by Kyle, Celia
Christos hummed a little, thinking.
“Christos.” Elias’ voice sank to a whisper.
“Yeah?”
“She’s pregnant.”
The previous moments of silence looked like awkward pauses compared to this. The quiet that spread between them seemed full of menace, about to bring their worst fears to life if they broke it.
“Christos?”
“Is it yours?”
“What the fuck! Of course it’s mine.”
“Okay, okay.” His brother’s voice dropped to a soothing murmur.
“You don’t think I would have said that right away? I would know immediately if my mate carried another’s cub.”
“What are you going to do?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. I took her to dinner, showed her some photos of us together. She believes we had a relationship, but she doesn’t remember me.”
“How much does she remember?”
“Nothing. She told me it’s pretty classic amnesia. They remember basic things but not their personality or people from before.”
“Does she know who they baby’s father is?”
“No.” Elias’ voice was tight with pain. It was like being lanced through the chest. She didn’t know him and didn’t know he was the father to the lion cub she carried.
“You didn’t tell her?”
“How can I? I would scare her with the truth.”
“Hmmm...” Christos chewed his lip noisily, thinking. “You realize what you have to do.”
“What?” Elias hadn’t been expecting advice so soon.
“Woo her. You’ll have to court her all over again and just make her fall in love with you once more.”
“But the first time…” Elias closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “All we had to do was look at each other. She fell into my arms. Our bodies told us there was no doubt we were meant to be together.”
“She still responds to you. Doesn’t she?”
Elias thought about the hot scent that gathered around her when he was near her. Her body definitely knew him. “Yes.”
“Then get to it, man. She’s yours. You just have to remind her.”
“Why do you have to make so much sense?” Elias laughed.
“It’s a curse,” Christos muttered with false solemnity. “Anything else new?”
“How is the pride?”
“Not bad…”
“Not good?”
“Not great. A few squabbles. Nothing serious.”
“Squabbles can turn serious.”
“I know, and I’m on it. Don’t worry about us. You need to worry about your mate. Get her back! I can keep the pride under control for you. No problem.”
“All right,” Elias replied wryly. “You better not be lying.”
“Who, me?”
“Yeah. You. Now get back to it.”
“Sure thing.” Elias hung up the phone, smiling. Christos was good at leadership and he trusted that all would be well. All he had to do was focus on Avery.
As if he could do anything else than think of his mate.
Even now, he could still smell her all round him. It was as if she was everywhere he went. Tucked under his arm and pressed hard against his side.
He remembered that first night they spent together. He had been starting to dance on the sand, hearing the music swirling around him. His focus had been on the beat and rhythm… Until a scent as sharp as sage and alluring as jasmine caught his notice and dragged his gaze down the beach.
She had been wearing a red sarong around her hips, a black bikini top holding in her breasts. With her shoes clutched lightly in one hand and her hair blowing loose in the wind, she was a vision. Something too perfect to be real, she began to dance as she drew closer to the music.
His lion’s eyes picked her out from some distance away. He hurried to the nearby gardens of the hotel and picked a hibiscus. It was deep red, intense with the beauty of full bloom.
As she entered the circle of light from the fire, he moved toward her, waiting for her to notice him. Her body rocked from side to side with the power of the primal music and his lion roared to the surface, hovering in his eyes and purring as he stretched out his hand to her.
When she saw him, her dark eyes lit. Glancing from the firelight, she noticed the red flower and leaned forward eagerly for him to tuck it behind her ear. Her grin was full of fierce excitement, as if meeting a gorgeous stranger on the beach was the kind of adventure she lived to experience.
His fingertips had lingered on her cheek, sweeping across her silken hair as he slid the flower into the wild dark locks. She brought up a hand that he clasped gently in his own, tugging her toward him.
When he asked her to dance, the words were felt more than said. She was interested in him; he could tell by the tilt of her head and the way she bit her lip. Once they started to move, however, an intensity grew between them that took her by surprise.
They could not break the gaze that dawned between them. As they shimmied to the music, ancient bonds were awakened in their hearts. Within a few beats, she had gone from sultry expectation to a sense of wonder, discovery and awe.
They did not speak while they danced. They didn’t have to. Their bodies wrote out a saga while their minds tried to follow the base urges that were being awakened.
Elias knew what was happening. He had been searching for his mate almost as long as he could remember. What surprised him was that her body seemed to know as well. Her mind simply followed. She gazed at him as if she had been searching for him as long as he had been looking for her.
They didn’t get tired. Hearts pounded and breath came fast but both of them could have danced all night. The musicians bid them goodnight with a wave and a bow, smiling at the passion they had seen joined by their music.
Elias had moved toward the hotel without thinking, drawing her with him. His inner lion intended only one destination—his bed. But when they entered the bar that led to the beach, a lone man sat playing the piano. His fingers on the keys struck music to charm the soul.
He played for himself, communing with the instrument in the solitude of the bar. It had to be early morning, near 3 a.m.
