“Don’t,” he snarled, his face flashing nearly to a full lion form, then back to the in-between state in a blink.Callon took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, then spoke again.This time he managed not to go full lion head.“Don’t be afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she told him honestly.“I am, however, afraid for you because you seem confused.As if you’re not sure what’s going on.And considering we’re in your domain, you really shouldn’t be clueless.”She reached up, and up some more, until her hand rested on his fur covered face.“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” he said with stark honesty, his large, gold eyes staring intently at her, as if the sun rose and set with her.Lola could feel his need for her.
“How do I know that you are desperate to touch me?”she asked, her voice breathless as an ache formed in her chest.She felt warmth on her cheek as she traced the pads of her fingers over Callon’s cheek.It took a second for her brain to register the warmth she was feeling on her face, were the same places her fingers touched on Callon’s face.“What the–” she whispered as her eyes widened.
Callon pulled his face back away from her, and after several breaths, he managed to return to his full-human form.“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you to anyone,” he said, his tone light as if they hadn’t just had some serious moment that shifted both of their lives.
She stared at him, and tried to decide if she should pursue what had just happened, or follow his lead, and let it go for now.Lola decided that they could deal with whatever the heck happened later.Callon stared at her with eyes that said he was truly interested in her response.She shrugged.“I just wanted to say hi.”
He shook his head, a small, crooked smile on his face.“You wanted to ask questions.”
She bounced her head from shoulder to shoulder.“And say hi.”
He smirked.“You can say hi tomeand askmequestions.”
“You’re weird,” she sighed as she wiggled in a pathetic attempt to get out of his grasp."Why did they look so shocked?At first, I thought it was me they were staring at, but it was you."
He gave a dismissive shrug, his face suddenly blank."I was laughing."
Her brow rose.Lola had guessed when they met, yesterday- Good grief, had it really only been a day since they met?It felt like so much longer.She shook her head to refocus.Laughing, right,she told herself.She remembered thinking when they'd met, he didn't look like the type of man who smiled much, let alone laughed.But he'd told her that he was different around her.
"Why?"she asked as he continued to stare at her with that blank look that suited him much more than a smile– though she didreallylike it when he smiled."Is your life really so bad that you have nothing to laugh about?"
He actually seemed to think about it, which she appreciated.Lola liked that he didn't just spit out some pat answer.As he stood there something in him shifted.Lola felt the change in his countenance.The abruptness was as sharp as the New York winter wind that smacked a person in the face when they walked around the side of a building.
Callon rolled his shoulders back as he stood a little straighter, putting distance between them though they still touched."I can't say I'm unhappy with my life; I just have a lot of responsibility.My kingdom depends on me.Our males need mates to bond with so their animals can fully manifest.Having pride mates who possess the full power of their animal forms makes our kingdoms even stronger.”
Callon paused and his eyes had that conflicted look in them.He stood, a commanding figure as he lifted his chin.His strong jaw set in determination.His dark eyes were sharp as he continued.“Theanimusmust be protected.The moment one is discovered, it is vital that our members get to meet her in case she chooses one of us instead of someone outside our kingdom.I am the leader of the warriors and though we have not gone to war recently, I need to maintain myself and all of my warriors at the peak physical condition.And those without mates have to work twice as hard compared to those who can fully shift.”
A commotion behind them had Callon pulling her to the side of the hall.He kept one arm around her though his body felt like a steel post.
“What happened, Gavin?”Callon said loud enough they would hear him.
Lola watched as two men assisted a third that was very obviously injured judging by the blood running down his leg.He had on a pair of workout shorts that were torn in several places and there was a huge chunk of his flesh missing just above the knee.Her face pinched up as she imagined the pain he must be in.
“It’s Ciarian’s second day training,” the man on the right of the injured guy, who must have been Gavin, said.“He got a little too close to Shane’s mate who was taking a break from training with the females.”
“As you can see,” the other male said, nodding his head to the mangled leg, “Shane politely asked him to back away from Aliyah.”
“Why would females be training any where near new warriors?”Callon asked, his voice sharp.“They don’t think about their surroundings when they’re fighting.They haven’t learned that the end goal isn’t just to win a fight.It’s to win with as little damage as possible.”
“Kian talked to me about that,” Ciarian said through gritted teeth.“I just got too focused on beating Shane.”
Callon snarled.“Shane has been a warrior for nearly a century.Heshould have known better.”
All three guys looked thoroughly chastised.Lola found herself wanting to say something, but the tension radiating off of Callon had her lips glued tightly together.
“I can—” Callon began, but another man stalking down the hall interrupted him.
“I will take care of him.”He was huge with auburn hair and piercing gold eyes.
“Shane,” Callon said.“Let—”
He cut him off again.“You’re busy, Callon,” his eyes darted to Lola and back to Callon.He motioned the three men to follow him.“I can take care of a foolish, injured cub.”
Then four men walked past them.Lola stared until they rounded a corner and were out of sight.“Is he going to be okay?”she managed to ask.Lola felt rage fill her veins and she knew it wasn’t her own.“Callon?”
