by Alice Wilde
My lass. Mine. As I am hers.
But the moment is abruptly cut short as soldiers and an older woman rush in on us, jerking Annalise from the water and back toward the palace.
Li
Ero and I look at each other as Annalise slips through a hidden crack in the wall. As small as she is, we’d never have fit through even if we weren’t in our beast forms. Especially if we weren’t in our beast forms.
I look up, the wall is a good forty feet tall, but there are small openings at various intervals.
“Ready?” I ask.
“As ever.”
Ero leaps and is scrambling up the wall before I have a chance to say another word. I follow as quickly as I can, using the small openings to carry me higher, my claws digging hard into the stone. Shouts from below tell us the guards have noticed, and a moment later Roan has joined us atop the wall. We all grin at each other and leap down to meet Annalise on the other side. Soon, we’re racing through the forest. The trees whip by as we each take turns keeping pace with Annalise as the others rush ahead and then back.
The wind whipping through my fur is pure ecstasy, the tightness in my limbs from days spent indoors release as I once again pick up speed.
Annalise disappears into a clearing and we are all forced to a standstill. There’s something off about this space in the forest, but I can’t quite put my paw on it. A magic, a deep magic, has settled here. The magic feels different from the curse coursing through our blood. The only way I can think to describe it is the exact opposite of us. Where we have only known darkness and cruelty these many years, this is a place of light. We are the yang, and this…this magic is our yin. As odd and contradictory as it is to what I was taught as a child, I am starting to wonder if perhaps our fear of the power of female has led us to this. When all my life I’ve been taught men were the light, the yin, perhaps it is she who is the yin.
A quiet yelp turns my head toward Ero.
“What happened?” I say.
“Nothing, I just tried to follow her into the clearing and my paw started smoking,” Ero says, holding up a slightly singed paw.
We circle the clearing, trying to keep an eye on Annalise from the darkness of the forest. She finally emerges after what feels like ten thousand years and is off again. She is almost skipping as she leads us in a new direction. I can hear the sounds of water nearby and, sure enough, she stops by a small pool of crystal clear water. I am surprised when she begins stripping her clothes off, but then I remember what we look like to her, what she thinks we are. I turn my head away. I can’t in good conscience watch her, though I know the other two have no qualms in doing so.
Once again, my need to be a gentleman has left me envious of Ero and Roan.
She’s in the water now, calling to us. If only I could swim. The thought strikes me as odd. I know I can’t swim in my human form, but I’m not sure about my beast form.
Roan has joined her, and now she’s hugging him.
I growl at Ero, just low enough that only he can hear.
Idiot, I curse to myself. If only I’d stop overthinking everything.
Twigs snap behind us and we tense. We’ve been found!
Ero
I’m still worn out from the misuse of my soul earlier, but the forty-foot wall standing between me and Annalise is nothing in comparison. I leap, finding footing wherever I can while Li is still overanalyzing his next move on the ground below. Pulling myself to the top of the wall, I look down over the other side to make sure the girl hasn’t moved. Her mouth is agape. Good, at least she won’t be running off for the next moment or two.
Li finally clambers over the edge and Roan joins us a moment later. The exhaustion from earlier slowly gives way to elation as we leap from the wall, joining Annalise. I am eager to run. I can’t remember the last time I did so without a leash, free to go wherever I please. Not that it matters much; I already know I won’t stray far from her.
Our run ends much too soon for my liking, but Annalise has stopped inside a small clearing. There’s a strange sense of energy coming from within, and I want to join her, but just as I step forward to do so, I yank my paw back, smoke rising from the singed fur.
Guess I won’t be doing that again. I watch and wait, hoping Annalise will leave the clearing soon. I don’t like that I can’t get near her if I need to.
Finally, she’s moving toward us and we are quick to fall into place beside her as she leads us away from the circle of trees and down to a stream of water. I watch in delight as she strips down to nothing, slight guilt staining the moment, but I can’t pull my eyes away. Her body is lovely, small but well-formed. Her rear is as supple as a juicy peach. I only wish she’d turn around; she never seems to turn around.
The water is covering her now, but the blood doesn’t rush back to my brain.
It isn’t long before Roan joins her, but I stay where I am, watching.
I wonder why Roan leaves so much distance between himself and Annalise. If it were me, I’d have her beautiful body as close to mine as possible. I watch as Annalise suddenly seems to be swept by some underwater current right into Roan. They both look surprised, and I’m a little dubious of the coincidence.
“Why don’t you join them?” Li growls at me.
“I prefer the view; besides, I don’t want to throw cold water on myself just yet.”
Footsteps. A whisper from one man to another that is so clear to my cat hearing he might as well be shouting.
“Damn it,” I say refocusing my attention on Annalise, savoring the last few seconds before our little adventure is cut short.
Twenty
Annalise
Miriam scrubs me hard in a nearly boiling tub of water, my skin turning pink and raw. More than a couple of leeches had to be salted and pried from my skin.
