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“Did Sarah have as much of an effect on you, as Andy had on me?”
“Pretty much, but in a different way. Did Rick tell you that we’re allowed to leave the pride and live in the city?” he asked. I nodded. “It’s actually something that is encouraged, because we learned long ago that it’s better to have people here who actually want to be here, rather than those who think they’re forced to stay here. The vast majority of us decide to come back here anyway. It’s not easy for us to give up the ability to shift whenever we want for the sake of living in the city. We sacrifice too much of ourselves.”
“I can imagine,” I said. “Sometimes you’re defined by your home and there’s nothing you can do to change that, or escape it. Sometimes you just have to accept it.”
“Well, at that age, I wasn’t ready to accept it just yet. I wanted to explore the world and see everything it had to offer. I was certain there was a way for our kind to live in the city without sacrificing who we were. I ignored all the warnings and went ahead full throttle into my new life, ready to change the world. I was such a fool,” he let out a dry laugh, “although, I suppose I wasn’t the first youth to think they knew more than their elders.”
“Did you know about the problems your pride was facing back then?” I asked.
Dalton nodded. “It wasn’t as pressing a matter as it is now, but yes, it was something we were all bearing in mind. I wanted to try and show people that it was safe to look outside our pride for new blood. I truly thought I was going to be the one to change everything, but it didn’t work out like that.”
“Who was she?” I asked, ready to get to the bottom of this mystery woman, the one who haunted Dalton as much as Andy haunted me.
“I met her just after I went to the city. I went out at night to a bar and we struck up a conversation. She was new in town, as well, and said she’d just started at the college, so I lied and told her that I had just started as well. I suppose I don’t have a very good track record when it comes to being honest with women I’m attracted to…anyway, we talked all night and threw back a load of drinks, and we found that we couldn’t stop talking. When the bar closed, we walked the empty streets and stood by the shore. She told me how she always wanted to see the world and discover all the mysteries that had eluded people for centuries. She was studying archaeology and had a real love for other cultures and their belief systems, so I hoped that when I told her the truth she’d be able to accept it more readily than most people.
I knew on that night that I wanted to tell her. I had never felt such magic before. The stars gazed down on us as we kissed for the first time, and it felt as though she knew my soul in a way nobody else had. We continued going on dates and I kept up the pretense, as I got to know her better. She shared everything with me and I trusted her implicitly. I was in contact with Rick and he warned me to not get too far ahead of myself, but I felt this connection deep in my bones. I knew, I just knew, in my head that she would understand and it seemed like it would be the end to all our problems. I imagined us returning to open arms, and I would be the savior of our pride.”
He spoke with such emotion, and for a few moments triumph was etched upon his face as he relived his fantasy, but then reality came back with full force and his expression faded, tinged with sorrow once again.
“It didn’t end up like that though, did it?” I asked. Dalton shook his head somberly, slowly. I could see how heavily the weight carried on his shoulders, how his body sagged underneath the memory of it all.
“I came clean with her one night. We took another of our long walks through the city late at night. We liked it because we could pretend that we had the whole world to ourselves. She knew that something was wrong, that I had been hiding something. I told her that I wasn’t a student, but that I was new in town. I made her promise that she would keep an open mind and that she wouldn’t tell anyone about this, and then I told her everything.”
“Did she believe you?”
“Not at first. She thought I was joking, that it was some kind of prank. I had to partially shift, to show her that I was being honest. I’d never shifted in front of a non-lion before. It was an odd sensation.”
“I imagine that she believed you well enough then,” I remarked. Dalton nodded and wore a wry smile.
“She did, indeed, although at first she asked me if I had spiked her drink to make her hallucinate, but then she became more receptive to the truth I had to offer. I told her all about the history of my people and the plight we were in.”
“How did she act?”
