Her Panthera Protectors

by Laura Wylde

  “Where are we?”

  “You are in our living quarters. There are about twenty of us here, and there are five living quarters. Everyone is paired up in packs of four.”

  “Are there any women?”

  I hadn't seen any when I came in, just a lot of men. They all had dark eyes that seemed to look right through me. A few of them were in darker recesses of the rooms, and their eyes had actually glowed. It was hard not to notice that it was very much like cat eyes.

  “There are a few left, only five. Poachers have been the hardest on them, getting them when they are in a position to not help themselves.”

  I was trying to weave in his words and the old stories that I had heard. I felt like my head was going to explode, it was too much information coming in at once to process.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I just... I don't know what to say. I can't believe that this is real. That you’re real. I am very sorry to hear that you are getting poached. How many others did there used to be?”

  “We had well over three hundred a century ago.”

  “You say it like you were there.”

  “I was.”

  His words meant more than I could have taken in at the moment. I was trying to get past the fact that the man in front of me was hundred, maybe even thousands of years old.

  The room that I was in took my interest as I tried to settle my brain, and I noticed that I wasn’t alone with Javier. The other three of the pack were here as well, all staring at me.

  I was sure that someone was going to yell "gotcha" at any minute. It would have made more sense than what then were telling me now. Surely, they had to be pulling my leg.

  “So, if you have a few women left, why are you not getting bigger? Where are the babies?”

  Tyler was the one who answered, and I was surprised that he didn't have that angry tone to his voice.

  “Something happened when we started getting attacked, and there has not been a new baby in well over two hundred years. We don't know why, but all we know is that they cannot produce children anymore. Or rather they cannot produce children with us. Everyone has tried.”

  Suddenly, I had a knot in my throat. “All of them have tried…”

  Javier touched my arm. “We think that there is maybe another way.”

  “Another way? I don’t see what that has to do with me?”

  “You said that you cared about what happened here. What’s happening now.”

  “Yes, but I don’t know what it is that I can do.”

  I really didn’t get where he was going with this. He was talking in circles for all I could tell. I had four sets of eyes on me, and they were wearing me down. I was starting to get a little warm, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get it together. This had to be some crazy dream that I was going to wake up from any minute. I was waiting for that to happen.

  “Some of us think that maybe we should hook up with a human. And then we can have a new baby. We need more panther shifters or it is going to be the end for us. More and more poachers are coming into the Amazon to find us and kill us for our pelts. It won't be long before there are none of us left if we cannot replenish our numbers.”

  He looked at me and waited for me to respond, but it took a good moment for me to really understand what he was saying. I could hear it, I could hear the words obviously, but for it to really sink in took another minute. I didn't know what else to say or do about it, and it was getting even hotter in the small underground room, which had felt rather cold when I first got in here, but then it quickly changed as the heart in my chest started beating faster and faster. He couldn't really mean that, could he?

  “So, you think that I'm that human?”

  I was very choice with my words because I wanted to be clear what he meant. It also was becoming rather clear to me what sort of situation I was in. I was in a room full of very large men, underground, and I didn’t know any of them. No one knew that I was here. This was all just too much, and I was glad that I was sitting down because I'm sure that I would've fallen down.

  “Yes, I do. I think you are just human that we need.”

  We.

  I couldn't believe that he was just saying it like it was no big deal. He was talking to me about it like he was asking to borrow my watch or something. Not only did they want to have sex with me, but all of them? I don't even really know. But they wanted me to have their children as well?

  “You can't be serious. I mean, if all of this is real, and you are saying that you want me to make babies with a bunch of random strangers, you don’t seem to get it at all. I don't think that I am the one for the job. I'm not going to be passed around between twenty of you. I am sorry that you guys are having troubles, but this is something that I'm not going to do.”

  “It wouldn’t be all of us, Kayla, just the four of us. The pack. I would not let anybody else touch you. You would be ours.”

  He said it like it was somehow going to make me feel better. That I was supposed to feel better that it was going to be with four guys, instead of twenty. I had not had very many relationships, and I hadn’t even been intimate with four guys. It was impossible to even imagine what it was that he was trying to suggest. Surely, he didn't mean it, but I couldn't even make my mind ask because I knew that he did mean it. That was exactly what he was talking about.

  “I don't think I should be here anymore.”

  I started to stand up, and they all stood up with me. I asked Javier if I could leave, but he seemed unsure. They looked between each other, and there was no telling what that gesture meant.

  “Don’t you really want to know if we are what we say we are?”

  I knew that I should have just walked away. If they were going to let me walk away, that's what I should have done. I should have run as far away from here as I could possibly go.

  “How would you prove that to me?”

  Javier started to shimmer a little bit, and I knew something was about to happen. And for the life of me, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to handle it.

  “What are you doing?!”

