“Oh shit,” Sam said flatly. He was looking at a scroll and he looked pale, as if all the blood had rushed away from his face suddenly. Gwen ran over to him and followed his gaze to a map of the hills. There were numbers scrawled beside the map written next to different neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The numbers were totalled at the bottom.
“What is that number?” Gwen asked.
“I think it’s…”
“It’s mountain lion shifters,” Gwen said. “Isn’t it?”
The number totaled at the bottom was six hundred. Gwen had thought there were more than that in Los Angeles, over a thousand, she had suspected. Los Angeles had a high concentration of lion shifters comparatively. She had a horrible icy feeling in her stomach. There were red flames of different shades drawn over the hills on the map.
“Do you think…” Gwen’s voice shook as she spoke in the silence of the cave. “Is he trying to take us all out?”
“Any mountain lion shifter is a potential guardian,” Sam whispered. “It would make sense to just want to take them all out-”
“Sam, the summer solstice…it’s tomorrow.”
“Shit. Of course.” They looked at each other, suddenly understanding the entire plan.
Sam well knew that on the night of the summer solstice, mountain lion shifters gathered in the hills to commune and celebrate the season. The tradition was nearly as old as shifters themselves and it was really about their status as guardians, even though only the rarest lion shifter worked as a guardian in the modern world. Sam had gone to a few solstice celebrations but being shy by nature, he had anxiety about it at times. It was the perfect place to target shifters if your intention was to destroy them all. And it was tomorrow.
“What exactly do you think he’s going to do?” Gwen asked.
“I mean it looks like he’s going to set the hills on fire via some spell,” Sam said. “If I had to guess. Fire has a lot of magic in it if you know what you’re doing. Burning a live sacrifice could concentrate a lot of power for him. It’s like two birds, one stone.”
“That’s very true.” The voice was sudden, and it echoed. Gwen jumped as Basil appeared from out of the shadows, and Sam’s arm went out in front of her protectively. “Hello, Sam. You’re looking...awake.”
Basil was still wearing his uniform polo shirt with the little Griffith Park Observatory embroidered on it and a nicely pressed pair of khakis. He looked like such an ordinary guy outside of the salt and pepper gray hair that touched his shoulders and the somewhat wild look in his blue eyes. He was a little gaunt, but other than that, Gwen would not have pegged him as an evil anything. She would hardly have noticed him in a crowd.
Sam didn’t waste any time. He shifted abruptly and moved to pounce, but Basil was faster. He shot a spell out with a flick of his wrist before Sam could touch him. Sam fell to the ground and Gwen heard a loud creak like a metal door opening and turned her head to see a kind of cell in the back of the cave opening. She shifted, and figured she wouldn’t make it if Sam hadn’t, but she had to try. Basil caught her before she could even get off her feet and then the two of them were sliding back on the floor into the cell, growling the whole time, as Basil grinned, his hand outstretched as he moved them both against their will. Sam jumped to his feet but the cell door slammed shut. He shifted back into human form and gripped the bars.
“You son of a bitch!” Sam shouted.
Basil walked up to them, smirking. Gwen shifted back, her heart pounding in fear. This was her fault, she thought. She had wanted some adventure, some excitement. It had all been a fun new game to her. But it was no game. The man had put Sam in a coma for a year. Now he wanted to murder all lion shifters. And she had ruined Sam’s chance to stop him. Her chest ached as tears welled up in her eyes.
“How did you survive this long?” Basil asked, sneering as he mocked Sam from the other side of the bars. “Although, I suppose that isn’t fair. Not everyone has such powerful telekinesis powers as I do. You’ve been lucky, Sam. That’s the only reason you’re still alive. You should’ve died with your pride.”
Gwen choked a little and couldn’t remember the last time she wanted to kill somebody so much just for saying the wrong thing and she could see Sam absorb it. She already knew he’d had the same thought a thousand times before, having read his diary. Gwen jumped to her feet and rushed forward to pull at the bars as if it would actually do something.
