Behind the Eight Ball (8 page)

“Good gods,” Janelle whispered. “That’s insane.”

Dolf nodded. “Agreed. It cost him his life. No one messes with my mates, or
any
mates in my clowder.”

Marshell glared at Dolf. “Do you really think we’d let Lawson join you after hearing that?”

“I don’t believe that’s your choice to make,” Dolf replied evenly.

“Um, I’m sitting right here, guys,” I said. “I’m more than capable of making my own decisions. Plus everyone’s assuming Heller wants me.”

“Oh, he wants you. He just doesn’t want you to be… you know.” Dolf waited as the waitress brought out their food and left before speaking again. “After the mating takes place, what Lawson is will change. We all know that. Heller knows that. Doesn’t change the fact you haven’t been raised as we were or have our values.”

I nibbled at my steak. “Maybe not, but I have a better handle on this than most. I’ve been part of their, ah, lives”—I nodded at Marshell and Janelle—“for a good ten years, and known about them for eight. They accepted me, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.”

Dolf looked from me to my friends. “I imagine there’s a story there. A very interesting one, I bet.”

“Yeah.” Dolf seemed like a nice guy, and I might end up being part of his clowder one day, but my relationship with the Vetala wasn’t any of his business. Yet.

Sam eventually joined us, and everyone could see how he and Janelle acted toward one another. It was nice, but jealousy went hand in hand with how pleased I was she’d found her mate. I couldn’t help it. That should’ve been Heller and me. Instead I was stuck here watching this play out while Heller was God only knew where.

Dinner was finally over, and still no sign of my mate. Janelle and Sam stayed at the restaurant. She had her car and could leave when ready. Dolf went home too. Marshell took me back to our business to pick up my vehicle.

“Are you going on home?” Marshell asked as he parked at the shop.

“Yeah. I’m tired, and I have some serious thinking to do.”

Marshell nodded. “I know you. You’re not giving up, are you?”

“I can’t, Marshell. I can’t just walk away. If I go by what I’ve learned about mates, then Heller is supposed to be the perfect match to me. That has to mean something, and for right now, I’m not willing to walk away. Not yet.” I shrugged. “But first I’m going to make a quick trip inside to my office, and then I’ll head home.”

Marshell stood by the back door. “Oh? Why?”

“I left my iPad. I don’t want to leave it here all night.”

“Want me to wait?”

“Naw, you go on. I won’t be but a minute.” I turned off the alarm and opened the back door.

“See you at home, then.”

“Sounds good,” I said.

Heller

OKAY, SO
flouncing off might have not been the best idea ever.
I really needed to start thinking before I reacted. It wasn’t as if traveling the distance home was a big deal. It wasn’t. I might end up with sore paws, but I knew where I was going.

This didn’t explain why I was currently crouched under a car in the parking lot and not on my way home.
Not sure this qualifies as a good idea either.
The car I hid under was located next to the back parking lot for The Perfect Touch Auto Spa and Detailing Shop.

When I scented Lawson on Marshell, I lost it. The idea of another male covered in my mate’s scent drove me nearly out of my head. Hot on the heels of that came ball-shivering horror when I learned Marshell was a paranormal who fed on the blood of humans.

Gut-wrenching fear smothered me, and suddenly the fact Lawson was human didn’t matter so much. My first concern was if Lawson was okay. Then Marshell threatened to keep my mate from me and fear turned into raging anger.

How dare Marshell try to come between my mate and me? The freaky blue snake eyes and fangs hadn’t stopped me from shifting. The other paranormal pissed me off, and my cat wanted out to make a point, even if that meant using claws and teeth.

Funny how things turned around on me. Lawson’s humanity wasn’t the tremendous issue I once thought it was—and wasn’t that just a shocker? All it took was a perceived threat to my mate for me to wake up and see that. I guess it was the kick in the ass I needed.

Lawson’s being human didn’t matter. No, the issue was the closeness I sensed between Marshell and my mate. That bothered me. It was obvious there were deep ties there. It never entered my mind my mate might be involved with another, and I didn’t know how to deal with that.

Well, outside of the fact it made me crazy. My temper still sparked at how easily Marshell touched what was mine. Then the female showed up and she too reeked of Lawson’s scent. It was more than I could stand. I left the restaurant, furious.

