“Better, now let’s discuss this like reasonable beings. Violence is not necessary, unless of course Leon has harmed my daughter in any way, in which case, he will never be able to use his gonads again.” She dropped her gaze to his groin, and Leon put his hands out in a defensive gesture.
“Mrs. H. I haven’t…Jesus, this is insane, tell them what happened, Rebecca.”
Henry sniffed the air, and his wolf whined, and Rebecca looked from one to the other, and shook her head.
“Rebecca Hastings, so help me, you tell us the truth now.” Henry approached his daughter, and she blanched and shook her head.
“I can smell Leon all over you, and your scent has changed. That only means one thing, and if he’s the one that took your virtue, then Protector or not, I’ll fucking kill him, regardless of what your mother is saying.”
Rebecca gasped and Mrs. H drew her in for a hug. Her mother closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she shook her head.
“Oh, my sweet girl, how could you have been so silly,” she murmured, and Henry looked on the verge of losing it.
“I’m right? He has?” Henry howled and swung his head round to glare at Leon. “How fucking dare you? “
Leon shook his head, and willed Rebecca to look at him, but she had her arms wrapped around her middle, and stared at the floor.
“Henry, let’s not jump to conclusions,” her mother said, and when her gaze connected with Leon’s it had lost its earlier iciness. Leon realized with a start that Joanne Hastings knew exactly what had happened. Of course she would, and his lion calmed down somewhat. He didn’t like the sliver of pity in her expressive eyes one little bit though, and he wished with all of his might that Rebecca would at least look at him.
What was going in that head of hers?
* * * *
Oh, good god, this was a nightmare of epic proportions. No matter what she said her father would be so disappointed in her. Leon’s gaze was scorching her skin with its intensity, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
If she admitted to how stupid she had been with Heath, her father would never look at her again. And if she admitted the pull she felt between Leon and her, they would be mated and married before she could even blink. What’s more she wouldn’t have it in her to protest. Already her body yearned to throw herself into Leon’s arms and let him take care of everything. And he would. He was furious right now, but she could sense his concern for her, the need to protect her. She didn’t want this, damn it, couldn’t allow herself to be pulled under by these emotions that battered her soul.
Rebecca didn’t want a mate.
Her mother’s deep sigh ghosted across her face, as she gently tugged her head up, so that she could look at her.
“Tell us the truth, now, girl. What happened here tonight, and why are you in Leon’s house in his clothes, and… why can’t I sense an increase in your powers? What went wrong, sweetheart?”
Tears clouded Rebecca’s vision, and she said a silent prayer of forgiveness to the elements.
“I…well, Melissa and I…” Her father’s curse interrupted her, and she swung her gaze to his.
“I knew that girl was nothing but trouble,” he said, and her mother shook her head.
“Henry, Sir, let her get this out.”
Henry Hastings frowned, and crossed his arms over his chest, and Leon closed the front door. He cleared his throat and then gestured up the hallway.
“Perhaps we should all sit down to hear this… tale.”
The intonation he put on that last word, meant that Rebecca had to look at him. Leon looked resigned and pissed off, and quietly determined all in one, and bile rose in her throat. He would never forgive her for what she was about to say, but she also knew that he wouldn’t contradict her. Leon always had her back—always.
“Good idea,” her mother murmured and gently guided her down the hallway toward the open door at the end of the narrow passage. How her mother knew her way around Leon’s cottage, who knew, but then Mum was aware of everything. No doubt she’d already figured out what Rebecca was going to say, because she steered her to a plush-looking settee, and hugged her close when they sat down.
“Think carefully about your next step, sweetheart. Tell the truth now.”
The whispered words in her ear sent shivers of foreboding down Rebecca’s spine, and twisting her hands in her lap, she started to speak. A heavy silence fell on the room, as she recalled the events that led up to being at the party where she met Heath. Her mother hugged her tighter, and her father started to pace the room, as though he was utterly unable to sit still.
