Wereplanets

by Crystal Jordan

  Our marriage was arranged by my father. We were raised together, respected each other’s strengths. Love grew from that respect, slowly and over time. She was…boisterous and wild.

  “Nothing like me.”

  “Don’t assume that is a bad thing. My mate is dead. I don’t wish to replace her with a pale imitation.” He reached out to slip his fingers through Jain’s hair, the dark silken length sliding between his fingers. She tilted her cheek to lean into his palm, opening her eyes to meet his gaze.

  You are a beautiful woman, Jain.

  She huffed a laugh, looking away. “Right.”

  “What’s this? Look at me, little bear.” He frowned when she didn’t comply, tilting her chin so he could see her expression.

  Her jaw flexed in his hand, but she didn’t try to pull away. “You don’t have to say those things to me, Kesuk. I know what I look like. You don’t have to lie.”

  He swallowed his anger at that, stroked his thumb along her jaw. “Questioning my honor again, Jain?”

  “No!” She glanced down at the sleeping Miki and whispered, “No.”

  “Why would I bother to lie?”

  She shrugged, looking anywhere but at him. “I don’t know.”

  Something deeper lay here. “Who made you doubt?”

  “I’m just not pretty, okay? I’ve always known it. Besides, beauty is not as important as intelligence.”

  He heard the echo of someone else in her voice. “Hmm…your family told you this? Or your mate?”

  “Both. He, my husband, and I grew up together. He was part of my family.”

  He suspected her husband had been far more a part of her family than she had. “They were proud of you?”

  “No, I…” She shook her head. “They were very busy. We didn’t spend much time together. They worked on projects and experiments.”

  “They sound frigid.”

  “Their work was very important.” Her voice came out stiff, controlled.

  “Did they not love you? Tell you they approved of your accomplishments?”

  She scoffed. “I’m just a teacher. My brother and husband were the scientists.”

  This explained so much about her—her need to control everything in a world that wasn’t safe. Anger burned in his gut, the muscles ticking in his clenched jaw. He wanted to go back in time and pummel the unfeeling parents who had abandoned the vulnerable young Jain. He growled at the mere thought of her mate, a man who should have made up for a lifetime of no love. Made her see she was beautiful and wanted. He would never permit Miki to mate with such a man.

  “Here we have no scientists. Loremasters are valued. They carry our history into the future.”

  “Things here are backward of what I know.”

  “Different is not bad, Jain. You will adjust.” What was he saying? She was leaving when the weretigers arrived. He sighed, pushing that knowledge away. Best not to deal with it tonight.

  “Do I have a choice? Everything here happens to me. I have no say in it.”

  “Controlling everything is not the answer, either, Jain.”

  “Controlling nothing is irresponsible. I’m going to sleep now. Good night, Kesuk.” Her voice was prim and antagonizing.

  Sighing, he fought the urge to throttle the stubborn wench. Yes, entirely the opposite of his easygoing mate. Too bad he’d developed a soft spot for recalcitrant women.

  He dipped his head to meet her gaze. You are beautiful, Jain. I would not say it if I did not mean it.

  “I know.” She shook her head and closed her eyes again, sighing.

  In time, she would come to see he was right. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the weretigers, their time together would soon draw to a close. He hated to miss seeing her passionate nature come full bloom. He didn’t allow himself to consider that some other man might get to enjoy her after she left Alysius. She deserved what happiness she could find. Chest tight with an emotion he had no business feeling, he reached out to slide a tender hand down her soft midnight hair, reveling in the silky feel of her soft cheek. He lay for a long while, watching her chest rise and fall in sleep before he tucked the furs tighter around her and his daughter. The two most precious females in his life.

  Chapter 7

  At sunrise the next morning, Miki dragged her along on a hunting-and-gathering party. She was curious to see more of the planet. With her clothes on this time. They bundled in warm cloaks and slung gray-striped leather satchels across their shoulders. Everything was striped here. She made a mental note to ask Kesuk why at dinner this evening.

