My gaze flicked to the top of the fire; that was when I realized this wasn’t just a were-cat party. It was a pyre. A large body sat amid the roaring flames, already blackened and withering to ash.
That was when I realized the alpha must’ve died.
And this was his funeral.
I scooted backward and pressed my hand against my chest. Good Lord. Had I been mistaken in my assumption that the were-cats had kidnapped Tez? I’d nearly blundered into a sacred rite. I felt like a fool for all of two seconds. Then worry gnawed at me. Where was Tez? Who had taken him? I was sure he’d recognized his captors; in fact, he’d sounded annoyed rather than fearful. Not that I could imagine Tez sounding fearful.
I heard a growl.
I froze, panic welding my feet to the ground. I was certain one of the women had changed into their cat form in order to attack. But neither cat nor woman slunk around the corner to claw at me.
Another growl, this one loud and pissed off.
I peeked around the corner again. Tawny was continuing her dance with undulating hips and pendulous swinging breasts. In her hand was a thick gold chain and it was attached to a bejeweled collar around a beautiful black jaguar’s neck.
Fury slashed through me like hot knives.
I would kill her.
I stepped forward, fists clenched.
I heard a step behind me and I whirled, baring my fangs.
Serri put a finger to her lips. She was pale, her clothing stained and torn. Shadows smudged eyes; her lips were a disturbing blue. Her arm was cradled at an odd angle.
“Are you all right?” I asked, which was a silly question because obviously she was not. “Let me help you.”
“Later,” she said. “Tawny is trying to claim Tez. It’s a very old ritual, one that must be done on the night we offer our alpha back to the gods. It’s an ancient binding magic, and it’s not used anymore. Some of us still believe in free will.” She smiled sadly. “Trak and I tried to stop her, and she . . .” Her gaze flickered toward the small house. “You’ve been very kind to me. You gave me hope, when I had none. I wish I’d had an opportunity to speak to your queen.”
“You still do,” I said. “Tawny will not get away with this nonsense.”
“I’m not worried about me anymore,” she said. “You must demand the upendo challenge. If you do, she cannot bind with Tez unless she defeats you. Everyone’s afraid of her. They won’t defy her wishes. She’ll be very powerful as the jaguar’s mate.”
“The hell,” I hissed. “How will this work? I’m not a were-cat.”
“All challenges must be answered. It doesn’t matter that you’re a vampire. But if you win,” she said, her gaze intense, “you will belong to Tez, body and soul, for all his life. If you do not want that, you must let Tawny have him.”
Oh, the irony. Here I’d spent all this time protecting Tez from a hundred years of vampire marriage—and now, if I won this upendo challenge, I would end up his wife forever.
“There’s something else,” said Serri. “I choose you as Dayton’s mama pili. His second mother.”
I blinked. “Oh, Serri. I . . . That’s lovely.” It was incredibly bad timing, but I was touched all the same. “Is that like a godmother?” I looked over my shoulder, and gauged the ongoing ritual. If I didn’t get over there and issue my ultimatum, Tez was going to end up married to that harlot.
“If something happens to me, you will be his first mother.” She grimaced. I realized she was in pain, and I reached out to her. She shook her head and backed away. “If anyone tries to challenge your right to him, tell them it is my iliyopita unataka. Use those exact words, Elizabeth. It’s important.”
“Yes,” I said. “Of course.”
She offered me a tired smile. “Go fight for the man you love.”
Well, that summed it up exactly. I wanted Tez, and even though it was ridiculous to think I could love him . . . I did. Sometimes, the heart knew and the head argued. I was tired of logic. I wanted to trust my feelings. Every atom of my being was screaming that Tez was mine.
I’d be damned if Tawny got her claws on him.
I was stepping off the edge of the cliff, uncaring if I fell or if I flew. The point was to take the leap, and keep the faith.
“Elizabeth?”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Yes?”
“Kick that bitch’s ass.”
