“I couldn’t let you die,” she replied, giving him the same answer that he’d given her. The very thought of Talon not existing caused a knot to form in her throat.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he ordered, but his powers didn’t pulse with his demand. “I’m serious, Liberty. Our pride would’ve brought her home.”
“Wait,” she snapped, stopping him from threatening any more bodily harm. Although the thought of him spanking her playfully sent an ache low in her belly. “You said our pride?”
“You are one of us now,” he explained, then frowned. “Unless you want to find another pride.”
“Like I know of any other panthers besides you…er, I mean, us.” She snorted. “Of course I want to be a part of your pride.” She stretched and felt most of the pain from shifting easing out of her body. Her panther had settled somewhere in the back of her mind, letting Liberty’s human side take over. It was getting easier to move with each passing minute.
“I love you,” he blurted, leaning over to put his face closer to hers. “You start fires within my heart, Liberty Raines. I want you to be my mate…my queen.”
“Talon,” she cooed. She wanted to tell him her feelings, too. “I think I fell in love with you the day you kissed me in the bar.”
“Which time?” he smirked, looking playful.
“The day you touched me and I felt something jolt inside my soul. The day you put your hands on me for the first time and called me your mate.” She leaned forward, placing a hand on his cheek, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips.
With a snarl, Talon leapt, taking her back to the mattress. His lips found her neck, his slightly rough tongue licked at the marks at her neck. “Please be my mate, forever?”
“Yes, Talon,” she breathed. “Make me your queen.”
She unleashed a claw, drawing down the side of his jeans. A slight thrill ran through her at hearing the fabric tear open. With one hard yank, they ripped from his body. “That’s so cool.”
Their bodies came together in a tangle of limbs as Talon nestled between her legs, his face buried against her soft folds. The first pass of his tongue had Liberty’s eyes rolling into the back of her head. The second pass, she was digging her hands into his hair, begging with unrecognizable words.
“Please, Talon,” she purred, feeling the vibrations in her own chest.
“Are you sure?” he asked, rising up to his knees.
Instead of speaking her words, she remembered how he’d said it was to be done. She quickly got on all fours, dropping her shoulders to the mattress, her ass presented to him. Strong hands grasped her hips and she yelped when he thrust inside her.
His hands wrapped around her hair, pulling her back up to meet him. Her panther pushed forward in her mind, allowing her canines to grow. His warm chest met her back as his arm wrapped around her ribs, holding her in place. His teeth sunk into her neck and she had to blink to keep from passing out from the climax that hit her with the force of a Mack truck. She heard the pop and creak of the bed as he fucked her. There were sounds of things breaking, but she really didn’t care at the moment. Liberty was completely lost in the pleasure.
Talon continued to thrust inside her, raising her pleasure even higher, but Liberty had the overwhelming urge to mark him. She bucked against him, her panther snarling and demanding her mate release his hold. As soon as Talon let go of his hold around her waist, Liberty flipped him over, straddling his hips and taking his cock back into her body.
“Mine,” she snarled, leaning over and sinking her teeth into the spot where his neck met his shoulder. Talon’s roar rattled the walls as he pumped into her from his position beneath her. One hand landed on her hip, but she was too far gone in the pleasure to really pay attention to the odd sounds in the room.
His blood entered her mouth and she tore her lips away, only returning to the spot to drag her tongue across the wound, her saliva healing it just enough to close the wound and leave a scar for all females to see.
“I am yours,” he smiled, rolling Liberty over onto her back. “And you are mine.”
“Always,” she said, and then paused, looking up. “Did you break the headboard?”
“Ahh, yeah,” he laughed. “We don’t need one anyway.”
“If you are that destructive every time we make love,” she snickered. “Then we definitely don’t need one.”
“I was going easy on you.” He blushed. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m not breakable, Talon,” she flirted. “I can take you.”
“We’ll see about that,” he growled, pushing his hardness back inside her.
Talon spent the next several hours showing Liberty just how panthers mated in their human form.
Chapter Sixteen
Nova had the day off. She’d spent most of the morning helping her sister pack her things since she would be living with Talon as his mate. She giggled out loud when she remembered telling Liberty, “I told you so!” Those books of hers were apparently spot on.
It was a nice day out, the temperatures warm for a fall afternoon. She threw on her boots and made her way to the old tool shed out back. She opened the door and grabbed the rake, along with several black trash bags. Today, she would forget about the blonde shifter who’d been hanging at the bar for the past two weeks. He watched her like a hawk and it made her uncomfortable. He’d consoled her by staying with her while Liberty was missing.
Winter Blue was ten times her size and that intimidated her. The man hovered around her, but never touched her. Every time she would get close, he would sidestep her or move just enough to put a few feet between them.
Liberty had told her that the shifters didn’t touch females, mated or not. The first touch was all it took for them to know who their mates were. They’d been trained from an early age that touching a mated female brought them pain. So, they refrained from touching any female.
