Claiming His Lioness (Shifter Wars)

by Kerry Adrienne

  “First time it’s happened to you.”

  “Alicia’s helping me.” She took Griff’s hand. “Everything’s going to be fine. Relax.”

  Alicia smiled at Griff. He looked like he’d been caught in a blender. Streaks of dirt covered his face and sweat dotted his forehead. He must’ve run all the way from the cave back to the cabin.

  Griff pulled his hand free and finished tugging on a T-shirt. He’d been pulling his pants on as he rushed into the bedroom, and his feet were bare.

  “Do you need to go to the doctor? How often are the contractions? Has your water broken? What can I do?” He held his head.

  “About every ten minutes. And no. No doctor. I’m fine. Everything’s going to be okay. Is your head hurting?”

  “It’s nothing,” Griff said. “I’m worried about you.”

  “She’s doing great. You need to relax.” Alicia lit a candle on the bedside table. “We all need to be calm, not stressed. Okay?”

  He nodded. “Can I get you anything?” Griff moved to kiss Amy on the forehead.

  His attentiveness was adorable. Alicia waited for him to step back from Amy’s bed. She’d put him to work to keep his mind busy.

  “Griff, can you get Amy some crushed ice to munch on?”

  Amy groaned, holding her stomach, and pain rolled through her. Her hair, damp around her face, hung limply. Alicia checked her watch. Nine minutes apart. Things were going well.

  There’d be a new cub soon.

  “What’s wrong?” Griff almost shouted. “Help her!”

  “Griff!” Alicia put her hand on his arm.

  He jumped.

  “You’re making things worse,” Alicia said. “It’s another contraction. Everything’s fine. Go get her some ice.”

  A knock sounded on the front door and they all looked toward the hallway. The candle’s floral scent wafted throughout the room, a counterpoint to the stress of the medical situation.

  “The midwife.” Amy leaned back on the pillow. “Let Betty in, Griff.”

  He nodded and sprinted out of the room. Alicia looked at Amy, who was smiling. They burst into laughter. Amy held her stomach.

  “He’s so funny,” she said. “My Mr. Tough Guy. You’d think this kind of thing rarely happened. Or that I’m the first person to ever give birth.”

  “It’s sweet.”

  “Right now it is. When things get rough, it may not be so sweet.”

  “What’s rough?” Griff walked back into the room, the midwife following him.

  “Nothing.” Amy and Alicia spoke in unison, then glanced at each other, grinning.

  Griff put his hands on his hips. “Betty will see about that.”

  The midwife’s expression was serene. Short, with short curly hair, the woman wore scrubs with pictures of cats all over them. At least she looked comfortable.

  “You ready to get this show started?” She looked at Amy, then scanned the room.

  Amy nodded. “I’m ready. Contractions about ten minutes apart.”

  “Nine,” Alicia corrected.

  “Still tolerable?” Betty asked.

  “Oh, yes. A little painful but not too bad.”

  “She’s in pain. Can you give her something?” Griff grabbed Amy’s hand. “I don’t want her to suffer.”

  “I’ll take care of her.”

  “I’ll help. Tell me what to do. Do you need boiling water? Towels?” Griff dropped Amy’s hand. “Whatever you need, I’ll get it.”

  “Right now, I need you to go in the other room so I can check her.”

  “Is she okay?” Griff asked, his voice trembling. “I don’t want to leave her.”

  “I’ll let you know how she’s doing once I check her.” The midwife set her bag on the chair. “Now, shoo. I’ve got work to do. You can come back in a few minutes.”

  “You going to be okay?” He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at Amy.

  She nodded. “I’d love some ice.”

  “I’ll get it now.”

  He looked completely out of his element. Defeated. Alicia had never seen Griff so worried. She looped her arm in his and tugged him toward the door.

  “Let’s go. Amy’s fine.”

  * * *

  “A baby boy.” Amy set the wriggling cub in his hands and Griff held him close, tears in his eyes.