Basil only laughed at her and then demanded their phones which they were forced to hand over.
“Don’t worry,” Basil said, with a lazy wave of his hand. “I’m not going to kill you now. I’m going to wait until I’ve killed every shifter in this town so I can tell you about it. Then I’ll kill you. No wait, I’ll kill your girlfriend there first. Then this city will really be mine.” He smirked, looking very laid back about the whole thing. “You broke my cloud crystal but I’ve got another one. Mind control… Enslavement of the human populace… Everyone comes here to own the town but I actually will. It’s going to be...golden.” He laughed at them, wholly enjoying their terror, casually slipping his hands in his pockets. “Golden Age of Hollywood!”
“If I don’t stop you,” Sam said. “Somebody else will. You’re delusional, Basil.”
“And you’re trapped in my cave, Sam,” Basil snapped. “Try one of your weak little spells in here. I dare you.” He shook his head. “What a sad excuse for a nemesis I’ve got. I deserve better.”
With that, he turned to walk out of the cave. But before he was gone, he spun on his heel and shot them finger guns. “Oh, but happy summer solstice, you guys! Have a good one!”
“Heeeey!” Gwen hollered after him uselessly. But then he was gone, and they were left there, locked in the cell and totally helpless.
Sam wasn’t speaking and that worried her. He stood there, gripping the bars and glowering. She heaved a sigh and sat in a corner. There wasn’t much to the cell itself. It was a gravely floor and cave on every side except the bars. Gwen spotted the lock where the door joined the cave wall.
“Would this have happened if I wasn’t here?” Gwen asked. She couldn’t help but wonder. Would Sam have fought more readily or not gone into the cave at all? Would something have been different if she hadn’t come?
“It doesn’t matter,” Sam said softly. “I’m sorry I put you in danger.”
Gwen snorted a laugh at that and Sam looked at her, bemused, as she giggled outright, slapping her knee. “This was my idea!”
“Still. I should have known better.”
“I wanted to help you,” Gwen said, a little regretful. “I should be saying sorry.” She sighed and pulled helplessly at the bars and finally leaned against a wall, watching as Sam made a few attempts at testing the strength of the cell. She watched him go red in the face, attempting to pull the bars apart or pull them out of the cave walls. He slammed his body against them, then shifted and attempted the same thing that way. He paced around the cave, looking for a different escape. But they were sealed in tight. Finally, he sat down on the ground, sweaty and tired, and Gwen sat down next to him.
“We’ll get out of this,” Sam said. But he looked so uncertain that when Gwen looked at him, she began to cry.
17
Sam
“It wasn’t your fault,” Sam said, throwing an arm around Gwen’s shoulders. “I got caught up in our little caper. I wanted to come in here as much as you did. We just got unlucky.”
Sam kissed her hair and his heart hurt because she was upset and scared and though they’d just sort convinced each other that it was both everybody and nobody’s fault, he was the guardian. Ultimately, the responsibility lay on him and he felt a horrible sense of guilt that had always been there since his pride had died. He was not over their deaths and he knew he never would be. A little part of him would always be missing them and always be thinking that he could have done more and that maybe it should have been him.
“I only ever wanted to be a good alpha,” Sam whispered. She res
ted against him and let him talk and he sighed, relaxing into the sense of trust he felt with Gwen. “I felt good about being one. I felt like I was ready, that I was a leader. Maybe that’s the last thing you’re supposed to feel to be one. But nobody tells you that. I remember when they were killed, it happened so fast.” One by one they had fallen. He didn’t believe they were dead at first. “I tried to bring them back…”
Gwen looked at him with wide eyes. “Oh no…”
“Yeah,” Sam said with a snort. “Oh no is right. Went to a few different witches. Almost succeeded in bringing back some undead monsters. But not my guys. Gwen… You’re the first person I’ve met who I feel like knows me the way they knew me.”
She smiled brilliantly at that and said, “Yeah? That makes me happy.”
