Hour of the Lion

Chapter Twenty

A whisper in his ear woke Calum.

“I think it’s your turn now.” Soft lips grazed his cheek, and gentle fingers ran through his hair.

He looked up into her lovely eyes. Sometimes copper-colored, sometimes golden brown with arousal, like now. “Victoria.”

She grinned, mischief in her face, and he had a moment of joy in her recovery before her fingers closed around his cock, bringing him to immediate arousal.

“Hell of a way to wake up,” Alec muttered, and Calum realized she’d knelt between them and had captured Alec’s shaft as well.

“And what do you plan to do with us now, little cat?” By Herne, she was a worthy shifter, a woman warrior with a tender heart. He stroked her cheek, cherishing the way she tipped her head into his palm.

A frown appeared between her eyebrows, and she released them. “I-I’m not sure. How do we do this?”

Alec gave him a laughing glance before smiling up at her. “You’re going to have to work up to some of the fun, but for right now…” With the speed and strength of a cahir, Alec grabbed her wrists and pulled her forward, pinning one hand on each side of his hips, with her knees still in the center of the bed, now against the outside of his right thigh. His cock rose toward her as if catching her scent. “Brawd?”

Smiling at her startled expression, Calum moved behind her. Her firm ass was in the air, the fragrance of her arousal hardening him further. He could have positioned her with touch, but the animal in him reveled at the way she’d submit to his voice alone. “Open your legs to me, cariad,” he said softly.

A shiver made her breasts jiggle, and then her knees edged apart. He remained silent, unmoving, and she widened farther.

He knelt between her open legs and ran his hands up and down her back, outlining her lean muscles. A lioness, she was, even before becoming to a shifter. Our cat. He moved lower. Between her legs, her cunt was slippery and swollen, ready for his use.

Her breath hitched as he gently stroked each side of her clit until it firmed under his light touch. She grew wetter.

“I want your mouth on Alec, little cat,” Calum said. “He’ll give you one hand back.”

Alec grinned and opened his grip on her left hand. She balanced over him on her right arm, with his hand still braceleting that wrist. He glanced at Calum, eyes filled with pleasure and heat-and amusement.

In the Daonain, sometimes a littermate would resent the dominant one, but Alec wasn’t one of them. He simply enjoyed.

Victoria’s freed hand closed around Alec’s thick cock.

Calum heard his sharp inhalation. She took his brother in her mouth, pulling him deep, and Calum’s shaft pulsed as if in envy. Alec tangled his fingers in her hair and sighed. “Damn, Vixen.”

She set up a steady rhythm, licking and sucking, the sounds enough to drive a male wild.

Calum swirled his cock in her juices, then entered slowly. Hot and wet and as welcoming as the little wiggle she gave. The need to possess, to keep her, rose in him like a flood, and he fought it. There would be no lifemating until after a shifter’s first Gathering.

But the rules said nothing about ties of pleasure, did they? Smiling, Calum put light kisses up her spine, leaning forward to balance on one arm. When he closed his teeth on the delicate muscle of her nape, her pussy clenched around his cock. Her back curved down to put her hips higher-welcoming his use.

He caught the flash of Alec’s delighted grin before his brawd tightened his hand in her hair. “Harder, Vixen.”

Reminded, she increased her pace, her rhythm breaking when Alec abandoned her wrist to fondle her breasts. Her breath held a low moan which she cut off.

Still fighting. If there was ever a female who needed to be controlled and overwhelmed with sensation, it was this one. Calum slid his shaft out slowly, then back in, rotating his hips to find the sweet spot. Low, he remembered from their time in the cave. It took a few more exploratory thrusts before her insides softened, while the outside ring of muscle clamped onto him like a wrench. Right there. He angled himself to rub over the spot with every slow stroke.

Her ass muscles tightened and soon, she moaned, long and low.

Alec laughed, tugging her head forward to keep her moving, while he played with her nipples, rolling them, pinching lightly.

Calum could almost see her thoughts fragmenting. He kept his movements slow and easy. “Suck Alec hard, little cat. Get him off now.” He gave his brother a nod to go ahead.

Alec fisted both hands in her hair, guiding her. She sucked noisily, taking him deeper. Soon Alec growled a warning, pulling her head down for his release. As his hips strained upward, she swallowed frantically. Alec fell back with a long, happy sigh. His grip on her loosened.