Chapter 18
I kicked off my shoes and ran into the clearing. The grass was soft beneath the soles of my feet. I skidded to a stop in the soft dirt surrounding the pyre. The fire was intense and very bright. Unease shot through me. If I got too close, I’d turn into ash along with the alpha.
The mourners saw me first, and stopped chanting, obviously shocked to find a vampire within their midst.
The drummers stopped as soon as they noticed me, their expressions mirroring the surprise of the others, and moved to join the singers. Everyone’s gazes traveled from me to Tawny.
Tawny ceased her stripper routine and whirled around, her expression melding from mere annoyance to pure rage.
“You!” She marched toward me, jerking on the chain and forcing Tez to follow her. He yowled, reluctantly padding along behind her, his gold eyes glittering with fury. “This is a private funeral, and outsiders are not welcome. Tonight, I mourn the passing of our alpha, and my mate.”
“Don’t forget the part where you try to steal my mate,” I cried. “I issue the upendo challenge.”
The other women gasped, and Tawny’s gaze went wide. “You can’t. You are not were-cat.”
“She can,” said one of the singers. She looked like the youngest of the bunch, maybe sixteen or seventeen. Her hair was gold-blond and her eyes velveteen brown. She was too thin, and looked as delicate as china. Did the girl not eat? “Anyone can challenge you,” she said to Tawny. “If you refuse her, you forfeit the right to claim your new mate.”
Tawny did not like this news. It was apparent that she’d bullied everyone into the ritual, going so far as to incapacitate the second and his mate to get her way. She had kidnapped Tez, who’d already made it clear he wasn’t interested—in her or in the leadership of this were-cat pride.
“Fine,” she said. “I accept the challenge. Prepare for death, bitch.”
She yanked on the chain, and Tez protested even as he walked to sit beside her. She stroked the head of Tez, her fingers sifting through his fur possessively.
I wanted to punch her. Hard. In the face. I couldn’t recall ever wanting to physically harm another being, but this girl caused within me a need to claw and scream and damage.
“Perhaps, Emma, since you’ve been so kind as to help a stranger keep our ways, you can ally with her.”
“Gladly,” said the girl. Emma joined me, her shoulders straight, her gaze refusing to turn away from Tawny. I applauded her bravery. I only wished she was wearing some clothing.
Her proud acquiescence only served to further infuriate Tawny. The bimbette turned to me and smiled hate-fully. “She doesn’t seem to value her life. You see, if she chooses to align with you, then as soon as I’m done killing you, I get to kill her.”
“Well, aren’t you Little Miss Sunshine,” I said. “If you value your hands, you might want to take them off my jaguar.”
“See this?”—she dangled the chain attached to the jeweled collar; I could sense the power of the gold circle—“It’s old magick. Control the chain”—she yanked on it and Tez’s magnificent head was jerked forward—“and control the cat.”
I glared at Tawny as she continued to taunt both me and Tez with her ability to make him go hither and yon at her whims. I focused on the collar. It was definitely fairy gold, which was the only metal that could bind magical beings, and it had the persnickety quality associated with ancient pieces. I glared at Tawny even as I reached out to the gold, coaxing it to me, praising its beauty and strength. The best way to describe its response was like a snake awakening, its regal head turning toward mine as it uncoiled. I did
n’t know if it would allow me to pet it or if it would strike.
Apparently, it wasn’t too enamored of Tawny’s control. It acquiesced to my power, and began to stretch into long, shining filaments. As the metal shifted in her hand, Tawny gasped and tried to recapture the chain.
But it was like shifting sand falling through her fingers, winding away from her grasp. It refused to be held by her.
Tez growled, his gaze swinging toward Tawny. The muscles rippled in his shoulders, causing his fur to ruffle all the way down his backside. I knew he wanted to pounce on the woman who dared to bind him. And he probably wanted to do much worse—like tear her throat out. I wondered how much the man controlled the impulses of the cat.
