Somehow, Jack had always known a showdown with Seth was inevitable.

Perhaps subconsciously that had been behind his plan to bring Ellie to the compound all along. Hell, he should have realized the place he’d left as a teenager was far from safe—not for him, anyway. He’d been lucky Seth had been away on a hunting trip when they’d arrived, or they wouldn’t have had a chance to contact the Seiger and arrange a meeting. They should have been safe though. Would have been, had Seth a single ounce of integrity. How had the pride found them anyway? Serena’s crack about his ‘Redclaw reputation’ had given him a small measure of hope—something about the reference made him think maybe his team wasn’t behind the leak. He’d have to figure that out later, though. What mattered now was protecting Ellie.

In his defense, it never occurred to him that Seth was such a coward that he’d violate the laws of hospitality. That he’d actually let the pride inside the compound in exchange for leaving the clan alone. He should have guessed Seth would do anything to save his own skin.

But then he’d had no time to reflect on Seth’s rupture with honor and tradition. Challenge made, he had no choice but to duke it out for the leadership of the clan. He’d known from the beginning that he had to avoid a slugfest between himself and Seth. If it came down to sheer power, Seth’s bear could take him with one well-timed blow.

But though Seth was powerful, his bear wasn’t built for sustained battle. Due to their mass, a fight with a grizzly in the wild tended to be a short one. That’s why Jack had to use Seth’s strength against him—make him angry enough to waste energy knocking down trees and flipping tables.

His plan had worked—which was just as well because the one strike Seth did get in nearly took Jack out. His side burned where the bear’s claws had raked his flesh, and it was possible one or two ribs were cracked.  He’d have continued taking his time, wearing Seth down, but he’d seen Serena talking to both Ellie and her pride. The realization that Serena might not wait for the outcome of the fight, especially if it looked like Jack was stalling for time, caused him to lose focus for an instant. Seth took advantage of his distraction and came close to landing a killing blow.

That’s when Jack knew he had no choice. Seth would show Jack no mercy if he lost this challenge. And losing the challenge meant Ellie’s life was forfeit.

Not on my watch. Not my mate.

For once, Jack was in complete agreement with his leopard. Springing onto one of the picnic tables, he leapt into the air with a ferocious yowl, claws in wide extension as he sought his prey. Landing solidly on Seth’s back, he drove his fangs deep into the bear’s neck, digging in with claws at the same time.

Despite Seth’s size, having one hundred and seventy pounds of leopard hit him between the shoulders sent him face first into the kiln he’d just smashed. Half-smothered by the still-warm embers, Seth was unable to breathe, unable to shake Jack off.

The warm gush of blood bursting into Jack’s mouth lit up a feral glee within him. Instinctively, he ground down on Seth’s neck, patiently waiting for Seth to lose consciousness, the way leopards subdued prey much larger than them. Jack growled when Seth raised one massive paw into the air, but Seth wasn’t trying to claw him. Instead, he slapped the ground several times. His movement was slow and weak, but there was no doubt.

Seth had yielded.

For a split second, the temptation to finish him once and for all roared over Jack. The rich, metallic taste of blood, his nose pressed into the pelt of a despised enemy, the suspicion that Seth killed his father and the certainty he would have turned both Jack and Ellie over to assassins without batting an eye—these were all reasons enough to kill his uncle.

But that wasn’t the man Jack was. That was his leopard talking.

Forcing his leopard’s hot need for revenge and a desire to kill back under control, Jack withdrew his fangs in a gory hiss before rolling off Seth. A moment later, he and Seth were in human form again. Naked, bloodied, and covered in soot.

Jack caught Serena’s eye. “Seth yields. I’m clan leader. Any bargain he had with you is void. You will leave our community now.”

Ellie stood a little distance from the pride leader, still surrounded protectively by Helena, June, Lucinda, and Billy Bob. The others were grinning openly, but it was Ellie’s expression that made his injuries seem non-existent. Her gold eyes glowed with what could only be described as admiration—and love. She started toward him, but Serena’s words had stopped her cold.

He’d suspected all along the outcome of the battle for clan leadership might not matter to the ruthless lioness, but her reaction to one of her pride questioning her decision—as well as her own admittance they had too much to lose—confirmed his worst fears. Her casual claim of it being ‘just business’ cut like a knife. His only consolation was her reaction to hearing Ellie was his mate. Serena knew how hard he would fight to defend her as a result.

