Her Lion Guard - The Complete Series Box Set (BBW Shifter Romance) (9 page)

     “Nothing, mostly,” Mary-Lou had muttered over a familiar rush in her ears. Vampires. Shape-shifters. What next – faeries? She paused.  That would actually be pretty cool. Except with her luck, they will probably turn out to be vicious, blood-thirsty little buggers. Mary-Lou shook her head, focusing back on the conversation at hand.

     “There is time yet to explain everything,” Irma insisted, and Jonathon added, “We did not want to overwhelm her.”

     “Don’t baby her too much,” Nicholas had warned darkly. “Better to be scared and ready than ignorant and dead. Now,” the man clapped wrinkled hands, “Where are
my
pancakes?”

     Mary-Lou vividly recalled wondering if enhanced emotions came with the Shifter package, right alongside extreme strength and super-hearing. Between Nicholas’ flickering moods, Irma and Jonathon’s domineering posturing, and Jonas’ increasingly protective behavior, Mary-Lou was steadily nearing the end of her mental calm. It had been but two days.

    Most unexpectedly, respite came in the form of another Shifter. Sasha drifted onto the Cabin’s land one misty morning, quiet and serene as he passed by a furiously swearing Mary-Lou and a grinning, shirtless Jonas.

     They were practicing punching, and Mary-Lou really, truly wished she could say that she was kidding. It was, sadly, the truth: Irma had enlisted Jonas’ help in what she called “desensitizing” training the very first time Mary-Lou had pulled a punch while sparring with the older woman. While Mary-Lou was perfectly comfortable knocking a deserving punk on their ass, she proved less-willing to inflict lasting damage.

     So, yes, it was not the best first meeting. Jonas was quick to prove to her that it was not the worst, either, for the worst happened a moment later when Jonas roared and
jumped
the other man, claws and eyes flashing.

     What followed was a confusing jumble of growls, punches, and Mary-Lou’s incensed screaming of things such as, “OH MY GOD, WHERE DO YOU PEOPLE KEEP COMING FROM,” and “CAN YOU PLEASE NOT KILL EACH OTHER BEFORE BREAKFAST?” She was mostly ignored, although Sasha later told her that he got a kick out of her flustered squawking. 

     It was not until Irma charged out of the Cabin, roar shaking the skies that the two men pulled apart. Jonas’s broad chest was covered in scratches and bites; a no-doubt expensive dress shirt hung in pieces about Sasha’s slender waist. Irma regarded the two young men with narrowed eyes, not unlike a mother scolding her errant children.

     “What,” she had thundered, “Do you two knuckleheads think you are doing?”

     Jonas’ eyes were mutinous, but he kept silent. Sasha’s gaze was placid and uncaring.

     Irma sighed, motioning Mary-Lou to her side. Mary-Lou went, keeping a wary eye on the two testosterone-driven idiots.

     “Sasha, this is my daughter, Mary-Lou,” Irma said, and Mary-Lou felt a flush of pleasure warm her cheeks at the acknowledgment Irma continued, “And that,” she nodded her head at Jonas, “is Jonas Edwards, of the House of the Lion.”

     “Pleasure to meet you,” Sasha offered to Mary-Lou and then Jonas, a bit too genuine for someone who had been attacked with extreme prejudice. “My name is Alexander Ivanov, of the House of the Snake.”

     “A worm,” Jonas had spit out; the other man promptly ignored him in favor of Mary-Lou. “You may call me Sasha,” he told her. Jonas let out a disgruntled snarl.

     “Come.” Irma motioned them to stand, then turned and walked back toward the Cabin with the confidence of someone used to leading, “Do not forget that you are both guests here. There is no fighting in my home.”

     Mary-Lou watched the two men mutter embarrassed agreements and follow, a bit of pride welling up in her chest. Her mother was awesome.

