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Gabe’s Destiny, Black Hills Shifters Book 4
Copyright 2018 Maura O’Brien
Cover Art by Elisa Leigh
Image from Adobe Stock
 Gabe’s Destiny
Black Hills Shifters
Book 4
M. Merin
 Prologue

Excerpt from Cole’s Salvation:

“…The lions like to keep to themselves, plus they were here first. They
seem to think we’re encroaching on their land.” Gabe shrugs, answering
Aubree’s question.
“I have a feeling this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, big
brother. We’re going to need some help.” Slate says.
“I’ll see what I can do. Gabe, come with me?” Cole turns to him.
“Of course, whatever you need. You know that.” He says smiling genuinely.
Part One
 Chapter 1
Starting at the end of Cole’s Salvation
Gabe
Cole turns onto the Hart’s driveway and instantly brakes. They’ve added a
new addition ~ a fence across their road, clearly marked No Trespassing.
“Well, fuck. I don’t suppose they rigged up a bell to ring, do ya?” He grins
over my way.
“Downright inhospitable,” I smile, knowing that the Harts will never be
known as anything else. “Maybe we drive over to their garage, see if
anyone’s around?”
Without a word, Cole throws his truck in reverse to get us turned around.
“Stop!” I yell. The angle of the truck let me see what we hadn’t noticed
before; a lion laying across a tree branch, watching us. Sliding out, I point it
out to Cole and walk towards it. “We need to talk to Luke.”
As soon as I speak, the lion shoots up – angrily hissing at me but doesn’t
spare a glance at Cole as he slowly exits his side of the truck. I tilt my head
and raise my nose in the air.
For the first time in my adult life, I have no control over my bear. I
transition without thought and am barely able to hold myself back from
charging at the gate.
The lioness in front of me is my mate. Cole mating with a human is one
thing, something that was at least rumored as a possibility but another
species? She’s standing on the branch, her back arched, when I sense a male
coming towards us and I turn in his direction; needing to protect my mate.
“Lila! Back to the house,” Luke Hart orders and I feel the weight of his
Alpha’s command hit her. With one last look at me, my mate leaps off the
branch she was stretched out on and disappears into the woods.
“STOP.” Both Cole and Luke say in unison when I move towards the fence.
I turn back to Cole, unable to resist my own Alpha’s command.
“Change back. There are extra clothes in the back,” Cole continues. “Give
me a few minutes with Luke.”
“Ain’t interested in forming no knitting bee with y’all, so go on your way.”
I look over my shoulder as Cole continues towards Luke, ignoring his
retort.
Luke’s the type of shifter that wants little to do with outsiders, so it’s only
the third or fourth time I’ve seen him. In his human form, at least. He’s light
haired and while slightly taller than Cole, Luke and the other males in his
pride tend to be thinner than us bears. Not that I’d ever doubt they’re every
bit as strong as we are.
Trying to think back over the times I’ve seen the Harts in town, I don’t
remember him having a sister. I’ve met his cousin, Lana, over at the guide
and gear shop her brothers own but I never gave a thought to how many
other lions make up his pride. Fisting my hands, I know that’s going to have
to change sooner than later; my bear won’t rest until he’s claimed his mate.
 Chapter 2

Gabe
The day after Cole tries to warn Luke about the increased wolf-shifter
activity in our territory, I drive out to the shop that his cousins own; about
twenty miles from my house. Nosing around in there, even after they
growled at my entrance, I try to pick up my mate’s scent.
“Can I help you with something, bear?” A woman asks and I turn around to
see Lana.
“Maybe,” I take a deep breath before I reach my hand out with my card.
“Can you give this Lila? Ask her to call me – or she can stop by, I wrote my
home address on the back…”
“Easy there, lover boy,” Lana whispers, reaching for my arm. When I step
back from her, she raises her hand and points to a section further away from
the counter before speaking in a louder voice. “The rappelling gear is back
there.”
Moving back to the area she suggested, I look back to see that her brothers
have lost interest. “It’s important, Lana.”
“It was a mistake, Major,” Lana says. “No one’s ever heard of different
shifters mating. Cole might be alright mixing with a human, but we’re a
different species altogether.”
“Lana,” I’m facing the gear but plead with her, desperately. “I grew up
hearing the same things you did, but my bear and if I’m not mistaken, her
lion, recognized their mate. If it’s denied, it’ll be the end of both of us. Just,
ask her to meet me near the caves that border Luke’s land? I’ll be there
every day after work until dawn.”
She lets out a loud humph and turns away. I grab a backpack and a bunch of
camping gear before walking up to the counter and checking out with one
of her brothers while the other looks on.
“Don’t hurry back now,” handing me my change, he grins at his delightfully
original version of customer service.
*
The following weeks go by in a blur. Lila reached out to me once, asking
me to forget about her and not to contact her family again. Sad to say, that
one message gave me hope. I told her, where I’d be every night. Since then,
I’ve fought a daily battle with myself – not to text her.
I’m spending more time than ever in my bear form, the part that hurts as
much as not being able to touch my mate is that I can hardly look Ruby in
the eyes. My twin sister and I share so much. Some part of me understands
that she knows what I’m going through and would never judge me.
In fact, I know that she’ll be the first one I talk to when things get settled
with Lila. But Lana wasn’t wrong – in all the stories I ever heard, the odd
occurrence of mating with a human was retold, but never mating with a
different species of shifters. Then, adding what I know of the lions into the
mix – the Hart pride is a close one and doesn’t socialize with the
community at large. My bear is lonelier than ever and also worried about
what my Lila must be going through.
I’d give anything to catch her scent again. I never smelled anything like her
and I long for the day I can be wrapped around her.
Enough! I decide. Instead of staying near the caves like I told Lana, I start
towards the Hart’s property line. I’ll walk the lines every night until she
can’t set foot outside her home without smelling me. My mate won’t be
able to hold out if her lion is surrounded by my scent.
Lila
Putting my phone down, I ignore Lana’s call; knowing I’ll have to talk to
her soon or she’ll come out looking for me. As it is, I’m in no shape to see
or talk to anyone. I cry every morning, as soon as Luke and Law leave the
house. After I first scented Gabe, I raced past our house to find Lana –
quickly explaining what had happened. Since then, she’s been reaching out
to shifters she knows; all with the same response. Species do not mix. Ever.
Besides being my cousin, she’s my best friend. Only friend, really. And I
know Lana’s every bit as freaked out by this as I am, so I finally told her to
stop nosing around. It’s not the thought of Gabe, God knows, I’ve been
fantasizing about him every night since I first saw him; but the thought of
telling the rest of my family has been giving me panic attacks. God,
especially, when I think of Uncle Leroy.
Looking at the pile of receipts I should be organizing to handle Luke’s
accounting for the month, I throw in the towel and head outside. He and
Law left hours ago but looking down the lane, I can see the heavy white
smoke coming out of the chimney at Uncle Leroy’s house. Jerk, I think to
myself, heading around to the far side of our home in case he’s watching.
Stripping, I quickly shift into my lioness and run into the woods. I haven’t
had a good run in weeks, I’ve been so nervous about scenting Gabe again
but there’s only so much my lioness can take. The moment I cross the
property line, I smell my mate so strongly I spin – expecting him to be
almost on top of me.
Moving slowly through the undergrowth, it occurs to me that he’s been
nearly camped out in the woods near my home; there’s no other reason for
his scent being so strong along the border of our land and the national park.
Letting out a huff, I set out in the direction of the Majors’ land. Our family
has long since stayed away from it, and I’ll have to be extra cautious with
the added threat of the wolves that have invaded our territory, but I need to
face him. My lioness no longer cares what the logical part of my brain is
telling me.
Traveling as fast as I dare, and stopping often enough to catch wind of
various smells, I exit the woods near the Majors’ land, I scent my mate but
know he isn’t here. Fading back into cover and continuing on in the
direction of town, the smell of bear is stronger than ever as I approach and
pass the following three homes but so far my mate’s scent has been
strongest near my own home. I feel guilty for waiting as long as I have to
leave the safety of my brother’s house to face my future.
Turning back, I freeze at the sound that fills the woods around me. The
wolves are out. Their howls send chills through my body. They’re pushing
harder and harder to take over this territory; they even tried to burn out my
cousin’s place. Crossing quickly to a stream, I follow that down a ways to
try to mask my scent before climbing up an old tree to curl up on a branch.
Closing my eyes, I focus my other senses and am suddenly aware of Gabe.
He’s tracking me from the river and I make a soft noise to gain his attention
before I indicate where I heard the wolves. At his quick nod, I leap down
and follow him as he leads me in the opposite direction.
Catching up to him, I rub my body up alongside his, my lioness purring in
satisfaction. The bear beside me makes a rumbling noise and turns back to
rub his muzzle against me. I know I was wrong to try to deny my mate and
we have a lot to figure out but I have to believe we’ll get there. Really, that
choice is out of our hands at this point.
Before long, we’re entering the cave system near my family’s land and from
the looks of it, Gabe has been holing up here for a while. Striding over to a
blanket, I transition back to my human form and reach for it.
 Chapter 3