When she reached the part of being in the clearing, and Heath trying it on, he looked ready to shift and tear that human limb from limb.
“Are you fucking telling me he forced you into—”
Rebecca shook her head.
“No, it wasn’t like that, besides…” She glanced at Leon, willing him to understand why she was saying this, and he frowned and leaned forward in his chair. “Leon interrupted him, before…well, you know, and he took me back here to freshen up, and make myself presentable.”
Her mother tensed next to her, and Leon’s expression closed off. She could almost see the shutters come down, as he, too, got up and turned his back on her. Her heart screamed at her to take those words back, to admit to the truth, but the incredulous look on her father’s face stopped her. He looked between Leon and her, and she noticed the silent communication going on between him and her mother.
“That’s why you’re in his clothes? You’re telling me nothing else happened? Don’t take me for a fool, and at the risk of sounding crass. I can smell you lost your innocence, so if that human isn’t to blame then it was Leon.”
Leon’s lion growled. It was a deep and menacing sound that shook the room, and his big shoulders tensed as he kept on staring out in the darkness behind the windows.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill him right now.” Henry said, and Rebecca frantically shook her head.
“Cause none of this is his fault. He rescued me, and then I practically threw myself at him. Besides, I thought you’d be pleased.” At this her father shook his head, and Leon turned round slowly and finally looked at her. The disappointment in his amber gaze hit her with the full force of a freight train, and made breathing difficult.
Please forgive me, Leon.
“You thought I’d be pleased? Girl, you’re too young for his… fuck, tell me he hasn’t.”
“I’m not a complete animal, sir.” Leon’s deep voice made her feel even more wretched inside. “I wouldn’t. Like you said, she’s far too young to get to know that side of me.”
The quietly uttered words seemed to calm her father somewhat, and he nodded and sat down heavily. Henry Hastings ran a hand through his hair and he suddenly looked very old. Mum and he had had Rebecca late in life, which meant her father was fast approaching sixty. For the first time ever, he looked his age, and Rebecca’s insides cramped in fear.
“You haven’t marked her,” he finally said and looked up at Leon. The lion shifter shook his head.
“I wouldn’t, not without your permission, and besides—”
“I’m not his mate.” Rebecca interrupted him, and Leon looked as though she’d slapped him in the face, but he didn’t contradict her. “I mean if I was, then I’d be feeling a surge in my powers, and I’m not, so…”
Her mother’s hold on her tightened and the disappointment she felt coming of Joanne in almost palpable waves almost made her tell the truth, but before she could say anything, her father got up and stared Leon down.
“Is that what happened, son?” he asked, and Leon gave a tight nod.
“Right, well, I shan’t even begin to understand what happened here, and why you’re not her mate, but…”
He looked between them all, and Rebecca tensed and he seemed to have a silent conversation with her mother. When he looked at her again, she knew he knew the truth, and she burst into t
ears.
“Let’s get you home, sweetheart, and into bed. You’re overwrought, with everything that’s been going on.” Her mother pulled her to her feet, and gave her a little shove toward Leon.
“Make your goodbyes. I dare say you won’t be seeing a lot of each other from now on. “
Rebecca held out her hand, but Leon didn’t take it. He simply looked at her, and murmured a quiet, “Bye, Rebecca.”
He stepped around her, and gave another tight nod to her parents.
“Excuse me, I need to run. Let yourself out, will you.”
In a blur of movement, he disappeared, the front door opened and shut, and then she saw his massive lion form sprint to the hills, and Rebecca burst into tears. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she would never see him again.
Chapter Seven
Eight years later
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”
Rebecca stopped listening to the human priest, conducting her father’s funeral, and shut her eyes. She still couldn’t believe he was dead. Killed by the same fucking vampire he’d let go all those years ago. Henry had faced an impossible choice. Kill Angelique Dubois, and let his mate, her mother, die, or let the ancient vampire go, in exchange for her blood to heal her mother.
