Finding Luna: A Lion Shifter Reverse Harem Romance (PRIDE Book 1)

by Becca Fanning

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “That had better not be for a long time to come.”

  “Oh, baby, don’t worry about that. I plan on living a very long and fulfilling life with you.”

  Her exasperation bled out as her eyes filled with warmth. “I like the sound of that.”

  He grinned at her, jumped up in the water, grabbed her around the waist, then dragged her into the depths with him.

  Her shrieks were muffled as she half sank into the pool with him, but his laughter roared out for all to hear.

  Mother, it was a good day to be alive.

  Chapter 7

  Peering over the papers in his hand, Ryan asked, “I hope you asked her if she could swim before you dragged her into the water this morning.”

  Trip snorted. “She was safe. Like I’d let anything happen to her.”

  “You should have asked first,” Ryan snapped.

  “If you treat her with kid gloves all the time, she’ll get used to it,” Trip warned. “She’s no delicate miss. She won’t appreciate you being so careful with her.”

  “Making sure she won’t drown isn’t being careful,” he snarled. Blowing out a breath, he put the papers down and tried to let the desire to throttle Trip bleed from him. “Anyway, we have a situation.”

  A snort was the first retort. “I’d never have guessed. What is it? The Panthers, the dead body in our mate’s SUV or…?”

  “The guard.”

  “The dead one?”

  “No. The living one. Shawn McNamara.”

  “What about him?”

  Ryan blew out a breath. “I think he’s a mate.”

  Silence befell the office. Marc stirred from his usual armchair in the corner of Ryan’s study, right by the door to the kitchen.

  “A mate to whom?” was Marc’s careful question.

  “El’s.”

  “Not ours? Because I haven’t turned gay in the past twenty-four hours,” Trip snarked.

  “I never thought you had,” Ryan snarled back. “I-I think he’s a Triad brother, but… you know, the clue’s in the title. There are already three of us.”

  “What’s made you even think of this?” Marc asked, placing his tablet on the floor as he turned his full attention to the situation.

  “His reactions to her. Hers to him. They’re more than just friends.”

  “Have you asked him if he’s involved with her?”

  “Last night.”

  “And?”

  “They’re not.”

  “Well then, what’s the issue?”

  Ryan grimaced. “I am.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean… I can feel him.”

  Marc got to his feet. “As in, the way you can feel the Pride?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But he isn’t a Shifter, so how can that be possible?” Trip demanded.

  “I don’t know. I don’t have any of the answers here, I’m just telling you what I do know.”

  “Have you seen if you’re connected to him?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I-I didn’t dare last night when I approached. I wasn’t sure how my Lion would react if we were bound to another male. And the beast isn’t exactly happy with how she’s been hiding from us… so I thought it best to wait.”

  “What about now?”

  “Well, my Lion’s a little more at ease now El’s left her room. Plus, even though it was a jerk move, Trip, it helped waking up and hearing her laughter and shrieks from the pool.”

  Trip chuckled. “You should have seen her face. She was well pissed. Until she got over it and we did some lengths together.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you thought pissing her off on her first morning out of her bedroom was a good idea.”

  “We’d just had a really long, very intense conversation about… well, everything. I thought lightening things up was wise.” He jerked an utterly unapologetic shoulder. “It worked. She was a lot calmer after we got out of the pool than when she came to me.”

  “What happened?”

  “I went for a run and she saw me dive into the water.”

  “That frightened her?” Marc asked, confused.

  “No. I shifted in midair. I had no idea she was watching. She must have seen me do so from the window, because her scent was nowhere near. I’d have known. The next thing I know, she’s there, looks like she’s on the brink of tears. I calmed her down, we talked, connected. It’s all good.” Trip frowned. “But this thing with Shawn? I hate to say it but she said something to me this morning that might… well, it kind of confirms what you said, Ryan.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean… she said when she met us, all of us individually, she felt at peace. At ease with us. She said she’s never felt that before with anyone else, except for Shawn, and her grandfather but he hardly counts, does he?”

