Claiming His Lioness (Shifter Wars)

by Kerry Adrienne

  “Then we can panic?” Preston grinned.

  A few nervous laughs sounded.

  Funny or not, Preston’s words could incite fear in the others. Sure enough, mumbles filled the room as the lions whispered among themselves.

  Great. All he needed now was for Lara to add her two cents.

  “We’ll handle whatever we have to.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “No reason to panic.”

  “Don’t start imagining scenarios.” Marco stood, his voice laced with tension as he spoke.

  “Tell them what we saw at the lake,” Lara called out.

  Mason paced, listening to his shoes squeak as he moved. He went to the board and began drawing with a blue marker. When he told the lions about the pipeline, all hell was going to break loose.

  A wavy line cut across the white board, followed by mountain peaks. “Here’s the ridgeline where Marco and I were scoping out the situation. We’d seen footprints around Deep Creek and we met up to compare notes.” He drew a circle near the pointy, triangular mountains he’d drawn. “Here’s Rockglass Lake.”

  Marco joined him at the board. “Mason and I were here—” he pointed to a spot on the makeshift map “—when Lara found us and told Mason she’d seen humans camping at the lake. That was near where I’d seen footprints, too. Mason and Lara decided to do some reconnaissance.”

  “Here.” Mason drew an X. “Lara and I hiked down into the valley to see what we could find out, but the humans saw us. They were camping on the lake’s edge. You all know that isn’t a camping spot for tourists.”

  A lion gasped, and everyone looked at him.

  “Sorry,” he said, face in hands. “This isn’t good news.”

  “No, it isn’t.” Lara spoke softly. “But it is what it is. We have to deal with it.”

  Marco smacked the back of the couch for emphasis. “And we will.”

  “We made up a story about being lost hikers and the humans believed us. They even showed us on the map how to get back to the road.” Mason spoke evenly. Upsetting the lions was exactly what he didn’t need to do. No matter how bad the situation was, he needed to keep a level head. Lead by example.

  “It wasn’t until later that we found out what they were up to,” Lara said. “They weren’t typical campers. They looked like businesspeople with tents and a campfire and hot dogs on sticks.”

  Mason nodded. “Very much out of their element.”

  “I doubt many of them had been camping before.”

  “They also had guns.”

  It was Marco’s time to gasp. “You didn’t tell me they had guns. What the hell, Mason? You could’ve both been killed.”

  Mason put his hand on his brother’s arm. “I didn’t want to add stress. I know you’re gun-shy since your injury.”

  “I still need to know everything that’s going on. How can I help make a plan if I don’t know all the details?” Marco raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

  “Sorry. I should’ve told you.”

  “Keep me in the loop going forward.”

  “I will.”

  “Can we move on from the twin-sense and get back to the issue?” Lara sighed.

  Mason shot her a glare and she mirrored it tenfold.

  “You two, stop it. Our enemies are elsewhere. Not each other.” Marco stepped between them.

  “I know that, brother.” Mason spoke through his teeth. No point in letting his anger with Lara spread. Marco was right—the enemy was human.

  “There was something else, too.” Lara addressed the group. “On the map. Are you going to tell them what we found out?”

  The lions looked at Lara then turned back to Mason and his brother. The burnt smell of tension arced through the air as the lions grew more wary and anxious. All they needed was a dose of infighting to add to the strain. He should’ve come right out with the news, but he was wary of upsetting them without the context.

  Lesson learned.

  Mason wrinkled his nose. “We researched the company the humans mentioned and that led to more information.”

  Lara stood and walked to the front of the room where Mason and Marco stood. She took her time, and Mason watched the other lions cling to her every movement. He pushed down his anger. Lara was naturally charismatic and strong.

  That wasn’t her fault.

  She was also unreachable and cold. Those traits were her fault.

  Lara picked up a whiteboard marker and drew a long gash across the map Mason had put on the board. The line cut through the whole area, right near Rockglass Lake and the humans’ campsite.

  “What’s that?” Preston asked.

  “It’s a line that was on the humans’ map. It wasn’t labeled though there were coordinates alongside the line and a few notes that I wasn’t able to read. I saw it when they were showing us the way back to the road.”

  Another lion, Jym, spoke up. “Sounds like they’re partitioning off some of our land. What could they want with it? That area is really dense forest and not developed at all.”

  “That’s not good!” Preston nearly shouted. “But we’re protected. A national park. They can’t do that, can they? They can’t take our land from us.”

  Mason leveled his voice but spoke firmly. “Humans are the ones who made the laws to protect the forest. They can change them. We talked with the pride lawyers and they said there are ways around regulations. The humans apparently know that.”

  “What do you think it means?” Preston’s gaze held fear.

  “I know exactly what it means.” Mason paused. “The humans are putting an oil pipeline through Deep Creek. We’ve done the research, and it’s been a really sneaky process.”

  The lions erupted, voices growing louder as they discussed the problem. Mason waited, letting them vent a couple minutes. He understood their fear.

  “I knew this was going to be an issue,” he said. “The lions can’t take another blow.”

  “We’ll be the ones striking the blow this time.” Lara crossed her arms. “We’ve lost too much already.”

