by Ann Mayburn
“Amazing,” I groaned. “Your mouth is amazing.”
A true growl rumbled in her words, vibrating my sensitive skin as she said, “I’m pleased you think so. But I need to give you more if we’re going to break your heat. Unfortunately, I’m physically unable to provide you with true relief from the mating fever until I transition. But I did find a suitable alternative in your kitchen of all places.”
The round, bulbous tip of something cool pressed against my entrance, and right away my body arched into the pressure, trying to draw it further into my pulsing core.
“You’re a virgin,” she whispered as she placed a wet kiss on my clit. “I’m being greedy, wanting your maiden’s blood for myself, but it will benefit you and your Alpha. He’s a very well-endowed man, you’ll need to be stretched before you take him.”
“What?”
She ignored me, continuing to toy with my body and drive me crazy. “Tomorrow, when you wake up, you should be okay for a few more days before the heat returns. By then your Alpha will have hopefully come home.”
I tried to hear what she was saying, but she was teasing me with what I assumed was a dildo. “Who are you?”
“Someone who has been waiting for you for a long time, but had given up hope.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She rubbed her lips back and forth over my clit. “I could eat you all day, my Queen.”
“I want to see you.”
“Not yet.”
“Please?”
“When you see me again I’ll be in my true form. Your delicious arousal is loaded with your unique pheromones. I can feel the change starting to happen, burning in the back of my mind, down my spine and into my gut. But don’t worry, I won’t leave before you’re satisfied. Already my saliva is working on you, calming the mating heat. And this will help.”
With those words she turned on a vibrator and held it against my clit while she pressed the dildo in with a quick push.
I screamed, not from the sharp pain, but from the pure pleasure of being filled. My grateful body gripped onto the soft plastic dildo, my inner walls tensing and releasing as the vibrator drove me crazy. I could smell her lust, her need, and it was sharp and clean like I imagine the air at the North Pole would be. Her want drove me higher, and I began to rock my hips, drawing the dildo further inside of me while she whispered encouragements.
“That’s it, look at how pretty your pussy is as it takes that fake cock. I can only imagine how good it will feel to sink my dick into you, to watch you spread open like this for me.”
She replaced the vibrator with her talented mouth, sucking and flicking my hard clit until I was fucking both the dildo and her face. Her teeth nipped me and I yelped, which only made her work me harder. My body shook with the strength of her thrusts with the toy, and my vision began to sparkle with bright lights. It seemed as if her scent was sinking into my body, the icy cool waters of her soul putting out the fire burning inside. It was such an immense relief that I almost didn’t notice I was about to climax.
“I can taste your innocent blood on my tongue,” she panted. “Thank you for this precious gift.”
My heels dug into the bed as I began to shake, my thighs locking around her head. She let go of the dildo, my body slowly pushing it out while she sucked on my clit. The pleasure built further and I lost myself to it, totally overwhelmed, all my worries and cares washed away. I was floating in darkness, utterly lost and content as my mate licked me to sleep.
I stood on a lovely beach watching a violent purple and burning red sunset, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around me. The blueberry muffin smell of my mate mixed in with the salt of the ocean, combining in an oddly pleasant way. I looked down, running my hands over the man’s golden tanned skin, the brownish blond hair of his forearms soft beneath my touch. His arms were toned, and the chest that cradled me was broad and rock hard. He rested his chin on top of my head and sighed.
“There is still so much beauty in the world, so many wondrous things worth protecting.”
The peace, the gratitude in his voice warmed me from the bottom of my soul and I snuggled deeper into his arms. I rested my head on his bicep, giggling when he took us down to the sandy beach. Moving me as if I weighed ten pounds, he positioned me so I was sitting between his thick, muscled thighs, and then began to rub my shoulders. For such a big guy, he was surprisingly gentle as he massaged me, my body relaxing into his expert touch. He knew just where to knead, and it was the best back rub of my entire life.
