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There was a heartbeat of silence, and then one by one, the pride members lifted their heads in a roar. It wasn’t one of challenge or anger, but joy. Happy roars filled the air and Duke lifted his head and joined in, squeezing Ree’s hand tightly. He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her soundly, a purr rumbling in his chest.
“This is a good day, sweetheart,” he murmured against her lips. “I get to keep you forever, and we get to be alphas together. With you by my side, I already feel like I’m king of the world.”
She smiled, the clapping and roaring of the pride members making her eyes sting. She’d never felt so accepted in her life, and it was all thanks to one stubborn lion who refused to give up when she walked away.
“You’re my king,” she said. “My alpha and my mate.”
“For as long as there’s breath in my body.”
Byron said, “Let’s celebrate my son’s mating with a victory hunt! Our future alpha female has never tried venison.”
“You’re going to shift?” she asked in surprise.
“We love to hunt for celebrations,” Duke said, taking a step back and tugging off his shirt. “You can stay here with my mom.”
“I thought you wanted me to go hunting with you,” she said, wrinkling her nose. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see a pride take down some deer.
“Another time, you and I can go out together for fun. For now, though, I’m going to bag the biggest deer I can find for you.”
He shoved his pants down his legs and kicked his shoes off and then his jeans, and then he shifted. The change was so fast that she almost missed it, her sexy mate going from handsome, naked guy to lion in seconds. He shook out his big, chocolate mane and stretched, his claws digging into the deck as his tail swished behind him.
“Oh wow, you’re beautiful,” she said, rubbing her knuckle lightly on his nose. She ran her hands through his thick, soft mane and over his back, the muscles twitching as she touched him. “This is the freaking coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
She looked up and saw that almost everyone had shifted, the backyard now filled with lions and lionesses, with fur of every shade from an almost-white to dark amber.
Pressing a kiss to his nose, she laughed when he licked her cheek. “Good luck, Duke. I’ll be here when you get back.”
The lions on the porch bounded off with a roar, and the pride followed as they headed into the woods that surrounded the house.
“Cool as hell,” Mercy said as she joined Ree. “I hadn’t seen Barron shift yet.”
“Itiscool,” Ree said. “And neat that you and I both found our forever guys on the same night.”
“Well, you do always have to copy me.”
“Um, I’m older so you’re always copying me,” Ree pointed out.
Davina laughed. “You both chose well, and so did the males. Now, there’s a bottle of blueberry champagne that I’ve been saving for a special occasion, and I think this is exactly the right time.”
“Now,thatsounds divine,” Ree said.
As they walked into the house, Ree looked over her shoulder at the woods, and thought about her mate out hunting with his pride. The day had not gone at all like she’d planned, but she couldn’t be happier with the outcome. She had a sexy mate who was a beautiful lion, who’d been willing to fight for her and stand by her side no matter what, and in a month, she and Duke would be alphas together. It seemed surreal, but it also seemed very right. As if she really had been waiting her whole life to meet him in a bar on a random Friday night, thanks to her pushy sister.
“Did I ever thank you for making me go to the bar yesterday?”
“Nope,” Mercy said. “But you can start by getting me something sparkly.”
“You got it,” Ree said.
As the cork popped and the purple-tinted champagne was poured, the three women lifted their glasses in toast.
“To the females behind the males,” Davina said.
“To old family and new,” Mercy said.
“To us,” Ree said. “and our lion mates.”
