A Lion's Pride
A Lion’s Pride
By
Susan Bliler
Copyright © 2020 by Susan Bliler
Alpha She, Ltd
www.susanbliler.com
Contents
Acknowledgments
Dedication
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Acknowledgments
Cover fonts, spine, and back cover done by:
Susan Bliler
Editing done by:
Grammargal
A big thanks to MuthaFucka Jonez.
Thank you for reading for me, Jonezy
;o) ting
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidences are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Susan A. Bliler.
Dedication
For Toni Fox
Remember when you surprised me with an autographed copy of a book from my favorite author?
Remember when you surprised Tia Gold with SkinWalkers: RedKnife
and recorded it so I could see her delight? (ps: that video made me bawl.)
You’re a really great friend and a phenomenal human being, Toni Fox!
A phenomenal human being!
Sending all my love!
Ahwooooooooo!
Epilogue
“I don’t want you going over there!” Ramsey boomed as he buried a frustrated hand into his hair and fisted the silky black strands hard.
Rolling her eyes, Maia heaved a weary sigh. “Jesus, Rams. I’m not going over there to shack up!” She cringed as the words left her mouth, and hunched her shoulders against the tirade she knew was coming when Ramsey’s eyes bugged out as he dropped his hand and gaped at her.
“Wait!” Maia threw her hands up. “Bad choice of words.”
Red was creeping its way up her brother’s thick throat and slowly filling the face she could see above his dark beard. In a blink, his brows snapped into a frown as his eyes blazed with fury. “That’s it! You’re not going!”
Shaking her head, Maia turned her back on her brother and continued filling her backpack with supplies. “This ain’t about you, Brother, and this ain’t about Carter or your rivalry with him. This has nothing to do with our bears or their lions.” Zipping up the bag, she turned and gave Ramsey her best stern look while planting her hands on her hips. “It’s about those dogs. Those same dogs that have helped us out countless times when the roads have been impassable and the only way to get supplies in or out has been Carter’s dog sleds.” She watched as Ramsey’s frown slipped an inch. Good!
Turning, she snatched up her backpack and slipped it over her shoulder as she made her way to the key peg near the door. “I’ll be back when I’m back.”
Leaving the house, she slammed the door behind her on her brother’s final weak argument. Yeah, Ramsey hated Carter Concolor and his pride of mountain lion shifters, but tough shit. This wasn’t about who was tougher or who’d been in these mountains longer. This was about Carter’s dogs falling ill. Some sickness had infected his kennels, and Maia wouldn’t know what it was until she got to Cougar Canyon Ranch.
Booted feet crunching across the blanket of freshly fallen snow, Maia unlocked her rig and settled into the driver’s seat of her beat-up old Chevy. Starting it up, she shot one last look at the massive house she shared with her brother and the rest of the clan. Aiming her truck down the road that led to the opposite side of the mountain, she fought down the trepidation that tore through her. Going to Cougar Canyon wasn’t something she would have normally done, but Carter’s dogs needed her, which meant he’d have to suck up his renowned hatred for humans long enough to let her do what needed to be done for his animals. He’d have to, right? After all, she was a bona fide veterinarian, and who in their right mind would balk at free expertise?
Carter Concolor, that’s who!
His parents had been killed by human hunters, so Maia totally got the human hating, but she wasn’t like those hunters. She was quasi-shifter by her association with her brother and his crew of snarly bear shifters. Carter would have to see that . . . wouldn’t he?
Fear slashed through her as she crossed the invisible boundary line from bear shifter territory into mountain lion shifter territory. Goosebumps lifted on her skin, and the fine hairs all along her body stood on end. Reaching over blindly, she flipped on the radio and turned it up loud to drown out her thoughts as she set a steady pace toward Carter’s ranch. She’d never met Carter Concolor, and Ramsey didn’t have anything good to say about him, but Maia knew the man couldn’t be all bad. If he were, Ramsey would have killed him ages ago and buried his remains deep in the forest. As it was, the two ornery shifters had a grudging alliance. Each owned one half of the mountain, and while they typically stayed to their own territory, it wasn’t unheard of in winter months for Ramsey to barter with the Concolor lions to get supplies up to their The Den Ranch. Carter offered up his dog sleds in exchange for kegs of the craft beer that Ramsey and the boys made and sold out of the high-end distillery equipment they housed in one of the large barns on the property. It was a begrudging peace that kept Maia annoyed more often than not. She was warned about steering clear of the lions’ territory. Ramsey had warned her that while Carter and his three brothers didn’t like outsiders or other shifters, humans were intolerable. It’s the reason butterflies were having an all-out brawl right in her middle.
One mile into cougar territory and movement in her periphery caught Maia’s attention. Head jerking to the forest outside the driver’s-side window revealed nothing, but she knew better than that. The lions knew she was here. Great!
