“Then you should follow your nose,” I direct him. “I’m gonna do the same.” I leave him to follow his own trail as I continue on the path that mine is leading me down. This would be so much easier in leopard form; but there is an unwritten rule about shifting in public; even at one of our own held events. The scent gets stronger the closer I get to the beer tent. I feel my skin prickle and my fangs elongate from my gums. Mine, my leopard whispers in my mind. That could only mean one thing, my mate is here!
Just then, I feel a warm breath scenting my neck from behind me. Then words are whispered that send a shockwave of emotions through my system, “Where’ve you been all of my life?”
“Waiting for you to find me.” I twirl around and stare into my mate’s eyes. They’re as green as emeralds sparkling in the rays of the sun. His hair is as blond as the driven snow. He’s built like a bodybuilder and has tattoos covering every square inch of his arms that’s visible outside of his tight, form framing T-shirt.
“Well, I’ve found you now. You’ll never get away from me now that I have.” His eyes blaze with lust as he states this to me. “What’s your name, mate?”
“Glory,” I all but whimper out, as my overzealous hormones surge out of control through my bloodstream. “You?”
“Blaze,” he huskily states, oblivious to how he’s profoundly affecting me. His voice causes my legs to quiver as I fight to keep them steady and hold my body in an upright position.
“How appropriate,” I stammer out, causing him to throw his head back in laughter. My eyes stay glued to his Adam’s apple as it bobs in his throat. My mouth salivates with the deepest desire to lick that particular spot.
“Don’t worry, my Glory. We won’t be going down in any blazes of fire,” he assures me, as we each move a little closer to the other.
“You’ve got that title wrong, big guy,” I inform him as he lifts his hand to cup my cheek. “It’s Blaze of Glory.”
“Well, either way, the only thing that’ll be catching fire tonight, and the rest of our lives, is the linens that make up our mated bed.” I want to roll my eyes at his cliche’d words, but they’re too damn cute so I keep from outwardly displaying this.
“When?” I ask, swiping my tongue along my bottom lip.
“Not until our mating ceremony, Glory. We must respect our prides, and their beliefs. I will always hold you in the highest regards and only show you the respect you deserve as my mate, and old lady.”
“Old lady?” I inquire, confused. I’m only nineteen, nowhere near needing hair dye to cover the gray at the root of my head nor a cane for balance as I walk.
“I’m in line for presidency of the Dark Leopards MC. I’ve been in the club one way or another my entire life,” Blaze admits. I can see the trepidation in his face, the worry is deep that I won’t accept this part of him. My gut burns at the thought that anyone would be willing to give up their true mate because of something as trivial as what the other does for a living. Because at the end of the day, that’s his job.
“Mate,” Blaze calls out at me through our mating link. “Is there a reason we’re reliving this day in particular?”
“I was just thinking about the day we met.” I leave out the ‘best day of my life’ part. My man already has a swollen head when it comes to us and his prowess when it comes to his manhood and our relationship. Looking back at the screen, seeing Maritsa’s picture, I begin to feel a longing for the day that Blaze and I will have children, cubs of our very own. Something is always coming up with the club, causing him to want to push it off a little longer. But I’m always yearning to become a mother, my maternal clock is ticking. I find myself becoming more restless as each day passes with the need to mother a cub of my own.
“Mate, you just went quiet, is everything okay?” His worried tone brings me out of my musings.
“Yeah, Blaze. Everything’s alright,” I lie through my teeth as I say this to him. It’s why I usually resort to texting him instead of using our link; he has this innate ability to know when something’s bothering me.
“Please don’t shut me out, Glory. I can feel that something’s weighing heavily on your mind.”
“I promise, Blaze. I’m really okay. Just worried about Maritsa and the way it’s affecting Angela.”
“We’ll get her back, I swear it, Glory.”
“And the other women? Blaze, their families must be terribly worried.”
“We’re gonna do what we can. I swear this to you, Glory. I won’t rest until they’re all home; safe and sound.” Him taking on the world is what worries me the most. He’s always playing savior to everyone else and leaving me barren.
“I believe you, Blaze.”
Blaze
She may think she’s hiding her sorrows from me; but I know that she’s been wallowing in her grief of me not giving her any cubs. I watch her as she watches the kids play in the clubhouse, how her eyes fall each time they leave to head home with their parents. I ache to give her the deepest desires of the heart; but when we have cubs, I want to make sure they come into our lives at a time when the club is at peace. We won’t always have harmony; but I want to parent my children, not be that co-parent that is sometimes around. I want to be an integral part of their upbringing, bandage scraped knees, teach them
