That the Lioness behind her was stalking her spoke of one of two situations.Jealousy over her having taken Ryan from her, or it was simply a desire to put El in her place.
What had Ryan said when he and Luis had been arguing on Pantera land?That in a fight, a Lion would always beat a Pantera.
She stopped as the path gave way to lawn.Any closer, and Shawn might hear her from his bedroom.He would definitely hear if he had his windows open, but she doubted it as he depended on air conditioning far too much.
If luck was on her side, he wouldn’t hear a damn thing, and for the first time in her adult life, she didn’t need him to fight her battles for her.
She could do it her fucking self.
For that reason, her voice was low but strong as she called out, “I know you’re there.Are you going to stop being a pussy and face me?Or just stalk me all night?”
The beast’s snarl rumbled along the airwaves, and had she been frightened, the sound would have agitated her further.As it was, it made her bristle.As the beast padded forward, her feet displacing the pebbles that shifted under its weight, she came face-to-face with a very large, obviously very angry Lioness.
Trouble was, El had more reason to be angry.
And as had been the case the first time she shifted, that anger would be the reason she shifted by herself without prompt from her mates.
As the cat ripped itself free of her, she let out a bellowing roar as the glory of the moment filled her.
She wasn’t afraid, she was alive.For the first time ever, the wonder of that rippled through her, and then, she could think of nothing else save for the threat.
A threat that needed to be torn asunder.
Chapter 15
Shawn wouldn’t say that he was accustomed to hearing lions fighting in his backyard.
He lived a very human life when he was in the States, after all.His time overseas had had him coming into contact with Shifters in the CUBS unit where admittedly odd shithadgone down, but on American soil, he was used to gardens being places where barbecues were held in summer.Where curses could be heard as fire ants overtook the lawn and stung an unsuspecting bare foot.
He was used to peering at the night sky from there, watching as fireworks rained down overhead on Independence Day.
He wasn’t used to it being a battleground for big cats.
The sounds were loud enough for him to hear over the television.
Curious because they were close, disturbingly close to the lodge in point of fact, he peered out of the window and in the light of the full moon and managed to see two Lionesses fighting.
One was obviously the better fighter, he saw that immediately.Not that he was used to being the referee in a match between Lionesses.But he could just tell.Though the anger both of them shared seemed mutual, one was just stronger and nastier if truth were told.
It was like somebody who fought dirty in a battle against somebody who just boxed.There was no contest.And the dirty-fighting Lioness was obviously winning.He watched as claws tore through thick hide, as teeth ripped into flash.
Blood spurted, and raw wounds were visible even in the dim light.
The brutality astonished him, and he was a soldier.Had served in the infantry—he knew what front line battle wounds looked like.
It was so close, far closer than his brain was capable of processing.It was like being the director of a wildlife documentary.Nobody got this close to this kind of fight.
He folded his arms across his chest unsure as to whether he should break it up.The only way he knew of breaking something like this up was to use a gun.And he highly doubted the beasts in his front garden would appreciate being shot at.Being mauled to death by a Lioness wasn’t on his agenda tonight.
The thought had him rolling his eyes in amusement, but also, wriggling his shoulders in concern.He knew they were wild, knew that the predatory half of their nature was allowed to reign free when they were on the compound, but this free?Were they allowed to be so violent with each other?Because the truth was, this fight looked like a challenge.Not that he’d ever seen a challenge before, but he could hazard a guess as to how it looked… And he felt pretty damn certain that he was staring at one right now.
Unease slithered through him at a particularly nasty sounding roar of rage, and when one of the Lionesses seem to stand on the other’s belly, it had him reaching for his cell phone and dialing Ryan’s number.
He was surprised when the call was answered so quickly, and with no greeting, he blurted out, “There are two Lionesses brawling in front of the Lodge.It’s a pretty epic bitch fight but I think you need to go and stop it.“
“Two Lionesses are fighting?”Ryan demanded, confusion lacing his tone.
“Yeah, and when I say fighting, I’m being generous.”As he spoke, he could hear a slight breeze, almost as though Ryan were running, and Shawn realized the urgency in his tone had obviously transmitted well.
