by Chloe Cole
Anaya’s Pride Book Two
Chloe Cole
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Introduction
20. Chapter One
21. Chapter Two
22. Chapter Three
23. Chapter Four
24. Chapter Five
25. Chapter Six
26. Chapter Seven
27. Chapter Eight
28. Chapter Nine
Epilogue
Introduction
The Saint John brothers have secreted Anaya away, but will it be enough to protect her?
Chapter 1
The night was so dark that, despite my keen vision, I couldn’t see. But I could feel. I could feel the terror. The panic. The surety that tonight would be the night that I would die.
Chest burning from lack of breath, I ran, demon hounds nipping at my heels. All the while knowing, deep in my bones that, no matter how fast I ran, it would never be fast enough.
The hound at the head of the pack was getting closer. The wet heat of its breath painted my ankles as its menacing growl sent the hair on my arms to attention. The creature let out one last snarl before it closed the distance between us, its jaws wrapping around my calf. I fought for a moment, and managed to stay on my feet, but then the whole pack fell upon me, dragging me down, down, down…
I lurched upright with a gasp and gazed around the fire that crackled in the early morning light.
Four men stared back at me, their gazes full of concern.
"You all right, love?" Connor asked, settling the pot in his hand on the ground and rolling to his feet, making his way toward me.
I shivered and tugged the blanket more closely around my shoulders. "Yes. Scary dream, is all." I scanned the rest of the faces around the fire as Connor took a seat beside me and pulled me close. If I were a guessing girl, I'd say I wasn't the only one who'd suffered from nightmares.
I burrowed into Connor's chest, soaking in his body heat. It wasn't even that cold out. Not really, but ever since we'd fled from the Saint John estate the night before, a growing sense of terror had been building inside me and it seemed I might never feel warm again.
"This was a terrible idea," I murmured softly.
Gatlin was shaking his head before I'd even finished my sentence. "There was no other way, Anaya. The king had told you his plans. You would be packing for the harem right now if we'd stayed, and who knows what kind of danger you'd have been in?"
"I don't mean me running. That was a must do. I mean letting you all convince me that you should come." I toed a rock with the tip of my boot and tried not to let my emotions get the better of me. "You're all in danger now, because of me. Every single one of you is squarely in the king's crosshairs. I've ruined your lives," I stated flatly.
"We all care for you deeply, Anaya. That's why we chose to take you away," Connor reminded me gently.
"And in a week or so, another girl would come and, eventually, you'd care about her, too. And the memory of me would fade. You'd live to a ripe old age, training the king's harem instead of sleeping in the dirt as we try to outrun the most elite, powerful army in the land,” I replied, sick at the thought.
"What do you take us for, woman?" Lucian's voice boomed through the little clearing, making even the birds stop chirping and the horses cease their nickering. He rose to his massive height and glowered down at me. "We'd had some suspicions for a while now. Whispers from the castle, just loud enough for us to have our eyes peeled. Now that yet another girl has died there under his care, do you honestly think my brothers and I would've continued sending him our pupils? Knowing that, for whatever reason, being in that harem was a danger?"
I swallowed hard as Connor rubbed my back in slow, comforting circles.
"I left because I was frightened, but more because I couldn't imagine willingly being with the king so intimately," I admitted, tucking a long strand of hair behind one ear as I contemplated the snapping flames. "I didn't realize you felt so certain there was something else amiss behind the harem walls."
"That's a part of it for sure," Gatlin said with a clipped nod. "But we, too, struggled with the thought of you being with the king."
Michael's grass green eyes held mine as he rose and moved closer, pausing to fill a tin mug from the pot. He handed me the steaming cup and gestured for me to drink.
The scent of peppermint tea filled my nose and I smiled my thanks. There were few problems that peppermint tea couldn't cure, but I had the distinct feeling that this might be one of them.
"So what's the plan, then?" I asked after taking a bracing sip. "We keep running? Eventually, we'll be caught."
The night before, panicked and full of fear, it had seemed like the only choice, but now, in the harsh light of day, it seemed there'd never really been a choice at all.
The king wanted me and that meant the king would have me. He had arms that spanned from coast to coast and our group stuck out like five sore thumbs on one hand. Even if we stayed away from towns with large populations of lions, most of the other shifters in the lands were loyal to him too, or at least pretended to be. We would have to remain deep in the forest and avoid detection. With as many predator shifters out there too, even that would be futile for the long-term.
I had backed us into a corner.
"I want to remain hopeful. I do, but I can't see any way for us to prevail here and live a happy life." I bowed my head and Connor whispered in my ear.
"I'm happy right now, lass. Here around this fire, drinking peppermint tea with my brothers and you. Knowing you're safe makes me happy."
He tipped my chip up and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips that had my heart melting with its sweetness.
