Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1) (6 page)

The gathering of panthers for the Fall
Equinox was in full swing. The women of the pride had been
preparing food for the past few days, ensuring everyone would have
enough to eat before and after the communal shift at midnight.

Talon walked to his bedroom window,
overlooking his land. His pride members milled about, laughing and
talking with each other. Talon smiled to himself. They treated each
other as if they were family. There were no fights within his pack,
unless it was a fight for position within the ranks of his
Guardians. All of his men had been in their spots for the past few
years, none of them ever caring to move up or down the ladder. He
knew that time would come someday, but for now, he’d enjoy the
peacefulness of his pride.

As he checked the clock, Talon thought about
Liberty. It was getting close to closing time at the bar, and he
wondered if she was okay. He should’ve gone by there earlier, but
he couldn’t leave his pride right before the gathering. No alpha
had ever missed one, and he wasn’t going to let his pride down
because he had feelings for the human bar owner.

Talon made his way down the stairs, stopping
in the kitchen to check on the women. They had one pregnant female
who was due any day. Her husband was hovering over her as she sat
at the kitchen table. When she started to rise, Talon held up his
hand, halting her.

“No, Hera.” He smiled warmly at her. “No need
to get up.”

“Thank you, Alpha,” she told him.

“Alpha?” Talon turned to see her husband,
Alec, approach, ringing his hands nervously.

“Yes?” Talon replied, knowing what the man
was going to request.

“I’d like to ask permission to not run with
the pride tonight,” he began. “As much as I appreciate our
Guardians, I would prefer to watch over Hera this evening.”

“I grant your request, Alec,” Talon answered,
patting the man’s shoulder. “Take care of your mate.”

“Thank you,” he breathed out, clearly
relieved. “We will join everyone for the ceremony.”

Talon nodded and made his way out to the
backyard. The ceremony was a tradition passed down from generation
to generation. The panthers would celebrate a new mating, the birth
of a cub, or the announcement of a new pregnancy. After Talon had
blessed the couples or parents, he would gather everyone for a
meal. At midnight, the pride would shift and spend the next few
hours in their cat’s form, running and hunting on the property they
called home.

Talon’s property was at the most southern tip
of the county, only fifteen miles outside of the town of Olive
Branch. His family had owned this land since coming here from
Ireland over a hundred years ago.

“Alpha?” a small voice called out. Looking
down, Talon smiled at the little cub who was tugging on his pant
leg.

“What is it, little one?” he asked, leaning
over and scooping up the boy. He belonged to one of the families in
the pride. His father worked as a plumber for his construction
company and his mother was one of the caregivers for all of the
children with working parents.

“My name is Duke,” the cub announced, proudly
holding his head high. Talon laughed to himself because he already
knew the little cub’s name. “My papa says I’ll be an alpha like you
someday.”

“Have you been eating your meat, Duke?” Talon
asked, using his alpha voice.

“Yes, sir!” Duke made a show of flexing his
muscles and growling like a cat.

“That’s good,” he chuckled. “You keep getting
big and strong, and I’m sure you’ll get your own pride one
day.”

“Duke!” a female voice yelled. Duke’s mother,
June, rushed up, immediately dropping her eyes as a show of
respect. “I’m sorry, Alpha. He’s very inquisitive at this age.”

“No worries, June,” Talon reassured her.
“He’s going to make a great leader one day.”

“He has a wonderful leader to follow,” she
told him, then nodded, waiting for Talon to set the boy down before
taking her son’s hand.

Talon smiled, ruffling Duke’s hair one last
time, and excused himself to go find his Guardians. They were
milling around the campfire, each with a beer in hand.

“Savage,” Talon announced. “I am not
appointing you to watch over Hera this evening. Her mate requested
that he be allowed to stay with her since she is so near her
delivery with their cub. She hasn’t been feeling well today, so I
granted his request.” This was also the couple’s first born, so
Talon understood the need for the male to stick close to his
mate.

“Are we ready?” Winter asked, looking around
the group that was starting to gather.

On Talon’s nod, everyone made a circle around
the fire, listening as Talon spoke words of praise for the new
members of their pride, for the children, and asked if there were
any matings that needed his blessing. When no one came forward,
Talon let his cat take over, his eyes bleeding amber.

“Shift,” he demanded, watching as the members
of his pride stripped and fell to the ground, their panthers taking
over their human form.

Talon watched Ranger out of the corner of his
eye. He was a damn good Guardian, but he had been hurt when he was
a kid. He’d come to the pride six years ago, a broken and bloodied
shell of a male. Talon’s father had agreed to take him into the
pride and have their healer work on his injuries. He’d been
attacked by bears in Alaska while in human form. His left leg had
been mangled, and shifting into his panther could only heal so much
damage. Talon smiled to himself as he remembered the day Ranger and
Dane had become friends. It was also the day they’d beat the living
hell out of each other. They both had their demons, yet somehow had
forged a friendship in the process.

A nose nudged his hand. Looking down, he saw
Dane, his damaged ear cocked at an awkward angle, standing there.
The panther huffed slightly and tossed his head over to the side,
letting Talon know that he would run with his friend.

“You are an amazing male, my friend,” he
praised, taking a moment to touch the top of his Guardian’s head,
before stripping off his own clothing.

No one in the pride was shy about nudity.
Since their clothes did not magically disappear during the shift,
everyone would undress and set them on a bench or a table to
retrieve later when they returned to the alpha’s house.

