Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1) (8 page)

“Stubborn ass woman,” Talon grumbled,
stomping off of her porch. His narrowed gaze sent Winter and Savage
back a few steps, his alpha power radiating out toward his
Guardians.

“She wants to be courted?” Savage scoffed,
kicking a rock out of the way. It sailed through the forest and
imbedded itself into a tall pine tree.

“I can’t be mated to a human,” Talon sighed.
“It’s just not possible. I…I could kill her when we mate.”

“Nah,” Winter drawled. “She’s a sturdy thing.
I bet she could handle ya.”

“I’m not willing to take that chance,” he
replied, stripping off his borrowed pants.

“I’ll keep watch until the sun comes up, then
head back to the house,” Winter said, preparing himself for the
shift.

“Report as soon as you arrive back,” Talon
ordered. “If there is any trouble, call for me.” The pride couldn’t
talk amongst themselves when in their cat form, but they could
communicate with him. The alpha knew all, saw all, and felt all. If
there was a member in distress, he would know. It was his job to
see to their well-being.

“Yes, sir,” Winter nodded, shifting into a
sleek black panther.

In a matter of minutes, Talon and Savage had
shifted for the return to his home. Talon snagged the sweats
between his teeth, careful not to puncture holes in them. He’d have
them laundered and he’d return them to her tomorrow night at the
bar. It’d give him a chance to get to know her better.

Even with the added coat of fur, Talon
shivered as the wind blew, the faint scent of the unknown cat
tickling his nose. He had a bad feeling deep in his bones and he
didn’t like it one bit.

The trip back to his property took fifteen
minutes, with them only needing to cross one road. As soon as he
entered their property, he saw that a few of his pride were milling
around, tired from their hunt. Noah was pulling a large buck by its
hind leg, dragging the carcass back toward the house.

Once the trees opened into the large backyard
of the pride’s home, Talon shifted, grabbing his jeans from the
wooden table where he’d left them. Scooping up the used sweatpants,
he climbed the porch stairs and entered the kitchen, only to find
several female pride members with his mom cleaning dishes and
covering leftover food.

“Make sure you take some of that home with
you,” he encouraged, nodding toward the bowls and plates on the
long dining room table.

The pride all lived on his land; several
cabins dotted the area around the main house where Talon lived with
his brother, Kye. Noah had built his own cabin the spring before
and lived just inside the wooded area on the side of the house.

The land was Talon’s home, had always been.
To an outsider, the driveway from the road looked like any other
entrance to a home in the country. If someone came onto the
property, the long, winding drive would take you through a thickly
wooded area before opening up to a large meadow. The home sat in
the middle of the clearing, large and inviting. Talon loved sitting
on the wrap around porch in the evenings, just as the sun set,
listening to his pride settling in their cabins for the night.

All of the pride had cabins of their own;
mated couples had the biggest homes for all of their cubs and any
future ones they might have. The single panthers lived off to one
side of the main house, down a dirt road big enough for their
vehicles to pass. There was also a one story building that had been
transformed from a stable into a six bedroom cabin for the
Guardians who had no desire to build their own homes yet. They
preferred to wait until they found their mates.

Finding a mate wasn’t always easy for their
kind. When there was only one person in the world who was destined
to be your true mate, most panthers ended up growing old alone, and
that saddened Talon. A few couples had settled, choosing to be with
someone who wasn’t their true mate. Usually, it was the elder
members of his pride. The ones who’d grown older would meet another
panther and strike up a relationship. They’d become comfortable,
maybe even fall in love with each other, and then decided to live
together as a mated pair. Talon didn’t fault them for that; he even
approved their mating, because not every panther found their true
mate.

Talon had been alpha of this pride since his
father had been killed in a car crash just over two years ago. Even
with his advanced healing abilities, the accident had been fatal
upon impact. His mother lived in one of the single cabins not far
from Noah. She’d been perfectly happy to move out of the alpha’s
home to give Talon the space he’d need to fulfill the job that had
landed in his lap. He’d been preparing to take over the pride when
he was older…much older. Most alphas were in their mid to late
forties, not twenty six years old. Thankfully, his father had taken
him under his wing and taught him everything he could. Talon felt
like he knew what needed to be done. He’d just turned twenty nine
and had worked hard to gain the trust and respect of his pride.

“Mom?” Talon softly called out, a little
nervous at what he was about to ask. If he could talk to anyone,
it’d be her. He’d waited until all of the women had left, giving
him some privacy with his mom.

“What is it, Talon?” she asked, sounding
worried as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel.

“I’ve met a woman,” he admitted, feeling like
a damn schoolboy. He was the alpha for fuck’s sake! He felt like
the biggest idiot for running to his mom for advice.

“Oh!” she squealed, then smiled bright as
possible. His mother didn’t look like she was well into her
sixties. Her hair was always styled in perfect curls, not a gray
hair to be seen. Talon had inherited his dark hair from his mom.
“Tell me about her.”

“She’s human,” he said sadly, dropping his
head into his hands.

“And?” she asked, taking her hand and
stroking his back softly, just the way a mother would.

“Is that all you have to say?” he asked,
holding back a growl of frustration.

“There’s nothing wrong with mating a human,”
she said, and giggled, looking like a younger version of herself.
“Your aunt Georgia was human.”

“What?” Talon snapped to attention, his eyes
popping wide. That was news to him. No one had ever said anything
about having a human mated to his uncle on his father’s side.

