by Julia Mills
“Leo, time to go,” Savannah called to her Beta.
“Aye, aye, ma’am we’re moving in,” Leo immediately responded.
Watching through Leo’s eyes, using the connection they shared as Queen and Beta, Savannah waited until the lions had breached the wall of the Jaguar Pride before telling Hayes, “They’re in and moving towards Simon’s castle.”
“Did you say, castle?” Came her dragon’s disgusted reply.
“Yes, my love, I said castle. Simon is nothing if not pretentious.”
“Damn, I probably should have asked early. Guess, that’s what I get for assuming all lion Prides were the same.”
Grinning as her mate shook his massive head from side to side, Savannah once again slid her hands around the horn at the base of his neck and held on tight when he called to his brethren while letting her listen in, “Time to fly. The lions wanted the lead and they’ve taken it. Remember, Rian says we’re on a rescue mission. Only use lethal force as a last resort. Herd the ones you can towards the lions and let them take them into custody.”
The lioness couldn’t help but laugh out loud as Kayne asked, “And if my dragon just happens to breathe a little fire?”
“I’m all for doing what you have to do to get the job done,” Hayes quickly answered, adding, “I’m just repeating what I was told.”
“Aye,” Came the unanimous, although blatantly insincere response.
“I get the feeling that your brethren are gonna fire first and ask questions later.”
“Give the Queen a gold star,” Hayes barked with laughter. “You’re catching on quick. I think Rian just says that shit to cover his ass. He knows we’re gonna do whatever it takes to save your sister.”
“Thank you.” Was all Savannah could say as they flew into battle.
Still calling to her Makayla, the Queen tried not to worry when her calls went unanswered. The closer they came to their target, the more restless her lioness became, pacing and roaring, attempting to push through the confines of Savannah’s soul. Even the beast felt the tension in the air and wanted to do anything she could to help recover the Queen’s sister.
No sooner had they flown over the north wall than Savannah could hear the snarls and squeals of fighting cats. Using her preternatural sight, she took in the sight below her, proud of the way her lions were overtaking their enemies. The bodies of jaguars covered the ground, with even more being held at bay by another larger group of roaring, sneering lions.
Landing on the roof of Simon’s castle, the Queen slid off her dragon’s back, jogging out of the way as he changed back to a man. Running up beside her, grabbing her hand, Hayes shouted over the noise, “Which way?”
Pointing to a huge wooden door with enormous brass hinges like she’d seen in movies from the Dark Ages, Savannah explained as they headed in that direction. “Through there. Once we’re in, I’ll be able to follow Mack’s scent.”
Savannah’s mouth dropped open when Hayes didn’t even try the knob on the door, but instead simply let go of her hand, raised his foot and kicked it in then motioned with a wave of his hand while grinning, “After you, my sweet.”
Racing down three stories of the ornate, circular stairway, Savannah opened her enhanced senses wide, searching for her sister. Touching down on the bottom floor, she turned left with Hayes right behind. Following Makayla’s scent, her heartbeat and hope growing stronger with every step, the Queen burst through a set of thin wooden doors, bellowing her sister’s name.
Stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of her sister’s favorite nightshirt draped over the back of a chair in the center of the room. Savannah read the words, ‘PUSH THE BUTTON’ aloud from where they had been scrawled in thick black marker onto the piece of white paper stapled to the neck of the shirt. Her eyes followed the downward arrow to find a recorder on the seat of the chair.
“Son of a bitch! I was sure they would be here,” Hayes roared as Savannah sped forward.
Picking up the tiny device, she pushed the play button. Simon’s nasally whine filled the room. “If you’re hearing this then you’ve made it to my office and realized that you’ve been outsmarted.”
The asshole had the gall to laugh out loud before going on, “When will you realize that I will always be one step ahead? That I have the superior mind? That you are little more than a weak female, who happened to be the first born of a weak king?”
Savannah wanted to wrap her hands around the Jaguar Prince’s neck and squeeze with all her might until the life slowly bled from his body, but she had to wait. Had to restrain herself and listen to more of his useless chatter. Had to put up with his shit in order to save her sister.
