Claiming His Lioness (Shifter Wars)

by Kerry Adrienne

“Mason, the prophecy that you and Marco are to bring great change to Deep Creek has been partially satisfied. Marco has fulfilled the beginnings of his destiny and mated with a bear. He has brought the change he was destined to. Now, it is your turn, Mason. You must lead this latest war against the terror in Deep Creek.”

  Marco had definitely brought changes. Mason wouldn’t be standing in the cave now if not for Marco. His brother had almost given his life in the deal, too.

  Mason was ready to step up and make his father’s memory proud. He was worthy.

  “Mason, you will now work to produce the change you are destined to bring about. Your ability to do so is tied to Lara.”

  “To me?” Lara had drawn back from the edge of the water and now paced on the beach. “I’m willing to help, of course. I want to. But what do I have to do with his destiny?”

  “Lara, there is much I need to tell you, but now is not the time. I will say that you need to keep focused and not let other things distract you from helping the lions.”

  “I will always be true to the Sen Pal.” Lara dropped her arms to her side.

  “I see the laboratory is a great threat and it is tied to the humans, too. I think you know that you need to take care of it.”

  “I will.”

  Mason cleared his throat. “What does Lara have to do with my destiny?”

  “You two must work together.” Shoshannah’s light fluttered in an unfelt breeze.

  “We argue and fight all the time. He doesn’t trust me to do anything without him.”

  He scowled. “I just try to keep her safe. She can be really impulsive. I do the same with all the lions.”

  Lara shot him a look that he couldn’t decipher.

  “Stop.” Shoshannah’s voice shook the cave. “You two must work together. This I know. If you do, you will be able to bring the bears and wolves into the plan and as one, you will all change what’s happening. You can save Deep Creek.” The white lion stood and paced closer to shore. “If you don’t work together, you won’t save Deep Creek. It’s as simple as that.”

  Mason’s mouth went dry. Working together had gotten easier, but he’d still rather go it on his own. Lara likely felt the same, and now she was caught up in the laboratory, too. Aside from scheduling the march, would she have time to directly help with the pipeline?

  He looked at Lara and her face mirrored his. Shock. There had never been two more incompatible lions, but if the spirit said they needed to work together, they would.

  He almost laughed but was afraid Shoshannah would zap him or something if he did.

  The spirit bent near to Lara. “You must stop keeping secrets—from yourself and others. I must go now.”

  With a flash of light, Shoshannah disappeared.

  “Wait!” Lara called, her voice high-pitched.

  “She’s gone.”

  “I wanted to ask her about the laboratory.”

  “I’m sure she would’ve given us more information if she knew anything. She wouldn’t want the shifters to be locked up either.”

  “What the ever-loving hell are we going to do now, Mason? She didn’t really give us advice other than ‘work together,’ which we’re already doing.” Lara huffed. “I was hoping she’d say she could give all the humans the pox or something to stop them. It sounds like she isn’t going to directly help us at all.”

  “She always helps in some way.” Mason shrugged. “Maybe she knows something we don’t.”

  Lara snatched the lantern off the ground and headed out of the cave room. “I doubt it.”

  Mason followed, clenching his hands. Irritation raced up his spine. “What secrets is Shoshannah talking about anyway?” He knew he was goading Lara, but it was so much fun to annoy her.

  “My secrets are none of your business.”

  “You admit you have secrets.”

  “Everyone has secrets, Mason.” She clicked off the lantern and hung it on the wall.

  Lara stopped just outside the cave entrance, squinting at the brightness outside.

  “Let’s go home.” She stomped off into the woods. “We have a lot of work to do.”

  Mason followed. “Slow down a little. Maybe Shoshannah will have more information for us the next time we visit. She doesn’t want Deep Creek to be ruined any more than we do.”

  Lara flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Maybe she will. I was hoping for more, I guess.”

  He fell into step with her, matching her stride and tempo.

  They headed home, trekking through a dense part of the forest. They’d come the same way when they attacked the cave a year ago. That day was a solstice he wanted to forget. His father’s life was more important than a battle with the bears. Max was now gone, and he and Marco were left to face the new threat on their own. And now he’d told Shoshannah that he’d work side-by-side with Lara.

  It was like the universe was conspiring against him.

  Lara pushed aside some branches and moved through the brush. Mason tried to hold the branches away, but she pushed on ahead, not ceding to his help.

  A glint of metal on the ground ahead. Bile filled his mouth and he shoved Lara out of the way. “Move,” he said.

  He’d no more than thrust her away when he lost his balance and stumbled toward the metal.

  A loud snap echoed through the forest, and he howled, blackness filling his vision as pain swam through him.

  Chapter Ten

  Lara dropped to her knees, her impulse to save Mason. His foot was caught in a bear trap, a big one. She sucked in air through her teeth and grabbed the trap. The heavy metal jaws had clamped closed right above his ankle. She searched for a release button but found none.

  Mason writhed. He reached for his leg, then fell back moaning. Blood covered the trap and leaked onto the ground, causing rusty spots and spatters in the dried leaves.

  “Dammit.” Mason spoke through clenched teeth, tears streaming down his face. Sweat beaded on his brow and he was turning pale. “Get it off me. Hurry.”

