He continued his way along the line of females. Tarina’s heart sped up as he approached her but the excitement lasted for all of one second, then he was past her.
It was almost a relief. What could she have offered him anyway? She had never been special in her entire life, just another plain brown tigress and the fourth of five daughters in a family full of plain brown tigers. Her mother was the special one, the rare white, but she hadn’t passed on her gene to any of her children and Tarina’s unruly spirit and independence had often earned her her parents’ scorn. Suddenly there was a buzz of excitement around her and she looked up. The tigresses who had been perfectly quiet so far started to move, which meant that the gorgeous white must have found his mate. She didn’t turn to see who the lucky one was, probably the one he’d checked out so thoroughly earlier.
Staring at the ground, she made to leave until she felt someone blocking her way. She stopped to let the other one pass. It must have been one of the other females, she thought, and since they were all bound to be cranky with disappointment, she knew it was better to steer clear of her.
When the big bodied tiger in front of her didn’t move, she finally raised her gaze. And froze. It wasn’t one of the other females. Before her stood the glorious white, close enough to touch her with his nose if she moved so much as an inch forward.
She felt his breath on her face, the slow exhalation of air as he held her trapped in this fascinating green gaze of his. It was as if he could look into her soul and something deep inside her answered. Something she hadn’t even known existed.
She lowered her head, breaking eye contact with him. She didn’t even have to think about it. It was the right thing to do.
He tilted forward a bit and she got a first impression of the solid mass of him as he rested his chin on top of her head. Neither of them moved as they waited for the others to leave the room although Tarina’s thoughts were spinning.
When the other tigresses had left, two servants approached them with big robes. Prince Shayonn shifted instantly and slipped into the garment that was being held out to him. Tarina did the same, enjoying the lush fabric that clung to her much as her own fur had done just seconds ago.
Prince Shayonn turned to her and another shudder rocked her. Her legs were about to turn to jelly. The prince wasn’t only exquisite and impressive in tiger shape. He was one of the tallest men she’d ever met, and quite possibly the most beautiful one, too. He could have easily been threatening, but he seemed to be just as nervous as she felt. Toying with the buckle that secured his robe at the front, he stared at the ground. Then he heaved a deep sigh, squared his shoulders and smiled at her. “Hello. I’m Shayonn. Looks like you’re my mate. Care to tell me your name?”
“My name is Tarina,” she said and returned his smile. Damn, those lips. She wanted to kiss them and invite him to kiss her back, and not just on the mouth. He was made for sinful activities, but she was hesitant. She’d heard the rumours. Apparently Prince Shayonn had come a lot closer to one of his guards than etiquette deemed necessary and even tried to run away to escape the mating ritual. Watching him closely, she tried to figure him out. Yes, he was nervous. He seemed to find it hard to keep eye contact, and shifted his weight frequently. Despite his size, he appeared shy and didn’t follow her invitation to flirt, so maybe the rumours were true. Well, there were ways to spark a man’s interest. She’d just have to find out where his weakness lay.
“Tarina. Nice,” Shayonn said at last. “Well, Tarina. Ready to meet the queen?”
“Sure.” Tarina smiled at him again, then she followed the tall man along the red carpet to where the queen sat waiting on her throne. She looked around, trying to take everything in, and yes, she was awed. Some of her self-confidence left her in the face of the high ceilings and magnificent murals. Few people who weren’t members of the royal family were allowed in the palace, and she never would have expected to be one of them.
The gentle brush of his fingers to her arm made her turn her head.
“Everything all right?” he enquired in a low whisper.
She nodded. “Yes. It’s just… All of this is like a dream, you know. Surreal and confusing, and I still can’t believe that you have chosen me as your mate.
“Not chosen,” he said softly. His gentle tone went straight to the pit of her stomach where it caused a pleasant tingle. “Recognised. I don’t understand it either, but I just knew you were the one. You smelled…familiar. That’s when I realised you must be the right one.”
“That’s what finding your mate is about, Shayonn,” a female voice fell in. “You belong together. You were created by nature to be one, but your souls and bodies got separated. You are lucky to have found each other again. Together you will have beautiful children and hopefully save our kind from extinction.”
Tarina stopped dead and stared at the queen. She hadn’t even realised they had come within hearing range. She glanced at her mate. He didn’t meet her eyes and she had her suspicions confirmed. Time to start the games. “Children?”
“Yes, of course. That’s the main purpose of the mating ritual. The wedding ceremony will take place this weekend. You can start trying after that.”
Shayonn squirmed and Tarina bit back a smile. He was too cute. “Um… I wasn’t planning on having children just yet, Your Majesty.”
Prince Shayonn looked up. “Weren’t you?”
“No. I have a job and—”
“Your job will be to look after your babies, dear woman!” the queen chided. “You won’t need to worry about your career anymore.”
