The Lion's Witchy Mate: Magic and Mayhem Universe (The Wilder Crew) Read online

  Ridge laughed. “There’s all kinds of shit you can buy online, Torr. Um, did you mean come or com? No, don’t answer that. There’s no need to go crazy.” He gave her a brotherly hug, releasing her with a grunt. “You got my tomatoes protected from that little shit you call a pet?” He looked down at the sleeping goat.

  She narrowed her eyes, taking a step back. “You leave Mr. Bixley alone, Ridge. He’s my best friend. My partner in crime. My future Goat Pimp.”

  Ridge held up his hand. “What the fuck is a Goat Pimp?”

  “Well, you see, I plan to have a plethora of baby goats. I’ll need a goat in charge of all of them, which would make him a Pimp.”

  The large male she loved like a brother shook his head. “Your thought process is screwed on so many levels I don’t even know where to start.”

  “It’s my logic, so you just leave it alone.” She flipped her braid in a dramatic show and stomped around him.

  “You gonna put him outside, or is he dinner?”

  “Can he stay inside until I get back? I sensed something out there.” Ridge stared through the glass before he nodded. She wouldn’t show it, but her cat relaxed. “Thank you. I need to move my truck back around front. I’m gonna go for a ride on my bike. Thank you for sharing your story. Love you like a brother from another.” She hugged him quickly before he could say something stupid and ruin the moment.

  Ridge nodded but didn’t say the words back. She knew he loved her even if he didn’t say it often.

  THADD BLEW THROUGH the town, his lion roaring for him to stop. “Fuck,” he growled after an hour of the inner lion bitching he had to put up with. He pulled into a gas station, seeing the stares he got as he kicked the stand down. He almost took his skull cap off and shook out his mane of hair just to give them a little more to gawk at. Jeez, did they not see many large men riding Harleys come through or what?

  Lucky for him, they had a pay at the pump, so he didn’t need to go inside and cause an all-out gawk session. However, he felt their stares, heard their whispers. Silly humans.

  He tossed his leg back over the bike, lifted his head like he was enjoying the sun on his face when in reality he was breathing in the smells around him, filtering out the ones he didn’t need, categorizing them into little folders in his mind. The Wilder Crew would probably be horrified if they knew his full abilities, which was why he kept them to himself. Letting them see the playful cat was a lot more fun, and healthier for everyone. Ain’t nobody got time, or energy to deal with fainting wolves, and the other menagerie of misfits Hollis and Annie took in. Nah, Thadd liked being the naughty kitty who made others laugh. Besides, he truly was all that he portrayed to them; he was just more.

  His Harley fired up with a deep rumble after he made sure there were no other predators in the vicinity. Although he did have a tingle back toward the direction his cat was tugging him. Well, curiosity and cats were always a thing. Only cats did have nine lives, and he’d only lived once so far. With the agility of his species, he let the bike take off, uncaring that it was much faster than humans would go, dodging in and out of other vehicles. YOLO was the saying. Which was really quite stupid for the humans to actually spout off if you asked him. You live every fucking day. Now, you only die once, but YODO sounded stupid if you hollered that, which was probably why they didn’t say it.

  About thirty miles after the small town he’d passed, he saw a sign for a town he was pretty sure wasn’t on any US map. “Assjacket, Virginia?” he asked. His bike began to sputter as if it was running out of gas. “What the ever-loving fuck?” He growled, knowing damn good and well he had plenty of fuel.

  Thadd eased to the side of the road, looking behind him to ensure he wouldn’t be getting hit by one of the many vehicles he’d passed in his bat-out-of-hell hurry to get back to Where-Ever-Ville. Shit, his cat was hissing inside him, demanding he change. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so damn needy.

  “Well, hello there, kitty.”

  Thadd startled at the feminine voice to the side of him, recovering quickly when her words registered. He inhaled, scenting wolf, but she wasn’t a wolf. “Hello, female. What brings you out here on this stretch of road all alone? Doncha know it could be quite dangerous for a female to startle a kitty like that?” It wasn’t a threat, really. Alright, it was but she probably fucked with his bike. Not a nice thing to do.

