by Unknown
Not that I was complaining. Having a werewolf lover scent-mark you is like rolling around in love. The only down side was I smelled like wolf for awhile afterward, a situation I didn't even notice until I had three animals inside me. They had all learned to deal with it but part of the process entailed a lot of internal sniffing. You know how a cat or dog sniffs an area marked by another animal? Well imagine that happening inside your chest. It was really weird and I may have freaked out just a little the first time it happened.
For the moment though, my beasts were all happy. The hunt had entertained all of them and had also brought in enough meat to feed all of us with quite a bit leftover for us to take back for the freezers. The meat should last us until the next hunt. It was a satisfying feeling, knowing that you provided for your loved ones, helped to feed and sustain them. That it all came from our territory, a place made of magic, made it even better. Maybe we should start planting crops too.
I looked over at my Intare in consideration. Could they become farmers as well as hunters? They were men first, then they'd been made into lions, and with training they'd become soldiers. Could I take them full circle and teach them to create life as well as take it? The thought had me smiling wider, especially as I watched their antics.
I shook my head and sighed as Aidan stole a prime cut of meat from one of the grills set out in front of the massive log palace we called a cabin. Lucian chased after him, catching him easily since Aidan was more intent on eating the meat than escaping. Lucian cuffed Aidan upside the head, which accomplished two important things; getting Aidan to release the stolen meat and making Aidan groan in pain.
Aidan wasn't easily deterred though. He laughed as he rubbed his head and Lucian took the steak back to the grill. Then Aidan circled around, eyes watching every movement of the cooks, as he planned his next heist.
“Aidan,” I called out and he straightened with a guilty jerk. “Get over here.”
“Aw, Tima, I was just having some fun,” he slumped over and took a seat beside me.
I was sitting on the porch, in a really comfortable chair made of little logs and thick cushions. Sam sat beside me while Zariel, still in cub form, played on the floor in front of her. Zariel was playing with one of her favorite toys but even though it was made of heavy cotton duck(yes it's a fabric not just a bird) the toy was taking a beating and we'd probably have to get her a new one soon. I shook my head as I watched her gnaw on it while she growled.
Kirill had stayed with Trevor, Torrent, and Artemis inside the cabin, to help them cook the accompaniments that would go along with the meat. When I had tried to help too, they'd shooed me out of the kitchen rather rudely saying something along the lines of; The Tima doesn't cook on hunt days. Ridiculous. So I was left with Sam and Zariel, watching the Intare amuse themselves with athletic games that I wanted no part of. I wasn't into sports, not the playing or the watching of. In fact, I understood the playing but I honestly didn't get why people watched sports. Why would you want to watch someone else have fun?
Evidently Aidan wasn't a sports fan either. He laid across his chair, feet over one armrest and back over the other, while he huffed some hair out of his face. He couldn't have expressed boredom better if he'd stated it out loud.
“You don't wanna play football?” I waved at one of the many games going happening on the open valley floor.
“That's soccer, Tima,” Aidan sighed.
“Not in Australia,” I defended myself and Sam laughed.
“She's got a point there,” Sam picked up Zariel as she changed back into a baby and started crying. “Okay now, shhh. I'd better go put a diaper on her before we have an accident,” she took Zariel inside while both Aidan and I made eww faces.
“Good idea,” Aidan pulled back a little as Sam passed by him, just in case the accident happened early.
“Don't like babies?” I asked him conversationally.
“No, babies are fine,” Aidan shrugged. “As long as they're someone else's baby. I'm not interested in fatherhood.”
“You know, I can respect that,” I took a sip of my lemonade. The cool sweetness was just what I needed after all of my exertions.
I was in jeans and a T-shirt, clothing I didn't wear very often but after hunting it seemed kind of appropriate. Plus, I didn't have a huge selection of clothing out at the cabin. I guess I could always transform something. I looked down at the jeans consideringly.
“Tima?” Aidan interrupted my thoughts.
