The Lion's Arranged Mate: A Paranormal Lion Shifter Romance (6 page)

There it was. Anastasia stopped rocking and pulled her forehead away from his, and her eyes were searching again. She blinked slowly and raised her chin. “What did you say?”

“You heard me,” he chided with a thin smile. “I know it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to tell you that, for some reason it seemed important. Maybe… maybe it’s just selfish but-”

“I love you, too.”

Anastasia’s eyes were no longer sleepy. There was an alacrity in them, something energized, a coherence that told him she was speaking from some deep reservoir of truth that all of her upbringing had conditioned to keep withheld. She cocked her head and lowered her eyes, mimicking his thin smile.

“Is it okay that I said that?”

“You silly girl,” Alan shook his head and kissed her again, and she sighed.
This
, she thought
, this is what it means to come home, to be loved, to be free
. It wasn’t just the ability to choose – what made freedom worth anything, what gave it purpose, was when the freedom one had chosen could be shared with another person.

And yet, even as she and Alan lay down nude against one another, and she listened to his heartbeat, there was another expression he failed to notice. Anastasia gazed long into the dying embers of the fireplace, outlasting even Alan who fell asleep with his hand around her. There was a stone in her heart, a resolution that had become clear to her. She hoped that Alan would forgive her for it one day – that he might understand.

I do what I do for love
, she tried to console herself. But the words rang hollow in her mind.

CHAPTER SIX

What woke Alan wasn’t the sunshine, but the eerie squawking of crows on the tin roof. He struggled awake and slid both legs over the couch. He looked fondly back toward the couch, and his heart stopped. Anastasia was gone. He flung himself to his feet – there was only the lingering smell of her, the faintly floral scent of a flower he could not picture. Without thinking, he ran to the door and opened it, stepping out into the morning sun, which beat down hot and merciless on his naked flesh.

There was no sign. Panic gripped him and he ran back to the house and swore as he dressed. He didn’t want to face the foreboding fear that was growing in him, because if he did it would mean she had left him for good. He was still swearing as he ran back outside and cranked hard on the gears of the Triumph, peeling out wildly as he aimed it back down the logging road and wind whipped up against his face, blinding him.

She left
, he thought. But why? There could be only one reason. He had had a lingering doubt the previous night, that Anastasia had been taking the reappearance of Elias too lightly.
She’s gone because of me
, he realized with fresh insight. She had been trapped by another impossible choice – risk setting off a clan war by staying with him, or sacrifice her own feelings and keep the peace by returning with Elias.
Stupid,
he wanted to shout,
there are ways we could avoid it without you having to give in – why didn’t you give me more time?
I know you did what you thought you had to, in order to protect me. But why this?

He cursed himself first and foremost. Had he been more decisive, more aware, he could have sensed what she was planning to do. He looked up at the sun – it was only just beginning to reach the horizon, even though the heat of it was already almost unbearable. It would be a hot day. But it meant she couldn’t have left very long ago. Instinctively, he rolled back on the accelerator harder, pushing the reliable Triumph to its limit. A plume of dust extended behind him for almost a mile.

His fears were sustained when he reached the bottom of the valley where the logging road passed through a flat open field of wild flowers before hitting the main road. There, blocking the road like a palisade, were the two black jeeps. Seven black trim figures, seemingly impervious to the bare sun, were arranged in a semi-circle. And there, in their center, an eighth.

“ANASTASIA!” Alan screamed, gunning the bike.

She didn’t seem to flinch with her back to him, but the other men including Elias both braced themselves as he drove straight at them, slamming the brakes hard and grinding to a halt. He was already off his bike when she finally acknowledged him.

“Stay back!” she warned viciously.

The tone of her voice forced him to stop instantly, and he realized he’d entered into the fray of something he didn’t understand. The other men seemed nervous, as if they were waiting for something to happen.

“You shouldn’t have come, Alan,” she remarked.

“How can you say that? You’re… my shadow,” he said, referring to an old shifter proverb about marriage.
Shadow to shadow
, when two people became as one. One mind, one heartbeat. “You knew I’d be coming for you.” She didn’t deny it, but she was noticeably perturbed by his appearance. “What’s going on?”

“The bitch just challenged me!” Elias interrupted, already in the process of unbuttoning his vest. He cast it aside and flexed his arms, his long stringy hair glinting with the sunlight, and there was a cheering from the crowd behind. Alan had seen the look in their eyes before – it was the bloodlust of the hunt.

