Pandemonium by R.E. Butler

Chapter Six

Demi had danced twice during their one-hour set. The first time, Rhaider had stepped away from the piano and taken her out for a dance. Then the second time, Rhaider had taken over the lead vocals and Rafe danced with her. She hadn’t thought it would be possible for them to both be able to dance with her, but they’d figured it out.

They were almost done with their set. She’d enjoyed listening to them play. While they’d danced, Rhaider told her he wrote and arranged most of the music, but they also had a wide variety of cover songs as well. They’d played weddings and corporate parties, even the occasional school dance. She’d admitted that she never even had any kind of school dance, let alone a prom.

Before their set was finished, Hemi and Annie left for home because Annie couldn’t stop yawning.

“So now that Hemi’s gone,” China said, swirling her straw in her empty glass, “what’s the plan for the night?”

“Grabbing a bite at the diner and then I don’t know.”

But she did kind of know, because her lion hadn’t shut up about taking Rafe and Rhaider home and finding out how well they fit together with her in bed. Her cat was yowling nonstop and being very pushy. Demi agreed with the beast, of course. The short time she’d gotten to spend with the guys, and also dancing, had cemented in her mind the certainty that they were meant to be together. She couldn’t believe a house band job posting had brought her mates to her.

“How do you feel about them?” China asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, didn’t you think your whole life that you’d only have one mate? Are you really not a little concerned about having two mates? Especially since I can’t think of a single time in our clan’s history when there was a mated trio, which means you might be the first lioness to have two mates.”

Demi blew out a breath. “I did think I’d only have one mate, but my lioness is banging around in my skull to be with both of them. It just feels right. I’m not saying there won’t be difficulties, maybe even people in the pride who think it’s wrong, but if I’m happy and they’re happy, then that’s what should matter.”

“Our people can be so damn traditional. Look at how Duke almost had to leave the pride in order to mate with Ree.”

Demi nodded. Their alpha female, Ree, was human. In the past, lions had to choose to leave the pride if they wanted to mate a human or another type of shifter. Duke and Ree had made a lot of changes to pride law since they’d taken over after Duke’s father stepped down, and being allowed to mate whoever you wanted was one of the biggest changes. And it was the change that the older generation—like her parents—disliked the most.

“I guess I’ll cross the bridge of my parents’ approval when I get to it. If they’re my heart-matches, which I really feel that they are, then I’m not going to walk away from them because people might give me side-eye.”

China smiled. “I’m not sure if I could be so brave, but then again I’m not feeling a heart-match pull to anyone like you are. My parents would probably have a cow if I came home with two males and said they were mine.”

Demi thought her parents might feel the same way. “Finding my heart-matches is so unexpected, but it feels right.”

“So, after dinner, you’re going to take them home with you?”

“Sorry?” Demi asked

“You said you don’t know what’ll happen after you eat, but I think you’re just keeping your sexy thoughts to yourself. If you can’t tell your bestie that you want to jump your heart-matches’ bones, then who can you tell?”

Demi’s cheeks went hot. “Holy crap, China,” she chided. “Just tell the whole damn bar.”

China rolled her eyes with a smile. “Everyone knows anyway, babe. You’d have to be blind not to see the attraction between the three of you. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m just teasing you.”

“I know. You’re always doing that.”

“I’ll stop when it’s not fun for me anymore.”

“It’snotfun.”

“I said not fun forme,” China said.

“Why are we friends?”

“Because we’re awesome.”

Demi loved China. She was so honest and bold. “It’s true. So do you think anything will happen with the drummer or bass guy?”

She shrugged. “Neither are my heart-match, and I’m not really looking for a one-nighter if they’re going to be the house band. That would be awkward.”

“True.”

“But who knows what the night will bring?”

“Indeed.”

“That’s it for us,” Rafe said from the stage. “We’re Midnight Grizzlies. Thanks for having us!”

The crowd clapped and Demi rose to her feet. “Want to come up and meet the guys?”

“I’ll wait down here.”

Demi nodded and headed to the stage. She climbed the small set of stairs and met the two males.

“Hey beautiful,” Rafe said.

“You need to meet with Titus?” she asked.

“Yeah, just for a few minutes,” Rhaider said. “Then we’ll pack up and grab a bite to eat.”

“Can I help?”

“That would be great,” Rafe said. “The more hands, the faster we can finish up.”

“I’ve long said we should have roadies,” Rebel said.

“You’re so spoiled,” Maverick said. “One time we had people help us pack up after a show, and ever since he’s wanted full-time help.”

