by Viola Grace
Running toward a better option in life, a lioness finds herself right in the tiger’s clutches.
Lee was raised to be subservient, but her soul was screaming in agony with every moment in her household. Her mother helps her escape to the Crossroads the very night her father begins proceedings to sell Lee to one of his companions as third wife in a pride.
She was unprepared for the dating scene and shocked by the mating scene at the Crossroads, but the moment she sees something wrong, her shock turns into action and she does what she has to do.
James watched the lioness in his bar, but despite her body being exactly his type her shy demeanour is a turnoff. He wants a woman who can hold her own with him, a woman who can stand at his side, not behind him. He is convinced that she is too timid for him until she follows two thugs out into the night and claws them bloody before they can attack their vulnerable target.
Watching her go from timid to ferocious, he has to reassess his first impression, and he has to admit, the claws are a bit of a turn on.
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Lion Time
Copyright © 2012 Zenina Masters
ISBN: 978-1-77111-380-9
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Lion Time
Shifting Crossroads book 2
By
Zenina Masters
Chapter One
When she pulled up to the house, Lee knew something was up. The potted plants near the entryway of the pride house were turned ninety degrees to the right. It was a signal she and her mother had worked out when Lee first started her second life.
Lee left her car, got her bag and changed clothes right in the middle of the driveway. A strange car was parked nearby, and her mother’s warning was taken seriously. When she was wearing the same clothing she had left in, she locked her uniform in her trunk and walked into the home that she had grown up in.
“Leandiir, I am so glad you are home.” Her mother rushed at her and quickly scent-marked her.
“Hi, Mom. Well, it was a hectic day at the card shop. I have my pay stub for this week.” Lee handed the stub to her mother and looked over her shoulder to the living room.
Her father’s three other wives were sitting and attending to her father and his guest.
Lee tensed when her father called out, “Leandiir, come in here.”
She straightened her blouse and slacks, removed her shoes and walked into the living room. “Hello, Father.”
The other man perked up and looked her over.
“Leandiir, this is my friend, Carloth. He is looking for a third wife, and I have offered you as his mate.”
Shock rippled through Lee, and she had to fight to keep her inner lioness from ripping his throat out. “I am flattered.” Her voice was flat.
Carloth came up to her, and it took every ounce of self-control she had to not claw him open.
He circled her and touched her shoulders, back, buttocks and breasts as if he had a right to. “A little more meat on you than I like, but since you are capable of working and bringing funds into my pride, I will overlook that. Yes, you will do fine.”
He pressed a kiss to her lips, and Lee jerked her head away from the slobbery contact.
Her father spoke up. “Not so fast, Carloth. You have to come up with the bride price, and my little Leandiir does not come cheap. Child, you may go to your room while we hash out the details.”
Trembling with suppressed rage, Leandiir passed her mother. Her mom grabbed her hand, and when she released her, there was a small card in Lee’s palm.
She walked up the stairs to her room, past her siblings who were arranged in the hall with their leonine ears perked to hear every detail. Eleven half siblings, they all looked at her with sorrow in their features as she passed. They would be next, one by one.
Lee sighed. Well, the girls would be able to finish school at least. The boys would be thrown out when they were eighteen minus one day.
In her room, she looked at the scrap of paper in her hand. A phone number. She walked to her bed and slid her hand under the pillow that carried her mother’s scent. Aha. The burner phone.
With calm deliberation, she dialled the number and waited while it rang. When a woman’s voice answered, “Hello?” Lee spoke quickly and quietly. “Hello, my name is Lee, and I need to find a mate…fast.”
“My name is Kris, and is there somewhere we can meet?”
Lee thought about it for a moment and rattled off an address.
“Be there in two hours.” Kris hung up.
Lee stayed in her room until her mother came in an hour later. Ariil Aflai slipped a small packet into her hand, kissed her forehead and left the room.
Lee was used to the silent communication. It meant that her father was nearby and Rasson Aflai was not a man who would support her choice to run like hell.
She waited until the house was settling for the night and slipped out her window and onto the trellis that she and her mother had quietly reinforced when she was fifteen. Her first job had meant early mornings and bathing in an icy stream before she went home again, but it was money in her pocket and that money had sent her to night school.
She had fought for her education, and when she managed her nursing degree, it took all of her skills at sneaking around and her mother’s help to keep her from being found out by her father.
Lee slipped away from the house and engaged in a partial shift. She ran to the local vet’s compound and slipped into the empty large-animal barn in the back.
A quick check of her watch showed that she was three minutes early. Lee paced, gradually letting her lion legs shift back into human. Her feet were bare, and she was wearing only the slacks and blouse that she used to hide her nursing gear. Lee sighed. She was not prepared for this.