  Adrenaline shot through Lara like a white-hot thought—she had to release Mason. Quickly.

  “Hold on. I’m trying.” She figured her words weren’t much comfort, but they helped her focus.

  She tugged at the jaws of the trap. The metal didn’t budge. There was no way she’d be able to force the trap open with her bare hands.

  “Dammit.” She echoed Mason’s exclamation.

  “Hurry...” Mason’s voice trailed, his face drawn. He closed his eyes, wincing.

  He’d be lucky not to lose his foot. Lara scanned the area to see if anyone was around to help. They’d already moved beyond the Sentinels’ perimeter and the forest was quiet.

  “Let me try to lever the trap open. Just a second.” She grabbed a thick branch from the ground and wedged it between the metal teeth of the trap, careful not to get too close to Mason’s ankle.

  He grimaced. His face had turned a shade of white and he looked like he was going to pass out from pain. He needed a doctor but she’d never be able to drag him out of the woods by herself. First things first.

  Getting the trap off was critical.

  “Stay with me, Mason. I need your help.”

  Her hands shook, and she pried the trap with the stick. Slowly, it opened, the spring-loaded mechanism giving way to the lever action of the branch. Still, it wasn’t open far enough for him to pull his leg free, so she put her weight into the stick, holding the trap still with her foot. The trap moved in tiny increments, the spring threatening to snap the stick in two.

  If the stick slipped, the trap would snap on his leg again.

  “Pull your leg out.” She pushed against the stick, keeping the trap open just enough. “Hurry. I can’t hold this long and if it snaps shut again, it could cut your foot off.”

  Mason grabbed his leg and pulled it from the
trap. Lara dropped the stick and the trap snapped shut.

  “Oh gods, oh gods.” Lara trembled. She shoved the trap out of the way, wishing she could destroy it. Humans had placed it—in a park where hunting was illegal. Over the years, a few poachers had been caught hunting in the park, but never had a trap like this been found in Deep Creek.

  Could it be the humans from AllOil? It had to be. They’d been the ones traipsing around through the underbrush.

  She moved over to Mason, laying his head in her lap and cradling it. After pushing the hair from his face, she leaned toward him. His eyes were closed, and his mouth drawn in pain. If he passed out, she’d never be able to move him.

  “Are you okay?” she whispered. Tears threatened but she held them at bay.

  The rusty scent of blood filled the air and she glanced at his foot, afraid of what she might see. His ankle was a bloody mess, and blood soaked his pant leg. He groaned.

  She needed to get him home.

  “I’m...in pain.” His breath ragged and uneven, he barely got the words out.

  “I know. Hang in there.” She squeezed his shoulders. “Shh. Let me take a look at that foot. We need to get out of here in case the humans come to check the trap.”

  He nodded, keeping his eyes closed.

  She eased from under him, letting his head lie on the bare ground, and moved to examine his wound. His shoe was bloody, and the trap had torn holes in his clothing. His pant leg was stuck to his ankle with blood and she peeled the fabric free before it dried and stuck. The trap had snapped just above his ankle, so hopefully his shoe had taken the brunt of the force.

  Even so, she needed to get him where she could bandage him before taking his shoe off. How would she get him back to the pride? The bleeding had slowed, and she debated wrapping his foot over the shoe, to put pressure on the wounds. Remembering her survival training, she thought through the options.

  No way she’d be able to both immobilize him and move him but wrapping the foot might stabilize his ankle at least a bit.

  “I’m going to need a piece of your T-shirt.” She didn’t wait on him to respond but ripped off a section of hemmed fabric. Maybe she should shift and run to the pride to get help. It wouldn’t take too long to get back. But leaving Mason in the woods, injured, was a bad idea. She’d only leave him if there was no other choice. For now, she would handle the situation the best she could, doing whatever it took to get him to safety and medical attention. She tugged another strip of fabric free and knotted the two together to form one long strip.

  “My favorite shirt...” he whispered.

  “Ha, ha, mister. If I find out you’re faking the pain, I will kick your butt.”

  He half grinned, half grimaced.

  She wrapped the strip of fabric around his ankle and foot. The bandage wasn’t going to work over his shoe.

  “Dammit.” She hoped that taking his shoe off wouldn’t cause more damage. The bandage would be useless if she didn’t wrap the flesh, and he couldn’t afford to lose more blood.

  “I’m going to have to take your shoe off. It’s going to hurt. But I need to bandage your foot, okay? It’s bleeding a lot.”

  Mason didn’t reply. She untied the bow and loosened the laces, then gently worked the shoe off. His foot was already swelling from the injury, and the puffiness made his sock bulge over the opening of the shoe. He’d be lucky if he hadn’t broken something or multiple somethings.

  She tugged the shoe free.

  His white sock had a big red splotch where he bled, and she opted to leave it on for now. It might provide a little padding under the bandage.

  Good thing for shifter healing. The pride needed him well and mobile, and this type of injury would put a human out of commission for months.

  He cried out as she moved his leg.

  “I’m sorry.” She leaned close. “We need to be quiet. You’re wounded and bears or wolves or even humans might take advantage of that if they find us.”

