by T. Cobbin
As the door slid to a stop Maddy managed to get a good look at the uninvited lion. She could tell the lion was a lot older than any she had seen so far being its fur was mainly gray and its mane was almost a pure white. But that didn’t stop it from looking fierce. Its long, discolored fangs dripped with saliva, its hair was matted and scraggly, and its eyes were a bright glowing amber. Maddy froze. Amier’s hand wrapped around her wrist, trying to tug her backward. Relenting, Maddy let herself be pulled behind the sofa and watched.
Mace stood in front of it in a fighting stance, growling deeply. A huge roar had Maddy clutching her ears as another lion came dashing through the front door, breaking it off the hinges.
“Fucking hell, should have just left all the doors open, would have caused less damage,” she muttered.
Looking at the second lion that had joined them, she saw with relief it was Grey. His thick tail was swishing side to side in annoyance. His shaggy mane was a deeper brown and longer than Mace’s. His huge paws padded across the floor as he too stalked the other lion she guessed was Jerrick. How did he get so close before being confronted?
Grey briefly glanced at her as he passed, his amber eyes showing both concern and relief. Without thinking Maddy twirled her fingers and concentrated on placing a protection spell around him. Although she knew Grey was a formidable lion and wouldn’t let any harm come to her or any of his pride if he could stop it, this was her way of letting him know she was there for him.
She watched the air pull tightly around Grey, Mace, and Rainy. It wouldn’t stop the pain they would feel from the hits if they took any, but it would stop the majority of injuries. Just as Grey reached the pair of lions two more shaggy beasts joined Jerrick from behind through the broken doorway. Not waiting, Grey rushed forward and leaped into action.
“Move now,” Vista whispered.
“What? I need to be here, I want to see.”
“No, move. You have the cub to think about too.” Vista was already on her feet, trying to push Maddy down the hallway.
“Vista, I can help,” she pleaded. The sounds of fighting were now fierce and ear-splitting. She caught glimpses of rolling lions entwined—a flurry of blood, teeth, and paws.
“She’s right,” Amier cajoled. “Go. I’ll stay and watch over them. If you don’t,” she warned, pointing a finger at her, “I’ll put you to sleep and we will carry you.”
“But...”
“Move,” Vista ordered and pushed her down the hallway.
Clutching her stomach, Maddy walked reluctantly down the hallway and into her bedroom.
Vista shut and locked the door. “Seal the door,” she ordered. “I know you can, Amier told me.”
“But...”
“Now, Maddy, or I’ll go get Amier to do it.”
Rolling her eyes, Maddy twisted her fingers. Pulling in the air around the door, she formed an unseen glue and placed it around the door. The only way to get through the door now was by removing the entire doorframe. It wouldn’t stop a lion from getting in eventually, but it would give them time to get out a window.
“This wasn’t how I saw things.” She paced the room back and forth, the roars coming less often.
“Your mother said things could be changed,” Vista said, turning from the window looking out toward the front of the house.
“But is it for the better?” Maddy asked, exasperated at the many possibilities of what could go wrong.
“Well, Grey is here for a start, he wasn’t last time.”
Both of the women froze when an almighty roar sounded through the house, shaking the windows. Maddy covered her ears, trying to ward the sound off.
“Grey?” she asked the as the noise petered off.
* * * *
From what Grey had heard and could make out six had made it through the barriers. He knew one of them would be Jerrick. He didn’t want to leave Maddy and the other women in the cabin, but he had to trust Mace and his enforcers while he checked on the school. Earlier in the day he had sent word for his men to gather those who were more vulnerable at the school, which was in the center of pride land. He knew even in her condition Maddy could look after herself, and with Amier they stood a better chance, but Jerrick was a sneaky bastard. Grey didn’t trust him. He was meant to be there to protect her.
