Feisty Heroines Romance Collection of Shorts

by D. F. Jones

  “You’re so feisty,” he whispered when he finally released her long enough for them to catch their breaths. Liberty immediately missed the dominance of his lips on hers. No matter how many times they disagreed over things, they always made up. Always.

  “I know,” she replied, pulling him back to her lips again. She always loved how they reconciled after an argument.

  His mate was going to drive him to an early grave. She was so damn independent. His life centered around her and her safety, but she wouldn’t allow him to be overprotective. Accepting her need to run the business on her own was hard. He’d compromised with her early on, stationing a Guardian there to watch over things every day they were open. Cameras were eventually installed and monitored at the pride’s home.

  Liberty accepted it, but he knew she didn’t like it. His mate appeased him most of the time, talking him through some of his worry and concern over her being out on her own. There were times when he sent a Guardian to follow her into town and, as far as he knew, she never noticed them.

  Or, she never told him she knew.

  As he exited the office, Talon closed the door tight and found his way out to the bar. He wasn’t going to leave just yet. The scent he’d noticed when he came in still lingered in the air. When he found Dane at the bar, he could tell the male was uneasy as well.

  “That scent still lingers in here,” Talon acknowledged.

  “Someone in here is going to cause trouble,” Dane replied as he scanned the crowd that had gathered for lunch.

  “I haven’t heard anything from the sheriff,” Talon noted.

  “Where is he, anyway?” Dane turned on his barstool to face the alpha. Talon accepted a beer as it was pushed in his direction by Cole.

  “Working human crimes.” Talon shrugged. “You know he doesn’t come by for a friendly visit.”

  “That he does not,” Dane chuckled. “That angel only shows up when trouble is coming.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing.” Talon shrugged again and nursed his beer, waiting on his mate to appear from the office. He knew she would probably glare at him when she saw he was still in the building, but he didn’t care.

  He’d vowed to protect her the moment they had mated, and he planned on sticking to that for as long as he had air in his lungs and the blood of his ancestors pumping through his veins. Earlier in the day, once his duties to his pride were met, he’d shifted and ran in the woods behind his home to release some tension he and his panther were feeling. After a small snack on a wild rabbit, he’d found his way back to his home and dressed so he could come to the bar. It didn’t matter if he knew she was safe with Dane watching over The Deuce, Talon had to check on her.

  “Humph,” Liberty groaned when she entered the bar, turning toward the dining area and ignoring his presence. Dane chuckled, but quieted when Talon growled low in warning.

  Talon’s presence in the bar wasn’t ignored. The patrons settled, knowing the local alpha wouldn’t react well to any misbehavior in his mate’s establishment. Lunch rolled into dinner, and Liberty worked without stopping to talk to him. She was in her element, and he didn’t stop her while she helped wait tables or pour drinks at the bar.

  A plate of food was placed in front of him, and a smile played at the corner of his mouth. His mate might’ve been irritated with him, but she still cared enough to make sure he was fed.

  “Thank you.” He nodded and picked up his silverware, noting how she’d added a piece of pecan pie beside his dinner plate. He’d never really cared for desserts until he mated Liberty. She’d forced him to try her pie at one of the family gatherings before the Fall Equinox, and he’d fallen in love with its taste. “Liberty?”

  His hand landed on her wrist as she turned away. After a deep sigh, she faced him and smiled warmly. “I’m not mad at you.”

  “I know,” he replied, pulling her to his lips. He gave her a quick kiss and released her so she could continue to work. As she walked away, he mumbled, “I love you more than my own life.”

  Chapter 3

  I love you more than my own life.

  Liberty heard her mate’s whispered words, and they gutted her. She’d felt bad about ignoring him for the last few hours, but she was working. It wasn’t that she was mad at him being there. No, in fact, she loved it when he hung out at the bar. The problem was when he was around and in his protective mindset, his mating scent drove her wild.

