Quarterback Lion: A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance

by Lilly Pink

  Sasha stood from her chair and planted her hands on her hips like she was getting ready to dispute what Marissa had said, but she didn’t get the chance. Marissa went on, “And you were never even in the chamber where Jane was held, so there is no way you could have seen that demon to be having nightmares about him. All I am saying is that clearly, your laziness didn’t start this morning.”

  “Ugh!” Sasha groaned out her annoyance when she turned and stomped her way out of the kitchen.

  Greg looked at Marissa and then back at his mother who was struggling to hold back her own laughter. When she looked at him they both lost it and burst out laughing.

  “Damn, Marissa,” said Greg through his laughter. “I thought Mom here was blunt, but you are brutal.”

  Marissa shrugged her shoulders while she made herself a cup of coffee. “I don’t see any reason to lie about things. Besides, with my family’s gift of sight we can always see if someone isn’t telling us the full truth, so we are raised to speak the truth regardless of how it might make someone feel.”

  Olivia was carrying food to the table when Marissa turned around. “I knew there was something I liked about you,” Olivia said to Marissa. They shared a smile between them, and Greg had no doubt that Marissa knew all about Sasha and her feelings of jealousy towards Olivia.

  “That girl has always had a stick up her ass,” said his mother when she joined Olivia in carrying food to the table. “It just went in a little deeper when you took Greg off the market. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that he found you. I was truly not looking forward to her joining the family pride.”

  “That’s funny, Mother, considering it was your idea,” Greg said when he carried the last of the food to the table for his mother.

  “I only agreed to it because I knew that threatening you with a lifetime tied to Sasha would get you off your ass, so that you could find your real mate.”

  Marissa chuckled when she took a seat at the table. “Well, it looks like your plan to scare him into adulthood worked.”Jane winked at Marissa. “Yep. A mother always knows best.” Greg pulled out a chair for Olivia, and looked at his mother like she was crazy. “Don’t look at me like that, Greg Wilds. You should be thanking me because you wound up finding your true mate, who just also happened to be the true lion-shifter queen. I’d say you turned out to be one lucky lion.”

  Olivia was blushing again when she picked up a serving spoon and said, “Okay then. Who’s ready for some eggs?”

  Greg smiled at her obvious attempt at changing the subject, but held up his plate while she scooped a helping of scrambled eggs for him. He stared at his mate for a moment and knew without a doubt that his mother was right. He was the luckiest male alive, and the amazing female who sat beside him was all the proof he needed to justify that fact.

  ***In the middle of the night, the door to Greg and Olivia’s room burst open with a loud crash as it slammed into the wall. The crash startled them both and they leaped out of bed in seconds and were both shifted into their lion forms before their feet hit the ground, prepared for anything. Two panthers stood before them, just inside their broken bedroom door.

  “What the hell’s going on?” demanded Greg.

  “Marissa sent us, your majesties. The Diochantis are coming.”

  Greg stiffened. “What do you mean, they are coming? Where?”

  “They are coming here, sir. They will be here very soon. Marissa had a vision while she slept, and she has sent our family around to warn everyone.”

  Greg was so pissed he was practically shaking, and he growled without thinking about it. He looked over at Olivia, and her anger was written all over her. Her fur was glowing, and the bright light that seemed to be a part of her now was clearly making its way to the surface. When she looked at him her eyes were glowing as brightly as the sun.

  They both roared loudly, and Greg sent his thoughts outward warning anyone who the panthers hadn’t gotten to yet, and instructed everyone to get outside and be on the lookout for the Diochantis. He wanted to stop them before they made it inside any of their homes.

  They ran downstairs and outside behind their two panther messengers, and met up with Jane, Jessica, Marissa, Edmund, and Joseph.

  “How in the hell did they find us?” asked Jane, once they were all together.

  “I can answer that, but at least one of you are not going to want to hear it.” Greg noticed Marissa glance at Edmund when Jane made her comment.

