Authors: Harmony Raines
Tags: #General Fiction
This couldn’t be happening. He wanted to pinch himself. Isn’t that what you did to check you weren’t dreaming? But he didn’t want to stop, they were running, the woman guiding them through the vehicles parked around the trailers where the circus people were no doubt inside eating good food. Not the raw meat they threw to him on an evening.
Daniel knew he had to get rid of his anger. It wouldn’t help him now; it would only cloud his judgement, and he had to keep his thoughts straight if they were going to get out of this alive. That sounded melodramatic, but he was certain that right now Trevor would be getting his senses back, and then going to find a gun. And he wouldn’t be reaching for the tranquilizer darts. No, if Trevor caught up with them, Daniel would have a bullet put between his eyes.
“This way,” she said, slowing and crouching down to the ground. “We have to skirt the perimeter and head for a gap in the fence.”
“Lead the way,” he said. “Lea, sweetheart, you have to climb on my back and hold on tight.”
Lea didn’t move. She was clinging to him as if she never wanted to let go. He paused for one moment and prised her small hands from his clothes. “Lea, I might need my hands free. So climb on my back. I promise, I won’t let you go.”
Her small, pale face looked up at him, those haunted eyes troubling to his soul. Would she ever get over this? Would she ever be a normal, happy child?
Her sobs easing, she did as he asked, climbing up onto his back and holding on so tight he wandered if she would ever be able to open her fingers again.
The woman ran ahead, looking from side to side, and then ducked down and slipped through a narrow gap. He followed, stopping at the place where the fence was pulled back. It was too small for him. The woman had already seen that and was pulling at the wire. He did the same, peeling it back. At the same time, he couldn’t stop his eyes flicking up to look at her: Why was she helping them? And who was she? A rush of something coursed through his body, but he couldn’t pinpoint the emotion he was feeling.
“There, try now. It might be easier if you pass Lea through first,” she said, holding out her hands. “It is Lea, isn’t it? Such a pretty name.”
“No,” Lea said firmly. “I’m not going anywhere without Daniel.” Her hands tightened, if that was possible.
“I promised Lea we’d get out of here together,” he said and somehow, he managed to squeeze through, his clothes getting caught on a piece of wire, and they tore. Not that there was much resistance from the thin threads he laughingly called clothes.
He stood for a moment, totally lost in the feeling of freedom that coursed through his body. That fence had kept him captive for so long—the threat of harm to Lea had made sure he never tried to escape—but now they were both standing on the other side of the fence.
“We’re free, Lea,” he said quietly.
“You won’t be for long unless we move,” Lottie said, starting off down the street, expecting them to follow. He wondered if she hoped they wouldn’t go with her? Maybe she wanted them to take off in another direction, so that she could pat herself on the back, tell herself she did the right thing, and not have to deal with the consequences.
But he had nowhere to go. If he followed, she might hide them, at least until he could figure out what they were going to do now. After spending all his life on this side of the border, he didn’t know anything about life in Shifters Prime. But it was where he had promised Lea they would go. At night, when their trailers were parked close enough that they could whisper to each other, they had talked about what it would be like to run free again. Free to be who they really were, and not have to hide.
So he followed, running as though his legs didn’t belong to him. It had been so long since he had been able to move around freely in his human body. Now his legs felt weak, or was that the adrenaline ebbing away, to leave him with a sense of shock?
They were free
.
The weight of Lea on his back was slight, but the weight of her safety was heavy. He had promised her mom he would look after her and keep her safe, but for the last two years he had failed at that dismally. He couldn’t fail again; he wanted her to have a normal life on the other side of the border, even if it meant putting himself in danger.
And there was danger. Lea’s mom, Nora, the woman who had raised him, had told him so. So many times she had cried at the moon, her heart breaking at not being able to change into her lion whenever she wanted. During those times she told him of his family, of the father who was killed and the brothers sent to live in safety on this side of the border.