Gabe
The memory of the first moment I saw my mate in human form will live in
my mind forever.
The flare of her hips, the soft curves of her ass and thighs contrasted against
her flat stomach and the sleek lines of muscles in her arms, as she reaches
for a blanket. I let out a roar at the thought of her hiding herself from me; I
have waited long enough to see her.
She turns towards me in surprise and after my transition I quickly pull the
blanket from her hands and wrap my mate in my arms, my mouth finding
hers. Her gasp parts her lips and I deepen my kiss. When my tongue strokes
hers, I feel Lila’s whole body shudder and she wraps her arms around my
neck, her legs lifting up to wrap around my hips.
“I need you,” I gasp, pulling back from her mouth as I shift my hard dick
upwards, feeling the wet heat from the core of her body.
“Nice to meet you, too,” she nips my earlobe. “You’ve got some wining and
dining to do first, bear.”
Turning, I place her down on a sleeping bag and quickly cover her with my
body – for warmth, of course. Staring down at her, I take in every detail I
can. Lila’s porcelain skin has a spray of freckles across her nose, long blond
hair, and brown eyes. “You’re perfect.”
“Hardly,” she laughs up at me but I notice that her eyes are scanning my
face just as intently, as I try to memorize her every feature. “Um, how long
have you been staying out here?”
“I told Lana I would. I didn’t want to not be here if you came, so I’ve just
been going home to shower then to work. The only time I don’t come is
when there’s stuff going on with my family. I…I just worry I’ll miss you if
I’m not here.”
“Both of your brothers have mated?” She asks, surprised. “I had heard
about Cole, since he mated with a human but no one had told me about
Slate.”
“Yeah, it’s been a busy fall,” I smirk at her. “But technically, we scented
each other before Slate met Maura, so back to you, beautiful. Why have I
never seen you before?”
“I’ve only lived here since I was fourteen,” she looks ashamed but wraps
her arms tighter around my neck.
“Why’s that?”
“My parents. They weren’t fated mates. Their parents knew each other and
my father, I mean I’ve never met him but his family was well off compared
to hers and I guess his wanted him to start a family. I don’t really know.
Luke doesn’t know the details either, he and Law are a bit older than I am. I
guess I was an ‘oops baby’. But when mom was pregnant with me, she met
her true mate and ran off with him.
“Mom and my step-dad had two daughters together but we lived near his
family and without knowing why, I was always the odd one out. They died
in a car crash when I was fourteen and his parents sat me down the next day
and explained it. They said they were going to track down my ‘real’ family
and I should go upstairs and pack.” Lila takes a shuddering breath.
“Fuck, sweetheart,” I hold her tighter. “I’m so goddamn sorry.”
“Luke came to pick me up two days later. My bags were already on the
porch. He pulled up and with all of his yelling, I thought he was going to
kill them. After everything that had happened, I loved him immediately. I
kissed my sisters goodbye – we email and Facetime now – but the minute
he saw me on the stairs, he knew who I was. He sheathed his claws and
held his arms open for me. Luke just cradled me as I cried. I never saw the
people I thought were my grandparents again. All of the Harts were here
waiting for us when he pulled up at his house.” She rambles through her
story as she nuzzles her face into my neck.
“And just like that, I had the family I always wished for.” Lila kisses my
cheek as she concludes her story.
“Wait? You said you haven’t met your father? I guess I thought he was dead
since Luke has been the Alpha since I was in high school.”
“Luke and Law said that he walked away one day, about ten years after
mom left. He left documents, transferring all his land to Luke and declared
him Alpha. That’s been a problem with Uncle Leroy but he’s not about to
challenge him outright. Our father leaves messages at Luke’s garage a
couple times a year,” Lila shrugs. “Luke actually homeschooled me, I mean,
I’d go into work with him and Law and he’d check my assignments. He just
wanted to keep me close, I guess. He and Law are everything I’ve ever
dreamed of – when it came to family. But they are uber protective of me,
also.”
“Oh, God! You are eighteen, right?” I nearly shout into her ear but her
quick giggle calms me down.
“I’ll be nineteen in March,” she answers. “I do the accounting for Luke’s
garage and I take some classes online. I haven’t really decided on a career. I
know you all have a construction business but how old are you?”
“Ruby and I are twins, we’re twenty-five. Let’s see, my family…you
probably heard the wolves killed our dad. Then Cole and Aubree mated and
Slate just caught the scent of the sheriff’s daughter, Maura. She’s also the
new park ranger.” I fill her in on my family but can’t resist my need to lay
kisses around her face. Leaning back, I soak in the content look on her face.
“Is your mother still alive?” Lila asks. She must feel my body tense up
under her hands because she quickly apologizes.
“She died giving birth to Ruby and me,” I answer with my lips nearly on
top of hers. Leaning up, Lila closes the tiny space between us and I moan
into her mouth. My bear roars from within me and some part of her must
feel it because her hands work to soothe the muscles under them as she
wraps her long legs around my waist.
My cock is rock hard, nesting between her thighs. I can’t help but thrust
myself forward, torturing myself as I feel the juices nearly dripping from
her pussy. It takes every bit of strength that I have not to angle my cock up
towards her entrance.
“Not yet, Gabe,” she moans, even as she rocks her hips up against me. “We
need to figure this out.”
“You’re my fucking mate. What is there to figure out?”
Lila
I know it should be that easy but for me, it’s not. Losing my parents, less
than five years ago, then finding out the truth about my family nearly
shattered me. What if it’s a mistake and he meets his true mate later?
“We don’t know anything about this, Gabe,” I try to articulate what I’m
thinking. “When we claim each other, will we still be the lion or bear we are
now? How about children? Can we even have them? And what will they
be?”
“We’ll still be us. Our animals, for whatever reason, were made for each
other. Our children? They’ll be ours. Nothing else will matter.” Gabe
growls, simplifying everything.
“Please give me a little time?” I hold his face between my hands. “And
promise me you’ll sleep at home, I don’t want to worry about the wolves
finding you alone.”
“I want your number and your schedule. You also need to promise to meet
me out here every day. I can’t go long without touching you again, Lila.”
Gabe starts to rise but I pull him back down.
“Kiss me some more?”
Making out like our lives depend on it, Gabe respects my wishes no matter
how hard it is for him. “I have to get home, Luke will be pissed. And, I
have to figure out how to talk to him about this.” I whisper.
“I’ll walk you home,” Gabe volunteers but I quickly shake my head. “One
week, Lila. You have one week to break it to your family.”
“A month?”
“Ten days, if you meet me every day.”
“Two weeks and we’ll meet up ten of those days?” I end our negotiation
with a kiss.
 *
Luke is on the back porch when I emerge from the forest and I can feel his
relief and annoyance all at once. Turning, he walks back inside as I
approach the pile of clothing I left out earlier.
“Where were you, Lila?” He nearly yells the moment I open the door.
“We were worried about you,” Law says, walking towards me for a hug.
While Law is even taller than Luke, he’s a big softie when it comes to me.
“Come on, lil’ sis, I made dinner – unless you ate while you were out?”
“Wait.” Luke demands, when Law would have pulled me away. “Lila,
we’ve discussed the problem with the wolves. You know you’re not
supposed to be wandering around alone – they’ve already taken down a
bear, I doubt they’d hesitate to attack you.”
“I’m sorry, Luke. I was too restless to stay home another day and the
wolves were miles away from…”
“If they were close enough for you to hear their howls – like we all did –
they were close enough to scent you if the wind changed.” He reasons as
Law dishes up huge plates for each of us. “Plus, I hadn’t told you Gabe
came by to see me again last week.”
I immediately stiffen up. “What did he want?” I ask as I grab beers from the
fridge. Unfortunately, Luke isn’t so distracted not to notice the one I got for
myself. He glares and slides my bottle next to the one I already gave him.
Letting out a sigh as Law smirks at me, I double back for a Diet Coke.
“Apparently, the wolves went around destroying build materials at the
Majors’ construction sites last night. Unfortunately, they had to call the
police in for insurance reasons, so that’ll put a dispute on the record with
Cusack’s department. I talked to Leland, Lendry, and Uncle Leroy about
roving patrols at night. I think Lana should stay here in the meanwhile. That
way we aren’t spread thin and can protect…”
“Or you could include Lana and I in the patrols since this isn’t the middle
ages!”
“Damnit, Lila,” Luke massages the bridge of his nose. “It’s my
responsibility to protect you. It isn’t because I think either one of you are
weak, sweetie. I…we just got you back where you belong and I’d never
forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
I let out a long sigh, knowing that I could end up being more of a distraction
if I were out there. “Luke, how about if we agree that Lana and I can each
stay in our own homes without a babysitter and I won’t fuss. Doors locked
and guns loaded?”
“No more wandering around alone, until this is settled, and we have a deal,”
Luke reaches over to squeeze my hand and I smile up at him.
“Anyone want more?” Law speaks up, having cleaned his plate while Luke
and I were talking. I can’t help but laugh at him. “What?!”
“You can have the last of it, ‘cause there’s no way Lila’s gonna eat all that,”
Luke points out Law’s habit of piling enough food for an army onto each of
our plates.
“So, besides the wolf issue,” Law starts from the kitchen. “Why the hell has
that bear been staking out these woods? They know damn well this is our
territory but every time I go for a run, I smell ‘em.”
“No shit, this past month or so. Best I can figure is they don’t trust us and
want to make sure we aren’t working with the sons of bitches that killed
their dad.” Luke says in between bites. I just keep my head down.
“Um – I thought you didn’t mind the bears that much?” I try to ask
nonchalantly after a moment.
“There were some dust-ups when this generation’s father and grandparents
moved into the area, but they agreed to stick to the woods near town and
with us favoring a different diet – our grandparents just decided to let it be,”
Law says as he finishes his second plateful. “Now, the wolves – whoever
the fuck they are – they never bothered to come out and talk to us. We were
here first, this area is our birthright. Plus, they cut into our food supply
unlike the bears.”
“The Majors have taken the biggest losses so far, but the wolves will focus
on us soon enough,” Luke picks up the conversation. “Don’t know that
Cole’s ever been tested like this but either he’ll have to start taking them out
or I will. Fucking bears probably just want to sleep the winter away and
hope all’s well by spring.”
“So you don’t like Cole?” I try to get a read on his feelings.
“Don’t really know any of them. But I can tell you that while Cole’s level-
headed, his brother, Slate, is a hot-head. Cole seems to send Gabe out to me
as a messenger. I guess the kid doesn’t annoy me too much, since he knows
not to overstay his welcome. I’ve seen Ruby around, she’s hot but those
Majors don’t fuck around unless it’s with their mates.”
That last part has me buzzing and trying to contain my smile.
 Chapter 4

