Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
They did not brook the grim reaper’s bullshit.
Or yours.
Maybe they’d kill you right there for making an attempt on their life. Or maybe they’d bide their time, sneak into your home one night and—in that very moment you woke up in bed, sensing you weren’t alone—slice your throat while looking you dead in the eye.
It all depended on their mood.
But pallas cats had a healthy respect for ruthlessness, so Isaiah wasn’t put off by any of it. None of his pride would be either.
No, we have no issue welcoming other breeds, he replied. And you’re a healer—healers are always welcome.
There had been two in their pride until recently. Sam, somewhat heartbroken after a relationship went sour, had gone to temporarily stay with family in another pride.
Another message appeared on the screen: Just to be clear, I’m not your typical healer. I can stop wounds bleeding, I can numb pain, I can speed along a person’s recovery if they’re injured, and I can give relief to those with chronic pain. But I can’t close and heal wounds.
Isaiah blinked. I don’t think I’ve met a healer who can aid with chronic pain. He’d heard that some shifters could, but he’d yet to come across one. Until now.
If you’ve got a bad back, I’m your girl. If you have a broken spine, I won’t be of as much use to you. But I will hold your hand and sing soothing lullabies.
Again, he felt his lips quirk. Before he had the chance to type a response, another message came through: Does your pride know you plan to enter an arranged mating?
Yes. He’d recently announced it. All were behind him. Have you shared your plan with your pride?
My family knows, that’s all for now.
He twisted his mouth, wondering if maybe she was keeping it mostly to herself because she worried someone would give her problems—perhaps even her true mate. Are they being supportive?
Yes, they think it’ll be best for me to leave, though they wish that wasn’t the case.
Is anyone going to give you any problems, try to throw up roadblocks, or outright contest?
No, why would they? If by ‘anyone’ you’re referring to my TM, I don’t anticipate that he’ll react one way or the other.
Good answer, because he didn’t want to have to deal with anyone meddling.
Is anyone protesting on your end?
No, they’ve made it clear they’re behind me if this is really what I want. He wouldn’t have been able to say the same eighteen months ago—there were some who, irrationally still blaming him for something he’d had no hand in, would sooner see him forever miserable. But they’d thankfully switched to another pride.
What about your cat? Quinley asked. How does he feel?
Angry, in sum. Angry at Lucinda for committing to another man. Angry at her fiancé for claiming and impregnating her. Angry at Isaiah for never approaching her and telling her she was their mate—the cat still so sure she’d have chosen them if only she knew.
Isaiah grimaced as he typed, I’ll be honest, he doesn’t care much one way or the other that I mean to take a mate. He wasn’t even paying attention to the online conversation Isaiah was currently having with Quinley. The cat had pulled away from the world. He’s still angry at the situation with my TM.
Much as the animal felt betrayed by her commitment to another man and wouldn’t accept her now that she carried said man’s child, the cat wasn’t ready to let her go.
Isaiah’s recent attempts at dating had therefore amounted to nothing. The cat ignored the females Isaiah dated. He didn’t see them, didn’t want them, didn’t like them on principle … because they quite simply weren’t Lucinda.
It was why Isaiah had finally given serious thought to an arranged mating—something his father had initially suggested back before Lucinda was even pregnant.
If Isaiah claimed and branded a female, his cat would have no choice but to acknowledge her. He wouldn’t ignore her the way he did those who Isaiah had dated. The feline would view her as his, protect her, engage with her. And just maybe stop obsessing over what had happened with Lucinda.
Isaiah couldn’t see any other way of forcing his cat to let her go.
Not that that was the only reason Isaiah had chosen the arranged mating route. For him, there was plenty of appeal in it. But only if he could find someone on the same page as him.
He didn’t want to mate someone who was only looking to form alliances or solidify a place for herself in his pride. He wanted a woman who was looking to build a future with him. Hence why joining the website had seemed the best idea. It would pair him up with someone who shared his wants and goals.
He knew there were some in his circle who, despite supporting his choice, were skeptical that it would work out. But his parents’ mating had been arranged, and they were still tight all these years later.