Prideless

by Kasey Belle

“We do need some help.”

  The way Shelly said that put all his senses on alert. “Why what’s wrong?”

  “There may-”

  “Or may not.”

  Shelly turned a moment to glare at Fiona. “There may be something living in the shed out back.”

  “Something?”

  Shelly nibbled on her thumbnail and nodded, the anxiety in her eyes made him want to lay waste to whatever that something was.

  “How long has something been possibly living in the shed?”

  “I don’t know how long it’s been there, but I first heard it yesterday. I went to get the hose out and I heard scratching then growling.”

  “Do you know what that something might be?”

  Shelly shrugged. “Maybe a raccoon or possum,” Shelly mumbled something he couldn’t quite make out.

  “Did you say the Grinch?”

  His question caused her to turn fifty shades of red and he should probably feel bad about embarrassing her, but he only managed to feel a slight twinge of regret. He liked it when she blushed.

  In a soft sweet voice, she murmured, “I said the Grunch.”

  Fiona snorted. “Co wee, Shell! I done told ya, the Grunch ain’t living in the backyard.”

  Shelly stuck her tongue out at Fiona. “You don’t know. It could be.”

  “The Grunch ain’t out there. Da chupacabra is not living in the shed, gaienne.”

  Max noticed the more excited Fiona got the thicker her accent became. David was the same way. Their teams were on an op together, a joint venture, under heavy fire, and David was calling out orders. The more agitated or excited he became, the harder it was to understand him, especially when he started firing off Cajun French expletives. Not that he would share that with Fiona right now, but maybe one day she would be healed enough to hear it.

  Fiona leaned around Shelly and looked at him with serious eyes. “I swear there is no Grunch. We do not have a chupacabra in the shed.”

  “Okay. Um, question. Who’s the Grunch and what’s a chupacabra?”

  Shelly’s mouth gaped open, and she stared at him in disbelief. He fought the need to squirm and defend himself. “Seriously? You don’t what that is?”

  “Sorry, no.”

  “It’s not real.” Fiona assured him.

  Shelly let out an exasperated breath. “How do you explain all those people seeing it then?”

  “Swamp gas and too much alcohol.” Fiona put Emma Grace in the little carrier on the coffee table then walked over to a bookshelf that occupied the wall opposite the television. She pulled a book from the shelf, and as she leafed through it, answered his questions.

  “The Grunch, also known by a host of other names such as The Demon of Downman Road, Beast of Bourbon Street, Uptown Vampire, Slidell Slitherer, and my favorite, Jefferson Parish Nutria Sucker, is a three-foot tall, dog-like creature thing, with patchy hair, scaly skin, horned ears, and red eyes. The Legend of the Grunch dates back to the eighteen-hundred’s, when the Marie Laveau, a voodoo priestess, allegedly performed a ritual, took parts from the devil’s baby, and created the Grunch. Legend says she created two, one male and one female version of the ‘Devil Dog’, which supposedly attacked Marie Laveau and then escaped into the swamps. They use the legend to explain why hundreds of people go missing in our swamps and bayous. Drowning, poisonous snakes, or becoming gator food isn’t sexy. Nothing draws in the tourists like a chupacabra.”

  She handed him the open book and sure as shit was an article called ‘The Grunch- New Orleans’s Own el Chupacabra’ and a picture of the creature Fiona described.

  “Damn that thing is ugly.” He glanced up at Shelly. She still looked scared as if she didn’t believe the story was completely legend. In all honesty, who was he to say it was or wasn’t, he could turn into a lion for fuck’s sake. “I’ll check it out, okay?”

  “Thank you, Max.” Shelly freaked when he stood to go outside. “Where are going?”

  “Outside. I’m going to the shed to check out your possible Grunch issue.”

  She latched on to his hand with both of hers. “Oh, no you can’t do that. You can’t go out there unarmed. Are you armed? You don’t have a gun, do you?”

