There was no doubt within any part of Peter Talbot that he loved Karen Yuletide with all his heart and soul.
The werelion prince of Moon Lake, for his father was the king of all the anthropomorphic lions that called this small Washington State town sanctuary and home, hoped and prayed that someday he would find somebody who loved him for himself and not his social standing within were society.
Karen, with her cute smile and winsome personality, was everything he ever longed for, and more.
The fact that she was still a normal human being at the moment was a mere technicality, for the engaged couple planned to spend a romantic weekend together as Peter inducted Karen into were society as his werelioness.
With that in mind, Peter found himself promptly knocking upon Karen's dorm door at precisely 6 that evening.
They would have a nice, romantic dinner together as Karen took her first werelioness birth control pill.
By the time they finished desert and drove to his parents waterfront cabin at the landmark the town was named for, the pill would be well within her system and Karen would be ready to receive her own fursona and roar for the first time as not only a proud lioness, but also as his future mate.
Unfortunately, what greeted Peter when the dorm room door was answered was the last thing he ever expected as all their romantic weekend plans went down the tubes.
Liz Brookshire didn't like King Talbot's edict, but as a loyal lioness she had to obey.
Since her last failed attempt to either discredit Karen or get her uninterested in becoming a werelioness and Peter's fiance, Liz had been discretely accompanied by 2 of His Majesty's loyal servants to make sure that not only did she no longer interfere in Peter and Karen's plans, but that she would be waiting outside the lake front cabin until Karen came out long enough to show off her new fursona for the first time before Liz would be free to go on about her life.
But what kind of a life will it be without Peter? she had been asking herself for days now, with no answer forthcoming.
Yet Liz had resigned herself to what would be a relatively Peter-less life. Sure, she would still see him at pride meetings, and there was still a chance the two of them could still get together every once in awhile because, like their natural counterparts, male werelions were known to take several women as their personal harem-pride while still staying true to their wife as she would be the only one who actually received the male's emotional love and would be allowed to bear his cubs.
Liz didn't think twice about one of her "companions" cellphones going off as she tried to enjoy dinner with her family.
The man only said "Yes, your majesty" a lot, to confirm whatever instructions he was being given.
She looked up at the dining room wall clock and thought it was a bit early to head out to the lake now as the man said, "It shall be done," before hanging up.
However, Liz was totally shocked when the man stood, faced her, and said, "You're free to do whatever you want to. The royal weekend's been canceled."
Her mother was shocked to hear this, for word had spread about how crazy in love "Prince Peter" was with his lady, but Liz truly didn't know what to think as she asked why.
When the man explained, Liz was surprised to find herself feeling genuine sympathy for Karen.
"Is this San Diego General?" Karen asked, even as she was walking through the Seattle airport as fast as she could.
"Yes. How can I help you?" the lady on the other end of her cellphone asked.
"My name is Karen Yuletide. The police there called me about my mother, Monica Yuletide."
"Just a moment," the lady replied, as Karen heard a computer keyboard being used in the background. "I have it. What's your emergency contact code?"
Karen repeated what the officer who called her said.
When the lady confirmed it, she asked how she could help.
"What happened? All the officer said was that there had been a serious traffic accident and that she was being rushed to you," explained Karen.
"Yes. Your mother is in emergency surgery right now. A trucker had a heart attack and lost both consciousness and control of the semi he was driving at the time. It plowed into the rear of your mother's car and pushed her engine first into a concrete median. Paramedics and rescue personnel extracted her from the vehicle as quickly as they could before rushing her to us via our Life-Star Flight helicopter. Other than the fact that we're doing all we can for her, I'm afraid there's no further word on her condition at this time."
"DAMN IT!" exclaimed Karen, even as she fought to keep herself from crying. "I'm flying down from Seattle as soon as I can. Is there any way you can make arrangements to expedite my trip from the airport there to the hospital?"
"I'll see what I can do. What's your number?" the hospital lady asked.
When they finished their conversation, Karen closed her cellphone and looked up at the man approaching her.
"Dad made our arrangements by phone while we were on our way here. Our flight leaves in about 40 minutes," Peter told her, while showing Karen their tickets.
"Peter, I—" began Karen.
"It's okay honey. I'm here for you," said Peter, as he moved to hold her close.
He could feel her trembling in his arms, but they did not have the time for Karen to fully compose herself.
"We better hurry," said Peter, as he started escorting Karen to their boarding gate.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Okay, not the romantic weekend they and our Moon Lake fans were expecting, but unfortunately not everything goes as we plan and hope. Karen will still be joining were society as Peter's lioness and future wife, but obviously not at the moment.—tmw.