Authors: Harmony Raines
Tags: #General Fiction
His lion battled with him, trying to take charge and come forward. His lion thought he could beat them easily, but Kieran kept control, telling him that they didn’t know how to fight with his teeth and claws. This had not gone down well with his lion at all.
As this battle raged on inside him he ran north like they told him to. If he was being followed, he didn’t want to do anything that might cause trouble for Misty. He laughed to himself: hadn’t he done enough already, brought enough trouble her way?
He replayed everything Serrif had told him, over and over. This was the man who had killed his father. This was the man who had got Lance take him on as a fighter, so he could keep tabs on him. They had known all along exactly who he was, what he was. When Lance called him Kitty, it was because he knew Kieran was a lion.
He’d been played. For the last five years of his life he’d been used, kept exactly where they wanted him to be. And now his brother Kane had resurfaced, they were going to use Kieran to kill him.
Let them think that, but Kieran was never very good at doing what he was told.
He slowed to a walk. He didn’t want to go too much further, so he waited, listening, trying to hear if anyone was following him. And then a twig cracked a couple of hundred yards to his left, something was moving towards him.
He set off through the trees, circling back the way he’d come. If one of them was following him, he would catch him and kill him.
That would leave only two back at the cabin. He liked those odds so much better.
There was a different sound, this time a snuffling, it didn’t sound much like a lion, he couldn’t tell what kind of animal it was. Then through the trees he glimpsed something moving. Two things moving, and one of them was much bigger than a lion. He lowered his body to the ground, trying to make no noise, as he stalked his enemy.
It was a bear, this might be a little bit trickier than he thought, and the other one with him was a lion, but a smaller lion, one that would be easy to kill.
They were moving, heads down, as if they were following a scent. He couldn’t tell if they knew he was there, but he moved in a wide circle around them until he was behind them. Then he waited for the ideal moment to pounce.
They stopped, and looked in the direction of the cabin. They weren’t tracking him; they were heading away from him.
He moved forward, trying to get closer, but then they heard him. The bear turned and began to run at him. This did not look good, the bear would easily overpower him; his only option was to run. But just as the bear reared up ready to swipe him with his large paws, the small lion changed into a woman.
“Frasier, stop,” she said.
He knew that name—was this the person they were supposed to find? Darius had told Misty to find someone called Frasier: was it possible this bear was the person she had been sent to speak to?
The bear stopped, lowering himself to the ground, but still showing his teeth, threatening Kieran.
“You’re not Serrif, and I don’t think you’re one of his men, or at least I hope you’re not, because otherwise my friend here will kill you. You’re the one whose scent is mingled with Misty’s.”
How did she know about Misty? He looked at the bear and he looked at the woman, and knew that the only way he would find out what was going on was if he changed back to a man.
He shifted quickly, and stood with his fists ready to fight, not that he could take the bear on. And then he asked, “How do you know Misty?”
“I met her over the border.” The woman came closer. “Who are you?”
The bear sniffed the air and then looked back at the woman, who nodded, then he shifted into his human form, and said, “We have been tracking her since she crossed the border, we missed her by a day. Your scent has been mingling with hers all that time.”
“That’s because I’ve been with her all that time,” Kieran said.
“Then you might be able to tell us where she is now?” the woman asked. “Because your scent joined with another’s. If you led her into a trap, we will kill you.”
“Serrif. The other scent belongs to him. You know him?” Kieran asked.
Her head shot up at that name. “Do you?”
“Not until about an hour ago.”
“Does he have Misty?” she asked her voice showing her concern.
“Yes.”
“I’ll kill him,” she said.
“Are you the woman who came over here with Kane? Are you Amara?” Kieran asked.
“Yes, did Misty tell you about me?”
“Yes, we were heading to your pride lands, and then this lion showed up, knew all about you, said that he had been on the run because Kane had taken over our father’s pride.”
“Well, he’s right about that. He should be in prison, but he escaped a week or so ago.”
“He wants me to kill Kane,” Kieran said simply.
