by Lola Kidd
“Have you met Owen’s sisters yet? I’ve been trying to get Brenda to come and let me get her hair done for years. Maybe you can talk some sense into that girl.”
“I have met them. They seem very nice.”
Gwen snorted. “You got a good one, Owen. I was worried when Kellan told me you’d found her online, but she’s a doll.”
Erin was going to have to get used to all the diminutive descriptors people used for her. Only in a primarily shifter town could she be considered “small.” Everything was bigger in Sunset Falls. From Gwen’s cleavage to the giant steak Owen had had for dinner, nothing was ever done in small proportions. Erin was only 5’3” on a good day. In the rest of the world, that was a respectable height. In Sunset Falls, she was child-sized.
“So, Kellan tells me that you’re a web designer,” Gwen said to Erin. “I think you and I could combine our resources and help Owen with his little project.”
“Dammit. Kellan told you.” Owen’s cheeks colored. “That was supposed to be for VIPs only.”
Gwen put her hand on her chest. “And I’m not a VIP? Honestly, Owen, I don’t know why I even try to help you.”
“I didn’t realize Kellan was such a gossip,” Owen muttered.
“You’ll be glad he doesn’t have anyone else to confide in.” Gwen pulled out her phone and showed Erin the town’s webpage. “Look at this. Isn’t it pitiful? I figured you’d want something to take your mind off the upcoming nuptials at some point.”
“That would be nice,” Erin said. “I could stand to meet a few more people in town, anyway. I don’t want to hog up all of Owen’s time. He does have to work, still.”
“Exactly!” Gwen said. “I have a whole mess of pictures that I’ve taken over the years. I was thinking you could spruce up the site with my pictures. We aren’t going to win any awards with that site.”
“Are you done?” Owen asked.
“Don’t you sulk, Owen Brooks. You know this needs to get done. I’ve already talked to the mayor and everything. I’ve done you a big favor.” Gwen stood up. “Give me a call when you’re ready to get to work, Erin.”
“When’s your next day off?”
Gwen waved her hand and laughed. “I can take off whenever. I’m at that place almost every day, even though we have two customers a week. Don’t worry about me.”
“You can come by the ranch on Friday,” Owen said. “I have to repair part of the fence.”
“Great!” Gwen sashayed back to her own table. She was sitting with two other girls.
“Sorry about that,” Owen apologized. “Gwen can come on a bit strong sometimes.”
“I’m glad. I could use a girlfriend in town. Plus, this is going to help you too. I was just thinking of steps we can take to get the town ready for impressing the editorial staff at ASW.”
“Steps, huh?”
Erin nodded. “First, we need to have a fabulous wedding. As soon as your friends see how wonderful I am, they’re going to be clamoring to sign up to LK Brides too.”
Owen laughed. “You don’t know the men in town.”
“Nobody wants to be alone.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re going to do what I did.”
“I think you’re wrong. You don’t know the power of a good wedding.”
“Okay. That’s it? We have a great wedding and that’ll solve all our problems?”
“No, we have a great wedding, I revamp the town website, and you go talk to your pride brothers.” Gwen smiled. “That will be the first step.”
Owen shook his head. “I can’t go talk to them. Your plan is good, but that isn’t going to work.”
“You won’t know until you try,” Erin argued. “You haven’t tried talking to Steve and Rusty in years. You said so yourself. There’s a chance they’re different now.”
“They aren’t.”
“Well, then, maybe you’re different. Maybe you’ll be more convincing now.”
Owen looked skeptical. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll go and do this once, and if it fails, I won’t try again for another ten years.”
Erin put out her hand. “Deal.”
She and Owen shook on it. It was a start. She didn’t know if his pride brothers would listen, but at least it was a step in the right direction. She felt a lot better now that there was a plan in motion. Now, if only it would all go the way she wanted.
Six
“I’m going now.” Owen took a deep breath and put on his hat. He put his hand on the doorknob and stopped. “I think I need a drink of water first. I’m pretty thirsty.”