     Except that she was not her mother, not where it counted. Mary-Lou reminded herself of that as she hurried to follow, secretly wondering if it was not too late. If she was not already too used to a home woven from metal, to friends who were half-wild inside

.

     On the upside, Sasha proved to be as calm and composed as he first appeared. He did not rise up to Jonas’ continuous posturing; neither did he try to appease him by evading Mary-Lou. When push came to shove later that night – over
seating arrangements
of all things – he did the mature, logical thing and pulled Jonas aside to talk things out. Like adults. Mary-Lou was most impressed.

     She was less impressed when she overheard something about “mates” and “not here to steal your woman, 
jeez
,” but she would take what she could get – as well as continue ignoring the fact that Jonas had somehow come to see her as
his
. It was not something Mary-Lou was ready to think about, not with trouble looming ahead. She chose to focus on the fact that she now knew Jonas – and Sasha’s – animal forms, and decided to pester each man accordingly.

     “So,” she had said to Sasha as he helped her clear the table after dinner, “You are a Snake-shifter.”

     “I am,” Sasha agreed. After a quick glance toward an obviously eavesdropping Jonas, he turned to face her fully. Mary-Lou smiled to see a mischievous spark in his eyes, just to yelp a moment later when a forked tongue hissed inches from her lips.

     “Oh my God,” Mary-Lou laughed, watching Sasha slurp back the twisting muscle back into his mouth. When the man stuck his tongue out again, it was perfectly round and human. “That was amazing! I didn’t know you guys could shift part-way,” she enthused.

     “Not everyone can,” Sasha said, smugness obvious in his voice, “It takes skill.” Jonas muttered a low, “Show-off,” and stalked into the den.

     Mary-Lou elected to ignore him. “What else can you do?” she asked Sasha instead.

     They spent the rest of the night talking about the physics of shifting, snake diets, and other vaguely important topics. By the end, they had even managed to drag Jonas into the discussion: The other man had some pretty strong opinions about hunting while Shifted – namely, a huge NO – which Sasha happened to share. Mary-Lou let them blabber about raw meat and associated diseases, happy to see the two get along. Even if the topic was rather stomach-turning.

     She did not think much of the absence of her parents and Nicholas. Not until the next morning, when all three reappeared with a grinning girl in tow.

     “Hi!” Cara had bounced up to Mary-Lou, smile so sunny it gave a still-sleepy Mary-Lou whiplash. “I’m Cara. You are Mary-Lou, right? Sorry I’m late, the principal of my school’s an asshole, wouldn’t let me leave. Had to fake a death in the family because of the old geezer – you know what a pain it is to get a hold of my mom long enough to get her to cover my ass? Thank goodness she happened to be between flights when he called, or I would’ve had to legitimately run away. And that would be, like, the third time. Didn’t want to get kicked out from another boarding school, you know?”

     Mary-Lou had blinked down at the other girl, half-full coffee mug clutched in one hand.

     “Ummm, yes?” she had said in the end. The girl had grinned, pink lips parting to no doubt let out another deluge of cheerful words.

     “Cara,” Nicholas had stepped forward then, thumping a large hand against Cara’s bony shoulder. The girl did not give an inch, confirming Mary-Lou’s suspicions about her identity, “Let the girl wake up before talking her ear off.”

     “Sorry,” Cara offered, grin no less bright, “Got a bit excited. I am not usually this bad – haven’t slept too much the past couple of days. I always chatter when I am sleep-deprived.”

     “That’s okay,” Mary-Lou smiled back. It would be nice to have another girl around, she thought – someone she could talk to without the danger of unhappy pouts (Jonas, when she tried talking to Sasha alone) or inexplicable and often awkward tension (again Jonas, when they happened to be alone). She told Cara as much, omitting the part about potentially jealous blondes.

     “You’ve been surrounded by
boys
the past week?” Cara had gasped, “No wonder your clothes are all terrible! Don’t worry, I’ll help you choose something more flattering. Is there Wi-Fi up here?”

