by Lynn Howard
She sucked her lips into her mouth as she thought about the term she’d used in her head to describe him. “You’re my biggest cheerleader,” she said, telling him exactly what she’d been thinking, or part of it, anyway.
Colton’s head jerked up and his brows raised to his hairline. “Should I buy some pom poms? You’ll have to teach me a few cheers.”
Shawnee giggled and shoved his shoulder. He flopped onto his back, acting like she’d pushed him over. “Want to know what else I was thinking?” she asked, wriggling until she could prop her chin on his chest.
His hand raised and pushed the hair away from her face. “Of course.”
“You’re my best friend.”
His sweet smile was slow and got wide. “You’re my best friend, too,” he said, his voice so quiet and soft. “I got the best of both worlds. A lover and a best friend. And they’re both rolled up in a sexy, irresistible package.”
She winked down at him, just as he’d done to her so many times. She might not look nearly as endearing or sexy as he did, though.
Colton wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, laying a kiss to the top of her head and lingering there as if he were breathing her in. She totally got that; she couldn’t seem to get enough of Colton’s scent, either.
Eventually, her muscles began to feel like jelly and her eyelids grew heavy.
“You ready to sleep?” he asked, his deep voice close to a whisper. She nodded her head while still laying against his chest. “Let’s go.”
She moved to roll off him, but he kept his arms tight around her and stood. Before her legs had a second to dangle, he scooped her lower half up with an arm under her knees and carried her to bed.
“You keep carrying me,” she said on a wide yawn.
“You’re tired.”
“You worked all day, too. I’ll carry you next time.”
Colton’s chuckle rumbled through his chest and straight to her heart. She loved that sound. She loved pretty much every single thing her mate did. After the crap with her parents earlier in the evening, she’d have thought she’d be falling apart or pouting. But being with Colton made everything easier and made her feel stronger.
When Colton settled her on the bed, she flopped backward with her eyes still closed. Now that the high of orgasm and the rush of adrenaline had completely worn off, she’d fall asleep within seconds.
The bed jostled beneath her as Colton climbed in beside her. Pulling her legs up and scooting until her head was on the pillow, she wiggled until she was perfectly cradled against his body, his long legs lined up with hers. Well, his thighs were lined up. The rest of him was almost a foot longer.
Colton’s heavy arm draped across her middle and tugged her closer, and then he released a satisfied sigh. That was the last thing she heard before she stopped fighting sleep and fell into a series of dreams.
****
The bed moved beneath Shawnee, dragging her out of a rather nice dream involving Colton’s tongue.
“Wake up,” she heard Colton say.
Lashes fluttering, she struggled to open her eyes. No way could she have slept the whole night. It felt like she’d just laid down.
“Shawnee, you’ve got to wake up.”
Colton again. And he sounded scared.
Eyes flying open, Shawnee tried to focus on her mate’s face hovering over hers. His eyes were wide and glowing, and his lips were pulled back to reveal his teeth had Shifted in his mouth.
“What—”
He placed a hand over her mouth and put a finger to his lips. “Get up. Get dressed. We’ve got company,” he whispered so softly she almost missed it.
Company. Someone was there and Colton was scared. Nothing scared Colton. Who the hell could be there… Oh no.
Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she rushed around, grabbing a pair of shorts and a tank top. She had no idea whether they matched. And she didn’t care. She just needed her body covered before they encountered the nightmare waiting outside.
“I want you to stay in here. No matter what happens, do not step outside of this house,” he continued to whisper, his eyes locked on hers. “If anyone gets past me, you get the fuck out of here. You run to Big River or just stay on the road until you can find someone from the Council. You hear me?” he whispered, his hands tight on her biceps.
“What? You can’t go out there alone,” she whispered back, her eyes darting over his shoulder to the bedroom doorway as if her parents would appear to drag her away.
“The rest of the Clan is outside. Carter is talking to them now. You have to promise me you’ll go, Shawnee. Do not go out there. Do not let them get their hands on you.”
