Authors: Harmony Raines
Tags: #General Fiction
Then, to her relief, he stopped. Staring at a tree with white blossom on it. It stood at the head of the valley, before it opened up into the gently sloping meadowlands.
Amara rubbed her head against his, and he turned and nuzzled her. This was the tree he had asked Frasier about. And next to it, was the rotting stump: all that was left of the statue of his father.
A shiver passed through her. Coming here had changed him; she could see it in the sorrow in his eyes as he relived some old, forgotten memory. The man who had betrayed his father, who had murdered him in cold blood, was about to be a hunted man. Kane, rightful heir to the Talamo Pride, had felt his ancestors stir inside him, and his mate would stand by his side until the bitter end.
“This is it, where I come from,” Kane said, as he changed from beast to man. He went to the broken statue and touched it, as if it was a talisman that could transport him into the past.
“Yes,” she said, standing beside him. “The Talamo Pride Lands begin over there to the north and follow the line of the hill.”
“Where does Serrif live?” Kane asked.
“Kane, let’s not do this now,” Amara said.
“Why not? I’m not going to fight him, but I need to see,” he said, setting off down the valley, following the stream.
“Kane, no,” she said following him down.
“I have to,” he said.
“No you don’t. We can just walk away, go back to my village and live there,” she said and knew she sounded desperate.
He spun round and moved back towards her, taking her in his arms and holding her close. She rested her head on his shoulder and cried, big sobs that spilled out of her until she could hardly breathe. “I don’t want to lose you,” she said when she could finally talk.
“You won’t,” he said. “I won’t fight him until I know, with confidence, I can beat him.”
“Promise?” she asked.
“I promise,” he said,
“Because I felt like I’d lost everything once, when I had to leave the Prime. I don’t think I could lose everything again,” she said.
“You would still have your family. The contract is paid, you wouldn’t have to go back,” he said.
“You don’t understand, Kane.
You
are everything to me,” she said.
“And you are everything to me,” he said kissing her head. Then he took a ragged breath and told her something she had never considered. “I’m scared if I don’t do this we will live in fear our whole lives. He killed my father and took my mother, what if he came to your village and did the same?”
“He wouldn’t,” she said.
“He might if he knew I was there. Being here puts you all in danger,” he said. Then he pulled back and took her hand, kissing it before beginning to walk back up the valley. “You’re right, Amara, let’s go home.”
Amara followed him, lost in thought. She had never even considered that Serrif would come looking for Kane. But there was a real chance that was exactly what he would do if ever news got back to him that a rightful heir to the Talamo Pride Lands was on his doorstep.
“Ready?” Tallis asked.
Kane nodded, and let his lion take over his consciousness. His poor bruised and battered lion. However, one thing he had learned was that this lion was tough, resilient, and getting better at fighting every day.
This time he would not be beaten. His lion roared its challenge and they began, Tallis coming at him. Only this time, Kane didn’t dodge, because that’s what he always did. No, this time he was going to attack.
The fight was over quickly, Tallis lay sprawled on the floor, with Kane, the victor, pinning him down. Behind them, the others whooped and cheered, Amara running over to put her arms around his lion neck, burying her face in his mane and whispering, “I knew you could do it.”
He panted, dragging the breath in through his nostrils, but he was elated and excited for the next round, which he wanted to begin right away.
Shifting his weight off Tallis, he got up, allowing the other lion to stand shakily. Then they both changed, Kane wondering how Tallis would take defeat.
“You did it, fair and square,” Tallis said. “You know, Kane, I have never been so pleased to be beaten in all my life.”
“Thank you, Tallis. You have been so patient with me, I appreciate the time you’ve given up to help me,” Kane said.
“My pleasure, Kane,” Tallis said and drew him into a manly embrace, which Kane found awkward, but deep down, he also felt accepted by Amara’s family.
“One down, three more to go,” Frasier said from the edge of the square.
“I am ready for the next one,” Kane said.
“Then allow me,” Brandon said, standing and approaching Kane.
“Listen, before you start again, I have some business that I have to take care of,” Frasier called. “I’ll be gone a few days. Think you can stay out of trouble until then?”
