“—and just send me on my way. You ripped our world apart, Lin! Nothing was the same after you left. And for reasons I don’t understand, Sage sent me to you for help. Instead of doing the right thing, the decent thing, you’re just going to walk away?”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.
That forgotten noise rattled in her throat again. “Of course. Why should she count on you? You abandoned us once already. Everything that happened is on your shoulders, but why accept the responsibility, right? You’re just another Levine male. A killer at heart.”
Lindley’s face darkened and his eyes flashed even brighter. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then explain it to me. You killed—”
“Don’t.” His lips peeled back as his snarl seemed to shake the entire room. “Dangerous subject, Kyla.”
He turned on his heel and yanked open the bedroom door.
Oh, hell, no. He didn’t get to walk away!
Kyla wrapped the blankets around her naked frame and chased after him, ignoring the complaints from the bruises up and down her body. “Lindley!” She stopped as soon as she hit the living room. “What happened to your wall?”
A cold draft flapped the blue tarp covering the jagged, ruined side of his den. It was as if someone had started to demolish the place and stopped after one swing of a wrecking ball, then Lindley swept up the mess inside and kept on living there like nothing was wrong.
“That’s not your concern.”
His hard tone chilled her to the bone.
He ripped open the front door and stalked outside.
Kyla shot after him again, jumping from foot to foot on the cold front porch. “What the hell happened to you?” she yelled after him.
Movement from the corner of her eye twisted her around. Kyla froze as another man slowly lifted his hand and twiddled his fingers at her.
She fled back into Lindley’s den.
Chapter 6
What the hell happened to him?
Lindley strode away from his den, breathing hard. His lion slashed and roared inside him. Pain diced his heart into a thousand tiny pieces, then went after everything else in his chest.
What the hell happened to him? He’d lost everything.
This had to be his ruin. His old man was right, as much as he hated to admit it. That final, crowning moment of bullshit had finally arrived to pull him into the darkness.
Kyla was right, too. He’d left. He’d abandoned them all. And now they paid the price for his inaction.
He should have gone back to burn the Levine pride to the ground the moment he healed up. Should have cleared his name. Should have made an actual challenge for the throne. Should have pulled Sage and Kyla out right under their fucking noses and rode off into the sunset, shooting off middle fingers to anyone who cared to look their way.
But he hadn’t done any of that. Now Sage was mated to his pride’s enemy, Kyla would be next if the Levines snatched her up, and he just wanted to paint the world red with blood.
Fuck. She needed to get away from him before his fucking ruin dragged her down with him.
His lion surged through him again with all the protective instincts the beast could muster. Lindley barely kept to his feet with the press of his inner animal and the wave of violent sendings that flashed before his eyes. Blood on his claws, blood coloring the snow, and Kyla behind him. No way was the beast letting her out of his grasp.
"Lin, you know you're supposed to get them screaming in bed, not on your porch, right?" Dash called out to him in an obnoxious, shit-eating tone.
Lindley whirled. “The fuck did you say?” he growled as he stalked toward the man.
Dash didn’t back down. If anything, his grin grew wider. “Just saying, you seem to be leaving Little Miss Hellfire unsatisfied. I knew you were a dick, I just didn’t know you were dickless where it mattered.”
Lindley’s frustration boiled in his veins. His sister was in trouble, he’d hurt Kyla, and now Dash couldn’t keep his damn mouth shut. He snarled and threw a punch.
Dash laughed as he stumbled backward. “Fuck yeah, bring it on, puddy tat,” he laughed again, accent thickening slightly like it did whenever he saw a fight on the horizon.
Fucking crazy bayou lion.
They crashed together in a flurry of fists and growls. His lion raged to make the other male submit and apologize for thinking of Kyla in that way. The logical side of him flailed against the rush of instinct before sputtering into nothing.
A loud whistle shattered the night and ground the fight to a halt. “Walk it off, Lindley,” Trent ordered.
