Saving the Beast (Interracial Shifter Romance) (Awakening Pride, Book Four) by Lacey Thorn

by Lacey Thorn

  “Ready?” he asked when he walked back to Diane.

  She smiled at him and, bracing one hand on his chest, leaned up. He met her halfway, welcoming her kiss.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you,” he whispered back and pulled her closer for a more thorough kiss.

  When they came up for air, she looked around with embarrassment for Kenzie. The last thing the other woman needed was to see Diane so happy with her mate. But Kenzie wasn’t there.

  “Did she go outside?” Diane asked.

  “She went ahead,” Zane said.

  “What? Is that safe?” Diane demanded.

  “She’ll be fine on the way back,” Zane said. “Angel was certain there were no other hunting parties around. I trust him. And Kenzie needs some time alone to come to grips with everything that happened here.”

  Diane looked at him and knew from his expression he saw the concern in her eyes.

  “She’ll be okay,” Zane said. “We’ll make sure of that. Right now, she needs time.”

  “I hope so,” Diane said. “She didn’t grin once,” she stated quietly.

  Kenzie grinned a lot. She had a way of smiling and making you smile, too. Diane hoped that didn’t change.

  “Hard to smile when you’re heart’s breaking,” Zane said.

  “Tah’s going to be angry with her,” Diane told him.

  Zane shook his head. “No. One look at her face, and his heart will break for her. When he finds out what happened here, he’ll smother her with love and affection like the kid sister he sees her as. Abby will do the same. Hell, everyone will rally around her, whether they know what happened or not. Her pain will become theirs.”

  “She has a bigger family than she ever imagined,” Diane said. She just hoped the other woman realized it.

  “We all do, and it will only keep growing. Ready?” Zane asked and held out his hand to her.

  “Yes,” Diane said. “God, I can’t wait to get back and have a hot shower and food. Mhmm,” she moaned just thinking about it. “Something hot to eat. And a bed.” Her gaze flew to Zane’s, and her heart rate kicked up at the seductive look on his face.

  “I’m anticipating a bed myself,” he purred at her. “Let’s go.”

  She took his hand and headed out the door more than ready to be home.

  “If I’m lucky, maybe Abby hasn’t had the baby, yet.”

  “Probably best if you’re there instead of the Professor and Tah trying to deliver,” Zane said.

  “Oh, she has Orsai.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God! I’m so sorry, Zane. I didn’t think.”

  “My uncle’s there?”

  She nodded. “He arrived right after you took off. He’s been staying, said he was going to be there when the baby was born because Abby would need him.”

  Zane smiled. “It’ll be good to see him. So tell me, what do you think of him?”

  “I like him,” Diane said. “He’s a fountain of wisdom. He and the Professor have become as thick as thieves.”

  “Whoa,” Zane said. “Why the surge of anger there?”

  “I just remembered how angry I am with the Professor,” Diane admitted.

  “What did he do?” Zane asked, and he sounded angry.

  “He’s the one who gave me a shot before I left,” she told him. “Only, instead of the tetanus booster he said he was giving me, it was a drug guaranteed to make you find me,” she said.

  “He forced ovulation?” Zane asked with a growl. “Knowing I was already primal?”

  Diane nodded.

  “I’ll rip him apart for doing that to you,” Zane assured her.

  But Diane was remembering the Professor telling her he was only doing what he thought was best. He might make crappy decisions sometimes, but they were made with love. And it had worked. Zane had found her, and she was happy—incredibly happy.

  “He meant well,” she said out loud.

  “Meant well, my ass,” Zane muttered, then stopped. “Fuck! Thick as thieves with my uncle! This might not have been the Professor’s idea, or at least not only his idea.”

  “Oh, I didn’t think of that,” Diane admitted. “But either way, it worked out okay.”

  “But it might not have.” Zane grunted as they started walking again.

  She stopped him this time. “I can’t stay mad at them for helping me find you, or helping you to find me. For helping us find each other.”

