Lola didn’t need to be asked twice.She stood up on all four feet and made sure she had her bearings.
“Let the beast take over,” Sam encouraged.“She doesn’t need a learning curve.She’s got this.”
Lola nodded her head at the woman and then couldn’t help but wonder if it looked weird for a huge lioness to acknowledge a human being’s words with a very human movement.She heard a rumbling noise, and Callon bumped against her.Lola refocused her attention on the male she would spend the rest of her very strange, albeit amazing, life with.She turned to him and bared her teeth playfully.
They took off across the mansion’s sprawling grounds.It was open grassland, dotted with huge trees.Lola reveled in the feeling of the wind rippling through her tawny fur as they raced side by side.
Each bounding stride sent a thrill through her powerful feline frame.Muscles bunched and released in a seamless rhythm, the earth flying by beneath her claws.She inhaled the myriad scents of nature—rich soil, wildflowers, distant prey.Her enhanced senses were drunk on sensations.She even picked up the scents of the other members of the Kingdom.Though she didn’t knowthem, she knew they were Damarians.Or maybe her beast knew.
Letting out an ecstatic roar, Lola pulled ahead, glorying in this body made for speed and strength.The lioness’s spirit within her sang with joy at being unleashed.She couldn’t begin to explain the feeling.
Callon nipped playfully at her hind legs in retaliation before surging forward again with a throaty chuckle.Back and forth they vied for the lead, their competitive growls soon turning to rumbling laughter.
Caught up in the delight of simply being, they tumbled and nipped like carefree cubs beneath the radiant sun, pouncing and batting in a dance as old as their kind.
For that perfect moment, nothing existed but this—the wind rippling through their fur, muscles bunching and stretching, the simple joy of their bond eclipsing all else.No worries could touch them here.
When they finally made it back to Riker and Sam, Lola saw that more people had gathered.Some were in their beastwalker forms, and some were in their human skin.They were staring at her in awe.
Lola came to a stop, and Callon was suddenly in front of her in his human form, fully clothed.He let out a roar that shouldn’t have been possible from human vocal cords.
“They’re just curious.”Riker motioned for the large group to move back.“You know they will protect her.We willallprotect her with our lives.”
Lola sidestepped Callon and looked at Sam.The woman could clearly read the confusion on Lola’s face because she gave her a reassuring smile.“He doesn’t like the fact that they’re all staring at you,” Sam explained.“Our males are very protective, and you’re vulnerable right now as you’re learning to shift, so it’s going to throw his already intense instincts into overdrive.”
Lola blinked and looked from Callon to the members that had formed a half circle around them.They stood a good twenty feet away, but he didn’t seem to think it was far enough.
“Callon.”Riker’s voice broke through some of the tension.“They don’t mean her any harm.You know this.”
“There’s no reason for them to be here gawking at her like she’s a damn circus show,” Callon snarled.His voice shook with barely restrained rage.
What the actual hell?Lola looked at him.His breathing was coming in quick pants, his shoulders rising and falling with each one.Lola stepped around so she could see his face and noticed that his human face was still partly feline.His cheekbones were high, his nose broad, and his fur rippled and receded repeatedly.He was on the verge of the whole berserker thing again.
Lola whipped her head around and looked at Sam.She opened her mouth to speak, needing to ask how to shift back into her human form, but a rumbling sound came out, and she snapped her mouth closed.Idiot, you can’t talk like this.Lola started to walk toward Sam, but another snarl stopped her in her tracks.
“It would be better if you stayed close to him,” Riker informed her.
“Just imagine yourself in your human form.”Thankfully, Sam, somehow picked up on what Lola needed.“Remember, don’t fight the shift.”
Lola did as the other female said and imagined herself as she had been before shifting into a lion.She imagined the clothes she’d been wearing, all the way from her underclothes to her shoes.Warmth flowed over her, and this time, there was no pain.Lola blinked and stumbled a bit as she resumed her two-legged form.Callon’s muscular arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her tightly against him.
“Easy, big guy.”Lola patted his arm and took a deep breath.She looked up at Callon and was met with a sharp, golden gaze.She pressed her palm to his cheek.“I’m safe.No one here means me any harm.”
Callon leaned into her touch and closed his eyes.After several seconds, he nodded and all the animal features slipped away.Now in his human form, he turned back to the crowd.“Forgive my intense reaction.”His voice was rough with emotion that he was obviously struggling to keep under tight rein.“This is Lola Leo, my mate.”
Somehow, she managed to keep a straight and mostly blank face when he introduced her using his last name.This wasn’t the time to point out that they hadn’t exactly discussed such things.
“She is the future prima of this pride.You will treat her with the same respect you give my mother.You will protect her with your very lives.”
Riker stepped forward, took a knee, and then bowed his head.“We offer her the same allegiance we offer Taras and Lyra.”
Sam was next as she followed in her mate’s actions.Then one by one, each of the people standing in the courtyard got down on a knee and made the same pledge.Goose bumps covered Lola’s arms as she watched these people who didn’t know her offer her protection and acceptance.It was incredibly humbling, and she promised herself she would make sure she was worthy of such care.Her heart was so full she thought it might burst.Lola squeezed Callon’s arm as her eyes filled with tears.She blinked to clear her sight, but a second later, she found herself suddenly back in lioness form.
“What in the…?”Lola meant to ask.But the words didn’t come out of her huge mouth.Instead, a rumbling roar emerged.Right, Lo.You’re a damn lion.Words don’t work.
Sam smiled reassuringly.“Strong emotions can trigger the change, even when you don’t intend to shift.It’s instinct taking over.Don’t worry.You’ll eventually be able to control it.”
Lola shook out her tawny fur, and then harrumphed as she sat on her haunches.It seemed her inner beast was a tad overeager.
