BK 2 - Chapter 53 - Playful Lions
Aiden drove the car up as far as he could in a secluded area of the mountains. When he found a spot he could pull off the road, he parked, and they began hiking. They walked for about thirty minutes into the forest when Harley and Zola said there were no humans nearby.
"Are you ready?" Aiden knew she was excited about her first lion run. She had shifted several times, but to run and feel the wind in her fur would be a whole new experience.
"Yes, I can't wait. Zola's ready too." Kitty was bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.
They both quickly took their clothes off and put them in the backpack they'd brought with them. Aiden hid it in a pile of leaves, just in case anyone happened to be out that far. He nodded at Kitty, and they both shifted into their lions.
Zola looked around and took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air. There were trees as far as the eye could see in every direction. The ground was rocky and cool on her paws. She could make out a lake in the distance that looked no bigger than a sliver of blue in the miles of green.
As she was lost in her surroundings, she felt Harley approach her from the side. Zola let him rub against her, and then she took off running through the trees. She looked back as she ran and saw him staring at her wide-eyed.
*"Sorry, but if you want to be all lovey-dovey, you have to catch me first."*
Harley stood there for a minute watching his mate running, then snapped out of it taking off after her. He heard Aiden laughing in his head, and that just made him mad.
*"Looks like your mate wants to play Harley. Who's trying to be all mushy now, furball?"* Aiden was laughing so hard his sides were hurting. He'd been waiting for this opportunity. Harley was always giving him a hard time with how he was with Kitty, so now it was time to give him a taste of his own medicine.
Harley didn't respond to Aiden as he ran after Zola. She was a vision in front of him as she zigzagged through the trees. He followed her but was too busy watching her to worry about catching her.
Zola had never felt so free as she ran through the forest as fast as she could. The wind in her fur seemed to push her faster. The hard ground under her paws seemed to spring her forward. Before she knew it, she was standing at an edge of a cliff, and she came to a screeching halt. As she looked down the side of the mountain, she didn't notice Harley sneaking up behind her. Just as she was about to turn around, he sprung to her side and tackled her.
*"Are you crazy? You could have pushed me off the mountain."* Zola was furious as she tried to get up, but Harley pinned her down with his larger size.
*"I knew what I was doing. I wouldn't have let you fall."* Harley was holding back his laugh as she struggled to get up, but he wasn't letting her off so easily. She was lying on her side, and he was lying on top of her. With him being so much bigger than she was, he had no problem holding her down.
*"I came out here to run, not have you messing around. Let me up, you overgrown house cat."* Kitty was laughing inside Zola's head at Harley's playfulness. She loved seeing them play with each other like this.
Harley finally gave in and let her up. She turned around with fire in her eyes and jumped on him, trying to tackle him, but all she did was land on his back. As she tried to knock him over, Harley laughed.
*"Admit it, I'm stronger than you."* He lay down and yawned like he was tired while she continued trying to roll him over. Harley wouldn't tell her, but he enjoyed having her on his back. It was like a lion's hug.
*"You're not stronger than me. I'm not putting all my strength into it because I don't want to hurt you. If you're tired, I guess I'll go explore by myself."* She jumped off his back and started sashaying away, thinking he wouldn't let her go off alone.
Harley watched her walking away and knew she was trying to get him to follow her. He laid his head down and pretended to go to sleep. He kept one eye slightly open to see what she would do.
Zola turned around and looked at Harley with his eyes closed. She couldn't tell if he was pretending or not, so she decided to approach him with caution. She tiptoed up to him and tried to see if he was really sleeping. Just as she was about to leave him there, he jumped up and pinned her to the ground again.
*"You can't sneak up on me."* Harley started licking her face, and she struggled to get loose.
*"Stop that. I didn't say you could kiss me."* Harley stopped and looked at her with a hurt look, making her feel bad.
*"You're my mate. Why do you keep trying to get away from me? I've been waiting for you for a long time."* Harley slowly got off her and walked away. She felt her heart pinch seeing him upset because she rejected his kisses. It wasn't that she didn't want to kiss him; she just wanted to do it when she was ready. Harley was sitting near the cliff with his back toward her, and she walked over to him.
*"I'm sorry. I know you've been waiting for me. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm not saying I don't want you."* Zola walked over to him and licked his face. Aiden was in Harley's head, shaking his head in disbelief. He knew his lion had only pretended to have his feelings hurt to make Zola give him a kiss.
*"It worked, didn't it. Now leave my mate and me alone while I work this for as long as I can."* Harley continued looking away from her, not wanting Zola to see the excitement in his eyes.
*"It's okay. I'll wait if you're not ready to commit to me like I am to you. I love you, and it hurts that you don't feel the same way."* He looked to the opposite side of where she was standing. She watched him with her heart aching. He said he loved her, and she had been doing nothing but fighting him.
*"You love me?"* This time he looked at her in surprise.
*"Of course I do. You're amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better mate. I hope you eventually feel the same way toward me."*
*"I already feel the same way. I love you too."* He looked at her with sparkles in his eyes. He had wanted to mess with her and hadn't planned on declaring his love. However, he did love Zola, and hearing her say it back made his heart burst with joy.
The two lions started licking each other's faces showing their love for one another. Aiden and Kitty forced them apart when it started getting slightly out of hand.
*"Okay, you two, there will be none of that right now. Let's head back to the car."* Aiden spoke firmly to both lions, and they stopped. They both took off in the direction of the car at a more casual pace, this time staying together.
When they got to where the backpack was, Harley sniffed the bag and smelled something that concerned him. He picked up the faint scent of two other humans.
*"There were other humans near the backpack, but I don't smell them close by now."* Harley looked around and didn't see anything or pick up any scents.
*"It was probably just hikers. We have nothing to worry about if they're not here now."* Aiden said. With Ricky gone, there shouldn't be anyone after them, so he wasn't concerned.
The lions shifted back to humans and put their clothes on. Aiden felt like they were being watched as they walked toward the car. He looked around and didn't see anything, but the feeling didn't leave him until he drove the car out of the forest onto the main road.
The two men who were hiding behind the trees looked at each other in shock. They had been sent by Luca Giordano to find out what had happened to Ricky. No one had heard from him, and the FBI thought he had left the country. Luca had someone track his cell phone to Sacramento. They discovered he had found the girl that had stolen from him from some of Ricky's men.
Luca didn't want to act until they knew exactly what was going on. When the two men had found Kitty and Aiden, they told Luca, and he said to follow them. They followed them up the mountain keeping their distance so they weren't seen, and by the time they got to where Aiden had parked the car, the couple had already hiked into the forest.
They had driven back down the mountain a little and found a hiding spot that wouldn't be seen by anyone going up or down. They then walked into the forest and found where they had hidden the backpack. However, they didn't open it. The two men decided to hide in that area and wait for them to return.
They saw two large lions walk to the area where the backpack was a couple hours later. Just as they were ready to run screaming, the lions turned into humans. Aiden and Kitty put their clothes on and walked toward the car. The two men followed far enough away that they could see them, but not well. When the couple had driven away, they were still stunned at what they had witnessed.
"Joey, what the hell was that?"
"I don't know, Don, but I don't think anyone will believe us."
