Copyright © 2020 Theresa Hissong
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Disclaimer:
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is purely coincidental. The names of people, places, things, songs, bands are all created from the author's mind and are only used for entertainment. Any mention of a song, or band, in the book, has been given proper credit for use.
This book is for adults 18 and older only; due to content.
Cover Design:
Gray Publishing Services
Editing by:
Heidi Ryan
Amour the Line Editing
Cover Model:
Joshua Smith
Cover Photographer:
Randy Sewell
RLS Model Images Photography
Dedication:
To the ones who’ve fought for their right to love…
Table of Contents:
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
About the Author
Prologue
Ten Years Ago…
“Son, talk to me,” Noah’s mother begged, her eyes glistening with tears as he tore the tie away from his neck.
The date with the young female had gone horribly wrong, and he’d never felt so disgusted with himself. It wasn’t her, though. It was him.
“Mom, I…” he stammered. “I just don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Tell me what happened, Noah,” she urged, coming to his side. Noah didn’t even realize he had a tight grip on his necktie until she wrapped her soft hand over his and tugged gently on the material. “Come, sit at the kitchen table. Your father and brothers are gone.”
Noah sighed heavily. He didn’t want to have a breakdown in front of the others. He was only seventeen, and his baby brother, Kye, didn’t need to see him in distress. Talon was never around anyway. He spent all of his time learning how to be an alpha for when the time came that their father decided to retire.
His mother moved with grace to the kitchen table, pulling a chair out for him and one for herself. She patted the cushioned seat and urged him to sit with a gentle, caring nod. “Tell me what’s bothering you, Noah.”
He didn’t even know what was bothering him, really. There had been so many things running through his mind lately. The female he’d asked out on a date at the urging of his father being the biggest concern. Secondly, he couldn’t figure out why his feelings were so…off.
“We…” he began, stopping to clear his throat. “Racine and I…we just aren’t…well, compatible.”
“That’s okay, son,” she cooed, reaching for his hand. She stroked the back of his knuckles, but her eyebrows drew together as she took in the expression on his face. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“I think there’s something wrong with me,” he whispered. Good thing they were shifters and had super hearing or his mother would’ve missed what he’d said.
“Noah, there’s nothing wrong with you,” she scolded. “You’re trying to find your way in this life, and you’re bound to have questions about yourself…who you are.”
Noah’s eyes jerked up toward hers, locking onto her icy blue stare. “Mom, this is different.”
“What’s different, Noah?” she pressed. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“Yes,” he replied, swallowing a lump in his throat.
“What didn’t you like about Racine?” she continued with the questions.
How was he supposed to tell her the thought of touching the female disgusted him? Not so much Racine, but females in general. He couldn’t even fathom the idea of kissing her…or any female for that matter.
“She’s a great female,” he blurted. It was true. Racine was a badass female, and she was fun to be around. That wasn’t the problem. “I had fun with her, and we got along just fine.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know,” he sighed, pulling his hand out from under hers so he could wipe his face in frustration. “I…I just…I don’t know. Ma, I really don’t know.”
“Were you not attracted to her?” she asked, carefully choosing her words.
“Oh, mom,” he blushed, knowing what he needed to tell her went further than simple attraction. The secret desires he’d held at bay ever since he could remember had only been in his mind. There was an opportunity to let the whispered thoughts in his mind come from his lips. It was time to tell her, but he just couldn’t make himself produce the words.
Why is this so hard?
“I am the only one you can talk to about this, Noah,” she stated. “Your father and Talon are too busy doing alpha things and Kye is way too young to be discussing females.”
The thought of talking to his father or Talon sent chills up his spine. Noah always felt like he was different, anyway. He wasn’t born with the alpha gene like his older and younger brothers. He was just a male with no special magic to make him a leader. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about that either.
“Mom…” he paused. Immediately, he stood and began to pace. Pacing was better. It kept him from breaking down.
“Noah, just say it,” she urged as she stood, reaching for Noah to bring him into her arms, but he shook his head in a silent plea for her to let him stand on his own.
When Noah locked eyes with his mother, he saw the love she had for him. He felt closer to her than ever before. The binds of love and family that held them together thickened and reformed into chains, locking them together in the moment.
The time was there, and he would most likely never have another moment like that to finally speak the words he never thought he would ever let fall from his lips. With the understanding and trust of his mother, Noah finally allowed his heart to accept what his mind had somehow always known.
“Mom…I think…I’m gay.” Noah didn’t close his eyes. He wanted to see her reaction. “No, I know I am.”
“And that’s okay, son,” she replied, standing from her seat to take him into her arms, allowing him to spill all of his emotions onto her shoulder. “I love you just the way you are.”