Only when Nora died and he was the sole guardian to her daughter, conceived this side of the border, did he find out they weren’t safe. That men were cruel. So in the moments when Daniel and Lea whispered, they had decided that there must be a place in Shifters Prime where they could be safe.
Now he planned to travel there. And nothing was going to stop him, not even the pull of the woman who had helped him. He had to be strong. The urge to mate with her was just that, an urge that he could control.
Lea was all that mattered.
As they reached her car and they all climbed in, he wished that for once he could have it all. But fate was cruel, and it was best not to give in to hope.
What the fuck am I doing?
she asked herself.
They were all seated in her small car, Daniel’s head nearly touching the ceiling, as he was too big for the small vehicle. Trying to ignore the sight of his muscles bulging out of his ragged clothes, she started the engine. As soon as it sparked into life, she put it in drive and pulled out onto the quiet road. All the circus traffic had gone and she felt conspicuous as they drove away. She couldn’t help looking in the rearview mirror, making sure they weren’t being followed.
Or hunted
.
She glanced sideways at him again; he was a lion. As for what the little girl in the back seat was, she didn’t know and wasn’t going to ask. One step at a time. One small step at a time. She reminded herself to breathe. And stick to the speed limit, because her foot kept inching down on the gas pedal as she tried to outrun her pursuers.
Nothing there
. She looked once more in the rearview mirror and made herself relax. She didn’t want to get pulled over by the cops. Daniel and Lea would raise questions, not just because of their lack of proper clothes, but also because they both wore those collars that stopped shifters changing. Silver laced with copper: she’d always thought it was another urban myth, she just hoped they did stop their brains from sending the message through their bodies to change. Because her car would never contain a living, breathing, roaring lion.
A bubble of hysterical laughter threatened, but she swallowed it back down. This was madness, complete and utter madness. She had done her part; now she needed to stop the car, open the door, and tell them to get the hell out of her life.
That wasn’t going to happen though, and she knew it. She had instigated this, and now she had to see it through to the end, no matter how bitter that might be. Damn, she was an idiot, hadn’t she been told to stay out of trouble, stick to the shadows or risk blowing her new identity? She should never have joined ARNC, but then she was never meant to do more than take photos behind the scenes. Freeing a lion was all down to her.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
Her head swivelled round and she stared at him blankly. Then her brain caught up and she answered. “Oh. My place, I guess. I have a small house. I’ll park in the garage and you two can go in unnoticed.”
“Are you sure you want to get involved with us. You could just drive us to the border.”
“Is that what you want? I mean, I could do that, but the border is a good four-hour drive away and it would be better if you were actually wearing clothes. Clothes that didn’t look as if they were about to fall apart.”
He looked down at himself. “You’re right.” He was silent for a moment. “I have no money, no way to buy clothes.”
“It’s OK.” She tried to smile reassuringly. “I’ll get them for you.”
“I won’t be able to pay you back.”
“I know. It’s OK. The least I can do.” She took a deep breath and tried to think coherently. “Look, we go back to my place, I’ll fix you something to eat, and then I’ll go shopping. There’s a late-night store open just around the corner. I’ll go grab some stuff, and then in the morning I’ll call in sick and I’ll drive you to the border.”
He sat back and closed his eyes momentarily, and she wanted to know what he was thinking.
“I don’t want to put you in danger,” he said at last.
“This is my choice,” she said, sounding braver than she felt. “I think I’ve hidden away for too long.” She smiled at him, trying to hide the emotion in her voice. Tonight had made her realise that she had spent so long trying to stay safe, that she was in danger of letting her life slide away. The reason she had joined ARNC was because she wanted to make a difference. Just as her dad had wanted to make a difference.
“Thank you,” he said, and she knew he meant it, really meant it.
“You’re welcome,” she said, her eyes fixed on the road while she tried to sort through her emotions. It was as if she was waking up from a long, deep sleep. Ever since the night her parents were gunned down in front of her, she had been sleep-walking through her life.
“How much further?” he asked.
