Savage Craving: A Shifting Destinies Lion Shifter Romance (Lion Hearts Book 4)

by Cecilia Lane

  That didn’t scare her in the slightest.

  Chapter 18

  Seth ran his fingertips lightly over Lilah’s shoulder. Her soft hair tickled his neck, but he didn’t move. Didn’t even consider it. His shoulder could go numb and the rest of his joints stiff from staying in one place all night, so long as he did it with her in his arms.

  A rumble worked through his chest and vibrated in his throat. Seth raised his fingers to his skin and grinned at the satisfied purr. That other side of him felt almost close enough to touch. All because of the strange little woman who lured out the beast in him.

  He tightened his arm around her and buried his nose in her hair. Mangoes and lavender had quickly become his favorite scent.

  Fucking hell, he didn’t deserve her. After all the shit she’d been through and the years of not being believed and carrying that weight on her own, she still turned around to do good in the world. He hated that she’d been rewarded with more bullshit.

  Her acceptance of him was another undeserved bonus. He was still made wrong, but that didn’t matter to her. That she made his eyes flash didn’t matter, either. Their jagged edges fit together.

  Mate. She was his mate.

  Sweet fuck, he’d doubted he’d ever find someone like her. Never in a million years would he have predicted the broken side of him would latch on to another person so strongly.

  As much as he wanted to sink fully into that sense of peace, he was almost scared to turn over the thought and examine it for fear the calm would disappear like a puff of smoke. He couldn’t ignore the cloying thread of disaster wafting over the horizon. This wasn’t over. Jasper still lived. Zeke wanted to collect on his bounty. Hell, stripping Lilah down and wringing pleasure from her until she drifted off into deep sleep wasn’t exactly professional. Not even grinning through mental arguments of following orders to stay close to her changed the fact that he was in charge of her protection. Sex and danger made for a heady brew that could blow up in their faces.

  Did he regret it? Fuck no. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t cautious as he tiptoed towards their hazy as hell future. Her safety was still his primary concern. Nothing could stop him from sticking by her side. He’d be there when she stumbled and hold her when her burdens became too much to handle.

  A soft knock tapped against his door. “Seth? You up?” his brother called through the wood.

  Seth's brows shot together. The last time he'd had a wake-up call, the fucker pounded down the door with enough force to raise the dead.

  Lilah shifted and murmured in her sleep. He bent closer and kissed her forehead before slipping his arm out from under her. There weren’t any lingering looks this time; he wanted to get whatever waited for him on the other side over and done with as quickly as possible. He dressed in a hurry, easing out the door while shoving his shirt over his head.

  “Everything okay in there?” his brother asked with an obnoxious smirk.

  Seth closed the door behind him with a soft click and narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?”

  Surprisingly, Dash turned serious. Indignant anger and worry coated his scent. He jerked his chin toward the front of the barn where one of the double doors hung ajar. “You should come. We found something.”

  Seth’s blood ran cold with the imagined possibilities as he stomped after his brother. None of them were good for Lilah.

  Unease churned in his gut when he slipped into the night to find the rest of the Crowley males on the other side. Each wore a grim expression. Rhys’s eyes were pure silver and the lines of his face strained like he barely held his shift at bay. Lindley breathed hard, skin damp with a faint sheen of sweat. Trent looked ready to chew rocks. Even Seth, not a full member of the pride, felt the alpha power rolling off him in pissed off waves.

  That other sense of him jumped to the front of his mind, ready to dive into whatever fight had been brought to their door.

  “What happened?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Tracks,” Trent growled. “Lion.”

  Seth matched the man’s growl. “How? Where?” he demanded between clenched teeth.

  “Watching for our patrols, most likely.” Lindley grimaced and spat on the ground, like the words curdled on his tongue. “He didn’t get very far before I picked him up. I chased him halfway to the river before his trail disappeared.”

  Seth’s hands clenched into fists. “Show me.”

