Accidental Mates

6

“Well that was anti-climactic” Cassie mumbled, slouching down in her chair. The girls were enjoying their first break of the day with a few snacks. Mark had decided to join them.

“You didn’t seriously think it would be that easy did you?” Mark asked incredulously, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Well, no,” Cassie turned to look at him, “I didn’t think I’d mate the first male I touched, I just thought the process would be more stressful I guess.”

“Well I for one am glad it was that simple “ Liz chimed in, “maybe we will get through the day without some creep trying to get handsy.”

“Of course you will sis, that’s what Logan and I are for. Isn’t that right, bud? Anyone wanting to mess with our ladies will have to go through us!” Mark said, as Logan entered the room.

“You’re absolutely right.” Logan agreed, sending rumbles through Cassie’s body again with just the sound of his voice.

When she turned to look at him, she met his dark brown eyes staring at her. She shivered as he gave her a dangerous smile.

“Anyone trying to hurt you will have to go over my dead body first. And I’m not that easily beaten. As long as I’m here, these cubs will stay in line, don’t worry.”

“Wow!” Mark nervously chuckled, “anyone else scared of Logan now? No? Just me? Ok then..next pair?” He asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Cassie nodded as she turned away from Logan’s piercing gaze. For some reason she felt safe with Logan there, like he meant every word he had spoken to her. Something inside told her she would need someone like Logan to lead the pride by her side. She just hoped her future mate measured up to her expectations. As the door opened and the pair of males stepped out, Cassie got the feeling that she was in for a very long day.

Later

Logan

Fifteen males, sixteen counting the one currently running his hands up and down Cassie’s arms. For two and a half hours, Logan kept himself seated by sheer force of will as one by one, each male took their turn trying to form a mate bond with her. Their attempts to bond with her were as varied as the males themselves. Although Logan wasn’t happy having any male near her, some made him less weary than others. Logan knew Cassie well enough to know she’d never have a mate bond with any male that wasn’t strong enough to handle her. It made Logan breath a little bit easier whenever he’d see a timid male walk through the door. So far, he’d seen a few that did nothing more than touch her hands and arms.one poor kid was so afraid, he didn’t even dare to touch her. Logan almost laughed at the poor make as he awkwardly stood in front of the two girls until the attendant told him that he could leave. She had barely finished talking before he had fled the room. As bad as that had made Logan feel for the young male, He couldn’t completely shake the tension he got from the bolder, more confident males. Each time one come in the door, Logan worried that would be the male to form a bond with Cassie. Regardless of what they did to her however, Cassie never moved or showed any interest in any of them.

Obviously giving up, the disheartened male tuned and headed toward the door. Logan knew he had about three minutes before lucky number seventeen entered. He decided it would be a good time to stretch muscles that had been in the same position for far too long. Moving to the back of the room away from the others, Logan saw as Calvin left his seat to join him by the door.

“Tell me Logan,’ Calvin began as he reached the younger man,

“As he protector, you know Cassie well. Does any of the males you’ve seen so far look like a good fit for my daughter?”

Logan glanced at Laura as she left to join the girls with a bag he assumed held snacks.

“Honestly sir, I don’t think so. Cassie could never be happy with sho couldn’t match her fire, so that takes the betas out.”

At Calvin’s nod of agreement, Logan continued.

‘The alphas match her with fire but some of them seem too overbearing for her to put up with them for too long. Then there were the two that thought females should be thankful for any attention the saw fit to give them. Cassie wouldn’t be happy with someone who’s loyalty she had to fight for, or worse, beg for.”

At that, Calvin chuckled, “You know our daughter well Logan, Almost as well as we know her ourselves.” Placing a hand on the younger male’s shoulder, Calvin drew him back to the row of chairs.

“You are also a very good judge of character, even when body language is the only type of communication you get. I agree with you, Cassie would be unhappy with every single one of the males she has met so far. There are only a few more left to meet her. Let’s hope one of them is worthy of her. Otherwise, she will remain unmated for now and continue to be in danger. If that is the case, I hope I can continue to trust you to protect our daughter?”

Hope wasn’t the word Logan would use to describe what he was feeling, but he gave Calvin a tense nod and resumed his seat, waiting for the next male to enter the room and put his hands on Cassie.

“What are we going to do if she doesn’t form a bond?” He heard Laura say to her mate as she joined them and pulled meat sticks from her bag, passing them to the three males sitting around her.

“The threats from the rogues are getting worse everyday. They will eventually make good on their threats and I’m worried we won’t be able to protect her.”

“Let’s not worry over things that haven’t happened yet my dear.” Calvin tried to comfort her as best he could. “There’s still more males waiting. She could still bond with one of them.”

“I hope you’re right.” Laura sniffed as the door opened and Phillip walked in.