“Sure,” Kane said, as Brandon stood before him, grinning confidently. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“I hope not,” Frasier said.
“Go, we’ll catch up in a few days,” Kane said, preparing to change into his lion.
“Yeah, we’ll keep an eye on the young cub,” Brandon said.
“No teasing, Brandon,” Amara called anxiously.
“I’ll go pack,” Frasier said, heading back to the house.
By now a small crowd had begun to gather, around the two fighters. The people had become mildly interested in Kane and what was happening over on the village square. Kane and Amara’s brothers sparred here every night after work, and Kane had become to feel like the village entertainment. Well, tonight he was going to try to beat his second lion.
He changed; his lion baring its teeth at Brandon, laying his challenge down, and Brandon responded, lifting his head and letting out a territorial roar. Kane’s heart thudded, the sound of his opponent making his blood race through his veins, adrenaline pumping into his muscles as he prepared to attack. This was his new plan: attack first.
With Tallis, he had always waited to be attacked. Now he wanted to learn how to be the aggressor. Pacing up and down, he waited for the moment Brandon was about to attack, noticing how his muscles bunched before he leaped, and at that moment, Kane used his haunches to power himself forward, and went for Brandon’s throat.
It worked. He hit Brandon on the neck, choking off the air, throwing him off balance and then he pinned him down on the floor. Although he did allow him to breathe.
“You did it,” Amara shouted, and he could feel her excitement. Inside, he was grinning from ear to ear, although outwardly he tried not to gloat.
Brandon pushed at Kane’s paw, trying to get him off, and Kane took a step backwards, allowing him to get up. Brandon stood with his head down, his breath raspy, and Kane worried he might have done some real damage. Changing back to his human form, he put his hand on Brandon’s back, leaning down to check he was all right.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Kane said.
“Come on, Brandon,” Amara said heading over, “I’ll take you home.” She looked up and smiled at Kane. His heart swelled; he was beginning to get the hang of this fighting thing.
“It must be my turn,” the next brother, Sean, said, flexing his huge biceps and walking into the arena. “Amara, you better take Brandon home and tuck him up in bed.” Brandon lifted his head, wanting to rise to Sean’s teasing, but coughed instead. Sean laughed. “And tell Mom there will be another patient on the way. Kane is going to have a harder time beating me.”
“You might regret those words, Sean,” Amara said, but her face showed a fleeting moment of concern.
“I’ll be fine,” Kane said. “You go; we’ll be in shortly. When I’ve kicked your brother’s ass.”
“Fighting talk. Let’s see if you can still open that big mouth of yours when my fist has punched it,” Sean said, but his voice was filled with humour. This was all a game to them, but to Kane, it was going to be a matter for life or death one day soon.
“Stop complaining, Brandon, you’ve had worse injuries from fighting your brothers,” Amara said as she helped him into the house.
“I know,” Brandon rasped. “But it has taken Kane days to beat Tallis. And he got me first time.”
“So it’s your pride that’s hurt, is it?” Amara said. “Well, that will soon mend too.”
“Kane won, then?” Frasier said, coming down the stairs with a backpack containing the small amount of belongings he had brought with him on the trip.
“Yes, and quickly too,” Amara said. “Brandon didn’t land a blow on him.”
“So he’s learning, then,” Frasier said, looking relieved.
“Of course he’s learning. He just needs time,” Amara said, letting Brandon slide out of her arms and sit on the sofa.
“Can I speak to you for one moment before I go?” Frasier asked.
“Sure. I’ll be back in a minute, Brandon. Then I’ll make you some tea to soothe your throat.”
“I might need something stronger,” Brandon said.
Amara left him holding his throat and opening and closing his mouth. He was sure to milk this for sympathy. Men.
“What do you want to say?” she asked Frasier.
“Do you think Kane will ever be up to fighting Serrif for real?” he asked bluntly.
“What do you mean? That’s why he is spending all this time training with my brothers,” she said.
“I know. But when it comes down to a real fight, with a lion who wants to kill him, do you think he stands a chance?” Frasier asked.
“Do any of us know what we are capable of?” she asked, trying not to let Frasier’s question concern her.
