ROMANCE: LION SHIFTER ROMANCE: Luring The Lion (Lion Shapeshifter Paranormal Fantasy Romance) (BBW Lion Shifter Romance) (2 page)

Chapter 3

Matt sent some of his men to find out what had happened to the lions. He wasn't expecting answers back, but he got a call on the radio phone telling him that at least two of her lions were already dead. One of which was the male. He'd been the first one killed for trophy. Matt felt bad having to tell her the news, but he told them to keep searching and looking to find the other two lions, hoping that the pregnant one was still alive.

Bethany came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her head, she had on some brown cargo shorts Matt had found close to her size, and a tank top he'd borrowed from one of the other guests who didn't mind donating a shirt. He hadn't been able to find her a bra, and her ample melon-shaped breasts were clearly visible through the army-green tank top. He could see her perky nipples and his palms itched to touch them. Her light yellow eyes were intriguing. He'd never seen that shade before. They were almost hazel with flecks of green in them. She moved with a grace that had him watching her hips sway side to side as she walked up to him drying her hair.

"Well, I have some news, but you aren't going to like it," he told her and turned his head away slightly. Finding her breasts too much of a distraction to keep looking at her at the moment.

"What's wrong?" She asked him, freezing, putting the towel over her arm and let her long amber-colored hair fall down her back in a mass of tangles. She'd done her best to finger comb it, but without a brush to do it justice, it was just going to dry into a curly mass.

"Two of the lions were found, including the male. But they weren't alive. I'm still working on the other two lions, the female wasn't pregnant, so there's hope the female who's pregnant is still alive. Where you able to reach the zoo back home?" Matt asked her, finally turning his gaze to her face, trying to look her in the eyes and not let his gaze drop to the mounds on her chest that had him aching to touch her.

"Yes, and they told me that once they are out of the country, there's nothing that can really be done. They are already working with other zoos to see if they have lions available to replace them, and they are fixing the fences, the zoo security footage showed the men disabling all the cameras and blowing the doors up. They had everything down to an art; they were in and out with all of us in under fifteen minutes. By the time security and the police arrived, they were completely cleared out." Bethany sighed and shook her head. "What's to keep them from doing it again?"

"As far as I know, these groups never target the same place twice. I don't know why they'd target a zoo, unless it was personal. Generally, going over to the States like that would be because someone or something prompted it. There are so many wildlife reserves here; they have no need to travel," Matt shrugged. It was a way of life, it wasn't always pretty and it was downright sad for the wildlife, as well as for families who depended on tourists and the reserves for a livelihood. When it came to money, people were greedy and didn't care who got hurt to get them out of their way.

The two of them would need to tread carefully. While Matt had a good relationship with the local authorities, they were known to turn a blind eye when enough money crossed the right palms.

"I appreciate you helping me," Bethany told him and took a step closer to him. She could see the interest in his eyes when he looked at her, and the way he was trying to be honorable by not staring at her the entire time. She knew she wasn't wearing a bra. She knew he found that attractive. He wasn't bad looking himself. He had an aristocratic nose, dark curly hair that had light brown streaks from being out in the sunshine, and he had a light smattering of freckles across his nose and tan skin. He was tall and muscular, not in a body builder sort of way; he was leaner in his build. His shoulders were broad though and he looked like he could handle himself well in a dangerous situation.

She was attracted to him, she knew she needed to find her lions, but until they located them, there was nothing she could do, and she didn't like being idle.

"Show me around," she therefore asked him and smiled when he offered to take the towel from her. She handed it to him and waited for him to come back from the laundry area.

"He gestured around the area they were in. This is the main registration office, you used my personal office with a shower,” he said as he led her out onto the property. “Our cabin suites have bedrooms, and a lounge. They are larger in case our guests want to bring their families. Showers in all the bungalows, and they are kept stocked with snacks and drinks by the staff. We also have suites on the top two stories of the main lodge. Most meals are served in the dining hall of the main lodge, but room service is available for a premium. We do allow outside goods to be brought in as long as they are legal,” he said and smiled. They entered the main lodge, and Matt pointed out the dining hall, and lounge area. Bethany saw trophies hanging all over the walls. There were African rhinos, elephants, antelopes, and big cats of several species. They passed by a room that had very little space left, being filled floor and ceiling with trophies kills. Matt noticed her look and shrugged as they passed. “I doubt you’d appreciate the Trophy Hall. I have several guides on the payroll to help with the hunting parties, but I like to lead as many as I can. It’s something that I really enjoy doing. We check all licenses on the computer, I invested in good technology to keep this place running efficiently and connected to the outside. We also have backup generators in case we ever lose one of our main ones." He put his hand on her arm and looked at her. "This is a rough place. There are no malls or coffee shops. But we have this wonderful environment, filled with magnificent wildlife that visitors can watch from the comfort of their patios and deck chairs. And also, where can you find a more romantic setting?” he said as he pointed to the spectacular orange and red sky where the sun was dipping below the horizon. 

