Witches be Lion Read online

  Witches be Lion

  Raven’s Claw Pride Book 1

  By: Sage S. Wolf

  Copyright©2021 Sage S. Wolf

  ∞∞∞

  This book is a work of fiction, and characters, events, and dialogue found within are of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

  No part of the book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, with the exception of the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ∞∞∞

  ~Sophia~

  So what if I’m a witch without a coven?

  So what if I was banished for picking my mate over my family?

  So what if my mate happens to be a big handsome man that turns into an even bigger lion?

  So what if my coven is now out to kill us both to keep us from tainting their bloodline?

  Who cares?

  Sure as hell, not Taegan and me.

  We’ve been playing cat and mouse with my family for over a year now, and we’re done running. I never wanted to hurt my family, but they’ve left me no choice. I’m about to show them why being the first female witch born in four generations makes me so special…. Or am I?

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  This book is dedicated to all the magical people in my life. Thank you for keeping me alive inside.

  Chapter One

  ~Sophia~

  I sat at the bar, sipping my beer and glancing up at the clock behind the bar. My cousin Violet was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago.

  “Taegan standing you up?” Raelynn asked from behind the bar. She was the owner of the tavern. She also happened to be alpha of the local lion shifter pride. Raven’s Claw Pride. Seemed a strange name for a lion pride but who was I to question?

  I gave Rae a knowing smile. We both knew my mate would never do such a thing. “My man would never do that, and we both know it, Rae.” I slid my bottle toward her. “Put that in a glass for me, please?”

  “Sure thing, Bae,” Rae gave me a teasing wink as she grabbed a clean glass and poured my beer into it before sliding it back. “Who’s got my girl waiting then?”

  I took a big drink of my beer. “Violet was supposed to be meeting me here at eight, but it looks like she got held up by something. I hope our coven didn’t find out she was meeting me.”

  “Me too.” Rae’s phone alerted her to a text, and she pulled it from her apron and looked at it. “Taegan is bringing in this week’s beer,” she said, putting her phone back into her apron and going to open the door for him. It was a slow night, unlike the night Taegan and I met…

  *****

  Sixteen months ago, I was sitting in this very bar celebrating my twenty-fourth birthday with my cousin and a few friends. It was the only bar in Ravenna. It didn’t hurt that it was frequented by hunky shifter men. And not just the men from the local lion pride that Raelynn was alpha of. Our town was located just off the highway, so we got a lot of truckers and other passersby that needed a little break from travel.

  On this particular night, I was enjoying my third screwdriver and laughing at something Violet had said about her dumb ex when I felt someone looking at me. I turned my head to see this giant man with rusty brown hair and piercing green eyes grinning at me. As soon as I locked eyes with him, I knew I was his.

  We completed our bond that night and snuck around for about a month before my aunt caught sight of my mating bite. My family was fine with me dating shifters, but to bond with one was a huge no-no.

  Witches only bonded to witches. Bonds were carefully chosen to ensure keeping our magical genes pure. If we procreate outside of our kind, we’re giving away our power to possible enemies or making ourselves weaker. Humans could make us human after a few generations, and shifters, well, a shifter with the strength of their animal and added magical capabilities, was a force to be reckoned with.

  I was given a choice that day. Give up Taegan or be banished. No in-between. I chose my mate, which meant being banished and promised death if I ever tried to show my face again. They had no intention of letting me live long enough to leave town though. They just wanted me to lead them to Taegan so they could kill him too.

  They didn’t plan on Taegan having a whole pride behind him and quickly retreated to our small settlement ten minutes outside of town. We were always taught that witches shouldn’t live with humans or other unclean beings, aka shifters and vampires.

  Taegan and I could have run away, and my family probably wouldn’t have followed. We didn’t though. We decided right away to stay with Taegan’s pride, doing our best to keep an eye out for any threat my family sent for us. Raelynn had welcomed me immediately and had the pride keeping an extra eye out for me. She even gave me a job in her tavern. She was a good alpha. A great person.

  *****

  “Your cousin’s here, babe,” Taegan said, carrying in six cases of beer while Raelynn held the front door open for him.

  Violet stepped in after him looking not so good. “Sorry I’m late, Soph. I had a hell of a time getting out of there unnoticed.” She came over and hugged me before taking a seat beside me. “You’re not going to believe what those idiots are up to.”

  “Should we stay for this, or you two want to talk alone?” Rae asked, her eyes starting to glow at the possibility of danger.

  “You should stay, Rae,” Violet said, pushing a barstool toward Rae with her foot. “I don’t have time to explain this more than once.”

  Taegan came out from the back, hands now empty. “You need anything else, Alpha?” He asked, kissing me on the top of the head.

  I smiled up at him as Rae spoke. “Nope. You’re good to take your mate home once Violet tells us her news. Too slow in here to need more than me working.”

  We all turned our attention to Violet, who smiled nervously at us. “Okay. So I was listening in on the coven meeting last night since you know only witches with active magic are welcome.”

