Kierce lay in the grass, the roast between his massive front paws, and he was tearing at the meat with a good level of enthusiasm. He paused in mid-bite to raise his head and look at her a bit quizzically.
“I’m not here to interrupt.” She pulled the ration bar from her pocket and waved it. “I hoped we could eat dinner together tonight, so to speak.” Moving past him, she went to the tree and got herself into the perch she liked. Leaning against the stout trunk, Elianna scanned the skies and the horizon, yearning to break out and run free.
A falling star caught her attention and she made a fervent wish—freedom for the both of them.
From the corner of her eye, she observed the beginning of the gorgeous light display which accompanied Kierce’s change, and she held her breath while he transformed into his human form, awestruck yet again at the astonishing process.
She ran to where she’d dropped the blankets and grabbed them before going to fall on her knees next to him. “Are you all right? Talk to me.” His skin was hot to her touch, and she rubbed his back lightly as he groaned and raised his head.
Kierce rolled over, and she hastily laid one blanket over him. “Elianna?” Rubbing his forehead with one hand, he blinked and peered at her, his eyes a blaze of gold in the dark night.
“I’m right here.” She reached to take his other hand in hers and squeezed, trying to anchor him to reality. “Does it hurt? To change like that?”
“Not really. I had to fight hard to find my way through it tonight, but we have to talk.”
She didn’t much care for the sound of his declaration. Attempting to keep her anxiety under control, she focused on him. “Well, the process was beautiful to watch, awe inspiring even. Can I get you anything? Water?”
He nodded. “Water would be great.”
“All right, I’ll have some for you in a flash.” Happy to have a useful task, she ran inside and filled an empty nutrient bottle with water from the tap. When she stepped into the outer enclosure, she found Kierce sitting up, one blanket knotted into a kilt, the other over his shoulders.
He drank the water in two gulps and asked for more, which she was happy to supply, bringing one of her last few bottles of the nutrient drink outside as well.
“Are you doing better now?” she asked after he drank everything she’d offered. “Should we go inside and talk?”
He shook his head. “I’d rather stay outside if you don’t mind. I know we’re still in a Khagrish cage, but at least here we can pretend we’re free. At least here we have the sky and the stars.”
“And each other,” she said, puzzled and frightened by his mood.
The smile she received was warm, if not totally reassuring, and he reached out to squeeze her hand before getting to his feet. After getting his balance, he moved to the tree, seating himself at the base of the trunk, leaning against the support. She followed, bringing the other blanket, and sitting next to him. “What did Innimarrg do to you today?”
“The same awful new drug, yesterday and again today.” Leaning forward, elbows on his knees Kierce sounded more defeated than she’d ever heard him before. His eyes were dull. “Pain like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Even worse, it messes with my mind, makes me see things that aren’t there, distorts reality, and gives me terrible thoughts…” His voice faded away. “He’s trying to gain control of my mind. I sank deep into the tiger form and the stratagem helped but…we need to talk tonight.”
“Better tell me what’s the matter. Lay it all out,” she said, bracing herself.
Raising his face to the sky as if seeking escape from the grim news he was about to deliver, Kierce said, “Innimarrg claims he knows I can control the transformation. Tomorrow he plans to have you brought along to the medlab with me and subject you to the tortures and the drug, while I’m forced to watch.” He took her hand. “I’m not sure you’d survive. Human physiology is less resilient than a Badari’s.”
She couldn’t speak, terror stealing her breath away. Then she cleared her throat and said, “We’ve been afraid he’d try this strategy. You have to let me suffer—you can’t condemn your fellow Badari to this fate to save me.” Pulling her strength from deep inside, she said, “Or else kill me tonight.”
“I don’t think I can. Giving my brother soldier mercy as he was caught in mid-transformation is one thing, but killing a human woman who—who is my friend, who means so much to me, is another. Besides, hope isn’t entirely lost. I have a plan,” he said in a hard voice, brow furrowed.