He bent and pressed a bruising and desperate kiss to her lips. “Promise me,” he repeated.
“I…I can’t let you fight for me, Colton.”
“You’re my mate. No way am I going to let anyone fucking hurt you.”
He was going to risk his safety for her. The whole Clan would. “Colton, please,” she begged, grabbing his arm when he turned to leave.
Colton hesitated in the doorway, his incandescent eyes staring down at her. There was so much pain in his face, yet so much love. She’d just found him. They hadn’t even had a year together. Hell. They hadn’t even had two months together. She couldn’t lose him.
“I’ll talk to them. Find out what they want,” she whisper-screamed as she chased after him.
Colton whirled around and held his hands out for her to stop. “You know what they want,” he said, no longer whispering. His hands cupped her face and he came in for one more kiss. And damn it if it didn’t feel like a goodbye kiss. “I love you. Always remember that.”
He pulled away, stepped outside, and pulled the door shut behind him without another word. And Shawnee was left standing there with tears welling in her eyes.
There were lights shining in through the windows from the vehicles parked out front. So many freaking vehicles the living room looked like daytime. Sneaking as close to the windows as she could, she peered outside and felt her heart stop in her damn chest. Colton stood on the top step of the porch, his big arms crossed over his thick chest. Carter, Luke, and Noah all stood at the bottom step, forming a living wall to block Horine’s entrance into the home.
Scanning the faces, her heart kicked into overdrive. Now it was thundering behind her ribcage as she tried to count how many Pride members were standing on the front lawn or nearby. Mother and father. Both of her brothers. Tonya and Jeremy. Ten. Twenty. Thirty-three. Unless there were others still in the cars and trucks or hiding in the trees, she counted thirty-three people. And there were just four Blackwater bears. There was no way her new family could win if the lions attacked.
Oh god oh god oh god! Turning and running as silently as she could through the house, Shawnee grabbed her phone from the nightstand and typed out a hurried text to Nova.
Need help now! Lions here. Too many.
Send.
Tossing the phone onto the bed, she rushed back into the living room and hugged the wall near the door, her heart in her damn throat as she listened to her Clan try to talk the lions into leaving.
“She’s my daughter and I want her back,” her mother said.
“She’s a grown woman and has a mate. You need to leave our property,” Carter said, standing slightly ahead of the other bears while Colton held his place on the porch.
“Or what, bear? You’re outnumbered ten to one,” Brendan said, a cocky smirk on his stupid face.
“Lioness? Now might be the time to come out. I know I pushed you back all those years, but I need you. Our mate needs you.”
She was answered with an odd hum, similar to the noise she’d heard as a child when she and her animal were first learning to speak to each other. Come on! Now wasn’t the time for her beast to cower in the back of Shawnee’s mind. She needed her claws and teeth. Because Shawnee knew there was no way her family Pride would leave empty handed, not without a fight.
Her phone dinged from the bedroom, but there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d leave her spot. She had to keep her eye on Colton. She’d promised to run. She’d promised him if anything happened, if they were able to get past the bears, she’d hit the woods and run. But she’d called in the wolves. Even if they weren’t able to help, she could never leave her mate alone to fight for her. She’d hate herself for the rest of her life if anything happened to Colton and the rest of Blackwater all because they were trying to keep her safe.
What the hell could she do, though, if her animal refused to come forward? It didn’t matter. Claws and teeth or not, she’d grab the closest weapon she could find, even if she had to smash a chair and use the wood as a stake, and fight side by side with the only man she’d ever loved.
“Outnumbered or not, the first person who so much as moves in my mate’s direction dies,” Colton growled out. Even from inside where she hid, she could feel the anger rolling from him, could smell the pungent scent of his fur as he struggled to keep his skin. He couldn’t Shift, not unless someone else did. If he Shifted first the Pride would see it as a challenge and attack him. And like Brendan had pointed out, Blackwater was far outnumbered.
