Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1)

by Theresa Hissong

  “We need to talk with you, Liberty, and it’s important,” Winter said, all sense of humor gone.

  “Can we not do this in the morning?” she asked, cocking her hip to the side. “And by the way, this is no way to come for a visit, boys.”

  “Boys?” Savage snorted. Savage was younger than Talon, but only by a few years. His brown hair barely reached his shoulders and his arms were heavily tattooed.

  “Savage,” Talon warned.

  “Sorry,” he replied.

  “Liberty,” Talon said as he turned to address her. She suppressed a sigh at hearing her name fall from his lips. “This is important and not something we need to talk about out here. May we please come inside?”

  “I’ll get you some of my dad’s old sweatpants and put them on the back porch. You can come inside when you are decent.” She lowered the gun and tucked it in the back of her waistband.

  “Thank you,” he said, his voice sounding a bit more normal.

  Liberty rushed into the house, trying to keep as quiet as possible so she didn’t wake up Nova. If her sister had known there were three naked men at the house, she’d be down there in an instant. Grabbing the box in the back of the storage room closet, she tried to not think of her father as she dug out the pants.

  Outside, there was an old wooden swing to the right of the door. She didn’t say anything, just set the pants on the seat and turned back to go inside.

  Taking a calming breath, she took a seat at the square table in her tiny kitchen where she could see the back door. Her hands fidgeted as she bit her lip, trying to think about why these men were slinking around her yard in the middle of the night. Whatever it was, she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what they had to say.

  “Liberty?” Talon called out quietly, pulling the old wooden screen door open.

  “Have a seat,” she said, motioning to the chairs around the table.

  She had to swallow the lump in her throat when she looked up, seeing the three men duck as they entered her house. They were not only gorgeous, but extremely muscular. Talon’s skin was tanned, like he’d spent most of the summer working outside…shirtless. His chest was smooth except for a thin, dark trail of hair leading from below his navel down to where it disappeared into the borrowed pants. Those pants were slung low on his hips, a defined muscle rose out of the material and made a thick V leading up from his hips. His nipples were dark brown and she bit her tongue to keep from licking her lips.

  “Why are you on my property?” she demanded, trying to get her mind to come back on line. Maybe she should’ve offered them shirts? Not that they would’ve fit any of them. Her father had been a big man, but nothing compared to these shifters. All three wooden chairs groaned from their weight as Talon, Winter, and Savage took a seat, making Liberty feel like a small child.

  “Do you know any shifters? Other than us?” Talon asked, his eyes locked with hers. He was on edge, so much so, she could feel the tension in the air.

  “Me? Um, no,” she replied, confused as to why they were asking. “Why?”

  “We were out on our hunt for the Fall Equinox and scented a strange cat on your land,” he started explaining. “We shifted to investigate and found a very large paw print just inside the tree line at the edge of your yard.”

  “What?” she gasped. “Are you sure?”

  “We’re sure,” Talon continued. “Winter found the print. We’d just shifted to human when you pointed your weapon at us.” He glanced at the gun in question, sitting in front of her on the table. She didn’t know these guys well and with the kissing, she wasn’t sure what his intentions were toward her. So, she was going to play it safe.

  “There was something…” She paused, biting her lip.

  “What, Liberty?” he urged, reaching out to take her hand softly. There was that jolt again. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, jerking back in her seat when she realized what she’d done, but she didn’t let go of his hand, either.

  “When we locked up the bar, I thought someone was out there watching us,” she admitted, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. It also helped that Talon’s large hand had enveloped hers. She had no desire to pull it back. “I didn’t see anyone, but I could’ve sworn I smelled something.”

  “What did you scent, Liberty?” Talon asked, concern causing a wrinkle to form between his eyes. Liberty wanted so badly to reach up and smooth it away, but she didn’t want to touch him. It was hard enough composing sentences when he held her hand.

