Tarian Alpha (New Tarian Pride #1)(2)

“What’s happened?” he snarled.

Kannon ran his hand though his black hair and swallowed hard. “Rose is gone.”

“Gone?”

“Yeah, she’s not in her house.”

Ronin forced his muscles to relax. God, he was drenched in sweat. “Well, she’s a grown woman, Kannon. She’s entitled to spend her nights wherever she wants.”

“Understood, but…”

“But what?” Ronin snapped.

Kannon swallowed hard. “It looks like there was a struggle. We found blood. It smells like it belongs to Rose. Do you want me to call the Reaper?”

She’d been taken, and he knew exactly who took her. Fury seared through Ronin’s words as he murmured, “No. I’ll handle it.”





Chapter Two


Today was the worst day of Emerald Lawson’s life.

It should’ve been the happiest. Engaged. Paired up. On the eve of the day most girls have dreamed of since childhood.

In the back seat of the SUV, she stared at the woods blurring by to avoid looking at the stranger who would walk her down the aisle.

Derek was her age, and he was Tarian through and through. She didn’t mean that in a good way. She hated the Tarian Pride. Her parents had run years ago, and Emerald had been lucky enough to be raised rogue. Just her, Mom, and Dad.

Mom had passed away a few years back, and the Tarian Pride council had been killed off in a stupid war they’d started. The Pride split, New Tarian and Old Tarian. It was the Old Tarian half that had come sniffing around last year. Bullying her and Dad. Scaring them. She’d moved cities twice in one year, and Derek and the others had still found her both times.

Why did they care?

Bloodlines.

Fuckin’ bloodlines. Her lineage traced back to one of the founding families of the Tarian Pride and in a time of rebuilding, that apparently counted for a whole lot.

“Everything looks good. Your handwriting is shit, though. I can barely read your signature on the contract,” Derek murmured amid the sound of paper rustling.

It had ripped her soul out to sign it. She wasn’t sorry that she’d scribbled. If he looked close enough, it said fuck you in the middle of all of her signatures.

She hated, hated, hated the Tarian Pride.

And now she would be Queen.

How had she found herself here, speeding toward her internal death? She glanced forward, checked the speed. Going sixty-five miles an hour up winding, mountain roads. Sixty-five miles an hour toward the end of the happy part of her life.

For the dozenth time, Annamora glanced at her in the rearview. There was always worry sitting in the too-bright gold hue of her lion shifter eyes. “It’ll be okay.”

“Annamora,” Derek snarled, “Cassius doesn’t pay you to have an opinion.”

“He doesn’t pay me at all,” Annamora whispered.

Oh, no.

Derek lurched forward and grabbed Annamora’s throat so fast, he blurred. “The fuck did you say to me?”

The SUV swerved, and Annamora hit the brakes hard, choking loudly.

“Let her go!” Emerald yelled as the rig rocked to a stop on the shoulder.

Derek ignored her and yanked Annamora back against the seat. He hissed into her ear, “You fuckin’ slut. You remember your place, you submissive piece of shit. Or do you need me to remind you?”

Why couldn’t she move? Why couldn’t Emerald hit him? Her fists were clenched but stayed helpless on the tops of her thighs. Heat boiled through her, but she couldn’t even lift her gaze from the floorboard.

All the memories of her time with the Tarian Pride as a cub flooded back. Submissive piece of shit.

Annamora and Emerald were the same. They had no value to the dominant-heavy Old Tarian Pride. No value but their lineage.

Submissives were worthless.

She wanted to hit him. Annamora was gasping for air as Derek murmured vile insults into her ear. For what? For telling Emerald everything would be okay? For offering her comfort? Hit him.

But as always around dominants, her inner lioness crouched, got smaller and more terrified until Emerald couldn’t feel the big cat inside of her at all.

Worthless.

She hadn’t felt this low in years.

Hit him!

Her nails dug into her palms, but still, she couldn’t throw the punch. Emerald slammed her head back, trying to shake her mind loose from the control this undeserving dominant had over her animal. Shitty Tarian males. They were all like Derek. When she was a cub, all the males were one big blur except for Dad. Dad and a boy. A boy she’d watched as a little girl. Blond hair, blue eyes that turned to a striking green-gold when his lion got riled up. He was dominant, but showed kindness. And that kindness had gotten him killed. Ronin. Emerald tried to hide in the good memory of the boy who had stopped another kid from hurting her on the playground. Nice cub. Orphan. Hard life, but he’d still been nice when he was alive. People could be nice.

Remember…people can be nice. Don’t let them break you. Don’t let them make you bitter. Don’t let them make you forget that people can be good.

When Derek slammed Annamora’s head against the headrest, Emerald jumped, jolted from the memory. Tears of anger streamed down Emerald’s cheeks as she sat frozen.

Derek sat back next to her and began going through the contract again, as if he hadn’t just hurt a woman.