Chapter One
*Gadaí – thief (Old Irish)
An early winter storm blanketed the pride’s land, and Noah was out in his panther form with ninety percent of his pride. The area didn’t see a lot of snow, but when they did, it boosted moral among the members.
There was peace within the pride.
For once.
Noah couldn’t remember a time when things seemed back to normal for his family and the pride. He still missed his mother and father, and he always would. In their world, enemies were always around the corner. For them to have gone so long without any problems, Noah knew it was only a matter of time before somet
hing came for them.
Three young males darted past him and into a valley, tumbling as they played. Winter and Nova were walking casually toward the pond in their shifted forms. Their cub, Atlas, in his little human form, clung to his father’s back with his tiny hands fisted into Winter’s fur. They’d been quiet over the last few months, and everyone now knew why. Nova had announced that morning she was with young again. Winter had been extremely happy about it, and the pride cheered for them when the scent of her pregnancy filtered through the air. Noah would never tire of scenting a female carrying her young. It was a mother’s scent, one all shifters loved, but it made him sad, remembering his mother.
His enhanced hearing picked up the sound of Landon’s truck arriving at Cole, Dane, and Olivia’s place. Even though he was far out in the woods, his hearing was sharp enough to pick up sounds within the pride’s land, and he’d know the sound of the male’s truck anywhere.
Noah’s beast huffed and turned for the male’s home, using the trails to come out on the road leading to the cabins. When he arrived, Landon was just closing the door. The beast willed the male to look over his shoulder, and when he didn’t get the desired result, the panther growled to get the male’s attention.
“Noah? Is that you?” Landon frowned as he turned, locking eyes with the panther. The male was tall, a little muscular, but nothing like the Guardians or his brother, Cole. His sapphire eyes held stories of his tragic life, and Noah wanted nothing more than to wipe those uncertainties from his gaze.
Noah’s human mind tried to stop the beast from crossing the road, but it was no use. He wanted to be close to him. He wanted to touch the male…he wanted to bite him…change him. Noah pushed at his beast, squelching the noise in both of their minds.
“Sophia said the pride was out running the woods today because of the snow,” Landon said, taking a seat on the porch as Noah’s beast slinked up the stairs. “It’s so hard to talk to you when you’re in this form.”
Noah’s beast yowled, startling Landon. The human part of his mind forced the beast to back down, sitting on his haunches so he looked less threatening. Noah and his panther would never harm Landon. Not now…not ever.
“Do you want to come inside?” Landon asked, shivering. Noah felt bad. The human was more susceptible to the elements than he was, and it showed. “Maybe not.” Landon’s whispered words were heard, and Noah shifted to his human form before Landon could say anything else.
“It’s cold outside, and my beast wants to run,” he chuckled, hoping to put the male at ease. “I just wanted to stop by and say hello.” Gods, he sounded stupid. There was no way he would tell the male his panther was in charge of coming to his home.
“Well,” Landon frowned, the look of defeat written all over his face, “go run with the pride. I’m going to start dinner for my brother and his mates.”
“Need some help?” Noah asked, shifting on his feet because the cold December air was starting to seep into his bones. “I mean, if you have some spare clothes, I’d be happy to help you cook.”
At that point, Noah was willing to perform circus acts just to be in the same room as the male. Anything was better than Landon’s brooding silence.
“I can take care of dinner. I like cooking,” Landon blushed. “Come inside and have a beer. I’ll grab some clothes from my brother. You two are about the same size.”
Noah waited inside the door until Landon returned with clothes. Landon didn’t look at Noah’s human body, keeping his eyes only on his face.
“How was the drive home?”
“The roads were terrible,” Landon said as he loosened his tie.
“There’s more snow forecasted tonight,” Noah informed him, slipping on an old concert shirt and pair of sweatpants.
“Sophia and I rescheduled all of the appointments for tomorrow and Saturday. I decided it’s just too dangerous for us to be driving until it clears in a couple of days. It looks like we will be getting that four-day vacation we’ve been needing.”
Noah nodded and accepted a cold beer from Landon. The male made an excuse to change out of his work clothes and disappeared up the stairs leading to his room. Noah’s gaze followed the male, wondering what his room looked like. Was it neat and clean like his appearance? Did his sheets scent of him?
“Stop,” Noah whispered, knowing Landon couldn’t hear him. He was human and didn’t have the same supernatural abilities he or his pride mates had.
Landon returned and took a long drink of beer before setting the bottle down. Noah was happy the male had come out of his shell a bit over the last two or three months. He’d been showing up to the pride gatherings and socializing with the others. They’d actually formed a friendship after that day in the woods where he had found Landon sitting alone by a tree.
