by Amanda Boone
She knew Sammi wanted to object more. As the second alpha of the pride, she was not used to being told what to do, except by her brother. But there was a truth to Cassie’s argument that she knew even Sammi couldn’t deny. As a lioness, she would be stronger. And Gowon would not have to suffer a life without his mate.
“Okay,” Sammi acquiesced. “For now, you rest. But by the end of the week, you will know the joy of feeling the earth beneath your paws.”
***
Chapter Six
Cassie
Cassie had expected some sort of ritual, but she had not anticipated just how elaborate that ritual would be. Standing on the porch of the house, she was dressed in a white linen halter gown that, complimented with a chunky gold necklace, felt downright tribal. The outfit, she loved. The dozens of females surrounding the porch, not so much. All members of the pride, the women gloated over her, as if they were fawns and not the lionesses they were meant to be.
“Did you have to call in the cavalry?” Cassie muttered. “I didn’t realize we needed witnesses.”
“It’s not the full cavalry. I told the men and children to stay at home. And they’re not witnesses,” Sammi corrected. “They’re positive energy. It’s been centuries since our pride has seen the fire under Leo. We need all the encouragement we can get,” she attested, glancing up.
Cassie followed her line of sight to the constellation of Leo. It wasn’t an obvious outline of a lion. In fact, Cassie thought it resembled a steam iron more, but there was beauty in its recognition.
“Is that smoke I smell?” she suddenly asked, her stomach twisting in a knot. “Wait – is there actual fire involved? I thought the fire part was just symbolic, representing the stars.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Sammi said and stepped forward, leading the pride of females away.
Though they were all here for her, Cassie trailed behind. She knew no matter what was required of her, she would do it. She wanted to be with Gowon. But she was frightened. As frantically as her mind searched, there was nothing scientific regarding what was about to happen. It was all up to a higher power.
Again, Cassie stopped and looked up at Leo. When her eyes dropped, Gowon stood before her.
He truly was a magnificent beast, with his pale fur and grey-green eyes. Before, her mind had separated his beast self from his human self. She was mesmerized by the lion but loved the man. Now, knowing what she was about to become, she loved the lion just as freely.
“It’ll be okay,” she promised, reading the uncertainty within him. “I know what I’m doing. It’s my choice.”
His uncertainty did not disappear, but he accepted her answer, leading her towards the fire. As they approached, Cassie could see just how big a bonfire it was. The flames extended far above the heads of the lionesses who circled it, each remaining in their human form. As Gowon entered the circle, with Cassie only a few steps behind, the lionesses parted, allowing their alpha and his mate to pass.
She took her place next to Sammi, a tolerable distance from the heat, but close enough that she could feel just how deadly the fire was.
Sammi began the ritual. “Cassie Judd, you have chosen to become a lioness, to join the sisterhood we have long established within this pride. We accept you with our love and understanding.”Momentarily flashing a giant set of carnivorous teeth, she partially transformed, biting into her own hand so that it bled. Then she went to the fire and let the blood drop within the flames. “Our blood is your blood.”
“Our blood is your blood,” the lionesses echoed, and they followed Sammi’s example.
“Now it’s your turn,” Sammi said hesitantly. “You must sacrifice your blood to the fire.”
“Okay,” Cassie acknowledged, searching around her for a sharp stick to cut her hand with.
“No,” Sammi said, resting a hand on her shoulder, her grip an indication of the strength within. “In order to transform, you must enter the flames.”
“Oh,” Cassie repeated, this time with far less confidence as she peered straight into the flames, feeling her face turn red with the heat. Now she understood why Sammi had been so cryptic about the ritual. If Cassie had known earlier that she had to walk into the fire, she would have been driven crazy with the fear and anticipation. “Will it hurt?”
“I don’t know,” Sammi admitted. “You can still change your mind, Cassie. We accept you as you are. You’re Gowon’s mate. You’re already part of this pride.”
