Lion Conquers All by Krystal Shannan

9

AARAV

The Trailhead was quiet so far. Connie was definitely more relaxed now that the she-bear Ava was at her side. He didn’t have enough words to express his gratitude to Ryder for dragging himself and his mate away from work and into the mountains.

They seemed good, though. And Ryder, as much as Aarav’s lion jealously hated it, regularly watched over Connie. He knew his mate struggled with being alone. Somehow Ryder had figured it out too. The wolf was very observant and he respected that character trait.

“She looks better,” Ryder said, keeping his tone hushed. They were still traveling single file and Ryder was bringing up the rear right behind Aarav.

“She is. The change was instant after you and Ava arrived. Like the stress just melted away.”

“Poor female. Makes me want to chew the bones of whatever bastard made her feel so unsafe.”

“Thank you, I feel the same, but let’s not talk about her while she’s only a dozen yards up the trail.” His mate was also very observant.

“Of course.”

“We should be coming up on a stream soon. The blind is set up just on the other side.” Gaven’s voice carried loudly from the middle of the group.

“I can hear the water. It’s not far.” Ava called over her shoulder.

“You can hear it?” Gavin called out, disbelief thick in his voice.

“I have really good hearing,” Ava hollered back, pulling off nonchalance with skill.

Aarav’s heart beat faster in his chest, but Gavin didn’t respond again. It was fine. It would be fine.

Worrying about people’s suspicions wasn’t at the top of his list right now. Right now he just hoped the children were within reach. He wanted to be able to give Sam back to his parents. He wanted to yell at them both for being so thoughtless.

They knew better.

They grew up in the shadow of Denali.

They knew how dangerous it was to be alone in the wilderness.

Alaska was wild, like home. This area was nothing like Anchorage, where buildings stretched for miles. When he’d first seen the enormous city, it’d been overwhelming. He couldn’t imagine living with so many people surrounding him.

Mystery was a tiny dot on the map. Denali was a giant. And the wild swallowed everything that couldn’t fight back. It was much more his pace. Few people. Lots of wildlife. Lots of space.

“Gretchen.” Gaven shouted into the whispering trees.

The forest thinned a little. A rock bed lay before them and a beach of river stones. Aarav’s feet crunched on the pebbles. In the center of the bed was a small stream, maybe ten feet across, maybe a few feet deep right in the center.

“We’re getting wet if we cross here.” Connie’s tone was laced with annoyance. “I didn’t plan on taking a bath.” She walked closer to the water and looked upstream and down.

“I can carry you across,” Aarav said, stepping closer to her, but not touching. How he wanted to touch her. Feel the softness of her skin. Have her scent linger on his clothes. Anything.

Her hand flexed at her side and the muscles in her face tensed like she’d been shocked with electricity. “Oh, I—” Her words drifted away on the light breeze. She didn’t have a good argument against him carrying her. At least not one she was likely to divulge to the group.

Aarav didn’t like using her circumstances against her, but the last thing he intended was to allow Ryder the opportunity to touch her. Or the human male.

“Just a quick few steps and you’re right on the opposite bank. Promise. Not sure we’ll find anything very close to walk on as a bridge.” He glanced to his left and right. Up the stream and then down. It was all wide open rippling water. She was either going to accept his help, or decide him not touching her was worth getting wet and being wet for the rest of the hike.

His heart ached in his chest.

Each beat seemed to drag forever.

She looked at the stream again. Looked up and then down. Then down at her shoes and pants.

You can do it, sweet woman. Just let me help you.His lion paced, tense and nervous at the possibility of actually being permitted to touch their shuarra.

“You’ll put me right back down?” The fear lacing the edges of her words ripped his heart to shreds.

Someone not carrying so much fear would never have asked that questions.

Everyone in the group was silent.

Almost like they knew if they spoke or move, she’d startle like a deer caught in the open.

“Yes, just a few seconds and you’ll be on your feet again.”

She bit and chewed on her bottom lip. Then nodded.

Aarav took a step closer, breathing in the light floral scent he adored so much. The soul glow from her face was breathtaking. Her skin seemed to shimmer in the bright sun like an iridescent pearl.

She moved the back she was carrying to her front and clutched it tightly to her stomach.

He slipped an arm around her back and beneath her legs, lifting her easily from the ground. He curled her tight to his chest, refusing to be denied the chance to hold her close.

Keep her safe.

This was where she belonged.

One step forward put one leg in the water.

This was where he wanted her to be. Every day.

Another step put both legs in the water.