She knew how to handle men like Carter because he was just like her brother. Big, bossy, a bully. And while Ramsey put up a good front, he was all softy at heart. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. Maia prayed Carter was the same.
When Cougar Canyon Ranch came into view, Maia’s nerves were back full force. The layout of the ranch looked similar to The Den. One large main house stood proudly at the end of the road she was on. Surrounded by large barns and outbuildings, the place was clean, which Maia liked. Often in Montana, farms were rampant with rundown equipment and old appliances that farm or ranch owners hadn’t gotten around to taking to the dump. The Den wasn’t like that, and neither was Cougar Canyon.
Eyes scanning the property, she was relieved not to see anyone. It’d make her job easier.
Maneuvering her truck toward the house, she slowed and rolled her window down. The frigid winter wind was bracing, but it only took a second before she heard the sounds that told her where she needed to go. She turned her truck toward the larger of the two barns and backed it right up to the open doors. Throwing it in park, she shut off the motor. As she exited the vehicle, the barking was even louder now. Yep, this was the right place.
In a blink she had her backpack slung over her shoulder before she was headed into the
barn. Once inside she stopped to take it in, and holy hell was she impressed. One side of the massive barn was lined with separate stalls for each of Carter’s prized dogs. Taking a second, she counted eighteen animals in all. There were Siberian huskies, Alaskan malamutes, and what looked like was a mix of border collies. Some of the dogs fell silent and sliced their attention to her as she entered, the rest went ape shit. Barking and jumping ensued, and it had Maia nervous that someone would come running to see what had the dogs so riled up, so she got to work fast. Dropping her backpack on the dirt floor of the barn, she went to the tall barn doors and opened them wide before climbing into her truck and backing it up into the barn. Once inside, she got out and lowered the tailgate before she started unloading the supplies she’d brought. First, she pulled out the large folding table she’d need to set out her medicines. It took only a few minutes to get the table set up and her equipment and medicines out before she snagged the large bags of jerky from her back seat. She’d just set the bags onto her table when all the hairs on her body stood on end.
A voice shot through the cavernous barn like a shotgun blast. “Who in the fuck are you?”
Maia jumped and spun to find an angry behemoth stalking toward her. Heart tripping, she instinctively backed up a few steps. She knew better than that. Ramsey had drilled it into her head a thousand times not to run from a predator, and what did she do the first time she encountered one? Shit!
Halting her retreat, she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I’m Maia.”
The man didn’t stop advancing, so she tagged on quickly, “Maia Major.”
Her admission didn’t deter the man who only stopped when his chest was three inches from her face. Head craned far back to stare up at him, she added, “Ramsey Major is my brother.”
“Bullshit!” the guy boomed.
God, he was big. Big like Ramsey but different. Bear shifters were massive, hulking men with bulky muscle, but this guy was leaner. Where Ramsey and the bears at The Den looked like they’d end a fight with one brutal punch, this guy looked like he could go all night. His shoulders weren’t as broad as a bear shifter’s, but they still looked powerful where they pressed up against his button-up shirt. The top few buttons were undone revealing a thickly muscled neck. Short blond hair was mostly hidden under a ball cap that sat just above speared brows and blazing sky-blue eyes. His square jaw was dusted with a few days’ worth of stubble, while his full lips were pressed into a grim line.
Fear was thrashing around inside her like a captured raven.
“Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck are you doing on my property?”
Blinking up at him, Maia tried again, cursing the stammer in her voice as she explained, “I-I’m Maia Major. Ramsey Major’s sister. I’m here to help with . . .”
She didn’t get to finish because the guy grabbed her arms and pulled her hard into his body as he lowered his head to sneer, “Lie! You smell nothing like Major, and you’re a fucking human!”
He called her a human like it was the most disgusting thing on the face of the earth. It had Maia fearing she’d made a terrible mistake.
“I-I am human,” she admitted quietly. Then a little more loudly said, “Ramsey’s mother adopted me.” She knew everyone outside of their territory referred to Ramsey as Major, so she used that name as she continued her story. “Before she met Major’s dad, Asher. I’m Major’s older sister, though you wouldn’t know it by how he tries to baby me. I’m not a shifter, but I was raised by them, with them.”
The guy’s hold on her tightened almost to the point of pain, but Maia sucked back her reaction.
Jaw ticking, eyes still sparking with fury, the guy leaned down and took in a long slow pull of air through his nose.
Tensed, Maia let him do it and awaited his assessment. She wasn’t a bear, but she knew traces of their scent were always with her.
Pulling back, some of the heat left the guy’s eyes, but not his words. “The fuck you doing in my barn, human?”
The way he called her human was grating and had her jerking hard out of his hold. Stepping away from him, she glared up at the guy as she rubbed at her arms where he’d gripped her too hard. “I’m a veterinarian. I’m here to help your dogs.” And that was it. That was all she gave him before she turned her back on him and prepped her table. She’d do exams on each of the dogs first, determine which ones were sick and which ones weren’t. Then she’d separate them and hopefully get those most ill into quarantine.
