Colton's Kitty

by Lynn Howard

  She had to get the lions off the bears’ backs. She had to give them a chance to make it through this. But she couldn’t get close enough. Shit. What had she been thinking? Now she had nothing at her back and no one to cut off the females, including her fucking mother, who were stalking toward her.

  “I’ll kill you all!” Shawnee screamed, swinging the shovel wide and keeping them at least a few feet away. If any single one of them got their teeth or claws on her, they could drag her away and there was nothing Colton or the others could do to stop them. They had too many lions attacking at once for them to be able to pull away long enough to stop them from taking her away.

  And she’d been so wrong.

  With two males clinging to him with claws dug deep in his flesh, Colton barged right into the group of females closing in on Shawnee, then did a circle to keep the men away from her as well. With a small path cleared, she ran back toward her porch, swinging the shovel and hitting any lions close enough, including Brendan, who was on Luke’s back and latched on to him with sharp teeth.

  The rest of the Pride had hung back, almost unsure of whether they should interfere. But when it didn’t look like the bears would go down easily, they decided it was time to join the fray. A wave of fur came at them from three sides and now she could no longer see any of her family. And her mother, father, and freaking Brendan were closing in on her. She climbed the steps with clumsy legs, her eyes darting over to where she’d last seen Colton, and wondered if there was any point in resisting any longer.

  “If I go,” Shawnee yelled over the noise, “will you leave them alone? Will you just go? I’ll come with you, but you have to tell everyone to get off my mate.”

  In their animal forms, they couldn’t speak. But they could communicate in their own way. And the fact their golden eyes were locked on Shawnee as they stepped onto the bottom step of the stairs without hesitation told her no matter what she did, she was going to lose Colton. If she fought alongside and died, she’d lose him. If she surrendered to her family Pride, she’d lose him.

  She’d rather go down with him than live the rest of her life knowing he’d died because of her. She’d rather go down with him than live a single day without hearing his warm laugh or seeing that beautiful smile of his.

  “Fuck you,” Shawnee said, repositioning the shovel to smack her parents in the head.

  Her arms raised, hope bloomed as a sharp howl pierced through the snarling and growling. Then another. And another. Then the air was filled with the sounds of howling. There was a lion’s roar, then another. Even a few of the attacking lions stopped and looked toward the West. Help was coming. Big River was coming. And it sounded like they’d brought along at least the Alpha of Hope Pride.

  Keeping her eyes on her parents, she prayed they hurried. She had no idea what kind of condition her mate was in. Luke was back on his feet but was fighting three male lions with a female clinging to his back like a freaking monkey. She couldn’t see Colton, Carter, or Noah anywhere, but guessed the piles of snarling lions covered the three.

  As her mother put her foot on the porch with Shawnee’s back pressed against the door, the first wolf came into view. He hesitated less than a half second, surveying the situation, then plowed straight into the first pile of lions. Carter. It was Carter at the bottom of that pile.

  Another wolf joined the first wolf and they attacked with so much ferocity Shawnee had her first glimmer of hope that they might just make it out of this intact.

  More wolves came behind the first two, a big male lion with a black mane – Eli – followed by a smaller wolf and two lionesses. There were nine wolves, a male lion, and three lionesses. She could guess at some of the wolves and at least two of the lions, but had no idea who else had been called in to help. Didn’t matter. She was thankful regardless.

  Shawnee’s parents stopped their forward motion and looked over their shoulder. The fight no longer looked one-sided. While the lions had been fighting for close to ten minutes by this point, the wolves were fresh for the fight. There were two females who were doing the most damage, one of them with bright glowing aqua colored eyes. Her teeth were already stained red as she looked around for someone else to lay into. From the stories she’d heard, Shawnee guessed those two to be Nova and Peyton.

  The big black wolf bull dozed into another pile of wolves until Shawnee could finally see Colton. Even in his bear form, Shawnee would know him anywhere. And he was hurt. Even as he struggled to his feet to keep fighting, his fur was matted with so much blood. Too much. She could see gouges in his flesh where she wasn’t sure whether she was looking at tissue or bone.

