But Daniel had experienced this before, he was used to the pain, used to the debilitating shock to his nervous system. However, it didn’t stop him dropping to his knees and crying out in pain.
Vaguely, he was aware of Lottie. She was on her feet, running at him, kneeling by him, telling the guards to get off. She shielded him with her body, would they shock her too?
His eyes rolled in his head. He felt the touch of her palm on his cheek, her voice in his ears and a different jolt of electricity seemed to course through him. She was his, and now he had to make her his.
“Do it,” she said in his ear, and he moved his mouth towards her neck, not knowing what to do. The Internet had said he had to bite her, but where? How? What if he killed her, hit an artery and she bled out here on the floor?
And then his lion took over, his teeth extended, it was as if he was half man, half beast, and he tasted her blood, his DNA passing into her as she screamed in pain.
The sound gripped his heart and squeezed it so hard he thought it would explode. He had hurt her, the person he was supposed to protect above all others and he had bitten her, making her bleed. Making her the same as him.
“Get off her.” Angry voices. A hand pulled at his collar and tried to drag him off. He had to release her and his teeth retracted, although his arms still held her tight.
“What the hell! That is fucked up,” one of the guards yelled, and then there was the sound of retching.
“Shit. Shit,” another guard said over and over while he stared at Lottie, who was writhing in pain.
In amongst the confusion he did the only thing he could do to keep her safe: he lifted her up in his arms and, despite her cries, carried her towards the gate, towards his home, and now her home. With angry shouts behind him, he ran until he was back in Shifters Prime.
Collapsing on the floor, he looked down at Lottie, seeing the blood, her pain, and the horror of what he had inflicted on her. She would never be able to go home.
“Well, I haven’t seen such an entrance for a long time,” the guard from this side said. “Come on, buddy, she needs some medical attention. Then I think you should explain to me exactly what happened.”
“Will she be all right?” Daniel asked quietly, and then he looked around. “Where’s Lea? Where’s the girl I was with?”
“Don’t worry, my wife took her into the house. Some things a child isn’t supposed to see, and I think this is one of them.”
Daniel stared down at Lottie as she began to convulse. This was the worst thing he had ever done. He had wanted to make her safe, but instead it looked as if he had killed her.
Chapter Thirteen – Lottie
Searing pain caused her body to spasm once more. How much more of this did she have to endure, how much more of this could her body take? Every nerve ending, every fibre of her being was on fire, flames licking at her skin, burning in her brain as her body altered inexplicably.
What she looked like she couldn't tell, but Daniel, who had been beside her through every sickening moment, looked horrified. She tried to lift her hand, to see if she had claws, or fur sprouting from the back of her hands. Her body didn't have the energy, or maybe she just didn't have the control of her muscles anymore.
And she knew why, it was because there was someone else inside her brain, another voice she hadn’t heard before. Or was she going mad, hearing voices of disconnected ghosts that haunted her consciousness?
Daniel spoke; he offered her water. Helping her lift her head, he put the cup to her lips, and she tried to lap it. What the hell! She tried again, reaching inside herself to find the person she was, Lottie. Charlotte Jenson, orphan of Margaret and William Jenson. She clung to them, hoping that if she did die, that if this was the end of her life, then she might see them again in heaven.
Was there a heaven? Any kind of afterlife, where people went when they died? But she wasn’t a person anymore, she was different: she was two beings in one body.
The human side of her fought to gain control. She wasn't ready to leave this life yet; she wanted to spend time with Daniel. He had told her he was her mate, and only now, with her body changes, and the animal waking inside her, did she understand the full meaning of that and understand why his eyes were pained. His soul was tortured by the knowledge that he had done this to her—the person he was supposed to keep safe, protect, was going through hell because of him.
These thoughts she clung to, as she fought to be whole again. There might be two of them, but they had to be one. They had to be one for Daniel.
“I’ll take over,” the voice of a woman spoke.
“No, I want to stay, Daphne,” Daniel insisted.
“You need to rest. You’ll be no good to her if you wear yourself out,” Daphne said, and her hand touched his shoulder, so kind, so understanding.
“Go,” Lottie croaked.
Two faces looked at her. And Daphne smiled. “There, she’s winning. Go rest, another few hours and the worst will be over.”
Lottie certainly hoped so.
Daniel got up, leaning down to kiss her forehead, the lightest of touches, yet it sent her into convulsions. She took deep breaths, knowing he wouldn't leave if he thought he had hurt her. Slowly, she relaxed her body, her face no longer contorted in pain and she tried to smile, and he smiled back, full of sorrow, full of regret.
She reached for his hand, denying the pain that wracked her body. “Thank you,” she croaked, her throat parched.
“I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have turned you,” he said angrily.
“I am glad you did. This is where I belong,” she told him. “You know what I mean.”
He sat down briefly, and said, “You feel it? You feel the bond?”
She nodded and then closed her eyes, so tired she couldn’t say another word or move any part of her body. He got up and left. She knew because she felt his presence fade; it was all so raw, so new that she could hear his heartbeat if she concentrated hard enough. And then the soothing hands of the woman touched her, bathing her face, encouraging to drink some foul concoction.
