by T. S. Ryder
Lydia ran to Mary and whispered in her ear. Mary smiled and nodded, and the girl disappeared into the house. The rest of them scattered to the bushes, where they would quickly strip down and embrace their Wolves.
Andre stepped over to Mary, panting. "Wolves!"
"They've worn you out already, have they?" She laughed.
Andre shrugged with an embarrassed smile. "They're always hyper on the night of the full moon."
"Well, we only have half an hour to midnight and Neal won't embrace his Bear." Mary shook her head. "I'll get the rest of the children in the wagon if you'll go help him."
Andre nodded, pressing a kiss to Mary's temple as he passed her. He took the stairs to the nursery two steps at a time, anxious to get his little son to embrace his Bear before midnight and the involuntary shift to Wolf happened. He was a rarity, Neal, having a soul that was both Wolf and Bear. But he was a happy, healthy little fellow, with Andre's black eyes, Mary's black hair, and a laugh that was twice his size.
Neal sat in his room, having made a blanket nest on the floor. Unlike the rest of their brood, his energy spike didn't happen until after the full moon, and it lasted for a good three days before he got back to his calm self.
Andre crept over to his son and knelt beside him. Neal smiled sleepily at his father and Andre smiled back.
The pain of Isadore and Eve's death had not gone away, but in the eighteen months since Neal was born, Andre had felt it shift. When he thought of them, images of their dead bodies no longer haunted him. Instead, he remembered the good times and the happiness they shared together. He was as happy now with his odd little family as he had been then.
"We have to go out to the run, bud," Andre said, easing Neal into his arms. "Can't you be with your Bear? You know it hurts if you don't have it when it's midnight."
"Not tonight," Neal said, his babyish lisp muddled further by how sleepy he was. "Tomorrow."
Andre laughed and kissed his son's head. "What if Daddy embraced his Bear, too? Come on, you know you love running with your brothers and sisters."
He tickled Neal's feet and peals of laughter rang through the home. Andre heard the impatient little yips and playful growls from outside that told him that the rest of the family was waiting on them.
"Help me?" Neal tugged at his sleepers.
Andre undressed Neal, and with a little encouragement, the toddler wrinkled his nose and embraced his Bear. He was still in the spindly-legged stage, not quite used to walking and Andre carried him down to the yard.
Mary waited at the door and took Neal, kissing his fuzzy face while she took him to the wagon where the rest of their children waited with their Wolves, tails wagging, climbing all over each other. Andre paused, soaking in the sight of the love of his life settling their little Bear-Wolf son among their adopted Wolf children.
Peace and contentment filled his heart. He had a family once again.
Mary trotted next to Andre as he pulled the wagon. The children jostled each other, but the occasional stern woof from her kept them in order.
The moon's call filled her blood, and she couldn’t stop herself from dancing around the wagon, nipping at Andre's heels from time to time. He gave her an indulgent glare and she wagged her tail, spanking the ground.
Soon they were at their destination with its wide fields, frosty with the first freeze of the year. The others were already there causing the children bounded off to greet their brothers and sisters, as though they didn't see them every single day.
Mary hid behind Andre, repressing her Wolf so she could unhitch him from the wagon. The night air made goosebumps rise on her arms, but soon she was safely wrapped in fur once more.
Neal tumbled out of the wagon and Mary hurried to him, licking his fur to make sure he was okay. He stood on his back legs and wrapped his front legs around her neck, biting at her ear and making a purring noise.
Peter, Amy and their little girl jogged over to join them, rubbing heads and wagging their tails as greetings. Nearby Julia chased a young man, a human from town she had confided to Mary was her soulmate. His eyes were bright and his cheeks flushed as he dodged her attempts to tackle him. A little further, Conrad Milton and David Monroe roughhoused.
The children dashed back to Mary and Andre, growling and biting at Andre's thick fur.
Mary's blood sang, as her gaze was drawn to the moon. It seemed closer than ever before and she could see every crater in its pearly surface.
There was a long moment of silence as all Wolves turned their faces to the call of the moon. Luna sang to them, and as one, they threw back their heads and sang too. The humans who had joined them cupped their mouths and howled, as the few Bears attending stood on their back legs and roared their solidarity. Neal's thin, puppy howl joined the song, and Mary glanced down to see he had transitioned smoothly from Bear to Wolf.
The children gathered around Andre and Mary. Tongues lolled out and tails wagged. They watched eagerly. Wolf and Bear shared a glance and as one, they started forward, running together at a speed even Neal could keep up with.
Mary let the air rush around her. She was aware of each of the children and every other Wolf, Bear, and human in the field. They all ran under the moon, connected by her silvery light.
And she thanked Luna that this life was hers.
*****
THE END
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading “Shades of Werewolf” as much as I liked writing it. Please consider leaving an honest review here; it means a lot to me to hear from you.
T.S. Ryder
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Alien Romance Collection
Taken by Two Alien Kings
Description
What’s better than being paired with a hot alien? Being paired with two hot aliens of course.