“Oh, sorry,” I laughed. “I was thinking about clothes.”
“Women,” Aidan shook his head.
“Shut up, you ass,” I smacked his shoulder. Then I heard Zariel crying inside the cabin. “Ah, the sweet sounds of birth control.”
“Tima,” Aidan's tone went serious. “Do you want children?”
“Oh damn,” I huffed. “Why do people keep asking me that? It's not like I'm a normal human woman with a biological clock ticking. I can have children whenever I want.”
“Yes, but my question was, do you want to?”
“You're a persistent devil when you're bored, you know that?” I narrowed my eyes on him and he laughed.
“You don't have to answer if you don't want,” he shrugged. “I think I know the answer anyway. I think we all do. You do want children, you're just scared. You have too many people to please, too many people you can hurt by having babies with one and not the others. At least with the faerie, you have an excuse to start with him.”
“You sound pretty sure of all that,” I stared at him in shock. It was actually pretty damn close to how I felt.
“In case you've forgotten, we're all connected,” he grinned. “We Intare can sense things about you.”
“Excuse me?” I sat upright. “Like what?”
“Just little things,” he flicked a dark curl that had fallen into his eyes. “If you're upset, we usually know, and if we try hard enough, we can sense what you need.”
“What I need?” I swallowed past a lump in my throat.
“Not like that,” he laughed at me. “Jeesh, and everyone always tells me I'm the pervert.”
“You are a pervert because I didn't mean that either,” I grimaced at him. “It's just that even I'm not sure of what I need sometimes.”
“Oh,” he smirked. “Well, it's a lioness magic thing. You do know we were created to take care of you? That's pretty much the entire point of our existence.”
“Not anymore,” I reached out and took his hand. “You can redefine your reason for living now. Do anything you want to do.”
“I know,” he squeezed my hand. “We all know that now and I think that makes us even more attuned to you. We love you, you know that, right? We love you for you, not because you're our goddess. It's that love, that chosen love, that's opened up pathways between us that never existed with Nyavirezi.”
“Really?” I blinked, a little in awe of the connection I knew was there and a little in awe of Aidan speaking so seriously. He could be a bit of a buffoon sometimes.
“Yes, really,” he lifted my hand and kissed it before he released it. “I know, I seem silly to you,” he voiced my thoughts right on cue. “But I also know what you've done for me, what you've done for all of us, and I would do anything for you because of it. I love you, you're my family.”
“I love you too, Aidan,” I smiled at him, my love magic fluttering happily inside me.
“Oh, no! Ragnorak is upon us,” Trevor cried from the doorway. “The love of my life has just voiced her love for Aidan. Aidan of all people!”
“Shut up,” I threw a pillow at Trevor and he caught it with a laugh.
“Sounds like the conversation is getting pretty serious out here,” Trevor looked from me to Aidan.
“I was just telling her how we could sense what she needed sometimes,” Aidan fell back into his relaxed pose. “Then she went and declared her love for me. I can't help it if I'm irresistible.”
“I admit, I'm having some problems resisting the urge to k
ick your ass right now,” Trevor nodded and propped himself on the wide arm of my chair, pushing the pillow back behind me.
“Wolves,” Aidan rolled his eyes. “Their first thought is always violence. You'd have a lot less problems if you thought without your fists.”
“And you'd have a lot less problems if you thought without your dick,” Trevor countered.
“Well spotted,” Aidan nodded agreeably.
“Food is done,” Kirill appeared in the doorway with Samantha, Torr, and Artie.
“And the baby is clothed,” Sam held up a giggling Zariel.
“Excellent,” I gestured to the open seats. “Now maybe I can have some intelligent company.”
“Your words, they wound,” Aidan held his hands to his chest dramatically. “But I know the truth,” he jumped up and winked at me, “and I'm going to tell everyone how much you love me.” He ran off, down the porch steps and through the Intare games, shouting, “Tima loves me!”
