Authors: Harmony Raines
Tags: #General Fiction
“And he hopes to beat Serrif in a fight?” Amara’s dad asked quietly, while Kane was preparing to spar with one of her brothers.
“Yes. He will do it, Dad,” Amara answered, and he was pleased to hear her sound optimistic, that she wasn’t just saying what he needed to hear.
“Well, Tallis here is Amara’s youngest brother. Now, that doesn’t mean he is the weakest.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Tallis said sarcastically.
“I mean it. You are the quickest out of them all,” her dad said.
“That’s because he’s not matured like the rest of us,” Sean, her eldest brother, quipped, puffing out his broad chest and flexing his arms. Kane wasn’t looking forward to taking him on, but he knew he would have to, sooner or later.
“If he wants to make sure he can beat Serrif, then he needs to be able to take you all on and hold his own, if not beat you squarely. Serrif will not play soft. He’ll go for the jugular. So I suggest you all help Kane as much as possible to train for this.”
The brothers had all agreed, leaving Kane feeling grateful, and also overwhelmed.
Kane seemed to have had a whirlwind introduction into what it was like to live with a large family. Last night they had all sat around the table together, with chairs borrowed from the porch, so they could all sit together, including Frasier. They had talked, laughed, and even cried over Amara’s return. He was just grateful they had taken to him, accepting him as Amara’s mate, despite his uncle’s actions.
“Now, look for Tallis’s weakness,” her dad, Albert, said. “Everyone has one.”
Kane stretched his muscles and prepared to change into his lion. He wanted to get this right, despite the pressure he felt, because if he screwed up his shift, he would be left feeling stupid, and naked, in front of his new family, and they might not take him seriously at all.
“Take your time, son,” Albert said, winking reassuringly at him. “You’re amongst friends who want to help you.”
“Or take your head off,” Tallis said, although he smiled good-naturedly as he came over to Kane. “Ready?”
“Yes,” Kane said, trying to convey confidence when he felt anything but. These men had grown up together, fighting in their lion form, in the same way normal human boys would wrestle with each other in the playground.
“We’ll go over to the village square; it’s made for this kind of thing. Or at least it is now, we had to do some renovations when we moved here,” Tallis said.
Tallis was right; the central area of the village had been cleared and sand put down on top of the grass to create a fighting ring. This made Kane more nervous. “You guys fight a lot?” he asked.
“Sure, it’s a good way to release tension. Stops us having any real bust-ups. Well, that’s the theory, although Brandon and Sean are known to be more than a little tense around each other. Twins, you see, and Brandon argues that just because Sean was born six minutes earlier, does not give him the right to think he naturally has more authority. Brothers—although you’ll probably know all about that,” Tallis said.
“No. I don’t. It was just me and my uncle,” Kane said as he entered the square.
“I thought Amara said you had brothers.”
“Somewhere, I believe, but I don’t even know if they are in the Prime or whether they crossed the border too.” Throughout the long journey, Kane had spent so much time thinking about what Serrif had done to his father, he had forgotten that there were two other men like him. Orphans. Even though it was only their father who was dead, their mother had abandoned them to whatever fate had in store, and lived all her life with the man who killed her husband.
He felt unfair in his criticism of his mother. Yet part of him wondered why she hadn’t taken her sons and kept them safe herself. If she had hidden away, no one would have found them. Or maybe she should have left with Darius, who was more than capable of keeping them protected and safe.
“Kane,” Albert said sharply. “First rule, get your head in the game.”
“I’m ready,” Kane said, shaking off his thoughts of the past. He needed to keep his wits about him if he didn’t want to end up knocked out by one solid swipe of Tallis’s paws. For he had no doubt Tallis knew how to fight.
“Then bring it, O Lion King,” Tallis bowed theatrically and then in an instant he had shifted into his lion. A great big, well-muscled lion, who in no way reminded Kane of the man he had been only seconds earlier.
This shocked Kane. So the lion part of him didn’t reflect the man. Did that mean his lion looked wimpy and weak, whereas he believed himself to be muscular and strong? Was he going to be a laughingstock?
