The figure at the front of the room turned toward, and she almost stumbled.
Jessa hadn’t been entirely honest with Lena about her summer abroad during college. Oh, sure, she backpacked through Eastern Europe since it was so much cheaper than the western tourist traps. But she’d bitten off more than she could chew when she met him.
Cenek Cipris was the tall, dark, and handsome she looked for in a man. He was tall, as tall as Ethan, who stood between him and Lena in a too casual way that gave away his deliberate positioning. His dark hair was longer than she remembered, and would have brushed his shoulders if he didn’t have it pinned at the base of his neck. His eyes still glittered the way she remembered, dark brown and peering straight into her soul.
He also had a mysterious side that had changed her life forever.
“Jessa, glad you could make it.” Ethan smiled across the room and broke Cenek’s spell over her. Sam stepped up to her side. She thought she heard a small growl deep in his chest. She tore her eyes away from Cenek and focused on Lena.
Lena held herself more proudly than Jessa had ever seen. Being queen bee to a bunch of lions certainly had done her well. She lounged in her seat, but on closer inspection, Jessa saw the stiff movements that meant her friend was on edge.
Jessa bit back a sigh and dropped heavily into a chair as far from Cenek as possible. She was there, for whatever reason. Lena was doing her best to ignore her. Hopefully the show would get rolling, so she could go back to her lonely home.
She couldn’t help but notice Sam taking a seat halfway between her and Cenek, just as Ethan had positioned himself between the man and his mate. He’d stashed his stupid cowboy hat somewhere, and his own dark hair didn’t have a single strand out of place. His eyes were steamy as they raked over her face, and she jerked her attention elsewhere. God save her from possessive men. She didn’t want to find out what Sam would do when he found out she had a history with Cenek.
Ethan gestured to Cenek as he took his seat. “Mr. Cipris has offered his services to help find the hunters that tried to steal you both away. Cenek, please, tell them what you told us.”
Cenek smiled too brightly for Jessa’s tastes. He cleared his throat and she held herself ready for his admission that they were familiar. Instead, he began, “The otherworld has been in a tizzy since that poor werewolf was forced to shift on television. The Nephilim have put out the word that the American Wolf Protection League was responsible for the act, and they’ve taken care of the problem. AmWo, for short. Quite a name, when their purpose was to kill werewolves, but I digress.”
Nephilim. Jessa shivered at the name. They were the self-ordained rulers of the otherworld. Most groups had their own leaders, like Ethan. As Alpha, he commanded the pride of lions under him. But if they ever got out of hand, Ethan reported to the Nephilim. They didn’t take kindly to anyone challenging their authority and weren’t afraid to take a scorched earth approach with wiping out their opposition. It eradicated the threat and reinforced their power to everyone that heard the tale.
Cenek continued, “I was contacted by someone looking to dabble in protection spells. After a little bit of digging, I found that rather than being wiped out as our great, angelic protectors claim, this organization has set themselves up again. But, rumor has it they suffered a setback when their attempt to kidnap a lioness ended in failure.”
“Rightly so,” Ethan growled.
Lena reached over and rested her hand on his arm. Jessa could see the tension ease in his body just at her touch. It made her heart swell in one moment and contract in the next. They had a deep connection that went beyond the instinctual drive that made them claim the other as their mate. Theirs was a true love, and Jessa envied them. It was that connection she wanted, not just her furry side telling her to bind herself to someone.
Sam’s question pulled Jessa’s attention back to the front of the room. “What else have you heard?”
“Meaning no offense, I’ve heard this lion pride hadn’t had any luck in finding their attackers. Every lead has vanished into thin air. I don’t think you’d have met with me if this wasn’t true.”
Jessa rolled her eyes. She didn’t understand why the others accepted his smug superiority. She couldn’t stand to listen to him anymore, and no one was getting to the point. “Why are you offering your help?” She demanded.
“Let’s just say I’m also invested in the game. This group has done me personal harm. Why not align myself with others who want them gone?” Cenek shrugged.
