Read Seduced By The Lion Alpha for Free Online Page B

“So, what, does your pride use your abilities all the time?” I asked. Leon jumped up onto a fallen log and darted across it. Once across, he held out his hand to me so I could follow.
     
    “Yes and no,” he said. “My pride is small, as I said. I only have about half a dozen females left, maybe less. So we tend to stay away from humans. Because of this, I actually don’t know if we are always using our abilities, as we simply don’t have a benchmark to check.”
     
    “So how does pride life work, exactly?” I asked. I imagined lions in their cages at the zoo overlapped with those on the plains of their homelands. Those images were fast replaced with images of lions running through jungle, though I knew that wasn’t true, and the trees were replaced with skyscrapers made of glass and steel. The concrete jungle, so to speak.
     
    “What do you mean?” asked Leon.
     
    “You live in cities, or at least close to them; you obviously hunt, whether for animals or for mates; and you live in a polygamous relationship with six women.” I counted the facts off on my fingers. “I’m trying to figure out how it all works.”
     
    “My beta and I actually share the lionesses of the pride,” corrected Leon. I raised an eyebrow at him. Before, I’d been skeptical about the polygamy of his lifestyle, but now I was merely curious. My earlier scorn and judgment was gone, replaced with a gentle curiosity.
     
    “Oh?” I turned to him as we walked and urged him to continue on.
     
    Our path carried us over a small hill and through trees so tall I could scarcely see the tops as he spoke. “We live in the forests, in much the way you would expect, but we also have jobs in the cities. We need supplies, food, shelters, and those are things which largely require money.” He sighed. “Unfortunately. We used to be able to live solely on our own, but that simply isn’t possible anymore.” He laughed. “That’s not to say it isn’t fun. We live together, eat together, play together, and love together. We only go into the cities when we need to and most of our funds come from our hunting.” A wistful look passed his face. “Until today, I didn’t think anyone ventured this far into the forest.”
     
    “Usually I don’t,” I said quietly. My voice trailed off as new images of the shifter life came into my mind: lions and humans lounging by the water and living in cabins together; lions racing through the forests only to flip into humans at the last second; lions fighting together and enjoying life to the fullest, without the hustle and bustle of the cities to slow them down or to stop them. I sighed, wistful. The life of a shifter seemed so calm, so peaceful, compared to the lives of the people I lived with. If the worst they had to worry about were territory wars, then maybe shifter life was the best life to live. It helped, I thought, with a sidelong glance, that the leader of the pride was as attractive and kind as Leon.
     
    “It sounds lovely,” I said after a bit of silence.
     
    Leon nodded. “That it is,” he agreed. “I couldn’t imagine living any other way.” And, thinking about it, I could definitely see why. After living so peacefully for so long, what must he think about the filth and noise that was the city? What must he think of the people who wandered into the edges of the forest, disturbing his home? What must he think of me ? I nibbled on my lower lip and looked away from him.
     
    “Are you all right?” he asked me, and I managed a weak nod, though I could tell he wasn’t convinced.
     
    “Are you all right?” In the thirty seconds between my nod and my question, Leon had changed. His hair hung limp now, his hands shaking as he stuffed them in his pockets. His entire body seemed to be slowly coating itself in a layer of sweat. Short, fast breaths puffed into the air around him, hot and smoky enough that I could feel the residual breeze from them. I had to stare. This didn’t look