He turned. Was he seriously thinking of running? No. His eyes caught Amara’s, standing next to her dad, her face bright with happiness. He could not let her down—even if it meant getting beaten to a pulp, he could not run. And Tallis would take it easy on him, wouldn’t he?
Spinning back round, he prepared to change. Then he hesitated. He couldn’t afford for Tallis to take it easy on him; he needed to learn how to fight properly, he had to learn all the tricks these big cats had. Or he would never beat Serrif.
The lion opposite him began to prowl along his side of the town square, his tail swishing impatiently. Kane focused, keeping his lion in his mind, and then allowed him to come forward into the real world, while the man disappeared, his flesh replaced with fur, and a big thick mane sprouted around his neck, a shield against the claws and teeth of his opponent. Frasier had taught him that at least.
Tallis must have been playing fair, or else he would have pounced as soon as Kane had shifted. It would have given him an advantage for sure, because it took Kane several moments to get full control of his body. His tail seemed too heavy, his paws too big and clumsy as he took a step forward and faltered. In the back of his mind he could feel Amara’s presence, feel her concern, something he had never experienced before. He zoned in on her, testing the sensation, seeing if it lasted when he moved away, or grew stronger when he took a step towards the outside of the sand arena.
It was there, a constant, wherever he moved. He would ask her about it later, find out if she experienced it too.
Then his thoughts were ripped away from Amara, as an impatient Tallis roared out his challenge and the battle began.
Tallis leaped forward. Kane dived, rolling over to miss the blow aimed at his head, and in return, struck Tallis on the rump. Tallis slid to a halt, and without hesitation, he swung back for another attack. This was where the lion was different to the bear. Frasier had been content to let Kane do all the running, perhaps because lions are so much swifter on their feet, and bears tire easier. He relaxed and began to enjoy the fight, this was just like business: you had to learn your opponent’s weakness.
They fought, backwards and forwards, circling around as they weighed each other up. Kane was sure he was getting the upper hand and his confidence grew. He began to take more risks, sure he was wearing Tallis down, until Tallis feinted a bite to Kane’s neck, which Kane knew would be brushed off by his thick mane. As Kane turned, ready to make the most of his opponent’s weakness, Tallis bit his leg, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough for Kane to go down on his knees.
Tallis took full advantage and used his body weight to drive Kane to the ground, where he lay panting, feeling stupid and angry. And defeated.
As he lay in the sand, his lungs heaving under the weight of Tallis’s lion, his mind reached out and touched Amara. He felt her concern, he felt her dismay, but he was happy when he couldn’t sense her disappointment. His leg hurt, his pride hurt, but he would live to fight another day.
“Next time,” she said as they tended the vegetable plot out in the back garden of her mom and dad’s house.
“You think? Sometimes I wonder if I’m cut out for this fighting lark,” he said.
His words worried her. Since Tallis had beaten him last night, he had lost his confidence, his will, to fight.
“Listen,” she said, sitting back on her haunches, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “They have been fighting for years. When we were younger, they fought all the time.”
“And Serrif will have been fighting for years too. I can’t see how I will ever get good enough to take him on.” He plunged the fork into the moist earth and turned it over. “I should find something else to do.”
“And let him get away with it?” she said.
“What if one of my brothers was supposed to be the alpha of the pride. You know I wouldn’t stand in their way,” he said wearily. “I wouldn’t mind a quiet life here.”
“You don’t mean that,” she said, “I know you, I know what’s in your heart.”
“But what is in my heart is not in my head, not in my paws and my claws. I’m useless,” he said.
She put her fork down. “Come on, the weeds can wait,” She took his hand and led him out through the garden gate, calling to her mom, “We’ll be gone for a couple of hours.”
“Everything all right?” her mom said coming to the door and looking out.
“Everything is fine, we just need some time alone,” Amara said, casting her mom a look that let her know things weren’t fine, but they would be when they returned.
Her mom read the look. After all, she had raised four boys and lived with her mate for long enough to know that sometimes they had to be given something to boost their confidence, and that a mate, or a mother, was the one who knew just what they needed. “Lunch will be around twelve.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Amara said.