She stood looking at him, not saying a word.
“Let me guess, the coward took Misty prisoner?” Frasier said.
“Yes.”
“We have to rescue her,” Amara said, turning to head towards the cabin.
“Wait, Amara, I promised Kane I would keep you safe. That’s the only reason he let you come.”
“He didn’t know we would meet Serrif, did he? Listen, Frasier, I want this ended once and for all.”
“I know you do, but getting us all killed isn’t going to make that happen, is it?”
“Then what do you suggest?” She pointed at Kieran. “Let him kill Kane and bring him his head so he can trade it for Misty?”
“No.” Frasier turned to Kieran. “How many of them are there?”
“Three including Serrif, at least as far as I know.”
“And there are three of us. So if we can lure them out, we will beat them.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We make enough noise that they will come and investigate,” Frasier suggested.
“OK. But you’ll have to go away from the cabin,” Amara said.
“We will, and you keep watch. If the cabin empties, you go in and get Misty.” Frasier went to her and said with concern, “I’m trusting you not to do anything stupid.”
“I promise you.”
And with that Kieran and Frasier went off through the rain-soaked trees, while Amara hid in the trees, to keep watch.
“Misty.” The voice was familiar, and she turned to see Amara standing fifty feet away from her, exactly where the lion had been. Her horse stood and stared, not knowing if it was a trap. But how could it be? She trusted Amara.
Going back towards her, Misty got within ten feet before she shifted back into her human form. “Amara, what are you doing here?”
“We came for you.” Amara approached her, and threw her arms around Misty’s neck, but after a brief embrace, she pulled back. “Have you seen Serrif, is he in the cabin?”
“I don’t know.” Misty shook her head, and looked around. “I managed to escape the cabin, but I didn’t hang around to see if there was anyone still at home.”
“Then let’s go look,” Amara said, turning towards the cabin. “I saw the other two shifters leave, but not Serrif.”
“Wait, I can’t go with you, I have to go check on something first. I’m afraid my mate, Kieran, is in trouble.”
“He’s fine, he and Frasier are just finishing off the two other guys. But we thought Serrif would come out too, seems he’s too much of a coward.”
“Wait,” Misty said again. “What are you doing here? And you’re with Frasier, Darius told me to find him.”
Her face grew troubled. “We got a message that you had crossed over into the Prime, we came as quickly as we could. We hoped to find Darius had crossed over too; last we heard he had been rumbled.”
“What? I can’t believe it; he was so careful. But I know they were onto him. When I left the mansion I was kidnapped, by the man Kieran worked for. They tried to get me to talk, but I swear I didn’t.”
Amara put her hand on Misty’s arm. “It’s OK, it was only a matter of time. Once Kane left and took back the Pride, word was bound to spread. Darius hung on as long as possible, he has been siphoning off all the money he could, according to Frasier. And I expect he sold off the rest of his assets, which would have raised a flag to anyone looking too closely.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. When Kane found out he was a shifter and we came across into the Prime, I could see how hard it was for Darius to keep it together. He belongs here, he’s done more than anyone ever asked of him.”
“I think that’s how come I found out about him, it was on the night he told me he was ending my contract early, I saw a glimpse of his other side.” She looked at Amara, troubled by what Serrif had said. “Serrif wants to kill Darius too.”
“I aim to make sure he never hurts anyone I care about again. We should go.”
“Kieran isn’t used to fighting as a lion, are you sure he is safe?” Misty asked, looking in the direction of the sound of fighting.
“Positive. He’s with Frasier and not many shifters would get past that bear.”
“Then let’s go and find Serrif and put an end to this. You know how I dreamed of coming back to the Prime, and this guy is seriously messing with that. I want us to be happy, I want Kieran to know what it’s like to have a family.” Misty hugged Amara. “It’s good to see you, and it feels right that we should finish this together.”
Amara hugged Misty back, and then pulled away from her, saying, “Let’s do it for our mates and let’s do it for our families.”