“She said she wanted to help. She was actually very enthusiastic about it, although there was a reason to that, which I’ll come to shortly. She said she wanted to concentrate on her studies, but when she had a break, she wanted me to take her home so she could see the place for herself. I thought that was acceptable and told Rick that things had gone better than he’d anticipated, although he still didn’t believe it. I was smug though, arrogant, and wondered why nobody had done it before if it was this easy.”
“So what went wrong?” I asked. I already knew this story didn’t have a happy ending, but so far Dalton had told me nothing but happiness.
“At first nothing went wrong. She didn’t make me shift, even though she was curious about it all, but I did find that she peppered me with questions. At first I put this down to idle curiosity, but it soon became clear it was not just that. One day I was looking for something and I moved some books. I found a paper with notes on it, and a title; ‘A Study of Lion Shifters: The Truth Behind a Modern Mythology’. She’d taken everything I had told her and made notes on it. All of our secrets, all of our history and our lives had been noted down for examination and analysis for her dissertation. I couldn’t believe that she would have done such a thing to me but I suppose I should not have been surprised at such ruthless ambition.
I waited for her to come back, and when she did I threw the paper at her, asking her what the meaning of it all was. She didn’t even try to deny that she was using me to write a paper that would etch her name in history. She wanted to be famous, and I was her ticket to that fame. She tried to get me on board, tried to tell me that we could be partners if I participated willingly in the study, but I couldn’t bring myself to do such a thing. I shook my head and tore up her notes. She went crazy and told me that she would find us and expose the truth to the whole world. I asked her who would believe her and she went wild, flinging everything around her in wi
ld abandon. There were a few things Rick had urged me not to tell her, one of which was the location of our pride. I was glad I listened to him, but it was clear that I couldn’t be trusted with the secrets of the pride or with the task of leading us into the future.
I returned to the pride with my tail between my legs and told them all what had happened. I had learned my lesson and was prepared to accept my punishment. It was decided that, unless I was the last viable candidate left, I would never be allowed the responsibility of leading the pride, and when I met you I was afraid history was repeating itself. If I was overly secretive, it was only because I didn’t want to be exposed again.”
“Did she ever write her paper?”
“Thankfully, no. She must have realized that without solid evidence and testimony to support her claims, she would have been ridiculed. She met someone else, fell in love, and that seemed to be enough for her. But I can never forget how close I came to bringing so much danger to my people.”
“She sounds like a piece of work, Dalton. I think the only thing you should be ashamed of is having poor taste in women, but that applies to most men, and I can’t speak about my taste in men. It was just a misjudgment and you shouldn’t beat yourself up for trying to do something good in this world, for trying to find love.”
His story explained so much and I felt so guilty for being harsh with him. He had only ever wanted to be loved, and wasn’t that what all of us wanted, deep down?
“Perhaps you’re right, but it’s also cast a shadow over my other relationships. It ruined things with you, even if you were never meant for me in the first place.”
“I choose who I’m meant for,” I said, and moved closer to him. I sank to the ground and took his hands in my own. Hearing his story made all the emotions come rushing back. All he wanted from life was to love and be loved in return, and in the end isn’t that what we all wanted? I could see and feel how heartbroken he still was because of Sarah, and I knew that if I ever saw her I would give her a piece of my mind.
Even if I hadn’t been linked to the lions by my parents, I still would have been aghast at what she had done. I couldn’t understand how anyone could take someone’s secret and try to use it for their own gain, especially when it was something as precious as this. I wished that I could tell Dalton everything that was going through my mind, but in the end I had to settle for showing him. I embraced him tightly and kissed him softly on the lips. The attraction between us grew again and part of me had known that it hadn’t disappeared entirely. He moaned softly with relief, as he felt the gentle caress of my lips and I felt sorrow within me, as I tried to stop myself from falling into this attraction. I had been hurt by Andy, just as Dalton had been hurt by Sarah. We both had our scars, but Dalton had made a big error in that I hadn’t been brought here for him at all, but rather for Rick. I knew that Dalton would never leave this place, so the only way I could be with him was to stay, and staying meant I had to be with Rick too.
