Page 30 of All's Fair in Lion and War
“Your respect for my territory is appreciated. There will be no conflict. We will be there shortly to collect Henrietta and discuss options for hunting the lions.” Col tapped the red button on the screen, not giving Novik a chance to reply or argue.
“Load up now,” he said, his voice bellowing like a loudspeaker.
“Mom’s going to have a cow,” Tara said, her voice low and slow and full of dread.
“Just be glad it was a friendly dragon and not one of the Kahlua lions,” Naomi said, a brief moment of amusement flickering over her face.
Tara smiled back. A big smile. A smile that said thank-you.
“You know you said that wrong, right?” Penny asked, not even trying to hide her I’m-laughing-on-the-inside-smile.
“We needed a laugh, plus, tell me I’m not the only one who thought it?”
“You’re not,” Katherine joined the snicker-fest. “Let’s get these babies loaded up and go get Tara’s mom.
10
Lorelei
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door flew open. “We gotta go. Pack her up.” The woman was familiar. She’d seen her downstairs, but she didn’t remember her name. She smelled like a wolf.
Saul jumped up from the chair across the room.
“There are dragons chasing the lions.”
“Dragons? From where?”
The dark-haired woman shook her head. “He didn’t say. But he did say he’s got his whole tribe with him. Well a bunch of warriors anyway. The lions stole his mate.”
“Who saw him?”
“He’s in the Jenkins store. The one guy. The rest of them are south of town. That’s what he said anyway. He’s got Henrietta and he’s waiting on Col. Col said all females and babies to the bunker, plus Knox. Except Penny, she’s going with Kann to scout the mountain. See if they can get a location on the lions. The dragon said they move in small pods, like you told us earlier.”
“They do. There are a lot of them.” Lorelei slipped from beneath the blankets on the bed. “I don’t understand why, but my memory chunks are slowly getting bigger. I remember bits about when they took me. There were so many of them, but yes, they do divide up, each group taking responsibility over a captive or two.”
“Do you remember any other captives?”
Lorelei shook her head. “Not yet.”
“How far from each other do these pods stray?” Saul asked, stepping closer.
Lorelei could feel his presence like a cool breeze on a blazing hot day. She wanted to bask in that breeze, but all she could feel right now was grief. And it was wrong to seek refuge with a new mate when she was grieving for an old one.
The memories that had surfaced were of Rivian’s warriors dragging her from her mate’s tent. She could hear Tallix shouting her name and then that was it. She couldn’t remember more.
“Lorelei?”
She looked up. “Forgive me, I didn’t hear you.”
He reached his hand up to touch her face and then stopped himself, forcing his arm back to his side quickly. “Do you know how far the pods move away from each other?”
“Not usually more than a mile or two.”
“That’s helpful,” the woman said. “Thank you. Meet us downstairs in five. We’ll put you in the second truck.” She disappeared through the door.
Lorelei was alone with Saul again.
