Page 108 of Rhett

Decision made, I ran over to the two lionesses guarding the door.

Dad roared, his eyes locked on mine.

He wanted me to get the fuck out of the way.

I roared back, telling him I wouldn’t.

Buster and Glen just stared at me, stunned.

Dad shifted back into his human form. “Buster. Glen. Guard the other lionesses.” They loped away to do as instructed. I remained steadfast by the two lionesses’ sides.

“Mack. Shift,” Dad ordered.

I hesitated but needed to communicate with him. I had to try to de-escalate this situation before he killed the cubs.

I shifted but remained vigilant.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Dad demanded.

“Enough!” I yelled. “I was brought here against my will because you, Glen, and Buster wanted to take over this fucking pride. This is wrong. I want no part of this.”

Dad sneered. “You’ve always been weak.”

I flinched as if he’d physically slapped me. “If being weak means defending the innocent, then yes, I’m weak. I’m not going to let you kill their cubs.”

Dad laughed. “Come on, son. You’re no match for me or your brothers.”

I straightened my back. “We’ll see.” Yes, I was scrawny for a lion-shifter, but I was faster than my kin.

Dad sighed tiredly. “Glen, get your ass over here.” Glen loped over. “Take these stupid bitches down.”

The two lionesses leaped onto Glen as a unit, but they were no match for him. Dad had a huge grin on his face as he watched the three fight. Dad remained in human form, as did I.

I was torn between helping the lionesses fight Glen and keeping guard on the door to ensure Dad didn’t get to the cubs.

One of the fighting lionesses fell to the ground in a heap before shifting into her human form. The female’s body was battered, bloody, and bruised, but she glanced over to Dad and said, “We’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t kill our cubs.”

Dad’s lips twisted cruelly as his fingers transformed to claws. “Are you the alpha female of the pride?”

Unsteadily, she got to her feet. “Yes.”

Dad lashed out with his claws, striking the woman. The woman screamed while clutching her now-bloody neck.

“Mom!” a female screamed in the distance.

Dad and I glanced over in the direction of the woman’s voice and spotted a female lying on the ground within the grasslands.

My breath caught in my throat when the woman’s alluring scent of sweet apple intermixed with creamy vanilla drifted over to me.

My inner beast roared before saying,Hybrid. Mine. Mate.

Shut it,I reprimanded.She’s not ours.

Dad sniffed loudly. “She’s a hybrid.” He turned to glare at the alpha female, who was bleeding profusely. “What’s a hybrid doing here?”

“I. Don’t. Know,” she gasped out, but I smelled her lie, and so did Dad.

“Liar,” Dad snapped. “She called you mom.” He called over his shoulder, “Buster, get over there and kill the hybrid.”