by Jade White
Grace and Shannon made their way to Grace’s room and sat with the babe on the pillows scattered across the floor.
Shannon was the first to speak, saying. “Oh my god!”
“Was that real? Is this real?” Grace asked. “Oh my god, Aria told the truth.” She felt shocked, but not afraid. She was in disbelief, but Aria’s words all came flooding back to her. She held the baby tightly to her and looked down at him, realizing what this meant for him and his future.
It was then that Dylan came charging in to the room, once again in his human form. He looked stricken, as though he was sure that she was about to send him away from her life.
“I am so sorry,” were the first words from his mouth.
“I can't believe it. I thought she was crazy. My midwife, she told me but I thought that it couldn’t be true, just a folktale to keep children from defying their parents,” she said shaking her head.
“I should have told you. I wanted to tell you. I hate that you found out that way,” he said, kneeling in from of her and putting his hands on her shoulders. The look of worry on his face was enough to snap her from her state of shock.
“Why did they break down the wall?” she asked. “You were outside. Couldn't they tell you weren't here? Why would they want to come in?” Deep in her heart, she thought that she knew the answer, but it was too horrible to face.
“It isn't me that they came for,” he confirmed.
“The baby,” she whispered, looking down at the innocent baby in her arms.
“Yes,” he said plainly, looking at Luke as he spoke.
“Why?” Shannon gasped. She, too, was staring at the babe then, her eyes full of worry.
He stood then and began to pace back and forth before he began to explain, saying, “It's not usual for our cubs to be born to mortals. They want him for the pride.” His eyes were full of sympathy and apology, but all she could feel was anger at those who would try to take her baby from her.
“They want my baby,” she said, her temper rising.
“Yes,” he said again, looking as if he wanted to say more but could not find the words.
“They can't have him. You are not taking my son from me.” She was enraged now, thinking of anyone trying to take Luke from her. He was hers, born of her blood and Dylan’s. She was never going to give her son up, let alone abandon him to those who would take him by force.
“I won't let them take him from you. That I promise you,” he said, trying to calm her.
“Did you know about him before you came here?” Grace asked suddenly, as realization settled in.
“Yes,” he said without reservation. “I saw you were pregnant months ago. I've watched over you ever since. Since our night together, I haven't ever been far.” His expression was mournful, as though just the thought of being so close to her, yet unable to be with her had caused him physical pain.
“Why did you leave then?” she questioned, still trying to absorb the fact that he had known about the baby.
“Because after the connection that we shared I knew it was entirely possible that I could come to love you,” he admitted, staring in to her eyes.
“And that was such a bad thing?” she gasped.
“I knew it wouldn't be fair to you, dragging you in to my curse,” he said trying to explain the impossible to her.
“Why didn't you come back when you realized I was having a baby?” she pushed.
“I didn't want to lead them to you,” he said, his eyes filled with anger as he looked back towards the ruined nursery.
“Then why did you come here today?” she asked in confusion.
“Because they knew the moment they saw you in the preserve that you were pregnant with a cub. Since they knew, all my reasons to stay away were gone and I couldn't help it. I knew that being closer would make it easier to protect you and I wanted to know my son. I know this must be a lot to take in. I'm going to go check the perimeter and make sure that they have gone,” he said, kissing her on the head as he went to leave.
“OK,” she sighed.
She turned to Shannon and asked, “Did that really just happen?”
“I am still taking it all in,” Shannon stammered.
“Do so quickly, you have places to be,” a strange voice purred from the door. There stood a strikingly beautiful woman with long blond hair.
“Who are you?” Grace asked.
“Don't you recognize me?” the stranger teased, walking in to the room and circling the two women and the baby.
“You are one of them! The lionesses that came in to town, that tried to take Luke,” Grace said, her maternal instincts kicking in.
“You named him Luke?” the stranger said in disgust. “That's the first thing I will change.”
“I am not going to give you this baby,” she said angrily.
“And I won't let you take him,” Shannon added.
“You're comical humans. The entire village is surrounded by my kind. If you try to stop me, they will tear you apart.” Her expression was calm, but her eyes were fierce and Grace had no doubt that she spoke the truth.
“You're going to kill us anyway,” Shannon countered.
“You I need alive for the ritual,” the blond gestured towards Grace.
“What ritual?” Grace asked, oddly calm.
“Oh, you'll see. Get in the jeep outside,” she ordered.
