by Zoe Chant
Nina nodded. “Joel thinks it’s all kind of silly, but he’s never had to deal with stupid pack hierarchy stuff before. I’m just glad they’re trying so hard not to make it a problem.”
Lynn had a vague idea that Nina had drifted around for a while before settling in with the Glacier pack; she wondered what sort of stupid pack hierarchy stuff she might’ve had to deal with, back then. It must’ve been unpleasant.
“Anyway,” Nina said, “I’m glad you guys are hanging out. Speaking of, Mom said you were all meeting for dinner tonight. Want me to finish up in here so you can get going?”
Lynn looked around. “Would you mind? It’s just a few things...”
Nina shook her head, smiling. “Not at all. You’ve finished stuff up so I could get home to Joel more times than I can count. It’s my turn. Besides, I’m your assistant—aren’t you supposed to give me all the boring paperwork stuff?”
“I don’t think that’s how I want to work,” Lynn said, gathering up her things with a vaguely guilty sense of freedom. “But thanks for doing it tonight.”
“My pleasure.” Nina took her place behind the desk and waved a cheerful goodbye as Lynn left the office.
She went straight to Oliver’s, and found Ken just pulling up in his truck. “Hi, honey,” he said with a grin, coming up to her for a kiss. “Did you have a good day at work?”
“I did.” She grinned back. How was it possible to be so happy all the time? “What about you?”
“It was fantastic, except for the part where I pined for you every moment.” He kissed her again.
Lynn pulled away and eyed him.
“See, I’m joking but I’m also sort of serious,” he explained. “My day was good, but I missed you. Why aren’t we kissing anymore?”
She gave in, and leaned forward again. The temptation to just neck in the parking lot like teenagers until everyone else showed up was strong, but Lynn finally resisted it enough to pull away. “Let’s go inside and get a table.”
Ken reached for her hand, and Lynn twined their fingers together, reflecting that this was already becoming familiar, warm and comforting. She knew the feeling of Ken’s hand in hers, and that was just...right.
They went inside and got a booth, and soon enough, Mavis and Wilson came in. Lynn got a text from Eva a few minutes past six: We’re running a little late, sorry!
It was classic Stella—she always had a hard time being punctual. But Lynn found that it didn’t annoy her as much as it used to. Maybe it was because it wasn’t just the two of them, with Lynn waiting alone until Stella showed up to wherever she was supposed to be. Lynn was happy enough to relax with Ken, Mavis, and Wilson, sipping drinks and perusing the menu, until Stella and Eva arrived.
“What’re you having, sir?” Ken was asking Wilson.
“Ken, it’s been over ten years since I was your commanding officer,” Wilson said. “Can it with the sir.”
“Yes—uh.” Ken stopped what must have been his automatic response, but clearly didn’t know how to finish the sentence otherwise. Then he laughed at himself. “Yes, boss? Yes, alpha shifter?”
“Just use my name, how about it,” Wilson said.
“That might be a work in progress, but I’ll give it my best shot,” Ken said, grinning.
Lynn could see, now, how it might be awkward to have Wilson in the Glacier pack under Cal, since this was how even a humorous and—if she was being honest—slightly irreverent former subordinate reacted. Cal was serious and sincere, and she was sure he’d have a hard time not deferring to Wilson, if they were in the same pack.
But—hmm. Were they forming some kind of new, separate proto-pack here? Maybe it was too early to tell.
All she could say was that she liked spending time with them. Wilson was just as big a fan of the outdoors as Lynn was, and he’d already asked her to join Nina in teaching him the local terrain. She appreciated how no-nonsense and to the point he was. She knew they could easily become good friends.
And Mavis...well, Mavis wasn’t too similar to Lynn at all. She always struck Lynn as too refined, too well-dressed and graceful to want to spend time with someone like Lynn.
Lynn had been so grateful when Mavis helped her out with her business practice, but that had just reinforced her impression—in addition to looking beautiful and composed, Mavis also knew all sorts of things about finances and business, things Lynn had never even encountered in her small-town guide practice.
But even now, Mavis was leaning over to say with a smile, “I’m so glad we’re becoming friends. I always thought it was a shame we didn’t spend more time together after we were done working on your financials.”
That was the thing, Lynn thought. Graceful, elegant, what-have-you—it didn’t matter, because Mavis was genuinely nice. Just a kind, thoughtful woman, and one Lynn was excited to get to know better.
“I was too busy, because you helped my business so much,” she said with a smile. “But now that I have Nina, it’s more manageable. Once tourist season is over, I’ll have much more free time.”
“Maybe you and I could have coffee or lunch sometime, just the two of us?” Mavis asked.
“That would be great,” said Lynn sincerely.
Just then, Stella and Eva came in the door, and hurried over to their table.
“I am so sorry,” Stella said. “We had to get everything sorted out at the school, and my car’s having trouble again, and then Todd called—”
“He’s bothering you?” Ken asked, frowning.
