Beau grimaced at the old lady standing outside the store, watching him with eagle eyes as his bike rumbled down the streets of the shifter settlement known as Arrowtown. After more than three weeks riding up and down the country, his animal spirit torn between mates who appeared to be hundreds of miles apart, he was starting to understand why his father insisted his kind waited for the claiming signal before they went mate hunting. His hair was caked with dust, his face was half covered in a four-day scruff that was heading into beard territory and he’d spat out more bugs than he could count.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said politely, pulling to a stop. Considering how badly he needed to clean up, it seemed prudent to get directions from someone clearly a local. “Can you let me know if there is a motel, hotel, or similar in the area?”
The woman sniffed the air and Beau bit the inside of his lip. He really needed a shower and when the woman wrinkled her nose it seemed she would agree. “You plan on staying for a while?” She snapped.
Yes. Beau’s animal half was most insistent on that now they were here. He could feel it himself – an urgent tugging as though his mate was close. “I’m hoping to move here,” Beau managed to smile through the dust on his face. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about this town.”
“Really?” The woman’s arched eyebrow suggested she’d caught onto his bullshit. “If you’re moving here a hotel won’t do you no good. I’ve got an empty apartment, half a mile down the road if you’re interested. Month to month. No bond.”
Beau’s eyes widened. “Thank you, Mrs…Mrs…?”
“The name’s Mrs. Hooper and don’t you forget it. I own this store and have been a fixture of this town for longer than you’ve been alive.” Beau doubted that, but he wisely held his tongue as Mrs. Hooper wasn’t finished. “I’m trusting you’re not going to be riding your bike up and down main street at all hours of the night, like some I could mention.” She flicked an angry glance over to what looked like the Town Hall. “Damn things should be fitted with silencers.”
I wonder if my mate is one of those bike riders. Beau perked up at the idea. It would be great if they had things in common from the start. A tapping foot on the wooden porch pulled him from his fantasies of riding off into the sunset with his mate by his side.
“You’d better give me your name, boy, seeing as I’m going to be your landlord.”
“Beau Ferris, ma’am.” Beau had nothing to hide. “Formerly of the Ferris’s in Wolfhampton. I’m the eldest son.”
“Ferris, hmm. Can’t say I’ve heard that name much around these parts,” Mrs. Hooper said thoughtfully. “Your family’s reclusive if memory serves me right. You come from a lot of money.”
I bet nothing gets past you. “You’re thinking of my father, ma’am. He retired from public life at least ten years ago and now lives quietly with his mates. My younger brother and I have both developed successful businesses over the years. I have enough to pay your rent, in case you’re wondering.”
“I’m just wondering why a slick city bloke like yourself, suddenly takes it into his head to move to a shifter town like ours.”
“Just following my heart strings, ma’am.” Beau swung his leg over the bike. “Do you have a lease for me to fill in? Do you need references? Because I have to tell you my gut’s banging on my spine and I badly need a shower.”
“You do indeed. Come in, but leave those boots at the door. I’m not wiping your muck from my floors. There’s no lease. We trust people around here until they prove we can’t. You can pay a month’s rent and grab some supplies while you’re here. No one will touch your things while they are outside of my store.”
No one would touch them any way or they’ll get more than they bargained for. But Beau wisely kept his mouth shut and followed the older lady into the store. It was clean, bright, and far bigger than it appeared from the doorway. The few customers that were there smiled and nodded but went about their business. There was an overriding smell of shifter in the air, but there were so many different scents, it was hard to deduce who might be the stronger group in town.
Many shifter towns were run by predators, but Mrs. Hooper seemed well-established in her business and she was some kind of bovine shifter, if Beau wasn’t mistaken. Her sons, who she introduced at the counter, certainly looked bullish enough. But he also caught traces of everything from rabbit to tiger, snake to hawk. Maybe this place actually lives up to the shifter town brochure, Beau thought with a smile. He couldn’t wait to dump his bags by a bed, clean the grime from his face and clothes and then it was time to start tracking down his mate on foot this time. Close – so close – soon you’ll be mine, my lovely.
/~/~/~/~/
Liam groaned as he watched his opponent sink the eight ball. Shaking hands, he watched the cocky young thing pocket the money left on the side of the table and saunter off to his friends. Fucking beaten by a rabbit. I’d better not let Seth know or he’ll tease me about it for weeks. Going back to his corner table, he sat down and picked up his glass. He let his eyes wander idly over the crowd, wondering if a quick trip to Jackson was worth the effort.
His only other option, this late in the evening, was to go home and yeah…Liam had done that after his lunchtime drink. But the false cheer and worried glances from the men he called family sent him running for his bike the moment the dinner dishes were cleared from the table.
