by Jade White
“I didn’t say that! I said queen,” he clarified, holding the syllables too long so that they became a perversion in his mouth, “but we need more than a single Tiger. Perhaps, in time… you would find yourself attracted to others. You would give birth to an entire army. An army of Shifters! How can you possibly say no to that?”
Kristen stood up. His handprint still felt fresh on her skin.
“Let me tell you something about Shifters,” she replied coldly, “if ever in this world I am made a queen, I tell you this now… Rodney is the only king I’ll ever have. And you… you’re nothing. Nothing at all, Theo. You’re a bad dream. Something meant to be woken from. And then disappear forever.”
Her words grated on him like fingernails on a chalkboard, and she saw the tension mount in his face, driving itself toward a terrible finale. He reached toward her, his ropy hands clutching at her neck, and she gasped as she felt the air constrict and his fingers press in against her windpipe. Even in human Form, he was still a monstrous figure to contend with, and the wiry muscles on his arms strained as he lifted her off the ground. Her feet treaded the air helplessly.
Without thinking, she pulled the rock from behind her back and brought it down on his face. He grunted but held her fast, and she plunged the makeshift dagger into his head again and again until it was wet with his blood. He screamed and dropped her, holding the mangled remains of his face, which hung off his features like a wet bag of laundry.
His nose was completely crushed, and she felt sick at the sound of air trying to make its way through the sucking bloody wound. She’d almost caved in one of his eyes, and its white soupy liquid was pouring down one inflamed cheek. Theo screamed again, something unintelligible as his remaining eye spun in circles before finally locking on her again. She staggered with her back to the wall, horrified at what she had done to him, but also that he was still conscious enough to come after her.
“AAAUHHH!” he wailed, lunging forward with both hands.
Kristen had dropped the stone when she’d fallen and it was too far away. Her jaw clenched as she waited for the misshapen Tiger to finish what he’d started. Theo’s feet scuffed across the stony plateau and he fell upon her.
She barely registered an orange and black blur that flashed past her ear, followed by a tremulous growl that resonated within the stone cliff. Theo screamed again, but this time in pain as huge feline teeth sunk into his shoulder blade, piercing downward almost to his heart. There was a ripping and tearing of flesh as a full-sized Tiger tore at its quarry, loosening bones from their joints.
Blood dripped onto the stones, pooling in a red arc where it finally careened over the cliff edge, and the Tiger pulled back, still snarling, its lips pulled back over its teeth, which gleamed with Theo’s life-blood.
“Brother, no,” the elder Tiger murmured, “…why… why…”
The last Kristen saw of him he stumbled backwards, his chest almost torn away and his abdomen and legs slick with red. His feet tripped over the edge of the cliff and he wordlessly plummeted out of sight. A moment later, the sound of breaking branches was followed by a hollow whump, and Kristen winced. Beside her, the Tiger emanated a labored breathing. There were numerous marks across his body, but most of the blood on his coat did not belong to him.
“Rodney,” she said with relief.
The Tiger turned its head, and gazed at her with yellow eyes. There was no anger in them, no bloodlust, only a tranquil green flux. The air hummed with the tingling of ozone as he resumed his human shape and clambered toward her, enfolding him in his arms. She hugged him back fiercely, not caring about the blood and sweat and grime that coated both of them. They were safe – that was all that mattered.
“Sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” he apologized, stroking her hair, “I was detained.”
“You idiot,” she sobbed, and held him closer. He winced when her hand brushed one of the open lacerations on his back, but he winked. “H-how did you get away from them? What happened… I thought, I thought for sure I’d lost you…”
“Hey, now. I promised I’d never let anything bad happen to you. Could hardly live up to that promise if I went and got myself killed, now could I?” he murmured.
“But I don’t understand…” She shook her head.
Rodney helped her to her feet, but it was Kristen who had to thread an arm under his lower back to support him. He’d taken several bites to his right leg, and even with his Shifter’s high healing rate, he had to favor his other leg.
