The Lion's Love Child (8 page)

“I know he is.  His father was the leader of the pride, as he is now.  He is our leader and his mate must be the best of our kind.  That is I.  He has been too busy running from the gifts of what we are that he hasn't seen it.  He has spent the last few months so depressed, lingering as close as he

could to your village without being seen.  Now I know why.  He wanted to be with his son.  When I'm finished with the ritual, he will realize that I am giving him everything that he desires and he will love me.”

“Never, Javi,” said a voice from behind her.

“Dylan,” she gasped.

“Let her and the boy go,” he commanded with an authority that Grace had never heard in his voice before.

“No,” the stubborn lioness replied.

“Javi, she is my mate. You cannot harm her,” he said with a gravity that caused the rest of the pride to step back.

“No, she cannot be,” Javi said in horror and disbelief.

“It is her and you will unhand her,” he roared.

“You can't be serious,” she scoffed.

“Look around you. The rest of the pride knows it to be true. Not even you are foolish enough to harm the mate of your king,” he bellowed.

“What sort of queen could she be?  Human? You fool,” she seethed.

“Leave now and no harm will come to you.  Stay and I will have no choice but to end this myself,” he commanded.

“You will come to regret this,” she threatened.

“Now! And if any of the rest of you take issue, leave now. Grace is my choice and Luke is our child, your future leader.”  No other lion moved but Javi.  She walked backward slowly, then turned and ran at full speed. 

“Are they bowing to us,” Grace whispered to him.

“Yes, they are honoring their queen and her child,” he said with a look of pride on his face.

“I'm your mate?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

“How can you know that?” she asked.

“I knew it the first time my lips touched yours,” he said, taking her hands in his.

“Then how could you stand to leave me?”

“I wanted to keep you away from all of this, which I clearly failed at,” he said with exasperation.

“You kept us safe,” she said, nodding towards the baby.

“And also,” he admitted, “I couldn't imagine how I would begin to explain it all to you.  How could I have told you that I spend half of my days as a lion, let alone that I knew from the first moment that I kissed you that I knew I would spend the rest of my days in love with you.”

“I felt it too, in our first moments together,” she admitted.  “It was like my soul was connected to yours from that first kiss.”

“Then I am even more apologetic for leaving, because if your heart suffered half as much from our separation as mine did,  then I have caused you more pain than I ever intended,” he apologized.

“It's alright. I had a part of you with me, growing inside of me,” she said reassuringly.  “I love you.”

“And I love you too, and will for all of my days,” he said tenderly.

“How can this work?” she asked.

“We will make our home together and I will teach the cub the ways of the lion,” he said with a dreamy expression on his face, as though he was already picturing the long and happy life in front of them.

“It sounds so wonderful.  Shannon and I can focus our studies on animals native to the region. I can keep up my work without having to leave,” she said with confidence.

“It will be perfect.  I swear on my life that I will make you and the child happy,” he promised.

“I know that you will,” Grace said, going up on her tip toes to kiss him vigorously to seal their covenant.

CHAPTER SIX

The jeep pulled up to the cabin in the dead of night.  Grace had Luke held tightly against her as Dylan parked the car.  They hadn’t said much on the drive.  They rode in comfortable silence, knowing that their love would carry them through any obstacles that may come. 

Grace looked up and gasped.  The first thing that she noticed was the temporary patches on the holes that the lionesses had torn in their walls.  Somehow, Shannon had gotten it all repaired overnight.  A very sleepy looking Shannon jumped up from a chair propped against the wall and rushed towards them, looking so relieved as she made her way towards them.

“Grace, Luke, you're OK,” she gasped as she wrapped her arms around Grace before she even got out of the vehicle.  “Thank you,” she said to Dylan.

“They are my family. You don't have to thank me for saving them from the danger I put them in,” he said, looking stricken with guilt.  It was then that Grace realized just how anxious he was and she began to worry that there was something that he was not telling her.

“They are my family too and I can't thank you enough,” Shannon said as she opened the door for Grace to carry the sleeping baby out of the vehicle.

“I think we are all one big family now,” Grace said with a smile.  “Let's get the baby inside.  He's dead asleep.”

Shannon leaned down and kissed the baby on top of his head.  “How can he sleep so peacefully after all he saw today?” she asked in amazement.

“He is a resilient kid and he has the heart of a lion,” Grace said as she carried the baby to the house, winking at Dylan as she spoke.

“Yes he does,” Dylan smiled playfully as her. 