He twisted again, ready to throw the words back into his alpha’s face. The asshole had given him the cold shoulder for weeks and now wanted to toss around commands like they were nothing?
Lindley took one look at his den. Lights were on in the bedroom, but all the other windows were dark. Still, he saw Kyla peeking out of one. Saw, and spun away into the night. A walk in the cold would do him some good.
He didn’t dare let his lion take his skin. Too much bullshit layered in with the fresh worries and marks of his failures. If he let that thread of control fray, he had no doubt he’d end up running straight to Nevada to take out any Levine lion he could grab. And when they put him down, he’d draw his final breath knowing he still hadn’t helped Kyla or his sister escape their clutches for long.
Footsteps crunched in the snow after him. Lindley dragged down a deep breath to identify his shadow without turning. “I’m doing what you told me to do,” he snarked.
“I never said you fuckfaces were allowed to bring anyone back to your dens.”
Lindley flicked Trent off and kept walking. “It’s not what you think, and even if it was, fuck you and your happily mated self. You’re a hypocrite.”
“Rules for thee, not for me,” Trent said blandly. “You mind telling me what the hell that was all about? Fuck, Lin, you’re supposed to—”
“Supposed to be the responsible one, right,” he snarled as he whipped around. “Supposed to keep the others in line. I never asked to be second, alpha, so shove all those supposes up your ass.”
He couldn’t even tell what had set him off. Dash being mouthy? Just another fucking day. Another male getting an eyeful of Kyla? Well, not exactly—she’d been covered practically head to toe in blankets. The implication that he didn’t know how to keep her satisfied?
His lion roared, the sensation strong enough to rattle his bones.
Bingo.
Stupid. Fucking stupid. He didn’t have a claim on the woman. He hadn’t even laid eyes on her in ten fucking years! And before life went to shit? A single kiss didn’t mean a damn thing.
Not his. Not his to protect. Not his to defend. Not his to care for, provide for, taste, please, cherish above all others.
Never his.
Besides, he had bigger things to worry about. Sage, for one. Jasper and his father scheming together. How to get Kyla’s sweet apple scent out of his blankets and pillows when she finally saw the light and got the hell away from him as fast as her paws would carry her.
Trent stopped only a foot away, locking icy eyes on him. “Look at yourself. You’ve been a pain in the ass for weeks now. No one wants to fight you in the ring, so you’ve been goading Rhys and Dash into throwing down with you. What the hell is going on?”
The demand in his tone summoned Lindley’s lion, and with him, bloody sendings and darkness. The beast raised his lips in a silent snarl as the images flashed through Lindley’s head. Death. Destruction. The animal wanted to start bleeding the world right then and there, then slice his way through anyone who tried to stand in his way.
The cold winter air dropped another twenty degrees.
“You could fight me, sure. By my count, you’ve already shifted twice today, then went a round with Dash on two legs.” Trent blinked slowly. Gold swirled in his eyes when he focused them on Lindley again. In a low voice, he added, “I’m fresh, Lin. You wan
t to go up against that?”
Lindley refused to drop his gaze or roll his shoulders to cut the tension weighing down on him. His lion prowled through him, ready to strike. “Is that why you’ve kept your nose clean? I thought you refusing to brawl was all about Hailey.”
“It is.” Trent bared his teeth in a threatening grin. “I’m not going to let you make my new mate a widow so soon.”
The words hit Lindley like a sucker punch. He took a step back, then another.
Trent and Hailey had made him hope for a different future, one where he could find a mate and keep steady. But that damn phone call from his father drove a nail through the head of the idea.
Just another Levine male.
Kyla was spot on. His lion prowled through him, as hot for a fight as ever. He hadn’t escaped his father’s pride even after he’d crawled out of the territory. That poison was in his damn blood. To keep her safe, he needed her to stay away.
“I hit her,” he said finally.
Trent’s growl turned deadly. “You did what?” he demanded in a low voice.