  Liberty couldn’t just drop everything and take him back to her office for a little afternoon delight. She had to run her business and keep focused. It broke her heart, but she promised to make it up to him once they arrived home. There would be time for that after the pride settled in for the night, and she couldn’t wait for that time to come.

  Della was scheduled to come in at five, and after that, Liberty could head home for the night. She could take the next few days off to appease her mate until his bad feeling went away. After that, she could return to her normal schedule at the bar.

  Commotion at the door indicated some of the Guardians coming in after their shift at the pride. Axel, Diesel, and Ranger grabbed the booth by the pool tables in the back. Cole slid over their usual drinks as she approached the bar and bumped her hip against Talon’s side.

  “Go spend some time with your Guardians,” she suggested, resting a hand on his forearm. “Be Talon for the night and not the alpha.”

  Talon wiped his hand over his face and answered her with a nod, slipping off the barstool to meet with his men. She tried not to watch him walk away, but it was hard. She loved him with a passion she couldn’t even explain.

  Someone added quarters to the jukebox, and the music played just loud enough to blend with the hum of voices around her. She checked on a table and cleared another one while the panthers relaxed for the evening.

  Della arrived a few minutes early, grabbing her apron from the peg by the kitchen door. “It’s getting busy in here.” Her waitress jutted her chin out toward the front of the bar. A group of five men entered, grabbing the booth by the door, and behind them was another group of six.

  “Damn,” Liberty mumbled as she headed out to grab the drink order from the first group. She wanted to head home, but it looked like she was going to be working a double. She shooed Olivia and Cole out of the building once her other bartender, Luke, arrived.

  As the next hour flew by, she refilled the Guardians’ drinks and made her way over to the group of five human males who’d come in earlier. They’d begun to get a little loud, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Loud, drunk men she could handle.

  “Another round?” Liberty asked as she approached the table. They had one sober guy in the group, so she wasn’t going to cut them off unless they got too out of control. With her mate across the bar, she was sure they wouldn’t.

  “Yes, ma’am,” the one closest to her said with a slur. “And how about your number, too?”

  “I’ll get you a beer,” she deadpanned as a customer started an old country song on the jukebox. “The other order isn’t available.”

  Her eyes flickered to her mate, but he was talking to Axel about something, and his enhanced hearing hadn’t picked up the male’s flirting. Good thing, because with Talon being overprotective, any advance toward Liberty would set him off. She didn’t need any problems from her mate while she worked.

  After she refilled their drinks, Talon motioned for her to come to the booth where he was posted, sipping his own beer. A tingling of something pricked at the back of her neck. Her hands tightened at her sides unconsciously. She felt nervous the closer she got to her mate.

  Shaking herself and the weird feeling, Liberty chalked it up to the mystical mojo her husband projected to his pride when he was uneasy. “Hey, handsome,” she flirted, but her words ended on a heavy sigh. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he replied, his mouth turning down at the corners. “I…I’m just ready to take you home.”

  “Still feeling the doom and gloom?” she asked, res
ting her hip against the side of the booth and his arm. She eased her fingers through his hair, eliciting a soft purr from his beast. He loved when she played with his hair, and sometimes it calmed him. She was hoping to calm him enough to let her finish out the shift. There was no way she could leave the bar until closing time tonight. It was just too damned busy.

  “Yes,” he stated with a nod.

  “Want something else to drink?” she asked, hoping to get his mind off it for the next hour. After that, they could go home and snuggle for an hour or two before bed.

  “Another cold beer would be great, love,” he replied, taking the bait. She kissed his cheek and headed toward the bar to give Luke an order for her mate.

  She didn’t make it past the table with the flirty, drunken men.

  “Hey darlin’,” the drunkest one drawled. “Come sit on my lap.”

  Fire burned her skin the moment he wrapped his dirty fingers around her wrist, jerking her body toward his. With a screech, Liberty fell into the male’s lap, and the only thing she heard over the sound of her pain was the roar from her mate across the bar.