“And we have no intention of running forever," Gatlin said, watching as Michael tugged open a leather sack filled with jerky. He took a piece and passed the bag to Lucian. “Saint John men are lovers and fighters. We find a remote village, get some supplies, and we change your appearance so you blend in better. Then, we split up. The king is looking for a group of five and a woman with auburn hair. Instead, we change it up and travel into different towns and villages separately, three of us, and the fourth with you."
"Forever?" I asked, accepting the jerky from Lucian and taking out a piece for myself and one for Connor. I'd been with them for less than a week, but the thought of us separating made me nauseous with anxiety almost as much as the four of them being apart. They were integral to one another. So different, but also tied in a way I couldn't begin to explain. Like the moon and the tides.
"For a while, until things cool down. What we did was treason, but there will be a point when the king will realize it makes him look weak to be so hung up on a handful of glorified servants and a girl who didn't want him," Connor said, pausing to snap a bite of his jerky off and chew. "When he sees that, he'll find a new, more flattering cause to champion. In the mean time, we can start digging into what's really going on behind the curtain there. If he's truly behind the death of these girls, he's a monster and needs to
be removed from power. Secrets like that aren’t ever really secrets. People talk when they’re in a place comfortable enough to do so. When in their cups and in dark corners…we aren’t the first to have suspicions. Just look at the maids at the estate.”
I ate my jerky in silence, still not sure how to feel about any of it, but also selfishly glad to have them here with me. "At least we have each other, if nothing else," I said, looking at each of them fondly.
A dark cloud passed overhead and I refused to think of it as a bad omen as I pushed myself to my feet, suddenly itching to get more space between us and the palace.
"Shall we get back on the move, then? Time waits for no lion."
The men all nodded in agreement and gathered their bags as I drank down the rest of my tea. We'd travel a little longer on the horses before leaving them and shifting to travel as a pride.
We had a plan. It might not be foolproof but it was something.
"All right, gentlemen. Lead the way!"
Four hours later, I knelt, staring into the still water of Loch Tiernan, wanting to eat my words. I'd always hated how different my hair made me look, so I wasn't prepared for the wave of shock and sadness that rolled over me as my reflection blinked back at me.
Gone was the waist length mass of auburn waves and in its place?
The hair of a tow-headed, twelve-year-old boy.
A markedly plain-looking, tow-headed, twelve-year-old boy.
I'd expected a change, but this had my mind reeling.
"I-I...don't know what to say," I mumbled, touching it with one fingertip the way one might touch a snake.
"Oh, come now. It's not that bad," Gatlin said, the chuckle in his voice belying his words.
I plopped back onto my bottom and let out a groan. "Oh, it's bad. I look like a squire," I said, the urge to laugh and cry at the same time rushing through me.
In the scheme of things, it was silly to be so vain when we were running for our lives, but damn it all, it was unnerving to realize that the thing I'd disliked most was also the thing that made me unique. A thing that all four of them surrounding me had loved. And now it was gone.
Michael watched from his seat on a rock a few feet away, a soft smile curving his lips. He sheathed the knife he'd used to do the cutting and nodded his approval. I didn't want to make him feel bad so I smiled back.
When he and Gatlin had gone into a small town to sell the horses and get supplies earlier that morning, I stayed behind with Lucian and Connor. No one had been more surprised than me when Gatlin came back and jubilantly pulled out a foul-smelling mixture he'd bought from an herbalist who swore it would change the color of my hair.
"I thought we were going to get further away before we did this," I'd said, a sudden wave of nerves passing over me as Michael drew out a wickedly sharp hunting knife and eyed me thoughtfully.
I had to admit, though, he'd been so gentle, taking forever to sharpen the blade so that it cut through my tresses like butter. And when the foul mixture Gatlin had applied to my hair stung my eyes, he'd been the one to wipe my tears away with a cold, damp cloth.
Yes, in the scheme of things, I should be nothing but grateful. And it was rather brilliant. If they were looking for four men and a woman, they'd have no cause to look here. Aside from the breasts, no one in their right mind would think I was a woman.
Probably not even my devoted protectors…
I locked the grief of that realization into my heart as I stiffened my chin and nodded. "It's good. You did a fine job, all. I have to admit, I hardly look like myself. And a second potential upside? The king would likely see me now and hand me back to you all with a sniff of distaste, so it works for me."
Refusing to spend even another moment grieving the loss of beauty I'd never really had in the first place, I slapped the water with my hand, sending my reflection wobbling away, and then I stood.
"What did we wind up with for clothes?"
Gatlin stepped forward and ran a hand over my cap of blond hair, giving it a light tug before handing me a leather satchel.
"New outfit inside. I can help you with the breast bindings."
