by Octavia Kore
Clara’s mouth dropped open. She was so close. The muscles in her abdomen tightened in anticipation. Had she already mentioned that this was the best dream ever? She repeated it to herself again, just for good measure.
Just when she was getting ready to fall over the edge, Zaheer pulled his fingers away, leaving her pulsing and throbbing around nothing as she growled in utter frustration. The edges of her dream began to fade, and Clara clutched at the strands in a futile attempt to remain there.
No, no, no! This isn’t even fair!
So much for that best dream ever status.
“Wake up, Clara,” Zaheer said as something hot and smooth slid through the wet folds of her sex. “I want your eyes on me when I take you, Aanih. I want to know you’re with me.”
Clara’s eyes fluttered open as her mate’s lips trailed warm kisses along her shoulder and up the side of her neck, stopping to give special attention to the spot where he’d marked her not long ago. Dream Zaheer was gone, but lucky for Clara, her male was just as good, if not better, than anything her mind could make up.
Dim sunlight played across the walls, throwing shadows over their bodies. Clara turned her face toward his and moaned as his mouth crushed hers. The tips of his cocks pressed into her, slowly, drawing a sigh from her lips. When the flared head of his lower cock slipped through the ring of muscle into her ass, Clara bit down on her lip, willing herself to relax. The first time hadn’t been bad, but tensing wasn’t going to do either of them any good. Zaheer moved against her with gentle, shallow thrusts of his hip and Clara reached between them, using her fingers to spread herself. She grinned when she felt her slick coating him.
Her entire body thrummed with anticipation. It knew what was coming and it was ready for him. Zaheer pressed deeper with each forward thrust, working himself inside of Clara’s ass and pussy, giving her time to adjust to him. With her wrists unbound this time, Clara’s hands were free to wander over his body.
Soft fur slid between her fingers as she lifted her hands, gliding them up his arms to his shoulders. Her nails dug in as he jerked his hips forward, burying more of himself within Clara as he snarled, his lips pulling back to reveal his sharp teeth. He looked feral, and it did nothing to douse the heat spreading through her.
“Take me into your body, Aanih.” His lips brushed hers as Clara brushed her fingers along his jaw. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed feeling you wrapped around me.” His cocks sank deeper, and on his final thrust, Clara felt their hips meet in the most erotic way.
Her body pulsed around the intrusions, sending waves of pleasure careening through her. She was so full, so completely taken up and used by her mate. It was a feeling she hadn’t realized she'd been longing for until Zaheer. Clara wanted to live there, to luxuriate in the intimacy of him inside her body, but the moment he began to move, Clara’s thoughts scattered as each delicious ridge on his cock teased her.
Zaheer pounded into her, working her body toward the jagged edge of release that she craved. One of his hands cupped her breast, while another wrapped around her throat, pinning her to the ground. Clara’s pussy clenched around his cock, and Zaheer’s hips slammed forward. Hands cupped the globes of her ass as she wrapped her legs around him, spreading the cheeks as he fucked her harder.
“Please, Zaheer.”
The fingers around her throat flexed as he pistoned into Clara as the slender tendrils at his base began to explore. They caressed, swirling their tips over her throbbing clit, spreading her folds so that they could slip alongside his cocks.
“My tsa… my world.” Zaheer closed his eyes and let his forehead drop to hers. “Come for me, Clara. Let me have your pleasure.”
One of the tendrils flicked back and forth over her clit, and Clara’s mouth dropped open on a silent scream as the knot of pressure in her belly released. She pulsed around Zaheer, writhing, gasping, clutching his fur as she rode the turbulent wave of her orgasm.
“Bak!”
Even along the bond, the curse was spoken with such pleasure that it set off another round of aftershocks within her.
With nothing more than the curse as a warning, Zaheer lost all semblance of control. His fur rippled like she’d seen it do many times before, giving way to patches of his guardian’s sleek black skin. She slid her fingers over them, captivated by the way it made the movement of his hips falter. Clara reared up when Zaheer removed his hand from her throat, clinging to his shoulders as she pressed her lips to the dark, heated flesh.
Mark our tsa, her guardian pleaded with her as white patches sprang up along her arms. Claim him as our own.
Clara felt the compulsion to bite down, to sink her teeth into the shimmering black flesh, but the reminder of the pain, the mere thought of going through that again so soon, stopped her from heeding her guardian’s words. Zaheer’s hands came down on her hips, pressing her into the blankets as he rutted into her. She was completely open, stripped bare beneath him as he sought his pleasure.
Something sparked along the bond, unfurling within her mind as Zaheer leaned down to press his lips to her chest, branding her skin before sucking one of her nipples into his mouth. She could feel his pleasure as if it were her own. His tongue curled around the hardened tip, his teeth grazing her flesh as he buried himself inside her one last time. The base on both of his cocks inflated, stretching her walls as the knots locked them together. Cum pooled within Clara, wringing a couple more less intense orgasms from her. Zaheer moaned against her skin as her body pulsed around him, his hips bucking as he coasted on his own wave of ecstasy.