A glowing doorway opened and two women walked through. One had all the hallmarks of an avian shifter, and to Lee’s senses, she smelled like an owl, with the musk of a bear. Feathers and the night were on the wind with the warmth of fur in the nuances. The other woman smelled of lightning, ozone and cookies.
“Hello?” Lee didn’t know what she was supposed to do.
“Do you have something for me?” the cookie woman smiled, and the voice was familiar to Lee.
“Yes, Kris. My mother handed me this.” Lee extended the small packet and waited while Kris examined the contents before handing it to her friend.
“Do you know why you are here?”
Lee blushed. “I need to find a mate…fast. My father is trying to sell me to one of his work buddies, and I just want to find a man who will want only me. My mom has told me about the Crossroads, and I want to try going there.”
Kris smiled but she asked, “What do you mean, only you? Does your father sleep around?”
> Lee shook her head. “No. My father is a fundamentalist lion. He believes that the women in the pride should take care of him, and he has four wives to make sure that it is a comfortable life for him.”
“I thought you said he worked.”
“He does, he has a job to keep up appearances in the human world, but all the homes, cars, vacations, land, were bought by my mother and the other women of the pride. He only owns the big screen television and beer.”
The owl was staring at Lee in surprise. “The women allow it?”
“He was young and strong once, and that is when the abuse was most prevalent. If I get married to my father’s choice, I will be starved and beaten to show me my place. I will fight back eventually, and then, things will go badly for everyone around.”
Kris nodded. “Let’s make sure that it doesn’t come to that. Now, you are heading to the shifters’ Crossroads. It is a dimensional bubble that can only be reached by folks with my sort of talent. You will be safe there.”
Lee nodded and listened to the description of the entry gate, the Meditation Centre and the hostel where she would be staying. An account was set up for her, and she need only use the icon that Kris handed to her to buy food and clothing. She could stay as long as it took, but it would be best if she forced herself to socialize as much as possible to increase her chances.
Lee nodded and touched the wristband with the small icon on it. “Is that it? Don’t you need money from me?”
“Your mother provided us with hair from as many of your relatives as she could, claw trimmings, too. Those hairs will be used in spells for courage and valour.” Kris smiled. “Are you ready?”
“Now?”
“No time is better.” Kris closed her eyes and opened the gateway.
Steeling her nerves, Leandiir stepped through the energy and into the last chance for freedom.
Chapter Two
“I have you. Relax and breathe.” The woman with the pale eyes smiled at her. Lee could smell bird on her, but there was more of the scent of magic than usual in a shifter.
“I am sorry. My legs are numb.”
“It is a side effect of the transport for some. Usually predators suffer numbness. I am Teal, and I will be your guide to the Crossroads.” Teal lifted her carefully. “Take a few steps, it will dissipate.”
Lee stumbled forward, and the feeling returned to her legs. She sighed in relief when her feet came under her control once again. “I am Lee.”
“I am glad to greet you on behalf of the Crossroads. I believe that you need clothing, and from there, I will take you on a tour of the town.”
“That sounds good. I don’t have any shoes.” Lee spoke quietly.
Teal’s face contorted in an expression of pity. “Of course, this way.”
Lee stepped carefully over the rough paving until they entered the general store.
Teal cleared her throat, “Andy, we need everything from the skin out, please.”
A man with a medium build, brown hair and the scent of a beaver stepped forward. “Let me see. What are you in the mood for, Miss?”
“Um. I would like clothing appropriate for the bar or meeting someone. I really don’t know. This was all rather sudden.” Lee shifted from foot to foot but kept her movements small. Her father had never liked a woman to twitch in front of him, and it was his temper she kept in mind every time she dealt with a man. Better safe than sorry.
Teal seemed to see her nervousness and swiftly rattled off what she thought Lee would need.
Lee let herself be shepherded into a change room and put on the clothing that her two associates flipped over the edge of the room.
“Come out, Lee, I need to see how the fit is.” Teal’s voice was gentle, and Lee winced.
She took a subservient pose when stressed because it was easier. Being here with new people around her, she was making a horrible impression, a lioness who acted like a sheep.
The jeans were a snug fit. The top was cut just to the centre of her bra, so she wasn’t going to be bending over any time soon. Dragging in a deep breath, Lee left the change room. “How does it look?”
Teal paused and whistled. “Good. You need a bra that is a little more complimentary, but the outfit is good.”
Andy came forward with some high-heeled cork wedges. “These should fit. Can you wear heels?”
Lee nodded. “Yes. I can.”
She took them and bent to slip the shoes on while Teal looked for a bra that she thought would fit.
Andy was staring at her when she stood, and she slammed her hand against her chest. She had forgotten the damned drape of the brilliant blue shirt.
