A Price for a Princess

by R. E. Butler

  We finished packing up the campsite and I climbed up on Perseus' back, stifling a yawn, as we left the forest and moved once more down the road.

  Several hours passed as we drew closer to the fallen city. My heart began to clench in a strange way and a feeling of needing to be in the city as soon as possible wove through me. We passed through the open gates, but were suddenly stopped by a handful of very large ape-like creatures. Their skin was dark brown, their thick brows hiding small black eyes, and their bodies were broad and muscular.

  "Your kind ain't welcome here, horse." The largest ape-man on the end said with a sneer.

  "This is a free city. You cannot stop us from passing through." Perseus growled.

  A crowd began to gather behind the ape-men, fur covered people, scale covered people, beings with wings of every color, and some humans.

  Rysk and Tyrant stood their ground between us and the ape-men. Rysk reached for his coin pouch, "How much to let us pass?"

  I slid off Perseus, feeling a stab of righteous indignation at the poor treatment of my husband and his friends. Perseus grabbed for me but I ducked him, pushing between Rysk and Tyrant. "Move or we'll move you." I put my hands on my hips.

  One of the ape-men laughed loudly, the sound like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. "What's a little thing like you going to do to stop us? I bet I could snap you in half with one hand."

  I glanced at Tyrant whose face was drawn into a grim line. "Bring in the wolves."

  Tyrant barked out several commands and the two dozen Dire Wolves descended around us, pushing the ape-men backwards, those in their wolf forms snapping and snarling with dripping fangs.

  As the distance widened between us and the ape-men, Perseus put his hand on my shoulder and I looked back to see he'd shifted into his human form along with Finn and Odin and donned trousers and boots.

  "You didn't have to shift. They look like something a dog threw up; they have no right to keep anyone out of the city."

  He kissed my cheek with a chuckle. "Is there any bride in the realm as fierce as you?"

  Rysk folded his arms, staring hard at the ape-men. "What say you now?"

  The ape-men looked at each other and then bolted, and the crowd roared their laughter and approval.

  "I would have paid them off, princess. It would have been safer and easier." Rysk said, turning around with a disapproving look.

  I shrugged. My heart pounded in exhilaration. Of course if I hadn't had the Dire Wolves handy it might have been a complete disaster, but it worked out just fine. "I'm hungry. Let's eat."

  A group of tiger-striped furred men and women came up to us, grinning from ear to ear. Their faces were entirely human, with only a dusting of fur along their cheeks. The fur traveled down their necks to their shoulders and down each arm, and on the bare chested men it was easy to see that the fur flowed down the sides of their bodies. They wore trousers and shoes, their tails swishing behind them. The women wore dresses similar to mine.

  "Welcome to Netic Springs. I am Jandor, pride king of the Tigerana." He extended his fur topped hand to mine and I took it, smiling as he kissed the top.

  "Thank you. I'm Daeton, this is my husband Perseus." Perseus took over the introductions, and then Jandor introduced his mate and others from his pride. They offered us a meal in their home, and we accepted.

  As we moved down a narrow alleyway just inside the town, we spilled out into a well kept garden with three connected homes. A fountain bubbled in the center of the garden where low shrubs contained bright colored fruit. Jandor took us into the center home, saying it belonged to him and his mate, Calis, who took my hand and led me straight to their bathroom.

  I used the facilities, glad to rinse off the dust of the road with a pitcher and bowl of water and clean towels. I joined the others in the large kitchen which bustled with activity. I sat on Perseus' lap as Jandor told us about the city.

  It was a melting pot of creatures of every sort, and normally they kept to themselves other than buying and selling goods in the markets, but since the ape-men, called Urtals, had come through and decided to stay, they figured themselves something of the law of the area and tried to collect tolls for those passing through.

  "I have never seen those fools run away so quickly. It was a delight." He chuckled.

  Perseus smiled, "Daeton doesn't have an ounce of fear in her. I'm very blessed."

  "You certainly are," Calis smiled, laying wooden bowls of food on the table.