  “Marissa, now is not the time to start filtering yourself,” Greg told the panther leader.

  She turned to him, and with her big yellow eyes locked on his own she said one word, “Sasha.”

  Greg felt the truth of Marissa’s statement slam into him. He had known something was wrong when he walked in on Sasha glaring at Olivia in the kitchen early that morning, but he’d never imagined she was planning something so unforgivable. When Greg quieted his inner thoughts down enough to pay attention again, Jane and Edmund were shouting over each other.

  “That spoiled little bitch!” said Jane.

  “No! That is bullshit,” Edmund retorted in defense of his daughter. “My Sasha would never put us all in danger like this. She’s lying!” Edmund got in Marissa’s face and growled threateningly.

  “I’ll show you just what your rotten daughter did,” said Marissa and she lifted her paw and placed it atop one of Edmund’s shoulders.

  Greg wanted to see Sasha’s treachery for himself, so he shifted his body so that he was touching Marissa’s side when she showed Edmund what she had seen. Greg was taken back to that morning when Sasha stomped out of the kitchen, pissed off. She went outside to the forest beyond the houses and shifted where no one would see her.

  Then he watched as she ran until she came up to some caves hidden deep within the dark forest, and she was met by several Diochantis when she entered. When Greg witnessed Sasha tell the Diochantis where to find the shifters, and then she allowed them to take some of her blood so that they could raise another lower demon to help them when they attacked Greg’s pride, he was outraged.

  The only thing that she had asked of the Diochantis in return was for them to make sure the lion queen died a slow, painful death. When the vision ended, Greg was fueled by his anger. No one threatened his mate! He looked at Edmund and saw that his eyes were filled with tears. He knew what Sasha’s treason meant. He knew that his daughter would not be allowed to live after a betrayal of such magnitude.

  “Please, just make it quick,” Edmund pleaded with Greg.

  Greg nodded. There was no way he would allow Sasha to live after tonight, but he wasn’t going to drag out her death. No matter what she had done, he understood that she was still Edmund’s daughter and Greg wasn’t going to make him suffer any more than he already would with the death of his only daughter.

  That was when Greg heard the trees all around them rustling, and just when he turned around, Diochantis came hurdling through the trees all around them; they were completely surrounded. Just before Greg took off towards the rapidly approaching Diochantis, he warned everyone of Sasha’s betrayal.

  “If you see Sasha Forester she is to be killed,” he told everyone. “Do not hesitate. She is our enemy.”

  The lions and panthers charged the Diochantis. Greg could see the surprise on their disgusting faces when the Diochantis saw them approaching. It would seem they hadn’t figured out the panthers’ gift of sight and had expected to catch them all off guard and sleeping. Most likely they would assume Sasha had been caught or betrayed them. Greg had never seen so many Diochantis.

  Lately, every time they found themselves in a fight against the Diochantis, their numbers got larger. There had to be at least two hundred of the evil creatures converging on them. He knew that even with the help of the panther-shifters and Whytes they were greatly outnumbered. The likelihood that they would suffer casualties from this battle was high.

  Olivia, who was much faster than the rest of them, was the first to reach the enemy and sh
e didn’t waste any time ripping into them, using her claws and teeth as weapons as she ripped the creatures to shreds. Greg felt a momentary sense of pride when he watched his mate kill their enemies without hesitation. She was definitely born for this life.

  Soon everyone was surrounded by the Diochantis and they all fought with everything they had against the evil creatures. There were just so many more of them and Greg began to tire as the battle raged on, but they had only made a small dent in their enemy’s forces. Greg heard Jessica cry out in pain and when he turned, he saw Sasha had sneaked up on her from behind and she had her jaw locked around Jessica’s neck.