Five minutes later he did a quick check in with some of his enforcers who were guarding the area. With not a scent or sound of anything he headed back to his cabin. He ran back as fast as he could. He couldn’t help feeling sick to the pit of his stomach knowing he shouldn’t have left Maddy. Swiftly, he reached the cabin. Two shifters lay not far from each other. From their scents one was dead, and the other from his pride was down but not moving. They were too close to the cabin for his liking, so he pushed himself harder.
As the cabin came into view he heard a growl from inside it, and he sped up even more, rushing the front door, sending it crashing to the floor. The lion’s scent hit him like a physical force. Jerrick. His gray-haired beast was standing in front of Mace, who was snapping and prancing, and a lioness who Grey recognized as Rainy. What the fuck is she doing? Fuck, Jerrick’s beast looked like shit. Grey glanced around and saw Vista, Amier, and Maddy hiding behind the couch. He didn’t smell any blood, which brought relief. Maddy’s eyes were wide. Is that a block of ice in my living room?
He turned his head back to Jerrick, hearing and scenting two other beasts before they appeared. The lions stalked and stood behind Jerrick, backing him up. It would seem it was three on three. Not a fair fight really. For them!
It was time to finish this. With a leap he landed on Jerrick’s back before the old man could do anything. Having the element of surprise, he dug his fangs deep into the side of the beast’s neck. Blood flooded his mouth, his lion loving the taste, sending him into a frenzy, wanting more. Shaking his head and growling, he felt the pain as one of the other lions jumped on him. But the lion didn’t have much time to do anything but roll over as it fell foul to Rainy. She pounced on it, ripping her teeth through its neck. He knew years of abuse fueled her blood and helped her right now. He could only hope she didn’t regret it later.
Jerrick tugged enough to free himself, leaving a clump of mane fur in Grey’s mouth. Shaking his head slightly, he rid himself of the crap. Grey’s lion was going mental. He kept urging Grey to finish this.
Jerrick lunged, coming in low for his neck. Grey leaped up and over him, turning swiftly to bite a chunk from his hind leg. Jerrick let out a whine and roar and turned, swiping at Grey’s head. However, Grey was faster, and Jerrick’s claws missed their mark.
Going in for the kill, Grey rushed Jerrick. With a small amount of ramming speed he head-butted the lion, toppling it over on its side, and in he went for the neck. He dug his fangs into the vulnerable part of his neck and growled.
“Grey.” Rainy came to stand beside him and confidently placed her hand on his mane. The woman had balls for sure; interrupting him wasn’t a good idea at all. “Let me ask my father a question before he meets his maker.”
His beast was reluctant. Fucking hell, he wanted to kill the bastard now. With a heavy sigh he rolled his eyes up to Mace who was standing in front of him, still in his lion form. Mace gave a slight nod, letting Grey know he understood what his Alpha was going to do.
Grey pulled his teeth from Jerrick’s neck and waited to see if the lion would move, but he didn’t. Taking a step back, Grey continued waiting. The air around Jerrick shimmered and the ex-beta appeared, although a lot older and grayer. A sad form of a man Grey once remembered fondly knelt in front of him as an enemy. He had killed his mother, gone after his mate, and made his former best friend—his own daughter’s—life miserable. He had no pity for him. Grey shifted into his human form and stood in front of the man.
“Maddy’s mother was right. You did come home to die. What made you think you could best me, old man?”
Nothing. Jerrick just looked down at the floor.
“Why didn’t you go after
Maddy until now? Answer me that at least,” he growled.
“Fucking magic,” Jerrick snapped. “I couldn’t fucking find or get to her.”
Grey looked down at the man and wondered if it was possible that Maddy’s parents had managed to hide her all this time. Had he actually put her at risk by bringing her home and mating her? No, she was safe, she was his, he would spent his life making sure of that. With a shake of his head Grey looked at Rainy and nodded.
“I want to know why. Why you treated me the way you did?” Rainy swiped at a stray tear sliding down her cheek.
