“The pride leader is the strongest male, the most dominant male in a pride. Most of the time, the pride is arranged along family lines, but occasionally the males are not related. When we reach maturity, we must participate in a series of intricate tests that we do not speak of. It is only the males of our people that know what we must go through in order to prove our worth to the Felidae. If we pass, we are given a pride to rule. The strongest pride becomes the Ruling Pride and they are marked with a symbol when they pass the tests.”
“What kind of tests?” she asked.
“I cannot say. It is one of our sacred rites. It is only revealed to those who are deemed worthy.”
“Well, that just sucks,” she said, pouting.
He grinned in response, sliding his head down to nibble along her earlobe. “I would tell you if I could, little flower. It is not something that we take lightly,” he whispered, breathing the words out against her ear.
“Ah… I understand,” she panted. “So… what does the mark look like?”
Laithe held out his forearm, turning it so she could see the inside of his right wrist. On it was the shape of a lion, tinted a shade darker than the fur around it. Rowan gently ran her fingers over the mark, tracing the outline so that she barely touched his arm. It wasn’t just in the hair. It looked like it was pressed right onto the skin. It looked like a burn, and she thought it must have hurt like hell to have it done.
“Does this mean that --”
“My father is the Appaliunas, and he rules the Felidae along with my three uncles. It is accepted that I will take over his rule in time. The Leo has always accepted responsibility for the other clans, because they choose to be solitary for the most part. There are a few exceptions and they have their reasons for doing so.”
“Can I ask you about Fahd? What just happened here?” she asked, averting her eyes, fidgeting with her hands while she waited for his answer.
“I’m not sure what to tell you. It is expected that each member of the prides has the right to mate with any of our females, with her consent. I don’t expect you to make up your mind about that until you get to know each of them better. I promise you, Nawra, I will not push you into anything you are not ready for.”
“Ummm… did you just say each member of the pride?” She raised her eyebrows, looking at him in surprise. There was no way that he expected her to have sex with everyone on his ship, was there?
“It is expected, little flower. Females are so rare among us that this is the only way for our people to survive without going to war,” he explained.
“I get that, I really do, Laithe. But there’s no way that I’m just going to roll over and have sex with a bunch of men because it’s the right thing to do for your people. I’m not like that.”
He nodded, a frown furrowing his brow. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I cannot ignore the needs of my men. However, I do understand your reasoning, and I would never discount your feelings on this. You are my mate, and I want you to be happy. If it means that much to you, I will let you take this at your own pace, Nawra. It will be your choice. Always.”
Rowan nodded, unsure of exactly what to say at the moment. There was a lot that she was going to have to think about. “I’m willing to stay with you… as long as we can take it at my pace.”
Laithe stretched, making Rowan cover her ears and giggle when he let out a loud roar. Prowling to the edge of the bed, he hopped off, turning to hold out his hand to her.
“I have no problem with taking it at your pace. As long as your pace allows me to fuck you whenever we both need it.”
“Uh… excuse me, fur face. You’d better be careful, or you won’t be fucking anything around here,” she teased, pursing her lips to hold in her smile at the silly grin on his face.
“Don’t give me that look, Nawra. I was merely joking with you. It is time for you to get acquainted with my ship.”
She heaved a sigh, determined not to let out the laughter that was bubbled up inside her, then looked down at her still naked body. “You’re going to get some clothes for me, right?”
“I would prefer to keep you naked, but if you want to be clothed, then I will accede to your wishes,” Laithe purred.
“All right, fuzzy, show me what you have in the form of ladies’ wear,” she giggled, crawling to the edge of the bed.
Ten minutes later -- and after a brief tug-of-war over what he deemed clothing -- Rowan stepped through the opening in the wall and out into the corridor. She had a strip of cloth wrapped around her waist, covering her ass, and she’d placed another strip around her breasts. It was this that Laithe had argued over. He wanted her breasts to be bare, but she’d resolutely put her foot down. Enough of his pride had already seen her naked.
The walls of the corridor were the same shimmering black as the sheet that covered her in Laithe’s bedroom. They walked toward the stairs set in the end of the corridor, Laithe filling her in on the mechanics of the ship itself. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she wasn’t getting any of what he was talking about, he just sounded so excited about how everything worked. A scientist she was not.
Walking up the stairs, Rowan had the opportunity to watch Laithe’s ass move in front of her. He definitely had a prime ass, and she figured she could bounce a Canadian Toonie off it, never mind a measly quarter. And heck, she didn’t even mind the fur, although she hoped that she wouldn’t have to chase after him with a vacuum to clean up behind him. Did cats shed a lot? Because there was no way that she’d be okay with having fur over all of her clothes. Rowan picked at the wrap around her breasts -- what little clothing she was wearing anyway.
