Fated for the Lion (4 page)

The thought of her panting under him made his cock jump
again. He shifted, and wrapped his arms tighter around her body.

“Ethan!” She gasped, rising up to look at him with a grin on
her face. “Down, boy.”

“Never.”

Holy shit.

Lena screwed her eyes closed. She did not sleep with her
boss. A quick glance to her side told her she was indeed a giant slut.

She was no better than all of Rick the Dick’s conquests. She
hadn’t even been Ethan’s employee for a day before she was between his sheets.

His very comfy sheets, a traitorous part of herself tempted.
She could stretch out under the million thread count and snuggle closer to the
big hunk next to her. Didn’t she want to rest the deliciously aching parts of
her, and then see what else he could do to her?

Or, she scolded herself, she could gather the remains of her
clothes and walk of shame herself to the nearest metro stop before Ethan woke
and realized what a huge mistake he’d made in hiring a woman with such loose morals.
Yeah, that sounded more reasonable.

She eased out from under Ethan’s arm and silently sighed
with relief when he snuggled deeper into his plush pillows. His breathing
didn’t change and he didn’t open his eyes. She cocked a hand on her hip. Damn,
he was a deep sleeper.

Shaking herself back to reality, she quickly dressed in her
mostly unscathed clothes. Her panties were a lost cause, and a strap was torn
on her bra. She didn’t even know where her scarf had landed. But her dress was
intact. She could make it out in that, at least.

Something raged inside her, clawing at her to turn around
and crawl back into bed with Ethan. She stuffed a sock in that part of her
brain, and slipped on her heels.

She quickly punched out a text message to her best friend while
waiting for the elevator. Jessa would be awake, and likely on her way home from
her overnight hospital shift. Lena needed to talk, and text just wouldn’t cut
it.

Meet me at Feng’s ASAP?

The aloof Ethan had grown up to be anything but. Lena
pressed fingertips to her bee-stung lips and smiled. Her cheeks flushed to
remember all the ways he took her the previous night. Once hadn’t been enough
for either of them. She pushed him away after the fourth time, rightly claiming
a deep ache in spots she didn’t know existed. He’d massaged her entire body
after that, using a lovely lotion that smelled of lavender and tingled on her
skin. The scent would never be the same.

If only he wasn’t her boss. Or, would have been her boss.
There was no chance she was taking the position now. She’d collect her box of
things on her way to her walk of shame. Maybe the private elevator would go all
the way to the ground floor, and she could avoid the hall of glass-walled
conference rooms.

Maybe when she was less mortified about being an indecent
hussy, she’d look Ethan up again. Just because she wasn’t banging him for a job
didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy some more nights together. She’d feel entirely
more comfortable about it then. Why, oh why, couldn’t she have met him in a
normal way, like in a bar or on a dating app? The idea of Ethan needing to use
a dating app made her chuckle.

The elevator door dinged open, and she surprised the woman
inside. Lena recognized her as the receptionist from the lower lobby, and her
smile turned sour. The woman looked utterly comfortable journeying up to
Ethan’s private apartment.

Lena eyed the stick thin woman, and felt revulsion boiling
in her stomach. At the woman for throwing herself at Ethan, at herself for
doing the exact same, and at him for using his too good looks on anything that
moved.

“Leaving, Miss Jeffries?” The woman asked coolly.

“Yes. I don’t think I’m cut out for the position after all.”
She tried to step by the woman and into the elevator, but was blocked.

“Oh. We’ll hate to see you go. Should I inform Mr. Sanford
when I deliver his morning coffee?”

Lena wanted to deck the perfect blonde woman and bite Ethan,
to boot. She looked anything but displeased. She delivered him coffee in bed?
Lena did not want to get involved in that complicated tangle of messed up, no
matter how much her body screamed at her to put the woman in her place.
Downstairs.

“I think he’ll understand, thanks.” She dodged the woman and
stepped into the elevator just as the doors started to close. She bristled at
the triumphant look on the woman’s face.

Lena almost squealed when her phone screen lit up with
Jessa’s response. There was so much to talk about now.

You got it, babe.

***

Feng’s was a brisk walk toward the hospital. She and Jessa
had found it to be almost exactly in the middle of their jobs, and would meet
for lunch anytime Jessa’s ever changing schedule allowed. It was done up as an
old timey saloon, complete with swinging double doors that led to the bathrooms
and steer skulls mounted on the walls. It also had some damn strong coffee,
which was a requirement for both Lena and Jessa.

