Into the Pride (Nuuba Pride Shifters #1) by Michelle Monkou by Michelle Monkou Page B

room.
    “David!”
    Only a mournful roar was his response.
    She stood alone, in front of the altar. “What have I done?”
     

Chapter Seven
     
    David awoke from a deep sleep to raised voices arguing nearby. Where was he? Certainly not in his bedroom with its familiar oak furniture and standard beige walls. He blinked, hoping to clear the confusion. The effort to think felt like running full steam in knee-deep mud.
    Damn. His back hurt. Straightening his leg, he hit a solid mass. He concentrated on penetrating the darkness to see what dangers may lurk.
    Rocks. Debris. And he lay on the ground. Naked. A long gold cylinder clasped in his hand.
    He sneezed. The dust tickled his nose. A patchwork of memories blasted to his consciousness.
    Starr! The underground city. The ceremony.
    Memories now flooded like a super-train bearing down the tracks. Every detail of life flashed and filed into his mind like a seriously large deck of cards.
    “Wait a minute.” His voice echoed. “I shifted.” Complete recollection of the change rushed in with a physical shake up of his balance. The pain, the physical labor, the silent understanding between him and his beast. He’d run from Starr, seeking familiarity and comfort. His father’s palace provided the needed sanctuary, even if it was mere rubble. The gold cylinder had been taken from the vault. The documents, the last official wishes of his father were written and put away for him to find. Coming here with Starr had been more than coincidence.
    All of it occurred under Starr’s ministry. Gratitude warmed his heart, but there was something else that he was ready to identify. Love. He wanted her to be his. Their match felt perfect. Not until this minute did he understand the reason behind his intense feelings. After they made love, the emotional tumult that he didn’t understand had caused him to push back with a cold attitude, and harsh tone.
    More realization hit him square in the chest. Her one and only time to be with a man was with him. His grin turned into a chuckle. His humor had a touch of fatigued delirium as he doubled over laughing heartily.
    The voices that initially had awaken him started up again with their argument. Time to investigate. David went in search of his clothes, which he found neatly folded in the area where the ceremony took place.
    He’d just fastened the last button on his shirt, when Starr’s voice rose in the boisterous exchange. The other voice, a male, was muffled. No matter how hard he tried to listen and decipher, the man’s responses weren’t clear.
    An odd vibe stirred his need to be cautious.
    Nostrils flared to sniff the air. Could it be? The hairs raised on the back of his neck. His shoulders tensed. No mistaking the scent of another male lion. An Alpha. He growled, a low warning rumble. His successful shift caused him to be more suspicious now. And more territorial.
    Quietly he walked toward them. As he got closer, the odd scent that confused his ability to decipher was not only that of an Alpha, but one close to death. Sickness oozed off his gaunt body. The repellant odor grew and he halted his approach. Should he be this close to whatever ate away at the man’s existence?
    The sick Alpha mumbled in an unknown language. David’s spattering of Italian, French, and tourist essentials of Arabic didn’t help with this case.
    Then Starr responded in the similar indecipherable sound of words that strung together in a sing-song way. Not only was her response soft, but her manner toward the man was gentle and attentive.
    Jealousy built up with white-hot speed, pushing away dams like a raging current, ready to destroy and wipe away from existence. Veins pumped with his blood corded around his muscles. His head reared back and his canines elongated with their pinpoint edges. Sick or not, this Alpha shouldn’t be here. His beast face shifted in, ready to take the rest of his body for the ride.
    Starr turned and saw his transformation.