Love of a Lion

“Lilith! You ungrateful child!”

Lilith scurried towards her hiding place in her room, where she knew her stepmother could not find her.

She quickly crawled inside her small cupboard, praying that she would be safe from her stepmother’s anger from something she could not control.

She held her small hands over her mouth, avoiding making any sound to tell where she was hiding.

She can hear her stepmother yelling and cursing her name with her things being thrown around her room.

One thing she knew her stepmother wanted from her was her hard-earned money from her three paid jobs to give to her stepsister Paisley.

Lilith stayed in her cupboard, waiting for her stepmother to leave her room after finding the hard-earned money she saved for her college institution at the local college in Raleigh.

A few hours have gone by, and Lilith carefully crawled out of her hiding place, quickly gathered her bag and left her childhood home far away from the abuse she endured for years.

Without thinking about where she would move, she left east of Raleigh for a small town where many shifters and humans coexisted in one community.

She quickly took the long bus ride to Sun Valley, where she knew her life would start fresh away from the hatred and fear of being different from the rest of her town’s female population.

She arrived in Sun Valley and headed towards the town center, where she would look for somewhere to stay for the night.

Lilith quickly found a small inn and could pay for a few nights.

Then, she would find work and a place to call her own since she has yet to live independently.

Lilith woke up in a cold sweat from her dream, drenched from the nightmare of her past she wanted to forget.

She quickly got out of bed to prepare for the day, seeing that she would be opening the café with her friend and boss.

The Mating Event was around the corner, and everyone was celebrating and finding their shifter mate during the spring and winter festivals.

After a while, she quickly dressed and left her one-bedroom apartment she afforded on her wages as a café worker.

She quickly ran down her steps and started her journey with her hair braided down her back. She was wearing one of her floral dresses and holding her tiny handbag.

“Hey, Lily, can you quickly get your apron on?”

Lily nodded to her friend, and the boss quickly grabbed one of the black aprons she wrapped around her waist before she started her shift.

“Jazmine, I think we need to replace the coffee maker,” Lilith told her boss shyly after peaking into her office.

“Not again. Alright, I will contact the distributors to get the machine fixed,” Jazmine whined, pouting at her friend, who was giggling at her antics.

Lilith left her friend to call the people who needed to come and replace the coffee machine that had been causing problems for the last few months.

It was around closing time when Lilith left her friend at the café; since her shift was finished, she returned to her apartment to rest from the long day.

After shutting and locking her door, she finally made it home and set aside her things to start making her food and watching television.

She grabbed the blanket and sat down with her plate of food, turning on the TV to watch a movie when her phone went off.

She checked who texted her when she noticed it was another friend of hers she met when she first moved here.

Hey, girl! I’d like to know what you are doing tonight.

Hey, Jess. I just got home from work and not doing anything.

Good. Please get ready. I am taking you out with me to head to Black Bear Pub.

Sure, I will be ready in ten minutes and meet you there.

Lilith knew she could not say no to her friend when she would just come over and drag her out.

She sighed, taking her empty plate of food to her kitchen and placing the plate in the sink before she left to get ready for the night with her friend.

“Hey, Lily!”

Lilith giggled, shaking her head at her friend’s happy mood, seeing her wave her over with a few men beside her.

She approached the booth, sitting next to her friend in her green floral dress, letting her dark hair fall over her shoulders.

“I am so glad you came out. I know you would rather be home and relax, but today is day one of the mating event festival.”

Lilith sighed, knowing her friend can be a bit pushy when she has been staying away for personal reasons, seeing she was a big girl and Lilith had no idea someone was sitting in the far back of the pub watching her intently.

His ember eyes took in her beautiful form in her green dress, hugging her curves, and he had to keep his lion at bay, trying his darndest not to scare the little beauty.

“Hm, what are you staring at, Axel?”

Axel ignored his friend when he saw one of the men sitting with her friend, trying to speak with the beauty his lion demands was his mate.

“Nothing to be worried about,” Axel said with a shrug, wondering who that beautiful, curvy woman was sitting with the other female shifter.

Lilith could not stand these men trying to get them into bed after she had known them for a few hours.

She noticed her friend was getting tipsy, and even though she was a shifter, she knew this would take a lot out of her.

“Jess, I am going home,” Lilith told her friend, who pouted and nodded.

She left without saying anything to the guys, seeing how disrespectful they were towards her.

She left the pub and walked into the cold night air, taking in the fresh air with a soft smile.

She saw the stars in the night sky, which gave her an idea for her next art project. She quickly took a photo with her phone to use as a copy to paint.

“It’s a beautiful night.” Lilith gasped when she heard a deep voice speak from behind her, and she was surprised to see a man standing there.

“Oh, yes, it is a sight to see,” Lilith softly said, feeling a little nervous around this man she did not know, seeing how he was just standing there.

Lilith quickly left the lone male and promptly stepped away from the unknown man heading home when she heard heavy footsteps behind her.

She could feel her heart race with fear, knowing that whoever followed her did not have good intentions.

“Hey, we did not finish our talk!” the man from before growled.

