Awakening the Lion

by Crymsyn Hart

  A few of the wolves paced alongside of her, waiting for her to make a move. Illiana ignored them and focused on the fire. The heat touched her skin and helped soothe her. The greater fire spirit wrangled the others, and she stepped into the blaze. Staying within the cocoon of the flames eased her anxiety and gave the wolves something to marvel at. She lingered a moment and then stepped out. While the pack was stunned, she went to Christopher who stared at her with longing in his eyes. Jalisa stood and stepped between them.

  “You’re not welcome here,” she seethed.

  Christopher stood and said something to Jalisa. Her expression fell. She looked at Illiana and stormed off. He addressed her. “What are you doing here, Illiana? We said—”

  “I know what we said, but I wanted to say good-bye.”

  His brow furrowed. “Good-bye. We already said that—”

  “I know, but I’m leaving.”

  He started to say something else, but instead took her arm and dragged her out of the circle and into the shadows. The pack was still watching them even if they were not being obvious about it. “You can’t leave. I love you.”

  “Yes, I can. I have to. Knowing you’re below and I can’t be your mate only makes it worse. I have to figure out who I am.” She touched the raven feather—her feather—in his hair.

  “Where are you going? Is Belik going with you?” He caught her hand and pressed it against his lips.

  “I’m going to find my father, and, yes, Belik’s traveling with me. However, I wanted to be sure you knew.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be here when you return.”

  She saw the hurt in his eyes. “I love you, too. I should go.”

  Christopher caught her arm. “Stay with me. I can slip away . . . ”

  Illiana shook her head. “You’re alpha now. You’ll be missed. Go.” She stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips across his in a good-bye kiss. Christopher reached for her again, but she slipped away into the darkness.

  Chapter Three

  Illiana hugged Coret one last time and adjusted the pack on her back. They had dried fruit, meat, and cheese to last them for a while. She hoped her mother would see her off, but the leader of the flock had not appeared. She sighed and stared at the long plain before them. They were at the outskirts of the forest. Seeing the vast wilderness ahead of her, Illiana knew there was a great world beyond what she knew. So many of the flock were isolated and never wished to explore.

  Her aunt squeezed her arm. Coret slid off one of her bracelets strung with ivory beads, amber, and jade and slipped it onto Illiana’s wrist. “You’ll do fine. Be yourself. Take this.”

  “I can’t take this. It’s too much.”

  “Think of it as a wedding present.”

  “Thank you. I will be back.”

  “I know.”

  “Ready?” Belik asked.

  She threaded her fingers through Belik’s. “Yes.”

  Together, they left the canopy and she heard a howl. Illiana glanced behind her and saw Christopher watching them. It took everything in her not to turn around and go back to him, one last time. But she had made a commitment and was going to stick to it. Belik squeezed her fingers. They were ready to go. She stayed her tears and forged on ahead with Belik. Christopher’s mournful cries continued until she could no longer hear them. When she looked back, she realized the forest was far behind them and she could no longer see them.

  As they walked through the high grass, her wolf yearned to frolic and chase the game lingering in the field. However, her raven longed to fly and get the lay of the land. Belik would rather be flying, too, but with his arm being broken, it would be a long time before that happened. Illiana kept referring to the map to see where they were going, and it was all due west from where they were. Each day was the same. They got up with the sun, walked until the sun set, and then made camp. They had a simple shelter, and Belik had brought a hand loom with him and some thread to weave. He had shown it to her, but he was not able to use it much with his hand still in the cast. The thrill of traveling wore off after the first week when they did not meet anyone on their travels. After the second week, Illiana needed to feel her wings spread, but she stayed with her mate. The continuous walking and monotony of it helped to push away the hurt that lingered in her heart over Christopher. At night sometimes they would hear a howl and it would bring everything rushing back, but she forced it out of her mind.

  Now going into their third week, they had set up camp in an open expanse under the stars. All around them crickets were chirping and the coyotes were baying. In the distance she saw the forms of birds circling and figured they were vultures staking out a carcass. Illiana never felt so alive. Belik snuggled up to her and kept her warm. The night was growing a little chilly, and it seemed the days were growing shorter. It would be fall soon, with the leaves changing into an array of colors in the forest.

  “You’re thinking about Christopher, aren’t you?” Belik asked.

  She had thought he would be jealous of Christopher, but after they got to know one another, they had settled into a routine. Sharing her life with both men had been a dream come true. How could her life ever be that perfect again? Maybe one day, she could overcome the feeling of her heart being torn in half. “Yes, I was thinking about him. Maybe it was silly of me to assume I could be with him. The separation was bound to happen because ravens and wolves have always been against mating with one another.”

  Belik laughed. “They’re afraid the child will come out with fur and feathers. They don’t understand they could get a remarkable creature like you.” He kissed her lightly. The brush of his lips stirred her desire and reminded her how long it had been since they were together. With all the traveling and his broken arm she had not wanted to push the issue of them being intimate. His free hand wound in her hair until he pressed close to her. She slipped her hand down his sculpted chest and felt his growing cock.

