The Hunt (Shifter Origins)

by Harper A. Brooks

  She looked away, saying nothing for a long moment. Her silence made his stomach turn.

  He glanced at her mouth, slightly open, the two full mounds of delicate pink flesh reminding him of the opportunity he’d missed. Teasing him. What he wouldn’t do to have another chance to take her into his arms, taste those lips, and show her what a real kiss felt like.

  When Cara’s glowing eyes met his again, she drew in a lungful of air. Then, she released it in a feathery whisper. “No…I don’t love him.”

  Kael didn’t wait for another word. Taking her firmly by the arms, he pulled her into him and crushed his mouth against hers.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kael held Cara firmly as his mouth moved over hers with a possessive hunger. Finally, he had the second chance he’d wanted. He’d make sure Cara never forgot it. Not wasting another moment, Kael’s tongue pushed past her lips, exploring. Liquid fire pumped through his veins. Honey and spice. Sweet and fiery. She tasted just as he imagined she would.

  To his surprise, Cara leaned into his hold. Every plane, every delicious curve of her body pressed into him. He could hear the flutter of her heartbeat in her chest, feel her puckered nipples through the thin fabric of her dress, smell the mixture of sweat, earth, and cinnamon on her skin. Yet it still wasn’t enough for him. He craved more of her.

  She let out a breathy sigh, and Kael’s groin stiffened at the desperate sound of it. His head reeled. Cara wanted him, too.

  The urge to touch her pulsed through him. With his heartbeat thudding against his eardrums, his fingertips traveled up her body, gliding over one naked shoulder and across her collarbone to the mound of her breast. Her back arched into his touch, and her hips swayed, grinding her pelvis against the growing bulge in his pants.

  Desire filled him to the point of pain. As their tongues wrestled, the pad of his thumb found her taut nipple and circled it. She moaned.

  He leaned forward, hoping to urge her back against a tree. He could haul her dress up and take her right then and there behind the crooked panther hut. A growl vibrated in the pit of his throat at the thought. He grabbed a handful of fabric, ready to rip it off her, but suddenly, Cara’s hand was on his, drawing it away.

  Panting, Kael stepped back and gazed down into her gorgeous eyes. Pupils dilated, she stared back at him with sunset amber irises, darkened with arousal. Every nerve in Kael’s body sparked. His head flooded with images of them together—their limbs tangled, breathing ragged, and heartbeats mingled. He wanted to make her drown in her own pleasure, make her call his name until all her breath was spent, and then do it all again.

  He would do anything to make her his—completely his—so that she would never think of Rafé or another man ever again.

  Reluctantly, Kael let her go, and without his hold, Cara rocked back onto her heels. Still she said nothing, her chest rising and falling with each labored breath. Her round bottom lip slipped between her teeth, and Kael longed to scoop her up in his arms again and nibble on it, too.

  He didn’t understand how he’d become this far gone, how Cara had managed to get into his head, but now, he was sure he could never look at her the same way again.

  Cara’s hand was in his in the next second. Before he could question it, she was tugging him past the edge of the Bilha Forest and pulling him deeper into the woods. The back of Kael’s neck tingled. What was this about? Had she sensed danger—something he had missed? With his shirt in shreds and his head-wrap lying somewhere in the woods, his disguise was doing nothing for him. What if Cara had caught sight of the assassin lurking nearby?

  They hurried along. Kael strained to listen for any threatening sounds. Cara’s steps were too light to be noticed. Even the birds in the canopy ceased their chatter. There was only his boots crunching on dead leaves.

  Cara stopped, and Kael halted at her side, searching their surroundings. The panther village sat in the distance, peeking out between the wide and twisted trunks. Kael recognized the large nuna tree—his hiding place—only a few paces away. His head-wrap, quiver, and bow lay untouched on the ground by its exposed roots. No human or animal figures shifted through the shadows. Sniffing the air, he caught the scent of rain clinging to the air. A storm was coming.

  Just as the thought came to his mind, thunder rumbled above their heads. He glanced up, but the forest’s dense green roof covered his view of the sky. The shady pockets of the forest darkened.