She’d barely stuffed her box of items into the booth before
a plate of bacon and a cup of coffee appeared on the table. She felt a new
affinity for the hazel-eyed fry cook that raised his spatula in salute. She
wasn’t going to question anyone slinging heaps of bacon her way.

She was on her second plate of bacon and third cup of coffee
when Jessa walked in the gaudy diner doors.

“Took you long enough,” Lena grumbled.

Jessa gave her a sharp look and slid into the booth. “Yeah,
sorry. Busy saving lives.”

Lena frowned. She must be getting sick. She was never a
total bitch unless she was coming down with something. She pressed a hand to
her forehead. She didn’t feel warm, but her stomach did churn uncomfortably
when the waitress walked by with a tray full of oatmeal and hash browns. What self-respecting
person ate that for breakfast when bacon was on the menu?

She rolled her shoulders and tried to loosen a knot. Her
whole body hurt, but it all centered in her stomach. She thought she could eat
an elephant and still not be full.

“Ugh, Jess. I feel like a cat has kittened in my mouth.” She
groaned into her hands.

Instantly, her snapped greeting was forgotten. Jessa was a
total sweetheart, and had an innate need to nurture all her friends.

“What happened?”

“First, I was fired. Then, I was hired. By Ethan
freaking
Sanford!”

Jessa’s jaw dropped. “High school Ethan?”

Jessa had joined their small class for senior year, and
caught the tail end of the Lena loves Ethan one-sided drama. One sided because
Ethan didn’t give her the time of day while she moped over him.

Lena groaned again. “Yes, high school Ethan. He wouldn’t
look twice at me then, but now that he’s my boss he can’t keep his hands to himself.”

She knew she was putting all the blame on him, but hell. She
was tired, sore, and hungry. Where was that waitress? She drummed her fingers
on the table and looked over the menu for what felt like the zillionth time.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. You slept with Ethan?” Jessa
nearly bounced in her seat.

“He’s the total sleaze ball that hires a girl and then
brings her upstairs for a drink.”

Jessa scrunched up her nose. “Wouldn’t that technically mean
you’re the sleaze ball? I mean, it sounds like you accepted the job already. He
wasn’t asking you what you’d be willing to do for the job while stroking his
dick.”

Lena glared at her friend. She opened her mouth just as a
woman from the nearest table turned in their direction and shushed them. Lena
bared her teeth at the woman, and she quickly turned back around. Her pity
party was certainly not going the way she hoped.

She crunched down on another piece of bacon and gestured
with the rest. Sighing dramatically, she said, “Yes, Jessa. Bow before your
Queen of the Sleaze Balls. I was seduced by my boss with zero hesitation.”

Jessa chuckled and stirred a packet of sugar into her
coffee. “I wish the doctors on staff were halfway attractive. TV lies, you
know. It might be nice to clear away some workday tension with a little hanky-panky.”
She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Lena’s cheeks blushed thinking of the hanky-panky she’d
experienced with Ethan. It was entirely unfair how good in the sack the man
was. He was doing the world a disservice by not offering classes. Lena crossed
her legs and pressed her thighs firmly together. She was an idiot for not doing
that last night. Her foot joined her fidgeting and she resumed drumming her
fingers on the table.

The coffee would explain her jitters. But nothing could explain
her sudden need for meat. The bacon just wasn’t cutting it. She eyed the menu,
and licked her lips when she saw the steak and eggs choice. Her stomach
rumbled. Would two orders be too much?

“Lena?”

She snarled over the edge of the menu. “I’m looking here.”

Jessa sat back hard, eyes wide. Lena’s nostrils flared.
Something new wafted to her nose. It was acrid and tangy, and smelled
delicious. She was about to flag down the waitress when she sniffed the air
again. Lena’s eyes narrowed as she slowly focused on Jessa.

Jessa definitely was the source of that delicious scent.

“Lena, I think we need to get you out of here. You don’t
look well.”

“No, I’m hungry.” She licked her lips again. “Not leaving
until I eat.”

Her stomach growled loudly and distracted from how rumbly
her voice sounded in her ears. She pressed her hands to herself, and wanted to
curl up in the booth. Maybe Jessa was right and she was coming down with
something.

