Prideless

by Kasey Belle

  The morning after Max’s eighteenth birthday, his father told him he could no longer live a half-life. He hugged Max, told him he loved him, how proud he was of him, and left. Max knew, even though at the time he didn’t want to admit it, his father wasn’t coming back and when he hadn’t returned by nightfall, Max went out looking for him. Max found his father, dead, on the shore of the lake that sat beyond forest behind their house. He looked as though he had just laid down and gone to sleep, except he had a smile on his face and a picture of Lily Granger clutched in his hand. He had left Max alone in the world, a part of Max still hated his father for that, too.

  Max joined the military because he wanted a family, someone to care whether he lived or died. The military was the safest and closest option to a pride he could find. He opted for the Marines because they were front line material and he had a need to fight. Anger and rage burned bright in his soul. The Marines not only taught him how to fight, they taught him discipline and how to turn that anger and rage into something useful and productive. Even though he went into the Marines looking for a family, he’d never been able to shake the need to be a loner. When he and his team were training together or on an op, they worked together as a single flawless unit, but he didn’t spend time with them in his off time, unless absolutely necessary. He didn’t need a degree in psychiatry to tell him that regardless of how his father raised him as a child; he was an adult now and chose to be a loner. It was true; he did. He had no desire to turn out like his father, paranoid, angry, bitter, and praying for death. Which is exactly what would happen, if because of his status, his mate met the same fate as his mother. In the less than eight hours since he acquired an actual mate that sentiment had increased a hundred fold and his resolve to remain sans pride was stronger than ever.

  The thought of losing Shelly sent a pain so excruciating through his chest that he almost wrecked his bike. It most likely wouldn’t kill him to lay his bike down in the middle of the road, but it would fuck up his baby and that was unacceptable.

  He pulled in front of the garage owned by the Twisted Kings. He knew they also utilized it as the MC’s church. The bay doors were up and each bay had some type of vehicle in it. It looked like business was good. He took his time getting off his bike to survey his surroundings and to get a sense of the friendliness of the occupants inside. His instincts didn’t sense any hostility and his gut was quiet so he set his helmet on his seat and headed for the office door. He had just cleared his bike when a large blond man stepped out of one of the bays to intercept him whether to stop him or greet him remained to be seen.

  The dude was big, about six inches taller and fifty pounds heavier than Max. His butterscotch blonde hair hung loose and fell just past his shoulders. His beard, the same color as his hair, was neatly trimmed. He was what you would expect a lion shifter to look like. He wore the top of his cover-all down and tied around his waist, showing of his wife-beater, tattoos, and physique. He looked like he tossed engines for fun. He had muscles on top of muscles and Max really didn’t want to go toe to toe with this guy. Not that Max couldn’t hold his own, he knew a thousand ways to kill a man, shifters included, but tussling with this man would be painful.

  Max stopped, stood his ground, and established himself as alpha by making the man to come to him. Max’s nerves twitched and his muscles tightened readying for battle, should it come to that. The man stopped five feet in front of Max, but said nothing. Max crossed his arms over his chest and met the man’s eyes. In his peripheral, he saw the shifter’s lips twitch as if he were trying to contain his smile. Max may not want to fight the guy, but if he hadn’t been in another alpha’s territory, he would already be on the blond behemoth answering the unspoken challenge. He didn’t have the right to do that, yet. With his face an impenetrable mask, his eyes unblinking and fixed on his target; he stood locked in a battle of wills waiting for the shifter in front of him to submit. Max wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the man in front of him, with a grin on his face, finally dipped his head in respect to Max.

  Blondie stepped forward and held out a held out his meaty hand. “You must be Max Granger.”

  Max eyed his hand then decided not to be a dick and shook it. “I am. You are?”

  “Roman.”

  “That’s it? Just Roman? I feel slighted.”

  Roman tilted his head back and his deep baritone laughter echoed in the parking lot. “Eli Roman, but everyone just calls me Roman. Come with me. Alpha St. Pierre is expecting you. He’s waiting the sanctuary around back. We can walk through the garage, it’s easier.”

  “So what is your status in the pride, Roman, enforcer?”

  “Head enforcer.”

  That made sense. Roman was built like a brick shit house. Max nodded to the other men as he passed.

  Roman looked back at him. “I’d introduce you, but you’re late.” Roman raised his eyebrows looking for an explanation for Max’s tardiness.

  Max ground his molars together. He would explain himself to St. Pierre, because protocol dictated he do so. He wouldn’t explain himself to the enforcer, especially not after that little display in the lot.

  “I’m sure the alpha will do introductions when y’all are done with your meeting.”

  Roman didn’t seem surprised or upset when Max didn’t offer an explanation. In fact, the guy chuckled as they reached a tinted glass door. Roman held it open for Max allowing him to enter first. Max didn’t like having Roman at his back. Max stepped to the side and turned to keep the man in his sights. Years of conditioning from both his father and the Marines told him it was an unwise strategy to have an unknown at your back. The door opened to a bar. A large ‘L’ shaped well-stocked bar, with sixteen bar chairs, took up the entire right side of the room.