  Voice low, Kael said, “We seem to be alone now. Did you see something? Hear something?” Was there no danger at all? If not, maybe Cara was bringing him into the Bilha Forest for secrecy, to finish what they’d started behind her family’s hut. His pulse quickened. He liked that idea more. A lot more.

  But her lingering silence worried him. Something wasn’t right. He remembered the dagger concealed in his boot and the short sword on his belt.

  Cara turned to him, muscles tense and spine stiff. Her eyes narrowed.

  Kael’s fingers danced along the sword’s handle, just in case. “Cara, what—”

  Her fist flying into his chest took the rest of his words out of his mouth.

  The blow ricocheted off solid muscle. His skin stung—no damage or real pain, but his shock made him step back. His wide eyes flashed from her to the tingling spot and back again, unsure it had really just happened.

  “What the—” He rubbed it with the heel of his hand. “What was that for?”

  “You should have never left the palace,” she blurted and came toward him, a blush staining her tan cheeks. She raised her tightly clenched hand, ready to strike again. “It isn’t safe for you. Especially here.”

  Something told Kael his safety wasn’t really the reason for this.

  “And…and how dare you spy on me. After everything you said to me, after everything you—” She swung again, but this time, Kael side-stepped and caught her wrist with ease.

  She grunted and tried to jerk her hand out of his grasp, but he held on.

  “Cara, what is this really about?” Kael asked.

  She fought against his hold, her other hand clasping over his. Sharp nails dug into his flesh, and a pinching pain raked up his arm. The moment his grip loosened, she slipped out.

  “Cara, what’s going on? Did I—? When we—?”

  Cara spun around and walked a few feet away from him. “Every time I convince myself that you care nothing for me, that you are cruel and merciless like Salus, you do something like this,” she began. She held up the bundled headdress before wrapping her arms around herself and squeezing them tight. “Calling a healer, tending to my wound, returning my mother’s scarf, the coins…Why, Kael? What do you want from me?”

  The desperation in her stare made his stomach coil into a knot. He had convinced himself all he had done was to right his parents’ wrong from seven years ago, but somehow it was more than that. He cared for Cara more than he would have ever expected.

  What did he want from her? He wanted nothing more than for her to be with him. After that kiss, he couldn’t deny it anymore. He despised the idea of her being with anyone else. She belonged with him. His mate.

  “Kael,” she called to him, as his thoughts raged on. “You can’t even give me an answer?”

  He had his answer, but he couldn’t find the right words to say. Associating at all with a panther was treason, according to his mother and father, but did that even matter anymore? Only a few days separated him from his ascension ceremony and the Hunt. This was what he’d always wanted, to be able to choose a mate for himself based on his feelings, his heart. But with almost fifty years of hatred built up against the panthers, could he really go against them all?

  The drone of thunder rolled over the forest’s canopy again. Kael let out all the breath he had been holding. He wanted to tell Cara how he felt about her, but the truth stayed locked behind his ribs. She had kissed him back, but what he’d be asking for entailed so much more.

  “Kael, tell me. I’m tired of this. Back and forth. Night and day. If ther
e is something you want to say to me, say it.”

  He was a coward. What she was asking for wasn’t a lot. Just an explanation. But if he admitted his feelings to her, then what? Animosity would not only come from his mother and the rest of Sajra’s citizens but from her fellow panthers as well.

  His heartbeat galloped at the memory of leading Cara up the riverbank, bound at the wrists and neck. A crowd had formed so quickly at the crest of the hill. People had thrown stones and yelled threats. Even if Kael told her how he felt, and she didn’t think he was insane and agreed to run in the Hunt with him, could he let her go through all that again—or worse—just to be with him?

  The soft tapping of rainfall came from overhead. Kael lifted his chin to the treetops. Leaves danced and glistened. A fat water drop splashed his brow. He let it slide down his face, savoring the coolness against his sticky, hot skin.

  “I’m sorry,” was all he could manage to say.

