Fated for the Lion (8 page)

Lena’s head swam from the heat and smells in the van. The
men sat in the front seats and sweated their filth into the stuffy air.

She’d tried to get them to talk at first, but they’d ignored
her. When she asked if they would take off her bonds so she could check on her
friend, they’d laughed at her. When she asked to use the restroom, they stuffed
a dirty rag in her mouth and told her to piss herself.

The van had been silent since then. They waited for Emily’s
signal to move.

Anxiety ran through her like high tide at the beach and
threatened to drag her down with the undertow. She hated to imagine what Emily
said to Ethan, or whoever had driven up to the house. She’d been denied Ethan
for so long. She didn’t want to think about losing him again.

And Jessa. Poor Jessa still remained unconscious. Lena
worried her friend suffered from serious damage to be out cold for so long. She
couldn’t see any marks on her, so maybe she was just drugged.

What had her life come to when she hoped chloroform kept her
friend knocked out?

“What the fuck.”

The van shook with a sickening crunch. Lena craned her neck
and saw a huge lion crouched on the hood. Amber eyes glittered with rage. He
shook his dark reddish mane in agitation. Relief swept through her as she
stared wide-eyed at the majestic beast. Ethan had found her.

Large paws pressed against the glass. Scratches appeared,
but the glass held. Lena held her breath. It must be reinforced. She had to
give the men credit; they knew how to prepare to do business with people who
could shift into large and dangerous beasts.

The men scrambled for their guns. They eyed each other
before reaching to the door handles. The same thing keeping Ethan out would
keep their bullets in. They needed to open the doors, but that would open them
up to swipes from large claws.

The lion crouched on the hood saw their hesitation. He
swiped again at the windshield, then roared. He taunted them to try and break
free. He’d find a way inside their box if they didn’t. And if they did… He was
on top of the food chain for a reason.

The men opened their doors at the same time and trained
their weapons on the large lion. Ethan chose to attack the driver first. Lena
screamed as the passenger squeezed the trigger and fired.

Another thud hit the van and rocked it sideways before it
settled back on four tires. Ethan held the driver’s arm in his mouth and shook
until the man dropped his gun. Lena shot panicked glances between Ethan and the
passenger, who was screaming and slowly being dragged from the van by an unseen
entity.

It was over before she could decide where to focus. The
driver was either dead or unconscious at Ethan’s feet. Another lion nosed the
passenger forward, one arm hanging limply at his side. The lion growled when
the man looked toward the van.

Between one second and the next, Ethan shifted from lion to
man. His nostrils flared, and he rushed to rip open the van doors. Lena
struggled to scoot toward him, but he grabbed the binds around her feet and
dragged her to the threshold. His hands flashed to claws, and he cut her free.

“Shh, shh, I’ve got you.” He murmured as he gently pulled
the rag from her mouth.

Lena gagged as the last taste of cotton-dry grime was pulled
from her mouth. She worked her jaw and spat the first second she worked up
enough moisture. “I’m going to kill Emily.” She seethed.

Ethan pulled her to his chest, his hands running through her
hair and over her back. She gulped when she realized he wore no clothes. The
lioness embraced it. What better way to celebrate being alive than to jump the
bones of their mate?

Sam appeared behind Ethan, just as naked as his alpha. Lena
averted her eyes, but didn’t miss the quiet growl from Ethan. She would need to
get used to shifter nakedness. She also didn’t miss the flare of Sam’s nostrils
and how his pupils dilated when he looked at Jessa’s stirring form.

“Is she okay?” Sam asked, nodding toward Jessa. Her eyes
fluttered open and looked confused at the faces gathered around her.

Lena felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She shook
in Ethan’s arms as the day’s events took their toll, and chewed her lip. “I’m
not sure.”

Sam moved in, and Ethan pulled Lena out of the way. She
peered into the van and watched as Sam carefully untied Jessa. He put his hand
over her heart, and Lena felt a prickle on the back of her neck.

“Old hoodoo. He’s giving her some of his strength.” Ethan
whispered into her ear in explanation.