Why had she texted Nova? Even if every single member of Big River came to help, they’d still be outnumbered. She’d heard stories of the newest Big River member, Peyton, and her psychotic wolf. And Nova supposedly had a pretty fierce wolf inside of her, too. But would that make a difference against so many lions?
Shawnee tiptoed closer so she could see more out the window. She recognized every single person out there. She just hoped some of them weren’t there for a fight. She had a hard time picturing Jason fighting against his sister’s mate, even if they’d never been close. He’d always been more on the neutral side, even if he did have a few mates and followed the antiquated ways of their Pride. Brendan would Shift the first chance he got. That asshole was always looking for a way to make a name in the Pride. He wanted Alpha. There was no doubt about that.
Speaking of Alphas. Where the hell was Horine’s Alpha? Shouldn’t he have been there? Shouldn’t he have been leading the charge against Blackwater? Or maybe he had no idea what everyone was doing. No. That didn’t sound like the Alpha she remembered. He had to be out there; she just couldn’t see him.
“She’s my daughter. We want her back. Now. You’ve corrupted her. Or maybe you just don’t want to admit that she’s unruly and you can’t handle her. Either way, she needs to return to the Pride to be retrained,” her mother said. “Shawnee! Come out here right now, young lady.”
Nope. She wouldn’t move. She couldn’t move. For some reason, she feared if she actually stepped onto the porch, it would make everything worse. Someone would move to drag her away and Colton would Shift. Then they’d attack him. If a fight broke out now, her new family would die. Every single one of them.
“It’s time to go,” Carter said, stepping closer to Brendan and Shawnee’s dad. “You’re on our property. You’ve trespassed into our territory. And what you’re trying to do is illegal by Shifter law.”
“You gonna call the police, asshole?” Brendan said, that stupid smirk still plastered on his stupid face.
Anger burned in Shawnee’s stomach as Brendan took a slow step closer to the house. He was daring Colton, trying to force him into a fight that everyone knew he wouldn’t win. It wasn’t that Colton couldn’t take on Brendan. She had no doubt her mate could whip quite a few of the lions outside. But the second Brendan started to lose, the entire Pride would jump in.
“Come on. I need you. Our mate needs you,” she said in her head, once again trying to drag her lioness out.
And all she got was that hum in her head again. Fine. If her lioness wouldn’t come out, Shawnee would just have to fight the old-fashioned way. They would all die, but at least she’d die with Colton.
She’d promised. But she’d break that promise in a heartbeat. He could be pissed all he wanted, but at least she’d be by his side.
As if he knew she was nearby, Colton turned his head to the side even though there was no way that he could see her. Was he listening for her? Was he trying to convey some kind of message to her?
It didn’t matter. She wasn’t leaving. She wasn’t running. Not now. Not ever. Her parents wanted to break her back down and keep her weak. She wasn’t weak. She might be scarred and still fractured on the inside, but her strength had grown in the time she’d been away from them and especially since she’d been with Colton.
“I want my daughter now,” her father said, taking a step closer to Carter. They weren’t talking to Colton, her freaking mate. They must’ve thought Carter was the Alpha since he’d been doing most of the talking.
“You can’t have her. Don’t you think she’d be out here if she wanted to go with you?” Carter said, keeping his voice steady and his posture relaxed.
“She doesn’t know what she wants. That man,” her father said, pointing a shaky finger up at Colton, “is keeping her away from us. You’ve corrupted her.”
“What?” Colton said, taking one slow step toward the edge of the porch.
“You’ve brainwashed her. You changed her,” her mother said.
“I brainwashed her?” he said, his voice low and deadly. “When she came to me, she was so freaking broken. She didn’t have a fucking clue who she was. She didn’t even know what kind of fucking movies she liked.”
“She is supposed to—”
“Shut up,” Colton said to Shawnee’s mother when she tried to argue.
“Excuse me?” Mother said.
“You convinced her she was small. That she didn’t matter. She thought the only reason any man would want her was if she could provide him with cubs. She thought the only way to make someone love her was by becoming what the fucking man wanted.”