“Another few minutes. You might want to get down; I don’t usually take men home, so if my neighbours see you, they might take more notice than we would like.”
He slid down in his seat. “Keep your head down, Lea,” he said, and in the back seat she heard the girl duck down.
“Is Lea your sister?” Lottie asked.
“No,” he replied and didn’t offer her anything else. Maybe he had a point; the less she knew about them, the better. Although once they were safely over the border, it wouldn’t matter, they wouldn’t be found. That was if she could get them over the border. “I just thought you might have trouble getting across the border if you have unpaid contracts.” She thought of the money sitting in her bank account and figured if she could use the money if she needed to.
“We don’t have contracts,” he said.
“You mean that isn’t why you were at the circus? I figured that you owed a debt and that you were working it off,” she said, shocked.
“No, we got sucked in. They offered me a job, and I accepted. But really they just wanted a freak-show lion.”
“And Lea.”
“They used her as leverage,” he said roughly.
“That’s so wrong,” she said quietly. But if Lea wasn’t his sister, what hold did the young girl have over him?
None of your business
, she said to herself. Daniel looked as if he was the kind of man who would not have let anything happen to a child, even if she was a complete stranger. He was a protector.
She felt a pang of jealousy, which she quickly swept away. There was nothing to be jealous of, these two people would be out of her life soon enough. There was nothing good to come out of hankering for a bond, another person to share her life with.
However, her heart ached with a longing she had shut away for so long. That longing wasn’t just for a man, it was for a sense of belonging, it was for a family she had lost, and the loneliness crowded in on her.
They reached her house and she drove into the garage. Daniel hated it when the doors shut behind them, making him feel trapped again. He took a deep breath and let it go. They were free.
“What’s your name?” he asked, realising he had no idea who she was and whom he was so indebted to.
“Lottie,” she said.
“I want you to know that I think you are very brave, Lottie,” he said and he was sure she blushed. This confused him, had he said something stupid?
“Anyone else would have done the same thing,” she said, trying to play it down.
“No, they wouldn’t. People like to walk on by, not caring to see what is in front of them.” He sounded bitter. But it was true. Even if he was just a lion, the circus was cruel and degrading for a wild beast. To be made to do tricks… He let it go. There was a lot he was going to have to let go of if he was ever going to be happy again.
She opened her door and got out. He did the same, going to the back door and peering in at the frightened Lea. He should have sat in the back with her, should have comforted her, but he wanted to be up front so he could watch for danger. He was not going to let Lea fall into the hands of the circus again. If they came for them, he would beg Lottie to take Lea and run, then he would allow them to take him, in the hope they wouldn’t bother about a little cub like Lea.
“Come on, Lea, let’s go inside,” he said, undoing her seatbelt and lifting her up into his arms.
“Can’t we run. Just a bit further,” she said quietly, her eyes darting around.
“We’re safe here. You can have a bath and Lottie is going to get us some clothes, then we can head for the border. You know how your mom wanted you to have the chance to live in Shifters Prime? Well, we might just get there.”
“What about you? Will you be safe?” she asked.
“I’ll take us somewhere no one will ever know us. No one will ever know who we are, two lions, we can just disappear.” It was his dream, now they were free; it was his dream to cross the border and live freely. “Vagabonds.”
She smiled. “Vagabonds.”
It was game they played when they were close enough to talk. Two people able to go wherever they wanted, and he had described to her all the places he had seen while he was growing up with Nora as his mom. They’d seen mountains and beaches, swam in lagoons, travelled paths few men walked. She had educated him in the ways of the natural world, with all the sad dignity of a woman in mourning, but who went on for the child she had pledged to raise and keep safe.
“This way,” Lottie said and he carried Lea through a doorway and up a couple of steps, into the kitchen. A kitchen! He looked around, trying to remember the last time he had been in anything resembling a house, and he couldn’t. Not because his memories had faded, but because those memories were too painful. It had been at the time Nora died, and he had been left alone in a world he didn’t belong in with a six-year-old child.