And then time slowed. Rhett leapt up in the air, arching his back, Changing mid-air above her, his glowing blue eyes locked on whatever horror was coming for them. She ducked as an enormous, snow-white lion exploded from him right in the middle of his graceful arch over her and screamed when he landed on the Reaper behind her with such force it blasted through her. Without Rhett at the handlebars, the quad slowed. She should Change and help him. Another lion with a tawny coat and sand-colored mane bolted past her stalling four-wheeler. Kamp.
Juno lurched forward and grabbed the handlebars to keep it steady, and behind her, the sounds of a snarling, roaring lion war was deafening. They slapped and dragged their claws down each other’s bodies and sank their long teeth into their hides like they wanted to kill each other.
“Juno!” Remi screamed. “Let’s go!”
“But—”
“No buts, the boys told us to go home. This is between them.” The sound of her engine ripped through the roaring of the lions.
Juno hesitated a moment later, allowing the ATV to coast to a stop. She sat there stunned at the sheer aggression the fun-loving Rhett was capable of when the white lion took his body. He was every bit the size of Grim and layered with muscle, the striations showing with every powerful slap of his paw. His lips were pulled back over his impossibly long teeth. If ever violence had been poetic or graceful, it was here in the Rogue Pride Woods.
The Reaper broke free of the battle, and his eyes locked on Juno. He was coming for her. With a yelp, she hit the throttle and fled behind Remi. Maybe she would have ignored the boys and Remi’s instruction and fight alongside them if she trusted her bear. But right now, she was sick, and when she’d Changed earlier, she’d only been confused and lost and didn’t remember most of her time in the woods. She couldn’t trust her animal to be of any help right now. All she could do was what Rhett and Remi told her to—run.
The ride back to the trailer park was terrifying. Not for her own safety, but she kept remembering Rhett as he’d been the last seconds she’d seen him, clipping the Reaper’s legs out from under him and biting down on the monster’s back leg. He was trying to buy her time, but what would be the repercussions for him? Hurting his Alpha like that. He was fearless, but at what cost?
By the time she pulled the ATV to a stop beside Remi in front of 1010, her heart felt like it would jump right out of her chest.
“Why did he do that?” she punched out through ragged breath. “Why did Grim attack us?”
“I told you,” Remi said in a sad voice. “The males here are all damaged. Grim is the most damaged of all. He has two lions. Grim and the Reaper. The Reaper is stronger, but he’s also a killer. They call this a last-chance Crew for a reason Juno. The Reaper is the main reason. Kamp and Rhett have to fight him, and someday soon, they’ll put him down. That’s the cost of settling in this Crew. We have a shot at happiness during the day, but we pay in blood at night.” Remi dismounted and shook her head, her eyes on the woods. “Welcome to my world.”
Rhett had told her not to look back, but that was impossible to do. Inside, her bear was awake, eyes on the woods, worried.
Remi sat on the porch of 1010. Juno wiped new snow off the bottom stair, sat on it, and leaned back against her friend’s knees.
And together they waited for the lions to come home. Home. Juno huffed a soft breath. She hadn’t called a place home in years. She travelled too much. But she was probably just thinking that way because Rhett had said, “Go home.”
1010, Crew battles, fun drinking games, and everything did feel familiar—like back when she was growing up in the Ashe Crew. She’d had more fun tonight than she could remember having. Her sweater was probably ruined into a memory, like Rhett had said, and the toes of her gray fashion Uggs were splattered and stained darker from the melted snow on the tips.
But, tonight, she’d felt alive.
And for a split second, sitting here waiting on a man to come home, she imagined her life like this, if only she were able to continue living. To continue breathing. Beaston had told Kamp in that letter to be air for Remi. Be. Air.
And deep inside of Juno, she wished for that, too.
It was silly, she knew, but as she rested her fingertips on her lips where he’d kissed her, she wished for Rhett to be her air.
Chapter Eight
Fuckin’ Grim. Couldn’t help himself, could he? Couldn’t let them have one fun night without fuckin’ it up and bleeding everyone. And if he’d caught up to Juno? Rhett spat in the snow and wiped the seeping blood off his ribcage for the tenth time since he’d started his trek home. He had almost killed Grim tonight. Maybe that’s what that psychopath had wanted. To be put down. If he’d gotten a single claw in Juno…
“Hey, wait up,” Kamp called, his voice echoing through the woods. His bootsteps were crunching in the snow behind him faster. There was the one benefit to being a lion shifter—they shredded all their clothes during a Change, but their paws slipped right out of their boots. “About the only thing I can keep,” Rhett grumbled.
Rhett stomped his naked ass faster because Kamp was catching up and he didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. He just wanted to hike up to the trailer park and see if Juno was okay.
“I saw you kiss her,” Kamp said, drawing up beside him.