  She tilted her head to the side, tiny sparkles drifting from the tips. “Hmm, are you dangerous then?”

  Two things became very apparent to Thadd. One, this female wasn’t scared of him. Two, she was powerful. Oh, and three, she was dressed too damn good to be out meandering on a road without some backup. That wolf he scented was male, and he was close.

  “Listen, why don’t we cut to the chase, and you tell me why I’m here and stop this.” He waved a hand between them.

  The female nodded her head, long red hair shifted slightly yet didn’t appear to get mussed. Thadd could definitely approve of a glorious mane of hair. Had she been a cat, he would tell her so. Not a cat, so he kept quiet. Besides, she smelled like wolf. Blech.

  “I like how you think. You see, I have a feeling you are important to someone close to me. Call it intuition if you will.” She stepped closer to him, her heels sinking into the ground, making her growl in a human way.

  Thadd shifted his focus behind her, noticing three small felines. Well small to him. “You smell like dog, yet you have three little kitties hiding behind you.”

  “Those are crotch goblins who will scratch your eyes out if you speak of them in such a low manner. I, on the other hand, will zip your lips shut if you call my mate a dog. Only I can say things like that.”

  He noticed those little sparks were falling from her fingers again. The last time he pissed a powerful female off, he’d been stuck in his shifted form wearing silver sparkle booty shorts. While he appreciated the shorts since they appeared whenever he shifted back to human form if he wanted, which he did because they were comfy and well, he liked to shock people, he knew a pissed off powerful female could really fuck with a male if she wanted.

  “I apologize,”—he trailed off, waiting for her to fill in the blank with her name. When she continued to stare at him without speaking, he let out a heavy sigh—"my name is Thadd. What is yours?”

  The three crotch goblins came up, obviously recognizing he was one of their species, circling his bike. Thadd’s lion rose. The alpha not able to allow even the little creatures to get a sense of security without him letting them know he was the King of the Pride, whether they were part of his or not, he was the biggest, baddest, and fiercest lion in the vicinity.

  Like all felines, and most other predators who met him, the little creatures tucked tail before hiding behind their female. Her eyes narrowed on him while she looked down at the little animals, then back at him.

  “I am Zelda.”

  “Nice to meet you, Zelda.” Thadd dipped his head in respect.

  She tossed her hands in the air. “That’s it?”

  “Am I supposed to say or do something?” What the fuck? Here he was, a lion out riding his bike, minding his own business, when some magical female obviously did something that made him stop. Nah, bro, she needs to spit the shit out and be done with it.

  “I wanted to meet you first. We’ve met, so you may go. I believe we will be seeing quite a lot of one another. Safe journey,” she mumbled, walking backward, nearly tripping on her five-inch heels with red bottoms.

  “Whoa, that’s it? You obviously stopped my bike with your sparkle shooting fingers. Come out here in your Devil Wears Prada outfit, your LV shoes, with those three crotch thingies. Now you’re all like bye, and I’m supposed to smile and nod, and just ride away?” Thadd asked, his voice rose with the last few words. Women were crazy.

  “Okay, first, marks for knowing this is Prada because it’s Tuesday, and I only wear Prada on Tuesdays. Second, if you see magic, then you’re the right one for the job, and that means my task here is done. Also, my mate, who happens to be the most gorgeous werewolf on the planet is coming. And no, I don’t mean that in a sexual, inside me way. Although I do wish it was because we have twins, Audrey and Henry, who are putting a kink in that department, and his joystick, which I love oh so much, isn’t seeing inside of me nearly as much as I’d like.”

  Thadd pinched the bridge of his nose. For one, he was hoping he could stop the scent of the female and her clear need for her male from hitting him, and two, to stave off the scent of angry wolf racing toward them. “Zelda, are you aware your mate is hurtling himself toward us as we speak, and when he gets here, he’s going to scent your need?”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  He slid his leg over the seat of his bike. Even if he knew he could take her mate, Thadd didn’t know exactly what she was. “Prepare yourself for your mate and undo whatever you did to my bike.”

