by S. E. Smith
“I love you, too. My cat’s in heat,” she confessed.
Her admission sent him over the edge. She felt his cock expand, stretching her. The heated wave of his hot cum as he pulsed inside her sent her cat’s hormones into a frenzy. Her body immediately reacted, releasing a chemical that his cat responded to.
“Goddess! It will be a miracle if we ever make it out of this room,” he groaned, pulling her close and holding her tight—his body still locked to hers.
“At least we won’t have to worry about mosquitoes,” she sighed, sliding her hands down and massaging his buttocks. “Would you like to try the shower next?”
Epilogue
One month later: Forest Kingdom on Sarafin
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“I can’t believe heat can last that long. How can anyone get anything done? I mean, can you imagine if I was like that every month? It would be non-stop fu—,” Trescina said before her words were cut off by Walkyr’s mouth. She looked up at him with a dazed grin as he stepped back. “Why did you do that?”
“Because if you don’t stop talking about the different ways we can, did, or should make love, I swear we’ll never find the Forest Kingdom,” he confessed.
“Maybe we should have brought Cinnamon and Spice with us. They are always a good distraction,” she reflected, turning to walk along the path again. “Look! There it is.”
Walkyr nodded. The golden orb was dancing just out of reach. Whenever Trescina’s conversation turned to their love life, the orb would respectfully give them a little privacy. So far, Trescina’s discussion had resulted in three detours and two baths in nearby rivers.
“Trescina,” Walkyr quietly said, grasping her hand.
She glanced up at him before she turned in the direction he was staring. She parted her lips in awe. The mist had dissipated, and all around them, beautiful flowers were blooming. Trescina reached out and touched one.
Walkyr stood still when he saw several men and women approaching along the wide path they had been following. He recognized a few of them, including the two older warriors.
“Welcome home, my Queen. I am Trevine, the Captain of the Guard to your grandparents,” Trevine greeted.
Trescina’s eyes shimmered with tears when she saw the scars of battle on the old warrior’s face. She stepped forward and reached for his hand. Squeezing it, she looked around at the warriors silently waiting to greet her.
“Hello. My name is Trescina Bukov-d’Rojah. This is my mate, Prince Walkyr d’Rojah,” she quietly greeted.
Walkyr nodded to Trevine, and watched as Trescina met each warrior halfway. She listened intently to their greetings and repeated their names. The warriors were like the flowers of the forest feeling the warmth of the sun after centuries without its touch. Not only did hope return to the forest people, but so did their Queen.
Several nights later, Trescina stood looking out over the kingdom. She had been hesitant at first, unsure of what to expect from the people who lived here and whether or not they would accept her. Her fears had quickly been extinguished thanks to the unconditional and heartfelt acceptance of the residents. Trevine and the other people of the kingdom had greeted her with open arms. She and Walkyr had briefly returned to the ship to gather clothing and the two Siberian tigers. That respite had given her time to adjust to everything she had learned.
Now, she contentedly listened to the sounds of laughter and music as it drifted through the air. She looked up at the night sky. A soft sigh escaped her as she gazed up at the stars and thought about how much her life had changed in such a short period of time.
“Are you alright?” Walkyr quietly asked coming up to stand behind her.
She released another sigh, this time one of pleasure when she felt his hands slide around her waist. She leaned back against his hard body. A small smile curved her lips when she realized that he had removed his shirt. Her hand slipped down and back. The smile on her face grew when her hand encountered bare flesh.
“Did you forget something?” she teased.
He softly chuckled and pressed a kiss to her neck. “It is easy to do when I see you,” he admitted.
“I love you, Walkyr,” she murmured, tilting her head back to look up at him.
His arms tightened around her. She didn’t miss the pleasure in his searching eyes or the way he continued to search her face. She knew he had been worried about her when they left Earth. It was hard to miss with the attentive way he hovered over her. Of course, the way the other warriors on the warship had treated her with a deference and almost reverence had been a little weird, too.
“What are you thinking about?” Walkyr murmured.
She looked back out over the kingdom. “Everything,” she quietly said with a shake of her head. “This is so… I don’t know, overwhelming. There is so much I don’t know or understand. Why did power mean more to my father than my mother’s love—and me? Today I met so many wonderful but wounded souls. People who loved my grandparents and my mother. So many lost loved ones, and yet….” She stopped speaking when intense emotion from what she had heard, seen, and felt washed through her.
“The people of the forest knew as long as the Heart of the Cat was safe, there was hope, and that one day their Queen would return,” he said.
“It should have been my mom,” she replied. “A part of me wishes she that was still alive, so she could see this again, but another part of me knows that she never wanted to come back. She had found happiness on Earth with my step-father.”