“Challenged you to what?” Alan gaped, but the question was directed at Anastasia.

“For my freedom,” she said resolutely. “I knew… I knew you wouldn’t approve.”

“Damn right!” Alan said, stepping forward again, but she held up her hand in caution.

“This is my fight, Alan!” she snapped, then softly so only he could hear, “You wanted there to be another option, well this is it. And it’s my choice. You can’t interfere, not this time. If you take another step, the others will attack, and I won’t be able to stop them. And as strong as you think you are, even
you
can’t win against the Pack.”

Her smile waned as she urged him back into the semi-circle, but his fists were white as he obeyed. Elias stepped forward and slipped out of his jeans, his own naked body flashing like a silver fish, and he bent low. There was a howl as he changed, a dark pelt flowing out from his form as his snout changed into a muzzle and a long bushy tail emerged from his spine.

Anastasia leered at him and did the same, tentatively removing her shorts and shirt and bucking down on all fours to change as well. The two wolves, fully shifted, faced off against one another, and Alan had to force himself not to rush forward.

This is part of a code of laws that are older than the Council
, he thought, watching the two face off, sizing each other up and growling.
No wonder the Cloud thinks they take precedent over the Council’s edict… what I’m witnessing is endemic to the Wolf Clan.

Still, he had to brace himself, yet again, from lurching forward the instant Anastasia and Elias leaped at each other. Elias was bigger, a large dire wolf by any standards, but Anastasia was sleeker and faster. Even as he went for the fur around her neck, she was already feinting away, her paws scrambling in the gravel, and nipping at his ankle.

Enraged, he turned on her again, butting her to one side with his massive shoulders and she squeaked and rolled across the road.

“Anasta-” Alan grimaced, and felt strong hands hold him back. He turned and saw that two of the Stormfangs had predicted his move and were restraining him.

“Let me go, goddamn you!”

“You break up their fight, we’ll spill you right here,” the older of them warned. “This is a fight between the two of them. No one, not even we, can intervene. Hold your place, cat… or we’ll tie you to the bumper of this Jeep.”

Alan shrugged off their grip, and watched helplessly as Anastasia regained her composure and counterattacked, leaping high into the air, which confused Elias. He managed to snap out at her left foot, but she had already found what she was looking for. She bit hard down on his tail, almost severing it, and Elias howled with pain and kicked out with his hind legs.

The blow caught her in the chest and she let out a hoarse choking sound. Elias, still partially in his human mind, looked at his ruined tail with fear and utter rage, and turned on her again, opening his cavernous jaws.

Anastasia was ready for him, though. She pretended to be taken by surprise, and lured him in, exposing the soft flesh of her upper neck. As he bore down on her, she sprang forward on her back legs and plowed into his belly, using her own head as a scoop. Elias didn’t know what to make of her unorthodox tactic. Using her momentum to carry her under, she twisted to one side. His belly was now completely unprotected and she bit down hard on his ribs, causing blood to seep into her mouth and cover the fur of her muzzle.

Elias growled again, tumbling away – but she wasn’t finished. Using the opportunity, she mimicked his own attack, barreling into his side which caused him to tumble onto the gravel with a leavened gasp. Winded, Elias struggled to get away, but Anastasia was already on top of him, and pinned his paws. Her own fearsome jaws opened, blood and saliva dripping from between her fangs.

She growled, and opened her mouth for a killing blow.

Elias must’ve sensed he’d lost – and even if his ego was too big, he had no wish to die. In an instant, the fur sloughed off and the naked man was pinned under the wolf. Elias was breathing hard, his own ribs still gashed with the wound she had given him.

“It’s over!” he said, slapping the ground, but Anastasia in wolf form seemed immune to the weakness of pity and loomed closer, her eyes hardening. “I said it’s over! You win!”

“Anastasia,” a voice beckoned.

She had heard that voice before. Even in her wolf form, even with her mind and consciousness completely given over to the passions of her animal side, that voice was familiar. It pierced through the fog of her brain, slicing through the call of her instincts. It said her name again, and she closed her mouth and very slowly pulled back from the frightened and defeated Elias. He scrambled out from under her just as two of the Pack members rushed forward to help him up – he was still bleeding profusely from the punctures in his ribs, and groaned as they half-carried him to one of the jeeps.

