Freeing A Lion: BBW Paranormal Lion Shape Shifter Romance (Sleeping Lions - Shifters Prime Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Foreword

  Chapter One – Lottie

  Chapter Two – Daniel

  Chapter Three – Lottie

  Chapter Four – Daniel

  Chapter Five – Lottie

  Chapter Six – Daniel

  Chapter Seven – Lottie

  Chapter Eight – Daniel

  Chapter Nine – Lottie

  Chapter Ten – Daniel

  Chapter Eleven – Lottie

  Chapter Twelve – Daniel

  Chapter Thirteen – Lottie

  Chapter Fourteen – Daniel

  Chapter Fifteen – Lottie

  Chapter Sixteen – Daniel

  Chapter Seventeen – Lottie

  Chapter Eighteen – Daniel

  Chapter Nineteen – Lottie

  Chapter Twenty – Daniel

  Chapter Twenty-One – Lottie

  Chapter Twenty-Two – Daniel

  Chapter Twenty-Three – Lottie

  Chapter Twenty-Four – Daniel

  Chapter Twenty-Five – Lottie

  Chapter Twenty-Six – Daniel

  Also By Harmony Raines

  Freeing A Lion

  Sleeping Lions

  (Book Two)

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  Note from the author: My books are written, produced and edited in the UK where spellings and word usage can vary from U.S. English. The use of quotes in dialogue and other punctuation can also differ.

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  All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.

  This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.

  © 2016 Harmony Raines

  Kindle Edition

  Foreword

  Despite a past she has been hiding from for two years, curvy girl Lottie joins an animal rights group to help the animals kept in appalling conditions in a nearby circus. But when she lifts the tarp, and takes a photo of the caged lion, what she sees will change her life forever.

  Or should that be shift her life forever!

  Tricked into being a circus lion by a sadistic lion tamer, Daniel is trapped, with no end to his suffering in sight. They have exactly the right kind of leverage over him to keep him under control.

  But he longs to be free, to go across the border to Shifters Prime, and live like a normal shifter.

  However, Daniel is about to find out that fate moves in very mysterious ways, and when a stranger looks into is cage, he knows she is his mate.

  Can she help him escape? Can she help him achieve the impossible, and return to Shifters Prime?

  When her past catches up with Lottie, it seems the rescuer will be the one in need of rescue, and who better to do so than a handsome hunk of lion flesh.

  The only problem; you can only enter Shifters Prime with a visa, which she doesn’t have … unless you are a shifter … which she isn’t …yet!

  This is the second book in the Sleeping Lions Series, Living a Lion is already on sale.

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  Chapter One – Lottie

  After waiting outside for over an hour, the rain had finally soaked through Lottie’s coat. So much for its claim to be waterproof.

  However, nothing was going to deter her from what she had come here to do. Animal cruelty was not a thing she could tolerate, and she planned to take pictures of the lion the despicable Cartwright Brothers used in their shows.

  Animal Respect Not Cruelty, the action group she belonged to, had been monitoring the circus for some time. None of the animals were kept in ideal conditions, but the lion was the most shocking of all. When not being forced to do tricks in the ring, he was kept in a small cage, which was permanently covered.

  Tonight, Lottie had volunteered to sneak into the secure area where the animals were kept and take photos. The plan was to go to the media, social media. If they could get enough people to sign a petition, then the circus would have to act, or risk being boycotted, which would put them out of business. Either way, the animals would have a better life.

  A sound off to her right made her duck behind a trailer. She was around twenty feet away from the lion’s cage, and as usual it was covered up completely. The idea was to get close enough to peel back the tarp and take a few pictures of the poor creature, without disturbing it. No one was sure exactly how secure the cage was. And a lion on the loose would divert sympathy away from the campaign to get him freed and sent to a conservation area where he could live a normal life, and instead he would be hunted.

  Lottie ducked down and looked under the other trailers for any signs of movement. But there was nothing; it all looked quiet. Now or never. Her nerve nearly left her, but she had come this far and she had to complete her part of the job, not for anything other than the poor caged creature.

  Taking herself firmly in hand, she made her feet move. This had seemed so much easier in the volunteering stage. Now, faced with seeing the lion close up, she was experiencing a mixture of awe and fear of what might happen.

  “Only one way to find out,” she said to herself under her breath. Moving forward, she made her way as quietly as she could towards the lion’s cage. Her heart thumped loudly and every sound made her nervous, but she had to do this.

  Camera at the ready, she eased herself behind the trailer holding the cage, then she eased the tarp up an inch then two. Standing still, she listened. If she heard the lion close up to where she was standing, she would put the tarp down and move away. But all she could hear was something eating, teeth gnawing at bones.

  Tensing, ready to lift up the tarp higher and duck under it to snap a picture, she tried to imagine where he was in the cage, by noise alone. Yet the more she listened, the more something didn’t sound right. The gnawing wasn’t loud enough, the teeth chewing on bone didn’t seem big enough.

