by Lacey Thorn
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Book Description
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
About the Author
Dear Readers...
Gems of Romantic Fiction
ResplendencePublishing.com
Rumble and Growl
An Awakening Pride: A Holloways Story
By Lacey Thorn
Resplendence Publishing
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www.resplendencepublishing.com
Gems of Romantic Fiction
Rumble and Growl
Copyright © 2016, Lacey Thorn
Edited by Michele Paulin and CJ Slate
Cover Art by Chel Hickerty
Published by Resplendence Publishing, LLC
1093 A1A Beach Blvd, #146
St. Augustine, FL 32080
Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-973-9
Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Electronic Release: November 2016
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.
Rumble and Growl
Awakening Pride: The Holloways Book Three
By Lacey Thorn
Five years ago they were attacked. The alpha was the first to die, but his murder was followed by carefully planned attacks focused on one thing: find and kill the female shifters.
Xandra Blackstone is out for blood. She’s spent the last five years forced to hide and wait while the person responsible for the deaths of her parents and youngest sister remains free. Separated from her surviving siblings, her rage has only grown. She and her bear are in agreement. They’ll settle for nothing less than blood.
Declan Holloway is on a mission. Now that he and his brothers know there are female shifters still hidden among them, they’ve made it their focus to find them and protect them. What he didn’t expect was to find himself pursuing one frustrating female who seems hell bent on killing him. With each trap he dodges, his temper rises. When he gets his hands on Xandra Blackstone he might just take her over his knee for the trouble she’s caused him.
With one glance, neither can deny what their bears know is true. No matter how much they rumble and growl, they belong to one another.
To my friends Parrot Bay and Di Amore, thanks for sticking with me and giving me all the best crazy ideas. And to Stella Rosa. You keep me sane. Nothing but love for ya’ll.
Chapter One
Declan Holloway felt his temper escalating as he and his brother, Brock, encountered yet another trap. Brock caught the first branch hurled at them. Declan caught the second, and that was when the rock came flying out of nowhere, catching Brock on the temple and sending him falling backward.
“Brock!” Declan cried when his brother was slow to move.
“Mother fuck!” Brock exclaimed. “She’s good.”
“She” being the woman they’d been sent to rescue. What a joke. Xandra Blackstone didn’t need anyone to rescue her. Hell, she’d be more likely to bite a hand held out to her than she’d ever be to see it as an offer of help. Besides, the only thing his palm itched to do was give her ass a good paddling.
“Sidia and Jaeda both said their sister could take care of herself,” Brock reminded him then placed both palms on the ground and pushed himself up.
“Stay down,” Declan ordered as he squatted beside his brother. “Let me look.” The rock was about the size of a man’s fist. Xandra had put nature to good use. He was hard-pressed not to be impressed, except for the small fact the traps were lain for the men trying to help her.
“I’ll be okay. Just give me a sec,” Brock replied.
“Usually, I’d agree, but not this time. You’ve already got a knot swelling at your temple, and there’s blood. Looks like it cut you.”
“Fuck,” Brock groaned. “Stings like a bitch, too.”
“I bet,” Declan agreed. “Fuck! We should turn around now and get you back so Jensen can take a look at that.”
“Laramie would have both our asses if we return without finding Xandra,” Brock reminded him. “I’ll be fine in a bit. Just give me a minute.”
“Fuck!” Declan exploded, dropping his pack beside Brock and standing to pace around. “I’ve got some water bottles and bandages in my pack. Clean your head and stay still. You could have a concussion. Any blurriness?”
“It hurts,” Brock muttered. “But thankfully, I only see one of your ugly mug.”
“Good. For now, I’ll go the rest of the way on my own.”
“The hell you are.”
“The hell I’m not,” Declan countered. “You’re going to stay put while I go hunt down Miss Survivalist.”
Brock snickered then broke off with a groan, reaching for his head. “No offense, but I’m not sure it’s safe for you to go after her alone. I mean…” He gestured toward his temple.
“Only one thing to do,” Declan decided and stripped. “My bear’s been chomping to get out since we hit Lawrence’s house and found it empty.” He rolled his shoulders as he yanked off his shirt. He’d been edgy and angry, as if something prickled just under his skin.
“We should be looking for Lawrence, too,” Brock said. He’d been the one who’d wanted to split up back at the house, one following Xandra, the other following Lawrence. Declan had been adamant they follow Xandra. They’d been sent to rescue her, not the den elder. As far as Declan was concerned, any trouble Lawrence was in, he’d caused himself. All the elders brought on problems by lying to their alpha and harboring secrets.
“He’s on his own,” Declan growled through his teeth as he bent to undo the laces on his boots and kick them off.
“You’re as bad as Laramie.”
Declan snorted. “This would be the only time he and I have agreed on anything since Dad died.”
