Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1) (3 page)

“I
said
…you need to kick these
abominations out of your bar,” he snarled back. “Your daddy would
be rolling over in his grave if he knew you were serving
these…these
pussies
, Liberty.”

Liberty was shocked for a moment, but then
her temper kicked into high gear. “Terry, my
daddy
would’ve
never been so hateful. Now, you need to just go on back to your
seat, and if you can’t behave yourself, I’ll call Sheriff Lynch and
have him come pick you up. I think you’ve had enough for the
night.”

Terry sputtered for a moment, his face
turning red. Before she could blink, Terry reached around her and
grabbed Talon’s wrist. “I said they need to go!”

In a move her daddy would have been proud of,
Liberty seized a hold of Terry’s wrist, adding just enough pressure
for his hand to release the alpha’s wrist. The men at the table
cursed and began to scramble as Liberty spun herself to the side,
taking Terry to his knees. In a matter of seconds, Liberty had
Terry’s arm behind his back at such an odd angle, the other patrons
in the bar cringed at the look of pain that crossed the drunk man’s
face.

“Listen up, because I am only gonna say this
once,” Liberty bellowed, her southern accent thickening with her
anger. “This is
my
bar! It doesn’t matter who or what you
are…black, white, human, shifter, or God knows what else is out
there, you will
not
disrespect my customers or anyone who
works in this building. From this moment on,
The Deuce
is
neutral territory. Leave your opinions and your differences at the
damn door.” With that, Liberty dropped her hold on Terry. The man
scrambled to his feet just as Talon’s friends gathered at her
back.

“You will regret this, Liberty Raines,” Terry
snarled, pointing a dirty finger in her direction. Liberty stifled
a laugh because Terry was pointing at something over her
shoulder.

“Go on, Terry,” she barked, shaking her head.
“It’s time for you to leave. Don’t let me see you back here until
you can behave yourself.”

She watched Terry until he stumbled out of
the door, one of his friends following him out to his car. When she
turned around, she gaped at the six men who were standing so close
to her back that she almost face planted into one of their beefy
chests, but then they all took a step back like they were afraid to
touch her.

“Why did you do that?” Talon asked, stepping
closer. His head tilted to the side again. She mentally slapped
herself when she thought he resembled her cat, Mittens, when she
would tilt her head from side to side.

“Um, because he was drunk and touched one of
my customers,” she answered. “I’m sorry that happened. Are you
okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” he snapped, looking
like he could take her over his knee. Damn, he was mad.

“Are you
upset
?” she scoffed.

“No, ma’am,” Talon sighed, pinching the
bridge of his nose. “I’m not angry at you. What I want to know is,
why did you defend us?”

“Because this is my bar and I won’t tolerate
disrespect,” she answered, then nodded toward his hand. “Do you
need some ice? He grabbed you pretty hard.”

“No,” Talon snorted, calming slightly.
“We…um, we heal pretty quickly.” To prove his point, Talon raised
his wrist for her to see.

Liberty gasped as she watched the bruising
under his skin fade and quickly vanish. “That’s really cool.”

“Thank you.” Talon smiled. “We believe in
repaying our debts. The Shaw Pride is indebted to you, Ms. Raines.
If you are ever in need of help, please let us know.”

“Ah, that won’t be necessary,” she blushed,
looking up into Talon’s eyes. He was damn near a foot taller than
she was. His shoulders were wider than a door frame. This man, and
all of the men with him, probably lifted dump trucks just for the
fun of it. “Maybe if I need some manual labor… like moving a house,
I’ll let you know.”

“Liberty?” Talon called out, just as she had
turned to walk away. When she looked over her shoulder, Talon’s
nostrils had flared slightly and yellow specks had seeped into his
eyes. She felt her body warm from just his look. Oh, this couldn’t
be good.

“Yeah?” she stuttered.

“Don’t ever put yourself in a dangerous
position with a drunk human male again,” he ordered, his eyes
completely switched to a glowing yellow.