  “It smelled wild, familiar,” she explained, glancing at the two other men. They were leaning forward, their elbows resting on the table. They didn’t appear to have noticed that Talon had moved his seat closer to hers. He was still holding her hand.

  “Like one of us?” Winter asked. He’d been quiet up until then, only listening to her and Talon’s conversation.

  “I think so,” she answered hesitantly. “Like you, but not you. I don’t know. It was a bit breezy. It could’ve been anything. Maybe it was coming from the dumpster. God knows that thing stinks on the weekends before it’s picked up on Monday.”

  “What else?” Talon urged, taking his thumb and rubbing it slowly across the back of her knuckles.

  “When we arrived here, I was unlocking the door and heard a branch snap out in the woods.” She pointed in the direction where she’d also found the three of them. “I thought maybe it was you.”

  “It wasn’t me,” he cursed. “Liberty, I’m worried we may have a rogue loose in the area. I don’t know why he came here. Maybe he was just passing through, but I don’t like this at all.”

  “But I thought your kind weren’t dangerous,” she stated, looking at each of the men.

  “We can be,” Talon replied, his voice dangerously low. “But we don’t hurt women…ever.”

  “Okay,” she said, drawing out the word. “That’s good to know, I guess.”

  “Where’s your phone?” he asked, finally releasing her hand. She wanted to reach out for his warmth again, but didn’t. Instead, she stood up to retrieve her phone from her purse. When she returned, he was frowning at the gun she had left on the table. “Do you know how to use that thing?”

  “Yes,” she chuckled, handing over her phone so he could enter his phone number into her contacts. “I’ve been handling firearms since I was six years old. My daddy taught me how to be safe around guns, and I’m a damn good shot.”

  “Do you have no fear, woman?” Winter asked, shaking his head. “Never go out into a dark area to confront three men in the woods.”

  “I was perfectly fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “It stopped you, didn’t it?”

  “That’s because we were a friend, not an enemy,” Savage offered, finally speaking up.

  “I’m going to send some Guardians to watch over your property for a few nights,” Talon said, his tone telling her his decision was final. But Liberty wasn’t one of his pride. “If you have any problems, you call me immediately.”

  “Um, no,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t need men around here, walking through my property at night.”

  “I wasn’t asking you,” he argued, leaning forward. She felt a wave of power emanate from his body, only freezing her for a moment, before she shook herself and laughed.

  “You can’t use that mystical mojo on me, buddy,” she replied. “I’m human, remember?”

  “That’s the problem, isn’t it?” he muttered. Liberty tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “With all of the excitement of our announcement,” he started saying, then paused, looking deep into her eyes. It was as if he was gauging something. Like he was possibly trying to decide what or how he should say what he needed to say.

  “Out with it, Talon,” she ordered, leaning forward so they were almost nose to nose. This man thought he’d come in here and boss her around? That was not happening.

  “There are things you do not know about us…thi
ngs you have no business knowing,” he snarled, a bit of amber bleeding into his ice blue eyes. “Can you just let us keep an eye on the place for a few days?” As soon as Talon started to relax, Liberty raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if he would continue. He didn’t, and she was glad because something inside her didn’t want this man to be angry with her. Hell, she didn’t even know him and for some reason, she wanted to… please him? She barely contained an unladylike snort.

  “I don’t want men hiding in the woods, watching my house. That’s a little creepy,” she complained, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms across her chest. The action sent Talon’s eyes southward to her breasts. She immediately dropped her arms and rested her fisted hands in her lap. She really wanted to punch the jerk.

  “They won’t be men,” he admitted, casting a glance at his two friends. “They’ll be panthers.”

  “Oh,” she gasped, her eyes widening.

  “I’ll be leading the group,” Winter informed her, putting her a bit at ease. She liked Talon’s second-in-command. He had a smile that melted your heart ….not to mention your panties. Winter Blue looked like he could be the boy next door, with his blonde hair and ice blue eyes. His defined muscles seemed to test the strength of the material in the borrowed sweatpants. He kept a few days growth on his face and it was neatly trimmed. “We just want to make sure you’re safe.”

