Lost_Mate of the Cave Bear

by Harmony Raines

  He shook his head. And so she tried to relax, although her teeth chattered and she wondered if the tree shook with the force of her fear. If they were caught they would die, but once the Masu had passed, what happened then? Would this Dualis take her as his own? Would Haran have to fight him for her return, or did the fact that she was bitten by Haran make her his in the eyes of other Dualis?

  Chapter Eleven - Haran

  They had been lucky. If Putol had not approached him, they would probably be lost. As it was, all he could now do was stand here and wait. The panther had promised him he would rescue Jenna and he had to put faith in one of his own kind. Although for Haran, it felt strange putting faith in anyone. Before Jenna had come to him, he had depended on himself for everything, hating the idea of letting other people get close to him.

  In the distance, he could see the Masu. They had cleared the trees now; surely Putol had hidden Jenna from then, or else they would have found her. As far as he knew, she had not exited the trees. Still, he waited. The three Masu stopped, shouting to each other, and then they walked towards each other. Haran held his breath: Had they given up? Would they go back to the rest of their tribe and leave him and Jenna alone?

  They went back into the trees. The time it took them to come out and go back down the mountain was unbearable. Even when they were out of sight he had to stay where he was; Putol had given his word he would bring Haran’s mate to him. Haran had to let him live up to that word.

  The sun sank lower and darkness began to drift down over the mountain. Still he waited for his mate. All kinds of thoughts went through his head. Had the Masu killed her and left her body in the trees? Or perhaps Putol had carried her off to his den to claim her as his own. He began to pace up and down, the need to find her intensifying with each second she was gone from his side.

  Standing still, he scented the air: she was close, they were coming. In one movement, he changed into his other form and moved quickly through the brush land, needing to feel her in his arms. In the few short months since she had become his, he had not realised how much he needed her by his side. They were one, joined together through space and time. Their spirits would stay together even through the veil of death.

  “You look worried,” Putol said as Haran reached them and pulled Jenna into his arms.

  “Only that the Masu had found you after all.” He kissed her face and she clung to him, big, heaving sobs escaping her body. Cradling her head, he rocked her as his mother had rocked him when he was a child. Thoughts he had long buried were coming through his subconscious now he had faced the Masu again.

  “We are safe. But we didn’t want to move until we were sure they were gone. Then Putol followed their tracks to check they hadn’t turned back to trick us.”

  “You can never be sure what the Masu will do next,” Putol said. “Although it is a long time since they have been on this mountain.”

  “That might be my fault,” Jenna said. “When they captured me I wanted to lead them away from Haran. I didn’t know you lived here.”

  “I moved to this cave from the south. There are more and more Masu coming north to live in these lands as the ice retreats from the north.”

  “How many?” Haran asked.

  “It used to be one or two tribes but now there are many. As the cold recedes, they spread further. If you want to live in peace, you should move north too. Outrun them for a lifetime. They do not like the cold.”

  “Is that what we should do, Haran?” Jenna asked, her body shivering in his arms.

  “It might be. How many Dualis do you know, Putol?”

  “There are less of us now. But there is a gathering further up the mountain. A few have joined together to protect themselves against the Masu.”

  “Then maybe we should all leave together.” He held Jenna tighter in his arms. “But for now, we need to rest. And eat. I will hunt after I have found you shelter, Jenna.”

  “No need,” Putol said. “I made a kill yesterday. The meat is still fresh and there are several caverns where I have made a den. You can sleep there tonight.”

  “Thank you,” Haran said.

  “Yes, Putol. Thank you for risking your life for us.”

  “We are Dualis,” was all he said as he led them to his cave.

  Chapter Twelve - Jenna

  Putol had shown them to a separate cave and given them some soft furs to sleep on. Now they were lying in each other’s arms, full of the meat Putol had generously shared with them.

  “It was good of him to help us,” Haran said.

  “We are Dualis, that’s what he said. Do you think you would be better in a greater number? I don’t know if you usually live in tribes.” Jenna stroked his chest lazily, occasionally letting her fingers stop over his heart. It comforted her to feel it beating, steady and rhythmic, never out of time.

  “I haven’t lived with any other Dualis since my parents were murdered.” His voice held an abyss of hurt and pain.

  “They were killed by the Masu?” she asked quietly.

  “Torn limb from limb and then burned to nothing. The Masu believe it will stop the spirit returning.”

  “How old were you?”

  “How do you count your ages?”

  This was the time to share secrets; she knew that. If she expected him to tell her of his past, she had to be honest about hers. “We count in years. The world turns and the season each pass, winter, spring, summer, and fall. That is one year.”

  “Then I would have been six years.”

  “Six,” she whispered. “How did you survive?”

  “My bear. It hunted and we survived.”

  “You were so young. So alone.”

  “Not alone now. I vowed I would never take my mate, never breed another of my kind. But then you fell from the sky.”

  “What I love about you, Haran, is that you don’t ask why I fell from the sky. You just accept it.”

  “I believe the spirits sent you.”

  “Is that your belief? The spirits. What is that?”

