Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
L ucky was not panicking.
Nope.
She was being level-headed about this whole thing.
So, okay, yes, she met her mate in a town an hour away from everything she knew and loved.
Yes, he was domineering, probably into some illegal shit, and fine as hell.
There was nothing to worry about with either of those things.
Well, the illegal business gave her pause.
She talked big shit to her cousin Keisha about her mate Devon and overlooking his illicit activities, but could she take her own advice?
The whole weekend had been amazing and her body was relaxed in a way she’d never experienced.
It was also so far outside of how she normally operated.
Her family teased her about being impetuous, but she’d always been strict about who she allowed access to her body.
All that had flown out the window in the face of Ezra.
Her panther was not letting up off that man.
Her mind was full of Ezra Kaine, and his scent still lingered on her body even after her shower this morning.
It meant his tiger had marked her deeper than what she’d initially thought.
How long would it last? She was already halfway mourning the moment the last vestiges of his smell left her.
She should’ve stolen an article of his clothing.
Her panther swiped against her in full agreement.
Having something of his in her home would’ve soothed the cat.
She had half a mind to turn around.
Kaine had not been shy about leaving marks all over her body.
Her skin tingled in the areas where he’d left deep bruises that she would wear for days.
No part of her regretted it, especially since she’d left some of her own.
Still, despite her panther’s certainty, the idea of a mate was overwhelming. She owed her cousin an apology.
Her phone rang and she pressed the button on her steering wheel immediately. “You must be psychic.”
Keisha snorted. “How was it?”
“He’s my mate. And I’m sorry for how I was pushing you with Devon. This shit is scary.”
Her cousin cackled. “Baby, if nobody understands, I do. Especially when the male is so…”
Lucky hummed because she understood completely.
“Well, who is he? Wait…you were in Oakridge, is that where he lives? That’s an hour away! Oh God, I don’t know if I want you that far away. Who’s going to be in the hospital room with me? Who is he?” Keisha peppered questions at her, rising panic in her tone.
Lucky chuckled as her cousin spiraled and went through all the emotions. Pregnancy was wearing Keisha out and had her all over the place.
“Who is he, Lucky?” she whined.
“I’m going to tell you who it is, and you’re going to be calm and normal about it, hear?”
“Oh shit,” Keisha whispered. “Wait, let me go somewhere Devon’s nosy ass won’t hear.”
“What y’all hiding?” Devon called after his mate.
“Nothing, baby, stay out of women’s business,” Keisha teased.
There was shuffling as Keisha left the room until the sound of waves crashing onto the shore filled the background. Her cousin must be in the backyard of her beach house.
“Okay, lay it on me.”
“So, remember when our brunch was paid for?”
“Lucinda Brielle Bryant!” Keisha whispered. “Declan told our asses to stay away and you ran and jumped your fast ass on the dick?!”
Lucky couldn’t help the cackle she released. “Can you be serious?”
“That was your reckless behavior from Friday night?”
“I was out with this cheetah I was messing with and ran into him.”
“Hollup now, how you go from a sneaky link to Kaine?”
Lucky groaned and recounted the whole thing to her cousin. Keisha was quiet, which set off butterflies in her stomach.
“Well?”
“Well, what, bitch? According to what Amber could get out of Declan, you finna be mated to an actual gangster, and one who makes even my mate wary.”
Her stomach dipped. “Shit,” she whispered. “Maybe I should stay away.”
Keisha snorted. “Please be for real. That man probably behind you on the highway.”
Lucky looked up, paranoid. There was a lot of traffic on the highway back to Eastfield, so she would never know if someone was following her.
“What should I do?”
“Get to know your mate and see if you can convince him to move a little closer. I don’t know if I like you being a whole hour away. How am I going to drop your godbaby off and sneak away?”
Lucky released a relieved chuckle. She knew her cousin would never judge her, but the tension dropped from her shoulders. Keisha would support her no matter what and that was comforting.
“Uncle Sin finna cut up. Let me get dressed so I can be there when you tell him someone’s taking his baby girl away from him.”
Lucky laughed again. “You so damn messy. Should I be scared?”
“Of what, girl? You know how mates are. That man will worship at the altar of Lucky. You deserve it, and while I’m a little worried, I’m not worried that he’ll hurt you.”
She released the breath she was holding.
“Tell me about him.”
“I don’t know shit about the man. We didn’t spend the weekend talking,” she admitted.
“Oooh, you nasty, tell me everything,” Keisha teased.
Lucky laughed. “I don’t know why I tell your sickening ass anything.”
“You going by your parents today? At least you don’t have to worry about the big Sunday dinner.”
Lucky sighed. Once a month, her mother’s family came together for Sunday dinner, as many of them as could gather.
It had started after Keisha lost her father as a way to keep her aunt tethered after the loss of a mate.
The tradition had continued and they switched houses monthly, gathering and catching up.
Lucky would hate to have to explain this to everyone.
“Hell nah, I’m not going to tell my parents yet.”
“Chile,” Keisha said.
“I need more time to process this. Plus, I need to get more than surface information on him because you know how my daddy is.”
Keisha hummed. “I can’t believe you’re about to mate with the mysterious Kaine.”
“What!?” Both women gasped as Devon’s voice barked.
“Shit,” Keisha cursed. “Didn’t I tell you to stay out of our business, Devon Edwards?”
“Lucky, bring your ass to the house now,” Devon ordered, taking the phone from his mate.
“You not my daddy, Devon.”
“Oh, okay. Let me call Uncle Sin, then,” he threatened.
