Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Eat Well Live Proud kept the Pride in the black. Every one of his Lions shared in the profits of the company with quarterly dividends. Most of the adults in the Pride worked for the company, and those who retired did so with excellent packages and still kept a portion of the proceeds.
Donovan Crowley was no fool. His father had always been crystal clear during his reign that greed had no place within the Pride. He was a philanthropist, using most of his own wealth and his share of the proceeds to see to his community’s needs.
King D had built an entire community of houses for his people. A gated community where he managed to separate his Lions from the normals who would likely shit themselves if confronted with a couple of changed adults from the Pride.
Smart. Very smart.
It was the duty of every Shifter to keep their secret. Leaders had to be strong, decisive, and capable of keeping the peace. King D was all that and more. The Blue Valley Pride’s gated community, called Blue Valley Homes, had three recreational parks for their cubs, several grassy knolls, and over fifteen acres of surrounding forests to roam.
There was plenty of room for Pride members to move about. He also reinforced their sense of fellowship with scheduled runs and Pride meetings. Yes, Leo’s father was a good King. And yet, the elders were calling a circle.
Grrrrr.
Of course, Leo had been absent lately. He didn’t have much hands-on experience with his father or the Pride since he’d been elbows deep in doing his job—not to mention other distractions.
Redheaded, big-bosomed, sassy, sexy as fuck distractions… Prrrrrr.
The truth was simple, if a little embarrassing to admit aloud now that he was an adult—but here it was. Donovan Crowley was Leo’s personal fucking idol. The King had always been larger than life to his son. A true example of the best of what their species had to offer. Powerful, just, fair, and stronger than any other Lion Leo had ever seen.
True, he’d been distant. But he was a caring father. He just always put duty first—something his son had learned to emulate. One thing was certain, the Pride sure loved Donovan Crowley, and his people were loyal.
There just hadn’t been much room for Leo in his busy life. But that was okay. Leo understood all about duty, and he wasn’t whining about it. He was never mistreated. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
If anything, Leo was a little spoiled. Growing up Lion royalty had given him the best. He had an excellent education—best that money could buy. As for the whole Dad being too busy to toss around the old pigskin, well, Leo had plenty of friends and buckets of affection from his dearly departed mother, and the other Lionesses in his family.
He literally had dozens of female relatives, all doting on him throughout his child and young adulthood. He had been afforded all the benefits a man of his position was entitled to. And when he was old enough, he’d left home for college. That had been a very turbulent time in Leo’s life.
At the end of his first semester, he’d returned on a weekend visit to find his human mother ill, and his father tending her bedside alone. He’d been stopped at the door, told by his father’s loyal valet—a man who was a pillar of the palace—that his father thought it best if Leo did not visit during that time. The King needed his Lion settled before he could handle the dominant male his son had become.
Of course, seeing his mate decline in health had upset his Lion, and Leo mourned the loss of both mother and father during that time. He hated not seeing his mother, but he managed a handful of visits when his father was away from the palace, during her illness, before she’d finally succumbed to it.
Yes, he resented his father for keeping him away from his mother for all those years. Partly why he’d become so distant. Donovan Crowley had ordered his son away from the palace and kept his mate to himself, denying Leo access to his mother, and that broke something between them. It damaged the bond Leo should feel to his King and father. He knew it. The King knew it. But both ignored it, pretending everything was okay over brief emails and even briefer phone calls.
He did not want to deal with all this Pride business right now. Fucking George. Why couldn’t he just leave Leo alone? Being heir to the crown was simply a fact he did not have time for. But Leo knew his duty. Even if he’d conveniently forgotten it as he’d set about making a life for himself outside the Pride.
He’d always known he would have to return one day. Leo just wasn’t prepared for it to happen this soon. He stood looking at nothing and thought long and hard about his position.
A Crowley had reigned over the Blue Valley Pride since the late 1790s. His father was a firm believer in the old ways. Donovan Crowley followed those old beliefs to the t, including alienating his only son.
He’d even kept a circle of elders, a sort of council of advisors to help keep the Pride on a healthy track. Their job was not to dictate, but to ask questions and to make suggestions. Should a King not be able to perform his duty, they had the power to call for a challenge for new leadership.
That meant they would have to pick a challenger who would then fight the King in a battle to the death either on two feet or four. Those were the only rules. And it had never happened. Not in the history of the Blue Valley Pride. At least, not as far as Leo knew.
Born with the Crowley lineage’s powerful streak of dominance, Leo’s Lion was strong, a true Alpha male. It was logical for Leo to leave the Pride until the time came for him to lead it. No one wanted a challenge between father and son. Heartbreaking though it was to be parted from his mother, Leo understood his father’s reasons for keeping him at bay. Sometimes a King had to make difficult decisions.