Serena recovered from her dismay quickly. With a snap of her fingers, she signaled her pride to shift into their lion forms. The fact they wore shifter clothing told him what he suspected as soon as he’d laid eyes on them: they weren’t just out to kidnap a princess. They were assassins intent on seeing she never made it to the throne.

All around him, the clan hastily shed clothing so they could shift as well. His clan. Rising to help him protect Ellie. In terms of strength and fighting ability, the peaceful members of his clan were grossly outclassed. People he’d known half his life were going to die here today, and they were going to do so because of him. A surge of fierce approval for his clan welled up, along with anger at himself for endangering the people he loved, and he bared bloody fangs at the lioness staring him down.

She lifted a lip dismissively, the ivory of a long canine exposed with the gesture. The rest of her pride formed a circle around him.

So that was how it was going to be. They planned to take him down first and worry about the rest of the clan later. Ears flattened against his head, he yowled.

Bring it.

The pride leader leapt at him, bowling him over. He raked at her with his hind paws, managing to deflect her off of him, but the rest of her pride pressed closer, looking for an opening.

Fighting Serena was nothing like battling Seth. She was far faster and more athletic, and still she weighed twice as much as he did. Already tired and injured, he put as much power as he could behind his strikes, doing his best to avoid contact in return.

One of the other lions, a young male, swiped his legs out from under him, and he went down hard. He bit and scratched with all his might, but Serena bore down on him, and her pride followed suit. He twisted out of reach of a disemboweling blow, but one of the other lions caught him on the shoulder and pulled him back into the melee.

I’m so sorry, Ellie.

She was no longer in sight, and he could only pray she’d made a run for it. Would she remember his words back at the gas station and shift to escape? He kept clawing and biting, even as he knew it was hopeless. Anything to buy her more time, a chance to get away.

An ear-splitting roar from above caused everyone to look up. Even the trees shuddered with the ferocity of the bugling call. To Jack’s utter astonishment, a large dragon towered over the clearing. Iridescent scales ranging in a gradient from emerald green to a deep violet gleamed in the sun. Shiny jet talons at least six inches long opened and closed as though seeking something to grasp. Black wings unfurled, causing nearby fighters to scatter, and the dragon dropped its head in a sinuous movement while screeching at the lions surrounding Jack. The wings drew in protectively around him, and he looked up into golden eyes.

Ellie. It was his Ellie. She had changed to protect him.

His moment of awe at her magnificence turned to anger when the pride recovered from their shock and concentrated forces on attacking Ellie. He growled in frustration when he saw one of the lions score her flank, but quickly realized her dragonhide was too thick for even the lions to do too much damage. If they ganged up on her though, they would be able to reach more vulnerable areas. Ellie didn’t know how to defend herself. Somehow, he had to help her.

Ellie merely swished her tail angrily. Lions tumbled like lawn chairs in a hurricane, along with the remnants of the picnic tables.

The shocked confusion of the lion pride, so certain that Ellie would be unable to shift, hammered in his ears. He could only imagine what it must sound like to Ellie, having never experienced that sort of intense communication before. Just as he was on the verge of reaching out, her anguished cry sought him.

Jack!

Pride in his gorgeous, magnificent mate welled up in him. As well as a tiny bit of satisfaction that she sought his guidance in her time of need. His response was confident.

You got this, babe.

Jack himself barely got out for the way when Ellie turned on her attackers. Her movement took out part of one of the cabins and several trees. The look of dismay on her face was comical, and had things not been so dire, he would have laughed. She swatted at another one of the lions, and came very close to mashing Billy Bob in the process.

Shit. She was going to squish someone if she wasn’t careful.

Ellie seemed to realize this. She began beating her wings, rising slowly off the ground.

He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life.

Serena struck him from the side and he rolled with the lunge, minimizing the impact. They grappled for dominance as each of them sought the death bite. A savage punch to his already damaged ribs caused him to collapse on the ground, and then the lioness had him. He could feel her hot breath on his neck, so close it made his fur rise.

Without warning, she was dragged away with a howl of frustrated fury that turned into a high-pitched squeal of distress. When he lifted his head, he saw Ellie flying out toward the lake with the squirming lioness in clutched in her talons.

The rest of the pride, momentarily disconcerted at the abduction of their leader, didn’t back down. Snarling in defiance, they turned their attention toward him again.

Damn it. He just couldn’t catch a break today.

Girding himself for the onslaught to come, he was startled by the challenging roar behind him. Whipping his head around, he saw a large Kodiak bear, a Siberian tiger, and silver-maned wolf charging out of the woods.

His team had arrived.