Page 46 of Bite and See

The moonlit clearing fell into total and complete silence when the noise subsided. Not even a cricket dared chirp out its summer tune.

Into the silence, Thomas spoke. “I need every member of the pride to be on high alert. Every eye and every ear should be on this case. Sonny must be stopped at all costs.”

The pride yipped in agreement at the directive. The pride was united. The threat must be eliminated.

“Daryl and Marcus,” he said, looking directly at his two most trusted pride members. “I want you to head operations. If anyone sees or hears anything suspicious, report it to one of them. I want the entire pride to meet here again in two days, understand?”

The pride howled in response.

“Good, now enjoy the full moon run. I’ll see you all out there. I just need to speak with Lorena for a moment.”

The pride needed no second telling. In an instant, they were gone like ghosts between the trees, leaving the woods eerily empty and silent.

Thomas turned to her. “I wish you could come with me tonight,” he said. “Or that I could stay with you. But this full moon run is important to the pride, and it is important I run with them.”

“I completely understand,” she said. Although her heart was breaking from the fact she would never be able to join them on their run. To feel the bare earth beneath her paws and the scent of the forest come alive in her nostrils. “I’ll be safe enough at the hospital. Thank you for sparing two guards for my father tonight of all nights. They couldn’t have been happy about it.”

He took her into his arms, kissed her hard, and then stood back. He stripped all his clothes and left them in a heap on the ground. His naked body was tantalizing. She wanted to take him right there on the forest floor. But he hadn’t shed his clothes for her. He needed to shift to run with his kin.

She ran a finger down his pronounced pectoral muscles. She longed to go further. They looked into each other’s eyes. She could tell he would have preferred to stay with her also. “Go,” she said. “Your pride needs you.”

He turned and ran into the forest. She watched him go and saw his naked body shift into the shaggy form of his lion as he stepped into the tree line. She heard him howl to his pride mates, who answered his call in the night.

She was left alone in the moonlit clearing, craving the call of the wild that she would never be able to answer. A part of her heart and soul ran with them, and she knew she would not feel whole again until Thomas returned to her side.

The next morning, he was late to the office. She hoped he was okay. It felt ironic that she finally got her chance to be totally alone and unattended in his office now that she no longer needed to feed information to Sonny.

She listlessly went through some files, organizing the workplace to run more efficiently.

It was almost midday before Thomas arrived. He looked exhausted. “Sorry I’m so late,” he said. “I was following a lead. It seems Sonny has made a lot of enemies.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me,” Lorena replied. “He’s not exactly everyone’s favorite uncle material, is he?” She didn’t imagine he even got invited to many of his own family’s gatherings.

“How do you feel about feeding him some more false information about me and the pride?” Thomas asked with a wicked grin. “You can say no if you like. I would completely understand. But maybe we could lure him into a trap.”

“I’m definitely in on that.” Lorena felt excited at the prospect. She would love to get some sweet revenge.

They spent the afternoon planning what she should say, and then she went to meet him. He changed the rendezvous point, which made her suspicious. They were to meet at a bench in the center of the park.

Maybe Sonny was starting to feel nervous. Or maybe he knew Thomas’s lions were stationed around the hospital, just waiting for trouble. The park seemed like a good public spot so no one could create trouble, but that also offered privacy. It made sense.

Naturally, Thomas sent his lions ahead to check the area out. They reported nothing suspicious. There were no more than the expected couple of Sonny’s bruisers lurking very conspicuously, at least to a lion’s nose, nearby. But it didn’t appear to be an ambush.

Lorena tried to relax as she pulled up in the lot by the park. She tried to act natural as she walked over to the designated bench where she was to meet Sonny. He was already seated there waiting when she arrived.

“You’re late,” he said in a greeting.

Lorena sat opposite him. “I didn’t like the stunt you pulled at the hospital,” she said. “I was trying my hardest. My dad nearly died.”

“I warned you. You failed me. There were consequences. I hope it has focused your mind. Now what have you got for me?”

He took out his pride of cigarillos and lit one up. The smell made her gag. He noticed her reaction and deliberately blew smoke in her face. If she ever had any doubt about setting him up, it evaporated with the smoke.

“I told you there was something big going down,” she said. “Thomas and the boys are meeting a big shipment out in the woods behind Forges Hill. There’s an old quarry there.” It was the perfect place for an ambush. There was a lot of old discarded machinery and massive chunks of rock lying around all over the place to hide behind.

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, Lorena?” Sonny asked, leaning forward and getting his fetid breath in her face.

“After what you did to my father, I wouldn’t dare,” she said. The fear and anger in her voice was real enough. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

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