Chapter Nine
Ranger walked alongside his alpha as they placed flags for a new fence on the property Talon had purchased the day before. The empty property would double their current land mass, ensuring the pride would have plenty of room to roam free without any worries. The expansion of the pride’s land also meant that they could welcome new members, increasing their size.
“The new property line runs to that tree,” Talon announced, pointing off to the south. “I need fencing installed with cameras as soon as possible.”
“We can have the property secure in three weeks,” Ranger promised. “Until then, the pride doesn’t need to be back here.”
“I remember a time when we didn’t need all of this security,” Talon said sadly, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what was happening in their world. Ranger agreed, but would leave the decisions about safety to his alpha. “Times are changing, my friend.”
“That they are,” Ranger agreed, moving to place the next flag along the property line. “I have the equipment needed for cameras, and I will install them myself.”
“Good.” Talon nodded, walking toward the west. He’d occasionally look at the aerial map they’d printed, ensuring the accuracy of their quest to secure the land.
The males worked for another hour, finally making their way back to the fence for their existing land. Talon marked something on his printout and scanned the area again. “I think we have it marked properly.”
“I’m on patrol for the next few hours,” Ranger stated, feeling a bit of unease.
“Shift, and I will take your clothes to the dorms,” Talon offered.
Ranger stripped and shifted, taking a moment to stretch and absorb the relief in his damaged leg. His alpha scooped up the human clothing and rested his hand on Ranger’s head. “I’m proud of the Guardian you have become, Ranger.”
Ranger’s human side welcomed the praise, knowing Talon was well aware that in almost any other pride, he’d be ousted because of the injury that would never repair itself.
The alpha held the gate open to the back of the property, allowing the animal to proceed through. Ranger’s panther trotted off to make his rounds along the fence line, taking a moment to scent the area. His nose touched the ground periodically, looking for anything that didn’t belong.
An hour later, feet pounded through the forest and his name was being frantically called. Ranger ran toward the sound, halting in his movement when his baby brother came into view. His panther snarled, knowing something wasn’t right.
“You need to hurry,” Axel huffed. “It’s Hope.”
“Hope?” a young female called out as she stood in the doorway to the Guardian’s training room. Hope grabbed ahold of the bag she’d been hitting, slowing its movement.
“Yes,” she panted, using the back of her forearm to wipe away the sweat from her brow. “Who are you?”
“My name is Calla Marshall.” Hope eyed the small female as she took a step inside the room. She was looking around with big, icy blue eyes and wringing her hands nervously. “Are there any males here?”
“No.” Hope frowned. Why was this female so scared? “It’s just me. Come in and take a seat. You look nervous.”
“I am,” she admitted.
“Care to explain?”
“Rumors are going around that you are training to be a Guardian,” Calla blurted out.
“Ah, no.” Hope grimaced. “I’ve been trained to fight by my brother, Kraven. I’m here training, strengthening. It’s just something that I do. There is no way I want to be a Guardian.”
“I was wondering if you could teach me how to fight?” Calla looked around at the equipment and cursed. “Oh, what the hell am I doing? I know nothing about this stuff.”
“Grab those gloves over there,” Hope said as she pointed to the bench. “They belong to Evie, but I think your hands are about her size. They should fit.”
Hope watched Calla slip on the gloves, surprisingly with no trouble whatsoever. The young female used her teeth to tighten the straps and then looked at her hands. She shook the gloves a little to test their weight before glancing over to Hope. “They’re more comfortable than I thought.”
“You seem to be a natural,” Hope surmised. “You haven’t fought before?”
“Oh, no,” the young female replied, shaking her head. “I’ve never punched anything.”
“Well,” Hope shrugged, “let’s see what you can do.”
Hope grabbed the focus mitts and moved to the center of the huge floor mat. She motioned for the young female to come forward. “Show me what you can do.”
“I don’t even know what to do first,” Calla replied, her brow furrowing in confusion.
“Just throw a punch, and then I will tell you what you’re doing right or wrong,” Hope urged, holding the mitts up to protect her face. She didn’t know what to expect from the female, but she was shocked when the first hit made her step back half a step from the female’s strength. “Well, okay then.”
“What?” Calla blushed with embarrassment, dropping her hands to her sides. “Did I screw that up?”
“No,” Hope chuckled, but righted her features when Calla scowled. “You’re pretty strong.”
“I don’t think so,” she chuffed. “I’m weak as hell.”
“Okay, let’s work on your stance,” Hope continued.
For the next hour, they worked on her stance and where to keep the gloves placed. Hope was shocked at how quickly Calla learned the moves she was shown. Each moment that passed, Calla’s confidence grew by leaps and bounds.
“Holy shit,” Calla panted. “That was fun.”
