Lion: Call of the Shifter

Chapter 2

Chapter 2“Do you see her?”

Beneath the light of the moon and the twinkling patio lights she glowed. People had been coming and going on the patio all night, but no one had caught his eye as she did. Gavin nudged Finn’s arm with his elbow and gestured with a nod towards the girl who’d just stepped into the night air. Finneus turned his head to look.

“Girl in green?” Finn asked. He crossed his arms upon the table and leaned forward just a little bit to get a better look at her. “What about her?”

“I don’t know,” Gavin murmured. She was just a human girl, after all; there was no chance that their souls were meant to be. Across the table Tabitha was telling a story that had everyone laughing, and Gavin knew he should have been listening, but he couldn’t focus. “There’s just something about her.”

Finn paused, looked her over critically, then shrugged.

“If you say so.”

“Give me something to write with,” Gavin said. He turned to look at Finn now, imploring him with a soulful stare. Finn shook his head, eyes lifting skyward as he drew a business card and pen from the jacket of his pocket. In moments Gavin had scribbled his name and number across the back, and as he rose from his seat he tucked the card into his pocket.

“I don’t believe you,” Finn called after him, exasperated. Whatever Finn thought didn’t matter; if Gavin didn’t talk to her he knew he’d regret it later. There were already too many regrets in his life to warrant adding another to the list.

The girl stood near the sidewalk, and he watched as she ran her hand across her eyes and heard as she sniffled. She was crying. A switch flipped inside of him, and Gavin went from interested to concerned. He could taste her sorrow on the air as he approached, and he knew she was hurt over something.

When he drew close enough, he put a hand on her back. She turned her head slowly, smile radiant and warm, as though she’d expected someone else. Somehow had hurt her, he realized, and she was expecting an apology. When she saw it was a stranger, her expression became startled. The pretty makeup she’d put on was smudged around the eyes, but he found it adorable. Even had she not been wearing makeup she would have been stunning.

“Are you alright, Miss?”

When she replied, her voice was rich and sweet like honey. Gavin’s heart fluttered in his chest and rose into his throat as though weightless. He’d toured the world and seen women of all shapes and colors, but no one had made him feel like she did.

“I’m okay.”

She was lying, but the tone came out sincere. Seeing her hurt had him hurting. Maybe if he just pushed a little more...

“I thought I saw you crying. I wanted to make sure that everything is fine; I hate to see a pretty girl in tears.” Whoever she was, whatever had happened, it looked like she was in need of some genuine kindness. Gavin did not lie. He’d thought she was pretty from across the patio, and glowing as she was beneath the white lights he thought she was pretty now.

The compliment made her uncomfortable. She mumbled something about leaving. Had he already shot himself in the foot? There was something different about this girl that he had to discover. Something that drew him to her. If he let her go without a fight he’d never forgive himself.

“If you don’t have anywhere to be, why don’t you come sit with me and my friends? I’m willing to bet you’ve had a tough night, and if you’ll let me I’d like to make it better.”

There was hardly a moment spared before she rejected him.

“No, I’m sorry. I need to go.” Beautiful lips, just a shade beyond her natural color, continued to move as the sentence went on, but Gavin did not hear any more words. It had been a long time since a woman had told him no, and he was taken aback. Was it that she was shy? Was he too forward? Did she already have a boyfriend? Worse, was she not interested in him at all? It was a few moments before he remembered the card in his pocket, which he gave her.

“Give me a call sometime, and I’ll take you out for a drink just you and me.” Shy. He was placing his bets on shy. Maybe she didn’t want to mingle with a large group of new people. He could respect that.

Her blue eyes looked him up and down and she mumbled her thanks and turned to scurry away. Before she could escape he caught her by the shoulder.

“Before you go, tell me your name.” Going back to the table alone was a desolate reality, but if he had her name to keep him company the separation seemed a little less bleak.

“Vicky Wilde.” It was as beautiful as she was.

“Gavin Lister,” he replied, unsure if she heard or not. As soon as his hand had fallen away she near sprinted down the sidewalk. The urge to chase rose up in him like a diver rising up and breaking the surface of the water after a deep plunge, but Gavin withheld. Soon she’d disappeared around the corner, and he was left alone.

“The almighty King shot down,” Finneus remarked with dry humor from just behind Gavin. He clapped a hand on the man’s shoulders and shook his head slowly. “You’ve lost your touch since they sent you out to the desert.”

“It’s not like that, Finn,” Gavin mumbled. For a moment longer he gazed at the darkened street she’d run down, then shook his own head to clear his thoughts and turned to look at his friend. Human or not, that girl had drawn at his soul. Gavin had always been told that The Bond only happened between two shifters, but the pull he’d felt towards her was intense enough to be It.

