by Lilly Pink
“You are not making it easy for me to trust you, Greg. First, you drive me out to the middle of nowhere and won’t tell me where we’re going, then you drive me out into some forest and tell me to trust you? You’ve got to give me more to go on here, Greg.”
“You won’t have to walk because I am going to carry you.”
“Yeah, sure you are.” Olivia was standing with her arms crossed again and was now tapping her foot in frustration.
Greg stepped back a couple of feet and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Try not to freak out,” he said. “I will not hurt you, ever. I give you my word.”
Olivia watched as Greg pulled off his shirt and she was momentarily distracted by his sculpted abs and that sexy V shape that led down below the top of his pants. When she realized he was going to take off his pants too, Olivia turned her head so she wasn’t staring at Greg while he stood in front of her naked.
“What are you doing Greg?” she cried out.
Greg didn’t say anything in response.
“Greg, dammit!”
ROAR!!!
Olivia jumped when she heard a wild animal cry out from somewhere really close.
“Greg!” she called out, but when she turned to look back to where Greg was just standing he wasn’t there. Instead, a huge lion sat in the exact spot he had just been. Olivia was officially freaking out. What was a lion doing in the middle of the forest here? She didn’t think that lions were indigenous to the area.
“AAHH!” she screamed.
Olivia started slowly backing up towards the car as she scanned the immediate area trying to find Greg. He was nowhere to be found.
“Fucking asshole,” she muttered under her breath. That jackass dragged her out here and then he abandoned her right when she needed him.
The lion was slowly moving towards her now, never taking his eyes away from her. When her back hit the SUV she felt a whole new round of fear shoot through her. She was trying to figure out how she was going to get into the vehicle now that the lion was closing in on her.
The next thing she knew the lion was gone and a before her stood a naked Greg Wilds. Olivia’s eyes went wide and she brought both of her hands up to rub her temples. When she felt Greg’s hands on her forearms pulling her arms down and away from her face she closed her eyes.
“Olivia, look at me,” Greg said in a soft, soothing voice.
She took a deep breath and tried to collect herself. Greg released her arms and took her face in his hands, and she finally opened her eyes to look at him. Greg stood there, completely naked, and gazed into her eyes.
“You’re safe, I promise you.”
Olivia took a moment to let her heart rate slow down a bit before she responded. “What’s going on, Greg?” she asked.
“I am a shifter.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“My family and I are all lion-shifters. Once we’re full grown, we’re allowed to live among human society until we reach a certain age.”
Olivia blinked a few times trying to wake up from the dream she was having, only she wasn’t dreaming.
“At that time we must return to our pride and mate.”
Olivia looked him in the eyes. “Why are you telling me this, Greg? Why would you bring me here and show me yourself?” she asked. They had just met the day before, and she couldn’t understand why he was sharing such a big secret with her after such a short time.
“I want to take you to see my family’s pride lands,” Greg told her, “and I want you to meet my family.”
Olivia just stared at him with a blank expression. Nothing he was saying made any sense to her. As much as her mind was rebelling against the notion of lion-shifters, she had seen him change with her own eyes, so she couldn’t really deny that truth. What she didn’t know was why he would want her to meet his family.
As if he had read her mind, Greg went on saying, “You are my mate, Olivia. I know you’ve felt it too. The rush of heat whenever we touch, and the way you are drawn to me despite the fact that in your mind you wanted to keep away from me.”
She had to be dreaming. First, she was seeing things, and now this gorgeous man, who was also a famous NFL star, was telling her that she was his mate. Who even used the word mate, anyway?
“This isn’t real. This whole thing must be a dream, or a nightmare. I haven’t really decided which yet, but there is no way that it is real.”
Greg cupped her face in his hands. “You aren’t sleeping, Olivia. This is real, I am real, and you are my mate.”
Olivia tried to shake her head and break free from Greg’s grip, but it was no use. He wasn’t going to let her go.
“Greg, please,” she said, about to beg him to let her go but he silenced her when he pulled her up against his body and planted his lips against hers, effectively shutting her up.
Initially, she stiffened and tried to push him away, but her body had its own ideas. If the feeling of his touch when he held her hand made her body overheat, then feeling his lips against her own lit her up like an inferno. It wasn’t long before she was kissing him back, and instead of trying to push him away again, she lifted her arms up around his neck and dug her fingers into his hair.
When he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers she missed his kiss immediately. After they had stood there like that for a few moments, Greg kissed her forehead, then he backed up to look her in the eye. He was searching her expression for something. Olivia was sure he was waiting to see if she was going to freak out and try to get away again.
“Greg, I don’t even know what to think right now.”
“Don’t think,” he said. Greg took her hand and held it against his chest, just over his heartbeat. “Stop trying to rationalize this, Olivia. Just listen to your body and heart; it will lead you where you need to go.”
Olivia took a deep breath. “Greg, how can you possibly know that so soon?” she asked.
“It’s a shifter thing,” Greg said. “Our senses are much more sensitive than humans’. I knew that you were mine the moment I walked out of that stadium, and caught your scent for the first time.”
