Her Lion Guard 2 (Paranormal Shifter Romance) Read Free Page B

about her waist.
    “I told you she’d wake up,” Rowfer muttered, disregarding both the angry hiss and low growl Sasha and Cara let out with practiced ease. “Now,” he continued, “Onto your powers.”
    “My what?” Mary-Lou blinked heavily, hoping she had misheard.
    “Right. Of course you don’t know – why would you?” Rowfer muttered something too quick and low for Mary-Lou to hear. Judging by the faint blush that rose on Cara’s cheeks, it was nothing flattering. “Alright, listen here, because I really hate repeating myself.” Rowfer leaned forward against the anchor of his cane, eyes serious in his gray, wrinkled face. “You may not be able to Shift, you may not have our strength, but there is nothing human about the blood you carry.”
    “What does that mean?” Mary-Lou gasped, cold with shock and a new sort of terror. Not human. Not Shifter. Where did that leave her? What was she to be? She tried to remember how to breathe.
    “Steady,” Rowfer warned, “No need for panic. You’ve always been this, always had the power of the Mother Goddess within you – nothing to fear now, just because it has finally been awakened.”
    “The power of – Mary-Lou is magic?” Cara gasped; Rowfer rolled his eyes. “What did I just say?” he grumped.
    “So the dreams – the nightmares,” Mary-Lou could not finish. The anxiety that had weighted her chest turned colder, cut sharper.
    Real. Could it all be real?
    She closed her eyes, trying to staunch her panic. It would not do any good to fall apart now – not when so many depended on her. When it would change nothing. Mary-Lou took a breath; when she addressed Rowfer again, her voice was steady and her eyes, calm.
    “What do I need to do?”
    Rowfer grinned. “That’s what I like to hear.” The aged Healer stretched a shaking hand to grasp Mary-Lou’s shoulder. “You,” he told her, “are  to lead the right and punish the evil. What you saw, dear – what torments you in your sleep – is the result of leniency, of misplaced compassion, of self-imposed blindness. The world of Shifters is not that of humans,” he reminded.  “Might, obvious and vicious, dominates. If you are to fulfill your destiny, you must first bear those who would have it otherwise. As publicly as you can manage,” Rowfer finished off with a wink.
    “And what of her powers?” Jonas spoke up. “What of the next disaster, and the next one after that? Is she going to be plagued by nightmares her entire life?” Anger rolled off Jonas, powerful but aimless.  The idea that he could not protect her against this, against herself , made the Lion within him roar in wounded displeasure.
    “Young people,” Rowfer sighed, “Always so impatient. Tell me, Jonas, what happened the first time you Shifted?”
    Silence fell, thick and sudden. Mary-Lou twisted around in Jonas’ grip, eyes widening to see the man’s face red with embarrassment.
    “…I clawed up the couch,” the Lion Shifter finally muttered, in a voice that very clearly stated the couch was but one of several unfortunate victims. Sasha stifled a snort; Cara giggled. “Like you did any better!” Jonas snapped at the duo leaning against the kitchen wall, “It’s hard, the first time – you don’t know your limits, and everything looks so different —”
    “Exactly.” Rowfer cut him off. “But you got the hang of it. So will Mary-Lou, given enough time and practice.”
    “That’s great,” Mary-Lou breathed. “That is really – thank you. Thank you so much.” She  would have hugged the man, had Rowfer not been so obviously uncomfortable with such gestures.
    “Don’t thank me,” Rowfer pushed up against his cane, rising unsteadily from his seat. “It’s your job to master your powers, to understand them, and it ain’t an easy one. Just remember, not everything you see has to happen—” the Healer wagged a finger near Mary-Lou’s nose, “—and not all can be saved.”
    Jonas helped Rowfer out