Gabe
The last week has been the best of my life. While I might not have claimed
Lila yet, we are getting to know each other via text messages; which is good
because from the moment we get to the caves each evening, we don’t do
much talking. My lioness is passionate and funny, and is just as eager to
find all my sensitive spots as I am hers.
“Earth to Gabe,” Slate calls, giving me a weird look.
“Huh? Yeah, sorry,” I mumble when I realize he’s been talking to me.
“What’s up?”
“Cole finally agreed to hire someone,” he says as he motions to the truck
that’s pulling up with our replacement lumber for this project and I move to
help him unload it. Fucking wolves set us back a good few weeks and we
had to replace the lumber out of our budget until the insurance money
comes through. It’s always been a point of honor with our company to get
projects done on time. “Aubree and Maura are going to get the word out
around town and Ruby will post something online.”
“Ten to one that Maura and Aubree find someone first,” I laugh before I
touch on the next topic. “I’ve been out in the woods a bit but I haven’t been
able to get a solid trail on the wolves. Whoever the hell they are, they’re
organized enough to enter and leave from different spots.”
“You need to knock off your Lone Ranger shit,” Cole says from behind me.
“I’m not about to lose another family member to those bastards, let alone
expose us to humans.”
“Well, we need to get after them and not just try to wait them out,” I turn on
him.
“Easy there, little brother,” Slate steps between us.
“Yeah, Maura has to be out on those trails for work – you really think
waiting them out will help her if they corner her again?” I spit out before
turning on my heel. My good mood is spoiled. It twists my gut anytime I
argue with my family, but especially now with so much on the line.
*
That night when Lila and I transition back to human form, she pulls back
from our kiss way too fast for my liking. “Gabe, I want more time. I’ve
been emailing people, asking about mates. There are just some things…”
“I can’t, Lila. This is killing me.” I moan.
“Gabe, I’m sorry. But Luke and Law are so stressed out about the wolf
situation and anyway, you’re the one who says we shouldn’t have sex until
the claiming,” she nips my earlobe. “Can’t we? Tonight?”
“I’m taking you without protection, you understand me?” I growl, lowering
her to the air mattress I brought here. “Fuck, I should have done that
already. You’d have to tell your brothers if you were pregnant.”
“Gabe! Look at me,” she pleads with me. “I love you.
“I love you, too.” I whisper. “I’m sorry, babe. I got into it with my brothers
today; I didn’t mean to carry my mood here with me.”
“Make love to me?”
At her words, I lean down to her mouth. Enjoying the feel of her velvety
tongue dancing with mine, I slide a hand up to cup her breast – thrilled at
finding her nipples already pebbled.
Her small hand slides down to wrap itself around my dick. Gently
massaging it like she has since our first time here. I groan every time but
my eyes shoot open when Lila tugs too hard.
“I need you inside of me,” she gives me her perfectly lopsided grin before
she pulls me over to cover her body.
Reaching my hand down to her entrance, my bear hums at finding her wet
and ready for me. Lila spreads her legs wider and, still holding my cock like
it’s her favorite toy, she rubs the tips along her slit.
“I want to taste you, Lila,” I murmur against her lips, getting a growl in
return.
“No more waiting, I belong to you.”
Cupping her cheek in one hand, I reach my other hand down to her hip, still
allowing her to guide me inside of her. “I love you.”
The words I say before I thrust into her seem trite. Feeling her hymen give
way and seeing her bite her bottom lip to keep her gasp of pain in, mean
everything to me. Once inside her, I close my eyes to soak in the feel of her.
The walls of her pussy are almost uncomfortably tight, so I can imagine that
makes it harder for her and I try to stop moving.
Opening my eyes again, I look down at her face. My Lila is studying me
with unblinking eyes and I can’t imagine what she’s thinking.
“Are you alright?” I pant out. “I’m sorry I hurt you, sweetheart.”
“All I want to do is bite into your neck, Gabe,” she hisses back. “I don’t
know if I can control…” Her voice breaks off in a moan as she arches
herself up, taking more of me inside her.
“Whatever you want. Bite me if you need to. But let me know if I can move
without hurting you -”
“Yes! Now!” She cuts me off and her eyes flash gold at me.
Inhaling, I slowly withdraw; studying her for discomfort, I try to go easy on
her. She wasn’t the only virgin in this cave tonight and I can barely control
my orgasm. In my head, I start reciting the name of every teacher I ever
had, anything to keep from finishing before my mate does. Getting into a
rhythm, I finally reach down to her clit; hoping I can last long enough to
finish her off first.
Seconds later, her hand joins mine and she gently guides my strokes. Easing
up the pressure I had put on her sensitive nub and speeding up my
movement, I gain more confidence with each stroke of my finger and my
cock. Lila’s legs wrap tightly around my waist and I can see her focusing on
my neck, the thought of her claiming me sends me over the edge. I can no
longer hold back - thankfully, my mate starts to come as I pump my seed
into her.
Lila bites down on her lip, holding back her cries as I do mine. “I’m sorry. I
should have taken you someplace special, baby. We should have been in a
prop…”
“We’re mates, Gabe. My first time could have been in a tree with you or a
fancy hotel and it would not have been any more amazing.” She sighs.
I wait a moment, not sure how to respond to that. “Lila. I’m a bear. I’m
pretty sure we don’t do tree sex.”
My lioness stretches beneath me, arching her back and pushing her breasts
into my chest. “Maybe you’ll try it with me?”
And I know I will. My mate can have my dick anytime and anywhere she
wants it. I get hard all over again and roll over, pulling her on top of me.
“Your turn, my lioness.”
Lila
Each time we’re together, it’s our habit that Gabe walks me back to the
property line near my house, then texts me when he gets home. Crossing the
yard to the clothes I left out for myself, I dress and sneak inside.
“Wanna tell me where you were?” Law snaps on the light as I’m tiptoeing
through the living room.
“Um, just running a bit. To the caves and back?” I hedge.
“Wanna tell me why you reek of bear?” Is the next question he drawls out.
My jaw drops open and I can’t think of anything to say. “And before you
say anything else, I talked to Lana.”
I close my mouth, noticing he doesn’t give anything away so I just walk
towards him and sit down.
“About?”
“I know she’s been covering for you the past week or so. Lila, I love you.
Luke and I both love you and there’s a lot of shit going on, so even though
we weren’t raised together; you need to know you can talk to us.” Law
reaches out to gently squeeze my knee and I burst out crying.
“I’ll tell you and Luke everything, I promise, Law. But can you give me
another week?” I beg, wanting to hear back from my half-sister before I tell
my brothers everything. When I called Stephanie, I only asked her to check
around about anyone knowing about different types of shifters mating.
Being seventeen, it didn’t occur to her to ask me any questions.
“No.”
“Law!”
“Tell me because I’m thinking the worst right now.” Law stares
unblinkingly at me.
“I love you and Luke, Law,” I nearly sob. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“Shit, Lila! No,” he leans forward and scoops me up, settling me on his lap.
“Maybe we weren’t raised together, but you’re my baby sister.”
I can’t help the tears that the come at his words. He hugs me tighter and
inhales.
“Fuck. Did you...how...Lila? Are you...I mean mated to a bear?” His shock
has me wrapping my arms around myself and leaning away from him. “Tell
me you weren’t forced?! I’ll kill…”
“No!” I shriek. “I, he’s meant to be my mate, Law. My true mate. I haven’t
let him claim me yet though. I just wanted time to find out if anyone had
heard of anything like this before we announce it.”
“Shhh,” Law rubs my back, trying to calm me down. “By process of
elimination, we’re talking about Gabe, right?”
“He didn’t force me to do anything, Law. Gabe’s a little upset I won’t let us
talk to our families yet.”
“What timeline did he set?” He wisely asks.
“I tried for an extension, maybe another week? Please keep this between us
for now? I won’t meet him without telling you, I promise.”
“If Luke asks me if I know what’s going on with you, I won’t lie to him,
Lila.” Law looks torn. “It isn’t my news to blurt out though. And the minute
I don’t know where you are…”
“I’m sorry, Law. I will let you know at all times, okay?”
Law kisses me on the cheek and I take that as my queue to head off to the
shower and bed. It should be a happy night for me, but my choices are
weighing heavily on me and finding sleep is difficult.
*
The next few days don’t improve. Between family obligations, Gabe and I
don’t get a chance to meet up. I wait until later on Saturday night, hoping
that his usual family dinner is over; I text him about meeting up. He
responds immediately and I go find Law, tinkering in his workshop to let
him know that Gabe will be meeting me shortly.
He looks sad when he nods at me and I move to hug him. “You and Luke
will find your mates one day. Don’t give up on it.”
“Love you, kiddo.”
Meeting Gabe at our spot, we run and play in our other forms for a while,
enjoying the peacefulness of the forest tonight. It’s when we get to the cave
that he gives me the news.
“I’m pretty sure Ruby met her mate tonight!” His smile lights up his face as
he tells me the news and continues the story in between kisses. “Another
human. I don’t think Cole caught on. Fuck, you taste so good. We hired this
guy to work on our jobsite and invited him to dinner. Here, move up…”
I giggle and pull away. “Stop! Tell me the story first, make love to me
second. I can’t keep up with you switching back and forth – plus it’s weird
hearing your brother’s name when you’re grabbing my boob.”
“Um, Everett. He’s the guy we just hired. When he walked into the kitchen,
I could almost feel Ruby’s bear like it was my own. The guy had no idea
what was happening but I could see he felt something too.” Gabe continues
on. “God, I missed you, Lila.”
With that, I’m back in his arms; another moment finds us wordlessly
shifting into a sixty-nine, a position we’d gotten really comfortable with
before our last night together.
“I want you inside me when you come, Gabe. It’s all I can think about.”
Sliding off of his body, I stay on my knees and look over my shoulder at
him. Gabe growls and I giggle, putting my head down and spreading my
legs further apart.
“Fuck, baby,” he grips my hips and thrusts his dick into my sopping pussy.
“If I didn’t get you pregnant last time, I will tonight.” With that he starts
pounding into me. Luckily for him, us lions don’t back down and I jut my
ass back to meet each thrust; groaning each time his dick hits my cervix.
I know he’s getting close when his hand reaches around to work my clit.
Gabe made it a priority to learn how to rub it the way I like the first night
we were together and he just gets better each time. Throwing my head back,
my pussy tightens up and I hear Gabe’s low moan – knowing that he’ll be
coming with me.
Seconds later he collapses on top of me, when he tries to shift his weight off
of me, I tighten my hold on his arm; making sure he won’t go anywhere.
“My family is all going out to Remy’s in a few nights, Lila. I’m going to
tell them then. No more waiting.”
“Law knows,” I confess. Not wanting to tell him via text, I had saved that
news until we were together again. “He caught me coming in the other
night. He said he would respect my wishes but he’s pressing me to tell
Luke.”
 Chapter 5