“I am not letting you take her,” Shannon yelled.
“Oh, you certainly can't stop me. Besides, you should try to stay alive so that you can tell Dylan what I've done. It's the only way he will have a fighting chance to save her,” she pointed out with a vile look of glee on her face.
“Save her?” Shannon balked. “You said you needed her alive for the ritual.”
“Oh yes, it is very important that she be alive at the beginning and very important that she be dead at the end of it,” she purred.
“What are you going to do with Luke?” Grace asked quietly and Shannon knew that she was trying to formulate the best plan for the boy.
“When the ritual is completed, I will be his mother. He will have no recollection of either of you or this pathetic human life,” the lioness scoffed.
“And how will you do that?” Grace asked again, emboldened by the need to know that the squirming boy in her arms would be safe no matter what.
“By bathing in the blood of his mother,” she said with an evil smile that sent chills down Grace and Shannon’s spines.
“And you think she will just go willingly with you?” Shannon asked in horror.
“If she doesn't come, I'll kill both of you and the cub. I'd rather see one of my kind dead than raised in this way.” The words were plain but they rang true.
“Grace, you can't just go with them,” Shannon said as she realized that Grace was planning to sacrifice herself.
“I have to do what I can to keep Luke safe. Find Dylan and tell him,” she begged.
“Yes, do,” the lioness smirked. “I want him to see me spill her blood.”
“Shannon, find him and tell him. Whatever happens, know that you are the best friend I have ever had. I love you. You're my family.” She hugged her quickly and then went willingly behind the lioness.
“I love you too. You and the baby. We will come for you,” Shannon called after them.
She ran from the hut then, through the hole in the nursery wall. She hadn’t the foggiest idea of where to start, so she began to call his name.
“Dylan,” she yelled.
“Shannon, I presume. We weren't properly introduced,” he said as he emerged from the darkness.
“We don't have time for this. They have Grace and the baby,” she cried.
“Who? How?” he asked in disbelief.
“A woman, a lioness. She took them for a ritual. They took my jeep, I don't know where,” she said, looking stricken that she couldn’t do more.
“No, she wouldn't,” he said to himself in disbelief, seeming to know exactly who had taken his family.
“She did, whoever she is,” Shannon said plainly.
“Damn, damn, damn,” he said, full of rage.
“What do we do?” Shannon asked, looking ready to go to battle for her friend and the baby.
“We don't do anything. You go back to the cabin and do what you can to put things in order. It'll need to be cleaned up so that the baby can sleep there tonight after I bring them home. I'll need to run alone to get to the ritual site in time.”
“How can you be so sure you will bring them home?” she asked him, point blank.
“Because there is no other choice,” he said with conviction.
“Bring them back,” she demanded.
“I promise you that I will,” he said before transforming to his lion form once again and running deep into the nature preserve.
At the same time, the lioness was positioning Grace in the midst of a stone circle, surrounded by the rest of her kind.
“If I am to die for this, I would like to at least understand why,” Grace asked.
“Well, for me to fully take over your role in the baby's life, I'll take your life's blood and all those born of your blood will be mine,” she explained as though she were telling her how one makes bread.
“And what about Dylan?”
“He's mine; he's always been mine. When he sees me raising his child he will realize it and we will finally be mated,” she said with a sigh of relief.
“I don't understand,” Grace said honestly.
The female seemed in the mood to indulge her, so sure was she of her triumph. “For our kind, being mated isn't as simple as copulating or conceiving a baby. It's a mystical connection, a spiritual bond forged between two lovers that will endure for all time.”
“And you think Dylan is meant to be yours?” Grace asked with a pain in her heart at the thought of him being with another woman, especially her murderer.
“I know he is. His father was the leader of the pride, as he is now. He is our leader and his mate must be the best of our kind. That is I. He has been too busy running from the gifts of what we are that he hasn't seen it. He has spent the last few months so depressed, lingering as close as he
could to your village without being seen. Now I know why. He wanted to be with his son. When I'm finished with the ritual, he will realize that I am giving him everything that he desires and he will love me.”
“Never, Javi,” said a voice from behind her.
“Dylan,” she gasped.
“Let her and the boy go,” he commanded with an authority that Grace had never heard in his voice before.
“No,” the stubborn lioness replied.
“Javi, she is my mate. You cannot harm her,” he said with a gravity that caused the rest of the pride to step back.
