Page 19 of So I Won a Werelion

“Wendy’s my mate,” I growled.

She rolled her heavily lined eyes. Lucy dressed like a 1950’s pinup girl with a bandana tied in her dark hair and a button-down short-sleeved shirt and tight jeans. “Lions don’t have mates, Gabe. Your cousins are tearing this pride to pieces.”

“Their mates are smart, strong women who moved this pride out of the dark ages. Does that scare you?”

She bristled. “So you want to make more trouble? You better hope your alpha has your ass. If I remember correctly, he was a baby the last time you saw him. Putting an awful lot of faith in his willingness to fight for you, aren’t ya?”

“I am.” My decision to stay with Leo and his family when I returned had shocked a lot of lions, but itenragedthe lionesses. They often took multiple mates for their pleasure, and forever was never part of the conversation. I’d played in that sandbox—trying to convince myself that a human couldn’t possibly be my mate.

They had been incredible lovers, but the interaction left me feeling empty. Cold.

Didn’t matter how voluptuous and soft Lucy’s body was. Honoring tradition could cost me everything.

“Good luck to ya,” she sniffed.

“Things changed, and I’m ready for change too. That’s why I came back.”

“Your human rejected you. On stage, in front of a live audience. You’re making a fool out of yourself, Gabe. For what? Love?” She barked out a laugh and shook her head.

I growled.

“Oh, that’s cute.” She pushed my shoulder playfully. Lucy wasn’t used to not getting her own way. She probably considered this foreplay. “You know I could eat you for breakfast.”

The lionesses in our pride were fierce hunters. The male lions protected the land. That system no longer worked in the new faction of the pride. But Wendy was fierce on her own, and there would bea place for her here.

If she wanted it.

“Wendy’s my mate. Doesn’t matter if you understand or approve.”

In my dreams we’d always lived with my pride, but under the old rules, that would have been a disaster. The lionesses had never liked outsiders, and they would have gone out of their way to make Wendy uncomfortable. The males who’d stayed to play with and protect them would take their side.

Leo and Dylan had started a thriving ski resort. So much progress had been made in just a few short years. But they’d gotten tangled with the local shifter organization—the council. Traditionally, the pride had turned their noses up at the stodgy old shifters, declaring their rules too restrictive.

I understood why my cousins made the choice. They needed the support of shifters who shared their vision.

Lucy crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Listen, Gabe, I’ll cut to the point. We need you. What happens to the next generations of our pride if there are no purebred lions left to fight for what’s ours? The other shifters will help themselves to everything the Wyldes have worked so hard to build. So are you gonna keep being selfish, or are you gonna think about the pride for once in your life?”

The Mating Gamevan pulled up at that moment.

Lucy groaned. “Guess I have my answer.”

But that didn’t stop her from staying and exchanging cheek kisses with Bibi.The drag shifter never took a day off from being fabulous. Today she was wearing silver leather pants.

“You know this big cat is spoken for,” Bibi said when they separated.

“Were we watching the same show? Because I don’t see a mate anywhere.” Lucy swept a manicured hand toward the ski resort. I’d been on my way to meet my cousins when I’d been intercepted by the lioness.

“Nothing good comes easy.” Bibi fluffed her purple wig. “If you’d be interested in an episode of your own—”

“No way. I don’t let myself get bogged down by silly little things like forever. I just like to have a little fun.” She gave me a pointed look. “I trust at least one Wylde will make good decisions.”

She squeezed my arm and walked away.

“I’d forgotten how complicated cats can be.” Bibi’s face brightened as she surveyed the resort. “I know we don’t have any snow, but is there any way that we can show viewers what happens around here? They’ll love to see a big cat like you in action.”

“Yeah. Leo and Dylan are waiting for me at the summer camp.”

“Oh, is it in session?”

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