Five years ago. Five long years. Declan would never forget the day a stranger had arrived with the body of Matthew Holloway. Their father had been murdered with only that stranger to hear his last words. To add fuel to the fire, their enemies had attacked while the den was still in mourning. They’d caught families unaware, something that had never sat well with Declan. Bears were known for their uncanny sense of smell. No other shifter’s nose could compare to that of a bear. So how had so many died? And why had it appeared the women were the primary targets?
No one outside their den knew the importance of female bear shifters. The future of their kind lay in the wombs of their women. While a female shifter could mate with any man and still breed shifter children, a male’s only chance to carry on his bloodline was to mate with a female shifter of their race. Somehow, their enemy had discovered this fact and sought to extinguish them by killing off their one chance at survival. With the annihilation of all the females.
It all made sense now. With the arrival of Jaeda Blackstone, the Holloways had learned what their elders had known for the last five years. Someone had betrayed them. One of their own had joined forces with the enemy for some purpose Declan and his brothers couldn’t decipher. As the new alpha, Laramie should have been notified immediately. Instead,
the elders had chosen to keep it secret, split up the remaining females and hide them until more could be discovered. Had the Holloways been made aware, it wouldn’t be five years later with nothing accomplished. Heads would have rolled by now.
“Are you sure going after her in grizzly form is a wise idea?” Brock asked as Declan shucked his jeans down his thighs.
He lifted his head to shoot his brother a look. It was just like Brock to avoid speaking of their father’s death. Hell, about their father at all. It was a habit Brock had picked up from the eldest Holloway, the alpha of their den, Laramie.
“At this point, releasing my bear is the only avenue left to us. We’re deep enough in the woods that if I come across any humans, they won’t think anything of it. Plus, I’ll make better time this way. Hell, we probably should have done this from the start.”
“Probably,” Brock agreed sheepishly.
Declan could tell the blow to the head was taking a toll on his brother. He needed to hurry and find Xandra so he could get Brock home. Laramie needed them all in top form. Brock being temporarily injured would drop their number from seven strong to six, until Brock was healed up. Declan wasn’t counting Jaeda’s mate, Holt Reynolds. The man was human and would have to prove himself worthy in battle before Declan put his trust in him. Yet another thing he and his alpha brother disagreed on.
“Stay put,” Declan ordered again then dropped to all fours as his bear pressed against his skin. He embraced the brief flare of pain as he shifted from man to beast and the world around him changed. Though his senses were off the charts in human form, they didn’t compare to those of his animal. The grizzly was instantly attuned to the environment surrounding them. His sense of smell exploded, and it easily homed in on the one scent that had tickled him since they’d arrived at Lawrence’s house. Xandra Blackstone.
He surged forward, eyes taking in everything as he followed her trail. She’d better pray he didn’t encounter another one of her damn traps or there’d be even more hell to pay.
Declan had wanted to hunt her in bear form from the moment they’d found the house empty, but Laramie had ordered them to stay human. Big brother was afraid of spooking Xandra, by coming after her as bears. The elders had hidden the women, and as they’d discovered with Jaeda, some had been told to fear the new alpha and his brothers. Declan doubted Xandra was one to be easily spooked by anything. As far as he could tell, the woman was a born fighter. Her little traps could have killed someone. What if a human were loose in the woods? She could have taken out an innocent person, something strictly forbidden to their kind.
He moved quickly in bear form, following her scent while staying alert to danger. The last thing they needed was for him to fall prey to one of her snares. As it stood, they’d be slowed by Brock’s injury.
Her scent thickened the air when he’d gone a little over a mile and he stood, releasing a roar that shook the trees. He wasn’t anticipating the woman who stepped out a moment later. He’d expected a slightly older version of Jaeda and Sidia Blackstone, but where they were long and lean, this one was short—at least, a foot less than he was in his human skin. She wasn’t lean either. She had lush curves a blind man couldn’t miss. Large breasts filled out her T-shirt and then some. Her hips flared wide, begging for a man to grab hold while he took her, and Declan wanted to take her. Right here. Right now.
While he fought his lust, she seemed immune. Anger flared on her face as she braced her fists on the very curves he salivated over. “About fucking time one of you showed up. I was beginning to think the Holloways were more myth than men.”
He didn’t question her knowing he was a Holloway. They were the only grizzlies left.
She charged right up to him as she spoke, not stopping until her finger poked his fur. In bear form, he was just over nine feet tall when standing erect, leaving her face level with his hips. Not a good visual for him to have while lust rode him hard.
He dropped down to all fours and used his nose to bat her backwards.
“You don’t scare me,” she snarled. “So back off.” She shoved at him, which was laughable. She wasn’t moving his bulk no matter how much effort she threw into it.
He growled at her when she smacked his nose, obviously annoyed with him.
“I said back the fuck off,” she sneered. “Go human so I know which Hollo-dickhead I’m dealing with here.”