Erin was sitting on the stairs with her elbows on her knees. “Uh-huh. And then after that you’re going to want a cookie because the water made you hungry. Then you’re going to want to paint a picture because the cookie reminded you of being in kindergarten. You’re stalling.”
“I am not. I’m thirsty,” Owen protested. Erin followed him to the kitchen. He made a deliberate show of pouring himself a tall glass of ice water and then drank it slowly. When he was done he smacked his lips. “Refreshing.”
Erin laughed and put her arms around his waist. “Now that you’re all hydrated, it must be time for you to leave.”
Owen looked out the kitchen window. “Damn. The cows are outside of the meadow again. Let me go out and get them to pasture and then I’ll go.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “Mr. Excuses. You don’t want to go.”
Owen took off his shirt and pants. “Look outside. You can see the cows yourself.”
“What are you doing?” Erin asked.
“I’m herding.” Owen went out the back door and when he stepped off the porch he shifted to his lion. It felt good to be back on four legs. He’d spent so much time with Erin the last four days, he hadn’t even shifted. That was a rarity. He usually shifted every other day. He liked running around the ranch once the cows were down for the night. Sometimes he and Kellan went out and terrorized the coyotes. He never needed an excuse to shift.
There were only three cows that were by the house. He recognized two as repeat offenders. They had a big space to graze for the day and yet these two always wanted to come to the house for grass. Earlier in the year, they had ruined all the plants he’d put down. They didn’t even eat them, just tore them up and spit them out. He would have taken it personally if he were a vengeful man. He wanted to stop them from coming up, though. He was going to give the cows a little scare.
He stood deadly still in the grass fifty feet from the cows. One noticed him but kept chewing. He waited until the cow looked away and the world had gone still. All he could see was the cows. Owen’s muscles coiled up as he prepared to give chase. He couldn’t give it his all. The cows were slow. He took off running fast enough to scare the animals. The cows saw him coming and took off.
Owen changed direction to come at the cows from a different angle. He needed them to get back with the rest of the herd. He had them halfway across the field before his ranchhand came up on a horse.
“Sorry, boss. I didn’t notice they’d gotten away. I’ll take it from here.” The dark-skinned man corralled the animals the rest of the way.
Owen was breathing hard. It was just like a hunt. His adrenaline was high and he was ready to pounce. He was sweating and felt great when he shifted back to human near the house.
“I’ve never seen you shift before.” Erin was standing on the back stoop. “That was incredible. You were so fast.”
The way she was looking at Owen made him puff out his chest and add a little extra swagger to his step. “I am the king of the jungle. Kings are usually pretty incredible.”
Erin stepped off the concrete steps. “I’m glad the king decided to grace this peasant with a little of his time today.”
“Peasant?” Owen swooped Erin in his arms and pulled her close. “You’re a queen. You’re my queen. That’s even better.”
Erin ran her hand down his back, making Owen shiver. His cock was pressed between them and hard as a rock. “I think there’s one more t
hing I need to do before I head over to the ranch.”
“Oh, really? What did you have in mind this time?”
In answer, Owen spun Erin around and pushed her to the ground. “Ass up.”
Erin complied and wiggled her ass at him. He smacked her once. “You wanted me to leave, right? No time for games, then.”
Owen pulled her panties off and ran his finger through her wetness. She was dripping and ready for him. She moaned as ran his finger up and down her lips. He circled her clit a few times until she was pressing back against his hand. When he couldn’t stand waiting any more, he got his knees behind her and put his hands on her hips. He pressed her torso down closer to the ground before entering her from behind.
She gasped as he slid inside. It was one of his favorite sounds. He moved his hips at a punishing pace until her fingers were digging into the dirt. Her eyes were shut tight and she was babbling his name over and over. He felt her tightening around his cock and she arched her back even more.
“Oh, Owen.” She pressed her ass back against him even harder. He slowed down a little to let her catch her breath. “Don’t stop, baby. Don’t stop now.”