“I would have liked to have met her and your step-father,” he murmured.
“Ivan would have loved it here,” she said.
It was true, her step-father would have embraced a life here with her mother whereas her biological father had betrayed the very thing that he was. She had not argued when Walkyr had quietly suggested that Raul’s body be taken back to the warship—to conceal any evidence of their presence, he’d said, but she thought it was really to give her closure. Raul may have been a horrible person, but he was still her biological father. The recessive memories of her cat gave her a vivid knowledge of the love her mother had once had for the man.
Whoever had killed him hadn’t yet been located. Pallu and Mason had returned several hours after the attack. They had found imprints in the snow that indicated the attacker was a man. Pallu’s cat had followed his tracks back to a road, but they had arrived too late. There was no definitive proof, but she suspected that she had been the target—not Raul. She had confessed as much to Walkyr and the other men.
“Have you heard whether Pallu has found Airabus yet?” she wondered.
“No, nothing yet. Airabus had moved the ship. The trackers that Qadir had attached to the ship had been removed. Pallu says he is working on a different method to track it. If anyone can find Airabus, it is Pallu,” he assured her.
“I think the only thing I truly regret is not being able to speak with Katarina before I left,” she confessed in a wistful tone.
“Chad swore he would find her and tell her what happened. If she wishes to come to our world, she will have safe passage,” he said.
She didn’t reply. Her heart ached for her younger sister. They had been so careful about keeping their distance in order to protect each other.
Trescina’s only hope was that whoever had been searching for her over the years would not know about Katarina. Her sister had been born in their Russian home. Her father had said that their mother was terrified that a doctor or hospital would discover that she was different. The only documentation for Katarina had come from the falsified identification cards her father had purchased from an old friend who worked in the government. Even during the assault, Katarina had remained hidden near the river—unseen by their attacker who had escaped.
Walkyr tenderly turned her in his arms and lifted his hands to cup her cheeks. She could feel his concern for herself, and she gave him a wry smile. She ran one of her hands along his chest while her other hand dipped down below his waist. Her fi
ngers wrapped around his growing length. A thrill of delight ran through her when she felt the rumble of a purr slip from him.
“I’m okay, really,” she promised with a wicked smile.
“Run with me,” he encouraged, bending to press a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. “My cat wants his mate. He has been clawing at me since we set foot on the planet. I think he is done waiting.”
“Show me,” she breathed, turning her mouth to capture his lips.
Excitement swept through her. Their time on board had been filled with learning about each other. Her cat had been impatient to mate with his, but Trescina had been wary of releasing her cat when there were so many men surrounding them in the cramped ship.
“Follow me,” he quietly instructed.
He pressed a hard kiss to her lips before stepping away from her. Her eyes glowed with pleasure as she watched him shape-shift into his leopard. A giggle escaped her when Cinnamon jerked up her head from where she was sleeping in the room. Spice jumped down off the bed and trotted out the door to sniff him.
Trescina giggled again when Walkyr turned and swatted at Spice with an expression of disgust and indignation. She stepped forward and knelt between the two large male cats. Spice purred, flopped down, and rolled over to have his belly rubbed.
“You are such a big, jealous baby. You still aren’t used to not being the only furry guy in my life, are you?” she teased.
Spice rolled until all four of his paws were in the air. Shaking her head at the big goofball, she chuckled when Walkyr impatiently nudged her arm. She gave Spice one last good rub before she turned to look into Walkyr’s beautiful eyes.
“Spice, stay with your sister,” she softly ordered.
You finally stop being mean? her inner cat huffed.
Patience makes the heart grow fonder, she retorted.
Patience make me hornier, her cat replied.
Trescina chuckled and focused. She felt the familiar tingle as her body changed. The ancient blood of her ancestors ran through her body, and the power of it thrummed through her more intensely than she’d ever felt it before.
We home, her cat purred.
Trescina couldn’t have picked a better way of describing it. They were home. There was no longer any need to be afraid that someone would discover she was different.
She released a long, deep, rumbling purr and rubbed her body down the length of his before curling her tail around his muzzle. A wave of warmth swept through her when she heard his aroused growl. Brushing against his hindquarters, she repeated the action on his other side. This time when she reached his neck she nipped him.
You are going to get us well and truly in deep trouble with this little tease, she warned her cat.
He got to catch me first, her cat gleefully retorted.
In a blink of an eye, her cat took off along the balcony. She leaped gracefully up onto the railing before jumping down onto a thick branch; the sound of Walkyr’s aroused snarl echoing behind her.
Walkyr’s cat was beyond ready to take his mate. He was struggling to keep his grip on the beast. He had been doing well until Trescina decided to play seductress. His neck throbbed from where she had nipped him. If he hadn’t been lost in imagining all the different ways he wanted to take her, he wouldn’t have been startled when she suddenly took off.
