by Zoe Chant
Fascinated, Kira watched closely. Emi had only transformed in front of her once, after she told Kira and before Kira believed her.
Muscle and fur rippled down the woman's figure until, suddenly, there was a lioness standing where there had just been a woman. She was a little shorter than Kira expected, but no less dangerous or beautiful for it.
Basket in mouth, the lioness bounded ahead of them and was out of sight within moments.
That was everyone's cue to begin the hike. As they began to move, one of the older women eyed Kira and fell back to talk with her. "That the first time you've seen it?"
"Not the first, but only the second," she replied, still a little in awe.
"It's something else, isn't it?" The woman – Marlene, her name was – gave a chuckle at Kira's expression. "I remember the first time I saw it."
Kira thought she'd misjudged. "Are you not -?"
"Oh, I am now, and for the last twenty-five years. But not like most of these folks from birth. I married into it, so to speak."
"How do you do that?" asked Kira.
Marlene smiled, reminiscing. "All creatures need outside blood, don't they? Sometimes when a lion takes a mate, she – or he – becomes part of the pride. That's what happened to me."
"That must have been really weird."
"Oh, it was," Marlene assured her. "Went to bed with him one night and woke up the next morning a lioness. I didn't even know what he was!"
As she held a branch out of the way for the older woman, Kira couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, no. He apologized, right?"
Marlene rolled her eyes, but there was affection in the gesture. "Profusely. It doesn't seem to happen so much anymore. It used to be more common, I'm told."
"Why's that?"
Marlene shrugged. "No one really knows, far as I can tell. Some think it's because of modern culture. Less love at first sight, less mating for life – so to speak. Me, well, I don't know about that. But it's as good a theory as any, I suppose."
"Is anyone else . . . ?"
Marlene's voice dropped lower. "There was one gentleman – used to be pride alpha, Cole and Andrea's father. They led the pride together, though they passed away several years ago."
Kira thought of that morning and the moment she'd shared with Cole over her parents' loss. At the time she'd known he empathized with how she felt, but wasn't sure why. Now she knew it was because he'd been there. "And Cole doesn't have . . . a mate?"
Turning her head, Marlene shot a grin over her shoulder. "Why, you looking?"
Kira's face warmed and she was thankful for her darker skin, as she remembered how much of an instant connection she'd felt with him. "Just curious if there was an alpha lioness around I should know."
Marlene's look was knowing. "Mm-hmm. Well, no. He's a bit of a ladies' man, truth be told. Takes leading the pride seriously, but not much else, including relationships. That bad news for you, hon?"
Feeling irrationally disappointed, Kira shook her head. "I'm not looking for anything right now."
Marlene nodded. "Well, as to your question, we haven't had an alpha lioness in the pack since Cole's mother passed. Don't get me wrong, Cole does a good job. But it would be nice for him if he had someone to share that burden with."
They talked about more inconsequential topics the rest of the way up the trail, which came to a head about an hour and a half's hike away. There was a clearing flat and open up a steeper trail that Marlene had some trouble with, so Kira took the lead and offered her arm when necessary.
They were the last ones up, and were greeted by the sight of a sunbathing lioness licking herself and rolling around.
They gathered around the picnic basket, having worked up a sweat. The sun was just beginning to crest in the sky overhead. Someone laid out a big blanket, and Kira offered to sort out the food.
As she passed out each wrapped sandwich and plate out, she repeated everyone's names. That was one of her strengths, remembering people's names, and it had served her well as a nurse. If she was going to spend a week with two dozen people, she wasn't going to be bumbling around calling everyone hey, you.
Marlene gave her an appreciative look as she finally served herself. "You're pretty good at that."
"Eating?" Kira grinned after she swallowed a strawberry and sipped some wine served from a red plastic cup. "Yeah, it's one of my talents."
Laughing, Marlene rolled her eyes. "You're good with people."
"You have to be, to do what I do." Kira watched a couple of shifted lions tussle in a mock-battle for dominance. Fortunately, they were far enough away from the humans that she wasn't worried.
"If you don't hurry up, your food and drinks are up for grabs!" she yelled at the lions when they calmed down a little. There was a guffaw of laughter from the human group. One of the lionesses shook her head a little and bounded toward them, transforming back into a human as she did.
It was Andrea, Cole's sister. She plucked some grass out of her long, strawberry-blond hair before sitting cross-legged next to Kira. "Please tell me there's some wine left."
Kira passed it over with a cup.
"So what do you think of Pride Mirabelle so far?" Andrea asked, cocking her head.
Kira shook her head admiringly. "Wine with lunch. Midday hikes. I think I like the Deleons. I could get used to this." They all laughed together.
Chapter Four
Cole
Cole couldn't keep his eyes off her the whole night. He watched her eyes sparkle as she told jokes and laughed and smiled, seeming perfectly at home with his family. With his pride. His lion purred at the thought of Kira as part of the pride.
Across from him she leaned to the side to talk to Marlene over someone else's head, her slim hand curled around the beer he'd given her. Her top pulled against her skin, and he imagined the skin underneath, smooth and flawless, that he could run his hands over and squeeze.
