Chapter One
I’d fucked up, and I knew it.
In Lion society, the males rule. Period. It isn’t open for discussion. A woman can never lead a pride. It isn’t like this for all animal groups, but it is for us and I’d long ago had to come to terms with it.
And then, of course, find a way to break the rules.
One by one, a group of women werelions had followed me to the fucking middle of nowhere, determined to be autonomous without a man over us. In the wild, if the male lion screws up too bad, the women can work together to get rid of him.
So, we lived in Trezevant, Tennessee, population eight hundred and fifty nine, if you count the nine werelions as people. There’s zero nightlife, but plenty of woods we can run through.
So, how had I fucked up?
We may not have a normal pride, with a lion we have to submit to and eat after on a daily basis, but we still have an Amakhosi, which is a fancy word for the Lion King. Of the planet . And he lives on the other side of the fucking state.
Except now, he was in my office.
In my defense, I had no idea who he was when he walked in. He’d been shielding his power, and I’d not only refused to show respect, I’d been openly hostile.
Now, I was cowering on the floor in front of him, my arms and legs under me, curled in a ball. Remember tornado drills in school? A lot like that.
“I’m sorry, My King. I had no idea it was you!”
Now, he was throwing so much power around the room, I could barely breathe. My ribcage felt like a drum at the bottom of the ocean, caving in from the pressure, and I fought to pull air into my chest.
When he finally pulled his power back, I sucked air into my lungs, lightheaded. I stayed on the floor, curled in a ball.
“You challenged me.” He didn’t sound cruel or angry. Just a statement of fact.
“I didn’t know it was you! I’d have never challenged you, if I’d known, Your Majesty.”
“Do you recognize the name Tim Baker?”
Fuck .
The bitch of talking to other supernaturals is not being able to lie. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Do you know where he is?”
I nodded, realized he might see that as impertinent, and answered, “I do, Your Highness.”
I wasn’t prepared for this. I didn’t know for sure how to address him. I was flailing in the wind.
He sighed, sat in a chair, and said, “Permission to kneel, so we can converse. Tell me the story.”
I lifted my torso, balanced on my knees, and looked at his feet. “He wouldn’t leave.”
Another sigh. “Did you kill him in human form, or lion?”
“Lion, Your Majesty.”
“Where’s the body?”
“Under a building. Buried just before the footings were poured.”
There isn’t a lot of industry in the middle of nowhere. I own a construction company. Mostly, I make a living doing kitchen and bathroom renovations, or other home additions, but I’m occasionally hired to build a house or office building from scratch.
“Patrick Johansson?” The Amakhosi’s voice terrified me, even though he spoke soft.
I looked up, met his gaze, and realized just how fucked we were.
“He’s the reason you’re really here? Your Highness? God , what do I call you!”
He smirked. “ God might be pushing it a little, but otherwise, you’re doing okay. Your group drugged him, put him in a cage, drove him to the Memphis Zoo parking lot, and then trapped him in animal form so the zoo workers found a lion in their parking lot when they arrived for work.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know about it until after the fact, Your Highness, but I’m in charge so I take responsibility.”
“What did you do to them for going behind your back?”
“I don’t suppose you’ll take my word for it that I disciplined them?”
He didn’t say yes or no, didn’t tilt his head, didn’t move a muscle. Total deadpan face, waiting for me to answer.
“I have a strap-on I use, when we’re in human form. I reasserted my dominance with it, as well as a whip, and I made sure we
I’d fucked up, and I knew it.
In Lion society, the males rule. Period. It isn’t open for discussion. A woman can never lead a pride. It isn’t like this for all animal groups, but it is for us and I’d long ago had to come to terms with it.
And then, of course, find a way to break the rules.
One by one, a group of women werelions had followed me to the fucking middle of nowhere, determined to be autonomous without a man over us. In the wild, if the male lion screws up too bad, the women can work together to get rid of him.
So, we lived in Trezevant, Tennessee, population eight hundred and fifty nine, if you count the nine werelions as people. There’s zero nightlife, but plenty of woods we can run through.
So, how had I fucked up?
We may not have a normal pride, with a lion we have to submit to and eat after on a daily basis, but we still have an Amakhosi, which is a fancy word for the Lion King. Of the planet . And he lives on the other side of the fucking state.
Except now, he was in my office.
In my defense, I had no idea who he was when he walked in. He’d been shielding his power, and I’d not only refused to show respect, I’d been openly hostile.
Now, I was cowering on the floor in front of him, my arms and legs under me, curled in a ball. Remember tornado drills in school? A lot like that.
“I’m sorry, My King. I had no idea it was you!”
Now, he was throwing so much power around the room, I could barely breathe. My ribcage felt like a drum at the bottom of the ocean, caving in from the pressure, and I fought to pull air into my chest.
When he finally pulled his power back, I sucked air into my lungs, lightheaded. I stayed on the floor, curled in a ball.
“You challenged me.” He didn’t sound cruel or angry. Just a statement of fact.
“I didn’t know it was you! I’d have never challenged you, if I’d known, Your Majesty.”
“Do you recognize the name Tim Baker?”
Fuck .
The bitch of talking to other supernaturals is not being able to lie. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Do you know where he is?”
I nodded, realized he might see that as impertinent, and answered, “I do, Your Highness.”
I wasn’t prepared for this. I didn’t know for sure how to address him. I was flailing in the wind.
He sighed, sat in a chair, and said, “Permission to kneel, so we can converse. Tell me the story.”
I lifted my torso, balanced on my knees, and looked at his feet. “He wouldn’t leave.”
Another sigh. “Did you kill him in human form, or lion?”
“Lion, Your Majesty.”
“Where’s the body?”
“Under a building. Buried just before the footings were poured.”
There isn’t a lot of industry in the middle of nowhere. I own a construction company. Mostly, I make a living doing kitchen and bathroom renovations, or other home additions, but I’m occasionally hired to build a house or office building from scratch.
“Patrick Johansson?” The Amakhosi’s voice terrified me, even though he spoke soft.
I looked up, met his gaze, and realized just how fucked we were.
“He’s the reason you’re really here? Your Highness? God , what do I call you!”
He smirked. “ God might be pushing it a little, but otherwise, you’re doing okay. Your group drugged him, put him in a cage, drove him to the Memphis Zoo parking lot, and then trapped him in animal form so the zoo workers found a lion in their parking lot when they arrived for work.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know about it until after the fact, Your Highness, but I’m in charge so I take responsibility.”
“What did you do to them for going behind your back?”
“I don’t suppose you’ll take my word for it that I disciplined them?”
He didn’t say yes or no, didn’t tilt his head, didn’t move a muscle. Total deadpan face, waiting for me to answer.
“I have a strap-on I use, when we’re in human form. I reasserted my dominance with it, as well as a whip, and I made sure we
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