  I was the only female born in four generations with active powers. The other females, like Violet, had inactive powers but were still suitable for breeding to create male witches. Power was all our coven cared about.

  I pushed my thoughts away as Violet continued. “I heard my dad mention that the Blood Moon Coven was considering coming to help them with their lion problem….”

  “You kidding?” Rae hissed, a low growl starting in her chest. “They’re telling other covens that we’re a problem?”

  Violet put her hands up. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger, Rae. I came as soon as I could to tell you guys the news.”

  “Do you know exactly when the other coven is coming?” Taegan asked, wrapping a protective arm around my waist.

  Violet sighed. “He didn’t say for sure they were coming, so no, I don’t have a date if they do decide to. I’ll keep an ear out for any more mentions of it. I’ve also been avoiding my fiancé like the plague. Can’t believe my parents want me to marry that stuck up prick.”

  “I’m sorry, Vi. I wish there was some way to get you out of that. You could always come live with me and Taegan.” I suggested. Our coven was old school in way too many ways.

  “I’m seriously considering it.”

  “I need to call my cousin in Montana and see if he can send some back up on short notice if it comes to that.” Raelynn paced as she fired off a list of stuff she’d need to do to prepare for a war with witches.

  “Rae.” Taegan went over and took hold of his alpha’s shoulders to stop her pacing. “Look at me, Alpha,” Rae growled in protest, but did as Taegan asked. “Why are you so worried? We have Sophia on our side. She’s more powerful than anyone in her coven.”

  They both looked over at me, and I snapped my fingers, making all the lights in a one-block radius go out, leaving us in darkness. Taegan and Raelynn could still see because of their cats. Violet and I, however, were plunged into darkness.

  Violet grabbed for me in the dark. “Sophia, stop it. You know I’m scared of the dark.”

  I laughed and snapped my fingers, bringing the lights back on. “Better?”

  “Yes.” Violet released my arm and turned to Rae. “Can I get a drink after that?”

  “Sure,” Rae chuckled, going behind the bar and pouring Violet a shot..

  Taegan stepped toward me and picked me up, taking my seat on the stool before sitting me on his lap. “We’ll take one too, Alpha,” he whispered, placing a gentle kiss over my mating bite.

  “Mmm,” I hummed, snuggling against his chest. He smelled like earth and pine trees. “I missed you today.” I’d come in early to help Rae out since one of our waitresses recently got mated and decided she wanted to stay home and raise cubs instead of waiting on rowdy shifters.

  Taegan’s lion began to purr. “We missed you too, babe.”

  I felt him start hardening
beneath me and giggled. “I see.”

  “No pheromones in the bar!” Rae ordered, sitting our shots in front of us.

  “What she said,” Violet agreed before downing her shot and asking for another.

  “Easy, Vi,” I warned, taking the shot glass away. “You can’t be going back to the settlement drunk. They’ll know you left then.”

  “Speaking of.” Violet yanked the glass back and Rae poured her another shot. She downed it and then slid the empty glass to Rae. “I need to get back before anyone notices my shack is empty. Jessiah might already be looking for me. Fucking stage five clinger.”

  I laughed as I reached out and pulled her to Taegan and me. “I’m sorry they’re forcing you to marry that pig. Offer still stands to come stay with me and Taegan. I’ll never stop offering. You don’t have to stay there.”

  Violet sighed. “I know, Soph. But if I leave then there will be no one on the inside to be able to give you a heads up on their movements. I’ll keep putting the wedding off and hopefully one day they’ll stop being selfish pricks and let you live your life in peace. Then I’ll leave and come work for Raelynn and crash in your guest room.”

  Raelynn scoffed. “We all know that coven won’t ever leave either of you alone. I think your elders or whoever is in charge just wants reasons to do bad shit to others. They don’t need a legitimate reason. Just an excuse. Come work here and let the pride protect you, Vi. You’re family too.

  “I know. And I appreciate and love you all. I will figure something out. For now though, I need to hurry back. I’ll just say I went out for a drink if I’m questioned.” Violet hugged me tighter and then pulled away.

  “Be safe out there, cuz.” I hated watching her walk away, right back into danger.

  “I’ll be as safe as I can be, Soph.” Violet headed for the door, giving a wave as she pulled it open. “Love you!”

  “Love you more!” I called after her as she stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

  Rae pulled her phone from her apron pocket. “I’m gonna go call Blake and let him know what’s going on.” Blake answered right away, and Rae began explaining the situation to him. After a few minutes she smiled at Taegan. “Yea, he’s right here with Sophia. Okay.” Rae held the phone out to him. “Your ex-alpha wants to talk to you.”

  Taegan took the phone with a wide smile that made his eyes glow. “Hey, Blake. How’re the cubs?” He gently placed me on my feet so he could go talk privately.

