Bellann Summer

I've enjoyed going through my stories. They are bringing back the writing vibes. By the end of the year, I think most writers are a little tired. There is so much to do with adding on the holidays and
end-of-year stuff to our regular writing time.
Today's snippet is The Council's Agent (Lubirea Mai). I remember while writing this story, I loved the freedom of the paranormal world. The only boundaries are those in your mind.
Katherine’s graceful figure glided across an unadorned yard of a plain square white one-story house. Riley hurried over the short grass of the lawn trying to catch up, only to see Katherine’s shadowed form disappear around the back corner of the house.
Riley was about five feet from reaching the corner when a small thud made him look to his right. Huge claw-tipped paws followed by the massive mane-covered head and monstrous body of a lion were coming straight at him. The next second Riley was knocked to the ground landing flat on his back. Like any self-respecting man who had a considerable amount of weight lying on top of him, Riley took a few seconds to regain his ability to breathe again, shallow though it may be. Then Riley started to fight.
Lifting his hands, he went to push the lion’s head away, only to have his fingers sink into the silky depths of the animal’s thick mane. Grabbing hunks of hair he frantically tried to move the enormous face that was just inches from his own.
Instead of backing off, the beast opened its mouth wide, showing Riley long, pointed snowy-white teeth. Hot waves of air flowed over him as a deafening roar shook him to his very depths. Desperately, Riley decided that now was a good time to pass out. It had always been his wish that when it was time for him to die, that it would happen in his sleep. Since he wasn’t currently asleep and he was ninety-nine percent sure he was about to die, being passed out cold was the next best thing.
Unfortunately, a wide-awake Riley continued to lie on the soft grass with his eyes squeezed shut and his hands still immersed and tangled in the lion’s mane. The weight of the over warm furry body on top of him was becoming uncomfortable and heavy.
Riley braced himself and waited, anticipating the feel of the lion’s razor-sharp teeth tearing into him. Nothing happened.
Drawing in as deep of a breath as the large body on top of him would allow, Riley manned up and opened his eyes. Yellow eyes peered back down at him as he returned the great beast’s stare. Then Riley felt his eyes widen as far as they would go, and he emitted a low wheeze as the big cat opened his mouth, and a rough tongue swiped up over the side of his head and tangled in his long brown hair. It took a while for his heart to slow down from the near miss of being lion food, but now Riley’s brain was starting to kick in. The reason he was in this town and on Puma Lane in the first place came back like a bright neon light blinking in the darkness. And then he thought about Katherine’s secret.
“Get off me, cat,” Riley ordered.
The lion didn’t move. His relentless gaze continued to study Riley. He knew what the cat saw. Riley had a mass of thick curly brown hair that almost reached his shoulders. His eyes were a dark gray with thick black slashing eyebrows over them. He had a straight prominent nose, and Katherine claimed kissable plump lips. Riley wasn’t sure about that, but he did try to keep a five o’clock shadow that was so popular, to make him look more rugged.
“I know what you are, so like I’ve already told you. Get the hell off me,” Riley said.
The next moment Riley had a huge, muscled blond man on top on him. When the man rolled to his feet, Riley’s relief was short-lived as it became apparent the man was naked. Then the stranger reached down and easily picked Riley up and threw him over his wide shoulder.
“What the hell are you doing?” Riley demanded. “Put me down.”
A sharp crack sliced through the air and hot pain bloomed over Riley’s ass cheek.
“Quiet, mate,” the lion-man ordered.
Riley froze in shock. He knew what a mate was. The man had better be wrong because Riley’s plans were to disappear with Katherine. When a shifter found a mate, it was all-consuming and forever. Riley couldn’t be part of that. He had to find Katherine and they had to get out from under the cat council’s radar.
Riley started pounding on the man’s back and kicking his legs. Those actions resulted in his ass clutching tight and becoming red hot when more painful slaps landed on it.
“Knock it off, baby. If I have to stop and put you over my knee, I will.”
The infuriating man kept walking.
“Please, you have to let me go,” Riley pleaded. “I have to find Katherine.”
Riley’s feet touched the ground and large hands held him tightly by the shoulders.
“Who is Katherine?” the man demanded.
Looking up into the shifter’s gorgeous face, Riley had trouble answering. Intense hazel eyes were probing his soul, looking for answers and causing all of his thoughts to scatter in the wind. A sudden need to wind himself around the delicious sea of muscles before him had his body trembling.
Riley’s shoulders were shaken roughly, making his teeth chatter together. “Answer me now. Who is Katherine?”
Riley brought his hands up to catch his balance and they landed on the man’s hard chest. His fingers had a mind of their own and began sifting through the soft pelt of blond hair that covered the wide plain of muscles and golden skin. One hand released his shoulder and his chin was lifted, forcing his eyes from the wonder before him, only to be captured by that intense hazel gaze.
“Don’t make me ask again.”
“Katherine is my friend. I was following her when you tackled me,” Riley answered.
From behind him, he heard the roar of a lion and the howl of a wolf. Riley frowned when the skin on his face and arms tingled with little zings of electricity and the air all around him thickened, becoming heavy with something magical.
The man still holding his chin chuckled, making the hair on Riley’s neck stand straight up. “I don’t think you will have to worry about your friend. By the smell and sound of things, Katherine is going to be busy for at least the next couple of weeks.”
 “Katherine just found her mate, didn’t she?” Riley asked.
Most of Riley was happy for his best friend, but a part of him hurt for the loss of their closeness. Katherine had explained that when one found their mate, their whole world became just the two of them. Riley knew that meant he was now, once more on the outside.
“As you did, my baby.”