  “What if you’re pregnant?” Zane questioned, and Diane took a step back, dropping her hands to her belly. “Yeah, you didn’t think about that, did you?”

  “No, I didn’t,” Diane admitted. “Would you be that upset?”

  “God, no.” Zane cradled her face with his hands. “The thought of you round with my child does things to me. Here.” He touched his chest just over his heart.

  Diane smiled. “I think I like the idea of having your baby.”

  “Yeah?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” she agreed.

  “Well, if we didn’t this time, I’m all for trying until we do,” he whispered huskily.

  “Mhmm,” she moaned as he ran his lips and teeth along her jaw up toward her ear. “I like the sound of that, too.”

  He swatted her sharply on the ass, making her jump.

  “Good, then let’s get going so we can find that bed,” he told her.

  “Oh, yeah,” she agreed, and they set off again.

  They hadn’t gone far when Zane stopped, cocked his head and reached over to push her behind him. She pressed her lips tight in a bid to remain as silent as possible and huddled behind the safety of his back. Shit! Were there more hunters in the area after all? Double shit! Was Kenzie okay? Diane prayed nothing else would happen to the other woman. Kenzie had been through enough in the last twenty-four hours. Diane suspected even more had happened than what Kenzie had stated.

  “I want you to stay low,” Zane murmured so softly she had to strain to hear him. “Don’t leave my side.”

  “Hunters?” she asked, wishing Angel had stuck around and traveled with them instead.

  Zane shook his head and gave her a perplexed look. “Shifters, but not any of our group. And I smell blood.”

  So not Kenzie. Diane felt a rush of relief course through her then felt guilty for it. Blood could mean one of the shifters Zane was scenting was hurt. Maybe more? How many shifters did he scent?

  “That’s close enough,” Zane said, startling Diane out of her thoughts. “Who are you? And what are you doing?”

  Diane glanced around Zane and took in the small group that stood a short distance away, two men and a woman. As she watched, the biggest of the three stepped forward, as if he’d protect the others if needed. He held up one arm to warn the two with him to stay back. The other hung loosely at his side.

  “You must be Orsai’s nephew,” he said to Zane. The man appeared to be a couple of inches shorter than Zane but just as muscular. His hair was long, falling in thick black waves just past his shoulders, and he had piercing green eyes.

  She’d only managed a brief look at the other two before they were placed firmly at the guy’s back. The girl looked petite. Diane thought she appeared closer to Abby and Clara’s five foot five height with a short shock of blonde hair. The other man didn’t seem as if he was much over six foot, maybe six one, but that was just judging him against her six foot six mate. Guy number two had short brown hair.

  Zane didn’t reply to the other man, just widened his stance in front of her and watched.

  The man sighed, and he sounded weary. “We’re here searching for a lioness named Clara.”

  Again, Zane said nothing. Diane had no idea how he managed it as she was bursting with questions but did her best to keep her lips firmly shut. Was this Clara’s Uncle Thomas she’d been wanting? Diane glanced around Zane again. The man didn’t look much like Clara at all, which could mean nothing.

  “I know Clara’s here,” the man said again. “And we’re not leaving without seeing her. So m
ake sure she knows that.”

  “Who are you?” Diane asked when Zane still remained silent.

  Her mate glanced down at her where she’d inched her way out beside him and glared. His eyes were neon. Was his fever back? She moved closer to his side and tucked herself into him, which seemed to appease him a little. A rumbled of displeasure left his chest as he pulled her even closer. She automatically reached out to touch his chest with her palm, attempting to soothe him.

  “We’re not going to touch your mate,” the other guy assured them and inhaled. His gaze sharpened, and he nodded slowly.

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you,” Zane grunted but didn’t elucidate on what the congratulations was for. Could the other shifters smell she and Zane were newly mated? Good grief!

  “You’ve been hit with fever,” the man said. “I can smell it on you.” He glanced back at the other two for a long moment in some type of silent exchange before giving another sigh and facing Zane again. “I’m going to guess you were paid a visit by a human woman and her shifter sidekick,” he mused. “How much were you hit with?”