  Gray-blue eyes stared up at him.

  I’m a father...

  “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you or the baby.” He stared at the cub in his arms, the blanket wrapped around the baby like a cocoon.

  The cub’s feet wiggled, trying to free himself from the swaddling, and Griff pulled him close. He couldn’t believe how blessed he and Amy were.

  A baby. Round, full-moon face, with a smattering of dark hair on his head. The most beautiful baby he’d ever seen.

  My child.

  It seemed like yesterday he’d rented his cabin to the spunky artist and gotten annoyed at her refusal to stay close and not wander. He’d chased her all over Deep Creek, trying to protect her.

  Now look at them.

  “Everything went fine. The midwife told you that. I was in labor, not at war.”

  “I couldn’t tell by the way you were screaming.”

  “You’d scream, too, if you were in labor.” Amy yawned. “I’m exhausted.”

  “I probably would. I doubt I could do it.” He smiled at his beautiful wife. “But you are a hero. You handled it with grace. I’m so proud of you.”

  Amy’s face was puffy and red, her hair a tangled and sweaty mess, and yet she’d never looked more beautiful. She was a mommy now. The mother of his child. His heart filled with more love than he thought possible.

  His headache was gone.

  “I love you, Amy.”

  “And I love you.”

  “Are we going with the name we picked?” He touched the baby’s cheek, rubbing the softness with his finger.

  “Yes. Noah Griffin Martin.”

  Griff smiled. “Noah. I love it. It’s perfect.”

  Noah dozed in his arms and Griff held him tight to his chest.

  “I’m so tired.” She closed her eyes. “Can you hold him till he’s ready to eat? I need to rest a few minutes.”

  “Yes, honey. I’ll bring him to you when he’s hungry. Get some sleep if you can.”

  She pulled the cover up and Griff headed for the living room, flipping off the light with his elbow and pulling the door mostly closed with his foot. He realized the floral candle Alicia had lit was still burning, but it was safe in a jar, and the scent didn’t seem to bother Amy. Maybe it would help her relax and rest more deeply.

  Gently carrying his son, he walked to the living room, flipping on the side lights so that the overhead ones wouldn’t shine in Noah’s eyes. The cub was so tiny, it was difficult to believe. Weighing in at seven pounds, he was average sized but still felt incredibly small.

  And fragile.

  He sat in the recliner, holding Noah close. The baby slept, mouth partially open, little eyes squinched closed. Alicia, Cindy, and the midwife had left about an hour ago, with any of them a phone call away if needed.

  It was nice to have the cabin back to just him and his family.

  His family. He couldn’t help the large grin that broke out. He had a baby—a cub. He was a father—something he’d never have thought possible two years ago. Yet now it felt as right as it could be. It felt exactly right.

  Perfect.

  Noah opened his eyes and Griff stared into their gray depths. His son!

  The baby blinked, then let out a piercing cry, one that shook Griff to his core.

  Noah was hungry.

  He hated to wake Amy after such a short time, but he didn’t have a choice. The baby needed to be fed.

>   Chapter Thirteen

  Mason growled. “I’m tired of this shit.” Rain drizzled onto his face and he pushed his wet hair back. He’d been cooped up in the damp cave and was hoping for summer sunshine when he got out.

  No such luck. Lara said it had been raining for two days. He’d worked on the schedule for shifter oversight of the pipeline and organized the information coming in. He’d also gotten a group of bears and lions out working on a grid-search pattern, looking for traps. Derek had agreed to be the point man for reporting the traps to the park service. Since he was a ranger, it made sense that he did. Still, it left Mason annoyed.

  He wasn’t used to handling coordination without leading the group out to battle. And this was a battle.

  He winced as his foot came down too hard on the ground.

  Deep Creek was like a rain forest. Muggy, soggy, and hot. And his foot hurt. If he could, he’d crawl back to the cave and try again tomorrow. But he had to get home. Deep Creek needed him and he wasn’t going to sit back and do paperwork while the others did the dirty work.