“Let’s just say, my diplomacy skills are top-notch.”
Kristen didn’t understand the meaning of his words until they’d made their way back down to the clearing. She was surprised to see that instead of Tigers, there were about seven or eight boys and men, all ranging in size and age, and all naked as the day they were born milling about on the stone outcrop. They all looked up when they saw Kristen and Rodney approaching, and two of the older men raced forward to support them. Kristen flinched at first when she saw how dirty they were. Their hair was ragged and long, and most of them seemed to have a second skin of dirt growing on them, but their eyes were alert and deferential. A few of them looked injured, and she saw a smaller boy, no more than sixteen, holding his side – her face stretched in agony when she realized it was the runt Tiger she had beat up so mercilessly. He’s only a kid.
“Rodney, what’s going on?”
He let himself be supported by one of the men as they limped together down the embankment toward the waiting throng. All eyes were on the couple, but more specifically on Rodney. One of the men raced forward with a filthy sheet, which Rodney swathed rather clumsily around his midsection and sat down facing them. With their wide eyes and listless stares, they reminded Kristen of pious pilgrims, finally having reached their promised land only to find it wasn’t at all what they expected.
“They came after me. I put several down immediately – they weren’t used to fighting other brethren. But more than that,” he motioned outward to the group of men, “they’re tired. They’re tired of fighting and scraping for their lives.”
“They look rough,” she confirmed.
“They are.” He smiled. “I have that much at least in common with them. They’re ready to come home, but on our terms. I guess, in the last year, Theo had been acting strangely, forcing them to be more aggressive. Kristen, they’ve just been waiting for someone else to show them another path.”
One of the older Tigers stepped forward, and Kristen guessed his age to be around thirty. It didn’t seem as if anyone – save for Theo – lived much past that age. He had a rigid scar crossing one side of his face to the other, starting from his left eyebrow and lingering all the way to the right side of his jaw where it tapered off. She shivered to wonder what sort of accident had caused it.
“This is Clement,” Rodney said, “one of my brothers. When Craven died, if it hadn’t been Theo who’d taken control of the brood, I’d like to think… it would have been him.”
There was a kindness in Clement’s eyes, which were a sapphire blue, but it was shadowed with the same sort of animalistic fury and instinct that claimed the eyes of all the others who stood watching in a circle around them. More Tiger than human, she thought, but human enough.
“My brother speaks the truth,” Clement said, raising an arm. Like Theo, human speech was unusual to him and it took effort for him to speak clearly. He spoke slowly, as if trying to dredge up a long forgotten vocabulary that he had rarely had the opportunity – or desire – to use. “Theo was weak. More than that, he was mad… he kept talking about taking over the town. We have done… things that perhaps are not right. Many things. But in our hearts, we all knew that it was wrong, the things he proposed.”
“And yet you still followed him,” Kristen said accusingly. She was aware of the fact she was the only naked woman in a clearing full of other naked men, most of whose attention was focused either on her or on Rodney. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”
He was careful in his choice of words, and Kristen had to admire that. “I speak for the others here. It is the Shifter way – the Alpha must lead,” he said, as if it explained everything away.
“And now?” she asked.
It was Rodney who spoke this time. “I have killed Theo,” he announced, straining his voice, and a hush settled on the chattering group below. Their eyes were filled with wonder, and with fear. “He was weak, as brother Clement said. Weak and unfit to lead. Now I am Alpha, and choose to lead.”
“Rodney-” Kristen hissed, but he silenced her with a look.
“However, as is my right as leader, I can choose another to take my place,” he continued, “and Clement has proved himself both strong and wise. I lend command of the pride to him. You will obey him as leader now!”
There was a muted whisper between them, followed by an inhuman strangle of voices. Kristen wanted to call it a cheer, but it sounded more like a crow being torn apart from the inside out. The sound of their cry echoed through the woods, spilling between the columns of old growth. Rodney was helped to his feet, and braced his arm against Clement’s.
