A Price for a Princess

by R. E. Butler

  "I am, but I just turned 18 at the last full moon and I didn't shift that night and I haven't shifted yet. Since I've been in this realm, I feel my bear more than I ever have before."

  "Maybe you'll shift now that you've found both of us." Perseus said as he cut into a thick steak.

  Fawn said, "You can go all the way to a bear when you shift? That's amazing. It's like the bird-people, they have wings all the time, but they can go all the way to birds. It would be incredible to be a real lion sometimes."

  Harrah gave her an indulgent smile, plucking her hand from where it rested on her large belly and kissing it. "We are as we were made, kitta."

  She smirked at him and then turned the conversation to our trip to the palace. We were behind a day now, and since it was already almost evening, the plan was to leave in the morning and head on to Lorence. Harrah and Elam wanted to join us for the dangerous leg of the journey, promising extra eyes were a good idea and we agreed.

  After we ate, Rysk and Tyrant appeared and were sullen and moody, saying only that they were anxious to get me to safety within the palace walls. Ekho, Perseus and I walked them to the inn which was near the end of the market area. The Dire Wolves were scattered around us as we walked, but between my two mates, I really didn't feel afraid at all.

  We said goodnight to Rysk and Tyrant, promising to be ready at sunrise to leave. Perseus stopped in front of the small home tucked down another narrow alley and said, "I'll be back in the morning, sweetheart, with the others."

  I blinked in surprise. "You're not staying here?"

  "No, I'm going to stay with Jandor so you can have time to get to know Ekho."

  I didn't know what to say to that, so I said nothing. He hugged me and kissed me lightly. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

  "Goodnight, Pers."

  I watched one of my two mates walk down the alley and back out into the market and turn towards Jandor's home. I felt a feather-light touch along my arm and I turned to Ekho. "Are you ready?" He asked.

  A simple question that suddenly didn't feel so simple anymore. But whether I was really ready or not, I nodded and followed my new mate into the home he shared with the other Leonemen, and to his room.

  Chapter 9

  When the door shut, Ekho growled and it made my skin tingle. "We don't have to do anything tonight, Daeton. If you need time to get to know me before we go further, I'm content to just lay beside you while we sleep."

  Warmed by his concern, I moved to his arms and he folded me into his chest and our mouths met in a hot kiss. I couldn't touch him enough. My hands roamed everywhere, touching the lean muscles of his upper body and arms as he undid the ties on my dress so it fell to the ground around my feet. I opened the buttons on his trousers and pushed them down his legs. His tail swished free and he smiled down at me as he held one hand on my shoulder and stepped free of his shoes and pants. "It's not tactile, like a finger. I can't use it to grab things. It's just, for balance I guess? And to look cool, of course."

  I grinned. He was turning out to have quite a sense of humor. "I like it. And I like you."

  "Good. I like you, too, sweet Daeton."

  We moved to the bed and I sat down on the edge and he pushed me down gently as he remained standing on the floor, trailing his thick fingers down my neck until he reached my breasts. My nipples hardened immediately and he kissed me while his fingers explored my breasts and the smooth expanse of my belly. I slid my fingers through his hair, finding it thick and soft. It sifted through my fingers and I moaned into his mouth as his hand moved between my thighs and cupped my sex.

  "Your skin is smooth like silk," he purred, nipping across my jaw and licking around the shell of my ear. I shuddered as goose bumps erupted on my skin and my nails dug into his shoulders as he worked a finger inside me.

  "Hmm," he nipped down my neck, "Not ready yet."

  His finger moved out of me as he kissed down my chest, nuzzling the firm mounds and capturing a nipple between his lips. He sucked gently and tugged at the same time as his finger and thumb applied gentle pressure to the other. He kissed the valley between my breasts and pressed kisses down my stomach, dipping his tongue inside my navel. Nuzzling my belly, he inhaled and let out a slow breath that ended on a purring growl. "You smell so incredible, sweet and sultry."

