Honaw moved to the window. “Come, human. You might get to see your mate one final time.”
* * * *
Dusk stained the glistening foliage with shadow and murk. As nightfall descended, the sounds of the jungle began to ebb, and new sounds emerged. Footfalls and the rumbling growls of predators walking their hunting grounds filled the air.
Delsin heard a strange noise. “Etu?” He peered between the thick, vine-choked trunks and the reaching leaves for signs of his brother. As soon as he heard a splash, he vaulted onto the nearest tree. Slimy bark provided a challenge for the treads on his boots, but he managed to make it to a creaky lower branch. He didn’t want to shift to his lion until he reached the compound. Shifting took a great deal of energy and he wanted to save his strength for the coming battle. Slowly he scanned the mist that clung to the surface of the water, watching as a slight trench disturbed the almost solid mass. Something was moving in the water, gently displacing the white curtain above it.
Sweat dripped down Delsin’s back and along the sides of his body. He preferred a cat-to-cat fight instead of these games. Tired of waiting, he dropped to the ground, the mud sucking against his boots. His heartbeat fluttered at every sound and splash. Then, he heard a hissing animal cry followed by growls. The sound of paws hitting the ground had him calling the magical light. A feeling of peace washed over him as his bones reformed, his mane growing long, his claws extending. He was ready when the first of Honaw’s lions burst through the brush.
* * * *
Honaw threw back his head and laughed. “Your pride is losing, human. Soon all of Linnaeus will be mine.” He beckoned Mer closer. “Don’t you want to watch? They’re reaching the clearing now.”
Honaw turned his attention back to the scene outside the window, and Mer cautiously moved closer to the table where the knives glistened in the waning light. There were several sharp blades. If I could just get my hands on one of the knives, Señor Psycho might not notice.
“Come, human. I insist you watch.”
When Honaw didn’t turn around, Mer grabbed the blade on the end and held it down in the folds of his tattered pants. Taking a deep breath, he moved toward the window.
* * * *
Etu silently moved toward the Mkata’s palace. He’d already put down two of Honaw’s guards. I just wish I knew how the others are doing. He could mind speak to his brother, but he didn’t want to distract him at a crucial time. He took comfort in being able to feel his brother’s life force inside his mind. He’d know if Delsin had been killed.
He pressed lower to the ground and crept through the brush, stopping when two different scents filled his nostrils. Two of Honaw’s pride were near. As he broke through the clearing, he spotted a large gray lion, his heavy mane matted and tangled. Etu glanced toward the palace and spotted Honaw and Mer in a window. Thank the Goddess he’s still alive. He dropped his shields to send his thoughts to Delsin. Brother, I’ve found our mate. He’s in an upper palace room with Honaw.
Etu could feel his brother’s joy through their link. Is he unharmed, Etu?
I can see no injuries from where I am, and he’s standing unassisted behind Honaw. I must go. I have a battle to win. Etu turned his attention to his appointment, closing down his mental link.
The big lion snarled and moved closer. Etu crouched, letting out a tremendous roar, showing his impressive teeth. A growl behind him had him tensing. From the corner of his eye, he saw another lion. Obviously a youngster, the tawny lion prowled toward him from the left while big gray headed toward him from the right. He could hear his father’s voice in his head. Son, take down the lesser challenge fast and give all your strength to the real challenge.
Etu hated to end the life of what was essentially a cub, but he knew he had no choice. The tawny lion was impatient and clearly untrained. He pivoted on his haunches and then leapt. With a twist of his head, Etu struck, his teeth sinking deep into the unprotected neck. A burst of blood bathed his tongue, hot and coppery sweet. The cub’s agonized yelp was cut off, his windpipe crushed. The mortally wounded lion stumbled and went down.
Etu had turned his attention to the larger lion when he was violently thrown to the ground, the impact driving the breath from his body with a loud whoosh. Stunned, he wheezed in a much-needed gulp of air. Sharp teeth pierced the meat of his shoulder, penetrating so deep they scraped bone. He bucked backward, dislodging the overconfident lion. A rumbling growl issued from the depths of Etu’s chest, followed quickly by a vicious baring of teeth and a rough, threatening snarl. Big Gray roared and whirled, teeth snapping impotently on thin air as Etu spun out of his reach.