On and on he prattled until finally, just when Savannah thought her ears would surely bleed, Simon said, “Here’s your test, your chance to prove you’re not as worthless as I’m sure you are. Go to the place where you, as the heir to the throne of the Leonidas Pride, had to tell your little sisters that your piece of shit parents were dead. You have until one AM. If you make it, you get a chance to save Makayla, but if you’re late, I’ll gut her like a pig.”
Shaking with rage, ready to tear Simon apart limb to limb, Savannah waited, listening to the bastard breathe into the tape. Knowing he wasn’t done. That he had to have the last word.
Then after nearly thirty seconds, the bastard cackled, “Toodeloo, see you soon.”
Throwing the recorder against the far wall, the Queen roared, “I will see him dead! Burned on the ridge for all to see! Simon LeGrange will die for daring to touch my sister.” Looking to her mate, she growled, “You in?”
“Oh, hell yeah. Time to kick ass and fuck that taking names bullshit.”
Chapter Twelve
“So, where are we headed?” Hayes asked, following Savannah back up the spiral staircase. “Simon’s message was kinda cryptic.”
“We’re going to my house,” she called over her shoulder. “Top floor, the Playroom is what we used to call it. It was where we all went to hang out, cause trouble and basically be regular kids instead of the King’s daughters.”
“Gotcha. Guess we’re flying,” he commented to Savannah’s back as she raced back out onto the roof of the Jaguar Prince’s castle.
Stopping short, his mate spun around and asked, “Do you mind?” He stepped forward as she dropped her chin to her chest and sighed. “Sorry to just assume. I…”
Sliding his finger under her chin, Hayes lifted her head until he could look into her eyes before reassuring with conviction, “Assume away. We’re in this together. Anything I have is yours and that includes the big guy.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Now, stay right here while I get the old guy out here.”
Calling forth his dragon for the third time, Hayes could feel how happy it made the beast and how useful the very old soul felt at being able to help the woman who owned them both – heart and soul. Feeling Savannah riding on his back, strengthening their connection, knowing how much she trusted both man and beast to not only take care of her but also her family was one of the best feelings in all the world for both of them.
Calling to his brethren as Savannah updated Leo on the latest news, Hayes wasn’t surprised to get an immediate response from Wiley, “Noah and I will follow. The jaguars are down for the count. The others can handle it.”
“Alright, but if Kayne or Heavens forbid, Maddox try to kick my ass when this is over, I’ll be looking for you two,” Hayes stressed.
“They’re good to go,” Kayne interjected. “The lad’s right, the jags are as good as done.”
“Works for me. Thanks,” Hayes acknowledged.
“Just give ‘em hell, kiddo,” the demi-god chuckled.
“Will do,” the Guardsman readily agreed before speaking to Savannah. “Where’s the best place to land? I’m all for front and center, but this is your fight. I’m just the muscle,” he snickered, trying to ease the tension he felt racing to a boil within his mate.
“I’m with you. As my dad used to say, in
for a penny, in for a pound. Let’s make a grand entrance.”
“Oh Lordy, woman, I think I love your mind almost as much as your body,” Hayes’ dragon laughed out loud – a low gravelly rumble that resembled thunder. He loved that Savannah laughed along, adding, “Ditto, you great big wonderful dragon, ditto.”
Swooping down, Hayes pointed the snout of his dragon right at the opulent entrance to Royal Hall and glided down, stopping only when his paws touched down. No sooner had Savannah’s feet hit the ground than she was racing towards the door. Changing back to human form, the Guardsman followed his mate, knowing his brethren would soon be on his heels.
Taking the stairs two at a time, sprinting towards the top floor, Hayes continued to pour love and reassurance towards his mate. He needed her to know that no matter what happened in the next few minutes, they were in it together…forever.
Not missing a step, gaining speed as she reached the top, Savannah roared, throwing her entire body against the door, landing on her feet right in front of her sister. Glaring at Simon, the Queen spat, “Let her go. Your fight is with me.”