“We should finish our chores,” Kane said.
“They will still be there when we get back.” she replied. They walked together, Amara guiding them; she turned down the street and strolled along, enjoying the sun on her face. “You know, ever since we got here, you have been told what you should be doing, who you should be fighting. Maybe it’s time you just chilled.”
“I didn’t know lions knew how to chill,” he said.
“We do,” she said, cutting across the village and heading towards the path which would take them around The Rise, where her brothers were working, along with Frasier, who was glad to be doing some hard physical work. She wanted to avoid everyone if she could.
“Good, because you know when I see lions in books, they seem to lie around a lot. You know, resting after a hard day’s hunting,” he said, capturing her in his arms. “Maybe we can find somewhere private to lie down.”
She laughed. “No, I have something else in mind.”
And with that she pulled away from him and shifted in mid-air, a lioness streaking up the path into the woods. She heard him stop, knew he was watching, and hoped he liked the view of her big, sleek hide as it disappeared round the corner. She also hoped he would follow.
Sure enough, as she slowed, she heard the small rocks trickling down the stony path, as his big lion paws scattered them before him. Amara ran away in front and then stopped, eyeing up a fallen tree. That would do. She jumped up and hid in the branches that were still alive, giving her cover.
Kane ran around the corner, never slowing as he raced to catch up with his mate, who had now disappeared from view. Amara ran swiftly along the tree trunk and then pounced, landing on his back, making him roll over.
He snapped at her crossly, but she boosted herself up off the ground and raced ahead again. Behind her, he got up, shook himself off, and then followed, although she could tell from his pace, he was far from happy. Oh well, this was a lesson he had to learn.
She made sure she kept enough distance between them that he couldn’t catch her, but he couldn’t lose her either. Amara knew every twist and turn of this path, and also the places to hide. Once more, she turned a corner and hid, only to jump out at him, landing on his back, before leap-frogging him and tearing off again. This time she got a howl of rage, which made her feel sick inside. She didn’t want him to hate her, would he understand what she was trying to do?
The third time she hid, she had to wait. And wait. She was sure he was still behind her, that he hadn’t given up in a rage and gone back down to the village. After fifteen minutes, the longest of her life, she moved out from under the bushes she had used as cover. Slinking along, low to the ground, she peered back down the path. He wasn’t there.
“Looking for someone?” he asked.
She physically jumped backwards, and had to crane her neck to see him sitting in a tree, looking very pleased with himself. In an instant she had transformed, and stood looking at him, with a smile on her face.
“Well … I thought this stray lion was following me.”
“And you would what? Jump out on him?” Kane asked, jumping down from the tree.
“That might be what I had in mind. But it was all for a good cause,” she said innocently.
“Really, and what cause would that be?” he asked, walking over to her, his eyes ravishing her body, and she wished he would touch her, make love to her.
“Haven’t you worked it out?” she said.
“No, why don’t you explain it to me,” he said, his lips hovering over hers. She closed her eyes and waited for him to kiss her, and then he was gone. “Payback,” he called, and she laughed as he turned lion and ran away from her. He had learned the lesson too well and turned it on the teacher.
Amara had set out to encourage him to learn to anticipate his opponent. Now she had to chase him down, because she wanted that kiss. She changed into her lioness and ran after him, her head down and heart racing as he cleared the trees and set out across the sloping plain.
Only when they had covered a lot of ground did she realise where they were headed, and she wanted him to stop, but he had the thrill of the chase in his head, and went on and on. Using her strength, she powered forward, trying to cut him off.
He ran on, a headlong rush down the other side of the rocky gorge. Something had taken over him, and she had a sneaking suspicion she knew what it was. There was a stream cutting through the valley below, and he followed it, splashing through the water. He hesitated, sniffing the air, and then ran on.
Panic rose up inside her. This was no longer her pride’s territory, and although it was rightfully Kane’s territory, until he beat Serrif, they were both trespassing on the lands of the Talamo Pride.