by Zoe Chant
“Without Mommy?” Danny pulled the covers up to his chin, as if hiding from a monster in the dark. “But I’ve never been away without Mommy. Can’t she come too?”
“She wouldn’t want to come. She and your alpha would jump at the chance to have private time alone together. They were eager enough for you to come with me tonight, weren’t they?”
A twinge of jealousy shot through him at the mental image of that arrogant alpha in Hayley’s bed. Even if she was a bit fatter and more tired-looking than when he’d known her, she was still an extremely attractive woman. Reiner wouldn’t have said no to a second round…but of course there was no chance of that, now that she only had eyes for her oh-so-alpha mate.
Reiner consoled himself with the thought that at least he’d had her first. And she’d been younger and riper then, too. If only she’d been a shifter! But there was simply no way he could ever have taken a mundane human home to his family. Not when his perfect older brother had already mated a perfect alpha lioness and started producing perfect pure-bred cubs…
Our cub is perfect, his lion said, its mental voice a soft purr.
So he is. Reiner shook off his dark thoughts, focusing on the shining promise of the better future ahead.
“Your mother and her mate don’t want a cub like you getting in the way all the time,” he said to Danny. “They’d be happy if you stayed with me for longer. They just don’t want to hurt your feelings by telling you so.”
“Oh,” Danny said quietly. His little face was shadowed in the moonlight. “I didn’t think of that.”
“Don’t worry. I always want to have you around.” He stroked Danny’s golden hair back from his forehead. “You go to sleep now, my son. I’ll be right next door if you need me.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Danny yawned hugely, his expression relaxing again as he snuggled down. “I did really like hunting tonight. Can we do that again? Here, I mean. Not back at your proper home.”
“You’ll have to ask your alpha.” He couldn’t resist adding, “Make sure you tell him you want me to take you hunting, not him.”
“Oh, Mr. Griff won’t mind.” Danny’s voice had gone soft and sleepy. “He doesn’t hunt.”
“He doesn’t?” Reiner’s hand paused. Some traditionalists—Reiner’s own grandfather among them—still held that hunting was women’s work. Was that bastard Griff laughing at him even now? “Why? Does he think it’s something only lionesses should do?”
Danny giggled. “That’s silly. Who would think that?”
“Never mind. It’s not important.” Reiner relaxed a little. At least that asshole alpha wasn’t filling his son’s head with ridiculous old-fashioned nonsense. “But why doesn’t Griff like hunting?”
“I think he’d like to,” Danny mumbled, his eyes drifting shut. “But he can’t. He wouldn’t be able to bite the deer, after all. Not with person teeth.”
…Person teeth?
“Why would he try to hunt without shifting?” Reiner asked, bewildered.
“Ummm.” Danny’s eyes popped open. He suddenly looked as guilty as if Reiner had just caught him eating his entire stash of Halloween candy. “Never mind.” He rolled over, squeezing his eyes tight shut again. “Night-night, Daddy.”
Reiner switched the bedside light back on.
“Hey!” Danny flung his arm over his face. “I was sleeping!”
Reiner ignored the protest, leaning over him intently. Inside, his lion crouched, every muscle tense, tail lashing. Normally, it was the voice of caution, holding him back…but not this time.
If the alpha cannot even catch a deer, his lion snarled, he cannot protect the pride. He cannot protect our cub. If the alpha is unfit…
“Danny.” Reiner let his lion rise, let its force show in his voice and eyes, despite the way it made Danny cower. “Tell me exactly why Griff can’t hunt.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Hayley
As soon as I get off work, I’m going straight to the store, Hayley thought as she watched Griff move around the kitchen. And I’m buying condoms. Lots and lots of condoms.
Lacking other options, Griff had put his Halloween outfit back on again this morning—though the unselfconscious ease with which he’d donned the kilt had made it clear it really wasn’t just a costume for him. Hayley wondered how often he wore it. She wondered how often she could persuade him to wear it.
“As often as you like,” Griff said, without looking up from buttering toast.
Hayley made a face at his broad back. “Okay, clearly we’re going to have to lay some ground rules about using your eagle powers.”
