A Lion’s Mate by Eve Langlais
Chapter Two
The big man yelled, and she heard her name.
Fluffy.
She’d thought he was leaving her when he walked away, but now, he loomed before her, loud and indicating that she had to move.
She scrambled down onto the oddly flat and smooth rock, the biggest she’d ever seen, extending all around. It provided a place for the whirlybird to land. She’d seen them before. They liked to fly over the ice field every so often, making lots of noise and chasing off her lunch.
She’d never expected that one might save her life. Wounded and scared because of the cracking and steaming rock, she’d exited the cave via a secret passage and stumbled across an intriguingly scented trail. She’d followed it to a dormant whirlybird, and hearing pursuit, hid inside.
She’d almost leaped off when it lifted from the ground, only the quickest peek at the heaving slabs of ice changed her mind. She’d thought herself so clever until Zach confronted her.
He had a name, as did the others with him. She’d listened to them speaking, even heard her name mentioned a few times.
“Zach.”
“What?” he snapped, and she understood, even as she had to quicken her stride to follow. He was big. Very big. Like a bear, only he wasn’t. She’d seen him in the cave. He was a giant cat. She remembered cats, even as she didn’t recall ever seeing any.
He had skin that was darker than hers, and only stubble on his head. He had an agile walk, loose-hipped, casual yet alert.
She more or less stumbled along. It had been a long time since she’d worn this shape. A very long time because of the cold. When she went all flesh, she only had stiff fur from previous hunts to wrap her shivers in.
But she wasn’t always this way. She used to have a sweater like the one he’d given her. She’d had those things on his legs too, and feet covers. They’d long since fallen to tatters.
He led her to a massive—building? The word hovered, and she gave it meaning as she stared at the square thing with other shapes inset within. He opened a rectangle to show a cave inside.
His lair?
She entered and wrinkled her nose at the smells. He didn’t seem to notice and headed for the opposite side. He still spoke, and she found herself understanding a few words.
“…taxi…hotel…doctor.”
The last word conjured an image of a male in white, poking her with something sharp.
“Nnoo.” The word burst from her.
He paused in his steps and ranting to look at her. “So, you do understand a little.”
The sounds had meaning, and at the same time didn’t. She rolled her shoulders.
He babbled some more in his language only to huff hotly at the end. “Come.”
Since she had nothing better to do, she followed him. He went into a smaller box. There were oddly shaped items in the room, one of them tempting her to sit.
So, she did.
Chair. A thing to seat herself on. Look at her, creating names for objects.
She watched as Zach prowled behind a waist-high object. A desk. He pulled out the desk’s tongues and withdrew a box.
Not her box. This one was white with a red, drunken X on it, more like a cross. Opening it, he withdrew some items, and she didn’t realize they were for her until he pointed and said, “Show me.”
Show him what?
He knelt and reached for the shirt. She slapped at his hand.
He growled.
She growled back.
“I’m trying to check your wound.”
She understood wound. But didn’t know how he planned to help. Would he lick it for her since she couldn’t reach?
She lifted her shirt and showed him the sluggishly bleeding hole.
He clucked his tongue as he wiped it.
She hissed.
“Don’t be a baby.”
She knew baby and frowned.
He kept dabbing and peering. “Bullet’s still inside.”
She glanced at the hole and saw the edge of the object.
In her!
Suddenly panicked, she dug her fingers into the hole, gasped at the pain, but yanked it free, along with the blood dammed behind it.
“Out,” she said.
“Well, that’s one way to do it,” he muttered as he pressed the white cloth to her skin. It quickly turned red. He grabbed another and kept the pressure on. She tried to ignore him.
It wasn’t easy. And not just because of his size.
His scent distracted.
His very presence had her lightheaded.
He wound more of the white stuff around her, holding the bigger folded square in place.
Then he moved off and bent over, reappearing with a large box.
“Lost and found. See what they…” Blah. Blah. He spoke, she paid little attention. She was more interested in what he pulled free. More sweaters. Some for the head. Some for the hands. Even one for her legs.
She drew on the garments in the brightest colors she’d ever seen—other than blood, which was always really red. She grinned. “Sweater!”
“Not entirely, but we’ll go with it,” he muttered.
More guttural sounds that she just absorbed as she put on her sweaters and was finally warm.
“Ah.” She sighed.
“Now that we have clothes, I need to call a taxi. Good thing I left my wallet and phone here.” He opened a door to another building cave.
Was he leaving her?
She launched herself from the chair, and he froze, meaning her momentum thrust her into him.
He steadied her. “Whoa.”
“Zach.” She said his name, and his brow creased.
He spoke in those weird sounds that almost had meaning, then heaved a breath. “Fine. You can come.”
She stuck close to him as he went into a small cave and rummaged in crevices cleverly hidden.
He held up some small objects that made no sense. A tiny plastic square. Fluttery paper. He stuffed them into his leg sweater, which had convenient pockets built in. She checked her own to find that she had two. She’d keep an eye out for things she could stuff into them.
Maybe the stick in that cup. She grabbed it and gnawed on the end.
It crunched, and something damp shot out.
“Fuck!”
He snatched her juicy stick away. It leaked a dark fluid on him. She licked her lips. The taste wasn’t great.
He shook it at her. “No eating pens.”
“No.” She eyed the shelf with more things. Pointed to another stick that might be tastier.
“No. If you’re hungry, have this.”
He thrust something that crinkled at her. Yellow with red and black markings.
“Eat.” He mimed putting it into his mouth.
She shoved the whole thing in, which wasn’t easy. She had to bite halfway and then almost bit her tongue as she squealed.
The sweetness was pure pleasure.
She shoved it all the way into her mouth and chewed. Cooed. Chewed some more. When it was gone, she began looking for another.
Zach held up another of the delicious things.
She lunged, but he held it out of reach.
“M-M-Mine!” She burst for it.
“You can have it in the taxi. Let’s go. Come.”
She knew come. But she wanted her treat now. Leaping off the shelf with the yucky-tasting sticks, she launched herself at his hand and grabbed the yummy thing. Then she shot out the hole to the next cave, then the next. She hesitated for only a second in the massive cavern before choosing a new rectangle set in its wall. She emerged onto more of the flat rock painted with white and yellow lines. But it was the lights bearing down on her with a rumble of a massive monster behind it that had her plastering herself against the wall.
She was still there when Zach emerged. He appeared annoyed to see her. He walked right past to the beast huffing on the smooth rock. He got inside it.
And she had a sudden vision of riding inside one before.
A car.
Zach leaned out and snapped, “Come.”
Since she was a long way from her cave, she followed.