I nodded my head but then changed it to a shake, mid-motion. It was too much, too soon. I was still trying to get my head around the loss of my femininity from the neck up. Instead of explaining that, though, I just reminded him that we had planned to shift into lion form for travel now that the horses had been sold, so changing now would be a wasted effort.
He shouldered the bag and nodded his agreement. "We'll wait until we stop for the night, then."
"Shall we head out?" Lucian asked, his intense, all-seeing ebony eyes pinned on my face. My face heated as I tried not to guess what he thought of my new appearance, and I didn't meet his gaze.
"Yes, let's." I quickly scurried away behind the nearest rock as the men tied the bags and packs loosely around their necks.
I could hear their low murmurs as I stripped naked and stuffed my clothes into my own bag. They felt sorry for me. I could sense their pity like a coming storm.
"Damn it, you foolish girl," I muttered under my breath. "Get it together, it's only hair, for the love of god."
A shadow passed over me and I looked up to find Gatlin standing there, blocking the sun with his massive form.
"Do you need us to show you how much we still want you, Anaya?"
Chapter 2
A sizzle went through me as I realized I was standing naked in broad daylight with only my splayed hands between us. I realized just as quickly that he was naked too and it took all my strength not to glance down.
His midnight-blue gaze held mine and he reached for my wrist, closing his fingers over it, tugging it toward him. I didn't resist, almost hypnotized, as he pressed my hand to the evidence of his need.
His eyes narrowed to slits and a hiss escaped his lips as I instinctively gripped him in a tentative hold.
"Does that feel like disgust, little one?" he asked, his voice sounding pained.
"No," I whispered back, swaying toward him, my knees suddenly quaking.
"Does it feel like apathy, then?" he demanded, his voice barely a growl now.
I shook my head, mute.
"I've seen and touched thousands of beauties," he said softly. Somehow, I managed not to flinch despite his words feeling like an arrow to the heart. "But none have ever made me feel what you do. You have my heart, Anaya. Never doubt that."
He cupped my hand with his own and groaned, encouraging me to stroke him up and down, once...twice. And then, with a sigh, he pulled away.
A little mewl of protest escaped my lips and I reached for him again. His jaw clenched as he gave me a tight smile. "We have to go now. We’re too close to town to linger. The least you can do is have pity and make it easy on me."
My cheeks flamed and I nodded. With one last sweep of those eyes over my naked body, he turned and rounded the rocks to head back toward his brothers.
I leaned back against the rough stone and sucked in a steadying breath.
Lord, were these men potent.
For a second, I stayed there with my eyes closed, recalling the need in his gaze and the smooth, firmness of him in my hand.
To have this? Four men who had risked their lives for me? Four men who recognized my sadness at an inconsequential thing and took the time to make sure I wasn't just all right physically, that I was also all right emotionally?
It was a gift. And if it was a gift I only got to have for a short time, I refused to squander it by being unhappy, no matter what came next.
I stepped proudly from behind the rock, shoulders back, blond head held high, soaking in the warmth of the sun on my bare flesh as all four men craned their heads toward me.
“Ready?"
Each of them stared for a long moment, their gazes roving over me, leaving my already warm skin on fire. Then, each one shot me a grin and nodded.
“Let’s go,” Connor replied.
I let my eyes drift shut and centered myself, calling
to my inner lioness. She rose to the surface, swift and strong, ready to run. My muscles became fluid, shifting and repositioning even as my bones stretched and moved.
When I opened my eyes, it was to see four stunning male lions before me, each as different from one another as the men themselves.
I'd seen Gatlin in his lion form once before. The night I'd traveled too far from the estate and had been attacked by a marauder. I pushed the thought away, focusing only on the beauty of the animal before me. Sleek, umber fur, piercing eyes. He was a specimen of beauty and power. He padded toward me and chuffed softly in my ear, before trotting a few yards away to wait for the rest of us to fall in line beside him.
I looked to the next lion in the mix and my insides went warm. Michael, the most beautiful in human form was also equally heart-stopping as his great beast. Fur that gleamed in the light offset that gaze that seemed to hold all the colors of the universe. He could've been carved from pure gold. He trotted toward me and nudged my neck with his head, breathing in my scent before stepping up beside Gatlin.
Connor was next, and he wasted no time, loping toward me with the easy confidence of a lion who knew his worth. His fur was sandy and his hazel eyes gleamed with the same life and joy they did when he was in human form. He approached and ran his tongue over my neck in a loving caress and then made his way toward his waiting brothers.
I remained still, breath bated, as Lucian stared me down, his dark gaze never leaving mine. A pillar of strength and power, he moved toward me like the predator he was. His dark mane stood in stark relief against the blue skies as he stopped just before me. Instinctively, I bowed my head slightly and, with a low growl, he closed his massive jaws around my neck in a display of ownership that sent a ripple of pleasure/pain coursing through me.