Victoria made a “mmm” sound of satisfaction and brought him down gently with little licks as she stroked his stomach.

Her sweet side came out when she had sex, Calum had noticed, and it touched his heart.

Alec tugged her hair. “Thank you, sweetheart. You were magnificent.”

Calum waited for her to catch her breath, then met Alec’s eyes. As most shifters, they’d shared often through the years, yet nothing had felt so…right…before. As if Victoria fit perfectly between them. His brother grinned as Calum gripped her hips and surged into her. No longer slow and easy. He needed to take her, and he did, hard and deep, rubbing his cock over the sweet spot with each stroke.

Her thighs started to tremble, and a low keening came from her. Not nearly enough.

Alec bent and slid his head under her so he could suck on her dangling breasts. She shivered, and her pussy clenched on Calum’s cock. Her hips pushed back against him, matching his rhythm. Not yet.

Calum released his grip on her right hip and reached around her waist. His finger wandered down her low abdomen and lower to rub her slippery clit.

She went rigid, and he grinned.

Alec apparently nipped for she yelped and tried to pull up. Instead of permitting it, Calum pushed her knees farther apart, increasing her helplessness, then drove into her, harder, faster, teasing her clit with each thrust.

Her whole body went tight, and her pussy closed around him like a fist. Her every breath held a whine of appeal and then her breathing stopped entirely-and he knew her world had poised…right there…waiting for his touch.

He hummed, knowing Alec would hear and increase his attentions, and then Calum took her clit between his fingers, giving it firm, unrelenting pressure as he slammed into her.

A hard shudder ran through her, and she wailed her release-the most beautiful sound in the world-each broken cry corresponding to the forceful clenching of her orgasm around his cock.

The buffeting sent him over. He grabbed her hips with both hands, stroking her deep, letting himself go as he growled and filled her with his seed. May Herne and the Mother bless them someday with young.

Silence for a minute. Her head hung low, her ribs heaving with her gasps. Calum kissed her neck, and then pulled her over onto her side, staying behind her-in her. Alec shifted around to sandwich her between them. With a sigh of contentment, she wiggled slightly to snuggle closer.

As their mate laid her head in the hollow of Alec’s shoulder, Alec gave Calum a sleepy, joyful smile and a murmur of sound that translated to ours.

Calum remained awake. As the curtains brightened with the dawn, he simply lay and watched the other two sleep, feeling the rightness of their joining. When Victoria tensed in a dream, Calum murmured to her, stroking her shoulder, and she eased, her breathing slowing again. She trusted him, even at her most vulnerable. I’ll take care with your heart, little cat.

When sunlight showed beneath the curtains in the bedroom, Calum slipped out of the bed, took a quick shower, and made himself tea.

In the living room, Jamie still slept on the couch. The two knee-high brownies in the corner bobbed their heads at his quiet ‘thank you’ and disappeared. He’d have to buy them some extra-rich cream and maybe one of Angie’s pastries to reward them for their vigilance.

He settled beside his daughter, sipped his tea, and simply watched her. Doing that a lot recently, wasn’t he? But he’d come so close to losing them all.

With a careful touch, he brushed her hair from her freckled cheeks. Aside from a few scratches and bruises, she’d survived the fight in fine shape. She was tougher than he’d ever have thought, more like Victoria than Lenora.

Not too much later, Alec emerged from the kitchen, yawning and carrying his coffee and the morning paper.

Calum could hear the shower running; Victoria was awake also. Would she be embarrassed? Or, more probably, full of prickles to hide the fact she cared. “Brawd, we should clean out the guest room between our flats so Victoria will have space to call her own.”

“Good idea. Her house is far too exposed.” When Jamie grumbled in her sleep at their voices, Alec grinned. “She looks better.”

“Yes. But she should trawsfur again. Soon. Having you and Victoria there would help.”

Alec considered, nodded slowly. “Yeah. And it wouldn’t hurt the Vixen to start her lessons.”

“What lessons?” Victoria asked from the doorway, engulfed in Alec’s dark green terry-cloth robe. Her face was a lovely pink from the heat of the shower, her cheeks reddened from beard burn, and her lips swollen. She looked well-loved.

When she met his eyes, her color darkened. Not prickly after all. Shy. He smiled a little, charmed at the thought.