The other lions, having their games disrupted, decided it would be much more fun to chase after Aidan anyway. Assorted balls were thrown down or after the running target as the Intare banded together to pursue Aidan around the lake. Shouts of “No, she doesn't” and “Your and idiot, Aidan” carried over to us.
“He is mayhem in man form,” Kirill shook his head as he sat in Aidan's vacated seat.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “that's why he gets along so well with Roarke.”
“How is Roarke?” Trevor asked. “We haven't seen him in a long time.”
“Who's Roarke?” Artemis asked.
“Wow, it has been a long time,” Torrent observed before he answered Artie. “He's a fey friend of ours.”
“He's having woman problems,” I answered Trevor. “Mainly, he's finally decided on one and ironically, she wants nothing to do with him.”
“Sounds like smart voman,” Kirill nodded in approval.
“Yes, well,” I sighed, “Roarke has come a long way since becoming King of the Fire Cats. I think he's got more to offer a woman now.”
“Yeah, a crown,” Trevor laughed and I hit him in the chest. “What? Women like jewelry, especially jewelry that other women can't have.”
“Yes, that's the only reason a woman would want to be a queen,” I rolled my eyes.
“Well, there's the whole people fawning on you thing,” Trevor grinned at me. “Some women like to be doted on. You know, women who aren't godhunters.”
“I know where you sleep, Wolf,” I narrowed my eyes on him.
“Yeah, right next to you, your majesty,” he leaned in and kissed my cheek.
Well who could argue with that?
Chapter Seventeen
After dinner, we built a bonfire on the lake's pebbled shore. We spread blankets around it and the Intare told stories from their original homelands. Even Kirill got up and told a Russian fairy tale about some winter queen. It was enthralling, watching him speak while the fire played over his skin and hair, and flashed in his eyes. He had on a simple white T-shirt and jeans. In the deceptive shadows, with his long hair braided back and the glow of the fire warming his skin, he almost looked Native American.
He reminded me of Mrs E's twins. I saw them in my head, their own long, black hair in different states of braid. For some reason I kept seeing the feathers in them. One black and one white. They had felt significant. Odd. Teharon always wore a feather too. His was white with a red tip but I'd never felt anything strange about it. It was just an adornment, part of his god persona no doubt. With Naye and Toby though, I got a different impression.
“What are you thinking about so seriously?” Trevor whispered into my ear.
I was sitting between his legs, his body wrapped around me as I leaned back into his chest. It was a very safe feeling to be seated there with him, out in the open, with the night sky above us, the Intare around us, and the fire before us. I was happy. Content. But there was something bothering me as usual.
“Feathers,” I whispered back.
“Feathers?” Trevor repeated.
“Shhh, I want to hear the ending,” I waved a hand toward Kirill, who was concluding his story. He did so with a flourish and the Intare roared their approval. I smiled at him and he winked at me as he started back over to us.
“Okay, now tell me about the feathers,” Trevor said as Kirill resumed his seat beside us on the thick blanket.
“Vhat?” Kirill lifted a black brow.
“Vervain's been contemplating feathers,” Trevor said.
“Now you've made it seem more important than it is,” I rolled my eyes.
“Just tell us,” Kirill insisted.
“Da,” Trevor imitated Kirill, “ve have vays of making you talk.”
“You shouldn't do zat,” Kirill sighed. “I sound exotic vhen I speak vith accent. You just sound like idiot.”
“He's kind of right,” I smirked at Trevor.
“Hey now,” Trevor huffed. “I'm good at impressions.”
“Nyet,” Kirill said simply.
“Yeah, I am.”
“No,” I agreed with Kirill.
“I'm waiting to be impressed,” Trevor said in a strange voice.
“So am I. Who vas zat supposed to be?” Kirill frowned.
“That was Sean Connery,” Trevor declared.
“No, it vasn't.”
“It was,” Trevor protested. “It was totally Sean, I have him down pat.”
I stood up.
“Where are you going?” Trevor asked.
“The bathroom. If that's okay with you, Sean,” I smirked.