  Mason nodded, then passed out.

  Lara stared at him. Now what?

  Great. He wasn’t going to be any help. She wrapped the bandage around his foot and ankle, careful not to bind it too tightly.

  She grabbed him under the arms, trying to tug him along as she walked backward. It’d take a long time to get back to the pride, but she didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t have the means to build a sled, nor would she be able to maneuver one through the woods. Even if she had her cell with her, service near the cave was nonexistent. There were no cell towers in the national park, which she liked, but times like these it would be very useful. The emergency phones for the rangers were stationed along the main paths and trails, not this deep in the woods.

  She backed up, pulling Mason almost a whole stride. She could do this.

  Bump.

  She stopped, dropping Mason’s torso at the shock. He moaned. At least he was alive.

  “What do we have here?”

  A bear’s voice. Lara’s heart skipped, and she turned to see a man with cropped hair, hands on hips, staring at her. Would they kill the heir to the lion’s leadership like they’d killed his father?

  “He’s hurt,” she pleaded. “I need help getting him to the pride. He needs a doctor.” She recognized the large bear as Griff Martin, one of the park rangers.

  “It’s closer to take him to the bears,” Griff answered. “We can get him to the cave in a few minutes and then one of our medics can help him.”

  Several men moved closer. All bears. With a grumpy expression, Griff motioned to the others to pick up Mason.

  “Will the bears help him?”

  “Of course we will. We have great healers, as you should already know. We saved this one’s brother, remember?”

  A couple of bears surrounded Mason and picked him up, careful not to put pressure on his injured ankle. He didn’t move.

  “Yeah. Thank you.”

  “Follow us. You’re not injured?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “What happened?”

  She nodded toward the trap at the side of the path. “He stepped in that. It snapped shut on his ankle.”

  Griff scowled. “Never seen a trap like that around here. We all need to watch where we walk, because this is crazy dangerous. If the humans are setting these, they’re declaring war on the occupants of Deep Creek.”

  “I think it’s safe to say they’ve declared war. Between traps and the pipeline, they’re taking over our land.”

  Griff motioned the men to walk and Lara and he followed.

  “We need to work together to stop the humans. I’ll send a bear out to remove the trap.”

  “We do need to work together. We spoke to Shoshannah today. That’s why we were here.” She double-timed to keep up with Griff.

  “Oh?”

  “She said we all need to work together. Not much else.”

  “She’s frightened. This is more of a threat than the park has seen in many years.”

  Lara nodded. Though he was a bear, she immediately liked Griff. He told things like they were. No sugar coating.

  “I assure you that we won’t harm Mason. He’ll get the best of care.”

  “Thank you.”

  The bears hummed as they walked, providing a cadence to carry Mason by. Lara shrugged and followed along. Mason needed help and he couldn’t fend for himself right now. He wouldn’t get upset with her for saving his life.

  And if he did, well, too bad.

  * * *

  Alicia ran to grab medical supplies from the stash the bears stored in the cave. She already had her medicine bag with her because she’d come from Tawodi’s and training, though she doubted Mason would allow any type of faith healing. He seemed more practical than Marco, if that was possible.

  What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. She grinned. Th
ough Mason and Marco were twins, and visually almost indistinguishable except for Mason’s nose, their personalities were very different. Mason had the eldest child syndrome down to a T, though she wasn’t sure which twin was born first.

  She looked over the piles of supplies in the room, thankful they hadn’t had to use all of them in battle medicine. Mason likely didn’t need stitches, but she should be prepared just in case.

  A general first aid kit, suturing supplies, pain medicine and syringes, and some extra bandages should be enough for now. If she needed something else after examining his foot and ankle, she’d send someone to retrieve it. The only thing off-limits to anyone but the healers was their stock of prescription medicine, and she wasn’t sure what Mason might need. She couldn’t spare the time to seek out a doctor. She’d take what she needed and worry about the fallout later. She knew where the key to the cabinet was, and she grabbed it from a little ledge in the stone wall.

  Mason didn’t need a tetanus shot since shifters weren’t affected by that bacterium. He did need pain medicine, though. She unlocked the cabinet and selected what she needed, slipping the medicine into her bag. Elijah might get mad, but he’d get over it.

  Griff had said there was a lot of dried blood on Mason’s pant leg and sock, but the first aid kit should have enough stuff to clean and sterilize the wound. She’d never dealt with this type of injury, but it had to be simple first aid. She could do it.

  What else? She blew a wisp of hair from her eyes. Contemporary medicine needed so many supplies.

  She grabbed a roll of large bandages from the top shelf. As long as Mason’s ankle wasn’t broken, he wouldn’t need to go to the doctor unless the wounds got infected. Shifters healed quickly, especially from things that were uncomplicated. Marco’s gunshot wound would’ve healed well if he hadn’t been exposed to the bacterium deep in the cave.

  She headed back to the room where Mason lay resting. The bears had put him in one of the makeshift patient bays near the medical supply, and an occasional moan echoed in the tunnels. Most of the rooms in the corridor hadn’t needed to be used since after the solstice battle a year ago. He moaned again, and Alicia sped to get to him.