by Lynn Howard
The wolves all ordered the same thing – a burger and fries and a beer – and watched her just as closely as Noah did as she moved around the room.
Pride.
Shawnee almost tripped over a chair when her lioness spoke in her mind. “Not our Pride. Friends.”
Family. Pride.
Wow. The first time she’d hung out in the Big River territory, her lioness had been leery of the women. She’d thought they were a threat and would steal her mate. Now? Now she was trying to declare these men as her own little Pride.
She couldn’t wait to talk to Colton. She couldn’t wait to tell him that her animal was finally making an appearance, even if it was periodic and simple sentences. She’d spoken more in Shawnee’s mind in the last three weeks than she had in the last fifteen years.
And it was all because of Colton. He’d helped her find herself. He’d helped her find the person she’d been before her Pride had beat her down.
Eventually, the guys had to go back to work. Apparently, all of them had to go back to work. Within twenty minutes, the place was empty except for a few older guys who tended to sit at the bar all day, drinking beer and watching TV.
“Colton told me to make sure you take a break today. So, take a break,” Noah said as he wiped down the bar top.
“Are you going to take a break?”
He raised one brow at her, and Shawnee had a moment where she almost shrunk back into herself. She hated when anyone was disappointed or mad at her. And the way Noah was looking at her right now wasn’t exactly happy.
But he sighed and slapped the towel over his shoulder. “Let’s eat. What do you want?”
Shawnee shrugged and felt a smile tug her lips up at the corners. Noah felt like what a big brother should be; he watched over her, bossed her around, and made sure she was taken care of when her mate wasn’t around.
Noah threw his hands up and stomped into the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, she had the tables all wiped down and Noah plopped two baskets with a burger and fries, just like what the wolves had ordered, and pulled a chair out. He sat without saying a word to her and took a huge bit, swallowing almost half of the thing down.
Just because she no longer felt she had to impress anyone else didn’t mean she’d be caught dead eating like that. Shawnee took smaller bites, keeping a napkin ready to dab at the grease dripping from the junk food and the ketchup that refused to stay on the bun. Noah had eaten his entire burger and basket of fries before she was even halfway done with her food.
“I’ll just finish it later,” she said, standing and picking up the leftovers.
“Sit. Eat. I don’t feel like listening to Colton bitch later,” Noah said, using a hand on her shoulder to gently ease her back into her chair.
Once her belly was full, Shawnee climbed to her feet and cleaned up her mess. Time to get back to work. It was odd; her feet hurt, her back hurt, and she was already getting tired. Yet, she was happy. Was this why Colton smiled all the time? Did his heart just always feel as full as her belly did?
Shawnee hurried to the mirrors hanging over the liquor bottles – yep, she looked happy. Her eyes no longer looked haunted. Her face wasn’t frozen in an emotionless mask. And just like that, she liked herself just a little bit more.
The rest of the evening was slower than the day before. When Colton and the other two Blackwater bears came through the door, Shawnee was surprised at how fast the day had passed. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and was shocked to see it was already seven in the evening. She’d worked nine hours and it felt like she’d only been there two.
“You going to let my girl leave or what?” Colton asked Noah as he made a beeline for her, sweeping her up in a bone cracking hug. Shawnee squealed and squirmed to get out of his grip before he broke her back. “I missed you,” he said, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her lips.
“Get a room,” an old guy, Bart, said. The man had been sitting in the same spot for the last four hours.
Shawnee smiled against Colton’s lips and pulled away. “I missed you, too.” She had. Even as busy as she’d been all day, she found herself thinking about Colton constantly. “I have something cool to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“You can go, Shawnee. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Noah called from the bar.
“Can I ride in with you again tomorrow?”
“You sure you wanna keep working long days?”
Shawnee shrugged. “I kind of like working.”
All four bears looked at her like she’d grown a second head. They wouldn’t understand. It was the first time in her life she’d been allowed to be truly, one hundred percent independent. Even if she still had to catch a ride with her Clan brother or her mate.
“What? I do. It gives me something to do during the day and I’m making money. Speaking of…” She let that sentence trail off.
Noah snorted and shook his head. “Here,” he said, passing her two twenties. She figured she hadn’t made as much as the night before since it wasn’t so busy. But that was fine, as long as she was making something.
With a wide smile, Shawnee shoved the money in her pocket and slid her hand into Colton’s. “Are you going to stay all night?” she asked. He worried about her working long days, but he’d been opening and closing the bar alone since she’d come into the Clan. And from what she’d heard from Colton, he’d been doing it alone since he took over the bar after his father’s death.
“I’ll be fine. Go home. Your bear looks hungry.”
“I am,” Colton said with a nod. He took off his hat, scratched his head, then slapped it back on. “And I don’t want bar food. No offense. To either of you,” he said with a wink to Shawnee.
Luke and Carter stepped out ahead of Colton and Shawnee. When they halted in the doorway, Colton shoved them from behind. “What are you doing?”
Luke looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Colton then shook his head in one quick move.
“Who’s out there?” Shawnee asked, lifting onto her toes to try to see over Luke’s and Carter’s shoulders.