  “You’re doing great.” Lara held his elbow and guided him forward.

  “I should be completely healed by now. What’s taking so long?”

  The path through the forest had never seemed so long. Tree branches, wet with rain, bowed over the path and dripped onto his head. The rain wasn’t heavy, but enough to be a nuisance. They’d been walking for an hour already and maybe gone a quarter of the distance he could usually travel on foot as human. He’d wanted to shift, but Alicia had told him he needed to exercise the ankle to keep it from getting too stiff.

  “It’s only been a few days. At least you can go back to the pride now.” She rushed ahead to kick a fallen branch out of the way.

  “Feels like it’s been a year.” He shooed away a buzzing insect.

  Miserable.

  “We’ve gotten a lot accomplished. The march is going to have major news coverage from all outlets, and, I’ve been waiting to tell you this, the governor is coming.”

  “Wow, how did you manage that?”

  “A strongly worded email to his office. He doesn’t want negative publicity any more than AllOil does, so it’s in his best interest to be there.”

  “Do you think the march will be enough to stop AllOil?”

  “I think with the concurrent disabling of the pipeline, it stands a chance at moving things in the right direction.”

  “That’s not good enough. We need it to be failsafe.”

  He realized he was grouchy. Hell, he had every reason to be. Four long days in the cave with bears everywhere and nothing to do but wait to heal. Anyone would be grouchy. He wanted to shift and run in the sunshine with his brother. Or along the moonlit paths through the lush meadows. Anything besides being cooped up with cave fever, making lists and checking them twice.

  “We can’t stop this all by ourselves. All we can do is create the biggest explosion in the press that we can, and hope that the politicians fall back on their need to be popular and rescind the pipeline’s permits.”

  “I hope it’s enough.”

  “Me, too. We’ve had over five hundred residents sign up for the march, and Derek is getting some environmentalist groups bussed in to march, too. It’s going to be the largest crowd Oakwood has ever seen.”

  “I think it can work. We still have to take care of the laboratory.”

  “I’ve been working on that, too.”

  “How are we going to get into the lab? And exactly when do you plan to do this?”

  “I’m still working on the little details. I’ve got a feeling that I’m going to need Cara’s help.”

  “When do you plan the breakout?”

  “Friday, if we can get everything in order by then. I think we need to do it before the pipeline bombing.”

  Mason limped, wincing. If his foot wasn’t healed in the next couple of days, he wasn’t going to be helping the shifters at all. He wouldn’t be able to stand having to be on the sidelines. Most of the plan of attack was his, and he wanted to see things through to the end. Getting rid of the humans would be a kind of payback for his hurt ankle.

  “Don’t you think that’s too soon?” He glanced at Lara. “Shouldn’t we focus on the pipeline?”

  “I thought about that but realized that with the lab tied to AllOil, they might move the shifters with all the press nosing around. I think we need to bust out the prisoners before we go after the pipeline. I’ve driven to the location and checked it out. Seems like an in and out job.”

  “Good points. I hope you’re right. It’d be nice for something to go our way around here.”

  “Definitely. It’s been a rough few days.”

  “You’re telling me. I can’t wait to get home.”

  “Me either.”

  “I want to hear your plan for busting the shifters loose.”

  The lions’ compound was so far away. Being home would feel so good. Hell, being able to sleep in his own bed would be like a five-star vacation. He couldn’t wait.

  Too bad they couldn’t shift and run home. With the risk of animal traps, running was risky. The bears and wolves had found and reported three more steel traps on the paths in Deep Creek and that meant there were likely more of them, hidden among the brush and bushes. He and Lara couldn’t risk it.

  Damned humans.

  “We can talk about the lab later. Trust me, it’s on my mind, but right now, let’s get home.” Lara patted his arm. “You’ll feel better when you can get a shower and rest.”