“Love,” Brendan said with a sarcastic huff of a love. “You trying to say you love my sister, bear?”
“Yep,” Colton simply said. He now stood with his arms at his sides and his hands balled into fists. He was becoming agitated. All Shawnee wanted to do was go out there and comfort him, but that would just make everything worse.
“She’s coming home,” Brendan said, taking another step closer.
Noah, Luke, and even Carter countered his step and moved closer to him, blocking him from the steps. Colton still stood at the top as if he needed to guard Shawnee with his own body.
Brendan’s eyes raised to the windows behind Colton, and Shawnee moved back further, hoping he couldn’t see her. He took another step closer. The Blackwater guys might not know what he was doing, but she did. He was trying to force Colton to Shift so they could attack. They weren’t stupid. There was a reason her family had brought almost the entire Pride with them; this was a seek and destroy mission. If Shawnee wasn’t handed over or didn’t hand herself over, they would kill all four Blackwater bears and drag Shawnee out kicking and screaming.
She had to do something. She couldn’t let Colton sacrifice himself. With a shaky breath and tears burning in her eyes, she walked through the house with a heavy heart and stepped through the front door.
Colton whipped around, his bright, glowing amber eyes wide as his lips parted. “What the hell are you doing?” he growled.
Shawnee stepped up beside Colton and slid her hand into his, twining her fingers through his. When she turned to face her family and former Pride, he still stared down at her as if she’d lost her mind. Maybe she had. Because now that she was out here, now that she could truly see every face of the people she used to know, the people who’d made her life hell, a tremble began in her belly and worked its way to every limb. How had she thought she was strong enough to back these people down?
“Go back inside,” Colton whispered so soft Shawnee almost missed it. Even as his hand gripped hers tightly, he was pulling her, trying to tug her behind his body.
Luke took a step closer to the porch. All she could smell now was fur. So much fur. Shit.
“Mother,�
� Shawnee said, lifting her head and doing her best to control the trembling in her body. “I’m not going anywhere. I have a mate. I’m an adult. Blackwater is my home, now. They’re my family. The laws have changed, and you have no right to demand I do anything.”
“Fuck the laws,” Brendan said.
“Fuck,” Carter muttered a half second before Brendan exploded into a large lion.
Shaking his mane out, Brendan lifted his head and released a bone rattling roar. He released a battle cry. He released a command for the rest of the Pride to Shift and attack.
And Shawnee’s lioness was still MIA.
Chapter Eleven
Carter, Luke, and Noah Shifted immediately, the big bears towering over Brendan, who lunged toward the porch.
Luke swung his massive paw and knocked him back and away a few steps, then dove at him. The others had shed their human skins, even her freaking parents. This wasn’t going to end well, but at least her Clan would put up a fucking fight.
Colton shoved her toward the door, then Shifted right there on the porch, the top of his bear’s head almost touching the boards holding up the gable. He roared, just like Luke had, then dove into the foray as other lions attacked Luke. Carter and Noah were swiping their long claws at anyone who came close. And Shawnee stood there like a statue, frozen in place as her new family took hit after hit. Blood assailed her nose as the lions were able to overcome Carter and inflict too many cuts and bites to his thick hide.
“I need you!” Shawnee screamed in her mind to her lioness. The humming had changed. It was a snarling, growling sound that almost drowned out the sound of the battle going on around her. “Come on, girl. Fight for our mate!”
Colton was locked in battle with two males. Carter had a male in his teeth while another latched onto the back of his neck. Luke was under pile of freaking male and female lions. Noah was trying to get to Luke’s side, but couldn’t get past the four male lions attacking him. She needed her animal. She needed to help.
Looking around, she spotted a shovel leaning against the side of Carter’s house. Running for the side, she jumped over the railing, gripped the handle in both hands, then ran back toward the melee. When anyone jumped in her way, she swung the head of the shovel as hard as she could and actually made contact with one of their noses.