The fry cook appeared at their table, and Lena noticed his
nostrils flaring. Did he smell the tangy food, too? Too bad he didn’t have a
plate of it in his hands. Jessa was definitely holding out on them.

“Hey, why don’t you come in the back?” He urged. His hazel
eyes looked too light for a natural color. Did he use contacts? He was certainly
dedicated to the look if he dressed up for Feng’s.

“Steak.” She muttered. He would take her order, right? It
didn’t need to go through a waitress. She shook her head. Her head felt too big
and stuffy.

“Certainly can cook one right up for you. Come on back to
the uh, private seating area.”

“You hear that, Lena? He has a special table set up for us.”
Jessa was at her elbow, urging her upright.

Lena stumbled forward. Two legs felt wrong. She wanted to
drop down to all fours, but something kept her walking. Jessa and the fry cook.
They bracketed her body, and led her into the kitchen. She drooled at all the
scents of various meats cooking and in storage. Her stomach rumbled loudly
again. She whimpered when they kept her walking. They were taking her away from
the meat!

Ethan would not disembowel one of his lionesses. No matter
how much she deserved it. He would not tear out her conniving tongue or kill
her for sending off his mate before he had a chance to explain her new nature.
Oh, he would punish her, just as soon as he had his mate back in his arms.

He’d woken up and expected to throw his arm over Lena’s
sleeping form. He wanted to roll her in his scent before stroking her hair back
and nursing her through her first shift. It didn’t always go easily for some,
and he wouldn’t have her suffer if he could help it. His lion wanted to greet
his new lioness with a purr and stroke of cheeks. They were both in for a
surprise when all he found was cold, empty space. He desperately listened for
running water in the bathroom, but he knew it was empty.

Emily’s scent hit him like a ton of bricks when he tracked
the last traces of Lena into the main room. He ground his teeth together. She
knew she wasn’t to come to his den uninvited, and yet she lounged on his couch
with a cup of coffee in her hands. She couldn’t hide her smug expression or her
thrilled scent. He immediately knew she had something to do with his mate’s
disappearance.

He took a deep breath or three while he paced in front of
Emily and flexed the claws that tipped his fingers. It was a sign of how close
his lion was to the surface. He hadn’t prompted the partial shift. He didn’t do
anything to bring the lion back down. He wanted to scare the shit out of Emily.

Emily had been all sunshine and sweetness until she saw the
amber flooding his eyes. Her knees hit the ground and she offered him her
throat in submission while she explained Lena had already been on her way out
when they met at the elevator.

The lion in Ethan wanted to snap Emily in half. Make her run
with him chomping at her heels. Make her scream while his claws exacted his
fury.

Dressing quickly, Ethan summoned the elevator and dragged
Emily inside with him. His lion begged to rip her apart in the small space. The
stinging scent of her fear drove the beast wild with an urge to bite and rend.
Ethan held it in check, but only just.

“Alpha.” She whimpered and reached to rub her hand on his
leg.

Ethan and his lion were in no mood to give the woman
reassurance. His jaws snapped together, and his hand closed around her wrist
before she could touch him. She winced and averted her eyes when his grip
didn’t let up.

He growled for her to stay in his office, then stalked down
the glass hallway. Lions and humans alike darted out of his way. He was a
deadly predator at his core, and he glowered at each passing body. Even the
humans were sensitive enough to feel the rage rolling over him in waves and
give in to their ancient flight instincts. When he found Sam, his second, he
snapped his fingers and pointed toward his office. He didn’t trust his voice to
sound human.

“You let her leave?” Ethan roared when he returned with Sam
at his heels. A part of him was glad they’d sprung for soundproofing in his
office. Discipline for pride members could be necessary at unexpected times.

Emily flinched and dropped her gaze to the floor. “Yes,
Alpha,” she whispered.

New to the pride, Emily was certainly not happy to work her
way up the ranks of the pride or the company the usual way. She’d tried more
than once to endear herself to him, and he rejected her more fiercely each
time. It seemed he still hadn’t made himself clear.

His lion raged close to the surface. Their mate was missing
and Emily had done nothing to prevent it.

Now there was a new lioness on the loose.

If the Nephilim had problems with a werewolf shifting on
live television, they were going to have kittens when a she-cat shifted in the
middle of Carver City’s business district and started biting everything in
sight.