  Trent passed a look to Rhys. The man dipped his chin, then hauled his shirt over his head. He kicked out of the rest of his clothes and let his lion take his skin with a smattering of cracks and pops.

  “Let’s go,” Trent said. He didn’t wait for the others before yanking open the door of his truck. Lindley took up the passenger seat and the truck rocked with Dash’s weight as he vaulted over the side to land in the back.

  Seth hauled himself over the tailgate and dropped into the bed with a grimace. No doubt if he hadn’t been with them, they’d have shifted and made the trip on four paws. Guilt and discomfort turned to sticky traps, catching all the stray thoughts embedded in him from his childhood. Weak. Worthless. He couldn’t even keep his own mate safe or join the pride on a proper hunt.

  He glanced back to the barn as Trent turned the truck off the road and watched Rhys pace back and forth in front of the building. Sweet fuck, he’d give anything for Lilah to sleep without needing guards.

  Grimly, he pressed down on all the bad floating through his head. Lilah waited for him back in his den. That counted for something. She didn’t need him to be the biggest lion around. He was enough.

  He wasn’t sure how long the truck bumped over the rough ground. Too long and not long enough warred as answers. He wanted to hurry and see the evidence with his own eyes, but anywhere on the territory didn’t sit right with him.

  Seth wanted to snarl by the time Trent pulled to a stop. Silently and with his teeth on edge, he unloaded with the others. Headlights left on cut lines through the darkness, but he smelled the bastard even without the visual aids. Baked earth paired with the pungent odor of boozy sweat and thick smoke.

  Undeniably, the scent belonged to Zeke.

  His inner sense went crazy, slashing his insides with sharp claws and roaring loud enough to drown out the blood rushing in his ears. The frenzied beast wished the fucker would try again. Wished he’d saunter right up the ranch road that very minute. He wanted to set down a harsh punishment for anyone who tried to hurt his mate.

  Seth peered into the night with a silent snarl. “Motherfucker.”

  A chorus of growls agreed with him.

  Trent stepped up to his side, his arms folded over his chest. He didn’t meet Seth’s look and instead stared out into the darkness. “It’s your call what the next move is. We’ll back you whatever the choice.”

  Seth grunted. Stay or leave, those were his only options.

  He weighed both ideas in his head. He could leave with her. He still had access to safe houses outside the enclave. While they’d have the bonus of not being in immediate danger, they’d been tracked from one before. He didn’t know how far the bounty bullshit had spread, either. Would some of the East Coast prides try to collect if they crossed the country? How long would they need to carry on like they were on the lam?

  Seth glanced from face to face of those remaining. Every look was a mirror of the others as concern whirled around them. He could even imagine the look on Rhys’s face if he hadn’t stayed behind to guard Lilah.

  He didn’t want to leave.

  The thought hit him like a sucker punch. Despite trying to pretend it had everything to do with knowing the landscape, there was more to it. The Crowleys had welcomed him into their lives without any objections or the typical shunning that followed when shifters learned he didn’t have an animal. They’d accepted Lilah with barely a question. Their care extended past patrols or caring for her when he fell.

  He’d always been a believer in doing things himself, but that was when he didn’t have any other options. Be
sides his mother, he’d been on his own. No one wanted him around, so he got used to being alone. He’d wrapped that denial of support around him like armor.

  The Crowleys weren’t his old pride. They were his people.

  Staying posed its own dangers, but settled his inner sense. He didn’t want to run. He wanted to lock his legs and face whatever wanted to tear him and his mate apart. He’d do it with his people at his side.

  “We’re here. We’re not leaving.”

  “Fuck yeah,” Dash whooped. He fired off middle fingers into the night. “Come and get us, dickholes!”

  “What are you going to tell Lilah?” Trent asked quietly.

  “Everything.” He’d earned her trust. He couldn’t break it so soon with more secrets. Seth lifted his eyes to the sky. The moon was just a sliver surrounded by pinpricks of stars. “No reason to wake her now. We’ll still be wading in the bullshit in the morning. Let her rest.”

