The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

A few minutes earlier…
Hunter had heard the car as it rolled to a stop outside the Pride House. His sensitive ears told him the vehicle was not of his Pride.
Weird.
He wondered who would be coming to call on him on such a lousy night. It wasn’t that it was terribly late, but the weather was too rough for friendly visits. Must be someone with an axe to grind.
Well, fuck.
He took a moment to prepare himself mentally for whatever was coming. As Neta, it was his duty to see to any perceived threats to his Pride. Hunter was responsible for the livelihoods and safety of about sixty individual Tiger adults. Some of them had families.
It wasn’t very big, but that didn’t matter. The Maverick Pride was his to take care of. Like it was his father’s, grandfather’s, and great-grandfather’s before him. A Maverick had settled this land over two-hundred years ago, and one had run the Pride for just as long.
He was proud of his home, of his heritage. His father dying after he’d finished graduate school had been quite the shock, but Hunter had risen to the occasion. Taking over at the helm of Maverick Development and picking up as Neta where his father had left off, was not as hard a decision as some thought.
He was born to this. Had been raised to fill the old man’s shoes. Fuck, he missed his dad. Grayson Maverick had been an excellent Neta. Even without his mother, who’d passed a long time ago, the old man had run the Pride and company as well as could be expected.
It was difficult for the Pride to lose their leader, but Hunter had been well received. And yes, he’d even offered them the ancient and seldom used Rite to Challenge ceremony before he ascended to the position.
There had been some who rose to the occasion. Hunter had to beat down a couple of younger Tigers looking to make names for themselves. Silly cubs, thinking him some soft city boy after his time at school.
But he’d proven himself then. And from time to time, he reminded his Tigers that he was the strongest among them. Their rightful leader. Their Neta.
Despite that, rumors popped up concerning his ability to rule. The latest ones claimed he was having problems controlling his beast. According to his nameless and faceless enemies, his lack of a mate would lead to his Tiger going rogue.
As if that bullshit wasn’t bad enough, Hunter was having difficulty renewing Maverick Development’s government contracts. The company supported the Pride, employing many of the able males and females.
Something was wrong, but he had his head turned in so many directions, Hunter could not focus. The local government was giving him shit, talking about lower bids coming in.
Un-fucking-believable.
This was his territory. The only other contractors stupid enough to poach it was a nearby Hyena Pack. Those fuckers had no real work ethic and a bad reputation. He’d need to have a meeting with the Alpha Fem of the Pack if they were thinking about challenging the Tiger Pride.
His ears perked up. The car had definitely stopped in front of the house. Just great. Now he needed to go see who this fucker was.
Hunter saved the spreadsheet he’d been working on and powered down his computer. Listening with his Tiger, he focused on the sound of unfamiliar voices. One was angry.
Blake, as usual.
He shook his head and stood up. Hunter wondered not for the first time if he’d made a mistake appointing his college buddy as his Beta when he’d come back home to Mount Maverick. He’d been emotional with the death of his only remaining parent and taking up the mantle of Neta had not come without challenges.
Tigers did not live in large groups like other Shifters. The Pride of his birth was small, with about less than sixty adult tigers all together. Living away from them while at school had been rough, but he knew it was necessary for him to develop the skills needed to run the company.
Money was a necessary evil, even for Shifters. Maverick Development was responsible for the well-being of the pride, and it needed to be solvent. Hell. It needed to be more than that.
The recent improvements to the homes and healthcare of members of his pride did not come cheap. But he wanted to be a good Neta, and caring for those men, women, and cubs was his honor and privilege.
Fucking Blake, he thought again when he heard the other man growling.
Blake Segal had been a loner when they met in college. He grew up in D.C. and was a single Tiger Shifter in a big city.
He’d been alone for some time. It struck Hunter as odd and a little sad when he’d met him. Shifters in the city tended to do poorly. Having no one to run with, no Neta to help control the animal within, made it difficult to blend with the humans around them.
Sometimes a Shifter went rogue, leaving the others no choice but to turn them in. A rogue Shifter was too dangerous to leave on his or her own and often, they would be hunted by the Council of Shifters.
That secret organization had representatives across Packs, Clans, and Prides. They created the laws which all agreed to abide by in order to keep the Shifter secret. Every Alpha, Neta, or Shifter group leader swore fealty to them when taking their position. Hunter had too, just like his father before him.
When Blake had asked him if they could team up together, Hunter had agreed. It seemed like the smart thing at the time, but just lately Blake had had trouble controlling himself. His angst was ramping up Hunter’s own Tiger. Making it impossible for him to withstand the Shift for more than a week at a time.
Lately, it was even less than that. One of the Pride elders had suggested that having a mate would soothe his animal. That bit of advice had only spurred on new rumors that the Neta was losing his grip.
Hunter saw only one way to end the gossip. Finding his mate. It would squash those rumors questioning his ability to run the Pride and, on a personal note, he was ready to settle down.
Hunter wasn’t opposed to the idea of a mate. Not in the least. A woman around the place would be nice. One who could cook would be better.
Wow.
He ran his hands over the top of his shaved head. Hunter sounded like a chauvinistic asshole, even to himself. No wonder he was single.
Fine, he swore to readily admit to anyone who asked that he wanted a woman who would actually enjoy being his mate. Not some forced or arranged mating with a female Shifter who would sooner slice his balls off than fuck him.
No way did he want to deal with that. Hunter was a romantic at heart. He wanted a woman who was sweet, kind, who liked to cook, wanted to make love with him, and have his cubs.
Fuck yeah.
