Quarterback Lion: A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance

by Lilly Pink

  She shook her head. “No, I can’t do that.”

  “But,” Greg started to protest but Olivia cut him off and placed her fingers gently against his lips.

  “Greg, do you really think that those of us who stay behind will be safe if you all don’t make it?” Olivia asked, then she took hold of his hands. “I know you want to keep me safe, but I want to do the same for you. I need you.”

  Olivia was surprised when Greg’s voice cracked when he spoke again. “If they hurt you,” he paused and Olivia noticed that his eyes were shining with unshed tears, “I can’t make it without you, Olivia, and I don’t want to. You are my world.”

  Now Olivia was fighting the urge to cry, too. “That is why we need to do this together. I believe that we are stronger together, and together we can do this. Okay?”

  Greg was staring at her, taking all of her in for a few moments before he said, “Okay.”

  Then he took her face in his hands and kissed her, soft at first, but it wasn’t long before his kiss became more passionate and he stood up and lifted Olivia in his arms. He didn’t release the kiss all of the way up the stairs to their bedroom. When they made love that night, Olivia could feel every ounce of his love as he poured it into her with every touch and kiss.

  CHAPTER 12

  Greg

  Greg and the others had spent the past few days going over their plans, and Olivia had stayed by his side the whole time. They were going to spend every minute they could together, and since they were going to attack the Diochantis in the morning, they were having a big dinner together that night. Everyone was trying to be optimistic, but they weren’t naïve either.

  They all knew that there was a great possibility that they could wind up dying when they went against the Diochantis and the high demon, Diocholos. On their own the Diochantis were a formidable opponent, but when they were fighting with Diocholos at their sides, beating them was going to take a miracle.

  “Ugh!” Olivia groaned. She was working with Marissa and Joseph. They were trying to help her get a better understanding and control of her powers, but she was becoming increasingly more frustrated. “Why can’t I have another vision? So that I could see what lies ahead of us now so that we will be more prepared. You said that every small alteration that occurs can have an effect on the future. Surely everything we have done and will be doing has made a difference.”

  “I am afraid that premonitions do not work like that, my dear,” said Joseph. “You are shown what you need to see, when you need to see it and that is exactly what happened with you. You were shown a vision just in time to share it so that we would all be able to come together and save our families; save the world.”

  “How do you know that, Joseph?” Olivia asked the Whyte leader.

  “I may not have premonitions myself, but my mother had them. Plus, I have been around on this earth for a very long time.”

  Greg hated seeing his mate get so upset. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on her cheek. “Olivia, baby, you have done more than any of us could have imagined. You don’t have to win this battle on your own. Let us pitch in some too, okay?”

  “He’s right,” said Marissa. “Actually, they both are. Your premonition was just what we needed to give us the head start needed to make a difference. If needed again then another premonition will come to you.”

  “Yeah,” Jessica walked up and joined them. “Besides, that isn’t all you have to offer in this fight. The light source power of yours is pretty awesome after all.”

  Jessica smiled brightly at Olivia and Greg felt her relax in his arms. When Jessica looked up at him he mouthed a thank you to his cousin.

  “Yeah, I am pretty sure you could kick everyone’s ass who is here right now,” Glenn said.

  Glenn had walked over following Jessica, and when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, Greg looked at his cousin with his eyebrow raised in question. She smiled at him like the Cheshire cat, then reached up and placed her hand over Glenn’s where it was resting on her shoulder.

  Greg wasn’t sure what was going on there, but he was definitely going to have to find out, if they all made it through this fight. When Olivia started laughing, Greg decided that he was going to have to thank Glenn for getting Olivia to relax for a while.

  Through her laughter, Olivia said, “Yeah, thanks for your vote of confidence Glenn. I think you might have lost your mind, but I appreciate it anyway.” Glenn smiled brightly at Greg’s mate. “I mean, since it looks like you’ve been lured in by Jessica, you must be crazy.”

  “Hey!” Jessica cried, then her and Olivia were laughing.

  “Alright, everyone,” Greg said, breaking up the girls’ moment, “let’s all go have dinner and get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and we all need to be on our A game.”

  Everyone uttered their agreement and headed into the house to gather around the family table for dinner.

  Greg was glad that they had planned this big family dinner for everyone to come together. It was a great way for everyone to get together and truly grasp why tomorrow was so important; that they were going to fight for their lives, and the lives of every person that they loved.

  Greg was also ready for dinner to be over so that he could take Olivia to bed and make love to her. He knew that it was important for them both to get their rest, but he wasn’t about to go to sleep tonight without lavishing his mate with love.

  No matter what happened tomorrow, he was going to make sure that Olivia knew that she meant everything to him, and that he loved her more than life itself.

  ***Greg was up before the sun the next morning; honestly, he was surprised that he had been able to sleep at all the night before. When he looked down at Olivia’s sleeping form cuddled up against his chest, he tightened his hold around his mate, smiled to himself, and kissed her on the top of her head.

  Thinking back to their amorous lovemaking the night before, Greg was sure that their satisfying workout was the only reason he had been able to find enough peace to get some sleep, once they had finally laid down.

