“There are other lions here?” he asked in shock.
“Sometimes lions pass through and come see me because they can smell me, but when they realize I am a hybrid, they just go on through.” I didn’t mean to sound bitter, but it hurt. It made it painfully clear that if my Dad wasn’t Alpha I wouldn’t be welcomed in the pride.
Brandon kept his mouth shut and we headed off into the separate locker rooms. Why was my life suddenly so hectic? Nothing like this had happened before. Sandy was brimming with excitement and I decided to allow her excitement to be contagious. Besides, I did not want Brandon to know how much the lions, and his dismissal of me, really hurt.
Devon and Brandon were waiting outside the locker rooms, leaning against the planter when Sandy and I came out. Brandon’s jaw had stubble on it and it made him look even more rugged than normal. I kept my eyes away from his and smiled at Devon who put his arms around both Sandy and my shoulders as we walked to the car. I thought I had heard Brandon growl, but when he came up to walk next to me he was smiling so I must have imagined it.
Sandy and I rode in her car while Devon and Brandon rode in Devon’s. “I’m thinking about painting my room black with purple streaks along the walls,” I told Sandy.
“Your mom would love it,” she said as she laughed.
That was the point. Mom hated it when I painted my room a new color. We stopped by the house and Brandon ran inside to change. When he came out I couldn’t stop staring at him. Skin tight tank top that showed his arms off and a pair of board shorts made him look ready for the beach and totally hot.
“Wow,” Sandy whispered. I nodded my head in agreement and then looked away before he caught me staring.
We ate at a burger place next to the theaters and as much as I tried to enjoy myself I felt scared. What if they came back with more wolves? Devon couldn’t handle them and Sandy could get seriously injured.
Brandon rested his hand on my knee, stopping it from bouncing. I turned and looked at him, but he was looking at Devon as he told us a story. I gently pushed his hand off, realizing he was comforting me with touch. His hand clenched into a fist and then he set it on top of the table.
“What are you guys doing after the game?” Sandy asked.
I smiled. “Drinking with you of course.”
Brandon frowned at me. “We are not old enough to drink.”
I recalled him taking my beer and shrugged. “You don’t have to go, but it’s customary for the football team and cheerleaders to have a giant party after the games. Since you are the quarterback it would be weird for you not to come, but it’s your choice.”
“You don’t have to drink.” Devon said. “Sometimes I don’t.”
Brandon chewed on a french fry. “I’ll think about it.”
The hair on the nape of my neck stood up and I slowly and nonchalantly scanned the room. Bob stood in the back staring at me. Our eyes met and he smiled and crooked his finger at me to go to him. He pointed at Brandon and my friends and made a slicing motion with his finger. I got the hint.
I turned back around and reigned in my fear. “I’ll be right back. Restroom break.”
Sandy started to get up, but I pointed at her food. “If you don’t eat it, it will get cold.”
Brandon looked at me and I smiled before heading to the back of the restaurant and the restrooms where Bob was waiting. I turned the corner and he pinned me to the wall. “Who is that male to you?”
I squirmed, trying to gauge his strength. “He’s just from the pride.”
“He trying to make you his?” he asked as he stared into my eyes.
I shook my head. “I’m not a lion. He wants a lion as a mate.”
Bob released my arms and rubbed his face against my cheek. “I’m sorry that idiot shot you. I punished him for you.”
I froze. What the hell was he doing? “You’re the leader, right?” He nodded his head. “So you ordered them to attack me?”
He shook his head. “Our Alpha did. I wouldn’t have let them really hurt you.”
“But you plan on killing me?”
He frowned. “I can fight the direct orders the Alpha gives sometimes, but if I do have to kill you, I will make it quick and painless for you.”
“Why?”
He smiled and picked up a strand of my hair, inhaling deeply. “Because you would make a pretty mate.”
“I’m not a lion. I’m a hybrid,” I said softly.
He stared at me in shock and took a step back. “What?”
