Fast and the Furriest

by Celia Kyle

  “Yes,” she hissed, her eyes turning amber.

  She stroked his forearms, his biceps, his shoulders, her sharpening fingernails digging into his skin. She scratched his flesh, leaving burning trails in her wake and that sting made fucking her so much better. That pain added to the pleasure, pushing his body closer to release with each breath.

  The scent of their sex filled the air, wrapping them in a musky, delicious blanket of passion and need. He breathed in the flavors, his cat purring in response. Her sweet cream beckoned the animal, but the tiger also knew that succumbing to the luring aroma would only distract them from their true goal—mating Zoe.

  He restrained the feline, forcing it to focus on their mate, on the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Her pale skin called to him, urging him to lower his head, grasp her flesh between her teeth and then bite until her blood filled her mouth. He would swallow every drop of the coppery fluid, and his cat would roar with the pleasure of their joining.

  But not until she screamed his name. He wanted her coming on his dick before he gave in to the ultimate bliss.

  “Fuck, baby,” he shoved past his lips. His fangs now crowded his mouth, the cat slipping them forward while he was distracted by her juicy pussy.

  “Harder.” She dug her nails into his flesh, pricking his skin and then the scent of his blood filled the air.

  Ares growled low, the tiger torn between growling over the assault and purring because they’d pulled their mate’s tigress to the surface.

  The feline settled on a rumbling purr.

  Zoe reacted with a low purr of her own, the vibrations sliding down his dick and stroking him, adding to the pleasure of their mating.

  “Yes,” she hissed and increased the power behind her hips.

  “Fuck yes.” He did the same, their bodies slamming together. “Mine.”

  He couldn’t think past that single word, that one syllable. The cat repeated it in his head over and over again.

  His.

  His mouth watered with the anticipation of tasting her, savoring her.

  His cock pulsed within her slick sheath, reveling in the sensual stroke of her inner walls along his hard length. She squeezed him, milking his dick like a tight fist of wet velvet. The ecstasy of her caress continued to slice through him, gripping his balls, and sending a new jolt of bliss over his nerves. His dick throbbed with the need for release, screaming for permission to empty inside Zoe.

  Fill her. Claim her.

  Soon.

  She needed to scream his name first. Loud enough for the entire house to hear her. He’d intended for them to remain quiet, but the tiger wanted one and all to know that it was he who satisfied his mate.

  “Come for me, baby. Come on my cock.”

  Zoe whimpered and whined. “Need.” She dug her fingers further into his skin and pulled. “Need.”

  “What?” his voice held the growl of his cat.

  His pores stung as fur slipped free, rippling over his flesh to coat his skin. Tan was replaced by orange and black and he knew white decorated his chest. The beast wanted out, wanted to be a part of their mating.

  His fingertips burned and darkened as they grew. He clawed at the bed, curling his hand and piercing the blanket beneath his mate. He fought against his impending release, waiting for his mate’s shout.

  His balls slapped against the curve of her ass and he took pleasure in that small sting as well. Everything about Zoe, about their coming together, appealed to him.

  She tugged harder and bared her neck, tilting her head to the side. “Need.”

  The plea was clear, the begging unable to be denied. She wanted his bite, his mating mark.

  “Come,” he demanded.

  “Ares,” she whined in response.

  “Come first.” He bared his fangs, his cat rushing forward in their first act of true dominance over their mate. “Come.”

  Zoe’s voice caught, breath stilling, and he thought she’d deny him—deny them. But then she did as he desired. She arched, eyes rolling into the back of her head as a scream wrenched from her throat. She shouted into the air, the sound bouncing off the walls, and he knew everyone within the house heard her yell.

  “Ares!”

  Her pussy squeezed tightly around his shaft, and his pace didn’t slow. Not when he had what he desired most within reach.

  Head still tilted and giving him room, Ares lowered and struck in one fluid movement. His fangs pierced her flesh with ease, his teeth breaking the skin, and then blood filled his mouth. Hot, sweet, and delicious, it coasted over his tongue and down his throat.

