Savage Yearning (Corona Pride Book 1)

by Liza Street

After all, Corona meant “crown” in Spanish. Marlana probably thought she was as good as royalty.

  The night was promising to be cold, so this would be nothing but a bunch of shifters from her pride, circling around Marlana and Jeff’s mansion while eating overpriced appetizers and pretending not to be having quiet dominance contests with one another. Laura preferred the summer get-togethers, when the shifters were better able to spread out, when the scents didn’t feel so close and oppressive.

  Taking some deep breaths to release tension, she parked her Acura and walked toward the house. She anxiously tugged the hem of her skirt down, not wanting to flash anyone.

  “Boo!”

  Laura held back a scream and fell into the defensive position all Guardians used. On the balls of the feet, fists raised, awareness heightened. Core tucked in. Ready to spring.

  Her attacker, though, started giggling, and wiped tears from his watering eyes.

  “Juan!” she yelled, jumping forward to sock him in the shoulder.

  Juan, her brother, had Laura’s narrow face and olive complexion that they got from their mother, but instead of their mother’s green eyes, Juan had their father’s brown eyes.

  “Sorry, couldn’t resist,” he said. But he didn’t look sorry at all.

  Laura frowned. Juan was fourteen and still a huge pain in the ass. She decided to go on the verbal offensive. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”

  “Waiting for you,” he said easily.

  “Lie.”

  “Getting some fresh air.”

  “Ha,” she said, nudging his shoulder with hers. “That might be partially true, but there’s more to it than that, isn’t there? You better tell me or I’ll have to keep interrogating you.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m texting someone.”

  “Oh yeah? That girlfriend you’ve been so secretive about?”

  “None of your business.” He hopped backward, daring her to come after him. But he didn’t know how hard she’d been training lately.

  “You really want to do this?”

  “Do what?” he said, voice taunting. “Watch you dance around and never win a fight?”

  “Oh, that’s it.” Shoving him sideways with one arm, she used her leg to bend him backward. From there, it was easy to snatch his phone from his sweatshirt pocket. Laura laughed, holding the phone out of his reach.

  Juan’s face was red. “Don’t even, Laura.”

  “Sorry, Juanito-Mosquito, but you asked for it.” She pretended to look at his phone, then tossed it back to him. “I’m not going to nose into your business.”

  He pocketed the phone and pulled her into an impulsive hug, which she knew was going to make her hair frizzy, but she didn’t care.

  She hugged him back. “It’s been too long since we hung out, Juanito-Mosquito.”

  “I know, Laura-Bora.” He snickered, then grew serious. “Her name is Madison. She’s in my math class.”

  “Madison in math class. Human, huh?” There weren’t any other shifters in Belnedge, and none of the Corona Pride was Juan’s age. It had always made Laura feel a little sorry for him, since she’d gotten to grow up with their sister, Nina, as well as Mateo, Rafe, Frasier, Dristan, and Viviana, Marlana’s youngest daughter. Even though their ages spanned a decade, Laura’s peer group had been like a pride within the pride.

  Laura wrinkled her nose. Marlana wouldn’t like it that Juan was mixing with humans, but who else was he supposed to be interested in?

  “Yeah, so I’m not mentioning it to anyone,” he said. “Don’t even tell Nina, okay?”

  It was hard to keep any kind of secret in a pride. “I’ll try.”

  He ruffled her hair, and now she knew he was doing it on purpose. She ducked and pulled his arm behind his back.

  “Damn, Laura, you’re getting good.”

  “I’m trying.” She released him, and they walked up to the Corona mansion together. “Am I the last one here?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not keeping count, but maybe. We might be missing a Channing or two, and maybe one of Marlana’s older kids.”

  “Mendy?” Laura asked hopefully. “Is she here?”

  “You need to give up,” he said. “Nobody tells me anything, but even I know Marlana will never let her come back.”

  “I know. I just miss her.”

  Juan wasn’t as affected by Mendy leaving—he’d only been two at the time. In some ways, Laura envied him that.

  Juan changed the subject. “How come you didn’t come to the barbecue last weekend? Everyone else was here.”