“Well—I mean.” Stella sighed. “He’s just calling. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”
“Let me know if it is,” Ken said fiercely.
“We’re not above giving him another talking-to,” Lynn added. “Or sticking with you when you’re out, if you’re afraid he’s going to show up.”
“You can’t spend all your time intimidating my ex-boyfriend!” Stella said. “You have jobs, for one thing.”
“How about this,” Ken said. “One of my old Marine buddies, Nate Sanders—in the same unit as me, under the Colonel there—has a security company now. If you have reason to think this wolf might start hassling you again, or his pack, just let me know and I’ll give him a call. He’s a shifter, too, and he takes a lot of shifter-related jobs.”
“Sanders is a solid man,” Wilson put in. “He’ll make sure you’re safe, if you need it.”
“Thank you,” Stella said determinedly, “but I don’t need it.”
“Just keep it in mind,” Ken said softly. “In case anything happens.”
Stella hesitated, and finally nodded.
Lynn took Ken’s hand. “Thanks for thinking about this,” she said.
“I’m always thinking about my family.” He smiled at her, and squeezed her hand.
They all picked up their menus, and Lynn looked around the table and couldn’t believe that she’d been so sure she was happy alone.
The End
A note from Zoe Chant
Thank you for reading Lion’s Lynx! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to start the series from the beginning, go read Snow Leopard’s Lady (or here on my website). If you’d like to catch up with the Glacier Park shifters, check out The Snow Leopard’s Mate (or here on my website for Apple users). If you’d like to read about Joel and Nina, check out The Snow Leopard’s Heart. If you want Lillian and Cal’s story, try The Snow Leopard’s Pack.
Please review Lion’s Lynx, even if it’s only a line or two. I love to hear what my readers think.
If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list. You can also visit my webpage, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
Page down to read a special sneak preview of Snow Leopard’s Lady.
The cover of Lion’s Lynx was designed by Belle Arden.
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Snow Leopard’s Lady
by Zoe Chant
Special Sneak Preview
“I see leaving the Corps hasn’t civilized any of you.”
The voice wasn’t loud, but it somehow sliced through the veterans’ back-and-forth, impossible to ignore. Mavis watched, fascinated, as the four men snapped to attention, as though the years they’d spent as civilians had just melted away.
“Sir,” said Ken. “Our apologies.”
The newcomer, a tall, handsome man in a dress uniform covered in symbols and medals that Mavis couldn’t parse at all, looked them over. “I left you alone for fifteen minutes, and you’re causing a disturbance with a lady present.” He turned to Mavis. “I apologize for my men. Colonel Wilson Hanes.” He held out his hand.
“Mavis Williams,” Mavis said, feeling almost like she should be fluttering a fan. The Colonel was a big, imposing man. Even more than his size, which was as considerable as any of the other Marines’, he seemed to exude authority and confidence. But his grip, when she shook, was gentle—not like the rest of the men, who’d all seemed to be demonstrating their strength with their handshakes.
She pulled herself together enough to say, “There’s no need to apologize. I was just going to leave them to their catching-up and go get a drink.”
There was a chorus of protests, but Colonel Hanes held up a hand, and they died instantly away. He turned back to Mavis. “Would you like company?”
She smiled. The slightly formal, old-fashioned air about him was charming. Not to mention the way he played these tough retired Marines like a violin. “Yes, thank you.” She looked at the four other men. “It was very nice to meet all of you.”
“You as well,” said Carlos, still noticeably more soft-spoken than the rest of the men’s You toos. Mavis smiled at all of them and stepped away at the Colonel’s side.
“I hope you don’t mind the intrusion,” he said apologetically, as they walked to the drinks table. “I noticed them getting rowdy, and I thought you might want an out.”
“Not at all,” she said. “Anyway, they don’t need a stranger around while they’re catching up. Although—” She cast a look back. “You don’t want to stay back with them, catch up too?”
He shook his head, smiling. Mavis was struck again by how handsome he was. His short military-style hair only served to accentuate the strong, clean lines of his face. And the imposing uniform didn’t hide the strong musculature underneath; he was clearly in good shape for his age, which was probably about the same as hers—fiftyish or so.
But most noticeably, his eyes were a striking silvery color that reminded her of some of the snow leopards’. Could he be...?
“They don’t want an officer around for the sort of stories they’re telling,” he was saying.
“Oh.” Mavis tried to pull herself back to the conversation, instead of just ogling the poor man. An attractive Marine officer like him was probably used to women hanging off of him. “Are there other officers here, too?”
A regretful headshake. “Social events don’t often cross those boundaries, I’m afraid.”
“What makes this one different, then? Or—” Mavis dared a bit, “what makes you different?”
That got her a laugh. It was deep and rich, and made her feel temporarily light-headed.
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