Free Prince of Fate (Lions of Pride Island Book 2) by Terry Bolryder

certain sweet roll they still made in the village, and she was hoping to bring some back to surprise him. She’d come back with a clear heart and a nice treat. Win-win.
    “I’ll be back in a minute,” Brenna said. “Don’t tell him.”
    “Like hell I won’t,” Bee said.
    Brenna gave her a kiss on the forehead and laughed. “I have my phone. You take care. When I get back, I want to hear all about your visit with Theresa.”
    “Mm-hmm,” Bee said. “Sure thing.”
    Then Brenna was out the door, and the hot, early morning sunlight shone down on her as she walked the long dirt road into town.
    Trees rustled on all sides, and she enjoyed their quiet whispering, the chirps and calls of birds overhead.
    Very peaceful. Very quiet. And she couldn’t help thinking it would be nicer if Cain were there.
    What was happening to her? She could already picture him just being right as a part of her life.
    She shook those thoughts from her mind and continued into town. She said hi to neighbors she recognized and then went to the shop where they sold the buns Cain had loved.
    When she was done there, she headed out. Just as she was leaving the edge of town, she heard footsteps behind her.
    She sped up, casting a quick look over her shoulder to see who was following her. She saw a few men wearing old suits and grinning at her, hands in their pockets as they lazily followed.
    Should she shift? Perhaps they could, too. It was hard to know how much lion blood anyone on the island had. Nothing was apparent at first sight.
    “Wait up, girly,” one of them called out as she quickened her pace.
    She ignored them and kept walking, severely regretting going out on her own. Were these Barker’s men? Their suits seemed to imply as much.
    “Brenna? That your name?”
    She winced. So it was someone after her specifically, not just a woman in general. She wasn’t sure if that made it worse or better, but her heart pounded as she tried to walk fast without breaking into a panicked run where she could trip.
    She just had to get back to Cain. This whole thing had been stupid. She doubted he would be comforted by the buns if something happened to her.
    Maybe she now understood just a little bit how one could do something dangerous when one was trying to escape.
    Suddenly, she heard the click of a gun and froze.
    “Turn around,” a deep voice demanded. “Drop what you’re holding and turn around with your hands up. I’m not playing.”
    She bit her lip. She didn’t want to do what he said, but she didn’t have a choice. She turned slowly, facing the three men, and dropped her bag on the ground.
    Then she raised her hands.
    The guy holding the gun on her waited until his cronies got close to her, each taking one of her arms, and then put his gun back into his holster.
    She struggled, and he reached for the gun again, giving her a warning glare.
    She stopped. Stupid gun.
    “Now we just need to talk for a minute. We were paid to come talk to you, and I mean to do just that,” the main guy said. He had black, oily hair and dull blue eyes, a stocky build, with small, hairy hands.
    She recoiled as he approached.
    He pulled out a cigarette and lit it as the guys next to her secured her hands and feet, setting her on the ground with her hands zip-tied in front of her and her feet zip-tied together.
    She looked up at him defiantly as he knelt in front of her.
    “Now, now, we aren’t going to hurt you. But we need to make sure you aren’t going to run. You see, we have a proposition for you.”
    His cronies nodded.
    “I know where you can stick your proposition,” a low voice growled.
    She looked up to see a gigantic lion appearing out of the shadows to the side of the road.
    Tall, magnificent, with a long golden mane and powerful muscles. More than twice the size of a regular lion.
    The goons looked like they were going to pee themselves. The main guy held more of his composure, standing with folded arms to face the lion that was nearly on