A Lion's Mate

Chapter 13: Connections

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Kiara uppercut Cecil, who was totally caught off guard. Her strength was back, but so was Cecil's.

He growled an snarled at her. It was taking a lot of control for him not to shift right there and then.

As Kiara got angrier, she felt the pull through her muscles along with a burning on her hip, but she didn't realize that it meant she was getting ready to shift.

When Cecil lunged at Kiara, she lost control of the car, which spun and went over the curb into a ditch in a corn field.

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Leo gasped as he felt the burning yet once against hip. Ryan jumped from their silence and the sharp gasp. He stared cautiously at Leo, wondering why he gasped. Then Leo pointed to his hip.

When Ryan looked down, a sudden smoke drifted off of Leo.

" I now I'm hot already, but could you--" Leo winced through his joke, "could you look at it?"

As soon heard the words 'look at it' , he glanced at Leo confused, but Leo then demanded him to look now.

When Ryan started to lift Leo's shirt, he screamed a high pitch noise. Leo shot him a glare but chuckled at Ryan's glare back at Leo. Finally once Leo's shirt was lifted, his skin around his mark was a bright red with steam coming off it, but nothing changed. Or so Leo thought. As soon as he got the feeling of his bones stretching, he jammed the brakes and cursed loudly.

Leo's men followed his actions. Their Commander, Tobias, stepped out of the car to find out what was wrong with his King. When he reached the window, a strong scent of smoke and fear lurked in the air.

When he tapped the window of the passenger seat, his Kings companion jumped and jerked away from Leo. And that's when Tobias could see what was happening. He panicked.

Tobias threw the passenger open and pulled out Ryan, who asked a confused "Hey?" but got no answer. Tobias rushed and undid Leo's seat belt and carried him out of the Land Rover. He rushed Leo towards the corn field with Ryan trailing him.

Tobias laid down his King then spoke to him, "Don't fight it. Let it happen. You must. Don't fight it." Tobias said while bending over Leo.

Ryan was confused, he seemed to a lot lately.

Leo grasped his Commanders arm tightly, then replied, " What about Ryan? He doesn't know. He must not know. I don't want--" Leo grunted like he was battling something, thought Ryan, but then Leo continued talking breaking Ryan's thoughts.

"-- I don't want him to know. Not yet. Not like," Leo paused, "this." Then he started to shake, but he managed to yell at Tobias to get Ryan out of there.

Ryan started to fight the Commander, but was pushed inside one of the Escalades and had his head shoved down with such force it seemed impossible for Human to poses such strength.

Ryan was curious what was going to happen to Leo, so he started to struggle against the Commander.

Leo could feel the pull of the shift overwhelming him. He couldn't control it. He felt his lion roar with excitement. Why? Leo thought. But he got no answer.

Something was different about this shift. It was painful, just like his very first one. He screamed, yelled, and tears almost broke out down his face.

The pull was becoming stronger and stronger, then his bones started to shift.

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As one if the car windows broke from the fighting, Cecil could see a glow

In Kiara's eyes, just like a cats during the night, he thought. But then a scream and howling broke his thoughts. At first he thought it was Kiara, but the screamed seemed to distant for her or him.

Cecil pushed Kiara out of the car, and he followed.

As Kiara got up, the screaming didn't stop, but to her it felt like someone was pulling her towards it. She forgot all about Cecil, and made a run through the field.

Cecil, caught off guard, charged in the corn field to find her, but her scent was covered from all the corn. He growled. It seemed they were going to play a Hide and Go Seek, but Cecil never knew that Leo was in the same field.