Mated to the Cougar

by Kristen Strassel

  Dylan’s outfit almost mirrored mine, an untucked plaid shirt, jeans, and motorcycle boots. He’d tied his hair up in a topknot like he did at the gym. He held his hand out to me before we went out the door. “Ready, baby?”

  I never would be. But I took his hand anyway.

  Chapter Sixteen

  SOLDIER MOUNTAIN WASN’T for the faint of heart. The only way to get there was by taking several unpaved roads that were rutted from the winter. Dylan knew exactly how to get there.

  The only option was to park at the bottom of the mountain. It had been a long time since I’d been invited to any of the pride parties here. They were mostly in the winter, and it was almost impossible to get to and from Woodland Park if you didn’t want to spend the entire weekend there. And all my friends were married and lived in town now, besides Louis, but once he met Laurie, we’d slowly stopped talking.

  “How far up are the cabins?” Dylan asked.

  “Farther than you’d think.” I wasn’t looking forward to the walk in the snow.

  “I’m shifting now.” He eased out of his leather jacket. “You should too.”

  We were better off shifting here. It was safe and controlled. But if we shifted, we were going in with guns blazing.

  “Ari!” I closed my eyes at the sound of Belinda’s voice, like it would make her disappear. Not a chance. She was out of breath by the time she got to the truck. “I’m so glad to see you.” I actually managed a smile when I turned around to see her in her brand new snow gear, but her eyes were glued on Dylan. “Oh, hello,” she said only loud enough for me to hear.

  “Belinda, this is Dylan.” I sighed. “Dylan, this is my boss, Belinda.”

  Thankfully, he still had his jeans on, but he walked around the truck to shake her hand like it was completely normal to be shirtless in the middle of March at the bottom of a mountain. Belinda’s eyes were wide, but she wasn’t asking any questions. “It’s so nice to meet you,” Dylan said as he took her hand. “I love Ari’s work stories. But I didn’t expect to see anyone from the paper here tonight.” He looked back and forth between the two of us.

  “Belinda’s covering this story for the paper.” I figured it was best to explain what she was doing here before she had a chance to say anything. Gods only knew what would come out of her mouth right now. “I considered it a conflict of interest.”

  “How are you getting up the mountain, guys?” Belinda asked. “Are they going to send a car down or something?”

  Oh, she was so cute. “Belinda.” I took a deep breath before continuing. I couldn’t believe I was going to say this to my boss. “I’m going to take all my clothes off and turn into a cougar. That’s why Dylan’s got no shirt on. We’re going to shift. Our skin falls away to fur, and we turn into animals. That’s the only way up the mountain. You can stay and watch.” I turned back to see Dylan grinning. “Or I can tell you how it went on Monday morning.”

  Belinda’s jaw dropped and her eyes fluttered. She wasn’t going to get the story she was expecting. “You know, it’s kind of cold out here, and I knew I could get you to cover the story if I asked nicely.” She winked, and squeezed my hand. “Don’t disappoint me, Ari. I really want this story.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I lied. I wanted her to go. I could feel my cougar rumbling inside me, and if she didn’t get in her car and leave, she was going to get to know me a lot better than she ever imagined.

  If there was pavement, she would have burned rubber getting out of there. She waved at us frantically as she pulled out of the parking lot. Dylan burst out laughing. “That went well,” he said.

  I shook my head, laughing. “She gets in over her head sometimes. But when she wants a story, she’ll stop at almost nothing to get it.” I pressed my lips together. “Except seeing me naked. That’s a hard limit.”

  He unzipped my jacket and started to unbutton my shirt. I looked around to make sure we didn’t have an audience. “Good thing it’s not mine.”

  “Hurry.” I unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down over my thighs. “I’m going to shift soon.”

  Dylan stepped back, surprised as my body started to shake and my fur broke through. It had never come so fast before. All the pride energy must’ve been affecting me. I changed to cougar almost seamlessly, and for the first time, I felt good about this night.

  I started up the brae and Dylan followed. It didn’t take him long to fall on all fours and shift. He let out a sound similar to a howl. It echoed in the valley, and his call was met with a similar response. It was more than one voice, and the pride was ready for this fight.