I rubbed my eyes warily. “Why do you think Brandon doesn’t want me? I’m only a hybrid, not a lion or a wolf or any type of shifter.”
There it was, the disappointment in his eyes. Now would come the let down. “I’ll figure something out,” he whispered, “I want you. I have never wanted a female like I want you.”
I stepped back from him. “Your pack wants to kill me. You can’t have me if I am dead.”
He snarled. “I could break from them and we could make our own pack.”
“I’m not a wolf!” I said angrily.
He frowned. “I’ll do research. I’ll see you soon.” He rubbed his face against mine again, scent marking me and walked into the restaurant.
I sagged against the wall and slid down it to sit on the ground. That was one of the craziest conversations I had ever had, which was saying a lot since I spent six months a year with a group of people who turned into lions. What did he mean he was going to do research? Was he going to look for more hybrids? We were a scarce race and the only bits I knew about us was from personal experience.
“Victoria?” Brandon asked as he looked down at me. “You alright?”
I stood up and wiped at my eyes. “Yeah, fine.”
I tried to push past him, but the rush of air blew my scent into his face. He grabbed my arm and inhaled. “He was here?” I nodded my head. He turned my face and examined me for injuries. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head. “No, he just scared me.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing important,” I whispered as I pulled away from him.
“Victoria, tell me what he said.”
“It’s none of your business! What he said doesn’t affect your ability to protect me, which is the only reason you’re here, so it doesn’t matter.”
Brandon stepped back from me. “I thought you wanted to be friends?”
I sighed. “I do. I just…I don’t want to talk about what he said. It’s personal, okay?”
“He threaten you?”
I shook my head. “No.” I walked away from him and to Sandy and Devon smiling happily. “So, what did I miss?”
Brandon came back a few minutes later and sat down next to me. I could see the tension in his body and knew I had to fix it. I patted his knee softly and gave him my best imitation of his smirk. His frown lifted and he smiled at me, but I knew he would not let me drop it that easily.
Sandy and Devon drove us back to my house and I waved at them as they drove away. “That was fun,” Brandon said, “Well except for that one part.”
I ignored the comment and walked into the house and out to my woods. Brandon followed me and sat down beside me. “Do you mind if I change?” he asked.
Werelions could go two months without changing if needbe, but it made them incredibly cranky and the less they changed the more likely they were to bite your head off. “Be my guest,” I said as I closed my eyes and relaxed against the tree.
I heard Brandon’s clothes land in the dirt beside me and I had to fight to keep my eyes closed. I listened to the telltale signs of bones popping and rearranging and then Brandon sniffed my arm. I opened my eyes. He was a handsome lion and pretty large. I resisted the urge to rub his ears like a dog, even though I knew he would enjoy it, Mark loved it, but I wasn’t sure if it would upset him or not. He laid down with his head on my knee and huffed. I ran my fingers through his mane and it helped to calm all of the chaos in my head.
“I kno
w this is not your idea of a great time. I am sure you would much rather be back with the pride than having to protect me. All I can do is say I am sorry again.” I seemed to be saying that word more in the past month than I had the past year.
He purred and nudged my hand with his nose.
I smiled and started rubbing his head. “I have messed up a lot with you and you have done nothing but protect me. From now on I will be your friend and not push you away. I promise not to run away from you or try to ditch you. The Minters pack wants me bad enough that I know I cannot go off alone anymore or they will kill me. For the first time in my life I am scared, Brandon. I was never frightened by humans and the lions I was around were always pride lions so I didn’t have to be scared of them, but now. Now, I can’t even go out to dinner without a wolf finding me.”
Brandon growled loudly, his lips lifting in a large snarl as he showed me his scary face. I patted his head and smiled. “Yes, you’re a very tough and scary lion and will protect me as best as you can.”
He relaxed again and huffed as if to say “damn right”.