“So you’re just looking for an opportunity to ingratiate yourself with those with real power.”
“Jessa, please.” Ethan narrowed his eyes to command her silence. “Mr. Cipris, we’re more than welcome for your offer—”
She slapped her hand on the table. She should be thankful for Ethan’s continued desire to find and destroy those who hurt her and Lena, but Cenek’s presence rasped against her nerves. “How can you trust him? How do you know he hasn’t been sent here by the hunters? They could be moving in on us right now, and we’re being lulled into complacency by this… this warlock!”
Cenek smiled politely and dipped his head. “I am, indeed, a warlock. But that also means I’m not likely to be aligned with hunters. I’m part of the otherworld, and they seek to kill everyone not entirely human.”
He eyed her, and Jessa steeled herself. The time had come. He would spill her secrets for the others to hear. Her animal side growled and paced against the wall she built around it in her mind. It didn’t like Cenek treading on Sam’s territory. Jessa didn’t like her worlds colliding.
She’d done well for herself. She’d managed to mostly gain control over her shifting abilities. She finished nursing school. She had a townhouse to call her own. She didn’t need the man who named himself her mate struggling against the man who created her shifter side.
His eyes glittered at her, almost as if he were laughing at their little secret. She felt sick. She hadn’t done anything to deserve the curse he placed on her. She certainly didn’t deserve his forced company.
Ethan used her silence to redirect the conversation. She could almost see the gears turning in his head. A warlock could be useful. “Could you track them? We could get the pride together now and solve the problem tonight.”
“I could track them, yes. But they’ve grown cautious in the recent years. Smart, too, if the reports of this drug are true.” Lena growled, and Cenek flicked worried eyes in her direction. “Of course it’s true, my apologies. But it stands to reason that they may have protections against magical infiltration, especially if they were seeking protection spells. We don’t want to alert them and head right into a trap. We need to be as cautious as they.”
“And what do you propose?” Ethan furrowed his brow.
“We need to go undercover. Or rather, a shifter is needed. I believe their leader has been bitten. He’s taking in other shifters that are dissatisfied with themselves, and offering them a glimmer of hope about returning to their former selves.”
“Ah, so that’s why you came to us. We have the shifters you don’t.”
“And a reason to cooperate.”
Ethan nodded. “I won’t order anyone into danger. This would have to be volunteer only.”
“Of course. I’d also offer my help if there is any need of rescue. It won’t matter if magic is used once the alarm has been raised.”
Ethan and Sam leaned forward. Their voices lowered as the three men conferred. Jessa crossed her arms and stared at the chandelier above her. If only she could will it to crash down on the men. The lions were fools to believe anything that came out of Cenek’s mouth. God alone knew she’d fallen for his silver tongue, and it’d only done her harm.
She jumped when a light hand touched her shoulder. Lena gestured toward the hall. “Let them plan. We need to talk.”
Jessa almost let out a sigh. Cenek, for whatever reason, had decided to keep their past quiet. She should be thankful, but the cautious side of her
warned that they wouldn’t know if he spilled the beans while she was out of the room. With her confrontation with Lena looming large in her near future, she needed to prepare herself for her past to catch up with her.
Lena led her out of the room and deeper into the house. Jessa braced herself for the scents that rolled over her and had a better time controlling her overactive nose. Her animal chittered away at her, and Jessa felt scolded. For what, she couldn’t identify. Probably for walking right into a lion’s den.
They passed the massive staircase, and Jessa almost chuckled at the lion carvings that topped the banisters. There was that lion ego again. She wondered if they all had gigantic mirrors in their rooms to better admire themselves with.
The hall opened into a large kitchen. She wasn’t surprised to see several refrigerators. A pride house meant plenty of hungry lions passing through. They would need the extra space to fill the empty stomachs.
“Go on, sit.” Lena gestured toward a tiny table tucked into the corner.