“But I’m divided from my mate,” Cassie insisted, looking at Gowon. “We can’t speak. We can’t... touch. We are not one, not like this. This is the only way.”
Before she lost her confidence, with her heart full of her love for Gowon, Cassie jumped straight into the flames.
***
Gowon
It took all of Gowon’s self-will not to jump into the fire after Cassie. A pain he never knew before overtook him as he watched her sacrifice herself for him.
I shouldn’t have let her do this, he thought, distressed. I am the alpha. I say what goes. Being divided by our forms is better than being divided in death...
The air around him was eerily quiet, the crowd focused on the woman who had disappeared into the flames.
Unable to take much more of the wait, Gowon sprang to his feet and roared loudly, asserting his power over the pride. His self-will gave out. He was going in after her.
Cassie, I’m coming... he shouted mentally, roaring again.
Just as he was about to leap into the fire to save her, the flames shifted, snaking up to the sky and disappearing amongst the heavens. In their place, with soft embers falling around her in the night, was a lioness more beautiful than Gowon could have imagined. Her fur was not tawny but mahogany, like her hair in human form. She was a dark lion, a rare lion, rarer even than himself.
Cassie leapt out of the fire pit and landed beside him, the earth cowering to her power. Elated, Gowon nuzzled his head against hers, showering her in his love. She purred beneath him, returning his affections. Soon, her purr turned low and seductive.
Smiling, Gowon ran from the pride, leading his new lioness to a place all their own, where once again, they could be one.
***
Cassie
When she woke, it was morning. And she was human once more. That didn’t concern her. She knew it would take time to learn how to shift at will. What concerned her was that Gowon was no longer by her side. She woke alone.
Naked and worried, Cassie stood, surprised by how wobbly her human legs felt. After a night on all fours, sturdy and grounded, her two flimsy human legs seemed fragile.
It had been exhilarating – the change. It hadn’t hurt, not that she could remember. It had happened so quickly. One minute she was human, and the next... she was something as equally magnificent. It felt completely natural to be a lioness, as if it were what nature had intended all along – for her to experience both the call of the wild and the science of humanity. But human or lion, she was always a woman. Her strength as a woman held both sides of her together, as did her love for Gowon.
“I have to find him,” she asserted. She’d try the house first. Perhaps he had gone back to get her some clothes.
“The new alpha queen,” a woman sang near her, a song full of venom. “Has your king abandoned you so soon?”
Cassie watched in horror as a shadow moved towards her, transforming into a woman with jet black hair, flawless pale skin, and a ruby mouth twisted into an amused smile. Cassie could instantly see the resemblance to Kafele.
“Kalisha,” she hissed. “The alpha of the Shadow Pride.”
“I’m flattered you know so much about me,” she whipped, circling Cassie.
Cassie tried to transform, knowing she was stronger as a lioness. But she couldn’t. She wasn’t sure how.
“It’s adorable really, watching you try. I’ll show you how a real queen transforms soon enough. But first, I have a proposition. You may be a lioness, but Gowon is still afflicted. And base on rumor
s regarding my traitor cousin and his bleached-out mate, Gowon isn’t going to destroy the one who afflicted him anytime soon.”
“Tell me what you want,” Cassie demanded, trying to sound like she had some authority, even though she knew she didn’t. She was new and inexperienced at being a lioness. If Kalisha transformed, she could rip Cassie apart in seconds.
“I want peace, just like everyone else. But I want it under my reign. This is my land, Cassie. It belongs to my pride. I will reclaim it for my people.”
“Your people are corrupt,” Cassie fired back. “You care nothing for the other prides invited onto this land by your great-grandfather.”
“Thomas Dalkey was a fool”, Kalisha said with a smooth anger. “He cared more about his philanthropy than his own family. I want our land back.”
“And what am I to do about it?” Cassie asked, softening her tone, realizing an angry alpha was not someone she wanted to deal with so soon.
