Lions and Tigers and Bears (9 page)

Liddy raced to Kevin’s side and nudged his cheek with her own. Tears leaked down her face to mingle with her fur while her heart clenched furiously in her chest.
Kevin? Oh God, Kevin please be okay. I would never have come here if I’d known it was a trap. I thought it was pride gathering, one to figure out a way to save you—

Liddy.
He shifted slightly, then returned the brush of her cheek and pushed to his feet in a long, graceful move. His beautiful coat was marred with blood and lacerations, but he was standing and to her he had never looked better.

Her heart pounded while the tears trickled all the harder, now of joy.
You’re okay?

I will be,
he promised with a damp flick of his tongue over her mouth. He nodded toward Hidari then, whose torn body was slowly reverting to its human form.
He won’t be. I had to kill him. I had no choice.

Liddy’s joy burst.
Oh Kevin. I’m so sorry.

Don’t be. He deserved it. For what he did to all those women, and for what he did to you.

He deserved punishment for what he’d done, but still…
Anguish filled her heart, her thoughts as she admitted,
He was your brother.

Kevin’s head snapped back, his gaze unbelieving as he looked at her.
What?

She nodded, wishing somehow she could bring Hidari back and make him the loyal, loving brother Kevin deserved.
She couldn’t do that, she could only tell him what she had learned.
He told me tonight. Your father met his mother the year before he married yours. Your father didn’t know he had another son. And your brother didn’t know that you existed or even who your father was until after he died. Hidari said he was older than you, that he deserved to be king. He came to Hanover to claim his birthright. He…

Tears clogged Liddy’s throat and she looked away in attempt to gather her emotions. The sight of the naked, bloody man on the snow had her gasping instead.
Oh, my God… He’s Tanner. I’d considered the detective had something to do with the attacks, had even thought at times he shared similar looks with you, but I never thought—

None of us did
. The male who had pulled Hidari from Liddy was now on his feet. He still looked weak as he skulked to her side, but already his wounds were healing as were Liddy’s own. The lion turned pitying eyes on Tanner’s lifeless body.
I worked with him every day and I had no idea.

He wasn’t a good man.

Liddy turned at Kevin’s thoughts.
He stood next to her, and the shock of learning about his brother had disappeared from his eyes.
Maybe he was family by blood,
he continued,
but not in heart.
He brushed against Liddy’s side and nodded at the other lion.
You are, both of you are, and all of the pride. You’re my family, and what matters.

As much as she hated him losing his brother, his words made sense. Kevin wasn’t her family yet, and the pride would never be in the true meaning of the word, but they had shown her complete acceptance and that was something she could only pray for with her true family.

She smiled first at Kevin and then at the other lion.
Thank you for coming for me, both of you.

I couldn’t let my future queen die,
the male responded.

She and Kevin had not discussed their long-term plans, and hearing the way the other lion referred to her now had her heart soaring with hope. The look of complete adoration in Kevin’s eyes had that hope floating.

Kevin nuzzled her mouth with a kiss.
I love you, Liddy. And I don’t give a damn what your mother says, we’re going to get married and have lots of little cubs. With luck, they’ll all look like their mother.

Fresh tears threatened with the happiness that consumed her. She pushed them back. She’d already cried far too much tonight.
I’d like one or two who look just like you,
she thought, returning his kiss with a long, wet one of her own.
I love you, Kevin, and I’m sorry I couldn’t promise you as much as you wanted me to this morning. I just knew I had to see you free.

We aren’t exactly free yet,
the other lion thought from beside them, and Kevin and Liddy both turned to him.
I need to get back to the cruiser and call this in. It’s going to take a lot of explaining, but between the three of us and any other shifters we can get to come forward and make their identity known on our behalf, things could still turn out okay.

They will turn out okay,
Liddy assured with a certainty she shouldn’t feel considering her past with her mama. For some reason she felt that certainty, though, and it gave her the strength to hope her family by blood might soon accept her as completely as her surrogate one did.
I have connections in this town, and it’s well past time I used them.