Jessa made herself comfortable and watched Lena drag a stepladder to a cabinet, climb it, and dig around on a shelf high above her head. “Those greedy jerks,” she mumbled. “They better not have eaten through my stash.”
She turned, wobbling on the ladder before regaining her balance. She held a box of Girl Scout cookies in her hand like a prize.
She plopped down on the chair across from Jessa and slid her a sleeve of cookies. “Those are my last ones until next year. Now, spill. What are you?”
Jessa knew it was time to make her confession. Lena needed to hear the truth. It’d weighed on Jessa in the time since their attempted kidnapping, and seeing Cenek again brought everything rushing back. She’d kept quiet for so long that she didn’t know where to begin. “I’m sorry for not telling you.”
Lena sighed, irritation heavy on her breath. “It sure would have made my deal a little easier to swallow.” Her expression softened. “I couldn’t live with myself if I had hurt you or someone else in that diner. But especially you.”
Jessa nodded. Ethan claimed Lena as his mate without consulting her first, and a series of events led to her shifting for the first time in the basement of a crowded diner without her mate to explain anything. Jessa had been the first thing on the new lioness’s menu.
“Well, you know the first rule about shifter club is don’t talk about shifter club.” Jessa failed at cracking a smile.
“The second rule about being Queen of the Lions is there are no rules, and I get to bite anyone that makes me upset.” Lena gestured to her body. “What are you under all that?”
“All that? Are you calling me fat?”
“Pfft. You’re skinnier than I am. C’mon, let it out. You’ve seen mine, show me yours.”
Jessa shook her head. “It’s not as easy as that. I was cursed.”
“Yeah, yeah, aren’t we all. It totally sucks having a kickass animal inside our heads.” The sarcasm dripped from her voice. “Unless you don’t. Are you an adorable little field mouse, Jessa? Do I have to bop you on your head?”
Jessa warded her off. “No, not cursed like that. I wasn’t born or bitten to become a shifter. A warlock cursed me. With magic.”
“Magic?” Lena cocked her head. “I know I’m new to all this otherworld business, but how is someone cursed into a shifter?”
Jessa made a face. “That brings us to your guest in there. Cenek Cipris. You know that semester off I took in college?”
“Yeah. I still hate you for going, by the way.” She bit into a cookie extra hard to emphasize her point.
Jessa shifted in her seat. She didn’t think Lena would really bite her, but she decided to hurry her tale anyways. “I may have met him overseas. We traveled together for a little bit, and when I decided to go my own way he cursed me with his mojo warlock powers.”
“Maybe don’t mention that to Sam? I’m not sure he’d take too kindly to knowing someone else gave you the business.” Lena waggled her eyebrows lewdly.
“I don’t want Levesque knowing anything. Not even what I am.” Jessa snapped more fiercely than she intended. Being around the lions certainly gave her animal some bite.
Lena growled, and Jessa bowed her head. She didn’t mean to antagonize Lena’s lioness. “Sorry. I can’t trust my animal.”
“But what is it?”
Jessa sighed. She’d been doing that a lot lately. “I’m a chimera. I’m not stuck with one form. I see an animal, I can shift into the animal.”
Lena considered her revelation for a moment. Then her face split into a bright smile. “That sounds…awesome! Next time we hit the beach, you have to turn into a shark and scare everyone away. Hello, private beach!”
Jessa grimaced. “It’s not funny! I don’t have an identity like all you other shifters. I don’t belong anywhere.”
Lena reached across the table and placed her hand on Jessa’s. “You always have a place with me. I’ll tell everyone you’re under my protection. Turn into a fluffy little mouse, no one will gobble you up.”
“That’d be well and fine if I could control it. Sometimes I can pick the animal I want to be, but most of the time it’s a mystery until I’m covered in fur.”
“So.” Lena scrunched up her nose. “You’re like… Nurse Jessa and Miss Hyde?”
Jessa glared. Her expression softened as she replayed the words in her head and snorted. A full belly laugh followed.
