February 12th
Antonio withheld the growl as he surveyed the crowded bar. This was hopeless. He had asked a bellboy at their hotel where the best place to meet single women was and with a leer and a wink, the young man suggested this
But it wasn’t the right place for them. They were looking for life mates, women who weren’t afraid to live in the mountains with a leap of jaguar shifters and potentially bear about six or seven cubs.
The females here were just looking for a night of fun. He watched as they fiddled with electronic devices. Not a lifetime of commitment where wi-fi and TV reception were spotty at best.
The three young males with him were still bright eyed and hopeful. They were the other males from the leap who had come of age and were with him on this awful journey. They were all twenty-five, full of life and made him feel inordinately old.
It was already February 12th. They had wasted five of their days and were expected back at home with their new brides by midnight February fourteenth at the latest. Valentine’s Day - ugh.
Antonio wasn’t hopeful any of them would make it. The three young males would be disappointed, but they would get over it and try again next year. He worried that if he came home empty handed, his prime would go out and find a mate for him. Being forced to find a female himself was one thing, having one thrust on him was unacceptable.
Diego started talking to a pretty, young human. Antonio’s jaguar growled. She smelled like sex and another male. She was already taken.
Damnit.
Antonio pushed his way to the bar, ordering four more beers.
He slipped the bartender a twenty. “I’m looking for a place to meet women who… want a little more if you understand.”
The coyote shifter smirked and stuffed the twenty into her bra. “If you’re looking for something more than a one nighter, check out speed dating events. I can’t say how desperate the women are, but they’re looking for boyfriends, rather than regretful memories.”
Antonio nodded his thanks.
His jaguar groaned as he noticed Diego now embroiled in a fight with a huge guy who was undoubtedly the pretty girl’s boyfriend.
Speed dating. Right, couldn’t hurt. At least they couldn’t be kicked out for loitering, as they were in the library, the mall, and the aquarium – yeah, they’d been hitting places pretty hard, all to no avail. But maybe their luck was turning.
*
February 13th
Hester smoothed out her nametag one more time. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d made fun of her friends for going to speed dating events, and now here she was. Two friends had met mates through this, and she was going to give it her best shot.
Or at least, she’d try her best not to bully and belittle all the men she met. Judging by the cream of the crop here tonight, it wasn’t going to be easy. Two words – hair plugs. Jeez, Louise. Not to mention the guy in the rust colored corduroy suit who had to be in his fifties. There was supposed to be an age limit here – twenty-five to forty. This guy must have a fake ID. Honestly, you spend your childhood trying to be older and your later life trying to be younger.
Hester ordered another white wine. She was going to need it.
*
The host fluttered around Antonio and his three leap mates. “I’m sure you four are going to be very popular.”
She batted her eyelashes, and yes, she was pretty, right up until he noticed her wedding ring. Now she was just annoying.
Antonio grunted and slapped the nametag on his shirt. The three younger males sidled up to the bar, garnering admiring glances from the women.
Lord, this place was worse than the last four. They’d been trawling speed dating events, spending an inordinate amount of money to talk to women who had zero interest in moving up to Honey Blossom Mountain and becoming a dutiful mate. And those who did… well, they reminded him of a movie he once saw where a bunny was boiled. It didn’t surprise him that they were single.
This place did look a little classier than the last few places. The men all wore suits… of a fashion, while the women were decked out in smart, plain clothes - like they were going to a funeral or something.
He looked down at his jeans and flannel shirt. Maybe he should have dressed up a little. At least he should have cleaned his boots. He tried to shine them on his jeans, for all the good it did.
He joined the other jaguars at the bar, grasping the beer Tomas handed him.
Lorenzo was consoling the other two, telling them that at least they could try again next year. And maybe during that time, they would find a mate within the leap. Tonight was their last night. They had until midnight to get home with their new brides to be able to present them to the prime on Valentine’s.
Fat chance.
The younger males were intent on just enjoying the time they had left.
Yep, they had nothing to worry about. Antonio scanned the amassed crowd. There was a sweetness in the air, something that had his beast panting, but he really wasn’t going to get his hopes up.
*
Martyn – four divorces. Hell no. Hester spent their five minutes talking about how much she enjoyed shooting things for sport. She didn’t, but she suspected he was a serial cheater – and she kind of thought that him worrying about her shooting him if he cheated was enough to put him off. It was.
Carl – lives with his mother. Double hell no. She told him horror stories about her own meddling mother. Apparently, she sounded like she was too much for him to handle. Yep, one smothering mother was enough.