  I jumped when I heard the woman's voice next to me. She was obviously upset that Javier was going to show me who he really was. There were two women who had the same dark eyes as all the men, and I knew that they were the women he was talking about. They were the ones who couldn't have children, and they were looking at me like they wanted to kill me. The anger that I'd seen in Tyler’s eyes was nothing to what I was looking at now.

  Before I knew what I was doing, I was getting behind Javier. Something was wrong, and I knew that if I didn’t put some distance between me and them, it was going to get worse for me.

  Chapter 10

  Javier

  She didn’t look like she was taking this well. Marion and Antiqua were not either. I don’t think I had ever seen them so mad, and they didn’t really know what was going on. I had to explain myself, and instead of doing it here, I told the two women to take it into the common room. The whole clan had to discuss this. While I was the one in charge, it was all of our futures that were at stake right now.

  “We need to do this now! You have a human in our house?”

  “Our house. My decision. Go to the commons before things get worse.”

  Antigua didn’t want to go, neither one of them did, but I wasn't going to give them a choice. We were going to become extinct, all of us, if we didn't get our shit together. It is what had happened. This was the only way out that I could see, and that was because of the prophet who I had heard in town. I was hoping that when the rest of the clan heard the same thing, they would open their minds as well. If this was to be the only way, how could we do anything else but at least try?

  I turned around and took Kayla into my arms. I held her and waited until she was able to look at me. I needed her to see that she was going to be okay. I was going to make sure of it.

  “This is very important. I need you to come with me, and do not be afraid. I will no
t let anything happen to you. None of us will.”

  I motioned to the three other men behind me, and I knew that each of them would stand true to it. Tyler was not exactly on board with any of this, but I knew that he was aware of what was at stake and would be loyal. We did not have time to waste any longer. There were not enough of us left.

  When we got into the main room, everyone was there. The women were holed up in the corner, and they were fuming. I could feel the heat coming off of them and anger in the air. I could imagine that they were upset because they were not bearing, but we had to go past our emotions and see what the problem really was. We had to make children, and if they weren’t going to be able to, we have to find another way.

  I motioned for Kayla to sit in one of the seats behind me. I knew that she didn't want the attention, and I didn't want her next to the rest of them. This was the first time that a human had been in Panthera, and not everyone was too comfortable with it.

  Looking at everybody's faces, the idea of mixing with a human was even more discomforting. The women obviously were very clear about how pissed off they were about it.

  Simone was the loudest complainer, and I was glad that she was not one of the two who had walked in on us. She would not have been as easy to calm down. I could see the way she was looking at Kayla, and it worried me. It worried me because she was known to do stupid shit. I wouldn't put it past her to start doing it now.

  “Simone. You have to sit down. I don't know what has gotten into you, but you need to really think about what you are doing. You are embarrassing yourself in front of everyone.”

  “Embarrassing myself? You are trying to dirty our blood by adding humans to the mix. What do you think is going to happen? Even if she does bear children, they won't be pure shifters. They will be some sort of hybrid. Are you ready for that to happen, to muddy us all so you can get laid?”

  “None of you women have been able to produce a child in a very long time. I know that it is not from lack of trying and I know that it is hurtful for you, for all of you, but you have to think of the big picture. Even if it is some sort of hybrid, it will still be a panther shifter and our blood will still go on. Do you really want us to all become extinct?”

  I was starting to win people over with my argument. I wasn't under any false assumption that everything was just going to turn out hunky dory. I knew better than that. I knew that something was going to happen, but at the end of the day, we all had to take a chance. If we didn’t take a chance, the only guarantee that we had was that we were not going to be around for much longer. It was not a bullet that I was ready to sit down and take. I had to fight like it was my last breath, I could do nothing less as the leader of the clan. I had to try to preserve it in any way that I could think of.

  Rudolph’s vision was the thing that seemed to seal the deal. While some seemed quite eager, especially seeing how beautiful Kayla was, I was not ready to share with everyone.

  “The leader’s pack will try first. If this works out, there is a good chance that we can get one for each pack. It will take some work, and I don't think we can use just any human. They have to be special.”

  Simone sat up, and I could tell that she was ready to lose it. She was always ready to fight, and I wasn't in the mood. I've been fighting with her for hundreds of years, more like a thousand, and I was done doing it. This was what was going to happen, and when I told her that, her face somehow got even darker than before.

  “I promise that you will regret this. You do not know what you have done.”

  “I know exactly what I have done, Simone. I am trying to save us. Why can't you see that?”

  “I see what it is, Javier, it has nothing to do with saving us and everything to do with you getting your dick wet. Let's be honest. None of us have wanted to fuck you in a long time, so even if we did have a child, it would never be yours. You are just using this as an excuse to have sex with a human.”

