Then she did the smart thing and opened her senses, using her Omega power to see how her mate felt about the blonde.
Affection was the first emotion to assault her, and she nearly cried out in pain until she realized that the affection was similar to what he felt around Ben and, to a lesser extent, Dave. This woman was close to him, yes, but not a lover. The woman’s emotions filled her as well, the closeness a friendly one rather than romantic. This woman was no rival.
Chela could breathe again.
She sauntered toward the table, determined to be introduced to the young woman having lunch with her mate.
A whiff of something strange, something shifter, caught her attention. It wasn’t long before she realized it came from the laughing blonde. What was that? She hadn’t scented it before, but they’d been really isolated before Rick came. Dave had even taken online college courses rather than attended college the way he’d hoped to.
There was something vaguely feline about that scent. Cheetah, maybe? It wasn’t Puma, the only really feline scent she was familiar with, but it had the same warm undertones that the Luna scent did.
“Graciela.” She stopped trying to figure out what the scent was, only to find she’d reached her mate’s table. He was smiling up at her with warmth she hadn’t dared hope to see before the mating instincts kicked in. He stood, offering her a short, sweet kiss and taking hold of her hand. “How has your day been?”
She smiled. “Pretty good. Better, now that I found you.”
His answering smile was almost as happy as she was certain hers was. Her cheeks felt hot, but inside she was dancing with glee. “You want to join us? We haven’t ordered yet. Charlie just arrived.”
The blonde wiggled her fingers hello. “Charlene Lowe, but everyone calls me Charlie.”
Chela stilled. Lowe? Smelling like a feline? Oh, shit. She wondered if Rick was aware a feline Lowe was in his restaurant. “Um. Hi.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Please don’t do that. It’s why I told Dave not to tell anyone who I was until I after got here.”
Steve looked back and forth between them, the bubbly happiness he’d felt the moment he spotted her disappearing. “What’s going on?”
Chela took a seat with a sigh. “Lowe is the family name of the…” She glanced around the restaurant at the humans eating their meals. “The CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation.”
The shifter Senate ran a legal corporation headed by the Leo, the ruler of the American shifters. It was a charitable organization that was mostly concerned with the conservation of endangered species. They only accepted donations from shifters, so they didn’t fall under public scrutiny. The Wildlife Conservation Foundation did a lot of good, helping to repopulate the wolves in Yellowstone National Park and giving the big cats born in the United States a safe environment to live in. She’d heard that there were more tigers living in the United States than any other place in the world, and the WCF helped to take care of them.
Wariness spiked through Charlie, but her gaze was remarkably bland. “He’s my brother.”
“Oh.” Chela felt faint. She was sitting at the table with the sister of the Leo himself. She’d pictured playing soccer with the woman’s severed head.
She was so dead it wasn’t even funny.
“He’s a pain in my ass.”
Steve chuckled. He had no idea who he was sitting across from, but Chela would make sure he found out as soon as it was safe to do so. “Do tell.”
“He thinks that because he runs a huge corporation he gets to tell me what to do.” Charlie sniffed disdainfully. “As if.”
Chela tried to relax, but the fact that the Leo could show up looking for his errant sister had her shaking in her shoes. “Why are you here?”
Charlie actually sagged in her seat. “I’m here to visit Dave, get a job—”
Oh shit.
“—and be just a normal, everyday girl, preferably in that order.”
That was good, because Chela didn’t think she could treat the fucking sister of the fucking Leo like an ordinary girl.
Charlie eyed her. “Relax, little puppy. I don’t bite.” She winked. “Much.”
“Graciela? What’s wrong?”
Steve’s concern was ratcheting up by the minute, as well as a low, simmering protectiveness that soothed her, let her feel safe. She leaned toward her mate and whispered in his ear, softer than she would have if he had still been fully human. “Her brother is the Leo, the ruler of all the shifters.”
He sat back and blinked blandly at Charlie. “Oh. That must suck monkey balls.”
Charlie nearly spewed out the sip of water she’d just taken. “Oh, I like you.”
“Not too much,” Chela muttered. Sister of the Leo or not, she’d still rip her head off if Charlie made a move toward Chela’s mate.
Charlie’s brows rose. “He’s a bow-wow? I didn’t smell anything.” She stared at Steve for a moment, her gaze turning sly. “Oh. You’re so new you still squeak.” She grinned at Chela. “Mates?”
Chela nodded.
“Congratulations.”
Steve’s brows were practically in his hairline. “Bow-wow?”
Charlie made a sound remarkably like Blue from Blue’s Clues, and both Steve and Chela laughed.
“What job are you here for?” Chela was feeling more and more comfortable around the Lion, even more so when she felt the good humor in the feline.
“I heard Dave and someone named Belle need a second-in-command to help with the event planning.” She flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulder. “Partying is my thing.”
Chela bit her lip. “You haven’t met Belle yet, have you?”
The spike of unease told her the Lion wasn’t nearly as calm about all this as she appeared. She genuinely wanted to be here, wanted the assistant’s position. Odd, when among their kind she was considered almost royalty. “Not yet.” She dropped the party-girl persona. “Any advice?”
“Be yourself. Belle will see through bullshit faster than Superman through a brick wall. Trust me. Belle doesn’t mind someone who likes to play, but when she’s talking business you’d better be on the ball.” Belle ran a tight ship in the restaurant, and its reputation had grown as a result.
“That’s what Dave said when I told him I wanted to apply.” Charlie grinned. “We’ve been friends for years.”
“You think it’s a good idea to work with friends?” Steve’s tone wasn’t judgmental, merely curious.
Charlie tilted her head, a slight frown on her forehead. Chela could sense her confusion. Lions might not live in Packs, but they did live in Prides, and the dynamics were similar. Charlie would have an even easier time fitting in than Steve would. “You don’t?”
“Packs are family, Steve.” Chela kept her voice low. No one but Pack should hear what she was saying now. Most shifters did their best to speak about the shifter world in business terms, something the humans around them wouldn’t think twice about. But Steve was still so new he might not understand unless it was stated bluntly. “We’re friends, brothers, sisters, annoying older cousins who steal your dresses and stretch out the ass so you can’t wear it anymore, then ask for it as a cheap gift.”
Steve patted her hand. “That makes things much clearer. Thanks.”
She smiled and kissed his cheek. “You’re welcome, dear.”