Her heart beat rapidly and so fast. Her breathing was quick and shallow.

His cat purred, so distressed by the fear their mate was displaying. The rumble was soft, but more than enough for her to hear it. Certainly feel it.

She was pressed to his chest.

There was no way she couldn’t hear him. It wasn’t loud enough for the others to notice. It was just for her. All for her.

Her entire body trembled. She looked up at him. Her eyes wide and nostrils flared.

He’d give anything in his possession to erase the fear from her expression.

Another step forward. He was halfway across now.

“Are you…is that?” She looked at his chest, as if she might be able to find some other reason for the sound.

“Yes, shuarra. He doesn’t like how fearful you are. He’s trying to calm you.” His words were soft and quiet, spoken only for her ears.

Aarav took two more steps. The water receded from his knees, back to mid-calf.

“It pains us both that you suffer.”

Another step and he’d have to let her go. The feel of her. The closeness. He’d gotten to hold her, breathe in her scent. Feel her heartbeat against his chest. Eight months and this was the closest he’d ever been to her.

He took the last step onto the bank. His boot crunched in the gravel.

“Tell him thank you for being so aware.” She pushed against his hold and he released, setting her gently to her feet. “But please don’t call me that word. I’m not that for you. I can’t.”

“You just told him. And I can’t help myself, Connie. You are what the magick says you are.”

“You’re the only one that sees that. The only one that feels that way.”

He expertly masked the hurt he felt from her statement, keeping his expression unchanged. He knew she couldn’t see the soul call. But she felt something for him. He knew. There had been moments where they’d had short connections. Even this one. There was chemistry between them if she’d only give it a chance. The magick of the soul call affected her too, she was just skilled at fighting it.

He knew she’d been fighting connections to people for years. It was the only way she’d been able to remain so distant. But it didn’t matter. Today was a win for him. Today he’d held his beloved in his arms. Today she’d been closer to him than ever before.

Today was a day he would remember when months from now she was still aloof. Still scared. Still hiding from the one thing that had the potential to heal all her wounds.

But he was a patient man.

His beast, not so much. But his beast would wait whether he liked it or not.

He couldn’t afford to spook this target. He wouldn’t move before she was ready. He wouldn’t lose her, no matter how long it took.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, shu—Connie.” He corrected himself mid-word.

She nodded, but a worried look passed through her gaze before she re-adjusted the bag on her shoulder and turned away.

The others crossed the stream behind them. Ryder carried Ava across so she also wouldn’t be wet. She gave Ryder a kiss and then hopped from his arms to take her place at Connie’s side again.

Gaven and Ryder both stopped on either side of Aarav. The human spoke first. “Is Connie okay? That was a weird…well. It’s none of my business. Just…” Gaven let his questions trail off. He stared into the trees and then down at the paper in his hand. “The blind should be about a quarter of a mile that way through the scrub. She wrote a comment about the big tree with a broken limb.”

He pointed.

Aarav took a deep breath. “Yes. Let’s move.”

“Connie’s okay?” Gaven asked again, unable to let it go.

“She is well, just not comfortable around males.”

Gaven was silent for a moment. His shoulders sank. “That’s terrible. I can’t even imagine something happening to my daughter to make her that afraid. Makes me want to kill men who don’t respect women. They shouldn’t be allowed near them. Ever.”

Aarav and Ryder chuckled. “What is the saying here for that. Welcome to the tribe?”

Gaven laughed out loud. A deep rolling belly laugh. “No, it’s welcome to the club. Nobody calls anything a tribe, well, except maybe natives. Are you indigenous?”

Aarav let the magick in his mind dig for the meaning of the word. A second later he shook his head. “No. I’m not from around here. But it was a common word in my home.”

“Gotcha.”

Gavin called ahead to Ava and Connie. “Swing toward that big tree with the fallen limb. There should be a walking trail near it.”

The two women veered in the appropriate direction and the men followed, once again single file and silent.

Ten minutes passed and the blind came into view. Aarav and Ryder glanced at each other. Ava glanced back, meeting their gaze. The children weren’t here.

Gaven ran to the blind. “Gretchen! Sam!” He climbed the ladder and crawled into the large platform high in the trees.

“I don’t understand,” he yelled from the top. “There’s not a single trace of them. Not a backpack or a blanket. No campfire below.” He crawled out, back down the ladder. “If she’d gone somewhere else, she would’ve told me. That’s our deal.”

Aarav frowned, his stomach clenched in his gut. Now they had two missing children to find. Children that appeared to be trying to hide.

Dalmeck.