Chapter Four

T he stench of fear and excitement saturated the air, seeping through the bars of Leo's cage and stoking the fire of his rage. He paced, each movement a battle between the remnants of his human mind and the feral beast that threatened to consume him entirely.

The curse that bound him to this form from dusk till dawn flooded through his veins, a constant agony that fueled his madness. Memories of his human self flickered like dying embers in the inferno of his bestial mind. Leo snarled, snapping at shadows, at the very air that caged him as surely as the iron bars.

If only he could break free, tear through the crowd, and escape into the night. But the invisible chains of dark magic held him as surely as any physical restraint. Leo's massive paw swiped at the air, claws extended, fighting an enemy he couldn't see or touch. And if he did escape, would that mean Laura’s sickness might come back?

Voices approached, piercing through the red haze of his fury.

"This is crazy" Kitty's voice was tight with barely controlled panic. "You can't expect me to perform that act tonight. It would take months of training to even attempt something so dangerous. Leo and I need to ease into this partnership. He has to trust me and I sure as hell have to trust him."

Madame Noir's silk-over-steel tones sent a shudder of revulsion through Leo's body. "You underestimate both yourself and our Leo. He is no ordinary lion, I assure you. He understands his role perfectly."

Leo's lip curled in a silent snarl. Oh, he understood his role, all right. Captive. Freak. Monster. But what of Kitty's role? Would she be like the others—cruel with her whip, quick to exploit his pain for the audience's pleasure? Or would she be too afraid, unable to command the respect a beast like him required?

"You will enter the ring after he has been let out of the cage. You will perform for the crowd, a dance of danger. You’ll walk a tightwire of risk and safety. At the climax of the act, you'll kneel before Leo. He'll rear up, put his paws on your shoulders and roar. When he drops down, he’ll keep his jaws open, and you'll place your head in his mouth. Wait for the screams to reach a delicious crescendo. And just when they think Leo’s jaws will bite your pretty head off, you'll emerge unscathed, mount him, and ride him around the ring. Is that clear?" But Madame Noir wasn’t looking at Kitty. She was asking Leo that last question.

He stared at her unblinkingly.

"But..." Kitty started to protest again, only to be cut off by Madame Noir's sharp intake of breath.

"Enough! You will both perform as directed, or you will both face the consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

A long pause, then Kitty said," Yes, Madame Noir." Then to him. “I hope you got all that.”

Footsteps retreated, leaving only the scent of Kitty's fear lingering in the air. It mixed with the ambient energy of the audience, creating an intoxicating cocktail that made Leo's head swim. He shook his mane violently, trying to clear the fog of bloodlust that threatened to overtake him completely.

Time blurred, marked only by the increasing volume of the crowd. Then, without warning, Leo's cage began to move. The sudden motion sent him stumbling, a snarl of surprise and anger erupting from his chest. Carnival workers pushed his wheeled cage through a narrow passage and into the blinding lights of the big top. He hated when they wouldn’t let him walk in on his own. But Leo figured this was all part of Kitty’s new act.

The roar of the crowd challenged him, and he roared back at them. Their excitement, their fear, their morbid anticipation, it all crashed over him in a wave that threatened to drown the last shreds of his humanity. He thrashed in the cage, claws raking against metal bars, fangs bared in a rictus of fury.

"Ladies and gentlemen," The ringmaster's voice boomed, cutting through the chaos in Leo's mind. "Prepare yourselves for a spectacle of danger and desire. Kitty Wylde will tame the lion freak."

The cage door swung open, and Leo exploded into the ring, muscles coiled and ready to spring. He scanned the crowd. So much prey, so close. The beast in him screamed to attack, to rend and tear and feast on their terror.

But then a new scent cut through the miasma of the crowd. Lavender and fear, yes, but underneath it all, something special. It made both man and beast take notice.

A crack split the air. Leo's head whipped around, nostrils flaring. Kitty stood at the edge of the ring, whip in hand. She dared...

The swell of her breasts caught his attention as they rose and fell with each nervous breath she took. The crowd was equally captivated. Leo's hackles rose. The beast in him didn't like the humans looking at Kitty with such naked lust. He growled at them, low and menacing.

His attention wandered to her lovely face. Framed by wild, dark curls, her features were a study in contrasts. Full lips painted a deep, enticing red. Eyes lined with kohl, making the green of her irises even more striking. He roared, but it wasn't the usual bellow of aggression or warning. This was something different, something he hadn't felt in years. Desire.

The rational part of his mind recoiled. He was a cursed thing trapped between two worlds. He had no business feeling such things. But the beast in him wanted her. It recognized in Kitty a worthy mate, strong and fierce despite her fear. The impulse to claim, to mark, to possess rose within him with shocking intensity.

Kitty's eyes locked with his, and for a moment, the crowd faded into the background. There was only her, only him, and the electric current that seemed to arc between them.

Then she began to move, and Leo's world narrowed to the sway of her hips, the flex of her muscles as she circled him. He matched her movements, step by step. They danced around each other, neither willing to break eye contact.

His instincts screamed at him to pounce, to pin Kitty beneath him and... what? The man and the beast warred within him, desires tangling until he could no longer distinguish between them.