Gabe
Lila’s anxiety over telling our families has definitely rubbed off on me. I
know I’ve built it up in my head to be a bigger deal than it is; it’s just that
she has a point. I’ve been reaching out to our shifter contacts and no one
has heard of different species ever mating. But fuck that. There simply isn’t
any doubt that she’s mine.
Riding to Remy’s with Ruby and Rett, my knee is jerking up and down the
entire time. Ruby looks at me like she already knows what my news is, but
she’s too sweet to say anything. I finally just give her a wink and mouth
‘tonight’.
Of course, that plan goes to hell when the wolves come in to confront us.
Thankfully, Rett’s bear comes forward for the first time and is able to help
us in our little skirmish. Ruby keeps Aubree and Maura inside while we put
a beat-down on the wolves. When Ruby drops me off at home later, I
immediately change back into my bear and race out to see Lila. I’m to her
house before I realize I didn’t text her but fuck that, I think. We agreed that
we’d end the secrecy tonight.
I’m still in my bear form as I approach the back door and Law opens the
inner door at my approach.
“Lover boy is here,” he calls out and I shift back. “Dude! No! That isn’t
cool!” He yells, as he lifts his hand to cover his eyes.
“What the fuck is going on?” Comes Luke’s voice from a shed to my right.
“Let’s talk inside,” I say, reaching for the screen door. Lila is coming down
the stairs with a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt for me.
Quickly dressing, I accept a beer from Law and sit down at the table across
from Luke.
“Lila’s my mate.” I cut right to the chase.
“I know,” Luke says, taking the wind out of all our sails. Looking around,
he shakes his head. “I’m her Alpha for fuck’s sake, plus I saw you lose
control the moment you laid eyes on her.”
“Luke, I’m sorry,” Lila tries to cross to him but I pull her onto my lap
instead. “Just with everything with my parents, our parents – and with him
not being a lion. I needed to know it wasn’t some cruel mistake.”
“I’ve been checking around, as I suspect you have been. To be honest, I can
understand you both freaking out over it because no one I talked to had ever
heard of this happening. The thing I do know is that our dad didn’t have a
claiming bite. Our parents knew they weren’t true mates, so they didn’t
bother – whatever reasons they had we can only guess at,” Luke shrugs.
“Did you tell your family, Gabe?”
“I was going to but the wolves came into Remy’s tonight…”
“What! Who are they?” Luke sits up straight.
“Their Alpha wasn’t with them. The only guy talking said they bought land
near here and his Alpha was planning on killing Aubree. The guy’s name
was Collin. I got a ride home with Ruby and her mate. Everett spent the last
sixteen years in the Air Force and he recognized one of the guys but
couldn’t think of his name.
“Cole knocked the shit out of Collin but let the three of them leave w…”
“What the fuck was he thinking?” Luke bursts out, standing up so quickly
his chair falls over.
“That they were outnumbered and beaten. We were right outside Remy’s so
three dead bodies would have been a bitch to hide,” I shoot back.
“Curs like them will take it as a weakness and just strike back harder,” Luke
explains. “You’ll stay here tonight. Tomorrow we’ll all go talk to your
family.”
“He’s staying in my room, then.” Lila speaks up.
Exhaling through his nose as he glares at me, Luke finally nods. “Claim
each other already, make it official.”
“Luke, I should have trusted you more. I’m sorry,” Lila’s eyes fill with tears
as she makes her apology. “And Gabe, I’m sorry I made you wait.”
I pull her tighter against my chest as Luke reaches over to squeeze her hand.
“All those years we didn’t know we had a sibling out there. Then when I
saw how they treated you after your mother had died, Lila? I get that you’re
hesitant around us from time to time, but you’ve gotta know: we’re family.
We aren’t complete without you, so you’re stuck with us now.” Luke’s
smile relaxes my mate and has her reaching for him. I push down the
jealousy I feel when she hugs him. Next, she embraces Law before looking
back to me.
“Come on, Gabe. I’ll show you my room,” Lila winks at me and I dart up
the stairs after her, hearing her brothers swearing behind me.
Slamming her door shut behind me, I look over to see her already in the
center of her bed and removing her top. I’m on her instantly, licking the
curve of her neck, I draw back to look in her eyes. She knows what I’m
about and gives me a nod.
Without hesitation, I sink my teeth into her. They pierce her soft flesh easily
and at the first taste of blood, I wipe my tongue over the marks to start the
healing process. Tilting my head to the side to give her access to my neck,
she copies my motions – sealing our fate and bond to each other.
*
Hours later there’s a light tap against the door and we both start awake.
“Meet us downstairs,” Luke orders.
“What’s going on,” I ask when we make our way to the kitchen. “What’s
that smell?”
“Yeah, I sleep with my window cracked open, always have. There’s a fire
out there somewhere and about ten minutes ago, I heard wolves. Not
anywhere close, but we need to get out there,” Luke tells us as Law stares
down the coffee machine as it slowly drips into the pot. “I called our
cousins. They can’t smell anything which makes me think that the smell is
coming from the direction of your family’s land.”
“Law, can you stay here with Lila?” I ask and quickly get an elbow in my
ribs.
“I’m coming with you, mate.” Lila glares at me and I quickly look to Luke
for help.
“When you claimed her, I lost my Alpha bond,” Luke’s quiet reply has
Lila’s head whipping towards him. She squints her eyes as if focusing on
him.
“Oh my God, Luke,” my mate looks sad and more than a little lost. “I didn’t
notice until now.”
“It’s how it should be, sweetie,” Luke crosses and hugs her. “Remember
how you told me, you never responded to your step-father’s Alpha when
you were growing up? That he held no control over you? It was because
you were always supposed to be here. Now, you’re meant to be with your
mate’s pride, um, sorry – clan.”
“We go with that. Technically, a family grouping of bears is a sloth…”
Law barks out a laugh, finally moving his eyes away from the coffee pot.
“And that’s why we don’t use the phrase.” I continue, ignoring the feel of
Lila’s body shaking in silent laughter.
“Come on,” Lila pulls me to the door. “Law, turn off the coffee machine
before you leave!”
Outside, we quickly change and run through the woods; my lumbering pace
prohibits Lila and Luke from running full out but also lets Law catch up to
us. Regardless, we’re at what’s left of my home in enough time to see the
fire crew put out the last of the flames. Shifting into human form, I tell the
others to go three houses up from mine. Cole’s home is at the head of the
lane onto our land and we’re all going to need to talk tonight.
Hanging back near the tree line, I finally spot Ruby in a truck with my
brothers and Rett. Giving her a nod, I form the letter ‘C’ with my hand
before stepping back and shifting into my bear form. Catching up to the
others, I walk up to the back door of Cole’s house before transforming back.
Aubree quickly opens at my knock, sticking a robe out through the crack in
the door.
“Can you find three more cover-ups? I brought some company,” I ask.
Part Two
 Chapter 6