She knelt beside the couch to check Jamie. “That’s a normal sleep. She’s okay.” Her tenderness warmed him. She truly did care for his kitten, didn’t she? After brushing a strand of hair away from Jamie’s cheek, she rose, assuming a cooler expression-closing the gate on that gentle heart of hers.

He preferred she leave the barrier open. He stood, gripped her robe, and pulled her close enough to take her mouth in a long morning kiss. Soft, swollen lips, the fragrance of clean female skin. When he raised his head, her eyes looked dazed, and her hands gripped his biceps.

“Good morning, little cat,” he said softly, brushing her lips again. He’d enjoy greeting her this way for the remainder of his days.

“Good morning,” she said, obviously trying for composure, but her husky voice told him different. “Um. You were talking about lessons?”

“We’ll coach you on shifting, control, and the tricks of being an animal,” Alec said. “It’s pretty strange at first.”

“So I found out,” Victoria said with a wry smile. “And you two are my instructors?”

“If you like.” Calum ran his finger down her pink cheek. “Being asked to mentor is an honor, so if there is someone you would-”

“No,” she cut him off. “I promised Jamie we’d learn together. Having the same teachers is only logical.”

“Indeed.” Logical. Bugger it, he hoped she liked him and Alec as more than just instructors. He wanted her in his life, in his arms, arguing with him over politics, brightening his days. Yet, she’d spoken no words of affection-and they weren’t permitted to do so at this point. “I’ll wake Jamie, and we’ll get started after breakfast.”

“Start this morning?”

Her nervous expression brought a smile to his face. She wasn’t nearly as blasé as she tried to appear. “Yes.”

Fucking-A, the air in the tunnel was freezing. Vic shivered even more, knowing the next step would be to take her clothes off.

“Strip,” Calum said, and Vic choked on a laugh.

“My clothes go…?” She looked around the dark cave. No furniture, no closets, no hangers.

“Here.” Alec took his shirt off and stuffed it into the wall where cubbyholes had been carved out of solid rock. Some had clothing in them already.

“Got it.” She stripped, feeling her skin flush despite the chill. Yeah, okay, they’d seen her naked-hell, had kissed most of her-but still, there was something different about getting all bare-ass in the daylight. In front of both of them. She shook her hair to veil the front of her.

Jamie had no problem with modesty and shimmied out of her clothes without a second thought. Guess shifters must be used to being naked. Hell, if they went out on a hunt, the cave must look like a nudist colony. Weird.

Alec grinned, obviously aware of her reluctance. “It’s best to strip before changing. Gets expensive otherwise, since you’ll end up bursting the seams. But having the clothes rip is good. They’ll fall off and not leave you all tangled up.”

“Unless you’re wearing elastic.” Calum’s smile flashed. “When we weren’t much older than you, Jamie, Alec forgot to remove his clothing. Rather than changing back, he tried to claw his stretchy body shirt off. I think he still has the scars.”

Vic snickered, and Jamie laughed.

“Thanks, brawd.” Alec rolled his eyes. “Needless to say, Mr. Careful never forgot to strip first.”

Jamie shoved her shoes into her cubby and turned. “I’m ready to trawsfur, Daddy.” Her chin rose as she tried to look brave, but the quaver in her voice betrayed her nervousness.

“Me, too,” Vic said. At least her voice didn’t shake. Much.

Calum glanced at Alec, and Vic felt a tingle along her skin as Alec blurred, then reappeared as a massive cougar, his fur so golden it almost shone. His eyes were slightly lighter, almost matching the paler fur on the insides of his ears.

“God, you’re pretty,” Vic said involuntarily and could swear the cat smirked at her words. It-he padded over and rubbed his jaw over her bare hip making her shiver. Sure she knew it was Alec, but…that was a very big mountain lion.

“Behave yourself, brawd.”

With a low feline chuff, Alec moved away to crouch at the tunnel entrance.

“Victoria, is the door clear in your mind?”

“Yes.” It glowed even more brightly today.

“Good. After you trawsfur, find the portal again before you do anything else. It doesn’t look the same from the other side, and you need to be able to jump back quickly if needed.”

Jamie nodded. “It’s scary when you can’t see the door.”

“So it is. For today, you will stay with me and Alec. We may shift back a time or two to point something out.” Calum tilted his head at Vic. “Trawsfur.”