  Jessica flailed as she tried to break free from Sasha’s grip, but Sasha’s teeth were too deeply imbedded in Jessica’s flesh for her to break free. He saw Olivia and his mother were trying to break free from the Diochantis that they were fighting in order to get to Jessica but they were surrounded just like everyone else. Greg was going to try to get to her himself, but before he could Greg felt a hot searing pain rip through his back, and he was lifted off the ground and thrown backwards into the forest.

  He was blinded by the pain that coursed through his body which was only amplified every time he moved trying to stand up. Greg felt two giant claws wrap around each of his front legs, and then he was being dragged across the ground by two lower demons. They were pulling him in the direction of Olivia.

  When she saw him, Olivia began to glow and the light that was shining around her grew brighter fast. The next thing he knew, a claw was pressing into his throat, and then he heard the low garbled sound of one of the demons talking.

  “Stop, or your mate dies right now,” said the demon and he pressed his claw harder into Greg’s throat. Greg felt the tip puncture his flesh and he groaned in pain, but he couldn’t get away from them. “You may be fast, little queen, but you won’t be able to kill me fast enough to save his life.”

  “What do you want?” Olivia asked. Her voice was booming with her power, almost as if it were a loud echo.

  “You.”

  Greg was thrashing again and trying to break free from the demon’s hold on him. Not only was Greg trying to prevent him from taking Olivia as his mate, but if these demons and the Diochantis got their hands on Olivia it would mean hell on earth. Olivia was the most powerful lion-shifter in decades, if not centuries, and he was sure that the Diochantis would be able to use her blood to bring Diocholos to earth.

  “No! Only….” Greg’s plea was cut off at the demon dug his claw deeper into Greg’s throat.

  “STOP!” The power in Olivia’s voice was so astounding that everyone, even the demons froze and gave her their attention. “I will come with you if you release him, but first you must allow me to heal him and her,” Olivia told the demons and she nodded to Jessica’s limp, blood covered body which was lying on the ground next to Sasha when she’d finally released her.

  “Fine,” said the demon. “Do what you have to, but hurry up and don’t try anything or your mate is a dead cat.”

  Olivia walked over to Jessica, and Sasha moved in front of her in an attempt to keep Olivia from her. Olivia tore into Sasha’s throat with her teeth, and bright light radiated from her bite into Sasha. In a flash, Sasha was nothing more than a pile of ash at Olivia’s feet. Olivia didn’t waste any more time getting to Jessica. She covered Jessica’s body with her own, and allowed her light to wrap around Jessica’s body and heal her wounds, just as she had done with his mother the night before.

  Afterwards, Olivia stood and made her way over to where the demons still held onto Greg.

  “You’ll have to release him,” Olivia told the demons, and if Greg wasn’t mistaken, it sounded a lot like she had commanded them to do so.

  As if it had been a command that they couldn’t refuse, both of the demons immediately released Greg and he dropped down to the ground. Olivia repeated the same thing she’d done with Jessica, and wrapped her body and her light around him until he felt his wounds heal. Just before he passed out from the intensity of her power, Olivia said, “I love you, Greg,” and then he was out and there wasn’t anything he could do to protect her from the Diochantis or the demons. Hell was definitely about to rise.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Olivia

  Olivia allowed the Diochantis to lead her to their dark forest. She was terrified but refused to show it. More than she was afraid for herself, she was scared for her pride, family, and friends. She knew why the Diochantis wanted her, and she only hoped that she could stop them before they succeeded. Her blood was incredibly powerful, and they wanted to raise their demon god once and for all.

  Her blood held the power that they needed to be successful in their mission. She was afraid that she wouldn’t find a way to defeat them or escape before they used her to bring Diocholos to earth. Olivia knew that Diocholos was the most powerful high demon in the underworld, and that if he made it to earth it would mean the end of life as the world knew it. Unfortunately, that was all she knew about the demon. She was still new to the mystical world and had a lot left to learn. Hell, she was still learning about herself as a lion-shifter, discovering new things about herself almost daily.