  Diane spoke up again. “We don’t know. Whatever—”

  “Enough,” Zane interrupted her. “Who are you?”

  The guy blinked. “I’m Gideon, a friend of Clara’s.”

  “Gideon,” Diane said and glanced at him again, remembering what Clara had shared about him. A loner, who was fierce in his need to protect. And Clara thought he might be able to help them with information.

  “What do you know about the fever?” Diane demanded.

  “Enough,” Gideon replied, throwing Zane’s word right back at him. “Clara?”

  “Where’s Thomas?” Zane asked.

  Gideon shook his head. “I don’t know. I was hunting for him when I got word about Clara being here. I take it she doesn’t know where he is, either?”

  “Who’s hurt?” Zane asked, ignoring Gideon’s question. Why was he so reluctant to speak with them? Did he sense something he wasn’t sharing?

  “It’s just a flesh wound,” Gideon said.

  “No,” the woman said, stepping forward. “Gideon took two arrows to the torso a couple days ago. His arm’s injured.”

  “Arrows!” Diane exclaimed and went to move closer. She was betting the hurt arm was the one hanging at his side. He was wounded and had still had placed himself in front of the other two. She’d barely taken a step before Zane stopped her with a grip on her upper arm and hauled her back to him.

  “Hunters,” Gideon said in explanation. “I’ll heal.”

  The girl glared at him. “Normally, yes. But they seem to have been laced with something, some type of poison maybe,” she said with a shrug. “He’s not healing like he should, and he’s—”

  “Fine,” Gideon almost roared, cutting the girl off. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Zane,” Diane whispered, looking up at him. “He’s hurt. You know Clara’s been waiting for him.”

  But Zane shook his head and held her at his side. He glanced back at the trio of shifters. “Wait here. If I catch your scent behind me, I will consider it a threat to my mate and you won’t like how I deal with her being threatened. Stay here, and we’ll send someone back for you.”

  Gideon nodded, but the girl put her hands on her hips.

  “Just take him with you then,” she demanded. “He needs medical care. Surely, you have someone who can take a look at him.”

  Diane smartly kept her mouth shut this time.

  “I don’t smell any poison,” Zane stated.

  “Odorless,” the girl countered.

  “We’ll wait,” Gideon said. “I caught the scent of hunters.”

  “Dead,” Zane said.

  The girl wasn’t done. “If anything happens to Gideon because you took your sweet fucking time getting someone back here, I’ll make sure you pay.” Her hard gaze skimmed over to Diane.

  Two roars rocked the woods simultaneously—Zane’s and Gideon’s—and they sounded eerily alike. Zane took a huge step forward.

  “Are you threatening my mate?” he snarled.

  “Back off,” Gideon growled back, stepping closer to Zane. “Ariel, shut the hell up and stand down!”

  Ariel glared at both of them, sent another heated glance toward Diane, then edged back when Zane let loose a long hiss. Her mate was pissed. Diane took a step forward but stopped when that rumble of displeasure was turned on her.

  “I just want to take a look,” she said. “That’s all.”

  Zane glanced back at Gideon. “Lift your shirt,” he ordered.

  “I’m fine,” Gideon said again. “It will wait.”

  Diane let her glance skate back to Ariel and the girl mouthed one word at her. Hurry.

  “Let’s go, Zane,” she urged, and he backed toward her.

  “Wait here,” he said again, and Gideon nodded.

  Diane held her tongue until they were a distance away. Zane was moving fast and startled her when he suddenly stopped and pressed her against a tree.

  “Don’t ever make the mistake of disobeying me when I tell you to stay somewhere,” he gritted out. “I don’t care who we meet, shifter or human. Until I am certain you are in no danger, you will stay where you are told.”

  “Technically, you told me to stay at your side,” Diane reminded him and was rewarded with a deep growl of displeasure. “Clara mentioned Gideon, Zane. And he’s hurt. I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to offer immediate aid to him.”

