Savage ExileLion Hearts Book Five
Cecilia Lane
A Shifting Destinies Novel
Copyright © 2020 by Cecilia Lane
Cover Art by Kasmit Covers
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Savage Exile: Lion Hearts #5 by Cecilia Lane October 2020
Contents
Savage Exile
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
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Newsletter
About the Author
Also by Cecilia Lane
Savage Exile: Lion Hearts Book Five
He can’t save himself, but he’ll save her…
Rhys is a disaster: too violent for his old pride, and more accustomed to using his fist instead of his words. He’s managed to carve out a place among the Crowley lions, but his temper still rides him hard. The only balm is Sage, a shattered woman with a core of fire. He wants to bring it out of her. Can he avoid getting burned?
She’s tired of living under her father’s thumb…
Sage narrowly escaped a forced mating, but she can’t quite manage to pick up the pieces. Except when she’s around Rhys. The rumbly lion makes her ache for something more. But good things don’t last for Sage, and her father’s demand she return to the man who bought her cuts her to her core.
Can a broken woman find redemption in the arms of her disaster of a mate? Or will old wounds and enemies be too strong for even the toughest lions to overcome?
Savage Exile, a steamy paranormal romance, is book five in the Lion Hearts series. For readers who love a broken alpha hero willing to gamble everything on a second chance with a woman learning to live on her own terms.
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Chapter 1
The blast of a rifle cracked through the night, echoing through the mountains and carrying the sound of disaster to his ears.
Rhys Chapman threw himself out of bed. His bones were already snapping apart by the time his feet hit the floor. His entire body shuddered with the shift that ripped through him. The fourth of the day. Night. Who the fuck knew anymore? He sure as hell couldn’t tell the difference with the hours and days running together.
He had to get to her before they did.
Instincts riding him hard, he slammed a paw against the door he’d left ajar. The wood banked against the wall, but he was already through the opening and crowding down the hallway. His shoulders brushed against the sides, making him feel as trapped as if he’d been caught in a squeeze chute like the poor cows on the ranch.
Ranch? Cows?
Rhys barreled through the doors of his den, not giving one ounce of attention to the wince of confusion. He hit the night and paused long enough to drag down the cold February air. The tip of his tail twitched just as the crunch of paws on snow reached his ears. He couldn’t let the fuckers get to her.
He put on a burst of speed, lunging forward as far as his leaping strides would carry him. And still, it wasn’t fast enough. The extra seconds were death to them both. He could already feel his heart breaking apart, the same as his mind. He knew—absolutely knew—he’d find her with blood staining her clothes and seeping into the ground underneath her.
He slowed only when a barn loomed in the night. Deep breaths brought the scents of the night into his nose and lungs. Baked earth overwhelmed. Lions. Lots of lions. He wanted to trust, but they’d betrayed him before. And with the crack of the gun...
Grimly, he crouched low and eased forward. Danger prickled along his spine, especially when he spotted movement from the corner of his eye. His heart jumped into his throat as he bolted for the hunter daring to tread through his territory.
He had to get to her before they did. He had to kill them before they killed her.
He jumped for the attacker and drove his claws deep into his haunches to drag him to the ground. The beast roared with pain and rage, but Rhys didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t. He had to keep her safe and alive. He couldn’t fail her.
Her?
Two faces floated through his head, overlapping and coming apart and swirling together again. Green eyes layered overtop blue. Auburn hair and strawberry blonde mixed in the kaleidoscope playing out against the back of his lids each time he blinked. Full lips, pert noses, a beauty mark below her right eye that was there and gone.
More enemies melted out of the shadows. He should have known he wouldn’t be alone.
The lion in his grasp wiggled out from under his claws and bolted. Rhys took off after him, giving his back to the others. Their grunts and growls weren’t far behind, but he didn’t pay them any attention. His target was right there, so close, almost within his grasp.
He’d save her this time.
The bastard whirled on him and raked claws down one side of his face, narrowly missing an eye. Rhys roared with fury as he slammed to a stop and twisted to meet the attack that never came. Instead, the lion joined the other assholes.
They circled him. Sized him up, more likely. Gold eyes judged where best to apply pressure to take him down. Too bad he’d played this game since birth.
He struck first,
