Finding Luna: A Lion Shifter Reverse Harem Romance (PRIDE Book 1) Read online

  “Not usually, but things change if they were aware of her connection to Ryan.”

  Shawn shook his head. “That can’t be. They only met for the first time tonight, Santiago.”

  “Do you know how they met?”

  “Some online dating site.”

  “Was it called Pride in Love?” Erickson asked, then grimaced when Shawn nodded. “That’s how he knew. It’s a dating site for Pride members. First dates only happen rarely though. The connection has to be strong for a man to even contemplate taking it to that level.”

  Shawn frowned. “What’s complicated about a first date? Isn’t that the olive branch?”

  “Not for us.” Adam grimaced. “It’s complicated. But trust us, if Pantera knew about the site like you did, then he’d have figured something out. Did he run a background check on Ryan?”

  “Of course.”

  “Well, there you have it. There’s definitely a link. One we’ll need to investigate to ascertain exactly what’s going on here.”

  A small bubble of sound exploded behind Shawn, and he half-turned and saw the little crowd gathered on the porch of the big house was still watching the goings-on.

  “Better than soaps, huh?” Shawn asked Adam.

  “Anything to do with Ryan is always fodder for gossip.” The PA jerked his chin at the yard beside the house. “That’s why they’re whispering. Ryan’s on his way.”

  Shawn frowned into the darkness, barely managing to make out a moving figure. Shifter senses were, naturally, a hundred, maybe a thousand times stronger than a human’s so he didn’t feel too badly that he only saw Ryan when the man walked under an automatic spotlight.

  “Santiago, Erickson,” Ryan called out in greeting as he stepped toward them, his feet making crunching sounds as he walked over gravel before hitting the paved drive. “Thanks for coming.”

  The two cops beamed at their leader. “It’s an honor, sir.”

  “A pleasure,” Santiago mumbled after Erickson.

  “You managed to figure out what the hell’s going on?”

  Adam shook his head. “They only arrived twenty minutes ago, Ryan. But we’ve pieced some things together. The guard… his surname was Pantera.”

  Ryan froze, then shot Shawn a look. “You’ve explained to Mr. McNamara exactly who the Panteras are?”

  “Kind of,” Adam confirmed. “Just that they all take on the same surname when they reach maturity.”

  The leader blinked at that, then turned to Shawn. “They consider it a rite of passage for the males. They legally change their name as they pledge themselves to their den.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s just something they do. Why do human females change their surname when they marry?” Ryan shrugged. “It’s a tradition.”

  “These guys told me there’s no strife between the two factions… are they bullshitting me? Because I need to know what I have to do to keep El safe.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Adam answered for Ryan. “Now she’s Pride, her security will be handled internally.”

  Before Shawn could utter a word, totally rejecting everything about that statement, Ryan held up a hand. “You speak out of turn, Adam.” He shot the PA a look that had Adam gnawing at the inside of his cheek. “Normally, that is the case, but as El is very close to you, I think it would do more harm than good to exclude you from her security detail.”

  “I’m glad we see eye to eye on that,” he gritted out. “You know that even if you’d said otherwise, I wouldn’t have moved a fucking inch from this place. She’s mine to protect.”

  His declaration had Santiago, Erickson, and Adam all shuffling about on their feet while he and Ryan got down into a staring contest. Without blinking, without looking away, Ryan commanded, “Adam, help Santiago and Erickson. I want the SUV removed from the drive before El wakes up and is reminded by what almost happened to her tonight. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, of course, sir,” all three men answered, speaking over one another as they did.

  They dispersed, leaving Ryan and Shawn alone for the moment. At their backs, the small crowd began gossiping again, and Ryan, sensing it, grimaced.

  “There’s never any fucking privacy around here.” He lifted a hand, held it out. “I think we should shake hands, Shawn. It’s about time we got to know one another.”

  Chapter 5

  The minute he was in the limo on the way back to the compound, Marcus felt like he could take his first real breath of the evening.

