by Lilly Pink
“She’s right,” said Marissa. “You need to take us to the spot where she was taken, Greg. We must get there before their trail disappears.”
“Right,” said Greg. He briefly turned towards the other shifters and with a low roar they all took off into the forest, with the panthers by their sides.
Once they made their way to the spot where Greg had seen the Diochantis wisp his mother away in a swirl of black smoke, Marissa began circling the area. When Olivia began seeing images in her mind she was worried that something bad was happening until she heard Marissa’s voice in her mind as well, “They are inside the mountains behind the waterfall.”
Olivia could see the Diochantis working, on what she assumed were spells, and in the middle of it all was Jane. She was unconscious, in her human form, and chained to a table with tubes running from both of her arms. A dark fluid was pumping out of her through the tubes, and it was only a moment before Olivia realized the dark fluid was Jane’s blood.
If they had been draining her blood at this same rate since she was taken, Olivia was afraid she would be bled dry before they would be able to make it to her. The next thing Olivia knew, she was no longer seeing inside of the mountain. Marissa had stopped the vision, and when Olivia looked over in Marissa’s direction she was surrounded by Whytes.
“I called out to them,” Marissa shifted her head side to side to indicate the Whytes as she spoke. “We are going to need their help to save Jane.”
“Hello, your majesties. I am Joseph, the Grande Whyte. We can send you all straight into the mountain from here, saving precious time,” he said, standing to Marissa’s right.
A cohesive growl sounded from the lions behind Olivia. Everyone was ready to get Jane back, and take out the Diochantis scum that had taken her in the first place.
“Then, let’s do it,” said Greg sharply. Olivia knew he was on edge, and his patience was gone.
Marissa spoke up before the Whytes could take them into the mountain, “Wait, you all need to know something else.” She paused, waiting for Greg to give her his attention. “I saw the Diochantis spell the mountain. Any shifter who enters the mountain will automatically be transformed back into their human form.”
“Is there anything that you can do to counteract that?” Olivia asked the Grande Whyte, Joseph.
“I can’t say for sure until we get there,” Joseph replied, “but we should be able to detect the spell they used and stop it.”
“How long will that take?”
Joseph shook his head. “It will depend on the strength of the spell they used.”
Greg shifted back into his human form and stood so that he was facing everyone. “If you are not comfortable going with us given this new information, I understand. For those of you who still wish to come along, I think it would be best to go in as human so the forced shift doesn’t distract us and give them an even bigger upper hand.” He turned to Olivia as she shifted.
She took his hand and squeezed, and when Olivia turned to look back, everyone in both lion prides, and the panthers had all shifted into their human forms.
“Great,” said Joseph, “then we are going now.”
Olivia felt wind swirling all around and the next thing she knew, they were inside of the mountain and could hear the sound of the waterfall crashing into the river just outside the entrance.
Joseph and the rest of the Whytes began chanting a spell to allow the shifters to take their animal forms. Olivia, Greg, and Marissa took off towards the center of the mountain where they knew that Jane was being held. Everyone else worked hard to fight the Diochantis to clear the way for them to get to Jane.
When they came to the back cavern where Marissa’s vision had shown them Jane was being held, Olivia could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and a feeling of unease settled over her. They had gotten to Jane so easily, and that worried Olivia.
Before she had the chance to voice her concerns, Greg was pushing into the cavern and all hell broke loose. They were surrounded by Diochantis and at the center of the room where Jane was chained down was the scariest thing Olivia had ever seen. All she could think was “monster.” It was eight feet tall, with glowing red eyes.
The monster had scaled skin like an alligator and it was covered in thick green slime. It had incredibly sharp claws, and a head shaped like a dragon full of razor sharp fang-like teeth, and it smelled like rot and decay.
Greg leaped in front of her and placed himself between Olivia and the creature.
“They did it,” she heard Marissa say under her breath.
“Did what?” Olivia whispered.