Winter and Savage huffed as they sat on their
haunches, waiting for Talon to complete his change. It was a short
process, not allowing them to be vulnerable for any length of time.
Talon released a breath and felt his bones changing, rearranging.
Fur sprouted where his human skin once was. Sharp, lethal canines
grew in his mouth. A long tail appeared as he rose up on all four
paws. Talon’s human mind relaxed, giving himself over to his other
half.

The panther knew where he wanted to go…where
he wanted to hunt. As he rushed through the wilderness surrounding
his property, he felt two of his Guardians at his back, but didn’t
acknowledge their presence.

The cat and human fought for control as the
panther hurried toward the property line. Talon’s human side pulled
back, telling his cat that going to Liberty’s home was off limits,
but the panther was in control. It was a constant fight between the
animal and human mind. They were one in the same, but when in
animal form, the human mind was weaker. Talon was aware and could
see everything the panther did, but the wildness inside the animal
was stronger, more in charge.

The old country road was clear of cars as
they approached, and Talon’s panther rushed across the hard
pavement. The sounds of the river to the east reached the panther’s
ears. The two Guardians behind Talon huffed when they realized
where their leader was heading. They didn’t sound happy about the
direction, but they didn’t protest, either. All panthers understood
the draw of a mate, even if they didn’t have one themselves.

They followed the river northward for a few
minutes before Talon’s panther turned left on a barely worn path
that lead to his mate’s home. The trail he’d made through the brush
just the night before was still pressed down, guiding his way.

Talon slowed as he approached Liberty’s
property, a faint scent tingled his senses. It was a panther, but
not one of his pride. As an alpha, he could pick out the scent of
each and every one of his members. Their essence was etched into
his brain, but this scent was definitely not a part of his extended
family.

He knew when Savage and Winter had noticed by
the deep, rumbling growl that bubbled out of their chests. It was a
warning, and Talon followed up with his own snarl of rage.

A rogue panther has been on her
property.
His human side fought its way up to the surface,
pulling against the panther that wanted to find and protect his
mate at all costs.

The shift was quick, his body redesigning
itself into that of a man. His two Guardians stepped up near him as
soon as their bodies became human; both men were at his back,
taking a protective stance.

“Rogue panther,” Winter growled.

“It is,” Talon spat, his shoulders tensing as
his protective instincts kicked in. A male was very protective of
his mate. An alpha? Well, there was no comparison to the level of
protectiveness one felt when it came to his female. It’d been said
that an alpha separated from his mate in times of distress would be
worse than anything humankind had ever seen.

“Make sure she’s in the house,” Talon
ordered, his sharp canines growing thick in his mouth. He and his
panther wanted the intruder’s blood for even stepping foot on her
property.

Those feelings shocked Talon, making him
pause for a second. She was human and had no way of protecting
herself against one of his kind. No human was strong enough to take
on a panther.

As they crept along the edge of the trees in
her yard, Talon tried to keep his temper in check, but was failing
miserably. The scent of the rogue cat became stronger as they
walked.

“It’s male,” Talon growled, inhaling deep to
program that scent into his memory. He’d need it later when he
killed the rogue in a fit of rage for being this close to
Liberty.

“Paw prints,” Winter pointed out, squatting
down to inspect the large indention in the wet ground beneath his
feet. Thankfully, it’d rained a few days prior and with the cover
of the trees, the ground had stayed a bit damp.

“Who the fuck is it?” Talon muttered angrily,
trying to place the scent and the print. The size was fairly large,
almost as large as his own panther’s paw. What was he doing on
Liberty’s property?

“We need to talk to her, send some Guardians
to watch her house,” Savage added, continuing his search for any
other markings or clues.

Before Talon could reply, the click of a gun
froze them all in their spots. They’d been so focused on the paw
print that they hadn’t even heard someone approach. That was one
thing that could be fatal for their kind.

“Don’t fucking move!” Liberty ordered.

Her hands shook slightly as she held the gun
at the ready, unable to make out the three figures in her yard.
She’d just climbed into bed when Mittens, her small calico cat,
jumped onto the windowsill and hissed at something outside in the
yard. When she peeked through the curtains, she’d seen three
figures moving slowly around the edge of her property, but couldn’t
make out who they were. With no regard for her safety, she grabbed
her gun and slipped out the side door, keeping to the shadows until
she was close enough to confront them.

“Who are you and what are you doing on my
land?” she demanded, sounding more in control than she actually
felt at the moment.

“Liberty?” a familiar voice called out. It
was one she’d heard in her dreams for the last two nights.

“Talon?” she gasped, lowering her weapon, but
quickly pulled it back up to aim in their direction. “What are you
doing here….and…oh my god, are you naked?”

She quickly averted her eyes as they realized
the same thing, all three men scrambling for the cover of some
shrubs. Heat crept up her neck and onto her face. Thankfully, it
was really dark and she hadn’t seen something she’d regret. Okay,
maybe not regret. She would bet he was ripped and big…really big.
Stop it!

“We’re sorry,” he said, clearing his throat.
“Can we talk? Do you have some clothes we could borrow?”

“Who’s with you?” she asked, turning her head
slightly, making sure they were hidden. She was a little
disappointed to see that they were.

“Savage and Winter, ma’am,” Winter replied,
trying to keep from chuckling, but failing miserably. She wanted to
be mad, but when she looked at the situation now that she knew she
was safe, Liberty chuckled as well.

“This is not funny,” Talon barked, pushing
what she assumed was his alpha voice deeper and louder.