  He wanted the hour journey over with. Now.

  Fatigue tried and failed to diminish his excitement, but as the journey progressed, he’d admit to lagging a little. Learning of their mate’s existence was… eye opening. Inspiring. Motivating.

  He’d googled her name the instant he’d had a minute to himself when he was on the private jet back to LAX, and guessed it made sense there were relatively few pictures of her online.

  Her parents, on the other hand, were a different matter.

  Her father stayed out of politics, but he was a known cabal. He had his fingers in many pies, and it was well known that whoever he tipped for President often found their way into the White House. That was the kind of power the SOB hefted.

  Her mother was a society queen. She sat on more charity boards than she had rings on her fingers, and Marc had counted. Eliza Forsythe-Drew wore over twenty.

  It had surprised him because, by all accounts, Eliza was known for her class and elegance, and yet her fingers reminded him of a Roma gypsy.

  Her parents were plastered all over the news, and her brothers as well, if to a lesser extent. They were entering the political sphere so even their families and children were fodder for the press, but Maryellen, not so much.

  He’d wonder why, but if Maryellen held no interest in politics or in even being in the spotlight—unlike her mother—then it would make sense for her to lead a quieter life. A fact that would suit them down to a tee.

  Having a society princess as their mate wasn’t exactly ideal, but if she lived her life quietly, then there would be little to no press on who she was dating.

  And considering she was going to be seen to be dating three men, that could cause a hell of a lot of press.

  In fact, he knew, point blank, her choices were going to cause a major stink with her family. Considering the pull they had, that would cause issues down the line, and though he didn’t like it himself, and knew Trip would argue until he was blue in the face over it… Marc knew that the best option was to present a single son-in-law to Maryellen’s family.

  It would hurt, but at least they had her. And, truth was, he wanted whatever caused her the least amount of pain.

  Humans rarely understood the Triad brotherhood, and a lot of women were left banished from their homes as a result. Marcus had always thought that if it came down to that when he met his mate, he’d make sure she never had to endure something of that nature.

  What she got up to in the privacy of her home was none of her family’s business, after all.

  Of course, to the Pride, it would be entirely different, and that was really all that mattered to him, Trip, and Ryan.

  Letting loose a yawn as they made it onto the subdivision, he sat forward in his seat as excitement wormed its way through him. By the time they made it to the compound, he felt like someone had dusted itching powder all over his damn pants. The way he was fidgeting was beyond ridiculous.

  As the gates opened, he didn’t even wait for the car to come to a complete standstill before he was off and out.

  There was a small gathering outside Pride House, but that wasn’t altogether unusual. And Adam was talking to two of their detectives, which was unusual, but Marc didn’t have it in him to care. He waved at their PA, saw he had the cops’ attention and nodded at them, then loped off toward the lodge.

  Desperation filled him with every step he took.

  He had to see her.

  Now.

  It was an urge that had crept
up on him. He could understand Trip’s urgency now.

  The distance separating him from her had been all that kept him calm on the journey over here. With barely yards between them, his Lion was fully in control and the urge to shift was bare bones away from eating away at his strength of will.

  His feet crunched on the gravel as he ran, and when he saw the lodge coming up in the distance, he sped up. Spying Trip on the verandah on his cell, he veered to a halt and looked at his Triad brother. He was pacing back and forth, his agitation evident. Gathering it was something to do with the cops on their drive, Marc knew at that moment he couldn’t handle anything other than the meeting with his mate.

  He was the eldest of the Triad. Ryan was sixty-four, Trip ninety-two, and Marc was one-hundred and fourteen. He’d been waiting a hell of a long time to meet Maryellen, and nothing was about to get in between them.

  Of that, he’d make certain.

  Trip spotted him as he ran toward the house, but he held up a hand. “No.”

  “No what?” Trip demanded, scowling at him.