Greg turned his head slightly so that he could quietly answer Olivia while he kept the monster in his sights. “They summoned a demon,” he said.
Olivia felt fear wash through her whole body. “Is that Diocholos?”
“No,” said Marissa, “it’s a lower level demon, but still not anything to play around with. I doubt we stand a chance at defeating him, unless Joseph and the Whytes hurry up with their spell so we can shift. In our human forms, we don’t have the strength to defeat a demon, no matter how small.”
Small? Olivia couldn’t believe Marissa would use the word small to describe the demon in front of them. If this demon was small, Olivia prayed she would never come across an upper level demon or Diocholos himself. The Diochantis didn’t waste time attacking them.
Greg and the others surrounded Olivia before she had the chance to fight. Everything was happening so fast that Olivia was struggling to keep up. She saw blood and heard screaming. Some was clearly the blood of the Diochantis as it was black and putrid, and their shriek-like screams were unmistakable as well.
Olivia knew it wasn’t only the enemy being hurt, and possibly even killed. All around her she heard the shouts and screams of pain coming from the shifters as they tried in vain to win this battle in their human forms. Suddenly, Olivia was thrown across the room as the demon knocked Greg backwards, and she heard Greg cry out in pain as the demon’s claws tore into the flesh on Greg’s chest.
Olivia heard Greg’s scream, and saw the blood that covered his chest where his flesh was ripped open. Rage consumed her and for the first time without having to think about it Olivia shifted into her lion.
With the rage, an atomic heat ripped through her body and light as bright as the sun exploded around her body like a kaleidoscope. As her light touched the shifters, they were immediately transformed into their animal counterparts, lions and panthers alike. The light coming from her body was getting stronger, and Olivia could feel it within her.
It was a part of her, and it was what she needed to kill the demon so they could get to Jane and get her home. Olivia crouched down and leaped off the ground and over the heads of the lions and Diochantis surrounding her, so that she was right in front of the demon.
The demon leaped at her with its mouth open ready to bite, but Olivia was too fast. She jumped to the side, which caused the demon to miss her, then she turned and leaped onto his back and bit into his neck. While her teeth were buried in the demon’s neck, she called upon her light and concentrated its force on the demon.
When the light poured from her mouth into the demon where she had her teeth tightly clamped around him, the demon let out a blood curdling scream and smoke filled the cavern inside of the mountain. Within less than a minute, Olivia heard a loud pop and the demon exploded and turned to ash. The Diochantis who were still alive all let out a shrill cry that made Olivia wish she didn’t have super hearing, and then they all began blowing out of the mountain in a swirl of black smoke.
Olivia and Greg didn’t waste any time getting to Jane. They tore through the chains on either side of her, but she was unconscious and very weak. Before anything could be discussed, Greg shifted back into a human, and carefully lifted his mother into his arms like he was cradling a baby. Olivia felt a small hand on her fur, and when she looked back, Joseph was holding onto her and Greg.
“I’ve got you,” sa
id Joseph just before Olivia felt herself surrounded by the rushing wind, and then they were home in their house in the forest.
Greg put his mother in her bed and asked Joseph to help her heal.
Joseph shook his head. “No, we cannot help,” he said. “She is too far gone for our magic to save her, but your queen holds the power to replenish Jane’s life force.”
Olivia hadn’t shifted out of her lion form; something inside of her had been telling her not to, and with Joseph’s words she knew her gut instinct had been right.
“What the hell do you mean? Your people have the strongest magic in our world, outside of the dark arts. How can you not help her?” Greg was scared for his mother, and Olivia heard his voice crack when he questioned Joseph’s statement.
Olivia was able to speak to her mate through her thoughts so that she could reassure him she knew what to do. “Greg, he’s right,” she told him. “I know what to do.”
Greg’s eyebrows drew together as he looked her in the eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“I can’t explain it right now, but I can save her.”
