Jessica hissed at the men.
She flicked more than one hand that tried to creep towards the rack of cooling yeast rolls with a kitchen towel. The men whined and grunted, but they did as she said, each one bowing slightly to Elissa before running down the hall.
The largest male tipped his head in a polite bow as he walked by, and she gulped and took a step back. He was gigantic, and he moved differently than the rest of the men, who reminded her of a group of alley cats she once saw working together to take down a garbage can.
They mumbled as they walked by her, using the same word Jess had used. It was what Hunter had called her the night before, Nari. She’d thought it meant mate, but that couldn’t be right if they were all saying that to her.
She just had no idea what it really meant, so she simply stood still, smiling, and nodding at them in turn. The tallest one paused for a brief moment and looked at her with intense brown eyes that bled to black before lowering his head in a deep sort of bow. He whispered something that barely made out. It sounded suspiciously like a vow.
“On my honor, I swear my allegiance and vow to protect you, Nari,” the large male nodded once more.
He ignored Jessica when the woman was looking, only to glance behind him the second she turned her attention elsewhere. The tall man stared for a long moment before walking away to the section of the Pride House that held single rooms.
“Lance! You forgot your boots again,” Jessica called, ignoring the big man.
She didn’t seem to even see him as she growled and ran after Lance. If the younger Tiger was what Elissa suspected, then the guy was something of a player.
Definitely not looking to settle down with a mate forever and ever, which was what she’d picked up from her new sister-in-law. Did the saucy redhead have a thing for the baby-faced Tiger? Elissa hoped not. That kind of unrequited love or lust could be a real bummer.
Hmm.
She just hoped Jessica didn’t get hurt. For the time being, she had her own mating to think about. It almost made her giggle, but she stopped herself once the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
Elissa felt the atmosphere change. In that same instant, she knew she was being watched. Inhaling a calming breath, she startled, almost sure she’d tasted anger and a perverse sort of pleasure in the air. But that wasn’t possible, was it?
Shaking it off, she pressed a hand to her abdomen as a cramp hit her so hard, she almost gasped aloud. Biting her tongue, she turned to find one man standing silently in the kitchen.
A tremor of fear slid down her spine as she recognized the male. He smirked and entered the room slowly. The male stood with his hands on his hips, insolently raking her with his hard gaze, tipping his head as he sucked in a long, deep breath.
It was more than just a look this time. He was positively glowering at her. It was Blake, the Pride Beta. Elissa was not a fan of the creep who’d tried so hard to intimidate Uncle Uzzi and herself just the night before.