by Scarlet Day
Laci turned a rebellious glare on her brother. “I am not mating with him.”
Price stared at her as though she’d lost her mind. “Why not? There’s nothing wrong with him.”
Laci had to admit Price’s statement was true enough. Austin was tall, with sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and a great tan. He was muscular and, if she were forced to tell the truth, he had a great ass. Austin would be a great catch. But not for her. He just wasn’t the one.
She and Price had been having this argument for weeks. Laci knew nothing she said was going to change his mind, though, and that scared the hell out of her. Because when it came down to it, Price was the pride’s leader. Whatever he decreed, she would have to live with. It was only his patience and her pleading that had kept him from formally announcing a mating arrangement between her and Austin.
But that patience was coming to an end. She could see it in his eyes. Price hated to force her into a mating she didn’t want, but Laci knew he was running out of time and options.
Most female lion shifters started producing male-attracting pheromones at around the age of twenty-three or twenty-four. At twenty-eight years old, Laci was a late bloomer. But four months ago, the lioness in her had started sending out “come and get me” signals to every male lion shifter within a fifty-mile radius. And since she lived right smack in the middle of the biggest mountain lion shifter pride in the Rocky Mountains, there were plenty of unattached male shifters receiving the message, loud and clear. Males from neighboring prides, like the young guy who had started this latest fight, had even started coming into town in pursuit of a mate. She was a walking man-magnet, whether she liked it or not.
The problem was Laci wasn’t ready to settle down, even though her cat was screeching at every male lion-shifter on two or four legs. Her cat’s pheromones were wreaking havoc on the community, and Price couldn’t allow it to continue indefinitely.
“Just give me a little more time.” Laci knew all the time in the world wouldn’t change her mind about Austin, but she still felt the need to grasp for it as long as she could.
Price bent over and picked up a fallen liquor bottle. He examined it then set it down on the bar. Laci could see his knuckles turn white as he gripped the bottle’s neck.
“I’m announcing the mating at Dad’s birthday dinner tomorrow night.” He looked up at her and she saw the regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not what you want, but I’m out of options. The pride is talking, Lace. If I can’t control my own sister, how can they expect me to lead the pride? And what do you think will happen if an outsider decides to run off with you?”
The lump in Laci’s throat grew so large she couldn’t speak. She shook her head and opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Tears blurred her vision, making Price appear to be nothing more than a tall blob behind the bar. She knew what would happen if a shifter from another pride forced her into a mating. As Price’s sibling, Laci’s mate would have the right to challenge Price for leadership. If Price lost the challenge, he’d be banished from his own pride. It sucked, but there was damn little Laci could do to change it.
Fear and dread, along with a healthy dose of rebellion, raged inside Laci. Tomorrow night. He was announcing her mating to Austin tomorrow night.
The instinct to flee clawed its way up from deep inside her and propelled her to her feet. She turned and aimed for the dark-gray blur on the wall that she hoped was the back door, before launching herself at it. The door flew open as she pushed against it, and frosty night air struck her heated cheeks.
She needed to run. And she needed to do it now. Without taking the few moments it would have cost to remove her clothes, she shifted while still fully dressed. Seams ripped and fabric shredded as her shorts, shirt, and undergarments fell away from her. She dove for the ground, landing on four legs and large, golden paws.
Her claws dug into the moist earth, and she shot toward the dark tree line. Strong legs carried her across the rear parking lot and into the forest. The sounds of nighttime buzzed in her ears, trying to drown out the turmoil of her thoughts. With a distraught growl, Laci bounded over a fallen tree and lost herself to the dark wilderness.
Chapter Two
The old wooden step creaked and Laci cringed, freezing in place. She waited for any sounds of stirring inside the house or for the porch light to flash on, but all remained quiet. Moments passed and she finally let out a slow breath. With slow and deliberate movements, she tiptoed as quietly as she could across the front porch. Her white robe lay draped across the wicker chair next to the front door. Price must have seen her tattered clothes back at the bar and knew she’d need something to wear. She picked it up and then slipped her arms through the soft terrycloth fabric, before tying the belt around her waist. Then she turned the doorknob and eased the front door open.
The house was dark and silent. She peeked into the living room, where the moonlight streamed through the big front window and illuminated the room in a soft glow. Her father was sprawled on the couch, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm while he slept. The walker he had needed since Laci was eighteen stood next to the couch.
Her father’s inability to walk without support was the reason he was no longer alpha of their pride. He’d held on to his position for a while after his accident, but the injury gradually took its toll on his body. He had been forced to relinquish leadership when he could no longer run with the pride or aid in their defense.
As their father’s only son, the burden of leading the pride had fallen to Price at a too-young age, while he was still in his twenties. Mountain lion shifters didn’t usually assume responsibility of a pride until they were well into their thirties, after they’d had the chance to mature. Price had been head of the pride for almost eight years now, putting the pride’s needs ahead of his own and growing up way too fast in the process.