Diego – delicious. Her cheetah let out a rawr. This was much more liked it. The young male – a jaguar shifter no less – shot her a cocky grin and asked her a few questions about herself. She answered honestly, trying not to sound too eager, and for some reason, he went completely off her. Hmmm.
Tomas – yummy. He had similar features to Diego but was quite a bit larger. She guessed they came together, probably from the same leap of jaguars. Mmmm hmm, this was one jaguar she would like to leap all over her. He asked similar questions, and she gave the same answers and he… went cold on her. What the heck was she doing wrong? She gave him flirty smiles, made eye contact and was actually very pleasant – a change from the norm, and yet in place of a red hot jaguar, she had a cold fish on her hands.
Next up was Lorenzo. Her time with him went pretty much the same as the last two jaguars. Her cheetah was utterly frustrated, so when it came to the next one, she might have been a little terse.
*
The jaguar snarled in frustration as the female in front of him complained about her ex-husband. Yeah, the last thing he needed was a woman still hooked on her ex.
Ten women in and not even a spark.
The mousy librarian barely able to look him in the eye had done nothing for him. The door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman wore far too much make-up and cared way too much about her skin. The giggly hippy girl trying to ‘live off the land’ made him want to claw his own ears out so he didn’t have to listen to her anymore.
Ten more women, which equated to fifty more minutes of his time, was all he had to get through before the night was over and he could get drunk and pretend he wasn’t about to be mated to a nightmare. He knew who the prime would force him to marry. Born females were few and far between in the leap – hence the need for the unmated males to hunt elsewhere. But there was one unmated female - Valentina. Prettiest jaguar in the pack, and the worst personality to boot. She was the daughter of prime’s girlfriend, and Marta was pushing the prime to force the union because for some reason Valentina wanted him. God, the thought of being at the whim of the selfish, spoiled she-cat for the rest of his life infuriated his jaguar. The prime – his fucking uncle – really was a piece of work. He hadn’t always hated his uncle. Used to love him when he was a kid. Then his dad died in an accident at the timber mill - because of the prime’s lax safety procedures – and prime started paying Antonio’s mother just a bit too much attention. Even now, even though Marta was pushing to become his mate, his uncle lusted after Antonio’s mother. Not fucking happening.
“Hello? Hello?! Jeez, am I talking to myself?”
Antonio snapped back to attention to see the irritating woman clicking her fingers in front of his face.
Bzzzzzzt!
The buzzer started, and he gratefully said goodbye and moved onto the next harpy – woman!
Without any expectation of anything, he was pleasantly surprised to find himself sitting in front of a svelte woman with intense blue eyes, tanned, golden skin, honey blonde hair and naturally rosy pink lips – which were currently scowling.
His jaguar let out a small yowl as he inhaled her vanilla scent. Not just vanilla – the slightly wild scent of a shifter tickled his nose. Another cat. A cheetah if he was any judge. He should try to refrain from making jokes about her being fast.
Antonio gave her a devilish smile and held out his large hand. “Antonio Chavez,” he rumbled.
She shook his hand in a brisk, businesslike fashion. “Hester Carter.”
“So, Hessie,” her eyes flashed pale gold. She didn’t like that, and for some reason, he enjoyed her reaction. “What do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer, okay?” she snapped in a challenging tone.
The jaguar flicked his tail.
“You enjoy living in Los Lobos?”
“It’s fine,” she said through gritted teeth.
Antonio tried to stop the grin from spreading across his face. He didn’t know why she was so riled, but she was adorable when she was pissed.
“You ever think of moving?”
Hester slapped a hand down on the table. “Sure! Why not? In fact, I can think of nothing I want more than to get out of Los Lobos this very night!”
Her cheeks turned pink, and Antonio chuckled. He studied her for a few more moments. A cheetah – that was certainly an interesting prospect. The leap never had a cheetah. Honestly, there were jaguars and humans, and that was it. Technically it wasn’t against the rules to bring back another species, but no male ever had. Maybe because dragging humans back was a lot easier than shifters – who tended to get very bitey in situations they didn’t like. But there was something about this cheetah – this irritable blonde with a scowl that could melt a thousand popsicles – that really called to him and his beast.
Hester folded her arms. “We only have thirty seconds, don’t you want to ask me anything else?”
“Nope, can’t think of a thing. You want to ask me anything?”
“Are you really serious about finding a mate here?”
“Very,” he breathed, baring his fangs.
Hester inhaled sharply, and yes, he could scent the intoxicating smell of her burgeoning arousal
The buzzer sounded, and Antonio stood up to move on. “See you soon, Hessie.”
Her mouth opened in surprise and he was pleased to note that during all her remaining dates, her eyes sought him.
Yep, this trip hadn’t been a bust at all.