Griff threw her a teasing glance. “I thought you rather liked my eagle.”
“What I like in the bedroom and what I like in the kitchen are two entirely separate things,” Hayley informed him grandly.
As one, they looked at the kitchen table, then at each other. They both burst out laughing.
The doorbell chimed. “That’ll be Reiner and Danny,” Hayley said, trying to bring her giggles under control. She really, really didn’t want either of them asking what the joke was. “Right on time, too. You were right, we could trust Reiner. Maybe we can make sleepovers at Daddy’s a regular event.”
Griff caught her for a kiss as she went past. “I certainly hope so.”
Still glowing from the brief embrace, Hayley beamed as she opened the front door. “Hi-”
“Where is he?” The door slammed back as Reiner thrust his way inside. Hayley gasped as he barged past, knocking her into a wall.
“What on earth-?” Griff appeared in the door of the kitchen, still holding a butter knife. His eyes abruptly blazed gold, and his voice cracked like a whip. “Reiner! Stop!”
Reiner shrugged off Griff’s alpha command, never pausing. He had a wild, triumphant expression, his teeth bared. Towing a struggling Danny by one wrist in his wake, he strode right up to the firefighter.
“You have no power over me,” he snarled, right into Griff’s face. “Griffin MacCormick, I challenge you!”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Griff,” Danny babbled. His face was stricken with guilt. “I didn’t mean to tell. I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
“It’s not your fault, lad.” Griff kept his eyes locked with Reiner’s. He hadn’t backed down so much as an inch. “Reiner, let the cub go. Now.”
“You have no power over me,” Reiner repeated, but he opened his hand. Danny flew straight into Hayley’s arms.
“It’s all right, baby, it’s all right,” Hayley whispered futilely to him. His entire body shook as though he had his fingers in an electrical socket.
“Hayley, take Danny upstairs.” Griff’s voice was very calm, betraying none of the tension in his body. “This isn’t something he should watch.”
“Go up to your room, baby.” She pushed Danny in the direction of the stairs, but didn’t follow him herself. “The grown-ups need to talk for a minute. It’ll be ok.”
When Danny had disappeared into his bedroom, Hayley swung round to confront Reiner. “You. Get out of my house.”
Reiner laughed scornfully, glancing at her with a sneer. “You have even less power over me than he-”
Without a hint of warning, Griff punched him straight in the face. Reiner staggered, and before he could recover Griff had him up against the wall, one forearm shoved across the lion shifter’s throat.
“You will respect my mate’s territory,” he said, still with that deadly calm. “You can challenge me, but you have no right to intrude here.”
“Then let’s take this outside,” Reiner spat. His eyes glittered feverishly. “I challenge you for your pride, alpha. Shift and face me like a lion.”
“He can’t, Reiner, you know he can’t!” Hayley tried to pull Griff away, but she might as well have tried to move a mountain. “Griff, just toss him out. He can’t make you fight him.”
“Oh yes, I can,” Reiner said. “And I am. Fight me, alpha. Defend your pride, or lose it.”
Very slowly, Griff released
Reiner. “There’s a dueling arena at the courthouse. We will do this properly, with witnesses.”
“Griff, he’ll kill you!” Hayley whirled on Reiner. “Reiner, I beg you. Just let him go. Please. For Danny’s sake, don’t hurt him.”
Reiner straightened a little, his chest swelling as if he was enjoying her pleading. “I suppose I could accept a formal surrender.”
“He surrenders, of course he’ll surrender,” Hayley babbled, before Griff could say anything. She grabbed Griff’s arm, his muscles as hard as iron under her fingers. “Griff, please. Do it.”
A savage snarl tore from Griff’s throat. Hayley could see sweat beading on his brow, could tell how hard he was having to fight to keep his animals under control.
If this continues, Reiner won’t even have to touch him. His own beasts will rip him apart first.
“Do it for me,” Hayley whispered, begging him with every fiber of her soul to listen to her.
Griff swallowed, hard. Gently, he freed himself from her grip. Never breaking eye contact with Reiner, he lowered himself to his knees, tilting his head up to expose his throat.