When Greg nodded his acceptance, Olivia slowly crawled into the bed beside Jane. She wrapped herself around her until she could barely be seen beneath all of Olivia’s fur. Olivia took a breath to steady herself, then she drew on her light again. She allowed her light to flow through her and into Jane until she was glowing just as brightly as Olivia.
Olivia could hear when Jane’s heartbeat got stronger, and she felt Jane’s body move as her breathing became more normal. Within a few minutes, Olivia was able to put her light to rest and got up from the bed, shifting into her human form. The glow was slowly leaving Jane’s body, and once it was completely gone, Jane’s eyes finally opened and she gave Olivia and Greg a small smile before closing them and going back to sleep.
“She will be fine now,” said Joseph. “She’ll probably sleep for several hours while her body builds her strength back up, but that is to be expected after everything she went through.”
When Olivia looked around the room she realized that everyone was watching her like they had never seen her before.
Jessica was the first one to speak up, “How did you do that?” she asked Olivia.
“It’s hard to explain. The first time it happened in the cavern it was my body reacting on instinct. There was so much blood, and everyone was screaming. When I saw the demon strike Greg and heard him cry out, I felt an overwhelming heat rush through my body. I didn’t even consciously make the decision to shift.
The next thing I knew I was in my lion form and bright light was pouring from my body. Some instinct inside of me told me that the light was the key to destroy the demon, and I just did what felt natural.”
“So, were you angry just now when you took control of the light while you held Jane?” asked Marissa.
Olivia looked down at Jane when she answered, “No, not really. I was scared that after everything, we still might lose her, but as soon as Joseph said I could save her something in my mind clicked into place. I knew that my light could heal her.”
When Olivia looked up, Greg was staring down at her and he smiled sweetly. He rubbed the back of his hand along her cheek before he brought his mouth down to hers and kissed her tenderly. He put his mouth to her ear, and Olivia felt his breath on her skin when he said “Thank you.”
Then Greg looked around the room and said, “Thank you all for everything you did to help save my mother. Now I would say we’re all deserving of some rest.”
As everyone left the room they shook Greg’s hand, and several of them gave Olivia a tight hug, uttering their thanks in her ear before they pulled away. Once everyone was gone, Greg pulled Olivia closer to him with both of his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Now that we are finally alone, what do you say to me carrying you to bed so that I can give you a proper thank you?”
Greg’s voice was low and husky and when he trailing hot kisses down the side of Olivia’s neck she felt a new kind of heat bring her body to life.
When Greg softly bit her at the base of her neck where it curved out toward her shoulder, she involuntarily sighed and felt sparks of lust shoot through her body. Olivia’s thighs clenched, and her knees went weak with need. Greg laughed quietly and then he bent down and ran his arm under her knees.
The next thing Olivia knew, she was in Greg’s arms and he held her pressed against his chest.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Greg whispered with his mouth hovering over hers just before he pressed his lips to hers in a hot kiss and carried her to their room.
Greg laid her on their bed and ran his tongue down her body. He took his time and slowly lavished each of her breasts, pulling her hard nubs into his hot mouth and gently biting down just before he circled his tongue and sucked. Olivia was moaning out loud and arching her back up, pressing her breasts into his face as he continued the slow, seductive torture. Then he was moving lower until she felt his warm breath wash over her aching core.
When Olivia felt Greg’s mouth press against her, and he began expertly moving his tongue into her, she shattered as her orgasm ripped through her body and she cried out as her pleasure pulsed through her. “Oh, Greg!”
Greg moved back up Olivia’s body, wrapping his hands around the back of her thighs, and thrust inside of her at the same time he planted a hard and passionate kiss against her lips. Olivia moaned and cried out her pleasure into Greg’s mouth as he caressed her tongue with his while he thrust into her again and again. When Greg growled in his own pleasure she felt the vibrations travel from her mouth down to where their bodies were joined, and Olivia felt her pleasure building up again.