  Horine Pride had hurt her mate.

  That humming, snarling in her head became deafening. Her sight wavered then was tinted in red. And then she lost control of her body when Brendan left the fight with Luke to attack Colton. Her brother was attacking her mate.

  And her lioness was pissed.

  ****

  Colton hurt. Every inch of his body hurt. There were too many cuts and he was losing blood. Even with his heightened healing abilities, his body was having a hard time keeping up. When he’d been flattened to the ground by the weight of so many damn bodies, all he could do was hope Shawnee had kept her promise and had taken off. When the lions had parted enough for him to see Shawnee backing away from a few females, a shovel clenched in her trembling hands, he got a burst of energy and was able to climb to his feet long enough to play bowling ball and knock the females away like pins.

  Making a wide arc, he kept the males still on his back away from Shawnee and then lost sight of his mate. Run Shawnee, he begged in his head as his bear began to lose the fight. There were just too many of them. Even with his size, the weight of so many male lions on top of him was too much for his legs to handle.

  And then he’d heard Big River’s howls. They were letting them know they were coming. Shawnee must’ve called them when he’d stepped outside. As much as he’d rather his friends not get hurt in this fight, he was thankful for their help. Because without them, one or all of Blackwater would be killed.

  Colton had no idea how his brothers were fairing, but he just kept fighting and hoped it wasn’t too late.

  The weight crushing him nearly vanished. Pushing to his feet, Colton shook out his fur and inventoried the scene; Big River was definitely there. But there were a couple extra wolves. And there was a male lion with a dark mane and a few lionesses fighting right alongside Blackwater. Eli had brought some backup with him.

  Blackwater was still outnumbered, even with the wolves, but the way the wolves fought gave him hope. There was a female, Peyton, who took out two males on her own and looked around with feral eyes for her next victim as blood dripped from her fangs and stained her fur.

  Where was Shawnee?

  Colton turned, seeking his mate, and was knocked down from the side. Son of a bitch. Why the hell couldn’t these assholes fight fair? The second Colton was on the ground, at least two more lions joined in and kept him from defending himself. He was too weak, too tired.

  As teeth sank into his throat, a deafening scream filled the area then tapered off into a roar. The weight disappeared completely. Then Colton was looking into the face of a lioness. And he knew that lioness even if he’d never laid eyes on her. He could smell Shawnee beneath the scent of fur and rage.

  His mate had found her animal. And her animal was fucking pissed.

  Lips peeled back to reveal an impressive set of fangs, she lifted her head and sought out more of her enemy.

  Horine Pride, especially Shawnee’s own flesh and blood, had tried to break Shawnee. They’d beaten her down, and, in turn, beaten her lioness down. And now the lioness wanted revenge for all those years of torment.

  Swiping those claws at anyone close enough, she lashed out and tore the flesh off lion after lion, never slowing down until a few actually tucked their tail between their legs and ran for the nearest vehicle. As quickly as they could, each Horine member Shawnee went after
would Shift back into their human form and scramble into their car or truck.

  Until it was just Shawnee and Brendan.

  A growl trickled nonstop out of Colton’s throat as he stalked closer to where the siblings circled each other, hissing and snarling. Brendan had been injured a few times and patches of blood were dark against his light-colored fur. Shawnee, on the other hand, didn’t sport a single scratch.

  Looking around at his group of friends who’d just arrived, they all fared as well as Shawnee, only a couple of them with marks where someone had gotten in a lucky swipe of the claws. His Clan looked as bad as Colton.

  Shawnee’s parents had Shifted back to human and stood by their car, their eyes glowing bright as they watched two of their children try to kill each other. They didn’t demand they stop fighting. They didn’t get in the middle of the tussle. In fact, it sure as hell looked like they were hoping Shawnee would fail.

