Panthera

Prologue

Prologue - Tora

(14 years ago)

"Dinner smells fantastic!" I smiled as the love of my life walked in the house after a long day at work. I was just plating the steak and green beans when he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist and planted a kiss in the tender spot where my collarbone met my neck. "I love you honey. How was Naddy today?" As if speaking the nickname conjured her up, the spirited four year old Nadine ran full-barreled into her father. Leon scooped up his daughter and plastered as many kisses on her face before she started giggling.

"There she is! Were you a good girl today?" Nadine proceeded to tell all about the day we spent together. Leon and I had only been married for eight months, but Nadine was barely two when they first met. My heart warms every time she calls me mommy, though technically I am the only mother she's ever known. Leon never liked to talk about his life before he met me, all I know is that Nadine's mother died shortly after giving birth to her.

I placed Nadine's plate of mac n' cheese and chicken nuggets on the table, and we all tucked into our food. There were a couple of hours before Nadine's bedtime, so she brought out her dolls while her cartoons played in the background.

"Tee-top!" I shook my head at Nadine's signal she still wanted to play.

"No, tee-top. We're not playing the opposite game now. It's time for bed munchkin." Leon tapped her on her nose when she pouted for a few seconds.

"Daddy," she said while he scooped her up to carry her to bed, "what's this?" I looked over to find her pointing to the tattoo that was on his right bicep. It was a beautiful, almost tribal tattoo of a paw print, but where the pad of the paw there was a lion head that looked as though it was roaring at an unknown enemy.

"That, my little cub, is a symbol of my pride. My family." I listened to Leon as they walked further away from me to Nadine's room. The corners of my mouth lifted every time Leon started using lion's terms with Nadine. I got up from the couch and followed them down the hallway to the back of the house.

"But daddy! You said I was your pride."

"You are baby." As I leaned in the doorway she lit up the room with her giggles from Leon's tickling. "You and your mommy," he looked back at me with an energetic smile, "you're my pride and my joy."

"Hmm," she pondered and I had a hard time keeping my giggles contained. "Can I get that tattoo when I grow up?"

"Well, I don't know. Are you a lion?" Nadine quickly shook her head no and laughed. "Oh well when you become a lion, you can get one. How does that sound?"

"But I can't turn into a lion!" She countered. I turned to go back to the living room as her father launched into a story about a princess who turned into a lion.

"I'm worried about her She takes two to three naps a day and then gets up in the middle of the night to play before falling back to sleep. She sleeps around 14 hours a day. That's not normal for her age. I think I'm going to make an appointment at the doctor's for her tomorrow." I said as soon as Leon came back out to the living room. The cartoons were long swapped out for the latest Law and Order: SVU episode.

I watched Leon's lips turn down as he shook his head. "She's fine, no need for a doctor. I used to sleep like that when I was younger. I grew out of it when I turned five. But, there is something I want to tell you about. Early in the morning, a friend of mine is stopping by, he needs my signature on some paperwork."

Leon sat on the couch next to me and I melted into his body as he wrapped his arm around me.

"Do you want me to fix breakfast? I think there are some ham steaks in the freezer. I can fry those up."