Owen’s fingers dug into her hips as he pulled her back to meet his thrusts. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was dripping sweat. They were in the shade but it felt like he was on the surface of the sun. She tightened around him again and he lost control. He roared before coming inside of Erin so hard he saw stars. He put his hand on the dirt in front of them to rest. Erin stretched out on the ground on her stomach.
She was breathing hard but looked up at him and smiled. “Maybe you have to do one more thing before you leave?”
Owen groaned. “You’re killing me.”
Erin rolled over onto her side. He could already see the outlines of his hands on her hips. He meant to be more careful, but he loved her hips. They were round, soft, and fit into his hands perfectly. He was getting hard again just looking at her.
“One more time. Then I really have to leave.”
*
The sun was setting by the time Owen was pulling in to the farm. He was feeling great. That little distraction before he left had calmed his nerves and cleared his head. He knew what he had to do.
“Where’s Rusty and Steve?” he asked the two cubs who were outside the house the two men shared. The cubs bounded off and Owen followed them to one of the picnic areas. Rusty and Steve were drinking beers at the table.
“Thanks. Now get out of here.” Owen scruffed the cubs behind the ears before they ran off. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Rusty’s hair was long now. It reached down to his shoulders and he had a scruffy beard too. He tipped his beer at Owen. “Want a cold one?”
Owen shook his head. “No, thanks.”
“Take a seat, man.” Steve touched the bench next to him. “We haven’t seen you in almost a year. You don’t have to stand around all awkward. Heard you were getting married.”
“I am.” Owen stayed standing. “I came down here to have a talk with you two before the big day. Things are going to have to change around here.”
Rusty laughed. “This again. Come on, bro. You run the ranch how you see fit and we run the farm. That’s what we agreed.”
“We didn’t agree to anything. I took the ranch.”
“And we let you have it.” Steve shrugged. “You’ve got a bug up your butt ’cause you’ve got a new little wifey. Don’t go rocking the boat, brother. Things are working well.”
“Things are not working well.” Owen knocked Steve’s beer out of his mouth. “You have my mom out running patrols while you drink all night? I don’t think things are working fine at all.”
“You aren’t here,” Rusty said. “You don’t know how anything works. You can’t walk out on all of us and then try to come in and play big man on the farm. I don’t give a damn if you’re getting married or not. You don’t run this place.”
“You need money for the wedding?” Steve asked. “Is that why you’re here trying to boss us around? You don’t have to ask. We’ll give you the money.”
Owen gritted his teeth. “I don’t need money for the wedding. The ranch is making money hand over fist.”
“Great!” Rusty raised his bottle to Owen and handed a new one to Steve. “A toast to your good fortune.”
Steve raised his bottle too. “Congratulations on your new wife and your successful business. May you be blessed with many cubs and a long and happy marriage.”
Steve and Rusty both took long drinks. Rusty put his beer down and wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand. “Now get the fuck out of here. We’re done talking to you.”
Owen growled. “We aren’t close to being done. If you two assholes can’t act like adults, I’m going to become alpha.”
“You wouldn’t.” Rusty stood up. “You have no right.”
“Just because your daddy was alpha doesn’t mean you get to be alpha.” Steve stood up too. “I already have five cubs on this farm. If anyone has the right to be alpha, it’s me.”
“Yeah?” Owen got close to Steve and loomed over the smaller man. “The mothers of your cubs can decide if they want to follow your lazy ass off the farm.”
Steve stepped back. “You can’t do that.”
“I damn well can. You want to stop me from becoming alpha?” Owen took of his shirt. “You’re going to have to fight me.”
Steve and Rusty exchanged glances. Rusty shrugged. “Fine. We’ll fight.”
Owen nodded. They all shifted and walked to the fire pit in the middle of the recreation area. The cubs were playing there and Steve shifted back to human.
“Get out of here. This is adult stuff. Tell the rest of the kids to steer clear too.”