When Greg pulled his mouth from hers, he pushed her legs forward and gripped her thighs and began slamming into her over and over, grunting with every thrust.
“Olivia, fuck! Ugh!” Greg cried out and Olivia felt his orgasm erupt inside of her.
Feeling her mate’s pleasure was exactly what she needed to push her over the edge for the second time, as wave after wave of pleasure ripped through her and sent pleasure through every inch of her body.
“Oohh, Greg, God, yes!”
Greg’s movements slowed down until they were both spent and he lay down and pulled Olivia onto his chest. Olivia propped her head up so that she was able to look him in the eyes. Greg smiled and kissed her sweetly.
“God, I love you,” he said. His voice was deep and raspy from their lovemaking.
Olivia ran her hands through his hair on either side of his face and kissed him slowly. “I love you too,” she told him when she pulled back from the kiss.
Greg smiled and reached up to pull her back down for another kiss. It wasn’t long before Olivia felt Greg grow hard again underneath her, and he reached out and lifted her on top of him. They made love all night, not sleeping until neither of them could hold their eyes open anymore.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Greg
Greg was surprised to find his mother awake and making breakfast when he came downstairs the next day. Olivia had sneaked out before he woke up and they were both in the kitchen along with Jessica, and a few other women, three shifter families currently staying in the Wilds’ homes.
He also noticed Sasha sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee in her hands and she was glaring at the back of Olivia’s head. Greg could swear he saw hate in her eyes before the sound of him entering he room distracted her and she dropped her head to take a swallow from her coffee. Greg didn’t like the way she’d been looking at his mate, and he decided that he might need to keep an eye on her around Olivia.
He wasn’t going to stand for her getting any ideas about challenging his mate. Maybe he would ask Edmund to have a talk with his daughter to ensure she wasn’t coming up with any bright ideas.
He walked around the counter and came up behind Olivia. Greg hugged her, pressing her back against his front and she turned her head so he could give her a quick kiss. “Good morning,” he said.<
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“Good morning to you too.” Olivia smiled and Greg let her go and walked over to his mother.
“How are you feeling, Mom?” he asked her.
“I’m great, honey. Thanks to all of you, and especially Olivia.” She looked around Greg and smiled at his mate. When he turned to offer her a smile of his own, she was blushing crimson red. “Now, get out of our way while we finish cooking.” She mock pushed him out of her way and went back to flipping pancakes on the griddle.
Greg held his hands up in surrender as he backed up and out of her way. He looked at Sasha and caught her staring at him. “I take it they kicked you out of their way too,” he said to her. She drew her eyebrows together and he could have sworn she looked guilty about something. He turned to his mother and raised an eyebrow in question.
She rolled her eyes when she answered his unspoken question. “Not quite. Miss thing over there came slumping in here like she hadn’t slept in ages and plopped down on that stool, so your mate offered her that cup of coffee she’s drinking. I honestly haven’t figured out what she has to be so tired about.” Jane looked at Sasha expectantly and Greg covered his mouth as he tried to stop his laughter.
His mother had never had much of a filter, always saying what was on her mind. Add that to the fact that she couldn’t stand laziness and Sasha just might be in for it.
A few seconds passed where nobody made a sound as Jane, Greg, and Olivia looked at Sasha and waited to see if she would say anything. The dead silence made it feel much longer than it was.
Finally, Sasha apparently realized everyone was waiting for her to speak up for herself, and in a quiet mousy tone she said, “I’m still tired from the fight yesterday. I’m surprised you guys aren’t worn out too. Maybe you slept better than I did, but I just kept replaying the image of that demon in my mind and it woke me right back up.”
That was when Marissa entered the kitchen, and she spoke before anyone else could. “Considering the fact that the only thing I saw you do yesterday was make sure you were as far away from any of the enemy as possible, I don’t know what you are talking about when you say you’re worn out from the fight.”