Chapter Six

Liddy had been dreading this day for eight years. She had hoped to break the news of her being a shapeshifter to her parents gently. Instead, she was going to do it while covered in cuts and bruises and accompanied by a white man who looked just as bad or worse.

“Are you sure about this?” Kevin asked from behind her, as Liddy raised her hand to ring her parents’ doorbell.

She nodded and pressed the bell. “If shifters and humans are ever going to live in harmony in this town, it needs to start with Mama.”

Liddy’s daddy opened the door a handful of inches on the second ring of the bell. He was typically a quiet man, who kept his thoughts and feelings to himself while showing a pleasant face to the world. Now his dark, gently wrinkled face held a stern look that clearly had to do with the fact someone would think to come by so late.

Recognition settled in and his severe look faded to worry. He pulled the door open wide and gestured for them to come inside. “Liddy honey, what’s the matter? Have you and your friend been in an accident?”

“I’m fine, Daddy—” And she was now that both she and Kevin were safe, and the worst of their body’s wounds had begun to heal, “—but I need to speak to Mama. I know it’s late, but this can’t wait.”

He nodded and started toward the second floor staircase as he spoke. “I can see that. Let me get her.”

Annette emerged at the top of the staircase less than a minute later, wearing a red satin robe and a matching hairnet. For an instant, her face showed displeasure. Then their disheveled appearances must have sunk in, as her mama rushed down the staircase and to her side, while her daddy followed behind at a more leisurely pace.

Mama lifted her hand to Liddy’s cheek. Concern filled her eyes and reflected in her voice. “Baby, look at your pretty face.” The concern melted to loathing as she turned her gaze on Kevin. “And you, what are you doing out of jail? You did this to my baby, didn’t you?” She looked back at Liddy. “I told you his kind was no good.”

Doubt rallied through Liddy’s mind with the condemnation in her mama’s words, temper attempted to surface. She considered turning back and forgetting all about telling her parents the truth. Kevin’s hand folded around hers, large, warm and reassuring, and she knew she couldn’t go anywhere until she said what she’d come her to say. From this day forward she didn’t want to keep what she was from anyone, and if that meant losing those she loved so dearly forever, it would have to be that way.

“Our kind,” she said flatly.

Annette’s gaze narrowed, and she gave her head a shake. “What?”

“Our kind,” Liddy repeated, louder this time, letting the pride for what she was ring in her voice. “Mama, Daddy. There’s something I need to tell you. I’ve wanted to for a long time, but I was afraid you would reject me once you learned the truth. You already did reject me, because I fell in love with someone who didn’t meet your criterion for a suitable match.” Her daddy’s mouth opened, and she amended, “At least, Kevin didn’t meet Mama’s.”

Annette’s breath drew in audibly. She asked tightly, “What are you saying, Liddy?”

“I’m saying that Kevin isn’t the attacker any more than he is a killer. The real attacker is dead. He hurt me and—”

“He hurt you.” It was her daddy’s voice that boomed now, his face reflecting the wrath of God. When he chose to show his defensive side, he did it loudly. “I’ll—”

“He didn’t hurt me.” Liddy sent him a soothing look. “Not really. Kevin didn’t let him. Kevin and one of our friends saved me. And now I need to help save them, save their jobs, their lives. Shifters aren’t bad people, Mama. They aren’t freaks. They are just like everyone else, mothers, fathers, children.” She drew a long breath, then added, “Me. I’m one of them. I have been for a long time.”

Her mama blinked rapidly while her daddy’s mouth opened and closed a few times. It shut a last time and he nodded his acceptance. She’d always known he would be the accepting one in her family. Her mama would be night and day different.

“I know how hard this is for you to take, Mama. But I need for you to think about me, as your daughter. This is the only thing I have ever kept from you, outside of my dating Kevin for a few days. But even that I had planned to tell you about eventually. I was afraid of your rejecting him, because I love him and I want to marry him. I want you both to love him to, to accept him. To accept us for what we are. I need you to accept shifters in general, Mama. To make it clear to the people of Hanover that we aren’t wild freaks who go around attacking people.

“If you can’t do that… I hope you can, but if you can’t, then I have to go away.”

