Page 1 of Lion Conquers All
1
August in Mystery, Alaska…
AARAV
The small mountain town in the valley east of Denali, called Mystery, had become his home over the last eight months. He couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
He and his brothers had each found a place to belong and to serve. They served the Tribe and the town. They did everything exactly as the Tribe requested. They played by the human rules—always.
No shifting in town.
No shifting anywhere except on the Tribe land and at night under the cover of darkness.
Shenn and his mate even had a little one on the way. He would be an uncle in less than two months. It was a good distraction from his long-term-assault to win over Connie.
His soul match.
A woman who was kinder than any he’d ever met, and yet vehemently against getting close to him. Though as the months had stretched and he’d watched over her, it wasn’t just him she avoided. She avoided all male company if possible. In a group, she was fine, but she got anxious and uncomfortable when people started pairing off.
That knowledge broke his heart as much as it fueled his rage.
Someone had hurt her.
With that knowledge, he’d vowed he never would be a source of pain for her. He would never push. Never make her feel uncomfortable. She was the most important thing to him in this entire new world…even if he had to watch over her from afar for the rest of his life.
He stopped his patrol car in front of her little white house on Firefly Lane.
She had a bright blue door. He’d been informed it was Tardis-blue. Which he’d later researched and found a television show that both confused and amazed him at the same time. This world was fascinating. Ava had assured him the Tardis was fantasy. That almost anything he saw on the television was a story someone had made up.
He stared at Connie’s house for a while, imagining what she was doing inside, and wishing that he was there with her.
The white slats on her front porch were bright and clean. Brightly colored wind chimes hung about every six feet across the front from the eaves. They tinkled and sang in the wind and had become a familiar and soothing sound to him.
He took a deep breath, taking in the faintest hint of her scent in the air. It was like lifeblood to him.
She was awake.
She was always up early. But she never came outside to her porch until after 6:30am.
Aarav looked down at his watch.6:21am. He was on time.
He stalked up to her porch, barely making a sound on the grassy yard. He set the coffee from Lily’s Cafe on the rail close to the doorway so she’d see it when she came out—a tall, iced, caramel machiatto. She drank them like a typical person would consume water.
He didn’t understand the obsession.
He’d tried the drink. It wasn’t bad, but caffeine didn’t agree with him and while coffee smelled pleasant overall, he didn’t particularly care for the taste.
He left the coffee, checked the level of the wood pile on the side of the house, and then got back in his car and left before she came outside.
He wasn’t sure if she’d noticed him coming by every morning. He didn’t try to hide, but he also didn’t try to invade her space or ask for her attention.
She never came outside while he was out front.
Not once in nearly eight months.
And that was okay, because she hadn’t told him to stop either. And that right there was a win for him.
He drove by the Smoke Jumper/Search and Rescue “shack” as it was affectionately called. Shenn and Veer waved from their seat on the rickety porch.
