by R. E. Butler
He nodded and went back to sucking his thumb.
“I wish we could take you back to your home so you didn’t have to be away from your family,” Ekho said, squeezing her shoulder.
“We all have to make our own way, though. My parents are happy that I’m happy. I didn’t think I’d ever leave the den, but I can’t think of a better place to be than with my two amazing mates and my sweet son.”
“Aw, honey kitten,” Ekho said. “You’re making me blush.”
Perseus chuckled. “The king and queen have invited us to stay for a few more nights. They’re having a hunting party tomorrow night and I know how much you enjoy hunting. Queen Sophie offered to watch Adi with my moman.”
“Oh, a date!”
“A date? Is that a good thing?” Ekho asked, offering her his hand to help her stand.
“It’s a great thing. It means you’re going to let me have the biggest animal to hunt all to myself, and then carry it back to the settlement for me and do all the butchering.”
Perseus’s brow quirked. “Is that really what a date is?”
She gave him a look of indignation, but she knew he could see right through her. “A date involves a nice dinner out somewhere.”
“When we get home, we’ll go eat in Cholas,” Ekho said, leaning over and kissing her.
“I’d like that a lot,” she said.
Perseus rested his warm hand on her back and said, “Are you okay?”
“I am. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Let’s take Adi for a swim in the lake,” Perseus suggested.
“Now that’s a great idea,” she said.
Chapter 9
After taking Adi for a swim in the lake, they’d taken their small family to the orchards for lunch. Draya and Fontaine had packed a picnic lunch for them, and they’d eaten under the shade of the apple trees and talked about returning to Cholas in two days. Ekho knew his wife was a little distracted and distraught after seeing her family for such a short time. He’d left his home on his own terms and never really looked back. Although he was close with his father, his mother’s behavior had been the driving force behind his leaving. Daeton, on the other hand, had been taken away from her home and, because her mates were from another realm, was unable to return to her parents. They’d probably expected her to mate with a bear and live in their den forever.
He leaned against an apple tree and watched as Daeton picked apples and Adi placed them in a basket. She wanted to show Draya and Fontaine how to make an apple pie, something her mother used to make when she was young. Perseus leaned against a nearby tree.
“I think we should see if Draya and Fontaine would like to watch Adi for a little while tonight.”
Perseus lifted a brow. “Do you?”
“I was talking to some of the males at morning meal, and they were telling me that there’s a little cove on the lake that’s completely private. It’s surrounded by trees and has a thick carpet of grass.”
“Now that sounds like a great idea. Do you…want to be alone with her?”
“No. Don’t get me wrong, I do love it when it’s just me and her, but I think she needs both of us right now.”
“I agree. Tonight?”
Ekho nodded. “After the evening meal.”
* * * * *
After their evening meal, Ekho sent Draya and Fontaine off with Adi to play. Daeton looked at him quizzically as he lifted her hand and kissed the top. “We’re going somewhere a little more private.”
“Oh?”
She glanced at Perseus, who smiled slyly but said nothing.
“Is there anything I need to bring?” she asked.
“Just yourself, little bear,” Perseus said.
Ekho slung a small knapsack over his shoulder with some supplies. He wasn’t really sure how their time together would play out, but he wanted to be prepared for anything. She took both of their hands and said, “Lead the way, my sweet husbands.”
They set off toward the lake. They followed the edge of the lake to the small cove. Daeton watched with amusement as he and Perseus laid the blanket out on the grass. Ekho knelt in the center of the blanket and held out his hand. “The night is ours, honey kitten.”
She slipped off her sandals at the edge of the blanket and sank to her knees, eagerness lighting her beautiful brown eyes as she moved toward him. Perseus joined them, sandwiching her between them.
Ekho cupped her face. She was so beautiful. Coppery skin, onyx hair, a lush mouth just made for kissing, and curves for days. “How did we get so lucky to have such a gorgeous mate?”