  Blake was the reason Taegan, and I even had the opportunity to find each other. He’d sent Taegan here to help clear out some large trees that had fallen around town during a bad storm. The night before he was supposed to go back to Montana was the night we crossed paths here at the tavern. There was never any question of whether he would stay even after everything. This was our home. Taegan admitted he liked being in Ravenna. Said it tugged at something inside of him to stay. He still missed his other family though.

  “You ever consider just packing up and going to Montana to get away from your family?” Raelynn asked as I downed my shot.

  “No. Ravenna is my home, and I’ve grown fond of you and the rest of the pride. You guys are my family now.”

  “Well, we’re honored to have you as part of our pride.” Rae looked over at Taegan, who was laughing. “I wonder if Taegan misses his old pride.”

  I turned on the stool so I could watch him too. He was so damn handsome when his face was lite up with happiness. “He does. But he knows he can call, or we can take a road trip there. I’d like to meet his other family someday. I know shifters don’t do well in airplanes. I’d have no problem driving there.”

  “You’ll give me notice before you take off, right?” Rae asked, wiping down the already clean bar.

  “Of course I will.” I smiled at my mate as he approached us. His smile even bigger if that was possible. It was doing things to my lady bits. “Good phone call?”

  Taegan handed the phone back to Rae before pulling me against his chest. “It was.” Then he leaned down and kissed me deeply, making me moan.

  “Alright, you two.” Rae smacked Taegan with the towel she was using to wipe the bar. Taegan chuckled as he broke our kiss. “Go home and do that shit. I don’t want men coming in here thinking someone’s in heat and getting worked up, causing fights.”

  My face heated. “Sorry.”

  “Come on, babe, let’s get you home.” Taegan lifted me and slung me over his shoulder, smacking my ass as we headed for the door.

  I laughed and used his back to push myself up so I could look at Rae. She was grinning and shaking her head. “See you tomorrow, Rae!”

  “Bye, Bae!” Raelynn called as the door shut behind us…

  Chapter Two

  ~Taegan~

  I put Sophia in the truck and buckled her in before getting behind the wheel and heading for home. She smelled so fucking good right now. My lion was pacing under my skin while my dick was hard as steel in my pants.

  “Did Blake say he would help us?” Sophia asked, resting her head against the headrest.

  “He did. He said he’ll send backup as soon as we request it,” I answered, deciding to share Blake’s good news with Sophia, too. “He also said his mate, Kailani, is expecting a litter of three cubs.”

  “Oh. That’s great news. I’m happy for them. That’ll be five cubs for them. I know how much Blake wanted a big family to fill that big house of theirs.” Though her voice sounded happy, I could feel her sadness. And down went my erection…

  “Yes, he did.” We sat in silence until I pulled into the driveway of our little two-bedroom cottage. I put my truck in park before turning toward her to cup her cheek. “Hey, I know you want a cub, babe. Believe me, I want one too, but I won’t risk you or our cub’s safety when your coven finds out and doubles their efforts to kill us. It sounds like they’re thinking about doing it soon anyway. Imagine not being able to fight with our pride because we got selfish and didn’t wait. I’m gonna have a hard enough time letting you fight as we are now. If you were pregnant, there’s no way in hell my lion would let you put yourself in danger.”

  Sophia blew out a defeated breath. I hated how many times we had to talk each other out of having a cub. “I know you’re right, Taegan. I just see the pictures Blake sends you of his two little girls, and they’re so freaking adorable.” And there was that smell again. Arousal. Suddenly she unbuckled herself and climbed over the center console of my Silverado and straddled my lap. “I want a son that has my hair and your eyes.” She rubbed her hand over the stubble on my cheek. I hadn’t shaved in two days. “I hope he’s built strong like you too so he can protect those who need it.”

  My lion started to purr as I rubbed my cheek against her palm. “I want that too, babe, but we have to wai--” I cut myself off with a groan when Sophia ground herself against me. Yes, my erection was back. Any man would when his mate was giving off the scent mine currently was while pressing her warm center against me. I could feel the heat of her warming my lap. “Inside,” I growled, pushing my door open with one hand and unbuckling myself with the other.

  Sophia giggled and climbed out of the truck and ran for the front door. I hurried behind her, scooping her into my arms while I unlocked our front door, kicking it open, I slammed it shut behind me.

  Once in our bedroom, I tossed Sophia on the bed and stood for a moment taking in her beauty.

  “Taegan,” She said breathlessly, beckoning me with a finger.

  I didn’t make her wait. Climbing onto the bed, I caged her in with my body and kissed the tip of her nose. “You want me?” We both knew the answer.

  “Yes.” Sophia grabbed the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up until it was stopped by my arms. “Off.” She demanded.

  “Yes, ma’am.” I straightened and pulled the shirt over my head and then looked down at her. “Your turn,” I growled, letting her sit up before pulling the shirt off.

  Her bra was simple blue cotton that I knew matched the cotton panties she was wearing. Nothing fancy, but she said they were comfortable. My mate didn’t need fancy undergarments for me to want her.