  Nothing for it. She lifted the tarp, took the picture and then ducked down out of sight, waiting for the beast to come at her. But there was no sound. No sound at all.

  He had stopped eating, but he hadn’t come towards her. Any minute now he would resume his meal and she would slink away. Any minute now … but the silence endured.

  Lottie looked down at the camera and decided the best move would be to check if the picture had come out OK. If it had, she would get the hell out of there. There was little else she could do tonight. Once the picture was uploaded online, events would escalate quickly: pressure would be put on the circus and the poor creature would be sent to a sanctuary.

  Flicking the button to view the image, she felt the blood drain from her body, and the ground rose up to meet her bottom, leaving her with wet jeans. Not that she noticed; her whole attention was on the small screen and the picture it held.

  Getting her senses back together, she grabbed hold of the axle of the trailer and hoisted herself back up onto her feet. There had to be some mistake.

  Lifting the tarp once more, she peered in, only for her eyes to be met by the sad, plaintive expression of a man. He was close to her, so close that if she reached inside, she w
ould be able to touch him, run her fingers along his naked skin, exposed by the torn rags he wore instead of clothes. And touch the cold silver collar around his neck.

  “Shit,” she breathed. This was not what she had expected, not what she had signed up for. Taking a few pictures of animals in cages was one thing, but finding the circus lion was a shifter was another.

  The tarp slipped out of her hand and she shut his face out of her vision. She had to think. This would look bad for ARNC, they were committed to rescuing animals, not shifters. What kind of mixed-up mess was this?

  She shook her head, trying to get her comprehension of the situation straight. The circus was using shifters in their show. Why? Because they were far more trainable than wild animals.

  If this got out, it would ruin the circus. Wouldn’t it? People would side with the shifters, wouldn’t they? Or would people really not care? Would it bother them that they were coming to the big top to see the creatures from across the border in Shifters Prime? Creatures that were also human.

  Lottie lifted the tarp again. He was closer, his hand reaching out through the bars and touching hers. An electric shock jolted up her arm, sending her back towards the floor, but she grasped hold of the trailer and stayed upright. As she looked up, their eyes met, locked together as he silently pleaded for help.

  “What have they done to you?” she asked.

  He shook his head, removing his hand and backing away from her.

  “Talk to me,” she said. “Tell me why you are here. Is there a contract you have to fulfil?”

  It was common knowledge that some of the shifters came over here to work, to pay off a debt. Everything was closely controlled, and the shifter had to sign a contract with an end term date on it. Once the contract was fulfilled, they were free to go back home. Well, forced, more like, they weren’t welcome among normal human beings. This unwelcoming attitude was reinforced by the collar a shifter was supposed to wear while he was here. Silver laced with copper, the collar prevented them changing into whatever animal it was that possessed them.

  And it was a possession, from what she had heard. Like a bad spirit living inside a normal human.

  Was it contagious? She looked down at her hand; he had touched her. Stopping herself from trying to wipe any germs away, she told herself to stop being so stupid, shifters with contracts touched humans all the time. Damn, there were so many urban myths related to shifters, it was hard to filter out the crap.

  She released her pent-up breath. It’s fine.

  What wasn’t fine was the photo on her camera. Lottie backed away, ducking down and heading back the way she had come. Once past the trailers she slipped through the fence, nearly getting snagged on it. Her curvy body did not exactly make sneaking around easy.

  “There you are,” Fern hissed. “We thought you got caught.”

  “No. I’m fine,” she said, straightening her clothes.

  “Did you get the pictures we need?” Henry asked.

  “Yes,” she answered, and then knew she couldn’t show them the lion … the man lion. “But not the lion, I got disturbed and had to run.”

  “Damn it,” Fern said sharply. “I knew I should have gone. We’ll have to go back in a couple of days.”

  “Maybe the ones I’ve got of the other animals will be enough,” Lottie said hopefully.

  “No. We need the lion. A snake and a couple of prancing ponies don’t exactly have the same appeal as a big ferocious lion living in misery.”

  Lottie felt ashamed for lying, but she didn’t want them to know. And she didn’t quite know why. Because she wanted to go back.

  Oh, no you don’t, she told herself. You need to lay low.

  Lottie had moved to the city a year ago, to lose herself in a boring job with boring people. Joining ARNC had been a bad idea, she knew it now and ought to leave it all behind. Let Fern go in and take the picture of the lion … of him. Let Fern take all the glory and decide which way to play this. Get yourself away from here.

  If Lottie had any sense, she would put as much distance between her and the circus as she could.

  Yet as she walked away from the circus, the image of his face, his forlorn expression, haunted her. Maybe because it mirrored the same expression she saw in her own eyes when she thought of the family she had lost.

  Walk away, she said to herself.

  I can’t, was the reply.