Ethan saw Sam’s nostrils flare and catch his scent. He
considered the scene before him, Ethan with his lion just waiting below his
skin and Emily on her knees with her head tilted in submission.

“You mated,” he said simply.

Emily gasped. Idiot girl hadn’t been able to scent that out?
Even though Lena hadn’t left her own mark on his skin, his marking of her still
lingered on his skin.

“Emily let her loose on the world.” Ethan growled, his voice
almost too low for human speech.

Sam grunted. He was a man of few words when his alpha was in
a mood.

“She hasn’t shifted yet, and she could be anywhere.”

He turned mostly amber eyes back on the girl. Emily
trembled. Ethan rolled his shoulders and clamped down on the raging cat inside
him.

“Did she say where she was going?”

“No, Alpha. Home, I would think.”

Even terrified, Ethan saw a cunning gleam in her eye. She
needed closer watching, or they would all be in trouble. He wished he’d never
agreed to take her in. She’d been nothing but trouble from the beginning.

“You let my mate leave before she finished her
transformation, Emily. Because you thought what? You stood a chance with me?
You were never queen material.” He could feel the lion taking a bit of control.
His features sharpened and elongated, and his hands turned more claw-like.

“Find her,” Ethan seethed between clenched teeth. He didn’t
trust what he’d do to the poor woman if she wasn’t out of his sight. He turned
his back on her.

With a squeak that sounded more like a mouse than a lion,
Emily ran for the assistant’s office to begin searching for any information on
Lena Jeffries.

“Sam, watch her. I don’t trust her to let something useful
fall through the cracks.”

Ethan rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. He listened
for Sam’s soft steps following after Emily, then let his shoulders droop. He
walked to the windowed wall and looked down on the city below him. He imagined
the worse case scenario: an extremely confused woman who had no idea weres
existed suddenly shifting into a powerful lioness with an insatiable appetite
and urge to hunt. The last thing Carver City needed was a newly shifted lioness
on the warpath.

***

Emily and Sam’s efforts found nothing before a lucky call
came through to Sam’s cell. One of the pride, Jerome, worked in a nearby diner,
and unlike Emily, could smell the new lioness even over his grill. He tried
keeping her sated with piles and piles of bacon, but it hadn’t stopped the
transformation’s progress.

Ethan’s knuckles were white under his grip on the steering
wheel. He craned his neck to see around the cars in front of him.
Balls
.
He thought he could reach the diner on foot faster than in his truck.

Jerome had the good sense to remove Lena from the diner
front and take her downstairs when she seemed on edge enough to start sprouting
fur. She had a friend with her, and the friend refused to leave until she knew
what was wrong with Lena.

“Fuck!” He cursed at a new car appearing from nowhere and
cramming into the narrow space in front of him. He slammed the brakes and the
horn in the same motion. His lion flicked his tail in barely controlled
annoyance. It had no patience for the urban jungle on the best of days, and
definitely not when their mate was so near.

He threw the truck into park, and clicked open his seatbelt.
“Sam, take the wheel. I’ll get there faster on foot.” He growled, and slipped
out the door before his second could protest.

He walked briskly down the sidewalk. He was too well known
to outright run. His lion raged for him to shift and cover the distance in a
few large leaps of their paws, but Ethan knew that’d be even worse. The seconds
stretched into what felt like days, but soon the diner sign filled his vision.

He yanked open the door and ignored the curious looks from
the unsuspecting customers. How close had they come to becoming snacks for his new
lioness? How many would have survived?

He went around the counter, and ignored the exclamations
from the other customers. He didn’t care if they thought he was there to rob
the place. He needed to get to Lena before she shifted.

“Ethan freaking Sanford!”

Ethan stopped in his tracks and turned slowly. This week was
turning into a damned high school reunion. He should have expected to see Jessa
the moment Jerome mentioned Lena’s friend. Since transferring into their
school, she’d never been far from Lena. He shouldn’t be surprised their
friendship had continued into adulthood.

She stomped toward him, and he caught her scent. It wasn’t
entirely human. It was placid and wholesome, but he couldn’t put a name to it.
Interesting, but he didn’t have time to puzzle out her other side. He wondered
just how much Lena knew about her friend’s second nature. It would make it
easier to explain the otherworld to her.

“You turned Lena into a lion!” Jessa hissed, her eyes
sliding to glance at the door.