  Roman walked passed him towards the bar and didn’t give any indication that he noticed Max’s tension, though Max knew he did. The shifter in him would have sensed it.

  “You want something to drink? We have water, soda, beer, and just about every liquor imaginable.”

  “Water’s good.”

  Roman nodded at Max as if he just gained bonus points in the estimation tally. Roman grabbed a couple of bottled waters and told Max to follow him. They took the hallway that ran behind the bar and stopped at a set of dark stained, ornately carved, double wooden doors. Max knew the club’s sanctuary was on the other side. He frequented enough MC’s to know that they all had characteristics that made them unique, except when it came to how the club was set up. They all went to church, and the sanctuary held a place of prominence. He didn’t see any hang-arounds, prospects, or babes in the bar, so he wasn’t sure if this club had any. Considering it was a shifter MC, he doubted it. Roman knocked twice, but didn’t wait for answer before opening the doors.

  A large conference style table surrounded by twelve chairs dominated the room. Carved into the center of the table was a lion’s head with a skull-like face. Behind the lion’s head were two crossed reaper scythes. The club colors were badass. Sitting at the far end of the table, assessing him with suspicious eyes, was Alpha St. Pierre.

  “Alpha, this Max Granger.”

  Chapter 7

  “Thank you, Roman.”

  Roman, not bothering to hide his ever-present amusement, looked at his alpha, at Max, and then back to St. Pierre, which earned him a disgruntled look from the alpha. Roman chuckled. “Right, well I’ll be in the bar if you need me.”

  “Make it the garage. We have a shit ton of work that needs doing and if you slack off in the bar so will everyone else.”

  Roman chuckled, again. “Sure thing boss.” He sent St. Pierre a two-fingered salute and headed for the door.

  “You’re late.” St. Pierre didn’t waste any time. The second Roman shut the door he was on Max.

  It rankled Max to have to explain himself to anyone, especially another alpha. Even though he hated it, he didn’t have a choice but to play nice if he wanted to stay in the territory more than the customary grace
period. A shifter could enter another alpha’s territory without presenting himself for twenty-four hours, if he wanted to stay longer, he had to meet with the alpha and gain permission.

  “No disrespect intended, but it couldn’t be helped.”

  St. Pierre leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Hmm. So are you telling me, that there was something more important for you to do, then gaining permission to stay in my territory, indefinitely? A meeting that you requested, might I add. Pray tell, what could be more important than that?”

  It took all of Max’s control not to lash out at St. Pierre. He practically ground his molars to dust to keep in the “fuck you” that begged to come out and play. The arrogant look on the alpha’s face said he wasn’t oblivious to Max’s struggle. Calm, calm, calm, must remain calm.

  “He’s testing us. We could rip out his throat,” his lion suggested.

  “It’s his right and no we can’t.”

  “We could. We are capable.”

  “We are, but we’re not going to.”

  Max took a deep calming breath and let it our slowly. “I was late because my mate needed me and even if she hadn’t, I would have put off leaving her as long as possible.”

  When St. Pierre’s mouth dropped open in shock, Max fought a smile. Score one for the interloper.

  “I thought you said you were requesting permission for yourself? I was under the impression you were a loner. Was I under the wrong impression?”

  That was code for “Did you outright fucking lie to me?”

  “No, you weren’t under the wrong impression. I am still the only one requesting permission to stay in your territory indefinitely. I met my mate this afternoon. It was completely unexpected.” Max couldn’t fight the sappy smile that accompanied thoughts of his beautiful mate. If the alpha had a problem with it, then fuck him.

  If Max hadn’t been watching, he would have missed the flash of sadness in the other alpha’s eyes. Had St. Pierre lost his mate or was he sad that he didn’t have one?

  St. Pierre rose from his chair and made his way over to Max with his hand out. Max eyed it for a moment then took it. “Congratulations Max. I’m happy for you. The Fates have blessed you.”

  “Thank you. I wasn’t sure at first?”

  “Why? Did you think you were too good for her, because of your status?”

  Max laughed, the alpha was way off base. “On the contrary, she is entirely too sweet and too good for me.”

  St. Pierre smiled. “Aren’t they all? I’m not sure how we are going to work this. I understand you are here to help a friend of a friend, but if you mate with a member of my pride that makes you a member of my pride. You can’t be a member Max. You are an alpha.”

  Max held up his hand to stop the other man from talking. “I know two alphas cannot coexist in the same pride.” Max tensed and readied himself for a fight should it come to that. Here goes nothing. “My mate is not a member of your pride. She’s not even a shifter. She’s human.”

  “Oh.”

  Max couldn’t contain his growl. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  St. Pierre held up his hands in surrender and took a step back. He knew he was on shaky ground. Max’s patience and observance of shifter protocol only went so far.

  “No disrespect to you or your mate were intended. I was just shocked. I have no problem with humans. The Fates choose our mates for us and we, my pride and I, view all mating’s as sacred, no matter who or how many are involved.”

