Read Online Chasing Cristabel (Ashland Pride Six) by R. E. Butler - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: R. E. Butler
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I want you guys to be happy, too.”
“We are,” Chase promised.
As they all turned their attentions back to
breakfast, silence settled over them, but it was a comfortable one.
He’d eaten thousands of times in his life, sitting at a table with
the pride or with his cousins. But no breakfast had ever meant as
much to him as this one. Their first one together as a mated group.
Their beautiful mate, wearing all of their marks on her lovely
neck, and his two cousins, who he trusted with his life. It was
perfect.
When the meal was done, Hunter set her on her
feet and shooed all three of them into the family room while he did
the dishes. Cris settled on the couch, and Chase and Dylan sat on
either side of her, both of them reaching for her hands.
While they waited for Hunter to finish, they
told her about their jobs at the bar and about living with the
pride. He and his cousins had joined the pride a year earlier,
coming with their friends, Ray and Wesley. The boarding house was
more than one hundred years old, with plenty of bedrooms and
bathrooms for all of them. As the males found mates, they would
choose one bedroom to share.
“There are kids in the pride, too, right?”
she asked.
“Seven who live in the house, not counting
Jilly who is eighteen. She just moved to the boarding house a few
months ago. Scarlett, who mated our friends Wesley and Ray, is
pregnant, and so is Melody.”
“My pride is…or was, in Lake Lemanar,
Kentucky.”
“Were you kicked out of your pride?” Dylan
asked.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I just
haven’t been home in a long while. My dad is haj, which is the king
of the pride. It’s the tradition of our people that the fathers
choose the mates for their daughters. For the princess, it would
most likely be a male from another pride, a way for the haj to make
an alliance.”
Hunter walked into the room and sat down on
the coffee table. “You’re a princess?”
She grimaced. “Only in the pride. I have
never toed the line like my father expected me to. The moment I
graduated from high school, I rushed off to college because I knew
if I stuck around, my father would push me into a mating.”
“What about your mom?” Hunter asked.
“I love her dearly, but she’s part of the
problem. She wants me to come home to the pride and take my
rightful place as some prince’s mate, not chosen for love but
whatever my father believes is important.”
Chase’s heart ached for her. He lifted her
hand to his lips and kissed the top. “I’m sorry.”
Leaning against his shoulder, she said, “Why
are you sorry? You guys are the reason that I wanted to make my own
choices. If I thought that my dad could pick the right guy for me,
I would never have left home.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“We’re glad you’re here.”
“You’ll be welcomed into our pride, but the
truth is that the four of us are a pride on our own,” Hunter
said.
She sniffled and said, “You guys are so
sweet. You’re going to make me cry.”
They comforted Cris as she struggled with her
emotions. He looked at his cousins and saw the same determination
in their eyes that he felt course through him. He never wanted her
to regret choosing them. If her own family wouldn’t stand by her
while she chose them, then they’d do their best to fill in the gaps
and be exactly what she needed to be happy.
* * *
Hunter wished that Cris hadn’t suffered in
the way she had. On the surface, her life was ideal, but underneath
the princess title was the harsh reality that if she’d stayed in
the pride, her life wouldn’t have been her own anymore. He couldn’t
imagine a father wanting to make that choice for his child. He’d
sure as hell not stand in the way of his own children’s
happiness.
He rested his elbows on his knees and wrapped
his hands around her thighs. She gazed at him with her pretty blue
eyes. “Whatever you want to do about your family, we’re by your
side. If you
“We are,” Chase promised.
As they all turned their attentions back to
breakfast, silence settled over them, but it was a comfortable one.
He’d eaten thousands of times in his life, sitting at a table with
the pride or with his cousins. But no breakfast had ever meant as
much to him as this one. Their first one together as a mated group.
Their beautiful mate, wearing all of their marks on her lovely
neck, and his two cousins, who he trusted with his life. It was
perfect.
When the meal was done, Hunter set her on her
feet and shooed all three of them into the family room while he did
the dishes. Cris settled on the couch, and Chase and Dylan sat on
either side of her, both of them reaching for her hands.
While they waited for Hunter to finish, they
told her about their jobs at the bar and about living with the
pride. He and his cousins had joined the pride a year earlier,
coming with their friends, Ray and Wesley. The boarding house was
more than one hundred years old, with plenty of bedrooms and
bathrooms for all of them. As the males found mates, they would
choose one bedroom to share.
“There are kids in the pride, too, right?”
she asked.
“Seven who live in the house, not counting
Jilly who is eighteen. She just moved to the boarding house a few
months ago. Scarlett, who mated our friends Wesley and Ray, is
pregnant, and so is Melody.”
“My pride is…or was, in Lake Lemanar,
Kentucky.”
“Were you kicked out of your pride?” Dylan
asked.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I just
haven’t been home in a long while. My dad is haj, which is the king
of the pride. It’s the tradition of our people that the fathers
choose the mates for their daughters. For the princess, it would
most likely be a male from another pride, a way for the haj to make
an alliance.”
Hunter walked into the room and sat down on
the coffee table. “You’re a princess?”
She grimaced. “Only in the pride. I have
never toed the line like my father expected me to. The moment I
graduated from high school, I rushed off to college because I knew
if I stuck around, my father would push me into a mating.”
“What about your mom?” Hunter asked.
“I love her dearly, but she’s part of the
problem. She wants me to come home to the pride and take my
rightful place as some prince’s mate, not chosen for love but
whatever my father believes is important.”
Chase’s heart ached for her. He lifted her
hand to his lips and kissed the top. “I’m sorry.”
Leaning against his shoulder, she said, “Why
are you sorry? You guys are the reason that I wanted to make my own
choices. If I thought that my dad could pick the right guy for me,
I would never have left home.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“We’re glad you’re here.”
“You’ll be welcomed into our pride, but the
truth is that the four of us are a pride on our own,” Hunter
said.
She sniffled and said, “You guys are so
sweet. You’re going to make me cry.”
They comforted Cris as she struggled with her
emotions. He looked at his cousins and saw the same determination
in their eyes that he felt course through him. He never wanted her
to regret choosing them. If her own family wouldn’t stand by her
while she chose them, then they’d do their best to fill in the gaps
and be exactly what she needed to be happy.
* * *
Hunter wished that Cris hadn’t suffered in
the way she had. On the surface, her life was ideal, but underneath
the princess title was the harsh reality that if she’d stayed in
the pride, her life wouldn’t have been her own anymore. He couldn’t
imagine a father wanting to make that choice for his child. He’d
sure as hell not stand in the way of his own children’s
happiness.
He rested his elbows on his knees and wrapped
his hands around her thighs. She gazed at him with her pretty blue
eyes. “Whatever you want to do about your family, we’re by your
side. If you
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