“If you come outside, I’ll explain everything. I need to do this face to face. Please, Lara” he replied
“I’m not falling for that!” Lara yelled back, she’d seen enough horror movies to know how these scenarios usually played out.
“Lara, just come outside and I’ll explain” he tried again but she didn’t respond
She heard the distinct sound of a sigh before the man spoke out “I know you, Lara. I know you’re 29 years old and you celebrated your last birthday by going to the bar in town with two of your girlfriends. You work for the local newspaper as a writer…and…and you became a panther shifter just under three months ago, on the same night your foster parents died. I know you Lara because I’ve been here all along. I’ve been following your movements since the Williams family adopted you 28 years ago.”
Lara gasped and dropped the gun in shock, she quickly bent down and picked it up again before putting the safety on and holding it to her chest. She couldn’t deny that she was curious, she wanted to hear his explanation, she needed to hear his explanation. She took the safety off the gun and slowly opened the front door and stepped out. She wasn’t thinking about the risk she was taking or how dangerous it was to be alone with a pack of panthers but right now, she figured she had nothing left to lose.
“Explain” she said bluntly, aiming the gun at the man who stood a few feet away from her down the steps of the porch.
The man slowly lowered his hands before letting out a breath, he ran his hand through his beard a few times before he put both hands in his pockets. He looked nervous. “Let me tell you a story about a man that only knew how to make mistakes in his life-”
“I don’t want to hear a story!” she yelled, cutting him off. She took a breath and tried again, composing herself, she spoke low this time “I want to know what you’re doing here”.
The man lifted his hands and motioned them like he was trying to calm a wild animal “Just…just hear me out. Please” he pleaded. Lara kept quiet and after a few moments of silence, he took that as a sign to continue. “So, this man, he got married young and had a daughter. She was the most beautiful girl. When she was born, she was so small that she could wrap her whole hand around one of his fingers.” The man looked down at his hand before looking up to Lara, then he took a seat on the bottom step of the porch with his back to her. Lara was still holding the gun up at him, but she didn’t feel right aiming it at his back, so she slowly dropped the gun to her side and moved to the chair that sat beside the front door.
“This man, he loved hunting and not even his family could keep him from his constant hunting trips, despite how much his wife asked him not to go. You see, his wife was struggling with the baby girl, she wasn’t mother material, but the man didn’t care about that. He figured she’d get over her insecurities and he could move on to his next hunting trip, except something happened on that next trip. He was bitten by a rogue panther and returned to his small family as a shifter.” The man glanced back at Lara for a split second, there was a sadness in his eyes. He turned back around to face the clearing before continuing “The man had no idea how to control his animal and would shift at any time before rampaging through the forest, a danger to anyone he came across. He would leave his family for weeks at a time, shifting into his animal, struggling for control. His wife couldn’t get her head around the idea of shifters, she was in denial about the whole thing and six months after welcoming his baby girl into the world, his wife took her own life.”
Lara gasped and lifted her hand to her mouth as the man continued “So, the man had an out of control rampant animal inside of him and was suddenly faced with bringing up a baby girl all by himself. So, he did the only thing he could think of, he gave her up for adoption. It broke his heart to do it, but it was the only thing that would ensure his baby girl’s safety.” Lara’s eyes widened as she realised where the man was going with the story “This baby girl grew up to be an amazing, independent, strong-minded, beautiful young woman”. He stood from the step and turned to face Lara. It was then that she noticed his light brown hair was a similar colour to her own, his eyes a light brown that almost looked green, just like hers, and he had the same pointed nose, the same round eyes as she did. He’s my dad. He’s my biological dad. Lara thought in shock. She was numb. She didn’t know what to think, or what to feel as suddenly, she had a million questions and none all at once.
“But…but you attacked me…you bit me” She choked out with a trembling voice
The man looked down to his feet before returning his gaze to her. “I still can’t control my animal sometimes, that’s why I have a pack, being their leader helps keep my panther in line but that night…I…I lost control. My pack and I live on the other side of the forest, we’ve been shifting in these woods for the last ten years. It was the only way I could still feel like I was a part of your life without you finding out about me. That night, some members of my pack witnessed the crash and told me about it, I came to see you and waited in the forest while the policeman was inside speaking with you. After he left, I saw you run into the woods and I watched as you fell apart. I needed to go to you, I wanted to comfort you like I should have been doing your whole life. I wanted to be there for you like a father should be, only my panther recognised you as its own and without willing it, the beast ripped out of me and attacked you.” Lara suddenly recalled the night she was attacked, the way the man had jerked and grunted before falling to his knees. He wasn’t in pain like she had first thought, he was fighting the shift.
“It was his own screwed up way of trying to keep you, to have a second chance with you and make you a shifter to join my pride, only you went rogue just like I did. I followed you for those two months when you were trapped as a panther. Your animal is just as strong as mine, you need to learn to compromise with your panther, Lara. I can help you. I can help teach you everything you need to know about being a shifter, I know its late but-” the man took a step towards Lara but stopped when she put her hand up
“Wait. Wait.” Lara took a deep breath, this was too much. Her head was spinning. “You bit me, you turned my whole life upside down”
“I know and I wish I could take it back, I wish I could show you how sorry-“ He started but was interrupted when Lara spoke over him.