  Once we’d reached the cabins at the brow, a crowd had gathered outside. A small group of lions had already shifted, but most of the girls were still in human form. One lone brunette stood off to the side hugging her arms to her stomach, still human and alone. Daphne, the doe. I didn’t know where Leo was, but I couldn’t believe he’d leave her unprotected.

  The pride girls approached me immediately. “Don’t you think it’s a bit much that you shifted?” Linnea rolled her eyes. I hissed at her. “Gods, calm down. This doesn’t concern you.”

  My sister gasped and touched my flank. Shifting served two purposes tonight. “He claimed you,” she squealed. “Ari! I’m so happy for you!”

  I wished I believed it. Last time we’d talked she told me Dylan was taking advantage of me.

  “It doesn’t mean anything unless he knocks her up.” Linnea didn’t know when to shut up.

  I swiped my paw across her face. Blood trickled from her slashed cheek. The crowd closed in around us, half of them holding Linnea back from me, the others trying to comfort her.

  Only Kat stood by my side. She held firm to the scruff of my neck. “Ari, you’re starting some serious shit,” she said through clenched teeth. It was a rule of the pride to never attack a human once we’d shifted.

  “Claimed is claimed,” I growled. “Is anyone challenging you?”

  “No.” She ran her hand down my back, trying to calm me down. “But play it cool. Losing your head isn’t going to help you.”

  Linnea shook in the middle of her group, and I knew she was going to shift. Screeches and roars erupted behind us and I turned to see Dylan and Leo, surrounded by the males of the pride, up on their hind legs with their paws tangled together. I broke away from my sister and ran over to the fight.

  Leo had Dylan down on the ground easily. He circled Dylan while he flipped back over then slashed at Leo’s legs when he was upright. Leo yowled as blood stained his fur, then he pounced on Dylan. The two rolled in the snow, wrestling and growling. The ground turned pink below them, and I knew that one slash couldn’t be the only injury.

  My heart pounded. I wished that Dylan had tried to talk to Leo the other night. We had no idea what his intentions were. He could be fighting to kill.

  Every time I thought Dylan had the edge over Leo, he’d regain his strength and pop back up, biting and pushing Dylan down to the ground. Every time one of them howled, the sound went straight through my bones.

  Leo’s attention turned away, and Dylan pounced on him, keeping him on the ground until he shook him off, and ran out of the circle.

  Linnea, Lindsay, and several other of the pride girls had turned to their cougar form and were swarming Daphne. She was still human, but her body trembled violently and I knew it was a matter of time before she shifted.

  Dylan caught up to Leo, sinking his teeth into his scruff. Leo fought him hard, but couldn’t shake him off. Daphne’s hooves had broken through her hands before she had a chance to get her clothes off. Fur ripped through the fabric and she bleated. The girls who’d shifted laughed at the noise. The brothers may not have been fighting to kill, but these girls took no prisoners.

  Daphne was completely doe now, running in small circles. I could see the set of three raised scars on her haunch; like mine, like my sister’s. Leo claimed her. Yet she couldn’t fight for him, even if she had any chance of a fair fight, any one of these cougars could r
ip her to shreds. The pride moved in closer to her, and she jumped back, fearing they would pounce, but again they laughed.

  Lions loved toying with their prey.

  Linnea moved forward, brushing against Daphne, and purring. Daphne stiffened, her ears on point. She bleated again, and Linnea snickered. “Stupid doe.” Only the pride could understand what Linnea said. To Daphne, it would sound like mewling. “I. Am. Not. Playing. With. You.” Linnea’s claws ripped through Daphne’s coat and she screamed. When she tried to get away, Lindsay and a few other cougars stepped in her path, giving her no chance to escape.

  Leo’s roar shattered the night.

  I looked back to Dylan. “Let go of him!” I pleaded, but Dylan tightened his grip.

  “The girls have to take care of this.” Dylan looked back over at the surrounded doe, shaking his head sadly. “It’s their fight.”

