“Do you always work like this?” Olivia asked Nova.
“The females of the pride have always taken care of the Guardians in their time of need.” Nova chuckled and shook her head as she tossed another potato into the bowl. “The Guardians are treated with respect.”
“Dane is very…I don’t know…alpha male,” Olivia blushed. “Are they all like that?” She’d met them all in one way or another, but she hadn’t spent a lot of time with them to really get to know each and every Guardian of the pride.
“You have no idea,” Nova laughed loudly, causing the other females of the pride to turn around. The older ones returned to their tasks while Liberty broke away to come sit by the two of them.
“What’s so funny?”
“Olivia was just asking about the Guardians and if they were all alpha types like Dane,” Nova snickered.
Liberty shook her head. “Girl, the struggle is real.”
“That bad, huh?” Olivia joked, using the rag on her lap to wipe her hands.
“They are demanding,” Nova blushed. Olivia looked away. Not because she was embarrassed. No, she looked away because of the visions of Dane that danced through her mind. Those ideas quickly changed to Cole, and she frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Liberty asked as she rubbed her swollen belly.
“Oh, nothing.” Olivia shook her head. “Dane wants me to stay at the pride for a little while. I don’t have any clothes and I rode here with Cole. Can someone take me to my place to grab a bag?”
“I can have Hope and Evie take you,” Liberty offered, removing her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. “They’re trained to protect.”
“Trained?”
“We have a few females who are in charge of protection of the pride when the males are away,” Nova said as she cleaned off the table. “Evie and Hope are our best.”
“Do you think the cartel will come after us?” she asked.
“Some of us have been seen at the bar with Cole,” Liberty pointed out. “So, yes. We’ve learned to be cautious when dealing with enemies.”
As she looked around the room, she realized she was the only human. All of these women could shift into another animal, and they had to have some added strength to protect themselves. They were panthers, after all, and one would think they could rip an enemy to shreds if ever needed. “Are you all safe here with the males gone?”
“We are stronger than humans,” Nova pointed out. “Well, I feel stronger since I was changed into one of them, at least.”
“We are stronger than a human,” the older woman, who she learned was named Marie, said as she washed her hands. “Our females have been protected since the beginning of time, but recently, they have learned to fight alongside our Guardians. We can protect ourselves now.”
“Your females protect the pride with the men?” Olivia frowned. She wondered if she could do the same, but she knew she could never become stronger than a shifter.
“We sure do,” Evie said with a grin as she entered the kitchen. Marie came over and stroked her daughter’s hair and kissed her cheek.
“Can you and Hope take Olivia to her home to gather some clothes?” Liberty asked Evie. “She’s staying with Dane for a few days.” All of the women in the room blushed as the announcement was made, making Olivia very uncomfortable.
“So, Dane, huh?” Evie asked, sizing her up. Olivia stood from her seat as Evie chuckled. “Has he touched you?”
“No,” Olivia balked. “He hasn’t.”
“I noticed Cole was very comfortable touching you.” Liberty winked. “Looks like we may have a love triangle on our hands.”
“Oh, my god!” Olivia blushed a flaming red and covered her face with her hands. The female panther, Evie, burst out laughing along with all of the other women in the room.
“Come on, let’s run to your place,” Evie stated. “I’ll drive.”
Hope entered a few minutes later, giving Olivia a tight hug. They said their goodbyes and left out the front door. The day was warming up quickly, and Olivia wondered if they’d found anything yet.
It only took ten minutes for them to arrive at her place. She promised to be back and ran up the stairs to grab a bag of clothes. She rummaged through her dresser, removing shirts, shorts, and socks. When she got to her underwear drawer, she giggled and wondered if she should pack her lacy underthings. Without thinking too hard about it, she threw three sets of bras and panties inside and zipped the bag as quickly as she could. There was no need to get her hopes up that either Cole or Dane would make out with her. At that point, she brushed off Cole’s kiss in the breakroom as nothing more than him feeling overwhelmed with the disappearance of his brother and needed consoling.
Yeah, that’s all it was.
“Is your mom home?” Hope asked as she returned to the white Honda Evie drove. She slid into the backseat and dropped her bag on the floor.
“She’s on a cruise to Cancun,” Olivia chuckled. “She’s very independent and travels a lot since my father died.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your father,” Evie said with a frown.
“We’re doing okay,” Olivia promised.
“Let’s get back,” Hope said. “We don’t want to be gone too long.”
Evie backed out of the parking spot in front of the garage and turned the car around. She made a left out of the driveway and headed toward the highway. Along the way, Olivia watched out the windows, silently hoping she could see something that would lead them to finding Landon.
Hell, she didn’t even know what to look for. In all reality, she was useless. She didn’t have the senses the shifters did. They could scent someone a mile away, and all she could do is…well, nothing.
“Fuck,” Evie growled, looking in her rearview mirror. “What’s this guy doing?”
The red car behind them sped up, riding Evie’s bumper. Evie increased her speed a little and they backed off. The windows were tinted, and Olivia couldn’t make out if it was a man or a woman driving.
The car behind them flashed their headlights, and Evie chuckled, “I ain’t pulling over, you perv!”