Chase! his cat snarled.
Yes, we chase, Walkyr agreed with a devilish grin.
His cat took off across the balcony, and bounded through the trees, following the blue striped black tiger as she led him away from the palace and deep into the forest. Calls of encouragement from nearby women and laughter from nearby men spurred him on.
He didn’t know if it was instinct guiding her or luck, but they soon came to a small grassy meadow. He paused on a limb of a tree as she jumped to the ground. Her glossy black coat glistened in the moonlight as she trotted through the tall grass to a stream.
He landed on the ground and followed the trail she had cut through the grass. When he was couple of yards from her, he crouched and waited. She was taking a deep drink from the stream. He watched as she lifted her head and turned, searching for him. He slowly circled behind her. Her tail swished back and forth as if beckoning to him.
He struck when she turned her head to look behind her. His large cat covered her body. He sank his teeth into her neck and wrapped his front paws around her chest. Her startled hiss quickly changed to a deep purr. He felt her hips rise and her tail move to the side.
Together forever, my beautiful mate, he murmured as he slowly sank into her.
Forever, Walkyr, Trescina cried out.
Several hours later, Walkyr held Trescina’s soft, warm body in his arms. They had returned to the palace after giving their cats time to learn and explore each other. He would not be surprised if this became a nightly event—he certainly wouldn’t complain if it did.
He ran his hand along Trescina’s bare skin when she sighed in her sleep. A cool, light breeze fluttered through the open doors. The only sounds now were those of the night and the occasional snore from either Spice or Cinnamon.
A sense of peace settled over him as he continued to gently caress Trescina. He realized that she was right about the Heart of the Cat. All this time they had believed that the Heart was a gem, but it was actually a symbol that offered a reflection of who they truly were. Without understanding who they were, they could forget that their cat is a part of them, not a creature to be dominated and suppressed. Raul and those that followed the teachings of the Enlightenment had not been the only ones confused by the meaning of the scroll. He and his brothers had also been mistaken.
He turned his head and pressed a kiss to the top of Trescina’s head. She was his Heart. He understood now what his brothers Vox and Viper had discovered—his true mate along with the heart of his cat and himself. Love was neither something to throw away nor something he would ever take for granted. He realized the emotion was also not something that was delicate and definitely not easy.
She delicate, his cat said with a wide, contented yawn.
She’s precious, he corrected with a sigh.
A shudder ran through him when Trescina’s hand slid across his stomach and moved down to grip him. His fatigue vanished as she began to stroke him. She tilted her head back and gave him a drowsy-eyed smile.
“I thought you were asleep,” he murmured.
She rolled over on top of him, straddling his waist. “I was, but I had a dream,” she said, looking down at him with eyes filled with desire.
“What kind of dream?” he asked.
“How about I show you?” she murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
Walkyr lifted his hips as she aligned his cock with her welcoming depths. His hands gripped her hips as she slowly impaled herself on his hard shaft. Their groans mixed with the sounds of the night. The two Siberian tigers lifted their heads. A moment later, they both rose to their feet and silently exited the room.
Out on the balcony, Spice padded ahead while Cinnamon raised her head. Long, gold fingers scratched the white Siberian tiger affectionately behind the ear.
“It is good to have her home,” Aikaterina murmured.
Trevine, the new Captain of the Guard, protectively stood watch from his position on the lower wall of the palace. The old warrior raised his scarred face when he saw two white tigers and one gold one playfully run along the thick branches of the tree before they disappeared into the night. His eyes followed them until he could no longer see them.
“Thank you, Goddess, for protecting the heart of our people,” the old warrior murmured as a single tear coursed down his ravaged and withered cheek.
* * *
To be continued:
The Leopard and the Lioness
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Pallu d’Rojah remained behind on Earth, searching for an alien traitor, but that isn’t his only mission! Can he convince the stubborn single mom that aliens aren’t as scary as she might think?
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The Full Booklist
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Science Fiction / Romance
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Dragon Lords of Valdier Series
It all started with a king who crashed on Earth, desperately hurt. He inadvertently discovered a species that would save his own.
Abducting Abby (Book 1)
Capturing Cara (Book 2)
Tracking Trisha (Book 3)
Dragon Lords of Valdier Boxset Books 1-3
Ambushing Ariel (Book 4)
For the Love of Tia Novella (Book 4.1)
Cornering Carmen (Book 5)
Paul’s Pursuit (Book 6)
Twin Dragons (Book 7)
Jaguin’s Love (Book 8)
The Old Dragon of the Mountain’s Christmas (Book 9)
Pearl’s Dragon Novella (Book 10)