Secret Baby Lion: A BBW Lion-Shifter Romance (Shift Your Fate Book 2) (2 page)

“Well, if that day comes, there won’t be much I’ll be able to do,” she said.

“And why’s that?”

“Because I wouldn’t know where to find his father.”

“Oh.”

Things were starting to make sense. Kassandra had been trying to catch a glimpse of Liam’s father for the past hour, but every time she prodded that particular spot in Olivia’s thoughts and energy, she had come up empty. Simply put, there was no connection there, no bond between Liv and the man who had given her a son. How was that possible? As a gifted, experienced empath, Kassandra could usually find all the information she needed even when her clients themselves weren’t aware they had it. This time, however, she was at a loss. The information simply wasn’t there. Whoever the man was, he hadn’t left any trace in Olivia’s life, soul, thoughts. Maybe he hadn’t had time, maybe she had intentionally blocked him for some reason. Yes, that must have been it. She hadn’t given him a chance.

Olivia drank the last few drops of her tea and sighed.

“All right, I suppose I can tell you,” she said. “I still don’t think it has any relevance, though.”

Kassandra nodded.

“It happened about two years ago, the very night before I left New York. I met him at a club, we ended up in a hotel room. I left in the morning, never looked back. Two months later, I found out I was pregnant. I was already in London, living with my aunt, and I had already found a good job in PR. There was no way I was going back home. Not after…” she hesitated, her gaze fixed somewhere above Kassandra’s shoulder. She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I had no reason to come back to NYC. It had been a one-night stand, a silly fling.”

“Why did you move to London?”

“It had nothing to do with Liam’s father. The decision had been made before I met him.”

“And after you met him… you didn’t change your mind.”

Olivia huffed. “Why would I? As I said, it was a one-night stand. I was a bit depressed, a bit drunk, a bit out of control. Young and stupid.”

“So, this man… his presence, his closeness had no impact on you.”

Liv cocked an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? Love at first sight?”

The empath sighed. The sarcasm in Olivia’s voice made it clear this wasn’t a good time to tell her about fated mates.

Liv was waiting for an answer, her bright green eyes daring Kassandra to tell her that, yes, she was referring to love at first sight, a retarded notion she had never believed in, not even when she was a child and her parents fed her fairy tales.

Kassandra decided the best thing to do was to change the subject.

“And you know nothing about him. Not even his name.”

“I do know his name. I remember how silly I thought he was when he came to me, offered me a drink, and introduced himself with his full name.” Olivia laughed, finally allowing herself to go back to that faint, sweet memory.

The empath caught a flash of intense blue eyes, long, blond hair, and a neatly trimmed beard on a strong jaw. It was gone in a second. Not enough to identify him.

“So, you can find him if you really want to.”

“I don’t want to.”

Why was she so stubborn? Was there something about this man that had set her off?

“What’s his name?”

Liv shifted in her seat, contemplating standing up. This conversation was going nowhere. Instead of trying to help Liam, the old woman was busy prying into her past. She didn’t particularly appreciate it.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Trust me, it does.” Kassandra was vaguely aware that she was losing her. She leaned over the table and grabbed her wrist, making Liv jump slightly at the unexpected gesture.
“She doesn’t like to be touched,”
the empath thought. She squeezed her wrist, nonetheless. “Please, Olivia. For the sake of your child, trust me. It’s only a name, nothing more.”

Liv curled her fingers into a fist, but resisted the urge to pull her hand away. She didn’t want to be rude. Her long, dark pink nails were digging into her palm, but the sharp pain did nothing to quieten her instinct.
“It’s only a name,”
the words echoed inside her head. A name, she felt, that could start something she didn’t want to deal with right now.

“Olivia?”

Her nails dug deeper into her flesh. “Tristan Ward,” she whispered. “His name is Tristan Ward.”

***

Kassandra fought the urge to release Olivia’s wrist. The young woman’s smooth skin burned her palm. She took a deep breath and tried to focus, tried to make sense of what was happening, of the jumble of emotions Liv’s energy spilled into the air. The deeper the empath looked into her soul, the bigger her apprehension grew. Gently, she pried Olivia’s fingers open so she could look at the lines in her palm.

Liv relaxed and allowed Kassandra to do her thing. Now that his name had left her lips, she felt relieved. She hadn’t spoken it in a long, long time. She couldn’t even remember how long it had been. Everyone had asked her about Liam’s father, of course, and her answer had always been that she had no idea who he was. At the risk of her family and friends thinking she was a careless, easy woman, stupid even, she had gained a bit of peace for herself. Now that his name was still floating between her and the empath, she felt as if that peace would soon be gone. Tristan Ward. The sound of a bad omen.

Oddly enough, Kassandra was thinking along the same lines, but for entirely different reasons. She had met Tristan Ward recently. Had it been a month since the proud Alpha lion-shifter had joined and left the Order of the Severins in the span of 24 hours? It could have been less. She hadn’t heard from him ever since, and neither had the remaining members of the secret order. Without Tristan, Emil Severin and Tyler Atwood couldn’t do much about the Arte di Calimala, the Assassins’ Guild which hunted, captured, and tortured supernatural people. Shape-shifters were their specialty. An unfortunate misunderstanding had caused the Order of the Severins to lose Tristan’s trust, his cooperation, and the access to his powerful witch. The Alpha had gone back into hiding, determined to protect his people. No one knew where his pride was. Apparently, not even Olivia, who clearly was Tristan’s fated mate. Staring at Liv’s palm and seeing pretty much nothing, one thought rang in Kassandra’s head over and over again:
“You have to find him. I don’t know how, but you have to find him.”
Was she talking about herself, or about Olivia? She didn’t know. It didn’t matter. Someone had to find him before it was too late. Too late for Liam, who was struggling with his young inner beast, not knowing how to let it out, how to control it, how to live with it. The lion cub needed his father and his pride. He needed to be amongst those of his kind.