  Max let the tension leach from his muscles. St. Pierre clapped him on the shoulder. “I think we’re both a bit on edge, which has caused us to start off on the wrong foot. Both of us waiting for one of us to challenge the other, it’s an alpha thing I guess. Have a seat Max.”

  Max sat in the chair that was the right of the alpha’s former position. He expected St. Pierre to sit back down in his place at the head of the table, but he didn’t. He walked around and sat in the chair across from Max, essentially putting them on equal ground. His opinion of Alpha St. Pierre increased tenfold with that gesture.

  “I can honestly say this is a new experience for me, Max. I’ve never met an alpha without a pride.”

  “There aren’t that many of us around, Alpha St. Pierre.”

  “Call me John.”

  “John.”

  “No you’re right, there aren’t.” John looked at Max as though he were measuring his words before he spoke. “I looked into your background.”

  Max smirked. Of course, he had. It didn’t piss him off. It’s what Max would have done. “And?”

  “I’m sorry about your family Max.”

  Max nodded but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to talk about his family.

  “You were a Marine? Some kind of Special Forces or black ops, been out a little over a year?”

  Max nodded. “Force Recon, but that’s all I can tell you.”

  “I figured. We have a few veterans in the pride, they won’t tell me anything either. So, how are we going to manage you living in my territory?”

  “I have no desire to challenge you for the right to your pride and lands.”

  “I believe you. The problem isn’t our human side; it’s the beasts inside us that may not be able to handle it.”

  “We are alpha. We control our beasts; they do not control us.”

  That must have been the right answer, because the smile John sent him was so full of pride, Max half expected the man to pat him on the head and give him a gold star. “Glad to hear we have the same philosophy. So we coexist?”

  “We do.”

  “You have a problem with following the rules I have laid out for my territory?”

  Yeah he did, but Max wouldn’t admit that. He knew it was common courtesy and expected if you didn’t want someone to die. “I’ll follow your rules, as long as they don’t harm someone I care about.”

  John barked a laugh. “I noticed you didn’t deny you have a problem with it. I like you Max. I take my position as alpha seriously and always try to do what is best for my people.”

  “Then we shouldn’t have a problem.”

  “Tell me about the woman you came here to help and after that, if you don’t mind, I would like to hear about your mate.”

  Max leaned forward so he could rest his forearms on the table. “Well I can’t tell you about one without telling you about the other, so mind or not, you are going to hear about her.

  We already covered that I was Force Recon. My team has served in some really shitty places, including Iraq and Afghanistan.” Max measured his words carefully. He could only give so much information without it violating his oath. “As you know all branches of the military have their own special units and sometimes they work together on a common cause. My team joined up with a SEAL Team on an…assignment. That’s where I met two best friends. The three of us ended up working together a few times, hit it off, and we ended up becoming friends. Which was really shocking not only because I am a loner, but also because one of them was a wolf shifter.”

  John snorted. “I can’t believe you are actually friends with a canine, not that Kell isn’t a nice guy. How’s that working out for you?”

  “Sometimes it’s touch and go. I did end up in another pride’s territory.”

  John chuckled. “He checked in with me a few weeks ago and said he would be in an out of the territory looking after a teammate’s widow.”

  “David’s widow.” Max swallowed against the lump in his throat. David’s death was just so fucking sad. “David was killed in action a month ago and Kell was hurt. David left behind a widow and two-week-old daughter. Kell called me a few days ago and told me he needed someone to keep an eye on them. He said he was worried about her. Kell would have stayed to do it himself, but his alpha needed him on pack land. He can get away a few days here and there, but he has a responsibility to his pack family as well.

  I finished my apprenticeship under another former Marine and felt the road calling
me. I was traveling with no particular place in mind, so he asked if I wouldn’t mind coming to New Orleans and maybe staying a while.”

  “What kind of apprenticeship? That’s not in my report.”

  “Tattoo artist.”

  “Really? Interesting.” He waved his hand dismissively. “But that’s for another time.”

  Max wasn’t sure how he felt about the gleam in the man’s eyes, but Max was sure he shouldn’t be happy about it. Therefore, instead of acknowledging it, he chose to ignore it and with any luck, John would forget about whatever thought had crossed his mind. “Anyway, even if I minded, there was no way in hell I would turn my back on David LaFont’s widow.”

  John mouth fell open in shock. Max wasn’t sure what he had said to cause such a reaction. The reason had Max’s mouth dropping in shock.

  John leaned forward. “Wait a minute. The woman you are here to help, is Fiona LaFont?” John held his hand, palm down, about four feet above the floor. “A tiny thing, about so tall, very pretty, lots of hair, Little Fiona LaFont?”

  Max grinned as he imagined how the tiny spitfire would feel if she heard the man call her short. “Yeah, that would be her. You know Fiona?”

  “Not personally, no, but a few cubs, new members of the pride, found a safe haven inside the walls of Emma’s House when they first came to the city. They said the woman that ran it didn’t take any shit, but she was also nice and cared about all the kids who stayed there.”

  “Granted I only met her today, but from everything David told me and what I have observed that sounds exactly like Fiona.”