Lila
“Wait. But how?” Maura asks again. Gabe had previously told me about her
degree in the sciences, so I’m guessing that the news of our relationship
probably boggles her mind also.
“I tried them again,” Aubree says, walking back into the room, holding her
phone up. “Cole says that they’re being interviewed one at a time and will
hopefully be home soon. It’s definitely arson and Maura’s dad is working
with the fire chief.”
“Let’s just go back home.” Law interjects before waving in the direction of
Luke, Lila, and me. “The three of you can then drive back around to the
burned out shell of your house and explain to the cops how you were
having a lack-of-pajama party with our baby sister.”
“Law!” I scream. My cheeks blaze red, having just met Aubree and Maura
like twenty minutes ago. “I’m really sorry. We don’t get out much.”
“Maura!” A new voice yells from the front room and a man, I suspect is
Slate, comes barreling into the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” Maura finally looks away from us.
“Just needed to hold you,” he says in a calmer voice. Looking up at the rest
of us, his eyes freeze at the sight of Gabe holding me so tightly. “Brother?”
“Lila’s my mate.” Gabe responds without hesitation and Slate lets out a
whistle.
“I need a drink,” he says.
“Sounds good to me,” Luke deadpans.
“I should probably get the good stuff,” Aubree says wandering out of the
room. A moment later, she comes back in with some fancy looking whiskey
and starts setting out glasses and ice.
“My house just burned down, so I’m gonna take you up on that,” Gabe
laughs.
He’s halfway through his glass when the back door opens and three more
people come walking through. The woman is undoubtedly a Major, her dark
hair and facial features giving her away. She only hesitates for a second
before she crosses to me.
“You’re his lion?” Her amazing smile beams up at me and I nod, putting my
glass down. She throws her arms around me and squeezes me tightly.
“Luke, Law,” Cole nods at my brothers but gives me a confused look.
“This is our sister, Lila,” Luke starts but looks to Gabe to finish the
introduction.
“Cole, Lila’s my mate. I’m sorry we kept it from everyone but we were…”
Gabe stops talking when Cole strides towards him; grabbing the back of his
head, he leans down to whisper something in his ear.
“You were together tonight? That’s how…” Cole’s voice cracks when he
straightens up and looks over at me.
“I claimed her tonight. That’s why I wasn’t home.” Gabe answers the
question that Cole isn’t able to complete right now.
Cole reaches an arm out and pulls me towards them. “Welcome.”
The moment he touches me, I feel the pull of my new Alpha and the
uncertainty I had felt since Luke had woken us up fades away. Looking up
at him, I can see he realizes it also.
“Luke?” Cole looks over at him.
“We’re in it now, brother,” Luke replies. “We’ve got to figure out who these
mothers’ are and make sure they aren’t able to hurt us again.”
His words make my stomach ache, but I understand that the problem is at
our doorstep whether or not we acknowledge it and a strong show of force
can protect us all from future attacks.
Gabe
“Well, let’s think about this.” Maura begins. “We only have one name to go
on, but if they did buy land there will be deeds we can look up in county
records. I haven’t seen anything come across my desk about the lands that
border the park but those notifications can sometimes get tied up,
regardless, we have to figure they’re going to want easy access to the
woods…”
Maura stops talking when she sees everyone staring at her slack-jawed.
“Oh, I guess, I wasn’t thinking. Y’all can scent them also, right? Probably
pick up a trail.” Maura’s bear hasn’t emerged yet, so she hasn’t come to
depend on her other senses like we do.
“Great ideas, Maura,” Cole smiles at her. “Gabe, why don’t you, Slate, and
I head over to Remy’s? We can try to follow their scent from last night.
Rett, you thought you knew one of them – I want you focused on that. We
can get a lot further with a full name. Aubree, talk to your grandmother. See
what she knows about any newcomers.
“Maura and Ruby, can you two work on the records end of things? I know
that’ll probably be tedious but helpful.” Cole’s eyes shift to Luke next.
“Law and I will start from our end of the park, combing the woods for any
sign. I know Leland’s out with a backpacker group today and tomorrow, but
I’ll call Lendry and have him meet us,” Luke picks up with plans for his
pride.
“What about me?” Lila asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“Lila, how about if you come with me?” Aubree responds. “We can go and
see my Gram together. I’d like to get to know you also, if I’m being totally
honest.”
Lila exhales at that and quickly nods in agreement. “Sure, I’d just like to
run home and grab some of my own clothes first.”
I have to smile. Lila is half a head taller than Aubree so the pants do look a
little silly on her.
That settled, Aubree volunteers to drive the three lions home so they can get
their plans in motion a bit faster. Looking around, I tug Lila into the laundry
room but I immediately forget what I wanted to say and kiss her instead.
My hands curl under her ass and I pull her up my body, angry at the clothes
separating us.
“I have a question,” she gasps out and I growl into her neck. “Where are we
going to live?”
“Fuck.” I press my forehead against hers. “It hasn’t really hit me that I’m
homeless.”
“I’ll talk to Luke about you staying with us, alright?” Lila offers and I
mumble under my breath. “What was that?”
“As much fun as living down the hall from your brothers while we’re
having sex all night sounds, Ruby has a spare room in her basement.” My
kiss cuts off her next words before I continue. “The good news is, you get
to build your dream home, sweetheart.”
“That sounds fun, but why don’t you focus on getting back to me safely?”
She holds my face in between her hands. “I love you, Gabe.”
“I love you…” My words are cut off by Luke pounding on the laundry
room door.
“Let’s get moving,” he yells through the barrier. “Fucker can’t keep his
hands off of her.” He says to someone in a slightly lower voice.
 Chapter 7