Etu’s jaws closed on his flank, his pelt of fur offering little protection against the sharp teeth that tore into his flesh. A savage battle erupted with raking claws and tearing teeth as they both went down in a tangle of flailing limbs and snapping jaws. It was over quickly. Etu had him penned beneath his powerful body, his jaws clamped around his neck. He viciously tore out his throat and ran toward the house.
* * * *
Honaw cursed venomously and pulled out a gun.
The shadows were dark enough outside that Mer could not see clearly what had happened.
“Not this time, Alpha. You’re not going to win. Those cubs will be mine.” He glanced at Mer. “Seems your mates are more powerful than I thought. One of them made it through the Mhatara, but he won’t make it to you.” Raising his arm, he took aim out the window.
Mer stiffened, feeling a sudden coldness hitting at the core of his heart. Slowly shaking his head, he raised his hand, his fingers gripped tightly around the handle of the knife. “No!” He plunged the knife deep into Honaw’s back just as the gun discharged.
* * * *
Delsin sighed in relief when he heard Mer was alive. I have to get to the palace and protect my mate. Out of the brush, a small, gray lion leapt toward him, roaring when Delsin batted him away with one paw. When the animal managed to grab Delsin’s mane, he whirled around, sending his head into the smaller lion, sending it flying a good ten feet away.
As Delsin turned away, he felt the animal land on his back. He could feel claws raking his skin, digging in deep, probably drawing blood. He rolled, dislodging his opponent, and pounced. He could feel the flesh tear from his adversary’s neck. Panting heavily, he took off at a brisk run for the palace. “Mate, I’m coming.”
* * * *
A loud roar broke from Honaw as the knife pierced his back. Mer wasted no time in pulling the blade out and plunging it in again. Honaw wheezed in a breath and turned slowly, a look of shock on his face, his eyes almost bulging from his head. Mer managed to pull the knife out one more time. The large man was having difficulty breathing. Mer knew he must have punctured one of his lungs. But shifters heal quickly, and he didn’t think he’d done enough damage to kill him.
Before Honaw could raise his arm holding the gun, Mer stabbed the knife into his chest and quickly moved back. The alpha stumbled toward him, blood dripping down his arm as he tried to pull the blade out. “Not you. Not a human. I can’t be taken down by a mere human.” He growled low and began to raise the gun. “If I can’t have my mate, you can’t have yours.” He took aim just as a large lion rushed by Mer. It tackled Honaw and ripped out his throat.
Whimpering, Mer felt his limbs going weak as he backed up against the wall, trying to make his body as small as possible. He was sure he was about to die. Then, a blue light filled the room. As he watched, the lion morphed into Delsin, bones popping and reshaping. Within moments he stood by the window, naked.
“Delsin!” Mer’s voice was barely a squeak as he ran across the room and threw himself into Delsin’s arms. Before he could say anything else, another lion came racing through the door. Mer tensed, struggling to get out of his mate’s arms.
Delsin ran his finger down Mer’s cheek. “Easy, mate. That’s Etu.”
The blue light appeared again, and Etu stood smiling, a trickle of blood flowing from a wound on his hip.
“Are you hurt, my mate?”
“I’m fine, but you guys look like you need a hospital.” Etu and Delsin laughed as the three of them joined in a group hug. “Did Señor Psycho find the cubs?”
Delsin snorted and kissed his cheek. “No, you saved them, mate. You saved our pride.”
“Can I see them?” asked Mer.
Etu rubbed his cheek against Mer’s hair. “They’re back on Khera with Zintssar and his family.” He stepped back and offered his hand. “Come on, mate. We’ll head back so we can all be together.”
Delsin nodded. “Let Knoton and Hakan know we’re taking the small shuttle back. Have them clean up here and join us as soon as they can. We’ll pack up and come back here together.”