  Cara rubbed her temples, and her eyes closed as if her thoughts pained her. “This morning you told me you regretted saving me, and then you come here to watch me from the woods?”

  “I didn’t mean what I said before,” he confessed. “I don’t know why I said it.”

  “Then you kiss me like that…” She rubbed her lips together. “I don’t understand.”

  Kael didn’t understand it, either. All he knew was that he had feelings for Cara—panther or not. They were stronger than he could have ever predicted they’d be, and that confused him even more. “You once told me Rafé wasn’t your mate. And before, you said you don’t love him.”

  She rolled her tired gaze up to the canopy. “I’ve known Rafé forever. We grew up together. He watches over everyone in the village. He protects us.”

  “He looks at you as though you’re a rabbit, and he’s about to trap you in his claws. A meal.”

  She shook her head. “You damn him like you once damned me,” she said. “What makes you think you’re not wrong about him?”

  “This is different,” he bit back, his anger spiking. Why did she insist on defending Rafé if he meant nothing to her? “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I know what he wants. That kiss—”

  “That kiss you should have never seen,” she replied. “You don’t know Rafé like I do. He cares about me and my family. He knows they mean everything to me. He’s done so much for us already.”

  Kael couldn’t help but feel like she was trying to convince herself as well as him. “But you don’t love him.”

  She sighed. “I told you already. I don’t.”

  “Then why would you let him kiss you?”

  Cara paused for a moment. Hugging herself again, she turned away from him. Kael caught a glimpse of the healing wound on her upper arm. A clear film of some kind covered it, pinching the skin together. It was slightly pink around the edges but nothing compared to the last time he’d seen it.

  When Cara spoke again, her tone was soft, conflicted. “Rafé…asked me to run in the Hunt.”

  Those few words struck him harder than any blow, knocking the breath from his lungs. Kael knew Rafé wanted to claim her. Asking Cara to run in the Hunt was the way to make it permanent.

  His throat dried. He should have seen it sooner. Why did it feel like he was running out of time? “What did you say?”

  “I said nothing, Kael.” She frowned. “I haven’t given him an answer yet.”

  His heart thudded in fear. If she agreed, she would be lost to him forever. “What will you tell him?”

  “I don’t know. I need to do what is best for my family.”

  Her family. It was always about her family. Choosing a mate was her choice. It should be for her, her future. Not for her sister and grandmother.

  Exactly. Their situations were very similar, he realized. Choosing a regis, a mate, should be for him. His decision. Not for his royal family’s bloodline, or to please his mother and father.

  The rain beat against the treetops and muddy ground in a rigorous rhythm. They stayed, unmoved, staring at each other as the drops soaked them to the skin. White fog crept along the forest floor, and the heated air cooled around them. Cara brushed damp, ink-black hair from her face. Her yellow eyes shone through the silvery haze.

  Kael hesitated. The thin gray dress clung to her body, revealing everything underneath. His gaze roamed over her, taking in her round breasts, dark, puckered nipples, the dip of her waist, and the V of her womanhood all at once.

  Beautiful. Everything about her was beautiful.

  They remained silent for a while. The rain hammered against the earth, blurring their view of the trees just feet away. Shielding his eyes with his hand, Kael peered around for a dry place. The nuna wasn’t far away. It had thick branches and wide leaves, and his quiver, bow, and head-wrap seemed untouched by wetness. They could use it for shelter until the afternoon rain passed.

  “We should find cover and get dry.” He glanced back at Cara to find her expression changed. A broad smile lifted her lips, and mischief glinted in her eyes. It was as if the water had washed away all her concerns and she now stood in front of him, radiant and new.

  She shook her head, dark strands of hair flying about. “Why? It’s just water.” She lifted her hands above her head and twirled around. “It’s been days since it’s rained! It feels so good.”

  Kael watched as her breasts bounced and swayed with every movement. His body stiffened, and he cursed under his breath. Did she have any idea what she was doing to him?

  “Don’t tell me the tiger prince is afraid of a little water,” she chided.

  It wasn’t the water that was making him hesitate. It was what he would do if he got her in his grasp again.

