Taming the Lion Read Free

know how that will end…
    And hard as it was to admit right then, he’d always liked his second cousin, and wished no harm to come to him. He sensed Arjan would take charge of the pride even more responsibly than Cornelis had.
    Even though he hadn’t actually been defeated in a physical battle, it felt as though he had. He couldn’t live with the shame of looking Cornelis in the eye again, not when the old man knew all about his thwarted ambitions. The only way to save face now was to get away tonight—just pack his things and go somewhere he would be able to lick his wounds in peace. Where, he didn’t know, but he’d worry about that once he was on the move.
    If this pride didn’t want him, he’d find one that did.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    So where to go? As he packed his rucksack, stuffing as many of his possessions as he was able into its zippered pockets, he pondered his options. The only other group of lion shifters he had any real knowledge of lived in Stockholm. That was the place his aunt Lise had come from when she’d married into the Amsterdam pride, but he didn’t fancy Sweden. Too cold, and the beer was way too expensive. Plus he’d still have the link to his home city and his family, through Lise’s relatives, and his plan was to leave them as far behind as possible. This was all about making a clean break.
    He ran through a mental list of the countries that bordered the Netherlands, dismissing each in turn. Right now, putting an ocean between himself and the de Wits seemed like a sensible option, and that made him think of England. The more he considered the idea, the more it appealed to him. He already spoke the language, half the music he listened to was produced by English bands and he had the feeling it was a country where he could go about his business without too many questions being asked. He remembered being told that London had a long-established pride and so did Bath, in the south-west of the country. But which of those should he try to seek out? In a city the size of London it would be easy to start all over again, to become whoever he wanted. But part of him longed to be in a place with easy access to the countryside, with open spaces that would give him the ability to roam undiscovered in his lion form. Though he knew next to nothing about Bath, he suspected it would offer him that opportunity.
    When the time came to make that decision, he would let fate guide him. First of all, he needed to get out of Amsterdam before his father came to check up on him. No doubt the rest of the pride were still in the house on Apollolaan, celebrating Arjan’s elevation to leader, but it wouldn’t be long before they realized Kaspar had gone.
    He glanced round the apartment, making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything important. He had his passport and identity documents, cash and bankcards. They don’t use euros in England, do they? He made a mental note to change some currency into pounds as soon as he could.
    Any clothes that wouldn’t fit in his rucksack he would have to leave. The same went for all the psychology textbooks he’d hung onto, even after he’d dropped out of his university course. He had never been one for collecting material things just for the sake of it. All the music he ever listened to was on the MP3 player in his jacket pocket, and the only real item of value he owned was his netbook, which was safely stowed at the bottom of his bag. He’d also remembered to retrieve a couple of dog-eared gay porn mags he kept under bed. He didn’t want his landlady to discover them when she cleared out the items he’d left behind.
    Unable to resist, he shot one last look at the window of the building opposite, hoping to catch a glimpse of his exhibitionist neighbor, but the blind had been pulled down. The show was over for good.
    Heaving a sigh, he left the apartment for the final time. Once he’d locked the front door, he put the key into an envelope, along with a note addressed