Was Lawson involved with the both
of them? And
that
was what sent me running. I knew threesomes happened with shifters and with other paranormals. So how involved was Lawson with them? I knew they hadn’t mated Lawson—his scent was pure human.

But just because Lawson wasn’t a mate to them didn’t mean he didn’t love both the Vetalas. It wasn’t until I’d covered several miles that I realized I’d left Dolf there all alone. I shuddered, remembering those fangs of Marshell’s. Damn things were long.

I almost went back, but Dolf had Sam and several other clowder members there. And frankly I didn’t get the feeling the Vetala were a threat to Dolf, especially since the female was Sam’s mate.
Right, forgot that for a moment. She’s out of the picture now.

If she was in a relationship with Lawson, well, that just came to a screeching halt now that there was Sam. That still left Marshell. What was I going to do? I ended up at Lawson’s business. Some part of me needed to be here since this was the only place I knew to find him.

Didn’t that just speak volumes? Then I saw Lawson and Marshell drive up together, and I died a little inside. Was this my punishment for how I acted toward my mate? Did my goddess give me a mate who was involved with another? Then they talked about going home, and I remembered they lived together.

I was relieved even as the idea of my mate living with another man annoyed me. Dammit, Lawson shouldn’t be living with anyone but me. The thought so startled me I sat up suddenly and banged my head on the undercarriage of the vehicle I hid under.

I let the idea roll around in my head. It didn’t send me screaming into traffic. My whiskers twitched as I thought about Lawson’s clothes in my closet, Lawson’s shampoo in my shower. It didn’t freak me out. At all.

In fact I rather liked the idea of having someone to wake up with, someone who’d be able to scratch that spot I couldn’t reach, and…. Taking a deep breath, I looked at my feelings. Lawson might be human, but he had experience with paranormals.

He knew how to act around us. The fact he even
knew
about us and was still alive meant he could be trusted with our secret. That sounded harsh, but facts were facts. And, well, he seemed like a nice guy.

That day I first met him in his shop, I’d felt the concern radiating off him. He’d truly been worried about me. He spent so much time around other paranormals; maybe he’d learn how to repress some of his more annoying human habits.

Then I sighed, just letting all the stress go.

Somewhere along the way, the fact Lawson was human took second place to the fact he was probably in a relationship. Maybe it would be better for all involved if I just tried to forget Lawson. Right on cue my cat screeched at me. Then again maybe not.

I watched as Marshell returned to his vehicle. Marshell paused as he got in and then glanced at where I hid. The fur down my back stood straight up when I saw the smirk on Marshell’s face.
Fucker.
Marshell knew I was here and hadn’t told Lawson.

That made up my mind.
I want him.
I didn’t know exactly what was going on with those two, but Lawson deserved better. He deserved someone who wouldn’t hide things from him.
And that includes me. By Bast’s right paw, I’m going to have to… talk about my feelings.

Oh the horror.

I watched Marshell drive off. I glanced at the back door of the shop, debating with myself. I could paw at the door. Maybe Lawson would hear me, but then what? I couldn’t shift so we could talk since then I’d be naked.

If I was naked around my mate, the last thing I was going to want to do was talk. It might be better to wait. I crept out and wandered over to Lawson’s car. I was tempted to lift up my back leg and pee on a tire, marking my territory so Marshell knew just whom Lawson belonged to, but I resisted. I’d already made a bad impression.

I might not want to compound that by peeing on his car. After I memorized the license plate, I hurried back to my hiding place. I wanted to get home and run the license plate, which wouldn’t be a problem for me since I used to be our clowder’s hacker, but I also needed to see Lawson leave.

I needed to know Lawson was safe. No doubt about it, the mate bond was working on me. How in the world had Dolf and Tal waited?
Ye gods, I’m going to have to get permission from my Alpha and the elders too.
The temptation to bang my head on the concrete was great, but I resisted. Humans might find it odd seeing a cat doing that.

Eventually Lawson came out, locked up, and went to his car. As soon as the taillights were out of sight, I left my hiding spot and began the long trek home.