Avery had twirled once, moving to the floor as if hypnotized. Like a man possessed, he followed her, drawing her into his arms to begin the dance once again.
This one was closer, slower. He pulled her body against his and saw her eyes were wide with something like fear. They could not stop the synchronicity building between them. As the dance became full of slow-burning fire, he had pulled back.
Reeling in his lion at that point was one of the hardest things he had ever done, but he knew she needed time to know him. He couldn’t wrestle her to the floor here and take her. He had to seduce her, so she came to him of her own free will.
They had whispered their names while they danced on the beach, but that was all they knew of each other. He withdrew, moved to the bar to find drinks and snacks, and then invited her to sit. He urged her to talk, drawing her out so she would tell him everything about herself.
He could have listened to that honeysuckle-sweet voice all night. A pity there was not a whole night left by then. But many came after. Just moment after moment of stunning sensation and pure joy.
Elias realized he was not apprehensive or even worried about winning her back. Now that he had looked over these memories, the idea of seducing Avery all over again was a welcome one. He actually smiled as he walked along the street, full of expectation at the idea of living that night over again.
He would find a Greek band… Maybe a beach? Would she fly somewhere with him, or would that be too much? Inside, he surged with fierce male glory. She was his and she knew it. All he had to do was convince her to see it once more. Then they would be as they were—even stronger for having won again and enriched by the child they had made between them.
Thinking of the beauty of those first nights only led to anger as he remembered her being torn
from him. Realizing she was gone, finding the note… His terrible fear that his position as leader of the pride had endangered his mate.
He had slaughtered the main ones responsible for her kidnapping but not all the felines that had planned the coup.
His fists clenched and the lion growled deep in his chest. He would tear them apart. No one would separate him and his mate ever again.
Chapter Eight
The night seemed to hold so much promise. It was almost as good as that morning walking to work, right before she met Elias, yet even better. This was a promise she understood much more intimately—a promise of love she had never had the courage to hope for.
She might not remember him, but the pictures certainly stirred something in her. She was enchanted by this woman with the bold, wide smile and dangerous eyes. That woman looked fierce. She didn’t live life. She took hold of it and throttled it until she could shake out all its secrets.
Every time she had ever looked in the mirror, all she ever saw was her own wide-eyed innocence. Everything was a discovery. Even though she maintained basic memories of how the world worked, she occasionally found she had to learn something all over again.
Simple things like using a combination lock or changing a lightbulb, for instance, had to be relearned. This only enhanced her feeling that she was something like a newborn fawn, struggling on legs too long and fine for her to find any purchase in the big, scary world.
In a way, she felt closer to Elias in the photos than she did to herself. No matter how hard she tried to focus on the current moment, that woman with her big smile and penetrating glare kept coming back behind her eyes.
The baby kicked her, quite hard. She touched her belly, slowing her step.
“Oh, what do you know?” she muttered. “You didn’t even know me before.” In response, the baby did a happy little wriggle, making her shiver in pleasure.
This night was so much more than every day before it had been because of Elias. She had been frightened of him at first, mostly by her reaction to him more than the man himself. He radiated comfort, safety and protection. She could tell by the way he looked at her that he would never allow harm to come to her. His love was so honest she felt bad for not remembering him.
She pushed thoughts like that away. Her doctors had told her to take things slowly, not to force herself to remember things. This it would only make them flee from her even more. She had to let them come naturally.
She stopped for a moment, closing her eyes. That wide, red-lipped smile came back to her, the dark, glowing eyes of a woman to whom all of life was a grand adventure. Maybe, since this was what kept coming back to her, she should focus on it. Her old self.
As the wind stirred her hair and the darkness of the evening spread around her, she let herself smile. It wasn’t the forced, reactive gesture she had learned after she awoke. That was something like a fear response. It put others at ease and shielded her from scrutiny.
As she felt the night and let the edge of danger in, it stroked her bones. The smile that stretched across her face was a different thing altogether. It was feisty. It was bold. It was a declaration of challenge. Not just to the world itself, but to anyone in it who dared her.
Laughter echoed near her ear—the cool expression of careless mirth. It was so close it felt like the breath of it touched her ear. It was herself and she was begging to be remembered, to be set free.
There was a cool rush in her nerves. Something was about to happen. She felt afraid suddenly and opened her eyes, fearing she had chased away that other woman.
But her instincts had been trying to warn her about something else.
A dark figure slipped free of the shadows and grabbed her. It happened so fast she couldn’t even scream. As she was dragged into a nearby alley, she wrestled with the attacker, trying desperately to keep ahold of her purse. All she had to do was get it open and reach her taser.
She tried to tug her arm away, just enough to get her purse open. But the other person was strong—very strong—and all her struggles did was pull her off balance.
She thrashed again but her pregnant bulk did not take kindly to being grabbed and jerked around. She almost fell and suddenly she was more afraid of falling on her belly than anything else in the world. She tried to cry out, but she was too afraid, and her voice rasped in her throat.