“I wish there were other hybrids I could talk to. Maybe my only option is to leave and search for hybrids. They would know things that could help me better understand myself.” I looked at Brandon’s intense eyes and then glanced away. “Maybe my only option is to be with a hybrid. If any exist.”
He stopped breathing and stilled, but I just continued petting him as I looked up at the cherry blossoms hanging over my head. “Or I may be alone the rest of my life. I’m used to it when I am here since Mom doesn’t pay attention to me, but every time I visit the pride and then come back I feel their absence like a weight on my chest. If I do have to be alone I think I will have to stop visiting the pride.”
Brandon sat up and nuzzled my cheek, flicking out his tongue. “That wouldn’t happen for a little while, so calm down,” I said as I pushed his nose away from my cheek. I stopped talking and just enjoyed his company under the cherry trees.
I hadn’t realized I had fallen asleep until Brandon set me down in my bed in the house. He kissed my cheek and whispered, “I won’t let them have you. I will find a way to stop them so that you won’t have to be scared anymore. Just remember to let me protect you. Sleep well and know I am right next door.”
I listened as he padded on quiet feet out of my room and then smiled. No matter what, I was going to enjoy being his friend. No one should waste a good friend and he was as loyal as any could dream of. I just had to remember to look, not touch, or even crave his touch.
“Victoria,” whispered someone. I turned and stared at Bob sitting in my windowsill. How the hell had he found me?! He smiled like a normal person would when they bumped into you on the street, not like one should when they were inside your house uninvited. “Hey,” He said.
“Brandon!” I yelled as Bob jumped from the sill to my door in one leap and locked it.
Brandon slammed against the door. “Victoria!” he yelled.
“Why did you yell for him?!” Bob asked angrily. “Now I am going to have to run instead of walk and I won’t get to stay very long like I had wanted to.”
I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe. He was crazy. He was psycho and he was in my room. What do I do?
He snarled. “You think he’s any better?”
Brandon slammed into the door again, making it crack. “Stay away from her or I will rip out your throat!” Brandon yelled.
Bob walked up to me and snarled. “I could rip out your throat right here and start our war. I came to you to see how to help you with your problem.” He shook his head. “It’s that pride, they have turned you against us.” He met my eyes. “I will keep looking for information on a way to help.” He picked up a strand of my hair and inhaled. “All I want to do is help you, Victoria. Let me help you and don’t turn me away.”
Brandon finally broke through the door and Bob leapt out of my window. I grabbed Brandon before he ran after him and he spun around, staring at me in surprise. “This could be a trap,” I whispered, “Don’t leave me alone.”
I didn’t realize I was shaking until Brandon wrapped his arms around me and hugged me against him. “It’s alright. He’s gone,” he whispered in a deep voice.
But the truth was that he wasn’t gone. He would keep coming back again and again. Brandon closed my window and set me down in my bed and then did something I never expected from him, he laid down with me, stroking my hair soothingly. “I won’t leave you. I will stay here until we need to wake up for school.”
Try as I might though, I could not fall asleep. Bob’s words circled in my brain. Was this a trick? Was he just trying to play friendly to make me fall and trust him and then he would kill me? Or was he seriously just trying to help me?
The next day at school was pleasant. The hens stopped following Brandon around and he made it a point to find me every passing period. We sat with Devon and Sandy at lunch and talked about the game that night. The entire school was buzzing with excitement about the game. Brandon reached over and touched my arm and then pulled back. He had been doing that a lot, touching me randomly for comfort. I suspected that being around so many humans, especially when the spotlight was on him, was beginning to get to him. I ignored the touches so that Sandy wouldn’t notice and try to comment on it and so Brandon wouldn’t think I minded because honestly it made me feel special to be the only one he found reassurance in.
Classes dragged by slowly. As I sat in fourth period with Brandon he kept making faces at me and trying to make me laugh. I pinched his leg and he laughed quietly, but behaved the rest of the class period. We walked towards the locker rooms and Devon and Sandy met up with us. “What bet did you get?” Sandy asked.
