by Jenna Payne
“Nope, I’m everything you’d want,” he said confidently. But it was true, Nora was sure of it, though there was no harm in wanting to see his full plans for the ‘summer of romance.’
*****
After dinner Safir and Nora ended up spending a little more time at his house. After all, dinner was really good and Nora did want to thank the chef. They drove to the beach, near Kelvin Grove, but a private area only the lion shifters knew about and few others. Safir parked at Kelvin Grove Beach and they walked the rest of the way to the bonfire. The hidden stretch of beach was surrounded by trees and bushes. When Nora emerged from the tree cover, her hand in Safir’s, she saw the party was in full swing. There were about twenty or so people around the fire, drinking, sitting in the sand, or standing. There was music, but no one was really dancing, more like hanging out.
“You made it! Our fearless leader,” Rafael spotted them instantly and he hugged both Safir and Nora. “Grab beers, enjoy yourselves. Hey Nan’s here, she came all the way from near Brunswick Beach to hang out. If you see her and mingle, talk me up a little, or a lot. It’s completely up to you.”
After that Rafael got distracted by one of his pride mates wanting to spar. Nora had to laugh as he completely seized the opportunity to take off his shirt and wrestle in the sand, probably right in front of Nan.
“So who’s Nan again?” she asked Safir as they walked over to one of the huge beer coolers.
“She was this woman he had a thing with for a few months. That was until she left him, because Rafael has issues. In case you didn’t notice,” he said with a snort.
“Aw, well clearly he has feelings for her if she left him and he’s still trying to impress her…” Nora observed.
“I never thought they were any good for each other when they were together. Don’t know why she’s suddenly popped back up,” he said while handing her a beer. She took a small swig.
“Want to go be corny and put your feet in the ocean with me?” she said, grinning at him.
“And look up at the moon and kiss underneath the stars?” he asked in a slightly sarcastic tone, Nora held in her laugh and nodded. “Sure, sounds like fun,” he said spritely. She did laugh then while he pulled her in the direction of the water. As they walked back there was a sort of commotion in the trees. Then Safir pushed Nora behind him and she turned to see members of the pride shifting and growling at the tree line. It was too dark for her human eyes to make much out, until she saw one of Safir’s lions strike forward and drag a smaller lion out from the trees by its neck. It wasn’t necessarily fighting back, but was struggling somewhat against the vise grip of the other lion.
The party quickly escalated into slight panic and the humans present all scattered, running down the beach to get to the more populated areas. “I’m going to shift. Climb on my back and don’t let go,” Safir said in a tense, low voice. He shouted to his shifters to move in and try to weed the other lions out. Nora’s eyes widened at the thought of some unknown lion shifters trying to move in on Lion’s Bay. There hadn’t been a territory struggle since the days her grandfather was a young shifter. Beside her Safir quickly dropped to all fours and shifted to his lion form. He looked at her with his tan eyes and she dropped her beer before climbing on his back, hugging him as if he were a motorcycle. Her hands gripped his thick mane and he took off into the trees. Three members of his pride surrounded him to get them close to his truck. Nora held on for dear life; Safir was fast, but it wasn’t exactly the smoothest ride ever.
When he stopped she glanced up to see they were just a few steps away from the parking lot, but still in the cover of trees. She got off of him and he quickly shifted back, taking her arm and hurrying her to his truck.
“What happened?” she asked him as they got in and he revved up the engine before peeling out of the lot.
“We weren’t alert. Hell half the pride isn’t even here. We didn’t hear them until they were right on top of us,” Nora wasn’t sure if he was talking more to himself or her. Anyway her heart was still pounding in her chest so hard that she heard it like a drum in her head.
“How many were there?”
“About five, not many. They were probably just scouts,” he spoke brusquely and she knew he was pissed. “I’m going to take you home, I don’t want them tracking my scent to my place and finding you there.”
“Okay…” she said, not knowing what else to say or do, or how to help. Nora had to say she didn’t much like the damsel in distress role. Safir drove her to her place and walked her inside.
“I’ll come by when things calm down alright? I’ll also get Cooper or one of the others to guard the house,” he said and gave her a hard kiss on the mouth before leaving her. Great, suddenly she was being hidden away and guarded. Sometimes she wished the shifting gene didn’t skip generations. If she were a shifter she could be helping Safir out instead of being a liability for him.
Not knowing what to do other than worry, Nora sat in her living room. A book was on her lap, though she knew she wouldn’t read it. She kept glancing out the window every five seconds, looking into the trees that surrounded her house wondering what was going on.
*****
When Nora saw Cooper jogging in from the trees she stepped outside to greet him.
“Hey Coop, what’s going on?” she said, less trying to make conversation and more wanting to know what was happening with the outsiders.
“Hey Nora, we should step inside,” he said and she invited him in. Cooper was still young, just barely nineteen and Safir’s cousin. They shared a lot of resemblance though. They had the same hair and same tan-colored eyes.
“Nothing much has happened yet,” said Cooper. “Safir only gave me the order to come here. As far as I know it’s just a few scouts that ran in from the south. Most likely from the US or something. We were able to capture only one though. Our guys are still chasing down the rest before they cross borders.”