They’d almost touched that day, and Noah had fantasized about it more than he should over the past few months.
“Are there any plans for this evening?” Landon inquired over his shoulder as he opened a cabinet across the kitchen.
“No one has said anything about getting together yet,” Noah admitted. “If they haven’t made an announcement by now, I guess it’s safe to say we are on our own for dinner.”
Landon turned around after grabbing a box from the cabinet “Would…would you like to join us for dinner?”
Noah felt the blush rising on his cheeks. He didn’t understand how this male affected him so much. “Yes, I would like that very much.”
Landon turned for the fridge, pulling out several items and placing them on the counter. He stopped to grab his beer before making a shooing motion in Noah’s direction. “Get out of here. Go run with the pride, and tell my brother to bring his mates home at seven for dinner.”
“Yes, sir,” Noah chuckled and drained the rest of his drink. “I’ll leave the clothes on the porch.”
Landon nodded and began preparing the meal. Noah stood there for a moment, watching the male work. His hands glided over the vegetables and meat in a manner only fit for a surgeon. He perfectly cut the carrots, placing them in a bowl. The male operated on animals every day, and it showed in the way he prepared the food. Landon’s hands were perfect; his nails neatly trimmed.
“Everything okay?” Landon asked, catching him staring.
“No, yes.” Noah cleared his throat and shook his head. “I’m starving, and whatever you’re making looks amazing. I’ll be back.”
Noah tossed his bottle in the trash and made his way out the door, shedding and folding the borrowed clothes before shifting into his beast. They ran into the woods, but their minds were still standing there in the kitchen.
Landon plated twelve large chicken breasts on a platter, making a pyramid of protein for Noah, his brother and mates, and one for himself. The shifters ate a lot. He’d been surprised when Cole had been changed and craved food more than he ever did when they were teenagers. He didn’t understand how they could put down that much food.
With a chuckle, he worked on the few side dishes he’d set out. Olivia liked a salad with her meal, and he added a few tomatoes to the bowl as the front door opened and the three of them walked in, minus Noah. Landon wanted to ask them where he was, but he didn’t. The male would be there like he said he would. It wasn’t like the pride to miss out on plans. It wasn’t in their nature.
“Oh, that smells amazing,” Olivia hummed, pulling a shirt over her head. It’d taken some time to get over their acceptance of nudity when he first arrived at the pride. Now, it wasn’t uncommon to see someone shift and walk naked across the land. “And you made me a salad. Thank you, Landon.”
“No problem,” he blushed. “How was the snow?”
“It was great,” she beamed. “I wish you’d joined us.”
“Ah, no thanks.” He frowned, shivering from the thought of being out in the cold. “I’d rather be inside.”
“Sit down and let me serve the table,” she pressed, pulling her long, blonde hair up into a sloppy bun. Cole brushed past him and found
the pitcher of tea in the fridge. Dane grabbed the dishes and silverware to place them on the table. Landon sat back and watched as his family worked like they always did.
They were very non-traditional in so many ways. Who would’ve thought this was even a possibility five years ago? Landon knew he would’ve laughed in someone’s face if they’d told him he’d be a gay man living with his brother and his two mates on four hundred acres of land with humans who shifted into predatory cats.
There was no way to explain what a change his life had been through over the last year.
“Noah said he was coming by,” Olivia announced as she placed the bowl of bread on the table. “He should be here any minute.”
And like the shifters they were, all three of them quieted, and it was obvious they were listening for approaching footsteps with their advanced hearing. “That should be him.” Cole jumped up from his seat and opened the door just as Noah was knocking the snow off his boots.
“Sorry, I’m a little late,” he called out as he entered, kicking off his boots on a towel Olivia had laid down earlier that day for anyone coming in the house. “My brother needed to speak with me.”
“Everything okay?” Dane asked, his eyes flashing amber sparks. The Guardian was always alert. All of them were.
“Yes,” Noah assured. “Dinner smells amazing, Landon.” Noah turned his attention on Landon, and it took every ounce of willpower he had not to blush at the shifter.
“Thank you,” Landon replied. “Let’s eat.”
The conversation was light. Most of the time, they spoke about the snow and how much was forecasted for the upcoming night and following morning. The four shifters in the room talked excitedly about the afternoon romp in the woods. Landon smiled more than usual, and he actually enjoyed their family dinners now. It’d taken him a long time to get that far, but it was better than hiding out and sulking behind closed doors.
Noah (Rise of the Pride, Book 10) Page 1