  “I was busy.”

  “Now who’s being secretive?” he asked.

  “No secret,” Laura said. “Between training and working at the lodge, I didn’t have any extra time.”

  They reached the front door and walked in—no need to knock or stand on ceremony with Marlana and Jeff because they were like family.

  Once upon a time, before she’d sent Mendy away, Marlana had been Laura’s biggest champion.

  Through the wide entryway, the home spread out into a generous living area. The ceiling was high, which Laura appreciated because it felt like everyone wasn’t quite as crammed together, and the towering picture windows overlooking the pond at least provided the illusion of open space.

  Juan skulked off, either to try sneaking a beer—he’d be caught immediately so Laura wasn’t worried—or to text Madison. As soon as Juan left her side, she spotted Dristan. He seemed to stand taller than everyone else in the room. He seemed to shine brighter, to take up the most space. She shook off the idea; it was just her overactive imagination making him bigger and more important than he was.

  A few yards away from him stood Justine, and Laura rushed to her side.

  “You are looking good, girl.” Laura held Justine at arm’s length to better admire her. “That dress is incredible.”

  The dark blue sheath went great with Justine’s blue eyes, and her hair was pulled up into two messy buns on top of her head. Justine didn’t usually wear make-up or jewelry, but for the alpha’s birthday she’d made an effort.

  “Thanks,” Justine said with a smile. “You’re looking pretty hot yourself.”

  Laura hoped so. Like Justine, she’d made an effort. One didn’t dress down for Marlana’s birthday parties, whether she treated you like family or not. Dristan, for instance, was wearing nice black slacks and a thin sweater that draped perfectly over his shoulders and pecs.

  “Why don’t you go talk to him?” Justine asked, following Laura’s gaze.

  “Not you, too,” Laura said, but then she froze when she heard her name from somewhere behind them.

  Justine cocked her head, eavesdropping along with her.

  “Laura’s prospects as an Exchange are very good.” It was Agatha, one of the Channings, talking to Gloria Corona, Mateo’s mom.

  “But I thought she’s training to be a Guardian,” Gloria said. “Isn’t she working with you and your brothers, and Michael?”

  “Yeah,” Agatha said, “but I heard one of the prides in Oregon is desperate. They’re even offering money for the chance to host her.”

  “Shit,” Laura muttered.

  Justine pulled her farther away from Agatha and Gloria. “Don’t worry about them. You’re not going anywhere if you don’t want to.”

  “At least Marlana isn’t hurting for money, so she won’t send me away to make an extra buck,” Laura said. “But I hate feeling like everyone’s trying to get rid of me.”

  “They’re just curious about what’s next for you,” Justine said. After a pause, Justine continued, “I know this is partly my fault, and I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be!” Laura said. “You and Mateo are perfect together. I told you, it was never serious between us.”

  “But everyone else wanted it to be, and if I weren’t around, the two of you could pretend a little longer.”

  “Nonsense. It was the perfect time to move forward. I just don’t want to, you know, actually move.�
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  They made their way to a table with chilled champagne and flutes. Laura poured a glass for each of them, thinking she’d need some liquid fortification to get her through the rest of the evening.

  “I should go wish Marlana a happy birthday,” Laura said.

  “See you later, then,” Justine said. “I already spent fifteen minutes with her.”

  Justine was careful not to say more, but Laura knew—Marlana wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. She was abrasive, judgmental, and not afraid to state her opinions on pretty much everything.

  Laura wasn’t in much of a rush to find her. Still, it was her duty.

  Marlana was holding court across the room. There were two new men here. Shifters, she could tell, but they weren’t in the Corona Pride. She looked around for Justine, to ask if she knew who they were, but Justine had found Mateo and the two of them were talking quietly. Mateo’s hand was resting lightly on Justine’s lower back. The two of them really were perfect together. Laura wondered if she’d find that with anyone. She wondered if she were brave enough to try to find that with Dristan. She wanted him, sure, but if this was nothing more than a fling, it wasn’t worth Marlana’s wrath.