Cooper then checked Nora’s living room. He checked every window, his eyes scanning the trees for any disturbance.
“Sorry that you’re here babysitting me. I doubt anyone will come for me,” she said.
“Actually Nora…my cousin doesn’t want to freak you out, but those scouts saw him protecting you and running you from the beach. If any of them get back to their pride, that’s valuable information. Then it’s not hard to track a scent,” Cooper said. Nora’s eyes widened as that registered to her.
“Crap…” she sighed, Cooper simply nodded.
“You should get some sleep, it should be pretty uneventful for now,” he said. Nora snorted. As if she could sleep after what he’d told her! She sighed instead and sat heavily on the couch. She gave up with her book and grabbed the TV remote, but couldn’t concentrate on that either. After a few hours of mostly watching Cooper pace around the house Nora finally drifted off.
***
“Nora.”
Nora woke to the sound of Safir’s voice and opened her eyes to see him crouched over her. Relief spread through her and she threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “Everything’s fine, everything’s fine,” he chuckled.
“Are you sure?” she asked him, studying him intently.
“Well it will be, only one of their scouts got away, but we were able to find out where they’re hiding. They have an entire pride trying to move into Lion’s Bay, they came all the way up from Oregon,” he said.
“So what will you do?” she asked him.
“Drive them out. If we have to take a couple of them out to do so then so be it. We can’t run the risk of having too many shifters and being exposed up here. We’re one of the few pure lion territories left,” he sighed.
“Have you considered that’s why they’re trying to move up here? What about being diplomatic?” Nora suggested.
“Now of days it’s hard to even trust your own shifter kind Nora, when I became leader of our pride I made a promise to protect our way of life. That’s what I’m going to do,” he said with
finality and she fell silent. “We’re going to move in on them pretty soon, I wanted to come give you an update,” he said.
“Be careful, please,” she told him and he chuckled.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be a piece of cake,” he promised her and she gave him a long kiss before he stood up to leave.
“Do I get to come?” Cooper asked Safir almost eagerly.
“No, you stay here,” he said and Coop visibly deflated. Nora bit back a smile and watched Safir leave, she prayed like mad that he and the pride would all come back in one piece. Glancing outside she saw the sun was just coming up. She watched as Safir shifted, then darted into the trees.
“You know sometimes I wonder if he’s always going to see me as a kid,” Cooper almost pouted.
“Well if you think about it, he gave you…potentially, the most dangerous job. What if they do track me? On top of that it also means he trusts you a lot to leave me in your care,” she said and his eyes widened.
“Well when you put it that way…” he said and she chuckled. Nora got up and stretched. She wanted some coffee. But Cooper was suddenly right next to her and ushering her into the hallway. “Stay here, don’t go near the windows,” he said urgently. Before she could ask what was going on he was gone. She heard the front door open and close and her curiosity suddenly rose. She quietly tiptoed to her bedroom and went over to the window, it faced the back of the house, she looked out, but just barely.
Nora gasped when she saw three guys who she knew weren’t a part of Safir’s pride standing next to her garden. They were scanning the area and Cooper was nowhere to be seen. One of the men turned his head towards her, his eyes locking with hers for a brief second before she quickly moved out of the window. Nora’s heart was pounding as she held her breath, she quietly made her way back into the hallway. But a loud crash caused her to yelp. It came from the kitchen. Nora was trapped as the hallway didn’t lead to any exits, unless it was through a window. She moved into her bathroom and shut the door, quickly trying to get the window open. It was big enough that she could shimmy out. But it was hard to pull open.
“Nora!” she heard Cooper’s voice and her heart rate spiked. “Nora run!” he yelled and she heard more commotion out in the front of the house. She finally got the damn window open and pushed the rusty frame up enough for her to get out. Only when she fell out onto the ground she was met by two men with grim expressions standing over her. They had appeared from nowhere.
“We won’t hurt you if you cooperate with us. We don’t want to hurt you,” one of them said. He had a long scar on his cheek and hard features. The other had more youthful-looking features, but his expression was no less battle hardened.
“Oh crap,” she breathed. They reached down to pick her up off of the ground. She didn’t even attempt to fight; it would have been futile. They secured her wrists behind her back with plastic slip tie and hauled her away. The put her into a muddy Jeep and soon she was being driven away.
*****
“You didn’t hurt Cooper did you?” Nora asked tentatively as the two shifters sat silently in the front, the one with the scar was driving deep into the woods.
“Your shifter friend is fine, we simply made him immobile. Let him put up a fight for a minute or two then knocked him out,” the younger one answered her and she felt some relief for Cooper.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“Just outside of Lion’s Bay, where your mate’s territory ends. There’s a small pocket of neutral land before the neighboring wolf territory. They frequent that area more than the lion shifters so our tracks are pretty much covered. Only a very gifted nose would be able to track us,” he said. Nora found it very odd that he was so forthcoming.
“Are you using me as bait?” she asked, needing to know what they planned to do.
“Yes and no. Just not for the reasons you think… Weston, our alpha, will explain things to you further when we reach the cabin.” A thousand questions ran through Nora’s mind. Canada had peaceful lands, all shifter territories were kept and boundaries honored. Why would another pride be trying to move into Lion’s Bay?