“What the hell is wrong with them?” Hope snarled. “I’m going to call Talon. This isn’t right.”
“Are you buckled in back there, Olivia?” Evie called out as she pressed the accelerator.
“Sure am,” Olivia responded, looking over her shoulder at the car.
“Evie, watch out!” Olivia screamed as the car raced up behind them, slamming into the trunk.
“Hold on!” Evie yelled as the back end swung to the right. She corrected and shot out ahead of the car by a few car lengths, but the other car gained speed, slamming into them again.
The red car pushed them, turning his wheels to make the back end of Evie’s car fishtail. Hope screamed as the front tires hit the unpaved shoulder, slinging the back end of the car to the left. Olivia’s head slammed against the window, but she forced herself to stay alert as the car careened down the embankment. The sound of rocks and dirt pinged the undercarriage as Evie tried to stop the car, but they all gasped when several thick trees came rushing toward them. Evie cried out on impact, and the car crumbled around their bodies, flipping onto its side and causing Olivia’s world to go dark.
Chapter Four
Dane’s panther was on edge as they searched along the Coldwater River for Cole’s brother. The male had brought a Ziploc bag with two of his brother’s recently worn shirts inside. The male’s scent would be easy to remember.
Cole had handed out several photos of Landon when they had all gathered at the trucks in front of the pride house. From the photo, he looked a lot like Cole; dark-brown hair, blue eyes, tall, but nowhere near as muscular. They’d been told he was only twenty-six and had recently graduated from veterinary school. He’d planned on opening up an office in town to help humans with their pets.
As Dane navigated through the thick brush and Kudzu vines that dominated the area, he wondered if Olivia was okay at his home. The
females would keep her busy for most of the day, and he’d be back after dark to care for her if she was in need.
The overwhelming urge to touch her was like a live wire on his skin. His beast snarled as he moved over a fallen tree. The panther that lived within him wanted to keep Olivia for his own, but Dane was conflicted. He knew there was a connection between Cole and Olivia, but he also felt the connection to both her and the bartender.
It wasn’t like he’d never had a ménage relationship before. No, in fact, he liked having a third person there. It was no secret he had certain…tastes in his pleasures. Olivia and Cole were quickly weaving themselves into one hot fucking fantasy in his mind.
Seeing Cole with her didn’t agitate his beast, and that alone made him pause in his desire to mount her. Was it an infatuation? Maybe Olivia was meant to be with Cole, and Dane’s freakish nature was only interested in being a third in that relationship? When the time came to find a mate, Dane’s female wouldn’t be able to touch another male without pain, and he would have to calm his desires for having another male in the room.
He wanted to watch Cole bring Olivia pleasure.
He desired to see Olivia on her knees, taking Cole into her mouth.
Dane groaned inside the panther’s mind as he imagined her pouty lips covered with Cole’s seed. Would she look up at him with her wide, green eyes from her spot on the floor? Would she stare into Dane’s eyes as Cole fucked her from behind as if they were shifter mates?
Would Cole even do something like that?
It didn’t matter. If he touched her and she was his chosen mate, Cole would be unable to join them. He couldn’t keep up this fantasy in his mind. The best thing to do would be to step aside and let Cole have her.
Why did that thought squeeze his heart?
A whistle from behind him stopped his daydreaming. The panther raised its nose to the sky and scented Cole and Talon coming close. He pushed at the panther to recess, allowing the shift back to human.
“Over here!” he called out.
“I don’t think he was taken through the woods,” Cole offered in frustration. Cole’s land ran beside the river, and they’d already scented every road within that area over the past few days. “They had to have taken him by car.”
“There were no tire tracks on your land,” Dane reminded him.
“It doesn’t mean they didn’t have a car waiting at the road,” Cole offered.
“Where do you think they took him?” Dane wondered. His heart ached seeing his friend in pain.
“Knowing them,” he paused to pinch the bridge of his nose, “he’s either held up in a home somewhere close, or they’ve already taken him back to Columbia.”
“Fuck,” Talon cursed. “I’m calling Garrett to see if he’s had any leads.”
“Please do,” Dane said, taking his jeans from Cole.
Talon lifted his phone to his ear, frowning when there was no answer from the sheriff. He tried again and cursed. “I’d like to go back over to Cole’s land and do another search for scents before this storm hits tonight and washes away anything we might’ve missed.”
Dane agreed. It was best to go through the male’s home again. Maybe they had missed something the other day? Talon’s phone rang as they made their way back to the side of the road where their trucks were parked at the bridge.
Dane clutched his chest when he felt a wave of power come from his alpha. Something was wrong. Cole’s eyes widened when Talon snarled loudly, his eyes throwing amber sparks. Something was very wrong.
“Talon?” Dane barked as he came to the leader’s side.
“We have to go back to the pride,” he gasped.
“Why?” Dane growled, his panther going on high alert.
“Evie, Hope, and Olivia were in an accident,” Talon yelled as he took off toward his truck.
“What?” Cole gasped.
“What do you mean? They were supposed to be at the pride,” Dane roared, his canines punching through his gums so fast, he tasted his own blood.
