A Lion’s Mate by Eve Langlais
Chapter Twenty-One
The injury slowed Zach down, but not enough for him to ignore Fluffs being chased by bad guys.
He shredded his clothes in his haste to go after them, the wound in his left shoulder, meaning he did more of a three-legged run to keep the pressure off it. The good news? The bullet went right through. The bad? He didn’t have time to stop and apply pressure.
Following the trail proved easy, the humans weren’t trying to mask their pursuit. Even odder, Fluffs didn’t seem to be concealing her route. He knew how well she could hide, so why did she deliberately leave traces?
When the tree line ended, he saw the backs of the humans, all of them facing someone standing at the edge of a cliff.
He was in time to see Arleen jump.
“No!” It came out as Rawr! And led to the humans jerking to see him.
Not exactly a great idea as the guns lifted to take aim. Bad odds, but he couldn’t exactly run away.
Sometimes, it hurt to be a hero.
He ran for the most scared-looking one, who squeaked and jerked his gun, which led to the guy beside him yelling, “Hey, watch that thing.” As they all had their attention drawn, Zach twisted, winced as his shoulder protested, and pounced on a third, who really should have been paying attention.
Four and five tried to shoot, but like a certain military group in white armor, their aim proved atrocious. Not many people learned to shoot moving targets. It was harder than they imagined.
Guy number three panicked and ran, tripping over his feet, and the gunshot proved loud and final. The stupid and clumsy shouldn’t own weapons.
The guy under Zach was out, and as he rose to three legs, he felt more than saw the weapon being trained on him. He whirled, expecting to get shot, only to see a branch swung by a very annoyed Svetlana. She knocked the guy out, and the tiger took down the other human.
With the enemy under control, he headed for the edge of the cliff and glanced over, hoping to see Arleen holding on. The rock had no spots to dangle, and the water below looked cold. It moved rapidly, meaning his gaze went upriver. And then he saw her, a silvery head bobbing amidst the dark and angry blue.
It was going to be cold, but he jumped. He hit the glacial water, and his balls climbed up into his throat. It was that fucking cold, but easier than expected to stay with his head above water. He let his body follow the current, using his paws to push off the rocks as he swept past them.
He couldn’t see Arleen ahead of him and had to hope that he’d hear or see her before tumbling past too far if she had gone ashore.
A distant roar made his balls climb a little higher. Of course, there would be a waterfall.
Over the edge he went, suspended in mid-air for a moment with a view of a gorgeous valley. Big lake. Bigger forest.
Then he dropped and hit the water. Sank but never touched bottom. He kicked to the surface, following the light. He burst from the water and swapped out of his freezing fur to yell, “Fuck, that’s cold.”
“Out here, it’s what we call refreshing.”
He heard Arleen’s voice, yelling over the spatter of the falls. He trod water, turning until he saw her, sitting on a rock in the sun, wringing out her sweater.
A gentleman would have looked away from her body.
As her love, he had a right to ogle. She smiled when she caught him. “You jumped.”
“I did.”
“How did you know it wasn’t dangerous?”
“Didn’t care. I wasn’t letting you go alone and have all the fun.”
“Don’t know if I’d call that fun. It used to hurt less when I was younger.” She stretched and winced.
He laughed. “We’re not that old. But I agree, let’s not do that again soon.” He dragged himself onto the rock, no clothes to worry about meant the sun did its best to warm his sac out of hiding.
“You’re hurt. I should go back and eat those humans’ faces.” She growled as she tore a strip from her sweater and did her best to bind his wound. The water had washed it clean, but while sore, he was more interested in her.
“Are you okay?” he asked, the nearness of her intoxicating his senses.
“Yes.”
“What happened to the box? Did you lose it in the river?”
Her expression turned triumphant. “I smashed it before I dumped it. It’s gone now. I’m free.”
“Good. Because I don’t want to lose you.” He dragged her close and kissed her.
“I’m never getting lost again.”
He nuzzled her. “How far to civilization?”
“Far. But if we wait, they’ll come get us.”
“How long do we have, do you think?”
She smirked. “How long do you need?”
Not long, as it turned out. Their kisses turned frantic right away. Their hands stroked and squeezed. He sat on the rock, and she straddled him, taking him deep. The muscles of her channel fisted him, and he buried his mouth against her neck. Feeling her pulse. Not just under her skin but within him, as well.
Forever. His mate.
“I’m glad I found you,” she said, snuggling close afterwards, the sun warm on their skin.
“Me, too, Fluffy. Me, too.”
