Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1)

by Theresa Hissong

  “No one will look upon your skin,” he reassured her, taking a protective stance in front of Liberty. His shoulders blocked out any prying eyes that might be around. She quickly undressed and stood there, staring up at her mate. “I’ll rip them to shreds if they try.”

  She chuckled and prepared herself for the shift, but she wasn’t quite sure what she needed to do. Talon waited patiently for her to do something. With a frown, she looked into his eyes, “A little help?”

  “Feel your panther,” he said. She closed her eyes and felt for the animal that now lived within. Her panther stretched lazily somewhere in the back of her mind. Liberty couldn’t see her, but she could feel the panther. A mewl broke free from her lips, startling Liberty. Her eyes opened wide, landing on Talon still standing in front of her.

  “How?” she asked, her voice cracking from uncertainty.

  “Let her free, Liberty,” he ordered, then a push of his power engulfed her body. The panther inside roared, pushing…demanding to be set free. “Shift, mate.”

  Liberty dropped to her knees in the dirt, leaves crunching underneath where she landed. She felt her canines grow, sprouting inside her human mouth. She moaned from the slight ache. It wasn’t painful.

  She fell to her side as her legs reshaped, hair sprouting from beneath her human skin. Her tailbone tingled as a long, graceful tail emerged from her body. Her ears rang as the panther continued to transform. It felt like ages for the shift to be complete, but in all reality, it took less than a minute.

  “You are so beautiful,” Talon whispered, kneeling down next to her. She could see him through her panther’s eyes. The panther raised its head, its tongue snaking out to lick the side of her mate’s face. He laughed and stood, removing his shirt. “Let’s run, Liberty.”

  She watched as his body formed into a large black cat. He was easily twice her size. The panther nudged her belly, forcing her to stand. When she did, he rubbed his face against hers. The panther purred in response. They took turns rubbing their scent on each other’s fur.

  Liberty yelped when Talon bit her flank playfully. He nudged her, urging her to run into the woods so he could chase her. He was being playful, and both Liberty and her panther liked seeing him this way. The alpha was happy, and that was all that mattered to a pride of panthers.

  The End…

  Look for Nova and Winter’s story…Coming Soon!

  Take a look at Fatal Desires

  (Fatal Cross Live! Book 1)

  Available now

  from Theresa Hissong

  Prologue

  Coraline

  One night of heated passion with Taylor Vaughn and three store-bought pregnancy tests later, I was fucked. Totally screwed.

  I was freaking pregnant!

  And that low-down, dirty piece of shit wouldn’t return my calls.

  Taylor showing up at the same resort as me was just a coincidence…my ass. We’d both been flirtatious on the tour a year ago when his band, Fatal Cross, opened for Glory Days, my cousin’s band. I’d been a roadie and tour manager for Glory Days for the past six years. Ever since the day I graduated high school, I had worked my ass off to make their concerts the best of the best. That’s how the current events leading up to this point in my life happened. I ended up lusting over the guitarist for Fatal Cross when they’d opened for Glory Days just one year ago.

  It wasn’t until three weeks ago that I saw Taylor in the Azores at a resort I thought was private.

  A shadow had formed over my lawn chair and I raised my sunglasses to see who the hell was bothering me. I was completely surprised to see the sexy guitarist hovering over my chair like a dog in heat. Of course, his eyes heated from roaming up and down the navy blue string bikini I was wearing. And you better believe I flaunted my goods for him to see. We were on neutral turf and I didn’t have to keep to my self-imposed rules of business only relationships with the people I dealt with on a day to day basis.

  Dinner and two bottles of very expensive wine later, we were tearing each other’s clothes off like pornstars just offered a million dollar contract.

  It was a curse that sex with Taylor was the best sex I’d ever had. It was also a given that sex that good should’ve come with a warning label, because nothing said I’d get knocked up with his kid. Of course, at the time, I really didn’t care when he was buried to the hilt and I was screaming his name.

  My birth control obviously didn’t work or I’d have made him use some sort of protection. That was the other dumbass move on my part. Rule number one….don’t sleep with rockstars who’ve dipped their pen in so much ink that their cocks are stained from all the attention.

  Now, I had to get in touch with him and he wasn’t answering my calls or returning my messages. The whole thing was nothing but a one night stand, and the sad thing was…I wanted more. Even if he was the biggest jerk on the face of the planet, I still wanted him. We clicked in ways I’d never had with another man. He got me, but obviously the feelings were one-sided.

  Standing in the bathroom of my condo in Los Angeles, and looking at the pregnancy tests lined up on the sink, I realized that I was the fool. Taylor Vaughn didn’t want anything from me but a hot night in the sack. I was a conquest. He’d scaled that mountain and posted his flag at the peak.

  And the kicker? In just two months’ time, he would be taking over for Glory Days guitarist, Gabe Miller, while he returned home for the birth of his child. I’d be screwed, because with my line of work and being pregnant, I wouldn’t be doing much more than being the band’s gofer, and Taylor would definitely know that I was pregnant as soon as I started showing. Which I didn’t mind about the work situation, but I was sure that once my cousin found out about the little bun in my oven, Taylor Vaughn would be a dead man.

  About Theresa Hissong:

  Theresa is a mother of two and the wife of a retired Air Force Master Sergeant. After seventeen years traveling the country, moving from base to base, the family has settled their roots back in Theresa’s home town of Olive Branch, MS, where she enjoys her time with family and old friends.

  After almost three years of managing a retail bookstore, Theresa has gone behind the scenes to write romantic stories with flare. She enjoys spending her afternoons daydreaming of the perfect love affair and takes those ideas to paper.

  Look for other exciting reads…coming very soon!