Gabe
Ruby takes the three of us to Remy’s and Cole pops out, undressing before
he shifts to search the area we saw the wolves drag themselves towards
when the fight was over. Coming back to the truck, he quickly shifts back;
shuddering as the cold air hits his human flesh.
“I’ve got their trail and I think there was at least one other wolf in the tree
line from the smell of things.” He briefs us. “I want you all to hear this.
Before we split up, I spoke with Luke. And as much as I hate it, we are
going to have to cripple or kill some of them if we’re going to survive this.
“Ruby, I’m sure you know I had Rett stand down last night. He’s new to our
life and I don’t want him getting a taste for blood and thinking that’s what
life will be like for him now. I get the impression he had a hard go of it on
the battlefield already and it might be healthier for him to, Jesus, the term is
stand down, isn’t it? I can’t even believe I have to talk like this.” Cole runs
his hand through his hair. “We best get moving.”
Hearing the news, we undress to join him on the hunt. Looking back, I see
tears in Ruby’s eyes and while it’s painful to see her upset – we all have
claimed our mates now, so any of us dying, dooms them as well. It’s not
just our own survival we’re fighting for anymore.
*
Hours later, we happen upon the freshest wolf scent since we started. I can
sense Cole’s wariness and at his signal I hang back as he moves forward,
Slate trailing him by twenty feet or so. Staying behind is never easy, but
Slate is Cole’s second and this is how our father trained us. Obeying our
Alpha is everything and protecting his flank is my responsibility.
As I wait, the wind kicks up and a scent hits me that’s familiar but
repugnant to me all at once: my mate’s Uncle Leroy. She hasn’t spoken
much about him, which in itself demonstrates her dislike as well as her
reticence to put her feelings about him into words. I think the strongest
indicator of his character is that he was passed over for Alpha when her
father left.
It isn’t close enough to be a concern, but if the lions don’t trust him, I know
to be on my guard. That thought ceases when I look up to see Cole and
Slate running towards me. I instantly assess our surroundings – the Harts
aren’t far from here so I strike out in that direction, knowing that my
brothers will follow me. A mile or so passes before I realize that we aren’t
being followed and I slow down to a more manageable pace. Let’s be clear,
we bears tend to bulkier this time of year.
Breaking into the clearing near Lila’s cousin’s house, I immediately see
Leland on their porch; his eyes on the woods behind us and his nose in the
air.
“Come on up. Lana’s grabbing clothes.” He says without looking at us.
Shifting back to my human form, I walk straight to him with my hand
extended. “I’m Gabe.”
“Yeah. Two of the city folk from my tour got sick and I had to get them out
early. Been hearing your name ever since.” He smirks at me. “Law’s not
fond of you banging his sister all night and Uncle Leroy swears mixing
species is an abomination. Welcome to the family.”
“Save that crap for later,” Cole comes up behind me. “Slate and I tracked
them to the gully about ten miles from here. We’re facing at least a dozen
full-grown wolves.”
“What the fuck!” Leland stands up to full height. “Ain’t never heard of a
shifter pack that big.”
“No shit.” Cole growls while moving towards the door into their home. “I
couldn’t get a read on which one was the Alpha and that’s what’s really
pissing me off. Our best chance of protecting ourselves is cutting off the
head of the snake.”
“Our best chance of protecting ourselves is working together. Maybe Lila’s
abomination is well timed?” Leland drawls out. I cock my head and grin
when it occurs to me that he uses his drawn out words and outdated phrases
to mask who he is. From the look on Cole and Slate’s faces, I can tell
they’ve come to the same conclusion.
“Do you have any idea where Luke is? We need to regroup and figure this
out.” I ask.
“Yep. In situations like this, we work on a grid system. Whoever’s at home
knows to drive to different mile markers at different times, if nothing else
than to catch a glimpse of our pride passing by.”
“’Situations like this’?” Slate repeats as he grips the towel around his waist,
looking relieved when Lana reemerges with basketball shorts.
“Technically, the last situation like this was your family moving to
Havenwood,” Lana speaks up. “Guess your grandparents caused quite an
uproar with our great-grandparents.”
“The difference being, as soon as they caught wind of our family,” Leland
smiles at his little joke. “The Majors immediately came to talk things out.
As shifters know to do – except for these bastards who want to burn us out
and take what we have.”
“Are you guys hungry?” Lana asks. “There’s about an hour before the next
meet and it’ll only take fifteen or so minutes to get to it.”
“I could eat.” Slate says without hesitation. Cole and I look at each other
and smirk. Seriously, we’re within weeks of winter’s onslaught. Us bears
will eat anyone out of house and home.
Lila
“Well, who do we have here?” Aubree’s grandmother, Molly, asks when she
opens the door to us.
“Hi Gram. This is Luke Hart’s sister, Lila. She’s dating Gabe.” Aubree
announces. She had already told me that her gram doesn’t know about
shifters, so I’m following her lead.
“Oh my! You’re Linda’s daughter!” Molly exclaims. “Of course, I can see it
now.”
“You knew my mother?” I ask, excited about talking to someone that can
tell me more about my mother and maybe my birth-father.
“I did and I’m sorry – well, that you lost her.” Her response is lack luster
and I immediately sense that she didn’t care for my mom. “She worked at
my restaurant for, well, just a few months at one point. The work didn’t
really suit her, I suppose.”
“Gram, what are you baking? I don’t know about Lila, but I’m starving!”
Aubree stops what’s quickly becoming an awkward conversation.
“Blueberry muffins, wash up and meet me in the kitchen,” Molly winks at
us and I follow Aubree to the guest bathroom.
“I’m sorry about that!” Aubree whispers.
“It’s okay. My mom kind of had a short attention span,” I smile at her.
“Come on, her muffins are amazing but she won’t tell me her secret.”
I follow Aubree back to the kitchen and while it might be a bit of a time-
suck, I eagerly dive into the treat. Fuck! The muffins are still warm and oh,
so moist. I close my eyes in pleasure at the flavor of the blueberries
exploding over my taste buds.
“I want to eat these every day for the rest of my life,” my moan gets Molly
laughing. I hope she doesn’t think I’m kidding?
“Hey, Gram, I wanted to ask,” Aubree says between bites of blueberry
yumminess. “Some guys came into Remy’s last night. They were pretty
aggressive and said they had just bought some land around here. I hope they
haven’t caused any problems for Berry Delicious? I don’t think I’ve seen
them before but you know everyone.”
“Goodness, that joint seems to get rougher with every passing year,” Molly
says, pushing another muffin in my direction. “Let’s see, there was one
surly customer the other day when you were off – I think I mentioned it to
you? He said the coffee wasn’t fit for pigs and tossed it on the floor. He
hadn’t had a haircut or shave in some time but his friend was really well
groomed – what is the military saying? High and tight?”
Aubree and I share a look as I’m taking a huge bite out of my second
muffin.
“Wow, you must know everyone around here, with food like yours?” I
contribute, hoping to keep her talking even though I’m eyeing the muffins
behind her.
“Lila,” Molly places her hand right over mine. “I can only think of one
reason why Aubree brought you here today, you can ask me plain out.”
I try to gulp down the muffin in my mouth but it sticks to my throat. I reach
for my cup of water as my eyes nervously dart to Aubree. “Umm.”
“Sweetheart, your dad would come by the café to eat but he was never a
talker. I was just as shocked as everyone else when word got around that
Luke had brought his long-lost sister home.” Molly’s big, kind eyes study
my face. “Now, did you say that you’re dating Gabe?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I nod.
“Here you have me talking nonsense after that poor man’s house burned
down!” Molly glares at Aubree. “Is he alright?”
“Yes, um, he was at our house when it happened,” I confess.
“My word! That was lucky, wasn’t it?” Molly winks at me so quick I think
I’m imagining it. “I suppose I should welcome you to the family, Lila. If
Gabe’s anything like his siblings, you’ll be engaged any day now.”
My cheeks burn red at her words, but Aubree distracts her; asking about
people they both know.
 Chapter 8