Bethany looked at his long fingers wrapped around her arm and instead of backing up, she took a step closer and got in his space and looked up. Her nipples were hard and she nearly pressed herself against his chest before speaking to him. Matt finished his short tour and headed back to his office with Bethany in tow.

"I'm more afraid of what the humans will do, than a natural predator or animal would. At least their instincts make sense and you can usually predict their behavior. Humans, on the other hand, are unpredictable and do things for emotional and illogical reasons. It's not just about survival," Bethany said. Back in his office she stepped close to Matt again. Bethany could feel his breath on her cheek she was so close. She made eye contact with him and for a moment, she thought he was going to run away like a scared rabbit. She could hear his heart hammering away in his chest and knew she was getting a reaction out of him.

He surprised her when he lowered his head and kissed her. Firmly. He put his hands on her arms and held her in place, a dominant kiss, his tongue melded with hers and he was not gentle. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, just as aggressively, just as passionately. She moaned into his mouth. He backed them up until they were in the supply closet and he shut the door. Turning the light on he broke the kiss to look at her for a moment and when she didn't protest, he locked the door and kissed her again. His hands reached down her shirt to massage her breasts and Bethany rubbed herself against him.

She shouldn't be in here, doing this with him, but after everything she'd been through in the last couple days, she just needed to forget, to feel alive and he was hot and ready and he made her feel something she'd never felt before. He felt slightly untamable. He was wild as the land he lived on and he was powerful and had a knack for surviving. While she didn't like that he hunted animals, or ran hunting parties on innocent animals, even if it was lawful, she could begin to understand where he came from.

He grabbed her wrists and put them above her head, pinning them to the wall. He moved his fingers until it was just one hand pinning both her wrists. Bethany knew due to her supernatural strength, if she didn't want him to keep her here, she could easily break free, but she found it sensual that he would do it. He wasn't hurting her, but the hungry way he looked at her as he used his other hand to lift her shirt and free her breasts to his gaze had her knees go weak.

He tweaked her nipples and touched her skin with his palms and fingers; he lowered his head and nibbled on her lower lip before pressing firm kisses to her cheeks and neck.

Bethany wrapped one of her legs up around his and pulled him closer so his groin rubbed against her stomach. She could feel his erection through his pants and pushed herself up against him. She wanted him. He was large and hard and she was growing wetter by the minute. It was hard to be still and not push him back and rip his clothes off and have her way with him. She was trying to let him lead and control the pace since he seemed to get off on it and the challenge of trying to surrender to him was exciting her.

"I want you," She whispered to him, and pressed herself up against him so he could feel her wetness. His hand moved from her breasts down her firm stomach into her pants. She had on no underwear and his fingers found her wet core in seconds. Rubbing against her folds and the sensitive nub, his fingers massaged her gently until her head fell to the side in pleasure and she closed her eyes as she arched her hips up against his hand over and over again.

He worked on her body until she was nearly panting and then pulled his hand free. Pulling her pants down and working his cock free from his own clothes he picked her up by her bottom until she'd wrapped her legs around his waist. He slid into her like he was made for her as he pressed her back against the wall to help support her weight. He started moving his hips, sliding in and out of her, taking her faster as his tongue plunged deep into her mouth.

She gripped his shoulders for balance with her arms and hands. Feeling her clit rub against his groin as he thrust up inside of her, she was so close to an orgasm arching back she moaned loudly as the ripples of her climax started shuddering through her. She squeezed her legs around him tight and dug her fingers into his shoulders as she convulsed in his arms.

Grunting, he went faster, her squeezing him hard all over, especially around his cock sending him over the edge into an explosive orgasm that had them crashing hard into the wall as he pushed himself into her a few more times as they shuddered against each other.