Guilt surged through Laci for the additional stress her refusal to mate caused her brother. She knew he was taking flak from the pride due to the disruption her unabated pheromones were causing. He was deeply worried about holding onto his position, one that had been passed down to the oldest male in their family for generations. If Price showed too much weakness or if Laci mated with someone who ended up being power-hungry, things could get messy.
Guilty feelings or not, though, Laci couldn’t bring herself to acquiesce to Price’s decision to choose her mate. The truth was she didn’t want a mate. She’d seen too many women hand over their power to a man, only to become slaves to them. Her mother was a prime example. Laci loved her mom and dad, but her mother had catered to her dad’s every whim even before the accident. Her dad had never even cooked a meal for himself or done a load of laundry. Her dad made all the decisions, never even consulting Laci’s mom. Laci shook her head. If mating meant handing over control of her own life to a man, then that wasn’t something she was prepared to do. Not now. Maybe not ever.
The run through the forest had done nothing to squelch her urge to flee. Her cat might want to be tied down to a mate, but Laci and her cat had spent many years fighting with each other. And recently, this issue was the thing they fought over most often.
Laci crept down the hallway toward her bedroom, being careful to avoid the noisiest floorboards. She paused and looked back up the hallway toward the closed door of her parent’s bedroom. She was almost overwhelmed with a sudden urge to wake her mother up and cry while her mother held her and told her everything would be fine. But Laci knew that’s not what her mom would tell her. Laci’s mother would tell her to accept Austin as an appropriate mate and not be such a drama queen about it.
As she passed Nicki’s door, Laci paused to listen for any sign that her sister might still be awake. Laci knew Nicki would understand. Her sister was dreading the day when her own lioness started advertising for a mate. Nicki was hoping her cat would wait as long as Laci’s had. Laci heard nothing but silence coming from her sister’s room, so she kept creeping down the hallway.
Reaching her room, she eased the door closed and locked it, flinching at the small click. She collapsed onto her unmade bed and stared at the ceiling. Years ago she’d painted it midnight blue with little white stars. She’d always preferred to sleep outside under the real stars, but these would do when she slept indoors. They didn’t provide any comfort tonight, though.
She couldn’t mate with Austin. She just couldn’t. She tried to imagine what it would be like to spend the rest of her life with him, but the images wouldn’t come. She couldn’t even picture spending one night with him, much less the next seventy-five years or more.
It wasn’t pre-honeymoon jitters that had her stomach tied up in knots, either. Laci had no problems with casual sex. Hell, the more the merrier, especially since getting pregnant before she went through the mating ritual wasn’t possible. But going through the mating ritual was final. Granted, Austin was a good man, but he was still one she didn’t love. She’d be trapped and at his mercy. Forever.
She slid her hand over the edge of the bed and ran her fingers along the slit between the mattress and box springs. Pressing her fingers into the space, she felt the small security package she’d stashed there. She gripped the edges and pulled, sliding it out of its hiding place. She sat up and stared at the little plastic bag. It held the contents of almost all the money she’d earned from tips over the last few months. She cursed as she realized the money from her tips before the latest bar fight broke out had been stuffed in the pockets of her denim shorts. Those crumpled bills would now be strewn across the bar’s parking lot, along with the tattered remains of her shorts.
She stared at the measly contents of the bag. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. This had been her backup plan. She had hoped she could keep her cat under control and not have to take drastic measures. She should have known her cat wouldn’t pay any attention to her. It was as stubborn as she was.
She huffed and closed the bag, taking it with her as she crawled off the bed and crossed the room to her computer desk. She moved the mouse as she sat down and the monitor lit up. Her e-mail screen came up instantly and she scrolled down to the e-mail message she searched for. One click brought up the message, and a second click produced a reply screen. Without stopping to think about what she was typing, she responded to the e-mail that had been sitting unanswered for almost a week.
Her finger hesitated for one instant as the curser hovered over the send button. Then she clicked the mouse and it was done. She stared at the screen, a cold knot forming in her stomach.
This was it. She knew she couldn’t outrun her own pheromones, but she could at least put some distance between herself and Price. If she wasn’t around, he wouldn’t make any mating announcements. As for how she would keep her cat’s blatant signals from getting her into trouble at her new location, well, she didn’t have a good solution for that yet.
First things first. Right now she needed to throw some things in a backpack, sneak out of the house, start up the motorcycle she kept in the shed out back, and get out of Dalton Valley without anyone stopping her.
Chapter Three
Tucker stalked across the lobby, the sound of his boots hitting the wood floor echoing through the high-ceilinged space. He looked out one of the wide windows that provided an expansive view of the driveway leading to the lodge and the mountainside rising up above the property. He glanced down at his watch for the third time and scowled. The e-mail he’d received from his new bartender said she’d arrive before noon, but she was already well over an hour late. Fifteen more minutes and he swore he’d find someone else for the position. He huffed, knowing that wasn’t likely to happen. There were only so many applicants qualified to work at Sanctuary. His late-to-arrive new bartender had been the only person he’d been able to find for the job.
For one thing, the resort Tucker owned with his best friend Colt was located in a remote part of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The remoteness was one of the primary attractions that Sanctuary’s guests came for, but it made it hard to find employees who were prepared to live so far from civilization. The isolation wasn’t the trickiest part of the hiring process, though.