Lila
“I can’t believe she sent these all with us!” I exclaim for the third time,
enjoying the smell from the container of muffins I’m holding.
“She said we have to share them,” Aubree rolls her eyes at me. “But besides
that! You were born a shifter! I have so many questions for you, I won’t
bombard you today but I barely know anything about babies let alone
shifter babies.”
“I don’t know how much help I’ll be with that, but I’d like to hear about
your transition. That must have been weird.” I smile back at her. “Oh!
Lana’s calling. Let me get this.”
In another moment, I hold up my hand and signal to the side of the road, I
tell Lana we’ll meet up with them before disconnecting.
“Cole, Gabe, and Slate found the wolves. They’re with my cousins now but
I know where the next check in point that Luke, Law, and Lendry will keep
an eye out for us. We should head there…”
“Let’s call Maura and Ruby now also,” Aubree cuts in. “Grab my phone;
they’re both in my favorites.”
Giving Aubree directions to where everyone will meet up, I call them next.
“From the sounds of things, we’ll need the numbers if it comes down to a
fight.” I look over at Aubree, who looks worried.
“I don’t think you’ve heard, but I’m pregnant and Maura hasn’t transitioned
yet,” Aubree tries to let my idea of an even fight down easy. This
unfortunate bit of news brings our numbers down to ten.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Congratulations!” I’m so worried about a confrontation that
it takes me a minute to catch up to the good news she relayed. “I guess I
really didn’t think about transitioning for the first time would be difficult.
How does that work?”
“Painful to be honest. That first time I could feel everything changing. My
bear’s a little on the shy side, Cole really had to coax her out, but the first
time I was able to go out on a run with everyone was wonderful. Maura’s
beyond frustrated at this point,” she shrugs her shoulder. “She’ll get there.
Oh, I’ve got a bunch of sweatpants in the back, if you could grab those for
whoever wants to change back to two legs? I haven’t gotten used to that
part of things yet.” She says and I almost giggle, until my lioness starts to
growl at the thought of others seeing Gabe naked.
Pulling onto the road, we see the small grouping of lions and bears in the
field ahead of us. No sign of Ruby and Maura yet. Gabe’s bear is slightly
lighter than his brothers and instantly starts toward me. Of course, I forget
the sweats. The pull I feel is too new and strong.
Kneeling, I wrap my arms around his neck and spread my fingers through
his thick fur. “Hmmm, I got my very own teddy bear for Christmas this
year.” I whisper in his ear, getting a loud gawf noise in return. I hope that’s
a laugh.
Aubree follows behind with the pants and Cole changes back to human
form. “Gabe, get back to the tree line. The last thing we need now is to be
spotted in the open. I see you called Ruby?” Cole nods to the lane behind us
that Ruby has just turned onto.
Even though Ruby’s driving, Rett quickly jumps out to get the door for her.
I look over to where I know Gabe is waiting and smile, thinking about how
backwards our relationship has been and long for a first date with my mate.
It’s a silly thing to think of at this time and dating is really not a shifter
concept but the human side of me would like to give it a whirl.
Gabe
My bear has never struggled against my Alpha’s orders this badly before. I
know he changed to be able to talk to Luke when he gets here but he
wanted Slate and I in bear form since our senses are stronger this way.
When Ruby arrives and Rett treats her with the respect she’s due, my mate’s
eyes take on a dreamy quality as she looks over at me. The next possible
chance I get, I’m taking her out to dinner. Slate mentioned some fancy
Italian place in town, so I’ll buy her a new dress with some shoes and take
her there.
Looking around at everyone, Lila notices that the rest of our family are
carrying on different conversations so she makes her way towards me and
the bees that built up in my stomach settle down the closer she gets.
Just as she’s reaching her hand out to touch me again, the wind changes and
my body tenses up. Maura isn’t far behind Lila and beside me, Slate lets out
a low growl.
“It’s Luke,” Lila whispers, instantly calming us down again. Looking over
her shoulder, she calls out, “Cole, my brothers and Lendry are almost here.”
Cole kisses Aubree and takes a pair of pants from her before striding
towards us; everyone else is in his wake.
With the wind working again him, I can tell the exact moment Luke realizes
he has a welcoming committee. The three of them slink through the woods
so gracefully compared to my family, it’s almost comical. They close the
gap quickly and two of the lions find low hanging branches to stand guard
on, while the larger one walks straight up to Cole. His transition is so fluid
that he’s reaching for the offered pants even as his paw is changing into a
hand.
“What’s happened?” Luke’s voice is raspy from the shift.
“We found them, all gathered together,” Cole answers. “At least twelve. We
only watched for a few minutes, with the way the winds have been blowing
I didn’t want to risk anything longer – I couldn’t get a read on an Alpha
among them. They were in that gully, west of your cousins’ place.”
“Twelve?” The shock in Luke’s voice is evident. “And without a clear read
on an Alpha, if he wasn’t there…”
“Then there could be more,” Leland interjects.
“Any updates from the research today?” Cole looks back to the group.
“Yeah, I called some of my old buddies,” Rett speaks up. “Tom Hasgrove is
the name of the guy I recognized at Remy’s the other night. The ladies
research didn’t find his name on anything around here, so that wasn’t much
help. Ruby wasn’t sure, but is there any chance the wolves would have
changed him unless it was a mating situation? Hell, maybe he was a shifter
when he was in the Air Force. I have no way of knowing.”
Luke and Cole share a look and I already know the answer: There’s no way
of knowing with wolf shifters.
That’s what our dad said anytime we came across that species when we
were growing up. We were taught from a young age to stay away from the
Hart’s territory, but there weren’t ever any problems with them. Anytime
we were in proximity to each other, we had been taught to retreat unless we
were within our property lines.
It was other shifter species passing through that was considered dangerous.
Grandpa and Dad also taught us to scent out the difference between
common animals and shifters, to back off them in the park – again, unless
they neared our land. Our land was to be defended at all costs.
“Alright, Cole, what do you think about us all going home? We get some
rest and start out to the gully a couple hours before dawn. Weed out a
couple of their guards and get some information?” Luke suggests.
“We don’t even know if they’ll be there. It almost seemed like they were
gathering for some reason. Until we find their…”
With the shifting wind, we all whip around. The six wolves that had been
creeping towards us understand that their cover is blown and rush in –
knowing that Luke and Cole are weakest in their human form, they lunge
towards us.
“Rett! Protect them!” Cole yells, pointing towards Aubree and Ruby before
he transitions.
Lila is still standing by my side, but within seconds she shifts and jumps
onto the back of a wolf that’s engaged another lion. I can’t tell her family
apart at this point and I’m so torn as to which way to turn that I don’t notice
the large gray wolf before he moves to attack me.
A horrifying scream tears through the air. My head whips around to see a
russet colored bear throw its body between me and the wolf. With the
impact of the two animals, I hear the crunch of bones and whimpers from
both animals. Slate briefly roars before twisting his head and ripping the
throat out of the wolf next to him.
As I turn to pin down the wolf who had tried to sneak up on me, he jumps
on top of it and tears into its stomach. Looking up, I see where I’m needed
and run past him to help one of the lions who is under attack. Lowering my
head, I ram into its side – dislodging its hold on the neck of the lion.
Without hesitation the lion turns it neck and bites into its leg, pulling it from
the wolf’s body.
The three remaining wolves turn and retreat, while the wolf that’s down to
three legs transitions back to human form.
“Maura!” My head twists again at Slate’s cry. The russet bear that jumped
in to save me changes back to human form, almost one limb at a time; in a
sickening parody of what comes so easily to us natural born shifters.
Slate hovers over her, unsure of where he could touch her without causing
any further pain. Her low moans cut through the maddening cries of the
wolf shifter who is now down to two legs and one arm.
Within moments, we’re all back in our human forms. The lions start to
work on stemming the blood loss from the stump of the wolf’s arm – and
isn’t it Simon? The tough guy we met at Remy’s the night before doesn’t
seem like he’ll make it much longer.
“What the fuck is this about?” Luke howls. “This is our land. Why hasn’t
your Alpha come to me?”
“Our Alpha doesn’t need your permission for shit.” Simon tries to sound
strong, but his color is fading quickly. “He’s building an army. You’ll
submit to him soon enough.”
“Slate?” Cole asks, trying to keep a respectful distance from Maura’s naked
body. “What does she need?”
“I have to get her home, she needs to heal,” Slate, who has always sounded
so sure of himself, nearly sounds broken as he tries to pick her up without
moving her obviously broken ribs too much.
Cole grips his shoulder, and looks towards the trucks. Rett is in wolf form,
standing between us and Ruby and Aubree. The fight started and ended so
quickly there wasn’t time for them to do anything.
“Aubree, can you bring them home?” Cole asks his mate gently.
“Brother?” With Maura in his arms, Slate looks back at the now human,
naked dead bodies on the ground.
“Take care of your mate, we’ll handle this,” I answer for Cole.
Remembering the first time that Aubree changed, I’m sure that Maura will
need some time to recover.
“Wait!” Luke calls out. “We need to get a move on. We’ve been here too
long. Cole, hang back with me for a minute. But more of you should fit in
that truck.”
Without pause, the rest of the lions step forward to follow Luke’s orders.
Law is the only one to stay back.
“Lila?” I hold my hand out to her to pull her along. My mate isn’t used to
her new clan yet and looks a little lost when Luke’s words don’t have any
impact on her. “Sit on my lap?”
“But…”
“We’ll make your cousins sit in the back. I’m sure there’s a blanket or
something.” I swing her into my arms when she starts to look embarrassed.
“I call the truck bed!” Leland yells before running and leaping into it – balls
out naked.
Lendry goes racing after him. “Lana, gets the back seat next them!”
“What?” Lana looks confused before she puts the pieces together.
“SHOTGUN! I’m not sitting next to…NO. Eww.”
Aubree giggles and pulls out long shirts for the women but throws the two
blankets in the back for the Hart brothers. Slate carefully gets into the back
seat next to Lila and me. Giving a nod to Aubree, he instructs her to drive
slowly.
 Chapter 9

