It was nearly dark and the dusk light, full of tension when Joan woke. The changes in the light told her immediately that some time had gone by without her knowledge.
She heard a tense heave by her side and looked up at the shadowed form of the giant lion as he prepared to charge. But he was not paying the girl the slightest mind.
He stood facing where she surmised Mae had to be; his tail swished more slowly with the passage of time. She could feel him ready himself--it was as if she were part of him somehow. The dynamic energy that flowed from the savage beast infected Joan with something primitive and demanding which beat in her heart. Then she felt the air chill on something wet at her crotch and she started to move her hand to feel what it might be.
"Don't move, Joan!" The voice was
