Freeing A Lion: BBW Paranormal Lion Shape Shifter Romance (Sleeping Lions - Shifters Prime Book 2)

by Harmony Raines

  Yet he knew that high up here in the mountains, with only trees and small animals as witnesses, something could finish all three of them off and no one would ever know.

  “What if it’s me they’re after?” Lottie suddenly said.

  He had thought she had gone back to sleep. He hated the thought of her lying there worrying. “Those people were over the other side of the border. Surely that’s good enough for them. Now you’ve changed, you won’t be going back.”

  “Maybe they think I will.”

  He reached out and touched her hand, squeezing it to give her comfort. “We’ll be OK.”

  The sun was beginning to rise, but here deep in the forest it fell as dapples across the floor. He let his eyes adjust and scanned the forest, but he couldn’t see anything.

  “What do we do?” Lottie asked.

  “We do everything as normal. I’ll say I’m going for more wood and then I’ll have a scout-around. If I need to, I’ll go lion and try to track it.”

  “You think it’s still out there?” she asked.

  I know it is. But to Lottie he said, “I think so. But don’t worry. Make breakfast, and I’ll figure it out.”

  They got up, both of them trying not to wake Lea, and going about their chores as if nothing was wrong. And then he slipped into the trees.

  Skirting their camp. He widened out, trying to catch the trail of what had been watching them. There was nothing. He kept going, and then he saw it, a big footprint on the ground. He knelt down, placing his hand in it: massive, big claws that looked as if they could rip a man’s chest open. He stood up and went back towards the camp.

  “There’s a bear hunting us,” he said.

  “A bear?” she asked and her face paled. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Let’s eat and see if we can get out of the forest,” he said and went to Lea, waking her gently. If anything happened to her or Lottie, he didn’t know what he would do. Inside his lion stirred, telling him they would fight to the death for these two females, their pride.

  Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, he told his lion, and settled him down, knowing they couldn’t let anger and rage take over.

  “Why are we rushing?” Lea asked sleepily when he thrust some crackers into her hand and told her to eat them up.

  “We want to try to get to the pride lands today,” Daniel said. It was true—this was his plan now, to get to the safety of his pride as fast as he could. Even though he had told Lottie there was no way the bear was after her, it would make sense. Well, the most sense. Because why else would a bear risk taking on two fully grown lions? Unless he was crazy.

  Daniel shouldered the pack, checked they had everything, and then put the fire out. When they left the camp Lottie, who was holding Lea tightly by the hand, went first. They were walking downhill, setting a good pace, and as soon as they could, they would shift into their animals. But Daniel was worried that was what would bring on the attack.

  An animal fighting an animal was one thing, a bear attacking someone in their human form was another, and this left him with a decision.

  In front of him, he could see Lottie scanning the trees, a constant watch for danger. But when the danger appeared, it was not exactly what they imagined it would be.

  “I was hoping you might have made some breakfast, but I seem to have overslept,” a voice said.

  Daniel ran to Lottie and Lea and put himself in front of them, but when he turned around a full three-sixty degrees, there was no one there. “Come out,” he called.

  “I am out,” the voice said again, and then there was a thud as someone landed on the ground only ten feet away.

  Daniel felt his lion clash against the walls of his mind, but he held him in check. “Who are you? What do you want? We don’t have anything of value.”

  “Hey, calm down, it’s too early in the morning for a fight.” The man, all six foot four of big muscles, stretched and flexed his neck. “My bear insisted I sleep in the tree. I thought it might be impolite to wake you when we got here last night.”

  “You did wake us,” Daniel said, trying to gauge how this fight was going to go down. Bear or man?

  “Now, calm down. I was sent there by your brother. Word got round that there were three new lions in the Prime, and when you asked Lance and Daphne about the Talamo Pride Lands, it was my duty to see if you were good news … or bad.”

  “What do you mean bad? I have no interest in fighting. If he doesn’t want us to go to the pride land, we’ll just walk away.”