  “Come on, Kael,” Cara called to him. She hurried over to the nuna tree and tucked her mother’s scarf with the coins under a lifted root, out of sight and protected from the rain. “Let’s go for a run.” Crossing her arms over her flat stomach, she grabbed handfuls of her paper-thin dress and then lifted it over her head. She dropped it near her feet.

  The way the water cascaded down her coppery skin made him dizzy. Kael’s heart pounded in his chest. He thought it might just leap right through his ribs. “In our animal forms?” he croaked out.

  “Yes, come on!”

  Kael paused. The last time he had allowed himself to be overcome by his tiger, he was just a boy. The moment he had shown signs of shifting, his father had put him into training to learn how to control it. Since then, he had done everything to tame the beast inside. He didn’t want to lose his human side, like Salus claimed he would. The tigers were supposed to be above others in the kingdom. And now Cara wanted him to release it? Just like that?

  His father had said a lot of things Kael was finding weren’t true. He’d seen Cara shift twice, and the animal inside didn’t consume her.

  Cara continued to call to him, her naked body glistening with rain droplets. “Come on!”

  Kael reached for the belt around his waist, excitement making his fingers fumble with the hook. Gulping down a deep breath, he shucked off his boots, pushed his pants down past his calves and stepped out of them. There went the last of his weapons and protection. When he stood up straight again, he caught Cara watching him with a tilted smile on her lips. Her hooded gaze lingered on his chest then jumped to his legs and crept up his thighs. When she reached his manhood, it jerked upright in response.

  “Are you ready?” she drawled.

  Thousands of racy things flashed across his mind at her words. A growl rumbled in his throat. “You have no idea.”

  Cara smirked and bent over as the power of the shift rippled through her. The rain and booming skies drowned out any other sounds. Her spine curved. Muscles trembled beneath the skin. Silky black hair cloaked her nakedness. Her nose flattened, and whiskers sprouted. And soon, Kael was staring at a large and dangerous feline, crouched low with its tail swiping the air and its eyes locked on him.

  He stepped closer. It had seemed so easy for her. Kael didn’t eve
n know where to start. He’d partly shifted in front of his mother this morning during their argument, and again when he’d seen Rafé and Cara together. Both times, the rage he’d felt was overpowering. Maybe that’s what he needed to feel to start the change. But this time, he wouldn’t force his inner tiger down. He would let it overcome him.

  Cara watched him, her mouth opening and her pink tongue curling in a yawn.

  Kael sighed. It wasn’t difficult to search his memory for moments when he felt fury. Quite the opposite. In an instant, a cloud of voices filled his head.

  His mother’s voice was the first to come forward.

  “A panther murdered Noble Vallius. A panther almost cost us the throne. And you want to help them try and take it away from us again? That’s treason! You’re naive, Kael. Still.”

  Kael gritted his teeth as his pulse sped up at the memory. Even though it had happened hours ago, it still made anger tumble inside him.

  “This is not how a rei should act. It isn’t what Salus would do.”

  His chest heaved, and his breathing came in short gasps. A pinching sensation rocked up and down his spine. He hated when Jaleh compared him to his father. Everything he did was wrong to her—to them. Salus, too.

  The thought of Salus brought back older memories and hurtful words that he’d never forget, even if they were seven years ago.

  “You’ll never be the rei Sajra needs.”

  His father doubted him before ever giving him a chance. There was no way for Salus to know what kind of ruler Kael would be. No way.

  “You’ll never be the rei Sajra needs.”

  He would prove him wrong. His mother, too. He’d be the best rei Sajra ever had. And he would rule the way he wanted, without their laws and restrictions.

  Kael’s knees buckled, and he fell. His palms hit the ground hard. The prickling crawling up his spine pushed throughout his body, and his limbs tingled. Bones popped and muscles tensed and eased. His jaw extended, and long, sharp fangs descended from the gums. Fingers and toes coiled. He looked down. Reddish orange fur with black stripes erupted over every inch of his skin. His vision sharpened, and through the sheets of rain, he could see Cara staring back at him.