  “I’m hardly unique. If my father isn’t one-of-a-kind, then there is a whole group of shifters just like him and me. It would be nice to meet someone else who can do the things I do.”

  Belik cupped her breast. “If you find a man among your father’s people, does that mean you won’t want me anymore?”

  Her nipple hardened at the brush of his thumb over the firm bud, but his question shocked her. Illiana pulled back and searched his eyes. There was doubt and something else she could not read within their dark depths. He was on this adventure with her, but deep down she realized he was also afraid of losing her the way she had lost Christopher. Seeing how broken-hearted her man was, she knew that he had been thinking about this for a long time. Illiana drew his face between her hands and saw everything that was the flock before her. Everything she was not, he was. Everything she had ever tried to be, he was the reflection of. Belik did not care she was different. She ran her thumb over his lips, loving the curve of them and how they enticed her. The darkness of his eyes always pulled her in, and she could lose herself in their shadows. Deep within them was a strong man. One who was strong enough to tolerate everything she had put him through. She regretted not seeing that until now. Her mate had endured her chasing after another man, and he had accepted it. He had been there for her when her heart was breaking, and now he had left everything behind to be with her.

  “Of course not. I’d never give you up. I love you, Belik. Nothing is going to change that.”

  “But what happens if you do find your father’s people and for some reason they ask you to stay? And then you get called away or I have to go back? What if someone puts you in a corner, the way Christopher was made to choose, your people over your mate’s? What would you do then?”

  Illiana had never thought about it. She understood Christopher’s choice and why he did it. Part of her had forgiven him. Another part could never walk down that long road again to open her heart to another man. Belik was all she had left. The flock had never wanted her, and the wolves certainly did not. She shook her head. There was no other
choice. Even if she did manage to find her father’s clan, she would be an outsider there, too. I would never abandon him. Belik thinks I’m going to if I settle into a life with others like me. If I ever find others like me, that is.

  “I would rather die than leave you behind. You swore to me that you’d come with me wherever I went. I swear the same thing to you. I’ll never abandon you. If we find my father’s clan, I won’t forget everything you’ve sacrificed for me. Even if there happens to be someone else in the picture. You always have my heart. Do you believe that?” She peered into his eyes, praying he would see she was telling him the truth.

  He put a hand on hers. It was warm and gripped hers with a ferocity that she understood now because he did not want to let her go. “I do.”

  She captured those lips of his that she loved to kiss and pulled him closer so she could feel the warmth of his body. A deep need to be close to him stirred within her, but she did not want to upset his arm. Illiana pressed against him. Belik hissed in pain and pulled away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  “No. It’s okay. It hurts a bit if I move it the wrong way. Your aunt did a good job at setting it. Although I’m afraid that I can’t give you what you want.”

  “I can be on top or there are other ways to pleasure you.”

  Belik grinned. “Really? And what would those be?”

  Illiana scraped her hand down his chest and snuck under the waistband of his pants. His dick firmed when her fingers trailed over the silky shaft. He groaned, trying not to react to her caress. The longer she stroked him, the more his eyelids drooped and he could no longer fight the way she made him feel. She slid her hand deeper and cupped his balls, then squeezed them. “Do you enjoy that?”

  He nodded.

  “Good. Maybe you’ll lie down for me.”

  “I can do that.”

  Illiana moved off him, and he lay down on his back, giving her a wonderful view of his sculpted chest. She licked her lips at the deliciousness of her mate. She had a quick flash to Christopher. He had a broader chest than Belik. But she banished him from her mind. He was gone to her, and she had to concentrate on the mate she still had and how much he made her feel. Illiana flicked her tongue over his pert nipples and drew one into her mouth. Being able to do that made her insides quiver. He wove his fingers through her hair. She kissed over his navel until she came to his waistband. Illiana pushed it down, revealing the dark patch of hair that led to his fully engorged cock. She kissed the top of the spongy head and flicked her tongue around it before drawing his shaft into her mouth. Illiana focused on taking him in slowly, an inch at a time, savoring the baby-soft skin of his length. She took him in halfway and drew him out, dragging her teeth over his dick.

  Belik moaned and thrust his hips upward. Hearing him grunt inflamed her own passion, and all she yearned to do was have him inside her, but she wanted him to be completely healed before she rode him. Her wolf growled with contentment, and the raven also added to the pleasure. Illiana took him in again until his cock hit the back of her throat. Another sigh slipped from his lips, and she could feel his muscles quivering in his stomach. He pumped into her while she tried to keep the rhythm between them, but he was the one driving it now. She wrapped her tongue around his delectable dick and drew him in and out, matching the pace he had created. The first taste of salty pre-come slid down her throat. Illiana sucked him in. His grip on her head tightened, and she could barely keep up with his thrusts. Belik dove into her mouth, his breathing coming in short spurts. He was close to coming. She bit down a little harder on his shaft and dragged her teeth along his flesh while he pushed into her mouth.