Perseus undid the tie on her dress. “I’m not sure, but I’m thankful. We get to spend the rest of our lives with the most beautiful woman in all the realms.”
Daeton’s cheeks darkened in blush as she smiled. “I’m the lucky one. I was a stranger in the Medes Realm, but you made it home for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you both in my life.”
Ekho helped Perseus lift the dress over Daeton’s head. Her hair fell down in a dark wave as her body was bared for them. Ekho kissed her, pushing his tongue past her parted lips and savoring the sweet taste of her. She slid her hands under his tunic and dragged her nails through his fur, making his tail twitch. She always knew just how to touch him, and she seemed to revel in their differences.
As he and Perseus touched and pleased her, making love to her under the canopy of trees with the lake waters lapping at the shore, Ekho thought he’d never been happier than he was at that moment. The only thing better would be knowing she was carrying his cub, the sweet little girl she’d seen in her vision.
When they were all exhausted and pleasantly aching from their lovemaking, he carried their dozing sweetheart back to their assigned home while Perseus walked next to him.
“When we get back home,” Perseus said with a low voice, “I’d like to start working on an addition to the house.”
Their current home had two bedrooms, one of which belonged to Adi. “Why?”
“I feel like she’s going to be pregnant with your cub soon. Don’t ask me why I feel like that, but…” His voice trailed off and he grew silent.
“But what?” Ekho urged after a few quiet moments.
“I feel like this time next year, when we come back to see her family again, that she’s going to be pregnant. Don’t ask me how I know that, it’s just a feeling in my gut. It will take a few months to build the addition. Starting now – before we need it – seems prudent.”
Ekho’s whole body warmed at the thought of her being pregnant. “Did you have a vision or something?”
“No, it’s just a feeling.” He chuckled. “I think some of her prophetic nature is rubbing off on me.”
“I think it’s a great idea. Can you imagine having two children? A year ago, I wasn’t sure I’d ever find my mate and now we’re a family.”
“When we get home, we’ll be starting the next chapter of our lives. I’m eager to see what the future will bring,” Perseus said.
Ekho agreed. He hoped that Perseus was right and Daeton would be carrying his cub soon. But even if they had to wait a while, he knew the timing would be perfect. Daeton was as excited as he was for another child. As their family grew, each child would belong not only to him, but to Perseus, too, whether they had tails or hooves.
* * * * *
Perseus loved to watch Daeton shift. He didn’t shift into his full horse form very often, preferring his half-shift, but Daeton was a gorgeous silver-colored bear and she seemed to delight in being a bear. Adi loved to see his moman shift, too. Perseus held his hand as Daeton shifted. His son squeezed his hand tightly for a brief moment, and then released it, prancing over to where she sat on her haunches and watched them.
She lowered her head and he scratched her behind the ears, chattering at her in the baby talk that only Daeton seemed to understand. A gruff purr rumbled from her chest and Adi laughed loudly.
Queen Sophie came around the house with King Arsen, who was in his
half-shifted form. “I wish I was a shifter,” Sophie said. “Daeton is such a beautiful color. It must be so much fun to be able to be a bear.”
Arsen smiled down at his wife. “I wouldn’t have you be anything except what you are, my sweet mate.”
Her cheeks pinked becomingly as she blushed.
Perseus shouldered a bow and quiver of arrows and called Adi over. “You’ll be staying with Queen Sophie and your grandmoman for a little while. Be good.”
Adi’s brow furrowed and Perseus thought he might cry, which he knew would make Daeton upset. Before he could say something encouraging to his son, Adi seemed to shake off his worries and moved to Sophie and Elektra, taking their hands.
“He acts like a royal sometimes, and he’s so young!” Sophie said. “You must be so proud.”
Perseus was proud, and he could tell by the way Daeton chuffed that she was, too. Ekho said, “We’ll bring back a rabbit for you, Adi. I know how much you love your moman’s rabbit stew.”
