Chapter 10

Daniel

The idiot doesn't recognize me. He's thinks I'm just a man caught naked with his dick swinging about. However, I'm a man much bigger than him. He says, "This is your unlucky day, man," as I lift Makayla's head from my thigh and stand up. I can hear his Afrikaans accent.

"Jy sal vandag hier sterf," I say softly. His eyes open widely at that. I just told him, in his language, that he would die today. Then, just to put him even more off guard, I add, "Whether or not you shift." I say that part in English.

"Daniel?" Makayla asks tentatively.

"Stay behind me, Mackie," I say, "I'm not supposed to talk to you about this for three more years but I promise I'll tell you everything. Just stay behind me."

"Who are you?" The man asks. "Gee my die meisie." Give me the girl.

"You will never have her," I say softly, "...en ek is jou dood." He asked who I was and I told him. I am your death. He won't know until I shift who I am. Oh, he's likely determined that I'm a shifter but that tells him nothing. I'm bigger than him as a human but any two lion shifters may be vastly different once shifted. A lion who seems small and unimposing in human form may be much larger as a lion than a shifter with a human form like a bodybuilder.

Once I shift, though, he will see I'm Royal. The difference between a Royal and a regular shifter is profound. In terms of size, I will be larger, of course, but there is a great deal more to it than that. I will be faster and stronger. I can explain it only like this. He will pose no more threat to me than a housecat would. The enemies had no idea that my father protected her in any way other than hiding her.

And then the window bursts apart and Kaitlyn leaps through. She sees me and freezes. Makayla gasps. She sees only a large lion. "She is with us, Mackie," I say. "Go with her. Don't argue with me. Go wherever she leads you."

Kaitlyn shifts. "Your Highness," she says, "there are others and not all of them are cubs like this one."

"Cub?" the man shouts. He shifts and leaps toward her. My jaws close over his neck in mid-leap. I feel his neck crush into splinters. He was a small lion, too. No different in size than Kaitlyn, who is both small and female.

"Aunt Kaitlyn?" Makayla asks.

"Makayla, I know you have questions, Honey," she says, "but you'll have to wait."

I shift back and look at her. "But I can tell you that Kaitlyn is your aunt. She is your father's sister, and both she and I have dedicated our lives to protecting you. That's all I can tell you now, Kaitlyn. You must trust me."

She is terrified, of course. She takes a breath and says, "You'll tell me everything."

"I will."

She doesn't think before she says, "I'll trust you." She turns to Kaitlyn. "And you, too."

I nod and say, "You two need to get dressed. Then, get in the garage. When I give the signal, just drive through the garage door and don't look back."

"But…"

"You said you would trust us," Kaitlyn says. She takes Makayla's hand and leads her away. In the process, the throw blanket covering Makayla up falls off. I can't help but take a moment to admire her rear end as she's led away. I don't know which family wants to use Kaitlyn as leverage in their political games. What I do know is that whatever family is involved in this power play will be destroyed.

I open the front door and step out onto the front lawn naked. She's in a cul de sac but I already know there are no innocent bystanders. The men wouldn't risk it. I stand there and take in the situation. Eight or nine of them. I wait for them to show themselves. By now, they've certainly figured out that I'm a shifter but they don't know I'm Royal. They won't know until I shift.

Soon, they know.

They know too late, though.

And die sooner than they expect to die, I'm sure.