  While we ate, Jandor told us of the other groups in the town. The ones with wings were were-birds or fairies, depending on their wing color. The more natural colors usually indicated a shifter like a hawk or eagle, the prettier colors usually meant fae. The furred kind were cat-men, their coats indicative of their groups. There were the Tigerana with stripes, the Lepardish that were solid black, and the Polarisa, that were snow white. Each group had their own area where they lived together, similar to theirs, with a leader for each group that kept everyone in line. Although each group had their own homeland in the realm, everyone in Netic Springs had come there for their own reasons.

  "What about the Leonemen?" I asked, taking a bite of a meat stuffed pastry.

  "There may be a few around town, but there aren't enough of them to make a pride. Why?"

  I wasn't sure if I wanted to say why or not, but the aching in my chest from the moment I'd seen the city in the distance had grown considerably since we'd arrived. I wondered if my mate was here, in town? I didn't get a chance to offer an explanation for my curiosity because Rysk and Tyrant came inside and joined us. They took over the conversation, telling Jandor about our quest.

  Jandor's second in command, a blonde and brown striped male named Jalar, twirled a fork between his fingers, "You'll need to watch out for Raiders between Netic Springs and Lorence."

  "What are Raiders?" I asked. I knew that Lorence was the name of the next town. It was a good 15 hour trek there and we wouldn't reach it before dark tomorrow evening.

  "Raiders, princess," Jandor said thoughtfully, "are the most depraved form of bounty hunters in our realm. And now that we know your story, that they're on the path to the palace makes sense."

  Perseus frowned. "How so?"

  Rysk's frown was even deeper. "Because Urijah would use any means necessary to find Daeton. Any along our route could have alerted him to our travels."

  "Can't we go some other way and not go to Lorence?" I asked. My heart thudded a little irregularly in my chest. I had known that there would be a price on my head by the wizard, but bounty hunters was something I hadn't thought of.

  Jandor shook his head. "Unfortunately not. Lorence itself would be safe haven, but the route there is treacherous. There are many slaver camps along the way."

  "Slavers we could handle, but Raiders are an entirely different thing." Perseus said. "They're brutal. If Daeton fell into their hands," he stopped speaking, his grip tightening on me.

  Jalar said, "Jandor, the pride could help escort them to Lorence. With so many to help, the Raiders wouldn't dare try anything."

  "But who will see you safely home?" I asked, reaching across the table and squeezing Jalar's fur topped hand.

  Jalar grinned broadly. "They don't mess with our kind. We're not considered worth the trouble of selling into slavery." His free hand flexed and sharp claws appeared.

  I laughed. "That is good to know."

  "We'll welcome the assistance to get to Lorence." Perseus said and Rysk and Tyrant agreed. The little tangle of fear in my belly eased. If they weren't worried, then I wasn't going to worry, either.

  After our meal, we walked out to the market to explore and replenish our supplies for the next day's trip.

  As we wandered from stall to stall, Perseus chatting easily with everyone, I began to feel antsy again, as if my bear were pacing in my mind. Since it was how I'd felt in the market in Cholas, I closed my eyes while Perseus chatted with a young man who was sharpening a knife.

  I turned my head slight
ly, opening my senses, and the antsy feeling eased. I opened my eyes and was staring down the long street where the market stalls edged both sides and felt for sure I was supposed to walk down that way. I took a step away from Perseus, dropping his hand, and moved to take another step when I felt the lightest brush of fingers against my wrist.

  I looked down to see that the bracelet Rion had given me was gone and a golden furred youth was darting away through the crowd.

  "Hey you little shit! Come back here!" I yelled and took off after him, darting between people and keeping my eye on his swishing blonde tail.

  He broke through the crowd and I surged after him, ignoring the people who were calling my name. I snagged the little cat-kid's tail and pulled and he yowled loudly.

  "Get your hands off my brother!" A large hand reached in front of me and pulled me away, sharp claws digging into my shoulder, pain and then numbness following in their wake.