  That thought brought her up short. This outing was also a convenient way to escape Kesuk. He hadn’t been in bed when she woke up this morning, and he hadn’t bothered to leave a note about where he’d gone so early. She didn’t really want to see him after they’d shredded each other last night. She’d said more than she should have about her family history. Her heart gave a painful squeeze. What an awful mess.

  Miki thrust her hand into Jain’s and pulled her as fast as her little legs could go. “Jain! Come on, we must keep up.”

  “All right, I’m coming. Hold your horses.” At least spending time with Miki was guaranteed to lift her dark mood.

  “We need to stay with the guards. There are predators at Thaw.”

  “Have you ever seen one of the predators?” She swallowed, glancing around, grateful for the full contingent of Kesuk’s huge guards.

  “Yes, but I’ve never seen a horse. What is it? Why do you have to hold it?”

  Squeezing the girl’s hand, Jain laughed. “It’s an expression that means don’t be impatient.”

  Miki wrinkled her pert little nose. “I don’t think I like horses.”

  Soon they were spread out in a small clearing, chattering, laughing, Miki showing Jain how to pick fresh berries.

  “This one. It’s the very best one this Turn.” Miki held up a tiny plum-colored berry between her fingers before popping it into her mouth and chewing with exaggerated delight. She’d declared the same thing about almost every fruit she’d picked.

  “If you don’t stop eating the very best ones, how will anyone know you found any at all?”

  Miki grinned. “I’ll tell them. Oh, but this one. It’s the very b—”

  A high-pitched scream of animal pain rent the air, raising chills down Jain’s arms. Her head whipped around to see one of the guards go down in a spray of crimson blood and gore on the white snow. A huge gray tiger-striped animal pounced on his chest, fangs bared. It was vaguely the shape of an Earthan wolf but nearly the same size as Kesuk in his bear form.

  Jain gasped. “Oh, God.”

  “Come, Jain, back to the caves. They hunt in packs!” Again, Miki grasped Jain’s hand tight, pulling hard.

  Women and children ran and screamed, dumping their satchels and changing into bear form to run faster.

  “Go, Miki!” Jain ran behind the girl, making sure she kept up as they followed the line of Arctic bears. Adrenaline sang in her veins. Her heart pounded as her arms and legs pumped hard, kicking up snow behind her. Roaring sounded from the clearing they’d left behind.

  They skidded through loose gravel alongside the steep ravine that led to the back entrance of Sea Den. Suddenly, Miki lost her footing and dropped over the side.

  “Miki!” Jain dove for the girl, catching her hand and keeping her from falling to the rocks below. Miki’s wide, frightened eyes locked with hers as her desperate grip tightened. Her dark irises disappeared as the black spread to touch the corners of her eyes.

  “Don’t let go!” Miki’s nose turned black and started to elongate, her breath panting out. She grew heavier by the second as she started to shift forms.

  “I won’t, honey. But I can’t hold you if you change into a bear, okay? I’ve got you. It’s okay,” she soothed.

  Miki whimpered, but her nose resumed its human shape. “Okay. Okay. Can you pull me up?”

  “Yeah.” Jain grunted and shimmied backward over the gravel. Small rocks s
craped the skin on her stomach as her short tunic rode up. She wrapped her free hand around a protruding rock, ignoring the bite into her bare flesh, because it kept her from sliding into the ravine. Miki hefted her torso over the lip of the crevice, and then curled up her knee to hoist herself the rest of the way. She flopped over on her back, panting.

  “Come on, sweetie. We need to hurry.” Jain pushed onto her knees, intending to pull the two of them to their feet.

  Miki sat up, sniffing the air before her gaze focused over Jain’s shoulder. “Get down.”

  Jain hit the ground, hunching over Miki as a hulking dark shape flew over their heads and down the side of the ravine. The predator scrabbled for purchase, growling and leaping for the top. Its loud baying would bring more if they hunted together. Where the hell were all their guards?

  Jain hauled Miki into her arms, sprinting for the nearest tree with low limbs. It was a young sapling, but it looked like it could hold them. If the predators were like the wolves on Earth, they wouldn’t be able to climb a tree. She hoped.

  The predator topped the edge of the ravine and hurtled toward them at astonishing speed. Oh, God.

