Epilogue
Andi rolled her neck to work out the tired muscles. Since mating Sebastian, she’d taken on the duties of the female alpha which were more work than she’d had before. She’d had to hire a manager for her shop as well as several workers, most part time. The manager now lived upstairs as part of her pay package. It was good to have someone on site all the time, now that she and Sebastian lived in one of the houses he’d recently bought.
The compound was progressing at an amazing rate. She wasn’t sure if that was good or not. Lion shifters were as social as wolves, once the compound was built, there would be little privacy for her or Sebastian. They would live surrounded by the pride. It would be an adjustment, but it was worth it to have the love of her fated mate.
Sebastian worked from home as often as he could, something Truly assured her was new for him. They spent whatever moments they could steal away from their responsibilities together. It had been a rough few weeks after he had first mated her without asking. She’d been pissed and not afraid to show it.
Something had changed inside her that she hadn’t even understood, at least not right away. Andi had thought she was going crazy when a voice first started talking to her. It urged her to accept their mate, to be happy with Seb, for everyone’s sake. Her first thought had been he was doing this somehow. Maybe he’d bespelled her or something. It had taken Ariel’s insights, she had suggested there might be an animal waiting for her to let it out. She remembered the conversation they’d had well.
“So, I talked to Ariel.”
“Did she convince you to forgive me?” Seb asked.
“As if you’re getting off the hook so easily.”
“So, what did she say?”
“I explained some issues I was having. She suggested, you’ll get a laugh out of this, that I might have an animal locked inside me trying to get out,” Andi admitted.
“What problems?”
“Issues,” she said. “Like a voice talking to me in my head. I’ve also been itchy lately, a lot, but there’s no rash. Just stuff like that.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to try just to be sure,” Seb suggested.
“Would you even love a wolf if I turned into one?”
“I love you. If you’re a dog or a cat, it’s all about you. I would never want anyone else.”
“Sometimes, you’re just perfect,” She said with a sigh.
“Aren’t I perfect all the time?”
“You wish.”
They’d taken a walk in the woods, it was what Seb thought best. That was in case she did turn into a wild animal. Andi wondered if maybe, Ariel just wanted them all to join the howling fun. There was no way. Was there?
After they walked a short way, he stopped her. “Let me kiss you, Sweetheart. It will relax you so you can change. In your mind, imagine what your animal looks like then let her loose.”
“But I don’t feel like a wolf.”
“Imagine whatever you want to. Tell your animal she can come out.” He pulled her into his arms making her feel loved and wanted. His lips dropped to hers, starting with a kiss that was sweet. But turned demanding.
In her mind, she imagined an animal she would love to be. It was animal that could walk proudly at Seb’s side. Andi felt funny, something seemed to move over her skin. Pain hit her in her belly as Seb let her go. Her eyes opened then widened as she looked around from a slightly lower vantage point. Looking down, she almost freaked out as she saw short white fur with big paws. No wolf looked like that.
“Dear goddess, you’re gorgeous!” Seb exclaimed. His eyes were wide with wonder before suddenly, he changed to his lion.
She stepped closer to him to press her face against his. A feeling of overwhelming love and commitment rushed over her. Her lioness was fully committed to their mate. She smacked his nose lightly with her paw then took off running. Seb took off after her. The chase was a heady thing, making her blood pump as her paws slapped the bare earth. He would catch her eventually, she wanted him to, but why make it too easy?
When he caught her, it was unexpected from the side. They rolled ass over tea kettle coming to a stop with him on top of her. He licked her face with his long wet tongue, making her let out a chuffing noise. Yuck! Easy on the slobbers. He jumped up and pranced away like the king of the jungle he was. His head held high as his tail swung about. His lion wasn’t the sunny golden color many were, but it wasn’t dark enough to call black.
She followed along after him, not sure what else she could do. He might have to help her through her change back to human form. Her lioness was so enamored with him, she knew a turning point had come in their relationship. Her animal wouldn’t let her continue to hold a grudge.
After her shift to her lioness, it wasn’t long before the word had spread through the pride. Seb wanted her to go on a hunt with the others, so they could see her animal form. She could tell when he discussed it with her that he was proud of the beauty of her lion form. It was a week before the day of the hunt. That week went quickly.
The rest of the pride stood around naked while she had a towel wrapped around her. Eventually, Truly had told her she would get used to the nudity giving it no thought at all. That was hard to believe. The change came quicker this time without the sharp pain she’d felt the first time. She stood in front of all of Seb’s people, most of them in their lion forms too, as her animal side.
It weirded her out when they dropped to their knees. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. White lions are sacred to our kind,” he admitted.
They all rose back to their feet, but the looks of wonder and awe didn’t go away, not for the whole hunt or even days afterward. Her place in the pride was now sealed, too bad there was so much work involved. She was the female alpha, but also some sort of religious leader. They considered her the representative of the goddess on Earth.
Seb’s work had finally eased a bit as each group of cats got a temporary leader. The tigers would finally have their new leader as Titus, Franz’s son, had finally come to see his dad. An unusual name among cats, Titus was a name in Franz’s family that originated from a mate that gave all her children biblical names. Depending on the language, the name meant pleasing, giant, or saved. Andi hoped Titus would be a pleasing addition to the leadership of the feline alliance. Feline Alliance wasn’t an official name, but she liked it.
Her relationship with Seb had settled and it continued to grow stronger with each passing day. She’d found her happiness with a lion and his pride.