by Zoe Chant
He pulled back to look at her again. “Are you ready to travel the world with me?”
She grinned, the smile feeling like it was infusing her entire body. “I can’t wait.”
* * *
Epilogue
New York City with Cassie, Seth reflected, was much different than New York City alone.
Cassie had never even been to the East Coast before, much less New York, and she wanted to see everything. They were meeting Max for dinner that night, but the day had been spent seeing the sights.
And somehow, everything had been less claustrophobic with Cassie at his side. Normally, when Seth came to New York, he immediately started to feel the weight of the crowds of people and the endless walls of buildings pressing down on him. It always felt like if he stayed for too long, he’d get sucked back in and he’d never be able to escape again.
But now he wasn’t thinking about any of that. He was looking at Cassie’s shining face.
Watching her take the city in was making Seth see it through new eyes. She saw it as an amazing opportunity to see things she’d never seen before...and talk to people she’d never met.
She asked the staff at the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State building about their jobs. She talked to street vendors, to baristas, and to people sitting in Central Park. And Seth felt like he’d learned more about the city in a day than he had growing up here for eighteen years.
When they finally headed off to meet Max, Seth was tired after the long day of sightseeing...but in the same way he was always tired after a day of traveling. It was a good exhaustion, the feeling of having done so many amazing things that he’d need to sit down and let them all sink in.
And now he had Cassie to share that with.
Max had chosen a fancy, expensive restaurant, of course, but the place had a private room, so they wouldn’t have to sit self-consciously among people who were more accustomed to fancy, expensive restaurants for Tuesday night dinner. The maître d’ showed them through immediately.
Max stood up when they arrived, and motioned them to sit down. Cassie was drinking it all in just like she’d done for every other sight they’d seen today, and she smiled when Seth pulled her chair out for her.
The waiter appeared almost immediately to take their drink orders, and disappeared just as quickly. Cassie looked over the menu with obvious gusto.
“I’ve never eaten anywhere as nice as this,” she told Max earnestly. “I feel like I’m in a movie. Thank you for inviting us.”
Max waved a hand. “After what you both did for me in Colorado, one dinner isn’t much of a sacrifice on my part, I promise you. How long are you in the city?”
“We fly out tomorrow,” Seth said.
“We’re going to China,” Cassie added. “I can’t wait!”
Max smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear it. It’s good that Seth has someone to go with him when he leaves, now. It’ll help my peace of mind.”
It had never occurred to Seth that Max might worry about him while he was gone.
But it made sense. After all, Seth knew that Max wasn’t quite as emotionless as he sometimes pretended to be. But if he was worried even now, when Seth was an adult and an experienced traveler...what had it been like when he’d first left?
This seemed like an opportunity to say something that had been on his mind for a while now. Seth cleared his throat. “Actually, I’ve been wanting to thank you.”
Max’s eyebrows flew up. “What for?”
“For letting me leave in the first place...even if it wasn’t good for your peace of mind.” Seth glanced down at his napkin, then made himself lift his eyes and hold Max’s gaze. “Especially after the way Dad always was about it.”
Max didn’t look away. “Our father thought that just because he prioritized something, it should be everyone else’s priority as well. He believed that his own feelings on a subject were more important than anyone’s. He was wrong. I saw the same tendency in myself when I was young, and I’ve worked hard to keep it in check.”
“And you’re still better at running the company than he was,” Seth noted.
“Because the company was what he cared about the most. I’m more rational about it than he was.” Max paused. “And I tried hard to be rational about it when you left. I’m glad to hear that I succeeded.”
“I don’t think that’s rationality,” Cassie murmured.
They both looked over at her.
“Sorry,” she said immediately. “I shouldn’t have broken in when you’re having a family discussion.”
“You are part of the family now,” Max said. “What were you saying?”
She shrugged a little. “Just that I don’t think it’s rational to tell your brother to go follow his dreams when you wish he’d stay home. I think it’s showing that you care about him and you want him to be happy.”