Kitty stepped forward, her movements deliberate and controlled despite the fear Leo could smell rolling off her in waves. She flicked the whip again, not striking him but creating a sharp report that made the audience gasp.

"Back," Kitty commanded, her voice carrying across the ring.

Leo's ears flattened against his skull. Part of him wanted to charge, to call her bluff. But something in her stance gave him pause. She stood tall, chin raised, exuding an authority that tugged at deeply ingrained instincts.

Slowly, reluctantly, Leo took a step back. He remembered Madame Noir’s ridiculous demands for this act.

A ripple of excitement went through the crowd. Kitty capitalized on it, striding forward with newfound confidence. She cracked the whip in a complex pattern, creating a wall of sound that Leo instinctively shied away from.

"Sit," Kitty ordered, gesturing with her free hand.

For a moment, Leo resisted. The beast within raged against following commands, against submitting to this human female. But Kitty's gaze held firm, and almost against his will, Leo found himself sinking into a seated position. He would have to find a way to even the power dynamics between them. The beast faded a bit in his mind as more human thoughts of passion and sex pulsed through him.

The audience broke into applause. Leo could taste their excitement on the air, mingling with their underlying anticipation. It was intoxicating, fueling the dark energy that pulsed through the carnival.

Kitty didn't pause to acknowledge the crowd. She moved closer, her steps measured and careful. Leo tensed. He could smell her sweat, hear the rapid beat of her heart. She was terrified, yet she kept advancing.

"Easy," Kitty murmured, pitched low for Leo's ears alone. "Easy, big guy."

She extended her hand, palm down, fingers slightly curled. It was an invitation, not a threat. Leo's nostrils flared, taking in her scent.

Mine.

Mate.

Slowly, fighting against every instinct to pounce and claim, Leo leaned forward. His whiskers brushed Kitty's palm, sending a jolt through both of them. The crowd held its collective breath.

Then, in a move that drew gasps from the audience, Kitty tossed aside her whip. She stood before Leo, unarmed and vulnerable.

“I hope this works,” she muttered.

Then, in a move that drew a collective gasp from the crowd, Kitty dropped to her knees before Leo. She tilted her head back, exposing the vulnerable line of her throat. It was an act of submission that struck Leo to his core.

He reared up on his hind legs, then came down, resting his massive paws on her bare shoulders. He kept his weight on his back legs so as not to crush her. She trembled beneath him but didn't flinch away. Leo could feel her rapid heartbeat, could sense the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

He pushed her on her back, careful not to scratch her.

Someone in the crowd screamed.

His jaws parted, razor-sharp fangs mere inches from Kitty's throat. The beast in him gloated in triumph, urging him to graze her, to taste her blood, to claim her as his own.

Slowly, with a sensuality that seemed at odds with her obvious fear, she pushed herself back to her knees.

“Open,” she commanded.

Leo’s mouth opened wide.

“Don’t eat me,” she whispered to him. And then with a shaky sigh, she placed her head in his mouth.

The crowd went wild, sounds of fright and excitement filled the big top. He could feel the carnival's dark power swelling, feeding on the maelstrom of emotions.

For a heart-stopping moment, Leo teetered on the edge of control. The curse shook through him. He could end her life with a snap of his jaws.

No. He was not an animal. This was not part of his dark bargain. He paid for his sister’s freedom with this curse, but that was all he paid. His soul was still his own. Seconds that felt like hours ticked by. Then, moving with aching slowness, Kitty withdrew.

Kitty's hand came up, trembling slightly, to stroke his mane. The touch was electric, sending shocks of pleasure through Leo's body. Without conscious thought, he lowered his shoulder so she could climb on his back.

The audience was on their feet, cheering wildly. But Leo barely heard it. His entire world had narrowed to Kitty—her scent, her touch, the sound of her ragged breathing.

Her thighs gripped his sides, the heat of her body seeping through his fur. As they began their victory lap around the ring, Leo was acutely aware of every shift of Kitty's weight, every brush of her skin against his.

All too soon she dismounted and picked up her whip. With a few more cracks, he numbly walked back to his cage and laid down to sort out his tangled emotions. He hadn’t expected to feel anything but hatred.

The carnival workers wheeled him out of the big top and put his cage with the rest of the trailers. To his surprise, Kitty soon appeared before him. She had wrapped an old blanket around her revealing outfit.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "I'm so, so sorry."

Leo cocked his head, confusion replacing concern. Sorry? For what? The performance had gone exactly as Madame Noir had commanded.

But then he saw the way Kitty was looking at him—not with fear or disgust, but with a deep, aching sympathy. And he understood.

She knew.

Somehow, impossibly, Kitty had seen through the beast to the man trapped inside. The realization left him reeling. He was unable to tell anyone about the terms of his curse. He never thought anyone would recognize that he was human when he was in lion form.

She hurried away and he was left alone with his thoughts for the rest of the night. He slept fitfully. As the first rays of dawn began to peek through the tent flaps, Leo felt the familiar agony of transformation begin. But for once, he welcomed the pain. He needed to be human again. He needed to think, to plan.

Most of all, he needed to talk to Kitty.