  She was firing off questions too fast for him to answer. She was adorable. He put a finger to her lip to silence her. He should have thought that little move through a bit more before executing it. Her lips were as soft as they looked. He felt the quick little puffs of air pushing in and out from between her lips all the way to his cock. Her pupils dilated and he could smell her arousal. Oh yeah, she felt it too. He traced the shape of her lips with the tip of his finger. It would be so easy to lean in and sample them.

  A tiny cry rent the air causing them to jump, breaking the spell. Fiona picked up the fussy baby and held her to her chest. The little thing was kicking up a storm. If Max had to put a name to the wailing she was doing, he’d have to say she was pissed. She wasn’t even two months old yet, what the hell did she have to be pissed about? The tiny human emitted a loud man-sized belch to answer his question. Shelly jumped up and rushed over to the Fiona and the baby.

  “Oh, my goodness Emma Grace, that was a good one. Tiny baby high five.”

  Shelly picked up the infants tiny, fisted hand and tap it against her open palm. Max chuckled at his mate’s antics.

  He headed towards the door while his mate was distracted. He wanted to head around back to check out the shed and he didn’t want her freaking out about it again.

  “Max, where are you going?”

  Damn! He was so close. “I’m going to the shed. I’ll be back in a few.”

  “You never answered me. Are you armed?”

  “No ma’am, I’m a Marine, my hands are all the weapons I need.”

  She looked totally unconvinced. She didn’t mean to insult him, right? Yeah, she didn’t know him, but a little faith would be nice. “Your lack of faith in my skills is a little disheartening. It’ll be fine.”

  She started nibbling on her thumbnail again. He wanted to be the one doing the nibbling, on her lips.

  “Go through the kitchen, it’s easier. The back door is off the laundry room.”

  He took a moment to squeeze her hand when he walked by to let her know it would be fine.

  Chapter 5

  He could feel the heat of her stare on the back of his neck as he walked through the yard to the shed. He knew she was watching him from the kitchen window, but didn’t dare turn around. That worried look in her eyes gutted him. He stood buy the shed door and leaned in to listen. Not that he needed to, but the women in the house didn’t know that.

  He didn’t smell anything as he approached, but he did hear it. There was an animal in there, but he couldn’t make out what it was. The smell of fertilizer and other chemicals coming from the shed masked the scent of the animal inside.

  He slowly opened the door, so he didn’t startle whatever was in there. The last thing he needed was a crazed raccoon or possum jumping out at him and his lion going all claws and teeth on the thing. Surprise honey! I’m a shifter. Give me a minute while I pick the bones out of my teeth and wash off the blood. Yeah that would go over well.

  He stepped inside and his enhanced vision had no trouble seeing in the darkened shed. To his right was a workbench that spanned the entire wall. Above the bench from about a hundred hooks, hung every hand tool imaginable and the power tools we all stored in their own individual cubbies. It was extremely organized. On the bench sat hand, drawn schematics and what looked like the start of a dollhouse. Max swallowed around the lump in his throat. David must have started it the last time he was home. Maybe when he knew Fiona better he could offer to finish it. He’d have to talk to Kell about that. All the gardening tools, lawnmower, fertilizer, and the hose Shelly had wanted to retrieve were stored on the left side of the shed and was just as organized as the workbench.

  He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but he could hear its beating heart to his right. He looked around
and still saw nothing. Then he heard a low growl, the one he was sure his mate heard, and it seemed to come from under the workbench. He crouched down a few feet from the workbench and peered under it.

  “Holy shit. You’re not a chupacabra. I’ll be right back, don’t move.”

  He moved slowly out of the shed and shut the door. He didn’t want it to run off, at least, not before he could show his mate the scary devil dog. Shelly opened the backdoor as he made his way across the yard.

  “Did you find anything?”

  “I did.”

  “What is it? Do you need a gun after all?”

  Now she was just being mean. “Noooo. I need a bowl of water and some sandwich meat or bread.”

  “Why would you need that?”

  “Grab it and I’ll show you.”

  “Max, you aren’t supposed to feed them.”

  He shook his head and smiled. His damn cheeks were sore from smiling so much. She did that to him. She lightened his soul. If it felt this good now, he couldn’t wait to see how it felt once they mated. “It’ll be fine. Go.”

