The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

Chapter 4

Beric couldn’t forget about the kiss. He hadn’t wanted to scare her off, but he had wanted her from the moment she pulled up. Her frustration at thinking he and the guard weren’t being careful enough had only made his desire to know her stronger. She was fierce, just like Matthias had told him.

They finished their food in silence. As he gathered their trash, she said, “We have a lot to talk about. Concerning the wedding.”

“Oh, flowers and colors and all that?” He waved his hand. “You can pick all that.”

“You don’t want to have a say at all?”

“I don’t need to. The wedding is the important part.” He shrugged. Wait… Did it mean a lot to her? “It’s not that I don’t care. It’s just… women care more…”

She laughed. He’d thought she seemed a little upset when he had first brought over the sandwiches, but she seemed happier now. Since she had been fine during their walk over here, he thought it wasn’t because of the kiss. Miera had definitely kissed back. He had spied her on her phone, so maybe she hadn’t been happy with whomever she had been talking to. He didn’t know her well enough yet to pry.

“I’m not the kind of girl who dreamed of my wedding day since I was three, but I’ll plan it. My best friend will have a field day with it.”

“Good. That’s settled then.”

“Yes. So it’s a go then? Officially?”

“Officially.” He nodded. He’d told her that looks didn’t matter to him, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t attracted to her. That fiery hair sure matched her personality, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she was like in the bedroom. Probably just as wild and fierce as she was outside of it.

She glanced at her watch. “I should probably head back if I want to make sure I return home before dark. I… We’ll talk soon.”

He stood. “Any idea when we’ll get married?”

“I’m not sure.” She shrugged. “The sooner we join our packs, the sooner we can try and help each other prepare to fend off the Brutal Claws.”

“It can’t be tomorrow, I agree. We need time to finish fixing the fence and to set up more defenses around the compound. Just let me know where and when—”

“And what to wear?” She smirked at him.

“Yeah, sure. Anything. Whatever you need from me.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

Beric threw out their trash, and he walked her back to her car. She left, waving to him as she drove away.

All in all, I can’t be unhappy with the arrangement. At least not yet.

***

A week passed. Every other day, Beric talked with Miera on the phone. Instead of learning more about each other, they talked more about the Brutal Claws and how they needed to get married and soon so they and their people could be safer. While no one had been killed recently, more and more Brutal Claws were spotted near both packs.

Unfortunately, however, there was a problem fixing one of the portions of the fence, which meant a delay in the wedding was necessary. Beric wished to delay the ceremony until after they finished their work on the fence, and Miera agreed. The last thing he wanted was for his men to be unfocused by the other pack and possibly reinforce the wall incorrectly. Attention to detail could help save them all.

When his father wanted to send out were-jaguars for a scouting mission, Beric volunteered and refused to back down. His father eventually relented, but only after Beric agreed that he would not go alone.

Considering that every were-jaguar who could be spared was working to reinforce the fence or to build it up higher, Beric opted to call Matthias. Maybe he should’ve called Miera instead, but she might prove to be too much of a distraction, something he couldn’t afford during a scouting mission. He needed to focus. At least he might be able to learn more about Miera through her brother.

Matthias was already often acting as a go-between for the two packs, and as luck would have it, he was already on his way toward the Teal Warriors. Within an hour, the two of them were out in the wilderness, searching for any signs of were-jaguars.

“So… how is Miera?” Beric asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Matthias stared at him as if to say we’re really going to do this?

“I guess that’s kinda awkward for you.”

“No.” He sighed. “She does it to me, too. I don’t understand why she doesn’t come over more to see you, but she said you two talk on the phone.”

“We do. But it’s mostly about…” Beric swept his arm out to encompass the forest they were scouting.

“The Brutal Claws.” Matthias’s lips twisted into a grimace. “Not exactly a fun conversation then.”

“Not really.” Plus, half the time he spent talking to her, he was daydreaming about their kiss.

“Well, what do you want to know?”

His mind went blank, but then he grinned. “Tell me something she’d hate for me to know.”

Matthias laughed. “You want me to risk my neck for you?”

“She doesn’t have to find out,” Beric promised.

“Like you would be able to keep it from her.” Matthias shook his head. “No can do, man.”

“It must be really juicy then. Come on. Spill. I’ll go to my grave before I’ll tell her who told me.”

“Easy for you to say. Who else would have told you?” Matthias grumbled.

“You’re my future brother-in-law. Give me this.”

“Fine. My sister used to love eating chocolate chip cookies.”

Beric stepped over a large tree root. “She mentioned to me how much she loves chocolate.”

“Yeah, well, to get her back for a prank she did to me, I made her some cookies, but instead of chocolate chips, I used mouse turds.”

“You gave your sister crap cookies?” Beric couldn’t believe it.

Matthias burst out laughing. “I totally did. She ate two before she noticed they tasted strange. I never confessed, and she definitely got me back twenty times over, but still…”

Beric laughed too. “Man, that’s disgusting!”

“I know. Once she realized, she ran after me, trying to shove a cookie into my mouth, but I was faster than her and she never caught me. I can’t imagine what they tasted like! I hid a chocolate-scented candle in the kitchen so she wouldn’t be able to smell the cookies themselves.”