The cubs ran off with a glance back. There wasn’t going to be much time before someone came out to see what the commotion was. Owen didn’t think they would have an audience before he won.
As soon as the kids were far enough away, Steve shifted back and he and Rusty attacked Owen together. He had expected as much. They weren’t fighting to control the pack alone. Neither of them even wanted to be alpha. They wanted Owen to leave them alone to laze the days away. Neither of them had a mane and both were slightly smaller than Owen. It wasn’t a fair fight even with the two of them working together.
He bit Steve on the front paw hard and then went for Rusty’s throat. Steve yelped and limped to help Rusty, who was thrashing wildly. Owen released Rusty for a moment to swipe at Steve with one of his massive paws. The smaller lion backed off with a nasty claw mark across his chest.
When Owen turned back to Rusty, he was already on his stomach with his head between his paws. Owen roared and turned back to Steve. By the time Nina came running over, the fight was done. Owen was alpha of the Brooks Pride.
“Owen, what are you doing?” Dawn was right behind her mother. She ran to Steve, who shifted back to human form. The scars healed as he changed.
“He’s alpha now,” Steve said, hanging his head. “I’m sorry, Dawn. I’m going to have to leave.”
“What?” Dawn looked up at Owen with tears in her eyes.
“He’s not going to have to leave,” Owen relented. “But things are going to change around here. No one’s getting a free ride anymore. If they want to stay, they’re going to have to work.”
“Thanks, man.” Steve stood up and shook Owen’s hand. Rusty shook his hand too, but he didn’t have anything to say to Owen.
“Come on. We can talk at our house,” Nina said. She walked to the house with Owen. “And who didn’t want to be alpha?”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his mother smile. “Things change, Mom.”
“Maybe this little mail-order bride isn’t so bad,” Nine said, putting her arm around Owen’s shoulders. “Guess I’ll have to find something to wear to this big wedding.”
Seven
“Thanks so much for doing this!” Gwen stepped inside and handed a flash drive to Erin. “This has all my pictu
res on it. I thought we could look at them together.”
“That sounds great.” Erin took Gwen to her office.
“Whoa. Owen gave you his office already, huh?” Gwen looked at the basic white curtains that covered the windows. “I bet you can’t wait to redecorate this place.”
Erin nodded. “It was sweet of him, but you’re right. This office doesn’t speak to me right now. I’ve already ordered a new desk.”
“You’re going to have to order out for all the good office stuff.” Gwen pulled a chair up next to Erin so she could see the computer too. “There are a lot of local shops, though.”
“How did you guys manage to keep the big box stores from coming around?”
“What box store would want to set up shop here?” Gwen pulled her snug shirt down. “We aren’t exactly a bustlin’ metro area. Not that we would let them in if they wanted to come. Local stores are all we have in the Falls.”
“And the farms.”
Gwen shook her head. “You mean the ranches. Maybe once Owen cleans up the farm it can be as successful as the ranches. By the way, I hear congratulations are in order again. Pride alpha.”
Erin beamed. She knew she could be modest about it, but she was so proud of Owen. He’d marched down there and taken control of the whole pride in one day. Since he’d become alpha, he was down at the farm once a day and Brenda had even come to visit them on the ranch.
“Look at you.” Gwen raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry. I’d be a million times worse if my husband was pride alpha. Shoot, I’d be crowing if I could find a husband, period.”
Erin laughed as she looked through the pictures. “Okay. Funny. No need to be modest about yourself. I bet you have seven boyfriends.”
“Uh, try zero.” Gwen leaned back dramatically in her chair and put her head back. “Seriously, you would think I was rotten meat from all the play I get around here.”
“Impossible.” Erin put some pictures into a folder. “These pictures are really good. This is going to look great.”
“You think?” Gwen perked up. “I took a few classes at the community college but I didn’t get a degree or anything. I do have a fancy camera.”
“Want to see what I have for the site so far?”