“Seriously,” Hope laughed, “I can’t believe you’ve never done this before.”
“No, never,” she replied, shaking her head.
The women were interrupted when the door to the gym was pulled open and the new Guardians entered. Ranger’s brother held out his arm to halt the other males, but the one named Taze pushed past him to walk forward. The male was angry.
“Can we have our training room back?” he barked. “You know, for actual Guardians to practice.”
“There’s plenty of room here for all of us,” Hope said, squaring her shoulders. If this little punk thought he could intimidate her…he was going to be sadly mistaken.
“I can go,” Calla whispered.
“No, Calla,” Hope scoffed, placing a hand on the female’s shoulder to stop her from leaving. “We are welcome here.”
“No, you’re not.” Taze cursed, looking over his shoulder at his brothers. Hope noticed Ranger’s brother, Axel, was missing from the bunch, and she had a feeling he was going to get her mate. “Want to help me remove them?”
“Man, you have lost your fucking mind,” Lucky Cooper snarled, grabbing Taze’s forearm as he made a move toward Hope and Calla. The male jerked his arm free and snapped his canines at the male.
“Touch me and it will be the last time you use that hand…boy,” Hope goaded, widening her stance in preparation to take down the young male. “You really don’t want to fuck with me.”
“You going to hit me with your sissy gloves?” Taze laughed, eyeing her hands.
“Actually,” Hope smirked, using her teeth to rip at the Velcro, “I don’t need them.”
“Taze,” Lucky warned again. He clamped his hand over the male’s forearm to halt any attack, but the young male was still unstable and obviously didn’t listen well to orders. “Don’t.”
A vicious snarl echoed through the room as a huge black panther burst through the door. He didn’t even pause when he leapt into the air, taking the young male to the ground, his lethal canines wrapped around Taze’s throat.
“Son, we have a problem,” Talon bellowed from the door. “You just threatened a mate.”
Ranger’s panther tasted blood and reveled in the kill that was about to happen. Seeing the young Guardian moving toward his mate with hatred sent Ranger’s beast raging. If his brother hadn’t found him patrolling in his shifted form, there was no telling what would’ve happened to his mate.
“Did the Guardian touch you, Hope?” Talon asked as he moved forward. Ranger’s panther growled low in its throat as the alpha walked up to where he had the male pinned.
“No, sir,” Hope replied. The panther relaxed slightly when he knew she was unharmed. “I was handling it myself.”
Ranger’s panther raised his lips in a deathly snarl as his eyes landed on his mate. Not once did he release his hold on the male.
“Get him off of me!” Taze yelled, choking at the end when Ranger’s panther clamped down harder to silence the human male.
“I don’t think I can do that,” Talon said, kneeling beside the male.
Ranger felt a slight push of power from his alpha, telling the beast to stand down…but only slightly. He forced his human mind to the forefront, telling the panther to hold the male until he was ordered otherwise.
“You’ve threatened a mate of one of your brothers,” Talon reminded him. “This is unacceptable even for an unstable male who just reached maturity.”
Hope move toward the males. Ranger’s panther gave another warning growl, but she was obviously not going stay away. He had no desire to have his mate so close.
“Hope,” Talon warned as she moved closer. “I don’t think your mate wants you this close.”
“Too bad,” she huffed, taking a knee on the other side of Taze. The panther closed his eyes when her hand landed on top of his head. “Ranger, let him go. I don’t think he’s going to do this again. Are you?” Her question was aimed at the young Guardian who was laying on the ground, frozen in place as the panther held him.
“Answer the female,” Talon ordered.
“No, ma’am,” he blinked, “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“It better not,” Talon said, standing to his full height. “Ranger, release him. Taze, report to my office immediately.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, gritting his teeth. Ranger immediately backed off and the young male gasped for breath. He rose to his feet and lowered his head as he left the training facility. The other Guardians were still standing by the door, all of them giving the male room to leave.
“Let this be a warning to everyone,” Talon bellowed. “The training facility is available to everyone, male or female. I do not ever want to walk in on what I saw this evening. Taze will be punished or possibly stripped of his Guardianship. I haven’t decided as of yet.”
Talon turned slightly and glimpsed at Hope and Calla, a look of pride crossing his face as he left the room without another word. Ranger shifted and stalked toward his mate. As soon as he could reach for her, he lifted her into his arms and marched from the room.
“Ranger, I’m fine,” she said, touching the side of his face.
“I’m not,” he growled, taking the stairs to their room. The moment they were inside, he laid her on the bed and began to check her over. “Did he touch you?”
“No,” she sighed, pushing at his hands. “I told you that I was fine.”
“I saw you,” he said as he swallowed hard. “You were going to fight him.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.
“If it came to that,” she nodded, “I would’ve done it.”