Grace slipped into their home to lay the sleeping baby in his crib.  When she came back out, she found Shannon and Dylan sitting in comfortable silence.  It warmed her heart to see two people who meant so much to her, safe and sound in front of her eyes, with the knowledge that her son slept soundly only a few yards away.

“How did you get the walls fixed so quickly?” Grace asked Shannon, unable to hide her amazement.

“You haven't considered that I fixed everything myself?” she asked with mock offense in her voice.

“We have lived together our entire adult lives. You don't even like to change light bulbs.  I doubt you patched a wall,” she said pointedly. 

“I did manage to get it done though, which is the real accomplishment,” Shannon laughed as she raised her hands and gestured to the building behind them.

“I concede that,” Grace acknowledged.  “Now, how did you do it?”

“The elephant researchers down the path were very helpful,” Shannon said, attempting to look innocent as she spoke.

“In the dead of night?” Grace asked in disbelief.

“Yes, I am persuasive,” she said simply.

“I know that, but it isn't fair to flirt with men you don’t care about,” Grace pointed out.

“I would do far worse to make sure the boy has a safe place to sleep,” Shannon said meaningfully.  There was no disputing the love in her eyes as she spoke about Luke.

“I love you,” Grace said, wrapping her arms around her best friend.

“Thank you for doing this for our son,” Dylan said earnestly.  Shannon nodded in acknowledgment, though she was clearly embarrassed at the attention she was receiving.

“Can we talk about more pressing issues now?” she asked suddenly.

“Yes,” Dylan responded hesitantly.

“What the hell happened today?” she asked.

“It's a custom among our people to take the children of your enemy as your own through a ritual.  Javi thought that she could become the mother of my child in the same way.  I don’t understand how she could have thought that it would have worked.  The ritual hasn’t been performed since all factions of werelions were united one hundred years ago.

“Even if it had worked, I would never have come to choose her.  I would always have seen her as the woman who killed my mate.  It would never have given her what she really wanted,” he said, shaking his head as he spoke.

“What is it that she wants?” Shannon asked.

“She has long thought that she is destined to be my mate,” he said frankly.  The thought that Javi had wanted to take her family as her own struck cold in Grace’s heart.  She leaned closer to Dylan and he instinctively wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, as though the closer he held her, the safer she would be.

“So she thought if she killed Grace and took the baby as her own, there would be nothing standing in her way?” Shannon asked in shock.  In all the years that she had known Grace, Shannon couldn’t even remember anyone who didn’t like Grace, let alone wanted to kill her.

“Yes,” he said simply.

“Why does she want to be your mate so badly?” Shannon pushed. 

“I am the current ruler of our pride.  If she were my mate, she would be their queen.”  He said it frankly, as though he was telling her the time or the date.

“Does that make Grace their queen?” Shannon asked in shock.

“Yes it does,” he said, staring at Grace with love in his eyes.

“So then the mating habits of werelions are different that traditional lions?” she asked, unable to suppress her scientific curiosity. 

“Yes, in order for a cub to be conceived, the pair must be mated.  We don’t mate with multiple partners, as lions do.  That is one of the main ways in which our civilization is closer to that of humans,” he explained.

“What other ways are you similar to traditional humans?” she asked, amazed at the insight she was gaining.

“Well, our pride is larger than the 10 or so individuals that you find in a lion pride.  We are also more evenly distributed between males and females than the animal prides are.”

“And how are you similar to wild lions?” she pressed.

“Our pride is insular, just as their prides are.  In addition, individuals are often turned away from the pride when offenses are committed,” he added vaguely.

“And how will your pride take having a human queen?” she asked, trying to picture the group he had described welcoming her friend with open arms.

“They will come to love her as I do,” he replied without an ounce of doubt. 

“Wait,” Shannon said.  “This isn't over yet, is it?”

“Not yet,” he said, “but it soon will be.”

“What does that mean?” Grace asked, unable to hide her concern.

“It means that we will just have to show them that you will be an amazing queen,” he said, kissing her on top of the head when he finished speaking.

“How in the world am I supposed to be a queen?” she asked in unveiled horror.  Grace had always been a very simple person and Shannon could not think of a soul with less desire to be anyone’s queen than her best friend.

“You need only be yourself and raise our son to be a strong brave man,” he said smoothly.

“I can do that,” she nodded, with a tentative smile.  Still, her eyes betrayed how uneasy she was with the entire situation.

“Then everything will be fine,” he said, pulling her close once again.

“What happens if it isn't fine?” Shannon asked.  She had a dark feeling that if things did not go as Dylan planned, it was Grace who would be in the greatest peril.  As thrilled as she was for their happiness, she was worried for her friend’s fate in all of this.

“It will be,” Dylan assured.