“You weren’t her. You weren’t his mate. You and that slut of his ruined my life. You were supposed to be his mate,” Jerrick spat, looking up with hateful eyes at Rainy. “I was to become Alpha, but instead that fucking shaman predicted otherwise and ruined everything.”
“What made you think you would become Alpha?” Grey asked. “My father already had a son who would take over.”
“Not if you were to die in a fatal accident along with your father.”
“All because I wasn’t what you wanted?” Rainy’s voice came out low. She’d gone white as a sheet and stood looking at her father as if she was seeing a ghost. “Did you ever love me?” she whispered low.
Jerrick looked away from his daughter, staying silent.
“Did you?” Rainy demanded louder, bending down and getting in his face.
Jerrick turned to face her, and with a sneer he answered, “You were a useful tool to get what I wanted, and when you weren’t you were just trash to be used and taken out.”
Rainy lifted her hand, shifted it into a claw, and pulled it back to strike him. Grey moved fast and caught her hand before she did, shaking his head.
“Don’t.” He lifted his other hand and placed a finger under her chin, lifting it so she looked into his eyes. “You’ve been through enough—”
He was interrupted by a warning roar from Mace. Turning around, Grey spotted the air shimmering around Jerrick. Again, Grey was faster. Pushing Rainy behind him, he shifted and pounced on the ex-beta before he fully shifted. Sinking his teeth into Jerrick’s throat, he squeezed, crushing his windpipe. He could have ripped his throat out and given him a quick death, but for the years of pain he had caused the people Grey loved that wasn’t good enough. Releasing the lion’s throat, he stood back and watched the old man appear again, clutching at his throat and trying to gasp in breath. His eyes were wide with fear.
Grey was worried about Rainy, but she stood behind him, looking down at her father without a tear or any kind of grief. When Jerrick’s final gasp fell from his lips and he lay limp on the floor Grey watched as relief flowed through her eyes. Grey sensed she knew she was finally free to live her life.
Standing back, Grey roared from the top of his lungs, letting all in his pride know that it was over—he was Alpha and victorious.
Epilogue
Drying her hands on a towel, Maddy looked up from where she stood in the kitchen over the living area. Who would have thought nearly four months ago this place looked like a bomb had been dropped on it? Each of the four doors had been broken off its hinges. As they had cleaned up she swore that glass was found in each and every corner of the large room. It hadn’t taken them long to clean and fix the place back up. It was nice to have so many people come help. The Sunday after it happened, Grey reinitiated the pride potluck Sunday get-together. He had told her it had been forgotten over the years and he wanted to bring the pride closer again.
That’s where they had been today. Maddy smiled. It had been a good day. Mace and Vista had announced their pregnancy, which turned the gathering into a celebration. It was nice to relax with her now huge family, but it was better to come home and be with her own.
Tossing the towel on the kitchen counter, she walked through the house, turning off the lights and heading down the hallway to the nursery where she knew Grey was with their cubs. Peeking around the door, she smiled again when she saw he was sitting in his normal place with a babe in each arm, rocking in the chair as he looked out over the woods, telling them quietly about life.
Walking over to him, she placed a kiss on his head and leaned down, stroking a finger over each of the cubs’ cheeks.
“They’re fine, stop fussing,” he grumbled.
“If you don’t put them down at some point, they are going to be forever in your arms or difficult to live with. They’re six weeks old and should be sleeping in their cribs,” she whispered in exasperation.
The man just wouldn’t listen. Anytime their daughters cried he was there like a shot before anyone else thought about moving. At night he was often found where he was now. Knowing they wouldn’t need feeding for a few hours, she placed a gentle kiss on each of their heads and went to take a shower.
Their precious bundles of joy had arrived three weeks early. Not being able to sleep one morning she had slipped out of bed and sat by the patio doors, drinking her tea while watching the snow fall. She hadn’t been sitting there long when her water broke. In all the time she had been with Grey she’d never seen his lion panic as much as he did that morning. She could giggle about it now, but at the time it wasn’t funny. In fact, he had been bloody annoying. Having babies at home was a done thing for shifters, this being for several reasons. Keeping their secret was the main one. Throughout her pregnancy only one baby was ever felt so when she started pushing after their first daughter came out and another appeared a fair amount of shock went through all those present.