“With my truck. I hit her with my truck!” Lindley scrubbed a hand down his face. The aggression rolling off Trent dimmed only slightly. He gritted his teeth and pressed on before his alpha cut him open from balls to chin. “She jumped out in front of me after being chased into the road. I thought it was one of the other lionesses we rescued until she started to shift back.”
Trent frowned. “If not one of them, then who is she? Who was chasing her?”
“My father’s men. I got her out of there before they found us.” Lindley slid his eyes closed to beat back the frantic press of his lion. “Kyla fled the Levine pride a few days ago to avoid being mated off against her will. My sister sent her to find me.”
“And your sister?”
Lindley was quiet for a beat, Sage’s words ringing in his ears. Kyla’s, too. Two women, both pleading for safety, both victims of the same bastards the Crowleys hunted, and he didn’t know what to do. “We can’t wait for Jasper to make a move. Sage is his new mate.”
“Motherfucker.” Trent started to pace, agitation rolling off him in waves. His eyes flashed bright gold as his lip lifted in a silent snarl. “Why couldn’t that asshole have died the night we rescued Hailey?”
It was a damn good question. Would have been the polite thing to do, too. Trent’s estranged uncle had already fucked with their pride once before when he snatched the man’s mate. Adding a sister to his crimes didn’t bode well for the man’s future.
If they could find where he called home. He’d been hard to track after being chased off with his tail between his legs.
Lindley silently swore to do his damnedest to pull his sister out of the fire. Kyla, too. Then he’d set them up safe and sound far, far from the shitstorm that would rain down as a consequence.
He hadn’t been able to save them before. Maybe he stood a chance of fixing that now.
Trent stopped suddenly, nostrils flaring. “How sure are you that you weren’t followed?”
Lindley turned to face him. “I didn’t see anyone...”
He trailed off, the silent but hanging heavy between them.
But they were the only lion pride near where he’d found Kyla in the middle of her mad dash.
But their enemies knew where to find them.
The breeze carried more than the cold warning of more snow. The faint scent of baked earth and unfamiliar notes filled his nose.
Lindley and Trent exchanged glances, then darted back towards the dens, lions ripping out of them as they roared.
Chapter 7
Kyla stared at the closed door leading outside until a shiver worked down her spine. She readjusted the blankets around herself and pulled away from the entrance, away from Lindley, away from whoever else lurked out in the snow. She wanted nothing to do with the sounds of a fight gathering up momentum.
Her head buzzed with the press of her lioness and the urge to step right back into the cold. She wanted to chase after Lindley and demand answers. She wanted to go after Sage. She wanted... She wanted...
Nothing to do with the man. He’d rejected her plea for help, but what could she expect from a murderer?
Kyla gritted her teeth and turned her back on the door.
Aside from the damage to the wall, the place looked relatively normal. Couch. Television. Kitchen with dishes drying in a rack next to the sink. Sparse, sure, but livable. And all so very normal.
Until she turned back to the gaping hole in the wall.
What the hell happened to him, indeed. How did he go from fierce defender and loyal brother to someone who didn’t seem to care about anyone or anything at all?
He wasn’t her concern. She’d followed Sage’s instructions to find her older brother and came up as empty-handed as if he’d stayed missing. Kyla didn’t know what Sage had expected or why, but Lindley was most assuredly not their savior.
The more she thought about his refusal to help, the more irritation and outright anger sparked to life. He’d told her she could go anywhere and do anything, which was a rosy freaking idea for someone without a lion pride actively hunting him down. He may have found it easy to rip apart his family in a single, savage move, but she wasn’t like him. She was a fixer, not a killer. And her whole dang world needed quick triage before it bled out at her feet.
Sage needed saving. She’d just have to do it on her own.
Kyla turned away from the damaged wall and made her way back to the warmth of the bedroom. Her lioness unwound inside her, relaxing with the first inhale of Lindley's scent.
