Her Lion Guard 2 (Paranormal Shifter Romance) Page 6

  “Sorry, Jay,” the Wolf growled at the wild-eyed man beneath him, “But I have no time for you tonight.”

  Wiley rammed a powerful fist in the very center of Jonas’ chest before the Lion Shifter could so much as snarl back. The hit would have but winded the man, stalled him for mere moments – if it had not also slammed him backwards, straight into the metal railing. Had Jonas been human, the impact would have shattered his spine, cracked his skull and spilled his brains against the moonlit roof. As it was, the Lion Shifter lost consciousness, horror tightening his face moments before darkness took over his mind. Jonas knew what was to happen, what had happened. Wiley smirked; good.

  Wiley let Jonas’ body collapse where it would, blood-lust receding as his focus returned to the plan at hand. Violence still raged around him, the Snake and Fox fighting back to back against four wild-eyed Wolves. Wiley sought out the two missing members of his pack, snorting in disgust to find a scarred woman cowering over the fallen body of a gray wolf not far from where he stood. Wiley kicked her in passing, growling as she let out a mournful whine. Pathetic. Had he more time, he would have taught the weaklings a lesson.

  The human had fallen motionless at some point during the short skirmish. Wiley studied her limp body: His eyes traveled up her bared neck, catching on the mating marks there. The Wolf wondered what it would feel like to put his own teeth there – not to Mark, no, but to tear, to chew through skin and muscle and bone. Wiley licked his lips, tasting phantom blood on his tongue.

  Wiley ignored the disconcerting slackness of Mary-Lou’s face, the empty eyes with which she regarded all and everything around her. The girl was easy to pick up, to sling over a broad shoulder – and so he did, pleased to encounter no resistance. Had she been this compliant before… well, she would have been dead sooner. The Wolf howled in triumph, steps picking up speed until he was running across the roof. He did not forget to wave jauntily at the remnants of Mary-Lou’s pack just before he swung off the ledge. Their angry screams had him laughing the entire way down.

  Wiley landed in a crouch, muscles tensing briefly as flesh smacked against stone. His body absorbed the impact, and he was quickly off and running again. A large, black jeep waited for him by the curb. It was parked mere meters from the front of Mary-Lou’s apartment – Wiley smirked at the appropriate presumptuousness of his men. He set Mary-Lou on the ground as to open the back door.

  It was his first mistake of the night.

  Mary-Lou whimpered in displeasure. The brightness, the warmth around her was receding – too early, much too early for what she needed, what her mind needed to heal. She grasped at the presence of Gloria within her, held on tightly even as it slipped through her fingers like so much sand.

  No, darling, no, her mind whispered, urgent and hard, You must wake up. Mary-Lou shook her head; no, not yet, not yet –

  Mary-Lou, you must wake up!

  Mary-Lou came to with a start. She blinked against the sudden darkness, the change of scenery – this, where was she?

  “What—” Mary-Lou gasped, voice rising in a helpless scream as a bloody hand clamped over her lips.

  “Shut up,” someone – Wiley! It was Wiley! – growled in her ear. Mary-Lou kicked at the man, bit at the flesh pressed against her mouth until her teeth tore skin. The Wolf snarled, gripped her tight enough to bruise. “Fucking bitch,” he spit out. Seconds later, Mary-Lou found herself pushed in the backseat of a car, head smacking hard against the opposite door. She shook dizziness away, groped for the door’s handle – just to have it wrench open beneath her fingers, another body pushing hers further inside. A female Wolf had just entered the car, jaw blood-slicked and eyes fierce. She grasped Mary-Lou’s wrists in one of hers, dragging the disorientated human into her lap and caging her between her thighs.

  “The others?” Wiley growled. The woman shook her head.

  “Fucking Snake Shifted. It’s hell up there.” She quieted, hand tightening around Mary-Lou until the human gasped in pain. “Tony’s dead,” the woman finally ground out. Wiley cursed, nails scratching paint off the car as he slammed the door shut.

  “Keep the bitch still,” he ordered from the front. The rumble of engine, the squeal of tires, and the car swerved onto the road and sped into the night.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Mary-Lou did not like what was going on, and not just because she was currently being held like a child in the lap of a bloodthirsty Wolf Shifter. Anxiety gripped her chest; what had happened, while she was stuck in a golden-tinted trance? Had her family been hurt? And where, for the love of all, was Jonas?