Cheryl is the new queen in the Demante System. Purchased from Earth and raised as a temple-virgin, she was selected to rule. She’s about to meet her king, chosen through a series of battles. Only to find that there’s not just one, but two candidates...
Oh my, whom to choose? One is even hotter and more dominant than the other. There’s Bjorn of the house of Leshire, the one everybody expected to claim the queen. And then there’s Maskin, the warrior-slave who is challenging the noble houses. Both are equally ready to punish any disobedience and submit her to their desires.
The task is easy: who gets her pregnant first gets the throne. But who knew there’d be enemies along the way? Enemies that beat her alien kings to hell to have Cheryl for themselves?
Staying alive isn’t easy, but it’s easier than choosing between the two warriors. Right? With the enemy on their heels and time ticking, Cheryl has to make the choice of her life. All she can hope for is that her sexy warriors stay alive long enough to hear her out.
Chapter One: Cheryl
Today was the day. The previous king of the Demante System had died, and the widow-queen was ready to hand her crown to the next temple-slave chosen to be queen. Cheryl would meet her husband and give the system a new king.
The human tried to keep herself still as the temple acolytes buzzed around her. Their shiny metal skins flashed in the bright light cast by the sun rods, long tubular lamps that were charged in the sunlight and released their warm glow indoors. She was so excited that she couldn't stop herself from beaming, although she knew this was a solemn occasion.
The acolytes painted her lips red and braided her golden hair into a crown around her head. The black gown she had been put into was tighter than anything she had worn before. It accentuated all her curves, although the seams strained at the waist. Probably a reminder from Priest Quincy that she hadn't dropped the twenty pounds he had told her to lose by this date.
Well, no matter. She'd be away from the priest soon enough, and he couldn't remind her again and again that she was fat. She knew that she weighed more than she was supposed to, but she didn't care. She knew in her gut that her king wouldn't mind, either.
"Are you excited?" one of the acolytes asked, tinny voice reverberating in its metal shell.
"Deliriously happy. I love my life in the temple, but I am eager to see what the world is like. And to meet my husband." Cheryl ducked her head and blushed, a small smile on her face.
She was more excited about her wedding night than she cared to admit. The only man she had regular contact with was Priest Quincy, but late at night, she liked to indulge herself in imagining what her king would be like. Cheryl had known from the time she was a little girl that her destiny was to be the next queen of the Temadian people. She had been selected from among the slaves purchased from Earth by the Demante System when she was just a baby.
The Temadians were a society built by men. Their women had left eons ago, although nobody knew where they had gone. For centuries, the only way for the Temadian people to reproduce was to take their massive starships and steal women from other systems.
Although that custom had long since died, the coronation of the new queen was a remembrance of those days. She was always a temple-slave obtained through trade with another species, and her king was selected through a series of battles. The Gods selected one of the champions to survive the tournament, and once he was married to the queen, he was king.
Cheryl's king was rumored to be the previous king's nephew, Bjorn, but she wouldn't know for certain until she was presented to him. Her heart pounded with excitement as the acolytes put the finishing touches on her hair and rolled back to inspect their work. The dim, gold light of their eyes turned red, a sign that they approved of what they saw. The human took a deep breath, grinning widely.
"Remember, child, not to expect too much from your wedding night," one of them said. "Just close your eyes and imagine yourself somewhere else."
Cheryl nodded meekly, although her mind was always full of dirty thoughts when she thought about her wedding night these days. She imagined intense pleasure, both for her and her king. Would he tear her dress right off her skin, the way she liked to imagine it?
She smoothed her skirt as she stood, following the acolytes to where Priest Quincy waited. As head of the Queen's Temple, he was responsible for the ceremony today, as well as Cheryl's upbringing, although her teacher for most of her life had been her mother, until her early death. He shook his head when he saw her, a look of distaste coming over his face. Cheryl's heart dropped, though she tried to suppress it.
Since she was a child her genes have been altered little by little so when she became pregnant with the king's baby, a pure-blooded Temadian would be born. It would take a lifetime to replace her, and the Demante system could not last without a king to rule over the dozen planets and order the fleets of warrior-slaves in their defense. No matter what Quincy thought, he would not take her destiny from her.
"Our king will need nerves of steel to bed you. I told you to lose weight." Priest Quincy squinted his eyes at her. "A queen must be regal, not round. Well, you are your king's problem now, not mine."
He turned and walked away, clearly expecting Cheryl to follow. She did so. Deep down, she knew she should be sad about leaving her temple and fearful about her future. But she was the queen. The only luxury was in her future, and a lifetime of giving her king beautiful, dark blue babies.
Priest Quincy led her outside. Cheryl winced as a roaring cheer echoed in her ears. As she stepped onto the platform at the top of the temple steps, it rose into the air, a slight hum all that was indicative of the hover engines beneath the slab of stone. A sea of people spread all around the temple and they chanted her name as she floated over them. After a few minutes, the platform set down at the top of the palace steps.