  Chapter 19

  “I didn’t think you would actually go through with this,” Colette grumbled from her spot on the couch. She hissed and yanked her hand away from the needle, then stuffed the poked finger in her mouth. “This is torture.”

  “Precisely,” Hailey said, happily continuing to pull her needle and thread through the cloth she worked. “The crafters on the internet made a very good point. If I can stab something a thousand times, just imagine what else I’m capable of doing.”

  “Trent’s right. This cub really is making you bloodthirsty,” Kyla muttered around a mouthful of chips.

  “Is that a thing that happens?” Lilah asked, pausing with her own needlework. “Like food cravings and morning sickness?”

  “Why? Wanting to know what to expect?” Hailey teased. “How are things down at the barn, anyway?”

  Suddenly, all eyes were on her. Her heart beat hard enough in her chest that she looked down to make sure she wasn’t trapped in one of those nightmares where she had to give a presentation while naked and unprepared. Disappointingly, she wore all her clothes and still felt the weight of everyone’s gaze on her.

  What could she even say? That she wasn’t sure Seth even slept anymore? Since waking the morning after their first night together, he spent his days singularly focused on making sure no one got close enough to hurt her. His protection took on a harder edge than ever and left him coiled tight and ready to spring.

  But the evenings and during the night? She had his entire focus. When he was with her, he was there. Present and doting, he made her feel like she was the only person in the entire world. They talked and laughed. Ate dinner. He even played horror films designed to get her to jump right into his lap. And then he’d do everything possible to soothe the spike of adrenaline.

  Beyond that, she didn’t know what the future held. Neither had talked about the after, when everything was boxed up tight with a bow on top. On her end, she didn’t know that was even a possibility. And if it was, what sort of a match did they make? How did they navigate living in different states? Someone would need to move, lives had to be combined unless they somehow managed an eternal long-distance frustration.

  Her heart hurt to think about going home and never seeing him again.

  “A lady never kisses and tells,” Lilah answered delicately.

  Kyla threw a chip at her. “You’ve come to the wrong pride if you’re expecting ladies.”

  “I don’t know,” Colette drew out her words, darting a mischievous look to Hailey. “Our Lady of Murderous Intent would have you believe she’s puking rainbows.”

  “A lady doesn’t puke,” Hailey corrected. “She’s clearing out the offensive bile she’s forced to consume with you donkeys around.”

  Even Lilah dug into the chip bowl to throw one at the grinning woman.

  Knuckles rapped on the door before Trent stuck his head inside. His eyes fell on Hailey first, brightening with a look that was full pride, devotion, and love. The hint of possessive care was to be expected from the soon-to-be father, as was the flash of heat as his eyes lingered a little too long on his mate.

  Lilah ducked her eyes to hide her smile. That look was everything she wanted. Nothing would ever pull them apart. They’d faced down the same enemy that wanted to take her out of the picture, though Hailey certainly won that round for the more personalized threat. The end result was a couple who knew they’d walked through fire and survived. Everything else was cake in comparison.

  “Lilah, can you come outside? There’s someone here to see you.”

  “Me?” The others met her confusion with their own. “Who is it?”

  “Ah,” Trent paused and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “An old friend, I guess. You can refuse to talk to him if you want. I don’t think any of us will mind chasing him off for you.”

  The evasive answer formed a knot in her stomach, but she pushed to her feet anyway. She doubted they would call her outside if any genuine danger existed. Something unpleasant waited for her, but nothing deadly.

  She hoped.

  The others watched her exit with all the confusion and concern of classmates after someone was called to the principal’s office. She knew as soon as the door was closed, they’d rush to the windows to peek outside.

  Lilah stopped at the top step of the porch and stared at Lorne.

  She was struck once again at how he’d aged. So similar to the memory in her head, but so different, too. She wondered if he saw her the same way.

  He gave the woman at his side a quick squeeze of the hand, then let it fall as he took a step forward. “Hello, Lilah. I was hoping we could talk.”