Oh, hell no, she didn’t just call him a dickhead. Good fucking thing it wasn’t the head Hollo-dickhead who’d come after her. Declan snorted in her face, imagining Laramie meeting Xandra head-on. His upper lip peeled back, and a low growl escaped him. That particular idea didn’t sit well with him.
“Fuck! If all you’re going to do is growl, I’ve got better things to do.”
He growled again just because she was pissing him off. He shoved her with his nose, and when she dug in her heels and lifted her hand to smack him again, he shoved harder than he should have.
Xandra landed on her ass in the leaves and dirt. She was sprawled out, hands thrown out wide behind her, legs braced apart. He moved over her, easing between her thighs and letting the shift take over until she had two hundred and fifty pounds of naked man atop her.
For the first time since she’d stepped out of the woods, Xandra was silent.
Chapter Two
Xandra sat on the ground in stunned silence as the scent of the man squashing her seemed to seep inside her. Her bear pressed against her skin, the desire to rub against all that naked flesh a ripe longing she struggled to fight. She wasn’t the mating type, no matter how much she and her bear disagreed about it.
He shifted, and there was no missing the hard length of his erection where it rubbed along her thigh. She heard a moan and bit down on her lip when she realized it was coming from her.
“You smell incredible.”
His deep, rich voice flowed over her, making her sex clench with need. This wouldn’t work. Whoever he was, he was messing with her head, messing with her bear and making her forget she was alive for one purpose and one purpose only. Revenge. She’d make sure the son-of-a-bitch responsible for what had happened to her family paid.
“Get off me.” She shoved inconsequentially at the bulk of his shoulders then jerked her hands back as if they’d been burned by the heat pouring off of him.
“Easy, darling,” he crooned, somehow managing to cover more of her, forcing her flat to the ground and making it impossible to breathe without inhaling…him. He moved over her, and his erection lined up with the seam of her jeans. Christ, she was shaking! And losing focus again.
“Off, now!” she ordered.
He braced his palms outside her shoulders and pushed himself up, which only managed to press his shaft harder against her. She wiggled, attempting to pull away from him and succeeded in making him groan as his cock pulsed against her.
“Stop!”
“Not exactly a reaction I can control,” he remarked.
“Asshole,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes.
“And here I thought I was a Hollo-dickhead.” He smirked down at her, one brow lifted.
“Care to tell me which one you are?”
She swore she heard him mutter something along the lines of, “the only one who matters” as he rolled off her and came to his feet. He held out his hand, but she couldn’t tear her eyes from the turgid length of his cock. He was thick and long, the mushroomed head glistening with pre-cum. His flesh bobbed in front of her, and without thought, she licked her lips.
“Christ, woman. If you’re not trying to kill me one way, you’re coming at it from a different angle.”
Was he really talking about coming and angles at a time like this? She reached up, and it was only his interference that had her meeting his fingers instead of that girth. She stumbled into his wide chest as she came to her feet. It was as if all the blood had rushed to her pussy, leaving her lightheaded and dizzy.
“There, there.” He was back to crooning again, his hands trailing laz
ily up and down her back. God, she wanted to curl into him and give way to the tears she’d been holding onto since that fateful day five years ago. That thought gave her just the impetus she needed to push away from him.
“Well?” She crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her nipples and hopefully, the trembling of her hands.
He lifted a brow again, unconcerned with the fact he loomed over her completely naked. How tall was he? He had to be at least a foot taller than her five and a half feet, maybe a little more. His body bulged with muscles, and her gaze bounced all over him, trying ineffectually to keep from staring at his cock.
“Up here,” he said, and she flushed with embarrassment.
“You can’t go waving that around and not expect me to look.” She gestured toward his crotch with a wave of her hand.
He reached down and gripped his shaft, giving it a stroke and squeezing the head. A pearly drop of fluid filled the slit, growing until it slipped down and was captured by his thumb. He used the digit to rub the bead over his tip, and she tracked every glide with her eyes. His thumb stilled, and he used his grip to move his cock up and down.
“Now, it’s waving at you.”
Her gaze jerked to his, but there was no laughter there, only heat.
“Want to say hello?” he offered.
She groaned and stepped into him again. He bent his knees, his palms cupping her ass and lifting her off the ground so they aligned perfectly. Their lips met, meshed and parted. Tongues dueled and roamed. Her hands locked in his hair that was a mixture of blond and brown. She buried her fingers, cupped his head and held him to her, ready to forgo air for his kiss. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and she felt the rough brush of tree bark at her back.
His cock lined up with her sex again, and she undulated against him. His lips skimmed over her throat. He used his hips to hold her between him and the tree while he pushed both palms under her shirt. He wasted no time. He cupped her breasts over her bra, and those wicked thumbs brushed the lace covering her nipples. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as he jerked her shirt up. Warmth surrounded her nipple as he sucked the lace-covered tip.