  Mary-Lou knew Jonas would not be separated from her by choice, would protect her and their pack at the cost of his life. The thought left a cold numbness in her mind, made the human woman speak even as fear of her captors shook her weakened body.

  “Wiley, what did you do to Jonas?” The Shifter who held her tightened her grasp about Mary-Lou’s wrists, grinding the fragile bones within against each other. Mary-Lou refused to whimper, glaring up at the smirking woman instead.

  Wiley chuckled, the sound nasal and not at all pleasant. “Why should I tell you?” the Alpha taunted. He was well aware of her panic – enjoyed it, likely, the smug bastard. Mary-Lou bared her teeth, not paying the warning growl the female Wolf let out any mind.

  “You hurt him, didn’t you?” Mary-Lou snarled. “You hurt a man whose only wish was to protect his family. You hurt your friend, and for what? Status? Power? What an honorable man you are!”

  Wiley laughed over the female Wolf’s sharp, Shut it, the sound subsiding behind a nasty grin.

  “My friend? Human, Jonas and I were brothers.” The poisonous grin disappeared as Wiley’s face twisted in a snarl, dark and malicious. “Will be once again, once all is right.”

  “Once you kill all he holds dear, you mean,” Mary-Lou snapped back. She twitched as a clawed hand grasped her throat, sparing a slanted glare for the female Wolf to which it belonged. “Wiley,” she tried again, voice more level and controlled, “You are not stupid. You know there is only one way this will end, and it won’t be with everything going back to how it used to be.” Whatever that was. How Mary-Lou wished she had pressed Jonas for the story of his and Wiley’s time together!

  Wiley said nothing. Mary-Lou stared at the back of the man’s head, astounded at the sheer level of self-delusion the Wolf was exhibiting. How easy you must be to manipulate, she thought, And how obvious in the fact that you are running errands for someone else. Why would she, the symbol of all Wiley detested in this world, still draw breath otherwise? Someone had wanted her alive.

  Mary-Lou wondered who, exactly, was pulling the brute’s strings – which powerful being fed the Alpha blood-soaked fairy tales and pretty lies – and felt exhaustion weight her very soul. Wiley had taken on the role of the bad guy, fit in it easily enough to allow for a quick resolution to the problem he posed: Incapacitate him, and the Alpha will no longer be a threat to Mary-Lou and her family. The shadows that lurked behind Wiley’s brute strength, the manipulative machinations at work somewhere out of view – how was Mary-Lou to bring them to justice? Not for the first time, Mary-Lou wished Fate had handed her a guidebook to account for all the twists and hidden turns Life had laid in her path.

  All had to be brought to light, Mary-Lou thought, if any of it was to change. Wiley was but a part of a larger issue.

  However, as he was her immediate situation… Well. First things first.

  “Stop the car,” Mary-Lou said. She had no intention of meeting Wiley’s masters as she was – dirty and bloody and reeling from mental wounds she had barely begun healing. Mary-Lou was ready to fight, ready to push the two Wolves to their limit before she let them take her away.

  Ready, indeed, for everything but the car’s sudden, screeching stop.

  Mary-Lou spared Wiley’s surprised face but a glance before she was moving. The female Wolf had hit her head during the car’s unexpected maneuver; she did not have much time to rid herself of the di
sorientation that followed as a bony elbow slammed into her right eye, bruising the tender organ and slamming her head into the back window in a single motion. She howled, claws grasping for Mary-Lou even as the human woman slipped out of her grip and the car altogether. The human ran off the road and into the dark forest which surrounded it, pale flesh melting into the shadows of the woods.

  “Stay here!” Wiley growled. The female Wolf turned to regard her Alpha, a slow smile stretching her mouth wide. The man was grinning, eyes blood-red as he stared in the direction Mary-Lou had disappeared; it was full moon tonight. Hunter’s moon.

  “Enjoy the chase,” she purred, her own eyes glowing yellow-green beneath heavy lids.

  “Oh, I will,” Wiley snarled back, muscles tensing and then releasing as he shot off toward the woods.

  Mary-Lou ran. She ducked low branches, evaded the gray shadows of tree-trunks and thanked her lucky stars that the moon shone full and bright above her. A mere human, her senses were limited at the best of times; in the pitch black of an unknown forest, she would have been the easiest of prey without the aid of her sight.