  My vision went dim immediately and I slipped to the ground with a groan, and in the last moments of consciousness I felt warm, furred arms lift me up from the ground and cradle me close, and my bear growled in contentment.

  Chapter 8

  The fog lifted from the edges of my mind and I had the distinct feeling I was being licked. It felt good, but strange.

  "Shouldn't she be up by now?" Perseus hissed.

  "Ananda said she'd just cleaned the dart fish, so the poison was fresh. Hopefully she'll wake up soon. I think I caught most of it." A voice I didn't recognize said.

  "It's a good thing you were so close." Perseus said.

  I drifted away again, peace settling over me.

  When I woke the next time, it was to a purring vibration against my back. I opened my eyes and found Perseus laying in front of me, a relieved look on his face.

  With a quick kiss he said, "Thank the great horse you're awake!"

  My mouth was dry, but I managed, "What happened?"

  The purring stopped suddenly and I rolled to my back and found myself looking into the eyes of a very handsome golden furred cat-man. A Leonemen. My heart stopped beating for a moment and I reached blindly for his hands and looked at them. "Oh, it's you!" I laughed, tears springing to my eyes and I hugged him tightly as he chuckled in my ear, a purring sweet sound.

  "In the fur."

  I looked at Perseus who was smiling at me. "He saved you, sweetheart. If he hadn't been right there, you could have slipped into a permanent sleep."

  "Tell me your name," I pulled one of his fur topped hands to my cheek and he smiled.

  "Ekho. When I stopped having the mate-dreams, I was afraid it meant you'd died. Perseus said he thought you stopped having them because you'd found him already."

  "So tell me what happened!" I demanded and they both smiled.

  Ekho said, "Ananda was cleaning a poison dart fish when she saw you snag Bartholomew by the tail. She thought you were going to hurt him, she didn't realize he had stolen your bracelet. When she tried to pull you away from him, her claws broke through the skin and the poison on her fingertips got into your system. I sucked most of the poison out. There's a healing essence in our tongues, and that helped to ease the pain. You've been asleep for a day."

  I looked over at my right shoulder and found a bandage. It was then I realized I was naked. I blushed hard and wished there was a blanket handy.

  Sensing my sudden shyness, Ekho pulled a blanket around from the bottom of the bed and covered me up. "You were feverish for a good part of the healing sleep, sweet. I promise I didn't look. Too much."

  I laughed, my blush easing. He was my second mate, after all. I would have just liked to be conscious for the introduction.

  "Is Bartholomew okay?" I remembered pulling on his tail pretty hard.

  "Of course. He's very sorry. Unfortunately, before their father died and left them orphans, he taught him that stealing was a good way to support the family instead of working hard. I'm trying to teach him better manners, but its slow going."

  I told them both how antsy I'd been feeling since we'd arrived in the town, and how relieved I felt now to not only be awake and not in a coma from poison but to have found both of my mates.

  Ekho moved to Netic Springs six months ago, escaping a prearranged mating his mother wanted for him. He had already had the mate-dreams with me, so he knew that mating with another wasn't going to work for him, but his mother thought she knew best and would not take no for an answer. Instead of continuing to fight with her, he left and headed south, hoping to meet me along the way. He met up with a few Leonemen in town and decided to stick around and hope that I eventually crossed his path or he was drawn to go somewhere else to find me.

  Golden brown hair slightly darker than his fur color dusted his shoulders. His eyes were bright green like spring grass with narrow pupils like a cat. His nose was slightly flat and his lips were plump, and when he smiled my insides went melty. I wasn't sure how tall he was, but he was lean and muscular, and the golden lion-like fur dusted his cheek bones, ran down his neck and across his shoulders and arms, and down either side of his body. His muscular chest was completely bare of hair and the lower half of his body was covered with light colored trousers, obscuring my view. The fur was short and soft like velvet.

  He drew his knuckle across the back of my cheek. "You're so beautiful. How'd we get so lucky?"

  I really felt blessed myself to find both my mates in this realm and to have them with me on the journey to the palace. In a world that I didn't understand with the wizard after me, having people I trusted with me was even more important.

