Cleanup went by fast with so many hands offering to help, but Trent finally popped his top and ordered everyone out of his territory, leaving the pride to finish fixing the fences. Rhys swore he spent more time pricking himself with barbed wire than doing anything useful with his life.
Hailey was cleared with strict orders to report any changes or unusual pains. Between Trent and all the mates fussing over her, Rhys bet she’d be the next one to bring down the house in an avalanche of frustrated annoyance.
Sage had gone quiet again, which he expected. He hated every minute of silence that stretched on, but he didn’t push. He spent every free second close and slept in fur on her porch, but he didn’t push. As much as he wanted to praise her for finding the strength to shift and put down the bastard who terrorized her and threatened a few thousand innocent lives, she needed to come to terms with it on her own.
But holy fuck, had she looked amazing in her lioness form. She’d been powerful. Unstoppable, even. And he’d spend the rest of his days making sure she believed it.
He cocked his head at the sound again, then rose to his feet. A leap carried him off the porch and to the ground below. Quick steps bolted him around her den. On the other side, a lioness streaked through the night.
Rhys waited a split second before chasing after her.
His paws carried him over the ground as fast as he could manage. He didn’t want to lose sight of her, and not just because of the recent war. He didn’t want to miss a single damn second of her finding her paws on her own.
She looked over her shoulder as he neared, then put on a burst of speed that carried her ahead. Faster, then faster still. Every breath clouded in front of her mouth right before she burst through it, casting her in an ethereal haze.
She led them over hills and to the far edge of the territory, then banked at the fence separating Crowley lands from the newly formed Kincaid clan. Colette’s boss was an easy going man, but Rhys wasn’t so sure about some of the shifters under him. Sage kept on their side of the border for a mile or so before turning and heading deeper into the ranch.
She slowed once they were out of sight, then jumped over the fence marking off a pasture. Two more leaps bounced her back and forth, chuffing with mischief as she tried to get him to join her. When he cleared the fence easily, she approached and rubbed her face against him from his back leg to his chin.
He rumbled a purr of pleasure, then marked her just the same. Juniper, rain, and baked earth were scents he’d never forget. She was part of his pride, holder of his heart, and his gorgeous mate.
He wasn’t sure how long they ran for. The moon was high overhead by the time she turned back. And she was the decider. Rhys made absolutely sure she had the power to give her lioness room to roam. She would never need to worry he’d cage her like the assholes they’d defeated.
No more Jasper. No more Roland. The prides they brought with them were dead and burned. Sage was free.
The air took on the peculiar, tingling sensation as her shift rippled out of her. Her form shimmered and cracked, fur receded, and her lioness stepped back to let her human shape take control.
By the time he finished his shift, she stood on two feet in front of her door, entirely naked.
“I changed my mind about waiting,” she said softly.
The words were magic. They breathed over his skin and hooked around his heart, drawing him forward with one slow step after another. Amber eyes watched him as he mounted the steps, the bright color ebbing to show the green of her human half.
“What did you change it to?” he asked.
Juniper and rain thickened in his nose. Every breath dragged more of her into his lungs, but it wasn’t enough. Would never be enough. He could bottle up that delicious scent and carry it in a little vial around his neck for the times he needed a refresher, and that still wouldn’t be enough.
He wanted a lifetime of her scent on his clothes, in his bed, coating his skin. He wanted to wake up with it thick on his tongue, and fall asleep with it draping over his body.
Sage flattened her palms against his chest and leaned up, lips barely touching his. “I want you to be my mate. Tonight. Forever.”
He didn’t need to be told twice, closing that final distance between their lips with a growl. She opened for him immediately, arms going around his neck to keep him from pulling away. As if she had to worry about that ever again.
She was his, just as he was hers. Tonight, and forever.
Rhys fumbled behind her for the door handle, and they staggered inside the moment the wood fell away. He looped an arm around her waist to catch her before she tripped, kicked the door closed behind him, and pushed her against it on the other side.
“You’re perfect, Sage,” he murmured, kissing a line down her neck. “So fucking impressive. So damn powerful.”
Rhys groaned as her hand snaked between them and wrapped around his cock. One stroke took him from semi-erect to harder than stone.
“Powerful, you say?” she teased. She nipped at his skin and dragged another groan from his chest. “That won’t bother you? You don’t want someone weak?”
He pulled back enough to search her face. “Never,” he told her fiercely. “I want someone who knows when to be gentle with her people, and when to stand up and fight. I want someone with a good head on her shoulders, an