Colton tightened his grip on her hand and started to pull her back into the bar the same time Noah jogged toward the door.
“Shawnee Eleanor Baker.”
Shawnee froze. All those weeks of work she’d done on herself all but vanished. Her freaking mom was here? Why? Had Shawnee’s brothers told her where Shawnee was working? What she’d been wearing?
She looked down at her clothes and groaned. If Shawnee had thought it’d been bad when she’d run into Tonya and Jeremy, it’d been nothing compared to the reaction her mother would have.
“I’m speaking to you, young lady.”
Prying her hand from Colton’s, she pushed through Carter and Luke with leaden legs. It felt like a weight had been placed on her and she was having a hard time making her muscles work.
“Shawnee, wait,” Colton said, grabbing her bicep and tugging her back.
Turning her head up, her heart broke at the fear on his face.
“It’ll be okay. Just…don’t leave. Please,” she whispered so the words were for his ears only.
“Never.” His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched as Shawnee smiled sadly and turned to face her mother.
But it wasn’t just her mother. Her father, her brothers, Tonya and Jeremy, and three others from her Pride stood in the parking lot. Her mother’s eyes immediately dropped to her toes and Shawnee could almost feel the disgust rolling from the woman who’d given birth to her over the outfit she’d worn to work.
“What are you doing, young lady?” her mother asked, taking a step closer.
“I was just heading home,” Shawnee said, fighting her instinct to drop her eyes to her shoes as her parents glared at her.
“What are you doing here? Your brothers told me you were waiting tables yesterday.”
“I work here.”
Her mother released a sound of utter disgust and disappointment. “How are you supposed to be av
ailable for your mate if you’re working? And what the hell are you wearing? No wonder you’re still not pregnant. You’re repulsive.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Colton said, too much growl in his voice. He’d said he had control over his bear. She really hoped so. Because if his anger took over and his bear burst forward in the middle of House Springs…
“Excuse me?” her mother said.
“Is that your mate?” her father asked.
“He is. Mother, Father, this is Colton Barnes of Blackwater Clan.”
“When you said you’d finally found someone to mate with you…” Her mother shook her head slowly. “I would’ve preferred a lion. Even if it had to be with a bear, you could’ve at least chosen an Alpha. Well.” Her mother pushed her hair over her shoulder and did that slow assessment of Shawnee again. “You can’t expect to find someone of worth when you’re running around town looking like trailer trash.”
“You know what—” Colton started, but Shawnee turned and laid a hand on his forearm, pleading with her eyes. She couldn’t let him escalate the situation. She couldn’t let him get pulled into a fight that wasn’t his.
Every single person from Horine Pride were staring at Colton as if waiting for him to say more, waiting for him to push their hand. She wouldn’t let that happen.
“It’s time to come home. You’ve obviously forgotten your role. You need to go through your training again.”
“Her training?” Luke said, speaking up from behind Shawnee. “Is that what you call beating on your own fucking kid?”
Shit.
“This is none of your business, bear,” her brother, Brendan, said.
“Bull shit, it ain’t. She’s a Blackwater lioness now. You assholes got no claim over her. You’ve got no say in what she does, what she wears, or where she works,” Luke said. Colton smirked and nodded, his eyes narrowed on Brendan.
“She’s a lioness. Not a bear. She’s royalty. Royalty doesn’t slum. She’s not to be working. She should be at home, waiting for her mate,” her mother said, jutting her chin out.
“I’m her mate. And I say she can do whatever the fuck she wants,” Colton said, stepping up to stand beside Shawnee. It was like a unified front instead of him having her back. As if they truly were equal instead of him feeling like he needed to protect her from the evil world. She felt full of power for the first time ever.
And, apparently, her animal felt the same way.
A long, low growl trickled up her throat and startled Shawnee.
“Did you just growl at me, young lady?” her mother asked. Ugh. Shawnee hated when she called her that.
“Actually, that was my lion. You’re pissing her off,” Shawnee said. She saw Colton look at her from the corner of her eye. He looked proud. Shame she’d never seen that look from the people standing across from her.
“Let’s go. It’s time to go home,” her father said, taking a step in her direction.
“I suggest you stay where the fuck you are. If you take one more step, I’ll beat your ass into the gravel,” Colton said, that same growl lacing his words.
“Really?” Brendan said with a cocky smirk.
“Really,” Noah said from behind her. All four of her Clan family had her back. Unfortunately, it was the five of them against nine lions. Not the worst odds, but far from the best.
Her heart ached as she looked from her parents to Colton and back. Would she honestly have to decide between her mate’s safety and her own happiness? What had happened to the happy life she’d been building?
“I did what you told me to do. I found a mate. Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Shawnee said as angry tears burned the back of her eyes. Shit. Brendan was moving closer now, too. And so was Jason and Jeremy. They were going to drag Shawnee back to Horine. Back to Hell.
Mother opened her mouth to say something, but the sounds of trucks rumbling toward them stopped her. She raised her eyes over Horine’s shoulders as three familiar vehicles pulled into the lot behind them.
Shawnee looked over her shoulder at Noah. He’d called the wolves? He looked down at her briefly, winked, then raised his eyes again.
