Free Chasing Cristabel (Ashland Pride Six) by R. E. Butler Page A

had tried to abduct the
kids from the boarding house and nearly killed Sam, Aaron and
Grant’s mate. The females had also sicced a bunch of crazy bears on
Alec’s shared mate, Lachlyn. The previous summer, Micah and Tristan
had found their shared mate, Melody, a female mountain lion who had
been raised away from the pride and never poisoned the way other
females had been. When the females discovered Melody, they’d
kidnapped and tried to kill her.
    Dylan realized it had been a while since
they’d heard from the females. He hoped to hell that it remained
that way forever. Although the pride didn’t know for sure where the
females were, it was believed that most of them lived in
Canada.
    He parked at the side of the boarding house
and removed Cris’s bags from the backseat. He joined them as they
walked up the steps onto the front porch. “Are you ready for the
grand tour?” Chase asked.
    “Are you sure they don’t mind me just moving
in here?” Cris asked, chewing on her bottom lip.
    Hunter shook his head as he took one of the
bags from Dylan. “I promise they’ll be thrilled.”
    Chase opened the door for them and Hunter led
the way. They hung up their coats on the massive row of coat hooks
along the wall and then left her bags at the bottom of the
stairs.
    Dylan grabbed her hand and tugged her close.
“Welcome home, love.”
    Her smile was so sweet it made him feel warm
from the inside out. She rose on her toes to kiss him. “I’m so glad
to be here with you guys.”
    The foursome walked into the kitchen. A small
crowd had gathered, just a sampling of what the dinner that evening
would bring. “Everyone, this is our mate, Cristabel Hardison. Cris,
this is part of the pride.”
    James, John, and Rue introduced themselves
first, followed by their kids, Henry and Domino, then Grant and Sam
and their five kids, and finally Micah and Melody.
    “We’ll be eating dinner at seven,” Rue said,
tucking a lock of white-blonde hair behind her ear. “I hope you
like pot roast. It’s kind of the pride specialty.”
    “I love it,” Cris said.
    “Let’s go show you our rooms so you can pick
where we stay,” Hunter said, turning her out of the kitchen and
toward the stairs.
    “Why would I pick a room?” she asked.
    “Because we each have our own room, so you
can pick which one you like the best and we’ll move into it,” Dylan
said.
    “Wait,” James said, joining them. “You should
feel free to look at the empty rooms up on the third floor, too. If
I remember correctly, two of them have attached bathrooms. I don’t
think you want to be on the second floor with us and all the kids.
I mean, unless you like not having any privacy or not sleeping in
on the weekends.”
    “Thanks, James,” Dylan said.
    They climbed the stairs to the third floor,
with Hunter carrying both of Cris’s bags.
    “Do you have more than just the two bags?”
Chase asked.
    “Most of my stuff is still in my car. I had
planned to get my own place as soon as I could. Not that Lily isn’t
great, but in case you didn’t notice, the apartment was kind of
small.”
    “How did you become friends?” Dylan
asked.
    “In the summers, she vacationed with her
family near where our pride’s territory is at the lake. I looked
forward to seeing her every August. We wrote to each other during
the year and became really close. When I graduated from high
school, she said Cherie would let me stay with her and work at the
diner, but I wanted to go to college. After I graduated, I got a
job in Cranston and Lily’s brother, Lance, let me stay at his
condo. His company transferred him recently and I couldn’t afford
to sublet the place from him, so here I am.”
    They stopped in the middle of the hallway,
where their three bedrooms sat side by side. Across from them was
the bathroom they shared.
    Dylan’s room was first, and when Hunter
opened the door, he was thankful he’d made his bed the previous
morning. He wouldn’t want Cris to think she