  “I don’t want to hear why there are cops on the drive and why you’re looking so freaked out when it’s usually impossible to freak you out. I just… I need to see her, Trip.”

  “She’s sleeping, Marc. She needs her rest.”

  “And I need to be with her. I won’t wake her up. I just need her.”

  Trip scowled, but shrugged. “We’ll have your balls if you disturb her.”

  “If I hurt her or disturb her in anyway, I’ll hand them to you.” He scoffed at the notion though. “You do realize how long I’ve been looking for her?”

  “Of course, that’s why I’m not certain it’s wise for you to go stampeding in there. Your… energy will disturb her without even trying.”

  Marc waved a hand. “I call bullshit. I’ll help deal with whatever’s going on when I’ve calmed down. My Lion’s riding me hard. It won’t let me do anything less than be with her.”

  Sympathy coated the glance Trip shot his way, and Marc accepted it as his due. He leapt up the stairs to the front porch, barged through to the circular vestibule, then took the door that led to the steps which would take him to their mate’s room.

  She was on a separate wing to them, and they’d actually built the house to certain specs that would ensure, at all times, her safety.

  That was their priority. It had always been, even when she’d been an ethereal figure that belonged only in their dreams.

  Marc took the steps three at a time, and as he approached Maryellen’s bedroom, he forced himself to slow down and to take a long, deep breath. Shuddering a little as the oxygen got through to his trembling beast, he grabbed the knob and carefully turned it.

  When he stepped inside the room, it was dark, but he could see as easily as if it were daylight. He wanted to groan as her essence pervaded his senses, but managed to contain it. Her breathing was heavy, deep with slumber, and that was how he wanted it to stay.

  The bedroom was a blank canvas at the moment.

  A large bed, two simple bedside tables, a rug on the floor, and a dressing table with stool. All of it white. No character anywhere.

  Though that was intentional and would come in handy as it gave her time to get comfortable here at the lodge as she made this room her own, he winced at the poorly decorated affair that was their first gift to the one woman who could complete them.

  The lack of character, the lack of anything personal, it seemed like an affront. With her wealth, her power, she was used to the best of the best, and instead, they’d given her a nun’s cell.

  Grimacing, and hoping she wasn’t a diva who would throw a tantrum at the bland space of her room, he headed toward the exterior wall and took a seat between the two large windows that overlooked the pool in front of the lodge.

  From there, the moon shone directly into the room and illuminated her beautiful face in slumber.

  It meant that when she awoke, she wouldn’t totally freak out either if she saw him seated there, legs out before him as he rested against the wall, and think him some kind of pervert intent on watching her sleep.

  Her face was softly pink from slumber, and he eyed her features with the zealousness of a religious fanatic. Hoarding each perfect imperfection and claiming it as his own. From the band of freckles atop the bridge of her nose, to the deeply rose color of her lips. She had rounded cheeks thanks to the plumping up of having her hands folded beneath her head, and her hair curled around her neck, shoulders, and throat in great wavy swathes.

  She was beautiful.

  Utterly, crazily, beautiful.

  And her scent? It was like nothing he’d ever imagined, and yet had always known. It triggered in him responses that should have scared him, but it didn’t. Nothing about her could cause fear or trepidation.

  She was his, and he was hers.

  A shudder whispered through him at the heady notion, and with it, a heavy dose of fatigue. His head pitched to the side as, with her in his line of sight, he could finally relax enough to let go, to let sleep claim him.

  He dreamed of her, of his Triad. Of the union that would eventually settle into place.

  He saw his parents, Trip’s, and Ryan’s around them. Their bonds burning as brightly as the day they’d first met, and knew that his would burn just as hotly too.

  He didn’t know how long he slept, but however long it was, he awoke feeling rested. But it was still dark, which told him he’d barely had any rest at all.

  What awoke him, he wasn’t sure, until his eyes fluttered open and he saw the gawking woman kneeling before him.

  Fresh from her own slumber, she looked even more magnificent. And covered in one of Trip’s too large Tees, she was a handful too delicious to ignore.