“I can’t help it that I enjoy watching other people work while I relax.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Rhaider said. Demi followed them off the stage and went back to the table with China while the band met with Titus. Titus led them down the hall and she suspected he was going to take them out onto the patio to have some privacy and quiet.

“Did you decide yet?” China asked.

“About?”

China’s eyes rolled again and Demi was surprised they stayed in her head. “You know. Taking ‘em home or not. I’m trying to live vicariously through you.”

“I have no idea, honestly. It’s tempting to jump in headfirst.”

“Bed-first.”

Demi swatted at her arm. “Anyway…it’s tempting but I like the idea of getting to know them first.”

“That sounds really sweet. I think I’d like that too. You just never know how these things are going to go.”

Demi nodded, thinking about the recent heart-matches that had been found in the pride—Duke and Ree, Barron and Mercy, Diesel and Emberly, and of course Hemi and Annie. Demi was the first one in the pride to find a heart-match who was a shifter. And she was definitely the first one to find two heart-matches.

“Come on sweets,” Rhaider said as they joined her at the table. “With your help, we’ll be ready to go in no time.”

“I could lend a hand,” China said.

“That’s cool, thanks,” Rebel said.

The six of them packed up the equipment. Demi had never learned how to play an instrument outside of the plastic recorders everyone had been required to learn in elementary school. She loved listening to music, though, and was very impressed by how well the guys played and sang. She carried a canvas bag containing a stand out to the van. “How long have you guys been playing together?”

She handed the bag to Maverick, who was standing inside the large van.

“Since middle school,” Rafe said. He placed his guitar in its hard case on a hook along one of the walls. “We just fooled around mostly, learning as we went along. We had a music teacher at school who played a few different instruments and he offered to teach us if we’d help out around his elderly mom’s house on the weekends, so we exchanged lessons for yard work.”

“That’s pretty cool,” she said. “When was your first gig?”

“First paid gig was an anniversary party for that teacher and his mate. He was really encouraging to us. We only played covers for a long time, and then Rhaider took some classes on how to write music, and we went from there.”

“I think it’s really neat. Especially since it brought you here.”

Rhaider lifted one part of the drum kit and handed it to Rebel. “We think so too.”

When the last piece of equipment was in the van and the doors were shut, Maverick said, “You guys heading out to eat now?”

“Yeah,” Rafe said.

“So, we’ll see you at the B&B tonight or…?” Rebel asked.

Demi’s cheeks went hot again. She didn’t think she’d ever blushed so much in her life in such a short amount of time.

Rhaider gave Demi an indulgent smile. “We’re going to eat and then we’ll see where the night takes us. But we’ll definitely see you in the morning for breakfast no matter what.”

“Right, they’re supposed to have a super great breakfast buffet at the B&B,” Maverick said.

“It was nice to meet you, Demi,” Rebel said, and Maverick echoed the sentiment.

“You too,” she replied.

“My car’s out front,” Demi said, when the others had climbed into the van and pulled away.

“Lead the way,” Rhaider said.

She took both their hands, unable to stop the happy sigh from her lioness at the contact.

“Our bears are right there with you,” Rafe said.

“I feel like I should understand what we’re dealing with because I watched my brother and Annie as they navigated being heart-matches, but it’s strange to go through it myself.”

“Strange how?” Rhaider asked.

She stopped at her car and unlocked the doors. “Well,” she said, turning to face them. “Part of me wants to take it slow. Part of me is mortified by how many sexy thoughts are traipsing through my mind when we’ve only known each other for a little while. I want to take it slow and also rush you to my place for the night.” She tapped the side of her head, her lioness making suggestions as well, mostly involving lots of nakedness and a bed or sturdy, flat surface.

Like the kitchen table.

“You’re blushing again,” Rafe said softly, his eyes flashing. “And you smell so good, like sunshine and tall grass.”

Rhaider leaned against the car and banded an arm around her waist. He nuzzled her neck and she closed her eyes as a riot of sensations cascaded over her. “We feel the same way, we promise. We both want to take it slow and get to know you, but we also have beasts that want to claim you in every possible way.”

Rafe moved to her other side and she felt entirely surrounded by them. “It was difficult to stay on the stage when we just wanted to be with you. So, how ever things go tonight, just know that we’re feeling the same things. Except that you shouldn’t be mortified for thinking sexy thoughts.”

“Hell yes,” Rhaider said. “Tell us all about them.”

Demi giggled and leaned back against the car. “Not out here in the parking lot.”

“Then let’s get to the diner. Playing always makes me hungry,” Rafe said.

“Me too,” Rhaider said.