Whatever it was, she was certain it had some kind of sedative in it, because the world slipped away and she slept, deep, dreamless, and long.
***
“How are you feeling now?” the woman’s voice asked. What was her name again? Lottie had to search her memories for it, and then she remembered, and it all came back to her.
Lottie cracked one of her eyes open, wincing with pain at the light filling the room. “Like crap.”
“You will do for a day or two. But then you’ll be back to your normal self.”
“You mean my new self,” Lottie said.
“Yes. But that is your normal self now. The old you is gone, and you need to get used to this body and the creature that lives in it with you.”
“And what creature is that?” Lottie asked shifting her head on the pillow, testing the pain behind her eyeballs.
“Daniel’s a lion. The chances are you'll be like him.” The woman moved, reaching for a cup of water. “Here, you need to drink lots of water, you’ve been running a temperature for two days.”
“Two days, is that how long I’ve been here for?” It felt as if only hours ago she had been bitten by Daniel.
“Yes, and for two days that young man of yours has hardly left your side,” she said.
“Where is he now?” Lottie asked.
“Outside with the young lass. Scared and pale, she is,” Daphne said, her mouth clucking with concern.
“They’ve had a difficult time,” Lottie said.
“Well, now you all need to heal. So let’s get you up and showered, and then get some food in you.”
“Thank you, Daphne is it?” Lottie said, remembering her manners.
“Yes, and you’ve met my husband Lance. He’s back at the border, there’s three men take shifts.”
“You’ve been very kind to us. I bet you don’t see this happen every day.”
“You are my fi
fth. Seems some of you young ladies get a thing for the beast in a man and can’t resist them.” Daphne sounded unimpressed.
“It wasn't like that,” Lottie said. “There were men after me. Men who killed my parents. If I had stayed, they would have killed me.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. I just hope you know what you’ve got yourself into,” Daphne said sadly. “It will be a shock; we don’t have all the modern things over here.”
“No. No I don’t know what I’ve got myself into. But I intend to find out,” she said, summoning her inner strength and swinging her legs off the side of the bed. “God, that hurts.”
“It will get easier. Now, shower and food,” Daphne said, leading her to the small bathroom at the back of the house.
Lottie did as she was told, feeling much better by the time she had let the hot water cascade over her body, while she washed away the dried sweat from her hair. Once dried, she put on the robe Daphne had given her and left the bathroom. Of course, she had no clothes other than the ones she had arrived in, and those were most probably ruined, covered in the blood from her neck wound.
She put a hand to the place where he had bitten her, expecting it to be bruised and sore, but it wasn’t. It was if nothing had ever happened, and she wanted to be sure it had. Was she a shifter, or was it some huge joke? After all, you couldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet. And the rumours and myths surrounding shifters were growing increasingly outlandish.
Letting her senses guide her, she found Daniel; he was in the backyard playing with Lea. They were throwing a ball backwards and forwards. He looked up before she had even left the doorway, knowing she was there.
“Lottie!” Lea shouted excitedly, and dropped the ball to come towards her, and then hesitated.
“It’s OK, Lea, I'm all right now,” she said, holding out her arms for the girl.
“Daniel said I had to be careful not to hurt you,” Lea said.
Lottie looked towards Daniel, who was hanging back. Was he scared of what she might say to him, or was he regretting changing her? “I’m fine now,” she said, to both of them.
He came forward, and his body relaxed, although there was a distance between them she hadn't expected. But Lea bowled into her, and Lottie let Daniel's troubled expression go.
“I thought you would like to help me change into whatever it is I am,” Lottie asked Daniel. “It feels kind of ridiculous. Like it’s not real.”
“Of course, I’ll help you,” Daniel said. “But you need to be stronger first.”
“I feel fine,” Lottie said.
“He’s right,” Daphne said from behind her. “You need to eat and rest. Get used to the other voice in your head first. Tomorrow will be soon enough.”
Lottie felt disappointed. But Daphne was probably right. And inside her, a voice whispered that she could wait until tomorrow. Lottie shifted her attention, looking inside herself. And there, standing in sunlight, her fur golden, her eyes amber, all-knowing, and patient, was a lioness.
Lottie nearly fell over. Only Daniel’s quick reflexes saved her from hitting the ground. “What the hell!”
“She’s there? In your head?” Lea asked. “I can't wait to see her. Is she a lioness? Please tell me she’s a lioness.”
“She is, Lea. And I can't wait to see her either,” Lottie said, feeling excitement and nerves mingle as one.
This was her new life, with her new family. In a new world, and she couldn't wait to begin exploring.
Chapter Fourteen – Daniel
“We can wait and do this at another time,” Daniel said. He was worried about her. They were outside of the house Daphne and Lance lived in. Lottie had become more insistent about shifting for the first time, but he was scared she wasn’t strong enough yet.
“No. I want to do it now. I think I’m going to burst if I don’t change soon,” Lottie said confidently.
“You’re kind of going to burst anyway,” Daniel said.
“Thanks, that is not a nice thought.”
“We need to go somewhere private to do this,” he said anxiously.