This time, there was no controlling Logan. The instant he saw Phillip walk in, his lion took over. He had always been a fast shifter, but this time his form slipped from man to beast within an instant. One moment, Logan the man had jumped from his seat, in the next a giant black lion stood where the man had been. There was no stopping his lion’s need to rip Phillip apart. Logan had just enough man left in him to realize he wouldn’t be able to break the glass separating him from his prey. It had been reinforced for this very reason. His only option was the door that connected the two rooms. Logan roared in frustration when he saw that he’d never get the door handle to turn with his massive paw. No doubt another precaution to prevent things like this from happening. That meant he would have to calm his lion enough to regain control and open the door in human form. That also meant he would be in control enough to be reasoned with, which was exactly what Calvin was trying to do as he pushed Laura toward the back of the room, away from the raging lion in front of him.

“I know you don’t like him. But I couldn’t prevent him from participating in the trials without everyone knowing it was Cassie in there.” Calvin stopped when he heard the growling coming from Logan’s throat.

Mark took that moment to get between Logan and the door,

“Dude, calm down. We all know you hate him. All we can hope is that Cassie doesn’t bond with him.”

With that, Logan let out another roar and attempted to push Mark out of the way to get to the door.

Calvin cast a pleading look at his mate.

“ Any ideas?” Unlike wolf Alphas, the Mane of a lion pride didn’t have an alpha command to make unruly lions follow orders. “I can’t just make him calm down. I doubt it would work on him anyways.”

Laura gave a knowing smile to her mate before she slowly approached the closest thing she had to a son. Without batting an eye, she placed herself between the angry lion and his current obsession, the door to her daughter’s room. For all his hostility toward Calvin and Mark, the black lion in front of her immediately lay down, defeated at her feet.

“Logan, honey, listen to me.” Laura began, sitting down on the floor beside the massive head. “ This won’t help you. If you go in there, if you kill him, You know what Calvin will have to do. We love you like a son Logan, Please don’t make a horrible decision in anger that can only result in your banishment. Think about Cassie. It’s clear you care for her. If you do what you are wanting to do, you will hurt her too. And I know that will be worse for you than banishment.”

As Laura spoke her daughter’s name, Logan was finally able to wrestle control back from his lion. While Logan slowly became a man again, Calvin leaned out of the door and asked an attendant for some clothes as Logan’s lay in shreds on the floor. Once again in control of himself, Logan made sure to avoid looking through the glass into Cassie’s room. He knew if he was Phillip with his hands on her he’d lose control again. Calvin kept him company staring at the wall while Laura resumed her seat as if she hadn’t just stared down a giant lion bent on ripping someone to shreds.

“ I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to lose control.” Logan said ashamedly.

“No worries, and no harm done.” Calvin joked, trying to lighten the mood. “If this doesn’t end soon, I might do a bit of roaring myself just to ease the boredom.”

Logan didn’t hear Mark’s response because at that moment Laura let out her own growl and the males soon followed suit when they turned and saw what was happening in the trial room.

Cassie

It had been a few hours since the trials started. Although Cassie had met some really nice males, none had come close to sparking her interest.

“Is it ok if we take a break?” She asked the mirror, “I could really use something to drink.”

There was a soft knocking on the mirror, which Cassie took to mean yes. She slowly rose to her feet, stretching out muscles that had been still for longer than they were used to.

“How many males have we seen so far?” She asked to no one in particular.

“Too many to count.” Came the reply from Liz who was currently stretching her own stiff muscles.

“No need to worry dear, still plenty of young capable males to meet.” Laura encouraged them as she came in with a bag hanging from one shoulder.

“This is great Laura, thank you.” Liz told her, accepting a water bottle.

“You’re more than welcome, Liz. After all, it’s the least I can do after you have spent all day in here! I also brought some snacks if either of you want some.” She added, holding the bag out for each of them and shaking her head when both girls picked the dried meat sticks that the pride butcher made.

“Mom can I ask you something?” Cassie spoke up. “How will we know if we develop a mate bond? I know I should have asked before this all started but after meeting so many males and not feeling anything, I can’t help but wonder if maybe I just missed it. Maybe I just didn’t recognize it?”

“Oh no honey,” Laura comforted her daughter. “ it’s hard to describe the mate bond because it hits everyone differently. All I can really say is that it is unmistakable and you will know it when it happens. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, but that’s really all of the advice I can give you. Unfortunately, break time is also up, so I’ll have to be leaving.” She said while collecting the empty water bottles and putting them back in her bag.

“ No need to worry dears, still plenty of males to meet. I’m sure your perfect mates will be here soon.” And with that, she gave each of the girls a hug before returning to the observation room and her own perfect mate.

Liz rolled her eyes at Cassie as they each took their seats. “He better be perfect for making me almost die of boredom while waiting on him.” Liz joked

“I don’t need him to be perfect,” Cassie replied, “just perfect for me.” She shrugged as she continued. “I don’t care if he’s the best looking or the best fighter. As long as he’s kind and fair and treats me well, I’ll be happy.”

“But of course a nice face to wake up to in the morning is never a bad thing.” Liz added, raising a brow and making Cassie laugh.

“No I guess it wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.” She agreed as the attendant helped her secure her hood around her hair.