“What if they don't accept her?”

“Then I will choose her and the child,” he said without question. 

Just then, a man walked towards them from the darkness.  He seemed to be made of the darkness that surrounded him.  His jet black hair and dark eyes were enough to take Shannon’s breath away.  As he continued to stalk towards them, she realized that the darkest thing about him was his expression.  He was clearly livid about something and his eyes were locked on Dylan.  As Dylan saw him approaching, he stood and put himself between the stranger and the women and child.

“Dylan is it true, what they are saying?” the stranger bellowed.

“Hello, Jason,” Dylan said calmly.

“Tell me,” the dark man demanded.

“Yes, I have chosen a mate,” Dylan said, turning to look at Grace with an encouraging smile.

“One of their kind?” Jason asked indignantly.  The fury on his face was plain.

“You know that I have,” Dylan said with an edge to his voice that neither women had heard before.

“And she has already born your child?” he said in disbelief.

“Yes, a boy named Luke.  He's asleep in the house.”  Dylan gestured toward the damaged hut as he spoke. 

“Which of them is it?” he said with disgust in his tone.

“It would do well for you to use a more courteous tone,” Dylan warned.

“I am sorry cousin; please introduce me to your mate,” he said in a forced tone of respect.

“Much better,” he said guardedly.  “Jason, this is Grace.”  He turned then and extended a hand to Grace.  She took it and he pulled her to his side.

“Pleasure,” Jason said without sincerity.

“And this is my friend, Shannon,” she said, tilting her head towards Shannon. 

He clearly had not even taken notice of her before that moment.  The man stopped and stared at Shannon intently, so intently that it made her feel a bit uncomfortable.  Still, she took the opportunity to study this new stranger.  His face was strong, but his eyes were soft and full of emotion as they swept over her.  He seemed to be full of rolling emotions that made it very hard for him to stand still, but something about her kept him frozen in one spot. 

“Charmed,” he said with all the sincerity his voice had lacked when he addressed Grace.  Dylan observed his behavior with a curious look on his face, but said nothing.  As handsome as Jason was, Shannon knew that she couldn’t let her guard down and certainly couldn’t forget that he had come there to take a stand against Dylan’s love for Grace.

She walked around Dylan and stood only a foot from the handsome stranger who had invaded their home.  He did not move an inch, but looked down at her with an undefinable expression on his face.  She knew she should be nervous, as he was clearly not their ally, but she was too angry to worry about that.  Her impulse to defend her friend was stronger than her instincts for self-preservation. 

“You will forgive me if I am not thrilled to meet a man who came here to ruin my friend’s happiness,” she replied with as civil a tone as she could manage.  Though she wanted to confront him, she did not want to provoke him for fear of what he and Dylan might do if a fight came about.

“And you will forgive me if I have a hard time accepting the human who is going to ruin my cousin’s life and the peace of my pride,” he said.  His voice was as soft as velvet when he spoke, very near a purr, even in his anger.  It was as though she could feel his very words on her skin.  Still, she knew that she couldn’t let that distract her from her anger.

“They are in love and they have a child, it's a little late to try to keep them apart,” she pointed out, feeling a little more relaxed.

“He should have known better and if you really care about your friend, you would want to keep her far from all of this. It isn't safe,” he said as though he really did care for her safety.

“Are you threatening my family?” she asked, her temper rising again.

“No, but there are many threats to her here,” he said frankly.

“So you think she should just pack up the child and go?” she said, her anger very present in her voice.

“Absolutely not. The child belongs here with his own kind.  You and she should leave, though.  You have no place here,” he said frankly.  The expression on his face grew stormier and she wished very much that she could read his thoughts, because there seemed to be something more to his feelings than what he was saying.

“No man, half lion or not, is going to tell me where my place is,” she said.  Though she was doing her best to keep her anger in check, the edge in her voice rivaled his own.  His eyes grew larger, as though he was shocked that any human would speak to him in such a way.

“Enough, you two,” Dylan commanded, stepping between the two of them as though he was afraid they might tear each other’s throats out.

“No, it isn't enough.  They have no idea what you have involved them in.  This one isn't even involved and she stands before me as though she is fighting for her own mate.  They don't understand any of the dangers,” he accused.  He pointed at Shannon and seemed appalled at Dylan’s behavior towards both women.

“Don't you dare speak about me as though I am not here,” Shannon warned, once again edging around Dylan to face Jason.

“She is a part of this. She and Grace are as close as sisters are and she has been helping her to raise the child.  You will show her respect,” Dylan demanded, his arm quickly snaking around Shannon and depositing her safely behind him.