  “Safe from what?” Nova demanded, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest, looking like a younger version of Liberty.

  “Whatever it is that’s been creeping around our property,” Liberty told her, standing up from her chair.

  “Did something happen after I went to bed?” Nova asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “I heard voices and decided to come down and see who was here.”

  Liberty offered her seat to Nova, and went to lean against the counter. Talon filled her sister in on everything that had happened up until Liberty had held a gun on them in the yard. Nova listened, nodding occasionally.

  “I think Talon’s right,” Nova agreed after she’d been told the entire story. “We have guns, but we don’t have anyone else out here.” Liberty ground her teeth and hated to admit that Nova was probably right.

  “Our kind are strong and fast,” Talon said, rising to his full height. He walked over to stand in front of Liberty. She had to lean her head back to be able to look him in the eyes. She was an average height of five and a half feet, but Talon towered over her. He had to have been six foot four or five.

  “I have no doubt that you are strong,” she snickered. “I’m sorry, but you guys are ginormous.”

  “With our…abilities, we also have superhuman strength,” Winter added, his eyes on Nova, who was grinning like a fool. “What?”

  “Told you my sexy romance books were spot on,” Nova laughed, looking over her shoulder at Liberty. As Nova got up from her chair, it was all Liberty could do not to run and hide from Nova’s embarrassing confession.

  “Romance books?” Savage asked, his voice deep and gravely.

  “Nothing,” Liberty bit out, shooing Nova out of the room. “Go to bed. You have stuff to do tomorrow.”

  “No, I don’t,” Nova giggled.

  “Yes, you do,” Liberty stammered. “You…you have to clean the backroom at the bar.”

  “What?” Nova gasped, but didn’t get a chance to say anything else before Liberty placed her hand over her sister’s lips, stopping any words that were next to fly out of her dang mouth.

  “Go. To. Bed, Nova,” Liberty ordered, shooting an angry look at her sister. Nova, being the smart one, took the hint, but laughed all the way back to her room.

  “You need your rest, too,” Talon said.

  “That I do,” she said, suddenly feeling bone tired. They’d been in her house for an hour already, and she found that she liked them there for some strange reason. She’d think about her feelings tomorrow when she’d had more sleep and time to figure out everything that had happened tonight.

  “Can you give us a moment?” Talon asked his men. They both nodded, wished Liberty a good night, and walked out the back door.

  “What is it?” Liberty asked, taking a step closer to Talon. That was one step too many because she could smell him again, and damn if he didn’t smell amazing.

  “My scent attracts you,” he stated.

  “Do…what?” she gasped. “Excuse me?”

  “It’s the mating scent,” he said, then smiled at her. She could’ve sworn his chest puffed out a bit, but...well, maybe it did. Damn, she couldn’t quit staring at his muscles or his nipples. Liberty, you tramp! Stop!

  “About this mating thing,” she snapped, remembering all too well what happened at the bar. “I’m not falling for this mate stuff. If you want to get to know me better, that’s fine, but you don’t just claim me or whatever it is that your kind does. I’m a woman, and I should be treated as such. Doesn’t your kind date?”

  “Huh?” he asked, confusion written all over his face. She felt a dreamy sigh billowing up, but pushed it down. He had to do this right.

  “Why don’t you ask your buddies?” she said, pushing him out of the door. “I’m too damn tired to get into this conversation tonight, I mean, this morning.” She quickly closed the door before he could say anything else, but he wasn’t done.

  “Liberty,” he growled from the other side of the door.

  “Good night, Talon,” she sweetly responded, turning off the back porch light and taking the stairs two at a time so she could finally get some sleep.

  “Stubborn ass woman,” Talon grumbled, stomping off of her porch. His narrowed gaze sent Winter and Savage back a few steps, his alpha power radiating out toward his Guardians.

