Since there was nothing unusual about Harper being gone for weeks while on a rescue mission, she was supposed to stick to her normal routine when she arrived at home. After all, there was no sense in alerting the bad guys that they were on to them prematurely. As long as the arrogant ass behaved himself everything should go smoothly.

The plan was simple. Ryker would shift into his lion form and ride in the cage mounted in the bed of her truck like any other large breed rescue would. Once there she would unload him into the shelters quarantine area to keep him from making the other animals nervous and ensure that the staff stayed away.

Since the quarantine area was primarily used for animals that needed around the clock medical attention, it was connected to her house by an enclosed walkway. Ryker could have access to the house and the shelter without being seen in his human form. Unfortunately, things didn't go according to the plan.

Harper had timed her arrival after the shelter was closed to ensure the staff's safety just in case the bad guys were around. What she hadn't counted on was Dylan Wolfe being there, or Ryker's reaction to the wolf shifter's presence. Because the lion went ballistic when she gave her friend a hug.

His ferocious roar scared the hell out of her and announced his presence to every living creature within hearing distance. Shocked at his appalling behavior, she jerked away from her friend and snapped, "Calm down, Garfield."

"Garfield?" The wolf shifter repeated doubtfully as he eyed the massive lion with the alert wariness of a predator meeting a more dangerous foe. The big cat had reached a paw through the bars and was viciously trying to swipe at Dylan with his claws. The man hastily moved back and said, "That is one pissed off pussy."

"Pfft. More like a pampered pussy," she replied derisively, knowing it would piss Ryker off. It did. The lion roared a protest and continued slamming his massive body against the bars as if to prove her wrong. "Neutering will fix his surly disposition."

"No doubt. Do you need some help with him, Harp?" He queried while keeping a wide berth between himself and the nasty tempered beast.

"I can handle him," she assured him and attached the chute that connected the quarantine enclosure to the cage in her truck. She released the hasp on the gate, and when the lion ran into the chute, she lowered the quarantine cage door behind him. "Thanks for keeping an eye on things, Dylan. Tell Sarah I said hi."

"She'll be expecting a girls night out now that you're back," he pointed out since his mate was one of her best friends and the reason why Harper knew about shifters.

"I'll give her a call," she agreed and removed the chute as he got into his Jeep and drove away.

In spite of the fact that Ryker's roars were literally shaking the building, Harper took her sweet time putting the truck in her usual parking place before she unlocked the door and walked into the shelter. The animals were unusually quiet due to the fact that there was a predator in their midst.

Intending to give the shifter hell for terrorizing them with a temper tantrum, Harper entered the quarantine area, flipped on the lights and glared at the lion clawing frantically at the bars. The wild gleam in his eyes was more than a little disconcerting, but the panic in them was not. And it was something that she had never expected to see.

The king of the beasts was losing his shit at being caged.

"Hey, big fella," she said soothingly before moving slowly toward him. "It's okay. You don't have to stay in there. I just need you to calm down so I can turn you loose."

The roars subsided to growls as he stopped trying to break free. His sides were heaving with each labored breath, and Harper knew that the man was taking control of his cat. Before her eyes, the transformation occurred, and Ryker rose from a crouched position in all his naked glory. Judas Priest, it really was glorious.

He grasped the bars in a white-knuckled grip, and his voice was guttural when he growled, "Release me." Since it was an old cell that she'd salvaged from an abandoned jail, she lifted the key from a hook on the wall, unlocked the door and swung it open. "I am not pampered," he snarled. "I'm the king of the fucking beasts!"

Before she saw him move, Ryker had yanked her into his arms, his mouth coming down on hers in a kiss filled with fury and hunger, possession and desperation. It was a kiss like no other, wild, erotic and unrestrained, filled with desire such as she'd never dreamed of. Harper responded on a primitive level and returned the kiss, starving for more.

She was panting for air when his mouth left hers to trail kisses down her neck. Her senses were so drugged she had no idea that her clothes were disappearing as he paid homage to her breasts and when he lightly bit her nipple, she almost came unglued. Her fingers tunneled into his short hair, nails raking his scalp as she pressed his talented mouth closer.

Much too soon for her liking, Ryker abandoned her breasts and moved further south, his tongue laving a trail of fire down her chest and abdomen. He lifted her leg, draped it over his shoulder and in her dazed state of euphoria, Harper could have sworn he sniffed her pussy before growling, "Mine."

Before she could even begin to ponder that, his wicked tongue caused her to forget her name. He licked, laved, sucked, and nipped while she writhed helplessly in his hold. Caught in the onslaught of the desire consuming her, she moaned, whimpered and screamed his name as wave after wave of orgasmic bliss spread through her veins.

Ryker rose before her, golden eyes aglow with a primal need that mesmerized her. Her hands locked around his shoulders as he lifted her off of her feet, crushing her body against the heat of his. She melted into him as her body wept for his total possession. The feel of cool metal against her bare back snapped her to her senses.

That was when she realized that she was as naked as he was.

"You shredded my clothes," she panted.

"You reeked of wolf," he growled and buried his face against her neck to inhale greedily. "Now you carry my scent."

The satisfaction in his tone had warning bells going off in her head. Because, you know, being pinned to a wall and stripped bare by a naked shifter who'd given her a mind-bending orgasm hadn't been alarming enough on its own apparently. But for an ethologist who specialized in animal behavior, his comment was definitely cause for alarm.