  “Everyone, quiet.” Mason raised his hands.

  The lions stilled, and Mason took a deep breath. He had to get control of the pride’s leaders before their fear and anxiety caused a major mistake. He wasn’t going to lie to them. The humans were a big problem. But there was no need for everyone to freak out either.

  A knock sounded on the door and everyone turned to look. Who was interrupting them? Mason went to open the door, fully prepared to send whoever it was away. The meeting was private. No point in scaring all the lions before they knew what was really going on.

  He opened the door and the scent hit him in the face. Bear. His lip curled.

  A shifter stood on the stoop, hair in a man bun and a smile on his face. He was tall and muscular and tan. One of the lion guards accompanied him.

  The guard shrugged.

  Some guard.

  “Hello. I’m Derek. I helped Alicia with your brother.”

  The guard leaned close to Mason. “He said the bears sent him here with important information, so I figured I should bring him to you.”

  The bears never visited the lions’ compound. The message must really be important. Mason motioned Derek inside and immediately heard the intake of breath. The lions knew a bear was in their midst.

  * * *

  Derek looked out over the room. He’d never seen so many lions in one place except during a fight. He eased out a long breath, though inside, everything was jelly. The lions intimidated everyone, and though Derek was a strong bear, he’d never be able to take on all these lions if they turned on him.

  “Hello.” He cleared his throat.

  A pretty lioness made a noise, showing her displeasure. He couldn’t blame her. The lions and bears certainly weren’t on friendly terms, excepting Marco and Alicia.


  “Hi, Derek, how are you?” Marco grinned.

  Derek smiled. Marco had regained all his strength and showed no outward signs of having been shot by Bria. Too much blood had been spilled, and he hadn’t regretted helping Alicia save the lion. He’d never have believed he would have sympathy for a lion, but once he learned more about Marco, he actually liked him. And Marco treated Alicia well, which was the most important thing.

  “Good to see you. Seems like you’re back to normal.” Derek held his hand out.

  Marco took his hand and shook it. “I’m doing well.” He turned to the group. “Derek is one of the bears who helped save my life when I was shot. No one here is to disrespect or hurt him. His kindness is one reason I’m here today and that’s something I won’t ever forget.”

  “Thank you for helping Marco,” a young, golden-haired lion piped up.

  Marco’s twin almost growled. “You have a message for the lions?”

  Mason was the darker, sterner twin. He and Marco were the leaders of the lions since Max had been killed. Derek wasn’t sure Mason was a lion he’d ever want to go rounds with. From what he’d seen and heard, the lion was rough and maybe a little unhinged.

  One thing was for sure. Though he had a great relationship with Marco, the twins looked so much alike, he hoped he’d never run into Mason on a dark night and think he was Marco.

  “Elijah sent me. Perhaps it’s best we talk in private?” Derek tugged at his bun. “Or I can tell everyone here.”

  “Tell us.” The lioness raised her voice.

  Derek smiled at the pretty lioness.

  Mason glared. “All of you can leave, now. Marco and I will meet with this bear to hear his news. If I need to see you all tonight, I’ll send a message. Otherwise, let’s meet here at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow to work out our game plan.”

  Marco gestured to the lions to leave and they all stood and headed for the door.

  Lara stood, face in a scowl, staring.

  “Lara, go on. We’ll let you know what we find out.” Marco gestured to her.

  She turned and stomped to the door without a response.

  “Let’s go into my father’s office.” Mason turned and headed down the hallway off the main room.

  Derek’s heart pounded in his throat. The lions wouldn’t hurt him, but being so deep in their territory was unnerving. Marco seemed like the only lion he could trust, and he’d told the lions not to hurt Derek. He hoped they would listen. Derek swallowed hard and followed Mason.

  * * *

  Mason studied Derek. The bear wouldn’t have come to the lions’ compound if he didn’t have important news, he was sure of it. Relations might be somewhat better because of Alicia’s help, but that didn’t mean the bears and lions were chummy. He sat at his father’s desk and motioned Derek to a chair. Marco sat on the soft couch that was pushed against the back wall of the small office.

  “I’m glad to see you all doing well—” Derek began.

  “Let’s get to the point.” Mason scooted the desk chair forward. “You aren’t here for pleasantries. You’re a bear in the lion compound.”

  “You have a message for us?” Marco leaned forward.

  “Yes, and you aren’t going to like it.” Derek’s face turned serious. “The bears have discovered something in Deep Creek that might affect all of us.”

  Mason licked his lips. The bears knew about the human encroachment. Did they also know about the pipeline? “What did you discover?”

  Derek met his gaze. “Humans are building a pipeline across the northwest corner of the park. Oil.”

  Mason set his jaw. The bears did know. Good. He wouldn’t have to convince them to fight. They knew what a pipeline could mean to the park.

  “We know.” Mason didn’t offer any more information.

  Marco scooted up on the couch. “We’ve talked to our lawyers and they told us how the oil company got permission, even though the community is against the pipeline.”

  Mason shot Derek a look.

  “Politics.” Derek spit the word out. “Money talks and the oil companies have plenty of it.”