  Olivia was beginning to stir in his arms, and when she looked up at him, Greg kissed her. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  “Good morning to you, too,” she replied, still a little groggy from having just woke up.

  That was when the wake-up knock sounded at their bedroom door. They had designated a few of their early risers as the wake-up crew, and they were going to go around to everyone’s rooms and make sure they were up and preparing for the day ahead. The door slowly opened and Marissa poked her head in, “Good morning, your majesties.”

  “Good morning, Marissa,” Greg replied. “We are already awake, so we’ll be down momentarily.”

  “Great,” she said, and she offered Olivia a smile before she went back out the door and down the hall to check on Jane and then Jessica.

  Greg and Olivia got ready quickly. Since they would be going into this battle in their lion forms there was no need to worry about what they were wearing now, so Greg quickly threw on a shirt and sweat pants, while Olivia put on a simple sundress. No need to wear shoes or anything else when it was only going to be on them for the next few minutes while everyone gathered together and prepared to head out.

  Greg held Olivia’s hand tight when they went down the stairs to where everyone was meeting, so that they would all leave together to attack the Diochantis. Jane, Jessica, Edmund, and Joseph were all already waiting for them when they arrived.

  “Marissa should be here shortly,” said Joseph. “She’s almost done making her rounds to make sure that everyone she agreed to get up is awake.”

  “Great,” Greg said. “Are you all ready?”

  They nodded and Jessica spoke up. “We are going to do this, cousin,” she said.

  “Do what?” Olivia asked her before Greg could respond.

  “Kick some Diochantis ass, of course.” Jessica winked at Olivia.

  “Hell yes we are,�
� said Glenn as he approached. This time he took Jessica’s hand in his, and Greg didn’t miss the affection in his cousin’s face when she turned to look up at Glenn.

  “I love your optimism,” said Marissa when she walked up to their group. “Everyone is present and ready to go. We shouldn’t waste any time.”

  “No, we shouldn’t,” Greg agreed. “Joseph, are the Whytes ready to transport everyone now?”

  “Yes, they are all in place and just waiting on word from me to get things started.”

  On that note, they all went to join the rest of their family and friends so that they could head out. Greg nodded to Olivia, and they both shifted into their lion forms with Jane, Jessica, and Glenn following right behind them.

  “Are you ready for this?” Greg asked Olivia through their thoughts.

  “Yes,” she said without any hesitation. “Let’s go get these bastards.”

  “God, I love you,” he told Olivia.

  “And I love you,” she said right back to him, then she turned so that she was facing everyone else and let out a commanding roar.

  Her roar was nothing like what she had used during battle in the past, but it was still enough to capture the attention of everyone present. They had all been preparing for this day, so when they heard Olivia, everyone present who was a shifter changed into their animal forms right away.

  Greg looked out at all of the lions and panthers, surrounded by the Whytes who were already beginning to chant the spell to send everyone to the location where the Diochantis, and Diocholos were hiding out.

  Right before they were all transferred out, everyone roared in unison, a sign of unity and comradery as they were about to enter into the biggest fight of their lives.

  It was only a few minutes later when Greg felt the Whytes’ magic wrap around him, and with a flash they were no longer at the Wilds’ pride’s family homes. They were all congregated in the forest which surrounded the mountain where the Diochantis and Diocholos were hiding out. This close, Marissa was able to use her sight ability to look slightly ahead and see what was going on inside of the mountain.

  “They are all working on potions, definitely preparing for their planned strike against us.”

  “Where is Diocholos?” Olivia asked Marissa.

  “He was with them. Seemed to be ordering them around, telling them what they needed more of and that they needed to hurry up.”

  “We should converge on them all at once,” Greg told them. They had planned for this if the opportunity presented itself as it had. “It is the best way to catch them off guard and take them out as quickly as possible.”

  “Agreed,” they all said in response.

  “Joseph,” Greg looked to the Whytes’ leader.

  “Already on it,” Joseph responded.

  That was when Greg heard the chanting of the Whytes, while they once again uttered a spell to move everyone all at once for the attack.

  This time took even less than the first, and the next thing Greg knew he was inside of the mountain, surrounded by the rest of his people. They nearly landed right on top of their enemy, and the Diochantis were so shocked to see all of them that they froze temporarily. That, of course, worked in the shifters’ favor and several Diochantis were killed before they were able to react. It was Diocholos who pulled his evil minions out of their shocked stupor and back to reality.

  “What the hell are you idiots doing?” he shouted. “Take them out, now!”

  That was when something dawned on Greg that none of them had thought of before: they couldn’t kill them. At least not those who Olivia had seen in her premonition. The Diochantis and Diocholos needed them alive for the time being so that they could use them to summon all of the other demons, and carry out their plan to bring hell and destruction to earth.

  Greg knew that gave them an advantage, and he found himself feeling a little bit more optimistic that they would win this battle, and that his mate and unborn children would survive this fight.

  Greg immediately relayed his little epiphany to the others-another advantage for them, the advantage of being able to communicate through their thoughts since the enemy had no way of knowing anything that they said.