The morphing chain twisted into the air, waiting for my command. Then I knew exactly what to do.
“Bind her,” I commanded. “Form a chain around her neck. Connect manacles to her wrists and ankles.”
The gold eagerly obeyed me. It detached from Tez’s collar and flowed like water around Tawny’s neck.
“No!” she screamed. She tried to pull it away, but the gold outmaneuvered the panicked motions of her hands. It formed a solid circlet around her throat and then delicate loops sprouted from the middle, one after another, until the new chains were long enough to touch her wrists.
Tawny yanked her arms around from the persistent gold and tried to run, but Tez clamped his massive maw around her calf, and, obviously terrified he might chew off her leg, she stayed still.
The gold formed manacles, about two inches in width, around her wrists. Then more loops dripped from each bracelet until they touched her feet. The gold stretched around each ankle and solidified into cuffs twice as wide as those binding her wrists.
Tears dripped down Tawny’s face, and she stood there, mute, her expression pitiful. I wasn’t one bit sorry about her predicament. She was a selfish, cruel, man-stealing, big-breasted terror—and she deserved whatever fate she got.
“Well,” said Emma as she surveyed my handiwork. “I was going to tell you that most upendo challenges end with one of the participants being killed, even though a winner can be declared without the loser dying.” She glanced at me, her eyes twinkling with humor. “I was also going to offer you some tips about Tawny’s fighting weaknesses, and what to do if she shifted into her were-tiger form.”
“You mean I won?” I asked. “We didn’t even fight.”
“You challenged her,” said Emma. “Then you defeated her. That’s all that is required.”
“Oh.” I knelt down and Tez padded to me, and nuzzled me under the chin. Then he licked my face. “That tickles,” I said. Then I kissed him on the nose. He purred loudly.
“What happens now?” I asked, looking up at Emma. “Serri told me winning the challenge meant were-cat marriage.”
“The collar hasn’t been used in our pride in a long time,” said Emma.“It’s only used when the alpha chooses one mate and together they rule the pride. There is no second, and women are free to choose their own lovers.” She looked sad for a moment. “I’m sure you can imagine why it hasn’t been used. Rare is the alpha who only wants one woman.”
I thought about Trak and Serri, and how the collar might’ve benefited them. It was too late to offer it, though. I had made my choice.
“Its magick binds mates together for the rest of their lives,” said Emma softly. “Look.”
Without my Family power guiding it, the collar around Tez’s neck shone brightly. I felt the power of it buzzing, and the air went heavy and electric as though lightning were about to strike.
Tawny was openly weeping, and Emma grabbed her by the chains and drew her away. She paused and said, “When this part is over, Tez will be driven by the urge to mate with you. There’s no stopping him, and you must let him take you. It’s the only way to finish the ritual.”
I really should’ve gotten more information about this endeavor before rushing headlong into it.
The collar around Tez’s neck unclasped and rose into the air between us. As it began to spin, it grew brighter and brighter. I was staring at it in awe, so I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a male hand caress my hair.
“Princess,” whispered Tez. “You rescued me.”
“Looks like I married you, too.”
“About time.”
I looked down at his virile, naked form, stretched out next to me. If I had grapes, I could’ve plucked them one by one and offered them to his succulent lips. But this was not a Roman fresco. I stood up, and he joined me, taking me into his arms. His hazel eyes were smoky with desire, and an answering need began tapping out a primal rhythm in the pit of my belly.
There was a tinny noise—like two swords clanging against each other in battle. The big spinning light broke into two smaller lights.
Slowly, the sparkles descended, and as they did, they stopped spinning. Now there were two collars. His was larger and dotted with emeralds; mine was far more delicate and feminine, especially with its smaller, twinkling rubies.
The collars slipped around our necks at the same time. I heard a clap of thunder, or maybe it was the roar of approval from the were-cats’ gods, and then the collars snicked into place.
Tez growled.