  The female twitched her fingers. Seconds later, the Harley roared to life. “Incoming, Zelda,” he warned the crazy female but didn’t sit around and wait for the fallout between her and the wolf. He had a feeling he’d be seeing one or both of them again, sooner rather than later. Damn foolish female with the power he could literally see crackling around her, and the equally crazy ass wolf mate, and let’s not forget her crotch goblins he could hear giggling like the little fuckers they were.

  Chapter Three

  Thadd rode back the way he’d come, knowing his cat would be the one to dictate when he’d be stopping. Or at least he hoped like hell the feline would. Hell, at this point in his journey, he wasn’t sure what the fuck he was doing. He’d left Texas and just rode and continued to ride. His ass would probably be sore if he hadn’t been a shifter who allowed his beast to have his skin regularly.

  L
eaving Wolfs Run, he’d stopped in New Orleans because, hello, the city had the best damn food. Their sugary confection they called beignets, but he called heaven was something he’d drive an entire day to devour. After that he’d continued on up to Georgia, which was about ten hours into his journey where he’d spent the night, wondering if his lion would wake him with an epiphany or some shit. When that didn’t happen, but the urge to hit the road did, he followed his instincts and did just that, stopping in Atlanta. Only that city had his beast clawing to get out and maim humans who got too close to him thinking he was a person they could take pictures with. What the fuck? He didn’t even bother with polite declines except to the women and elderly. The males, he tempered his strength only shoving them on their asses so that they might’ve skidded a foot or two.

  Oops, his bad if they got road rash. They obviously hadn’t heard the term personal space. They should thank him for the lessons he had given that day. Of course, he’d learned his lesson too, so when he’d ridden through South and North Carolina, he didn’t bother stopping except for fuel, making sure he chose places that were less populated. He also made sure he didn’t make eye contact. You’d think he was handing out some sort of invitation to idiots if he looked them in the eye. Now after meeting the she-crazy-and-she-knows-it Zelda, he was rethinking his journey.

  A sign telling him how far the next town was had him doing a mental ‘what the eff’. However, it was the previous town, the one he’d blown past, that had he and his lion at odds. The human in him had blinked several times while his lion was roaring for him to stop. “Nowhere, Virginia?” he’d muttered and kept on a riding. What kind of name was that for a town anyhow? The next sign, a little larger than the other, made his inner lion chuckle. “You’re Leaving Assjacket, Virginia,” he read, laughing.

  Thadd shook his head, wondering who the idiot was that had come up with the names. Hell, he actually wanted to meet the male or female. Unless it was the crazy female he’d just met, then scratch that, ‘cause she was cat-shit-crazy.

  He slowed down inside the city limits, letting his eyes take in the quaint little town. The scent of shifters filtered into his senses along with humans. He didn’t smell any taint, which was a good thing. Not that he was above wiping out an entire pack of shifters who were bad, but fuck, he really didn’t want his trip to be about duty instead of mating. At his age, he’d thought he still had a few good bachelor years left. Maybe show off his sparkly booty shorts to the fairer half. That was until he’d woken up with his hand on his dick one too many times with dreams of a female he couldn’t quite get out of his head. With the imperative that he had to save this mystery female, who may or may not be his before it was too late, waking him every motherfucking day, Thadd and his lion decided they needed a mate. The lions of his pride had a prophecy that a true king would go insane if they didn’t find their truemate. An insane lion shifter was bad. An insane beast like Thadd’s? Yeah, he didn’t want to unleash the likes of what resided inside him on the world. He’d call on the crazy dragon Lula to take him out first. She would be the only one who had the ability to do so.

  TORRANCE LEFT RIDGE, feeling a little better knowing he was home to watch over Mr. Bixley. Yes, she was completely aware baby goats didn’t normally have names. She was also aware that if he was her familiar, he should be talking to her in some fashion, soon. “He will talk or communicate with me when he feels like it.” Just saying it out loud made her feel better.

