The Shifters: Trysta and Fiero

18

Royal walked into the house, taking a sniff. The house smelled different. It smelled like flowers and had a hint of spices. He wanted to meet the new housekeeper. Fiero warned him off before his flight.

"Trysta is not to be trifled with. She is my mate." That intrigued him. None of the members had met their mate yet, making their leader the first to fall. Mates were a waste. Why settle for one person? He preferred having options to choose from. His current dalliance messaged him the other day. Maybe he should give her a visit before he flew back in two days. A night of sexual release is just what he needed after the first part of the tour. All the interviews, performances, and travel wore a man out. Royal pulled out his phone and shot Rita a message. As expected, she replied instantly. Good, tomorrow night he will have a night of fun. He walked into the kitchen and saw a sticky note on the microwave. In bubbly handwriting, it said, your dinner is in the fridge. Heat on half power for ten minutes. Check halfway through for heat level -Trysta. That was sweet of her. He followed her instructions, finding his chicken, riced cauliflower, and a medley of vegetables waiting for him. God, he hated tour diets. The diet always left him starving. He was a lion shifter. He did not need to diet. Hal never understood. A door opening caught his attention.

"Poppet, sleep here. Royal will be home soon and he needs your comfort more than I do." Royal turned with the plate in his hand to see a blond woman let Poppet into the house. Poppet whined and tried to go back out with her.

"Trysta?" The woman's head popped up and she let out a small squeak.

"I'm sorry. I'll be out of your way. Have a good night."

"No wait. Do you know what food is in the house?" She frowned and walked toward him. He smiled and took in Fiero's mate. She had bright eyes with an intelligent look. Her clothing was her uniform. Her hair had been up, but as she walked over to him, she took it down, covering her ears.

"Did I make you the wrong thing?" The worry on her face made Royal want to reassure her.

"No. I hate these diets that Hal insists upon. Do we have anything more filling? I'm a shifter. I don't do a ton of veggies." She laughed, brightening his tiring day.

"Fiero said the same thing. Why do you let Hal control your food?" She moved around the kitchen, pulling things out. He noticed her right hand had a bandage on it.

"Because he is the manager. Do you need help?" She was about to become his sister soon enough when Fiero mated with her.

"No. Just sit." She threw on a pot of water and pulled out the fixings for pasta. "I can make you more filling pasta. Since you came home late, I don't want to make you wait. I can use your chicken and veggies to make a pasta Primavera."

"That sounds perfect. I'll go shower." She gave him a nod. He went to his room and stopped. Her scent was in there, too. Taking a turn around the room, he saw she had deep cleaned. When he walked into the bathroom, the place sparkled. Damn, she was good. Last he left, the place was not in good shape. He remembered leaving all of his products on the counter, not caring about the cleanliness of his space. Her attention to detail surprised him. She lined everything up in the order he would use them. How did she know? Stepping into his bedroom, he opened his closet and stared at the clothing. She rearranged his clothing based on season and usage. His shirts were pressed and neatly arranged in order by type and color. Who knew he owned so much white? Looking at his shoes, he gasped. She polished his shoes! Did they pay her enough? He pulled out his phone and texted Fiero.

Your mate is pretty amazing. She rearranged my closet and polished my shoes. My bathroom is clean for once.

He put the phone on the charger and took a shower, neatening up after himself. It felt wrong to leave behind the mess he usually did when Trysta took so much time to make sure he had a clean space to relax in. Did she know about their sauna room? He should mention it and see if she can get it to sparkle like his bathroom. He and the guys usually sat in it to relax after a long day in the studio. Royal dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a tank before going back to the kitchen to find Trysta putting out a steaming plate of pasta that smelled amazing.

"That smells wonderful. Did you feed Fiero like this, too?" Royal joked with her, taking his seat at the counter.

"No, he actually fed me." Royal's phone buzzed, but he ignored the notification.

"He did?"

"Yes. I hurt my hand the day he came home and so he grilled burgers for me."

"How?" Royal dove into his dinner and moaned when the flavors hit his tongue. Jealousy reared in Royal's heart. Fiero's mate could cook, too. No matter how useless he felt mates were, having a woman who could cook would always be a skill he appreciated.

"I cut my hand on broken glass." Trysta put away the last of the dishes and gave him a soft smile. She was plump and cute, not quite Royal's type. Staying away from her would not be hard. She moved around the counter and said, "Good night, let me know if you need anything in the morning. Poppet missed you." She went out the back door and left him to eat. Poppet went to the door and whined.

"So you missed me, huh?" he asked, chuckling when Poppet sat and pawed the door. He looked at his phone, laughing at Fiero's message.

Keep your hands off my mate. She was not supposed to clean your bathroom with her hurt hand.

She says her hand is fine. She made me a great pasta dinner. Tell Hal to stop making us do these awful diets. We need someone who understands shifter metabolisms.

Agreed. I'll speak with him about all the things we want to change after this tour.

Royal grunted his agreement and finished his meal before going to bed. Poppet spent the night pacing between his room and the back door. Clearly, she preferred Trysta.