  They entered a dark cave, and the stench of the Diochantis and the demons was almost enough to turn Olivia’s stomach. When they drove her deep into the cave, the Diochantis began chanting a spell and several of them cut themselves and walked around the cave smearing their oily, black blood all around the cave walls.

  After a few minutes Olivia felt her body shift on its own and she was in her human form again. Apparently, they performed the same spell they’d used on the cavern under the waterfall to prevent shifting. Olivia was scared before, but as she stood in the center of a cold, dark cave surrounded by the enemy, human and weak, she was suddenly terrified. Still, she didn’t want to show her fear, so she stood tall with her arms crossed in a sign of defiance.

  Olivia tried to remind herself that she had been in this situation before, forced into her human form, yet she had been able to override the spell and make the shift into her lion form. She had also learned to call on her light power, which allowed her to kill a demon and help save her pride and friends. If she was able to find a way around the Diochantis’ spell then, she would find a way to do it again.

  Last time she had been filled with complete rage when the demon attacked Greg, and that rage had awoken the light source inside of her. Olivia had since learned how to call on her light power and use it to fight her enemies, and heal those she cared about. She was sure she could figure out how she had used it to overpower the spell and shift before.

  The demons grabbed her arms and chained her to the cave wall with her hands raised up above her head.

  “Diocholos will be pleased when he is granted access to walk on earth thanks to your blood,” said one of the demons. He held his face inches from Olivia’s face and she had to hold her breath to keep from gagging on the putrid smell from the demons. “Your shifter family, and the humans of this world will have you to thank for their corruptions, and ultimately for their deaths.”

  “The only thing they will be thanking me for is your deaths,” Olivia’s surprised herself when she heard a growl underneath her voice when she spoke.

  If the lion within her was breaking through her speech, then she was sure she’d be able to find a way to shift soon. It was like Olivia could feel her lion just beneath her skin, itching to be freed.

  The demon pulled back and hit her in the face, and his claw dug into her flesh when he hit her. It was like its claws were laced with pure hell fire when they ripped into her flesh. Olivia shrieked in pain as she felt like fire had ignited in her face, like it were traveling through her blood stream. She writhed in pain when the sensation rushed throughout her whole body within seconds.

  The Diochantis gathered around her and smeared their hands through her blood. They were chanting another spell and waving their hands, soaked in her blood, and they each went up to a large black candle that was lit in th
e middle of the room. They slung their hands toward the candle and Olivia’s blood was flung on the flame. Every drop of Olivia’s blood that rained down on the candle’s flame made the flame grow and it was turning black.

  Olivia struggled to see everything that was going on because her own blood was smeared all over her face, and she was still in excruciating pain from the hellfire she felt flowing through her body. After what felt like an hour of the Diochantis’ chanting and slinging her blood on the black flame, Olivia watched as the flame grew into a figure.

  The creature was much larger than the two lower demons who stood on either side of Olivia. She was sure that it was at least ten feet tall. Its body was black, and appeared to be made up of iron and rock scales. Its eyes were the solid black orbs Olivia had learned to associate with anything demonic. It had long, sharp claws, and teeth that looked like they could rip through steel.

  Between the scales that covered its body, red flames peeked out, and steam rolled out of its nostrils with every breath that it took. To top it off, the demon had curved horns that were at least a foot high on its head, and they were surrounded by continuous flames. The demon breathed heavily and grunted with every breath, reminding Olivia of the sound bulls made just before they charged.

  She figured that the demon was probably preparing to charge her. Olivia was sure that she was looking at the demon god worshiped by the Diochantis. They had done it; they’d used her blood to summon Diocholos and she hadn’t been able to do a thing to stop them.

  The Diochantis dropped to the ground and bowed to their demon’s feet. They were uttering their worship and praise for Diocholos, and if Olivia hadn’t been in such agony she would have rolled her eyes, and possibly gagged at their blind loyalty to this monster. Diocholos walked up to her and lifted her chin with the blunt edge of his claw.