Jessa sat up, and winced. Even if Sam gave up some of his
strength, it still wasn’t enough to clear away the suffered hurts. He helped
her to her feet, and offered her his arm to steady herself. She clung to him
like a life raft, and shifted unfocused eyes to Lena.

“So the bastards got you, too.” She swayed, and clung hard
to Sam.

Lena breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Jessa was weak
as a day old kitten and clutched hard to Sam for balance, she grinned. “You
only slept through your own kidnapping. I had to put up with their stench the
entire time.”

The men helped the women around to the front of the van.
Lena eyed the damage to the van, and was impressed by the size and strength of
Ethan’s lion. Even though the windshield had kept him out, he’d left large
gouges on the glass. The engine was likely crushed beyond repair, if the
crunched front end was any indication.

Happy and relieved growls and mewls alerted her to others
arriving. They were in various stages of undress from partial shifts, though
they hadn’t needed to join the fight. Lena put a name to the few faces that
gathered in front of them. Barrett, a big ol’ Texan who hadn’t bothered to
remove his cowboy boots and now sported holes where his claws had burst through
the leather. Leslieann, a tiny little thing with a ferocious attitude. Jerome,
the man who’d saved her from killing innocents at the diner. Pride swelled
inside her. They were hers as surely as they were Ethan’s. Their pride.

They came as soon as they knew something was wrong. Even
Ethan looked surprised to see them there. They must live close, if they were
able to arrive so fast. They pressed close to her and Ethan, and she reached out
with him. They touched and were touched, reassured and offered reassurance to
their pride.

Jerome toed one of the bodies of the men. The other stirred
at his prod and huddled in on himself. “This one’s dead. The other is still
alive.”

The only face she wasn’t pleased to see was Emily’s. Sam
gestured for Leslieann to bring Emily forward. Leslieann’s hands were firm on
her shoulders as she pushed her prisoner into the center of the gathered lions.
“We found her running down the drive,” Sam explained quietly. He returned to
Jessa’s side and pulled her close to him.

Ethan nodded. “Good. We’ll question her along with the
hunter. Find out where they were going. I won’t have my pride threatened by
these hunters.”

“Who are they?” Lena asked.

The group shifted anxiously, and she knew it was a sore
subject. One she needed to quickly get acquainted with if she were to be a
proper protector to them all.

“Hunters kill anything from the otherworld. Shifters,
vampires, faeries, everything not entirely human are targets. They range from
big, organized groups to lone gunmen, but they all want to destroy what they
don’t understand.” Ethan explained. His eyes were filled with hatred as he
looked at the groveling and scared man. Lena was amazed at how quickly he’d
been broken.

Ethan turned his attention back to her. A wrinkle of
confusion marred his otherwise smooth face. “Why didn’t you shift?”

She crinkled her nose and nodded at Emily. “She injected me
with something. It made my lioness mad, but kept her locked inside.”

They all focused on Emily. Leslieann’s fingers dug into her
shoulder. “So it’s true. They have a drug to control our form,” the short woman
said.

Emily rolled wild eyes at everyone. “I’d never use it on
you, Ethan,” she whined. “I only wanted to help the pride. Weakness will not be
tolerated.”

Her casual address of Ethan made Lena’s blood boil. “But
you’re more than willing to use it on me.” She snapped. “Tell me, if I’m so
weak why did you need to lock my lioness away?”

Emily’s simpering facade slipped and her eyes filled with a
crazed glaze. She tore away from her captor. Pointing a bony finger at Lena,
her mouth turned in a hateful scowl. “You don’t belong in this life. I
challenge you for Queen title.”

Ethan snarled at her. “You have no right. You brought hunters
onto our estate. Hunters that tried to make off with your Queen. You’re lucky I
haven’t killed you.”

She sneered at him. “I have every right. Pride law says so.”

The others shuffled uncomfortably, and Lena saw the truth of
it. Pride law was hard and animalistic. As a new pride member, she was subject
to it. Even if it was clear Ethan had chosen her. Even if Emily had brought the
men to kidnap her. She knew, deep in her marrow, leadership challenges
superseded all else.

She didn’t want to open Ethan to any more challenges. She
knew how bullies worked. As soon as someone showed weakness, it opened them up
for everyone to take a bite. She’d die before she let Ethan make either of them
look weak in front of the pride.