  Ears flat against her head, Shawnee crept closer, her teeth bared, until she was within a foot of Brendan. Colton moved closer, prepared to take the fucker out if he actually lunged at his mate.

  But there was no need.

  As Shawnee got closer, Brendan took a step back, then lowered to his belly in a show of submission. Holy shit. Her brother, the same asshole who was ready to kill anyone he had to just to force Shawnee back into sexual slavery, submitted to his younger sister.

  “What are you doing?” their mother screeched. “Get up!”

  Colton turned his head to look at the woman whose eyes were wide. Bloody claw marks littered her pale flesh. From this day on, there was no way he could ever think of her as Shawnee’s mother. A mother wouldn’t do to Shawnee what this woman had done all those years and planned to continue with the abuse. She might’ve given birth to Shawnee, but she was no mother.

  Brendan looked over his shoulder and slowly raised back to his feet. Colton could tell, even from where he stood, that Brendan was scared. He was scared of Shawnee, of her lioness. And when she dove at him and latched onto his throat, knocking him onto his back and tightening her jaws, it was obvious he had good reason to be.

  As much as the fucker deserved it, Colton couldn’t let his mate kill her brother. Shawnee would never forgive herself.

  Shifting back into a man, Colton slowly approached, keeping his eyes on the Horine members who had were still standing around, waiting for the outcome.

  “Shawnee,” Colton said softly. “Honey, let him go.”

  Her eyes rolled to Colton’s face, but she didn’t loosen her jaw.

  Colton was within touching distance. A growl was the only warning Shawnee gave as she clung onto her victim. Reaching forward, Colton attempted to touch Shawnee. She yanked away from Brendan and Colton and hissed. But at least she let go.

  “Mate. Come back to me.” He didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t have an Alpha, not anymore. There was no way to force her Shift. And even if there was, there wasn’t a chance he’d allow it – that shit hurt.

  The hissing ceased abruptly and the lioness looked confused, her eyes going from Colton to Brendan – who’d flipped to his belly and looked like he was ready to bolt - then back to Colton.

  “Let him go. He’s done. Come back to me.”

  Shawnee went back to growling at Brendan but didn’t attack. When she didn’t latch onto his throat or lunge at him, Brendan slunk toward the cars and jumped through the closest open door.

  Shawnee watched him until he was no longer in sight, cowering down in the back of the car. He must’ve Shifted because the open door was quickly pulled shut.

  “How dare you,” Shawnee’s father said, jabbing a finger toward the lioness who was now hissing at the man. “That was your brother. How dare you treat a man like that.”

  “He’s no fucking man,” Colton said, stepping closer to Shawnee. She didn’t react negatively toward his proximity, so she had to be aware in there somewhere. “A man doesn’t attack his own fucking sister. A real man doesn’t sell his daughter or sister to strangers. A man doesn’t treat a fucking woman like she’s worth nothing more than her ovaries.”

  “You don’t get to—”

  “Fuck you. Fuck off. Get off my territory. Take your pathetic ass Pride with you. And if you ever come around Shawnee again, I will kill you. I don’t care what your relation is to my mate. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not her father.”

  Shawnee turned her head to look up at Colton as he leaned his leg against her side, needing her touch to keep him calm. When her weight pressed back against him, he wondered if she needed his touch at that moment just as badly.

  When she didn’t pull her eyes from his face, he couldn’t help but feel as if he were doing just like they’d done all those years and speaking for her. He would never step between them if she decided to keep those people in her life. But if she was done, if she wanted them away from her, he’d do whatever the fuck he had to, to keep her safe and happy.

  With all the rest of the Pride cowering behind or in their vehicles, with some of them pulling away, Shawnee’s parents had zero backup. They had no one to fight their battle, no one to help pull Shawnee away kicking and screaming. Or hissing and growling, since she’d yet to Shift back into her beautiful human form.

  While Colton was madly in love with the woman he’d mated just a month ago, her animal was strong and fierce and so fucking stunning. He couldn’t wait until he had the chance to run with her through the woods.

