Rancher Lion: BBW Lion Shifter Paranormal Romance (Cedar Hill Lions Book 3)

by Zoe Chant

  The pleasant thought was abruptly interrupted as Lincoln’s voice rang out through the night.

  “You – all of you – should know by now that you’re trespassing on the lands of the Cedar Hill Ranch. My permission was neither sought nor given. I’m giving you this chance to back away and leave now. If you don’t, then there will be consequences to this act. Am I clear?”

  His voice was clear, carrying though the night air. Sasha thought there was something almost ritualistic about the way he said it – as if there was a predetermined pattern to the words. It sounded a little odd to her. It wasn’t the way Lincoln usually spoke, either.

  For a long moment after Lincoln’s voice died away, Sasha held her breath. There was only silence from beyond the house. Maybe it was too much to hope for, but perhaps Colfax and whoever had come with him had decided it would be too much trouble to fight for her, even against humans.

  “Do they have guns with them?” Sasha asked Charity in a whisper.

  “Who – Mason and your man?” Charity asked, as if she’d asked a baffling question. “Of course not, that’d be a show of bad faith.”

  As she finished speaking, Charity’s mouth suddenly snapped shut, as if she’d said the wrong thing.

  Sasha wasn’t sure about wrong, but it was certainly confusing.

  “Bad faith?” she asked. “Bad faith ho –”

  Her words were cut off as suddenly, an answering voice came back to Lincoln’s challenge.

  “I hear your words, old man.” Colfax’s distinctively raspy voice floated out of the darkness. Sasha caught her breath – she couldn’t see a thing out there except Joe, Mason and Lincoln’s backs forming a semi-circle around the door. But she knew Colfax’s voice when she heard it.

  “And yes – we are aware of our trespass. But our purpose here overrides the need for permission. We’re here to collect the mate of one of our pack.”

  The… mate…?

  Sasha’s head spun. What did that mean? Was Colfax trying to say that… she belonged to one of his men?

  Larssen.

  Of course, it could only be him, Sasha thought. He was the only one of Colfax’s men Sasha had ever known, in any way at all. That she’d ever even given him the time of day was something she regretted with every fiber of her being, now. But it was as Joe had said: she’d been lonely, and it had been easy to fall for his flattery.

  But he’d never said anything about mates when they were together. In fact, he’d thrown her away as soon as he’d gotten sick of her.

  It was only then that it occurred to her that none of the people she was with had reacted to Colfax’s words with anything even close to confusion. Colfax’s use of the words mate and pack hadn’t fazed them in the slightest.

  Charity was still at her shoulder, listening intently. Sasha wanted to ask her what was going on, but she didn’t dare, in case she missed something that was going on outside.

  “Your mate?” It was Lincoln who spoke next. “We don’t have any mate of your pack here. You must be mistaken. Best you turn around and leave now, before you make even bigger fools out of yourselves.”

  There was a brief silence. And then, Colfax stepped out of the darkness, into the brightness of the porch lights. Sasha caught her breath. Colfax was a terrifying man. Six foot four of wiry muscle, he looked like the personification of the wolf he could turn into: gray haired, with ice blue eyes, his fists always ready for action.

  But even less welcome than Colfax was the man who stood at his right shoulder. Dark-haired and smirking, a scar snaking down the left side of his face.

  Larssen.

  Sasha felt a shudder run down her spine at the sight of him, revulsion curling in her stomach. How she ever could have thought of him as charming or good-looking was beyond her now. She felt nothing but disgust as she looked at him. Joe was ten times the man he was, in every single way. A real man didn’t threaten or demean. A real man didn’t use his strength to hurt. Joe was strong and masculine, but he was kind, gentle and protective – everything a real man should be.

  “Are you saying you don’t have my mate in that house, then?” Larssen’s voice was sneering. “Is that your claim?”

  Sasha’s blood ran cold. But then, after a moment, it ran hot again with fury. How dare Larssen say I’m his mate!

  Without stopping to think, she threw open the door, and burst out into the cold night air.