Two baby girls were born safe and sound. The first they named Leia Holly—Holly was Grey’s mother’s name—and the second they named May Frannie after her mother and the lady who had once taken her in and treated her like a daughter.
Both of the babies had a shocking length of blond hair. They also shifted to their cub forms not long after they turned four weeks old, which had Grey puffing his chest out and strutting around for nearly a week.
With the noise of the shower she didn’t hear the door open and close. Grey’s hands slipped around her waist, and he began nibbling at his mark.
“You finally put them in their cribs then?” she asked with humor in her voice.
“I thought their mother might want some of my attention.” His hands roamed up from her waist to gather her milk-filled breasts in his palms. “So much bigger.” He sighed behind her, jiggering her mounds up and down and rubbing his thumbs across her nipples.
She pushed her butt back against his rigid body, feeling his erection dig between her arse cheeks, whimpering as he again nibbled on his mark.
“Today went well,” he murmured.
“Yep.” She panted.
Grey released one of her breasts and roamed down her body, cupping her pussy. His thumb slid between her folds and tapped against her hard bud, making her legs shake.
“Always so ready for me, princess.”
She let out a small gasp as he slowly pushed the head of his penis inside her. He grasped hold of her hips, lifting them slightly as he thrust the rest of the way in. Her lion was fast, hard, and merciless as he took her to the limit and back again.
Who would have thought her life would end up being so happy?
About T. Cobbin
Trish Cobbin started to write books as an escape, but she took a break when she became a full-time mother to three children. Once her children were grown and flew the coop, expanding their own families and giving her three wonderful grandchildren, she was left with some spare time and decided to put pen to paper again. She lives in the UK with her faithful dogs Jellybean and Puddin’, and her youngest son, and a door that is never closed to family.
T. Cobbin’s Website:
www.tcobbin.co.uk
Reader eMail:
[email protected]
More Beachwalk Press Titles by T. Cobbin
Whisper Pride Pack
Dragon’s Heart: Troy’s Trouble
Running From Eden
Free From Eden
Whisper Pride Pack
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What happens when the Alpha of a wolf shifter pack discovers that his mate is human and she has no idea shifters even exist?
Conan, the Alpha of the Whisper Pride wolf pack, has to hire a new veterinary nurse when his current one leaves to have her pups. As soon as Josie walks through the door and he picks up her scent he knows he’s found his mate. But there’s a slight problem—she’s human and has no idea shifters actually exist.
Josie has had to flee her hometown to escape the local thug who has some very nasty plans in store for her. She strikes it lucky, finding a job that also offers a free apartment as part of the package. Discovering that her boss is sex on legs is an extra bonus. When Conan informs her that he’s a wolf shifter and she’s his mate, she thinks he’s nuts…until she sees him shift. She’s fascinated, but wonders if she could ever fit into this strange new world.
Trouble isn’t far behind Josie. It’s not long before the thug tracks her down, and that may mean the end of everything.
Content Warning: contains strong language, some violence, and lots of hot, steamy sex scenes
Dragon’s Heart: Troy’s Trouble
It was just supposed to be a one-night stand, but it turned into so much more.
Troy spends his days and nights running his nightclub, Dragon’s Heart. Despite his busy schedule, he doesn’t lack for female companionship. He’s never had a problem attracting women, or a problem saying goodbye to them the next morning. Then one night he meets a beautiful young lady at his club, and she changes all that.
Initially, Troy thought it would just be another one-night stand, but he discovers he’s very wrong. This woman is his mate. However, the next morning he wakes up to an empty bed with no way to locate her. He doesn’t even know her name. He’s determined to find her though—he has to. But how will she react when she discovers he’s a dragon shifter?