  “Shawnee, this is your last chance. Either get in the car, come home, and find a proper mate, or you’re no longer part of this family,” her mother said.

  Seriously? Who the fuck talked to their kids like that?

  Shawnee stepped away from Colton and, what looked painful as fuck, Shifted back into the woman he adored. She lifted from her hands and knees and bent backward, as if the Shift made her stiff. It also pushed her perfect tits forward and Colton couldn’t help but look around to make sure none of the males were looking. His Clan, the wolves, even Eli looked anywhere but at his naked mate.

  Stepping back against Colton’s side, she wrapped an arm around his waist. “I have a new family.” That was all she said. She didn’t cuss them out, didn’t tell them off. She just said what she had to say, turned, and urged Colton back to their porch.

  “Last warning, young lady,” her mother said.

  In a move that surprised the shit out of Colton, Shawnee lifted her hand and gave her parents her middle finger. She actually flipped off the fuckers who’d first brought her into the world, then made her life a living nightmare.

  Reed guffawed loud. Luke smirked and shook his head. The others were Shifting back into their human skin as Shawnee’s parents huffed out a surprised sound, crunched across the gravel, then left in one of the remaining cars.

  And then it was just friends and family left.

  “Thanks for coming,” Carter said, shaking hands with Gray.

  Colton lowered onto the top step gingerly as every cut on his body stung and ached.

  “You okay?” Shawnee asked, attempting to pull from his arm when she noticed how beat up he was.

  Colton reached over and pulled her back, keeping his arm tight around her. He didn’t care about the pain. He didn’t care that her skin against his wounds stung like a thousand bee stings. All he cared about was that his mate was safe and she was still with him. His Clan was safe and alive. His friends were all uninjured.

  “You’ve got quite a beast,” Koda, the Alpha of Morse Pack, said to Peyton as she scrubbed at the blood on her chin and lips.

  “She’s psychotic,” Peyton complained.

  “Girlfriend,” Nova said, sauntering up to Shawnee, still butt ass naked, just like the rest of them. And just like the other males had done, Colton kept his eyes on anything but her curvy body.

  There’d been a time when Colton had envied his friends. He’d noticed the beauty in each woman who’d joined Big River, had noticed their tenacity and bravery, and he’d wanted a woman like that.
>
  He’d gotten so much more with Shawnee. She was beautiful, sexy, smart, strong, funny…she was perfect.

  ****

  Shawnee excused herself to pull on some clothes. She carried out a few of Colton’s big t-shirts for the women of Hope Pride and Big River Pack to cover up while they were there. In total, there had been all of the Big River Pack except Lola and Nova’s dad, Alan, who’d both stayed back to watch over the pups just in case. Eli and Emory had brought Eli’s sister and one of the other lionesses from Hope Pride. When Koda and Carl, from Morse Pack, got a text from Lola, Carl’s daughter, there wasn’t a chance they’d sit it out.

  Her friends, including Carl and Koda - whom she’d definitely think of as friends after they’d come to the rescue - had saved her life. They’d saved all of Blackwater Clan’s lives.

  Not her friends. Her family. This mix of Shifters, this odd mixture of personalities was truly her family.

  “Thanks guys,” Shawnee said when there was a lull in the conversation that mainly revolved around how hardcore Peyton and Nova and Shawnee had been.

  “For what?” Nova asked, a confused frown on her face.

  “For helping us.” Shawnee’s brows raised a little and she shrugged as if it should be obvious.

  “You never have to thank us for something like that,” Emory said.

  “It was kinda fun,” Reed said with a wide shit-eating grin. “I haven’t been in a good tussle for over a year.”

  “Something is seriously wrong with you,” Emory said with a shake of her head. But the smile on her lips told Shawnee she wasn’t at all serious.

  “Is everyone alright, though?” Shawnee asked. Everyone looked fine, other than her Clan brothers. They looked like they’d gotten in a fight with a bunch of cats. Oh wait…they had.