Leap of the Lion (The Wild Hunt Legacy #4)(123)

Her brothers were wrong, and she was right. Her instincts—human and cat—said leap.

“I love you,” she said firmly and kissed him again.

Turning, she reached up to Owen, and he was already bending to her. Hands on his clean-shaven jaw, she looked into his forest-green eyes and saw her answer already there. “I love you, Owen.”

As cheers resounded through the room, they squished her again—and she heard them. Gawain’s smooth voice, “I love you, sweetling. Love you so much.”

And, to her astonishment, Owen’s gravel voice was right there, too. “I love you, Darcy.”

When they finally let her go, she saw that Fell and Patrin were staring.

“Now, brawd, we do it now,” Owen growled.

But he didn’t grab her. She blinked—and looked down to see her two males kneel in front of her.

Owen took her hand. “We love you, Darcy. More than anyone like me could ever say. But I’ll try to tell you how much I love you—through this life, and in all our lives to come.”

Oh, she knew how incoherent he felt, because when she tried to answer, the words stuck in her throat.

Gawain’s clear blue eyes were deeper, wider than the entire sky, filling her universe. “We love you, Darcy. Our lives aren’t complete without you with us. Be our lifemate and share our love and lives from this day on.”

Their voices blurred together, dancing back and forth in a rumbly, growly chorus of wonderment.

“You can fix anything that is broken, including our hearts.”

“We’ll help you leap any obstacle in your path.

“We’ll never boss you around. Much.”

“No nightmare will find you when we’re with you.”

“We’ll love you until the last star falls from the sky.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, yes.”

As they rose, they gathered her in, claiming her with lips and arms for all the world to see.

“Let’s go home.” Owen took her left hand, Gawain her right.

To one side, Vicki was smiling beside a grinning Jamie. Bonnie had her hands over her huge grin, her eyes filled with happy tears.

Darcy barely had a chance to smile at them before her mates led her out of the building to the sound of such cheering it was surprising the building still stood.


In the light of the rising moon, they’d walked down the hill from the tavern and into their gravel drive. With his arm around Darcy and his heart light enough to slip out of his chest, Gawain turned toward the barn instead of the house.

“Brawd?” Owen frowned.

“We have lifemating bracelets to make. Let’s do it now.”

Owen studied him and grinned. “Aye. I can think of nothing better.”

Their little catling’s eyes lit, and she nodded.

After picking up bracelets from the barn, Gawain led them outside to his ritual area. In the dark night, he could hear the splashing of the stream within the circle of river stones. The moon was full, and the area was awash with power.

Needing to feel her again, Gawain hugged Darcy to him. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me, too.” Like a cat, she rubbed her cheek against his chest, leaving her fragrance behind, marking him with her scent. He breathed her in and handed her to Owen to hold.

Without any hesitation, his brother wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and laying his cheek on the top of her head. The bond was there, oh yes, it was.

This was a good lifemating.

Just by being in their lives, she’d changed them for the better, opened them, healed them. And they’d been good for her as well.

He couldn’t help but smile, just looking at her. Her dark eyes were wide, her lips curved. Happiness radiated from her.

Gawain lit the brazier, added incense, and felt the elements merging—earth and water, fire and air. Holding the bands over the spiraling smoke, he added the fifth—spirit—and opened to the Mother.

This time…

By the Mother’s grace, this time when She touched him in inquiry, the names and images of the potential lifemates included himself. His own elation danced through his heart and to her.

To his surprise, he felt his brother move forward to join him, and instinctively, they pulled Darcy between them so they stood connected, shoulder to shoulder to shoulder. Owen and Darcy’s joy mingled with his own, flowing to the Mother.

He could feel Her delight. And then Her power flowed through him, magicking the lifemating bands, and filling him and his lifemates with her love.

Darcy leaned into him.

Tears were in Owen’s eyes.

Gawain squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “That’s a Mother’s love—and our cubs will have that from their mother.” He handed Owen a lifemating band and watched wonder fill his brother’s eyes for the band still resonated with the Goddess’s gift.

Slowly, Owen’s smile appeared. “Darcy.” His voice was rough. Husky. He took her hand and slid the bracelet onto her left wrist before kissing her. “By the God, I love you so fucking much.”

She was blinking back tears now.

Gawain bent and kissed her and added his bracelet next to his brother’s. “I love you, Darcy.”

After a minute of looking at the bracelets on her pretty wrist, she took the heftier male bands. One went on Owen’s left wrist with a kiss and the second on Gawain’s with another kiss. “I love you two, enough for this lifetime and many, many more.”