  She did as he asked and rushed out the door a few seconds later with a plastic bowl, bottle of water, and a package of roasted turkey. She tried to hand everything to him, but he refused to take it.

  “You bring it, come on.”

  “Max, I don’t know about this.”

  He put his hand on the knob and looked down at her. “Will you trust me, please?”

  “Okay. But, just remember I don’t have to be faster than it; I just have to be faster than you.”

  He snickered. Damn, she was fun. “Thanks for the warning.”

  He shut them inside the shed and took the water and food from Shelly. She stood by the door with her hand on the knob, ready to leave his ass behind if needed. It was amusing.

  He knelt and looked under the bench. It was watching his every move. He opened the package of turkey and tossed a piece under the bench. It was gone in one noisy bite. Shelly gasped behind him. He tossed the next piece just outside his little hidey-hole. Max watched the little pointed snout poke out from under the bench and snag the piece of turkey.

  “Max?” Shelly whispered. “What is that?”

  “Just wait. I’m fixing to show you your chupacabra.”

  He tossed another piece of turkey, this one far out of reach to force the little creature to make an appearance. He could hear it moving around, but it didn’t come out. He tossed another piece turkey, set out the bowl, filled it with water, and placed it a few feet in front of him. More shuffling, but still nothing appeared. He looked back at Shelly and knew the thing could see her looming by the door from its little sanctuary.

  He held his hand out to her. “Come here. It’s not going to come out with you standing there like that.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I thought I asked you to trust me. I won’t let anything hurt you.”

  She took a deep breath and put her hand in his. He pulled her down to sit next to him. “Don’t move.”

  “No problem.”

  He heard shuffling again, but also thumping. He watched as the little black nose poked out from under the bench, followed by a black fur covered snout, big black eyes, and pointy ears.

  Shelly’s hand flew to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  Shelly patted her lap beckoning little animal to her. She didn’t have to ask the black fur ball twice. He wiggled the rest of his body free and bounded over to Shelly, completely ignoring the food. She scooped him up into her arms and loved on the dirty little thing. She buried her face in its fur and started weeping.

  His stomach cramped at the sound. He was going to vomit. “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you. I didn’t show you to make you sad.”

  She looked up at him and big fat tears spilled from her eyes. “I’m a horrible person.”

  Now she was trying to piss him off. “You are not a horrible person. You are a sweet and caring person. The only way you could be a better person was if you were wearing a big ole shiny halo.”

  Her trembling lips lifted into a smile. The pup licked at her tears. “I’m glad you think so, but I am horrible. I left him out here.” Shelly held the dog out to look under it. “Yeah, him. He was out here almost two days with no food or water, poor thing. He could have died all because I thought he was a scary ass monster.”

  She was weeping, again. He had to stop this before she made herself sick. He drew on his inner alpha and put force behind his words, enough to get her attention, but not scare her.

  “Shelly, look at me!”

  She lifted her head slightly and peered up at him.

  “Did you ever once consider that the animal you heard was a puppy?”

  Shelly sniffed. “No.”

  “If you had even an inkling that there was a puppy out here, what would you have done?”

  She looked down at the squirming puppy. “I would have rescued him.”

  “You are not responsible for what you didn’t know. I am glad you didn’t try to investigate what you heard out here. You could have been bitten or worse. It could just as easily have been a rabid raccoon or a possum. You will let go of that misplaced guilt and you will not speak ill of yourself anymore.”

  Her breath caught and her eyes widen.

  “Are we clear?”

  He felt the calm wash over her. He watched her shoulders drop, her spine relax, and her tears stop.

  She looked at him with guileless, emerald eyes and a beatific smile. “Yes, Max.”

  In that moment, for the first time in his thirty-one years, he felt pure joy. She really did belong to him. He felt the mating pull and knew she was his mate, but a small part of him had feared she would never accept him. Her small, unconscious act of submission silenced that fear and fed the alpha. Even though she wasn’t aware of what she had done, she accepted him, them, as her mate and alpha.

  “We must tell her soon. I must claim her.”

  “Soon, but not yet, it isn’t the right time. You will be patient.”