  Marc let out a deep sigh, and Ryan rubbed a hand over his face as he processed that particular truth.

  “Shit.”

  Ryan nodded at Marc’s succinct retort. “How the fuck does this even work, guys?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of anything like it before.”

  “Her circumstances are unusual, brothers,” Trip said softly. “She’s… Her life seems to have been in danger for a very long time. That kind of situation was bound to have repercussions. Especially when it boils down to her relying on the one man she’s known who’ll protect her.”

  “Proximity and danger…” Marc confirmed roughly. “I think you should do the test, Ryan.”

  “I didn’t see a connection yesterday when you did it, Ryan,” Trip argued. “Surely, you’d have been linked to him from the get go.”

  “No. Don’t forget, I’m linked to her. He’s linked to her. She’s the connection. We weren’t looking for anything like that. Plus, you didn’t know she had security in the restaurant. Why would you have thought to look at them when I was doing the test? I know for a fact I was totally focused on her and no one else but her.”

  Trip conceded that with a rueful grimace. “I guess you’re right.”

  “So, what do we do?”

  Ryan frowned. “I’m not sure.”

  “If she really cares for him, loves him even, we don’t want to let this situation go unresolved for too long,” Marc pointed out carefully. “It will just cause her unnecessary pain. Her links to us will strengthen, but her loyalty to Shawn won’t go anywhere, especially if our suspicions are correct. She’ll feel guilty and undoubtedly, knowing humans, feel like a whore for wanting Shawn too when she has three of us already. If he isn’t anything other than a friend, well, there’s no harm done for testing the waters, is there?”

  Ryan nodded. “I guess not.”

  “You don’t look convinced.”

  “I’m not, Marc. I don’t know what the fuck is going on. My mate’s used to the notion of being kidnapped. We might have to share her with an outsider. Her family isn’t just wealthy, it’s a pivotal founding father of the damn industrial revolution. I have to share all this with the Pride. That doesn’t take into account what we’ll have to endure with a police investigation nosing their way into everything… and, I didn’t tell you. But the guard I killed? His surname was Pantera.”

  Marc swore under his breath.

  Trip hissed.

  “What? Why the fuck are they involved, and why are we just hearing this now?”

  “I don’t know. But that’s just another dose of shit to top off the situation.” He blew out a breath. “I’m more grateful than I know to have her in our lives, but I wish things were simpler so we could just focus on her and getting our union right.”

  Trip sighed. “I know, but that’s never how things work for us. Not since…”

  “Not since I became leader, I know,” Ryan gritted out, trying not to feel guilty for something that was, essentially, out of his hands.

  “There’s no blame to cast here, guys,” Marc interrupted. “No reason for you to feel bad
ly at all, Ryan. It is how it is, and we have to roll with the punches, like we always do.”

  Ryan ducked his head, kept his gaze trained on the desk. “I’m going to be delegating a lot over the next few days. Adam will pick up the slack, and so will his admin team. I’d imagine you want to spend a lot of time with her too, so I’ll make them available to you as well. Just let Adam know what you need, when and where, okay?”

  Marc nodded. “I think I have everything to hand. The restaurant’s practically running itself now. The Ventura one’s shut down, and the other two… well, they’re fully functioning without us. I’m only on hand now to trouble shoot.”

  “That’s good. She’ll do well with you around, Marc. You’re a calming influence.”

  His brother’s grin was rueful. “I don’t feel all that calm around her.”

  “None of us do,” Trip retorted with a smirk. “That’s how we know she’s so precious to us.”

  Ryan sighed. “She is that.” To Trip, he asked, “What about you? I know you’re always overworked.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll delegate a few of the accounts to my team. I shouldn’t have need of yours though. Thanks for offering.”

