Chapter 57 - Bring out the Lioness
Trey woke up with a splitting headache. His vision was a little blurry, but he knew Cat wasn't with him. Once he could focus, he looked around for her, not remembering anything that had happened. He sniffed the air and couldn't smell any scents that shouldn't be there.
"Cat, where are you?" Trey yelled loudly, hoping maybe she was on the deck or somewhere he hadn't checked. When he heard no response, he began to have real fear set in. He ran to the balcony to see if she was on the beach, but he saw nothing.
*"Atlas, can you pick up a scent or anything? I'm having trouble focusing; my brain is foggy."* Trey didn't know what could have caused him to feel that way.
*"Trey, I think someone drugged us. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it affecting us both. If we were drugged, that means our mate was kidnapped. Who would have taken her this time?"* Trey could feel Atla's fury at someone taking Cat again. Who even knew where they were staying?
Trey felt the rage building in him when he realized who would have pulled something this stupid. It had to be Sonya or someone else in his family.
Trey quickly threw on his clothes and ran to his truck. He drove the few miles to his parent's house and barely stopped before jumping out. He ran inside without knocking, ringing the doorbell, or anything. He would have busted the door down if it hadn't been unlocked already.
"Where the hell is she?" Trey screamed when he got inside, and he heard several sets of footsteps coming in his direction. His father was the first one he saw. Thomas was tall like Trey, with blonde hair and brown eyes.
"Son, it's good to see you. What are you yelling about?" Trey glared at his father.
"I said, where the hell is she? Who took my mate? I want her now." Trey walked over to his father just as his mother walked into the room. She was about a foot shorter than her mate, with golden brown hair and dark blue eyes.
"Trey dear, who are you looking for? Why don't you come in and sit down? We were just getting ready to have breakfast." He turned his glare to her, and she took a step back.
"I don't want fucking breakfast. I want my mate. The only person who knew we were here was Sonya, so I know one of you took her. I will start tearing this place apart if I don't see her in the next few minutes." Trey spoke through clenched teeth.
"You met your mate? How lovely I can't wait to meet the lioness. Sonya said you had mated with a human, but I knew you wouldn't dare mate with a human and humiliate our family that way." Trey walked over to his mother and put his face near hers, making Gina shiver in fear.
"My mate is a human, and I want her now." Trey felt his body begin to shake as Atlas threatened to take over.
"What's all this noise in here?" Sonya walked in looking bored, and Trey jumped on her putting his hand around her throat.
"What did you do with her, Sonya?" Trey squeezed as she pulled at his hand to try and make him loosen his grip.
"What makes you think I would touch that disgusting human? I didn't take her." Trey could tell she was lying because her mouth was moving, and her eyes wouldn't meet his. He squeezed her neck even tighter.
"Where is she, Sonya? If you want your head to remain attached to your shoulders, you'll tell me now." The more Sonya struggled, the harder he squeezed.
"Dad, tell him to let me go." Sonya spoke in a whisper, looking at her father for help.
"I will let you go when you tell me what you did with my mate. I will kill you and not blink an eye if you don't start telling me what I want to know now." Trey used his other hand to pull her hair tight, making her head lean back in an awkward position while he squeezed her neck as tight as he could without making her pass out.
"I was teaching her a lesson. She had no right to talk to me like she did and needed to be shown that she's nothing." Atlas began growling, threatening to shift. She heard the growl, and her eyes got big as saucers.
"Where, Sonya?" Trey was at the end of his rope, and if she didn't tell him this time, he'd squeeze until her neck snapped.
"She's at my beach house." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Trey lifted her up and threw her across the room. Sonya screamed as she went crashing through the large living room window.
"If you or anyone else come near her again, you will die." Trey turned toward the door to run out when his father grabbed him.
"Son, I demand you reject her and mate with an appropriate lioness. A human is not good enough to be in our pride. They're weak, stupid, and worthless." Trey was done with his family and their attitude towards humans, especially his mate. He didn't think twice as he punched his dad in the face sending him sprawling backward onto the floor.
"I don't want to hear another word. Caterina is stronger and more intelligent than all of you combined. Don't worry about ever seeing me again because I have no desire to let you anywhere near my mate or our future cubs." Trey picked up a heavy sofa table and sent it flying through the other living room window. He would have done more damage, but he had to get to Cat.