  My stomach tightened and he bit lightly at the flesh before sinking to his knees and spreading my legs apart. "Beautiful," he murmured as he stared at the apex of my thighs, massaging his fingers against the fleshy lips. His thumbs parted me slowly and I hissed in a breath as air cooled my heated flesh. His hair tickled the inside of my thigh as he licked up the outer lips of my pussy, tracing circles ever closer to my hot core. As he dipped his tongue inside me, a finger flicked across my clit and I arched off the bed, trying to trap his head with my thighs. He chuckled lightly, growling in pleasure at my response, and began to spear my pussy with his tongue as his finger moved back and forth across my tender clit. Each pass over the tight bud made my stomach clench as his tongue worked in and out of me. I gripped the blanket under me and moaned, heat spiraling through me as I danced at the edge of climax. He pulled his tongue away from my core and licked up towards my clit, running a slow circle around it. I lifted my head when he paused for several seconds and he grinned and then sucked my clit into his mouth suddenly and I cried out as I came. My body spasmed, my stomach clenched hard, and I bit my lip trying not to scream as the pleasure washed over me. I wriggled under his mouth as he sucked and sucked on me, drawing the pleasure out. Just as it began to ebb, his fingers slid inside me and turned upwards and my legs began to shake and my head thrashed back and forth on the bed.

  He found a place inside me that made my vision go dark and I opened my mouth to cry out but a growl of happiness erupted from my throat instead, and he deviled that place and sucked my sensitive clit hard, rubbing the bud against the back of his teeth and lashing it with his tongue. With a keening cry, I fell apart as stars winked in my vision and I screamed until my voice cracked and he eased off me with a stuttering growl and pushed me up the bed.

  Panting, he rolled me to my stomach and pressed himself against my back. Winding his arm under me and careful of my bandaged shoulder, he tilted my chin back and licked across my jaw. "I want to take you, honey kitten, the way my people take their mates." His voice was gravelly and tight.

  Need twisted in me, hot and wild, and my bear growled in answer in my mind. "Yes, Ekho," I moaned as he bit my ear and pressed open mouthed kisses down my neck. His rigid cock pressed hard against my back and my fingers dug into the blanket.

  "I, I, can't," he panted, his free hand digging holes into the blanket with his claws, "I need to mark you while I'm deep inside you."

  Another twist of desire shot through me and I wriggled under him, "You can, Ekho, please."

  "You're injured, still weak." His lips brushed along my shoulder, his tongue marking a wet path that sizzled like fire on my already flushed skin.

  My mind was shouting at me that if he felt like he was about to lose control then I should listen to him, but my body, new to sex and passion, wanted everything he could give me. And he was my mate. If I didn't trust him with my body, then I couldn't trust him with my heart.

  I bucked under him with a moan, "Take me, Ekho, I'm yours. Please, please."

  His breath heaved in and out as he slowly moved, drawing my hips upwards as he sat behind me. He spread my legs apart, sliding his warm palms across my flesh, tickling the place between my thigh and my butt with the furry back of his hands.

  His cock rubbed against my folds and he began to push inside me. He sank into me slowly, his hands wrapped around my hips, and the position allowed him to go so deep. I let out a small groan when he reached the end of me, certain he'd poked a hole in my lung.

  "You okay, sweet?" His hands flexed on my hips.

  "Mmm," I shivered, and he ran his palms up my sides and under to my breasts, still sensitive from his earlier teasing.

  His hands ret
urned to my hips and he pulled out of me, the slick length of him leaving me feeling empty as it stopped just at my entrance before sliding equally slowly back inside. "Hades, you feel so good," he sighed, his slow in and out rhythm flooding my body with warmth.

  By slow degrees, his rhythm increased, until he was pounding into me, the slap of his body against mine accentuating his thrusts. Faster and faster he moved and as he drove into me, heat pooled in my belly as an orgasm began to bloom. Ekho had been purring, and slowly it turned into a low growl, rumbling in his chest. He pushed the breath from my lungs until I was panting, clutching at the fabric beneath me as my body heated further.

  I felt his claws flex out of his hands and my bear growled in approval as he pricked my flesh and sank them into my hips. Little spasms rocked me as he held me by his claws and growled louder. I panted out cries of pleasure as he held me tight and took me, wanting to claim the orgasm that coiled inside but having no idea how to do it.

