The Lion's Castle (The Lion Princes Book 1)

by Chase, Leslie

  It wasn't in his nature to give up, but with two guns trained on him and another lion shifter facing him, Roman knew the odds weren't good. He also knew they weren't going to get any better if he didn't try something.

  Turning to face Anna's father, he spoke. "You realize, Mr. Hall, that this man is as much a lion shifter as me? He's not your ally."

  Augustus simply laughed. "Oh, he knows exactly who I am, Roman. You'll get no help there."

  21

  Anna watched Roman tense, and could feel him on the verge of doing something. It didn't matter what he tried — she knew how good a shot her sister was. Victoria was at the perfect range, too close to miss, but too far from Roman for him to disarm her first.

  As soon as he moved, he'd be dead.

  I have to do something, she thought, but what? She looked at her father, seeing the hatred and anger on his face, and tried to think of something to say that would get through to him. Too much was new to her, there were too many things she didn't understand, and she didn't know where to start.

  Anything's better than nothing. She felt the moment slipping past and blurted out the first thing that came into her mind.

  "Why are we allied with a fucking lion?" The crudity of her language shocked even her, and her father stared at her, surprised and outraged. Good, let him be shocked. For the first time, she didn't care if she upset him, and she needed to know how he could betray his principles like that. Of all the things to be upset by in this room, that hypocrisy hit the hardest.

  "You wouldn't understand," her father said, cold rage covering a note of something else in his words. Guilt perhaps? She wasn't sure, but she hoped so. "You've never had a head for the big picture, Anna, so leave this to me. This will all be over soon."

  "What big picture? You're going to kill the man I, I love—" she stumbled over the word, but realized as she said it just how true it was. It stoked her anger to boiling point, and she gathered strength as she continued. "You'll kill the man I love because he's a lion, and let this one live? Live and take the throne? That's turning your back on everything you've taught me!"

  "It's not that simple," he snapped back. "Don't try to understand, just shut up and let me finish this."

  "Father," Victoria said coolly from across the room, her aim never wavering from the back of Roman's head, "I would like to know the answer to her question, too."

  Anna would never admit it, but she found that she enjoyed the look on her father's face as Victoria defied him. She'd never seen him look so shocked; Victoria was his good daughter, the obedient one, the one he had always been able to trust.

  "Not now, Victoria," he snapped. "I'll explain everything when this is over. Just do as you're told!"

  Roman's lip quirked. It wasn't much of a smile, and Anna saw the anger under it, but it still sent a little thrill through her. He hadn't given up, despite the danger, despite how hopeless things looked. Anna could see the determination to find a way through to her in his eyes, and it made her heart sing.

  No matter how dire the situation looked, she knew he'd never stop fighting for her, trying to save her. And she knew that she'd do the same for him if only she could find a way to do it. She hoped that pushing her father's buttons would be enough, because she didn't know what else she could offer.

  "You want to be King, I suppose?" Roman said to Augustus. "And you found a man who was willing to be your patsy as you killed your way to the throne. What are you promising him, Augustus? Reforms? A place in your government? Or is it just an old-fashioned monetary exchange? What made him give up his principles for you?"

  Augustus laughed. Deep and maniacal, it shook the room. "You will never understand, Roman. Even if you survived today, which you won't, you'd never grasp it. You and your brothers are from the same litter, you all have an equal chance of inheriting. I was the better of us, the one fate would have picked to rule — but no, your father got the job because he was three years older than me!"

  His voice rose to a roar at the end of his speech, and Anna could see the trembling rage that washed through him. Everyone seemed frozen in place for a second, and then Augustus took a deep breath and calmed himself again.

  "You three don't have a younger litter to contend with. You can't understand what it was like," he said, voice back to cultured elegance. "But you don't have to. I've won."

  "I understand perfectly," Roman said. His voice was full of angry contempt. "You're an insane murderer. Mr. Hall has sold out his precious cause for your support, and you're both going to ruin this country trying to 'save' it."