Annette’s lips pressed into a hard line. Deep lines that Liddy had never seen before etched her forehead and for once made her look her age. She closed her eyes for a long moment, then opened them to reveal the glimmer of unshed tears. Quietly, she asked, “You won’t come back, will you?”

Liddy prayed those unshed tears meant her mama was close to giving in, the way she had always told herself she would with the right persuasion. Still, she couldn’t allow her hope to surface. “To a town that thinks I and the man I love are freaks? No. I won’t come back to that. I love you both so much, but I have to follow my heart.”

Kevin squeezed her hand, assuring her that she wouldn’t be alone no matter her mother’s decision. “Liddy, we should go. Give them time to digest all—”

“You’re not going anywhere with my baby,” Mama snapped, all trace of tears gone.

Kevin stepped forward, bringing Liddy into the circle of his left arm. He pinned her mother with a derisive look. “She’s my baby now, and I love her just the way she is.”

Something flickered in Annette’s eyes. As her mama spoke, Liddy realized it was admiration. “Then she’s both of our babies, Mr. Montcalm. But you’re still not going anywhere with her the way you two look right now.” A sheepish look came into her eyes, and she nodded at their bedraggled clothing. “You need to get those wounds cleaned up, treated. Do your, uh, kind go to the hospital?”

Between the way her mouth hung agog and the rush of thankful thoughts that cruised through Liddy’s mind, Kevin knew she was incapable of forming a response. He did it for her with the first genuine smile he’d ever given her mother. Clearly, as he’d told those in his pride at countless gatherings, it was fear of the unknown that had shaped her mother’s opinion of those who were different from her. Fear that had begun to evaporate and, in time, he hoped would completely fade. “Unless we suffer mortal wounds, we mend very fast. We should be fine by morning.”

Annette returned his smile with one of her own, and the years seemed to fall away from her face. She was the vibrant woman she presented herself as on a daily basis now. In the past, Kevin had assumed her youthfulness came with the assistance of surgery. Now he realized it was the natural beauty that came from loving her family.

“Then how about some coffee and carrot cake?” Annette asked. “I made a cake for Sunday dinner, but it seems we have a lot to talk about it, so we might as well have it tonight.” She turned to her husband. “Harry, can you see to the coffee while I get these two some towels to clean up with?”

Liddy’s father nodded agreeably. “Of course, dear.”

Beside Kevin, Liddy finally moved, her body brushing his with the subtlest of touches and sending a bolt of heat and lust shooting through him. God, how he’d missed those touches today while he’d been trapped behind bars. Never again would he spend a day away from his mate.

“Thank you, Mama.” Liddy’s voice trembled as she talked, and tears slipped down her cheeks. “I’ve hated keeping this from you. I love you.”

Annette came to them and pulled Liddy into a hug. “I love you, baby.” She set her daughter back at arm’s length and wiped at Liddy’s tears. “Now enough of these tears. You don’t want your man thinking you blubber all the time, do you?”

Kevin’s hearted warmed with the acceptance in Annette’s voice. He hadn’t thought he cared to have it so long as he had Liddy, but now he realized how much getting her parents’ approval meant to him. “I don’t mind a few tears. Not when I know exactly how strong my Liddy is. It seems I now know where she gets that strength from.”

Annette bit her lip and looked away.

Liddy laughed. “Mama you’re blushing.”

Tsking, Annette waved her hand at Liddy. “Get your backside in the bathroom to clean up before I take your father’s belt to it. You aren’t too old to take over my knee, you know.” With another laugh, Liddy pecked a kiss on her mother’s cheek then returned to Kevin and gave him a much longer, intimate one on his mouth. She went off in the direction he guessed the bathroom to be then, and Annette turned to him. “As for you, Mr. Montcalm, it seems it’s about time I got to know my future son-in-law better.”

“How about we start by you calling me Kevin?”

“Kevin,” she repeated, threading her arm through the crook of one of his and gesturing toward the door her husband had gone through moments before. “Annette, or Mama if you prefer. It’s a pleasure getting to know someone who cares so deeply for our Liddy. She’s a special girl, you know.”