If only there weren't so many people around! Cole knew if he could just get her alone . . .
She caught him looking, flicking her warm brown eyes to his. The edges of her mouth curled just so when she did, before she was called away by someone else. Internally his lion snarled a little, put out by her attention going somewhere else.
The thing was, she didn't even seem to know how beautiful she was. That was a damn shame.
And it wasn't just her physical beauty, either. She was no ditz: smart, competent, kind. If she were a lioness, Cole knew instinctively and without a doubt that she would be an alpha like him. The other members of the pride responded to her in the same way they did to him, with that instinctual understanding of who was in charge, the kind of deference that couldn't be faked.
Since his mother had died, there had been no woman leading the pride. Everything was on Cole's shoulders. He didn't mind the burden, but for the first time in years he thought of what it would be like to not be the only one carrying the weight of the pride's worries on his shoulders.
But that was stupid, he reminded himself, even in the face of his lion's disagreement. She was just a normal human. She couldn't be his mate, no matter how much he might like the idea.
After the last piece of spaghetti had been slurped down and the last meatball had disappeared, Kira even took charge of the cleanup effort. Most everyone wandered out of the dining room in search of a drink and post-dinner chat.
"Oh honey, you don't have to do that," Marlene chided, moving to take some dishes from Kira's hands.
Grinning, Kira pulled them out of her reach. "You think I'm going to let you get out of it?" she teased.
Marlene stared at her for a moment and then laughed with gusto. "Fair enough, darlin'."
"And what about you?" Still smiling, Kira addressed Mason, who was sitting in the corner, sulking. Only teenagers could exude that perfect blend of apathy and disdain while slumping and refusing eye contact.
Mason shrugged one shoulder, but at least his scowl didn't get worse.
Kira seemed to take that as consent. "Gra
b the pots and bring them into the kitchen," she instructed, and, hearing the note of command in her voice, Mason – miraculously – obeyed.
Cole himself was harangued into dish duty as well, though it wasn't too hard to get him to agree, not when it meant spending more time around Kira. She joked around easily with Marlene and Mason, and for a moment he was a little jealous.
His own relationship with Mason was ambivalent. He loved the kid, like a little brother even, but two alphas in a pride was one alpha too many. A century ago or more, Mason would have gone out into the world to form his own pride. But that instinct wasn't so helpful in modern society, where eighteen years old made you technically an adult but not actually independent.
Mason had just begun college, still living with his parents for financial reasons, and over the past several months Cole saw him beginning to chafe. He wasn't doing so well with his parents – that Cole attributed to the human side of him, no mystery there – but he reacted badly to Cole in particular lately: one alpha didn't want to take orders from another alpha, at least not when they were both male. Ultimately they were each other's competition.
That didn't seem to extend to other people's orders, though. He did fine with Kira, loading up the dishwasher while she asked him questions about his college, his major, his plans for the future. She sounded like she was really interested, too. Cole almost swore the kid was smiling by the end of their conversation. How long had it been since that had happened?
Mason still had all a teenager's laziness and interest in video games, so when the conversation reached a lull he wandered off. Not long after, Marlene gave him a significant look and excused herself. Cole had a feeling he knew what that look was about.
"You're good with him," Cole said when it was just the two of them. There was a loud wave of laughter from the rest of the house. Even though they'd loaded up the dishwasher, there were still a few dishes left to be done by hand. Kira spilled some soap in the sink and let the hot water run.
"Mason?" He heard the smile in her voice. "He seems like a good kid."
"He is. When he lets himself be."
She chuckled. "I think all teenagers are like that. Better than having to grow up too fast."
They worked in silence for a few minutes, Kira scrubbing the plates and Cole rinsing and racking them with comfortable ease.
"Are there any plans for tomorrow?" she asked, handing him another plate.
"Most everyone's going out hunting in the morning." Cole rolled his shoulders. "It's been awhile for almost all of us. Just about everyone lives in the suburbs and in cities, you know."
"That must be hard on you."
Cole shrugged noncommittally. "It can be. Everyone appreciates the chance to stretch their legs once in a while."
"And break out their claws, too, huh?" Kira teased.
"That too."
"Too bad I can't come with you, at least not without a ride," she joked.
Cole grinned, his lion roaring to life. "If all you needed was a ride, all you had to do was ask."
"Oh, you're offering?" she said slyly, turning toward him and pulling her hands out of the water. They were covered in suds.
As she turned, a lock of hair fell into her eyes, and before he knew what he was doing, Cole reached back to push it behind her ear. His touch left a droplet of water on her cheek, and her skin was smooth and silky. His hand lingered there; he didn't want to let go of her.
His lion urged him to make a move already: take her, make her yours, right here, right now.
"My hands are all soapy," she reminded him, holding them up as evidence.
"Don't care," Cole said with a rough undertone to his voice. Having her skin so close to his was intoxicating. Unable to take it anymore, he leaned down to press his lips to hers.
