Wanted By The Alpha Lion (Heroes of Shifter Creek 2) by Clara Moore Page B

lion for his hide.
                  “Don’t!” she screamed, revealing herself. “We have you on camera–” She stopped, realizing with a quick glance that the security camera overlooking the dock had been destroyed. Where was security? She prayed Doug was making his rounds and would soon find her. “Please, leave,” she insisted.
                  “That’s what we intend to do,” the dark-haired man sniped, his voice a low, dangerous growl.
                  Before Cassie had a chance to respond, the man flew into the air, his clothes ripping off him as his body writhed in impossible but flawless contortions.
                  When he landed, only inches from her, he was no longer human.
                  He was a lion.
                  And he was ready to strike.
     
    ***

Chapter Two
     
     
    Sammi
                 
     
                  Her life was over. Cassie was sure of it. She saw the lion-man move to attack. She saw how he gloated in her destruction. She didn’t run. That’s what predators wanted – the hunt. She was willing to stand her ground, to fight, but she couldn’t win. Not against an angry beast.
                  She braced herself, but when the attack came, it wasn’t against her.
                  It was for her.
                  The white lion sprang in the air and used his heavy weight to knock the lion-man away. Barely fazed, the lion-man immediately straightened himself out and growled at his opponent, ready for a fight.
                  But to Cassie’s horror, the blonde woman ran between them, holding her hands up like some warped traffic warden. “Stop!” she shouted. “We don’t have time for this. We need to go.”
                  In response, the lion-man backed down, but he cast a quick glance at Cassie. She could nearly read his mind. What are we going to do about her?
                  “I won’t let you take him,” Cassie re-asserted, sounding much braver than she felt. It was the only thing she could think to say. “He belongs to the zoo.”
                  “He belongs to no one,” the lion-man sneered, transforming back into his human form. He stood naked, completely unashamed, but the woman threw him clothes from the back of the van. “Do you know what it’s like to be locked in a cage when every muscle in your body screams to run free?” he asked as he pulled a pair of jeans on. “It’s cruel. And inhumane.”
                  Inhumane. Cassie turned to the white lion, a new reality dawning on her as the events of the night fully set in. “He’s like you,” she murmured. “He’s part human.”
                  “Yes,” the woman said, much gentler than her companion. “We’re shifters. I know it sounds crazy, but–”
                  “No,” Cassie said, interrupting. “It’s not. In my line of research, I’ve come across numerous eye witness accounts of shifters – people who turn into animals. The stories are always written off as legend or hallucinations, but there are so many accounts, from all around the world, that I long ago drew the conclusion that the stories must have some truth behind them. Science proves common belief wrong all the time. For instance, there’s a species of jellyfish that are immortal. The turritopsisdohrnii . We have them here at the zoo.”
                  She was rambling, she knew, but her adrenaline was peaking, as was her scientific curiosity. The ability to shift must be similar to the way a chameleon can change color based on chemicals within its nervous system…
                  “I think we lost her,” the woman said, amused. “Let’s go before she comes to.”
                  “Wait!” Cassie cried, pulled from her contemplations. “I’m coming with