“I worry he’s been on the other side of the border too long. That it will take years of living in the Prime before he understands how he needs to behave.”
“What do you mean, how he needs to behave?” Amara asked.
“Like an alpha.”
She frowned, trying to understand what he meant. “That will come to him eventually; this is all so new to him.”
“I know,” Frasier said, opening his truck and putting his pack on the seat. “But what if he doesn’t have time?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” she asked.
“Each day the crowd that comes to watch gets bigger. Each day there is more chance that word will spread to the Talamo Pride Lands. We all trade with the same people, drink at the same bars. One day one of those people will speak to someone, who will speak to someone else, and the word will be out that Kane is back.”
“But Serrif might not hear, and even if he did, why would he make the connection?” Amara asked.
“Because questions are being raised about where Kane is. Darius will only be able to fend them off for a certain amount of time, and then the whole thing will collapse like a house of cards,” he finished, slamming the door. “I will be gone for two days. When I return, you need to decide if it would be safer for you and Kane to go and live elsewhere.”
“You’re serious,” she said.
“Deadly.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at her shoes, wondering what he expected her to say. “Where are you going?”
“There is something urgent Darius needs me to do.”
“So you’re in touch with him?” she asked, wondering what was being said behind their backs.
“One of my brothers sent me a message.” He sighed, looking at her with sympathy and saying, “Darius pays me. I go where he wants me to go. For him to want me to leave you, it must be important. I’ll be back in a few days; I’ll give some thought as to where you two would be safer.”
“We’re not leaving,” she said shaking her head. “When the time is right, he will defeat Serrif. If we run now, he will lose his confidence and never believe he can beat the man who murdered his father. I don’t want him to live like that.”
“But you do want him to live. Right?” Frasier said, getting into the truck and starting the engine.
Amara didn’t answer. She simply watched him drive off, making some decisions of her own as to what she planned to do while Frasier was away. Plans she didn’t want Kane or anyone else to know.
Head down, deep in thought, she went back inside, knowing before she did anything else, she had to help Brandon. But as she approached the living room, she could hear her mom’s voice.
“Well, the amount of teasing you have done over the past few days since Kane has got here, I’m not surprised he knocked you down,” her mom said. “Nice cup of hot tea will do the trick. And no talking for a couple of hours.” Her mom winked at Amara and she had to quickly cover a smile. She had been dealing with Amara’s brothers for so long, it took a lot to faze her.
“It was a fair fight, Mom. Brandon was too slow,” Amara said. “Is there anything I can do, or do you mind if I go for a run.”
“Sure. You look like you need a bit of freedom. Wind in your fur, do you the world of good.”
“Thanks, I’ll see you later,” she said, grabbing her purse and heading out of the door, making sure she avoided the town square, where a cheer sounded out across the village. Maybe Kane had hit his stride and was knocking another one of her brothers to the ground.
She paused. Maybe she should go back and check he was all right. No. She had to see this through. The idea had come to her, and if she didn’t go now, she would no doubt chicken out, or not have the opportunity to leave the village again for another few days.
Slipping out across the road, she took the path only days earlier she had followed with Kane. This time she ran swift and sure, not stopping even when she crested the hill and headed down into the Talamo Pride Lands.
Amara stopped briefly at the place where Kane’s father’s statue had once stood, a symbol of his power and leadership over his pride. If she went any further, there would be no going back. With a deep sense of betrayal, she took the next step, hoping her actions were not going to bring trouble to either Kane’s or her pride’s door. All she wanted to do was find out how things were in these lands. OK, so that was a lie: she wanted to see Kane’s mom and get some inside information on the man Kane would have to fight.
Emerging from the valley, she headed towards the small collection of houses that surrounded a bigger house, set in grounds filled with green lawns and ornamental lakes. She had often sat up on the crest of the hill overlooking here and wondered at the people who lived there. She had imagined a fairy-tale princess living here; having found her prince, she would be living out her happy-ever-after surrounded by these magnificent vistas. For a girl who grew up in a simple village, her pride small, inconsequential, it was easy to think whoever lived here must be happy.