Page 17 of Fighting the Lies

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Brayden, he went this way.” Emma crouched down low to the ground and breathed in. The stranger’s scent was strong. “It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes ago.”

“I bet he’s heading up to Jackson Peak.” Brayden surveyed their surroundings.

“Miss Molly?” Emma panicked. Their three legged lynx friend would be in trouble. There was no way she could fight against a male shifter with this strength.

“Let’s go.” They both shifted into their natural state and raced up the mountain at full speed. Four legs were always quicker than two. Her nose wiggled taking in the smells around.

“He’s heading towards Molly’s cave.” She projected into Brayden’s head.

“Fuck.” Was the answer she got back, and the massive snow leopard at her side lengthened his stride, so he appeared to almost be flying over the ice. She wasn’t as adept on the ice, given she was a Masai lion and her natural habitat was the Africa plains. However, she had grown up in this park, and despite her physical attributes being lacking, the knowledge she had gave her the ability to match pace with Brayden. They skidded to a halt outside Molly’s cave.

“He went in?” Brayden growled.

“Keep low. He could harm Molly before we get to him.” Emma sniffed again. He’s most definitely a male lion. I know that smell anywhere.” She let the grumbling roar form at the back of her throat. The intruder may be a male lion, but he’d not be a match for her and Brayden, if they played this right. They crouched down and together prowled into the cave. The stupid lion would regret stepping foot onto the Glacial Blood lands without permission. She and Brayden had hunted together since they were six. They were the best. With silent stealth, she placed one blond covered paw in front of the other. Her back legs shuffled to keep up. That’s when they heard Molly scream. They were off. At rapid speed, they pounded into the kitchen area of the cave.

“What the….” Molly let out another cry and sent the heavy duty casserole pot she held flying into the air.

Emma was in mid pounce when she noticed the intruder, dressed in a pair of casual jeans and an ‘I’m a rock god t-shirt’, casually reclined on a chair at the kitchen table. Er… he wasn’t attacking Molly. She couldn’t stop herself in time. She landed on top of the stranger. The chair flipped back, and they both fell to the floor. She had her paws on his shoulders. Her head directly opposite him.

“Hey kitty.” The stranger spoke.

“Emma, get off my guest.” She turned her head to see a shifted Brayden wrestling with Miss Molly. “Brayden let me go. Scott is my guest. What is wrong with you two?”

“Guest.” She projected into everyone’s head.

“Molly invited me for dinner. She didn’t think I looked well fed.” The male underneath her gave her a flashy grin. She looked him over. He looked pretty well fed to her.

“This is private land. How did you meet Molly?” She dug her claws into his flesh just a little bit to demand an answer.

“I was passing through. Look babe, I don’t want any trouble. I’m not here to hurt anyone unless you ask me to.” He winked at her. Yuck! She stepped off him and shifted back to human.

“Don’t you understand rules of packs? You should’ve made your presence known to Kas, our alpha.” She folded her arms across her chest to emphasise her point, though her arms were not quite large enough to hide all of her human attributes. When the lion’s eyes travelled to the neatly clipped ‘v’ between her legs, she stepped behind a chair to hide that part of herself from him.

“I was at the top of the mountain. That would have involved walking all the way down and then all the way back up again. That would have taken forever, and I was hungry. I met Molly instead, and voila, I’m eating, or I was going to eat.” Emma growled, Brayden had gotten down on his knees and was clearing up the mess on the floor. Boy, did the casserole smell good; venison if she had her meats right. She hoped that some was left in the bowl.

“You should have passed through.” She was not going to budge.

“Mate.” The lion looked to Brayden who was licking his fingers. “Are you upset that I’m here?”

“You should have reported to Kas or had Molly let us know, but I can see that you don’t mean any harm. Eat and then move on.” Brayden licked his lips. “You don’t happen to have any spare do you?”

“You know I always make two pots. Hopefully, it is enough for both you men. I know how much you eat, Brayden, and I’m pretty sure Scott eats as much, just by looking at the size of him.” Emma regarded the male lion again. He was pretty muscular. She bet he hid a fantastic six pack under that shirt. His arms were like logs with their strength. The men took a seat at the table.

“You not eating, babe?” She ground her teeth together when the lion looked her up and down again.

“I’m not your babe. My name is Emma.” She grunted.

“Well then, Emma. Sit down, eat, and tell me all about yourself.”

Emma moved on the makeshift bed. She opened her eyes; it must have been a dream. It was so vivid she remembered the feelings of that first meeting. Disbelief that anyone could be that cocky but also admiration for the handsome lion who conversed with her so freely at lunch. If what Scott said was true, he’d fallen in love with her that day, and if she was honest, she knew from the moment her paws touched his shoulders that he was her mate. The urge inside her screamed for her to be taken by him, but she had suppressed it and continued to do so, even to this day. ‘Men were trouble.’ That is what her mother had said. ‘They only want you for one thing, breeding. Make sure to keep them at arm’s length. It’s the most important thing that you will ever do.’ That is what Emma had done with Scott. Even though she wanted him buried deeply inside her, showing her body all the ways it could feel so good. It would kill her when he would bring some skanky whore home for the night. None of them were good enough for him; they only wanted him for sex. He needed someone who would look after him. Feed him, cloth him, worship him. She would do all of that for him, if she could, but it would never happen. She couldn’t be weak. She’d promised her mother, as the proud lioness had left her at the door to Kas’ mansion. Her mother had been so terrified after the girl was killed all she would say…it was the only way to save Emma’s life. She’d never been so scared as that day. Well, not until this very moment.

The air crackled with electricity. She looked up. Selene, Jessica, and Scott appeared on the other side of her cage.

“What are you doing here?” She jumped to her feet and placed her hands on the bars. “Ciaran was not impressed last time. He threatened to put a magical blackout here if he found you here again.”

“Don’t worry about that freak. Selene and I will deal with him.” Jessica smirked before she and Selene vanished. Selene popped back.

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