  “For a long time I had stopped believing, but now I have found you, I think it is time to believe again.” He paused and then began, “Everything is made from the life force. And when we die that life force goes to a place where it awaits the arrival of those it loved in life. Their spirits watch over and guide those they left behind.”

  “So you believe that your parents sent me to you?”

  “In a way, yes. Their spirits watch over me. And they brought you to me because you are my mate.”

  “Your mate. Do all Dualis have a mate?”

  “Yes, if they’re lucky enough to find them. Although I never knew they could fall from the stars and land in front of you. I suppose that was because I wasn’t looking for my mate. The spirits sent you to me instead.”

  “Do you ever wonder where I came from?”

  “All that matters is that you are here now and you will never leave.”

  She rolled over and looked down on him, her fingers tickling the stubble on his chin. Kissing his mouth, she murmured, “I swear I will never leave.”

  “Then where we come from and what are pasts are does not matter. The past is the past, we cannot change it.”

  “You are very wise, Haran.”

  “And very needy for you,” he said and he pulled her on top of him to straddle his thighs. “Or are you too tired?”

  “No, I want to feel you inside me, Haran.” She stroked his face with her hands, feeling the slightly raised bone over his eyebrows, which sometimes made him look as though he was frowning even if he was happy. Then she touched his lips with her fingers, feeling them soft under her skin. Leaning forward, she kissed him tenderly. She had found that these people, who called themselves Dualis, these Neanderthals, were good people. They might look a little different and have an almost supernatural gift, but that did not make them evil.

  Lifting her body, she took hold of his cock in her hand and guided him inside her. Then she lowered herself down, he
r thighs resting on his. Haran stroked her skin, sending sensations rushing through her body, spreading fire in their wake.

  Slowly she began to move, her arousal building as she rode him. His hands covered her breasts, pushing them together, then he slid his thumbs over her nipples, making her hips buck. Her rhythm quickened and she circled her hips, his cock stretching her inner walls. She leaned forward, kissing his lips, moving backwards and forwards as her orgasm built.

  Haran put his hand around her and drew her closer down to him, his hand cupping her right breast, guiding it towards his mouth. He licked it with the flat of his tongue, making the nipple into a stiff peak. Just as her orgasm covered her, he sucked it into his mouth, the sensations flooding her body and sending her over the edge.

  She cried out, her voice echoing around the empty cave. Haran sucked harder and then released her nipple; he lay back and thrust his hips up into the air, his seed filling her as he came. For these few moments they were alone in the world, no one hunting them, nothing to invade their pleasure. Cocooned in the darkness, they enjoyed the touch of skin against skin. Lips meeting and tongues entwining until their passion was sated.

  Jenna slipped off him and lay down by his side. There he wrapped her in his strong arms, protecting her from things unseen. In minutes, she was asleep, although Haran kept his eyes and ears open for danger. His world had changed when she had come to him. It would never be the same, not unless they could find somewhere safe to live away from the Masu.

  ***

  “Thank you, Putol.” They were getting ready to leave.

  “I will travel to the encampment where the others are. I hope we meet again there and can persuade them to move north. If we band together, then we should be safer,” Putol said.

  “Agreed,” Haran said. “We must go back to our home; there are things we will need to take with us. I still do not know if it would be better to wait for the spring. The winters here can be harsh—travelling further north might be impossible until after the winter snow.”

  “Perhaps, but if the tribe of Masu continue their hunt for Dualis there will be no waiting.”

  “Unless we kill them first,” Haran said quietly, but did not meet Jenna’s eyes.

  “Let’s give it some time. They may move on. Renu said they move back to the south for the winter. If we winter here and start in the spring, then we may not see them again.”

  “Masu do not always give up on their prey,” Putol said. Haran murmured in agreement and the matter was dropped. He stood and watched as Haran and Jenna skirted along the edge of the forest. Putol had given them directions. They would stay far away from the trees where they had last seen the tribe. But still they kept constant watch, Haran listening for anything that might be out of place. Occasionally changing into the cave bear to scout ahead or use his bear senses to check for danger.

  There was nothing. It was as if the tribe had vanished from the earth.

  “Maybe they have gone back to their usual places. They may have been frightened off.”

  “You can hope that. But from what I know of Masu, they are still looking for a Dualis to kill. Jarratt will find his people looking at him differently for not catching me.”

  “Do you think Putol will be safe?”

  “He is a panther, black and sleek. If he travels at night and sleeps in the day they will never find him.”

  “Whereas a big, lumbering bear is harder to hide?”

  “Big and lumbering. You say that as if it is a bad thing?”

  “Never. You make me feel safe, Haran. And your soft, thick fur makes you so cuddly.”

  “I am not a child’s toy.”

  “No. You are my toy.” She smiled and then ran off laughing when he pretended to be a big fierce bear. It was so nice to feel free again. Jenna hoped and prayed to Haran’s spirits, and perhaps to her own, that the worst was behind them. And when they got safely back to the cave where she had fallen in love with Haran, she believed that was true.