“Greg, I don’t know how I am supposed to take in all of this. It’s a lot to ask me to accept right away.”
“Olivia, I know it’s a lot. Please just give me a chance to show you that I’m telling the truth, and to prove to you that we belong together. Come with me and let me introduce you to my family. Maybe once you meet them and see our private lands, you’ll know for sure that what I’m telling you is the truth.”
Olivia took a few minutes to think about what Greg was asking of her. She considered what she had just seen, Greg shifting from a lion and back into a man, and the fact that even though he could clearly hurt her, he had done nothing but reassure her that that was the last thing he would ever want to do. Olivia also felt the strong connection between them that Greg had said meant they were supposed to be together as mates.
Olivia was broken out of her thoughts when Greg said her name, “Olivia?” He said it like a question. He was waiting for her answer.
She decided to go with her gut for once and she nodded her agreement when she told him, “Yes, Greg. I will go with you. I’m not making any promises right now because I am still not sure this isn’t all just a big dream, but I’ll l come with you for now and we’ll see where things go from there.”
Greg gave her the most wonderful smile she had ever seen and she couldn’t resist the urge to smile back. God, he was handsome. She really hoped that she was making the right decision. In her head, it all seemed so crazy, but the desire to be near Greg was too strong to ignore. She was going to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope everything worked out in the long run. When Greg released her and backed away she was momentarily confused.
“Remember, it’s just me and I would never hurt you, okay,” said Greg once he was a few feet away from her.
Olivia looked at him in confusion as she tried to decipher why he would be telling her to t
rust him again. When she realized what he was about to do, her eyes went wide and she was speaking at a near whisper when she said, “You’re going to change back to the lion.” It wasn’t a question, even though she wasn’t sure why he felt the need to do so now.
“Yes,” he said. “It is how I am going to carry you to my pride lands. It would be far too difficult to get there in my human form, plus I will be able to protect you better in my lion form than as a human.”
Greg needing to carry her in his lion form did make sense, but she wasn’t too thrilled to hear him say that he might have to protect her. “I thought you said that we were going to see your family and that I am your mate.”
Greg nodded, “Yes, I did,” he said.
“Then why would you need to protect me? Is there a problem with your family that I don’t know about?”
“No, you have nothing to fear from my family, but lions are not the only creatures in this forest or in my pride lands. It is rare that humans are attacked, but it isn’t completely outside of the realms of possibility. However, in my lion form others will recognize my alpha status and there are not many who would risk attacking an alpha lion-shifter.”
He said those last words with such confidence that Olivia knew he was sure of his strength and abilities out here in the wild, but she was still a little scared. He had said “not many” instead of “no one,” and that was a point she hadn’t missed.
Olivia glared at him and said, “Greg Wilds, if you let some crazy wild animal eat me I swear I will never forgive you.”
Greg bent over laughing, “Well I suppose if they eat you, there wouldn’t be a you left to forgive me.”
“Oh, Mr. Smartass is here I see. I guess I’ll just get back in the car and head home. It was nice knowing you.”
Olivia turned like she was going to get back into the SUV, and just like she had expected, Greg was right there blocking the door.
“No, don’t leave, Olivia. I was just having a little fun. I promise I will not let any harm come to you.” Greg’s eyebrows were drawn together and she could see the worry lines forming above them.
Now she was laughing, “Greg, don’t get your panties in a wad. I was just kidding, and I am not leaving; not yet, anyway. Besides, I don’t think I could find my way out of here on my own right now if I wanted to. Don’t worry, I am going to come with you.”
She saw the relief settle over Greg’s features and then he smiled and wrapped her in a fast tight bear hug. “Great, now let’s get going before we run out of daylight, woman.”
Greg stepped back away from her and this time she made sure she was paying close attention when he shifted into his lion form. The change was so fast that she wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly when he went from being a man to when he became a lion.
One minute she was looking at a handsome naked Greg, the next, the man was gone and a giant lion stood before her. She hadn’t noticed the first time she saw Greg as a lion, because of her fear, just how magnificent he was, but she noticed now. She had never seen a lion in person, but based on those that she had seen on television, she was certain that Greg was the largest lion in existence.
Greg turned so that his back was to her. With his head turned backwards toward her, he nodded to his back, indicating that she was to get on. Olivia climbed onto him and took two handfuls of the fur that lined his head and neck to hold herself in place. Now that she was on him, she knew without a doubt he was larger than any normal lion. She would have considered him more the size of a huge bear than of a lion. She was sitting up straight, straddling him like she would a horse, and still her feet were not touching the ground.
His fur was shining in the sunlight, a beautiful mixture of yellows, golds, and brown. It was so soft she wasn’t able to resist petting him like he was an everyday house cat. She ran her hand over the fur around his head and ears lightly until she heard and felt him purring. Realizing he was enjoying the feeling of her running her hand through his fur, she took both hands and began stroking his mane from the top of his head down to where she sat on his back.