“Yes,” she sighed breathlessly. “Um,
okay.”

Without another glance, Liberty rushed off to
her office, slamming the door behind her. Bending at the waist, she
gasped for air as she tried to calm her heart from thundering in
her chest. If she closed her eyes, she could still see those
beautiful eyes, and she could’ve sworn his scent still lingered
around her body. That scent alone caused a heavy feeling in her
breasts and a dull ache deep in her belly.

She didn’t know what the hell was going on
with her body. Liberty Raines was a strong, independent woman and
she would have
never
let a man tell her what to do. So why
in the hell did every part of her mind, body, and soul want to do
exactly
as Talon Shaw had ordered?

“You know that son of a bitch is going to
come back, right?” Noah asked, draining the rest of his beer. His
keen eyesight swept across the bar, looking for any sign of
trouble.

“He won’t touch her,” Talon vowed. There was
something about the woman that made his protective instincts
awaken. The feeling was so foreign to him that it shocked him
silent for a moment. The feeling was unlike his need to protect his
pride. No, this was different…stronger.

“Whoa, dude,” Noah drawled, leaning forward
to get a good look at Talon’s face. “Is your panther interested in
the little bar owner?”

“What?” Talon growled, feeling his panther
close to the surface. He shook himself, trying to silently tell his
cat to back the fuck down. He wasn’t looking for a mate, and that
little human bar owner was not what he needed…ever. Then why in the
hell was he being drawn to her?

“Uh, yeah, man,” he snickered. “Your kitty
cat is prowling.” Noah laughed and pointed to his own eyes,
alerting Talon to the fact that his were turning amber.

“Why the fuck do you call it my kitty cat?”
he barked, wanting to strangle his little brother and change the
subject at the same time. The kid was barely twenty two years old,
but he acted like he was still fifteen sometimes. He was built, his
jet black hair styled to perfection. Talon often wondered if there
was something wrong with Noah because he always dressed like a
preppy school boy and not like a man who lived in the backwoods of
Mississippi. “Boy, did momma drop you on your head as a cub? I
can’t remember if she did.”

The other men at the table, Savage, Dane,
Storm, and Winter, looked everywhere but at their alpha, choosing
to ignore Noah and his stupid mouth.

“Naw,” he laughed. “I was the good one,
remember? She loved me more than you or Kye.” Kye was the youngest.
At seventeen, he was about to graduate high school and head off to
college. Talon hoped like hell that their little announcement to
the world hadn’t affected his brother’s future.

“Shut up, Noah,” Winter snapped, shaking his
dark blonde head. “Boy, you don’t know when to quit, do you?”

“Nope,” Noah grinned. “He loves me. It’s all
good, my friends.”

“Now I see why some mothers eat their young,”
Talon mumbled.

Talon ignored his brother’s rambling and
instead continued to watch the bar with a keen eye. Liberty was
rushing out with a tray of food. The tiny brunette looked very
small in comparison to the tray she was holding. Her big brown eyes
were framed with long lashes, her cheekbones high and sculptured
just right. Talon suppressed a groan when he watched her lean over
to place a plate of food in front of one of her customers. The
tight denim jeans she wore molded to her shapely hips. Her tight
tank top made her large breasts defy the material’s ability to
stretch to its limits. On her feet, she wore a pair of tennis shoes
that had seen better days.

“Your tongue is hanging out,” Winter said,
nudging Talon’s side. “She’s human, boss.”

“I know,” Talon replied, not taking his eyes
off of the beautiful woman. “I’m trying to figure out why she
protected me and took on a man twice her size.”

“She’s a human alpha.” Savage shrugged,
pointing the top of his beer bottle in her direction. “That little
lady right there is a force of nature in her world. I’ve met a few
like her. That man, Terry, best not be causing trouble in here or
she’ll eat him for lunch.” Savage was wise beyond his twenty-seven
years. He could’ve challenged Talon for the alpha position, but he
never did. The Guardian liked his spot in the pride, working at the
construction company as a sales rep.