  “Walk away? You must be joking, I’m a finder, and I’ve found you, so whether you like it or not, we are all going to take a trip to the Talamo Pride Lands. Your mom is going to be blown away that she has two sons back with her.”

  “My mom.” Daniel felt a different kind of tension fill his body.

  “She has been worried about you since Nora took you over the border. Now, if you don’t mind, it would be much easier for us to all go down to my truck and drive to the Talamo Pride Lands. We’ll be there before nightfall.”

  “And we’re supposed to just trust you?” Daniel asked.

  Lottie stepped forward now. “He knows about Nora.”

  “So?” Daniel asked. He had been trapped once before; he didn’t want that to ever happen again. “We don’t need a ride.”

  “My feet do,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. “It’s all right, Daniel. We’ll be all right.”

  “What if we’re not?” he asked, his emotion raw.

  “A new life, a new start. Let it go.”

  He looked into her eyes. They were clear blue, like the sky on a summer’s day. “I have to protect you.”

  “Well, if this is a trap, when we find a place to live, we’ll have a nice bear rug to put on the floor.”

  The stranger laughed. “You have no idea how many times I’ve heard that.” He held out his hand. “I’m Frasier, by the way, and I will be your tour guide as we journey to the Talamo Pride Lands. Now if we can go. I still haven’t had any breakfast.”

  Chapter Twenty-One – Lottie

  “This truck is safe, isn’t it?” she asked. They were all crammed into a truck that on her side of the border wouldn’t have been allowed on the road. Her side of the border. Which side was that now? Shifters Prime. Her new home.

  “As long as it has four wheels and the engine runs, that’s safe enough for me,” Frasier said.

  They had been on the road for three long hours. And part of Lottie wished she had stuck with four paws rather than four wheels, even if they did hurt. She missed the fresh air, and the freedom, and part of her felt as if they were driving towards their doom. The small bubble of a world they had created around themselves since they arrived in the Prime was about to be burst.

  “Your mom asked me to find you,” Frasier said to Daniel. “I have contacts on the Otherside. They haven’t been able to trace you at all. Nora did a good job of hiding you away.”

  “Wasn’t that the point?” Daniel asked, sounding as miserable as she felt.

  “Certainly was.” They went down a hole in the road, and Frasier cursed under his breath. “Imagine how surprised I was when one of my brothers was passing through and Lance was telling him about the three lions, newly arrived. And newly born.” This was directed to Lottie. “How are you dealing with that?”

  “I’m doing OK,” she said, caught up in his friendly tone. If he was a bad guy, he was a good liar and a good actor. “So, Daniel’s brother. How did that come about?”

  “Well, he felt the urge to shift. While on the Otherside. Never done it his whole life, and then he met his mate, and they crossed the border. I guess it’s something in the water.” Frasier looked at a sign they were passing. “Another hour and we’ll be there. I would stop for something to eat, but I want us to make it before dark.”

  Lottie rummaged in the pack, which was on her lap, and gave Lea an apple and some more crackers. “That’s OK.”

  “Can’t I have a brownie?” she asked.r />
  “Sure,” Lottie said, rummaging some more.

  “So what is your story?” Frasier asked, accepting a brownie when he was offered one. “Oh, these are good.”

  “I made them,” Lea said proudly. She obviously liked Frasier, and Lottie figured the young girl was a good judge of character.

  “You’re going to be very popular if you can make brownies like these,” Frasier said, taking another bite. “So, care to share your story?”

  “Not really.” Daniel hadn’t warmed to Frasier at all. “I think I would rather speak to my brother first.”

  “Suit yourself.” Frasier finished his brownie, and Lea offered him another one. “I will not say no.”

  They sat in silence the rest of the way there, Lea eventually resting her head on Daniel and falling asleep. He put a protective hand over her, and Lottie wondered what he was thinking. But she couldn’t ask, not with Frasier there, so she stroked his cheek, kissed his lips lightly and mouthed, “It’ll be OK.”

  His look said he wasn’t so sure.