  Talon’s beast sat just under his skin, pacing and growling low in his throat. His mate was working to help out before the bar closed for the night. He wasn’t happy about it, but he compromised by calling off all meetings at the pride for the last half of the day so he could go sit at The Deuce to be close to her.

  He tried his hardest not to watch her walk away to put in an order for his drink. Liberty was an independent woman, feisty as hell, too. She liked his dominance, but only in the bedroom. He came to terms with that once they’d mated and married according to human law.

  Her blood-curdling scream from the front of the bar brought him out of his thoughts. Talon’s head snapped around on his shoulders, immediately finding his mate in the lap of a drunk human male.

  A roar sounded from his mouth as he came to his feet. His beast pushed so hard at his human skin that it bubbled along his arms, the human hair disappearing as fur appeared. His eyes were glowing amber, and his canines extended to sharp points as he stalked his prey.

  “Let me go!” Liberty snarled, her own canines obstructing her speech. “No, Talon! He’s human!”

  Talon wasn’t himself. His panther was in control, and his Guardians snarled from the push of power he radiated. Someone had touched what was his and caused her pain.

  Liberty shoved the male, hard, knocking his chair backward. She was on her feet before the human male landed on his back. Talon’s eyes locked on the threat and he reached for the male, dragging him up by the front of his plaid shirt. “You hurt my mate.”

  “I don’t see a ring on her finger,” the drunk male replied, his dirty lip turning with a smirk.

  “Didn’t you read the sign as you came in the door, asshole?” Talon snarled, twisting him around and pointing at the sign Liberty had made. In big, bold lettering around a cartoon drawing of a panther’s snarling face, it said:

  Panthers Play Here!

  Don’t Touch the Females.

  Everyone who came into the bar knew not to touch any of the women who worked there. It’d been a rule Talon had insisted Liberty post at the bar if she and the other mated females were going to continue working there.

  “Yeah, I read it.” The human shrugged. “You need to let me go, or I’ll press charges despite your stupid sign.”

  “Oh really?” Talon warned, baring his fangs. Liberty inhaled through her teeth at the pain and burning from being touched by the human, and Talon needed to get this male out of the bar so he could tend to his mate. “I’d advise you and your friends to leave before there is more trouble.”

  He released the male and took a stance in front of his mate as they gathered their things. He wasn’t going to take his eyes off them until they were out the door. All but one of them was intoxicated, and he wouldn’t put it past the male to try and retaliate. It wasn’t the first time they had to kick someone out, and it wouldn’t be the last. Talon was already on edge, and the only thing keeping that male alive was the fact that he was human.

  Talon used his senses to scent his Guardians, needing to know where each of them were stationed throughout the bar. Dane was to his left, standing between him and Liberty. Diesel was to his right, poised and ready to defend if the need arose. Ranger and Axel were at his flanks, standing close enough he could feel the males’ body heat. All of their panthers were agitated, and he sent out a magical call to calm them as the humans left the building.

  “Liberty,” he growled, stalking toward his mate. “Office, now.”

  He wasn’t angry with her, but he was surely on edge. This was the first time a male had actually assaulted a mate with no regard for the rules set in place at the bar. Oh, some of them had been bumped into on accident, and that was something the males understood, but for that human to go to such extremes made Talon see red.

  “Okay, Talon,” she whimpered, clamping her lips tight to keep from crying out from the pain of being touched by an unmated male. She walked over to the bar and set her apron on the bar top. He didn’t like her that far away, and his beast growled low in his throat when she was out of his reach. “Just calm your beast first. Your eyes are glowing more than I’ve ever seen them.”

  Talon nodded to his Guardians, letting them know they could stand down. Dane returned to the end of the bar where he stayed perched most nights his mates were working, but since they’d been sent home for the night, the male was there strictly on Guardian duty until Talon and Liberty left the building. Axel, Diesel, and Ranger found their way back to the pool table to continue their game. The alpha took a deep breath and faced his mate, who was looking at the entrance to the bar.