He held her like that until his arms started to get tired and then slowly slid her down his body and held her for a moment. Looking down at her, he grinned slowly.

"You need to find a shirt to cover your breasts, or I'm not the only man who's going to be thinking about pulling you into a supply closet and having their way with you." He whispered as he touched her face almost tenderly and then backed up and put himself away, straightening his clothes.

"As if I'd let most men touch me," Bethany said and pulled her pants up and her tank top down. She didn't have any regrets over what they just did, but now that whatever explosive chemistry had been building between them, she hoped that was enough to tide them both over while she found her surviving lions.

If she lost the other two lions, she didn't know how she was going to go home and face her old job, knowing she had completely failed to protect them. As a shifter, as a lion herself, she was facing the ultimate challenge right now to protect what she'd considered her pride, and she'd already failed half of them.

Swallowing hard, she tried not to hate herself for it.

"These smugglers here are no joke. They'd kill you and not think twice. Unless you have some magic tricks up your sleeve to survive, you'd be lucky to get away from them alive. Trust me, this is one of the most dangerous places you can live and you need friends to survive here," Matt told her with a sympathetic look. He knew this wasn't easy for her to accept, and the struggle of facing the pain of failure when it came to rescuing her lions was a risk she had to understand, along with the risk to her personal safety taking on the men who could kidnap lions out of a zoo.

They weren't just a small band of criminals or thugs. The men who'd kidnapped her lions had money backing them.

"I'm not afraid to die for what I believe in," Bethany told him. She knew she couldn't tell him her secret, that she was a shifter, and the fact that she felt a kinship with these lions wouldn't make sense to a human.

"That's a very real possibility here." Matt muttered and then grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth to give it a kiss. "I would hate to see you killed though."

Chapter 5

Bethany and Matt got news about the location of the other two lions two days days later. Matt had kept her busy between conducting safaris and making love to her. He enjoyed her company and she was a spitfire that kept him on his toes. He'd never have thought he'd met his soul mate out here in the middle of Africa, but when Bethany landed in his lap, the more time he'd spent with her, the more he was falling for her. He felt her keeping walls between them. He knew she was focused and worried about the remaining two lions, and he was trying to figure out how to win her heart so that when this was over, the two of them had a shot at being together.

Fate had brought them together, and he could recognize chemistry and someone special even in the middle of a high stress and dangerous situation. He wasn't sure if she was just using him to distract her and help her, or if what he was feeling for her went both ways. He was almost afraid to ask her. He wasn't a man used to rejection.

His satellite phone rang and he picked it up. Getting information, he wrote down coordinates for the camp that his people suspected the surviving lions were being held.

"Are you ready to face them Bethany?" He asked her. This was the phone call they'd been waiting on. He started loading his guns, knowing it could get nasty. Putting them out in the jeep he waited for her to get in so they could go to the coordinates. It was a short drive from the main complex, which worried him a bit, how they could be so close.

"I'm ready," she told him, and then started to wonder whether, if she had to shift to take down bad guys, or save her lions, whether she should warn him first. She worried that he wouldn't know what was going on and would panic. So far, Matt seemed calm under pressure, but seeing a person shift into a large cat might cause even the most stable people to have a nervous breakdown if they thought their heads were messing with them.

Looking over at him, she took a deep breath and was about to spill the beans when he turned the car off and put his hand up for her to be quiet for a moment. Listening, he tilted his head and then put his fingers to his lips. Grabbing two rifles, he tossed one to her and she stared down at it. He hadn't told her he was planning on giving her a gun, and she didn't know how to use it. If she needed a weapon, she shifted. Looking at him she shook her head and handed it back.

"I don't know how to use this," she whispered to him and then before his eyes she shifted into her lion. She stood in front of him on all four legs. He instinctively pointed his gun at her and took a step back as he processed what he'd just seen.

Matt slowly lowered his gun and just stared at her for a moment. "You owe me an explanation when this is over."

She gave her head a jerk in acknowledgement, and then padded silently where he pointed his gun through some brush. In her shifted form, she could hear the men talking, and her heart started beating faster when she smelled her lions. She could also smell blood, and felt the urge to run forward in anger, but forced herself to hold still. She didn't want to risk being shot. She needed to work with Matt to control this situation.