  “No worries. I’ll be speaking to Adam within the hour, then I’ll have Santiago and Erickson around before lunch. I think you should be there for the debriefing.”

  “Shawn will want to be there too,” Marc pointed out softly.

  “I already extended the invitation to him.”

  “I have no doubt El will want to be there as well,” Trip remarked.

  Ryan grimaced. “That wouldn’t be ideal. Not if we have to discuss the Pantera’s involvement.”

  “She’ll want to know,” Trip argued.

  “I agree. I think it would be foolish to keep her out of the loop on this, Ryan. She’s smart, and she’s used to having a threat hanging over her. Though I wish that weren’t the case, I think it’s better for her to be fully informed rather than out in the dark.”

  “I just want to keep her safe.”

  “We all do, but we can’t do that if she doesn’t understand the risks involved.”

  “Okay. I want to speak to her alone before I meet with Adam anyway. I’ll talk to her then.”

  Trip murmured, “Where is Shawn, by the way?”

  “I put him at the lodge with us.”

  Marc’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

  Ryan grimaced. “Yeah. I don’t think he’s come out of his room much—it’s the one opposite El’s. He’s there for her protection.”

  “I didn’t scent him there,” Marc argued.

  “Bastard knows about Shifters… maybe he knows how to cloak his scent?” Trip asked. “He’s definitely quiet enough to hide out. Sneaking around the goddamn place. I didn’t even know someone else was in the house.”

  “The other night, with the cops, he was throwing out major vibes. When I felt them, it stunned the shit out of me.” Then, ruefully, Ryan admitted, “Also, I had the feeling he wasn’t going anywhere El wasn’t. It was easier to put them closer together than argue over it.”

  “Their bond is tight,” Marc remarked.

  “Very,” Ryan gruffly whispered. He placed his papers on the table. “I’m going back to the lodge. I’ll leave you to handle things on your end, okay?”

  Both brothers nodded as he got to his feet and left the study.

  Technically, it was his alone. The place where the Pride came to consult with him, and where he dealt with most of the paperwork involved in managing a governmental body of over forty thousand people in California alone.

  Though there was only the one desk, Trip had staked out a sofa and low coffee table in one corner of the room from the start. His crap was usually all over the floor too. Marc was neater, and he worked only electronically. From his armchair at the opposite corner to Trip, he was sandwiched by the door to the kitchen and a large dresser filled with antique silverware.

  The antiques were an unusual inheritance that was passed down from leader to leader.

  It did nothing for him, but it represented the mantel of power so he kept it in his office.

  As he headed past said dresser, he eyed the hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of silver, shaking his head at the Pride’s folly, and continued out into the hall.

  Nodding at the people he passed, then grimacing when Adam spied him on his way out the front door, he stated to his PA, “Walk with me until we hit the lodge, then make yourself lost. I don’t want to hear from you today.”

  “I guess I should be offended by that.”

  Ryan snorted. “You’ll be too busy to be offended.”

  “I expected that, what with your mate here.”

  “Good.”

  “I trawled in two other admin from around the Pride, and they’re going to be setting up in HQ for the interim.”

  “You’re a pain in my ass, Adam, but you’re efficient.”

  His PA beamed. “It’s nice to be appreciated.”

  Ryan grinned. “Only you’d take that as a compliment.”

  “To be fair, Ryan, only I would be stupid enough to put up with you.”

  He clapped the other man on the back and declared, “True enough. Anyway, you’ll find on my desk a list of the shit I need handling today. I’ll create a list each morning that I need you all to work through. On an evening, I’ll review what you’ve done and get back to you if I need further help.

  “I’m not disappearing entirely. I’ll still be working; so, if anyone even dares mention that I’m shirking my duties, you can tell them where to go.”

  “As if anyone would!” Adam gasped, shocked. “You’re mated. This is a vital time. Not just for you, but the Pride too. A Pride leader with a mate ensures for greater stability for his people. We all know that. No one will criticize.”