“No! Don’t do that.”
“Then bring your hard-headed ass over here.” Devon ended the call.
Lucky groaned, preparing herself for the lecture her favorite cousin-in-law was about to deliver.
But it was better than the one Sin would give her, so she adjusted the address on her GPS.
When she got to the exit for Keisha’s beach house, for a moment, she debated continuing past it.
She was grown; she didn’t have to follow anyone’s orders.
But curiosity had her putting on her turning signal because she wanted whatever information Devon had about Kaine.
Her body shuddered as she thought about all the ways in which she and Kaine had taken each other.
The man had left an indelible mark on both her body and psyche.
Even if she had thoughts of denying their mating, Kaine had made sure she would never forget him and his new place in her life.
The whole weekend had felt like something out of a dream.
They hadn’t left the suite he had booked for her, instead spending the whole of it in bed.
Any conversation they’d had had been surface level, little shit meant only to take up space in between them recovering before they went at it again.
She was sore in all the best places. Now she needed to fill in the holes about her mate.
To that end, she punched in the gate code to Keisha’s house, waving at the guard her cousins now kept at the entrance of their property. Now that Devon was second-in-command to his brother Declan’s position in the Motsi, her cousin’s life had changed. Security was just one part of it.
Keisha was waiting at the door by the time Lucky drove up the long driveway. She smiled and got out of the car, happy to see her cousin. Lucky’s hand automatically went to Keisha’s belly, her panther greeting her godbaby first before she leaned over and nuzzled her cousin’s cheek.
“How you feeling, baby mama?”
“Girl.” Keisha snorted and led them into her beautiful house.
“Cousin,” Devon greeted her in the foyer. “I know you wild, but this takes it to hell.”
She couldn’t help the laugh that burst from her. “So you trying to say I did it on purpose?”
He walked over and butted her forehead gently with his. It was a greeting she’d gotten used to with her new cousin. Wolves expressed themselves differently than cats.
“What were you even doing in Oakridge?”
“Minding my business,” she told him, following them both into their spacious kitchen.
Her cousin’s beach house was beautiful. It had started as Devon’s house until the two of them had moved into a mini-mansion closer to town.
The whole place was airy, with high ceilings, white walls, and wood floors that gave it a relaxing feel.
It was big enough for their family to meet and spend time at the beach.
Devon shook his head. “And you managed to find the most dangerous man on this coast to mess with?”
“It wasn’t intentional. I can’t help what my panther wants,” she protested, parking herself on a stool at the island. “He approached me with the pressure. Hell, he paid for this banging ass suite for the whole weekend without even introducing himself.”
“Now how that work?” Keisha sat next to her, her face lit with amusement.
“I don’t need details,” Devon grumbled, and the two women cackled.
“What do you know about him?” Lucky leaned her chin on her hand.
“You know who the Aces are?”
Lucky frowned. She had never heard of them. She shook her head and Devon scoffed.
“That’s actually a relief. I don’t know what you and Key was up to before I came along.”
“Kiss my ass, Devon,” Keisha laughed.
“Well?” Lucky prodded.
“He’s dangerous, but if your panther has already chosen him, there ain’t shit to be done. Just be careful.”
“You not finna tell me anything?” Lucky sucked her teeth.
“It’s for your mate to tell you. Or your daddy. You can ask him,” he taunted.
She wasn’t asking her daddy shit. She would need to have all the information before she went to Sin or he would lock her in her parents’ house for her own safety.
“Are you going to change your mind and go over there today?” Keisha asked, a mischievous smile on her face.
She shook her head immediately. “Sin would be able to tell immediately I’d gotten into some shit.”
“Plus, you smell like a tiger.” Keisha laughed, sliding a finger across a mark on Lucky’s neck surely left by Kaine. “Nasty self.”
Lucky laughed and swatted her cousin’s hand. “Since I’m not going by Kathleen’s house, what you cooking today, Devon?”
He sucked his teeth. “You better be glad your mate is rich. Both of y’all non-cooking asses.”
“Aht-aht, I can cook. I just don’t,” Keisha corrected.
Devon scoffed and rounded the island to his mate. “You’re spoiled, but it’s my own fault.” He cuddled into Keisha, cupping her stomach. “What my baby got a taste for?”
Lucky smiled at them, loving this for her cousin. Now, the fear she’d driven in with was replaced with longing.
The back patio sliding open had them all turning toward the living room and the wide doors that led to the beach and a gorgeous view of the ocean. An eight-year-old slipped through, her ponytails bouncing as she skipped into the house.
“Uncle Devon!” the little girl called out.
Lucky smiled as Declan and Amber’s daughter gripped her uncle’s waist in a hug. He lifted her, smothering her face with kisses.
“What it do, niece?” Devon greeted her with a headbutt.
“Dad said you’re cooking today. I want fried fish.”
“Damn, I’m the family chef now, huh? You came alone?”
Declan and Amber lived just next door, so neither of the adults in the room were worried about the little girl being by herself.
“They’re coming over after they calm down my brother.” She sighed, aggrieved.
Keisha laughed. “Your baby brother is brand new. Give him a break.”
Lei shrugged. “He makes too much noise. I should stay here.”
Lucky smiled and shook her head at the little girl’s antics.
“Sunday dinner here, then,” Devon announced, putting Lei back down.
“I second the fried fish,” Lucky told him and Keisha hummed in agreement.
“A’ight, bet.” Devon went into the pantry.
Lucky relaxed, always happy to spend time with her family. Now that she was about to be mated, to a man a whole hour away, she would soak it all up.