  I’d had enough. Of all of them. I charged through the tight circle of cougars, surprising all of them by sinking my claws into their flesh. They howled and they fell out of my way, giving me a straight shot to Linnea.

  She’d taken a few more swipes at Daphne. Nothing that would actually kill her, enough to hurt her. So far. Daphne had a slice across her snout, and the white bib of her breast was already stained brownish red. She saw the distraction for what it was: her chance. But the pride had regrouped and herded her back to the circle. Daphne cried out, no doubt for Leo.

  Linnea stalked back over to Daphne. She’d turned away from me, probably thinking I was done. She was wrong, but that was fine, because she never saw me coming.

  “Ari!” Dylan cried out as I jumped on Linnea’s back. She was much faster and more cunning than I was, and she quickly had me on the ground. I slashed at her face again and bit her leg as she tried to push me away from her.

  Leo thundered into the middle of the circle, leading Daphne away from two snarling cougars. Dylan ran forward, but the girls held him back. His roar was the only thing that kept my heart beating.

  “Give in,” Linnea grunted as we twisted and turned for what seemed like forever. “Don’t make me hurt you, Ari.”

  “Fuck you, Linnea,” I growled. “You think letting you win isn’t going to hurt me?” My words were becoming labored, and I knew I wasn’t going to win this fight. But Linnea didn’t know that, and that gave me hope. “You need to learn to keep your paws off what belongs to someone else.”

  “No. Fuck you!” Linnea roared before she pounced on my exposed stomach and tore her fangs into my neck. I screamed. I’d never felt pain like this before. Like the life had been ripped from my core, and a burning emptiness rushed in to fill its place. Something was very, very wrong. My vision blurred at the edges, and I lifted one limp paw to continue fighting, but I barely touched Linnea as she cackled. She leaned in one more time. “Fuck you.”

  “Oh my Gods.” My sister rushed in, still human, pulling Linnea away from me. “Get off of her! You hurt her! Bad.” She leaned down, running her hand through my fur. Her image flickered above me. I was starting to lose consciousness. I knew she was frowning. “Ari, say something.”

  So many thoughts rushed through my brain, but they faded when they reached my lips. I needed to tell her that something inside of me was dying.

  Voices swirled around me, the words were mostly about the blood. So much blood. Didn’t she know? they asked.

  Didn’t she know what? I shivered violently, but I couldn’t make myself speak.

  “We need to get her out of here!” Kat was bordering on hysterics. Dylan knelt down beside me. I couldn’t see him, but I could smell him. That had to be a good sign. Two strong hands slid under my body and pulled me up from the ground. “Do you think we should be moving her?” Kat asked Dylan.

  “We can’t leave her here.” Dylan pulled me to his chest. My limbs hung limp on either side of his arms. A couple of the girls screamed about the blood, but it didn’t matter anymore. Dylan was so warm. I pressed myself into him. “She’s going to die.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “SHE’S AWAKE,” A FEMALE voice I didn’t recognize called out. I opened my eyes and saw Daphne, the doe, above me, stroking my hair. I was human again, not that I remembered shifting. It was probably for the best, since I felt like I’d been run over by every truck in Colorado.

  “Ari! Are you okay?” my sister asked. She leaned over the couch, and Dylan was crouched down in front of me, his hand over mine. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. That couldn’t be good.

  “What happened?” My words barely had volume. I looked around the room from Dylan to my sister, whose mouth was slightly open and her eyes wide, up to the doe, who was looking to Leo, confused. All of them were trying to figure out what to say.

  “How are you feeling?” Kat asked again.

  “Pretty bad.” I tried to sit up, and Daphne put her hand behind my back to help me. “I shouldn’t have fought Linnea.” I looked back at Daphne. “But she was going to rip you apart. I couldn’t let it happen.”

  Daphne’s bottom lip quivered, and Leo came up behind her on the couch, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. She put her hand over one of his and tried to smile. “You saved my life.” Her words were shaky. “Thank you. It’s not enough, but it’s all I have right now.”