“That I do, Mama. And it’s just one of many reasons I plan to make her my queen.”

“Your queen?” The surprise in Annette’s voice was clear. “Is that a title that comes with money? Not that I care about money or anything else, mind you, you could be a pauper so long as you love Liddy, it’s just that—”

“Old habits die hard?”

Annette’s eyes lit with amusement and a sound Kevin had never heard from the woman came out of her mouth. Laughter. Rich, hearty and lilting in a way that ensured from this day forward life in the city of Hanover, for shifters, for humans, for people of every color, race, ethnicity and class would be a whole lot different. A whole lot better.

* * * * *

Kevin pulled Liddy to the center of the conference room they’d been renting for pride gatherings the last months, and she fought off the blush that came with the knowledge all eyes were on her, on them. On their naked bodies.

In the five months since her mama expressed to Hanover that she had been wrong about shapeshifters being freaks unworthy of calling the city home, Liddy had made love with Kevin, in darkness and daylight hours, among the pride many times. However, she had never done so in her human form. It had been her decision to do so tonight, the night of their nuptials.

Mama’s disapproval of both shifters and people dating beyond their ethnicity had truly fled. She had openly cried tears of joy through the wedding, while Chenille and Daddy had shown their support for the marriage with their smiles and cheers of congratulations. The reception had been a beautiful affair, attended by humans and shapeshifters alike. Shifters who no longer tried to hide what they were.

It was for that reason Liddy chose to stand naked in the center of the pride as Kevin announced she was their queen to all in attendance. Joining in their human forms, while fur couldn’t disguise who they were, somehow seemed more intimate. And, she admitted as she looked around the large room filled with shifters in various forms of transformation, all of whom watched them intently, far more erotic.

Kevin let loose the roar that signified the time for the joining ritual had come, and turned a wide smile on Liddy. His fangs gleamed white in the overhead lighting, showing their razor sharp edges. She shivered at the thought of those fangs sinking into her flesh, suckling at her warm blood as he joined them together for eternity. Her pussy, already moist from all the attention, pooled with a rush of wetness.

“Now, as for you, my queen…” He reached a hand to her, gently cupping her cheek. She titled her face against his warm palm, purring in the back of her throat. “You’re so beautiful, Liddy. If I were the jealous kind, it might bother me to have so many other men looking at you, seeing these big, beautiful breasts.”

Kevin released her cheek to cup a dark breast in his hand. The nipple, already aroused, tightened fiercely with his touch. The pad of his thumb scraped along the stiff peak, and the roughness of it told her he’d allowed other parts of his body to shift than just his teeth. For her pleasure, Liddy knew, as excitement charged through her body.

“And this belly,” Kevin continued, settling his free hand on the rise of her stomach. “If I were the jealous type, I wouldn’t want to share this belly with anyone.”

One finger dipped into her navel, and she bit back a cry at the unexpected pleasure the simple touch evoked. He worked his finger in and out, and her pussy dampened further, her sex tingling with the loving heat in his intense blue eyes.

His thoughts gave away his next move, before he said, “And your hot little pussy.” The hand at her belly moved to her mound, clean shaven just for tonight. “I couldn’t stand any other man, feline or otherwise, looking at this beautiful pussy if I were the jealous kind.”

Kevin’s smile turned feral as he slid a finger the length of her slit. “But I’m not the jealous kind, because I know how much you love me, and how much I trust you.”

His finger sank deep, thrusting hard in and out of her sheath. Liddy watched his thick finger fucking her body and couldn’t hold in her growl of ecstasy. “Oh yes, Kevin! Fuck me like that, just like that.”

Laughter exploded around them, breaking her from the sensual haze that had overtaken her to stare out at the crowd of voyeurs. The conference room had been decorated especially for these pride gatherings. Large couches and chairs dominated much of the place, while tables and platforms took up more of the space. Kevin and she stood on the highest platform, and she gulped with the realization her bare pussy was at the perfect viewing sight. Everyone in the room could see the way Kevin’s finger splayed her sex wide, could see the cream leaking from her body. Could smell the scent of her arousal. They could see Kevin’s arousal, too.