“I plan on dealing with it,” he said in his serious tone.
“No,” I said angrily. “I’m not going to keep giving in to your threats anymore. If I want to kiss a boy then I am going to. If I want to go on a date…”
“You are too young to date,” he said adamantly, interrupting me.
“I’m almost sixteen!” I protested. “Most girls have already been on dates, had sex and some are already pregnant.”
“You are not like most girls,” he responded.
I sighed and relaxed back into my seat. “No, I am not. I am the daughter of the most stubborn and overprotective Alpha werelion in the world.”
Dad stopped the SUV in front of mom’s house and asked, “Do you want help?”
I slammed the passenger door closed without a verbal response to him and walked up to the front door of my mother’s house. When I was younger I hadn’t minded him being so protective, but now it was annoying. I knew it was natural for him to be overly protective of his offspring, but I was not a child anymore and I did not need his protection. I unlocked the door with my key and grabbed my duffle bag from the floor just inside the door. I knew to always pack my bags a day or two early because dad liked to surprise me and pick me up earlier than he told me that he would. It was like he was trying to catch me off guard or wanted to catch me doing something bad, even though I was a good girl. Okay, mostly a good girl.
“Here, let me carry it,” said Brandon from behind me. I should have known he was there because I had felt the hairs on the nape of my neck stand up, but like my Dad, he moved silently. I jumped backwards and would have fallen if he had not caught my arm and steadied me. “Sorry,” he said softly. I stared into his eyes and found myself lost in their brilliant brown depths. He inhaled loudly and then released my arm, grabbing my bag and turning away. “Is this all you have?” he asked in a deeper voice without looking at me.
“Yes,” I whispered, realizing too late that I had stared into his eyes for far too long.
He walked to the truck and tossed my bag into the back seat beside my backpack. Dad watched me with a weird grin on his face that I could not identify. It was a look he had never given me before and it made me extremely nervous. I locked the front door of the house and climbed into the truck, silent for the first time in my life.
We stopped at my favorite diner on the way out of town and I ordered a cheeseburger, but only picked at the bun and nibbled on the edge of the burger.
“Victoria,” Dad said softly.
I looked up and met his worried gaze. “Yeah?”
“He didn’t mean to scare you.”
I looked at Brandon who was paying our bill at the front counter and then quickly back down at my burger. “I know.”
“Then stop giving us the silent treatment.”
I exhaled. He was right. I needed to get over it. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me,” Dad said softly as Brandon came back.
“The bill is paid. Are we ready?” Brandon asked. He looked down at my burger and asked, “You want me to get a box for that?”
“I’ll get it,” I said , stood up, and walked to our waitress. She handed me a box and I put my fries and uneaten burger inside. I wasn’t sure why, but there was something different about Brandon. I wasn’t frightened of him, but I just felt, different around him.
Brandon was frowning hard and walked silently back to the SUV. I touched his arm as he reached for his door, which startled him, surprisingly. He jerked away and then exhaled loudly. “You should not touch someone without warning.”
I smiled. “Like you shouldn’t sneak up on me without warning?”
He smiled and his shoulders relaxed slightly. “I’m sorry. I really did not intend to frighten you. I’m just not used to being around your kind.”
I flinched at the “your kind” remark. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it,” I said angrily as I climbed into the front seat, slamming the door closed behind me.
Dad was laughing softly in the driver’s seat and shook his head at Brandon. “You just don’t know when to stop digging that hole, do you?”
“What did I do this time?” he asked from the backseat.
I set my food down and folded my arms across my chest. “Stupid males,” I muttered under my breath.
Dad patted my shoulder. “He wasn’t trying to be rude, darlin’.”
“Well he sucks at not trying to be rude. Or not trying to scare me.”
“How was I rude?!” Brandon demanded.
I ignored him and turned on the radio to my favorite rock station. Dad turned it off and shook his head. “Not in my car.”
I groaned. “Stupid oversensitive hearing.” I grabbed my mp3 player out of my pocket and put my earbuds in. “Wake me up when we’re in Canaville.” I cranked up the volume and closed my eyes as I relaxed on my seat.
I could hear Dad and Brandon whispering to each other, but I ignored them and let the wailing of my favorite band lull me to sleep instead of thinking about what a brat I had been acting like.
CHAPTER TWO
“Victoria, wake up,” Dad said over the sound of my music.
I had just been having a dream which involved two shirtless hot guys and a pool. “Five more minutes,” I mumbled, hoping I could fall back asleep and start the dream where I had left off.
“No, we’re here now and you have a crowd,” he said as he put the SUV in park.
I opened my eyes and stretched my arms up over my head. “There’s always a crowd at your house and it has nothing to do with me.”