Gray, Nova, Micah, Callie, Reed, Lola, and Tristan and Peyton all climbed from their trucks, their eyes bright with anger as they stalked toward the Horine Pride. Horine no longer looked so sure. Shawnee’s mother looked to Shawnee with something close to panic in her eyes.
“This is how you treat your own family?”
“You’re no longer my family. I have a new family. They’re nice to me. They love me.”
Brendan snorted. “Love? What the fuck does that matter? You have a job to do, little sister. If that big fucker behind you can’t keep you in line, then you picked the wrong mate. Get your ass in the car.”
“I dare you to touch her,” Colton said.
“Actually, I’ve been a little bored. Could you touch her so I can see what he’ll do? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone beat with their own arm before,” Reed said with a smile. But the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He was always so funny and easy going. But right now, he looked downright scary.
The wolves spread out so they were practically circling the Horine members. And the lions looked nervous. Shawnee couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her mother actually lose her composure enough to fidget.
“Are you coming, daughter?” her father asked, turning his back on Gray, who was snarling at him.
“No. I’m no longer a Horine lioness. I’m a Blackwater lioness. And I hope my cubs are bears.”
Shawnee’s mother looked like she’d been slapped as she pressed a hand to her chest. Her father shook his head and pushed his wife toward a car. Her brother Jason looked a little sad but turned his back on Shawnee and dropped into the driver’s seat of the car her mother and father were climbing into. The rest of the lions backed away from the wolves, and the bears and made their way to their vehicles. Brendan glared at Colton for a few more seconds, spit on the ground, then turned and stomped toward his truck.
Brendan was the last one out of the parking lot, and the jerk spewed gravel across Big River’s vehicles as he peeled out of the parking lot.
“I need to leave,” Peyton said, her eyes a bright aqua color. “She’s trying to break through to go after them.”
“Ooohhhh. We should totally let Cujo go beat up your brother,” Nova said.
“No,” Tristan said, just the one word. In the time Shawnee had spent with the wolves, he didn’t speak much. At least not around her.
“Thanks, guys,” Colton said, crossing the space between them once the lions were gone. The guys all did this manly handshake with a hug and clapped each other hard on the back before pulling away.
Not the women. They all rushed toward Shawnee. “You good, kitty cat?” Nova asked.
“Hey. I thought that was my nickname,” Callie protested.
“Well, I can’t exactly call her Fancy Pants anymore.”
“Yes, you can,” Shawnee said. She’d hated that nickname. But she cared about Nova. And Nova didn’t do or say anything to be mean. She’d given her that nickname out of affection. Shawnee just didn’t realize it at the time.
“Oh. Okay, then. You’re back to Kitty Cat,” Nova told Callie.
“You ready to go home?” Colton asked her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
“Why don’t you guys come over for a while and unwind?” Lola asked.
The pink-haired woman was tucked under Reed’s arm. His brows raised and he nodded.
“We need to get home. She’s been at work since this morning,” Colton said, saving Shawnee from having to turn down the invite.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to hang out with them. She just needed…something. She needed to analyze what had happened tonight. Her parents never cared about anything other than status. The fact she was not yet pregnant and had chosen her own path in life must really have burned their asses if they were willing to challenge her bear mate. And that’s
exactly what they’d done by demanding she leave his home and return to Horine.
“We’ll follow you,” Gray said. He didn’t wait for Colton’s answer, just grabbed his mate by her hand and made his way to his truck.
“I’ll be home in a few hours,” Noah said. “Call me if there’re any more problems and I’ll shut down early.”
Colton clapped Noah on the shoulder with a nod. He helped Shawnee into the truck and waited for Luke and Carter to climb in. And then, they were on their way with the Big River wolves trailing closely behind.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” Shawnee breathed out as she tried to slow her heart rate.
“Which part? The part where your parents had the balls to try to take you away from me, or the fact your parents brought backup with them to drag you away from me?”
“The part where I looked my mother in the eye and stood up for myself,” she said, brushing over his words. “Did that really just happen?” The smile on her face grew to a full-blown grin. She pumped her fist in the air with a whoop. “I’m turning into a badass!”
Colton chuckled, the sound deep, but it wasn’t his usual jovial sound. And he’d barely looked at her since they’d gotten in the truck.
“What’s wrong?”
Carter leaned forward. “Besides everything he just said before you got all Super Woman?”
“Got all Super Woman?” What the hell did that mean?
He threw his fist in the air, imitating her.
“I wasn’t trying to fly, jerk face.” Her eyes went wide as the words left her lips. When his own lips twitched as he held back a smile, she wiggled excitedly in her seat. “Yeah. Jerk face. I am a bad ass!”
Luke snorted and shook his head but didn’t say anything, just kept watching through the side window.
Colton’s hand landed on her thigh and she turned back around in her seat. Fur. She smelled fur. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? “Colton? You okay?”
“My mate,” he growled out, and his eyes flashed bright amber.
“Do you want me to drive?” she squeaked out. They were close to home, but they weren’t home yet. He couldn’t Shift yet. And he definitely couldn’t Shift in the truck. While he was driving. While he was doing sixty down the damn highway.