Freeing A Lion: BBW Paranormal Lion Shape Shifter Romance (Sleeping Lions - Shifters Prime Book 2) by Harmony Raines Read Free Book Online Page B

stretching his muscles while looking around. He took a deep breath and could catch a different scent on the breeze. Looking out across the border he could see the open grasslands, and his lion stirred, sensing their home. A thrill buzzed inside him, and excitement made his blood hot, the alpha part of him waking up from its long sleep. It did other things to him as well; it made him acutely aware of Lottie, and he longed to take off the collar and acknowledge the link between them.
    Because the one other thing he had learned in his online search was that shifters had mates, others that they were meant to spend the rest of their lives with. Sometimes they were pure humans. And he knew without any doubt that was what his lion had been trying to tell him: Lottie was their mate.
    The unsuspecting woman was his. And as they walked down to the border, he had to fight the urge to tell her. He had to fight the urge to turn her.
    He clenched his fists. No, that would be selfish. She was better off here. To turn her against her will would be to live with the repercussions for the rest of their lives, and he didn’t want that. He knew what it was like to have your free will taken away.
    So despite his lion prowling inside his mind, he tried to act normally.
    Lea’s hand slipped into his, and he felt her fear. It distracted him from his feelings for Lottie.
    “It will be alright,” he reassured her. And himself. He was used to being on his own; if he had to deny his mate, he would survive. But his lion roared mournfully in response.
     

Chapter Eleven – Lottie
     
    “This is it,” she said. They were standing around fifty feet away from the border. It was quiet. Which surprised her, for some reason she has expected it to be a busy, bustling centre of trade. One in, one out, but there were only two border guards standing outside of a small hut.
    They had caught sight of the three of them coming down the hill to the crossing point, and one had gone inside the hut while the other one rested his hand on his gun. That made this feel so much more real, more dangerous. How could they see Daniel and Lea as a threat? And her, of course they probably thought they were all shifters.
    “This is where we say goodbye,” Daniel said firmly. “If I can ever repay you for what you’ve done, I will.”
    She smiled faintly. “I doubt we’ll ever meet again.” His eyes flickered to hers and then moved away before she would fathom what the hurt there meant. Was he attracted to her? Stupid. He would be only interested in his own kind, but she had to admit she liked the idea of having him as her husband, that was a nice thought. One that made her want to reach out and pull him back towards her, to kiss him. Just one time so she could hold it in her memory, in the same place she held her mom’s hug and her dad’s laugh.
    “Take care of yourself, Lottie,” he said and then held her, pulling her into his arms.
    She allowed her body to soften in his embrace, letting her head rest on his shoulder, his heart beat in her ear. This was what she missed, close contact with another person, it didn’t matter that he could change into a lion at will. He was still all man, and her body wanted to be his woman.
    She stepped back, scared she would give herself away. “You both take care,” she said, bending down to speak to Lea. “I hope you have a great time splashing in the rivers and streams. I sure would like to have seen your lion cub.”
    Lea looked at her shyly and then slipped her arms around Lottie’s neck. “Thank you,” she whispered.
    “Be happy, Lea,” Lottie said.
    Standing up, she smiled once more and then said, “You should go, they are looking at you suspiciously.”
    “Goodbye,” Daniel said.
    “Good luck,” Lottie replied quickly and then took a step back. She would walk up the hill and watch them cross. That way she would be able to see them actually set foot in Shifters Prime, she might also get a glimpse of them changing