She paused and sighed. In all honesty, the thought of Winter touching her sent shivers all over her body. There was no denying that he was strong. The man’s shoulders were so wide that he had to turn sideways just to walk through a doorway. His icy blue eyes were mesmerizing and she’d caught herself a few times gazing into them. His disheveled blonde hair looked soft, and she wondered if it felt that way when you ran your fingers through it.
“Oh my God, Nova! Stop it!” she scolded herself.
“Stop what?” Winter interrupted.
“Shit!” she yelped, jumping back and dropping the rake. “You scared the hell out of me!”
“Sorry,” he apologized. The corner of his lip lifted into a predatory smirk and Nova felt her knees wobble slightly.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, picking up the garden tool. Nova felt herself blush and she hoped like hell she could pass it off as exertion from working outside.
“Liberty asked me to come by on my way home to pick up the last of her boxes,” he answered. Winter smiled and Nova’s insides did a backflip. She wanted to melt right there in her yard. The man was stunning, beautiful even. There was no way a man like him would want a girl like her. She really needed to get over this little crush she had on the Guardian.
“Sure,” she nodded. “Let me set this stuff by the tree.”
“Take your time,” he said.
Nova walked over to the old oak tree in the back yard. It’d been smaller when she and Liberty were younger. The low branches were perfect for climbing. That was until Nova fell out of the tree and broke her arm when she was nine years old. After that, her mother forbid them to climb the tree.
She froze, looking down at a print on the ground. Her body shook, remembering what had happened to Evie and her sister. This wasn’t a panther print.
“W…Winter,” she stammered, dropping the bags in her hand.
“What is it? Nova?” he panicked, running up to her side. He didn’t make a move to touch her.
She couldn’t answer. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Nova pointed and watched as
Winter’s eyes followed the line of her arm to the paw print on the ground. She’d seen the panther’s prints so many times over the past few weeks that she’d know them anywhere. This print was totally different and it didn’t take a genius to realize it didn’t belong to her friends.
“Get in the fucking house, Nova,” he barked. “Now!”
She ran, jumping onto the back porch and throwing open the door. She immediately sat heavily into the chair at the kitchen table, dragging in huge breaths. Trying to calm herself, she looked for Winter. He’d just stepped into the house, throwing the lock on the door. His face had paled slightly. She heard him move through the house, checking all of the windows. The last thing she heard was the deadbolt on the front door engage before he reentered the kitchen, the phone to his ear.
“Boss,” Winter growled into the phone. “The wolves haven’t left. They’re still here.”
Nova heard the alpha curse loudly through Winter’s phone.
He watched her cautiously. As well he should, because Nova was scared shitless. She’d seen her sister go through hell because of the wolves.
“No one will hurt you,” Winter promised, a deathly snarl leaving his lips. “I won’t let them.”
And somehow…she believed him.
“Apparently, my dumb fucking cousins couldn’t pull their heads out of their asses and kidnap the leader,” the wolf alpha cursed. “They were supposed to kill him!”
“I thought you would let me go when I sniffed out the alpha’s mate,” the young panther snarled. “You promised!”
“Shut up, boy!” the man holding him captive yelled, backhanding Malaki hard enough to split his lip. “I want that alpha! He should’ve never told our secret!”
“Let us go!” Malaki roared, feeling an overwhelming urge to protect that pride. It’d been his own foolish mistake trying to take on the pack of wolves that had come in and killed his pride weeks ago. He’d been drugged and taken to a place he had never been to before and held captive. He didn’t even know if he was still in Tennessee. These wolves were sneaky, cunning, and would stop at nothing to keep their kind out of the spotlight of the humans.
He knew that he had to warn the pride. But how? He couldn’t call out to any alpha because his leader was dead. The cell phone he’d stolen from one of the pride members he’d followed had lost its battery power after he’d made that text to the alpha. It had been the only way to save the two females.
“Drug him until we are ready for him to get us answers,” the wolf ordered the man that was in charge of keeping them locked in cages. “Maybe I will have a little fun with your sister over there.”
“No!” Malaki struggled to stop the man who was moving closer to Calla’s cage. She was huddled in the corner, tears streaming down her face. They kept collars on them that were made with sharp spikes, ensuring that if they shifted, they would die. Malaki was only allowed out of his the few times he was sent to get information for the wolves.
Calla was the only reason why he’d been spying on the pride. The wolves had threatened to hurt her in ways that made him sick. She was all that was left of his family…his pride. His baby sister who’d been loved and sheltered by their pride was now being hurt by monsters. He vowed that he would have his revenge, and he’d take the wolf leader’s heart as payment.
Malaki struggled as he was injected by one of the men who worked for the leader of the wolves. It didn’t take long before his world went dark…the last thing he heard was his sister screaming for help.
Chapter Seventeen
Liberty stretched lazily in the bed. She’d been ordered to rest for the past two days and she was tired of laying around. Of course, Talon waited on her hand and foot; bringing her food, running warm baths, and making sure he reminded her how much he loved her once he had settled down for the night.
Her hand reached out and found his side of the bed empty…again. It was after seven in the morning and she had a feeling he’d been up since dawn. He was forever working with his pride or doing something around the property.