When she leaned forward and rubbed his fur around his ears, like she would a cat, the purring grew louder. After a few moments, Greg turned his head and licked her hand before nuzzling it softly with his face. The next thing she knew he turned his head forward and took off at a run.
Olivia, already having been leaned forward to pet Greg, fell forward and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. He was running faster than she would have thought possible, so she decided she was going to stay wrapped around him so that she wouldn’t fall off. As she looked around them the fact that Greg was running inhumanely fast became exceedingly obvious. Trees and wildlife flew past them in a blur. Olivia could barely make anything out other than the blobs of vibrant colors meshing together as they continued onward. She wasn’t able to keep looking around them for long, afraid of becoming too dizzy and falling off Greg’s back, so she laid her head against the back of his neck and closed her eyes.
With her face practically buried in his fur, she inhaled and was surprised by how wonderful Greg smelled. It was clearly not cologne, the smell far too natural and wild, but it was intoxicating. It was like he had his own unique scent; like a mixture of freshly cut wood, sunlight, and spice, and Olivia loved it. The smell helped to calm her nerves and Olivia buried her face in Greg’s fur and just enjoyed his soft fur and warm, intoxicating scent for the remainder of their journey.
It wasn’t long before she felt Greg come to a stop and heard him make a low, rumbling sound as if he was trying to get her attention. When she sat back up, she looked around and was immediately engrossed by the beauty all around them. Everything was so pure and alive. The grass was green and plush, and the flowers that covered nearly every inch of ground as far as she could see, were vibrant shades of pink, red, blue, purple, and white.
They were standing in front of a set of caves made out of some kind of rock or stone. She looked around for Greg’s family, but she didn’t see anyone other than some birds flying overhead.
Olivia leaned forward again so that her mouth was closer to Greg’s ear. “Where is your family, Greg?” she asked quietly.
When Greg opened his mouth and let out a booming roar, she sat back up straight in a hurry. Before she could ask him what was wrong she heard several answering roars coming from the openings to the caves in front of them. She looked up and saw several lions emerging from them, approaching her and Greg. She knew that this had to be his family, but seeing twenty or so lions approaching her was still unnerving.
Greg must have sensed her inner turmoil because he let out a short growl and all of the lions froze where they stood. Another low growl sounded from Greg and one of the female lions began slowly approaching them again. When she reached Greg and Olivia, the lion stopped directly in front of Greg and nuzzled his face with her own.
Olivia heard the sounds of both Greg and the new female lion as they purred. It was a show of affection that had Olivia feeling a burst of jealousy she never knew she could experience. She found herself wishing she also had the ability to shapeshift into a lion so that she could place herself between this female and Greg; so that she could stake her claim. When the lion sat down and looked up at Olivia, Olivia glared at her.
The lion made a sound that Olivia could have sworn was laughter, if lions laugh, and it only made her madder. First this female just comes over rubbing up against Greg like he belongs to her while Olivia still sits upon his back, and then she has the nerve to laugh at Olivia’s ire. What she wouldn’t give to have the abilities to take on this female lion right now; she’d show her a thing or two about keeping away from another woman’s man.
When Olivia’s thoughts finally registered in her brain she buried her face in Greg’s fur, embarrassed. Thank God lions are not mind readers because everyone here would think she was absolutely insane right now. What the hell was wrong with her? Sure, Greg seemed to think they were destined for each other, but that didn’t automat
ically make him hers to claim. When she heard a woman laughing she looked up and the female lion was gone.
In her place stood a woman, and there was no question as to who this woman was: Greg’s mother. She had the same golden blonde hair as Greg, with chocolate brown eyes which were just as kind as her son’s, even if she was currently laughing at Olivia. She was tall and beautiful, and Olivia didn’t need to look any further to determine where Greg’s good looks had come from.
Olivia took his mother’s change of form as a sign that it was time to remove herself from Greg’s back so she could meet his family properly; no more hiding behind her lion so to speak. Once Olivia was down and standing in front of Greg’s mother, the woman stopped laughing and gave her a genuine smile.
“Greg, she is beautiful, and her spirit is strong. You have chosen a strong mate with this one,” the woman said and it wasn’t until Olivia saw the woman look over her head, and felt Greg’s body press up against her back as he placed his hands on her hips possessively, that she realized Greg had changed his form too.
It occurred to her then that they had changed for her benefit. She couldn’t understand them in their lion forms, so they were forced to change and stand before all of their family in the nude because she wasn’t one of them. The idea that Greg and his family would have to constantly make concessions like this for her if she agreed to be his mate upset her. She didn’t want someone she cared about to be forced to change just to accommodate her.
Greg’s mother chuckled. “Don’t worry about that dear,” she said. “First of all, as shifters we’re not modest like humans. We have been seeing each other in the nude since we were born. It is only natural, after all. And don’t worry about us changing for you because we can already hear your thoughts, so it is actually only you who is currently at a disadvantage while we’re in our lion forms. Besides, once you and Greg are mated you will become one of us, so the communication barrier will be completely gone at that point.”