She was knocked flat on her back by the power of his pounce. He bumped his forehead enthusiastically against her own, clearly delighted with himself—and then paused. He sniffed her, an anxious-sounding mrrr? rumbling in his throat.
“Your ma was worried sick about you,” Griff told him. He didn’t raise his voice or look at all angry—just stern, and serious. “We all were. We didn’t know where you’d gone.”
“It’s all right now,” Hayley said quickly, feeling Danny cringe under Griff’s obvious disapproval. She hugged him tight, rubbing her face against his soft fur. “Everything’s okay, baby. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
Danny’s rough pink tongue licked gently at her tear-streaked cheek. He whimpered, looking up at Griff.
“You weren’t to know,” Griff said. His gaze moved to the tree line, and his jaw set in a hard, tight line. “But he didn’t tell us.”
Hayley’s pulse leaped as she caught sight of an enormous, golden form slinking through the undergrowth. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to grab her child and run, run, away from the dangerous predator.
It’s only Reiner, she tried to tell herself…but there was no “only” about it.
She’d only ever seen lions lazing around in zoos before, safely behind bars. She’d never realized before just how big they were. Reiner’s massive jaws could have comfortably engulfed her entire head. His paws were bigger than dinner plates. She couldn’t move, couldn’t take her eyes off that powerful, terrifying form as he stalked toward her.
Griff’s hand fell on her shoulder, protective and comforting. There was more than a hint of snarl in his voice as he addressed Reiner. “That’s enough. Stop trying to intimidate her.”
Reiner halted, though his lip wrinkled back a little, exposing a fang. He sank to his hindquarters, curling his tail over his front paws. His entire attitude was insouciant, just daring them to object to his behavior.
Maybe it was Griff’s solid presence at her back, or maybe just anger sparked by Reiner’s arrogant, entitled air, but Hayley found her courage at last. Danny jumped off her as she surged to her feet.
Striding up to Reiner, she poked him right in his big pink nose. “You do not take Danny anywhere without telling me first! Ever!”
Reiner glared right back at her. His tawny form shimmered, turning back into a man. “I am his father,” he said haughtily, apparently completely unselfconscious about being stark naked. “I have the right to be with my son.”
Reiner might be entirely unabashed by his lack of clothing, but Hayley wasn’t. She jerked her eyes back upward, her cheeks heating. He was just as athletically muscular as she remembered. She didn’t find him at all sexually attractive anymore, but she had to admit he was still, objectively speaking, a beautiful man.
Once, that sculpted, powerful body had completely addled her mind, blinding her to the flaws hidden under the attractive surface. She didn’t regret the relationship—she’d gotten Danny out of it, after all—but she couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid.
From Reiner’s sudden smirk, he’d caught the involuntary drift of her attention. “Thinking of old times, Hayley?” He flexed a little, his abs tightening. “If you’re feeling a pang of regret, I might be persuaded to give you a second chance.”
“You left me, Reiner!” Hayley jabbed him again with her finger, this time in the middle of his hard chest. “You do not get to just waltz in here and claim full parental rights. You haven’t even acknowledged Danny before now!”
“Hayley,” Griff said warningly. He turned to Danny. “Lad, me and your ma and da need to have one of those boring grown-up conversations now. Why don’t you go play with my friend Chase over there? Practice your pouncing.”
Chase stomped one back hoof, shooting Griff a look that was clearly the equine equivalent of I will get you for this. Nonetheless, he pranced away, swishing his long black tail invitingly at Danny. The lion cub didn’t need any further encouragement. With the enthusiasm of a kitten spotting a laser pointer, he bounded after the pegasus.
“I thought this was something you’d probably prefer he didn’t hear,” Griff murmured to Hayley apologetically. His voice hardened as he turned to Reiner. “You only became interested in Danny once you learned he was a shifter, didn’t you?”
“Of course,” Reiner said, as if this was not only understandable but admirable. “What on earth would I want with a human child? I kept track of him, naturally, just in case it turned out the shifter genes bred true.”
“If he’d never shifted, you would never have gotten in touch?” Hayley said, unable to comprehend how anyone could be so cold. “He’s your son, Reiner, regardless of whether he turns into a lion or not!”
“If he was not a shifter, he would be no son of mine.” Reiner looked across the clearing at Danny, who had managed to leap onto Chase’s back. Reiner’s expression softened as he watched Danny cling onto the pegasus with all four paws, his milk-teeth nipping playfully at Chase’s neck.
“But he is. And he is a son to be proud of. Look at him! So bold and fearless. He will be a true alpha one day.”
Hayley couldn’t deny that there was genuine affection in Reiner’s voice. “Well…I’m glad you’ve at least decided to take an interest now. But Reiner, you have to see things from my perspective. I know you’re trying to make up for lost time, but I nearly died of terror when I went to pick Danny up from school and discovered that he wasn’t there. You can’t do that again.”
Reiner glared back at her, his customary arrogance sliding back in place like a mask. “I will do what is best for my son. He needs to learn shifter ways, not to be locked up in some useless human school. Why did you worry? You knew he was with me.”
“Yes, but I don’t know you, Reiner! You wanted me to kill Danny before he was even born!” Angry tears sprang into Hayley’s eyes as she remembered his horrible parting words, years ago. “How was I supposed to know you didn’t just come back to finish the job?”
Reiner’s muscles bunched with outrage. “How dare you imply that I would ever harm my son!”
“Both of you, that’s enough.” Griff spoke quietly, but his voice rang with that odd, iron-hard note of utter command. “He’ll hear you if you start shouting at each other.”
Hayley had indeed been about to yell at Reiner, but she found that her mouth had snapped shut of its own accord. Reiner too subsided, though he didn’t look at all happy about it.