  Mary-Lou knew it was only a matter of time before Wiley found her. Even with her head-start, there was no escaping the vast inequality between human and Shifter physiques. The fact that her own blood was smeared into her skin and thus serving as a beacon to Wiley and any other predator prowling the woods did not help her cause any. Still, she ran, holding onto the foolish hope of finding help – a town, a cluster of houses, anything that would deter Wiley and his pack away.

  At least, she had hoped to run a while longer before a large, powerful body slammed hers into the forest floor.

  “Help!” Mary-Lou screamed, thrashing beneath Wiley. The man did not give an inch, did not care enough to even muffle Mary-Lou’s desperate cries. His victory was obvious, complete – Wiley slapped the human woman across the face, laughing to hear her jaw click loudly with the power of his blow. Momentarily stunned, Mary-Lou could do nothing as the Wolf grasped her leg and pulled, literally dragging her across grass and stone and fallen branches. It was painful, and it was humiliating; Mary-Lou collected her remaining strength, took a deep breath, and howled – voice as loud and desperate as she could make it.

  She did not expect to hear someone roar back.

  Wiley dropped Mary-Lou at the sound, claws out and teeth bared as he twisted around to meet the familiar newcomer. He was too slow, much too late as Jonas was already there –large body smashing into Wiley’s, clawed hands grabbing and twisting the Wolf’s neck. Mary-Lou heard the crack of bone against stone, saw Wiley falter and flail beneath Jonas’ steadfast grip. She was reminded of another night, another place – remembered begging for Wiley’s life in a situation just like this one.

  Mary-Lou would not plead anything of anyone tonight.

  Jonas lifted Wiley by the throat so the two were face-to-face. Wiley could barely maintain eye-contact, blood streaming down the back of his neck and shoulders. The Lion Shifter roared, loud and dark and vengeful, and slammed the other Alpha against a nearby tree. A flash of steel, a howling whine, and the Wolf was pinned against the sturdy oak. Mary-Lou gasped, swayed to see the black handle of the ceremonial knife stick out of Wiley’s pale throat.

  Jonas stepped back from Wiley’s thrashing form – haltingly, reluctantly, obviously torn between two actions. A part of Mary-Lou wanted him to finish Wiley, to end the Wolf’s causeless rebellion and the misery it caused. A larger, more human part of her was delighted when Jonas chose to stride up to her instead, to lift her into his arms and press a soft kiss onto her mouth.

  “Take me home,” she told him, an echo of the plea meeting Wiley had torn from her a night a different life ago.

  Jonas nodded. He gathered Mary-Lou in his arms and readied to run, not paying Wiley or his desperate growls any further attention.

  Mary-Lou did. Mary-Lou met Wiley’s eyes – red, filled to bursting with blood-lust and anger and malice – and smiled.

  “You lose,” she mouthed.

  Wiley’s roar was choked, cut off by the blade in his throat and the wind that rushed around Jonas’ running figure.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Jonathon was waiting for Jonas and Mary-Lou at the bottom of the hill. Sharp green eyes fastened on Mary-Lou’s bruised face as soon as the couple came into view, eyes tight with barely-concealed panic. Mary-Lou raised her hand in an unsteady wave and watched the terror in her father’s expression melt away, to be replaced by dark, dark anger.

  Jonathon did not speak – not to Mary-Lou, not to Jonas. His presence was meant to offer protection, to comfort, and that was what he did. The Coyote Shifter trailed behind them the remaining distance to his home like a faithful, vigilant shadow. The man’s silent hovering should have been unnerving; Mary-Lou found herself thankful for it, instead. The human woman was too exhausted to maintain eye-contact – speaking was well beyond her capabilities at the moment.

  At the door, Jonas tightened his grip on the fragile body he carried. It took Mary-Lou a moment to realize that her mate was growling at her mother, the sound choked and instinctual and absolutely ridiculous in the current situation.

  “Jonas,” she mumbled, “Put me down. Let her help.”

  The rolling rumbling cut off. Still, Jonas made no move to release her; a glance upward confirmed that he was glaring – glaring! – at Irma, teeth bared in a snarl. Irma, on her part, was smiling. A wan smile, true, but there. Well, if Jonas’ over-protectiveness brought joy to her mother, who was she to meddle?

