BK 4 - Chapter 3 - I'm A Werelion
**Warning: this chapter contains content that may be hard for some readers to read.**
Lisa and Jayce removed their shoes to carry them when they got to the beach. Lisa loved the feel of the sand between her toes. She was trying to decide how to tell Jayce she was a werelion and he was her mate.
"Are you okay? You don't have to hold my hand if you don't want to." Jayce said, smiling down at her. She returned his smile.
"I like holding your hand too. I'm just nervous. I don't do this with men usually. I've never held hands or even been on a date." Jayce stopped walking and looked at her in disbelief.
"What? How is that possible? Have you seen you?" Lisa giggled as he continued to stare at her with his mouth open.
"I told you I've been waiting for the right man. Most men only want one thing, especially in college. I'm not into that. How about you? Were you the typical frat boy in college sleeping with everything in a skirt?" Lisa asked almost bitterly. The thought of Jayce with multiple women made her feel sick. When he chuckled, she turned toward him to see his smirk.
"Are you jealous?" He asked. Jayce liked hearing the anger in her voice when she asked about other women. She was way off the mark.
"Why would I be jealous? We're not together." Lisa said, shrugging and turning to look at the ocean.
"To be honest, I've never had sex. Women always saw me as a friend but never as a boyfriend. I've kissed a few women and came close to doing more. Both times I think they used me to make their boyfriends jealous." Lisa looked up and saw Jayce's face was slightly red. Her heart swelled, knowing that he was a virgin just like her.
"That's their loss. You're handsome and charming, and you have a good heart. What made you come to San Diego?" Lisa asked as they continued walking.
"I wanted to be somewhere other than North Carolina. I figured the other side of the country was a good place to go." Jayce didn't like to think about where he came from. His life before college was hell. The only reason he stayed in North Carolina was because of his scholarship.
"You can talk to me, Jayce. My brother and I were kept in cages until we were almost five. We would be dead if our parents hadn't found and adopted us. My grandma Cat opened group homes near Sacramento to help children who had been abused that needed a place to go other than foster care. I help out there when I'm on break. You can trust me." Lisa said, stopping so she could look into his eyes. Jayce had never told anyone about his childhood. He did everything he could to put it behind him.
"Let's sit down, okay?" He said, pulling her over to some large rocks. Jayce sat down, pulled Lisa between his legs, and wrapped his arms around her. She had butterflies in her stomach sitting like that.
"Take your time. I will never repeat anything you say to me. This is just between us," Lisa had a gentle way about her that made him feel like he could really tell her anything.
"My parents died in a car accident when I was three. I moved in with my aunt and uncle, who didn't want me. All they saw me as was another mouth to feed. They beat me every chance they could. Even my cousins who were older than me abused me. Each of them was different in the torture they would inflict. My aunt liked to hit me with a belt or make me stand on the back deck naked for hours at a time. My uncle used his fists the most. My cousin Anna would use cigarettes to burn my chest and back. My cousin Mike was the worst. He would do everything the others did but would also molest me. I remember screaming while everyone laughed. They made me wear old dirty clothes, so the kids in school constantly bullied me. I was so depressed that I attempted suicide for the first time when I was twelve. I slit my wrists, but not deep enough. They didn't even have to take me to the hospital. The second time I was fifteen, I took a bottle full of pills. Anna found me, and I was taken to the hospital, where they pumped my stomach."
Jayce was sobbing, and Lisa couldn't take it anymore. She turned around and wrapped her legs and arms around him while he cried on her shoulder. Tears streamed down her face as she thought about everything he had been through.
"I bought a gun when I was seventeen. I wanted to make sure the next time I was successful. I was sitting in a park not far from the house, ready to pull the trigger, when something stopped me. I couldn't do it. I sat there for hours, but a voice in my head told me it wasn't my time. I never went back to my aunt and uncles. Instead, I went to the hospital to get help. I told them I wanted to kill myself and had a plan. They put me in a facility that, at first, I thought would make me insane, but it didn't. I was finally able to get help to at least want to live. When I got out, I went to a home for runaways so I could finish high school. I was able to get a scholarship to the University of North Carolina. Once I graduated and was ready for law school, I put in for a transfer to San Diego. That's where I met a sweet little blonde who has somehow, in a few hours, made me tell her my whole life story."
Jayce looked down and saw Lisa crying. He wiped the tears from her face and kissed her forehead.
"I'm so sorry you had to endure that." Lisa kissed his cheek and held him tight. Jayce wrapped his arms around her. It felt so natural and comfortable to hold her like that. He never wanted to let her go.
Lisa had planned to tell him she was a werelion, but now she wasn't sure it was the best time. He had just told her all the horrific things done to him as a child; surely he would think she was crazy.
*"You have to tell him now. He just opened his heart to you in a way he probably has never done with anyone else. You owe it to him, to be honest. Don't do it here, though. There are too many people around in case he wants to see you shift. See if he'll go somewhere more remote with you."* Lisa knew Ali was right. She needed to do it now.
"Do you feel like going for a drive?" Lisa asked against his neck. Jayce pulled back and looked into her eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see any pity. The last thing he wanted was pity.
"Sure. My truck is on campus. So I didn't scare you away with what I told you?" Jayce asked as they began heading in the direction of the campus.
"No. Anyone who would be scared away doesn't have a heart. My heart is broken for the boy who was traumatized, but it cares for the man that boy has become," Lisa said honestly. Jayce stopped walking and pulled her into his arms.
"Where have you been my whole life?" He asked. He had never met anyone as incredible as Lisa. Jayce thought people like her only existed in movies.
"I've been waiting for you." She said softly against his chest.
They continued to the campus and to Jayce's truck. Lisa smirked when she saw it. She loved riding in big vehicles because she was small. If anyone else had tried to help her into the truck, she would have ripped into them for assuming she couldn't get in herself, but when Jayce helped her, she found it sweet.
"Where do you want to go?" Jayce asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"Just drive down the coast. I need to tell you something, but I want to do it somewhere we won't be overheard." Lisa said, watching his expression.
"Are you going to tell me you're a serial killer and take me out here to add me to your pile of bodies?" Jayce asked before he burst out laughing. Lisa joined him.
"I promise I'm not a killer." She said as they continued down the coast. When they got to a small beach with no other people around, she had him pull over. She led him to a bench that sat near the road.
"You're kind of scaring me. You're not dying, are you?" Jayce asked seriously.
"No, I'm not dying. I have something to tell you that's going to sound unbelievable. I promise I'm telling you the truth and can prove it to you." Lisa said, looking into his eyes. She saw the confusion on his face before he answered.
"Okay," Jayce didn't know what else to say. Lisa took a deep breath and hoped for the best.
"I'm a werelion."