Pushing the silver blade further against Makayla’s jugular, the Jaguar Prince smiled an evil smile as he tittered like a little girl, “Oh Savannah, my fight was with you, but that was before you ignored me, disgraced me and made me look like a fool to all the other Prides.” He paused, staring at Hayes’ mate with pure malice burning in the depths of his putrid green eyes then added, “Now, I’m going to make an example out of you and all your blasted sisters, starting with our dear little Makayla here.”
The fucking jaguar had the audacity to sneer while pressing the razor-sharp blade against Mack’s neck with the precise amount of pressure to make a thin line of bright, red blood slide down the young lioness’ neck. Hayes warned, “He’s baiting you. Remember what you told me. He doesn’t want to kill her,” as rage, hot and wild and determined, rolled through Savannah.
“She’s my sister, Hayes. What do you expect me to do?”
“Exactly what we talked about. Keep him talking. Let me get the boys to come around through the other door.”
“Alright, but I don’t know how much longer I can stand to see the pain in her eyes. It’s killing me,” the sob in Savannah’s voice broke Hayes’ heart even though what the Guardsman knew what he was telling her to do was the right thing.
Speaking to Wiley and Noah, Hayes kept his eyes on Savannah as she growled, “So, you want to kill the entire Leonidas line. I don’t get it, but then I never have understood a damn thing about you.” She stepped forward. “I do, however, have one question before you kill my sister and I and go on a rampage tracking down the others, how did you get in here? How did you know where, because of you, I had to tell my younger sisters that their parents were dead?”
Taking another step forward, the Queen mocked, “At least tell me who the hell sold me out before I die because I know you’re not smart enough to have figured it out.”
Silence filled the room as Simon’s lips curved with a malicious grin. Taking the knife from Makayla’s neck, the Jaguar Prince tapped his bottom lip with the tip of the blade while giving an overexaggerated, “Hmmmmmmm, should I tell you or should I send you to Hell without ever knowing?” He walked a complete circle around Mack, before stopping behind her, still using the young lioness as a shield and sighed, “Oh, okay, I’ll tell you.”
Immediately clapping his hand, giddy with excitement, the idiot looked like a little boy having his first taste of ice cream as he called out, “Come out, come out wherever you are.”
A door to the side of the room opened, revealing not only the bathroom but also Jacques, Savannah’s most-trusted advisor and godfather. Anguish swamped his mate’s heart, filled her soul to the brim with pain that only added insult to injury with the anger and fear she already felt, creating one scary Queen of the Jungle.
Throwing her shoulders back, Hayes watched as Savannah took a single deep breath, turned to the man she’d been calling Uncle since the day she could speak and in a low, threatening tone asked, “Why?”
The sneer on Simon’s face grew as the color drained from Jacques’ face while Savannah stood perfectly still, waiting for an answer. If the situation had been any different, Hayes would’ve laughed out loud at the way his mate expertly handled the two assholes before her. Unfortunately, lives were at stake and people had to die, but later, when they were alone, the dragon promised to be sure to tell his lioness how awesome she truly was.
Finally finding his balls or at least mustering enough chutzpah to speak, Jacques cleared his throat, threw on a mask of courage and in his usual haughty tone spouted, “You are unfit. It takes a man to rule a Pride, a man to do what must be done and a man to make the hard decisions. I have repeatedly tried to tell you this since the day I placed the crown on your head, but you have refused to see reason.” He stepped forward. “You left me no choice, Savannah.”
“Left you no choice?” She screamed. “Are you fucking serious? Who else was there to take over leadership of our kin when this bastard,” her arm shot out from her side as she pointed right at Simon, “poisoned my parents? Who, Uncle Jack?” She spat the words like they burnt her tongue.
“Why me, of course,” the male lion answered in a tone so smug that Hayes wanted to rip his head from his neck.
“You?” Savannah laughed out loud. “You cannot be serious.”