She was ruined, completely and utterly ruined for anyone else for the rest of her life.
“My tsa,” Zaheer pressed his face into her neck and Clara raked her fingers through the hair on his head as he panted. “Please don’t go. I cannot exist in a world without you in it.”
Her already battered and bruised heart broke open for him, and Clara wrapped her arms around him. Even if she found her way back to the others and the ship, she knew deep down that she didn’t want to leave this place.
Clara didn’t want to leave Zaheer.
“Are you trying to get me cleaned up or are you looking to start round two?” Clara joked as she clutched at Zaheer’s wrist. His fingers slid over the outside of her folds and inner thighs, attempting to wash away the purple stain on her skin. She’d already given up on scrubbing them away, but she hadn’t had the strength to turn down her mate’s offer of help.
Not even the cold river they stood hip-deep in was enough to douse the fire he was stirring within her belly. Zaheer shook his head, smiling at her squeak of protest when his fingers swirled over her already sensitive clit.
“When you asked if you could wake me up with pleasure, I didn’t know it was going to be a daily thing.” She felt his lips press against the shell of her ear and trembled.
“Are you complaining about it?”
No!
Clara grinned at her guardian’s enthusiastic response. “Absolutely not.”
“You were asleep for two whole days. I was worried that you wouldn’t wake up at all.”
His fingers ghosted over her and Clara followed with her hips. Just a little more pressure, that was all she needed, and she was sure she’d be able to come from that alone.
“Well, you did change me. I wasn’t really expecting to shift in the middle of the forest.” Clara’s mouth dropped open and gasped when he pinched the bundle of nerves before sliding his hand from between her legs.
Tease, her guardian growled.
Major tease, she agreed.
“Sleeping after your very first shift is normal. The transition is hard on all guardians, but it seems like it might have taken more out of you than I had anticipated.”
“How long will it be before I can shift again?” It wasn’t like she was in any rush to do it. The pain was still very fresh in Clara’s mind, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t looking forward to getting to know her new body and what it was capable of.<
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“It’s different for each of us, but it will likely take many tries before you are able to shift without me there to command it.”
We don’t need his help, her guardian huffed, tossing her head. We are far more capable than our tsa realizes.
Clara started to relay her guardian’s message, but Zaheer’s head tilted as he frowned at something behind her. She felt the slight rumble of the earth beneath her feet and spun around just in time to watch the Grutex ship take to the sky, sending winged creatures scattering as its engines corrected themselves.
They’d fixed it.
Jun, Esme, Telisa… they were going to make it to Venora and maybe even back home to Earth someday.
Clara smiled as the ship began to fade. She hoped they made it and that they were able to find the same peace she felt in her soul. She hoped they found help among the Venium and that Earth could be saved from the war with the Grutex, but Clara couldn’t find it in her heart to be sad that they’d left her behind.
But as she turned back to face Zaheer, her smile slipped away. She wasn’t the only human who’d been left behind.
“Layla.”
Chapter 20
Zaheer
“I need to get back to Layla,” Clara said, already out of the water and halfway up the bank. She twisted her hair, ringing the water from the strands.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, but also yes.”
Zaheer frowned. “Is this one of those times when I have to wonder if it is all humans who are confusing or just you?” She shot him a look that said it was most definitely her.
“No, because I’d already decided that I didn’t want to leave with the others, but also yes, because Layla was left behind and I don't know how she’s going to take it when she finds out.”
The day they’d taken Clara and Layla was so ingrained in his mind that Zaheer was sure he’d never forget it for as long as the goddess allowed him to live. He could still see the look of horror on the large mauve male’s face when he’d weaved the memory of Clara’s death and guilt ate at him. “They think you died.”
His mate shrugged her slender shoulders and frowned. “Probably.”
“They do, because that’s what happened in the memory I weaved them.”
“What?”
“When I took you from your group, I weaved a shared memory in their minds of you being torn apart, of me killing you and dragging you away.”
“You—” Her hands lifted and dropped down to her sides while she stared at him. “You can manipulate memories?”
“On beings who have come into contact with my webs, yes.”
Clara pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest, those brown eyes of hers roaming his face. He could only imagine what she must think of him now. “Have you done that to me?”
“No. Guardians only use it in the direst situations.”
“How was that situation dire, Zaheer?”
“Layla had already seen Ivnalth. She took your friend and I… I couldn’t leave without you, but I couldn’t risk your people following us or stumbling upon the tribe if they decided to search for the two of you.” He shifted from one foot to the other as he watched her, praying to the goddess that she could understand his reasoning.
“I don’t like the idea of being lied to, Zaheer.”
“I’ve never altered any of your memories, Clara, and now that you’ve transitioned I couldn’t even if I wanted.” Zaheer stepped up onto the bank in front of his mate and reached out, lifting her chin so that she was looking at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t believe you.” Her words left his stomach twisted in knots. He was prepared to beg, to plead with her. “But for whatever ridiculous reason, I do, and so does my guardian.”