“It goes against everything we’ve been taught
to see a woman have to defend herself, let alone people she doesn’t
even know.” Talon glanced at all of his men.

“If I were a human male, I wouldn’t want to
piss her off in a dark alley.” Savage shivered and downed the rest
of his beer. That admission stopped Talon in his tracks. Savage was
very good at reading people. Of course, he kept himself closed off
from others, choosing to hide behind his long, dark hair. Maybe he
was right about Liberty. She ran the bar like a well-oiled machine,
no employee ever called in sick or acted out, that he knew of at
least.

“Nope,” Storm laughed, running his hand
through his short-cropped, blonde hair, his ice blue eyes sparkling
with humor. In fact, the only way to tell that these men were
panthers was to look at their eyes. Each and every one of their
eyes had a unique ice blue color. Only when their panther took over
did the color change to a glowing amber.

“Hey, boys,” a waitress greeted, smiling as
she approached the table. “Name’s Della, and the boss lady said
these were on her.” Della popped her bubblegum as she unloaded her
tray of ice cold beers on the table. She tucked the tray under her
arm and smiled at Winter, winking when his brows raised. “Let me
know if you need anything else.”

“Can we order some food?” Noah asked, pulling
a menu from behind the salt and pepper shakers at the back of the
table. “I’m starving.”

“Whatcha craving, baby boy?” she teased. Over
the past few months, they’d learned that this new waitress, Della
Carter, was in her mid-forties and didn’t take crap from anyone.
She dressed as if she were twenty, and had the body to pull it off.
Talon was certain she achieved that by some type of plastic
surgery, but he wasn’t one to judge.

“I’d like a double cheeseburger,” he started,
then paused. “With a side of fries, onion rings, fried mushrooms,
and add two chicken sandwiches to that.”

“You’re going to eat all of that?” Della
raised a brow in shock.

“I’m a growing boy,” Noah smirked. “Plus,
that’s just an appetizer.”

Della laughed and made her way around the
table, dumbfounded at the amount of food the men ordered. Talon
smiled to himself.
If she only knew how much we spent on
groceries, she’d be happy with this small order.

“What’s on the agenda for this evening,
boss?” Winter asked, still watching the crowd for any trouble.

“Sitting here,” Talon replied, making his own
sweep of the bar. “I’m not leaving here until this place closes
tonight. Not sure if ole Terry will come back to confront
Liberty.”

“You really think he will?” Noah asked.

“He might,” Talon remarked. “Let’s just enjoy
the night off, and tomorrow we can rest until the Fall Equinox
gathering at the main house.”

Every Equinox and Solstice, the panthers
gathered for a night of celebrations, giving thanks to the ancient
gods who had made them what they were. Usually, the women of the
pride would prepare a large meal, serving it at the alpha’s home.
After the sun set, Talon would hold a ceremony of thanks and then
dismiss his pride to shift and hunt on their land. Whatever meat
they didn’t eat was dragged back to the main house and the men
would stay up past dawn to prepare it for storage, providing the
pride with meat for the next three months.

They could shift anytime, day or night, but
on the first night of each season, their cats called to run with
their fellow shifters. The women were guarded and they were not
allowed to run alone. This was more out of a habit carried over
from ancient times. They were once hunted by their enemies, and the
one way to take out a pride was to kill their females. It was bred
in their DNA to be protective, and the women let them. For the
females who were with child, they were not allowed to shift during
their last trimester. A few of the men would stand guard at the
gathering site, ensuring that the women were fully protected.

A commotion at the door had Talon snapping
out of his thoughts. The remainder of his Guardians arrived fresh
off of work from his construction company. Ranger Coleman and Booth
Woods smiled at the passing waitress. Talon believed her name to be
Mary Grace. She was a looker as well. Her old world looks gained
the attention of Ranger, and he laughed when he saw Booth smack his
Guardian in the back of his head to get his attention.