  He curled over me and sank his fangs into the crux of my neck with a throaty growl and I came, my vision blurring as I writhed under him. My gums ached and I shouted out mindlessly while he dug his fangs further in and continued to thrust into me.

  "Ah," I cried, "I need to bite something!"

  He shoved his arm under my cheek and I bit down on his forearm, the taste of his metallic blood setting off aftershocks of orgasm that made tears leak from my closed eyes as he came, releasing my flesh and roaring to the rafters.

  He collapsed on top of me, his cock still buried deep inside my spasming body, breathing hard and shivering. I growled softly and licked across his arm, catching the blood seeping from the wounds. I reached a hand up and touched a finger to my teeth and gasped. I had fangs!

  Ekho pulled out of me and pushed me gently to my back. "Are you alright?"

  I lifted my lip and showed him. He ran a fingertip down both fangs and said, "Has that happened before?"

  I shook my head.

  He hummed in his throat, "You've claimed both your mates now. Maybe you're just that much closer to shifting. Or maybe my marking you brought out that side. Can you make them go away?"

  "I don't know how they came in the first place." I smirked.

  He returned the smirk, brushing my cheek with the back of his hand. "Feisty kitten. Mine elongate from their normal length, when I'm hunting or fighting, or horny." He quirked his brow and I smiled. "When I was young, I had trouble getting them back to normal if they came out in a fit of anger. My mother told me that I should think of them like tools, and that when I was done using them, I should put them away. Relax and close your eyes, and put away your tools."

  Although I felt silly, I did as he said, and after some concentration and the help of his relaxing purr vibrating over where he lay on me, I felt my fangs recede. I touched the now blunt teeth and smiled, "That's pretty cool."

  He nuzzled under my chin, pulling me closer to him as he wrapped his arms around me. "You are so incredible, Daeton. I've never marked anyone before, I just wanted you to know that." He lifted his head from my shoulder and met my eyes. "For us, we only mark our mate. And this," he lifted his arm to show me the marks on his forearm, "means the world to me. You're mine and I'm yours, forever."

  A peace settled through me as he kissed me before moving to the aching wound on my neck and licking it slowly. The healing essence of his tongue eased the pain some and I relaxed into his ministrations. I felt complete now. Wife to two vastly different men in a world I didn't understand, but this felt right. And tomorrow, when we began our journey towards the castle, the three of us would be together and all would be right with the world. Or at least that was the plan.

  He moved down my body slowly, stopping to lick the puncture wounds on my hips. There were four on each side, a curve of thick dots that were already scarring and healing.

  "I didn't go into tonight planning to mark you," he said, climbing up next to me and pulling me against his chest. I snuggled into his warmth, the sunshine scent of him like a drug I couldn't get enough of.

  "No?"

  "Perseus and I talked quite a bit while you were unconscious about our new life together, and I know that you haven't had anyone but him before. I didn't want to hurt you or make you afraid of me. My beast was snarling in my mind to take you completely. Thank you," he kissed the top of my head, "for trusting me."

  "I do trust you, Ekho," I yawned, tucking my leg between his to pull myself even closer.

  "Good."

  "Do you think you and Perseus can really share me?"

  "I do. I think having the mate-dreams helped both of us come to terms with sharing a bride. Is it a normal thing in your realm?"

  "Not really. My brothers Ash and Axe share a bride, but they're twins and that happens with twin males normally."

  "Well, it's not abnormal here. For some creatures, they are the last of their kind, so if there is a female, the males will often share her so that they all have a chance to breed children. Or if there are no more females, like some of the ancient bears such as your protectors, they will take a human to mate."

  "Take a human?"

  "Sometimes they will abduct from your realm, but even those that are abducted are treated as treasured brides and not mistreated in any way."

  I opened my mouth to protest that kidnapping wasn't the way to start a family, but I shut it instead. I really needed to learn more about this realm and stop being so judgmental.

  "Why human? Why not shifters or other supernatural creatures?"