I must have said that aloud, because he laughed. “I’m glad you think so, my love. You’ve been pushing yourself so hard setting up the new colonies, I’m glad our Omega was able to talk some sense into you. Everyone needs a vacation, even the Queen of my world.”
His thumb pressed into a knot in my neck, turning my reply into a moan.
“Feeling needy, my Queen?” He nipped my neck, making me gasp. “The kids are with our mates on the other side of the island. Let’s take advantage of the solitude while we can.”
He tweaked my nipple and I moaned out, “Please.”
He kissed my pulse, his lips gentle, almost reverent. “You never have to beg me, Cinnamon girl. It is always my pleasure to serve.”
Chapter 7
Syn
The next morning I was feeling well enough to go to work, and to be honest, I had to get the hell out of my house. I needed a distraction from my thoughts, something to ground me and stop the panic building inside of me. So much was happening that I didn’t understand, and I was beginning to feel like I was drowning in dangerous ignorance. I didn’t know if it was my animal spirit picking up on something I couldn’t detect, or if I was just freaking out about my little growth spurt.
Between my legs.
Sometime during my sleep last night, my clit had grown about an inch and a half.
And I was freaking the fuck out about it.
It wasn’t super noticeable, but since I’d been keeping an eye, and a hand on that particular part of my anatomy, I knew it was different. In addition to being seduced in the middle of the night, by a woman I didn’t know, who was my mate and would soon be a dude, my clit was approaching the size of my little finger. Knowing I shouldn’t be disgusted by it, that what was happening to me was something all hyena Queens went through, didn’t make me stop feeling embarrassed and weird. My body was now abnormal in my eyes, something I’d never seen before—alien and weird. And according to my research, my clit would get bigger with every mate I acquired. The thought of having something dangling between my legs was too strange to even contemplate.
Would it look like I had a dick when I was wearing skimpy panties?
Thankfully, I was able to lose myself in a mining report from a company out of Chile that had broken through into a deep, subterranean cave filled with unfamiliar crystals last year. We’d received the samples right before my transformation into a shifter, and they’d been sitting in the vault waiting for my return. The crystalline structure was amazing, complex and intersecting in a way I’d never seen before. They also conducted electricity, and needed to be kept in a special box, or they’d short out any electrical system around them.
Per my job’s protocols, I was only to open the cases in one of our specially built labs. They were designed to withstand radiation and magnetic discharge of immense levels, along with electrical pulses and a whole bunch of crazy stuff. A marvel of modern engineering, our ‘safe room’ allowed us to securely handle rocks and minerals too dangerous for most facilities. We needed it; our collection of radioactive rock samples was big enough to poison the East Coast with radiation sickness. My phone beeped, letting me know I had a text, but I ignored it for now. My mind was totally focused on my task, and I gladly lost myself in my work.
The lab was empty by the time I arrived, pushing the large rubber case on a trolley. It took me almost twenty minutes to suit up in my protective gear, but the safety measures were absolute, and I was too much of a
rule follower to skimp. It was harder to move and see in my big, thick biohazard and radiation suit, but at least I wasn’t wearing one of those bulky old ones that made people look like robots. Our current safety wear was more like a snowsuit, layered with all kinds of protective materials until it was almost like armor. The faceplate on my helmet was as strong as bulletproof glass, something that was necessary when working with rocks that might shatter during different tests. Nothing like picking shards of stone out of your eyeball with tweezers to put a damper on your day.
Other than the sound of the air exchange in my helmet, the world was oddly quiet. One got used to the constant background noise of living, so when it was gone it made the world feel eerie. My breath seemed to echo as I carefully did the code for the large case. Just as described, there were two dozen clear cubes containing individual crystals of various sizes. The entry form had described them as being black, but black didn’t cover it. These crystals weren’t black; they were an absence of light. Like holding a slice of absolute darkness. There was something disturbing about them, and my lip lifted in an unconscious snarl as my heart began to speed up.
