AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
Diesel Cowan sat behind the wheel of his pickup and stared at the match-maker’s home. He was early.
He knew a few things about Valerie. She was a lioness from a pride in southern Indiana, a college graduate with a degree in finance who liked red tulips. The thought of flowers had him glancing at the bouquet he’d ordered. There wasn’t a florist in Kedrick, where he lived with his pride, so he’d had to drive forty-five minutes to pick them up. But it would be worth it to make his future mate smile.
His left leg ached suddenly, and he rubbed his palm on it, a snarl rising in his chest. The damn drive to the florist had inflamed his old injury.
He’d fallen from a tree when he was a kid, and even though he had swift healing abilities as a shifter, the injury had been too great and he’d been too young to shift and force a healing. Many surgeries later, he had a big scar, a noticeable limp, and aches that flared up from time to time. It was hard not to think less of himself because of it. The injury made him low-ranked in the pride. Not that he couldn’t fight his way up higher, because he had a damn good right hook, but the injury affected his cat’s ability to run well, and that made him ineligible for high ranks.
It was shit logic, of course. The high-ranked males were given protection jobs, watching over females and cubs when their males were needed elsewhere. That his injury made people, particularly his alpha, believe that he wouldn’t do everything in his power to keep a female or cub safe made him feel like hell. He’d never get a chance to prove otherwise, because he was viewed as flawed.
Which was why he’d asked Abbie to find him a mate-match.
Lions had two ways of finding their mates – mate-match, where the pride match-maker chose a mate from a secret binder that contained who-knew-what kind of information, or by heart-match, where a lion found his mate on his own.
His parents had been mate-matched, but his father had split for another pride when Diesel was young, and his mother had never re-mated. Still, just because his parents’ mating hadn’t worked out didn’t mean Diesel’s would fizzle.
Of course, he wasn’t sure if Abbie’s information on him had included his injury.
Blowing out a breath, Diesel grabbed the flowers and got out of his truck. The door creaked as he shut it. He walked up the stairs to the front porch, stifling a groan at the way his muscles pulled, and knocked on the front door.
“Come in, Diesel,” Abbie called.
He opened the door and stepped inside, the scent of citrus and sugar in the air. He looked around the parlor but found it empty. Following the sounds to the kitchen, he found her setting a cake on a platter.
“That looks good,” he said.
“It’s a 7-Up cake,” she said. “My aunt’s recipe. You’re early.”
“Nervous, I guess.”
She gestured to the stool in front of the counter and he sat, setting the flowers on the granite surface.
“Why?” she asked, stirring something.
He sighed. “I think you know why.”
“Enlighten me,” she said, turning the bowl sideways to drizzle a thin glaze over the cake.
“Does Valerie know about my leg?”
Abbie was humming as she emptied the bowl and then set it in the sink. She placed her hands on the counter and gave him a long look. “No. What she knows is what you look like from a picture, your family history, and your current job and living status. It’s not my place to tell her anything about your leg. Are you worried?”
He shrugged. “A little. No female in the pride will look at me twice because of it. It’s not as if it’s a defect that I’ll pass on to my kids, you know. Or that we’re at war with another pride and I’d fail. It just sucks.”
“I’m sure it does,” she said, her face softening. “You’re a fine male, Diesel. You’re handsome and have excellent references from the alpha and his son; you have a great job, and a house of your own. I don’t foresee you having any problems with Valerie.”
He wanted to believe Abbie. She was a professional, after all. But he’d been shot down often enough for anything more than a tumble in the sheets, and while he was aware that he had a confidence issue, it was hard to believe anything good was going to come his way.
There was a knock at the front door, and Abbie looked past him and said, “That’s Valerie. Ready to meet your mate?”
He nodded, not trusting his voice not to squeak with nerves. Abbie strode from the room and Diesel listened as she opened the door and greeted the visitors. He heard two females and one male speaking low enough that he couldn’t make out what they were saying, even with his enhanced hearing. Rising to his feet, he smoothed his sweaty hands down his pants and picked up the flowers.
Walking into the sitting room where Abbie received guests, Diesel plastered a smile on his face and did his best to not only hide his nerves but also his limp. He knew he’d failed when Valerie’s gaze dropped from his face to his leg. Her smile slipped into a frown.
Abbie cleared her throat as he came to stand by her. “Valerie, I’d like to introduce you to Diesel Cowan. Diesel, this is Valerie, and these are her parents, Rick and Denise.”
Diesel offered the flowers to Valerie and she took them. “Thank you,” she said. She looked at her father, who was standing between his mate and his daughter, his arms crossed and his gaze narrowed.
