Free Sassy Shifter Brides: Complete Series - BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Mail-Order Romance by Anya Nowlan

roaring turbo-charged horses or snarling shifters, it didn’t matter all that much. She brought the truck to life and backed out of the parking lot, giddy with excitement at getting to Shifter Grove before nightfall.
    I wonder where werelions like to honeymoon…
 

CHAPTER TWO
    “Raleigh, I’m not going to have any of that. You need to get your ass back to the pride before your mama comes down and gives you a thorough whooping,” Renata huffed, sipping at the strong black coffee that Rake had reluctantly served her. She kept glancing around in his spacious kitchen as if he’d somehow sold out by having a home of his own, not yet teeming with young. He could barely suppress the urge to throw her out on her ass and tell her to get in her damn truck and not come back unless someone was dying.
    Patience. Easier said than done, though.
     
    “Please don’t call me that, Renata. We’ve had this discussion about ten times. I have no interest in becoming some brood male for the pride. I know our father did it before us, and I know I’m supposed to be the next in line, happily screwing whichever werelion woman wanders into the pride, but that’s not me. The rules are ancient . Outdated. It’s still my mother calling all the shots, and I’d just be the resident bucket of sperm. I’m not going to have any of that. I’m not that kind of lion,” Rake said, each word almost spat out from behind gritted teeth. Renata’s yellowy eyes met his, years of squalor mirroring back from them. It hurt Rake to see his people like that, but he’d made his choice when he was still a teen. He wasn’t going to end up like them. Traditions weren’t worth giving up your soul for.
     
    “Exactly! Ancient! These rules are there to protect you, me and the rest of our kind. Every pride needs a strong male at the head, and that’s you! Look at all you’ve built for yourself here! Your cubs would be the strongest we’ve ever had! And don’t start with me with this whole ‘Rake’ bullshit. You call yourself what your mama named you. Don’t go getting all fancy on us.”
    Rake’s eyes narrowed, flashing dark gold for a moment. He had to take a deep breath to swallow down the aggravation.
     
    Werelion prides were an odd exercise in matriarchal policies. Looking in from the outside, it would seem like the perfect setup. The heart of the pride was made up of one male and the women gathered around him. The young males, who could pose a threat to the lead male, were driven from the pride when they were old enough to fend for themselves but young enough not to challenge the lead male. But behind the male, the females called all the shots. The real power was usually in the proverbial paws of the eldest female and her chosen females, who did all the work and fended for the pride while the male simply got to reap the benefits.
     
    It may have worked when the werelions were still prowling their ancient grounds, but it didn’t fly anymore. Rake had seen far too much of the squalor and odd old rules that choked the throats of the prides, making them not the gems of the shifter world as they rightfully should have been, but the very lowest of predators. They could never match up to the bears and wolves if they stuck with their old rules, and it wouldn’t be long until even the tigers would pass them. Rake wanted no part in it. But his family was less than receptive to his wants and needs.
     
    “Renata, I left years ago. I still pay my dues, I send you far more than you lot need to keep a roof over your heads and food in your bellies. And that is all you’re going to get from me. I won’t return. I will not let you or anyone else choose who my mate is. I will not be the pride’s to push and shove. I’m my own lion now,” Rake spat back, the aggravation only veiled by the thinnest of veneers. His nose crinkled, the skin crimping together in a predator’s snarl. Renata responded with the same before either of them could stop themselves.