  He came as he bit her, balls releasing his cum, and his dick pulsed as the ultimate pleasure consumed him in a blinding rush. Ecstasy warred with joy at claiming his mate, the dual sensations fighting for dominance.

  His tiger roared, rejoicing in the action of claiming their mate. He bit deeply and sucked hard, drawing more of the blood to the surface and into him. He reveled in the seductive flavor of the liquid, swallowing it down and committing it to memory. She suffused him, her essence crawling into every part of him until they were one.

  She was his now. His and his alone. Once she changed she could return the favor, but his claim was secure.

  Zoe whimpered and moaned, her movements slowing the longer he drew on her neck until her only actions were reduced to trembles and shivers. Ares slowed with her, his hips easing their thrusts until he simply rested against her. He blanketed her with his form, covering his mate from chest to knee with his larger bulk and pinning her to the bed.

  When they finally stilled, he eased his teeth free, gently lapping at the abused flesh and encouraging her burgeoning cat to seal the wounds. He hoped her transition would be complete by morning, and she’d be fully healed, only a scar remaining.

  He knew his scent now suffused her, and it could no longer be washed off. Zoe was his—his—and no one could take that from them.

  He gave the mark one last lick, one last gentle caress, before he slowly eased to the side and off of his new mate. Then he gathered her close, his cat at ease for the first time since she’d come back into his life.

  Mine.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Zoe easily went into Ares’s arms, snuggling with a sated sigh while she wondered when they could do that again. She nuzzled his chest, breathing deeply, and winced at the bolt of pain from her mating mark.

  Mating. Mark.

  She was mated. To Ares. With a mating mark.

  She was covered in his scent and as soon as her tiger made its first appearance, she’d give him a mating mark as well.

  He just didn’t know it yet. Sure, Ronnie told her all about the fact that alphas didn’t take the mark. Ha! Just let him try to deny her. If she was gonna belong to him, he would belong to her just as much.

  “You’re mine,” he whispered.

  Zoe purred. “About that—”

  About nothing. Not when an ear-splitting scream filled the air, the sound transforming into a pained shout and then finally a furious roar. The walls muffled the noise, but there was no doubt one of their tigers was outside the house and in trouble. That shout was followed by a loud pop. Then another. And another.

  A gun?

  “Fuck.” Ares shoved her aside and leapt from the bed, his long strides carrying him to the bedroom door.

  “What’s wrong? Who was that?” Adrenaline flooded her blood, her new tigress responding in an instant, the cat alert and on edge.

  It was in tune with the pride, her consciousness searching out the ethereal tendrils that connected her to each pride member. The strings were all thrumming with anxiousness, some ends jumbling and tumbling together until she couldn’t keep the fear straight in her mind. The cats downstairs were frightened, their animal halves taking possession of their minds—slowly becoming more animal than human. While that would have worried her if she were still human, her cat was happy with the change.

  A human mind could balk at an order, a tiger—one of their
tigers—would follow orders.

  Ares yanked the bedroom door open, swinging it wide. The moment he had access to the hallway, his change began, starting with his hands and feet. Another roar rent the air and he met her gaze. “Claire. It’s Claire.”

  The rest of his transformation fell over him then, sliding over his body in a rippling wave. Fur sprouted, black and orange stripes slipping free to cover his skin. His bones broke, and muscles stretched as he adopted his tiger’s shape. It took no more than two steps into the hallway, two heartbeats, and he was on four feet.

  On four feet and racing down the hallway. When he should have turned right and bolted down the stairs, he continued across the landing and raced toward the other end of the house. There were no exterior doors there and the yell definitely came from outside, but she didn’t question him. Her mate—and his inner tiger—were intent on caring for their sister. There was no way they’d risk her life. There had to be a way outside this way.

  And there was. Through a second story window. He didn’t slow as he approached the massive plate of glass. No, he increased his pace, picking up speed as he dashed forward and then shattered the invisible barrier.