She reached for the bag he’d thankfully picked up when he tried to make road kill out of her and dumped all her belongings in the world to the bed. She dressed quickly in her spare set of clothes and sank to a seat on the bed.
She just needed a few more minutes, then she’d be on her way. Kyla twisted in place and winced at the strain up and down her sides. An hour at the most. She was a strong healer. Had to be after years of being knocked down.
Through the door, barely audible, something rustled in the living room.
Kyla froze. Apprehension scratched at her brain. Something wasn’t right.
She cocked her head and listened.
The tarp flapped again.
Just the breeze, she told herself. Or Lindley coming back to order her out of his den.
Footsteps crept down the hall.
Her lioness crouched down inside her. Kyla pressed her lips together, not even daring to breathe.
The door burst open, banking against the wall, but the male crowded through without a care. She recognized him; Tucker, one of Roland’s inner circle.
Kyla sprang to her feet, heart lodged in her throat. Her loud roar warning him away melted into a mewling squeak.
He lunged for her, but she darted out of his grasp. Blood and panic pounding through her, she dove for the door.
Outside. She needed to get outside. She stood a chance of running if she could only get outside.
Tucker grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a stop hard enough she thought he’d pulled her arm out of the socket.
“You’re coming with me,” he growled in her ear.
Kyla dropped to the ground like a lead weight, trying to pull her arm free. Every inch of her revolted against the order.
She didn’t want to be mated against her will. She didn’t want to go back to the Levine pride. She’d felt the wind in her fur and heart pumping in her chest while running from that horrid pride.
Kyla reached for her lioness, again and again. The cowardly beast shrank away under the sheer dominance pouring off the male. The hand he latched around her wrist tightened as he yanked her down the hall.
Then he was gone, and she found herself tumbling to the ground.
A savage roar brought her hands to her ears. She scrambled backward until her shoulders hit the wall.
Lindley drew his fist back and blasted her attacker across the jaw. The asshole tried to shake off h
is shock, but another punch to the middle staggered him back.
Tucker recovered enough to lash out with his own blow. Then he launched himself at Lindley, taking them both over the back of the couch and landing with a thud.
End over end, they rolled. Fists flew almost faster than she could track. Grunts and curses matched the harsh sounds of knuckles slamming into flesh until suddenly, Lindley sprawled to the ground, unmoving.
Kyla met Tucker’s eyes as he pushed himself up on thick arms and moved toward her.
“You shouldn’t have run,” he said in a voice that chilled her to the bone.
He grabbed for her fast as a snake. Kyla shrieked and tried to crawl away, but a hand latched onto her ankle and dragged her nearly under him.
“Not so fast, little mouse,” the big lion growled.
Kyla struggled as he easily pinned her down, his hot breath beating against her cheeks. She wanted to gag and cry and scream all at once. And still, still, she couldn’t pull her lioness into action.
Then, again, he was gone.
Lindley grabbed him by a handful of hair and hauled him to his feet. One hard shove sent him spilling through the tarp and Lindley followed him with a roar.
The cries of other lions answered the call. Kyla didn’t know whether to stay or run. Not knowing who fought outside kept her locked in place as surely as her lioness stayed locked in her head.
Roars marked the fight moving away from the den, then the front door banged open.
Lindley crouched in front of her. He took her face in his hands, bright copper eyes boring into her. Heat spread through her cheeks and face at the touch.
“Are you okay?” he rasped in a gravelly voice.
She nodded, twisting out of his grasp. She didn’t want him to see what she’d been reduced to at the hands of his father’s pride.
Hell, she didn’t want the reminder, either. She’d never been the brave one. If she couldn’t fight off one lion, she didn’t stand any chance of saving her friend from dozens more. She couldn’t even save herself.
After a moment, he rolled to his feet and disappeared down the hall. He returned a second later, buttoning his jeans. Her lioness stayed crouched down and wary in her head; agitation colored Lindley’s scent and jerky movements as he shoved the couch back into place.
Savage Claim: Lion Hearts Book Two Page 4