“You are the alpha queen now. A true lioness. While Gowon is stuck in human form, you have the authority to allow my people back onto the range. We’re coming, Cassie. One way or another. Avoid the war, while you can.”
“Go to hell,” Cassie retorted.
“Don’t be a fool”, Kalisha insisted, her patience thinning. Very briefly, she flashed a set of sharp, deadly claws. “Let my people back on.”
“You’re wasting your breath,” Gowon rumbled.
Back in human form, Gowon was dressed in a deep blue thermal shirt and jeans that set off his tan and short blonde hair. In his hands was a change of clothes for Cassie, as she’d suspected. “She doesn’t have the authority. I am no longer afflicted,” he revealed.
Momentarily forgetting the danger they were in, Cassie lit up. Was it true? Were they free? She wanted to believe it, but she knew it could be a ruse to scare off Kalisha. Gowon was clearly human, but it might only be temporary, like the last time.
“Impossible”, Kalisha said coolly, but she didn’t seem so sure.
“Cassie sacrificed herself to the flames for me. Kalisha, even a woman as vicious as yourself knows there are some powers that supersede a shaman.” Then to prove himself, he dropped Cassie’s clothes and transformed into a lion.
Kalisha did the same. As lions, Gowon was by far the strongest, but there was an agility and wit to Kalisha that Cassie knew couldn’t be underestimated. She did not seem to fear Gowon as a lion, but when he immediately changed back into a man, her surprise was undeniable.
Instead of attacking, Kalisha swiftly retreated back into her shadow form.
“Protect that little lioness of yours,” she cooed. “There’s a war coming.”
Then she disappeared. ***
“So here we are,” Gowon said, standing as naked and proud as she was.
“So here we are,” Cassie echoed, unable to take her eyes off his manhood, how it rose with power.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, stepping close to her, tucking a piece of her mahogany hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to be a part of this war. You’re free. You can do as you choose. Return to the zoo. Carry on with your research.”
“You’re right, I am free,” she said. “I’m free to choose my life, and I choose you. War and all. This isn’t the start. And it isn’t the end. My love for you, it goes beyond simple measurements like time. Or danger. It is a force in itself.”
“The force that set me free.” Again, he smoothed her hair back, pressing closer into her. “Let me show you how much you mean to me,” he whispered with an authority that caused her core to shudder with joy.
“Go right ahead,” she answered back before reaching forward and feeling how much his manhood wanted her. It grew within her hand, hard and urgent.
Loving the way he moaned at her touch, she dropped slowly to her knees and took his tip into her mouth, licking it lightly, moistening it the way her core moistened when she was near him.
He grabbed her hair and rocked gently, easing his tip around her mouth. It wasn’t all for his pleasure. She enjoyed it. It reminded her of what was to come, of what he’d be doing with that colossal manhood once she was finished – of what he’d be doing to her.
Sucking on him, tasting his saltiness, she brought him almost to the point of coming before he pulled out.
“Your mouth is as beautiful as your eyes,” he said, “but this is supposed to be about you.”
Regaining control, like a true alpha, he turned her around so that she was facing away from him, then he nudged her slightly forward so that she was on all fours.
Flashes of their previous night together as lions sent sensual chills across her body, which only heightened when he stuck his fingers inside her core, causing her to pant with pleasure.
“Gowon,” she moaned as he hit her sweet spot. “Oh my god. Don’t stop.”
His fingers continued to push inside her, forcing her to grow wet and hot, drenching his fingers, but she didn’t care. Waves of ecstasy were building inside her. Her body craved release.
She arched her back and rocked her body, trying to guide his fingers deeper inside her, but to her great satisfaction, he replaced his fingers with his manhood. It filled her up, rubbing every angle inside her, his thrusts impaling her with sheer pleasure. The heat within her grew, causing the world around her to go white. But she didn’t release. She held on, sinking her body further onto his manhood, her breath growing heavier and more desperate with every mind-blowing thrust. Finally, she could hold on no more. Her body lit up, much like it had the night before, transcending her to a new realm of bliss.
