The Lion’s Mate

“There is absolutely nothing delicate about you, especially not your ego.”

Mark put his hand over his heart. “You slay me with your words, lovely lady.”

“Whatever.”

Mark laughed. “Good night.”

Before she could blink, he had shifted into his lion form. She gasped at his majestic form as he prowled in front of her, his head high. Jenny growled quietly behind her, and Leah put a hand on her head to calm her. Mark sniffed at the dog and made a small sound that resembled the noise a puppy might make. Jenny’s ears perked up, and she tilted her head back and forth as he continued to make the noise. When Mark moved closer, Jenny loped over to him and they began to wrestle.

Leah watched, her eyes wide in surprise. Jenny didn’t like shifters, had never liked them. She didn’t even like Annie, who lived with them all the time. But this man, a lion shifter nonetheless, had charmed his way into her dog’s heart. A small part of her heart beat just a little harder as she watched, and she shook her head, reminding herself that she didn’t need someone like him in her life, no matter how charming he was or how much her dog liked him. She snapped her fingers and called to Jenny, who disengaged from her new friend and ran to her mistress, a doggy grin on her face.

“Good night, lion man,” Leah said. He rose from where he’d been wrestling with Jenny and sauntered close to her. Like a giant housecat, he rubbed his entire body over her legs, winding around her and letting his tail curl around her thighs. Leah laughed and gave his mane a little tug. “Stop trying to be adorable and get out of here.”

Mark looked at her, his eyes beautiful in the lion’s face. He tilted his head, his mane flowing, and pushed at her with a giant paw. When she only stared at him, he nudged her with his head. She sighed and began petting his head as if her were a housecat. He didn’t purr (lions can’t), but he made a strange, deep humming noise to indicate his happiness.

Leah grumbled, “Fine, you big ole kitten. If you want to come by again one day this week you can. But not while I’m swimming.” She accompanied this warning with a tug on one of his ears.

Mark let out a roar of happiness and stood up on his hind feet. He put his front paws on her shoulders, nearly toppling her, and licked her cheek. He dropped back to all fours, batted her with his tail, and sprinted around the lake and into the forest.

Leah laughed as she watched his quick progress, marveling at his speed. She shook her head, also marveling at his ability to charm her right into an invite to stop by again. She walked with Jenny to the house, frowning. She was not usually so easily won over by a stranger, especially by a stranger who had been watching her without her knowledge. As she mounted the steps, her thoughts remained on him. And would return to him throughout the evening as she worked on the end of her novel.

*****

Mark’s thoughts were on her as well. As he meandered through the forest, in no hurry to reach his lonely cabin, he realized he’d forgotten to ask for her name, nor had he supplied her with his. But she’d invited him back one day this week, and he was concocting a plan.

He wanted to swim with her, plain and simple. She was stunningly beautiful, flirtatious, obviously intelligent, and, he would bet, a ton of fun once they got to know each other. His plan was to arrive at her house tomorrow evening just before she went for her swim. He’d charm his way into that lake, even if he had to bargain and bring a suit along with him.

A rabbit darted out in front of him, afraid of the strange predator lurking in the forest. Instinctively, his body poised to spring after it, to enjoy the chase, but he remembered his promise. He would not hunt on her land. He looked around; he was almost to the edge of the forest closest to the cabin he’d rented. Surely he was no longer on her land.

The lion in him lowered its head, growled quietly, and sprang after the helpless hare.

*****

Annie walked in from work an hour later and yelled out for her. Leah answered from her office, and Annie walked in carrying the mail.

“Your editor sent you a card,” she said, dropping the mail on the desk and her body onto the comfortable leather couch Leah had bought for her office for when she needed a break.

“Really?” Leah picked it up. After reading, she scoffed, “Just a friendly reminder of my due date.”

“After making that damn publisher so much money, you would think she’d be a little more patient,” Annie claimed. She knew how hard Leah had been working on the ending of this book; it irked her that the editor was so impatient.

“Ah, well, she’s just doing her job,” Leah offered, returning to her computer. She looked at it briefly and closed the laptop with a frown on her face. She hadn’t been able to concentrate; her thoughts kept returning to the gorgeous lion man who had visited her earlier in the day. She glanced at Annie, who was chewing her nails. “Why are you chewing your nails?”

“I’m nervous, Leah. We’re meeting with that lawyer tomorrow,” Annie said, her voice almost a whine.

Leah chose to ignore the teenager’s whine. “I’ll be with you the whole time. Don’t worry.”

“I’m trying. But it’s such a big deal, don’t you think?”

“It is. You’re doing the right thing, Annie. Shifters deserve the same treatment, the same rights as humans,” Leah returned.

“I know. I’m just scared.”

“No need for fear, I promise. You are my best friend’s sister, and you have her strength in you,” Leah reassured her. “And I’ll be right next to you the whole time, no matter what happens.”

Annie smiled. “Thanks, Leah. Want me to cook dinner tonight?”

“Let’s cook together. Sound good?” She rose and smiled at her. “Come on. I’m done working for the night. Let’s make dinner and eat.”

After dinner and more reassurance, Annie went upstairs to study. She had opted for online courses this semester, although she’d wanted the experience every high school graduate wanted: dorm life, college life. But the college she’d applied to, Glenrose University, which was in the small town closest to their house and shared the same name, had declined her application once they discovered she was a shifter, which was a violation of the Shifter Rights Act. Leah had immediately contacted a lawyer, who they would be meeting with the next morning in town to discuss the case.

Although Leah would never admit it, she was nervous too. Annie no longer wanted to attend the university. She was suing the school simply because what they were doing was wrong. And Leah had encouraged her in the endeavor. But Leah knew things could get ugly, and she promised herself as she washed her face that she’d do her best to protect Annie from the ugliest parts if she could.

She crawled into bed, her mind on the meeting tomorrow. Her thoughts shifted to her novel and the incomplete end. And just before she drifted off to sleep, Mark popped into her brain, and she smiled to herself as consciousness faded.