When her father had been alive he’d explained plenty of times, there was only one choice he could have made. Save the woman he loved—his mate.
The word sent a shiver of awareness down her spine and she sought out the one other man that word applied to. Leon Friars leaned against an oak tree, his expression murderous. In the years since she had pushed him away she had only caught glimpses of him. Even when she had come back to live in Middle Brook and had started her cleaning business, the lion shifter had kept his distance. She couldn’t even hazard a guess at the emotions that must be battering this proud man’s soul right now. He had been with Henry, the night he was killed. The two Protectors had fought together to rid the countryside of Angelique’s evil offspring that had descended upon them. They had succeeded, but both men had been injured. Leon heavily, and he still walked with a slight limp now. It meant he hadn’t been able to stop Angelique from finally making good on her threat. She’d taken Henry Hastings out in front of Leon, and had then disappeared again. It seemed the bitch was determined to play a game of hide and fucking seek.
It was Leon who’d brought her father’s lifeless body back to her mother’s cottage, before he, too, had collapsed. Once he’d come to, both Joanne and Rebecca had offered their healing skills, but the lion shifter had refused. Her heart clenched in pain recalling the way he hadn’t managed to look at either her or her mother. He’d simply shifted back into his lion and taken off into the night.
She knew he blamed himself for her father’s death, sensed it with the powers she had slowly accumulated over the years. They weren’t a scratch on her mother’s and perhaps never would be. It seemed in her ill-advised attempts to cheat the fates, she’d broken something, condemned herself to a half-life of limited powers. According to the ancient texts her mother had consulted on the subject, the only cure would be to unite with the one.
Too bad, the one seemed to want nothing to do with her. Rebecca swiped away the tears on her face with an angry gesture.
She had been such a fucking fool back then. So determined to go her own way, to not give into her predestined path, and where had that left her? Sure, she had her degree, she’d fucked plenty of men—in her quest to awaken her powers and convince herself that she’d made the right choice back then—but none of them made her heart beat faster. Not like Leon, who now pushed away from the tree. Her soul ached for him, as his lips pulled into a tight line, and he massaged his leg. He was in a lot of pain, and her fingertips itched to reach out to him and reset the bones in his legs that gave him such trouble. She knew she could do it. Her powers always surged when he was near her, but she also knew that he wouldn’t let her.
He very rarely looked at her, let alone touched her. The only exception had been at the pack funeral they had held. He’d grasped both hers and her mother’s hands, and her skin tingled just remembering that jolt of connection she had felt to him. He’d dropped her hand immediately, but she’d heard his lion’s purr, and it had given her a glimmer of hope, that she hadn’t buggered things up between them forever more.
With a start she realized the funeral was over, as people murmured their condolences and left them standing by her father’s open grave. He should have been buried last week after their pack funeral, but Henry had been such a public figure that it had been decided to give him a human burial too. The amount of people that had turned up for this had been humbling, and her mother had finally broken down and cried. She hadn’t shed one tear before this. Taking the whole thing with a stoic determination that had Rebecca worried about her state of mind. She glanced at her now, as her lined face broke into a smile at the approach of Leon.
As per usual he ignored Rebecca, and addressed her mother instead.
“Do you need help getting home, Mrs. H?” he asked and grasped her mother’s arm when she startled.
“No, not at all. I’m going to stay here until they cover up my Henry. I don’t want him to be alone.”
Rebecca swiped another tear off her face at the catch in her mother’s voice, and Leon’s lion growled. It made the hair on her neck stand to attention, and she felt his glance when he looked at her. It scorched her skin with its barely concealed aggression, and she swallowed hard and put her hand on his arm.
Leon froze, and Rebecca knew he’d have shaken her off already, were it not for the presence of her mother.