  Just as he had imagined, everyone who was a part of his sudden acknowledgment jumped into battle and held nothing back. It was like knowing that the Diochantis would need them alive made them all a little braver. Greg had his sights set on Diocholos himself. After all, he was the puppet master behind all of this, and the one who called for the murder of Olivia in her premonition.

  Even though it was something that had not actually happened, and Greg and the rest of his people were fighting to make sure that it never became reality, Greg felt the rage rush through his body as if it had come to be.

  Greg ripped through the Diochantis and their black, oily blood was everywhere. He was making his way through them as fast as he possibly could as he made his way to Diocholos. The high demon stood at the center of the room. He was hiding behind an army of his Diochantis who were dying left and right at the hands of Greg and his people. When Greg had a path cleared, he ran for Diocholos at full speed and slammed into the high demon. He clamped down on Diocholos’s neck with his long, sharp teeth, and yanked.

  When Greg yanked his teeth through the demon’s neck he tore a large chunk from his throat. Diocholos screamed and wrapped one hand around his bloody throat, and used his other to rip into Greg’s side.

  “AHH!” Greg cried out.

  The pain was excruciating. Being clawed by a demon was a hundred times worse than having his flesh torn open by anything else. When Diocholos ripped into Greg’s skin, the sensation of Hell’s fire ripped through his entire body within seconds.

  Momentarily, Greg thought back to when the Diochantis had taken Olivia, remembering that she too had been clawed by Diocholos. Now he knew exactly how much pain had been inflicted on his mate, and a fury greater than anything he had ever felt filled him. His fury helped him power through his own pain.

  When he turned back around to attack Diocholos again, Olivia was headed straight for them. The closer she got to them, the brighter her light became. It was almost blinding and Greg had to fight the urge to turn away. Greg noticed that Joseph, and a couple other Whytes, were flying overhead and watching Olivia’s back. They were taking out any Diochantis that went for her from up above.

  Greg leaped back onto Diocholos, and dug his claws and teeth into the demon. He was ripping at Diocholos’ flesh as quickly, and with as much force as he could, determined to keep the demon’s attention drawn to himself and away from Olivia. Greg had just managed to sink his teeth into Diocholos’ upper shoulder when Olivia slammed into the demon from behind.

  Greg’s mate was nearly as bright as the sun when she sank her teeth into what remained of the demon’s neck. Greg held on to him as well, but he was still able to see the demon’s body begin to glow and smoke as Olivia’s light traveled through him. However, after a few seconds, the light began to recede from his body and Diocholos let out a mocking laugh.

  “Did you really think that you could kill me with the same trick you used to take out a low level demon? You stupid girl,” Diocholos chided Olivia.

  Greg looked at Olivia, and was shocked when he looked into her eyes. Her eyes had turned completely white and she was just staring at him blankly. “Olivia,” he called out to her through her mind, but she didn’t respond. Greg was worried, but when her eyes went back to normal, or at least what was normal when she was lit up like the sun and her light was shining through them, she looked at him and smiled.

  Then, without telling him anything, Olivia bit his claw that was closest to her, still dug into Diocholos.

  “Olivia! What the,” Greg cried out to her.

  He was concerned that something had gone wrong when she sent her light into Diocholos. That she might have somehow taken some of the demon’s darkness into herself, and was now trying to kill him.

  Then he felt her light rushing through his bod
y, and it was healing his wounds. Within seconds the excruciating pain of the hellfire was gone, and Greg could feel Olivia’s power. That was when he realized that he was starting to glow.

  When Olivia unclamped her jaw from him, Greg was feeling stronger than he ever had in his life. “Now, bite him,” Olivia told Greg. “Send the light into him.”

  Greg and Olivia both bit into the demon at the same time. He wasn’t sure how he knew what to do, but Greg had no problem doing exactly what Olivia had told him to do. This time Diocholos light up like the Fourth of July, and Greg heard the sound of his flesh burning and sizzling as the demon’s body began smoking. It wasn’t long before Diocholos screamed in pain, but he was unable to fight off Olivia and Greg.

  The next thing Greg knew, he was on the ground and Diocholos was gone. Where the demon had just been standing was nothing more than a smoking pile of ash. Greg wasn’t going to linger, just standing there staring at the ashes of a dead demon. However, when he went to join back in the action to finish off the rest of the Diochantis, he found that they were already taken care of. Just as he looked up, he watched Jessica and Glenn rip apart the final two Diochantis, while everyone else stared at him and Olivia with wide eyes like they were not sure what they were seeing.

  Greg couldn’t say that he blamed them, though, he had no idea how they had just done what they had to kill Diocholos either. He imagined that if anyone knew it was Olivia, but he also wasn’t too concerned with figuring it out. He was just happy that whatever she had done had worked, and now their enemy was dead and gone.

  CHAPTER 13

  Olivia

  Joseph had been right about Olivia’s premonitions. When it had been needed the most, Olivia had a vision that showed her how they would defeat Diocholos. She would have never imagined that she would be able to share her gifts with someone else. When she had been learning about the abilities that shifters had, no one had ever mentioned anything about someone being able to transfer, or share their gifts with anyone else.