Lyric & the Cats (The Wolf's Mate Generations Book One) Read online

  Elliott resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Human males were idiots.

  “I don’t owe you anything you, jackass,” Danielle said as she twisted her arm free of the human’s grip. She stepped to her dad’s side and then kicked the male in the groin. “Keep your damn hands to yourself.”

  The human howled in pain as he grabbed his crotch and fell to his knees. And that’s when all hell broke loose.

  The drunk humans at the table went after Danielle as if they had one mind and had coordinated the attack. While Chase managed to keep one away from her, Elliott intervened with the other two as the rest of the pride members rallied around them, dragging the drunk humans away from Danielle. The door opened as Elliott reached it, hauling a struggling, shrieking male through the bar by one arm.

  Evan looked at him in surprise. “I heard someone put their hands on Danielle,” he said.

  “Yeah, then they all attacked us,” Elliott answered.

  “I’ll call Dad and get some backup. Bring ‘em outside.”

  Evan held the door as Elliott dragged the male over to the side of the building. He pushed his ass to the ground. “Stay.”

  The male glared at Evan but didn’t move.

  Three other males landed next to him, including the one who had started it all, looking worse for the wear.

  Evan grabbed spare cuffs from the cruiser and he and Elliott cuffed the males and then took their information while they waited for Eryx to appear. While Evan took statements from the pride members, as well as the few humans in the bar who hadn’t been part of the problem, Elliott went inside to check on Danielle.

  “How’s your arm?” he asked, finding her behind the bar with an ice-filled rag against her upper arm.

  “It’s fine, just bruised. It’ll heal quick enough, it just aches a bit. They’re going to be arrested?”

  “Yeah. Evan will get your statement when he’s done outside. You need anything?”

  She blew out a breath. “Yeah, my truemate and a better job.”

  He chuckled. “I can’t help you with either of those, but I can commiserate with you on hoping to find a truemate soon.”

  “I just figure that if I found my truemate—or truemates—then I wouldn’t have to worry about males hitting on me like that. They’d see the mating marks and know I’m mated.”

  “It’s a nice thought, but I think drunk humans can be assholes no matter whether a female is mated or not.”

  “I suppose.” She looked wistful. “I really thought I’d be mated by now.”

  “Me too.”

  “I think it’s the mountain lion in me. She wants to have a family.” Danielle’s mom, Cristabel, was an African lion, and her three fathers were mountain lions. He didn’t know about African lions, but mountain lions loved families and kids.

  “There must be something in the water,” he said. “We’re all thinking about finding our truemates.”

  “Maybe that’s a good sign that things are going to change for our people and we’ll start getting mated. None of us from this generation are mated yet.”

  “I never thought about it, but I guess you’re right.” He and Evan were the oldest of the next generation of pride members. It hadn’t occurred to him until that moment that none of their friends were mated. “I hope it’s a sign that things are going to change for us.”

  “Me too.”

  He helped fill drink orders until Chase came back in and took over. By that time, his father was there, and he and Evan had loaded up the humans into the squad car to take them to the town jail to dry out for the night before they were brought to court in the morning.

  “Thanks for your help,” Eryx said, clapping Elliott on the shoulder. “I’m glad things didn’t get out of hand.”

  “Me too. Sometimes the humans can be such pains in the ass.”

  “Yeah, but the town is half human so they’re welcome in the bar, so long as they keep their hands to themselves.”

  “Danielle needs to find a nice, safe job and get out of the bar.”

  “It’s too bad she’s not a teacher. The elementary school just had a teacher retire this week and they’re scrambling since school starts in three weeks.”

  “Wow, which teacher?”

  “Mrs. Finley. She was your third-grade teacher, right?”

  Elliott nodded with a chuckle. “She always mixed up me and Evan, but she was a sweet lady.”

  “Well, I’m sure they’ll get a great teacher in, hopefully before school starts.”

  Elliott said goodbye to his dad and headed into the bar to settle his tab with Chase, who waved him off. “You stepped in and kept me from putting my fist through that male’s face. Your beer is on me.”

  “Hey, I helped too,” Reilly said.

  “Not fast enough,” Chase said with a laugh.

  “Damn it.”

  “I’m heading out guys, see you around,” Elliott said.

  As he stepped out into the night, he looked up at the sky. The full moon was on Saturday. His family shifted every full moon because their mom was a wolf, so the whole pride had gotten into the habit of shifting and hunting on that night. Maybe the coming full moon was messing with him a little too, and it wasn’t just that he was lonely and hoping to find his and Evan’s truemate soon.

  Nah. It wasn’t the full moon. He just flat-out wanted to find their truemate, which was something all mountain lion males craved.

  And he hoped they found her…sooner rather than later.

  Chapter Three

  Lyric set her bag down on the kitchen counter of the small rental home she shared with her best friend London, a fellow she-wolf. “You home, babe?” she called.

  “Yeah, just a sec, I’ll be right out.”

  The day had been a long one after lunch. She’d had to break up a few fights with some of the young males, clean up a huge mess from a slime-making project, and soothe a toddler who was new to spending the day away from her mom.