  The scenery before them opened out, great grassy plains, but in the distance a range of hills rose up, and she asked, “Is that where we’re heading for?”

  “Just the other side. There’s a pass we follow and then we drop down into an open valley, and follow the road until we get to the big house. It’s where Kane lives now with his mate, Amara. Your mom moved out to a little house in the grounds.”

  “You mean my brother kicked my mom out of her house?” Daniel asked.

  “Not exactly,” Frasier said. “Listen, Daniel, your mom and your brother have been through a lot. And I’m guessing you have too. So please give them the benefit of the doubt. Your mom wanted to move out because she has bad memories of the big house. You’ve been away for over twenty years and she endured a lot to keep Serif from hunting you down.”

  “Serif. Is that his name? The man who killed my father. Did my brother kill him for what he did to our father, for what he put me through, and Nora? You know, she died longing to come back here.”

  “No, I didn’t. I’m sorry. And no, Kane didn’t kill him. He spared him.”

  “Then he is weak.”

  “Hey, Daniel. What’s wrong, honey?” she asked, sensing his anger.

  Daniel shook his head. “I think this is a mistake.”

  “No. No it’s not,” Lottie said, “we talked about this.”

  “Stop the truck,” he said, his hand on the handle to the door.

  “We’re nearly there,” Frasier said calmly. “Another five miles.”

  “I want to get out,” Daniel said. “We’re not going.”

  “Frasier, can you stop for a one minute, please.”

  Frasier wanted to say no, he wanted to keep driving, but he read her expression and pulled over all the same. “Hurry up.”

  “Would you give us a minute alone,” Lottie said. “Only Lea’s asleep and I’d rather not wake her.”

  “You want me to get out?” Frasier asked incredulously. “Well, I’m taking the keys.”

  “Fine,” Lottie said. Tiredness was creeping up on her and she had a headache behind her eyes. She just wanted to get to a place she could rest.

  “I don’t want us to go there,” Daniel said. “I was wrong.”

  “I think you’re scared,” Lottie said.

  “What if they blame me for Nora’s death?” he said suddenly.

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “She was my mom’s best friend and she died. What if they blame that on me?” Daniel said.

  “You’re being unreasonable.” She put her arms around him, leaning over the sleeping Lea. “You looked after Lea, you brought her here. I know you’re scared, but we are going to do this.”

  “It would be easier to run.”

  “I know, but these vagabonds need to put down roots. Lea needs a home, friends, school. She loved Daphne and Lance, she likes Frasier. How many more people is she going to meet and like and then have to leave behind? You and Lea are traumatised. I know you don’t see it, but you are, so we go to your pride lands and we give it a try. OK?”

  “I’m scared I won’t be able to protect you, that we’ll let our guards down and something bad will happen,” he admitted.

  “We can’t run forever. Meet your mom, and your brother. And maybe you’ll feel thankful you have a family. Because I know that I would give anything to see my mom and dad again, and Lea would too. To see her mom.”

  “It’s just Frasier is so happy.” Daniel looked out of the window to where their guide was talking on a phone. “I feel bitter.”

  “I know what you mean. After my parents died I got consumed with bitterness. But it eats you up. Coming home has brought it out in the open. It’s natural, it’s probably even good for you.”

  He let out a long breath. “I’m so glad you’re here with us.”

  “Me too. Now let’s go?” She phrased it as a question, not wanting to push him. He nodded and she called Frasier, who got back in the truck.

  “We’re ready to go?” he asked.

  “Yes. Let’s go,” she said, and held Daniel’s hand, giving him her strength as they drove the last few miles.

  The hills rose up before them, and a nervous tension filled Lottie. This was it: they were about to meet his family, or what was left of his family. One more brother was still missing; that must be unbearable for Daniel’s mom.

  “It sure is beautiful around here!” Lottie said. The trees were pine, rising up on the sides of the hills like guardians. “Do you live here, Frasier?”

