Page 82 of Lion Conquers All
Mate sad. Anxious. You feel?
Did she feel Aarav? Like telepathically? Was that even possible?
Yes.
She couldn’t feel anything but her own swirling emotions right now. She looked back down at the note and continued to read.
I knowyou’re going to hate me. I accept that. I do. I hate myself, but I swear to you on our mate bond that I didn’t know my bite would change you. My beast selfishly wanted to mark you. I selfishly wanted to mark you, but I didn’t know. And even though that doesn’t make up for it, I am so very sorry I took that choice from you.
Please know that I love you with my whole heart and you are not alone. I will never leave you. I will support and love you in any way you allow. And you have a whole Tribe of people who care so very deeply for you. They are all hoping you come back to us soon. And if you’re reading this, our prayers have been answered.
With love,
—Aarav
She crumpledthe note into her hand and sunk to her knees on the floor of the kitchen and cried. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her lungs burned through the sobbing, the gasping, and trying to breath. The room spun a little and she put her head down on the floor to make it settle.
Aarav hadn’t known…that changed everything.
He hadn’t betrayed her. There was no doubt in her mind. She knew he wouldn’t lie to her about something like that. It was still a shock, but it wasn’t a betrayal.
Moment by moment ticked by. She could come to terms with this new reality. And maybe she would even have some semblance of control by the time he got back to the house.
She took slow, deep, deliberate breaths like her therapists years ago had taught her.
The tears subsided. The sobs slowed and faded.
Eight days.
She’d been asleep for eight days. That reality started to sink in. She couldn’t imagine how stressed she would’ve been had Aarav been in the equivalent of a coma and knowing something this big had happened.
Hungry.The voice in her head prodded again.
“No,” she said out loud.
Hungry.Her beast’s voice said again.Eat.
Maybe the lion wasn’t trying to get her to shift. Maybe she really was trying to get her to eat. It had been eight days after all.
Connie climbed carefully to her feet. She was a little light-headed, but that was from the crying. But it could be from lack of food too. She went to the fridge. A few condiments. A pack of eggs. A plate with a haunch of raw meat sitting on it that surprisingly smelled delicious.
Nope. Not going there. Not right now.
The voice in her head laughed. She could feel the beast’s mirth almost like it was her own. Like she was laughing at herself. It was a strange feeling.
She dug in the drawer where she kept her bag of homemade beef jerky. It was still there. She grabbed a few pieces, closed the fridge, and settled herself on the floor. She chewed on the jerky and leaned back against the cool metal of the fridge and took another slow breath.
The jerky tasted good.
Not as good as the raw haunch smelled, but she could wrap her head around that factoid later.
“I can do this. It’s not the end of the world that I can change into a lion, right.”
Correct.The voice answered with a positive ring.
“How do I control you?”
Again with the inner laughing.