Before I was aware of it, I found myself backing away from the crystals, sweat trickling down my face despite the suit’s air-conditioning.
My back hit the wall, and I tried to tell myself I was just being dumb. There was nothing wrong with those crystals, they were just a mineral from the earth. Certainly not something to fear. My animal spirit, however, was howling at me to be afraid, to be very afraid. Part of me wanted to bolt from the room, but I was too well trained to leave an open case of electrically charged samples sitting out for anyone to find. I’d be sent home at best, fired on the spot at worst.
It was only my love of my job that had me inching my way back across the room, as if the crystals would suddenly break free and attack me. My animal spirit was insisting they were going to do just that, and she started to go apeshit. I’d never realized just how much control of my body she had until I found myself fighting for every step. She was strong, incredibly strong, and I was nearly screaming with frustration when I finally made it the short distance to the case. The clock on the wall showed me it had taken me nearly fifteen minutes to go three steps, but it felt like I’d been mentally fighting her for hours.
“Look, you bitch,” I muttered out loud as if she could hear me. “I have to close the case. Then I’ll take it back to storage and we can deal with whatever has you all spazzing out, okay?”
To my surprise, the conversation worked and I wondered again how there could be two separate intelligences living in one body.
It helped to look away from the crystals, and I focused only on resealing the case before I finally pushed it out of the room. While I took off my suit and cleaned up after myself, I never took my eyes off the trolley for a second. That evil, sick feeling still pulsed from it, but dimmer, like its influence was muted by the case. As I pushed the trolley back to the vault, I avoided stopping to talk to any of my coworkers, hustling through the never-ending hallways to the service elevator. It wasn’t until the case was safely back in the vault, and I was outside, that the queasy feeling in my stomach abated.
Guilt sent an ache through my chest as I thought about what I’d just done. I’d hidden the case, switching it with another identical one from a separate section of the vault. Even worse, I’d hidden it behind another set of samples in a place no one ever really looked. I don’t know why I hid them, only that I didn’t want someone else being exposed to their evil.
My tummy swirled and clenched, my palms still sweaty and my skin prickling. Trying to tell myself I was just feeling off because I skipped lunch, I went down to the cafeteria and grabbed a bag lunch before deciding to eat outside. Right now I wanted to feel the sunshine on my face, to surround myself with the positive energy of the tourists. Hell, I’d even take being overwhelmed by scents because it reminded me I was surrounded by life.
Sitting on a high-backed bench near the entrance to the museum, I barely paid any attention to the people walking by, instead nibbling at my turkey sandwich and munching my chips while trying to puzzle out my reaction. Maybe shifters were allergic to certain types of minerals, but would an allergy make me immediately think of the word evil? Maybe I was going crazy. Or maybe I was still in a coma, trapped in some hyper real dream.
But even in my dreams I’d never felt desire, couldn’t even imagine it, so I dismissed that notion. No, this was all too real, and I had no idea what to do about it. Did I tell security that I sensed something wonky with the crystals? Warn them that touching them might be a bad thing? What if they didn’t sense anything wrong? Greg would for sure start to worry about me if I started talking about evil rocks. They were just crystals, for fucks sake. Composed of the same organic material as the rest of the earth. Okay, maybe they were some rare new combination of elements, but they certainly weren’t sentient in any way. The very thought was absurd. I was a woman of science, I knew better than to assign human emotions to inanimate objects.
Tossing my half-eaten lunch into the garbage, I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. I would be a mature adult, go back to my office, then close my eyes and pretend those crystals didn’t exist. Technically, they were my project and I could pretend to work on them. Maybe do some bullshit research paper. Yeah, nothing wrong with falsifying information at the Smithsonian. Nothing bad could possibly come of that.
The humid, overcast sky seemed to hang over the green space in front of the museum. Steamy heat had started to weigh down the air, pressing against my skin like a moist washcloth. I had to resist the urge to tug at the collar of my butterfly print shirt, dampness pooling in new places. No one had ever told me how much large breasts would sweat. It was freaking uncomfortable as hell, and I couldn’t wait to get home and take my bra off. By the time I made it to the side of the building, the rain felt as if it was only moments away.