The alley suddenly echoed with a horrible, deep growl. Her attacker stopped, looking around. Avery felt tears squeezing from her eyes as shock built upon shock. She couldn’t take much more of this.
Both of them looked toward the street in the direction of the growl. Avery saw two golden points of light glowing and slowly getting closer.
A shaft of light illuminated the eyes and the man who was advancing slowly toward them. The steps were measured and calculating, every single movement expressed with power and control.
“Elias!” she screamed, finding her voice finally. What was he doing here? The restaurant was blocks away. Had he been nearby?
Was he following me?
Thank God!
The person in black beside her growled, and it too echoed off the buildings. Avery’s fear increased. Who were they? How could they make sounds like that?
She felt her arm yanked as her attacker jerked her toward them. She screamed, certain this time she would fall on her belly and she couldn’t stop the tumble. She tried desperately to wrap herself around her bulk and cushion her baby from the collision.
The roar that shattered the air shocked them both to a standstill. Her attacker let go of her and she fell to her knees, eyes coming up fast in Elias’ direction.
She tried to scream but it wouldn’t come.
Where Elias had been standing was a massive golden lion. His mane was red and gold, tinged with strands of pale white. His chest was massive, his paws bigger than dinner plates. His tail twitched high above his back and he roared again, loudly enough to make Avery’s bones tremble.
He stalked toward them, one paw after the other. The shining coat moved like silk over the bulked muscle as he moved with barely controlled aggression toward his prey. The lips pulled back, revealing a mouth of incredibly sharp, white teeth.
He roared again and the figure in black turned and ran. Instantly the lion leapt, clearing the distance in one jump. He bounded past Avery and flew down the alley, wasting no time on noise while he hunted down his enemy.
Avery looked at the ground, gasping for breath. When she looked up again the figure in black was quickly scaling a chain link fence and flipping over it. The lion roared after them, obviously big enough and fast enough to go after them, but stopping instead.
Turning back toward her, he shook his head and twitched his tail in frustration.
Why didn’t he go after them?
He was coming back for her.
She looked at the ground again, gasping so hard she couldn’t even cry.
“What the fuck. What the freaky fucking fuck!” She had never sworn much, not since her coma, anyway. For all she knew sailors had run from her potty mouth before the accident.
She looked up, fascinated in spite of herself. The fear even seemed to be draining away. She wasn’t hurt, just crumpled on the road. Her baby was kicking strongly, disturbed by the stress but obviously feeling well.
The lion stood over her, his massive mane making him seem even larger. It fluttered in the wind as his face softened, lowering his head to sniff her hair.
The warm breath felt comforting to her. Almost-memories rushed across her skin as she started to cry uncontrollably.
She wasn’t afraid. She couldn’t believe her eyes but… The contentment he felt standing over her, breathing her scent… She could feel it too.
She had missed it.
She turned her tear-streaked face up again and the lion ran like molten gold. The fur disappeared under tanned skin, the mane reduced to a messy tangle of blond hair.
“Are you alright?” Elias knelt before her, touching her hair gently. She trie
d to talk but the words got caught in her throat. She whimpered, beyond speech. She kept looking at the ground and then back into his eyes, as if she could force the situation to make sense if she just looked at it from the right angle.
She started to shudder, little moans rising from her throat. She didn’t recognize the whimpering as a sound she was making. All of reality was pulling away, leaving her in a numb bubble of shock.
Avery curled her hands around her belly. She could hear Elias’ voice. She could feel him touching her hair. But she couldn’t respond. Her mind was retreating to a deep, safe place where it could hide from this terrifying knowledge that had been forced upon her.
Elias was a lion.
Elias was a lion!
Chapter Nine
“Avery? Avery! Avery!” Elias couldn’t stop yelling, even if he had tried. He knew he wasn’t helping the situation, but that knowledge did nothing to assist him in finding calm.
His lion roared under the surface of his skin. It was insulted in every way—fiercely angry, a vicious beast after being denied its prey. The man and animal fought each other as both were torn between helping Avery and chasing the scent of the one who attacked her.
The scent was distorted, slightly odd and tinged with… something. He wasn’t even sure he could trace it now, which simply made his lion roar with even greater fury. To be completely denied a chase and victory was a terrible insult.
But his mate was hurt. She needed him.
As he kept touching her all over, he sniffed hard, looking for the coppery tang of blood. He kept murmuring her name, like a prayer or a chant. He wasn’t even fully aware, but it was as if part of him was trying to call her back.
He leaned over and looked into her eyes. The pupils were tiny and fixed, her lips drawn tightly over her teeth and her cheeks sucked in. She couldn’t hear him. She couldn’t even see him.
He placed a large hand on her belly, feeling the strong young one squirming inside. The child kicked hard against the pressure of his hand and he smiled, feeling the warmth of familiarity as blood called to blood.
