Lion Conquers All by Krystal Shannan

31

AVA

Ava walked out of the MCC with Gaven right behind her. Ryder had stayed inside to help the SAR crew pack their gear and get it back to their chopper.

Her feet stopped walking the second she looked up at their truck.

A dragon.

Well, not a literal dragon. He wasn’t shifted or anything. But his scent didn’t lie. And he was leaned against her truck waiting for her. All the snow around the truck had melted. He was wearing combat boots, black pants and a tight t-shirt. His long dark hair was pulled up into a messy bun on the back of his head. He had a scruffy almost beard growing. He reminded her a lot of Novik, the chief from the Seattle Tribe.

Gaven nearly ran into her back. “You okay. What happened?” He stopped next to her. “Know that guy?”

“No.” Ava stared at the stranger.

The guy perked an eyebrow but didn’t move.

“Pretty cold out for a t-shirt.” Gaven pulled his coat tighter around his body.

Ava held in a snort and studied the dragon male carefully.

She didn’t remember him from Novik’s tribe, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been one of them. There had been a shit-ton of strangers all over the town when Saul saved Lorelei and Aarav and his brothers had joined the Tribe and pledged to Col.

“What do you want?” She hollered out across the parking lot.

He straightened, pushed off the truck and approached.

Shit.

Nobody was in town with her except Ryder. The whole tribe was out at the cabins. She slipped her tongue between her teeth and bit until she tasted blood and then took a slow breath to keep from whining at the pain.

The doors flew open behind them so violently they smacked into the frames. “Ava.” Ryder’s voice called out. “What happened?”

The approaching stranger’s mouth curved into a smile. “Mated, are we? That was very clever. Why are you escorting a human male if you already have a mate?”

“A human male? Mate? What the fuck are you talking about? Who are you? Ava, you said we were going to see Gretchen.”

“We are. This asshole is just making us pause a second. He’s not supposed to be in town.” Ava stepped to the side, carefully putting herself between the dragon and Gaven. She was the same size as the human male and she was a she-bear. She had a much better chance of fending off an attack than the human school teacher.

Ryder’s footsteps crunched closer and closer on the snow. He came and stood next to her, also blocking the dragon’s view of Gaven.

“I thought you said you didn’t know him.” Gaven tried to step around them both.

“Stay there.” Ava’s words came out like a growl.

“Why are you here? Why are you approaching my mate?” Ryder rolled his neck, popped a few vertebrae, and stared down the male like his gaze alone would melt the dragon into a puddle.

Ava knew he was hanging onto his human form for dear life. Her bear was pushing for control hard. She knew his wolf was doing the same. At least Ryder had gotten to shift during the search for the kids, she was still waiting for her turn to hunt next week. It’d been over two weeks since she shifted and her bear was becoming claustrophobic…or restless…or something else she didn’t have a name for.

“Look, I’m not trying to cause trouble. I’m looking for Col Li’Vhram. I need to speak with him. I’ve been wandering the town looking for anyone and finally caught your mate’s scent when I passed this parking lot.”

“Mate? Scent? What is—”

“Shut up, Gaven.” Ryder and Ava both growled at the human in sync.

“We can’t take you with us. We’re in the middle of a crisis, but if you’ll go wait at The Watering Hole, we’ll tell him you want to speak.” Ryder took a step forward. The other male was several inches taller, but they were pretty evenly matched on the outside looking in. Still, Ava knew better, and so did Ryder. If this guy decided to do something, it would take more than she and her mate to stop him. It would take another dragon.

“Not a problem. I didn’t mean to raise any alarms. I really did just come to speak with Col. I’ll wait at the bar.” He dipped his chin in a respectful nod to Ava and then to Ryder and then walked away.

That was it. He just left.

“Is something wrong?” Gaven’s tone was tense, and he’d taken a couple steps backward away from her and Ryder.

“Nothing’s wrong. That guy just should’ve called first. He startled me. It’s fine. Let’s go see Gretchen. I’m sure she’s waking up by now and looking for you.” Ava gestured to the truck.

“Those comments he made about you. What did he mean by them? Why did he call me a human and make it sound like you weren’t?” He backed up a couple more steps.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Dalmeck just wasn’t a strong enough curse for the mess that damn fire-breathing asshole had created.

Ryder stepped in, completely aware she was about to bare her fangs and threaten the damn man if he didn’t get in the truck quietly and leave her the fuck alone. He nuzzled her neck and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’ll be right there. Will you go warm the truck up?”

She chuffed out a harsh breath, and then left her mate to deal with the messy situation.

Ava got into the truck and started it, turned on the radio and closed her eyes. She listened to two songs before the doors of the truck opened. Ryder got in the front with her and Gaven climbed to the back seat.

“Ava, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stress you. I’ve just been at my wits end with Gretchen going missing and I took it out on you.” Gaven made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror.

She stared back at him without responding for what seemed like a long time but was probably only a few seconds. It was fine. She was fine. And she understood that he was edgy. His daughter had been missing for days during a blizzard.

“You are forgiven.” She broke eye contact, threw the truck into gear and headed out of the parking lot.

Hopefully he wasn’t hoping for more than that. She really didn’t have anything to say to anyone right now. She felt edgy herself and damn if she didn’t want to climb out of this truck right this second, shift into her bear, and go claw some trees and eat. Something.

Eating sounded amazing.

A deer. A caribou. A moose.

She licked her lips.

She was so damnhungry.

Ryder reached over and put his hand on hers.

Without a moment’s hesitation she roared right in his face. Fangs came out. Her eyes changed for sure. Fuck.

Ryder chuckled, ignoring her outburst completely. “We will get you some food soon, love. I promise.”

Mmmm. Good. Food. She was so hungry.

A quick glance at the rearview revealed Gaven’s very pale face. Dammit. Ava stared at the snow-covered road in front of her again and tried to breathe through the hunger induced rage building in her chest.

If this was how it was going to be for the whole pregnancy, she would lose her mind. And the rest of the Tribe probably would too.