  Maybe if she first secured her place in the pride as a Guardian, she could then devote some attention to figuring out what there was between her and Dristan.

  If he’d still have her.

  And this was exactly why she hadn’t been able to think about the issue. Every time she tried, her thoughts got into this loop of what-ifs and probably-nots and don’t-even-tries.

  Pushing the thoughts aside, she made her way over to Marlana and waited to be noticed. It didn’t take long.

  “Laura, come closer!” Marlana called, waving her forward.

  “I wanted to wish you happy birthday, Auntie,” Laura said quietly. Marlana wasn’t really her aunt, but because of the closeness of their families, she’d been encouraged to call her auntie ever since she was a kid. Each time with her eyes down, her posture full of respect.

  “Of course, child, thank you, thank you,” Marlana said. “Tell me how your Guardian training is going.”

  Laura tried not to wince. To tell Marlana it was going well would be an obvious lie. Laura was in pain from various bruises and cuts nearly every day. “I’m working very hard.”

  “You know, you wouldn’t have to work so hard if you became an Exchange,” Marlana whispered conspiratorially, despite the fact that the shifters nearby would be fully able to hear every word. “Two men from the Klamath Pride in Oregon came to wish me a happy birthday. You could get to know one of them. Both are unmated and come from respectable families.”

  It was an order, couched as a suggestion. Laura knew better than to argue. “Yes, Auntie.”

  “That’s my girl,” Marlana said. “Let me introduce you. Evan!”

  One of the dark-haired strangers came bounding over. Laura shook his hand dutifully as Marlana introduced them. He grinned, and he had a similar half-smile to the one Dristan usually wore before laughing.

  Evan’s smile wasn’t followed by laughter, though. He said, “We should go somewhere quieter to chat.”

  Still thinking of Dristan and his special half-smile, Laura automatically searched for him in the large room. At the sight of him, she felt warm again.

  Evan leaned low and murmured in her ear. “You smell really good right now.”

  Oh hell. She’d probably given off sexy pheromones at the sight of Dristan, and now Evan was misinterpreting them.

  Dristan’s back was to her, and she silently willed him to come and rescue her. Why should he, though? She’d used him and ignored him and yanked him all around.

  Evan’s hand was too warm in hers as he led her outside, to the back patio. Laura turned to look behind her and caught a knowing, approving grin on Marlana’s face.

  Six

  Dristan couldn’t bear to watch one of the Klamath Pride men flirt with Laura. Instead, he hunkered on the far side of the room from Marlana, taking refuge in the company of Rafe and Frasier. As usual, he didn’t want to be here, but not attending wasn’t an option. Why did Marlana care if he and Frasier came to these shindigs, anyway? She obviously hated them, and Dristan, especially.

  Control.

  The word whispered to him as if on the wind. Marlana wanted to control him, and forcing him to attend these kinds of events was just another way of showing him that she was his alpha, and she was in charge.

  Rafe’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Sorry,” he said to the guys. “Just checking up on the guest who disappeared.”

  “Is he doing okay?” Dristan asked. Apparently the guy had disappeared for two entire days before showing up again, disoriented, on the edge of the Corona Mountain Resort property.

  “He’s fine, but he still doesn’t know what happened to him.” Rafe sucked in a breath as he looked at his phone. “Shit. The same thing happened to another woman, in the middle of the week. Disappeared, came back two days later. It just came up in the news.”

  “Another guest of the resort?” Dristan asked.

  “No, a local. You know her?” Rafe held out his phone.

  Frasier pushed forward to see the screen. “Wait. Dristan, isn’t that the woman you were with at the bar last week?”

  “What?” Dristan leaned in. Yvonne’s face looked up at him from Rafe’s screen. “Yeah. The psychologist. We were talking about the disappearances. She’s back, though? She’s okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s fine,” Rafe said. “But something really weird is going on.”

  It wasn’t just weird, it was bizarre. The Corona Mountains were known for being quiet. Not a lot of crime. The biggest issues they had were with hikers getting lost in the woods, or a local idiot teenager trying to filch a beer from the cooler at Dristan’s deli. “Do you think we should sniff around in our cat forms, see if we can find anything?”