Reiner’s eyes gleamed. “Down further, beta. Down on your belly.”
“Reiner-” Hayley started, but Griff shook his head at her, very slightly.
“It’ll be all right,” he said quietly. “Don’t worry.”
Then he prostrated himself fully in front of Reiner, lying on his front with his head turned to one side. Smiling savagely, Reiner put his booted foot on the side of Griff’s neck. The firefighter didn’t so much as move a muscle.
“I accept your submission,” Reiner said triumphantly. “I am Danny’s alpha now.” When Griff didn’t respond, Reiner glared at him, pressing down on his throat with his full weight. “I’ve defeated you! Give him to me!”
Hayley didn’t see Griff do anything at all, but a sudden piercing, heart-broken shriek came from Danny’s room. Whatever had happened between the two lions, Danny had clearly sensed it.
“All right, it’s done, let him up!” Hayley shoved at Reiner, as Danny’s door banged open upstairs. “Let him go, before Danny sees!”
Reluctantly, Reiner took his foot off Griff’s neck. Hayley wanted to help Griff up, but she didn’t know whether that would just be one more humiliation. In an agony of indecision, she hovered over him as he stiffly levered himself to his feet.
“Griff, Griff!” Danny hurled himself down the stairs and straight into Griff, nearly knocking him over again. “Where are you? Why aren’t you in my head anymore? You said you’d never leave me, you promised!”
“I’m sorry, lad.” Griff hugged him once, briefly, then let him go. “Just remember what I told you about a true alpha.”
“Come here, Danny,” Reiner ordered. “I am your alpha now.”
Danny shook his head in incomprehension. “But Mr. Griff-“
“I said, come here!” Reiner’s voice snapped with that odd, commanding note that Hayley had only ever heard Griff use before.
Danny jerked away from Griff at Reiner’s order, like a dog yanked back by its collar. He stared from Griff to Reiner to Hayley in mute betrayal, as though they’d all suddenly turned into strangers.
“It’ll be fine,” Griff said, as much to Hayley as to Danny. The bitter, shamed set of his shoulders betrayed his lie. “Don’t worry. I’ll go now.”
“No, he’s going.” Hayley confronted Reiner, wishing with all her heart that she could turn into a lion. “Get out before I call the cops. And don’t you dare come here again.”
“I will be back to collect my son,” Reiner retorted. “As and when I choose. Or would you prefer to hear from my lawyer?”
Griff’s hand fell on her shoulder, squeezing in warning. “There is no need for that.” He addressed Reiner’s feet, not raising his head. “You are alpha. You have the right to see your cub.”
“And you do not.” Reiner’s tone took on that eerie undercurrent of alpha command again. “Danny, you will not see this man again. You will not be under the same roof as him. If he comes here, you must leave immediately.” His voice rose with a sort of giddy malice, like a child waving around a stolen handgun. “You will not meet him, nor speak to him, under any circumstances. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Danny whispered, his small face still white with shock. Immediately, he started retreating from Griff, his movements forced and jerky. A panicked whimper rose in his throat as his back hit the wall.
“It’s all right, lad.” Griff circled round Reiner, never turning his back on him. “I’m going. Hayley, I’ll call you later. Don’t worry. I promise I’ll fix this.” With a last indecipherable glance at her, he left.
“You- you-” Hayley’s hands curled into impotent fists. “Get out.”
Reiner backed away, but paused in the doorway. He smirked at her. “You can have your son. Or you can have your mate. But not both. Let’s see which one you love more.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Danny
He is the alpha, Simba kept insisting. We have to obey the alpha.
Danny stared rebelliously at his untouched dinner. He didn’t want to obey. Not like he’d wanted to obey Mr. Griff.
But Mr. Griff wasn’t his alpha anymore. Daddy was.
Daddy’s eyebrows drew down. “I said, eat your dinner.”
Danny could feel Daddy’s lion glaring at Simba in his head, just like Daddy was glaring at him across the table. It made Simba flatten against the bottom of Danny’s mind, whimpering in submission. No matter how much Danny tried to reassure the cub that it was okay, that Daddy would never, ever hurt them, the cub was still scared of the bigger lion.