The thought of cubs made his Tiger chuff impatiently. The beast wanted young. So, yeah, that meant Hunter did too. But he couldn’t be a dick about it.
It was the 21st century, for fuck’s sake. Hunter might want a mate who could bear him many young, but he had to be open to her own plans and ideas. He knew this, and ideally, would not try to keep his mate tied down. But wouldn’t it be nice if she wanted him and a family as much as he did?
Not that he thought women could only be wives and mothers. Just look at his sister. She ran her own business in town. Hunter simply didn’t see himself with a career-oriented woman.
He was too possessive and demanding for that. Hunter wanted someone soft and pretty, who smelled good, who wanted to be the mother of his cubs.
Shit. Might as well throw in the towel now.
He was tired of eating what the unmated males in the Pride cooked nightly. The meat was either raw or burnt, unseasoned and bland. Fuck, nothing tasted good anymore.
The only time food was decent around the Pride House was on the nights Jessica cooked. She was a great sister, but she was no great cook. Her meals were merely edible in comparison to the crap the guys served.
Maybe he should just hire a damn chef instead of trying to find a mate who could cook? Might be easier. His cat scratched at him, and he sighed.
Okay, so he was intrigued with the notion of a mate. But Hunter didn’t have time to sniff one out on his own. He knew none of the Pride females were his, so yes, he contacted Uncle Uzzi’s Magical Matchmaking Service for help.
Uncle Uzzi had come highly recommended from the Pride elders. His parents had known the old Witch too. It seemed a win-win to Hunter. He’d be mated as soon as the busy dating guru could spare him some time.
Purrfect.
Besides, Hunter had to focus on renewing the contracts Maverick Development had with the surrounding counties and neighboring states to go traipsing about the country looking for a suitable mate.
With Uncle Uzzi on his side, he’d have a few weeks to finish fixing what was wrong with his bids, then he could turn his attention to sifting through the candidates the matchmaker would provide. Seemed easy enough.
That was his plan, at any rate. Fuck, he thought with a groan as he stretched. Being the Neta was not an easy job. This delay with their contracts had Hunter troubled. Maverick Development would be shit out of luck without them.
The company was not just the main source of income for the Pride. It was a good place allowing Shifters, who were renowned for their physical prowess, to work out their angst with physical labor. Started by his father more than eighty years ago, it was the best damn thing for the powerful Shifters who needed to expel their surpluses of energy.
Of course, Shifter longevity required some quick thinking on their part when it came to the books. It was a good thing Lance, one of the youngest Tiger Shifters in the Pride, was such a whiz on the computer, otherwise he wasn’t sure how the Pride would maintain appearances.
Lance was responsible for making sure everyone had updated credentials, like birth certificates and licenses. Everything was carefully secured using the latest Draco Fortis firewall system. The Dragon run company was the best in supernatural software.
Damn, he was antsy. The voices from the other room were getting heated, and his Tiger growled deep in his chest. Hunter rolled his shoulders as he stared at the mountain of forms he still had to fill out.
If things didn’t work out, they would need to find other sources of income. Tiger Shifters were notoriously reclusive. They did not play well with others, so finding outside work was the very last thing he wanted to do. As the Pride Neta, he could not let that happen.
Among the papers was yet another complaint from an employee about Blake. Seemed his Beta had been having difficulty managing his team when out on the job. They’d been accused of bullying some of their newer workers. It was the fifth time in three months Blake had started a disagreement.
Shit.
Bad enough Hunter had been forced to hire outside the Pride to level out the unevenness in the crew, but now he was thinking he had to demote his onetime best friend from foreman. Luckily, he’d found a widowed Bear Shifter from the nearby Barvale Clan a couple of months ago.
He’d been lumbering around the Pride territory when Hunter had picked up his scent. He’d sent him off with a single roar that the smart Bear took for the warning it was.
After that, the man had returned to Mount Maverick. He’d asked after Hunter, then he finally came to see him looking for work. It was an unusual thing for a Bear to be accepted into a Tiger Pride, but he was well-liked and respected by everyone far as Hunter could tell.
A perfect candidate to take on the role of foreman.
Brayden Smith was more than a decent man and Shifter. He was hardworking and tough as nails. A veritable fucking mountain. Quiet, punctual, and bigger than most of his Tigers, he’d earned a reputation for treating folks fairly.
Translation: he beat the shit out of the first few punks who thought they could take on the Black Bear and win.
Hunter grinned at the memory.
Good times.
Shifter fights were pretty common. They were a very physical group. Testing each other for dominance was inherent in their DNA. Of course, some felt fighting was beneath them, but they were a bunch of pansy asses, in Hunter’s opinion.
Brayden was of the same opinion. Quiet didn’t equal cowardly. The big Black Bear wasn’t afraid to get down in the mud with the crew and other Pride members when necessary. Whether it was for work or play or just to blow off steam.
Now Blake, on the other hand, with his lazy city habits, would never even try to do half the work the Bear took on. It was becoming more and more apparent he was simply unfit for the job Hunter had given him.
Had he not been grieving for his lost parent, he would have come to another decision. He knew that now. But Blake had insisted he was the right man for the job, and Hunter had wanted him to be. That just reminded him of one of his mother’s favorite sayings.
Sometimes all the wanting in the world doesn’t mean a thing, son. It is your actions that define you.
It seemed no matter what Hunter told his old friend, Blake simply did not listen. He was determined to use his title as Beta to order others around.
Fuck.
His Tiger snarled, the beast uneasy for some reason. Hunter had dallied long enough. The raised voices and growls coming from the other room told him whoever his guests were, Blake was not happy to see them.
Fucking great. Another mess to clean up.