  I couldn't believe what she was saying, and I could hear the gasp come from Kayla. It was certainly bothering her, and I knew it. She was not as wise to sex and the like as we were. I don't think that she was innocent, but she wasn't far from it.

  “You dishonor us with your words alone. Everyone can see that you are upset, so I will forget what you are saying now.”

  “If you choose her, Javier, then we will leave. All of us will. Are you ready to get rid of the remaining women in the clan for one human?”

  That got everyone’s attention, and I knew that the men were trying to figure out their odds. If they lost the women, then there would be no chance of reconciliation. There would be no women to make love to, and many had feelings for one of the five left.

  “You can’t do that, Simone. Where will you go?”

  She shrugged, and I could see that she was bluffing. Or maybe that is what I hoped to see. I could also see though that everyone else was paying attention. I waited for someone to get up and say that they weren’t going to let it happen, but no one did. I was surprised really, shocked, but I knew that it was going to have to be unanimous.

  “What do you think?”

  Damien and Eben agreed. They could see the good in it, and Eben was just horny. He was too young to be fooled with and too boisterous to get much attention. Tyler was my hold out, and he said that he still wasn’t sure that this was the way.

  “But you are my leader, Javier, and I trust you. I know that you will make this work. If you think that this is the only way that we can go on, we have to try. I agree.”

  He wasn’t happy about it, but at the end, he showed me that he still had loyalty for me. That was all that I could ask for, truly. It was all that I needed to hear. It was only when I turned around and started to walk towards Kayla that I remembered there was one more person to convince. It was a lot for me to ask, but at the same time, with the women stalking off pissed, I knew that I was going to have to keep her safe if not for my own peace of mind.

  “I can’t believe that you just had a whole meeting about that and you didn’t even ask me if this is what I wanted, Javier. Don’t I get a say in all of this?”

  “I think that you will be just fine. You understand what is at stake. I know that you are attracted to us, so I have hope that you will agree in time. No one will ever force you, Kayla. You are safe here. Now that the women have left, they are going to seek revenge on you. I wish it wasn’t that way, but it is. There is nothing that I can do about it but keep you close. You said you wanted to learn about the civilization of the temple, so now you will be able to. Intimately if you so choose.”

  I saw her react with a bit of a shiver, and I can’t say that I didn’t love the response. It was the best one that I could think of, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t help the wide grin that took over my face. She was going to give in, I just knew it. All I was hoping for now was sooner instead of later.

  I showed her to the room that we had for her. It was a small one that was next to the rest of ours. I wanted her to feel safe, knowing that she was protected from any harm.

  “I am right in the next room if you need anything. I know that it’s been a long day, but I promise you that you will learn everything that you wanted to learn about our civilization. I hope you stay for a long time, Kayla.”

  “Thank you, Javier.”

  “I will have someone guarding you twenty-four seven. I will not let the women get to you. They will cool off and see that they are acting crazy. It won’t take long, and we will be able to decide what to do next.”

  “Thank you, Javier. Who is going to guard me, you?”

  I told her that it was going to be Tyler, and her face dropped a little bit.

  “While Tyler may be a little gruff, he won’t let anything happen to you. This I can promise you, Kayla. We are all here to protect you, and I hope that you can both come to some understanding.”

  “I have no qualms with him. He doesn’t like me, but I don’t know why.”

  “He just needs time. I am sure that
once he is around you a little while, you will both see that you have a lot in common.”

  I could tell that she wasn’t too sure, but I was. There was no way that he was going to be able to handle being around her without being turned on. The woman was covered in some kind of scent that was undeniable. I didn’t even want to think about it, but I knew that Tyler was going to fall for her. She was ours, and he was the last one who didn’t seem to get what sort of an opportunity this was. Once he fell for Kayla like I had, he would be as lost as I was. I just knew it. There was nothing else to be felt about a woman like her. She was hard to get over, I knew that much for sure.

  Leaving her room, I didn’t want to go. I wanted to start right now, but I knew that I was going to have to show some restraint. No matter how badly I wanted to take her. I had made promises. I had promised that I was going to wait for her to make the decision. It couldn’t come fast enough.

  I nodded at Tyler as he stood by the door. He was not happy with me and the assignment he was given, but his loyalty kept him standing there.

  I hoped that he would get on board, that they both would, so that we could move forward. Eben wasn’t the only one of us who was anxious to slide into the beautiful redhead who had glittering green eyes that were sparkling like emeralds. She was more than an average human, and I wanted to see what all she could take.

  Chapter 11

  Tyler

  Javier must be having a laugh at my expense. He knew the last thing that I wanted to do was watch Kayla, but he made sure that I had first watch. It was hard for him to decide what to do with her and her expedition, but I knew. Get rid of them and everyone else who tried to come to the temple. Eventually, people would stop coming, and we could finally live in peace. I felt like I was the only one thinking about it more than anyone else.