  “She wants to be courted?” Savage scoffed, kicking a rock out of the way. It sailed through the forest and imbedded itself into a tall pine tree.

  “I can’t be mated to a human,” Talon sighed. “It’s just not possible. I…I could kill her when we mate.”

  “Nah,” Winter drawled. “She’s a sturdy thing. I bet she could handle ya.”

  “I’m not willing to take that chance,” he replied, stripping off his borrowed pants.

  “I’ll keep watch until the sun comes up, then head back to the house,” Winter said, preparing himself for the shift.

  “Report as soon as you arrive back,” Talon ordered. “If there is any trouble, call for me.” The pride couldn’t talk amongst themselves when in their cat form, but they could communicate with him. The alpha knew all, saw all, and felt all. If there was a member in distress, he would know. It was his job to see to their well-being.

  “Yes, sir,” Winter nodded, shifting into a sleek black panther.

  In a matter of minutes, Talon and Savage had shifted for the return to his home. Talon snagged the sweats between his teeth, careful not to puncture holes in them. He’d have them laundered and he’d return them to her tomorrow night at the bar. It’d give him a chance to get to know her better.

  Even with the added coat of fur, Talon shivered as the wind blew, the faint scent of the unknown cat tickling his nose. He had a bad feeling deep in his bones and he didn’t like it one bit.

  The trip back to his property took fifteen minutes, with them only needing to cross one road. As soon as he entered their property, he saw that a few of his pride were milling around, tired from their hunt. Noah was pulling a large buck by its hind leg, dragging the carcass back toward the house.

  Once the trees opened into the large backyard of the pride’s home, Talon shifted, grabbing his jeans from the wooden table where he’d left them. Scooping up the used sweatpants, he climbed the porch stairs and entered the kitchen, only to find several female pride members with his mom cleaning dishes and covering leftover food.

  “Make sure you take some of that home with you,” he encouraged, nodding toward the bowls and plates on the long dining room table.

  The pride all lived on his land; several cabins dotted the area around the main hou
se where Talon lived with his brother, Kye. Noah had built his own cabin the spring before and lived just inside the wooded area on the side of the house.

  The land was Talon’s home, had always been. To an outsider, the driveway from the road looked like any other entrance to a home in the country. If someone came onto the property, the long, winding drive would take you through a thickly wooded area before opening up to a large meadow. The home sat in the middle of the clearing, large and inviting. Talon loved sitting on the wrap around porch in the evenings, just as the sun set, listening to his pride settling in their cabins for the night.

  All of the pride had cabins of their own; mated couples had the biggest homes for all of their cubs and any future ones they might have. The single panthers lived off to one side of the main house, down a dirt road big enough for their vehicles to pass. There was also a one story building that had been transformed from a stable into a six bedroom cabin for the Guardians who had no desire to build their own homes yet. They preferred to wait until they found their mates.

  Finding a mate wasn’t always easy for their kind. When there was only one person in the world who was destined to be your true mate, most panthers ended up growing old alone, and that saddened Talon. A few couples had settled, choosing to be with someone who wasn’t their true mate. Usually, it was the elder members of his pride. The ones who’d grown older would meet another panther and strike up a relationship. They’d become comfortable, maybe even fall in love with each other, and then decided to live together as a mated pair. Talon didn’t fault them for that; he even approved their mating, because not every panther found their true mate.

  Talon had been alpha of this pride since his father had been killed in a car crash just over two years ago. Even with his advanced healing abilities, the accident had been fatal upon impact. His mother lived in one of the single cabins not far from Noah. She’d been perfectly happy to move out of the alpha’s home to give Talon the space he’d need to fulfill the job that had landed in his lap. He’d been preparing to take over the pride when he was older…much older. Most alphas were in their mid to late forties, not twenty six years old. Thankfully, his father had taken him under his wing and taught him everything he could. Talon felt like he knew what needed to be done. He’d just turned twenty nine and had worked hard to gain the trust and respect of his pride.