“Son,” she sighed, placing a calming hand on
his forearm. They were both leaning against the counter in the
kitchen. “There is no rule that says we can’t mate with humans. Up
until our discovery, it was just important to keep our secret. The
only rule is that if you want to have young, you have to change
her.”

“Changing a human is risky.” Most panthers
were born. There were a few who were turned, but it was very
painful and dangerous. There was a fair chance that the human’s
body wouldn’t handle the transformation. Most panthers stuck to
their own kind anyways.

“If she is a strong woman,” his mom smiled up
at him, “she’ll be fine.”

“But, I was told that humans couldn’t handle
us when we…um, mate,” he blushed, his voice thick with
embarrassment.

“I’m sure you can figure that one out on your
own,” she chuckled. “Now, tell me about her.”

He filled her in on everything he knew about
Liberty, which wasn’t very much. He even told his mother about his
panther claiming her with a heated kiss in the bar and how she
totally brushed him off.

“She asked me if panthers dated!” He snorted.
“I don’t even know what the hell she’s talking about.”

“Boy, you are as stubborn as your father,”
she scolded. “Women want to be courted…romanced. Ask that poor girl
out on a date. Take her to dinner, buy her flowers. Do something to
show her you care.”

“Dinner?” he said, shaking his head with a
laugh. “Flowers?”

“Yes, Talon.” She smiled, pulling his shirt
so he’d lean in closer. She kissed his cheek and patted his hand.
“Make your plan and let me know if you need any help with your tie.
I’m going home.”

“Tie?” he whispered, watching his mother walk
out the back door.
What the hell?

Chapter
Five

The night turned into day entirely too soon.
Talon woke by seven and hurried outside to help the men cut
firewood for the coming winter. With eighteen cabins and the
alpha’s home, they would be working all day and into the following
week. This would keep his mind busy and his panther from demanding
he go and claim the human female for himself.

If it was only that easy.

Winter had already checked in, saying that
there’d been no problems at Liberty’s property. Whoever that
panther was that had been hanging around her house, he hoped it was
just passing through, but his instincts told him not to be so quick
to dismiss this odd sighting of another shifter… especially one
that didn’t belong. He’d sent Winter home to sleep so he could take
up his patrol after dark, and keep an eye on Liberty’s
property.

There was one thing he’d done before he had
slipped outside to work. The smile on his face was hard not to
notice. His pride watched him cautiously out of the corner of their
eyes, never asking what had him in such a good mood.

Talon stopped occasionally to see if there
were any missed calls or texts on his phone. Even though he found
none, he was sure he’d hear from Liberty soon.

Grabbing the ax, he tightened his muscles as
he swung the tool over his head, striking the center of the log he
was currently splitting in half. The wood cracked, sending the two
pieces in different directions. Leaning over, he grabbed another
piece to continue his physical form of stress relief. He only
stopped when one of the male’s mates forced him to eat the lunch
she had provided.

As darkness fell, he’d almost given up on the
idea that she’d accept his invitation. Sending flowers to the bar
on a Sunday had cost him a fortune, but he didn’t care. He’d made a
very comfortable living with his two businesses. That was how he
was able to keep his pride thriving. His Guardians ran the day to
day aspects of his companies, leaving him to his main job of caring
for his people.

A chime from his phone had him scrambling to
remove it from his front pocket. His hands shook as he looked at
the screen, then the biggest smile graced his face. Her reply was
simple.

Yes.

What in the hell was he going to wear? How
the hell did you date a beautiful woman? Panthers didn’t date. When
the mating instincts hit, you mated. Plain and simple.

I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow night.

He’d never admit it, but Talon had actually
used the internet to find ideas for dates and he’d decided on
something simple for their first one. Dinner out at the nice
steakhouse in town. It wasn’t much, but it was a date.

Are you at the bar?

He was an alpha. Why was he so damn nervous
about seeing her?

Yes, are you going to stop by?

A teenage thrill ran through him when she
replied.

I’ll be there shortly.

He was already stripping off his dirty
clothes, rushing into the bathroom to turn on the shower. It took
him less than twenty minutes to get cleaned up and head for his
truck. His brother, Noah, was sitting on the couch in the living
room, eating a plate of food. Why in the hell was his brother not
at his own place?

“Where’re you off to, big brother?” Noah
smirked.

“Why the hell are you eating my food?” Talon
growled. “Don’t you have your own place?”

“You have better channels on your cable
service,” he chuckled. “Off to see Liberty?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Have fun.” Noah waved, turning back to his
plate and a show about zombies.

Talon left without any teasing from his
brother. It didn’t matter that he was the alpha, Noah still treated
him like any little brother would treat his older sibling. His
Guardians were respectful because Talon was their leader. Noah? Not
so much. They’d shared a room as kids and Noah liked to remind him
about his awkward teenage years entirely too much.
Brothers!

It was well after seven when he entered the
bar. A few heads turned in his direction, but he didn’t acknowledge
any of them. His only goal was finding Liberty. Noticing his usual
table was full of young men who worked at a local factory, he
decided to step up to the bar and order a beer.

“What can I get you, Talon?” Cole, one of the
two bartenders, asked.

“Just a beer,” Talon replied, glancing over
his shoulder. His panther purred deep in his chest when he saw her
walking out of the kitchen, a tray of food in her hands. She
stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him, a slight blush dusted
the tops of her cheekbones. Their connection was broken when she
looked away and headed for the table he usually occupied on the
weekends with his Guardians.