“Okay! I’ll meet you at the shuttle shortly.” Etu placed a kiss on Mer’s head and walked away.
Mer studied Delsin. “You need a doctor.”
“No! I just need to shift a few times, and everything will be better.”
Mer narrowed his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot. “Well?”
Delsin chuckled, and the blue light appeared. Mer shaded his eyes from the glare and squeaked girlishly when a rough tongue scraped over his arm. He was magnificent in his lion form. Standing nearly five feet at the shoulder, and a good seven feet long, he was intimidating. The reddish-brown hair of his body clashed with the nearly blond, bushy hair of his mane. His long tail ended in a black, hairy tuft. Mer rubbed his head, his fingers threading through the heavy mane. The large cat purred, the vibrations traveling up Mer’s arm. The blue light suddenly appeared, and Mer found his hand on a naked man. All of his bruises were gone. He felt his cheeks warm as his cock hardened inside his pants.
Delsin grinned and pulled him closer. “No embarrassment, mate. Let’s get moving. The faster we get back, the faster the three of us can be together.”
Mer frowned and tried to pull away. Why do they keep calling me mate?
* * * *
Delsin put his arm around Mer’s shoulders and saw him flinch. He leaned away and studied his face. “What’s wrong, mate?”
His blush deepened. “Nothing, really. I’ll be fine.”
Delsin frowned, took Mer’s arm firmly, and turned him around. His breath caught and a deep rumbling growl escaped. His mate’s shirt was in ribbons, the skin underneath striped in ragged, weeping cuts.” He cursed colorfully and pulled Mer’s face so he could look into his eyes. “What did he do to you?”
Mer looked down at the floor. “Chained me up and used a whip on me.”
Growling, Delsin checked his wrists and then dropped to his knees. He pulled up Mer’s pants leg and cursed at the distinctive bruises and abrasions left by leg shackles. Taking a deep breath, he rose to his feet and put both large hands on each side of Mer’s face and stared into his eyes. “He did this to you because of us. Is this all he did?”
Mer glanced away. “That’s all, Delsin. He never laid a hand on me. I got the impression he wouldn’t dirty his hands on a human.”
Delsin closed his eyes briefly and then smiled. “Let’s get to the shuttle. Etu and I have just the thing to take away your pain.”
“You have medicine that will fix this? Cool! Will it hurt?”
Delsin laughed. “I can honestly say you’ll enjoy getting this medicine.” His little mate would be surprised when they licked him all over to heal his wounds. Their saliva had healing properties.
Mer bounced from foot to foot. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
Chapter 7
Mer accepted a glass of juice from Delsin and sank back onto the couch. He didn’t think there was one inch of his battered body that didn’t ache. Etu and Delsin had some kind of problem with the shuttle when they flew home, so they never got around to giving him their special medicine to help him heal.
“Were the cubs happy to see you?” Delsin rubbed his hand over Mer’s head.
“Yeah! They were all smiles and climbing all over me. It was a great feeling.”
“I’m glad they’ve taken to you so well. It’ll make our trip home easier.”
Mer worried his lip between his teeth. “Are we really going back to that planet to live?”
“Don’t worry, mate. You only saw a small portion of the planet. Our home is on the other side, in the mountains, and it’s beautiful. I know you’re going to be very happy there. And it’ll be completely safe because the other pride is gone.”
“All of them are dead?”
“No, but the ones left didn’t want to stay around without their alpha. We offered to let them join us, but they declined.”
“Where will they—”
“Alpha!” Knoton burst into the room, a wide grin on his face. He bowed low to Delsin. “Congratulations, my Alpha, on slaying the enemy pride leader.”
“Is everything okay now?”
“Everything is fantastic, Alpha. Zintssar sent help with the cleaning up, so we finished early. The biggest miracle is what we found in the basement of Honaw’s palace.”
Delsin glanced at Mer and then back at Knoton. “What did you find?”
“Mates! Some of the women from our pride.”
Delsin’s eyes widened, and he took a step forward. “Explain.”