She searched through the boxes of clothes that were still in the back of the closet. After Talon and a few of his Guardians had unloaded most of her stuff two days ago, Talon had ordered her to bed. He was the alpha after all, and now that he’d changed her, the push of his powers affected her more strongly than they ever did when she was a human.
She wanted to shower and move around, hoping that she could find something to eat after she was clean. The hot water eased the tension in her shoulders. She didn’t know how long she stood under the spray, keeping her mind clear of thoughts. It was nice to just relax for once.
She looked in the mirror at her reflection. Her eyes had now changed to the icy blue of a shifter. It still unnerved her a bit to see such a drastic change in them, but it was something she accepted to have Talon at her side. He was hers forever. She quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. She braided her hair and padded out of the room to find her mate.
The thought of Talon being hers for the rest of her life sent a thrill through her and she giggled as she took the stairs down to the main floor of the house. She sensed him in the house, but couldn’t quite pinpoint where he was at first.
Voices alerted her to a commotion coming from his office. As she turned down the hallway, she saw several Guardians walking toward the room. His office was at the end of the long corridor, and there were several men in her way as she stepped out of the foyer. She wanted to see Talon and these men had better not stop her, because she was beginning to sense something was wrong.
“Move,” she snarled, using her new and improved voice. The men immediately scattered, not one of them brave enough to lay a hand on the alpha’s mate.
Since Liberty had learned to growl, thanks to her newfound status, she’d used it a few times to prove her point. The Guardians treated her as an equal to Talon and that was the way it was always going to be, according to her mate. The alpha’s mate was a queen of sorts. Her power was just as strong as their leader’s. Liberty snorted a laugh to herself. She didn’t feel that powerful. She still felt weak from her change, but Talon assured her she’d be okay in a few days.
As the sea of men parted, Liberty’s teeth clenched in anger. Dane and Savage were on each side of Talon, their fists balled as they leaned on the old, antique desk. Talon’s head was in his hands as he listened to the two men explain what was going on.
It didn’t take long before Liberty grasped their words. Talon’s head snapped up and she felt his power wrap around her, giving her the strength and comfort only her mate could give at the time. She didn’t want to acknowledge what she’d heard. She didn’t want to worry about another person close to them, but this was so much worse.
“Where is my sister?” Liberty growled, marching toward the desk. Her eyes were focused on her mate, but the question was for anyone in the room who had the answers she was seeking.
“Winter has her, Liberty,” Talon replied, standing up from his seat. He walked around the desk, but didn’t touch her. “He is watching the house until we can investigate more.”
“Talon Shaw,” she snarled, her panther pushing forward. She knew her eyes glowed amber from the slight change of colors in her vision. The panther prowled restlessly in her mind, but knew that Liberty was in charge at the moment. They both wanted blood, and Liberty would stop at nothing to protect the ones she loved. “You find those wolves, and don’t you dare let anything happen to my sister.”
The Guardians left the room in a hushed dismissal. Talon reached for her hand as soon as the last man out shut the door. Liberty didn’t even care who had left the room. Her main focus was on her mate and the information she’d just learned.
“Your sister will be safe,” Talon promised, wrapping his arms around her waist. She melted into his strength and knew that Talon and his Guardians would do anything and everything to stop the wolves. Her only hope was that no one else would have to suffer at the hands of those monsters.
>
“Promise?” she asked, melting into her mate’s embrace.
“I promise,” he said, kissing her head. “Winter won’t let anything happen to Nova.”
“I’m sure he will keep an eye on her,” Liberty teased. Talon’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he chuckled. They both had seen the way that Winter looked at her sister. He’d been adamant about being the one to watch over Nova when she was at the bar or at home.
“I love you, mate,” he grinned, kissing her once again. “I want you to get stronger. I’m more worried about you right now.”
“I love you,” she replied. “I’m fine, Talon. Really.” She was tired and weak, but nothing compared to when she’d woken up as a panther. After that first shift back to her human self, Liberty had slept for several hours, exhaustion taking everything out of her. Talon had brought her the biggest plate of food she’d ever seen. Now she understood how he and his Guardians could eat so much food when they came to the bar.
“Take a run with me?” he asked. “I’ll have the Guardians go with us if you’d like.”
“I’d like to run with you alone,” she purred, then frowned. “But, I’m scared to shift again.”
“It shouldn’t hurt as bad this time,” he said, his eyes darkening at a silent thought.
“What?” she asked, worried for her mate.
“Nothing.” He smiled, taking her hand. “Come. I’ll be with you the entire time.”
They left the house after Talon alerted his men as to where they would be for the next hour. The sun was high overhead as they stopped just inside the tree line of the wooded area behind the house. Black birds scurried out of the branches, taking flight.
“No one can see me, right?” She blushed crimson. She didn’t know if she’d ever be comfortable being completely nude in front of the other pride members. Talon had told her once that they’d never learned the shame of nudity like the humans. He promised that his kind didn’t look upon a woman with lust during the shift, unless they were mates.
Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1) Page 16