Tarian Alpha (New Tarian Pride #1)(21)

Daring a look at Ronin, to Emerald’s mortification, he was facing her now. Had he seen the Change? She didn’t know. All she knew was the look on his face made her heart pound harder. She wished she had more control, but this body was the property of the lioness. She crouched slowly to her belly and exposed her neck. Like always.

Ronin knelt beside her and dragged his eyes down her long body, then back up to her face, which she’d smushed into the snow to be as small as possible around him. She felt his power so much more in this body. It vibrated through every cell and made the air she breathed heavy. It felt as if a truck was sitting on her chest.

Ronin ran his hand down her shoulder to her ribs. Felt good, so why was she scared?

Ronin, Ronin, powerful Ronin. With those bright gold eyes and golden hair falling forward. His slight smile, nearly hidden in his beard, the one he used to hide the scars on his neck from the world. Storm clouds above him made his skin look even paler, eyes look even brighter. He pulled off a leather necklace and his shirt. He stood smoothly and unbuckled his belt. Her ears perked at the jingle of the metal. What was he doing? He took out his chain wallet and unhooked it from his belt, then shoved his jeans down his legs. And before it even registered with her what he intended to do, Ronin Changed.

He. Changed.

Shit shit shit shit! As the massive lion slammed down to the snow on all fours, Emerald scrambled off. He had her pinned before she’d made it to the swing set. A snarl rattled his throat, and now she was going to die. She hissed. Ronin was huge, with a thick brown mane, fiery eyes, and black scars on his face. One of his ears had a huge notch ripped out of it. His paws on either side of her were the size of her whole head. How could a lion be this big? He settled his nose against her neck and inhaled deeply. She was so frozen, so terrified, she might as well have been the snow. Invisible. Please don’t hurt me. Hiss.

When he set his teeth gently on her shoulder, she panicked. She didn’t want to die. She reached out and swatted him, hooking her claws into his fur coat, right at his ribs. Another hiss.

He didn’t even flinch. He let her claws stay right where they were and ran his long tongue up the side of her neck, over and over, until she retracted the claws from his hide. Her heart was going ninety-to-nothing, threatening to race out of her chest completely. Ronin laid half on top of her, one massive arm thrown over her body, pinning her down as he cleaned her slowly. Minutes drifted by, and still, he didn’t kill her. He didn’t even put her in her place. And eventually, she relaxed, muscle by muscle, and closed her eyes, enjoying the affection. Outside of her parents, had she ever experienced affection in this form? She couldn’t remember. She remembered being a cub and getting clawed and bitten by the dominant cubs of the Pride. The only good memories she had in this form were the hours she’d spent alone in the woods, with no one there to scare her.

Ronin stood suddenly and made his way across the playground. Just…left.

Confused, Emerald sat up and watched him meander off. He was tricky. He walked slow and lazy, but she knew he could turn into a killer in no time flat. Still…she’d just been getting used to him, and now he was heading into the woods. Heading away from her.

She didn’t like that.

Maybe she would just trail behind so she could see where he was going, but still be able to run away easily. Feeling like an escape artist genius, Emerald stood, twitched her tail, and then crunched through the snow after him. At the tree line, he slowed and came to a stop, then watched her over his shoulder.

Is he waiting for me? That’s dangerous. Everything is dangerous.

She stopped, too.

He sat.

She sat.

They stared.

What now?

A roar sounded behind her and, on instinct, she bolted for Ronin. Hell no to getting eaten by a stranger lion! She would rather be eaten by him.

Ronin was standing now, looking at something behind her, and she skidded to a stop beside him. His ears were perked up, but his mouth was hanging open and he was panting slightly. Relaxed for the most part. Across the playground were a trio of adult male lions and one lioness.

Was it the Old Tarian Pride or the New Tarian Pride? From Ronin’s reaction, she thought this was his Crew. He strode toward them, unhurried. Okay then. Emerald scampered behind him, dragging her belly through the snow, trailing just far enough back that he couldn’t turn around and swat her. Not that he was showing any signs of aggression, but a wuss could never be too careful. She wanted to roll her eyes at herself, but again, the lioness controlled this body.

He ran his face down the side of the lioness first. Rose? It was probably Rose. She guessed so, since the lioness came straight over to Emerald and greeted her. Like a nice lioness. Like Rose had done. Emerald lay frozen in the snow like a fucking lion-cicle while Rose bumped her forehead against hers. The male lions approached slowly, bobbing their heads as they stared at Emerald.

This was her nightmare. They were all dominant brawlers, and now she was definitely going to die.

Ronin was larger than all of them and wary. He paced away and then back as the others approached closer to Emerald, step by tentative step. The lions seemed only curious, but Emerald wasn’t used to Prides. She wasn’t used to so many dominant lions around her at once, and she couldn’t breathe. She rolled over on her side. Please don’t hurt me.

One of the males was braver than the rest and sauntered up to her. He pushed his nose against her shoulder and then her neck. This was okay. He was just checking her out. Everything was okay. But when he placed his paw on her ribs and put pressure on her, Ronin snarled and swatted him right off her. The lion fell hard in the snow, and then Ronin herded him away aggressively. His body was tensed up, every powerful muscle rippling, the warning in his throat deafening. Rose laid beside her, tail twitching as she watched Ronin back the lion into a snowdrift. The other three males were inching away, tails down, ears flattened.