Open the door. Step through. A tingling ran over her skin, starting at her toes, ending at her scalp. Her balance ruined, she fell forward, and stared at her very own fuzzy paws. Cool. As she sniffed the air, a sense of belonging washed over her, being held and loved and never abandoned. To her regret, the feeling dissipated like mist in the wind.

Alec padded over and butted her in the shoulder. The breeze wafted his scent toward her-a cat scent, but very, very male. She sniffed and found herself rubbing him, cheek to cheek. Damn, he smelled good. Pure testosterone.

Pulling herself together, she saw Jamie and Calum had shifted. She simply stared. Calum had darker fur than Alec, almost brown, and his eyes were a golden brown. Instead of just being lighter, his muzzle looked as if he’d rubbed it in snow, making her want to smile.

Jamie bounced around her father on her little paws, batting at his tail, then noticed Alec and Vic. She sprang between them, shoving and rubbing.

Calum followed and… Oooh, Calum smelled as good as Alec. Different though. Could a scent be less…friendly and fun? But richer? Deeper? Vic felt her tail swaying with delight. She rubbed muzzles with him and actually licked his jaw to savor him more. He laid a huge paw across her shoulders, holding her in place as he rubbed her with his cheeks and chin. When he was finished, their scents mingled so thoroughly she couldn’t tell where hers began and his ended. And she was purring.

Jamie bounded over to the entrance and out, then Alec and Calum. As Vic stepped from the cave, the mountain called to her, a force pulling at every cell. Run. Hunt.

Ahead the others disappeared into the forest. Vic let her instincts take over and sprang after them, catching up easily. As long as she didn’t think about it, four legs worked even better than two, and the feel of the wind ruffling her fur was a sensuous delight. She caught a scent, something rustled in the brush, and suddenly she was chasing a rabbit. Part of her screamed, ‘wait, no,’ and the rest of her saw food.

Food?

She halted so suddenly her paws skidded in the snow. Jesus, she’d almost killed Thumper for breakfast. Major ugh.

Calum’s deep chuckle sounded behind her, and she wanted to cringe. Please tell me he didn’t see me tearing after a damned rodent. She turned.

Back in human form, he leaned against a cedar, arms folded across his chest. She couldn’t look away. He was gorgeous, all muscle and dark skin, and an um-hmm…well-endowed male package.

Involuntarily, her belly inched lower to the ground, so her hips rose higher.

His lips curved, and heat flashed in his eyes. “Don’t tempt me, Victoria. Unfortunately, we’re here for lessons only.” He knelt and beckoned with two fingers. “Come.”

He’d put no power into his voice, but she sprang to his side instantly anyway, and he still smelled so good she had to rub her muzzle against him. He stroked her head with his warm hand, and the sensation almost mesmerized her. Her front paws started stepping up and down.

“Being an animal is overwhelming,” he said, the richness of his voice soothing. “You must strengthen the part of you that is human, so, if needed, you can overrule the wildness.” He scratched around her ears, up under her chin. Her eyes slitted closed in pleasure.

“However, rabbits are good to eat, and part of the joy of being an animal is the hunt. And the kill. It’s permitted, cariad.” The hint of laughter told her he’d seen her sudden halt. Dammit.

Jamie and Alec loped over to join them, Alec’s ears forward, his tail in a question mark.

“Victoria found a rabbit,” Calum explained. “Ah, I do need to caution you-we’ve found trespassers in our mountains, setting animal traps. The traps are of an illegal type-quite nasty with metal teeth-and we might have missed finding some. Be cautious.”

His serious gaze went from Vic to Jamie, and then he smiled. “That said, off with you. Alec and I will follow.”

Jamie bounced forward, rose on her hind legs to bat at Vic with her paws, and sprang away, obviously inviting a game of tag. Vic leaped after her, and they chased each other up and down the slopes, through snow drifts, and over icy streams. Finally, in a sunny clearing they stopped. Sides heaving, Vic felt her blood pulsing in her veins. She felt joyously alive.

Something snapped in the woods behind them. With a snarl, she turned and leaped in front of the smaller panther, ready to protect her.

At the edge of the clearing, Alec and Calum, still in cat form, froze. Alec’s ears twitched at Calum, and the two panthers settled quietly down where they were.