  Fear had her slowing, but the cat urged her on. It roared and clawed, assuring her it would keep her safe. It would help her. It wouldn’t allow her to be hurt by something as small as a jump from a second story window.

  Then it seemed tired of arguing—not that Zoe got a thought in edgewise—and forced the action on her.

  It wrenched control, snatched her human mind from the driver’s seat and slammed her ass into place. Instinct drove her then. Protect. Defend. Destroy.

  Protect.

  Defend.

  Destroy.

  Devour.

  Okay, the devouring thing needed to not happen. She wasn’t eating anyone.

  The tiger told her to just wait and see.

  Maybe having a cat wasn’t the best idea ever.

  If tigers could cackle, hers would have. Evilly.

  What it could do was force her fluffy ass to jump out of a window. Her skin stretched and burned, a throbbing ache taking up residence in her muscles and bones. The pain grew with each step, each jarring thump of her bare feet on carpet. It increased with the beat of her heart and every inhale until she was a running ball of hurt.

  She sensed her feet getting cut by the scattered glass, but her cat didn’t slow. Nope, it simply hurried this first transition along, transforming the soles of her feet to feline pads. Then her hands became claws, the snap and crack of bone forcing agony along her nerves, but the tiger wouldn’t let her stop and cry over the roll of pain. They had a destination—a purpose. Whoever scared Claire didn’t give a damn if Zoe wanted to cry.

  The tiger pushed her on, forcing her to take that last, unavoidable leap, and then she was airborne. Her feet left the safety of the carpeted hallway and used the windowsill as a platform. She pushed off the edge and was weightless for one second, then two, and then gravity kicked in.

  All the while her inner cat had things under control. Which Zoe was glad for, because she sure as hell didn’t know what she was doing.

  Zoe’s shift was fast and furious. Where Ares’s looked like a soothing wave, Zoe’s felt like jagged stabs. Arm. Leg. Hand. Foot. Face…

  It took the same amount of time, but the random transitions had her twitching and whining as she fell to the grass. Despite the pain of her change, by the time she hit the ground, it was on four paws instead of two feet. She touched down, her new legs taking her much heavier weight with ease.

  Then she was off, new claws delving into the earth and kicking up dirt while she raced across the den’s lawn toward the forest. She picked up Ares’s trail with ease. The crisp scent of the forest coupled with his natural musk drawing her into his wake. Branches and bushes were demolished by his race into the trees, and deep furrows marked his steps.

  There were other impressions in the dirt. A much smaller set of paw prints. A set of boot prints here. Another set there.

  Boots. Not paws. Not feet.

  Boots and more than one set.

  With a scared, shifted tigress in the forest.

  Dear God, no.

  Another roar followed by a hiss came from her right and she changed direction, heading for the sounds. More rapid pops.

  If there were men with Claire, Zoe hoped she got there first. Otherwise Ares would kill them for even getting near his baby sister.

  Her tiger was intrigued by the idea and wondered what they’d taste like.

  I am not turning into a man-eater, bitch.

  It wondered how Zoe felt about becoming a woman-eater, then.

  Fucking cat.

  It wanted to point out they weren’t currently fucking, but it’d hold its tongue since they were busy.

  Zoe snarled at the feline, and it refocused on their path, on racing around trees and dodging bushes in an effort to get to Claire as quickly as possible. Another roar, deeper and filled with rage, drew her to the left. She veered in that direction, knowing the sound came from her mate. And where her mate was, his sister would be nearby.

  She pushed herself faster, to increase her speed and ignore everything in her way. She didn’t dodge. She went through.

  Zoe burst into a clearing, digging her claws into the earth in an attempt to halt her progress while she took in the mess before her. The banging pops she’d heard were from guns. The footsteps in the dirt did belong to men, four of them to be precise. Three carried guns while the fourth held a knife, the blade glinting in the moon’s light. That male crouched in front of Ares in an obvious challenge while the other three held their weapons pointed at her mate.