“Did you have anything to do with the kidnapping?” A sudden burst of anger shot through Lara, if this man didn’t attack her, then she never would have been turned into a shifter and she never would have been taken to that shifter prison. But then again, I never would have met Archer Lara’s mind countered.
“Kidnapping? What kidnapping?” The man was genuinely confused, and it struck Lara that he had no idea that she had been kidnapped at all.
“If you had been following me then you would have known I was hit by a car and kidnapped, they took me to some sort of prison for shifters”
“Fuck!” The man ran his hands through his hair and began pacing “I lost track of you a few weeks ago when you ran out into a road. I didn’t want to risk you seeing me so I fell back but then couldn’t find you again. I searched everywhere but when you came back here yesterday, in your human form, I assumed you’d worked out a way to shift back and everything was alright”. He stopped and clenched his hands by his side “Fucking H.A.S” he growled out. It seemed the panthers that lined the clearing were still listening since they started hissing and grunting at the mention of that word.
“You know them?” Lara asked
The man turned and looked at Lara “I’ve heard of them. Most shifters know about them. It’s one of the reasons I started forming a pack in the beginning. I had heard that being a rogue was like having a target on your back for these people.” He took a step towards her before continuing “What did they do? They didn’t hurt you, did they? I’ll kill them!” The last three words sounded inhuman and tapered off to a growl as his eyes turned gold and his pupils’ cat-like for a split second and then returned to their natural colour.
“No,
no they didn’t hurt me, but they tried. We – there were a few of us – managed to escape” Lara said
The man let out a sigh and walked up the steps to the porch, he was now standing directly in front of her. He reached out his hands like he wanted to hug her but dropped them back to his sides quickly. A part of Lara wanted him to hug her, he was her biological father and even though he’d done some questionable things in this life, she wanted to get to know him, she wanted him to be a part of her life and make up for all those lost years. Suddenly, Lara’s eyes began welling with tears and she didn’t care about awkwardness or the risk of being so close to a shifter that wasn’t entirely in control. After all, she had an out of control beast inside of herself too. She quickly took a step forward before she lost her nerve and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him as tight as she could. It took a second for the man to react, he put his hands on her back and leaned his head on her shoulder. There was a power emanating from him. She supposed being a leader would mean he would have to be powerful and now her panther was no longer thinking of this man as a threat but more of an ally and she could feel her animal inside her mind, calmly sitting to attention at the Alpha in front of her.
“I’ve never stopped caring about you Lara, for all these years. I hope you know that you can trust me, like a daughter should trust her father” he said as he pulled back from the hug to face her, keeping his hands on her shoulders.
“How can I trust you? How can I trust that your animal won’t attack me again?” Lara didn’t want to ruin the moment they had just shared but she had to be sure.
“My panther sees you as one of his own, as part of his pride and he will stop at nothing to protect you. He will never hurt you again. I promise.” Truth. Some deep instinct inside Lara told her he was telling the truth.
I..I don’t even know your name” Lara said through a sniffly as she wiped away the tears running down her cheeks with the sleeve of her jumper.
“Lachlan, my name is Lachlan, but I hope one day you’ll be able to call me Dad” He said with a smile.
Chapter 29
Lara looked out at the lake before her, it was calm and motionless. She picked up a rock and threw it as far as she could from where she sat on the bed of grass, by the edge of the water. It splashed into the lake, breaking the stillness and creating a ripple that echoed from where it landed to the water’s edge. She took a deep breath and watched as the ripple subsided. She used to come here so often growing up. It was where she could sit alone with her thoughts, listen to the sounds of the forest and watch the water as it met the rocks that lined the lake. Now, she needed the peacefulness of this place more than ever before.
Lara was content with the quiet life that she was accustomed to before everything happened. Content, but…lonely. She had enjoyed spending time by herself, relaxing by the TV or with a good book, but she was starting to itch for something more. For adventure and excitement…for love.
Love she thought. It was obvious she was falling in love with Archer from the way she was drawn to him and the way she couldn’t stop thinking about him, but it was also something she’d never experienced before. She’d had a few short-term relationships, but none of them stuck and she certainly never fell in love with any of them. They didn’t seem to care about her enough to listen to her or share in her interests. There was no connection with them… not like with Archer. After only spending three days with him, he had left an impression on her that she knew would last a lifetime, but she had denied it as a way of protecting her heart from breaking if he ever left. She thought back to their last conversation when he said he’d never leave her if they were together…and he was telling the truth.
She wasn’t sure if it was the brief time she had spent processing everything, or the emotional healing that came from reuniting with her biological father, but she was starting to look at life differently. All of her life, she had been known as the ‘responsible one’, the one who took care of everyone else, the one who closed off her heart so she could focus on more important things, like working and saving up for a place of her own. Now, Lara was realising how much this mindset had held her back in life and she didn’t want to hold back anymore.