  “What the hell are you talking about, Larssen?” she yelled, anger overriding her good sense. “That I’m your mate? Ha! You threw me away like I was nothing! How dare you?”

  She had been storming toward Colfax and Larssen, too furious to remember how frightened she was of them. But then she felt Joe’s strong, warm hands on her arms, gently pulling her back, pushing her behind his body.

  “She’s not your mate.” Joe’s voice was strong, and Sasha could hear the barely-concealed anger behind it. “You heard my alpha – leave. Now. You have absolutely no business here.”

  His… his alpha? Sasha’s head was still in a whirl, and she could barely process what she was hearing. But… alphas were what shifters had, and… and Joe wasn’t a shifter… was he?

  Sasha felt like she couldn’t think straight. She looked up into Joe’s strong, handsome profile as he stared across at Colfax and Larssen, unflinching.

  Could he…? she wondered, eyes wide. But I told him… and he never said…

  Larssen let out a mean, barking laugh. “Oh, yeah? And what the fuck would you know about it?”

  “I know she’s not your mate,” Joe said, voice low and steady. “Because she’s mine.”

  Sasha felt like her knees were about to collapse beneath her. Nothing felt real anymore – she was overtaken by dizziness. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask Joe if this was true… to try to make sure she wasn’t just dreaming. The next thing she knew she felt Charity’s hands under her arms, helping her back inside.

  She slumped down on a stool just inside the door, while Charity felt her forehead, and asked if she was all right.

  “Is that… is it true?” Sasha asked weakly, the second she had the power of speech back. “Is Joe… are all of you…”

  She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. Charity was looking at her, her eyes full of sympathy.

  “Please believe me when I say Joe didn’t want you to find out like that,” she said, her voice a little strained. “He wanted to tell you – it’s been eating him alive the last day or so, wondering how to tell you after what happened to you. He just didn’t want to scare you.”

  Sasha shook her head, as if the action could somehow make her thoughts slot into place.

  “And… and you…?”

  Charity shook her head. “No. I’m as human as you are. But Mason is a shifter, just like Joe and Lincoln. Mason’s my mate. We’ve been together for a little over a year. And we couldn’t be happier.”

  Sasha blinked, before her eyes fell wordlessly to Charity’s belly. Charity smiled, running her hand over it.

  “Yeah. This little one might be a shifter too. We won’t know until she’s a little older. But it’s a fifty-fifty chance.”

  Sasha slumped back, speechless. Colfax and his crew had been so heartless, so evil and cruel. She’d assumed it was part of being able to turn into an animal – animals felt no remorse at killing or maiming. That was just their nature. She’d thought that the animal must control how shifters behaved when they were human, too – that was certainly the impression she’d gotten from the Blackwood Pack. They’d almost seemed to glory in their violence.

  But Joe, Mason, Lincoln… they had all been kind and welcoming. She had felt safe with them. There’d never been even so much as a hint of threat…

  Joe’s words suddenly hit her again.

  I know she’s not your mate. Because she’s mine.

  Her mouth went dry. Is that true? Am I… his mate?

  Was that what accounted for their instant connection, and the way she’d felt so safe around him from t
he very first time they’d met? Was that what… was that what being with a shifter was supposed to feel like?

  As if reading her mind, Charity nodded. “It’s true – you’re Joe’s mate. Just like I’m Mason’s. Tell me – was there a spark of electricity between you the first time he touched you? Did you feel warm and safe just from being around him?”

  Dazed, Sasha nodded.

  Charity’s smile took on a wicked glint. “And – well, I understand if this is a personal question – but did you guys go off like a firecracker in the sack, even though it was your first time together?”

  Sasha felt a deep blush creeping up her throat. But Charity was right – she’d never felt like Joe had made her feel. Not once, ever before in her life. What they’d had that night together at the cabin had been out of this world.

  “Please believe me, he didn’t want to deceive you. He was only worried you might be frightened. I know he was going to tell you as soon as he could.”