It shouldn’t have amused Ethan, but he cracked a grin. The
cat was already out of the bag, no need to keep quiet. “Nice to see you too,
Jessa.”

“Don’t you “nice to see” me, pretty boy! You have some
serious balls on you.”

“I always thought I was more ruggedly handsome than pretty.”

He grunted when she punched him in the stomach. He almost
rocked in place. Almost.

“You bastard.” She swung at him again but he caught her fist
in his hand.

His lion leached into his eyes. “You shouldn’t keep a lion
from his mate.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and yanked away her hand.
“Fucking hell, this just gets worse. You mated her, too?”

“Jessa.” His voice was low and threatening. Most humans and
shifters with any kind of sense would feel the danger. “I never intended for
her to get away before I had a chance to explain. Now, will you let me go down
there?”

Jessa continued to glare at him. “You stay here. I don’t
think she’ll be too thrilled to see you right now.”

He growled under his breath, and Jerome shied back a step.
He hated to admit Jessa could be right. He had every intention of explaining
everything to Lena, but that plan derailed the moment she stepped foot in the
elevator.

With a reluctant sigh, he nodded.

He strained to hear the women above the hum of the air unit.
He rolled his shoulders and kept himself from pacing. He didn’t need to agitate
poor Jerome any further. The man would be commended for his quick action to
keep a new shifter from going ham on a crowded diner.

A sharp scream and flurry of muffled growls jerked his attention
to the door. He dove for the door with Jerome on his heels. Emily would receive
tenfold the injuries of either woman below.

The overhead lights were bright as he descended. Jerome said
it was additional storage and employee space, and to his word, dry goods were
stacked on shelves. Lockers lined one wall. Laundry ready to be taken to the
cleaners was piled near the back door. And Lena circled Jessa in the middle.

Damn. She was magnificent. Her back easily reached his
waist, which made her bigger than the other lionesses in the pride. Her coat
was a golden blonde that would glisten in the sun. Her huge paws were tipped
with deadly sharp claws.

Her tail twitched and she swiped a paw at Jessa. Toying with
her.

Ethan wiped the smile off his face. Lena would never forgive
herself if she hurt her best friend. The lion in Ethan roared. It wanted to
watch his mate hunt for the first time, see blood on her muzzle as she tore
into the lifeblood of their prey.

New shifters were notorious for their appetites for food and
sex. Maybe he could dangle the latter in front of her long enough for the
former to run out of the room.

“Lena.” He let his lion’s power drip into his voice.

She growled, and her head swung his way. Dazzling golden
eyes met his, ringed with black and white markings. Her features were delicate
and predatory. She lifted her lips and flashed gleaming white teeth.

His lion leapt at his control. Ethan yanked hard on the
leash, but he felt the beast lurking just under his too-tight skin. It wanted
to shift and claim its mate right there. Ethan groaned. So close to the
surface, he felt the lion’s desire and his cock grew stiff in his slacks.

The glorious lioness before him sniffed the air. Her growl
turned more to a purr, and she stretched her front legs out long before
crouching down.

“That’s right, let Jessa go. I have what you want, don’t I?”
He pulled at the too tight collar of his shirt. Buttons pinged on the wall and
scattered down the stairs.

He was vaguely aware of Jerome shoving Jessa up the stairs. Good
man, protecting her with his own body. The door slammed shut on him and Lena.

Ethan knew he’d fucked up in monumental fashion. For a good
reason, at least in his eyes. They belonged together. Always had. But claiming
her and turning her without warning was still a huge fuck up.

With Jessa gone, he needed to coax Lena back out. The
lioness held sway over her, and there was no way she’d be the forgiving sort.
He needed to explain everything to Lena before he let his lion run with her.

“Lena, let’s talk about this.”

Her tail flicked in agitation, but she stayed crouched on
the floor.

He sank to his knees a small distance from her. She could
pounce on him and tear into his skin at any second. He needed a little bit of
distance to manage his shift if it came to that. He was the alpha, and he would
eventually overpower her. He didn’t want to show her the full might of his
beast unless it was necessary. Besides, he much preferred all his limbs firmly
attached to his body and didn’t want her testing those sharp new claws on him.

“Lena, I should have let you know what would happen.”

Lena flashed her teeth and growled again. He didn’t move
away. It was a dominance game, and he was the alpha of the pride. He wouldn’t
bow before a lioness, even if it was his queen.