  “Alright,” Mary-Lou sighed, “Feel free to carry me in and loom like a caveman.”

  Jonas did exactly that.

  Twenty minutes and an embarrassing shower later – Jonas may be her lover, and his presence may usually be more than welcome under a hot spray of water, but anxious hovering hardly helped with rinsing off soap – Mary-Lou felt a lot better. Snuggled up on one of the plush couches, Jonas warm and mostly verbal next to her, she almost felt normal.

  “So, everyone is safe?” Mary-Lou asked for what was likely the sixth time. She could not help worrying; not when she could not see her family, convince herself of their safety first-hand.

  Irma did not deny her the comfort of words, at least. The older woman nodded, repeating what she had told Mary-Lou the very first time she inquired after her pack.

  “Cara called about an hour ago. She and Sasha have secured the parameter,” Mary-Lou winced, knowing exactly what “secured” meant after being privy to the conversation in Wiley’s car. Irma raised an eyebrow, but continued without comment, “and have successfully relocated to Emma and Richard’s home. Katy and Jenna reported no disturbances on their end.”

  Mary-Lou sighed in relief. “That is – that is great. I could not remember, I was not there, you see, not really. Not knowing,” Mary-Lou’s voice shook. The human woman took a deep breath, closed her eyes briefly. When she spoke again, her words were quiet and sincere, “I felt like I was dying.”

  “The bond,” Jonas rumbled beside her. Mary-Lou glanced at him, relieved to see cognizant blue eyes gazing back at her. Jonas continued, “It sang to you, let you feel their terror and anger as your own. Do you know,” he gasped, voice falling low into a now-familiar growl, “Do you know what it felt like to us, losing you? Seeing you disappear without any hope of getting you back?” Mary-Lou shook her head, guilt and pain for Jonas and Cara and Sasha tightening her chest.

  “Jonas,” Irma cut in, voice sharp. “Enough. She has suffered plenty.”

  “I did not mean—” Jonas clamped his eyes shut, bit his lip to stem the flow of words. When blue eyes opened again, they were void of anger. “I am sorry,” he said to Mary-Lou, to Irma and Jonathon’s silent figures, “I overstepped.”

  “You did not.” Mary-Lou teetered slightly as she rose to stand, legs still too weak to support her weight. Jonas shot up from his seat and grasped her arms, steadying her body with his. Mary-Lou grinned up at him, lips stretching wider when Jonas hesitantly smil
ed back. “Thank you,” she said to him, repeated the sentiment to Irma and Jonathon. “You just got back, are tired – and here I am again, dragging trouble in my wake.”

  “Nonsense,” Jonathon grumbled. “It was hardly your fault, Mary-Lou. And even if it had been, what are parents for?” Jonathon smiled, expression tight with worry and determination.

  Mary-Lou had nothing to say, nothing that would not make her feel even more ashamed. It was not often that she allowed herself to think of the two Shifters as her parents. That was obviously not the case on their end – she felt foolish, indeed. Petty.

  “It’s alright,” Jonas whispered. Mary-Lou belatedly remembered their bond, its tendency to betray her emotions to her mate. She shook her head, plastered on a smile, even as she let Jonas feel exactly how not okay it all was.

  “You need to rest,” Irma said, a command plain in her statement. For once, Mary-Lou did not argue. She nodded her head instead, let Jonas lead her out of the room and up to the second floor.

  “We have to find him,” Mary-Lou heard Jonathon mutter, his voice soft and dark.

  “We will.” Irma promised.

  Mary-Lou wondered if they were talking about Wiley and if so, if the man would live to greet the morning.

  Her room was as she had left it. Their room, Mary-Lou reminded herself as she watched Jonas shuffle about. She hid a smile as the Lion Shifter was temporarily hidden by a fluffy comforter. When Jonas walked close enough to the chair she lounged upon, Mary-Lou tangled a hand into his shirt and pulled – and Jonas let himself be reeled in, let her urge him down and into a soft, open-mouthed kiss.

  They shared a few more hot, lingering kisses – bit and suckled at flesh still tender in the wake of a horrific fight. Jonas shifted until his hands fit around Mary-Lou’s waist, lifted his mate up and gently deposited her on the half-made bed. Mary-Lou needed sleep, and he needed Mary-Lou – it was a simple, straightforward decision to maneuver her into his arms, hold her tight and kiss her face as he urged her into sleep.