“I accept the challenge.”

Ethan’s head snapped to her. Amber leached into his eyes,
and his features sharped. Oh, he was pissed.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He hissed. A muscle jumped
at the corner of his clenched jaw.

Her eyes narrowed. Her inner cat wanted to lunge and swipe
at him. She ached to let off her anger and frustration of the day’s events. Now
he dared to question them? The fool didn’t know what he did. Expressing his
doubt in front of the others only made them look weak. Weakness would not be
tolerated.

Lena agreed with the animal. They would definitely be having
words with Ethan later. After she tore Emily apart. She wasn’t some delicate
flower that needed him to bully her enemies away. She didn’t want or need that
as human, and she sure as shit wouldn’t put up with it now that she had claws
of her own.

She lifted her chin and stared past him. The others pulled
apart, clearing a wider circle for the challenge fight. She swept her eyes over
their faces and read worry and respect from them all. Even Jessa held herself
tall, though she leaned against Sam, and gave her a thumbs up.

Ethan was the last to retreat. He brushed his lips over her
cheek. She squeezed his hand. “Trust me.” She breathed into his chest.

She would wipe Emily’s smug expression off her stupidly
perfect face with the bricks under their feet.

She’d fought before in self-defense classes, but padded mats
and safe spaces didn’t hold a candle to the real thing. Emily advanced on her
with claws at the ready, and Lena sank into a low position. She rested on the
balls of her feet and readied herself to use her enemy’s weight against her.

Emily dodged her attempt to grab and flip, and threw a blow
into the side of Lena’s head that made stars appear before her eyes. She
wouldn’t be deterred. She picked herself back up, wiping blood from the corner
of her mouth. It was the second time the woman had made her bleed today.

“You’re going to pay for that.” She growled.

She exhaled as Emily charged her again, and was able to grab
her arm. She shifted her weight, and rolled the woman over her hip. Emily
flipped herself back to her feet with inhuman speed, and Lena held back her
groan.

Emily attacked again, forcing Lena to dodge and weave fierce
punches and scraps of her claws. She pushed through to land her own blows, but
none were enough to stop the flurry. Soon, both women dripped with sweat and
blood.

Lena stumbled, and Emily brought her knee hard into her
side. Lena felt a sharp crack that pushed the air from her lungs. Emily grabbed
her hair and drove her knee into her face. Lena fell back, blood streaming from
her nose and her side throbbing with what surely were several broken ribs.

She grit her teeth and pulled herself upright. She wouldn’t
let Emily win. Ethan didn’t want the stick-thin woman in his bed, or he’d have
taken her before Lena had ever arrived in his lobby. Emily betrayed her Alpha
and her pride by disrespecting his wishes and trying to get rid of the Queen.
She would tear the pride apart if she were allowed to win.

Lena tested her lioness, and the beast was ready. It bubbled
up from the depths of her soul, surging upward and outward. Lena didn’t fight
it as she had at the diner. She moved herself aside and let the inner turmoil
stretch her skin and bones until they broke their human shape. The shift ripped
through her in the blink of an eye.

It was over before Emily had a chance to shift more than her
fingertips. She lunged forward and snapped her jaws around Emily’s throat.
Blood spurted in her mouth and around her golden muzzle. A firm shake snapped
the blonde woman’s neck. She pressed a large paw on her chest for good measure,
claws flexing as she crushed the chest of her prey.

Lena stroked an invisible hand down the back of her lioness.
They worked well together when they weren’t separated by that awful drug. The
lioness purred agreement, and stepped aside for Lena to take back control with
another shifting of bones and muscles.

Ethan stepped over Emily’s destroyed body. He had eyes only
for Lena. He scooped her into his arms before any of the others could gather
around.

“Magnificent.” He murmured. “Powerful. Beautiful.”

She trailed a finger down her jawline. “Don’t question me
again, or you’re next.”

His eyes sparkled when they met hers. She licked her lips at
the amber mixing with the green. His lion was close to the surface, and it only
excited her further. He pulled her closer, and she could feel the throb of his
cock against her stomach. “I accept that challenge, Queen.”