  She hit the garage opener by the entrance, moved to her beloved bike smiling. Ridge and his buddies loved their Harleys, but she preferred her LS-218 with its lightning fast speeds, it’s sleek body, and best of all it was free. She called that a total win. Most people can’t ride a bike like hers; it’s called the unicorn of bikes. Easing her baby out of the garage, she nosed it down the drive, hitting the road out of town at a hundred miles an hour, which was slow for the bike. It wasn’t called the LS-218 for nothing. The bike had been clocked at two hundred and eighteen miles at Bonneville Speed Week, leaving with the top speed, becoming the fastest production bike. None of that mattered to her. She loved to go fast in her fur, and when she was on her bike, she got that same rush giving her a sense of safety. Although most didn’t feel comfortable riding the machine, since you were basically in a lying down position with your feet behind you, your arms stretched out front holding the handlebars. It reminded her of playing the game Tron in the video arcade, except she was actually on the rocket-like bike. She felt almost as if she were in her panther form while riding.

  A while later, her cat purring inside her human form, Torrance headed back to town. She hated the need to slow down when the marker for city limits loomed. The first thing she heard was the unmistakable sound of a Harley and its deep rumble. She wondered if one of the Mayhem Pride were out for a cruise. As she came to the first four-way intersection, her eyes caught and held the huge man across from her. She felt the immediate pull again as she stared at the stranger on the bike. Even with him sitting, she knew he had to be huge. He wore a skull cap with his hair pulled back in a ponytail that would look stupid on many, but on this man, it looked sexy as hell.

  Torrance bit her lip on a groan, happy her face was hidden by the full-face helmet. Shit, her panther was literally doing backflips inside her, the damn hussy.

  The sound of several other bikes made her whip her head away from the stranger, knowing exactly what she’d see. Of course, Ridge and some of the other Mayhem Pride members would be there having sensed another predator on their land, and this stranger was big. Torrance didn’t stop to think or wonder why she did what her cat prompted her, only following what her instincts demanded she do. She hit the throttle on her bike, zooming in front of the stranger and the incoming Pride, launching herself off the speeding vehicle, uncaring about the damage it was going to sustain as the black motorcycle she loved would inevitably fall onto its side and skid across the pavement until it lost momentum and stopped or it crashed into something.

  She landed in a crouch, her panther coming forward enough long black claws sprouted from the tips of her fingers, her vision narrowing to blues and greens. Her reflexes were sharper, her hearing more acute. The stranger’s deep chuckle, while sexy as fuck, was also annoying since her Pride had to hear it as well.

  “Shut up,” she hissed, knowing he’d hear her.

  “Ah, upendo, that’s not possible.”

  The silence that followed his statement was almost deafening. “Let me handle this, them.” She stood up, her nails scraping across the concrete as if making a line that dared anyone to cross. “Ridge, he’s with me.” Torrance moved backward, edging closer to the stranger whose scent called to the hussy cat inside her.

  “Torrance, come to me,” Ridge ordered.

  The male behind her let out a snarl that would’ve had a lesser feline jumping out of their skin. She was obviously not a lesser kitty, or she was just plain stupid. The jury was still out on that one because her final step had her brushing up against him. “What’s your name, upendo?”

  She glanced at him, realizing she still had her helmet on. “What does that mean?” she asked, tugging the black helmet off while she waited for his answer.

  “Torrance Jackson, I said to come to me, not cozy up to the lion.”

  Ridge’s roar would’ve been frightening if she hadn’t known he was worried about her. However, the big lion next to her obviously wasn’t in on the ins and outs of how to read her adopted brotherish. His entire body appeared to grow, yet he hadn’t shifted, not a single hair grew nor had his claws sprouted, but his muscles, holy shit balls, his muscles, which were already really impressive, appeared to get bigger. Damn, if everything grew like that, she soo did not want to take him for a ride, not her first ride anyhow. Oh shoot, who was a liar liar pants on fire? She totally wanted to take a ride on his joy toy even if it ruined her for all other joy toys.

  “Hmm, what’re you thinking about?” he purred.

  His question was whispered so softly and close to her ear she felt the warmth of his breath feather down her back. “You didn’t answer me when I asked you what upendo meant.” Dear goddess, was that her breathless voice?