This was it. Cheryl eagerly looked down the steps, to the courtyard below. It was full like the temple grounds had been, but her king would be waiting for her on the bottom step.
Her brow furrowed. There were two men standing below her.
"I should have said that you are the kings' problem," Priest Quincy whispered in her ear. He stepped forward. "Bjorn of the house of Leshire."
The man to the right stepped towards her and bowed. His brown hair was trimmed neatly around his ears. He wore the sleek, ruby-red armor of the noble houses. It was molded to his body, made from nanites that would detect coming pressure and thicken the armor at points of impact. It also showed off his impressive shape. He was muscular and lithe, like the panther in the Earth storybook her mother used to read to her. His skin was midnight blue, indicating that he was a pureblooded Temadian–or as pure blooded as was possible these days. The crowd chanted his name.
"Maskin, Hero of the Apdratee invasion."
The second man's most prominent feature was the fierce scowl he wore. His hair was long, braided down his back. He was larger than Bjorn. His black studded armor was clearly meant for heavy battles, rather than the ceremonial skirmishes Bjorn's nanite armor was designed for. His arms were naked and bore scars, both of blade and blaster. Dark diamonds were tattooed under his eyes. Judging from the sky-blue of his skin, he was born a warrior-slave. A mix of insults and cheers rose for him. He did not bow.
"These men fought each other for a day and a night until both fainted with loss of blood," Priest Quincy shouted, more to the crowd than Cheryl. "The Gods have decreed that they are equally worthy of the crown. But which is more worthy of the queen? She must choose now."
Everything went silent.
Cheryl couldn't breathe. This wasn't what it was supposed to be like. She was supposed to be presented to her king, not given a choice between two men. Everything in the temple was decided for her, down to what she wore and ate. How was she supposed to choose between these two men? Her chest started heaving, her hands shaking.
"You have to choose," Priest Quincy said again.
Tears burned in her eyes as she stared at the two warriors. "I can't."
Priest Quincy turned towards her, narrowing his eyes. She shrank back from him but shook her head. She thought she might vomit. Taking a deep breath, she managed to straighten her shoulders and raise her chin. Once more, she shook her head.
"It's the Gods who decide who the king will be. I'm only the queen."
The corner of the priest's mouth twitched. He turned back to the crowd. "The queen has said let the Gods decide. Therefore, she and the two Kings Presumptive will be sent to the shrine of Nethja, Goddess of fertility. There they will stay until the alignment of the four moons. If the queen is with child, the father will be king. If she is not, then both will be put to death and a new king chosen."
Cheryl pressed her hands to her mouth, horrified.
There would be no wedding night for her, but two months in a moon shrine with rivals fighting to impregnate her. She stared down the steps at the two presumptive kings. Neither looked surprised. Maskin returned her stare with a hungry look in his golden-orange eyes. Bjorn's own green eyes twinkled. They both walked up the steps to join her on the platform. It lifted again, this time heading for the shipyard.
In two months, one or both of these men would be dead.
Chapter Two: Maskin
The moon shrine of Nethja was an ancient place, established when the Temadian people first developed space travel. Maskin stood between two ivory pillars as he watched the sun rising on the northern horizon. The large planet of Thoutle, seat of the Demante System and home to the noble houses, was still visible in the sky like a large, green jewel. Maskin's own home planet was a hardly-visible speck in the morning sun.
The warrior-slave had been on the front lines when the Apdratee attacked, trying to conquer the system. It was he who had led a single ship against their blockade after his Lord Commander had perished.
At the time, he had never seen anything outside the strict barracks where he and the other
warrior-slaves were raised and trained to fight. After he had taken control of an Apdratee ship and broken a hole through the blockade, ending their siege, he had been brought to Thoutle to be awarded his freedom and the title of commander.
It was the first time he saw beauty. The planet was breathtaking. Everything was green and lush. He thought it must be paradise.
This moon, however, was even more beautiful. Flowers grew everywhere. There were so much color and such sweet scents perfuming the air that when Maskin first stepped foot on the moon, he thought he had died and had been taken to the nirvana all faithful worshippers went to.
Bjorn's presence had quickly reminded him it was not so.
Maskin scowled as he turned from the sunrise. That man was the final obstacle to all of his plans. If Bjorn became king, nothing would ever change. Warrior-slaves would still be ripped from their mother's arms as infants. They would still live and die without being allowed to see any beauty or have any choices.
So he did not have the time to appreciate the beauty he was in. He only had two months to impregnate the queen, after all.
He looked down as he finished the grass necklace he had been braiding. It was one of the few things that all warrior-slaves knew how to do. They rarely got any downtime, but when they did, they liked to make things with whatever resources were available. Necklaces such as these were used to express affection for one another. They were simple compared to the sapphire that was gifted among the higher ranks, but Maskin found a joy in the simple appearance of things made by hand.
It was his only hope that Cheryl would feel the same. If she didn't, then he had nothing to compete against Bjorn with. Failure was not an option.