Read Online The Lion's Arranged Mate: A Paranormal Lion Shifter Romance by Lilly Pink - Free Book Online Page B

snapped, then softly so only he could hear, “You wanted there to be another option, well this is it. And it’s my choice. You can’t interfere, not this time. If you take another step, the others will attack, and I won’t be able to stop them. And as strong as you think you are, even you can’t win against the Pack.”
    Her smile waned as she urged him back into the semi-circle, but his fists were white as he obeyed. Elias stepped forward and slipped out of his jeans, his own naked body flashing like a silver fish, and he bent low. There was a howl as he changed, a dark pelt flowing out from his form as his snout changed into a muzzle and a long bushy tail emerged from his spine.
    Anastasia leered at him and did the same, tentatively removing her shorts and shirt and bucking down on all fours to change as well. The two wolves, fully shifted, faced off against one another, and Alan had to force himself not to rush forward.
    This is part of a code of laws that are older than the Council , he thought, watching the two face off, sizing each other up and growling. No wonder the Cloud thinks they take precedent over the Council’s edict… what I’m witnessing is endemic to the Wolf Clan.
    Still, he had to brace himself, yet again, from lurching forward the instant Anastasia and Elias leaped at each other. Elias was bigger, a large dire wolf by any standards, but Anastasia was sleeker and faster. Even as he went for the fur around her neck, she was already feinting away, her paws scrambling in the gravel, and nipping at his ankle.
    Enraged, he turned on her again, butting her to one side with his massive shoulders and she squeaked and rolled across the road.
    “Anasta-” Alan grimaced, and felt strong hands hold him back. He turned and saw that two of the Stormfangs had predicted his move and were restraining him.
    “Let me go, goddamn you!”
    “You break up their fight, we’ll spill you right here,” the older of them warned. “This is a fight between the two of them. No one, not even we, can intervene. Hold your place, cat… or we’ll tie you to the bumper of this Jeep.”
    Alan shrugged off their grip, and watched helplessly as Anastasia regained her composure and counterattacked, leaping high into the air, which confused Elias. He managed to snap out at her left foot, but she had already found what she was looking for. She bit hard down on his tail, almost severing it, and Elias howled with pain and kicked out with his hind legs.
    The blow caught her in the chest and she let out a hoarse choking sound. Elias, still partially in his human mind, looked at his ruined tail with fear and utter rage, and turned on her again, opening his cavernous jaws.
    Anastasia was ready for him, though. She pretended to be taken by surprise, and lured him in, exposing the soft flesh of her upper neck. As he bore down on her, she sprang forward on her back legs and plowed into his belly, using her own head as a scoop. Elias didn’t know what to make of her unorthodox tactic. Using her momentum to carry her under, she twisted to one side. His belly was now completely unprotected and she bit down hard on his ribs, causing blood to seep into her mouth and cover the fur of her muzzle.
    Elias growled again, tumbling away – but she wasn’t finished. Using the opportunity, she mimicked his own attack, barreling into his side which caused him to tumble onto the gravel with a leavened gasp. Winded, Elias struggled to get away, but Anastasia was already on top of him, and pinned his paws. Her own fearsome jaws opened, blood and saliva dripping from between her fangs.
    She growled, and opened her mouth for a killing blow.
    Elias must’ve sensed he’d lost – and even if his ego was too big, he had no wish to die. In an instant, the fur sloughed off and the naked man was pinned under the wolf. Elias was breathing hard, his own ribs still gashed with the wound she had given him.
    “It’s over!” he said, slapping the ground, but