“Feel free to explain.” She waved her hand and projected an optimistic air as best she could, although her chest was tightening with anxiety
He studied her face. “What if we go to the lab in the morning and, as soon as we get there, before he can touch you, I change from the tiger to this form. And I tell him I’ll only co-operate as long as you’re with me, but safe from his experiments.”
“Why would he listen to you? He’ll have what he wants as soon as you transform.”
Kierce shook his head. “I’ll tell him you’re a key element in my ability to change forms. You—you’re my anchor, my touchstone to be able to summon the change and become a man.” He touched her cheek fleetingly. “It’s not a lie, Elianna. He’ll be enraged but also curious to explore this unexpected development of your relationship to my well-being.”
“I’m flattered and I’m honored.” Her heart was touched by his simple statement and how important she obviously was to him
“I’ll get us out of this captivity, one way or another.” His voice was fierce and determined. “The Khagrish aren’t going to defeat you and me. I need time and opportunity. Innimarrg has no idea what the tiger form is capable of. And I may be able to take him by surprise when I change to this two legged form, grab a weapon, take action to give us the upper hand.”
She thought his plan was more of a wish, but she didn’t want to die. Especially not by his hand. Her nature was to keep fighting and hoping for a miracle as long as possible and in this they were a well matched team. “All right, I’ll go along with whatever you want to do tomorrow. I owe you my life, after all. If these bastards give us an inch, we’ll take a mile and figure out how to defeat them.” She punched him lightly in the arm. “We’re unstoppable together, right?”
“Absolutely.” He leaned over slowly and kissed her. His lips were gentle against hers at first but then he pulled her into his arms and deepened the caress, teasing her with his tongue so irresistibly she was eager to part her lips to allow him entry. His body pressed against hers was intoxicating, the hard ridge of his cock jutting into her soft abdomen exciting and arousing. She twined her arms around his neck to hold him close and arched under him.
Kierce broke off the kiss to nuzzle her neck, while he cupped her breast with one hand, stroking her bare flesh through the rents in the jumpsuit fabric. She helped him strip the garment from her body and they lay together skin to skin, his amazing Badari warmth keeping her from suffering the effects of the night’s chill.
The grass covered ground was soft under her, and she parted her legs to give him access. He allowed his arousal to nudge insistently at the opening, sheathing himself easily in her slick passage. Reaching between them, he caressed the exquisitely sensitive bud hidden in her folds. He coaxed the first climax from her, holding her safe while she savored the every last tingling sensation, and then responded to her breathless urging to pump in and out with powerful thrusts accented by the ridges on his shaft. Elianna found she had no trouble pushing all the worried and frightened assumptions about their chancy future from her mind while she was lost in the sensual overload with him.
Enjoy this moment and let the future take care of itself.
When the urgency to climax became overwhelming and she could no longer hold back, the two of them tumbled into the sublime ecstasy one right after the other. Afterward she lay enfolded in his arms, exhausted and sated. She had to work hard to resist breaking down in tears, which he wouldn’t have understood, over th
A slower, second lovemaking followed then all too soon it was close to morning and Kierce had to transform into the tiger form.
With a heavy heart, Elianna gathered the blankets and led the way inside the dreary prison, to curl up together on the sleeping platform and try to catch at least a little rest before Innimarrg’s stooges came to drag them both away for a day of torture.
The cell was still darkened for their sleep period when Elianna was awakened by explosions. She sat bolt upright, her hand resting on the tiger’s spine, as he too was startled from his slumbers. Kierce gave her a reassuring lick on the cheek and flowed from the sleeping platform to prowl restlessly along the force barrier on the corridor side of the cell. There were more large booms, making the ground shake underneath them, followed by the sound of crackling gunfire. The lights flickered on too bright then went out completely. Elianna screamed, unsettled by the fear of being left in darkness with a pitched battle going on outside.