  Chapter Two – Daniel

  The day dragged on. His head was sore and his eyes gritty, he had found no sleep, and no peace, since her visit last night. She had made things so much worse, something he could never imagine possible, when his life was so damn miserable anyway. Yet her face, the first new face he had seen close up for over two years, had been so beautiful, her skin so soft to his dirty, mud-caked fingers.

  “Time to get up, ya mangy lion,” the voice of his keeper, his main torturer, Trevor, called.

  Daniel got up and moved to the door of the cage, waiting patiently for the man to come and remove the collar. He did as he was told, because he had no choice.

  Trevor poked his head under the tarp, opening the door just enough to reach in. Daniel stretched his neck forward so his keeper could undo the clasp on his collar. “Now, you remember. No biting or scratching. You know what happens if you don’t behave.”

  Daniel didn’t respond; that was the best way to behave around Trevor. Instead, Daniel pretended to be listless and docile, although inside he was waiting for the chance to escape, so he could rip Trevor’s head off his shoulders. But they had him cornered, and they knew it. So his escape was a dream, while his reality was a nightmare.

  “You know what you have to do. Once the collar is off, you change. No one can see you unless you are a lion. If they do, you know what will happen.”

  This was the same thing they went through every afternoon before the show. Trevor never wavered in his instructions. Daniel wondered why he wasted his breath; they both knew Daniel couldn’t fight him. They both knew exactly what would happen if Daniel disobeyed.

  The collar left his neck and the transformation happened immediately, just how Trevor liked it. Fur sprouted out of his skin, teeth that longed to sink deep into Trevor’s jugular erupted from his jaws, and sharp claws that would rip Trevor to shreds grew from his fingertips.

  Daniel, now in the form of a lion, stood with his head down, waiting for the rope to go around his neck, and then he was led, like a big dog, out of the cage. This was the only time his feet touched the ground, his giant lion paws feeling grass under their pads, his tail twitching and his mane catching the breeze, ruffling, a soft caress.

  Like her hand.

  “Don’t drag behind,” Trevor said, pulling the rope. Any self-respecting lion, or any self-respecting human, would have fought him, would have made a run for it. But Daniel had long lost his self-respect. And running was impossible

  Trevor led him to towards the big top. He could hear the crowds, hear their voices rising in excitement at the prospect of seeing a lion, in the flesh, doing tricks. Daniel shuddered. He wanted to flee, to escape this life. But how could he? And if he did, where could he go? Where would they go? Because he could never leave without Lea.

  The curtain drew back and Daniel was led into the back of the stage. Here Trevor took the rope off, donned his hat, and took up his whip. The show was about to begin.

  “Remember, you want to look fierce, or Lea might get hurt.”

  Daniel stood with his head down, feeling degraded, yet inside his temper fought for release, fought to be allowed to take this monster’s head off. Yet as soon as Trevor was introduced as the greatest lion tamer, Daniel summoned his restraint and ran into the ring roaring.

  He had to do as Trevor asked. He had to stay here, and stay alive, or Lea would be alone and he didn’t want to think of what would happen to her then.

  He ran around the ring, going through the motions as Trevor cracked his whip. Standing on a stool, rearing up, pretending to disobey Trevor, and watching the c
rowd look uncertain and then cheer as Trevor bent the lion to his will.

  If only they knew.

  And then, as he was going around the perimeter of the ring for the final time, he felt her presence. He had never let himself be aware of anyone in the audience, not individually: they were all a baying mob to him. However, he caught her scent, and then he searched for her, and their eyes met, he slowed, and ignored the sound of Trevor becoming impatient, telling him to move. Or else hung in the air.

  Daniel didn’t think about the repercussions, she mesmerised him. He couldn’t believe she was here, that she had returned, why that mattered he didn’t know. Yet he stopped, his head turned, taking in the sight of her in the seat at the back. Her hair was golden, swept up in a ponytail; her eyes were blue like the sky. And he could make out the curve of her breasts, the fullness of her lips.

  The whip bit into him. It had been a long time since Trevor had used it. And Daniel knew this was not the last time he would feel the bite of it on his body. He had disobeyed; he hadn’t played his part and he would pay for that.

  Yet one look at her, one sense of connection with something outside of the circus, made the punishment that was to come worth it. He only hoped they would spare Lea.

  Chapter Three – Lottie

  She shouldn’t have come, but she had, unable to resist seeing the lion. Her mind still couldn’t accept that they kept the man in the cage and used the lion in the circus. She had to be sure no one had been playing tricks.

  Yet as he went around the ring, she had known it was true. That same lost, haunted look was in the lion’s eyes. And then he had stopped. Stopped and stared at her, and she had known in that one moment that she was going to free him. No matter what it took, no matter how much she told herself she was supposed to keep her head down and out of trouble, she had to help him.

  The whip cracked. The lion flinched and then tore his eyes from hers and carried on with the act.