“What do you see?” asked Olivia. She had grown tired of waiting for the old woman to actually interpret the lines in her palm.

Kassandra let go of her hand and leaned back in her chair.

“You truly don’t know how to find the father of your child.”

Liv rolled her eyes. “Already told you that.”

“No. You don’t know… as in, your soul doesn’t know.”

Liv chuckled. “How would my soul know something my mind doesn’t?”

Kassandra shook her head. She wasn’t going to have this argument with the cynical Olivia. She knew she wouldn’t be able to convince her of anything. It was a miracle that a realistic, non-spiritual woman such as her had actually considered seeking the help of an empath. Of course, when everything else failed, a desperate mother was willing to try anything, think of the most unlikely solutions. Despite her cold, uninvolved perspective on things, Olivia had a native intuition that had led her to Shift Your Fate. This intuition might yet save her, her son, and Tristan Ward. Because they all needed saving. Kassandra couldn’t quite point out why she felt that way, but she did.

“Nonetheless,” the empath said, “you need to find him and tell him about his son. Not only because he has a right to know, and Liam has even more of a right to meet his father, but because Tristan Ward is the only one who knows what your son is going through. He can help him.”

Olivia sighed, opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind and stood up. She started pacing the small room. From time to time, her eyes would fall on the painting that had fascinated Liam an hour before. The lion was, indeed, mighty and beautiful. She wouldn’t mind having suck a painting in her own house.

“So… it’s something genetic, or…?” Liv asked.

“Yes, you could say that.”

“And only his father knows how to deal with it…”

“Yes.”

Liv nodded. “All right. All right. It makes sense, I guess.” What else could she say at this point? As much as she hated the situation, Kassandra was the first who was actually giving her a lead. She would never forgive herself if she didn’t follow it out of sheer stubbornness. “But I don’t know where to find him, and you don’t know either. We’re stuck.”

Kassandra nodded. “I might be able to find out,” she said. “I know someone who’s pretty good at finding things. And people.”

Olivia stopped pacing and fixed her gaze on the empath. A flicker of hope, mixed with fear and uncertainty, danced in her eyes.

“Who is this person?”

“A private detective.”

Initially, Kassandra had thought about Emil Severin, the wolf-shifter who was, indeed, a private detective by day, then she remembered she had someone better: Tyler Atwood, the bear-shifter who was a hacker by night. In fact, if the two friends and allies joined forces, they might be able to find the location of Tristan Ward’s pride. Would this put the lion-shifter’s people in danger, she wondered? Tristan was very protective of his pride, and Kassandra would never forgive herself if her actions brought any kind of harm to the small community of lion-shifters, especially as shape-shifters were becoming extinct. On the other hand, Liv and Liam needed him, and her unique gift had always told her she could trust the Order of the Severins. She had contributed to its creation, after all.

“I can’t promise you anything.” Liv’s voice was barely a whisper. She was looking at her hands, her fingers still playing with the hair she had roughly pulled over her right shoulder. The brown waves reached her waist, but they would soon need a trim if she kept this up. “If this private detective you’re talking about does find his address, I can’t promise you I’ll go there.”

Kassandra stood up as well, and took a couple of steps towards her. This woman was so moody, she was driving her insane.

“Your son’s life is at stake…”

“I know, I just…”

“What? Olivia, you have to understand: this is not something you can run away from. I know it makes you uncomfortable, I know you’re not ready… but for your son’s sake, you have to be.”

Liv shook her head gently. She didn’t know how to express what she felt. She hoped the empath could feel it in her energy.

“Listen to me,” Kassandra insisted. “If you don’t do this, Liam is going to suffer. You have no idea… In fact, I have no idea. What will happen to him depends on the decision you’re making now.”

“What will happen to him if I decide I don’t want to see Tristan?”

Why was she even asking such a question? It was wrong, so wrong of her, to try to assess the damage she could do to her own son, try to figure out the possible consequences, and whether she could deal with them or not. What kind of person was she? What kind of mother was she? Olivia bit the inside of her lip and decided that she hated herself.

Kassandra saw her struggle. She fought the impulse to reassure her and tell her she wasn’t a bad mother, that she was only scared and confused, and it was normal. But this wasn’t the time to make Olivia feel better about herself. On the contrary, this was the perfect moment to make use of her dark thoughts and scare her into seeking Tristan. She didn’t like doing it, but it seemed to be the only way.

“I don’t know, Olivia. I can’t read the future, but I can sense the darkness…”

“Darkness?” A feeling of dread started in her stomach and crawled up to her heart.

Kassandra nodded. “And Liam is not the only one who will be affected…”

“Tristan and I…”

“Yes, but not only the three of you. This… this darkness will make its way into the lives of so many people… people who depend on…” But she couldn’t go on. She couldn’t tell her that Tristan was a lion-shifter, the Alpha of his pride, and the union between him and his fated mate would affect all the people under his leadership. She couldn’t tell her how important it was for Tristan to have an heir.

“Depend on what? On whom?” Liv was growing a bit tired of all this cryptic talk.

Kassandra shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you more. My sight is limited.”

Liv finally pulled her hair back and let it fall over both her shoulders. She rubbed her temples, then reached for the bag she had left on the chair.

“I’ll think about it,” she said while looking for her wallet. “Will you contact the private detective today? Do you know his fee? I can pay upfront.”

“No, no. Please, I haven’t done anything for you yet.”

Olivia smiled. “You’ve done more than others have. How much do I owe you for this… meeting?” She pulled a couple of bills, unsure of what to do with them.