The sky was a bright blue and the trees and grasses looked exceptionally green, as though an artist had gone over the scenery with a hint of neon colors to ensure its brilliance would stand out. It looked like any other part of the forest to most people, but to me it was my other home, my childhood playground where I had hundreds of memories. I looked at the group standing in front of the truck and my arms dropped down by my side limply. A crowd was an understatement. The entire pride had shown up. All two hundred members of the pride stood on the side of Dad’s house looking at me and waiting for me to get out. I exhaled and shuddered in my seat as I looked at all of the werelions watching us. Even though I knew they would not hurt me, I could still feel the stares of the two hundred predators aimed at me and it made the hair on the nape of my neck stand up. No matter how often I was around them or how close I was to them, the initial greeting when I returned was stressful and had to be dealt with carefully.
Dad wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “You know the rules?”
I rolled my eyes at him since I had been taught the rules when I was three and he reminded me every single time I returned. I could repeat them in my sleep if he wanted me to, but I obliged him by repeating the rules. “Do not stare into anyone’s eyes. Let them sniff me, but if they do so in inappropriate places tell you. If I am feeling overwhelmed do not whine, but say, ‘back please’. Do not be afraid because the pride will not hurt me.”
He nodded his head. “You’re fine. They all came to see you because they love you and you are a member of the pride.”
“More like a pet,” I whispered.
Dad smacked the back of my head hard enough to sting, but soft enough that it wouldn’t leave a bruise. “I do not want to ever hear you say that again.”
I took a deep breath and climbed out of the truck, stepping down on the loose gravel that served as Dad’s driveway. I was immediately surrounded by warm bodies as they crowded close to greet me. My name was repeated over and over again as people greeted me with hugs and sniffing.
I kept my eyes on people’s chests as everyone took their turn and I waited for the procession to be over. For the first time though, I was not overwhelmed by their presences and their touches, instead I felt loved like Dad said.
A nose moved towards my neck and Brandon stepped up next to me, growling. I looked up at him in shock because I had no idea if he was growling at me or the person sniffing me and ended up m
aking eye contact with him. I dropped my eyes and swallowed nervously as he moved closer to me. I analyzed his stiff body and the way he moved towards me and realized that he was being protective of me.
Dad growled and said, “Back down Brandon. Sheila and Victoria have a special friendship.”
I looked up to meet my best female friend in the pride’s eyes. “Sheila.”
Sheila smiled at me as she met my eyes. “Vic.” I held our eye contact a moment longer and then as one we broke and I moved closer to her. I sniffed loudly and she lifted her throat in submission, allowing me to inhale from her neck. She moved towards me and I lifted my chin, allowing her the same rights.
Dad said it was extremely rare for a lioness to allow this type of balance with a non-lion, but he was thankful that I had found someone like Sheila. She and I had been friends since we were infants and he believed that was part of why we had the friendship we do.
Sheila wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her back. “I missed you,” she whispered into my ear.
“I missed you too, Sheila. You stopped returning my calls,” I said in a chastising tone as I stepped back to look at her. It was then that I saw her rounded belly. No wonder she had stopped calling me.
She hugged me again and whispered, “There is much I need to tell you, but let’s wait until later when we are alone.”
I nodded my head and stepped back from her so I could look around at the pride without meeting anyone’s eyes. “I am glad to be back.”
Dad put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me around to the back of the house, breaking the formalities of my return greeting and allowing everyone to return to normal. “You hungry now?” he asked.
I nodded my head. “Starving.”
He smiled and squeezed my shoulders. “Good. It’s not natural to see you not eating. It makes me worry that you’re sick.”
The pride followed us around to the back of the house and found seating on the rows of logs, which they had moved there when Dad bought this house to form a gathering area, or on the ground around the large campfire. I took a deep breath of the forest air and felt myself relax even more. I scanned the area, looking at everyone’s happy faces and found Brandon standing nearby me, looking very tense. “What’s wrong with him?” I asked Dad as softly as I could since werelions have excellent hearing.
Dad shook his head at Brandon. “He is just worried about your safety.”
I stared at my Dad in shock. “What? Why?” There was no reason for him to be worried about my safety.
He shook his head. “I’m not going to talk about it. If Brandon wants to tell you then he will. Just be nice to him, Victoria. He is a good guy and is still adjusting.”
Dad walked away from me to mingle with his pride so I walked to the tubs of ice with drinks in them and pulled out a beer. I popped the can open and took a long drink and then Brandon took it from me. “What are you doing?” he asked softly with a reproachful tone.
I tried to grab the can back, but he moved a step back, out of my reach. “I was enjoying a beer before you took it,” I said sarcastically.
He shook his head. “You are too young for beer.”
I groaned. “Dad won’t even know until he smells it on me and by then it would be too late. Plus I won’t be drunk off of one beer. I am not that much of a lightweight.” He didn’t move or offer me the beer back so I became angry and said, “Quit trying to boss me around and give me my beer back.”
“No.”
“Give her the beer back, Brandon,” said one of my favorite male’s voices from behind me.
I turned around and smiled at Mark, Dad’s second in command and the biggest flirt ever. “Mark!”
He pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek. “Hey Victoria. I’ve missed your sweet smell these past few months.”