  “Mate,” he whispered softly.

  She blinked at him. “I know you.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “You do?”

  Her smile was, in a word, beatific. “I work on the board for Wild, the wildlife charity? You cater for our special events.”

  He returned her smile. “I do. But I’ve never seen you there. I’d have known.”

  “You’d have known if I was there or you’d have known I was your mate?”

  God, to hear her admit to that… his heart wept and his cock jerked to attention. “Both. I’d have recognized you as our mate, and I’d remember you at the occasions.”

  She jerked a shoulder. “I never attend them.”

  “Why not?”

  “Too much of a security risk.”

  He blinked. “Seriously? But your mom’s like the belle of the ball. On the flight down here, I did a little research,” he admitted.

  “Mom’s a publicity whore, but she never gets any kidnapping threats. I, on the other hand, do.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugged but her gaze shifted a little from him. “I don’t know. I just do. Maybe kidnappers realize my father would be more likely to pay a ransom for me than he would my mother.” Her nose crinkled adorably. “Okay, that’s being mean.”

  “If it’s the truth, then it’s the truth,” he countered.

  “My mom and dad only seem to agree on the fact that I’m a huge disappointment,” she confessed. “But dad would still pay her ransom. Maybe not as eagerly as mine though.”

  “Well, he mustn’t think you’re too much of a disappointment if he’d be so eager to pay your kidnappers.”

  She laughed. “Is that positive thinking?” Shaking her head, she murmured, “Why are we even talking about my being abducted?”

  “Well, it will never happen now, so you can attend the Wild social events with me. But I guess you should know who you’ll be attending with. My name’s Marc, El.”

  Her lips twitched into a grave smile. “I figured as much. What I can’t figure is… How do you know it won’t happen? Why is it you can protect me when even Shawn couldn’t?” He sensed no heat to her question, more like curiosity. And who the hell was Shawn? Someone on her security detail?<
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  “Because we’re Lions, first and foremost. We can scent things that humans can’t even imagine.”

  “What like?”

  “Deceit. Betrayal. Fear.”

  “No way,” she countered. “How can you scent that?”

  He reached up, and she only flinched the tiniest bit as he trailed a finger down over her jawline. “Emotions have certain essences. When someone is scared, they sweat more. They stink. The Lion doesn’t appreciate fear, either, so it has a stronger, more volatile reaction to its presence. Arousal, we can also scent that.” He smiled a little when she sucked in a swift gasp of air. “Betrayal and deceit scent quite alike. More sweat, but this time, there’s the heart beat we can hear pounding and the nervous excitement of a person’s plans coming to fruition.”

  She swallowed a little. “I suppose I can believe that. Ryan seemed to be the only one prepared for what happened tonight.”

  “I’ve been flying for most of the evening. Since you walked in that restaurant, and Trip realized Ryan had found you, I was prepping to get on a plane.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  “Where were you?” The breath gasped from her lips as she tilted her head to let him cup her jaw. He wasn’t sure why she was so tactile with him, but he was grateful for it.

  “Ventura. We have another restaurant there. It’s close to the fires, so I had to make sure the place was as safe as we could make it, and also that the staff there could afford to evacuate if needs be.”

  She blinked at him. “You did that for your staff?”

  “Of course.”

  He watched as she traced a pattern on her knee. “Why do I feel so comfortable around you?” The question was softly posed, and loaded with enough confusion to make his heart beat hard.

  “Because you’re supposed to, El. I’m your mate.”

  “My brain doesn’t really know that, but…”

  “Your soul does,” He hazarded a guess. “Weren’t you so at ease with Trip and Ryan?”

  “Trip made me nervous.”

  “He does that to everyone.” Marc couldn’t stop himself from snorting at how damn true that particular statement was. “He’s our resident mad genius. He handles all our admin and finances. He’s a little manic. If he was human, I’d say he had ADHD.”