  “Lorne,” she said. She took a careful step closer, ready to run back inside if needed. Her brain felt on fire with the urge, but she held her ground. With a nervous lick of her lips, she nodded. “We can.”

  “Lilah? You okay?” Seth asked.

  She shot a glance to the man. Worry strained the lines of his face. Hell, she felt it, too, but she tried to stuff it way down deep. Panic wouldn't get her any explanations. She didn't have any reasons to run. If anything went wrong, a pride of lions lurked in various poses of feigned relaxation around their own dens.

  Trent leaned against the railing at one end of the porch, seemingly not watching anyone, but his head stayed cocked like he listened closely. Lindley lounged in a wooden lawn chair and his sunglasses obscured the eyes she knew were glued on her. Rhys worked a knife against a hunk of wood, occasionally glancing up before returning to his carving. Dash threw all pretense to the wind and openly glared at Lorne.

  She was suddenly aware of the guts it took to show his face after her freak out. The bears and the lions may have had a loose friendship, but that went out the window when one of theirs was threatened. Maybe that was why he turned up with a woman as his companion. The two were a softer approach than an entire bear clan of possible threats.

  “Come here, Seth,” the woman said and marched toward her target. “You get to keep me company.”

  Lilah didn’t hear his grumbled response. She also wasn’t sure if he’d make great company with his eyes boring into her back as she walked away with Lorne.

  She watched him from the corner of her eye as they moved further away from the dens. She tried to think of all the things she’d wanted to say to him over the years, but nothing seemed right. She’d been angry for so long. Scared. Miserable. The origin point for all the wrong in her life was the man walking next to her.

  She’d wondered for a long time what her life would have looked like if she never met Lorne. Maybe she’d still have a good relationship with her parents. She could have turned into one of the tourists visiting Bearden after the town’s existence was revealed to the world. Maybe, instead of through violence and fear, she’d have met Seth by bumping into him at the coffee shop.

  Or maybe she’d never have met him at all. Lilah frowned at that thought.

  “Skies above, Lilah,” Lorne said after they were out of earshot of the others. He stopped and turned to face her. “I can’t believe
it’s really you. It feels like forever since I last saw you.”

  “Fourteen years and four months, to be exact,” she said primly.

  “Right.” Guilt flashed over his face. He drew down a deep breath and squared his shoulders in a way that reminded her of when he’d asked her out in senior year. They’d both been so nervous, then.

  She’d always had a crush on the quiet guy who sat in the back of English and rarely said a word unless called on. He’d surprised her with how serious he took his answers, never cracking a joke like the others he hung out with. All relatives, and all still had active roles in her nightmares.

  “Fuck,” he cursed, then ran a hand through his hair. “Lilah, I don’t even know what to say. I wish I could go back and do things over. I’m sorry for what my family did to you.”

  Lilah wet her lips and met his look. “Not just them. You, too.”

  “Me?” Lorne stepped back. His brows drew down in confusion. “I saved you from them.”

  "And then you left me holding the bag." Her voice shook at first, then grew stronger with every word. Everything that had been forced on her bubbled out of her middle and erupted in a fierce stream. "I was made out to be the crazy one while you just vanished without a trace. Not only had I been attacked by creatures everyone said didn't exist, but I also had to cope alone. You broke my heart, Lorne. Your people hurt me, but you made me feel like a fool for trusting you. That betrayal sticks with a person."

  "They would have killed me for breaking our laws. I killed one of our own to save a woman who I shouldn't have gotten near in the first place," he said in a quiet voice. He didn't plead for forgiveness or try to convince her that her anger was wrong. The words were simply facts. "They'd have gone after you again if I'd stayed. I'd already done enough damage and got you tied up in trouble that you didn't deserve. I thought if I left, then everything would settle down. They'd have no reason to go after you."

  “They didn’t need to,” she said just as quietly. “The damage went beyond that day.”