THE VERY
first thing I did when I got home, outside of dressing, was check in with Dolf and start apologizing.

“Heller, just stop, will you? It wasn’t a big deal. Your job is to protect our Alpha, and that’s still my dad, not me. Anyway, I wasn’t in danger. Marshell might get on my nerves, but he didn’t threaten Sam or me. Actually I do believe his sister would’ve pulled his fangs out if he’d looked cross-eyed at Sam.”

I paused by the sink and poured a glass of water. All that walking left me thirsty. “I don’t like him.”

“You’re jealous.”

I started to deny it, but didn’t. Dolf was right. I rolled my neck until it popped, then sighed heavily. “You’re right. I am. I hate not knowing what’s going on with the two of them, and Marshell sure isn’t helping matters. He’s a dick.”

“He said the same about you. You know, I find it interesting how much the two of you think alike,” Dolf joked.

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” I huffed.

“Always.” All joking vanished for Dolf’s voice. “I’m always on your side. I’ll stand beside you to the bitter end. But you have to tell me what it is you want.”

I looked around my home. Nothing but silence greeted me. It didn’t used to be like this, but I shook off the memories. That was then and this was now. It was time to move on.

“I… I want him, Dolf. I… oh goddess, I want my mate.” I breathed a sigh of relief. And what do you know? The floor didn’t fall out from under me and the world didn’t end.

“Thank the goddess,” Dolf said, relief infusing his voice. “I’m going to call Dad and set up an emergency meeting for tomorrow. You need to tell our Alpha and let the other betas know.”

“I… yeah, okay.” I scrounged around in the refrigerator until I found sandwich meat. A sandwich would take the edge off my hunger for now. “I know it needs to be done, but….”

“But what?”

I flashed back to the meeting we had when Dolf and Tal found Kirk, and how I acted when Dolf told them Kirk was human. “When you told us about Kirk, I said things I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry for that.”

“Worried now the shoe’s on the other foot? I won’t lie, Heller, that hurt me. How you acted hurt not only me, but Tal too. As you know, your actions toward Kirk had me debating your removal as one of my betas once I assume the Alpha position from my dad.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.” I put the sandwich on a plate, tucked a bag of chips under my arm, and grabbed my water as I walked to the den. “Sorry doesn’t cover it, but I want you to know I truly mean it.”

“I believe you. You saved Kirk’s life. While words are great, you proved through your actions that I could trust you with my mate’s life.
Both
of my mates’ lives. How you first acted is behind us now. I’ve moved on, and you need to also.”

I kicked back on the couch with my food. “I know.”

“You’re going to need to talk to Lawson too,” Dolf said. “And soon. You haven’t made a great first impression. In fact, if I understand correctly, this is the second time you ran away from your mate.”

“Oh shit, I didn’t think about how… I—I… I didn’t mean for it to seem like I was rejecting him again, it was just…. Fuck. I’ve screwed this six ways to Sunday, haven’t I?”

“Well, you do have some ground to make up.”

I scowled at my sandwich as if it were responsible. “I also have Marshell talking against me.”

“In the end that’s not going to matter.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.” I sipped more water. “Then let’s start. I have Lawson’s tag number. I’m going to run it and get his address, plus take a look around to see if there’s any… concerns.”

“Sure. Let me know what you find. Keep in mind Lawson knows about you and paranormals. You don’t have to deal with telling him you’re a shifter, and I’d be surprised if you found anything bad on him.”

“Probably won’t. That just leaves me explaining why I acted like an ass to him and rejected my mate. Telling him I’m a shifter might have been easier. Look, man, I’m going to get off here and eat.”

“I’ll call in the morning and let you know what time to meet us.”

“Sounds good. Thanks again,” I said.

We hung up, and I finished my sandwich. I took a shower and raided the fridge again. I finished off some pork chops and mashed potatoes I had made earlier in the week. After spending hours on the computer hunting for all the information I could find on Lawson—and not finding anything worrisome—I went to bed.

ANOTHER WEEK
had passed, and I was losing my mind. My Alpha was called away that next morning. His wife’s father was in a car wreck. While he was healing well, they still flew out to check on him. Since he lived in Hawaii, they stayed a few days to enjoy the island.