  “It’s all you need.” I was going to have to lay back down. The room was spinning. Dylan had crawled up on the couch and I leaned back against him. His lips were close to my cheek, but he didn’t kiss me.

  “I thought you were going to die.” Daphne clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as she said it. “I couldn’t believe you did that. You don’t even know me! And...and...” She dissolved into tears, and Leo bent down, kissing her on the head and murmuring things to calm her down.

  “And what?” Something was wrong and no one would tell me. Dylan took another deep breath and pulled me into him. Kat came around to the front of the couch and squeezed my hands. I was dressed in clothes I’d never seen before, and had a blanket in my lap. All the blood and shifting goo had been washed away. I hadn’t even noticed until now.

  Kat opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. Like Dylan, she took a deep breath, and tried again. “We think you had a miscarriage.”

  I blinked rapidly, trying to digest what she said. I’d known something was very different with my body. My period should’ve come last week, but with all the changes in my body, and the stress of this night approaching, I wasn’t that surprised it didn’t come. But looking back on the last couple weeks, it made sense.

  And I’d had so much doubt about whether I could get pregnant, when it didn’t come, I took it as a sign that my time had passed.

  I remembered the pain before I passed out. It was like my body was being ripped apart all over again, and it was replaced by emptiness. Overwhelming emptiness. A baby I wanted so badly, gone. I turned to Dylan, and he’d bowed his head.

  “I should have never let you fight.” He shook his head and pulled me in even closer. “But if I broke it up, I was a fucking hypocrite. I was willing to let Leo’s mate fight, and I had to stick to my word. I thought you had it, Ari. I really did. I never thought your friend would turn on you like that. And I didn’t know...”

  “Shhh.” I put my shaky fingers over his lips. I needed him to be strong right now. If he stayed strong, everything had a chance of being okay. “We both did what we thought was right.” The last word came out as a sob. We’d never been more wrong in our lives. Dylan rocked me back and forth while I cried.

  “You were both so stupid!” Kat threw her hands up in the air before collapsing into a chair. “There was no reason for any of that to happen. If everyone could’ve talked like humans instead of acting like animals, we wouldn’t be dealing with this right now.”

  “We are animals.” Dylan reminded her. “I was wrong, and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

  “Stop fighting.” I couldn’t take it. I’d already paid the ultimate price tonight. “Please.”

/>   The truce worked. Kat headed over to Lindsay’s cabin for the night. I wondered if Linnea was staying there, too, and if she’d even care what she’d taken from me. That bitch would probably be happy when Kat told her. Dylan and I had to spend the night at Leo’s cabin. I wasn’t ready to go anywhere. After tonight, I never wanted to come back to this mountain ever again.

  They let us stay in their bedroom. Dylan peeled off the clothes he’d borrowed from Leo and climbed in bed with me. His head bowed one more time as he smoothed the blanket over my body. “You probably hate me,” he said quietly. “And I understand. I hate me right now.”

  I put my hand over his. “Don’t. You didn’t know. I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have ever jumped in there if I’d known I was pregnant.” My heart ripped apart with the word. “But I’d planned to fight for Daphne all along.”

  “I had a feeling you would.” Dylan tried to smile, but he couldn’t do it. “And as much as I didn’t agree with you before tonight, I respected the hell out of it. You were willing to go against every single person in the pride. And you were the only one who was right.”

  “I wish we had all talked about this.” I lay down, and Dylan snuggled in beside me. “Before anyone got hurt.”

  Dylan had a gash on his cheek that disappeared into his beard, some more slashes and angry welts on his chest. I had no idea what I looked like. I wasn’t ready for that yet. “Leo and I talked tonight while the girls cleaned you up.” He swallowed hard. “We still have a long way to go, but I think it was good. We had to fight tonight. It’s our tradition. Strength and dominance go further than words with our family. And now we’ve come to an understanding.”

  “You two need each other.” I swept the hair out of Dylan’s eyes. “I’m glad you can see that now.”

  “Not as much as I need you.” He leaned in and kissed me, wrapping his arms around me. “I love you so much, and I hope that you can forgive me. It would kill me to lose you, Ari.”