He was handsome and I loved flirting with him. “I think you’ve missed having the opportunity to pick on me more than you missed my scent.”
Mark rested his arm on top of my shoulders and pretended to look innocent. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” He opened another can of beer from the tub and handed it to me. “Remember, don’t drink that too fast or we might have a replay of last winter.”
I blushed in embarrassment. “You gave me shots of sweet tasting hard liquor without telling me what it was. How was I supposed to know not to have so many when it tasted so good and had such a small bite?”
Mark smiled. “I was hoping to get you drunk. You dance very well when you are not inhibited by shyness.”
I ran my hand across his chest. “I’m not as shy as I used to be.” I took a long drink from the beer and turned away from Mark, knowing that that was as far as our flirting would go since he was much older than me.
“Hey, little sister,” said Sarah, the alpha lioness of the pride and the most beautiful woman ever. She looked like a freaking Barbie doll!
“Sarah!” I hugged her and tried not to get smothered in her cleavage. “How is my favorite Barbie?”
She bared her teeth at me in mock anger. “Watch it.”
I set my beer can down and put my fists up in front of my face. “You wanna go?”
Sarah put her fists up and smiled. “You think you can fare better than you did last time?”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “You tripped me.”
Brandon stepped towards us and said, “I don’t think you should be fighting her.”
Despite knowing I should act better with a new pride member and knowing I should not let my anger out, I turned and swung at him, missing his face by inches as he moved back. “Fine, I won’t fight her. I will fight you since you are so keen on keeping me from doing anything fun.”
He kept his hands down and his eyes on my face. “I am not going to fight you.”
I punched and kicked at him as members of the pride had taught me, but he simply dodged my attacks. I barred my teeth at him, an expression learned from too much time with them. “You think you are better than me, is that it?”
He shook his head. “I’m just a lot faster.” The entire pride laughed and he looked up at Dad who was standing nearby. “Why did you laugh at that?”
“Because I am only slightly slower,” I said as I spun around and kicked him in the side.
He grunted and the pride made a collective “oh” sound.
Brandon took a step towards me and I punched, connecting with his chin. The punch barely fazed him and he growled at me. “Do you really think you can beat me?”
I shook my head. “Nope, but I love trying.”
Dad grabbed Brandon’s shoulder. “Let’s give the boy a chance to get to know you first, Victoria. How about you and your Dad face off like old times?”
I shrugged out of my jacket and rolled my shoulders. I wasn’t a great fighter, but I really enjoyed fighting. During and after a fight I always had a natural high that no drug could beat. It was exhilarating. “You think you can handle me, old man?” I taunted.
“Burn!” yelled Sarah from the sidelines.
Dad smiled. “It’ll just make it that much worse when an old man like me beats you.”
I bounced on the balls of my feet and danced from side to side. “You ready?”
Dad’s smile widened and then he was in my face. I dodged left and blocked his uppercut. He danced away and the pride laughed and cheered. “You’ve been training at home?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Sarah asked, “What did you join a gym or something?”
I ran forward and back flipped over Dad, spinning my leg as I landed and connecting with his back. Dad stumbled forward and then spun around, backhanding my back and making me stumble forward. “I may have started an underground fighting club,” I said as I regained my balance and watched my dad for any sign of his next move. He had a bad habit of dropping his shoulder before attacking.
The entire pride stopped moving and stared at me. Dad dropped his hands to his side and asked, “Do you fight in this club?”
I sighed in frustration and walked to the tubs for a cold water bottle. “Yes.”
“Do you fight boys?” he asked from the same spot.
It was never a good thing when an entire pride of shapeshifters went still, watching and listening only to one thing. It was even worse when I was the center of their attention.
I had not realized my real mistake until his question. He did not care that I fought in an underground fighting club. He cared that boys were hitting me and possibly hurting me.
I could not lie to my father so I simply did not answer. I grabbed a water bottle and swallowed half of the bottle before trying to walk into the house. Dad moved in front of the door, blocking my path and stared into my eyes, giving me the alpha stare. It was a look that no one could meet, one that made most humans cower and made them cross their legs to avoid wetting themselves.
“Do boys fight you?” he asked again, over enunciating every word.
“We wear pads and I have never been seriously hurt,” I said as I backed away from him. Unfortunately, that put me closer to the pride.
“Seriously hurt? How badly have you been hurt before?” asked Mark from beside me. I groaned. Of course Mark would understand my near lie and what I was trying to hide from them.
I should have kept my mouth shut. I should not have told them about the club. I was the weakest part of the pride and they all sought to protect me. That meant that I now had two hundred agitated shapeshifters around me.
As if sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Brandon moved closer to me and assumed a protective stance. Mark growled softly. “Do not try to protect her from us, Brandon. She is ours and besides, we would never hurt her.”
“Victoria is a pride member,” everyone in the pride said at the same time.
Brandon relaxed his stance, but still stayed close to me. Dad walked forward and stared into my eyes, resuming the alpha stare. “Answer Mark’s question,” he commanded.
Daughter of Lions Page 2