Rhaider opened her car door for her and pressed the button to lean the seat forward so he could climb into the backseat. “Sorry you’re going to be squished back there,” she said.

“It’s okay,” he said. He pulled the seat back into place with a loud click. She sat down and closed the door.

Rafe sat in the passenger seat. “We have an SUV at the B&B.”

She thought she’d drop them back at the B&B tonight after eating. But maybe she’d drop them off in the morning.

She drove to the diner and then walked inside with her two mates. It was mostly empty, so they picked a corner booth that had a curved bench seat so they could sit with her in the middle of them.

When the waitress walked up to their table and set down glasses of ice water, Demi smiled at the female she’d known her entire life. Connie was a pride member, and her mom’s age.

“Well hello, Miss Demi, how are you doing?”

“Really good, Connie. You?”

“I could complain but I won’t. Randy says I can’t complain on the clock anymore. It eats up too much time.” She laughed loudly and Demi smiled.

“This is Rafe and Rhaider,” Demi said. “They auditioned at the bar tonight.”

“Now isn’t that nice? Welcome to Kedrick. What can I get you all to eat?”

“Do you have any of the three-berry pie?” Demi asked.

“You bet. Ice cream?”

“Of course.” She looked at the guys. “Randy makes all the pies from scratch, and the ice cream is homemade too.”

“I’m starving. Is the kitchen still open?” Rafe asked.

“Absolutely,” Connie said.

“Then a burger and double fries,” he said. “And apple pie with ice cream for after.”

“Make that two,” Rhaider said, “but I’ll take a piece of that chocolate pie I saw in the case when we walked by.”

“Perfect. I’ll be right back.”

“You sure you don’t want to eat more than a piece of pie?” Rafe asked.

“I’m sure,” Demi said. “I might steal some fries though.”

“Steal away,” Rafe said. “Everything we have is yours.”

“Not that we have much at the moment,” Rhaider said. “We’re basically homeless until we get a permanent gig and get settled. Hopefully you don’t think less of us for that.”

“Hell no,” Demi said. “You’re so brave! I don’t think I could ever just pick up and travel the country, even with Hemi and some friends.”

“It was self-preservation more than bravery,” Rafe said. “We didn’t want to be split up by a match-maker.”

“It’s not normal for lions to share a mate. Is it for bears?” she asked.

Rafe shook his head. “As far as we know, it’s not happened in our clan’s history. When we realized we wanted to share a mate, it was a surprise, but it feels very right to us. Our bears are in sync in our feelings.”

“Honestly,” Rhaider said, “we’ve known there was a possibility that when we did find our mate, she might not want to share herself with two males. We were hopeful, but it’s been at the back of our minds that we might have to deal with a female who wouldn’t be shared.”

She let that roll around in her head. “What would you have done?”

Rafe shrugged. “We talked about it, but we didn’t know. If you only wanted one of us, I’m not sure how we would handle it. We both feel connected to you as a heart-match. If you didn’t feel the same way, then we’d have to have a serious talk about what to do.”

“Did you think it would happen? That you’d find a female to share?”

“We hoped so,” Rhaider said. “It’s a surprise to us that we found you, though. It was our dream to find our heart-match and that she’d be willing to be shared by us. We had no idea if that was a possibility. We thought we might be bachelors forever.”

“Prides are pretty traditional,” she said. “I suspect that clans are too?”

“Yep,” Rafe said. “Our alpha only allows bears to be part of the clan, so even if he agreed with us sharing a mate, you wouldn’t be allowed to be part of the clan simply because you’re a lion.”

“It was like that with the pride before our current alpha, Duke, took over. He changed the laws so lions can mate whoever they want and still remain in the pride.”

“That’s pretty progressive,” Rhaider said.

“While that’s true, I think us being a mated trio might raise some eyebrows. I have no idea how my parents are going to react, or the rest of the pride. It matters but it also doesn’t matter. I want you guys to be accepted but a lack of acceptance by my family or the pride wouldn’t make me change my mind about you.”

Rafe put his hand on hers and gave it a squeeze. “We feel the same way.”

“We’re really glad we came to Kedrick, Demi. You were worth the wait.”

She grinned, her lioness letting out a low, happy purr.

The food arrived and Demi thanked Connie for the extra-large slice of three-berry pie and the generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

“That looks great,” Rhaider said.

“So does yours,” she said. “Randy makes great burgers.”

“Want a bite?” he asked.

“Nah.”

Rafe scooted his plate of extra fries toward her and she grinned. “You guys are the best.”

“Oh darlin’, we haven’t even gotten to our best yet.”

“I can’t wait.”