I looked at him, and saw the diamond shape of his pupils. I gulped. Lust emanated off him in waves. I was so stunned by the sudden change of his demeanor that I stepped out of the circle of his arms.
“It’s okay to run,” yelled Emma from the porch of the bunker. The women had gathered there, and were unabashedly watching the events unfold. “In fact, you might want to start now.”
The other women screamed and hooted, and I, being no fool, took off toward the edge of the woods. I ran by the pyre, skirting the side of the little church, and dove through the trees. I used my vampire speed, too. If Tez wanted me, I thought giddily, then he would have to catch me.
He did.
The chase ended when he took me down with a flying tackle. He held on tight and rolled so that when we landed, I was on top of him.
“Take your pants off,” he gritted out. “Or I’ll shred them.”
I was caught between excitement and fear. I’d never seen him like this, and I knew he wasn’t playing a game. Whatever magick created the collars, it compelled him to complete our binding.
I stood up and quickly wiggled off my pants and underwear.
Tez knelt before me and pressed his face between my thighs. He sniffed me, and a little growl issued from his throat. Then he started to lick me. I was already aroused by our game of chase, and it didn’t take long before my thighs were slick and pleasure was coiling hot and deep within me.
“Hand and knees, Elizabeth. Now.”
I did exactly as he said. He caressed my buttocks, then I felt him guide his cock inside me. I was wet and ready, or so I thought. He was really big, and I was grateful he tried to be gentle with our first real consummation.
He worked his way inside until he was fully sheathed. For a moment, there was no movement, no breath. It was a second, maybe two, of feeling that wonderful connection. It had been so long since I’d known the physical pleasure of a man’s penetration.
And to think, I would have several lifetimes of making love with Tez.
He began to thrust inside me. His hands gripped my hips, his nails digging into my flesh. I could tell he was holding back, trying not to give in to the wild urges that surged inside him.
But I didn’t want him to control himself. I didn’t want him to think he had to be careful with me or that I was too delicate a thing to handle his true passions. We were partners now, in every way, and I wouldn’t let him hold back. I wanted to fulfill his real needs. I didn’t want protection from his animal side.
I wanted to embrace it.
“Harder,” I said. “As hard as you can. Please, Tez.”
He growled, and that noise of possession thrilled me.
“You turn me on so much,” he whispered in a whiskey voice. One of his hands crept undern
eath and started stroking my clit. “I can’t get enough of you.”
I wasn’t a prude (Obviously. I was half naked in the woods having sex with a were-jaguar). But still . . . good manners had been drilled into me since I could talk. I wanted to say earthy things, and be naughty in word and deed, but I just couldn’t manage it.
He increased his pace, and I knew he was still holding back. At least for himself. He was doing quite fine revving my engine. In fact, I was getting very close to orgasm, and I didn’t want to go over before he did.
“Let go, damn it,” I demanded. “I can take you.”
He groaned, his fingers working my clit, and finally—oh, finally—he stopped trying to control his lust. He pounded into me so hard that it was difficult to keep myself pinioned to the ground. I dug in with my fingers and pressed my knees hard against the packed earth.
My senses went into overload.
I flew over the edge into sparkling waves of bliss, and then Tez cried out my name and came with me.
I don’t know how much time passed before Tez slipped out of me and helped me to my feet. The experience had been so intense, and I was shaken by it.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “You?”
“Best day of my life.” He hesitated. “I know it’s too late to take this all back, Elizabeth, but . . . you don’t regret it, do you?”
“I love you,” I said simply.
Relief entered his gaze, and then he grinned. “I love you, too.” He picked me up and swung me around. “Just think of the fun we’re going to have, Ellie Bee.”
I realized that he only called me Elizabeth when he was being serious. Otherwise, he used all those pet nicknames. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be too fond of Ellie Bee, but since I was extremely fond of the man uttering it . . . well, I guess I could live with it.
“We should get back,” I said with some reluctance. “Several people are missing, and we need to give Damian everything we’ve found.”
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