“When we searched the cells in the basement we found Athaw, Hula, and Misko. When we questioned Honaw’s man Tokala, he said they’d taken the women to make sure the cubs would be cooperative. It was Honaw’s plan to have the women mate to his own men and raise all the cubs as Mkata. They’ve been prisoners there since the first attack. After I was wounded in the last battle, I didn’t take the time to count bodies. There was no one left alive so I just thought everyone had been killed. It never occurred to me they’d taken our women as prisoners.” Knoton bowed lower. “Forgive me, Alpha. It’s my fault they suffered this long.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, my friend. You acted correctly, especially since you were injured yourself. The important thing is we have them back. Are they unharmed?”
“Nothing but some bruises, and they were starving. I guess he didn’t feed them much.”
Mer watched a light begin to glow in Delsin’s eyes as he discussed the condition of the women with Knoton. If the mates were coming back, where did that leave him? They might be calling him mate, but from what Honaw had told him, they weren’t really mated.
“This is wonderful news!” Delsin clapped his hands together.
“Why is it wonderful?” Mer could have bitten his tongue out when he asked his question. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
“Because Hula is mother to Nodin, and Misko is mother to Jacy and Yuma. That only leaves Taima and Keme without a mother. I will only be personally responsible for my brother’s children.”
“What about Athaw? Isn’t she their mother?” asked Mer.
Delsin shook his head. “Preyta was their mother, and the female alpha of our pride.”
Mer walked over and put his arms around Delsin, giving him a hug. “That is good news. I’m glad everyone is okay.”
Delsin put his arm around Mer’s shoulders and turned him to face Knoton. “Our mate took down the alpha and incapacitated him before we arrived.” He spent several minutes relaying the story Mer had told him about stabbing Honaw.
Knoton’s eyes grew wide as he bowed slightly toward Mer. “That’s amazing, Mer. You have the heart and soul of a pride mate.”
Mer could feel his face heating and moved to stand behind Delsin. He looked up when Hakan walked through the door.
Delsin moved to clasp his pride mate by the arm. “Welcome home. Where are the females?”
“Etu is guiding them from the landing strip. He wanted me to come ahead and let you know they’d be here shortly in case you needed to make ready for their arrival.”
“You and Knoton get the cubs dressed and bring them out here. The mothers will be anxious to reunite with their children. Then, after everyone is fed and cleaned up, we’ll have a pride meeting and make plans for our retu
rn to Linnaeus.”
An hour later Mer bounced Keme on his shoulder, trying to get a belch from the baby who’d just finished a bottle of milk. Taima happily stomped around the room, banging two sticks together like a drum major in a Thanksgiving Day Macy’s parade. The cubs’ reunion with their mothers had been tearful and blessedly short. The women had wanted to take their children somewhere private to count toes, or whatever it was that women did to make sure their babies were in one piece.
Delsin had asked Mer to get Keme and Taima ready for dinner while he had a meeting with the men Zintssar sent to help out. The dinner was to be in honor of the Arridians, and Mer was taking special care to make the cubs look their best.
Keme expelled her excess gas with all the grace of a barnyard pig. Mer chuckled, and cuddled her close. “Okay, you guys ready?” Taima looked up, babbled for a moment, and then headed for the door. Chuckling, Mer took his hand and started down the hall. As he neared the open door of the nursery, he stopped. He could hear the women talking. He’d been introduced earlier when everyone first arrived. The females were polite but distant and distrustful, holding their babies well away from him. The one introduced as Athaw tried to take Keme and Taima, but they screamed bloody murder and reached for Mer. When she persisted, Delsin had growled and told her to back down. She’d looked alarmed and backed down, but shot Mer a murderous look. He knew he shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but he couldn’t seem to make himself move away. He listened to the women.
“The way I see it, Misko, you should mate with Knoton. He clearly shows a preference for you.” Athaw’s voice was loud and distinct.
“Whatever,” Misko said. “He’s a fine man. I certainly have no desire for anything alpha. Give me a nice nobody to spend the rest of my life with.”
Meredith's Pride [Galactic Nuptials 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) Page 8