She growled at Andy, and he broke his mesmerized stare. “Sorry, Miss. The shirt looks good on you.”
“Fine. Whatever. I am going to try on some of the other stuff.” She retreated back into the change room, slipping the bra on when it flipped over the door. It was a balconette style, putting her breasts up and out on a shelf-like underwire. Surprisingly, it was comfortable.
The next shirt was a wrap in crystalline white.
“Show me.” Teal was insistent.
Lee came out, showed off the bra and the new shirt before she retreated back to put on the next round of clothing.
She had four tops, two bras, seven sets of panties, three pairs of jeans, some socks, shoes and the wedges. Her bracelet glowed briefly as she scanned it over the checkout at the counter. She was wearing the white shirt and jeans with the flats and felt a lot better than she had when she arrived.
Teal was smiling with personal pride. “Now, we will drop your purchases off at the hostel and continue the tour. You are going to be in the large-predator hostel, is that all right?”
“It’s fine. It is what I am, after all.”
Teal chuckled, “You aren’t like most of the lionesses that have come through the Crossroads.”
Lee grimaced. “I was raised in a fundamentalist lion compound. We have many restrictions that keep the young females under control.”
“And yet you are here.”
“I know. I hate that control, but I am afraid of what I will do if I let go and do what my instincts are screaming to.” Lee had never been this open with anyone before, certainly not a stranger.
After Leandiir checked in at the hostel, Teal was almost hopping with eagerness. Lee sensed that the enthusiasm was not Teal’s usual method of dealing with newcomers.
“You have seen the shop, there is the café which is open around the clock. The bed and breakfasts are down that lane and the bar is up and on the right.” Teal practically hauled her to the bar.
The scents and sounds overwhelmed Lee as they entered the building. Bodies writhed on the dance floor and many were huddling together in booths. Teal hauled her to the bar itself. “Chuck! Chuck!”
The graceful, bald man covered in sinuous tattoos came toward them. “Teal, fancy seeing you in here.”
Lee blinked when she looked at his face—the serpentine eyes were unmistakable.
“Chuck, this is a new arrival. Lee. Lee is a little shy, and I would appreciate it if you could keep an eye on her.” Teal’s voice was low and direct.
Chuck looked at Lee, and she returned his stare until she grew uncomfortable with the confrontation and looked away.
Chuck smiled, “I will keep an eye on her. No one will bother her.”
“Well, let some bother her, or her time here will be of extreme duration.” Teal grinned.
Lee turned to Teal, “Thanks for looking out for me.”
“It was no trouble. Now, stay here, try and relax, and Chuck will take care of you. I have to get back to the centre before Tony comes looking for me.” Teal gave her a gentle hug and left the bar.
Lee turned back to Chuck and sat warily on one of the barstools.
He smiled, showing sharp needle-like canines. “What can I get for you?”
“I don’t really know. I don’t get out much.” Lee blinked as she realised that it was the absolute truth.
She didn’t get out much. Friends were not allowed, nor were full-time jobs with any serious content.
“Long Island iced tea it is.” He collected a few bottles and began to mix the contents together in a glass.
The ice jingled gently as he passed the glass on a neat black coaster. “So, you are here to find a mate?”
“Yes. I have a time crunch. My father is trying to make a match with one of his work cronies, and the man is completely unsuitable.”
Chuck kept his hands busy cleaning and tidying behind the bar, but his attention was completely on her.
“How is he unsuitable?”
“I have never wanted to be a plural wife. I don’t want to be part of his pride, working for him and bearing his young.”
Chuck frowned. “Plural wife?”
“Yes, I was raised in a small community where plural marriage is common. I have never wanted it for myself or my siblings.”
“So, tonight something came to a head, did it?”
Lee sipped at her drink and let the tension in her shoulders relax a little. “Yes, it did.”
Chuck nodded and kept working. It was the last personal question that he asked her. The rest of the conversation involved him pointing out likely males around the room and asking her opinions on them.
* * * *
Jim Barnes watched the dark-haired woman with his bartender and took in her slumped shoulders, timid movements and lack of eye contact. She was passive, submissive and completely unsuitable for him as a mate.
Knowing that she was not the one for him, he kicked himself for not being able to look away from her, in the gleaming white shirt that made her a beacon in the dimness of the bar.
It was coming up on Chuck’s break, so he was going to take the opportunity to meet this mouse and find out what the draw was for him.
Hundreds of women made their way through his doors, but this was the only one who had had his inner tiger pacing behind his eyes. At first glance, she was attractive, she had curves that sent blood pooling in his groin, dark gold eyes and deep chestnut hair. It was unusual colouring for most prey species, but his human brain was telling him that this woman was prey. His tiger disagreed.