Taming the lion

Chapter 1

© 2013 FLICKY1

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Jacey sighed as she looked around and, not for the first time, wondered why she'd let herself be talked into this. "It'll be fun."  Marie had said, "You need new surroundings and a purpose. Rebuilding and running this sanctuary for me will be the making of you."

Now she was living in the middle of Africa, miles away from anything a normal person would call civilisation, working her arse off trying to rebuild and eventually reopen this run-down old zoo as a tourist attraction.

She dusted off her hands and headed inside to look through the daily budget and decide what the workman coming tomorrow should tackle first. The list of possibilities wasn't precisely limited.

The boundary fences had been completed last week, and Marie was talking about ordering the first lot of animals in a few weeks, so the holding pens and veterinary shack would be the smartest choice. But living as she was in a home that was basically a wooden tent with very limited facilities, it was tempting to upgrade her accommodations. Unable to concentrate without feeling sorry for herself, she decided to go for a walk.  She smirked, thinking to herself she would put it down as prospecting in her weekly progress report.

She adjusted the rifle on her shoulder and stepped around the boulder. She'd never been to this part of the property alone before. In fact, the only other time she had been here was during the drive-around tour just after her arrival 3 weeks ago. This was a particularly beautiful part of the property.  The map showed a small lake about 200 meters from where she stood, which she hoped could be expanded and eventually become home to hippos and other water life.

She frowned as she approached the place where the lake was shown on the map. So far, all she could see was a mini forest of huge baobab trees. Groaning in frustration, she mentally added the costs of removing the trees then pushed on to look closer.

She stood in the shade of the large towering trees. It was a majestic place. The lake was a little smaller than she had anticipated, probably the width and half the length of an Olympic swimming pool, and the trees that completely enclosed made it almost eerie.

She turned, sensing something behind her. To her left, she heard a snap and caught a glimpse of the end of a golden tail swishing between the trees.

She gasped and took a step away, glancing around, fighting the feeling that she was being watched. She quickly snapped a few photos of the lake to add to her growing to-do file and was a little spooked but was certain it was just the isolation getting to her and headed home.

HEATH'S POV

Sniffing the air, my nose crinkled in confusion, 'What was that strange odor?'. I'd never smelled it before but it both excites and surprised me. I rarely ventured this far into the open, at least on my own. The others didn't really understand my fascination with these human structures; "What use do they have for sorry creatures like us?" they'd say whenever I returned from one of my explorations.

Returning that evening to the cave we called home, I decided to mention my discovery and the strange smell to Robert, the oldest and wisest of us.

 Robert was the only one in our current group who had ever lived fully as a human. Of course, we could all change from lion to human and back again if we wished to (but I never had).

 We had been schooled from infancy to fear and avoid humans. However, the elders told of a time when our kind had lived among the humans, part of their society holding down jobs and living a life.

Animal sides were hidden, and shifting only happened on the full moon or at other special gatherings far from human eyes. 

It had eventually gotten too hard to hide, with humans spreading further and further across the world. Individually, it became harder and harder for weres to live proper lives with their extended life span and strength. The elders grew tired of constantly putting out the same fires and decided to retreat into seclusion and live as full-time lions. There were some who didn't follow the elders' advice and chose to stay living the half-life. Robert, for a few years at least, was one of those.

Robert was lying curled on the floor with Sylvia, his mate, when I entered.

"Robert."

He lifted his head from his paws and looked at me lazily, "Yeah, bro. What is it?" he spoke through our mind link.

"I found something today, or I think I did. I was going to go to the elders, but it might be nothing. Can you come with me tomorrow to check it out some more?"

Robert grinned. Clearly, I was amusing him. "What do you think you found this time, Heath?" 

I lowered my gaze; there was no hierarchy as such, but as far as we are concerned, Robert was still older than me and my inner human, and I respected that. "Humans, I think."

"What?" Robert and Sylvia leaped to their feet instantly alert.

"Relax, guys...nowhere near here. I've been going to the old shacks a lot again lately, and for the last few days, there have been vehicles there, and then today, I noticed this smell just north of the shacks near the lake. It was unusually crisp and clean, almost herby smelling kind of like buffalo but much sweeter.

Robert's eyes went wide, and he let out a low growl. He took a step towards me and said, "Listen to me, Heath. What you smelled is nothing but trouble. I can't be 100 percent sure, but what you described sounds very much like a ripe human female. If you know what's good for you, don't return there. It sounds like humans have returned to lions' haven. The elders will have to be told, but as long as they stay at the shacks, we should be okay to stay here, at least for a while. I mean, even if they see us were just a large pack of lions, right?" he directed this comment more at Sylvia than me, and I could tell by the way she inclined her head that they were now privately discussing the issue.

I quietly withdrew and went back outside the cave to lie on my favorite rock and ponder what Robert had just said... Real humans. Wow, I was intrigued.