For once in her life, she wanted to throw herself into the unknown and forget about the consequences. She wanted to follow her heart and right now, her heart wanted Archer. It was then that Lara suddenly realised something. She wasn’t falling in love with Archer…no, she was already in love with him.
I’ve made a mistake.
It was late afternoon now; the sun was starting to set, and the orange and pink hues of the sky reflected in the lake. She knew what she had to do. She climbed back in to her car and entered ‘Riverstone Fight Club’ into her GPS. It was almost an hour away and she knew there was always a risk that Archer wasn’t even fighting tonight, but there was an instinct inside of her, a gut feeling that told her he was likely to be there.
Chapter 30
Archer pulled up to the parking lot at the fight club as Seb and Jen sat in the back of the car, discussing what drink they’d order first.
“I’ll take you guys in through the back entrance” Archer said as he turned off the car and stepped out. He waited for the others and they all headed inside the club. Once inside, he heard the sound of the M.C announcing the names of the next two fighters before it was drowned out by the cheering of the crowd. Archer felt his lion growl in anticipation of his fight.
“Okay, the bar is at the end of this hallway, take the second door on your right to get to ring side” Archer explained as he pointed down the hallway “I’ll meet you back here at the end of the night”
“Thanks Archer, Goodluck” Jen smiled at him
“Break a leg, Alpha” Seb said before he patted him on the back and followed Jen down the corridor.
Archer’s lion was ready, he was growling and roaring a battle cry inside his mind as he entered the locker room. He walked to the back wall to read the schedule of fights and the list of competitors. As he scanned the names for his own, he recognised most of the guys there, they were regulars and he had no problem fighting them, but when he found his name, he couldn’t recognise the fighter he was going up against. That’s strange, he must be new he thought. As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of what looked to be a man walking past the row of lockers next to Archer. Archer flared his nostrils and tried to smell what kind of a shifter he was, but since his lion was already riled up, he could no longer focus his attention to details. He had only seen the man for a split second, but he managed to see a long blond pony-tail and a sleeve of tattoos that covered the length of his arm to his wrist. Archer could have sworn he’d seen the same intricate details of the ink somewhere before. The sound of the whistle that signalled the end of another fight, distracted Archer from his thoughts and reminded him that he needed to get ready for his own fight. The schedule on the wall showed that Archer was up after the next fight, he walked to his locker and opened it before taking off his shirt and shoes and placed it there along with his wallet and car keys that he took from his jeans pocket. He locked it again before taking a seat in front of it to wait for his turn.
He wished Lara was here. Actually no, I wouldn’t want her to see me like this he thought. He wanted her to see the Archer that had his animal under control. The Archer that didn’t have the lust for blood or violence like he did right now, and all that aside, he still hadn’t told her about his father. He leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees, running his hand through his hair. It made him sick to think that Lara could have spent the last two weeks thinking she killed an innocent man but the truth was, he was too scared to tell her. He was scared that telling her the truth about his father would ruin his already minimal chance at having her in his life and that was a risk he couldn’t bring himself to take.
The sound of the whistle echoed in the now empty locker room, Archer was next. He stood up, threw a few mock punches in the air for practice, rolled back his shoulders and stretc
hed his neck before moving towards the door that led to the ring. His lion was roaring now, eager to start the fight and feed his blood lust, but his human mind was elsewhere.
“Please give a warm welcome to our next two competitors, Archer Benson and Zane Matthews!” The M.C announced. Archer followed the path towards the ring as the sound of cheering drowned out any further thoughts. He had become so familiar with this path over the course of the last year, he had taken the same steps almost every night to find something to satisfy his inner lion and keep himself busy while he waited for something better to come into his life. Two weeks ago, something better had come into his life, only to leave again. Now, he couldn’t find the desire to go back to his old life anymore, there was no longer motivation to stand in that ring and listen to the cheering crowd, the urge to fight was now his lions’ alone.
Archer shook his head to clear the thoughts, he couldn’t think like that before walking into the ring. He climbed up between the ropes and took in the cheering crowd for a moment. The usual drunk onlookers were there as well as new faces, cheering with drinks in their hands. It wasn’t until he brought his gaze back to the people sitting ringside that he saw Seb and Jen, second row from the front. Seb was standing, cupping his mouth and making a “whoop” sound while Jen was smiling and clapping from her seat.
Arche gave them a nod and a two-fingered wave before he turned to get his head in the game, his lion didn’t like to lose, and his thoughts of Lara had left him vulnerable. He took a breath and let his lion’s mind become one with his own. He could feel his animal’s dominance now, the anger pulsing through his veins as he felt the sudden urge to fight. Archer watched his opponent climb through the ropes and stand to his full height to face him. I know him. I’ve seen him before, Archer thought. His lion must have recognised the man instantly as a sudden instinct to kill this man entered his mind. It took Archer a moment to remember where he had seen the long blonde hair that was tied back into a pony tail, the tattoos that covered half of his torso and one full sleeve of his arm, and those eyes that were now glowing an inhuman gold colour. Archer’s eyes widened as he recalled where he had seen him before. This is the man that sabotaged the fight the night he was kidnapped and jabbed him with a concoction that put his animal to sleep.
The Lion's Purpose Page 17
