Free Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1) by Theresa Hissong

he
suppressed the urge to lick her hand, just to commit her taste to
his memory.
    “You smell so good,” she moaned, leaning
closer. Before he could reply, she snapped her head up, gasping in
embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I...I didn’t mean…um.”
    “Mating scent,” he whispered, knowing she’d
heard him.
    “I’ll get you some food,” she said, hurrying
off the barstool and heading for the kitchen.
    He didn’t know how the hell he was supposed
to have a human mate. The fact that his mother had told him it was
possible made him feel a little more at ease.
    But what would the pride think? Would they
accept a human female? He knew his Guardians already knew and
actually liked Liberty, but none of his other panthers had met her.
Maybe he should take her to meet them?
    He was torn. His pride came first. Maybe he
should just leave, forget about this urge to claim her.
    “Yeah, right,” he snorted, draining the rest
of his beer. His panther wouldn’t let him off that easily.
    A soft breeze filtered through the room as
the door to the bar opened. Talon’s panther stiffened as a scent
registered in his mind. The scent was familiar. It was the same
scent that had lingered on Liberty’s property.
    A female gasped as Talon rushed toward the
front of the bar, exiting the building at superhuman speed. His
nostrils flared as he tested the air, trying to follow the scent of
the unknown panther. Gravel crunched under his black boots as he
slowly searched one side of the building, the scent was missing
from that area. Just as he turned around, Liberty rushed out the
door, a look of panic on her face.
    “Talon?” she called out.
    “Get inside,” he ordered. He knew the moment
she had noticed that his eyes had changed and his canines were
sticking out of his mouth, because she backed into the building
slowly, pulling the door closed behind her.
    Talon kept his senses on high alert as he
prowled around the building. The scent ended at the road, but he
was sure he would’ve heard a car leaving the area in a hurry. Plus,
the panther wouldn’t have had time to get into the vehicle, start
it, and then drive away by the time Talon had reached the door.
Talon was certain that the panther wasn’t working alone.
    Once he went back into the bar, he found
Liberty sitting on a barstool, facing the front door. She stood as
soon as he walked in, and rushed to his side. “What happened?”
    “The panther that was on your property was
here,” he growled. “He’s gone now.”
    “Should I be worried?” she asked, a shiver
rolling up her spine. Talon wrapped his arm around her shoulders
and walked her back to his original seat. He didn’t want to upset
her, but he didn’t want her to be unaware of the dangers this rogue
cat could cause.
    “No,” he replied. “Because I will have
Guardians here to keep you safe when I am unable to do it myself.”
It was a promise he intended to keep.
    “Talon, I don’t need…” she started, but he
silenced her with a hard glare.
    “You will have them here,” he whispered
harshly, letting his alpha powers out. He knew when his mating
scent hit her, because Liberty’s eyes softened and she relaxed in
his arms. “No arguing.”
    “Okay,” she nodded. “Let me go get your
food.”
    He waited until she was out of sight before
he pulled out his phone and made a call.
    “Winter, the rogue was here at the bar,” he
barked. “I want a security detail on this place immediately.”
    “On it, boss,” his second in command
replied.
     
     

     
    Liberty tried to get ahold of her emotions
and her damn hormones as she stood off to the side of the kitchen
door. There was something about Talon that kept her wanting him to
just reach out and touch her; and not just a simple touch, but the
kind of touch that curls the toes.
    Every time she got close enough to smell his
wildness and feel the warmth coming from his skin, she wanted to
crawl up into his lap and rub herself against him as if she were a