Sanctuary looked similar to other ski lodges that dotted the Rockies, but it was far from ordinary. Its guests demanded privacy and unique experiences crafted to their needs and desires. Tucker and Colt made sure their guests got everything they wanted.
The fact that their guests had the ability to shift into all manner of creatures and beasts just made privacy all the more important. It was also the main reason why it was so hard to find people to work at the lodge, since staff members also needed to be shifters. It made for a very limited applicant pool.
The lone application he’d received for his vacant bartender position had come by way of recommendation. One of his guests, a member of the large lion pride that lived on the east side of the mountain range, had slipped him her e-mail address a few weeks ago and indicated she might be looking for a change of scenery. Tucker had exchanged a few e-mails with her before offering her the position, but she hadn’t accepted until late last night.
Tucker glanced back down at his watch. His fifteen-minute bluff was almost up. His head jerked up as his heightened hearing caught the sound of an engine turning off the main road that sliced through the mountain pass about a mile away. As a lion shifter, his hearing was already excellent, but the lodge’s valley location amplified noises, and he’d learned to detect which direction sounds originated from.
He opened the front door and walked out onto the wide covered porch. A plume of dust in the distance confirmed that someone was on their way. He leaned up against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest, and waited.
A single motorcycle emerged over a low ridge and wound its way down the long gravel drive, tossing up dust and pieces of gravel in its wake. It pulled up under the high portico and the rider killed the engine.
Even under the black helmet and neck-to-toe black leather, it was hard to miss that the rider was female. She had to be his errant bartender, since he had no other female guests arriving today. Besides, random people did not have a habit of wandering onto the vast property. Signs announcing that trespassers would be shot tended to keep unwanted visitors off their land. Not that he would actually shoot someone, but he also didn’t want a wayward hunter shooting at any of his guests while they were in shifted form, either. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. If his guests or employees were threatened, he would definitely shoot.
His gaze raked up the newcomer’s long legs, appreciating the way the leather hugged her curves. She reached for the zipper on the leather jacket she wore and slid it down. Then she lifted the helmet off of her head. Long golden-blonde hair spilled out of the helmet and flowed down over her leather-clad shoulders. She turned dark-brown eyes toward Tucker, and his cat lifted its head in interest.
Down, boy. She’s probably the hired help. Tucker shook his head and walked across the porch to greet the newcomer. His cat growled for attention, its instinct to dominate flaring in his mind, but Tucker ignored it. His cat had the tendency to want to rule over every beautiful woman it crossed paths with. Tucker had learned long ago how to keep his cat’s urges in check, but he had to let them out to play every now and then. Problem was, finding willing partners in the middle of the Rocky Mountains wasn’t always easy. It had been some time since he’d had someone he could play with and his cat was getting restless.
Even though this bike-riding newcomer looked like someone who could give his urges a workout, he’d have to settle for looking and not touching. Getting involved with employees was one of the rules he and Colt had established when they’d decided to go into business together, so his cat would just have to back off.
The woman slung her left leg over the back of the bike and put the helmet on the seat. She grabbed the backpack she had strapped to the bike and then turned to face Tucker with a brilliant smile.
“You wouldn’t happen to be Mr. Anderson, would you?”
Tucker cringed at her use of his surname. It sounded as though she was addressing his father.
“Technically, yes. But I prefer Tucker.”
Her smile slid into a lopsided grin. “Tucker it is, then.” She walked up the steps toward him and extended her hand. “I’m Laci Dalton. Sorry I’m late.”
Tucker took her hand in his. It was small and warm, and his cat growled low in his mind. Easy, fella. The breeze shifted at that moment and picked up her scent, blowing it toward Tucker. He froze for a moment. He knew that scent. Hell, every cat on the continent knew that scent. His new bartender was an unmated female lioness who was throwing out fuck-me pheromones. The mountain winds would pick up her scent and scatter it in every direction.
Damn. This was going to complicate things.
“No problem. You’re not that late, anyway.” Tucker imagined himself rolling his eyes. Hadn’t he been ready to find someone else for the position just a few minutes ago? He was just as pathetic as his cat. The beast let out an ironic snuffle. Tucker sent a silent growl back to the overgrown fur ball, reminding him to not be such a prick.
“Let’s get you settled and then I’ll show you around the resort. Your first shift won’t start until six tonight.” He held the door open to allow her to enter the lodge in front of him.
“Sounds great. Show me the way.”
Tucker watched her hips sway as she walked through the door. He thought of about a hundred different things he might like to show her, none of which involved a tour of the resort. He imagined cupping his hand over the smooth curve of her ass. Then he mentally kicked himself. If this kept up, he might actually have to make the trek over the mountains to Denver to visit his favorite club, one of the few places he could find a willing partner to satisfy his urges. Sanctuary included a fully-equipped BDSM club in the basement for guests and employees. Tucker and Colt had no problem with employees playing on their own time, but Tucker rarely had anyone to enjoy the amenities with, even though he had his own personal chambers in the basement.