“I don’t want you here,” the guy snarled.
Whirling on him, she was good and pissed now. “Tough shit, guy! I don’t care about what you want! I care about what those dogs need! And that just happens to be me!”
They stood glaring at each other for long moments before the guy’s lips twisted in displeasure before he spat, “Carter.”
She snapped back, “What?”
“My name is Carter, not guy, and this is my ranch.”
So this was the infamous Carter Concolor. She should have known. Ignoring his penetrating gaze, she jerked her chin toward the dogs. “What do I need to know about them? Any that don’t like touch? Any I should be careful of?” This was it. Either he’d help her out or she’d be forced to walk away, leaving the poor dogs to wallow in their illness.
Carter stared at her for what felt like forever. She knew he was weighing the consequences of sending her away.
Lifting a hand, he pointed it at one of the more vociferous huskies. It was an all-black dog with a white mask, who was stretched all the way to the end of its chain, snapping and barking. “Don’t try to handle Dread on your own. He’s as mean as the day is long.” Sliding his finger to a quiet all-black malamute with pretty blue eyes, Carter continued, “He’s super protective of Alpine, so be careful handling her around him.” Pulling his hand back, he crossed them over his chest and lifted his head to stare down his nose at her. “If you think I’m paying a vet bill for all eighteen dogs, then you’re . . .”
“I never asked you to pay!” she barked. Frowning hard, she was surprised how much she disliked this guy. “You help us when we need it in deep winter. This is us returning the favor.”
“Fine!” he bit out.
Maia bit right back. “Fine!”
She heard Carter storm out of the barn and was glad for it. Working with animals was difficult, especially if you were all riled up. Dogs sensed those types of emotions, and after Carter left, it took Maia a good twenty minutes to cool down before she felt confident enough to begin her exams.
Chapter 1
Carter was pissed and relieved all at once. He hated outsiders being on his ranch, especially human outsiders, but the woman, Maia, was a veterinarian. Just last night, he’d prayed to the Grandfathers for help with his sick dogs. He’d taken the worst ones into town, but ol’ Doc McAvoy specialized in horses. He’d given the dogs shots and meds and charged an arm and a leg to do so, but Carter wasn’t convinced that the medicine was working. Hell, he knew the medicine wasn’t working because with each passing day his dogs smelled sicker and sicker.
Halfway to the main house, Carter stopped and spun back toward the barn. He took five steps toward it, then turned and paced back toward the house. He’d walked out and left Maia on her own but was feeling bad about it. Not for her sake, but for that of his dogs.
With a growl of frustration, he turned again and paced back to the barn. Storming in, he found Maia on her knees, her long ponytail hanging down and covering half her face as she examined one of his wheel dogs, Thunder. A gentle soul, Thunder sat quietly while Maia checked his eyes, gums, and teeth. Silently watching, Carter listened as Maia spoke softly to Thunder. She told him everything she was doing and why she was doing it, and as his eyes slid from Maia to the rest of his team, Carter was shocked to find they’d all quieted and were casually lounging in their pens like a strange human wasn’t among them.
“You’re a beautiful boy,” Maia crooned as she slid her hand down Thunder’s neck.
She startled but didn’t take her hands or eyes off the dog. “You’re a good boy, Thunder.”
Stepping deeper into the barn, Carter said, “The dog next to him is RedBerry. She’s a wheel dog, too, and one of the sicker ones. Doc McAvoy gave her a shot and I’ve been giving her pills every morning and night, but they ain’t helping.”
Standing, Maia turned to face him. “Is there a place I can wash my hands in between handling each dog? If they’re contagious, I don’t want to spread anything from one to the other.”
Carter pointed at a small sliding barn door against a wall next to what looked like a feed stall. “There’s a bathroom in there.”
Maia took a step toward it, but he stopped her. He needed to get his information to her so he could get away from her because the stench of her humanness was making his skin crawl. “This is Chance. He’s been the sickest.” He pointed at three more dogs. “Ally, Siksika, and Rock have been pretty ill too. The rest are fine, but these four have me worried.”
Maia was staring at him strangely but said a slow, “O-kay.” Cocking her head, she asked quietly, “You okay?”
Her words confused him, so he took stock of himself and realized he was breathing too harshly, panting almost like he was having a panic attack. Was he? Holy hell! Fisting his hands, he grouched, “Do what you can.” Then he turned and hurried out of the barn and back to where he’d left his horse. The rest of his pride was out doing their daily chores, and he’d need to make the rounds and warn them that there was a human on the premises. He didn’t need them getting caught off guard and eating her, especially knowing that she was Major’s sister. Things with Ramsey and the bears of the Major clan were tenuous at best. Killing one of them would start an all-out war, and that’s something Carter had been struggling to avoid for years.