To Lie With Lions: A BBW Shifter Romance (Wolf Rock Shifters Book 4) by Carina Wilder

been standing in the background listening, said, “Oh, Nathaniel. I’m not sure it was a good idea to be so rude to that man.”
    “Sorry, mom, but these people are bullies, and I won’t have our family intimidated. Don’t worry; I’ll keep an eye on things tonight.” He knew that by offering these words he was destroying any chance he had of seeing Cecile that night, but after all, they would have plenty of time to spend together.
    Or so he thought.
    He sent her a text, to which she replied, “It’s no problem. I totally understand. Hope to see you very, very soon though. xox”
    Nash ’s frustration at not getting to spend more time with Cecile was somewhat quelled by his desire to protect his home, which was the first of his lion’s instincts in spite of his desire to get his paws on a beautiful woman. Having turned the two shifters away it made no sense to abandon his parents.
    Nothing happened, however. At least not in the first several hours. After his parents had gone to bed, Nash sat up in the living room, waiting and watching, occasionally sniffing the air. At around midnight he removed his clothing and shifted, prowling around the house in lion form. His large cat was more prone to staying awake at night but also had better night vision than his human form.
    Eventually he headed outside into the cold. His thick coat and shifter blood were amazingly good at keeping him warm despite the fact that his species was meant to exist in warmer climates. Nash could see his breath, huffing out through his muzzle under the stars. It was a night when more snow was impossible; the temperature was simply too low.
    At first he saw nothing as he traced a route around the stable, not wanting to enter for fear of alarming the horses. And then , as he moved around to the back of the building, he heard the sound of tires on gravel. At some point an engine and lights had been turned off, and the car coasted to a stop before the family’s barn, which housed the hay and supplies for the horses.
    Nash stalked around the edge of the stable, his eyes fixed on the barn. Nothing moved for a moment and then he saw the shadow of a man, moving quickly to the corner of the building with something in his hands.
    The lion prowled towards him, preparing to pounce as soon as he came near. As he approached, he heard the sickening sound of fluid being poured out of a container and smelled it:
    G asoline.
    He ran now towards the man, who had just lit a match and was tossing it onto the puddle which butted up onto the barn’s wall. The gasoline ignited, lighting the man’s face: it was that same weasely creature that Nash had seen earlier in the day, standing in their doorway. The man turned tail and fled back through the open door of his vehicle and started the engine before backing away. At first Nash pursued him but he quickly turned back, his priority to save the barn.
    He ran inside and shifted, grabbing a fire extinguisher and a pile of wool blankets which he brought outside. In the freezing air he managed to put out the fire before much damage was done; only the corner plank of the structure was scalded. The weasel hadn’t intended to meet up with a lion, clearly.
    It wasn’t long before Nash’s father came out and found him. Nash had already wrapped one of the clean blankets around his waist but his father threw a parka over his shoulders and handed him a pair of boots, which he gratefully pulled on.
    “So they mean business,” Mr. Richardson said as he scratched his chin.
    “Yeah, they do. Though I have a funny feeling they won’t be back. I think they’re just trying to intimidate us and by extension the whole town.”
    “Well, we’ve got to stop this immediately. It’s arrogance to think you can bully anyone into submission in this way, but a town of shifters?”
    “The problem is, dad, some shifters are stronger than others. These guys know it. We’re not part of a pack and we’re isolated out here, so they know