  “Already tried that,” Rafe said. “I went all around the resort after that guest disappeared, couldn’t find a thing.”

  “How could whoever’s taking these people leave no scent?”

  “Maybe the people wandered off,” Frasier said.

  Rafe shook his head. “No signs of that, either. It’s like they just disappear.”

  Dristan remembered Yvonne’s alien theory. Maybe she really believed it now, or maybe she was too disoriented. How terrifying, he thought, to be a psychologist and feel like you’re losing your mind.

  “CMR is calling an emergency meeting of the rescue volunteers,” Rafe said. “I’ve gotta head out.”

  Rafe was lucky—one of the favored ones. If Dristan ever tried to leave one of Marlana’s parties early for whatever reason, he’d be flayed. He watched longingly as Rafe said a quick goodbye to Marlana and left.

  “Dude,” Frasier said to Dristan. “You’re like no fun at all.”

  “Oh, go get a daiquiri or something.”

  “I was thinking a Kir Royale sounded good.”

  Dristan rolled his eyes and watched his brother amble away.

  The next hour stretched on, with Dristan trying to blend into the shadows. He walked upstairs and waited in one of the empty bedrooms. When would this party be over? Only when Marlana said it was over.

  It was after one in the morning, and he couldn’t stay upstairs all night so he headed back down. Maybe he couldn’t leave the party, but he could at least sneak out of the house for a couple of minutes. Even when he’d been upstairs it felt too stuffy with all these shifters in the mansion, and the Channing boys and Marlana’s older kids were getting into dominance squabbles—Dristan could hear sharp, quiet words, delivered out of Marlana’s hearing. If Dristan were in charge, this pride would be split right down the middle. Maybe mountain lion shifters needed companionship, unlike real mountain lions, but this was a bit too much companionship.

  He slipped out one of the side doors and leaned against the house. The winter air felt like a slap to his cheeks, but he welcomed it.

  May
be he should leave. Find a new pride. But if Frasier didn’t want to come with him, there was no way Dristan would take off. Besides, they’d miss Mateo, Justine, Rafe, Nina…and Laura.

  “I said no,” a female voice insisted from around the corner.

  Dristan would recognize that voice anywhere—lately he’d been hearing it in his dreams. Difference was, in his dreams she always said the opposite of no. He rounded the corner, fists raised to pummel whatever sorry sack of shit was bothering her.

  But Laura already had the Klamath Pride guy under control. He was face down on the ground, his arm twisted behind his back, and Laura was holding him in place.

  “What are you doing here?” she snarled at Dristan.

  He held his hands up, palms out. “Coming to your rescue, which you obviously don’t need. I’ll go now.”

  Laura let go of the guy’s arm, and he slowly stood up.

  “Sorry,” the guy mumbled, his face blotchy and pink. He slapped caked snow off his pants and button-down shirt. “I thought you were just playing hard to get. You smelled like you wanted it.”

  “I didn’t. I said I didn’t. Learn consent, asshole. Next time you’re with a woman, listen to her words. After she says yes and that she’s up for playing, then you can get rough if she wants it.”

  Dristan watched, open-mouthed, as the Klamath Pride guy skulked back into the house.

  Shaking himself out of his frozen stance, Dristan turned to follow. He knew when he wasn’t wanted, too.

  “Wait,” Laura said.

  Dristan stopped, but didn’t turn around. Instead, he stared at the fine wood grain of the door in front of him.

  “Thanks,” she continued.

  She touched his shoulder blade, and he flinched.

  “I guess I deserve that flinch,” she said.

  “I don’t know what you deserve,” Dristan said, shrugging. “I was trying to help, but you were already fighting. You don’t need some white knight superhero.”

  “No,” she said, touching him again. This time he didn’t flinch. “But I do need a friend.”

  Dristan turned. He was unable to stay away from this woman. “I can be that.”

  “I don’t want to go back in there,” Laura said. “Marlana wants me to be an Exchange, and she’s pushing the Klamath Pride. Or at least not discouraging them from trying.”