Matt tried to absorb that he'd just seen someone turn into a lion right in front of him. She told him she had a secret, but he didn't realize it was something that unusual and strange. He'd heard rumors of the locals being able to shift into animals, but he never thought it was real. Until her. He was fascinated, and he could see and understand why she was so against hunting animals. Especially those she had a kinship too. Focusing on the job in front of him, he worked his way silently through the dense brush until he could see the camp ahead. There were four men visible, and only one lion in the cages off towards the back of the camp. There were two jeeps and tents set up. They'd been here for a while, hiding. He was angry they were so close to his property, and that he didn't even know they were here. He needed to talk to his scouts about making sure they checked everything. If they got any closer to his lodge, they could put his guests at risk.

He saw the discarded, dead body of a lion off to the side and swallowed hard. He looked over at Bethany and jerked his head towards the body on the other side of the camp. He saw her eyes narrow and her lips come up in a snarl and realized that what she had planned for these men would be less humane then just shooting poachers.

Matt considered the possibilities, shooting them would lead to many questions he didn't want to answer, but a lion killing them would look like an accident. Leaning down he whispered that to her. He'd use himself as bait, to distract them, but if she wanted to rescue the surviving lion, he couldn't shoot these men. It had to look like an accident so he wouldn't be questioned about his involvement.

Nodding her head slightly, Bethany understood what he was telling her, and while killing men wasn't something she enjoyed, they'd already slaughtered three of her lions. She didn't know if her pregnant lion was still alive, but she'd had three cubs in there. If they killed the pregnant lion, their death count was at six. She padded into the camp silently, and Matt shot a bullet into the air to distract the men and then hurtled forward through the brush.

All chaos broke loose as the poachers jumped up and reached for their guns. Bethany took out the first one from behind. Breaking his neck with her powerful jaws, she went on instinct and didn't even stop to think what she was doing.

Looking over, she saw the men turning towards her and roared. They aimed their guns at her. Matt fired another shot and stepped into the camp to draw their attention away from her. They stepped back panicking, not sure who to attack, her or Matt.

She watched one of the men aim his gun directly at Matt's chest, and that's when she lunged and ripped the gun from his hand, tearing a chunk of flesh out where her teeth snagged his arm. He fell to the ground screaming in agony.

The other men scrambled to get away and she let them go. If they weren't going to stay here and fight, she wasn't going to kill them for no reason. She waited until they were gone and then shifted back.

Checking on the dead lion, she sighed in relief when she realized it wasn't Missy, her pregnant lion. Walking over to the cage she approached the terrified lion. Having lived in captivity, she'd trusted humans. She had cuts on her body from where they'd attacked her through the bars of her cage, trying to rile her up and make her act aggressive.

Dropping to her knees in front of them, Bethany almost started to cry. She talked calmly to the lion. She sent the lion images, telling Missy that she was here to help her, and that Matt was a friend. She knew that getting the lion back to the compound would be tricky in his game drive vehicle, and she wasn't sure Matt would want to drive a lion sitting in the back, where guests normally sat.

She grabbed a rock and started breaking the lock on the cage. Matt looked around until he found a crowbar and broke the lock on the cage for her.

"We need to get out of here before anyone returns. No-one will believe them if they said a lion and a man worked together, they'd never be believed, but we need to leave fast. Do you have a plan for getting your lion out of here?" Matt asked her as he scanned the area quickly, tense, hoping that the poachers wouldn't return with backup too quickly to still find them at the camp.

"Yes, but you aren't going to like it," Bethany told him as she put a hand on the lions neck and walked her through the camp. Matt hung back, nervous about the lion. Just because the lion trusted Bethany doesn't mean her instincts wouldn't have her kill Matt in a heartbeat. He wasn't an idiot. He had respect for these creatures.

They got to Matt's vehicle and she opened the back door, the lion climbed in and sat on the seat. She let out a low growl as she watched, with slight amusement, as Matt hesitantly got into the front seat.

"She's not going to attack me, is she?" Matt asked, trying to sound calm. He didn't want to trigger anything, and though Bethany could shift and he might be able to trust her as a lion, this wasn't a half human lion that was sitting in his back seat right now. That lion was a hungry, mistreated, hormonal pregnant lion that would do anything to protect herself now that she was almost free.

"No, but it's not safe to take her back around all those people. She needs a safe place to give birth. That cabin you said you had off the back of your lodge where you need to go for privacy and a break? Take her there," Bethany said and examined the lion more thoroughly as he drove.