“Yeah, I guess I am.” It felt good to laugh with her friend again. She’d missed their friendly teasing. Her tight shoulders began to relax.
“So. Sam?”
Her tension immediately returned. The mere mention of the man set her on edge. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“He’s obviously into you.”
Jessa felt her cheeks warm. She wouldn’t mind feeling Sam’s strong arms wrapping around her generous curves. But giving in even that much frightened her. “I don’t know… It’s hard to sort what I’m feeling and what the animal is saying.”
Lena shrugged. “Let the chimera have a say. It’s part of you, no matter how it came to be.”
Jessa started shaking her head before Lena finished. “No way. I’m not going to let some muddled instinct drive me into another failed relationship. I can do that on my own, and at least get away at the end. I don’t need it tying me to the person when we should be breaking up.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Lions have fated mates—”
“But I’m not a lion, Lena. I don’t have the certainty that you and Ethan have. I’m just me, with an extra dose of weirdness.”
“Well, the Alpha’s second seems to dig that weirdness. Don’t reject him so easily, Jessa. You could do a lot worse.”
Lena was right. Sam Levesque was a successful businessman and had the respect of the pride and his Alpha. She just wished he wouldn’t assume they belonged together because some primal instinct told him so. She made a face. “Yeah, that ‘lot worse’ is sitting in the other room right now.”
Lena reached across the table. “I know this isn’t pleasant for you. But we need the help. We need to stop these people from taking anyone else.”
Jessa shut her eyes and nodded. “I know. I know. I’m not happy about it, but hey. If he can curse someone into a shifter, he can probably help track down some scummy hunters.” She tried to crack a smile. “Would you mind if I took a walk?”
“Do you want company?”
“I just need a little time alone to process everything and get used to the idea that we’re making a deal with the devil.”
“Of course. Take all the time you need. There’s a group patrolling the fences, but they’ll be easy enough to avoid if you don’t stray too close to the edge of the property.”
Jessa smiled. Just a short conversation and they were back in sync. She should have come clean to Lena years ago.
Maybe then she wouldn’t be stuck between the man her furry side said to mate and the man who put that side there in the first place.
>
Chapter Three
The doe raised her head and sniffed at the air. Her ears twitched and tried to catch the sound that spooked her in the first place, but only the hoot of an owl came to her. She scanned the tree line, but no movement startled her.
Jessa had made it to the tree line surrounding the main house before discarding her clothes and letting her animal surge forward. True to what she told Lena, she didn’t have any idea the shape her new body would take until she cleared her head on the other side. The chimera’s wills and desires were at the front of her mind, but she could still think like Jessa.
She lowered her head back to munch on the delicious grass and casually move closer to the edge of the clearing. One thing was certain; the landscapers knew how to take care of the Sanford estate. She didn’t think she’d ever tasted grass so lovely.
She stayed away from the edges of the estate to avoid the patrols. But there were so many free acres between fences, and her doe was smaller than the average deer, that she felt like she had an entire forest to herself. Even so, the slightest noise put her on high alert. She didn’t want to become a snack for any lion that caught her scent.
Her chimera was thankful for the opportunity to stretch into another form. It’d been too long since Jessa had let it out. Jessa’s townhouse backed into a large park, but she rarely used the forest. There was too big a chance of shifting into something wrong. She’d flopped around on the floor as a fish out of water one time too many to trust the beast.
She’d struggled with her first shift, lonely and afraid in a foreign country. It’d been just days after she split from Cenek. Leaving the hostel in Prague, she took a train to Romania to continue with her plan to visit Bran Castle. Her love of horror stories turned into a real life experience shortly after arriving in Brasov. She was thankful her first full body transformation had been into something small and less deadly than a lioness, though she empathized with Lena’s experience. There was nothing threatening about a little mouse.
Embracing Her Lion: BBW Lion Shifter Paranormal Romance (Carver City Shifters Book 2) Page 2