  Sasha felt numb. She didn’t know what to think. On the one hand, she wished Joe had just told her. But recalling what she’d said about never wanting to see another shifter as long as she lived, she supposed she could understand why he hadn’t.

  And… and if I’m really his mate…

  For a moment, she imagined what it must have been like for Joe to hear her say something like that, knowing that she was his mate, and wanting nothing more than to tell her who they really were to each other. She swallowed.

  She wasn’t quite ready to forgive him for not telling her right away, but…

  … But she supposed she could understand it.

  Taking a deep breath, Sasha turned her head back toward the open door, where Colfax and Larssen were apparently still arguing with Joe, Mason and Lincoln.

  “Your mate?” Larssen let out his flat, barking laugh again. “I claimed her. She’s been in my bed. How does that make you feel?”

  Sasha bit her lip, glancing at the back of Joe’s head.

  “It doesn’t matter to me one bit,” he said, his voice the same low, steady rumble. “She’s my mate. I’ll protect her no matter what. That’s all there is to it.”

  Sasha watched Larssen’s reaction to that. He seemed to rev in neutral for a moment, as if that had been his trump card, and, having played it, he wasn’t sure where to go from here.

  That was typical of men like Larssen, she thought. He felt like he owned the women he slept with – but Joe was of a different kind. Mate or not, he accepted her for who she was, and everything that entailed.

  Even if he hadn’t told her about being a shifter, that, at least, he had made clear.

  He wanted her. He’d protect her.

  No matter what.

  Colfax snarled, breaking her reverie. “She’s a member of my pack,” he shouted, vicious. “You can’t have her. She disobeyed my orders. I’m her alpha, and I’m demanding you give her back.”

  Vaguely, Sasha had time to wonder if this was what this was really all about: if she, a mere human, could defy Colfax, then did the other shifters in his pack have any reason to fear him? Perhaps this was all about him trying to save face – proving that no act of defiance would go unpunished.

  Lincoln shook his head. “I know that’s not true. I know she was only there by force – and besides, she’s my son’s mate. Even if she was a member of your pack, which I don’t believe for a second, their mated bond takes precedence. You know that.”

  Colfax narrowed his eyes. “So you’re saying you won’t give her back?”

  “That’s exactly what we’re saying.” It was Joe who answered. “You have no business here. Leave. Immediately.”

  Sasha held her breath while the air crackled with tension.

  In the next second, all hell seemed to break loose – well, not quite. But what did happen was that where Colfax and Larssen had been standing only seconds before were two snarling, snapping wolves, their teeth bared, fur standing straight up along their spines. They snarled, yellow fangs glistening. They looked terrifying and wild.

  Sasha gasped, half-standing, but then in the next moment, she heard a bone-rattling roar. Before she had time to think, two lions, massive and golden, with full, shaggy manes had appeared on either side of where Lincoln, still human, stood.

  Oh. Oh my God.

  Sasha sat down hard again as she realized what had happened. The two lions…

  Joe and Mason. They’re lions. They’re lion shifters.

  Mind totally numb, all Sasha could do was stare. The lions snarled deep in their throats; their massive, heavily-muscled bodies lowered into defensive crouches. They could have pounced at any moment on Colfax and Larssen, and, wild as they were, they would’ve made mince meat out of them. There was no way two wolves could go head to head with the magnificent golden lions.

  “That was a gamble,” Charity said, sounding a little breathless. She glanced down at Sasha, smiling. “Colfax knew Joe and Mason were shifters, of course, but he had no way of knowing what they shifted into. He took a chance. He lost.”

  Oh, Sasha thought vaguely. She still felt completely overwhelmed by everything that had happened.

  “I think we all understand the situation a little more clearly now,” Lincoln, still human, said, addressing the two snarling wolves. “My boys’ll escort you off our territory. Mind that I never catch you on it again. Ever.”

  With that, he turned his back on them, walking easily toward the door. Sasha supposed that was some kind of insult – like he didn’t take them seriously as a threat.