Matt was tense, and his knuckles were white on the wheel. He didn't say much in the short drive back to the lodge. When he pulled into the lodge and stopped at his cabin, he sighed a breath of relief when Bethany got the lion out and took her inside.

A few minutes later Bethany came back out.

"She's about to go into labor, I need veterinary supplies. Can you bring them back for me?" she asked, searching his face, hoping as the reality of the situation hit him he wouldn't panic and run away.

"Yes. Just wait for me. It may take me a while. The fridge is stocked, there's water out back if you need more, the stove is oil, if you run out, there’s a supply in the cabinet, and the lock for the cabinet is on the key ring by the bathroom. I'll be back as fast as I can. Do you need anything else?" Matt stood there, holding his rifle in his hands as he faced Bethany.

"I don't need anything right now but the supplies for Missy," Bethany said and hesitated. When Matt turned to walk back to his vehicle to fetch her supplies, she put her hand on his arm. He stopped and turned back towards her, and Bethany kissed him. "Thank you. I will never forget your help."

"Make it up to me when I get back, we can talk. I'm not going anywhere, Bethany, but I don't know what we are going to do about your lion, she can't just keep here living in my cabin forever." Matt gave her arm a squeeze before leaving.

Bethany watched him drive away and then headed back inside to attend to Missy. Missy was upset, her pride had all died, and Bethany was the only member left that Missy knew. She was scared and it was her first pregnancy. She was a new mom and she was suddenly a solo lion out in the wilderness without knowing what to do.

Bethany sent Missy images of family, her and Matt. She didn't know if Matt would consider changing his business - he'd been doing this for a while, but he had a good heart, and he seemed to be able to handle everything so far. She wondered if he'd consider changing his game reserve to one without hunting trips. Clearly, judging by the luxury lodge she was in, he was making good money off hunting. But that may change if he no longer offer hunting as an activity. However, she wasn't poor, she might work at a zoo, but her family had left her a good amount of money, she could donate it to Matt to change how he ran his business, he had the land, the facilities and the staff, he could make the change fairly easily if he wanted too.

She wanted to believe that he liked her enough to consider it, but also knew that she'd just met the man and she's be asking him to change his entire life for a total stranger, to help lions. Her species. They may not be shifters, but she at times felt more bonded to wild animals than she did to humans.

Maybe that's why she liked Matt, he seemed half feral at times, he was wild and dominating and while he wasn't as strong as a shifter, he was a fine specimen of a human male with a wit and quickness about him that allowed him to live by predators, game and most of all, lions.

Focusing her attention back on Missy, she sat with her quietly, waiting for Matt to return with the items she may need and let Missy to give birth to her cubs.

An hour or two later, Matt came back with the supplies she had asked for, and sat on the couch across the room watching quietly. Missy raised her head and looked at him a couple times, but after watching him for a few moments she lowered her head and allowed him to stay.

Matt wasn't sure if that was Bethany's doing entirely, or if the lion decided to trust him because he had helped save her.

It took most of the night, but by morning, Missy had given birth to her three cubs. They seemed to be no worse for the wear, despite the experience their mother had gone through. Missy got them nursing and Bethany went outside to shower and to leave the new mother alone for a while.

She nodded at Matt to follow her.

He grabbed his shoes off the floor and put them back on and followed her outside. Bethany took her clothes off and got under the outside shower to clean the filth and grime off herself. She felt dirty and tried to scrub herself clean. She had killed men. She hated when she had to do that. She knew sometimes it was needed, and in this situation to save Missy and keep herself and Matt safe, she'd had no choice.

"So, you can turn into a lion," Matt said matter-of-factly as he watched her bathe. The water ran down her body and he felt the urge to join her but held himself back. He needed to understand what was going on and where the two of them stood. He wanted her, he was falling in love with her and her being able to turn into a lion didn't change his feelings for her, but it did make him realize this situation was over his head and he needed to handle it cautiously.

"Yes," Bethany responded as she wrapped her body in a towel and stepped out of the outdoor shower area and put on a pair of flip-flops he'd found for her a couple of days ago. It had been in the supplies he'd brought back. "Look, I like you. Missy's going to need a home and I can't just leave her here. I know this is a lot to ask, but I have money. I'd like to donate it to your lodge in exchange for you converting it to a reserve for rescued animals. I can't go back to Florida at this point, and I can't just leave Missy here for you to take care of, or to be harmed. She needs protection, as do her babies."