As the next males came in, Cassie heard a loud roar erupt from behind the glass. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she had heard that particular roar. After all, she had heard it often enough in the last three years. Logan had just shifted into his lion. Why would he shift? Was her parents in danger? As she heard what could only be the sound of Logan’s lion trying to get through the door, she realized she might be the one in danger.

The newcomers’ steps faltered for just a moment as growls continued to echo through the room.

Cassie hoped Logan didn’t interfere with the trials. But the growling stopped, so she hoped he had regained control of himself.

Just as Cassie was about to remove her hood, she felt someone take her hand. The hand holding hers was soft, clearly not used to hard labor. She wondered what this male’s job was within the pride that would keep his hands as soft as a young child’s. Even most of the females had a few callouses from the daily tasks they preformed for the pride.

Cassie released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding when nothing happened. With a frustrated sigh, he released her and stepped back, making it obvious he didn’t want anything else to do with her now that he knew they weren’t mates. She wondered if Liz was faring any better.

Quick footsteps was the only warning she had before she was grabbed by the other male.

The moment he took her hand, Cassie knew something was wrong. The new male seemed eager, and overconfident in the way he was touching her hands and arms. When it was clear he wasn’t her mate, his confidence was quickly replaced with anger.

“This can’t be.” He mumbled, almost to himself. “You’re supposed to be mine. YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!” He yelled at Cassie. “No one else can even compare to me! Who else do you think is good enough to run this pride?”

Cassie’s blood ran cold. Of all the males she had met today, this was the only one who truly frightened her. She recognized his voice, as it haunted her nightmares.

Cassie was relieved when he released her hand, but her relief was short lived as he grabbed her by her arms and shook her.

“Well, if you won’t mate me willingly, I’ll just have to force you!”

Phillip pulled the hood from her head and tried to pin her against the back of her chair. Anticipating what he was planning, Cassie turned her head to the side. Hearing a struggle from Liz’s chair she saw Phillip’s cousin Brad holding Liz down. Wanting to help her friend, Cassie redoubled her struggle against Phillip’s hold, hoping to get him to let her go. Suddenly, she was seeing stars as Phillip’s hand struck the side of her face. As Cassie fought to stay conscious, she heard the sound of Logan’s roar once again filling the room. Before Phillip could realize what was happening, Logan burst through the door, followed closely by Mark and her parents.

Phillip was suddenly ripped off her and thrown against the wall. Before he could even fall to the floor, Logan was right there to catch him. Logan held Phillip up with one hand around his throat and started punching him with the other.

Cassie looked around for help, knowing Mark would step in, only to see Mark holding Brad against the wall behind Liz. Laura rushed to Cassie’s side, tenderly touching her lip where Phillip’s hand had busted it.

“Are you ok sweetheart?”

Cassie gave her mom a weak smile,

“Yeah, I think so.”

Both women looked to where Calvin was trying unsuccessfully to get Logan to let Phillip down.

“Let him go son, he’s not worth it.” Calvin tried to reason with him but to no avail. After trying to physically restrain Logan, without success, Calvin looked at his mate.

“I can’t make him stop. What do we do? He’s going to kill him if we don’t stop him, and I don’t want to have to banish him.”

His quick thinking mate stepped in and put her hand on Logan’s arm.

“She’s okay, Logan. Thanks to you she’s okay. Just look for yourself.” Laura whispered, motioning for Cassie to join them. After what seemed like hours but was really just a few seconds, Logan stopped his attack on Phillip to look around for Cassie.

As their eyes met, Cassie saw the pitch black eyes of Logan’s lion. She knew the man was no longer in control, and if she wasn’t careful, the lion could go on the attack again.

“I’m okay Logan. You did your job, you didn’t let him hurt me. But now I need you to let him go. Dad will handle him and he won’t be able to do this again, but you have to let him go.” She said softly, she glanced behind her to see a wide eyed Liz shake her head. But something told Cassie that Logan wouldn’t hurt her, regardless of what form he was in. With that knowledge, she walked slowly to his side.

Standing this close to him, Cassie could see the veins protruding in his arms where he was holding Phillip against the wall. Logan kept looking between her face and Phillip’s which was slowly turning purple.

“Come on Logan.” Cassie whispered, “Please let him go. I can’t finish this without you. I need you to stay with me.” Out of instinct, she laid her hand on Logan’s bicep.

Cassie saw the moment Logan’s lion gave up control and his eyes changed from darkest black to chocolate. As Logan released him, Phillip hit the floor coughing and threatening revenge. Neither Logan or Cassie heard him as their gazes locked and an electrical shock ran through both of them. It started where Cassie still had her hand on Logan’s arm and ran the length of both of their bodies, burning any attachment they might have had to anyone else and forging the bond between them. As the electricity faded, Cassie felt the strangest sensation start in her chest and spread until she felt like she was glowing with heat. One look into Logan’s eyes showed he felt the same. As she felt the mate bond snap into place, she started to lose consciousness. Before the darkness closed in, she felt a pair of strong arms catch her and a rumbling voice promise;

“I’ve got you, and I’ll never let you go. You’re safe now.”