  "You don't understand anything!" Anna's father shouted, furious. His pistol wavered in his hand. "We are going to make our country great."

  Behind Roman, Victoria's cold eyes flicked around the room, from Roman to Augustus to Mr. Hall. Anna felt her hands clench, nails biting into her palms, as Roman calmly took a step forward.

  "My uncle has already killed his own brother. He plans on killing me, and both of my brothers. And that is the shifter you'll trust to reform our country? Not me, the man who is in love with your daughter?"

  Anna knew her father well. For years she'd learned from him, watched him, studied his moods. And now she saw his anger and despair boil over as they never had before. She was already leaping to her feet as he raised his gun to point at Roman's head, already moving forward as his finger turned white on the trigger.

  "NO!" She shouted, her shoulder slamming into him with all her weight behind it. She wasn't skilled and calm like Victoria was in a fight, but her desperation gave her strength, and her love for Roman gave her the speed she needed to get there in time. The shot echoed in the confined space, but it missed Roman by inches.

  Her father's fist smashed into her ribs, knocking the breath from her, and she locked her hands on his wrist, determined to keep the pistol pointed away from her mate. Another shot cracked out, this time close enough for her to feel it pass, and behind her she heard a roar, inhuman and powerful. The fight was on.

  His strength was too much for her to resist, forcing Anna backward and down. The gun rose up between the two of them as they struggled for control of it, and Anna knew she couldn't hold out for long. She looked up into her father's face, seeing the madness that she'd ignored for too long, the bloodlust and the craving for power at any cost. Even his own daughter's life.

  * * *

  Roman felt the bullet snap past him, watching in amazement as Anna leaped to his rescue. I knew fate had found the perfect mate for me, he thought, but I didn't expect that.

  He didn't let his surprise freeze him, though. Anna needed his help more than ever now, and there wasn't time for him to stand and watch. First I've got to get out from under that gun, then I can get her out of here.

  Trusting that Victoria was equally shocked, he moved. Spinning with blinding speed, he flicked out his hand to catch Victoria's arm. The lion within him gave him strength and speed, and more importantly claws — her gun went flying in a spray of blood as his fingers shifted and sliced at her arm. Victoria fell backward, clutching her injured arm and crying out in pain.

  Roman was already turning back. Without her gun, she wasn't a real threat to him, and he had more important things to deal with. Another shot boomed through the basement, deafeningly loud in the confined space, but where the bullet went he had no idea. Anna and her father were locked in a grapple for the gun, its muzzle waving towards the ceiling.

  Before he could rush to help her, Augustus stepped in the way. The older shifter's face twisted with anger as control of the situation slipped away from him. Roman watched him carefully, knowing there wasn't a more dangerous foe.

  "None of this matters," Augustus snarled, locking eyes with Roman. "I will be King. My fate won't be denied again."

  "No." Roman spoke with a cold, calm fury. "It won't. You killed my parents, you threatened my mate, and now you'll get what fate has in store for you."

  He jumped forward, shifting as he went, landing on all fours. His injured leg twi
nged at the weight, but he ignored the pain. His mate was in danger and Augustus was in his way. Nothing was going to stop him now.

  His roar shook the room, speaking the language of lions that only shifters knew.

  "Come and meet your destiny."

  Augustus leaped forward to meet him, shifting in mid-air and turning his jump into a pounce. His weight hit Roman solidly sending them both falling backward, locked in a deadly embrace. Roman's mighty paw lashed out, catching him on the flank as the other lion's teeth snapped at his neck, and the two great cats tumbled together across the basement.

  I don't have time for this, Roman thought, slashing at his foe as they tumbled across the floor. For all that he desperately wanted his revenge on the man who'd killed his parents, he'd give up that dream in an instant if it meant Anna's safety.

  Snapping his teeth at the neck of his enemy, he managed to pull free and get to his feet. Bloody scratches burned on his skin and his wounded shoulder was open again, but none of that was enough to slow him down, not now. After I save Anna, I can come back for this monster, he thought, dodging around Augustus.