“But I don’t want to be a breeding machine!” Tarina protested.
The queen flicked her hand in anger. “Good grief, what is it with you young ones? First Shayonn, now you, too. Doesn’t anyone appreciate the potential you have anymore? You can contribute to keeping an entire species alive, don’t you understand that?”
Tarina lifted her chin. “That may be true, but I’m me. I’m not interested in our species. I’m interested in leading my life the way I want it.”
Perplexed silence followed her statement, then the queen got up. She stopped an inch or so in front of Tarina and stared at her with narrowed eyes. “Is that what you have to say in response to the great honour of being the future queen of Atraya?”
“I suppose so,” Tarina replied. “You see, I was never raised to be a queen. I’m just an ordinary girl. I was taught to look after myself and earn my own living.”
The queen rolled her eyes and huffed, then she turned to her son. “Well, my dear Shayonn,” she said. It seems you got what you deserve. I wish you good luck with this one and remember, I want my first grandchild in a year’s time or I am going to make you regret it.”
Shayonn looked flabbergasted. “Mother!” he protested but she ignored him and, brushing past Tarina, marched off to her private chambers.
* * * *
Shayonn stared after his mother for a long time. This wasn’t going as he had been expecting it to go. So he’d finally found his mate, but apparently the woman was even more reluctant to have children than he was. Admittedly, he’d had months, years actually, to accept his fate, but surely his country’s young tigresses were brought up knowing about the problems of the rare white mutation? So why on earth was, of all the female tigers that could have been his mate, Tarina the one who possessed the right genes but preferred her job over family?
“What now?” Tarina asked.
Shayonn sighed and glanced at her. “Well, I guess I show you around and we get someone to pick up your things.”
“Pick up my things? Why?”
“So you can make yourself at home.”
She laughed. “Sweetie, I’m not moving in with you! If you want to give me a tour of the palace that’s fine, but I’m going home to sleep in my own bed.”
Shayonn rolled his eyes. “This is going to be very interesting,” he muttered under his breath as he turned around and led his new mate down the long corridor to his own ro
om.
Faolan caught up with them after about half of the way. Since he was a wolf and technically not a member of the tiger shifter community, he hadn’t been allowed to be present during the meeting, no matter how fiercely Shayonn had insisted to keep his lover with him for support.
“Shayonn?”
Shayonn stopped but hesitated before he turned around. Really, how much worse could it get? “Yes?”
Faolan jerked his head at Tarina who still had her back turned on him. “Looks like you found her at last.”
Shayonn watched the man he loved for several long, melancholic heartbeats. Things between them were bound to change now that he had found his woman, but they had come close during those past weeks—close enough to make him want to stay with Faolan indefinitely, despite his upcoming marriage and fatherhood. He took a breath and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I have found her. Tarina, meet my personal guard. Faolan, this is Tarina.” He paused before he added, “My mate.”
A slow smile spread across Faolan’s face as the brown-eyed blonde finally moved to look at him. “Hello, Tara,” he said. “It’s good to see you again.”
Shayonn’s eyebrows shot up. “You know each other?”
“Oh, we’ve had the pleasure,” Faolan replied lightly. “I think the last time we met, she suggested we have a threesome.”
Shayonn looked gobsmacked but the sparkle in his eyes as he glanced first at Tara and then at Faolan was a promise of interesting things to come.
THE END
Read more about Faolan, Shayonn and Tarina as the story continues in
Shifting Perspectives
(The Second Shift)
About the author
Sage Marlowe is a multi-published author of gay erotic romance and loves taking romance to the edge. The edge of passion, the edge of pleasure, the edge of propriety.
Hopelessly in love with books from a very early age on, Sage has dreamt of writing one for years while working on the day job instead. It took a very persistent character in the company of a much-adored Muse to finally get the first novel going. The fact that this gorgeous guy was gay came as a bit of a surprise, but it explained a lot.
Ever since, Sage has been the willing slave to all the fascinating guys who just keep queuing up and want their stories told. This has resulted in several published books and countless manuscripts at various stages of completion, so there's always something to work on—preferably at night when the rest of the house is asleep.
Sage’s characters often have a dramatic and sometimes traumatic past and need to battle some demons to be with the one they love. But don’t worry, they get quite a lot of naughty action along the way to keep them happy and there will always be a happy end!
Contact and buy links
Sage’s website & blog: www.sage-marlowe.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sage.marlowe0
e-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @SageMarlowe
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/SageMarlowe
Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/sagemarlowe
For all books published with Total-E-Bound Publishing, go to: http://www.total-e-bound.com/authordetail.asp?A_ID=224
For all books published with Siren-BookStrand, Inc., go to: www.bookstrand.com/sage-marlowe
Shifting Changes (The First Shift) Page 7