“But…”
“What but?” Gwen said darkly. “I don’t want to hear any buts.”
Sam swallowed around the lump in his throat and took his arm back from around her shoulders. He couldn’t get past the guilt he felt for wrapping her up in all this. There was every chance they were going to be killed. He held out hope, of course, that whenever Basil returned, if they opened the cell, Sam might get a shot at him and free them. But if Basil was smart, he would just kill them in the cell. He could do it with a spell, Sam supposed. Assuming he had another power to pull off this spell to set the hills aflame with what Sam assumed would be enchanted flames that burned hotter, longer and were nearly impossible to put out, he might also have power beyond that. At least enough to kill a couple of shifters, even if one was very strong.
But if they did get out, perhaps it was time to be clear-headed about things before they settled down again and everything seemed fine. Because there would always be a new threat as long as Sam was a guardian. There would always be another dark wizard or a gang of vampires or another monster. That had been Sam’s life for decades. But he loved his life, and he didn’t want to change that part of himself. He also didn’t believe he had the freedom to stop. The world needed guardians. Los Angeles needed guardians. And there weren’t enough shifters who had chosen that life. He was already a rarity. He couldn’t stop now and he couldn’t bear to keep putting Gwen in danger. She was an innocent, he thought.
“But,” Sam said firmly, “if Basil hurts you-”
“We’ll get out of this,” Gwen said fiercely. “I know we will, Sam. We’re going to get out of this and then we’re going to go shopping for homegoods because your house is weird and sterile.” She was being funny but he could see fresh tears in her eyes and it killed him a little. He reached up to stroke her cheek. “Please, Sam,” she begged. “You have to believe me…”
“If we do get out of this,” he said slowly, “it’ll be something else next time. There will always be something else-”
“You’re not letting me go,” Gwen said, glaring at him. She grabbed the hand that stroked her cheek and squeezed it. “You can’t tell me what to do, Sam Foster! I’m in this because I say I’m in it! And I’m in it! I love you and I’m not going anywhere!” She broke down into tears then and slumped against him, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. “You think you’re so in love with me and you’re going to make some sacrifice?” She said, sobbing as he found himself getting teary too. “What about me? I need you, Sam. I love you! You know me too and I need it. Please, please don’t leave me, Sam-”
“Okay,” he found himself whispering, throwing his arms around her and squeezing her just as hard. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it-”
“Please, please, don’t leave me…”
“I won’t,” he said, kissing her hair. “I won’t leave you! I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She broke away, and he felt just as guilty now for making her cry. He bent his head and kissed away the hot tears that slid down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.” She kissed him and her lips were hot and salty. A sense of desperation came over him. The fear of not being able to protect her was terrifying but so was the thought of having to walk away and he clutched at her, grateful that she wouldn’t let him go. He was strong in his own way. He could protect her and fight for her and get up every time he fell down. But Gwen was strong in this way. She loved him too much to let go, even at the risk of such real dangers. She wouldn’t let him let go and he would rely on that.
“Promise me,” she whispered between his heated kisses. “Promise you won’t let me go.”
“I promise, my love,” he said against her lips. “I promise I won’t let you go…”
He got caught up in the heat and desperation of their kisses and now pulled Gwen into his lap, the two of them clinging to each other. Gwen broke away and clapped her hands to Sam’s cheeks, her swollen mouth parted as they seemed to look into each other’s souls and she gave him a little nod. That was all he needed and now he yanked at her top, stripping it off of her and throwing it over her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her as she pressed into him, her breasts heaving and spilling over the cups of her bra. He ducked his head and pulled the bra straps down, kissing her everywhere, wildly wanting more and more. Except that Gwen was wearing jeans, and that didn’t quite work. His cock was hard as she ground against him and he growled, gripping her as she mouthed at his neck, his frustration increasing.
“It’s okay,” she mumbled. “Come here…” She pulled away from him and took his hand, lying back on the hard stone floor of the cave and he crouched over her, his brow furrowed.