  "Humans can mate with another supernatural species and have children that share both traits. With some types of supernatural creatures that won't happen. When you're the last of your kind, having a half-child is better than no children at all."

  I peeked up at him, "Would you have abducted me even though I'm a shifter?"

  "Oh yeah." He purred with a smile, "In a heartbeat."

  He sighed contentedly, his hand running smooth and soothing lines up and down my back. "Good night, honey kitten."

  "Good night, Ekho."

  Chapter 10

  The only sounds around us on the road from Netic Springs to Lorence were the ones we made ourselves. As we left the edge of the still-dark city, the forests on either side of the wide dirt road were entirely quiet. The movements of the cat-men and Dire Wolves around us, the gentle clip-clop of Perseus', Odin's and Finn's hooves, and the tapping of Ekho's walking stick. And also the grumbling, quiet argument between Rysk and Tyrant quite a ways behind us.

  The fifteen hour journey had begun just after dawn. I was positively exhausted after Ekho had turned out to be quite a horny mate, waking me three times to make love. I wasn't complaining, except now I was monstrously tired and more than a little sore.

  Leaning my cheek against Perseus' back, I yawned softly and opened my eyes, watching as Ekho looked over his shoulder at Rysk and Tyrant.

  Odin sighed to my right, "What the hell is their problem?"

  Ekho grinned at me when he saw me watching him. "They're pretty unhappy."

  "Maybe they were holding out hope that if you made it to the prince before you met Ekho that you would feel the mate-call to him as well." Perseus offered.

  "I don't think the prince is meant to be my mate. I only ever dreamed about you two. I would think he'd have been in the dreams if I was meant to have three husbands."

  "I'd think so, too." Perseus chuckled.

  Ekho said, "Aedan is rumored to be the last short-nosed bear in existence. They aren't able to shift until they find their truemate. Maybe they think that because you are so important to the wizard that you're special enough to be his truemate, too."

  I shifted on Perseus, drawing my arms tighter around him. "If that were true, why would I have also felt the mate-call to you two?"

  Perseus' hands rested on top of mine, his long fingers playing lightly over my skin. "I don't know," he said finally, "but you belong to us and Aedan won't take you away from us."

  "I wasn't planning to go anywhere."
I yawned again, exhaustion plucking at the edges of my mind.

  "We weren't planning to let you go anyway, honey kitten," Ekho chuckled, running his palm across my leg.

  I dozed, uncomfortably, on Perseus' back, as we moved along the road and the sun began to come up.

  I felt hands on me, pulling me gently from my perch on Perseus, and I groaned at the fresh aches in my body as Ekho tucked me into his furry chest. "Wake up, honey kitten," he purred softly, carrying me in his arms. "We're stopping to clean up and eat."

  I drug my eyes open, long enough to see we were in a hut with a thatched roof. He put me down on a bed but pulled me up to a sitting position and I groaned and stretched, squeaking at the crick in my neck. "I'm not so comfortable for long treks, am I?" Perseus said sheepishly, his hooves stamping just outside the open door front door.

  I smiled at him, "It's not you, it's me. I don't think I was made for treks."

  What I didn't say was that lots of sex plus riding a horse for hours on end wasn't the best of ideas. But I couldn't regret anything that had happened between us. With Ekho, I felt like a part of myself that had been missing was suddenly found and with the two of them, I was complete.

  Ekho tugged on the bottom hem of my dress, "I want to see the marks."

  I peered around him and found a small family of what looked like humans sitting at a table in the corner. "Really?"

  He looked behind him, his tail swishing, and shrugged. "Where can we bathe? I need to tend the princess' wounds."

  "Oh hell, Ekho, would you please not announce me to everyone?" I groused.

  He chuckled, "You are who you are, princess."

  I tweaked his side as I slipped from the bed to follow the human man outside. "I prefer to be honey kitten, thanks all the same."

  Perseus fell into step with us. "Do you know what a honey kitten is?"

  Ekho stifled a chuckle and I looked at him first and then Perseus. "No."

  "A woman whose pussy juice is sweet like honey, but just for her mate."