Look at the pair of them. Butt naked except for work boots, having a nice winter’s walk through the forest, both dripping blood. Juno was right. This Crew really was fucked up.
“My life used to be so simple,” Rhett gritted out, shoving Kamp away. “And stop walking so close to me! I swear to God if your dick touches me, I’m burning down your damn trailer and setting Waffles with Peanut Butter free.”
“Okay, first off, I’m not trying to touch you with my dick! It’s just big.”
Rhett snorted. Cocky asshole.
“And second, I’m still about forty percent pissed that you bought Raider that rabid fucking naked mole rat, and third! Rhett, I know you heard me. I saw you kiss Juno.”
They stumbled over the last ridge before the trailer park. “So what, man?” Rhett said, breath freezing in front of him as he rounded on Kamp. “I can’t kiss a girl? It didn’t mean anything.”
“Lie,” Kamp said softly, resting his hands on his hips.
Rhett growled and shook his head in a warning. “Kamp, if you don’t cover up your stupid dick right now—”
Kamp cupped himself and arched his eyebrows like better?
No. No. No, no, no, nothing was better! Now his head was all messed up on a girl he barely knew. He couldn’t stop thinking about that damn kiss, the sound of her laugh, her silver eyes, how startled her bear had looked when he hit her with his truck, or the way she stared at him in the passenger’s seat while he hummed a song. Like he fuckin’ mattered. Like he mattered. Or the way she’d said she looked up to him. Or the way her smile was higher on one side or the way her eyes crinkled at the corners as though she’d spent her whole life laughing. Or how much fun it was to have her holding onto him while he drove that ATV like a madman through the woods, just to test her, just to see if she would tell him to slow down.
“My life is complicated,” Rhett said. “Juno will leave soon, and we’ll all go back to normal.”
“None of this is normal,” Grim said.
Rhett and Kamp both jumped and took a few steps back from the Alpha, all bloodied up and leaning against a tree as if he’d been there the whole time. Birthday suit and boots. Nothing like Rogue Pride bonding time. Rhett hated everything. Except Sara. And Juno. They were cool.
“I saw you kiss her, too,” Grim said, his eyes blazing yellow still as if his lion was still in control. Problem was, they could never tell which of the two lions was in charge at any given time. Grim? Or the Reaper.
He looked completely at-ease except his black mohawk was messed up. He was scary quiet when he wanted to be.
“Good for both of you. You have eyes in your head.” Rhett turned and walked away, flipping them the bird over his shoulder.
“She’s Remi’s friend,” Kamp called.
“So?”
Kamp sighed. “So don’t ruin her.”
Juno lurched forward and grabbed the handlebars to keep it steady, and behind her, the sounds of a snarling, roaring lion war was deafening. They slapped and dragged their claws down each other’s bodies and sank their long teeth into their hides like they wanted to kill each other.
“Juno!” Remi screamed. “Let’s go!”
“But—”
“No buts, the boys told us to go home. This is between them.” The sound of her engine ripped through the roaring of the lions.
Juno hesitated a moment later, allowing the ATV to coast to a stop. She sat there stunned at the sheer aggression the fun-loving Rhett was capable of when the white lion took his body. He was every bit the size of Grim and layered with muscle, the striations showing with every powerful slap of his paw. His lips were pulled back over his impossibly long teeth. If ever violence had been poetic or graceful, it was here in the Rogue Pride Woods.
The Reaper broke free of the battle, and his eyes locked on Juno. He was coming for her. With a yelp, she hit the throttle and fled behind Remi. Maybe she would have ignored the boys and Remi’s instruction and fight alongside them if she trusted her bear. But right now, she was sick, and when she’d Changed earlier, she’d only been confused and lost and didn’t remember most of her time in the woods. She couldn’t trust her animal to be of any help right now. All she could do was what Rhett and Remi told her to—run.
The ride back to the trailer park was terrifying. Not for her own safety, but she kept remembering Rhett as he’d been the last seconds she’d seen him, clipping the Reaper’s legs out from under him and biting down on the monster’s back leg. He was trying to buy her time, but what would be the repercussions for him? Hurting his Alpha like that. He was fearless, but at what cost?
By the time she pulled the ATV to a stop beside Remi in front of 1010, her heart felt like it would jump right out of her chest.
“Why did he do that?” she punched out through ragged breath. “Why did Grim attack us?”
“I told you,” Remi said in a sad voice. “The males here are all damaged. Grim is the most damaged of all. He has two lions. Grim and the Reaper. The Reaper is stronger, but he’s also a killer. They call this a last-chance Crew for a reason Juno. The Reaper is the main reason. Kamp and Rhett have to fight him, and someday soon, they’ll put him down. That’s the cost of settling in this Crew. We have a shot at happiness during the day, but we pay in blood at night.” Remi dismounted and shook her head, her eyes on the woods. “Welcome to my world.”