  “No, I live along the border. Or the frontier, as we call it. But I move around a lot. Kind of work for hire. And right now it’s Kane who is hiring me.” He turned a bend and began the steep climb up the hill, the trees making the road dark. Switching on the headlights, he suddenly slammed his foot down on the brake, making them all lurch forward.

  Lea woke up, her hands going around Daniel’s neck, and she held him tight. Her face showed plain fear, a stark contrast to the happy girl from earlier. “What’s happening?” Lea asked.

  “We’ve stopped. There’s something in the road,” Daniel said, his hands stroking her and comforting her.

  “Just a fallen-down branch,” Frasier said, getting out of the truck.

  “Do you need a hand?” Daniel asked, slipping Lea from his lap. “Stay with Lottie, it’ll only take a few minutes to move this out of the way.”

  “OK,” Lea said, leaning against Lottie, still sleepy from her nap.

  “Don’t worry, Lea, we’ll soon be there,” Lottie said, smoothing the girl’s hair. “You’ll get to meet Daniel’s family and I’m sure we’ll be able to sleep on proper beds.”

  “I don’t mind being outside and sleeping on the floor.” She placed her hand on Lottie’s. “As long as you and Daniel are there, I don’t care where I sleep.”

  Lottie kissed the top of her head. “I know how you feel, and you know we’ll always be there for you.”

  But right then, as Lottie and Lea watched, a pack of hyenas emerged from the forest. And as Lea screamed, Lottie wondered if they were ever going to survive this ambush, or was this where they were all going to die … or worse.

  Chapter Twenty-Two – Daniel

  Daniel lifted the end of the branch, with Frasier dragging the other, thicker end off the road. The bear’s expression worried him. “What’s up?”

  Frasier looked up at the trees overhead. “Wrong kind of tree.”

  “What do you mean, wrong kind of tree?” Daniel asked. In his mind his lion sat up, listening to something, leaving Daniel unnerved. “It’s a trap?”

  “Looks that way,” Frasier said, although the words were lost as he shifted into his bear, swiping his great paws at a hyena as it leaped into the air, aiming for Frasier’s throat.

  “What the hell!” Daniel exclaimed and then his lion took over, the beast tearing through Daniel’s skin, fur, claws, and paws emerging instantaneously, as the attack began.

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nbsp; He counted six, or maybe seven, it was hard to tell, they seemed to be everywhere, and he had to take his attention away from them for one moment to glance at the truck, where, to his horror, Lea was screaming and two more of the foul creatures were dragging their claws across the hood of Frasier’s truck.

  There was nothing he could do for them right now, as two more hyenas came for him. He had to hope the truck held, or that Lottie, his mate, would be able to defend Lea from their attackers.

  The smell of blood met his nostrils as he clawed the nearest hyena, the scent giving him a blood rage, or was it the fact that these dogs had come here to threaten those he cared about? Well, he wouldn’t let anyone hurt his family again. And they were his family—Lottie was more than a wife, and he was Lea’s guardian. And he would not fail her again.

  Roaring, the sound loud even to his ears, he pounced at the next hyena, his teeth sinking into his neck, and shaking him with all his might. All the pent-up rage he had inside him unleashed now in this moment where their fates would be decided.

  He glimpsed the bear pummelling one of their attackers with his giant paws, the creature hitting the ground. But then two more attacked, circling him, playing a deadly game, and he wondered if this would be the end of the big bear.

  Then his thoughts returned to his own predicament as a hyena leaped onto his back, teeth scratching his flesh, a searing pain in his shoulder telling him his attacker had cut him. Daniel ran forward two steps and then stopped fast, trying to dislodge the thing on his back. It dug its claws in deeper, and Daniel roared in rage. Twisting and turning and then eventually lying down on the ground, rolling over, his big body threatening to squash his attacker.

  The creature jumped off just in time, and then fell on Daniel, who was vulnerable on his back, but this lion was used to doing circus tricks and was lithe and supple, springing to his feet, and then slashing at the hyena with his front paws, while he sat firmly on his haunches. One swipe made contact with the dog’s muzzle and it fell to the ground, whining pitifully.