She melted into his touch immediately, pressing herself up against him deliciously. One of her hands slid into his hair, getting it all wet and messy, but he didn't mind the slightest bit. It was a small price to pay for being able to slip his tongue between her lips and press her back against the counter.
One of his hands cupped the back of her head, tilting her face up. The other drifted lower, finding the hem of her shirt to ride it up and touch all of the soft, warm skin of her back he could find.
His knee slipped between her legs and she parted for him eagerly, moving so she was pressed right up against him and he could feel the heat at her core, heat he wanted to touch, dip his fingers into, explore. The strength of his desire almost dizzied him.
She broke off the kiss – but thankfully only for a moment, pushing herself up on the counter so she was a little higher than him and reaching for him with an eagerness he loved already. He tucked his hands into the back of her jeans, pulling her hips against his so she could feel his hard length, feel what she did to him.
Her long legs wrapped around him, pulling him even closer than he thought was possible. Heat radiated from where their bodies touched.
His hand slipped around to skim up her ribcage and cup one heavy breast through her bra. She moaned, and the sound burned down his body. Cole's lion was growling his satisfaction as his mouth searched out the sensitive spots on her throat, sucking and licking and looking for what would cause her to make that sound again.
"Oh – ahh!"
He heard a female voice behind him. She sounded embarrassed. Cole was sorely tempted to ignore her, whoever she was, and his lion agreed, still focused on Kira before anything else – but he had to have a little propriety.
With a little groan of impatience, he stepped away from Kira, who was wide-eyed and flushed. Her mouth was soft and swollen from his; the sight provoked an intense desire to kiss her again, propriety be damned.
But Kira wiggled away from him too, turning so that her face was hidden from their intruder.
"So sorry," said the voice apologetically, "I just needed to get my drink, I left it in the dining room, I'll just be a –"
"Go," Cole said, more loudly than he needed to, but he didn't care. His hand squeezed Kira's knee where it was close to him.
He rested his forehead against the hollow of her throat, breathing deeply. They both needed to catch their breath. Behind them the intruder retrieved her beverage and scurried away.
Instead of continuing, Kira pushed gently at him until he moved away. She hopped down from the counter and scooted away from him – not at all like the lioness who had pursued him only moments before. The interruption had embarrassed her.
She took a deep breath and he knew what was coming. "Maybe this isn't such a great idea – at least right now."
A shout of laughter went up in the other room. Cole guessed their little visitor had returned with a tale to tell.
"You mean because there are twenty people right there in the other room?" he asked dryly, though his heart was still pounding and his breathing was harsh around the words.
"Something like that." She gave him a quick smile and adjusted her shirt, smoothing it down before leaving, though not without a regretful look back.
Cole sighed, leaning back against the counter and running a hand over his face. Desire ran hot through his blood, pounding in his ears in a fierce rhythm. It might not be the right time or the right place, but so help him, he needed her, and badly. Or at least his lion seemed to think he did.
If she wasn't there, the next thing he wanted to do was think about what would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted. She'd be so tight around him, and he could easily imagine her breath hot in his ear. And that moan! He wanted to hear it again and again and again.
But he wasn't going to jack off in the kitchen, and he wasn't going out there in front of everyone with a hard-on. He forced his mind away from thoughts about Kira, as difficult as that was.
She'd be alone, or close enough, tomorrow morning while everyone else was busy.
But the alpha had to lead the pride on the hunt.
Well, an alpha had to.
Two birds, one stone. Cole had a plan.
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br /> Chapter Five
Kira
The coffee burned Kira’s lips at first sip. She was out on the back porch in one of the swings. The enormous house was silent now, although it had been bustling with activity earlier.
She had been awoken by the whole house rising in the morning to go out hunting, drifting downstairs just as everyone was leaving. In the hustle and bustle she hadn’t seen Cole.
Not that she’d been sure she wanted to. The night before had been . . . intense, not to mention intensely embarrassing. She wasn’t sure what she would have said to Cole if she had seen him. The moment they’d been interrupted, she had reminded herself of Gunnar and what had happened the last time she went out with someone on a whim.
Not that Cole and Gunnar seemed much alike. Cole was gentle and strong and undeniably sexy, where Gunnar had been conceited and a little slimy. But the principle stood. Even if she’d been disappointed at their interruption.
Kira indulged herself in remembering the night before. She’d run her hands over his solid chest, just dipping below the hem of his shirt to feel the hot skin beneath. And his arms, so strong and well-muscled and wrapped tightly around her . . .
“Am I interrupting?”
Kira nearly dropped her coffee. Speak of the devil. Instead of scorching herself, she offered a smile and blew on her coffee. “Good morning!” she said brightly, determined to ward off any potential awkwardness.
A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he leaned against the doorframe, looking not awkward at all. “Can I join you?”
“Feel free.” Kira smiled. She couldn't seem to stop smiling, in fact. When he sat next to her, his knee brushed hers and she felt again the spark that had roared to life between them the night before.
“We were interrupted last night,” he said lightly, his blue eyes sparkling. “We didn’t get to finish our conversation.”
Kira raised an eyebrow, unconsciously leaning closer to him. “A conversation? That’s what that was?”