A cold breeze enveloped me as I passed the pink and red rose bushes near the side entrance, strong enough to push me back a step and rip a shower of brilliant petals free from the blooms.
Confused, I stumbled then looked around, trying to figure out what the hell happened.
The breeze came again, so fierce that I had to raise a hand to shield my face from my suddenly whipping hair.
Then I heard my name, whispered by the fucking wind.
Synthia
Okay, that was bad.
All around me, people were fighting against the sudden brisk gale, chasing hats and strollers that were trying to escape. The wind was cold, not physically but somehow spiritually. Inside, my hyena shivered and I had an odd mental image of her trying to huddle down in an icy squall. I tried to mentally calm her, the distress coming through our shared bond strong enough to have me fast walking like an Olympian to the museum. While I’ve always found the Natural History building to be a refuge from the world, I had an all new appreciation for its massive, solid presence as the feeling of being hunted increased.
My breath came in harsh pants while I pushed against the wind, which was now strong enough to send small objects hurtling through the air. Screams rose all around me and I think I might have trampled an elderly couple in my rush to get to safety. I wasn’t the only one seeking shelter, and I found a group of tourists and museum employees huddled beneath the awning that led to the side entrance. Having nowhere else to go, I started for the clustered crowd. They reminded me of a nature documentary I’d seen once about penguins huddled together to face the cold, and I so didn’t want to be the penguin standing by itself.
A line of darkness appeared before the mass of people, and I almost cried with relief at the sight of Judy, looking super pissed, backed by some massive ass bear shifter guards who were ready to rumble and a half dozen witches.
The wind drove me to my knees, and I screamed when I was partially trampled by the panicked crowd.
I glanced over my shoulder, and my breath came out in a whimpering howl of pure fear.
Dark
clouds had built up into a rather neat, compact swirling circle of air. It was directly over the green space in front of the museum and it gave off an almost visible pulse of malevolence. I could feel its desire to destroy, the alien glee of ending life. The hunger. As I stared in uncomprehending shock, the spit dried up in my mouth, and the metallic taste of terror coated my tongue.
Just when I thought I was going to crap myself with fear, dark tendrils, like hundreds of tentacles, began to descend from the mass of churning air. They reached across the cloudy sky, some as big as tree trunks, weaving and waving in the air overhead like a mass of malicious sky snakes. For one horrible moment they writhed above, twisting and snapping together, then they began to strike.
I let out a choked scream when I was hauled up off the ground, a thick-as-my leg tentacle wrapped around my wrist. The same wrist Mr. Creepy Hands had touched. My feet left the ground and I was sure I was dead, but to my immense relief I found myself being held in Ted’s massive arms. With a snarl he tore me away from the tentacle then slashed out with a clawed hand. The tips of his nails pierced the snake like thing, and a really nasty fudgy green blood oozed out. The tentacle retreated, leaving me shaking and just about ready to throw up all over poor Ted.
His face was a pale, cheesy yellow color, and he did not look good, but somehow he stood when the rest of the people around us had been forced to their knees.
Turning, he jogged back to the museum with me held tight, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Another of those tentacles slammed into the ground in front of us, just barely missing me as we moved past. Just as we cleared the first one, another appeared, then another. Twisting and writhing, the ring of tentacles around us began to tighten. I was sure were totally fucked, but our rescue came from an unlikely source.
Judy, sweet and always smiling Judy with the kick ass afro, was now hurling globs of a weird silvery light at the darkness. Only she didn’t look quite like the Judy I was used to. Her face had grown smoother, younger, and her freaking ears had elongated until she looked like a fucking elf. And she glowed. Sunlight poured from within her, reminding me of the way light blazed through sheer bronze silk. Her eyes had turned a solid white, and even though she was dressed in a black guard uniform, she reminded me of a goddess.