     Or not. Mary-Lou had watched Cara bound toward the den and the family computer housed within – pointed the way by Irma’s suspiciously helpful self – with rising apprehension. This girl might be trouble.

     A day and twenty rush-ordered, jam-packed boxes of clothing later, Mary-Lou was sure of the fact.

     “They are a present,” Cara had wobbled when Mary-Lou refused to even touch the brown cardboard, “You can’t refuse a
present
!”

     “This is a thousand dollars’ worth of clothing!” Mary-Lou had argued back. “I can’t accept a thousand-dollar present!”

     “Psh, that’s like, a single trip to the mall,” Cara had dismissed. “Also, three thousand, and there are some shoes in there, too.”

     “What mall are you shopping at,” Mary-Lou had groused, but nonetheless allowed herself to be bullied into accepting the overly-generous – and unnecessary – present.

     The terrible thing was, Mary-Lou actually ended up liking the damned clothes.

     “Hot
damn
,” Cara had whistled when she got her first glimpse of Mary-Lou in a smartly-tailored, colored blouse and a bark-gray pencil skirt. “You should be ashamed of yourself! Hiding curves like those under baggy sweaters and pajama pants!” she admonished. Mary-Lou waved her comments off, but was secretly quite pleased with her look: She was not swimming in the garments, yet they did not cling unpleasantly or hang revealingly open over her admittedly large breasts. Style with just enough of sass – she approved.

     As did Jonas and Sasha, judging by the stunned silence that had greeted her entrance in the den later that day. Cara had whooped behind her, quirking her eyebrows up and down suggestively when Mary-Lou turned to glare her into silence.

     They had watched a movie after that, Mary-Lou squished between the end of the couch and Jonas’ large body, Cara leaning against her legs. Sasha was sprawled along the unoccupied length of the couch, toes just brushing against Jonas’ thighs. The two had become a bit more comfortable in each other’s presence, which eliminated quite a bit of the tension in the house.

     Sasha and Cara, on the other hand…

     Mary-Lou had noticed the hesitant glances, stuttered touches. Hell, it was hard
not
to notice, with Cara becoming a quiet, shy
pod person
every time Sasha shared her space. Yet, the one time Sasha had attempted to start a conversation with the younger woman, Cara had outright
snapped
at the man. With her teeth. Mary-Lou was most confused.

     “Are you afraid of him?” she had asked Cara after the movie was over, after Sasha had left for his room and Jonas had briefly retreated to the kitchen and the leftovers therein.

     “Yes,” Cara answered without asking
whom
, without playing dumb. Mary-Lou liked her more every day. “Yes, but not like that – I know he won’t hurt me. But he is
powerful
, Mary-Lou. He is the alpha of his pack, and I am not even a beta – I feel like, like he could
consume
me if I let him in too close.” She sighed, pushing her face against her knees.

     “An instinct?” Mary-Lou wonders; Cara gives a small nod. “He is an alpha? What does that mean?”

     Cara lifted her head long enough to give Mary-Lou an exasperated look. “Oh my God, they will eat you alive.” She pushed to her feet, slight form staggering slightly as her muscles unlocked, “
f
irst thing tomorrow, we are hitting the books,” Cara announced, leaving the room with a slight wave toward Jonas.

     “What was that about?” Jonas had rumbled, offering Mary-Lou one of the two tubes of ice cream he had pressed against his chest. Mary-Lou took it along with the spoon that was thrust in her direction next, delighted to find it a chocolate Rocky Road.

     “Cara is having some trouble with Sasha,” she told him. Jonas let out a quiet snarl and started to get up; realizing her mistake, Mary-Lou quickly amended, “No, nothing like that! She likes him! She is just confused, that’s all. Something about him being an alpha.” Jonas sat back down, somewhat reluctantly. He was obviously itching for a fight with the other man. Mary-Lou narrowed her eyes.