My leopards weren’t brought to my room, and I’ve been worried sick about them since they left my sight. I’m starting to wonder how I ever lived without them. I just hope they’ll be brought back soon. I don’t know if I could survive another day without them…I don’t know that I’d want to.
“Ah!” I yelp as Miriam’s nails dig hard into my scalp, the lather from the soap so thick it’s now covering the surface of the water and I am no longer able to keep my eyes open. I hear the door open and heavy footsteps approach. I immediately sense that Miriam has moved aside and is no longer kneeling by the tub, but the suds are still blinding me.
A large hand shoves my head underwater, then pulls me up, gasping for air. Fingers tighten in my hair, pulling at my roots and bringing tears of pain to my eyes. My head is forced to look up and into Damien’s face. He’s crouched over the tub, but even in this position, he is anything but small.
“Don’t think for a moment,” he says, “that today wasn’t a test.”
I swallow, hard.
“I won’t be fooled again. Consider what little freedom you may have had as my wife gone.”
“I—”
He shoves my head underwater again, this time not returning me to the surface right away. I claw at his arm, the pain in my lungs growing as my need for air becomes desperate. Just as I feel like I’m about to pass out, I’m pulled back to the surface.
I cough as I try to fill my lungs with air.
“Never. Again.”
I brace myself to be pushed underwater again, but instead, Damien lets go of my hair and moves to position himself behind me, his hands engulfing my shoulders.
“This could all be so much easier for you,” he says, his voice low and unnerving, “if you stopped fighting the inevitable. I will have you in the end, whether you like it or not.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block him out.
“Rosa learned fast enough.”
My eyes fly open and I jerk out of his hands and to the far end of the tub. He doesn’t move to stop me, but lets his fingers trail in the water as he watches me from beneath his brows.
“Oh yes, I had her. She was a very sweet conquest in the end.”
I think I’m going to be sick.
“Of course, she didn’t come willingly, but that all changed in the end. I daresay she won’t try to disobey an order from me again.”
I throw myself against the side of the tub and retch onto the floor.
“Now, now. It won’t be so bad for you. You know better now, don’t you?”
This man is pure evil.
“Don’t you?” he asks again, his voice hard and cold.
“Yes,” I say, hoping he’ll leave.
“Good. Oh, and thanks to your little stunt today, your father has agreed that the wedding will be moved to next week.”
“What?” I gasp in shock.
“I know, I wish it were sooner as well. But I’m sure you can understand what with guests and preparations…” Damien says dismissively as he stands and makes his way to the door.
“Don’t miss a spot.”
The words are directed at Miriam, who immediately begins scrubbing at me again, harder than before.
“Ow!”
Damien smiles darkly at me, shutting the door behind him as he leaves.
My leopards. I haven’t been able to do anything but pace the length of my room since Miriam finally left me alone, anxiously awaiting their return, or to learn of their fate. I hadn’t considered what my actions might mean for my pets, but now it is all that fills my mind. Without them, I feel like a piece of me has been lost.
It’s the first time we’ve been separated from each other for more than an hour since we’ve met, and with each passing moment, I grow more uncomfortable with the separation. I know I shouldn’t be so attached to animals, but in some ways, they feel more like family than anyone else in my life.
There’s a scuffling at my door, and I whip around to see a note. I hurry to pick it up, but just as I lean down, I hear a small whisper.
“Annalise?” It’s Rosa!
“Gods! Rosa? Is that really you,” I say, my heart racing.
“I can’t stay long. Are you okay?”
“Am I okay?” The question baffles me. “I’m the one who should be asking you that!”
“I…No, I’m not, but there’s no time for me right now. Read the note. We’ll talk more later.”
“Rosa!” I whisper, but she’s gone.
I snatch the note off the floor and hurry over to the window to read the hastily scrawled words in the dying light of day.
Your father’s being poisoned.
My hands are shaking. Hadn’t father mentioned something to me about Damien concocting various potions for him since he began visiting our kingdom? What if…what if all this time he’s been slowly poisoning Father in both mind and body so he can take me as his bride and become king not long after? My hands are shaking so badly I can barely hold onto the note. I jump up and run to light one of the candles in my room, and then I burn the paper. I’ll not give Damien the satisfaction of finding another note. I watch as the note slowly turns to ash. Sweeping it into my hand I return to the window and toss it out on an evening breeze.
Now, I just have to find a way to prove Father’s being poisoned, but first, I need to find a way out of this room. I spend the next hour testing the lock on the door, touching every stone and object for hidden doorways and poking my head out of all the windows I can possibly fit through, but there’s nothing. Not that I had honestly expected to find anything, but in all my books there was always a way out. Good has to triumph over evil.
I slump down in the bed I’d made for my leopards and me. I wish they were here. I wish I didn’t feel so alone. I wish I were stronger.
A key turning in the door sends my heart into my throat. The door opens and in walks Damien, my three leopards trailing behind him. They’ve been washed, and from what I can tell by the red still staining parts of their white coats, punished as well. Their leashes have once again been replaced with heavy chains.