Lilith felt fear after so long of trying to be the strong woman she needed to be after the hell she had endured in her life.

Lilith turned, stepping backwards away from the man who half-shifted into his animal side.

Before she could scream, a large, burly lion came out of nowhere and stood between them.

Lilith’s eyes widened as she saw this giant beast protecting her from the deranged man trying to force her to talk with him.

“Whoa! Sheriff Lionheart, I was not going to do anything to her!” the man squeaked out, taking a slow step away from the angry lion.

Axel slowly took a step towards the drunken idiot who was going to harm the beautiful woman his lion had deemed to be his mate after one glance.

Lilith watched on with her hands folded over her heart, feeling her heart race with anxiety from the scary ordeal.

She eyed the large lion before her and gently placed her hand upon his thick mane, running her fingers through his fur.

Axel let out a hearty purr, feeling the softness of her fingers running through his mane. This calmed him and his lion down from wanting to tear into the man.

He gently used his nose to nuzzle against her hand, silently telling her to move beside him.

Lilith kept her hand on his fur, feeling the warmth of this unknown protector walking her home.

“Thank you for walking me home,” Lilith softly said, bending down to kiss her saviour’s nose before entering her small apartment.

Axel watched his beauty leave back inside, and he cursed the place she was living in.

He could see the building was falling apart because it had not been taken care of in years, and he could not allow his little mate to live like this.

With one last glance, he leaped into the darkness, heading towards his home away from the hustle and bustle of the town.

He walked inside, not expecting to see his two friends, whom he had known since they were young and who now shared their home.

“Maverick, don’t say shit,” Axel hissed out, narrowing his eyes and leaving the two laughing in the other room.

He quickly jumped into the shower, seeing he was now back on shift with work with the local sheriff’s office in Sun Valley, his home.

He crashed naked onto his bed, thinking about the sweet little goddess he had found on the first day of the Mating Event Festival. He was glad he had gone out with his two friends.

His eyes grew heavy, allowing him to fall asleep with this angel on his mind.

The next day, Axel woke up to hear a few voices from downstairs.

He knew his partner was here to take him to work, seeing as they were on shift this morning.

He quickly got dressed in his beige police uniform with his pistol, taser, and badge clipped onto his belt around his waist.

He gathered his sandy blonde hair and put it into a messy bun away from his face, showing off his feline features and telling people he was a feline shifter.

“Well, the kitty is finally awake.”

Axel sent his partner a cold glare, grabbing his to-go mug and filling it with coffee.

He left with his partner, wondering how to meet his mate again and get to know her better.

“So, Mav and Dare told me you were watching some little lady last night at the pub?”

Axel grunted from his seat on the passenger side, sipping his coffee and trying to figure out a plan to meet his angel from last night.

“I found my mate last night, and I walked her home after I saved her from being harassed,” Axel thoughtfully said, tapping his finger against his coffee mug.

“Well, I know a little café near the town center with some good food and coffee.” Axel hummed in thought at his partner and friend.

“Why don’t we go on our lunch break,” Axel said, following his partner inside the station.

Across town, Lilith was working with the thought of the massive lion shifter who walked her home last night.

“So, want to tell me what happened last night?” Lilith blushed, seeing her boss and friend grin at her with a knowing glint in her eyes.

“N-Nothing happened last night,” Lilith stuttered, blushing at the thought of the lion shifter she had yet to meet after they departed.

“Oh, come on, I know something must have happened for you to space out like this,” Jazmine whined, shaking Lilith’s shoulders.

“Fine, a lion shifter saved me last night from being harassed, and he walked me home,” Lilith softly told her grinning friend.

Jazmine was happy that her friend may have caught a shifter’s eye, especially one from the town’s lion pride.

“I am guessing you never got his name?”

“No, I did not,” Lilith said, shrugging her shoulders, wondering if she would ever meet her saviour again.

“Well, it looks like we are lucky today,” Jazmine giggled, watching two handsome men in police uniforms take their seats.

Axel sighed, sitting in the small, warm café with Ian, who talked about going out tonight to look for his mate.

He felt tired from the paperwork he had to finish before he and Ian were allowed to go on break for lunch.

His ember eyes wandered around the place, noticing how warm the atmosphere was, seeing many customers with smiles and feeling at ease.

His eyes widened slightly, and he saw his sweet little angel in another of her dresses, with an apron wrapped around her waist.

He was surprised to see her working here, and now he has a way to speak with her and possibly get her name, seeing how he was unable to last night.

“Hello, gentleman, and welcome to Holly’s Café,” the female waiter asked in a high-pitched voice that greatly annoyed Ian and Axel.

“First of all, can you please stop talking and get us another waiter,” Axel coldly demanded, not giving the female a day of his time.

Lilith took her notepad and approached the two officers, wondering what had caused Crystal to start whining childishly towards Jazmine.

“Hello, I am sorry for Crystal. What can I start you both off with?” Axel sucked in a deep breath hearing his angel’s sweet voice.

“Hm, can you get us two cups of coffee and the special for today,” Ian happily said with a grin.

Lilith gently smiled, writing down everything on her notepad, feeling someone was staring at her.