Just to stop Simba being scared, Danny scooped up a forkful of dinner and put it in his mouth. It was peas. Danny didn’t like peas.
He ate them anyway. His alpha wanted him to.
“That’s better,” Daddy said, back in his normal voice, not the horrible alpha voice that felt like a leash around Danny’s neck. “Listen, if you eat up your vegetables, I’ll take you out hunting. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Just like last night, remember?”
Danny scowled at him. “I don’t wanna go hunting. I want to go back home. I want Mommy.”
“Well I want you here,” Daddy snapped back. “You’re going to be staying with me now. And if your mother tries to get you to go anywhere with her, you come and find me and tell me, understand?”
Obey the alpha, Simba whispered. Alpha is big and we are very small. Obey.
Daddy’s lion made Danny’s head jerk down in a nod. But he couldn’t make Danny be happy about it. He couldn’t even make Danny pretend to be happy about it.
An alpha could control every bit of him…but not the bit that made feelings.
Daddy said a very bad word, one that Danny wasn’t supposed to know. “Listen, my son.” Danny could feel the effort he was making to keep his voice normal, when he really wanted to shout. “I know it’s different, but this is the way things are supposed to be. You should be happy! We’re a proper pride now. Everything will be better. You’ll see.”
Danny could feel Daddy’s lion pushing at him, like fingers trying to force the corners of his mouth up into a smile. He set his jaw stubbornly.
“This is all his fault,” Daddy muttered. “You’re supposed to follow the strongest lion, without question. Not pine like a dog after some sick cripple. I should have fought him in front of you. Then you’d have seen me defeat him. You’d know I’m the strongest, that I deserve to be alpha.”
A very, very tiny growl rumbled in Simba’s throat. He didn’t defeat our real alpha. Our real alpha stepped down. We could tell the difference. The growl shifted up to a whine, Simba’s ears flattening in confused misery. Why did he abandon us? Why didn’t he fight for us? Were we bad? Doesn’t he want us any more?
Danny hugged Simba, trying to comfort him. He couldn’t explain to his lion that Mr. Griff couldn’t fight Daddy, not when he couldn’t shift. Simba didn’t see Mr. Griff as a person at a
ll—just as the biggest, strongest lion ever.
“It’ll be better once we’re in Valtyra.” Daddy sounded like he was trying to convince himself, as much as Danny. “Living with just humans for so long has you all confused. Once we’re back home, you’ll soon learn proper ways. I’ll teach you. We’ll go into the wilderness and live as lions, just the two of us, until we’re a true pride.”
Just the two of us?
Daddy had said something about going on vacation without Mommy before, but Danny hadn’t thought he’d really meant it. “What about Mommy?”
Daddy blinked at him, as though he’d almost forgotten Danny was a separate person able to speak for himself. “What?”
“Mommy,” Danny repeated. He was starting to get a horrible sick feeling right in the bottom of his stomach. “Mommy has to come too.”
“No, she’ll stay here. I know this seems hard to you now, but one day you’ll realize it was all for your own good. She’s just a human. She can’t understand you, not like I do.”
Simba whimpered, pressing against the inside of Danny’s head. The cub wanted him to be quiet, to avoid making the bigger lion angry.
Danny forced words out anyway, through his tightening throat. “I’m not going anywhere without Mommy! Not ever!”
“You will go where I tell you to, when I tell you to!” Daddy’s burning eyes filled Danny’s whole head, trying to drive out all his own thoughts. “I am your alpha! You will do as I say!”
A true alpha never forces anyone, said Mr. Griff’s voice in his memory. You remember that, always.
“No.” He met Daddy’s eyes, and the surprise in them gave him the courage to stand up, clenching his fists. “No! I won’t go, and you can’t make me!”
Daddy shot to his feet, looming over him. “I am your alpha! You will obey me!”
No! Simba was on his feet too, fangs bared at the presence at the back of their mind. You are not worthy to be alpha! We challenge you!
Simba leaped, claws bared. Daddy’s lion had to retreat in the face of Simba’s fearless attack. With a snap, the pride-bond went dead.