  He scowled. Why was she being so nice? He snuck a peek at her. She walked head down, looking at the ground. Probably scanning for traps. The way her hair curled around her jaw softened her features. He pushed away the urge to slip a finger around the wavy lock that spiraled to her chest.

  He’d nixed Alicia’s suggestion that Lara give him a sponge bath. He grinned, thinking about the warm sponge scrubbing his back, and Lara’s hair tickling his shoulder as she leaned over him to reach every spot. His dream slowed down and he enjoyed seeing the fluid motion of her touch.

  Warmth bloomed in his abdomen. His face flamed and he sped up his pace as he pushed the thoughts away. Thank goodness Lara couldn’t read minds. That would be a difficult image to explain away. “I don’t need a shower,” he mumbled, distancing himself from his vision. Thoughts of that nature meant one thing—he was spending too much time with the lioness.

  “You’ll feel better.”

  “You saying I smell bad?” He couldn’t keep the snarl out of his tone. Didn’t matter. She was right. He needed a shower and he knew it. His instinct was to counter whatever she said, no matter how ridiculous he sounded.

  Still, getting home was the absolute best thing that could happen, short of being completely healed. At least he’d been able to brush his teeth and wash off from a basin.

  She giggled. “I didn’t say you smelled, bad or otherwise.”

  “But I do.” He sniffed. “I know I must.”

  “No, you don’t.” She took an exaggerated sniff. “Well, not too bad. I was just pointing out that you’ll feel better being at home. And a hot shower will feel good on your foot, not to mention your other parts.”

  “Ouch.” He shuddered as he stepped into a small divot on the path, turning his foot sideways. “I’ll be happy to be home. I’ll be even happier when my damn foot is better.”

  “It will be soon. It’s already a lot better.”

  “I want to help out with the reconnaissance work. Hard to do that limping along.”

  “Marco is handling it fine for now. Your job is to heal. Maybe have your favorite meal.”

  “Macaroni and cheese. You going to cook it for me?”

  She clutched him. “If you want me to, sure. I’m not the best cook but I can try.”

  “What? Something you aren’t the best a
t? Who knew?”

  “That’s not nice.”

  She smacked him on the arm and he feigned pain. “Ow.”

  “Nice try.”

  They walked a short distance in silence. The deep green of the trees lent a darkness to the woods, yet the smells of summer lingered in his nose. He loved his home. He’d fight to save it.

  Deep Creek had gone to hell in a handbasket in no time at all. The pipeline had made progress a lot farther into the park than he was comfortable with. Derek was right, the humans were working day and night to install pipe, and they’d be done in no time. They were working as if they had to hurry before they got caught.

  Anger rose in his throat. “Three more traps have been found. That’s unacceptable.”

  “I’m glad none of the cubs have gotten caught.”

  “Yep. I’d be even more angry, if that’s possible.”

  “I’m sure there are more traps, but I know Derek and the others will find them and turn them in.”

  A large black bird strafed the path in front of them, squawking as it sailed by. Mason stopped to let it pass.

  “AllOil seems to be trying to rid the forest of animals, or at least scare them,” he said.

  “Yeah, I can’t help but think about being stuck in that cage when they captured me. Do you think they really plan to euthanize as many as they can? Or is that totally a distraction from the lab animals?”

  “I don’t know but I’m going to find out. I think they plan to get rid of all the animals in the vicinity—shifter or otherwise.” He gazed into the treetops, looking for the large bird that had flown by. “Whatever it takes, Marco and I will stop them. Make them pay.”

  Lara stepped over a log on the pathway and steadied him. “You’ve got me, too. With the bears’ and wolves’ help, we’ll make sure the humans get off our land.”

  Mason bit back a retort. Lara knew he didn’t think she should be putting herself at risk. As much as he tried to let it go, it still bothered him that Lara was doing things he should be doing. It wasn’t that he worried about her more than other lions.

  Or was it? He shook his head.

  “Do you think we should meet with Cara and see what she wants?”