  Chapter Thirteen - Haran

  Home. The cave where he had lived ever since his parents had been killed and he had been forced to live alone. It had been his sanctuary for so long, but now as he prepared some food for them, while Jenna sat and mended her clothing, it no longer felt safe. The Masu had been so close to here when they had found Jenna. No matter how much he loved the lakes and forests around him, there were other places where they would be safer.

  He watched Jenna work. It would be better for their child too, if there were other young ones to play with. It was the best way for a cub to hone his skills. In his mind, he had already decided that they should move to be with the others like him. Then they should journey north to try to find a safer place away from the Masu.

  “Food,” he said, placing the bowl down in front of her.

  “Thank you, Haran,” she said.

  He saw the difference in her too. Before she would have insisted they sit outside and eat in the sunshine, but not now. She looked fearful. He would hate their child to grow up with the same look. It was the look he had worn on his face all through his lonely childhood.

  “What are we going to take with us?” he asked.

  “So we are definitely going?”

  “Yes. But I think we have to decide if we move now, or wait until the child is born.”

  “Of course, if we wait until after the winter we will be travelling with a crying baby.”

  “So would you feel able to walk a long distance when your belly swells?”

  “If we moved slowly. It’s a pity you don’t have a horse and wagon for me to ride in.”

  “What is horse and wagon?” he asked, intrigued.

  “A horse is an animal which, where I am from, they train to ride and to pull wagons. A wagon is something you can put things in or ride in.”

  “Put things in. Like a bowl.”

  “Yes. A bowl on wheels.”

  “Wheels.”

  “Yes,” she sighed. “There is so much I could tell you, Haran. But so much I should not tell you.”

  “Then let us not speak anymore.”

  He came to her and kissed her. “I liked it when everything was so simple.”

  She stroked his face. “So did I, Haran. Why don’t we forget about everything and pretend none of this ever happened. At least until the morning. It’s been a long few days and I want to think of nice things, not bad things.”

  He took her empty bowl from her, placing them down on the floor. She pulled his soft, tanned hide shirt off his shoulders, and kissed his chest, running her hands over the hard contours of his muscles. “As long as we are together, that is where our home will be.”

  “As long as we are together,” he agreed.

  His body covered hers, his hands fumbling to remove her clothes quickly, his need taking hold of him. Lifting her leg, he pushed into her, she gasped against his mouth as it claimed hers. One long stroke and he filled her completely, before pulling back out to thrust into her again. In this moment, he could forget everything but her.

  Chapter Fourteen - Jenna

  Haran placed his hand under her knee, pulling her leg higher. She wrapped it around him, encouraging him to push deeper inside her. At this angle, each stroke of his body rubbed against her clit, making it throb and pulse exquisitely. Her hand went to his ass, her nails digging into his hard flesh to urge him on. Each time they joined like this she felt closer to him, especially now she understood more about him and what she was to him.

  To be his mate was an honour she never thought a woman like her would have. In her world, she was nothing except a breeding cow to the Tworn Corporation, but here she was so much more. A mate to a cave bear.

  A cave bear that was impaling her on his cock with each long lunge he took to bring them both to climax. He kissed her mouth, his tongue sliding along her lower lip and then pushing between her teeth to gain access. She opened her mouth, her tongue meeting his and they shared a moment of pure togetherness. His rhythm slowed and they hung there in t
ime, two creatures that should never have met, entwined together, belonging together. When he pulled back from her, she stroked his hair, then his cheek, kissing him softly, feeling his stubble bristles on his chin against her lips.

  “I love you,” she said.

  “Love,” he said and looked at her, his eyes looking into hers, as though he could see her very soul. “Haran loves Jenna.”

  “Forever,” she said.

  “In this world and the next.” He moved his body, pushing inside her and then pulling back. Slowly at first and then building up to a rhythm that culminated in her digging her nails in his back and crying out his name. Haran placed his hand under the small of her back and held her tightly against him, burying himself inside her until he came. Even afterwards he stayed inside her, the two of them content to be still, wrapped together until the light faded from the sky.

  Then they ate, neither of them speaking, each deep in thought. It was decided they would leave, go and join the others. But they would miss this haven of theirs, and it was with sadness that they would leave here forever.

  ***

  A sound outside woke her. She opened her eyes to find Haran already alert, his eyes on the mouth of the cave. She could see the fear in his eyes. They had been found.

  He looked at her, pointing at her clothes. Wordlessly she pulled them on, Haran did the same, but his eyes only left the entrance for a moment. When they were both dressed he took her hand and led her to the cave entrance. They were both careful not to make a noise, they took nothing with them.

  The brushwood in front of the cave mouth gave them cover. They could see nothing, but they could hear faint whispers. She began to tremble. They were trapped in the cave. But Haran wasn’t going to wait here to be found. Pushing the brushwood very slowly, he made enough room for them to squeeze out. The night gave them cover as they made their way along the edge of the hill, moving away from the voices.

  When they had moved around and out of sight of the cave mouth, he stopped and pointed up. They were going to hide up in the hills that surrounded them. So with her hand in his they began the steady climb. It wasn’t easy in the dark, but Haran was determined to get up out of sight. The voices below became more distant, the hill giving them a vantage point to look down on their pursuers.