I’m an idiot. She shook her head and shifted back to human. Hey, it got easier with practice. She walked over to the cats, shivering as the cold mountain air hit her bare skin. “Sorry, guys. I don’t know why-”

Alec shifted, then hugged her. “You were just protecting her, Vixen. Your heart and your instincts know she’s your cub.”

Jamie trotted over and stropped herself against Vic’s legs. One little panther, so cute she should be outlawed.

“Mine, huh?”

“Apparently.” Alec nuzzled her neck and kissed her cheek. “There’s nothing quite as distinctive-or dangerous-as a mama cat defending her baby.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Her words might have been nonchalant, but not her feelings. Every time she looked at the little panther, her heart surged with love, with the need to protect. And she couldn’t resist bending to hug Jamie, rubbing her face in the warm fur. Yes. Mine.

Again, she felt that weird feeling rising through as a sense of love and protection blanketed her. “What the hell is that feeling anyway?”

Calum shifted to human and rose to his feet. “What?”

Straightening, she waved a hand at herself. “That feeling. It’s not…me.”

Frowning, Calum took Alec’s place and put his arm around her waist. “Ah, that one.”

Vic waited, then prompted him with an elbow into his stomach. He grunted, though she knew she hadn’t even dented his rock-like six-pack.

“You should have let her eat the rabbit,” Alec said. “Women get testy when they’re hungry.”

Calum moved Vic’s elbow from his ribs. “Impatience is not a virtue, Victoria.”

“Neither is stalling.”

“What you’re receiving is your connection to…the being we call the Mother, short for Mother Earth. Gaia?” He waited for her puzzled nod. “As descendents of the Fae, we apparently…hmmm, feel her presence more strongly than the humans, especially when in animal form.”

“I’m not a furball right now.”

“Ah.” Calum stroked her cheek with his knuckles, his gaze warm. “She is also very fond of mothers.”

Mothers? Oh. “Um. Okay, then. So how did you know what I felt?”

One side of his mouth tilted up. “As Cosantir, I am bonded to the earth. To Her, although most of my power comes from Herne.” He caught her blank look. “Herne the Hunter? God of the Animals?”

She rolled her eyes to cover her discomfort. Not only new shapes but a different religion too? Then again, she’d felt that surge of warmth, of…love. Hard to discount that one. “Is that why you could make that wussy bear-guy turn back to human even when he didn’t want to?”

Calum nodded, then glanced at Jamie. “Unfortunately, with a first trawsfur, forcing the shift makes matters worse. The youngling will lose all connection to the door, and if they cannot shift every month-” He looked away.

Something horrible must happen. She reached for Jamie, needing to feel her warmth. Change the subject. “What happened down there when you made that guy shift?”

Alec snorted. “He wanted to win Farrah’s affections-or at least her attentions. Battling another is a time-honored method of scoring, so to speak. But crippling your rival is forbidden.”

Well, hell, they were more aggressive than off-duty soldiers in a bar.

“Speaking of fighting,” Calum said, “I want to teach you two some techniques.”

Hey. She was a damn good fighter. “And what exactly do you think I need to learn?”

“We’ll start with how to use your hind claws to disembowel your opponent,” Calum said in a dry voice and shifted.

Oookay. Vic closed her mouth and followed suit.

“It’s Swane,” came the voice on the phone.

Vidal had anxiously waited for word that they’d captured the girl. He’d told Swane he wanted to be there when they contacted the girl’s werecat father. But all yesterday-nothing. “Why the hell didn’t you call?”

“It was a total cluster-fuck. The little bitch turned into a cougar. Clawed the shit out of me. I’m calling from the fucking hospital.”

“Have you got her?”

“Hell no.” Swane swore foully for a full minute. “She tore out of the house and ran into the forest. I was bleeding like a stuck pig, so I sent back-up and stayed with the van. Two of my men followed the cat up a trail.”

“Well?”

“The cop showed up, then the kid’s dad. They changed into fucking cougars. Both of them.”

“What happened to your men?”

“Don’t know. No arrests. Jail’s empty. They haven’t called in. I haven’t seen them anywhere. I figure they’re lion fodder.”

Vidal dropped into the chair. He’d known the shapeshifters were dangerous. But to have his hopes flattened so thoroughly. Depression rolled over him, blackening his thoughts. “It’s hopeless.”

“Those fucking creatures have killed my men,” Swane snapped. “They’re not going to get away with it, even if I have to take some explosives in there and flatten the town.”