  She shoved Miki onto the lowest branch. “Climb up!”

  After Miki hefted herself up to the next branch, Jain jumped to catch her elbows over the branch. She’d always been awful at chin-ups in school. Her booted toes kicked into the tree trunk, giving her purchase so she could haul her left knee up. Something snapped around her right ankle, yanking her back, her chin scraping on the bark. She caught the branch with her hands, and it bowed under the combined weight of her and the predator.

  “Jain!” Miki shrieked.

  Jain screamed, panicking as the predator’s teeth bit into the tough leather of her boot with crushing force. She swung wildly, fighting to hold on to the branch. Looking over her shoulder, she could see the evil thing’s yellow eyes. Drawing her free foot back, she aimed for the tip of its snout. She connected, hard.

  The predator yowled and dropped her foot, shaking its head madly. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she hauled herself back up onto the branch. She sobbed for air, bouncing on her good foot and forcing herself to climb up and up, away from the predator.

  “K-keep going, Miki. High as you can.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Just c-climb, sweetie.” Jain pulled herself as high as she could before the slim branches began bowing under her weight. That put her only about thirty feet above the ground, and the little tree shook as the predator hurled itself at the base. She straddled a branch and tugged Miki down in front of her, wrapping her arms around the trunk to secure them in place. Bark bit into her fingers, and the branch chafed her inner thighs. The pungent aroma of tree sap filled the air as leaves and twigs broke away.

  A second predator joined the first, circling the tree, baying eerily. The hairs stood up on the back of Jain’s neck, and she prayed harder than she ever had before. Please, let the guards be all right and on their way to help. Please let Kesuk come. Her ankle throbbed, and she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch as the predators hurled their combined weight against the slender trunk. The budding leaves shivered at each impact.

  A deep roar sounded in the distance. More must be coming. What the hell was she doing here? She didn’t want to be mauled and eaten by some freakish wolf-tiger beastie. She bit back a sob, pulling air in through her nose to calm her erratic breathing, coughing as she sucked pollen into her airway.

  “Make them go away, Jain.” Miki whimpered, her tiny fingers forming claws to dig into the tree. Jain couldn’t think of a single comforting thing to say, so she just hugged her close and held on for dear life. They weren’t getting her out of this tree until they knocked the damn thing over.

  The roaring came closer, almost upon them. She turned her head in the direction of the clearing, watching to see how many predators would come. Instead, a massive Arctic bear broke through the line of trees, followed by four more. It let out a bellowing roar, leaping forward with claws extended and fangs bared, galloping for the nearest predator. The two met with a loud crunch of bone and sinew, two huge animals locked in combat.

  “Kesuk,” Jain breathed. The two rolled away, and she strained to see what was going on, careful not to lose her balance.

  Terrifying growls, squeals, and grunts exploded from the two fighters. They reared back on hind legs to slash at each other with tooth and claw. The predator slammed Kesuk over, and they spun sideways through the snow before crashing into the base of the tree. Jain squashed Miki against the tree as the wild swaying started to crack the trunk. The whole tree began to give way as half of the roots tore from the ground. The two hit the slim tree again and again, the impact of fangs on flesh audible as they ripped into each other.

  As quickly as it had begun, it stopped. Everything was silent.

  “Papa!” Miki tried to dive down, but Jain held her still.

  Groaning, Kesuk heaved away from the still predator. Blood matted his white fur. He shook hard from head to tail before approaching the foot of the tree. The predator’s fleeing pack mate was easily overtaken by the other bears and dragged to the ground. Jain looked away—she didn’t want to see anymore.

  Come down now. It’s safe. Kesuk’s thoughts echoed in her mind.

  She eased her cramped grip on the trunk and scooted back to let a straining Miki down first. The girl made short work of the climb down, landing on her father’s back and chattering about how she hadn’t been scared and how exciting it was and how Jain had saved her from the big, bad predators.

  Jain followed more slowly, the ache in her ankle becoming more pronounced. Adrenaline still pumped through her system, making her hands and legs shake. She reached the lowest branch and bent to grasp it, lowering herself to dangle a foot from the ground. Bracing herself for the pain, she dropped down. Gasping as her ankle nearly buckled, she stumbled back against the trunk.