“Can I come?” Lea asked.
“Not the first time. Daphne said you can stay here; she’s going to make chocolate brownies.”
“What are those?” Lea asked.
“Can’t you remember them?” Daniel asked.
Lea shook her head. “Nope.”
“Then you are in for a treat,” Daniel said. “Just make sure you save some for us. Lottie can have one as a treat if she gets this right. If not she can watch us all eat them.” He tried to keep his voice light, not wanting to worry anyone. If they had to do this, then he needed Lottie to be relaxed and he needed to know Lea was safe.
“No pressure, then?” Lottie joked.
“None at all,” Daniel said, his eyes catching hers to reinforce this. If she couldn't shift into her lioness, it wouldn't matter; they could live with her as a human. But he knew she wanted to run with them to be like them, and his lion wanted that too. He wanted them to be perfect mates.
We already are, Daniel told his lion.
“Right. Let’s go,” Lottie said after Lea had gone into the kitchen to help Daphne.
Daniel pulled out some car keys. “Here, Lance has lent us his car and given me directions to somewhere a little more secluded.”
“So I don't make a fool of myself?” she asked.
“So that you aren't naked in front of everyone,” he said lightly.
“What?” she asked.
“Seems that until you get used to it, you have a good chance of ending up naked when you change back,” he said. “Now, I don't mind. But you might.”
“Are you serious?”
“About not minding? Sure,” he said.
“No, you fool. I mean about the naked bit,” she said. “Daphne had to rustle up some clothes for me as it is. I don't want to ruin them already.”
“You won’t. You can leave them behind.”
She blushed. “I can't be naked in front of you.”
“Yes you can,” he said. “Now, shall we get going?”
She sighed. “I don't have a choice, do I?”
“You could always try to shift some other time,” he said, knowing she didn't want to put it off, but wishing in some ways she would. The responsibility of turning her and now having to teach her how to shift weighed heavily on his shoulders. It felt as if he had managed to free Lea, and instead had trapped Lottie in his world.
“No, let’s go,” she said.
“Here, you had better take these,” he said handing her the keys.
“Don't you want to drive?” she asked.
“I can't,” he said, feeling foolish. “I never learned.”
“Then we can make a deal: if you teach me how to shift, I’ll teach you how to drive,” she said.
“I don’t know which will be more scary,” he said, as they climbed into the old car and put their seatbelts on.
Lottie turned the key, and the engine tried to start. Three times she had to try it before it sparked into life. “I am going to kiss my car,” she said, pulling off, leaving a cloud of black smoke behind them.
Daniel coughed. “That’s bad.”
The closeness of her body as she sat next to him in the car was disturbing. Without his collar, his awareness of her was intense, producing a deep ache inside him. His lion was doing his best to get Daniel’s attention, pacing up and down, lifting his head to sniff the air and then roaring, before rolling over on the ground, impatient to be free.
Daniel couldn't help laughing. I’ve missed you, old friend, he said, and the lion sat up, looking out with his patient amber eyes.
“This place is amazing,” Lottie said as they drove through a small collection of houses, where a herd of zebra were grazing. “Those are people, right?”
“I think so. Remember, I haven’t been here for over twenty years. In some ways it’s as new to me as it is to you.” He watched as a wolf trotted towards them along the road.
Yes, this was surreal, he had seen many things on his travels with Nora, but everything here seemed out of place. Wolves on open grass plains, while zebra grazed, with no care in the world. Those two animals would never be so close to each other, they belonged on different continents.
Unless they were in a zoo, or a circus, and his thoughts turned to his old life and all the things he had missed growing up on the other side of the border. Nora had made sure he had a happy childhood, but he could never be so carefree as he would have been growing up here.
“I want to make sure Lea has a happy childhood,” he said. “She’s lost out on so much already.”
“Hey, don't worry. She will forget so much of what has happened. She’s a good kid, and the circus thing ... well, it doesn't seem to have tainted her. She knows how to laugh, how to play.” Lottie looked at him with a sideways glance, unsure of what she wanted to say next. But he knew and said it instead. “I hope I can find a way to forget it all, Lottie.” He turned to look at her, wanting her to feel the full force of what he was about to say. “I hope with your help I can be happy, and forget it all.”
“This bond,” she said. “It will last?”
“Forever. And from what Daphne and Lance said, ours will be stronger because I ... changed you.” It still pierced his heart to think of her in such pain.
“I want that to be the first thing you let go. The first thing you forgive yourself for,” she said. “You knew I was your mate, that’s what you said before you left. So maybe this is how things are meant to turn out. I think you should know that instead of taking something from me, Daniel, you have given me back my life. I was content to live in the shadows until you and Lea came along.”
“Then we will forge a new life together over here in Shifters Prime,” he said, leaning back, his arm on the open window of the car. He breathed in the air, the free air, and was grateful. Grateful for the woman by his side, for Lea making brownies with Daphne, and more than anything, he was grateful never to have to wear that damn collar again.
Freeing A Lion: BBW Paranormal Lion Shape Shifter Romance (Sleeping Lions - Shifters Prime Book 2) Page 6