“I'd better escort you,” Trevor got to his feet. “There are wild animals on the prowl tonight.”
“Yeah. You're one of them,” I chuckled but let him tag along anyway.
“Valking avay doesn't mean you von,” Kirill called after us.
“I have the girl, don't I?” Trevor called back.
The next thing I knew, I was thrown over Kirill's shoulder, watching the ground pass by quickly beneath me.
“Do you?” Kirill taunted Trevor. “Doesn't look zat vay.”
“Oh, sheesh,” I groaned. “I did mention that I have to use the bathroom, right?”
“Oh sorry, Tima,” Kirill put me down on the veranda.
“I think spending too much time with the Intare turns you two into frat boys,” I sighed and went into the cabin, doing my fast-paced I have to pee walk.
“As long as I vin argument, I don't care.” Kirill grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. His good humor was short lived though. Trevor came out of nowhere and tackled him. They crashed to the ground and started rolling in a tangle of limbs.
I just made a face at them and closed the cabin door.
Chapter Eighteen
“It's like fighting an uphill battle,” Teharon rubbed a weary hand over his face.
The God Squad had come to Pride Palace for this latest meeting. I guess they'd decided that I took too long to arrive. So when Teharon and Mrs E had returned with news, they'd come to Pride Palace first. I think Thor was a little annoyed by that. He was seated at the end of the table, looking grim. Though that could have been because of the horrible news Teharon and Mrs E had brought us.
“Every time we convert someone to our side, Tawiskaron mutates them and takes control of them,” Mrs E sighed. “We finally stopped trying, there's no point.”
“So what now?” Azrael had joined us as well. His wings were put away and he was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt which read; Founding member of the Mile-High Club.
“Now?” Teharon lifted his face and everyone fell silent. His normally sweet countenance was hard, his eyes shards of glass, just waiting to draw blood. “Now we fight.”
“The Thunderbirds have invited us to their territory,” Mrs E spoke gently into the silence that followed Teharon's declaration. “They'll be joining the battle and they've requested that we all prepare together.”
“Prepare together?” I lifted a brow.
“This wi
ll be traditional warfare,” Mrs E explained. “My boys adhere to their people's ways because their magic is strongest when they do. We can take advantage of that by using Native American war preparations ourselves.”
“Rituals?” I admit I was interested. I had a little Native American blood in me but I knew next to nothing about their magic.
“Rituals,” Mrs E nodded. “We also know their location and if we strike quickly, we may be able to take them by surprise.”
“Them who? Who are we attacking exactly?” I narrowed my eyes on Teharon and Mrs E.
“Besides the three gods, she means,” Azrael clarified for me.
“We believe they've amassed an army of at least four-thousand,” Mrs E said. “They've gathered people from many tribes and united them.”
“Four-thousand humans?” I gaped at them. “You want to go in and kill four-thousand people?”
“No,” Teharon met my eyes. “We disable and hopefully heal them. You know I can counteract my brother's powers. I will heal as many mutants as possible while the rest of you try to disarm them. We'll attempt to destroy their weapon supplies and subdue them.”
“We can try but that's not something you can guarantee in battle,” Brahma stroked his perfectly manicured beard. “There will most likely be casualties.”
“Yes, we know,” Mrs E said softly. “These are our people. We, above all others, don't want them hurt but we must think of the end result. We can't let this continue or all of those people and perhaps many more will definitely die.”
“I'll need to change,” I sighed. “Looks like it's fighting leathers time.”
“No need for that,” Teharon said. “The Thunderbirds will have garments for all of us.”
“New clothes?” I perked up. “This day has suddenly gotten better.”
Chapter Nineteen
The Thunderbirds lived on a mountain just like Zeus. Of course Thunderbird Mountain was nothing like Mount Olympus. To start with, it floated. Yep, that's right, a giant floating mountain in the God Realm was home to a whole flock, I mean tribe, of bird shifters. So many jokes.