“Jesus,” he cursed. “Do you have no fear, woman?”
“No, not really,” she shrugged. “I don’t like being bullied.”
“That’s obvious,” he laughed, sliding into the bed. Ranger pulled his mate to his chest and rubbed his cheek against hers, marking her with his mating scent.
“Have you no respect for anyone?” Talon snarled, pushing his powers out toward Taze Malone as he stood at attention in his office. “You have been approved to be a Guardian to this pride. Do you not know what that entails?”
“I do,” Taze replied, lowering his eyes. Talon knew the male had lost his sense of self in that training room, and he more than likely had shit himself when Ranger’s panther attacked him. The bloody marks on his neck were proof of that.
“I’ve half a mind to strip you of your Guardianship!” Talon continued, his anger at a fever pitch.
“I’m sorry, alpha.” Taze cowered, finally submitting to his alpha. The young male took a knee in the office and lowered his head as far as it would go. His voice was strong as he continued. “My family will disown me if I disrespect you.”
“It’s not me who you disrespected,” Talon reminded the male.
“The females are supposed to be protected,” he replied, his voice not quite as strong now that he was telling the alpha how he really felt. “They shouldn’t be in our space. That training facility is for the Guardians.”
“You have a lot to learn about strong females, son,” Talon chuckled. “Stand up and face your alpha.”
Taze Malone, the only child to the Malone family, stood tall, but the scent of fear coming from the male was thick in the air. Talon only had to look at Taze to know that he knew he was on the verge of being ousted from his family and possibly his pride.
“Sir?” Taze began when Talon just stood there, staring at him. It was an intimidating technique his father had taught him, and it worked.
“Females are to be protected, yes,” Talon agreed, clasping his hands at his back as he began to pace. “Our females, however, are stronger than ever. They want to take back their independence and learn to defend themselves. Your alpha’s mate was once human, and she has taught me several things since meeting her. Do you want to know what she taught me?”
“Yes, sir,” Taze replied.
“That a female can, and will, take care of herself if she is trained to do so,” he answered, still pacing. The pacing was driving the male crazy with concern. “I saw my mate, while she was still human, take down a male twice her size and not even break a sweat.”
“Really?” Taze asked, his eyes wide.
“Yes,” Talon replied. “So, this is your last warning to let the females share the training space with the Guardians. I refuse to build a new facility just for the women. I will not segregate them. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir.” Taze bowed. “I will apologize.”
“The next incident, you will be let go,” Talon warned. “I will not stand for this in my pride.”
“Yes, sir,” Taze replied, not looking up until Talon gave him the command to leave the office. He could’ve ordered the male to be respectful to the females, but he didn’t want to do that. Just because Talon was the alpha, and could forcefully order one of his pride to obey him, didn’t mean that he would do that to keep the peace. The male had to learn his lesson on his own.
Chapter Ten
“Come take a walk with me?” Hope looked up from her book and saw Ranger standing in the doorway, his large frame taking up all of the space. His eyes were icy blue and his features were relaxed.
“Where are we going?” she asked, tilting her head to the side in question. His mating scent drifted across the room, and she sighed when her body reacted. Ranger’s nostrils flared from the scent of her arousal on the air.
“Nowhere if you keep giving off that scent,” he teased, just the corner of his lip lifting.
“We can go for a walk,” she smirked. “Maybe for a walk in the woods later?”
“Hmm…” He smiled as he approached the bed. A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as he started to pull her off the bed. As soon as her feet hit the floor, Ranger’s lips pressed to hers, his tongue swiping across her bottom lip. God, he tasted like everything she craved. Kissing her mate was never going to be a hardship. In fact, she forgot what the hell he wanted when his tongue entered her mouth, tangling with her own.
“Do you want to go for a walk or stay here and fuck?” Ranger was straight forward with her and that made her insides burn with a need she’d never felt.
“Can we take a walk later?” she hummed.
“Whatever my mate wants,” he replied, taking her lips again.
Hope didn’t even wait for him to remove her clothes. She pulled her shirt off, tossing it on the floor. Ranger snarled and looked over his shoulder at the open door. With two strides, he reached out and slammed it shut, locking it quickly before turning towards her.
“Strip, mate,” he ordered, standing with his legs apart and his arms folded across his chest. The obvious bulge in his pants told Hope more than anything just how much he wanted her.
Hooking her thumbs into the sides of her yoga pants, she turned around so her back was facing him. She bit her lip as she shimmied them down, bending over at the waist, knowing he could see her desire as it coated her sex.
“Fuck,” he growled. “Don’t move.”
She pulled her feet free from the material, but didn’t make a move to stand. She had no time to ask him what he was planning on doing before he buried his face against her, wrapping his arms around her legs to keep her from collapsing from the way he devoured her.