  “Tell us what you know.”

  “Some bears have seen construction outside the northern border of the park.” Derek shook his head. “We didn’t think it would be approved.”

  “Clearly it was. And the company is moving quickly to build it.”

  Derek nodded. “It was all rumor till recently, when we got a memo saying that the oil company had gotten politicians to approve the pipeline. We were completely shocked.”

  “Shifty,” Marco said.

  “Bad pun.” Mason withheld his grin. “I’m furious that the legislators are lining their pockets instead of taking care of the park.”

  “Mostly they did it behind closed doors and attached it to other legislation. In hindsight, there were some local news stories on the possibility of the pipeline. The rangers knew about it but assumed the request to build would be turned down. We were wrong.”

  “Do you know the schedule?” Marco folded his arms.

  “Looks like they started clearing land outside the park over the winter when our rangers were on skeleton crew. They’ve not built into the park yet, but it appears they have built right up to the boundaries. I suspect they’ll invade our land soon.”

  “We have a big-ass mess on our hands.” Mason ran his hand through his hair. Anger bit chunks out of his stomach and he wanted to punch Derek. Shoot the messenger. “You should’ve told us as soon as you knew about this. Or as soon as you even heard anything. We’ve lost valuable time.”

  “We assumed you saw the news, though granted it was sparse.”

  “Lions don’t make a habit of watching TV. Maybe we should.”

  “I’m not sure anything would’ve changed. What could we have done? The public reaction to the pipeline was intense, but it didn’t make a difference either.”

  “Dammit! There has to be more we can do.”

  “There’s more.” Derek took a deep breath. “And it’s not good news. There’s talk of hunting the big species of animals in Deep Creek to make the area safer for the people working on the line. That means bears, lions, and wolves mainly. Even though the wolves are supposedly endangered.”

  Mason’s anger grew like a stoked fire, and every word out of the bear’s mouth was like a log on the inferno.

  The non-shifter variety was endangered, but the humans didn’t differentiate the species. It didn’t matter. The shifters couldn’t let any of the animals come under attack—shifter or not, endangered or not. They had to keep everyone safe.

  “There are only a few families of non-shifting wolves left in the park.” Marco leaned forward. “They’re spread out, and it wouldn’t take losing many of them to wipe out the park’s population.”

  “I hear them howling occasionally.” Mason rubbed his temples. “We have to protect them.”

  “Yes, we do. We also have to protect Shoshannah. If the humans ever discover the cave, they won’t leave. It’ll become a tourist trap.” Derek sighed. “If the humans get a foothold in the park, it’s going to be a lot more difficult to stop them.”

  “All shifters are at risk.” Marco stood. “We’ve got to defend ourselves. Run the bastards out of Deep Creek for good. This is our land, not theirs. We can’t allow a pipeline of poison to threaten our park.”

  “Hold on. We aren’t going to go running off half-cocked and blind like torch-bearing animals.” Mason spoke evenly.

  Why the hell hadn’t the bears told them about the plans the humans had? Maybe the lions could’ve stopped them before they got the project approved. Now, it would be an uphill battle to stop the progression of the pipeline.

  Regardless, he would not let the humans ruin the sanctuary of Deep Creek, and he would forever hold the bears responsible for the encroachment.

  “We nee
d a plan!” Marco paced in front of the office window. “We can’t just stand by and let this happen.”

  “They have all the permissions they need, legally. They can build as soon as they’re ready. The pipeline is less than one hundred feet away from the northern border already so it won’t be long till they move into the park. It’s ugly, too.”

  “We have to stop them.” Mason barely contained his growl.

  “Yes, we do,” Derek said. “And we’re going to have to work together. The wolves, too.”

  “It’s not going to be easy.” Mason’s head throbbed, and he rubbed his temples, kneading the stress knots that had formed there. “With all the trouble we’ve had in the past couple years, we aren’t exactly in top form.”

  What else could go wrong? Humans were going to build a giant oil slide through one of the most pristine areas of the park, risking both flora and fauna, and to top it all off, he not only had to lead the lions, he had to work with the bears and wolves to evict the intruders.

  He had to handle it. Max had faith in him.

  A small bump on the door sounded and Mason held his fingers to his lips. Derek and Marco nodded. He crept to the door and slipped his hand on the knob, then yanked the door open.

  Lara was crouched on her hands and knees, almost tumbling over when he opened the door. She was snooping again. He held back a low growl. Max said they needed to work together, and despite his own reservations, he would listen to his father.

  She sat back on her heels. “We need to get this shit taken care of right now.”

  Mason performed his best glower. Lara stood. Her bottom lip stuck out a bit, like a perpetual pout.

  “I know you want to help.” Mason met her gaze.

  Lara nodded. “I can’t believe the bears heard about this and didn’t warn anyone.”

  “Now we know. Instead of worrying about what’s happened, we’ve got to focus on the future. Stopping this monstrosity from ruining our park.”

  “I’m ready.”

  “I have no doubt.”

  Mason sauntered to the window that looked out over Deep Creek. Lara, Derek and Marco joined him but didn’t utter a word. He stared at the green mountains, the lofty white clouds and impossibly blue sky.