He joined her, pushing himself into her hard one last time. She clenched as she felt him spasm within her before they fell together on the soft earth, breathless both from their mating and their love for each other.
“I know no war when I’m with you,” she said, leaning her body into his. “I know only happiness.”
“As I to you,” he promised. “I will love you, Cassie, for all the days of my life, and beyond. I won’t let anything come between us. If your book on mythology is correct, and I am the child of a Sun God, then you are the light that feeds the sun. You are what gives my life warmth.” And with that, he took her in his arms again, never to let go.
THE END
A Second Chance for the Mercenary Shifter
A Soldier Shifter Romance
Taken and Mated by the Alpha Bear Soldier:
A Second Chance for the Mercenary Shifter
Chapter One
Cecelia
“Pick me up,” Michael pleaded, holding his little arms out wide. Cecelia couldn’t resist. He was too adorable with his trusting blue eyes and little blonde head. She lifted Michael up into her arms, bobbing the four-year-old as his sister and brother ran around her feet.
Cecelia Conrad didn’t usually cave to the adorable. With her raven-black hair and dark green eyes, she preferred the night over the day, mystery over mirth. But something about children lightened her spirit. It was why she had studied child development in college, and why she’d looked for work as an au pair upon graduating, eventually landing a job with the Johannsson family.
They were a beautiful bunch with their Scandinavian blonde hair and bright blue eyes – all except the father, who looked more Mediterranean than Scandinavian. The children took after their mother, Diana Johannsson, a hardworking woman with a genuine smile.
On a normal day, Cecelia took care of the children while Diana ran her own marketing company and their dad played big man at his law firm, but this wasn’t a normal day. They were on vacation, trading in the buzz of the city for the restfulness of the wilderness. As Cecelia held Michael on the porch of the log cabin where they were staying, if a two-story timber palace could be called a cabin, she looked out into an endless forest.
“You’re an angel,” Michael sang, twirling a piece of her nightshade hair around his finger.
Cecelia smiled and set him down. “Go play,” she encouraged. It was a good thing she did. As soon
as Michael’s feet touched the ground, he hiccupped and turned into a bear cub.
“Oops,” he said when he changed back into a boy, covering his mouth. “I hiccupped.”
Thank mercy the clothes of shifters return with the flesh, Cecelia thought as she watched Michael and his siblings run around. Otherwise, I’d spend all day redressing triplets.
Nearby, Diana sat in a cushioned lounge chair drinking a pink lemonade Cecelia suspected had a shot of something special added to it. Between sips, she chatted loudly on her phone. “I miss the city already,” she groaned. “There’s no cosmopolitan on the Great Frontier.” She paused. “Yes, mother, I know we can come home at any time, but this will be good for us. We have bear in our blood. We need wide open spaces.”
She laughed as if she’d just told a joke, but then her face fell. “Mother, not this again. There’s no danger out here. You’re being oversensitive, like the time you thought the triplets were drowning at sea and it turned out they were only watching Sponge Bob. You need seer spectacles.” She laughed again.
Cecelia tuned the conversation out. Fixing a button on her purple flannel shirt, she wondered what it was like to shift. She never had, and she never would. Most of the members of her family were shifters, but the gene wasn’t always passed down. Her older brother was a shifter. At will, he turned into a big brown grizzly, but his heart was gentle, at least when it came to those he felt he needed to protect. He was in the military, using his abilities for good.
“My mom’s at it again,” Diana called from her lounge chair, tucking her phone away. “Being a seer is only a gift if you can see straight.”
That was something else Cecelia had missed out on – special gifts. It was rare, but some shifters could do extraordinary things, like see what others could not or make the earth tremble with a stomp of their foot.