I frowned and wished she would not have brought it up. “I didn’t.”
She looked at Devon. “I thought you all had to?”
Devon looked at Brandon. “You didn’t make a bet yet? Come on man, it’s tradition.” The football team had a tradition of making a bet with their girlfriends to encourage themselves to win the game. It seemed to work since they had won more games since instituting the tradition than they had ever had before. I knew mentioning that we weren’t a couple would just be dismissed so I didn’t even bring it up.
“I was going to, I just had not decided what to do yet,” Brandon said as he frowned in thought.
“What was your bet?” I asked Sandy.
She smiled. “If they win we go skinny dipping.”
I rolled my eyes. “We always go skinny dipping after the party.”
“But if they lose we don’t have to get in that freezing water,” She pointed out. “We could actually choose to stay warm for once.”
I laughed.
Sandy and Devon stepped away to say goodbye and Brandon frowned down at me. “You go skinny dipping with them?”
I shrugged. “Nudity isn’t a big deal with the pride, you know that, and I only go with Sandy and Devon and Taylor. Don’t worry, no one touches me or anything inappropriate so you don’t have to worry about my protection.”
“I know the bet I want to make.”
Something about the intensity in his eyes made me shiver. “Okay.”
He moved closer to me so that only a breath separated us. “If we win, you tell me what Bob said to you at the restaurant.”
I stepped back from him. “Why?”
“Because it bothers you and that bothers me. I want to know what he said.”
I hated bets. I was never doing one again. I did not have anything else to offer him so I reluctantly agreed. “If you win I will tell you what he said,” I agreed, “But telling you is only going to upset me.”
He touched my arm and whispered, “I don’t want to upset you, but it’s really bothering me, especially after what he was saying to you last night.”
I nodded my head and walked into the locker room. If I were in his spot it would be bothering me too. I just really did not want to recap that conversation with him.
&nbs
p; The squad was pumped up with excitement and as soon as I was dressed in my cheerleading outfit, the excitement spread to me. We walked out to the stadium and set up the water buckets and cups that we would use during breaks to keep hydrated. The stands started filling up and we began our stretches.
An hour later two of the girls held the banner as the football team ran out onto the field. I watched Brandon and had to admit, he looked amazing in a football jersey and pads. We cheered and with Brandon’s amazing arm and deadly accurate throws, crushed the team forty-two to zero. Sandy ran to Devon as he walked off the field and wrapped her arms around his neck. “That was great!”
I turned as Brandon approached and picked up our discarded pom poms. “You were amazing, Brandon.”
“Thank you,” he said with a wicked smile. “I don’t think that team stood a chance though.”
I stood and smiled back at him. “We should get changed so we can head out to the party.”
Brandon looked behind me. “Some of the pride is here. Can we talk with them first?”
I looked at Sandy and Devon. “We’ll meet you at the party, okay?”
She nodded and Devon scooped her up in his arms, walking off with her. It didn’t seem like they wanted company anyways. I walked beside Brandon towards the stands where I finally noticed Mark, Sarah, Tony and Dad.
“Why are they here?” I asked.
He smiled. “To watch me play my first football game.”
I hadn’t even thought about that fact. I was a horrible friend. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think…”
He bumped my shoulder with his and smiled. “It’s okay. You have had a lot going on.”
I jogged up the bleachers and hugged my Dad. “Hey.”
He hugged me back and then Mark pulled me into a hug. Before I could say anything Sarah and then Tony pulled me into hugs too. They were obviously really worried about me to need to touch me without words like that.
Brandon was patted on the back by the guys and Sarah slung her arm around his shoulders. “You did great, cub. I thought you were a talented human for a minute before I recognized you.”
Brandon beamed with pride and I found myself jealous. None of them had ever come to my cheer competitions before. “I need to go change,” I said shortly.
Daughter of Lions Page 10