  A blast of air at Talon’s back had him turning when the male’s scent returned. As he spun around, the male had reentered the bar, but this time he held a gun out in front of him.

  “You bitch!” The sound of the gun going off sent Talon into action. His body leapt with super-human speed to the space between his mate and the male. Screams surrounded him as he fell to the floor, not landing on his feet. Pain bloomed in his chest as Liberty’s blurry face appeared in front of his.

  “Talon!” she screamed, but the sound was far away and muffled.

  Liberty slid across the floor, immediately covering her mate’s body with her own the moment he dropped to the floor. Blood stained his white shirt from where the bullet had entered his body, right below his heart.

  The sound of his gasping sent her into a panic. “Call the healer! Someone help me!”

  Her eyes searched the males around her, seeing Axel on the phone with who she hoped was the healer. The human customers had all moved to the back corner of the bar, and someone had stopped the music, giving the bar an eerie feeling.

  Dane was at her side with bar towels, shooing her away so he could press them to the wound. “We need to see if the bullet came out his back.”

  Talon tried to speak again, protesting when Dane pushed him over. A heated curse fell from the Guardian’s lips, and Liberty didn’t have to ask if the bullet was out.

  “You saved me,” she cried, trying to fight through the pain of the human touching her and the panic of her mate fighting for his life. “Damn it, Talon.”

  “Always,” Talon mumbled, still gasping for air. It was obvious the bullet had punctured his lung, and she was thankful for their fast healing abilities, but with the bullet still in his body, it could cause problems.

  “Move!” Harold’s booming voice sounded, and Liberty had never felt so much relief at having one of her pride show up so quickly.

  When she moved to give the healer room to check over Talon, Liberty looked up to see Axel and Ranger holding the male against the wall. Diesel was holding the gun and talking to the sheriff.

  The angel must’ve used his powers to get to the bar as soon as the call went out. Sheriff Lynch caught Liberty’s gaze as the healer and Dane lifted Talon to take him out the door. Her hard-set stare told the lawman, and t
he protector of her pride, she wanted that man alive.

  “Liberty, we have to go,” Dane hollered.

  She rushed out the door, stopping as she approached the sheriff. “He’s mine!”

  Sheriff Lynch didn’t reply, but she knew he would abide by their set of laws. Shifter law was now a real law, but it only pertained to the supernatural. The government had stepped in and made rules regarding their safety. The shifter community was considered a new species of both animal and human, and those came with all kinds of rights. The male who’d shot her mate should be going to a human jail and prosecuted by them, but Liberty wasn’t going to let him make it that far.

  She couldn’t crawl in the back of the healer’s SUV without touching another male. She needed to have Talon’s touch to ease her pain, but she couldn’t get to him at the moment. Another wave of fiery pain lanced up her wrist as she closed the passenger door. Axel was behind the wheel, and the look of sorrow on his face broke her heart.

  “He’s going to be fine,” she blurted. “We’re all going to be fine.”

  Gods, she hoped she wasn’t lying to him.

  “It’s not just my alpha,” he swallowed hard, “it’s you, our alpha’s mate. Seeing you in pain physically hurts us, too.”

  “You worry about getting your alpha to the pride, and I’ll be okay,” she promised, steeling her spine to show the pride she was not to be doted over. Talon was the one who was fighting for his life.

  Thankfully, the ride to the pride took less than five minutes. That was one of the perks when owning the bar. They lived very close.

  Harold and Dane rushed Talon into the healer’s cabin. It doubled as the pride’s clinic. The first room on the left was set up for emergencies and was the place she’d given birth to their first cub.

  “What can I do?” she cried as Talon’s eyes popped open, landing on her. Liberty felt her heart squeeze in her chest. His eyes were a weird mix of his panther and his human side. She’d never seen them in that state before, and it scared her. The beast and human side were at war, trying to repair his body.