“Are you sure?” He asked, taking her hand and kissing her palm. His cock throbbed, and he winced, but Gwen was gazing up at him, adoring and yanking him forward.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Sam, please…” She was already unzipping her fly, shoving her jeans down as she lay on the ground and Sam scrambled to unzip his own jeans, his thick cock flopping out, pink and jutting out. He yanked her jeans all the way off and she lay there, unapologetically bare in their prison cell, in the middle of the dark wizard’s lair, panting and hungry for him, her eyes fixed on his. “Sam…”
Sam took off his shirt, if only to put them on more equal footing and she smiled slyly as he crouched over her, pressing her hands to his broad, muscular chest. She bit her lips as she pressed her fingers to his quivering muscles, the dusting of dark chest hair there. She tweaked his nipples and he yelped, ducking his head to kiss her, long and deep.
“I’ve been looking for you my whole life,” he said softly. “I just didn’t know it.”
Gwen grinned brilliantly at him and licked her lips, sliding her panties down and he growled now, a sense of possessiveness coming over him. His lion roared inside him. He would make her his. He would protect her with his life. No one would come between them, not even Death itself. He pushed her legs up and braced himself, so as not to put all his weight on her. But then he was sliding inside her, her legs wrapping around his back. She cried out and he was afraid he’d hurt her until she gripped his shoulders, pulling him in, demanding he go deeper. They kissed and he slid out smoothly and thrust back in. She was not shy or demure. Her fingers dug hard into his shoulders, deep enough to bruise and they found a rhythm as he rocked in and out of her until she was screaming into his skin, the two of them joined, merged into one soul.
“My mate,” she whispered in his ear. Just the sound set him off and he grunted, biting her shoulder as he came inside her, feeling the heartbeat of her body as she clung to him. He reached down even as he was still descending from his bliss and pressed a finger to her clit so that she screamed yet again, writhing on the floor as he wrung every bit of pleasure from her.
“My mate,” he said in her ear. The two of them quivered, staring into each other, the cell around them disappearing. There was no one that could part them. There was nothing at all but the two of them.
18
Delilah
“Katz.” Delilah said the name flatly, bouncing on her toes. She was standing at the entrance of the cave, worriedly looking up toward the Observatory.
The two mountain lion shifters were
in love. She’d hardly had to do a thing before they’d fallen for each other like rocks. The hardest part had been getting Sam to wake from his coma. Now the two of them were awake, in love and absolutely committed to each other. On the downside, they were being held hostage in a cave by an evil wizard. She could go save them now. There was nothing physically stopping her. She could walk right into the cave and unlock their cell and let them out. The couple were asleep now. They wouldn’t even see Delilah. She felt like that should make it unobtrusive enough that she could potentially get away with it. She could also deactivate that magical shield with one touch to her Oracle device.
But all of this would be considered as too invasive. She was supposed to help along the humans as they fell in love and overcame whatever obstacle there was to overcome. This was doing too much work for them. If she could have dropped a clue as to how they could get out of the cell, that would have been something. But there was really no way for them to escape that didn’t involve direct action by Delilah. She had nothing. She was completely bereft of ideas.
“Katz!” She said, a little louder, on her toes.
She found herself unaccountably worried for the shifters. And not just Sam and Gwen, but all the mountain lion shifters. If Basil managed to succeed, he would wipe them all out and somehow the thought put a lump in Delilah’s throat. She had done terrible things in her own time on Earth. She hadn’t even been a member of the afterlife very long. But she had come to be somewhat fascinated by people who tried to do the right thing. They were always falling in love and making friends and sometimes the people they cared so much about died, and they were ruined. But somehow ruined people kept getting up again and could even start caring about someone else. That seemed bold of them to Delilah’s mind. What if they lost that new person? What if Sam someday lost Gwen after he’d already lost his pride? She had never considered the future of the couples she matched up before. And now the thought of some future tragic end made her choke up a little.
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