  But the other lion wasn't about to pass up that opportunity to attack. He slammed into Roman's flank, claws and teeth tearing, and the two of them smashed into the wall with an impact that shook the whole building.

  "You want to save the girl? Once I'm done with you, I'll tear her pretty head off," Augustus snarled. "Then maybe your ghost will know what it's like to have what you love torn from you."

  "You never loved our country," Roman said, snapping at the lion. He pushed off the wall with all his strength and sent the two of them careening across the basement. "The only thing you love is yourself! Fate would never have chosen you to be King."

  The two lions circled for a moment before rushing together again. Augustus ducked Roman's claws and bit, his teeth sinking into Roman's shoulder right by the gunshot wound. Blinding agony swept through Roman and his leg gave out, sending him to the floor.

  Towering over him, Augustus moved in for the kill, blood dripping from his teeth. He opened his mouth wide, aiming another bite at Roman's neck.

  Roman roared, not in pain but in rage, and smashed his paw into Augustus's face. The impact shook him, the pain of his injury blurring his vision, but the attack drove Augustus back and gave Roman a chance to get to his feet again. The other lion rose on his hind legs, slashing with his razor-sharp claws, but Roman had had enough. He pounced through the attack, accepting the wounds to land his own strikes on Augustus's exposed stomach. Pain shot through him as claws tore open his back and sides, the two bloody lions rolling over and over locked in a fight to the death.

  * * *

  Sounds of the lions struggling behind her was a distraction Anna couldn't afford. Her focus was locked on the gun in her father's hand, the muzzle waving around crazily as they fought for control. She tried desperately to keep it pointed at the ceiling, struggling against her father's greater strength and size. But desperation strengthened her, and so far the fight was a tie.

  Please be winning, Roman, she prayed. Part of her wished she could look back and see if he was. Most of her was glad she couldn't — the roars of pain and anger from the lions were enough to tell her the fight wasn't completely one sided. Anna really didn't want to see the man she loved being torn apart by his foe, even if he was winning.

  And she wasn't sure he would be winning, not against another shifter.

  Can I really be in love with him? Even now, in a battle for her life, her feelings confused her. But confusing as they might be, she knew she did love him. They might have only known each other for a few days, but that didn't matter to their souls. Her heart belonged to him, and his to hers. They'd both risk anything for the other, without hesitation or regret.

  Keeping her father from aiming the gun took all her strength, but it was working. Another shot boomed deafeningly through the room, smacking into the concrete floor. The rage and hate in her father's eyes strengthened, and he changed his tactics. Pushing the gun's barrel down, leaning in with his greater weight, he started to push it towards Anna.

  "I don't want to kill you," he said. His voice was thick with rage, and there was no sign of regret in it. "Let go of the gun and I won't have to."

  I bet he's just upset about wasting a bullet on me, Anna thought, straining against him. The muzzle moved slowly but irresistibly towards her, and straining against it with all her might only slowed it. She just wasn't strong enough to hold him back.

  She wanted to believe that he was bluffing, that he wouldn't shoot her just to get the gun free of her grip. But she knew that she was lying to herself. She didn't even need to see his crazed eyes to be sure that he'd sacrifice her in a second if it meant his victory. Fighting with desperate strength, she still couldn't hold him back, and she knew that in another few seconds she'd not only have risked her life for Roman. She'd have spent it for him.

  As long as he lives, it's worth it.

  The gun's muzzle looked huge; a vast gaping tunnel from which her death would come. Her father's face behind it twisted into a crazed snarl, and his finger whitened on the trigger.

  And then Victoria slammed into the two of them, knocking the gun aside.

  The shot left her ears ringing, and Anna couldn't follow what was happening. Everything was a wild frenzy of limbs and pain and shock. But she was alive! Her hands were still locked around her father's and as she blinked her eyes clear, she could see Victoria wrestling with him too. One of her arms was bleeding heavily and her face was pale, but Victoria wasn't letting her injuries slow her down.