He grinned and Perseus ruffled his head and said goodbye. Draya and Fontaine were staying with some of the herd wives for the night. Daeton wanted them to experience as much freedom as they could, and valued this opportunity for them to visit with a new group of women, to expose them to more females and see what life had to offer outside of the palace walls. They’d been free for a year, but they often acted as if they were still slaves, wanting to please Daeton and do everything for her. They were learning, though, and slowly coming out of their shells.
Daeton lifted her paw in a wave and lumbered between him and Ekho as they set off into the Centaur’s wooded territory.
The night passed quickly as they hunted. The trio moved away from the Centaurs to hunt on their own. The Centaurs, although excellent hunters, were too noisy for Daeton and Ekho’s stealthy hunting tactics. As they wove through the woods with Daeton leading the way, Perseus thought about how lucky they were. He and Ekho had been alone, unsure if they would ever meet the female from their shared mating dreams. Perseus hadn’t even known where to look for her, and then she’d shown up in the Cholas marketplace. When they’d found Ekho on the journey, Perseus had felt like their family was only just beginning. Having a son with the woman he loved, and knowing his son was loved by Ekho as if he were his own – Perseus thought he was the luckiest Centaur in either realm.
Ekho walked next to him, his ears and tail twitching occasionally as he listened and watched for prey, but they both knew that Daeton would get whatever the first creature was that crossed their paths.
“This has been an incredible journey,” Perseus said softly.
“Through the woods?”
He chuckled. “No, I mean finding Daeton. She was from this realm, but you and I are from the Medes Realm. Her life has been on the line so many times since we met that I shudder to think of how she could have died without both of us in her life. But it’s been an amazing journey – the innocent female who saved a Centaur child’s life in the Cholas marketplace has become a courageous, loving wife and mother.”
Ekho murmured his agreement. “I suspect that there are those who go their whole lives without growing as much as Daeton has in the last year. It’s been crazy at times, but I’m glad we’re all together. I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life. Whatever the next chapter of our lives is, I’m glad the three of us will be going through them together.”
“Let’s just hope that the next year has a lot less of her almost dying.”
Ekho laughed. “I’m with you one hundred percent.”
Chapter 10
Daeton found a river full of fish and hunted until her whole body was soaked and her bear was satisfied. Her mates had found a clutch of rabbits and Perseus had taken down a caribou with a carefully aimed arrow. She could hunt the bigger game, and she did often in the settlement, but she loved to fish. Maybe it was because that’s what real bears did. She liked the cold water splashing over her paws and patiently waiting for the fish to get right where she wanted them. She liked to bat them onto the shore and let her mates grab them, but only when she’d had a few to eat herself.
Daeton lumbered out of the river and shook herself out thoroughly. “Feel better, honey kitten?” Ekho asked playfully. He shouldered the rabbits, which were tied together by their feet and some twine, and the fish which had been threaded onto a long tether. Perseus fashioned a carrier for the caribou by laying it on a tarp and shifting into his half-horse form so he could pull the tarp behind him.
Daeton chuffed at Ekho and he rubbed her head, scratching with his claws, which made her want to roll onto her back and let him scratch her tummy. He chuckled lightly and said, “Let’s go back to the settlement and get some rest. We’re heading home tomorrow. I, for one, am looking forward to being back in our bed.”
He wiggled his brows suggestively and she chuffed a laugh. They led the way with Perseus hauling the caribou behind them. Daeton was looking forward to retrieving Adi from Sophie’s house and settling him in his nest, and then crawling between her husbands for a good night’s sleep. After morning meal, they’d head back through the portal to the Medes Realm. She would be glad to be home, too.
Her heart clenched and she stopped moving for a moment. Faintly, she heard crying. Unlike the trap that had been set for her in Cholas by the brother of the white-haired wizard, she knew that this was real. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a fist, and she knew she needed to find the source of the cry.