“Ranger!” Her voice came out garbled, but from her mate’s chuckle, she knew he’d heard her. “Please?”
“Please, what?” he asked as he pulled away slightly. She could feel his warm breath against the wetness and pushed her hips backward, encouraging him to continue.
“Nothing…don’t stop,” she begged.
“Get on your knees. I want you at the edge of the bed,” he ordered, not listening to her pleas. Hope stood to her full height, but didn’t walk forward on her own. Ranger’s chest met her back as he walked her toward the bed, stopping when her knees hit the mattress. “I want to take my mate properly.”
Hope scrambled up, settling on her knees, waiting for him to mount her. For a female panther, this was the most intimate way to be taken by a mate. This was the type of thing that teenage females whispered about when they’d get together to wonder what their mates would be like when they found them. Their own mothers had prepared them for the matings, telling them from the time they had their first heat about mating rituals.
This was what a female craved…needed…wanted from her mate. The savageness of the act wasn’t discouraged. It was part of their nature.
It was who they were.
Animals.
Ranger’s beast prowled along the fence line deep inside the pride’s land. There were no scents of enemies, but the panther knew to stay on alert. His mate was sleeping in her human form, waiting on him to arrive, and it was very hard to keep to his task without daydreaming about seeing her.
The Guardians were on edge, waiting and watching for any sign of the Community. The alpha knew it was only a matter of time before they came looking to harm his people. It was now up to the pride to defend themselves.
Rustling off to his right caused the panther to cackle out a warning, but the scent of a fellow Guardian eased the animal, but only slightly.
“I’m here to relieve you,” Booth announced as he stopped to lean against a tree, holding a stack of folded clothes. “Hope sent me with some clothes for you.”
Ranger pushed at his panther, demanding he be released. The panther didn’t protest when the thought of seeing their mate was at the forefront of both of their minds. Hope was alone, and a male without his female was always ready to return to them.
As he rose to his feet, Booth handed him his clothes and waited until he was dressed before shifting into his own beast. The male stripped and shifted, sniffing and scratching the ground.
“I haven’t had any problems,” Ranger informed the panther. The beast looked up with amber eyes and huffed, acknowledging his brother. “I’ll see you after sunrise.”
Booth’s panther loped off into the woods, leaving Ranger to walk back toward the Guardian’s dorm. He took a slight detour and walked down the road next to Savage’s new place he’d built for Mary Grace. The empty lot was now secured for him to build his home with Hope. She’d been very excited when they finally went for their walk at sunset the night before.
Her idea for a home was simple, yet perfect for the two of them. Ranger wondered what their cubs would look like. Obviously, they’d have the jet black hair and icy blue eyes of both parents. Would they have the soft skin of their mother? Or would they have the hardened features of the Guardian?
It didn’t matter to Ranger. He’d found his mate and whatever they were blessed with by the gods was up to them. He’d cherish Hope for the rest of their lives and beyond.
He took the steps leading up to the second floor two at a time, scenting her as he turned down the hallway. When he opened the door, she was sitting on the bed, tying her shoes.
“Do you have to work tonight?” he asked.
“Yeah, after I grab some food.” She smiled fondly at him, dropping her feet to the ground. “I met the Guardian Storm today.”
“I asked him to come by to talk to you about plans for our home,” Ranger said, removing his shirt. “How did that go? Did you work up some blueprints yet?”
“Actually, no.” She grinned, making him wonder what she was up to.
“Why not?”
“Noah offered us his old cabin since he moved back into his mother’s place, and now, the alpha’s home.” Her face fell as sadness invaded her features. “Mrs. Shaw sounded like a wonderful mother. I wish I could’ve met her.”
“She was an amazing female, and the pride is still hurting after her death,” he replied, taking a seat next to her on the bed. “Are you sure you don’t want us to build our own home?”
“I went by the cabin and took a look at it.” She smiled at him. “I really love it.”
“It’s small,” Ranger warned.
“It’s perfect,” she countered. “We can add on to the back in a few years if we need to.”
“If you are sure this is what you want,” he smiled warmly, standing up from the bed, “we can get some furniture ordered tonight after we have dinner.”
“I would like that.”
They walked down to the communal kitchen in the dorm and found several bowls of food in the fridge. The females of the pride always kept their kitchen stocked so the Guardians didn’t have to do much for food. While Ranger appreciated their kindness, he wanted move into their cabin so he could cook a proper meal for his mate.
“Once we move into the cabin, I will cook for you,” he mumbled as he put a plate of fried chicken into the microwave.
“You can cook?” she inquired, taking a seat at the large table that sat ten.
“Yes,” he nodded, “I don’t get to do it much, but I enjoy it.”
“Good,” she said, then frowned, her brow crinkling. “Because I cannot cook worth a damn.”