Night of the Lions (Lions of Manhattan 1)
Page 32
“Johannesburg, as in South Africa?”
“Yes.”
“Whoa.” Cat ran her good hand through her hair. “I really was in Africa. How did I get there? I remember Rossi smacked me around, then everything went hazy from there.”
“Your client stuffed you into a wooden crate and flew you in her corporate plane to Cape Town.”
“How nice. Wooden crate. I’m going to charge her triple for this. Where is she, by the way?”
Gabriel’s face darkened. “She didn’t survive the fire fight. My men are arranging her funeral in Kingston.”
“Kingston?”
“Where we had the gathering. The Night of the Lions.”
“Shit, she died? God.” Cat reflected on the news. “Were all of them shifters?”
“Yes.”
Alex came with a can of orange juice. “We don’t have a juice box. Is this okay?”
“More than okay.”
Alex opened the can for her, since she couldn’t do it with one hand. “Here.”
“Thank you.” Cat took a sip. It felt so good to have something fresh, unlike the stuff the kidnappers had been feeding her. She turned to Gabriel. “Was it really you—the lion who jumped into the fire?”
“Yes, babe.”
“How did you survive?”
“I had a little help from Gustav Angelo. Nothing that smoke and mirrors couldn’t do.”
“Gustav Angelo, as in the Gustav Angelo? That famous Vegas magician?”
“None other.”
“Yeah, but how did you pull it off?”
“Babe, a good magician never tells his secret.”
“They did on Fox.”
Gabriel only smiled.
Cat took another sip of the juice. “So, why did my dead client hate you so much and kidnap and take me to Africa?”
“Ah, that.” Gabriel shifted his legs into a more comfortable position. Alex got up and walked towards the back of the plane, joining the others to give them privacy. “The gathering you saw…”
Cat nodded.
“It’s called the Night of the Lions. Werelions from all over Africa come together every winter solstice at the Tree of Life, to elect who is going to rule all prides for a year. Before we all agreed to the terms of this type of election, the pride had always been at war, fighting for territory. Fourteen years ago, Marius Veron—Sophie-Marie’s father—was chosen as the Superior Alpha. As the Superior Alpha, his words became law.”
Gabriel paused. “Marius ordered me to take his daughter, Sophie-Marie, as my mate. I refused. I didn’t love her and she was famous for being spoilt, a difficult person to be around. My father supported my decision. Marius was furious about our defiance and challenged my father to a duel. My father lost. Marius killed him.”
“God. I’m so sorry.”
“By prides’ law, I had to take Sophie-Marie as a mate. But I would never have been able to do that, so I challenged Marius to a duel. This time, I won. I hauled my father’s body away for burial and, after that, my brothers and I left for America to start a new life. I heard that Sophie-Marie was so distraught at her father’s death, she jumped into the Purifying Fire.”