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Cat woke up feeling very groggy with a killer headache. She was getting ready to yell for Trey when Saira stopped her.
*"We were drugged and kidnapped. Stay calm while I try to figure out what to do."* Cat didn't feel like she could mindlink with how much her head hurt, so she just slightly nodded.
She looked around and saw that she was in a bedroom. Everything was covered in plastic, but she believed there was a small bed, a dresser, and a chair. Cat was sitting in another chair with her hands tied behind her back and both legs tied to the chair legs.
The door was shut, and the curtains were closed, but it didn't appear that anyone was in the room with her. She slightly tugged on the ropes tied around her hands and feet, but they didn't budge. Cat looked around to see if there was anything that could help her get loose. When she saw nothing, she felt a moment of defeat.
*"Stop that right now. We're not giving up. Stay strong, Cat; we'll get out of this."* Saira had an idea, but she was afraid Cat might not be ready.
*"Saira, do you know who took us?"* Cat couldn't imagine who would want to harm her now that Leo and Caleb were locked up. She looked down and saw she was in her shorts and t-shirt that she wore to bed. Her memory was a little fuzzy, but she remembered a man calling her a human.
*"I heard them talking about someone named Sonya. Do you know who that is?"*
*"Yes, that's Trey's sister. She doesn't like me because I'm human. Now I want to tear her to pieces for doing this. Tell me you have an idea to get us out of here because if I get my claws on her, she won't be walking away. I'm tired of people underestimating me."* Saira smiled as Cat spoke. She knew Cat was ready for what she wanted to do.
*"I have a plan, Cat. We're going to shift. It may be even more painful than usual because your body has not fully adjusted yet, but I believe it's the only way out of this. Do you think you can handle it?"* Saira wouldn't force Cat if she didn't think she could do it.
*"As mad as I am and the amount of adrenaline running through my veins, I think I'll be fine. What do I need to do?"* Cat didn't care about the pain as long as she got out of there alive.
*"You don't have to do anything; let me take care of everything. Just be prepared for the pain and changes you'll see. First, your claws will come out, and your body will get covered in fur. After that, you'll feel your bones start to contort to turn into a lion. I need you to breathe through the pain and not scream. There are two men in the other room, and I don't want them running in here before we can shift all the way. Are you ready?"*
*"Yes, let's do this. Thank you, Saira, for showing up when you did; otherwise, who knows what would've happened to me."* Cat felt stronger than ever, having her lioness with her. She was ready to take on anything that came her way.
*"That's what I'm here for, Cat. I'm going to begin now so we can get out of here and find our, mate."* Saira took a deep breath and began the shifting process.
Cat had a tingling in her fingers, and when she looked down, she saw she had claws sticking out of where her fingernails had been. She started to itch all over and noticed that her arms and legs were covered in thick golden fur.
After the fur appeared, the pain started. Cat felt her bones moving in ways that should've been impossible. She bit her lip so hard she was afraid she would chew right through it as the pain kept getting worse and worse.
When it was to the point she didn't think she could take anymore, she heard the chair underneath her crack. Cat was suddenly on the floor on all fours, and when she was getting ready to scream, a loud growl came out instead. It took her a minute to realize that the growl had come from her.
When the pain came to an end, Cat looked down, and instead of her body, she saw a lion's body. Her clothes were in shreds on the floor around her. She didn't feel frightened of what just happened; she felt angry. Saira took Cat's anger and busted through the closed door.
The two men on the other side screamed in surprise when they saw the large female lion running toward them. Saira tackled the first man and ripped his arm off. While he was rolling around in pain, she went for the other one and tore his leg off when he tried to run. She didn't kill them, just harmed them enough so they couldn't leave.
Saira walked out the back door and saw they were on a private beach. She didn't want to change into Cat yet, so she lay on the porch and looked over the water.
*"Saira, that was awesome. No one would have messed with me if I had you when I was growing up. Let's stay here. I have a feeling Trey will be coming soon."* Cat liked seeing things through Saira's eyes. She smiled as she looked around. Her life was never going to be boring again.
