Read Online Fated for the Lion by Lyra Valentine - Free Book Online Page B

whispered.
    It seemed that everyone planned their arrival at the same
time. A huge rush of people threw open the front doors and streamed inside. The
number of people surprised Lena. She would need to ask Ethan later about the
shifter population. There were those rumors of a werewolf hoax on television,
but now she knew it had to be true. Just how many shifters lived among regular
humans?
    One by one, the members of the pride walked by her and
introduced themselves. She wondered if she could order them all to wear
nametags until she remembered everyone. Then came the exchange of scents, where
they pressed their noses into necks and huffed deeply.
    It was a decidedly odd experience. Ethan stood nearby, and
bristled anytime one of the lions lingered too long or gave her a lusty look.
    “Down, boy.” She teased.
    Ethan tensed. The lion nearest to her hurried on. “I can’t
help the possessiveness. The lion doesn’t like anyone unmated near you.”
    “The lion, or you?” She quirked an eyebrow at him and he
shrugged.
    Even for his possessive nature, Lena could see the pride in
Ethan’s eyes. These were his people, his pride of lions. She could see the care
he gave them. He didn’t take being alpha with a grain of salt. They were all
deserving of his care.
    It filled her heart with something akin to love. Her lioness
chuffed and rolled on her back like a loon. It certainly wanted her to love
their mate, but Lena held back. She’d been through so much in the past day. She
needed at least one more day to process before saying the l-word.
    She didn’t know if it was common practice, but she intended
to mark Ethan the same way he marked her. When she was ready.
    After the meet and greet, everyone split into groups to
enjoy themselves. The new Sanford alpha wasn’t stingy with his money, and the
rest of the pride reaped the benefits. Booze flowed freely, and someone turned
on a stereo somewhere in the house.
    Ethan left her side to help coordinate feeding all the
hungry carnivores, and Lena was left to her own devices. She wasn’t alone for
long, and suspected Ethan sent a group to keep her busy.
    She chatted with those who came to her. Honestly, she was
grateful for the distraction. Her lion prowled in her mind. They were both
anxious to be alone with Ethan again, even if they were bonding with their
pride.
    She tracked Ethan as soon as he came back into the living
room. He was in his element, and it was a joy to watch. He moved with such a
smooth grace that she didn’t know how she ever thought he was entirely human.
He met her gaze, and shot her a warm smile before turning back to the
conversation with Sam. She recognized him from throwing Ethan keys to his truck
earlier.
    A woman slipped from somewhere in the house. She recognized
the blonde-bobbed receptionist from across the room. Lena frowned hard enough
to silence the lions around her. Emily, she’d been told her name. Emily hadn’t
been at her scent coronation. She felt snubbed.
    Emily took Ethan’s hand and rubbed her cheek on his palm. Oh
hell no.
    Her low growl cut off the man who cautiously tried to
continue his conversation with her, and he backed away a few steps. Lena
stalked forward, each step heavy with her inner cat. Emily didn’t notice until
it was far too late.
    Lena yanked the other woman to the ground by her hair. Her
hands turned to claws and she dug into Emily’s arms. Skin and muscle parted
under her like butter. A new smell entered the air, and she recognized it as
blood. Her lioness licked her chops in excitement.
    “Did you miss the mate mark?” Lena growled.
    Emily squinched her eyes closed and madly shook her head.
“No, Queen. I’m sorry!”
    “You must have missed it. You weren’t here to greet your Queen.
Too busy nosing in on someone else’s bedroom? Open your eyes!” Her voice was
lower than she expected, but full of command. She and the lioness were in
agreement.
    Emily’s eyes eased open slowly. She tried to meet