Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1) by Theresa Hissong Page B

couldn’t quit staring at his muscles or his
nipples. Liberty, you tramp! Stop!
    “About this mating thing,” she snapped,
remembering all too well what happened at the bar. “I’m not falling
for this mate stuff. If you want to get to know me better, that’s
fine, but you don’t just claim me or whatever it is that
your kind does. I’m a woman, and I should be treated as such.
Doesn’t your kind date?”
    “Huh?” he asked, confusion written all over
his face. She felt a dreamy sigh billowing up, but pushed it down.
He had to do this right.
    “Why don’t you ask your buddies?” she said,
pushing him out of the door. “I’m too damn tired to get into this
conversation tonight, I mean, this morning.” She quickly closed the
door before he could say anything else, but he wasn’t done.
    “Liberty,” he growled from the other side of
the door.
    “Good night, Talon,” she sweetly responded,
turning off the back porch light and taking the stairs two at a
time so she could finally get some sleep.
     

     
    “Stubborn ass woman,” Talon grumbled,
stomping off of her porch. His narrowed gaze sent Winter and Savage
back a few steps, his alpha power radiating out toward his
Guardians.
    “She wants to be courted?” Savage scoffed,
kicking a rock out of the way. It sailed through the forest and
imbedded itself into a tall pine tree.
    “I can’t be mated to a human,” Talon sighed.
“It’s just not possible. I…I could kill her when we mate.”
    “Nah,” Winter drawled. “She’s a sturdy thing.
I bet she could handle ya.”
    “I’m not willing to take that chance,” he
replied, stripping off his borrowed pants.
    “I’ll keep watch until the sun comes up, then
head back to the house,” Winter said, preparing himself for the
shift.
    “Report as soon as you arrive back,” Talon
ordered. “If there is any trouble, call for me.” The pride couldn’t
talk amongst themselves when in their cat form, but they could
communicate with him. The alpha knew all, saw all, and felt all. If
there was a member in distress, he would know. It was his job to
see to their well-being.
    “Yes, sir,” Winter nodded, shifting into a
sleek black panther.
    In a matter of minutes, Talon and Savage had
shifted for the return to his home. Talon snagged the sweats
between his teeth, careful not to puncture holes in them. He’d have
them laundered and he’d return them to her tomorrow night at the
bar. It’d give him a chance to get to know her better.
    Even with the added coat of fur, Talon
shivered as the wind blew, the faint scent of the unknown cat
tickling his nose. He had a bad feeling deep in his bones and he
didn’t like it one bit.
    The trip back to his property took fifteen
minutes, with them only needing to cross one road. As soon as he
entered their property, he saw that a few of his pride were milling
around, tired from their hunt. Noah was pulling a large buck by its
hind leg, dragging the carcass back toward the house.
    Once the trees opened into the large backyard
of the pride’s home, Talon shifted, grabbing his jeans from the
wooden table where he’d left them. Scooping up the used sweatpants,
he climbed the porch stairs and entered the kitchen, only to find
several female pride members with his mom cleaning dishes and
covering leftover food.
    “Make sure you take some of that home with
you,” he encouraged, nodding toward the bowls and plates on the
long dining room table.
    The pride all lived on his land; several
cabins dotted the area around the main house where Talon lived with
his brother, Kye. Noah had built his own cabin the spring before
and lived just inside the wooded area on the side of the house.
    The land was Talon’s home, had always been.
To an outsider, the driveway from the road looked like any other
entrance to a home in the country. If someone came onto the
property, the long, winding drive would take you through a thickly
wooded area before opening up to a large meadow. The home