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sir. I know it s not a danger, because, well, I know she s my
mate. Just like before, he didn t wait for either of them to
comment. It seemed once he started talking about Helena, he
couldn t shut up, so excited to share about the woman he so
obviously adored.
She s beautiful, amazing, perfect, he murmured
dreamily, his blue eyes losing focus. When I m with her,
my lion wants to rub up against her and purr. Leaving after
a date is like tearing out my heart. He grimaced, then
continued, She s a school teacher. She teaches fifth grade.
She really loves her job and worries that if she keeps dating
me, people will talk about her being a cougar. She s thirty-
two, he told them, finally lifting his gaze so he actually
focus on them.
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Just Lion Around
I ve overheard Helena make comments to her friends
about how I m not her usual type and she s sure I m gonna
move on soon, but why not have fun while it lasts, right?
Dangling his hands between his knees, Samson gave them
an anguished look. I m worried she s gonna get too stressed
out over the age difference, cause I look like I m twenty, ya
know? I want to be able to tell her the truth, that I m thirty-
eight and I m a lion shifter and she s my mate and that s
why we re so good together and I wanna claim her and keep
her and hold her every night and
Samson finally cut himself off and sighed. He glared at
the floor.
Valarius gave Brice s shoulder a squeeze, then asked the
younger shifter, Have you approached Alpha Perrin or Beta
Patrick with this information, Samson? They understand the
importance of finding your mate and would want you to be
happy.
Brice watched, impressed, as his lover assured the other
man that d he d take Samson s situation to their alpha on his
behalf. Valarius told Samson that they d come up with a way
to share shifters existence with Helena. They d assist him in
explaining what being mated to one meant and how
important she was to Samson.
Love for the woman shown in Samson s eyes, and by the
time they left the room to head for dinner half an hour later,
hope had replaced his tension and anguish.
Following Valarius out of the room, Brice smiled,
admiring the backside of the man he loved. Oh! Oh, shit! Do I
really love him? Already? He knew shifters fell for their mates
quick, but he wasn t a shifter.
At that second, Valarius turned and held out a hand,
smiling at him.
Brice grinned and took his lover s hand, allowing Valarius
to pull him close.
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Charlie Richards
Yeah, I fucking love this man.
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Just Lion Around
Chapter Thirteen
alarius reclined on a deck chair. In one hand, he held a
Vbeer, the other arm he wrapped loosely around Brice s
torso where his mate sat in front of him between his legs. He
couldn t remember the last time he d felt so content.
Still, he would have been happier if Alpha Declan had
given him better news two days before. Evidently, Rayban
and his stooges had left the area and the wolf shifters didn t
know if they d gone home or elsewhere. With the way
Rayban spoke, Valarius could just bet they d turn up around
here sometime. The real question was whether it d be sooner
or later.
On a good note, at least Declan had been able to tell him
that Alpha Edward seemed extremely angry at Rayban s
actions more probably to do with endangering their secret
than attacking him, but still and the lion alpha had assured
Declan that Rayban would be disciplined.
He d been only too happy to pass that info on to Alpha
Perrin.
Sighing he took another gulp of beer as he surveyed the
back yard. One of the cubs was celebrating her thirteenth
birthday, which gave them an excuse to have a family BBQ.
With Alpha Perrin s blessing, Samson had invited Helena.
Everyone had been warned that an uninitiated human was
in their midst. Valarius had smiled as he d watched Samson
introduce Helena to just about everyone, looking proud and
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Charlie Richards
completely smitten. How Helena didn t know Samson
would attempt to move heaven and earth for her, Valarius
had no clue. At this point, everyone in the entire pride
probably knew.
When he and Brice had greeted the woman, she d been
friendly with an open, honest face. Her brown eyes twinkled
with mirth. She carried probably an extra twenty pounds or
so on her short, five-foot-four-inch frame. Helena wore her
light brown hair piled on top of her head, accentuating her
slender, heart-shaped face. If he were into critiquing women,
Valarius would label her as girl-next-door pretty.
Fortunately, she seemed just as taken with Samson. If
Valarius hadn t been a shifter, he never would have known
how nervous Helena was, she was that good at hiding her
feelings. Valarius kinda liked her. She was good with the
cubs playing freeze tag and stopping with some of the
strangest expressions on her face, sure to make the cubs
laugh and he thought she d make a good addition to the
pride.
Valarius prayed she wouldn t panic upon finding out
about shifters. Per his promise to Samson, Valarius had
spoken to Alpha Perrin on his behalf, and although the big
shifter had appeared nervous, Valarius had known it was
due to the man s upbringing, not because he didn t want
Samson to be happy.
As one of Alpha Perrin s inner circle, Valarius knew that
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