  Their father struggled wildly, trying to pull away, roaring something Anna couldn't make out over the ringing in her ears. He twisted in their grip, but together the two sisters could hold him, pin him, at least for a little while.

  Now Anna could risk a look back at the lions fighting behind them, and her heart leaped. They were both torn and battle-scarred from the fight, both streaked with blood, but Roman was on top. She didn't know how she could be sure which lion was him, but she couldn't mistake her mate anywhere.

  As she watched, Augustus squirmed desperately under Roman, rolling back to rake at him with vicious claw strikes from all four paws.

  Roman ignored the wounds, bloody though they were. His grim determination saw him through, and she watched him sink his teeth into the other lion's throat and tear.

  "NO!" Her father cried out in anguish as his patron's blood spilled across the floor. His shout was loud enough that Anna heard it over the noise in her ears, and it finally drove home to her just how little he cared for his family. He'd sacrifice his daughters on the altar of his ambition, but seeing the man who'd promised him greatness fall? That made him scream and lash out with redoubled strength.

  * * *

  Roman felt his enemy go limp and dropped his body, turning away. Now that Augustus was dealt with he was free to save Anna like he'd planned. Mr. Hall finally managed to get the upper hand against his daughters, slamming Victoria against the wall until she let go and fell to the floor. Wrestling with Anna for control of the gun, he turned the muzzle against her. But he no longer had Augustus to protect him from the angry lion bearing down on him.

  Before his finger could squeeze the trigger, Roman was on him, jaws wide and dripping with blood. The gun went flying as he closed his mouth on the man's arm, wrenching him to the side and pulling him clear of Anna. Bones creaked under the pressure of Roman's bite, and his vision went red with fury. Threaten my mate? His lion's fury matched his own, and they were prepared to tear the man to pieces.

  "Stop!"

  Roman froze just before his teeth snapped shut. Anna's voice penetrated the fog of anger that clouded his vision, and he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She shook her head, scrambling to her feet.

  "He's still my father, Roman," she said, tears on her face. "Please?"

  The man whimpered, frozen in fear. Roman paused, his instincts fighting. He wanted to rend and tear at thi
s man, to snap his arm like a twig and then move on to the rest of him. To finish him and his rebellion before he could do any more harm. The animal part of him pushed at him, seeing only an enemy, a challenger who had brought blood and death to his realm. But the voice of his beloved called him back from that red rage, and slowly his human mind regained control. He couldn't disappoint her.

  Growling, Roman released his captive, shifting back to human form and towering over him. Mr. Hall stared up at him, hugging his arm as though he couldn't quite believe it was intact, panting with fear. His face was pale and his eyes wide, and he didn't seem to be able to speak.

  "Even after all this?" Roman asked, turning to look at Anna. As soon as he spoke, he realized that he knew the answer. She wouldn't be the woman he loved if she wasn't loyal to her family. He looked forward to her having that same fierce loyalty for him, and for their cubs.

  "Yes," she said, stepping to his side and slipping an arm around him. "H-he needs help, not death. And— He's not the one who killed your parents."

  "You're right," he said, glancing back at Augustus. The other shifter had changed back too, and lay still in a pool of his own blood. "That debt is paid, finally."

  That was a huge weight off his shoulders. No amount of vengeance could heal the wound in his heart where his mother and father belonged, though. That pain would never fade completely. If he'd needed another argument to convince him to let Anna's father live, that would have settled it. He couldn't possibly put her through the pain that he'd suffered.

  Victoria groaned as she sat up, shaking her head and cradling her wounded arm. The claw marks were deep, blood running freely, but it didn't look like she was in any danger, and she even managed a credible smile at the couple.

  "An apology would probably ring hollow," she said, picking her words with visible care. "So I'll skip that part for now and just congratulate you, sis. You've got quite a catch there."