  London came out of her bedroom tying her long, dark hair into a braid. She was wearing shorts and a tank, and her face was glowing like she’d just scrubbed it.

  “How was work?” her bestie asked as she plopped down on one of the stools at the counter.

  “Meh. Typical. Yours?”

  London worked at an organic grocery store and spent her free time making soap and candles with her mom, Jenna.

  “Nice. We got in some of those chocolate covered coconut bars you like. I put a pack in the fridge.”

  “Ah, you’re a saint.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that but I’m pretty damn awesome.”

  Lyric hurried to the refrigerator and found the package of her favorite treats.

  “Your laptop just beeped,” London said. “And grab me an iced tea while you’re in there.”

  “Hmm, I wonder why,” Lyric said. She pulled two bottled iced teas and tucked the bag of coconut bars under her arm, then shut the door with her hip.

  She joined her friend at the counter and set their things down, then extracted her laptop from her bag.

  “Oh,” she said, looking at the screen. “I got a notification for a new job posting within the search parameters I’d set today.”

  She clicked on the link to open the job, anticipation singing in her veins. London leaned over and peeked at the screen as Lyric read out loud, “Grade three teacher opening at small public school.” She read through the notes, ticking off in her mind as she went along. She met all the requirements for the job posting, and although the salary wasn’t as high as some of the others she’d applied for, it was intriguing because it included moving expenses.

  “Holy crap,” Lyric said, sitting back a little.

  “What?”

  “It’s in Ashland.”

  “Where’s Ashland?”

  Lyric re-read the posting and clicked on the map to be sure. Yep...Ashland, Indiana. Where her mom’s former best friend lived with her mountain lion mates. “It’s in Indiana.” She turned to face her friend. “Do you know the story of my mom and her bestie, Callie?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Ah, well, Dad was flexing his alpha power and told Mom she wasn’t asserting herself as Alpha with her bestie Callie, and when my mom refused to come down on Callie, Dad was a giant jackass to my mom in front of the pack. Callie decided to leave and go rogue even though my mom had stood up for her. The way my mom tells it, she was really heartbroken that Callie split, especially since things were strained with my dad for a while after that. Anyway, Mom and Dad took some pack members up for Callie’s wedding—she married two mountain lion males.”

  “Whoa, hold up. Two?”

  “Yeah. Crazy right?” And oddly titillating, but she’d keep that thought to herself.

  “For sure. I mean I’ve heard of some shifter groups that like to share, but I’ve never known any personally.”

  “What groups?” Lyric asked.

  “Well, mountain lions apparently, but also hyenas. I only know that because Jessamyn told me about her mom getting hit on by a trio of hyena males who wanted to mate her.”

  “Three...that’s a lot of dicks.”

  London, who was taking a drink of tea, spit it out and coughed loudly.

  “Sorry.” Lyric grabbed a napkin from a holder and handed it to her friend who wiped her mouth and then the counter.

  “Anyway, yes it would be a lot of dicks. You were saying? About your mom and this Callie girl?”

  “Right, so Mom thought Callie would come back to Allen after she mated her guys, but Callie had no intention of doing that. Their friendship kind of flopped after that. They send birthday cards and talk on the phone once a year maybe, but that’s about it. It’s sad when besties aren’t besties anymore.”

  “Well, that won’t happen
to us. We’ve been besties since day one.”

  “Fact.”

  “You think your parents would be mad if you applied for a job in Ashland?”

  Hell yes. “Considering that they want me to stay in Allen forever and mate a wolf? Yes.”

  “Half of your problem would be solved if you mated Remy.”

  “I don’t like him like that.”

  “Are you sure? He’s yummy.” London made a dreamy sighing sound.

  “Barf, he’s like a brother to me. You mate him if you think he’s so yummy.”

  “Hard pass. I don’t like him like that either.”

  “Poor Rem, he’s never going to be mated.”

  “You know what? I think you should apply for the job. You want to be a teacher; you need to follow your dreams. Get out there, find your path and make your way. Maybe you’ll meet your truemate along the way. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  “My parents could disown me.”

  “They won’t. You’re their first born. They might be mad at first, but they trust you to make good choices for your life. And P.S., it’s your life to live, not theirs.”

  Lyric chewed on her bottom lip as she toyed with the touch pad, hovering over the button to send her resume to answer the job post. Well, she’d already applied for jobs outside of Kentucky, what was one more? True, it was different because it was Ashland, but wouldn’t her mom be glad to have her go to a job interview in another state where she actually knew someone? Maybe she could even call up Callie and ask if Lyric could stay for a night if she needed to.

  She was really getting ahead of herself. First, she needed to apply. Maybe.

  No...not maybe. She was going to do it, because suddenly sending her resume to Ashland seemed like the best idea she’d ever had.

  Maybe fate was really on her side for a change. Maybe this was the start of something new and amazing.

  She clicked the button to send her resume. Then she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

  “Yeah, girl! Good luck! Oh wait, you’ll have to move. Wah!” London made some fake crying sounds and Lyric laughed.

  “You could come with me.”