  “He’s a shifter. His body will fight to heal him until he dies. Trust me, if the hunters have taught us anything, it’s just how long and painful it can be for a shifter to die from wounds. Gideon, if that is who he is, will survive until someone comes for them.”

  “Despite your assurance, I would have preferred to see for myself what his wounds look like,” she informed him. “If you don’t think it’s safe, then you say that. I’m giving you some slack here because of the virus but don’t make the mistake of ordering me around all the time. I’m your mate, your partner, and I expect to be treated as such.”

  “I’m sorry,” Zane said. “Sometimes the need to keep you safe overwhelms every other thought and makes me into a controlling asshole. I promise I’ll work on it. I just know that I need you to listen to me and try to understand every command I make is to ensure your safety—our safety.”

  She met his gaze and finally it hit her. “You don’t think he’s Gideon?”

  “I don’t know. I know he’s a shifter who asked after Clara but offered no real information other than he hasn’t seen Thomas. General information anyone could have. I understand what Angel meant when he described how easy it was to get you to open the door. You can’t be that trusting. It could get both of us killed,” he warned her.

  “I’m sorry,” she finally whispered and leaned into him, cuddling against his chest. “I didn’t think about that. I just assumed shifters were friends.”

  “Dillon is a shifter and look what he did,” Zane reminded her.

  “You’re right,” she agreed. “I won’t forget again.”

  He stared down at her for a long moment before lowering his head and taking her under with the ferocity of his kiss. He rocked her to her toes, zinging every part of her along the way. When he pulled away, she was clinging to him, afraid her trembling legs might give out beneath her.

  “If anything happened to you,” he said and shook his head, a look of intense pain flashing through his eyes. “It would kill me,” he whispered.

  “I understand,” she told him. “I feel the same.”

  He eased away from her and took her hand again. “Let’s go,” he said. “We’ll talk more about this later.” He sent her a heated gaze. “In the privacy of our bedroom.”

  Diane grinned at his words, and Zane lifted an eyebrow at her. She could hear the unspoken what? in his gaze.

  “Our bedroom,” she said. “I like the sound of that.”

  “Me, too,” he agreed, placing a
nother kiss on her lips. “Me, too.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Diane and Zane were greeted by Murphy as soon as they arrived.

  “Perfect timing,” he said, looking anxious.

  “What is it?” Diane asked, skirting around Zane and moving toward Murphy. “Is someone hurt?”

  He shook his head. “Abby’s in labor. Started early this morning, but the baby doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to arrive.”

  Diane felt a jolt of excitement even as she worried. The baby was coming early. And she was here to help the little one greet the world.

  “Where are they?” Diane asked.

  “Abby’s bedroom,” Murphy said. “She refused to leave it.”

  Diane turned to Zane, and he nodded before she said anything.

  “Go,” he said. “I’ll see you after.”

  She launched herself at him, loving the way his arms automatically opened to catch her, the way he lifted her against him and bent his mouth to hers. Hers. Zane was hers. She turned as soon as her feet hit the ground, forgetting about Gideon and the other two. Zane would take care of that. She glanced back once more as she hit the porch and saw Murphy hugging Zane close and slapping him on the back.

  She opened the door and ran into Logan and Clara.

  “Thank, God!” Clara said. “Abby’s in labor, and I think she’s waiting for you.”

  Diane laughed. “Abby can’t control her labor, but I’m excited I’m here in time.”

  “Did you find him?” Logan asked.

  “Yes,” Diane said with a nod and a grin split her lips. “He’s outside with Murphy, and I’m betting he’ll want to see the two of you as soon as possible.”

  “What’s up?” Logan asked, going on full alert.

  “We met some company on the way back,” Diane said.

  “Who?” Clara was the one who demanded.

  “Talk to Zane,” Diane said, already heading toward Abby and Tah’s bedroom. “He’ll explain everything.”

  Clara caught her hand briefly and gave it a squeeze. “I’m glad you’re back, and that Zane’s with you.”

  Clara grinned and Diane didn’t have to say they were mates. She was certain Clara could smell that for herself. Clara looked as if she wanted to say something else, but she didn’t.