“No, she cannot be,” Javi said in horror and disbelief.
“It is her and you will unhand her,” he roared.
“You can't be serious,” she scoffed.
“Look around you. The rest of the pride knows it to be true. Not even you are foolish enough to harm the mate of your king,” he bellowed.
“What sort of queen could she be? Human? You fool,” she seethed.
“Leave now and no harm will come to you. Stay and I will have no choice but to end this myself,” he commanded.
“You will come to regret this,” she threatened.
“Now! And if any of the rest of you take issue, leave now. Grace is my choice and Luke is our child, your future leader.” No other lion moved but Javi. She walked backward slowly, then turned and ran at full speed.
“Are they bowing to us,” Grace whispered to him.
“Yes, they are honoring their queen and her child,” he said with a look of pride on his face.
“I'm your mate?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“How can you know that?” she asked.
“I knew it the first time my lips touched yours,” he said, taking her hands in his.
“Then how could you stand to leave me?”
“I wanted to keep you away from all of this, which I clearly failed at,” he said with exasperation.
“You kept us safe,” she said, nodding towards the baby.
“And also,” he admitted, “I couldn't imagine how I would begin to explain it all to you. How could I have told you that I spend half of my days as a lion, let alone that I knew from the first moment that I kissed you that I knew I would spend the rest of my days in love with you.”
“I felt it too, in our first moments together,” she admitted. “It was like my soul was connected to yours from that first kiss.”
“Then I am even more apologetic for leaving, because if your heart suffered half as much from our separation as mine did, then I have caused you more pain than I ever intended,” he apologized.
“It's alright. I had a part of you with me, growing inside of me,” she said reassuringly. “I love you.”
“And I love you too, and will for all of my days,” he said tenderly.
“How can this work?” she asked.
“We will make our home together and I will teach the cub the ways of the lion,” he said with a dreamy expression on his face, as though he was already picturing the long and happy life in front of them.
“It sounds so wonderful. Shannon and I can focus our studies on animals native to the region. I can keep up my work without having to leave,” she said with confidence.
“It will be perfect. I swear on my life that I will make you and the child happy,” he promised.
“I know that you will,” Grace said, going up on her tip toes to kiss him vigorously to seal their covenant.
CHAPTER SIX
The jeep pulled up to the cabin in the dead of night. Grace had Luke held tightly against her as Dylan parked the car. They hadn’t said much on the drive. They rode in comfortable silence, knowing that their love would carry them through any obstacles that may come.
Grace looked up and gasped. The first thing that she noticed was the temporary patches on the holes that the lionesses had torn in their walls. Somehow, Shannon had gotten it all repaired overnight. A very sleepy looking Shannon jumped up from a chair propped against the wall and rushed towards them, looking so relieved as she made her way towards them.
“Grace, Luke, you're OK,” she gasped as she wrapped her arms around Grace before she even got out of the vehicle. “Thank you,” she said to Dylan.
“They are my family. You don't have to thank me for saving them from the danger I put them in,” he said, looking stricken with guilt. It was then that Grace realized just how anxious he was and she began to worry that there was something that he was not telling her.
“They are my family too and I can't thank you enough,” Shannon said as she opened the door for Grace to carry the sleeping baby out of the vehicle.
“I think we are all one big family now,” Grace said with a smile. “Let's get the baby inside. He's dead asleep.”
Shannon leaned down and kissed the baby on top of his head. “How can he sleep so peacefully after all he saw today?” she asked in amazement.
“He is a resilient kid and he has the heart of a lion,” Grace said as she carried the baby to the house, winking at Dylan as she spoke.
“Yes he does,” Dylan smiled playfully as her.
Grace slipped into their home to lay the sleeping baby in his crib. When she came back out, she found Shannon and Dylan sitting in comfortable silence. It warmed her heart to see two people who meant so much to her, safe and sound in front of her eyes, with the knowledge that her son slept soundly only a few yards away.
“How did you get the walls fixed so quickly?” Grace asked Shannon, unable to hide her amazement.
“You haven't considered that I fixed everything myself?” she asked with mock offense in her voice.
“We have lived together our entire adult lives. You don't even like to change light bulbs. I doubt you patched a wall,” she said pointedly.
“
I did manage to get it done though, which is the real accomplishment,” Shannon laughed as she raised her hands and gestured to the building behind them.