  As he walked toward them, Sasha looked past him toward the lion closest to her – the one that had once been Joe.

  No. It still is Joe, Sasha thought, as it turned to look at her. There was something in the lion’s eyes that traveled straight into her heart – a plea, an apology. As if it was desperate to communicate with her, and tell her how sorry it was. Sasha knew they’d have some things to talk about when he got back, but for now, she simply smiled at him, as broadly as she could muster.

  It’s okay, she tried to tell him, trying to send him a message the same way he had. It’s okay. It really is.

  The lion hesitated a moment, but then, as if it understood, it seemed to nod its magnificently maned head. There was a deep growl as it turned to look at the thwarted wolves, who were already starting to back away. And then, Lincoln closed the door behind him.

  “That’s over with,” he said, his voice gruff. “I meant what I said – there’ll be hell to pay if I ever catch them or any member of their pack anywhere near here.” He glanced down at Sasha. “Are you okay?”

  Sasha nodded, a little shaky. “I think so.”

  As Lincoln looked down at her, his face seemed to soften slightly. “I know that must have come as quite a shock. Joe told me he hadn’t had the chance to explain things yet.”

  “Yeah.” Sasha shook her head. “I wish he had, but… I guess I understand why he didn’t.”

  “Joe’s a good man, Sasha,” Charity broke in. “There’s none better. And I know he’d never willingly hurt or lie to you. This really was about trying not to frighten you while you recovered.”

  Sasha nodded. “I… I guess so. But still, I’d like to talk things through when he gets back. And find out what he meant when he said… that I’m his mate.”

  “That’s definitely a conversation for you and him,” Charity agreed. “And they won’t be long. I’m sure they’ll be quick to run those two clowns off the property.” She cocked her head. “Can I get you anything? You’ve had a shock.”

  Sasha laughed. “Yeah, that’d be great. Maybe just a cup of coffee. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight anyway.”

  Charity grinned. “Coming right up.”

  “One for me too,” Lincoln said, stretching. “I won’t sleep tonight either. I want to make sure those idiots stay gone. But first, I might just take a prowl around the upper paddocks. Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “Don’t be long,” Charity called from the kitchen. “You
don’t want your coffee to get cold.”

  “Wait too long for your coffee? Never,” Lincoln said, with the first hint of a smile Sasha had seen him give. With that, he turned and headed out the door.

  Sasha pulled in a long breath. She still felt a little woozy. The horror of seeing Larssen and Colfax, and then the discovery of Joe’s true nature…

  She still felt pretty shaky.

  “Charity, I think I’m just going to go splash a little cold water on my face,” she said, leaning against the wall to help her stand up.

  Charity nodded. “Sure. You’ve had a shock. It might do you some good.”

  Sasha made her way slowly across the living room to the hall. Taking a moment to breathe deeply, she went into the small bathroom attached to her room, which contained a shower, a toilet and a sink. Maybe lions didn’t like sharing bathrooms, she thought. Certainly it seemed an extravagance to her.

  But it was an extravagance she was grateful for as she leaned down over the sink, running the faucet and filling her hands with the icy cold water, before splashing it up over her face. The shock was enough to stop her head from spinning, that was for sure. It felt like tiny needles against her skin.

  Still, she splashed herself two more times just to be sure she was back to her senses, before moving over to dry herself on the towel by the shower.

  As she patted her face dry, however, she started to realize that something in the room just wasn’t quite right.

  For the first time, she realized just how cold it was in here – she’d felt so shaky and sweaty that she hadn’t noticed it at first. But compared with the rest of the house, this bathroom was freezing.

  Lowering the towel from her face, Sasha glanced around. Not a single thing was out of place in the tidy room – everything was just as it had been when she’d been in here a couple of hours ago getting ready for bed.

  Fear rose in her chest. Something wasn’t right here. She just didn’t know what.

  I have to get out of here.

  Sasha only had the chance to take one full step, before a massive hunting knife burst through the screen of the window next to her head.