Totally Boxed

Chapter 5

5

Who said I want to behave?

I couldn't believe my ears. She'd claimed me. My mate. Mine. This beautiful female sitting on my lap who stole my breath at first sight was my mate.

The lion shifter grumbled and slammed the door closed.

My attention refocused on the… my gorgeous female straddling my hips. She was still glaring at the door, her hands dug into my shoulders like she didn't want to ever let me go. A pale tunic hung halfway down her thighs, and she wore a red wig. On the table in the corner was a long wooden bow. My hands went to her hips, pulling her closer. She turned to me, her eyes molten as she released a smile across her lips.

"Now that I'm yours, what are you going to do with me, Artemis?" A smirk slipped out as I asked the playful question.

She nibbled on her lip for a second before her fingers dug into my hair, then her lips crushed against mine. I pulled her hips closer to me until she had to sit up on her knees. Tilting my head back, I groaned as her breasts slid up my chest until they teased my beard. I wanted to slip my fingers under her pants, strip off her clothes, and part her legs so I could lick her sweetness until she screamed my name.

A pounding on the door sent us both backward a few inches. Her eyes were heavy with desire as she stared at my lips.

"As much as I want to turn that look of need to a sexier one of satiation, I don't think they're going to let us stay much longer."

"I think you're right." She dropped down until she was sitting in my lap again. "Though, if we behave and just talk, we can stay until the event is over."

"Ah, but who said I want to behave?" I caressed her hips, watching with delight as a shiver went through her. "I'm Felix, nice to finally meet you."

Her laugh sent waves of pleasure through me. I needed to hear more of that. "I'm Luna. Nice to meet you, mate." I laughed at her words, I couldn't help myself. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I totally get it. My name is Luna and we have a spooky Halloween themed dating event where I dressed as my namesake. I thought it was dumb too."

"It's perfect, just like you. Though I did want to ask… why are human females organizing a dating event for shifters? How do you even know about us?"

Luna's hands slid along my arms, taking a few seconds to pause on my biceps. "This is going to sound lame, but I couldn't stand waiting anymore. My sister met her mate, and eventually I walked in at the wrong time. He was halfway between lion and man form. After some time and lots of talking, I learned about shifters and fated mates. All the women here are like that. We all accidentally learned about your world, but don't have mates of our own. So we formed a group to come up with ways to find them."

I grinned at her. When her mate didn't find her, she'd refused to wait around for me to stumble along. I loved a female who took charge when she wanted something. "How many of these events have you been to?" The question ignited a spark of jealousy in me at the thought of other males trying to claim her as theirs.

"This is actually our first event like this. We tried hosting parties and inviting all our shifter friends and families, but nothing happened." Luna looked down as she drew circles on my chest. "I can't believe this is real."

"Did your sister tell you about the mate bond?" Even though she knew about the bond, it didn't mean she realized everything that came along with it. She might not be prepared for all the emotions.

"Not at first, but eventually. After a while, I couldn't get it out of my mind. The idea of a soul created at the beginning of time to fit to mine perfectly… why wouldn't I want that?"

I didn't have a good rebuttal, but then again, I was biased. "I can't imagine a reason." Now that all of this was clear, I wondered how slowly she wanted to take things. From my few friends who'd found human mates, I knew it took a while for them to open up to the idea. Did Luna need time, or was she ready for the claiming ceremony?

An alarm blared through the room seconds before the lights flared to full brightness. My eyes burned at the sudden change.

"What in the hell?" She jumped off my lap, but her ankle gave out.

I caught her before she fell. Swooping her up into my arms, my beast beamed at holding our mate. Striding over to the door, I carried Luna so she wouldn't hurt herself again. She seemed content in my arms. Once out of the room, I watched as the lions and bears in human form rushed the males out of the rooms.

"What's going on?" Luna asked before I could.

A pissed off female bear stomped over to us. "I just found out this wasn't sanctioned by the shifter council. The last thing I wanted today was a call from Georgie, screaming at me about how we had human females in our bar. I'm not sure how this happened, but if we don't shut this down immediately, they'll close us down permanently. You're lucky I'm not banning you as well. Now get the f**k out."

White hot rage burned through me. No one talked to my mate like that. I took a step forward, ready to confront her, but Luna pressed her hand to my chest. When I looked down, the small shake of her head kept me still. She didn't want me to stand up for her. A wisp of pride flitted through me, but it wasn't coming from me. It came from her. Happiness filled me when I realized what I was feeling. Luna's emotions. Giving her a quick kiss, I felt another hint of emotion. They were slight, but already our mate bond was forming.

"Come on mate, let's make this official." She nodded, and I turned to carry her to my car, except four human females blocked the door. Their attention focused on Luna in my arms, then they descended on us.

"Oh my god, it worked!"

"Luna! Tell us every detail."

Seemed I'd have to wait a bit longer to finally claim my mate.