“Miriam will come to feed and dress you each day. You will be bathed each night in rosewater and milk. Licorice tea will be given to you to drink before you sleep. Your…” He pauses from the list he’s been spouting off to me like I’m some child and looking at the bedding strewn across the floor in distaste. “Your bedding will be replaced each morning. You will not leave this room again until our wedding.”
“But that’s a week from now!” I say, fighting my immediate urge to kick him in the shin, although I have no idea how I’d do that from my place on the bed.
Damien continues, pretending he didn’t hear anything. “At that time, you will be dressed in red and escorted to the Great Hall by my guards. Your leopards will remain here, and you will never return to this room again.”
A cold chill runs down my spine. I hadn’t thought about that. Leaving my room for good. Of course, I’d had a different room while mother was still alive, but ever since I was moved here, I hadn’t thought that one day would be my last here. Never coming back to this room doesn’t particularly bother me in and of itself. I’d always thought of this room…no, this palace as more of a prison than a home, at least after mother died.
What does bother me is why I won’t be coming back. Not just because I’ll be trapped in a room with Damien, his property by law, but because I get the impression he’s also expecting me not to see my leopards again once we’re married. Of all things, this is what worries me the most.
“My leopards?”
“The leopards,” he corrects, “are simply here to keep anyone else from trying to defile or harm you. Seeing as they’ve barely managed to do that, and I will be able to keep you from others once we are married, they’ll no longer be of any use to me.”
“But what will happen to them?”
“That is none of your concern,” Damien snaps, throwing the heavy chains to the floor. “You’ve been informed of your duties from now until our wedding. See that they are met.”
Damien storms from the room, slamming the door behind him, the lock clicking into place.
He is beyond insufferable. I want to scream.
No, I want to fight back.
I get up and remove the chains from my leopards, inspecting each in turn for visible damage. Besides the blood stains, there are no wounds to be found and I’m left feeling perplexed. I touch the amethyst-eyed leopard’s collar, trying to find some way to remove it. He growls at me, fangs bared, and I reel back on my heels as he slinks away from me.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I want to be angry, to fight against the tyranny of my betrothed, but I don’t know how. I haven’t even found a way out of this room. One of the leopards nuzzles the back of my neck as if to say it’s not my fault, forcing a sad smile onto my face.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” I say. “I just wish I knew what to do to get us out of this.”
I wrap my arms around the leopard’s neck and he purrs. I kiss his head. He purrs louder.
“Oh, how I wish I could just turn into a leopard and run away with you…and you…and you,” I say, laughing as I kiss the two leopards still next to me in turn.
“Now, what do you think? Shall we try to plot our escape from this dungeon together?”
They purr in harmony.
I stretch and look up into the gorgeous face of the green-eyed, red-headed male, and he gives me a playful side-smile back. I must be having another dream. I wonder what it says about me that I personify my leopards in my dreams. Not just personify. I make them literal sex gods in my dream world fantasies…Not that we’ve had sex in my dreams.
Gods, why am I thinking like this? An arm reaches around me and pulls me away from the redhead, and for a split second, my body wants to resist, but then I’m looking into the stormy eyes of the angelic blond. No, to call him an angel would be a disservice, as terrible as that sounds. He’s rough, far too masculine to be likened to the softer connotations of an angel. His long hair is braided on one side, the rest left loose and falling over half his face as he positions himself over me.
“Annalise,” he says,
his voice low and smooth. With just my name, I am putty in his hands.
“Really, Ero,” the red-headed male says, pulling me back to his beautifully freckled chest. “You can’t just go around charming the lass with her own name.”
“Just because you’ve had bad luck with the ladies doesn’t mean you have to go around insulting my natural charm, Roan.”
“Your name is Roan?” I ask the red-headed male.
He looks at me startled. “Yes, but—”
“And you’re called, what was it…Ero?” I ask, my face still pressed against Roan’s smooth body.
“You can understand us, girl?” the blue-eyed male asks, turning me over to face him.
“Of course I can understand you,” I say, laughing. “You’re in my dream after all.”
He and Roan share a look, propping themselves up. Their bodies now too far away for my liking.
“How?” Ero asks Roan.
“Should we wake Li?”
“Who’s Li?” I ask.
They both look at me before shifting their eyes to a third male.
Oh yes, how could I have forgotten about him, even in a dream? The third male. He’s sleeping, strands of his jet-black hair escaping the bun at the top of his head. His golden skin glistening in the moonlight. He’s curled up in the exact same way my leopards sleep when they’re alone. I want to touch him. The desire is so great I reach out, but Ero’s hand has found mine, pulling it back and placing it flat against his own velvety skin. It’s even softer than his fur in waking hours. The sensations are so vivid and much more real.
“I want you,” I say, startling myself.
“Of course you do,” Ero replies, grinning.
“No, you want the idea of Ero, but you actually want me,” Roan says teasingly, trying to pull me to him.
“Pretty sure she said she wants me, Roan. So, sorry, she’s mine.”