  “Suck me, love,” he cried out.

  Illiana cupped his balls and clutched them. She glanced up and saw his eyes were closed and his expression locked in ecstasy. Seeing him so aroused made her wet, but she blunted that instinct and focused on pleasing her mate. There would be many more times where he would pleasure her and they could be together. Right now, his release was all that mattered. She sucked him in one last time and felt his hot seed shoot into her mouth. Illiana swallowed it all down and drew Belik in a couple more times before he stopped pumping his cock into her. Gratification lit his eyes, and a pleased, dopey smile adorned his lips. She released him and carefully slid up his body and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

  “You didn’t have to do that. I’d rather have made sure you were fulfilled.”

  She trailed her fingers over his chest and gently over his broken arm. When she came to the break, warmth flared inside her palm. The fire inside her awakened, but she could not completely understand what it wanted to do. Maybe it was the element reacting to their current tryst. “I’m satisfied making sure you’re happy. You’ve been there so many times for me that I owe you a few.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. You’re my mate.”

  “We never did the official mating ceremony.” Illiana nestled into the crook of his free arm.

  “Does it really matter that we didn’t have a priestess bless us? You’ve always been the mate I’ve wanted in my heart. Always been the woman I’ve yearned to be with.” He stroked her hair. The way his fingers slid through the locks helped relax her. It pushed all her cares from the world.

  She sighed. No, it did not matter they had not had a sanctioned ritual. It was probably better that had never happened. If the three of them had been joined to be broken apart again, it would have tarnished their mating. Overall, this was the best course. “No, it doesn’t matter that Coret never tied us together. I’m happy with you. Now I need to get you better.” Illiana settled her hand over his break. Again the warmth of the fire went up her arm. Belik jumped.

  “What was that?”

  “You felt that?”

  “I felt something. It was similar to the warmth you’ve shared with me. This was different. More like static—a zap.”

  Illiana stared at her hands. She tried to question the fire element in her about what was going on, but nothing came back. Instead she willed it to flare to life. The ignition over his wound had her stumped. “Huh. I don’t know what it is. Does it hurt you?”

  “No. It makes it feel better, actually.”

  “Oh. Good. I don’t want to push it in case something else happens. I still don’t completely understand the fire element. It’s linked to the wolf, but that’s about it.”

  “I guess you’re hoping your father’s people will be able to help you with that.”

  She stared up at the stars and wondered what exactly the twinkling gems were in the sky. After flying under them for years, she never fully understood what they were. Coret said they were the eyes of the spirits watching out for them. Illiana wondered if one of them was her father. “I hope they can help me figure me out. I don’t know if they’ll even accept me. After all of this they might not even want me. I’m going into this thinking that my father is not alive, but he still might be. I don’t know.”

  He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. Illiana stayed there listening to his heartbeat. It helped soothe her, and she began to doze. After a while she heard Belik’s breathing even out into a deep sleep. After another interval she slid out from under his arm. The night air called to her. The air missed her not moving along its currents, and she needed to stretch her wings. Her feet ached from all the walking. The miles they had walked and still there were so many more miles to go. Living in the mountains or the desert was something she could not fathom. Her life had always been within the tree canopy. How was it that her father lived there? What had it been like for him to come to the forest? It must have been different for him the way it was going to be for her. Illiana shook her head. First, she had to get there. Right now she needed to fly. After slipping off her shoes, her necklace, and her dress, she placed them by Belik and opened her senses to the breeze. It told her there was nothing around in the way of predators and no other people for miles.

  Her form shrank. Feathers pushed through her skin, and her le
gs became spindly. As she flapped her wings and took to the air, the wolf remained and took in the world from an overhead perspective. It was a very different thing to have both animals inside her, sharing the same space. They accepted one another. Illiana flapped her wings and climbed on the currents circling around until she was over their campsite. Belik had turned over and lay on his uninjured side. She prayed he would heal soon and flew off westward to scout out what was ahead of them. She did not want to fly too far ahead. It was a good idea to get an indication of the terrain. As she flew, she encountered a colony of flying bats that she dashed out of the way of. A few of them veered off-course and into her. Illiana asked the air to help, and a blast of it came up and pushed the bats out of the way. She was grateful for that. Slicing through the darkness, she came to a break in the tall grass and found a river. The sound of the rushing water made her go lower, where she willed herself into the wolf. Right when her wings skimmed the grass, she dropped to all fours, morphing between forms almost seamlessly. For a split second the full weight of her body hindered her and made her fall, but then she went right into being a wolf.

  Edging close to the water, she sniffed the air and detected the scent of a feline. She searched the mud and saw large prints. That meant a predator stalked the high grass. They would have to watch out when they walked that way tomorrow. Illiana took a tentative sip of the water. It did not look too deep to ford, but she would see it in the daylight to give it a better look. The soothing sound of the babbling water helped appease some fears, and she decided to stay for a little while.