“It better not be like that,” Finn said solemnly. “You’re engaged now, Gavin. You owe it to your future wife and to our pride to remain faithful. If she calls, don’t answer. There’s way too much at stake to be fooling around with a pretty face.”

The recollection stung. Tonight he’d been trying so hard to forget, but Finneus was happy to drag every unhappy thought to the surface. The pride deserved a better King. Gavin wasn’t ready to settle down and rule, not now, maybe not ever. His was a wild spirit, and he was happiest while serving, not giving orders. It was why he had joined the military, and it was why he’d elected to go on so many tours. It had been years since he’d last been in America, but following the death of his father, Gavin had no choice but to return.

“Her name’s Vicky. She’s not just a face,” Gavin mumbled. Arguing against Finn always seemed pointless; the man was a lawyer, and he knew just what words to use to set himself up for victory. Still, he felt like Vicky was worth fighting for.

“I don’t care if her name was Anastasia and she was the missing Romanov princess. The fact of the matter is, you are engaged to a lioness from another pride. You will keep the engagement and strengthen our relations with the shifter community. Throwing a human girl into the equation doesn’t make sense. You will do what is best for all of us.”

“I will.” Gavin said. The conversation had gone on long enough. Without waiting for Finneus to dismiss him, he began the walk back to their table where his pride had gathered. The laughter and high spirits had not suffered in his wake; Tabitha was doing a good job at keeping everyone agreeable.

As he sank back in his seat, all Gavin could do was stare upwards and take in the night sky. An unwanted engagement. Forced diplomacies. Control over a whole pride of lion shifters. There were so many changes happening so quickly in his life, all of them unwanted. Was it wrong to want to find a sliver of solace amongst the madness? Finn seemed to think so, and if he did, maybe it was true.

“Here she comes,” Finneus murmured as he took his seat at Gavin’s right. “On your best behavior; you want to make a good impression.”

Gavin picked his head up and looked momentarily towards his friend. Finneus was older by six months, and time had aged him in a way different than it had aged Gavin. Where Gavin was rugged and thick, Finneus was refined and elegant. A life of scholarly pursuits left Finn soft, where Gavin had lived by hardship and physicality. Still, their blonde hair and blue eyes mimicked were almost identical. If only they had been brothers instead of cousins. What Gavin would have given for an older brother to assume the position of King in his stead.

“How sweet of you to save me a seat.” The voice was low and sultry, and had Gavin’s thoughts been in order, it would have immediately piqued his attention. As it was, all he could think about was Vicky and her honey words, and how much he’d rather be at a quiet, private venue with her than out on this patio with his pride and his betrothed.

The chair to his left pulled out from the table, then someone settled in it. Gavin turned his head to take her in for the first time. His fiancée.

As she sat she shook her head to free stunning black locks of hair from a high ponytail. Her face was blessed with attractive bone structure, and her hips offered a tantalizing curve on an otherwise petite body. There was no questioning that she was beautiful, but Gavin felt no pull. Nothing about Jessica struck him in the way that Vicky had when he’d first laid eyes upon her.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he offered as she settled. Pretty brown eyes fell upon him and assessed, and one corner of Jessica’s lips twitched upwards in a smirk.

“Nice to meet you, too,” she crooned. It’s nice to know that I’m to marry a man with some muscle to him. When I met your brother—”

“Cousin—”

“Whatever. I was afraid you’d look the same. I’m glad to see that’s not the case.”

Most lion shifters had feline qualities to them. In Jessica’s case the cat was easy to see; she was sly and sleek, matching the same slinky quality of a cat up to no good.

“And I’m honored that you would come to sit with all of us even after a long day on the job. The pride is tightly knit, and when we marry you will be family with all of us.”

“So I’d heard,” Jessica said, turning just slightly in her chair. “All of you are really... Traditional. I guess it’s refreshing.”

The more she spoke, the less Gavin desired her. Condescending, uncaring, and brash, she was exactly the kind of woman he tried to avoid. Vicky’s forlorn stare and timid nature haunted him.

“So,” Jessica murmured, eyes tracing across each one of them in turn. The conversations around the table had ceased now that she’d sat with them, and all eyes were on her and Gavin. “Is pride dinner a thing? Because it seems like a lot of unnecessary work.”

In his mind, Gavin sat with Vicky at a private table like one of the ones across the patio as he made her blush and laugh. He’d promised Finn that he’d do what was best for the pride, but if she called he wasn’t sure he could resist. After all, he’d known Jessica for all of two minutes, and already she rubbed him the wrong way. Could a woman he had no connection to really be better for the wellbeing of the pride than one he was interested it? Gavin wasn’t sure.

It was going to be a long night.