Looking insulted and more than a little disturbed by the Queen’s sarcasm, Jacques’ sulked, “I am most definitely serious. I have been the top advisor to two of the best Kings the Leonidas Pride has ever seen. I have the experience and the knowledge and I am a male. I deserved to be King when your father died.”
“Wait one minute,” Savannah challenged. “One Goddess damned minute,” she repeated, stalking towards him, stopping only when she was a few inches from the traitor. “You’re the one who let that bastard,” she threw her thumb over her shoulder at Simon, “in here the night my parents were murdered, aren’t you?”
She stepped even closer, making Hayes nervous at her proximity to the man who’d been lying to her for her entire life. Punctuating every word with a poke to Jacques’ chest, Savannah spat, “You were complicit in their deaths and the kidnapping of my sister.”
Stepping back, Savannah asked telepathically, “Are your friends ready?”
“Yes, but we’re about to have company in the form of ten pissed off jaguars.”
“No problem,” she growled. “Kill them all and be sure to save my sister.”
Hayes had barely processed the words when Savannah turned into a spectacular, tawny lioness, Noah and Wiley burst through the back door and ten snarling male jaguars, still partially transformed. came running into the large, nearly empty room. Pulling his sword from the scabbard on his back, the Guardsman went after Jacques as the asshole tried to make a hasty exit through the door Hayes’ brethren had just come through.
Out of the corner of his eye, Hayes could see Savannah stalking Simon, pushing him slowly into the corner as Noah kept the jaguars busy. Using his long blade to block the claws of Jacques partially transformed paw, Hayes bellowed, “Wiley, get Makayla out of here!”
“No!” Simon screeched just as Savannah’s lioness stood up on her hind legs and with one well-aimed swipe of her paw separated his head from his neck.
Seeing that his mate was taking no prisoners, Hayes stopped taking it easy on Jacques and with a few strategically placed thrusts and a strong jab, stabbed the traitor in the heart. Pulling the blade from Jacques’ chest and ignoring the falling corpse, Hayes spun to help Noah dispatch the last of the jaguars. From one heartbeat to the next, the room went from complete chaos to a deafening silence.
Turning in a slow circle, Hayes immediately spotted Savannah, back in human form and staring at the corpse of the man she’d called Uncle Jack. Making his way to her, the Guardsman wrapped his arms around her, turned her away from the carnage and walked her out of the room.
“Come on, mo g
hrá. Let’s go check on Makayla.”
Stopping at the top of the stairs, Savannah turned towards Hayes, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. His heart sang as she whispered into his mind, letting an abundance of love and appreciation flow from her soul to his.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better man than you to live eternity beside. My dreams came true, the day you asked me to dance. I love you Hayes Gregory with all my heart, now and forever more.”
Chapter Thirteen
A week had passed since Savannah, her dragon and his brethren had saved Makayla from the grips of the man they were all now referring to as ‘the idiot’ and the world seemed like a better place without him. Also in that time, the Queen had appointed Leo to look after and reorganize the jaguars that were left and had completely abolished the position once held by the traitor. She figured the Universe had picked a great man to stand by her side and his advice would be all she needed.
Pulling the covers back over her head for the fourth time, Sannah cringed as Makayla yelled, “Get up sleepy head. If you’re not careful, I’ll swoop down and steal that sexy dragon from you.”
“Whatever,” she hollered back. “I saw the way you were looking at Wiley. I’m thinkin’ you found a dragon of your very own.”
“Shut up and mind your own business,” Mack grumbled then quickly changed the subject. “For the last time, get out of bed. We’re running out of time and I still have to do your hair and makeup.”
Throwing back the comforter, the Queen sat up, letting her feet fall over the side of the bed and groaning, “Why in the hell did I agree to a formal feline mating ceremony? I must have been high.”
“On love,” her youngest sister sang as she danced into the room, grabbing Savannah’s hands and pulling until the Queen stood up with her.
Rolling her eyes, Savannah sighed, “I’m up but I’ll be darned if I’m dancing. Look,” pointing towards the window she grumped, “Even the sun just got up.” She looked around the room then grumbled, “And where’s my coffee? You promised me coffee.”