Anastasia sat down on her haunches and licked one of her paws, the frayed ends of her muzzle still stained with the blood of her opponent. When she turned her silver-grey head, the origin of the voice that had broken the spell on her own bloodlust was smiling back, his arms crossed.

In an instant, she was back in human form, and wordlessly went to the small pile of her clothes and put them back on. The whole time Alan merely watched her. She was not some maiden-in-distress, and perhaps that’s why she seemed so attractive. And yet, there was still a vulnerability to her as she finally turned, pulling the tank-top down over her breasts and zipping up her shorts but leaving the top button undone. There were tears in her eyes.

“Is that it?” Alan asked with a due somnolence. “Why are you crying?”

She shook her head. At the same time, one of the Stormfang members stepped forward, and Alan resisted the urge to punch him. But the Wolf quickly held up his hands in a gesture of diplomacy. The smell of cheap motor oil clung to him like a second skin.

“It’s over,” Anastasia said defiantly.

“I know,” the Wolf said, and there was a mixture of contempt, fear, and respect in his voice, as if he wasn’t quite sure which emotion he should be feeling more. He was careful in his speech. “We all saw it. You bested Elias… I don’t know how. We all saw it, and it was done fairly. The Cloud’s Law is absolute in these matters.”

“What does that mean?” Alan growled.

“It means she’s free to make her own decision,” the Wolf interjected, “whatever that may be. Elias' claim died with his defeat today.”

“Will he be okay?” Anastasia said, and Alan couldn’t help but notice a touch of concern creep into her voice.
She’s not bloodthirsty or cruel like the rest of them
, he pondered,
and she is not a killer
. Alan looked over the shoulder of the Wolf and saw several of the others tending to Elias – the young former Alpha let out a muted scream as they cleaned the wound and applied a fresh bandage on top of it.

“If he can scream, he’s still alive,” Alan said coldly.

The Wolf glared at the Lion but held his tongue. “We’ll take care of Elias. But we need to know your decision, Anastasia. What should we tell the lead-… your father, when we return? What is your decision?”

She glanced once at Alan and slipped her fingers between his own. The Wolf gave a curt nod of understanding and held his hand to his heart. She did the same, miming another age-old custom of her Clan. The other Wolves had fitted Elias into the back of the one of the Jeeps, and in moments, they had done a U-turn, heading back toward the road. Before they left, there wasn’t a one among them who didn’t turn his head toward the young Wolf who had defeated the Alpha – and though it was too far away to tell, Alan could have sworn each of them, in turn, had touched their hearts. It was both an acknowledgment of Anastasia’s rank among them, and a solemn goodbye.

“Is that really it?” Alan said, hating to break the silence, “What will happen now?”

“Now, I do what I want,” she said breathlessly. It was still too much for her to take in, and they both knew it – the burden of her bloodline had been expurgated by her own hands. Up until then, the world for Anastasia had been a narrow path, of which she could always see the end. Now the world had opened on its hinge, and there was so much of it, she could hardly pinpoint gravity. It was as if she were floating into a vast space.

Alan tightened his hand around hers, and suddenly she wasn’t floating anymore. The world hadn’t shrunk any less, but at least she was tethered to something solid. Her breath shook out of her again and she steadied herself.

“You did it,” he said, holding her, “it’s okay now.” He reached down and wiped at the corner of her lips, dispelling the dried blood. She was a wild woman, as dangerous as she was beautiful, and in measures that would make any less of a man quiver in his boots.

But she welcomed his touch, and leaned against him, pulling a lock of red hair out of her eyes. “I can’t go back,” she said, realizing it for the first time in her life. “Not that I want to. It’s just… strange, to realize that. I’ve officially burned the bridge behind me. I don’t regret it, I just… it’s like wearing a bracelet for so long you forget it’s there. And then when it’s taken off, you can’t imagine having not worn it.”             

“I’ll buy you another bracelet,” he murmured.

Alan hugged her tighter, his beard scratching her forehead, and she giggled. “That’s the nicest, cutest, tackiest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” she said, returning the hug. “Thank you for not intervening.”

“If you hadn’t beaten up Elias squarely, I probably would have. But… I had every confidence in you,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t know he was lying.
I was half a second away from breaking free from the Cloud and helping you anyway
, he wanted to say, but kept it to himself.