  Jain?

  “I’m fine.” She straightened, laying a hand on the dense fur on Kesuk’s back while his now human and very naked warriors gathered their silver-and-black striped kill. Well, at least she knew now why almost everything they wore was striped.

  Shaking that inane thought away, she turned toward Sea Den and began the long, slow walk back, careful to pick her way through the rocks and gravel so she didn’t worsen her ankle by twisting it. A large young bear pulled alongside her, nudging her hand with his nose until she used his shoulder for balance. She suspected it was Imnek but couldn’t be sure and didn’t ask, because she was so focused on getting back in one piece. Miki, now in her bear form, gamboled ahead of them, pouncing into snowdrifts.

  Steam rose from the large tub, the heated water lapping around Jain’s thighs and buttocks as she lowered herself into her bath. A low moan slid from her lips at the sensuous delight of the water on her skin. The stiffness eased from her calf and ankle, and she flexed the joint. Sighing, she leaned back against the rim and tried to relax.

  The fear she’d felt this afternoon was not something she’d soon forget. How had these people survived so long with those things hunting them? Why had they settled this planet if they hadn’t been able to eradicate such a threat? Back on Earth, she’d heard reports of whole settlements being wiped away without a trace. Now she understood why.

  She tapped restlessly against the sides of the tub, water sloshing as she shifted. Sighing, she gave up trying to relax and attempted to leverage herself out of the tub. She was still too keyed up from the adrenaline rush. She was still half in, half out of the water when the door slammed back against the wall, making her jump.

  Kesuk stood there naked, having just shifted. His eyes were still black from corner to corner, and something wild and dangerous lurked in his gaze. Her stomach fluttered, breath speeding with anticipation. Sharp desire rushed through her, peaking her nipples, dampening her pussy, readying her for penetration.

  He kicked the door shut behind him with one foot as he advanced across the roo
m. “I won’t be gentle.”

  “I don’t want you to be.” No, she wanted him fast and hard, to burn off the terror she’d experienced today. Knowing what he needed, what she needed, she lifted her arms in invitation.

  Never hesitating, he scooped her out of the tub, dripping water all over the floor. She ignored the mess, thrusting her fingers into his hair, pulling his lips to hers. They bit and nipped at each other, and she dragged her teeth hard over his bottom lip.

  Setting her on the edge of her side table, he lifted her knees, pushing between her thighs. “Lean back,” he rasped.

  She reclined on her hands, widened her legs for him, arching hard as he jerked her pussy lips apart to thrust into her. He started a fast, deep rhythm, pumping into her hot channel.

  They fell on each other with a desperation she’d never expected. Beads of bathwater rolled down her arms and legs, making her slide on the table. Her head rested against the wall, her neck tensing as she moved with his thrusts. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, slipped unchecked down her cheeks, the emotions of the day pushing forward until she couldn’t contain them anymore.

  He was hitting her just right, and she was screaming, the sound too loud to her ears, but she didn’t care anymore. Her fingers wrapped around the edge of the polished wood table, and she pressed her pelvis up to meet his hard thrusts. He pulled her knees higher on his hips, pistoning deep, faster and faster.

  “I’m coming!” Her hips froze midair, legs tensing as her pussy spasmed once around his cock. His thrusts became deep and wild as they raced each other to orgasm, their eyes locked, riding the storm together.

  She imploded, her sex milking the length of his dick in rhythmic pulses. His fangs slid out and he roared as he came, his head thrown back, the muscles on his neck and shoulder tensing. His hands clamped on her ass, pulling her closer, pressing his cock as deep inside her as she could handle. Then he sighed, relaxing, his forehead dropping to rest on her chest.

  The drag of his hot flesh in hers as he slid out of her made her pussy clench on his dick. He groaned, thrust against her cervix hard and pushed her into an aftershock of climax. She shuddered, clinging to his shoulders. Backing away, he slid an arm under her legs, lifting her against his chest. A few steps and he laid her across the bed, settling beside her.