  Ryan huffed. “Tell that to Konrad Jones.”

  “Konrad’s a dick. No one listens to him. Anyway, we all know if it boiled down to it, and he actually challenged you, he’d be the one who failed.”

  “He wouldn’t dare challenge me,” Ryan countered with a tone that was devoid of ego but also devoid of humility. It was simply a statement of fact.

  Ryan was the strongest male in the Pride in this region, hell, probably this sector of the continental US. Everyone knew it. Himself included. He was young too. Ridiculously young to have this much power at his fingertips, and though he didn’t particularly want it, he’d had it placed on his shoulders from the instant he’d made Triad with Marc and Trip.

  “Well then, that’s all we need worry about, isn’t it?” Adam retorted. “Whispers in the dark do shit. No one is going to make waves.”

  “I know, but he winds me up. I’ll end up challenging him before late just to get him off my hands.”

  Adam’s nose crinkled. “Let’s not do that. I really hate having to liaison with the PR department.”

  Ryan chuckled. “It’s all about you, buddy, huh?”

  “Of course.” Adam grinned. “So, Santiago and Erickson confirmed they’ll be here before lunch. They handled things down at the precinct, and their captain is aware this is a Pride investigation. He’ll only stick his nose in if this somehow disperses into human society.”

  Ryan pursed his lips as he stared down at the white pebbled path that led from the driveway of Pride House up to the lodge. “That makes no sense.”

  “Huh?”

  “How does that make sense to you? El’s human. So is Shawn. It’s already trickled into that society.”

  “Yeah, but they’re under our protection. It’s different.”

  Ryan narrowed his eyes. “The death of Pantera is a case for Santiago and Erickson, but the kidnapping isn’t. We don’t know yet if it was organized by the Pantera or not. It could have been a wholly human operation.”

  “I think the captain is cutting his losses until we have more leads. As it stands, we know less about Pantera than I’m happy with,” Adam admitted. “I eyed the prelim reports Santiago emailed over this m
orning, and I’m really unhappy with how little information we have.”

  Ryan shot him a look. “This is Erickson and Santiago’s priority, right?”

  “Do you even have to ask?” Adam retorted. “This involved you, Ryan. Of course it’s priority.”

  “It’s come to my attention that El has been under recent, severe threat from kidnappers. I want you to burrow into her family history, Adam. I want to see if there’s a reason, a legitimate one, as to why she’s being targeted but other members of her kin aren’t.

  “Naturally, I can’t say any of this in front of El, and as she’ll be attending the briefing with Santiago and Erickson, I want you to make it known to them on my behalf where you’re snooping.” He sucked in a sharp breath. “Things are up in the air enough. I don’t want to make waves where there are none, but we need to get to the bottom of this. It’s ridiculous.”

  “She’s a very rich woman,” Adam said softly. “I mean, she’s richer than the Pride as a whole, Ryan. That’s as an individual. I did some digging into her last night, just to make sure everything was copacetic. I know you hadn’t asked me, but I can usually predict where you’re heading on something. I’ll let you see what I’ve gathered so far, but everything looks kosher.

  “It’s just her wealth is far vaster than you can even imagine.”

  “Money isn’t everything. Her brothers and parents are just as rich.”

  Adam grimaced. “It’s more complicated than you think. Her paternal grandfather left her the largest chunk of the family fortune in a few trust funds he dotted around so that she’d never want for anything basically until the end of time immemorial.”

  “You mean he undercut his kids and other grandkids?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?” He frowned. “That’s weird. How much of an undercut?”

  “He left seventy percent to her.”

  Ryan stopped in his tracks. “Is that even possible?”

  “Of course, it was his estate. He could do whatever the fuck he wanted with it. It happened when El was nineteen. The family tried to contest the will but they failed. They tried to imply James Forsythe-Drew was mentally incapacitated and too frail to have made such a decision, but his wife, and several doctors, testified to the contrary.”