“What is it, honey kitten?” Ekho asked.
Daeton closed her eyes and lifted her snout, inhaling and sorting through the scents in the night air. She could smell small animals, foliage, and earth, and for a long moment she couldn’t sense anything or even hear the crying. She wondered if she’d imagined the sound.
Her bear urged her to go to the left, and as Daeton turned and moved in the direction, she heard the crying again. It was a small cry, plaintive and begging, and everything within Daeton roared at her to hurry.
“Daeton,” Perseus growled, “don’t go rushing into danger again.”
She snarled and Ekho said, “I don’t think it’s a trap. That cry sounds real to me.”
“So did the damn bird,” Perseus pointed out.
Daeton shook her head and made a worried sound.
“I’ll lead the way,” Ekho said.
Perseus followed from a distance because the caribou slowed him down. He couldn’t leave it or it might be stolen by another predator looking for an easy meal.
As they moved through the woods and the crying grew louder, Daeton knew that whoever they were tracking was someone she was supposed to find. They crested a small hill and Daeton saw four wolves circling a fallen log. She could hear the crying more clearly and knew that a child was inside the log.
She roared and hurried down the hill, furious that the wolves – natural and not shifters – were trying to harm a child. She swatted one of the wolves away as they snarled and turned to attack her. She and Ekho dispatched them quickly, breaking their necks as they tried to fight. Panting for breath, Daeton shifted into her human form so she wouldn’t scare the child.
“Damn it, I should have brought clothes,” she said, looking down at her nakedness. She hadn’t expected to shift out in the woods.
Ekho pulled off his tunic and she slipped it over her head. It fell to her mid-thigh and was still warm from his body. She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, honey kitten.”
“What is it they were trying to get?” Perseus asked from the top of the hill.
“A child, I think,” Daeton said. She went to her knees at the end of the hollow log. It was dark inside so she couldn’t see well, but she could feel the presence of a child.
“Hi. My name is Daeton and my mates are out here with me. We killed the wolves that were trying to get you, so it’s safe for you to come out now. I promise we won’t let anything hurt you.”
The crying had stopped but the bitter scent of the child’s fear lingered
in the air.
“I’m a bear shifter. I’m from the Medes Realm and I have a son named Adi. Maybe you and he could play together. He loves to play ball. If you come out, we can go to the Centaur settlement and you can meet him in the morning.”
There was nothing but silence. Daeton could hear the child’s heart beating swiftly.
“Where are your parents? Can we call someone for you?” She didn’t have a cell on her because they weren’t used in the Medes Realm, but she knew the Centaurs in the Mortal Realm used them on occasion.
There was a scuffling sound and a head of white-blonde hair came into view. A girl climbed out of the log and huddled, her too-thin arms wrapped around her knees. She was filthy. She lifted her head and looked at Daeton.
“What is it?” Ekho asked, noting the intensity of the look passing between them.
“I don’t know. I just feel a connection to her.” She pressed her hand to the girl’s heart, feeling the rapid beat under her palm. “Damn.”
Ekho knelt next to Daeton and gently asked, “What’s your name, little one?”
The girl licked her lips and blinked rapidly. “Kaya.”
“Hi, Kaya. I’m Ekho. Would you come back with us to the settlement and we’ll get you something to eat?”
Kaya looked between them and then nodded slowly. Daeton stood with Ekho and held out her hand to the young girl. “It’ll be okay, Kaya. You’re safe now.”
She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she did. She was meant to find Kaya tonight, to save her from being torn apart by wolves. Kaya’s hand slid into hers. The girl was painfully thin, wearing only a torn and dirty tunic. As they reached the top of the hill, Daeton climbed onto Perseus’s back and Ekho lifted Kaya to sit in front of her. They were a few miles from the settlement and Kaya looked like she was about to drop from exhaustion.
It took only a brief moment for Kaya to fall asleep as she leaned against Daeton.