They headed back towards the cabin, both of them keeping a lookout for anything that looked remotely like a trap. But it all seemed quiet in the forest, only the occasional roar of the bear mingled with sounds of lions fighting filled the forest.
“There doesn’t appear to be any sign of Serrif, do you think he’s run away?” Misty asked. They had stopped about a hundred feet from the cabin, and were still hidden in the line of trees. To go any further would make them exposed to whoever might be watching from the cabin.
“He’s a coward. I wouldn’t put it past him to run, but we have to check the cabin first.” Amara moved to the left, circling around to get a view of the cabin from a different angle.
“Anything?”
“No, I can’t see any movement at all.” She took a step forward, out from the trees that were shielding them, and then another. Misty joined her, walking with her towards the closed door of the cabin.
They hesitated when they reached the porch, but they had come this far, they had to go on. Misty, summoning all her courage, was the first to step onto the wooden porch. It creaked under her weight, sounding loud in the quiet night. It was two steps to the door and she took them quickly, standing to one side while Amara came and joined her,
Motioning with her hands, she explained to Amara that she was going to open the door. They both stood back out of the way so that if anything came out of the door, whether man or lion, they would not be in its path. Taking a deep breath, stealing herself for whatever might happen next, she closed her hand around the doorknob. Turning it slowly, so that it made no sound, she pushed the door open.
She could hardly breathe as she listened for any sounds from the cabin, but there were none. Ducking her head around the door frame, she looked inside, but there was no one there, and so she stepped forward, walking inside. Amara followed, the two of them going room to room, looking for Serrif. He wasn’t there.
“So what we do now?” Misty asked.
“We go outside and see if we can find his tracks. With the rain, the mud has become wet and there is a good chance we will be able to pick up his tracks and follow him. I know we could just let him go, we could just walk away, but he’ll always be out there.”
“I agree; I can’t believe he has known where Kieran was for so long. It feels as if he’s making us all dance like puppets and I don’t want that, not for us or our children.”
Amara touched her hand, briefly squeezing it and smiling at her in agreement, and then they left the cabin, closing the door behind them. Splitting up to cover more ground, they carefully walked around the outside of the cabin.
“There are some tracks, leading that way,” Misty said, pointing in the opposite direction to where the bear fight had been.
“That’s the way we’ll go,” Amara said, examining them. They were about to set off, when they heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards them.
A lion and a bear were approaching, and Misty instantly recognised, Kieran. He shifted as he reached her, and she threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
“Are you okay, did you get hurt?” Misty asked.
“I’m so glad you have such confidence in me.” But still he held her close and she felt a tremble through his body, and then he whispered, “I hated leaving you, but you knew I would come back, didn’t you?”
“Yes, of course I did. I was so worried.” She broke away from him, taking his hand and turning to look at the bear beside them. “And you must be Frasier. Darius told me to find you.”
“We need to go,” Amara said. “I don’t want to lose his trail.”
At these words, the bear changed into a man, and said, “You should stay here, Amara. I’ll go after him; I swear I won’t stop until I catch him. And this time, I intend to make sure we put an end to him once and for all.”
“I appreciate your offer, Frasier,” she said. “But I’m not leaving until I see this done. It has to end.”
“And what exactly will the end be?” Frasier asked. “Short of killing him, whatever we do, I’m sure he’ll find a way out of.”
“No, he won’t.” Amara reached into the pack she carried on her back and drew out a circle of silver and copper. “I have been saving this ever since I heard he had escaped. I’ve been planning how I’ll use it, and today is the day it comes to fruition.”
“I like your way of thinking, Amara.” Misty looked at Frasier and said, “I agree with Amara, I think it’s time this Serrif gets exactly what he deserves.”
They followed the trail through the forest for about five miles. Thankfully, the rain had stopped, but the night had gathered around them, and soon they were having to rely on their sense of smell. He kept looking over to Misty, who was beginning to look tired. Her horse walked with its head down and he longed to find an end to this.