Checking the clock on the wall, he wondered what everyone at the house was doing. Rocky and Mal probably weren’t even home – they seemed to live at the Sherriff’s office most days. Since Rocky had been elected Sherriff, the two wolves spent most of their time there, weeding out the corruption left by the last shifter who held the job. Ra had been elected mayor at the same time, but he kept business hours, making a point to be home in time for dinner so he could help Seth put the triplets to bed. Simon and Darwin would be taking care of the twins or fucking each other into the mattress and Brutus was probably working on another recipe.
As for Lucien. Liam shook his head as he thought about his quieter brother. Lucien was older than him by two years and had suffered the hardest when they’d been banished from their pride. Shaking his head to forestall any negative memories, Liam picked up his glass and swallowed the rest of his drink. His brother never talked about that time, but he rarely went out and Liam couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a hookup. Liam kept quiet purely and simply because he didn’t want his brother feeling any worse. It’s not as though their banishment was Lucien’s fault.
And there’s no point thinking about hookups either, Liam reminded himself with a shake of his head. The rabbit he’d been playing pool with had been interested, but Liam already knew rabbits didn’t fuck unless they were with their mates. Although the sweet young thing had a lovely set of lips that would feel amazing around his length, if he could get it up. But Liam was tired of embarrassing himself and didn’t even try.
There’s no point. Fucking Theodore, he thought for the hundredth time that day. Liam knew he needed to get over his mate. Thanks to his stupid actions, Theodore had been warned against ever setting foot in Arrowtown again and now Rocky was the Sherriff, he’d see to it that the damn lion would never cross the town boundaries. And as Liam had no intention of ever leaving his family…. Get a grip. One more drink and then home and maybe tomorrow…. Liam didn’t have any answers for that. All he could see was one miserable day blending into another.
Grabbing his glass, he went and leaned on the bar. Cam was busy serving a group of youngsters. One of them must have just hit the legal drinking age because they were all debating the merits of different drinks. Liam could have told them it really wouldn’t make much difference what they chose. It took a lot of alcohol to get a shifter drunk and even then, the buzz only lasted about an hour. Liam heard the door to the bar open, but didn’t look up. He wasn’t in the mood to be sociable.
“Can I buy you a drink?” A large man leaned against the bar beside him and Liam looked up then, his ready refusal dancing on his tongue. The newcomer was tall, broad shouldered with dancing pale green eyes and short dark hair. His facial hair was trimmed close to chiseled cheeks, his moustache cut with military precision along a thin red top lip. The bottom lip was fuller and curved into a smile. Liam’s cock stirred and he almost fell over in shock.
“I…er…I….”
“You look like you could use a friend.” The man leaned closer. Liam sniffed and all at once his cock went from half-hearted to ‘yes now’. Standing upright, he looked the man up and down. There was nothing to dislike. Worn jeans molded to thick long thighs. The pale green shirt was unbuttoned enough to show glimpses of smooth skin. Liam’s lion roared in his head, eager to get closer.
“What the fuck is happening?” Liam looked down at the prominent bulge pushing at his zipper. “Who…what…no…I…fuck.”
“How about we take these drinks to your table and talk about it,” the big man said gently, scooping up the drinks Cam left for them one handed. The other hand rested lightly on Liam’s lower back, scorching through his shirt as Liam let himself be led to his table. In a daze Liam sat down with a thump and immediately grabbed for the glass.
“Introductions first,” his new companion said softly holding out his hand. “Hi, I’m Beau Ferris and I believe we’re true mates.”
“Liam,” Liam could barely get his throat to work. “My name’s Liam Lamont but you must be mistaken. I have…I had…I met my mate and he rejected me over a month ago.” Tears filled Liam’s eyes and he quickly lowered his head unwilling to share his weakness. Everyone knew how special the true mate bond was and being rejected by his left him with a huge “Fuck Up” sign over his head.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Beau said and the warmth in his tone had Liam glancing his way again. Beau really did look sorry. “My kind always have two mates and when you met your other mate my animal spirit was alerted and let me know it was time to track you both down. I promise, you are one of my mates and from the pain you are in it looks like I came along at just the right time.”
“Or maybe you should have been here before I had to face Theodore fucking Western and watch him walk away from me as though I was nothing more than shit on his over-priced shoes.” Liam snatched back the hand he didn’t realize Beau was still holding and picked up his glass instead.
“I can’t imagine why anyone would willingly walk away from someone as stunning and strong as you.” Beau’s voice was like cool lotion on sunburn – soothing and penetrating Liam’s defenses. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”