“Son, I have no wish to harm you, but the elders say it is inevitable. When two dominant males, each with the predisposition to be King, are locked inside of the same Pride, one usually winds up dead. I will not have any harm come to you. I owe your mother that.”
His father’s voice echoed in his ear on the day of his mother’s funeral, and he realized it had been one of the last times he’d actually talked to the man face to face. Leo knew stories of Lions killing each other, of sons and fathers at each other’s throats to claim the throne. According to his father and the elders, this happened when dominant males could not control their natural urge to rule.
His grandfather had been killed in an accident before his father had cause to test this theory himself. Leo understood he did it out of love for his son. But understanding and accepting it were two different things. Would he change the past if he could? Maybe. But that was not within his power.
Pride life was bloody and complicated. Keeping the Shifter secret by working alongside human law enforcement and covering up those incidents that would have leaked the truth had become his duty and obligation in place of the Pride. It had been hard, very hard, to stay away when his mother had become ill. But he did. For peace.
He’d tried to forgive his father. Tried to patch the bridge. Even made the best of it when he’d been told to leave and not return in that hated letter Montgomery, his father’s valet, had given him. But Leo was loyal and good at following orders. He did as he was commanded by his King and father. He moved on, only visiting a few times over the years. Of course, ever since his mother had passed away, the visits had lessened.
According to George, he had to return. His father’s health was declining, the Pride at risk. Shame filled him as he thought of all the time he’d allowed to pass. The gap between him and his father growing wider all the while. Leo walked outside of his house, into the warm night breeze that greeted him like a blanket against his skin. It was not balmy, just mild. Agreeable for the season.
Kind of like the warm air that blew from the expensive dryer he’d ordered through his barbershop. Like most Lion Shifters, Leo was big on maintaining his mane. He wore it a little shorter than most males in his Pride, but it was thick, glossy, and golden and he treated it well with conditioners and organic, sulfate free shampoos. Good hair care was a Lion thing.
He shook his head at the errant thought. He’d need his wits about him if he were to enter the elder’s circle. Those felines were cunning and slick as most hunters were, and everyone knew Lionesses ruled the hunt in any Pride. Four women from the oldest, most loyal families made up the circle. He’d been away long enough to lose sight of their agenda, but not of the fact that they were dangerous.
Distance can be good, his Lion grunted, they will have forgotten who we are.
“Well then,” he said aloud.
“Let’s remind them.”
Later that night…
The sky seemed lit with thousands of stars, and he took a moment to look at them before he sat down in his custom 1965 Corvette Stingray. The red convertible was pure cherry, in his not so humble opinion.
It took him a few years to track down that particular model of his favorite sports car, but it had been worth it. He’d spent weeks rebuilding the engine, adding perks, and modifying the interior to fit his larger than normal frame. Leo was a big fucking Lion, and he needed the extra room.
He’d tried to maintain the original body, right down to the accents. The color was not just simple red. It was the original Rally Red made by GM with the same luster and deep shine the car would have come with brand new from the factory.
It was the best of both worlds. Classic car, modern comfort, and fuck, he loved the damn thing. Especially the way the powerful engine felt beneath his hands and feet. The sleek automobile had taken a long, long while to hunt down. But Leo was a patient Lion when it came to things he wanted.
The image of a certain seductive she-Wolf flitted through his head, and his Lion growled, rising within him to contemplate the object of his current hunt.
Sheila Rand. Beautiful, dominant, sexy as fuck Dire Wolf.
Mate. Mate. MATE.
Leo’s growl rose and rattled the interior of his ride. He closed his eyes and counted, trying to rein in his inner beast. Fate sometimes played a hand in bringing Shifters together. Leo had never really thought about it. At least, not until the day he’d met his in a curvy little package who wanted nothing to do with him.
Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.
The confounded woman knew they were mates. At least, he was 99% sure she did. For whatever reason, she was completely unwilling to talk about it. So, he did what any self-respecting Lion would do. Leo visited her at her job. Waited for her when she left for her nightly rides. Watched. Protected. Lusted from afar.
Fine. He was stalking her. What the fuck choice did he have? The animal would not let him leave her alone. He tried for patience. Wanted to take his time, to woo her with his charm, wit, and looks, which were not half bad—if he did say so himself.
Sheila Rand was worth it. And Leo would not, could not, rest until she was by his side.
Grrrr.
But first, he needed to focus on what lay in wait for him at the Pride house. Afterwards, he’d worry about the sassy woman who’d already laid claim to his fierce predator’s heart.
Mine.
“Yes,” he agreed with his beast.
“Mine.”