Relief swept through him, and he dipped his head, pressing his lips as he tugged her into his arms. “You were blessed with a very intelligent guardian.”
The sound of Clara’s laughter filled his heart with joy. She bared her teeth at him as she had many times before and rolled her eyes. “You’re only saying that because she’s on your side right now.”
Zaheer framed his female’s face with his upper hands, brushing the corners of her mouth with his thumbs. “Why do you snarl so much? Ivnalth mentioned that Layla has done the same to her.”
“What? When have I ever snarled at you?”
“You did it just now.” Clara laughed again. “Just like that, baring your teeth as if you’re angry, but you laugh.”
“Oh my God,” she shook her head. “That’s not a snarl, it’s how we smile.”
“No, I have seen you smile before.” Zaheer pinched her mouth shut gently, watching as the corners of her lips tipped up. “This is a smile.” He demonstrated for her. “Lips closed, no teeth.”
“Where I’m from, both ways are considered smiles. Showing your teeth isn’t necessarily a sign of aggression, it can mean you’re just really happy.” Clara pushed herself up onto the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his before wiggling out of his arms. “Unhand me so I can get dressed.”
According to his mate, the suit she’d been wearing when they first met was a lost cause. She’d hoped letting it retreat into the very tiny dot on her foot would allow it some time to regenerate, but seemed to have only made the damage caused by his webs worse. On top of that, River enjoyed snacking on the dark material any chance they got.
Clara lifted up the garment she’d insisted on bringing and slipped it over her head. The dress was long on her, stopping just above her ankles once she’d smoothed it out, and was dyed a beautiful glistening black.
Zaheer stepped back and shook the water from his fur, trying not to soak his mate as he dried himself. “Where did that come from?”
“Ivnalth brought it to me before I shifted. She said that she went to your mother and asked if she would help her make it.” Clara smoothed her palms of the material that covered her stomach and hips. “She told me it was a mating gift.”
Ivnalth had broken the rules to bring his female something from his family.
His mother knew about his mating.
His mother knew he’d broken his vows, knew that he’d shamed her and his father, and still, she’d made Clara something in honor of their mating. It filled him with a tentative hope for their future.
“If your mother made me this, then I’m assuming at least some of your people wear clothing of some sort.”
Zaheer nodded. “Many of them do.”
“You don’t, and I’ve never seen Ivnalth and Maylu wear anything either.”
“There’s hardly any point for guardians to wear clothing that they will destroy if they have to shift quickly.”
When his fur was mostly dry, Zaheer swept Clara into his lower arms and started off into the forest toward the outpost.
“You do realize I am capable of walking?” Clara’s brow arched as she folded her arms over her chest.
“You do realize you have nothing to protect your feet?” Zaheer brushed the bottom of her foot, and Clara jerked it away with a giggle. “Even if you did, I enjoy getting to hold you.” He felt the gentle press of her head against his chest and pulled her closer. His pack knew about her now. There was no choice but to trust that none of them would go to Pumo with the news.
Our pack is loyal. They are confused right now, but we should give them time, his guardian said.
“The pack knows about our mating. They sensed the bond between us, and could smell your scent on me. I left you during your sleep and joined them in the sparring circle. Most of the pack already knew about you and Layla being kept in the outpost, but they were unaware of how far it had gone.”
Clara’s fingers stilled against his fur and she looked up at him, her face a mask of caution. “Oh. Are they… angry?”
“I don’t think they are angry, but it’s something they will need time to understand. We all took the same vows and have believed the same things for all our lives. Change was
not easy for me, Clara. I struggled with what I felt for you and they will likely struggle with it as well. We at least have Ivnalth and Maylu’s support already.” Zaheer dipped his head, pressing his lips to Clara’s hair and breathing her in.
Her people were gone; they’d left his world and left his little mate behind. The Krunkeeli were not strangers to outsiders or their tech, but they preferred to live as they did. The sight of the ship leaving the forest and sailing through the sky wasn’t all that uncommon, but it was different this time because they’d brought him something precious; something he’d never thought he would have.
For the first time in his life, Zaheer was glad that outsiders had come to their forest.
The commotion of the ships leaving normally set the animals within the area on edge and disrupted migration patterns and feeding cycles for days afterward. It was no different this time. Leaves crunching and twigs breaking beneath his feet were the only sounds in the silent forest.
This part was heavily seeded by the white-barked iino trees. Their black leaves littered the ground, warning him of the coming cold. Zaheer followed the paths his pack and those before them had created. Occasionally they branched off, connecting with other paths made by the herd animals who traveled through their territory. He would show Clara how to navigate, and how to distinguish which of the paths were the safest to travel when he couldn’t be with her.
His guardian grumbled at that thought, clearly not happy that his mate might actually go anywhere without them. When they reached the outpost, Zaheer coaxed Clara’s arms and legs around him. It made the climb up to Layla easier. His female was quiet, staring up at the sky in the direction her people had gone. He wondered what she was thinking, if she was sad to see them leave, if she was going to resent him one day for keeping her here. And what about Layla? He was the reason she was trapped here as well.