“Mrs. H, I’m so sorry, but he’s gone. You know that, right?” He ran a hand through his long hair, and a strand of it fell over the fingers she’d dug into his biceps. Rebecca pulled in a breath at the silky feel of the contact. It sent tingles of awareness across her skin, and she clamped her thighs together. It was insane this hold he had over her. His nostrils flared and heat stained her cheeks, when she realized that he would sense her body’s response to him. So much stronger than when she’d been a teenager. She was a woman now, who knew what she wanted, needed in a relationship, and the whole mating bond to one side, Leon was exactly the type of man, she needed.
It had come as something of a shocking revelation to her that vanilla sex did nothing for her. No, as much as she was in charge of her life, and she’d fought for her independence, her inner submissive needed a dominant man.
She had been with a few Doms, but none of them made her want to sink to her knees and surrender like Leon did, without even trying.
Her mother gave a humorless laugh, and patted Leon’s cheek as though he was a five-year-old child, and not a massive hulk of a man towering over her.
“Yes, of course I know that, silly boy. I’m not losing my marbles, so you can take that worried look off your face, too, Rebecca.”
She grasped Rebecca’s shoulder with her free hand, and squeezed.
“Don’t even try and deny it. I’ve seen the way you look at me, sweet child, but there really is no need to worry over me. We always knew that vamp would get him one day. It was only a question of when, and we had so many happy years and achieved so much. My only regret is…”
She paused, and looked between Rebecca and Leon. Rebecca’s heart beat faster. She knew that look. Her mother was up to something.
“It’s what, Mum?” she asked, and Leon turned to stone in front of them.
“I know, we never had that discussion, but your father knew exactly what happened that night. We both knew, and I know Rebecca knows that, but I’m not sure Henry ever told you that, Leon, and it’s about time you knew that.”
Shock registered on Leon’s features, and Rebecca wanted the ground to swallow her up.
“Mum, please, I really don’t think now is the time to—”
“Hush, child, now is the perfect time. I’m tired of you two torturing each other over something that happened years ago. Life is too short to carry grud
ges. You were an immature teenager then who did Leon a terrible wrong, and I know you know that.” She smiled at Rebecca and she saw nothing but love and understanding shine back at her, before her mother turned her attention toward Leon. “And you, stop blaming yourself for Henry’s death. It wasn’t your fault, any more than it was mine, and you couldn’t have prevented it.”
Leon opened his mouth to say something, but Joanne put her finger over his lips and stopped him.
“No, hear me out. It was my Henry’s dearest wish to see you two settled as you ought to be. Give my daughter a chance, Leon. Let her prove to you that she’s changed, and for the love of god, allow her to heal you. She can, you know, if you let her, and I’m not just talking your leg. You two belong together, and when it’s all said and done, love is what matters. Now, if you really can’t stand the sight of her, then fine, go, but if there is even a glimmer left of the old Leon.”
Her mother paused and narrowed her eyes, as she mentally seemed to assess the shifter in front of her. “And I know there is, in here.”
Again she paused and tapped his massive chest right above his heart. “Then, don’t you owe it to both of you, to see if you can make this work? If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for Henry and me, please.”
Her mother nodded at them both, and then turned back to the grave.
“Now, be off with both of you. Leon, take my daughter home, and make sure she eats something. No need to worry over me. I’ll make my own way home.”
* * * *
Mrs. H’s little speech stunned Leon into silence. Had anyone else said that to him, he would have floored them, but this was Mrs. H. He’d cost the woman her husband, and no matter what she said, he couldn’t let that go. He should protest, but with her back ramrod straight he had very much been dismissed, as had Rebecca, who looked at her Mother’s back, while silent tears streamed down her cheeks. She made no move to brush them away and her misery hit him in the gut. Before he knew what he was doing he reached out to brush the moisture off her face, but he stopped himself at the last moment and balling his hand into a fist instead, he let it fall to his side.
Her Lion Protector [The Protectors 3] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 6