Rhett had told her not to look back, but that was impossible to do. Inside, her bear was awake, eyes on the woods, worried.
Remi sat on the porch of 1010. Juno wiped new snow off the bottom stair, sat on it, and leaned back against her friend’s knees.
And together they waited for the lions to come home. Home. Juno huffed a soft breath. She hadn’t called a place home in years. She travelled too much. But she was probably just thinking that way because Rhett had said, “Go home.”
1010, Crew battles, fun drinking games, and everything did feel familiar—like back when she was growing up in the Ashe Crew. She’d had more fun tonight than she could remember having. Her sweater was probably ruined into a memory, like Rhett had said, and the toes of her gray fashion Uggs were splattered and stained darker from the melted snow on the tips.
But, tonight, she’d felt alive.
And for a split second, sitting here waiting on a man to come home, she imagined her life like this, if only she were able to continue living. To continue breathing. Beaston had told Kamp in that letter to be air for Remi. Be. Air.
And deep inside of Juno, she wished for that, too.
It was silly, she knew, but as she rested her fingertips on her lips where he’d kissed her, she wished for Rhett to be her air.
Chapter Eight
Fuckin’ Grim. Couldn’t help himself, could he? Couldn’t let them have one fun night without fuckin’ it up and bleeding everyone. And if he’d caught up to Juno? Rhett spat in the snow and wiped the seeping blood off his ribcage for the tenth time since he’d started his trek home. He had almost killed Grim tonight. Maybe that’s what that psychopath had wanted. To be put down. If he’d gotten a single claw in Juno…
“Hey, wait up,” Kamp called, his voice echoing through the woods. His bootsteps were crunching in the snow behind him faster. There was the one benefit to being a lion shifter—they shredded all their clothes during a Change, but their paws slipped right out of their boots. “About the only thing I can keep,” Rhett grumbled.
Rhett stomped his naked ass faster because Kamp was catching up and he didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. He just wanted to hike up to the trailer park and see if Juno was okay.
“I saw you kiss her,” Kamp said, drawing up beside him.
Look at the pair of them. Butt naked except for work boots, having a nice winter’s walk through the forest, both dripping blood. Juno was right. This Crew really was fucked up.
“My life used to be so simple,” Rhett gritted out, shoving Kamp away. “And stop walking so close to me! I swear to God if your dick touches me, I’m burning down your damn trailer and setting Waffles with Peanut Butter free.”
“Okay, first off, I’m not trying to touch you with my dick! It’s just big.”
Rhett snorted. Cocky asshole.
“And second, I’m still about forty percent pissed that you bought Raider that rabid fucking naked mole rat, and third! Rhett, I know you heard me. I saw you kiss Juno.”
They stumbled over the last ridge before the trailer park. “So what, man?” Rhett said, breath freezing in front of him as he rounded on Kamp. “I can’t kiss a girl? It didn’t mean anything.”
“Lie,” Kamp said softly, resting his hands on his hips.
Rhett growled and shook his head in a warning. “Kamp, if you don’t cover up your stupid dick right now—”
Kamp cupped himself and arched his eyebrows like better?
No. No. No, no, no, nothing was better! Now his head was all messed up on a girl he barely knew. He couldn’t stop thinking about that damn kiss, the sound of her laugh, her silver eyes, how startled her bear had looked when he hit her with his truck, or the way she stared at him in the passenger’s seat while he hummed a song. Like he fuckin’ mattered. Like he mattered. Or the way she’d said she looked up to him. Or the way her smile was higher on one side or the way her eyes crinkled at the corners as though she’d spent her whole life laughing. Or how much fun it was to have her holding onto him while he drove that ATV like a madman through the woods, just to test her, just to see if she would tell him to slow down.
“My life is complicated,” Rhett said. “Juno will leave soon, and we’ll all go back to normal.”
“None of this is normal,” Grim said.
Rhett and Kamp both jumped and took a few steps back from the Alpha, all bloodied up and leaning against a tree as if he’d been there the whole time. Birthday suit and boots. Nothing like Rogue Pride bonding time. Rhett hated everything. Except Sara. And Juno. They were cool.
“I saw you kiss her, too,” Grim said, his eyes blazing yellow still as if his lion was still in control. Problem was, they could never tell which of the two lions was in charge at any given time. Grim? Or the Reaper.
He looked completely at-ease except his black mohawk was messed up. He was scary quiet when he wanted to be.
“Good for both of you. You have eyes in your head.” Rhett turned and walked away, flipping them the bird over his shoulder.
“She’s Remi’s friend,” Kamp called.
“So?”
Kamp sighed. “So don’t ruin her.”