It took hours until they pulled up to what looked more like a compound disguised as a cabin to Nora.
“What is this place?” she asked. Her question went ignored as they pulled into the gravel driveway of the ‘cabin’; but the only resemblance it had to one was that the outer façade seemed to be made of logs. The place was huge, there was a bigger main building and several smaller cabins surrounding it. Not to mention the clearing was spotted with shifters on guard. Her captors pulled her out of the Jeep and walked her up the cabin steps to the front door where they were met by one man.
Nora’s eyes widened as she took him in. She had thought that Safir was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen in her life, but that was instantly changed. The shifter in front of her had eyes like golden caramel and a magnetic presence that demanded attention. His face was flawless, as if he was carved from marble; angular and resembling what she’d imagine a Greek god would look like. He had black hair that was pulled back into a bun and was only a little taller than Safir, but leaner than him in muscle.
“You don’t have to handle her so roughly, you’ve already tied her hands,” he said in a smooth deep voice. Nora was even more taken back, he had an almost middle-eastern accent. The shifters let go of her arms and she stumbled forward a little, mostly out of clumsiness. He caught her by the shoulders and set her right on her feet. “I’m Weston,” he said, introducing himself with an almost friendly tone.
“I’m Nora…” she said awkwardly and glanced around at Weston’s pride milling around, keeping their eyes on the trees.
“Why don’t you come inside and we can talk some?” She nodded and he reached behind her. The tie suddenly came loose and her hands were free. “I’m sorry about all of this by the way. I’m only trying to get your mate’s attention,” Weston said.
“I think you’ve already gotten his attention, you got it when you sent scouts into his territory,” she said as she followed him into the cabin. He led her through the surprisingly cozy front room and to the kitchen. Where he gestured for her to sit at the round kitchen table.
“I mean I want him to come to me eventually. He won’t come guns blazing if it risks hurting you. I only wish to speak with him,” Weston explained.
“So why didn’t you just come alone and approach him calmly?” she asked him, her eyes tracking his movements around the kitchen, he was making coffee for the both of them.
“I couldn’t leave my pride behind in volatile lands. I don’t know if you’ve heard or if your mates know, but the longtime dormant and ornery dragon shifters are banding together. Forcing other shifters to be on alert. Everyone’s sticking to their own kind and getting jumpy at every little thing. We had our own land and lived among wolves and bear shifters peacefully. But just like that people who I thought were trustworthy started to turn on us. The closest pride of lions I knew of was Safir’s in Lion’s Bay. So the pride ran up to Canada in hopes of integrating with Safir’s shifters.”
“So you just want…a safe place to live for your lions?” Nora said. Weston nodded.
“Yeah, but things are so peaceful up here any step out of the ordinary and alarms are raised. Safir’s reacting as I thought he would. Without much reason…” Weston sighed.
“You speak as if you know him?” she said and watched him pour the fresh coffee he brewed into two cups.
“I know of him,” he said with a shrug. He sat down, sliding a cup over to Nora. She took a sip only after he did.
“So what…are you just going to wait until he finds this place?”
“Yes, once he stops attacking my shifters and realizes that we really just want to talk.” Weston’s tone hardened a bit and Nora could see that he hated having his shifters in harm’s way.
“It’s a bad plan…Safir is hard-headed sometimes,” she said.
“Well that’s an upside of having
you here, you can help us out,” Nora took another sip of coffee and tried not to think about what would happen if she refused to give them any sort of intel on Safir.
*****
“I know this isn’t exactly…ideal. But it’s the situation we’re in,” Weston said with finality to his tone. “Will you be willing to cooperate with us? For the sake of my pride and Safir’s? It’d be senseless if we’re forced to keep at each other’s throats.”
“I don’t know what information you want on Safir, but I’m not willing to put him in a compromising position,” Nora said almost cautiously.
“I’m not trying to harm Safir or his pride, you have my word on that.” Weston moved his chair closer to Nora’s and she leaned away from him slightly.
“If you’re from Oregon how come you have this compound here?” she asked him. He set his coffee cup down and she realized she was very aware of his every movement.
“I’m friends with the wolves on the other side. They agreed to let us stay until we found a diplomatic solution with Safir.” Weston shifted in his seat, a brief look of annoyance crossing his features for some reason unfathomable to Nora.
“So you’re really keeping me here until Safir stops fighting you all and comes to talk?” she felt a bit exasperated already and it showed in her voice.
“Yes, it may move a little faster if you can tell me how to best appeal to Safir,” Weston’s eyes were trained on hers and she found his intensity more than a little disarming.
“You already have me; he’ll try to fight his way to me. I’d say…just tell your guys not to fight him, make them move forward and retreat, confuse him. I know it’s dangerous, but try having them approach the territory in human form. Letting Safir and the pride know you just want to talk,” Nora gave the best advice she could. She didn’t know much about shifter politics, especially since there was always peace in Lion’s Bay.
“That’s easier said than done. My shifters aren’t going to leave themselves unprotected…” he mused.