There was a short silence, in which Seth looked away and thought seriously about pulling Cassie aside and explaining the sort of things they did and did not talk about in this family.
“Thank you, Cassie,” Max said slowly. Seth looked up, wondering what sort of conversational bomb was imminent.
But Max was looking back at him with the faintest hint of a smile. “That does seem to represent the situation more accurately,” Max finished.
Seth barely kept his mouth from dropping open.
Instead, he marshaled all of his courage and said, “I’m glad to hear it. And,” he hesitated, “I hope you can be happy, too.”
“Maybe your own mate is waiting for you somewhere you wouldn’t expect,” Cassie chimed in. “You can definitely tell from our story that there’s no way to know when it can happen.”
Max’s face seemed to shut down at that, but before he could say anything, the waiter returned and they all focused quickly on what they were going to order.
Seth would remember this conversation, though. The sort of things this family did and did not talk about were changing.
He couldn’t remember ever being happier.
* * *
Cassie had decided that even though Max Rowland was still the calculating, aloof business mogul she’d met in Colorado, she could get used to having him as a brother-in-law.
Because he clearly cared about Seth, and that was by far the most important thing.
He was entertaining to talk to, also. And the nice expensive dinner definitely hadn’t hurt.
Now they were in the elevator up to their equally nice, expensive hotel room. Even though Cassie’s dreams of travel always included small local inns or sleeping out in a tent, she had to admit that even she wasn’t immune to the glittery fantasy of a fancy Manhattan hotel.
“Thank you for what you said at dinner,” Seth murmured in her ear as the elevator dinged open.
She smiled up at him. “What I said?”
“Helping us, you know.” He produced their key card and opened up the room.
“Express your feelings?” Cassie grinned.
“Exactly. We might not have managed it ever without help.” Seth threw open the door with a dramatic gesture.
“Oh, wow,” Cassie said as she went inside. The room was huge, lavishly furnished, and had a gorgeous view of the city lights.
“You like it?”
“I love it.” Cassie looked back at him. “But I also can’t wait to sleep on the ground in a tent. Is that weird?”
Seth shook his head, smiling. “I think it’s just part of who you are. You want to experience everything.”
Cassie let out a happy sigh. “That’s exactly it.” She peered into the bathroom. “Especially if everything includes this hot tub, my God.”
“Well,” said Seth, “allow me to start it running for you. There’s supposed to be champagne around here somewhere, too.”
Cassie thought her smile was never going to disappear. “I love you.”
He kissed her. “I love you, too. I can’t wait to get on that plane tomorrow with you, but I learned today that it doesn’t matter where we are. I’m
happy as long as you’re here.”
Cassie forgot all about the hot tub, wrapped her arms around her mate, and lost herself in him.
The End
A note from Zoe Chant
Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list.
Please click on the title to write a review of Lion’s Hunt. I love hearing what my readers think! It helps me decide what to write next.
Page down to read a special sneak preview of Alpha Lion, by Zoe Chant.
The cover of Lion’s Hunt was designed by Belle Arden.
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Special Sneak Preview
Crew Cut came in again, but instead of going for the nightstick, he shoved her shoulder. She stumbled backward, almost tripping over her own feet, and they all laughed again.
Sam caught her balance, swallowed around the metallic taste of fear, and started looking for a direction to run. If she could get far enough away, she could get her phone out and call the police.
Then Red Beard caught her by the arm. “Hey,” he said in her ear.
“Let me go!” she shouted, and started to struggle.
The men were all laughing, and the sound filled her ears as she pulled against his grip, which felt like steel.
“Nope.” He held on tight. He had her right arm, which was holding the nightstick, but he wasn’t going for it yet.
She switched it to her left hand and swung it as hard as she could. He made a surprised oof noise when it hit him in the stomach, and his grip loosened enough for her to wrench free and start running.
For one long second, she thought she was free—and then she shrieked as she was yanked backward by her stupid uniform jacket, and fell right into someone’s hard grip. She struggled and flailed, but he didn’t budge.