Dane slid into the passenger side and Cole took to the backseat as Talon slammed the truck into gear, throwing rocks as he left the side of the road.
“Fuck!” Cole exclaimed, running his hands over his face.
“Evie and Hope took Olivia to her home to gather clothes to stay at the pride, and on the way back, they were run off the road not far from The Deuce.”
“Is she okay?” Dane panicked, his heart beating faster as his leader remained quiet. Dane shook off the push of power from Talon trying to calm him. He didn’t need to be calmed. “Damn it, Talon! Tell me!”
“Harold is with her,” Talon said, turning to look him in the eye. “I don’t know anything yet, other than she’s alive…barely.”
“No,” Dane whispered, feeling his world cave in on itself.
“You need to hurry, Talon.” Cole cursed from the back seat as the truck took a corner too fast. Dane looked over his shoulder and saw his own fear for Olivia staring back at him through Cole’s eyes.
“She’s going to be okay,” Dane promised. “She has to be.”
Olivia cried out in pain when the pride’s healer pushed on her ribs. They were broken and she was having a hard time breathing. The impact of the car hitting several trees and crumpling around her body was brutal. Whoever ran them off the road was out to kill them.
“Let me through!” Dane’s voice rang out over the cries coming from her lips.
“Move!” Cole shouted. A commotion to her right signaled the two men coming into the clinic. She couldn’t move her head because of the brace on her neck. The sheriff wouldn’t take her to the hospital, informing her the pride’s healer knew what to do for her.
“Dane…Cole,” she whimpered as they came into sight. The pride’s healer moved away to grab a syringe from the table behind him. He injected something into her IV before speaking to the men. Her ears were ringing so bad, she couldn’t make out the whispers between them.
As the medicine raced through her veins, Olivia relaxed, feeling relief from the pain. She didn’t know what had happened to Hope or Evie, and she was worried they were dead. Her memories were fuzzy from the wreck, but she could’ve sworn she had heard their voices raised in a panic from the wreckage. She didn’t know who pulled her out, but she was glad they had come.
“Liv,” Cole’s angered voice registered. She opened her eyes to see his face within inches of hers. His blue eyes were wide with fright. “Baby, tell me what happened? Was it the cartel?”
“I…think…think so,” she stammered, squeezing her eyes closed when her face ached.
“I need to get an x-ray of her face and abdomen,” the healer stated as he started to push away the men. She couldn’t see Dane, and a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, burning her cheek as it made its trail over her busted face.
“Olivia!” Dane’s voice registered, but he was pushed away. She tried to reach out for him, but her hand didn’t want to cooperate with her brain. Was her hand broken? Was it even there?
“Am I going to die?” she mumbled, crying harder when no one would answer her.
A white and black panel moved over her chest as the healer moved away. She heard several clicks and whirls before he was back, moving the machine away. Oh, God! I can’t breathe.
Beeping blared from somewhere behind her head. The healer’s face appeared, but it was fading. A black, smoky ring wrapped around him. His mouth moved, but his voice was nonexistent. She couldn’t hear anything, and as the blackness invaded, she had no desire to fight.
She just wanted to sleep.
“Do I need to change her?” Dane snarled as he was pushed out of the healer’s office.
“We don’t know yet,” Talon growled.
“Change her?” Cole gasped. “Into a panther?”
“Yes,” Dane replied, watching through the doorway as Harold pulled the x-ray machine over her body.
Olivia’s face was cut open, her eye torn at the corner. Her jaw sat at an odd a
ngle, telling him it was broken. She panted as if she was having problems breathing. Her leg was broken between her hip and knee, and her hand was crushed from the crash.
“Will it save her life, Dane?” Cole asked, his hands coming to grasp at Dane’s shoulders. The male gave him a little shake to get his eyes to focus on him and not Olivia. When Dane looked up, he saw tears in Cole’s eyes. “I know you love her just like I do. If you have to change her to keep her alive, then you have to do it.”
“I do love her,” he admitted. “She’s yours.”
“She’s ours, brother,” Cole admitted. “Right now, I don’t want to fight over who she belongs to, because I want her to live. She’s dying, Dane.”
“Fuck! Dane!” Harold yelled from the exam room. “Come now!”
Dane’s heart shattered as he entered the room and Harold was doing compressions on her chest. He glanced at the monitor and saw the straight line telling him Olivia was dead.
“Move!” he roared, raising his wrist to his mouth and ripping into his own flesh with his canine teeth.
“Feed her, Dane,” the healer ordered the moment he was able to restart her heart.
“Drink,” he demanded, reaching for her chin. “Fucking drink my blood, Olivia!”
The moment he contacted her skin, the magic inside him boiled to the brink. The invisible thread of a mating filled the air. Over the scent of his own blood, the sweet spice of his mating scent filled the air.
“Damn it!” he yelled, his face bubbling with the need to shift. His beast cried out into the room. Males entered, surrounding him as the agony ripped his soul to shreds.
“Mate…mate…mate, my mate,” he bellowed as Olivia’s mouth closed over the wound on his arm.
Dane (Rise of the Pride, Book 8) Page 4