  “I don’t think so. I have a fab job here in town. I might not have my truemate yet, but I might cast a spell for him if he doesn’t show up soon.” London’s mom was a fairy, and their people could cast a spell to locate their truemate. Jenna had spelled for Logan, and he’d actually saved her life. London’s brother, Kash, was a full fairy with feathered wings and power over metal. He was damn handy to have around if you locked your keys in your car.

  “Could you spell for mine?”

  “Nope, just mine. But I’m not in a hurry to do that. I’m having too much fun. Now, let’s celebrate you sending a resume out to a place that might be a problem for your parents.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “Ice cream. And a movie marathon.”

  “I have work tomorrow.”

  “Fine. Ice cream and one movie. Your choice.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Thanks for encouraging me. I might need some of your courage for when I tell my parents. If I get an interview that is.”

  “I’m here for you, babe. That’s what besties are for.”

  Chapter Four

  Tuesday morning, Lyric woke to an email from the Ashland Elementary School principal, Gayle Carmine, asking Lyric to call after eight that morning to set up an interview. She read the email four times before it really registered.

  She had a job interview!

  In Ashland.

  Well, hell.

  She had a hard time concentrating as she waited for eight o’clock to take a break and make the call.

  “Mrs. Carmine, please, it’s Lyric Gerrick.”

  “Just a moment,” the female who answered the phone said. There was a click and some canned music, and then another click.

  “Hello, Miss Gerrick, I’m Gayle. Thank you so much for calling. How are you today?”

  “Great! I was really excited to see your email and I’d love to set up an interview.”

  “Could you come Thursday?”

  “This Thursday?”

  “Yes. Is that too soon?”

  “No, it’s perfect, actually. It gives me time to make plans and get there.”

  “I’ll send you an email with a list of nearby hotels. Normally, we wouldn’t reimburse you for travel expenses, but with school starting so soon, we’re against a tight deadline, so we’re able to reimburse you for one night’s hotel stay, plus thirty-five cents a mile, round trip. Just keep your receipts.”

  “That’s great.”

  Gayle gave her the details, and Lyric wrote furiously on a gas receipt she found in the cup holder. Clicking the pen when she was finished, Lyric said, “Thank you so much. I’ll see you on Thursday.”

  “Drive safe, I’m looking forward to meeting with you.”

  “Bye.”

  Lyric ended the call and exhaled loudly, chuckling at the turn of events. How many resumes had she sent out and gotten zero response? Or schools that wanted to do a phone interview first, which never went anywhere? Too many to count. That the school wanted to do an in-person interview right away was heartening, but she decided not to get her hopes up just yet.

  First, she had to talk to her parents and see if her mom would be willing to reach out to Callie and ask for a room for the night for her. Even though the school was willing to pay for her to stay in a hotel, she’d feel more comfortable staying with a family friend.

  Before she lost her nerve, she called her mom.

  “What’s up sweetie?”

  “Can I come see you and Dad at lunch? I need to talk to you both.”

  “Of course you can. Is everything okay? You can talk to us now.”

  “Everything’s great, I just need to talk to you. But not now, I’m on break and I have to get back.”

  “We’ll be at the garage.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you in a few hours. Thanks Mom.”

  “Welcome, honey. See you!”

  Lyric ended the call and leaned her head back against the headrest. Her nerves kicked up a notch and she knew it would get worse once she actually met them at the garage. She got out of her car and took a deep breath, putting a smile on her face and shoving her worries about her lunch meeting away. She had no idea how they’d react when she told them the news, but worrying about it wouldn’t do anything but drive her crazy.

  She walked into the daycare and focused on the kids and the painting project they were all working on. Picking up a brush laden with red paint, she smiled at the little girl next to her and said, “I love red, don’t you?”

  * * *

  Lyric parked next to her mom’s car at Pete’s Garage, named after her grandfather who’d been the Tressel Pack alpha until he was injured in a hunting accident and her dad, Jason, had taken over. Her mom had joined the crew as a staff accountant and was the only female in the place. Lyric had been interested in cars as a little girl, when she’d gone with her parents and had hung out around the big, noisy machines, but she hadn’t wanted to actually learn how to fix cars. She left that to her brothers, Bram and Gideon, who’d been working there since high school.

  She saw Remy in one of the bays and waved at him. He smiled and waved.

  Stepping into the waiting room, she saw her Uncle Michael and greeted him.

  “Hey kiddo, what’re you doing here?” he asked after giving her a hug.

  “Seeing the parents.”

  “Ah. You’re not in trouble, are you?”

  “Who, me?”

  He snorted. “Yeah, right. You and Jessamyn were quite the troublemakers in school.”

  “I refuse to comment on the basis of not incriminating myself or my partner in crime.” Lyric and her cousin Jessamyn had been quite the little hellions in school.

  “Good luck with the parents, kiddo.” Michael turned back to the computer and Lyric walked down the hall to where her parents’ offices were.

  Her dad was behind the desk that was piled high with papers, and her mom was sitting on the edge of the desk whispering to him. Her dad wasn’t the most outwardly emotional guy, but she always knew that her parents loved each other and her and her siblings. She had no doubt that no matter how much of a badass alpha male Jason Gerrick was, he loved her.