“Go ahead,” he said—it sounded like Red Beard. “You think you can threaten us? You think you can—”
“What the hell is going on here?”
The new voice was deep and powerful, and silence fell immediately. Sam twisted in Red Beard’s grip to see if this was help or not. Her eyes were watering, and she had to blink hard to focus.
It wasn’t a cop. She’d been really hoping for a cop.
But even in plain running clothes, the man who’d spoken was impressive. He was tall—taller than any of her attackers by a few inches at least, and hugely broad in the shoulders. He had blond hair pulled back into a short ponytail, and was one of those people who was so good-looking he didn’t quite seem real. He was standing confidently and surveying them all like he was in total charge of the situation.
On the other hand, he didn’t have any weapons, and he was alone.
“What’s it to you?” Crew Cut said, after a long moment.
“Yeah,” said Red Beard. “It’s none of your business. We’re just having a little fun.”
The man ignored both of them completely, looking only at Sam. “Are you all right?” he asked, sounding concerned. “Did they hurt you?”
“Uh—” said Sam. Her voice cracked, and she swallowed. “I’m not hurt. They just won’t let me go.”
The whole security guard thing seemed too complicated to explain. It didn’t matter, anyway, she just wanted to get away.
The new guy transferred his gaze to Red Beard. “You heard the lady. Let her go.”
“Or what?” Red Beard asked. “You’re just a dude in a tracksuit. What are you going to do to us if we don’t?”
Sam could feel a tear slip out of one eye. She didn’t want this man to get beaten up on her behalf, but she really wanted to get away.
Please let him be a martial arts expert, or just smart enough to call the cops instead of trying to fight—
She heard a growling noise. It sounded like an animal, a big animal. But where—
It was coming from the man, she realized. And he was changing.
As she watched, eyes going wide, the tracksuit seemed to melt and blur, and golden fur sprouted all over the man’s body. His muscles rippled and grew, his body growing thicker and more powerful.
“Shit, he’s a shapeshifter,” one of the guys breathed, as the man shifted and changed, as his hands and feet became paws and his hair became a mane. In just a few seconds, there was a lion on the sidewalk in front of hi
m.
Sam couldn’t believe it. Shapeshifters were rare, and most of them lived in remote areas of the country, where they could shift in peace and no one was around to harass them. She’d never seen one in person before, and only a few times on television—they didn’t like publicity.
Red Beard’s grip had gone slack. Sam jerked free and darted away, until the lion was between her and her attackers, then hesitated. Should she just run away?
Then the lion inhaled, its sides expanding, and let out the breath in a roar.
It felt like the loudest thing she’d ever heard. It felt like the air was vibrating with sound. The four guys broke and ran, and by the time the roar had faded from the air, they were gone.
The lion turned to look at her, and a couple of seconds later, it was just a man in a tracksuit again.
“Sorry if I scared you,” he said. “Are you okay?”
Sam couldn’t answer. Her brain felt completely blank, like she’d been focusing so hard on those four men that now they were gone, it had nothing left to do. She was panting like she’d been running a marathon, and she felt too cold and too hot at the same time.
The man took a closer look at her. “Hey,” he said, in a gentler voice, taking a step toward her.
Sam focused on him, and noticed again how impossibly gorgeous he was, how broad his shoulder were, how big he was all over...he was talking to her. “Can you do something for me?” he was asking. “Can you breathe with me?”
Sam blinked at him. “What?” she managed.
“Just breathe with me like this.” He demonstrated, inhaling slowly while he lifted a hand, holding it for a few seconds, and then exhaling again and bringing the hand back down.
“Come on, just breathe. In. Hold. Out...”
She breathed in, jerkily, and tried to hold it when he did, but it was hard, like her lungs were stuttering.
“That’s good,” he said, “that’s really good. Again—in,” and she followed his breath in, and held it for a second, and then out. And again.
After several breaths, she realized that her heartbeat was slowing down, and her chest had loosened up some. Her legs still felt like rubber, and there was still cold sweat all over her body, but she felt like she could think again.