Because Ryker was exhibiting all the classic signs of an animal claiming his mate, so yeah, that was unsettling, to say the least. Maybe even a little scary. And a whole lot of exciting as well. "Why is that important?" She demanded and wanted to hear him say the words. Needed to hear them spoken aloud.

"You're mine, Harper," he growled and nipped her neck with his teeth. "My mate."

"Fuck. Me," she breathed in astonishment.

His head came up, golden eyes glowing as an answering growl rumbled deep in his chest. "Yes," he hissed before his cock thrust deep within her. It felt like two halves of a whole finally becoming one.

Judas Priest.

She really was his mate!

 

***

 

Once again, Ryker was livid, and his mate's complete lack of respect for him couldn't have been more obvious. It was bad enough that he'd suffered the absolute indignity of being caged in the back of her truck, but the knowledge that he could reach through the bars and open the hasp in his human form had made the experience tolerable.

His damned lion was caught up in a mating frenzy, and the beast had completely lost it when his mate had dared to embrace another man right in front of him. The fact that he was a wolf shifter was an added insult. His cat would have torn the bastard into bite-sized chunks if he'd gotten his paws on him.

Ryker would have let him after she'd had the audacity to say he was pampered. He, the king of the beasts! Harper had dared to compare the most fierce animal on the planet to a cartoon cat! If his lion had been able to get free, he would have shown her just how ferocious her mate was by shredding that damned wolf.

The comment about neutering him was the final straw. But the worst was yet to come because his cat had been so focused on getting to the wolf that he'd run headlong into his worst nightmare. A prison with no escape. As soon as the gate slammed closed behind him, the room had plunged into total darkness.

Cat eyes adjusted to the lack of light and saw the thick bars surrounding him. His mind was transported back to another time and place when his body had been racked with pain and debilitating hunger, where the stench of putrid water, stale urine, decaying fecal matter and rotting flesh had assaulted his nostrils.

A miasma of fear and desperation mingled with the fury, and his beast would have killed himself trying to break free. His mate's soft voice and intoxicating scent had calmed the terror that gripped them both in its steely jaws. Ryker had panicked right along with his cat, but knowing that Harper was going to release them helped him gain control of the beast.

He shifted to his human form, grasped the bars, and his voice was guttural when he growled, "Release me." Relief flooded him when the door swung open, and he was consumed by the need to punish her for reminding him of a past he'd tried to forget. And for showing a complete lack of respect for her mate by rushing into the arms of another shifter.

'No, no, no,' his cat roared. 'Not hurt mine.'

"She threatened to neuter you,' he reminded the cat.

'What neuter mean?' The beast demanded.

'She wants to cut off your fucking balls.'

That horrified and angered the already agitated beast. 'Show mate we are alpha,' he commanded.

In complete agreement, he snarled, "I am not pampered. I'm the king of the fucking beasts!" Driven by primal instinct, Ryker yanked Harper into his arms, his mouth crashing down on hers in a punishing kiss. His mate's response was wild, erotic, unrestrained, and more than he'd bargained for because she set his soul on fire.

Tearing his mouth from hers, the glazed, hungry look in her cobalt eyes inflamed his need for her. His claws extended and he shredded the clothing that separated them as he trailed kisses down her neck to her breasts. His mate tasted as delicious as she smelled and the scent of her arousal was driving him past rational thought.

Salivating for a taste, he growled, "Mine," and settled in to feast.

The sound of his mate moaning, whimpering and screaming his name spurred his relentless need to bring her to climax. She writhed helplessly in his hold while he devoured every delicious drop. Ryker rose before her, golden eyes aglow with primal need, lifting her off of her feet, crushing her body against his.

Her hands locked around his shoulders as she melted into him, pliant and yielding as a mate should be. "You shredded my clothes," Harper panted.

"You reeked of wolf," he growled in satisfaction and buried his face against her neck to inhale greedily. "Now you carry my scent."

"Why is that important?"

"You're mine, Harper," he growled possessively and nipped her neck with his teeth. "My mate."

"Fuck. Me," she breathed.

Possessed by a primitive need as old as time itself, his head came up, golden eyes glowing as a growl of possession rumbled deep in his chest. "Yes," he hissed before he thrust his cock deep within her. His lion roared and so did he because Ryker discovered the part of himself that he hadn't even known was missing.

The other half of his soul.

Hands cupping her ass, he pounded into Harper as if each thrust might be his last. He stared into her beautiful face, relishing the heightened color that tinged her creamy cheeks. The glazed, hungry look in her eyes. When she bit her bottom lip, he groaned and covered her mouth with his, drawing the plump flesh into his mouth.

His mate dug her nails into his shoulder, one hand splayed across the back of his head as she rode him with wild abandon. He felt her body begin to tense, inner muscles tightening around his cock. Her head fell back, she drew a ragged breath and released a scream of ecstasy that triggered his release.

Pleasure such as he had never known consumed him, and Ryker felt as weak as a newborn cub, yet filled with boundless energy. His mate stared up at him with the soft, sated look of a woman well pleased and pride swelled in his chest. Because he was the man responsible for satisfying her and he wanted to do it again and again.

So he did.