Gabe
“Something’s not right,” Aubree says as she pulls around to the back of
their house.
“Stay inside the truck!” Leland calls out, smacking the roof. “It smells like
wolf.”
“That would be me,” says the guy that Rett had recognized from the
military, Tom or whatever his name was. He’s exiting the kitchen door with
a towel wrapped around his waist. “I was hoping to talk to your Alpha.”
From the driver’s seat, Aubree calls Ruby.
“Hey, what’s up?” Ruby answers. “You’re on speaker.”
“That Tom guy is at our house. He wants to talk to Cole.” There’s a chorus
of swearing from everyone in her truck.
“We just pulled onto the highway, we’ll be there in ten minutes,” Cole
responds.
I slide out, motioning for Lila to stay behind me. “Leland, Lendry? Cole
and Luke will be here shortly. Let’s get everyone inside. I don’t like being
exposed like this.”
“Yeah, come on in. I just turned on the coffee pot,” Tom smirks at us.
“Asshole,” Aubree mumbles.
“Might want to be nicer, Mrs. Hart.” He smarts back before Leland grabs
his arm and twists it behind his back then shoves him into one of the chairs
in the corner of the living room.
“Sit, doggy,” Lendry snarls.
Slate carries Maura up to one of the bedrooms and Aubree quickly tasks
Lana with bringing them ice packs and helping them out.
Without discussing it, we all take different positions at the windows around
the room; making sure there aren’t any other wolves outside the house.
Before long, Ruby’s truck flies up to the front of the house and Cole, Luke,
and Rett are instantly moving towards the barely used front door, while Law
escorts Ruby in.
“Why are you here?” Cole asks without hesitation.
“Today I was given orders to kill your mate,” Tom says and for the first
time lets his mask slip away. The man before us is in physical pain from
denying his wolf’s Alpha.
“I recognized you in town a few days back. We overlapped at Ellsworth,
didn’t we?” He looks around Cole to meet Rett’s eyes. “Medical discharge
ended my service. My uncle contacted me not long after that. I was kinda
floundering. I didn’t know what to do next. He had mated – had been
changed by a wolf shifter – but she died in childbirth and…
“Well, he sold me a bill of goods. That the muscles in my legs would heal,
I’d be stronger than ever – all that shit. I let him bite me and, yeah, I’m
stronger but I’m still not the kind of guy who’d murder a woman.” Tom
takes a deep breath.
“Thank you for coming to us,” Aubree’s soft voice carries through the room
and he nods in reply.
“My uncle’s name is Ted Smith. He bought that old warehouse on the edge
of town and the land across the road from it. We’re really just camping out
there. Ted was in construction before, seems he’s thinking of trying to get
some large bids with a resort that’s looking to build near here,” Tom
continues. “I think he changed after his mate died. I don’t know if it’s true
but I’ve heard that most shifters die after something like. He hasn’t really
bothered to give us any guidance in this life, we just know how it feels if we
disobey him.”
“What are you going to do now?” I ask.
“I was hoping to leave. Maybe see if I could find others,” Tom shrugs.
“There’s a small pack in Oregon,” Luke speaks up for the first time. “When
I came across them, years ago, they lived near Bridal Veil Falls. The thing
you gotta understand is you can’t just go around making shifters for fun. I
ain’t eager to let you leave here unless we’re real clear on that.”
“I can understand that,” Tom looks around nervously. “There’s something
else you need to know, Ted’s met with an older lion a few times. Don’t
know his name but I figure he’s related to you somehow.”
Lila lets out a loud gasp before slapping her hand over her mouth.
“Yeah, little kitty,” Tom’s eyes snap to her face and I growl at him, until
Cole’s look silences me. “I’ve heard him say your name. Lila, right? He
don’t like you at all.”
“He’s mine to deal with,” Luke announces and Law pops his knuckles,
suddenly looking excited.
“Agreed,” Cole says. “Unless he steps foot near our land.”
“Alright. I’d like to get on the road now, if no one minds?” Tom asks. “My
skin is crawling being around her.” He motions to Aubree and I realize that
he thinks distance is all he’ll need to shrug off his Alpha’s control.
“On the condition we don’t see you again,” Cole answers, looking at Luke
for his agreement.
“Sure. We’ll kill you if we do.” Luke’s face has gone cold and I can tell he
means it. With that, Tom stands and tosses the towel onto the chair he
vacated before marching out the back door.
“You were right earlier, Luke,” Cole reaches his hand out to my mate’s
brother. “My brothers and I do need to get more aggressive about the
wolves. We’ll prepare and hope you’ll stand with us.”
“I may not be her Alpha anymore,” Luke smiles at the woman beside me as
he shakes Cole’s hand. “But, yes, us lions will stand with our family.”
“Oh, Ruby,” I turn to her. “You don’t mind if we move into your basement
for a while, do ya, sis?”
 Chapter 10

Lila
“Is that the last load?” Gabe asks as Law carries a box into Ruby’s
basement.
“Yep. Lila, how the hell did you get this much stuff into your bedroom?”
Law looks around in bewilderment. “I mean your room wasn’t anywhere
near this size!”
“Feminine mysteries. You don’t want to know!” Ruby laughs at him as she
brings down a basket of clothes. “Gabe, I took up a collection from the
guys. This should keep you dressed until you can get to the mall.”
Gabe groans and wraps his arms tighter me. “I hate shopping.”
“It’ll be fun,” I whisper back. “Maybe we can pick up some nighties for me
while we’re there?”
“Jesus, Lila!” Law yells, turning on his heal and stomping upstairs. “Not
when I’m in hearing distance! How many times do I have to say that?”
“Thank you for helping today, Law!” I call out in between giggles.
“I’ll let you two get settled. Maybe we can have dinner together in a couple
hours?” Ruby asks us.
“Nope,” I cheerfully reject her invite. “Tonight’s our first date.”
“About time!” Law calls down from the kitchen.
“Have fun,” Ruby winks at us.
I turn in Gabe’s arms in time to see him smothering a yawn. “Are you too
tired? Do you want to move…”
“No. We are having our date, Lila.” My mate kisses me and I shimmy up
his body, wrapping my legs around his waist. Gabe quickly figures out what
else I want.
“I can’t get enough of you,” I moan as he sets me on the bed and strips out
of his clothes.
“Likewise, beautiful,” he struggles with the button on my jeans but soon
enough is pulling them down and licking my slit. “I need to be in you.
Right. Now.”
Pushing himself up, he guides his cock to my waiting core, teasing me with
it until he finally shoves himself inside me.
“That’s so fucking goooood, Gabe,” I arch up under him.
“I swear it gets better every time,” he says as he pulls back and thrusts into
me.
“I know. I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like when I’m in heat.” I bite out
as he pounds his cock into me harder and harder until my orgasm pulls him
over the edge with me.
“Heat?” Gabe lifts his head up after a moment.
“I’m a lioness. We go into heat, y’know.” I grin up at him and enjoy the feel
of his cock twitching inside me as he digests what I said.
We never made it out on our date. Maybe one day…
 Epilogue

Gabe
As I let myself in the kitchen door, Lila is peeling potatoes at the sink and
our four kids are seated at the booth I had built into one corner of the room.
They recently saw one of Lila’s favorite movies and are chanting, “Lions
and tigers and bears, oh my!”
“There better not be any tigers,” I wink at Lila. “Or your mommy’s gonna
be in big trouble.”
“Can mommy’s get in trouble?” Asks Raine, our precocious four-year old.
“Only if one of you is a tiger,” Lila laughs, playing along as I kiss the side
of her neck.
“I got them,” I whisper into her ear.
“Nope, just lions and bears,” Forrest replies, in his typically serious manner.
“What did you get, Daddy?” Willow narrows her eyes at me and I sigh, I
really should have kept my mouth shut. She and Forrest are about to turn
seven and agreed on an Oz themed party; once that decision was made, I
went on a very important hunt.
Sparkly red shoes for her and Raine.
“Never you mind,” Lila pipes back up. “Why don’t you all clear the table
and get cleaned up for dinner?”
Three of them start groaning, but our middle child, Stone, simply gets up to
bring us the drawing he was working on. There are winged monkeys
playing catch in the sky and a lion and bear curled up together in a meadow
below them. I immediately crouch down to ask if his mom and I are the
animals in the field and I get a big smile and nod in reply - before he runs
off after the others.
“He was humming again today,” Lila murmurs and we share another
embrace.
Our twins came and surprised all of us, in that, Forrest is a bear and
Willow’s a lion. When Stone was born a year and half later, I got wind of
the pool that Law had organized for the rest of the family: lion or bear and
age at first change. Thankfully, Law never disclosed my wager to Lila when
she found out.
Stone grew quickly and won the pot for his old man – when he changed into
a lion at four months.
The only thing that bothered all of us is that since Stone was an infant, he
hasn’t made a sound. Mathias, a bear shifter and family friend up in North
Dakota, was able to track down a doctor we could trust. Making Stone the
first member of our family to see a doctor, at least for a couple of
generations. We were assured that he was physically fine, which is all that
really mattered. There was no way we were going to follow up with
specialists though.
Last week, I walked into the playroom as our youngest cub was singing and
heard Stone humming along with Raine. I froze in the doorway with my
jaw open, trying not to cry. That night when I was giving him his bath and
Lila was putting Raine to bed, she gently questioned our daughter about her
brother’s humming. Raine didn’t think anything of it when she said, “He
does that sometimes.”
We quickly sent an email out to our siblings and Lila’s cousins. We decided
not to bring it up again with any of the children or make a big deal over it in
his presence.
As both my family and Lila’s has learned – family isn’t always the neat
little units we were born into. Sometimes it’s a crazy ass mix of oil and
vinegar that works out a hell of a lot better when we’re shaken up and
tossed together.
A big thank you to Elisa Leigh and all of our readers! And an apology for
the delay on this book, typing with a broken finger was slow going. XO,
Merin

More books by M. Merin:

Slate’s Surrender (Black Hills Shifters Book 2)

Northern Grizzlies MC Series
Jasper (Book 1)
Flint (Book 2)
Gunner (Book 3)
Charlie (Book 4)
Michaels (Book 5)
Betsy (Book 6)
Shade (Book 7)
Coming summer of 2019: Royce (Book 8)
Coming December 2018: His Touch