  Ekho said we were in the home he shared with a mated Leonemen couple, another male, and the two children. He suggested a trip to the bathroom and a good meal and a walk to see how I was feeling after being in bed for a day. I liked all of those ideas.

  Ekho went to see about dinner and Perseus followed me into the bathroom. When the door shut, he pulled me into his arms. "I thought I lost you. When you ran away from me, I couldn't see you and then you were on the ground, unconscious. Next time," he lifted my chin with his fingers and his face became very serious, "you plan to run into danger, you make sure you take me or Ekho with you."

  "I promise, Pers. I'm sorry. I, I didn't even think about what I was doing when I ran after the boy. I just wanted the bracelet back."

  "It wouldn't have been worth dying for." He said soberly.

  I nodded, shame pinking my cheeks. It had been a gut reaction. I would have to work on that.

  The shower in the shared bathroom of the home was similar to the one in Perseus' home, with a showerhead over a drain in the corner. He stripped out of his trousers and joined me in the shower - strictly for cleaning he promised - and just as the water went from pleasantly warm to frigid, we finished and hopped out. After drying off, Perseus pulled one of my new dresses from a satchel and I put it on, along with a pair of comfortable moccasins. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and secured it with a leather tie and we went to find the kitchen.

  The other Leonemen were talking quietly around a large round kitchen table. The female had white-blonde fur and her belly was round with child. The two males had the same golden colored fur as Ekho, as did the young girl and boy.

  The girl and boy both looked uneasily at me as Ekho brought them over. She couldn't have been more than twelve, he more than 5. With a nudge from Ekho, Ananda said with a soft voice, "I'm very sorry that I hurt you, Daeton. I thought you were trying to hurt my brother."

  "Thank you for apologizing." I smiled at her and turned my eyes to Bartholomew. He shuffled his feet and kicked at an imaginary spot on the floor.

  "I'm sorry for swiping your bracelet." He handed it up to me with a forlorn look in his eyes. I slipped it on my wrist and chucked him under the chin. "You'll listen to Ekho and try hard not to be tempted to steal anymore?"

  He nodded, his eyes wide.

  "Okay, I accept your apology."

  Ekho shooed the children over to the table and Perseus kissed my cheek and moved ov
er to the table to sit down. I noticed that Ekho was fidgeting, his hands clenching and unclenching. "Are you okay?" I asked.

  His brow furrowed and then he sighed, "I am, I just, I want to hold you so badly but you don't know me and I don't want to rush you."

  My stomach did a little flip at his sweetness. Where Perseus had made assumptions without worry, Ekho tread carefully. How different my two mates were! I stepped to him and slid my arms around him, realizing for the first time as my hands rested on his back, that the velvet fur covered his back as well. It was soft and silky to the touch and I ran my hands up and down his back slowly to feel the texture against my palms as he put his arms around me and pulled me close. He shivered suddenly and laughed, kissing my ear, "If you keep that up I'm going to embarrass myself."

  I was about to ask why, when I felt the hard ridge of his cock against my hip. I stifled a laugh and tipped my face up, "Sorry."

  "I don't believe that for a second." He laughed and pressed his mouth to mine. The kiss was sweet, tentative at first, and then I felt his tongue trace the seam of my lips and I opened them. He tasted sweet, like he'd just eaten fruit and we held each other in the kitchen until little Bartholomew said, "Gross, are they going to stop soon?"

  The kiss ended with both of us laughing and we turned to the table and sat down, me between my two mates. The others at the table were introduced as Harrah and his mate Fawn, and her brother Elam. I asked about Rysk and Tyrant and was told they were staying in the inn we'd had plans to stay in that first night, and that someone had been sent to let them know I was okay.

  The table was set with platters of cooked meat and my inner she-bear rumbled in approval.

  Ekho kissed my shoulder with a smile, "Would you like to go hunting?"

  "I haven't shifted yet."

  "But you're of-age, right?" He quirked a brow at me.