“What do we do now, brother?” Clement asked. “Theo is dead, and we are homeless.”
Rodney shook his head. “No, you’re not. You have the farm, Clement… our old home. That’s the place where you belong, where all of you belong. Go there…”
“And what about you?” Clement said, standing tall.
Kristen came to his side, and he put his arm around her, though it took a great amount of effort to stand and speak at the same time. He’s going to need some medical treatment as well, she realized. But he was alive, they were both alive, and nothing else mattered.
“He has me,” she said, breaking protocol by speaking out of turn, but Clement’s surprise was suppressed by his respect for the one who had helped to thwart their previous leader.
Damned better be, she thought. “Now, we need to get Rodney some medical attention, who will help me carry him?” she shouted across the throng.
Almost every hand raised in unison. Each dirty face was etched in the sort of loyalty that could only belong between brothers, and in a way she felt left out, even if she could appreciate, envy even, that bond. But it was Rodney’s hand on her elbow that caused her to turn and he looked at her as if she were the sun, something life-sustaining that could never be replaced.
“Let’s go home,” he sighed.
*
“How’s it look?” Gloria asked.
She was huddled on the couch in Rodney’s cabin, and had made quick friends with Nancy, who was purring incessantly as her new acquaintance scratched at her head. Gloria still had a few Band-aids on her face, but the swelling in her eye had gone down, and despite a few bruises here and there she was back to her normal self.
“I dunno, but they smell great,” Kristen said, pulling a tray of brownies out of the oven and setting them on the counter. She hoped to surprise Rodney with them, though she had little faith in her cooking skills.
“He’ll love them,” Gloria read her mind, “almost as much as he loves you. If you’re ready, I’ll drive you up. I have a shift at the store, I’m heading in that direction anyway.”
Kristen took up her offer, and settled into the seat. When she set the Tupperware container full of sweets on her lap she noticed that a small bump had started to form, almost unnoticeable under her sweater, but when she wore a T-shirt or nothing at all it was apparent. It’s growing inside me, she thought, and wondered if it would be a boy or girl.
“Any weird cravings yet?” Gloria asked as she got into the driver’s seat.
“Not really. But I am hungry.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean those kinds of cravings,” her friend winked.
“Gloria!” she hissed, embarrassed.
“Kidding, kidding. Well, sort of,” Gloria said, chortling under her breath, “but what about the other Tigers. Any word from them? I see the livestock killings have stopped.”
“They’ve moved back into the old farm on the north shore. Now that they don’t have Theo to control them, Clement is doing a good job ‘rehabilitating’ them. That was his word, anyway. I guess they’re going to try to open a real organic farm… pigs, cattle, chickens, everything. It’s funny, they’re actually becoming the sort of people they took advantage of all those years ago.”
“You may have a bundle of joy on the way, but I have to admit, it seems like you’re already playing mother to a flock,” Gloria tapped her long fingers on the steering wheel, and squeezed Kristen’s arm.
At the hospital, Kristen waved goodbye to Gloria and watched her pull away before heading into the hospital. There was a wave of cool air that hit her and tousled her hair, and she headed for the elevator again. The nurse on duty looked up over her board and nodded behind her glasses, pointing with a pen toward the door where Rodney was recuperating.
His injuries had been more grievous than he’d let on – didn’t even mutter a gasp of pain, she thought. He hadn’t wanted her to worry, but when they’d reached the hospital at last, the doctors had been aghast. They were even more surprised at how rapid a recovery he was making.
“Hey, you,” she said, and Rodney’s eyes flashed open. He’d somehow managed to snag a room all to his own, even though he slept most of the day.
“Oh my, are those for me?” he said noticing the brownies.
“Thought you could use something more stimulating than hospital food for a change.”
“And bad soap operas,” he said, dropping the remote on the table beside him. “Come here, you. I want to see you. I missed you.”