  The puppy yipped and wiggled making Shelly giggle. “Isn’t he adorable, Max?”

  His lion scoffed. “Adorable? She is joking, right? We are lion.”

  “She doesn’t know that. The little pup is kind of cute, for a dog.”

  His beast growled at him. “How are we even related?”

  “Max?”

  “Yeah, he’s great.”

  Shelly cocked her head and a little crease formed between her eyebrows. “Don’t you like dogs?”

  His lion roared. “Uh, Giant cat. So no!”

  “I don’t dislike them.”

  “That’s not an answer. You never had one growing up?”

  “Yeah, that would have gone over well. Hey dad, I know you are a badass alpha lion shifter, but can we have a puppy?”

  He mentally grabbed his lion’s mane. “Would you shut the fuck up! You are splitting our focus when it should be concentrated on our mate.”

  “No. I moved around a lot.”

  She scratched behind the pup’s ears and he rolled over so she could get his belly. “I can’t believe I thought you were a scary ass monster.”

  Oh, the mental images that scene created. He imagined her doing that to his lion as he lay in the grass basking in the sun. Damn, he had just gotten his hard on under control. Okay, it was because she had cried, but it still counted.

  She looked at Max with a thousand-watt smile. “Well I guess you will get to see if you like dogs, since you will be around a lot.”

  “You’re keeping him?” Did he really think she wouldn’t?

  The pup bound over to his water bowl, lapped at it furiously, and then pawed it until it spilled. He couldn’t help but smile when Shelly laughed at the puppy’s antics.

  “Yes, I’m keeping him.”

  “What are you going to name him?”

  “You aren’t seriously encouraging this?”

  “Look at her. Look at how happy she is
. Are you willing to deny our mate, discourage her, and watch that joy fade from her beautiful face?”

  His lion grumbled, “Doesn’t mean I have to like the thing, right?”

  “You have to be nice to it, but no you don’t have to like it. However, we are going to try.”

  “I’m going to name him Sam.”

  “Sam?”

  He loved the devilment in her eyes.

  “Yep,” she pointed to the puppy, “Scary Ass Monster. Sam.”

  Chapter 6

  After Max and Shelly gathered up the puppy and cleaned up the mess in the shed, they headed into the house to break the news to Fiona about their newest houseguest. Once Fiona got over her shock, she called the LaFont’s old Vet and was able to get an emergency appointment for that afternoon. Max wanted to stay with his mate, but unfortunately, he had to meet with the local Pride Alpha, John St. Pierre. Max hung around long enough to help Shelly bathe the puppy. They had laughed and ended up just as soaked as the puppy before they were finished. Even the smell of wet dog couldn’t diminish the peace he experienced when witnessing Shelly’s joy.

  He wanted to go with her to the vet’s office, had even considered bowing out of his meeting with St. Pierre, but he knew that idea had disaster written all over it. It was bad enough that he was going to be late, but blowing the man off would suggest that Max didn’t respect St. Pierre’s authority or his pride. An alpha would interpret that slight one way as a challenge. A challenge to another alpha’s pride, usually ended one way, in a fight to the death, winner takes all. Max was an alpha, but had no desire for a pride of his own.

  Max witnessed first-hand what happened when another shifter challenged an alpha. Max had been eight when an alpha from a larger pride issued a challenge to his father for the rights to his pride and land. The challenge came in the form of the death of Lily Granger, Max’s mother. A challenge Caldwell Granger never answered. After burying Max’s mother, they packed up his mother’s most precious possessions, whatever belongings of his and his father’s that would fit into their big dually truck, and left. Max had expected Caldwell Granger, his larger-than-life hero, to avenge his mother, but it never happened. He told Max it was to protect him, that no matter the outcome of the fight, they would come after Max and he was too young to defend himself. His father said that he couldn’t bury his cub the way he buried his mate. Max knew there was some truth to that. He also knew that his father buried his soul when he buried his mate and to this day, a part of Max still hated him for it. His paranoid father raised him to be a loner, to live off the grid as much as possible, and to rely only on himself. No matter how many years passed, his father never recovered from the loss of his mate.