  Ares, still on four feet, stood at the base of tree. His sister cowered within its branches.

  Four against one. She scanned the clearing. No, it’d been five against one. A dead man lay nearby, sightless eyes facing the moon.

  She’d have to ask if he’d come back as a tiger, or if he was really dead-dead.

  Ares snarled, and she snapped her attention back to him. That’s when she noticed a few other things about her mate. Like the slice to his shoulder, and the bleeding wound on his flank. The way he favored his front paw.

  He’d raced to Claire’s rescue, not thinking about himself, and gotten hurt.

  Zoe’s tigress reacted to that—strongly. The anger formed a small ball within her stomach, turning and twisting, gathering her rage and feeding the flames of her fury. It slowly consumed her, twining and circling her. And it wasn’t just her anger that rose. It was lust as well—bloodlust. She wanted their life-giving fluid to run freely across her tongue, proof the males suffered for what they’d done.

  None of the strangers spotted her, their attention still focused on her mate, which gave her the element of surprise at her disposal. Yes, they formed a loose half-circle around Ares, but it was jagged and uneven, one male standing close while the others were staggered. Which meant the male in the center was outside the vision of the other three.

  Easy pickings.

  Zoe crouched low, her cat pushing forward her hunting instincts as her muscles bunched and body tensed. Adrenaline flooded her veins, and saliva pooled in her mouth. Hunt. Feed.

  She edged closer, her gaze missing nothing as she split her attention between her mate’s fight and the vulnerable male. She would snatch him around the throat, drag him backward, and snap his neck.

  Then she would bathe in his blood before giving the others the same treatment.

  She couldn’t wait.

  She took another slow step, calm settling over her despite the riotous craving for blood that filled her veins. A third step took her closer still. Then a fourth…

  A sharp movement in front of her target snared her attention for a moment, and she caught her mate’s glare, his fury palpable in the blood-ridden air.

  What happened next surprised the ever-living hell out of her. She’d never truly believed Ronnie’s stories about mates and yet Are’s voice boomed wit
hin her mind, the psychic link from their mating snapping into place.

  No one can die.

  Nice sentiment.

  She ignored him.

  The fifth step put her where she needed to be. Her muscles bunched, legs tensed, and she struck. She rose to her hind legs, increasing her height. Instead of falling forward onto him, she dug her claws into his shoulders and yanked him backward. In one smooth move, she had him beneath her, a terrified male staring at her with wide eyes.

  His mouth dropped open, his chest expanding as he took a breath, and Zoe silenced him the only way she knew how. Her cat took over, jaw opening wide, and she lowered her head over the stranger. Her massive fangs found the vulnerable flesh of his throat, and she bit down, enveloping him in death by tiger bite. She pressed until her fangs met bone and then she pushed farther, not stopping until the telltale snap of bone reached her sensitive ears.

  Pride filled the cat.

  Disgust filled the human.

  Then another pop from a gun split the air, the sound followed by an agonizing roar. It was one filled with pain and fear, and her attention was once again drawn back to the siblings. To Ares, rushing the male who’d gotten his hands on… Oh dear God, one of the men got Claire’s tail.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ares threw his own order out the window. He’d told Zoe no one could die. It still applied somewhat. No one would die. It wasn’t only one human who wouldn’t leave the clearing. None of them would go free.

  They dared—dared—to enter his forest, accost his sister, mate his sister against her will…

  He’d watched his mate dispose of one of their attackers, leaving him to face three. He let his cat free, let it do what it did best—hunt and kill. He didn’t care who died, he didn’t care what happened to their bodies.

  They would pay for polluting his home.

  Ares’s human mind was furious Zoe disobeyed him, that she’d chased after him and risked herself by attacking one of the humans.

  His inner tiger told him to shut the fuck up. It was overjoyed at her actions, proud of her strength and speed. The animal knew she could handle another male, which left him with the final two.