Kristen scooted onto his bed and bent down where his mouth was waiting. She had also missed him, and let him know it by plunging her mouth into his. He let out a surprised and muffled murmur as her body craned over top of his, her hands moving over his broad chest as if she were learning the topography of his skin and hair by touch.
“I’m pregnant,” she said helplessly, her face hovering inches from him, “I can’t help myself. I’m a bit of a vixen, at the moment.”
He laughed and kissed her back, and tasted her saliva flowing down into his mouth, her tongue tickling his lips. Rodney opened his mouth wider as she took control, burying her nails into his chest and forcing her tongue further into his mouth where he sucked on it. Kristen cooed, and let him suck harder. Her fingers pulled down on the sheets that covered him, and she was delighted to find that there was nothing on underneath.
“Hospital… protocol,” he breathed hoarsely, pulling up on her shirt.
She laughed and struggled out of it, throwing it onto the chair and unclipped her bra. Her breasts had grown larger with her pregnancy, and Rodney exhaled with a latent desire as he cupped them both and began to massage them. Kristen groaned, working on opening her jeans. Her nipples were incredibly sensitive, and as soon as his hand pressed against them they stiffened like pink buttons against his hands, and she thrust her chest toward him. Rodney sucked hard on them, licking them in tight circles as she awkwardly kicked off her jeans.
“In my hospital room? You think that’s a good idea?” he asked, drawing his face away from her heaving bosom. Their sweltering flesh brushed against his chest, asking to be fondled.
“If you ask me to put my pants back on, I will,” she teased.
“I would be sick if I did something like that,” he said, pulling away the sheet again as she rid herself of her panties and scooted on top of him. He brought the sheet down again as she rocked on top, her hands planted on his chest.
“It’s nice to see that everything still functions,” she said slyly, and reached down between both their legs. Her hand found his cock and she pulled on it. They hadn’t made love in almost a week, since he’d first come into the hospital, and both of them were aching for each other.
Kristen spread her legs wide, giving him a full glimpse of her pubis. The dark mound of hair angled upward from her vulva, and had also grown thicker in the course of her pregnancy. He
reached down, stroking her inner thighs right where the hair tapered off, and Kristen closed her eyes, her lips forming an open O as he tempted her. She slid her hand harder up and down on his shaft, and he took the hint and brought his own fingers over her groin, seeking her out until he found the warm folds of her labia. With infinite care he parted them, and found her ready. A warm liquid drooled into his palm as he pressed against the entrance to her vagina, stretching it with his fingers until he’d inserted two digits. She moaned and dipped her head forward, her other hand bracing on his shoulder.
“I think you’re ready,” he said softly.
“I want you inside me, Rodney,” she gasped, and moved forward on her knees several inches and stood up. His hands went to her breasts again, gripping and sliding over the small bump on her abdomen. Her breasts held themselves suspended above them, ripe with desire, their nipples standing on end as if they’d been zapped by electricity.
Kristen gripped his penis again, and held it aloft as she lowered herself centimeter by centimeter. She reached behind with one hand and held his knee, pushing her chest and groin outward so that he could watch as he penetrated her.
Her labial lips spread wide and he gulped when he saw the pink blood-infused interior, and bit down on the inside of his cheek as the head of his member disappeared up the ribbed warm canal of her vagina. Both of them held their breath as she lowered herself further and further, until he was buried almost to the base of his shaft. Her pussy was spread wide, and she felt him flex his muscle inside her, hardening.
As was their custom, she started slow, gyrating her hips and bucking toward him, though by now they had worked up a sweat and her thighs were slippery against his. Rodney’s hands cupped her breasts again, working them with the same fluid rhythmic motion. Both their groins meshed into one another like two flowers, and Kristen bit her own lip as she felt a wave of passion overlap itself like the ripples on a pond. Each time he touched her, kissed her, licked her, it was like another stone thrown into the pond of their embrace, until she couldn’t tell where she began and he ended.