Emergency power came on so the corridor and the cell were at least dimly lit.
Kierce hunkered down, ready to fight whoever or whatever might be coming. He swung his head in her direction and jerked it toward the far corner, where the sink and the primitive bathroom were located.
Interpreting his gesture as a command to take shelter there, where the pipes and fixtures might provide rudimentary protection, Elianna hastened across the cell. Kierce continued his self-appointed guardianship of the cell entrance, pacing and sniffing, growling periodically as new sounds of combat drifted to them.
“I can go outside,” she said. “See if I can tell who’s attacking.”
Kierce whirled, no doubt intending to stop her, but she was already slipping under the flap. She was sure he didn’t want her risking herself, but it was essential to know what was going on. Nerves tight, Elianna stayed in a crouch, close to the building, and crept to the edge where the force barrier met the wall. How much stopping power can this force barrier have?
Disappointingly, she couldn’t see much of anything of the fighting except running figures. Smoke obscured the view. The gunfire was more sporadic now.
Another explosion rocked the complex, and she was knocked face first in the grass.
Kierce butted her shoulder, sinking his teeth into her clothes, careful not to break her skin. He urged her to retreat, which she did slowly, leaning on him. Why doesn’t he transform? He’d had a rough night after they retreated inside, apparently having bad dreams. Did he have a flashback from the drug the Khagrish had been using? Or perhaps this sudden combat situation was triggering a traumatic stress incident. Either way, he’d decided to remain a tiger for now, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She fell into the cell, and Kierce nudged her into the corner by the sink, taking a protective stance directly in front of her.
A squad of armed men appeared in the corridor, half of the soldiers stopping at the barrier to their cell, and the others smoothly flowing around their comrades to continue deeper into the prison wing.
Elianna stared at the newcomers. “These guys are your people,” she said to Kierce. She couldn’t understand the language the soldiers were speaking, but even under combat camouflage paint she saw a resemblance to Kierce, not to mention these men were huge the way he was. “They must be.”
Kierce growled and pushed her as far as she could go into the corner.
When the explosions and sounds of fierce fighting began, Kierce was in the midst of a nightmare. Awakening from the remnant of a scenario Innimarrg subjected him to the day before, into the impossible reality of combat, he was disoriented. Protecting Elianna was his top priority, and he found if he focused only on her safety, he could function. Transforming into a man was out of the question under these conditions because as the tiger he had a certain element of surprise. He also had superior size, strength and natural weaponry.
Once he had her safe in the corner, he paced and sniffed the air. The scents were confusing, as were the voices in his head, speaking Badari with an odd accent. How could his people have broken free from the lab where they were imprisoned? And how would his brothers have known to come here to find him? But none of the scents were recognizable, and the fragments of conversation he intercepted—clipped orders, status updates and the like—weren’t the telepathic voices of any Badari he recognized. Who were these soldiers?
Enemies of the Khagrish, which much was obvious and he was grateful, but would the attacking force be allies for him? And, more importantly, how would they treat Elianna?
CHAPTER SIX
As Aydarr and his combat team continued their sweep of the Khagrish base, the deep voice of Mateer, Aydarr’s second in command, rang in his head, I need you over here in the second cell block.
The Badari Alpha checked the scene in front of him and gestured sharply to his second in command on the scene. “You’re in charge here, keep things moving.”
“No problem.” His enforcer stepped smoothly into the leadership role.
Pulse rifle at the ready, Aydarr made his way through the installation toward the cells. This lab was laid out like all the others to some extent. Although, as he and his pack had learned, each lab had the potential for new and even more horrific experiments. He judged the one where he and his people had been created—genetically engineered—as abysmal enough but, since escaping, the pack found other sites as bad or worse.
Aydarr looked ahead to the cell block, which was always the highest priority when his pack took down a lab. One of the driving motivations he and his men had was to rescue others like themselves or like the humans.
To Aydarr’s surprise, Mateer stood outside the building’s open door, cradling his pulse rifle, holding up one hand to stop Aydarr from entering. “What do you smell inside the building?” Mateer asked.
Humoring him, Aydarr took a deep breath to sample the air flowing from the open doorway. This was no time for games, but Mateer wouldn’t pull a joke in the middle of a mission. “Badari.” He paused to recheck the scent. “Not from our pack. The scent’s not quite right. Human female as well. Were the Khagrish creating Badari here?”
“Doing experiments on Badari, at any rate.” Now the enforcer pivoted to enter the building. “You’re not gonna believe this.”
The first few cells were dark and empty. Halfway down the corridor an enclosure was brightly lit and the force barrier crackled. Not pausing in his steady advance, Aydarr asked, “You didn’t open the cell?”
Mateer shook his head. “This is why I needed you.” He stopped just short of the cell and gestured with one hand.
Aydarr stepped forward and stopped, conscious thought pausing for a heartbeat.
Inside the cell was a huge furred creature, feline in appearance, with an oddly patterned dark blue-gray-and-white coat that confused the eyes and made Aydarr want to blink and focus on something else. The deep blue stripes accenting the body would be powerful camouflage in a shadowy forest. The fangs and talons resembled the ones he himself bore: black, huge, lethal. The beast’s golden eyes glowed as it growled deep in its throat.
Despite the clear evidence right in front of his eyes, Aydarr scented Badari from the cat. This animal was one of his kind, impossible as the conclusion seemed. “Is this what our non-humanoid splinter DNA came from?”
Mateer shrugged. “Maybe. Or perhaps the scientists forced one of us to change into the beast. It gets worse.”
But Aydarr already knew what his enforcer was concerned about. A nearly naked human woman crouched in the far corner of the cell and the ferocious beast was between the Badari soldiers and her.
“He’s protecting me,” she said in Basic, her voice surprisingly strong and unafraid. “I told your men that. Please don’t hurt him.”
Is she his mate? Aydarr could barely send the question, overwhelmed with rage at what the Khagrish had done here.
Not as far as I can tell, Mateer replied mind to mind. I think the Khagrish expected him to kill her. But, even in animal form, he remains true to the teachings of the Great Mother, to protect those less powerful than Badari. Mateer sounded admiring. Out loud he said, “I didn’t want to stun him for transport without communication first, but he doesn’t hear me. My hope was maybe as the Alpha, your power could reach him.”
Aydarr handed his rifle to Mateer and stepped to the edge of the force barrier. He caught the gaze of the beast and poured all his power into reaching the mind, not knowing if he was trying to communicate with a man trapped inside a beast or a purely feral creature.
The cat’s tail twitched angrily, and he raised his head and yowled defiance. The beast’s mind was unlike any other Aydarr had ever touched, with chaotic thoughts like the currents of a fast, dangerous river. Persevering, he found several themes lay behind the torrent of instinct and red rage. First and foremost, the beast was determined to protect the woman.
“Is your name Elianna?” he asked the human, without taking his focus away from the beast.
She moved a few steps closer to the huge cat. “Yes.”
“He’s thinking of you.” Aydarr locked eyes with the feline, deadly serious now. I’m the Alpha of all the Badari. Acknowledge my power and stand down.
Crouching, the beast was plainly unwilling to obey, making small sounds, head swinging back and forth, fangs displayed.
Aydarr summoned all his patience, which was difficult in a combat situation, but he was determined not to provoke the unusual Badari in front of him into taking action. Exerting dominance was at the core of the Alpha’s being, although he’d never had to subdue a pack member in animal form before. No harm will come to Elliana, I give you my oath. We need to get her out of here because time grows short. My men will have to put you to sleep temporarily, so we can transport you to my home. You’ll both be safe there.
Aydarr displayed his own fangs and talons now, while telling Mateer to lower the barrier but wait his command to stun the animal.
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