When Laithe reached the top of the stairs, he paused to wait for her to catch up, and suddenly she was glad for his support beside her. The entire top of the ship looked out into the stars. She was completely surrounded by the bright spots. She’d never really been one for star-gazing, but this put everything she’d ever seen in the city to shame. Millions of twinkling lights blinked around her, the sight so unbelievably peaceful she realized she might be spending quite a bit of time up here.
A smooth, rich voice intruded. “Laithe, we have nearly reached Felid and I have already informed Father that we are approaching with your new mate.”
Rowan peered up into a face that resembled Laithe’s but for the lighter color of his mane.
“Rowan, meet, Asad, my brother. The only brother you have yet to meet is Usama, and he is distinct in his coloring. You won’t mistake him for someone else.”
Asad bowed to her, his tail bobbing in the air behind him.
“Little flower, I must see to the approach. Would you like to look out the windows at the stars?”
Rowan followed his gesture, turning to see a large bank of windows set away from the consoles. She hummed happily, bouncing once before walking over to them, glad to have the time to herself.
Rowan nibbled on her nail, lost in thought while she gazed out the window. She turned her head to glance at Laithe who directed his men to do whatever it was they had to do to get them home. Home… it was weird to think of home right now. She wondered how much time had passed since they’d taken her. She’d probably missed work, and it was a damn good thing she didn’t have any pets or they surely would be dead within a few days from starvation.
She snorted at the thought of pets. Technically, one could say that she did have pets now. Sure, Laithe probably wouldn’t find it funny, but she had a feeling that he took quite a few things too seriously. It should be fun to shake things up a bit more. Not that she was planning on staying for long. She would go with them to their home world, see the sights and then she would just have to ask them to take her back. Back to her life, the uber-interesting one where she had no friends. Sighing, she leaned against the glass, trying to get comfortable.
Off to the side, she saw a large, black shape make its way onto the bridge. Fahd moved effortlessly among the other men, brushing up against Laithe when he passed him and wrapping hi
s tail around the other man’s leg. She could hear Laithe’s rumbling purr when he leaned into the caress. She turned to see what everyone else thought about the action, only to notice that none of them were paying any attention at all.
She’d always had a secret fascination with men having sex with other men. She used to devour every piece of gay romance she could get her hands on. There was just something about two men together that set her loins on fire. Loins? It looks like someone has to cut down on the historical romance books. Snorting, she turned back to look out the window.
Wait a minute. Rowan looked closer at a dot in the window that was getting larger. Is that…?
“There is so much that I want to show you, Nawra. We are approaching Felid, my home world,” Laithe said, coming up behind her. He placed his hands against the glass on either side of her head, caging her in. Bending down, he pressed his face to her neck, breathing deeply. She tilted her head to the side, loving the feel of his mane against her skin.
In front of her, the planet grew larger and larger until she was able to make out distinguishing features. It looked smaller than Earth, not that she’d ever seen Earth from outer space. But it just seemed smaller. There was more land than ocean. The area directly in front of them was a large, green sea of land, stretching to cover the majority of the planet.
The closer they came, the more features she was able to see, mountains rising up from the ground, trees dotting the landscape. Small, thin rivers bisecting the grasslands. It was all so fascinating. So similar to parts of Earth, but so damn different…
She rubbed her face against Laithe, breathing in his scent, like spicy nutmeg. He made her feel so protected standing behind her. Like nothing bad could ever happen to her when she was with him. Maybe it was his size, but her muscles relaxed whenever he was around, the tension draining out of her. Normally she was so wound up, but just being with him was enough to make her at ease and it left her amazed. Yet, she couldn’t forget that no matter what she felt in his arms -- however much comfort she found with him -- there was something greater at stake.
She was going to have to make a choice soon.
Chapter Six
“Welcome to my home.”
Laithe motioned for Rowan to disembark in front of him. They had just landed, and as far as she could tell, it was exactly like the holograph in his room. Thick, tall grass blanketed the land for as far as she could see in three directions, a deep vibrant green.
Directly in front of them, low buildings sprouted up among the trees and grasslands, blending in with the surroundings. Laithe had already explained to her when they made their descent that this was the territory his father lived in. All over Felid, different territories had been set up for each pride. There were even some Pardus living on Felid, although they had their own home world on one of the outlying moons.
Laithe mentioned that it wasn’t uncommon for the Leo to kill any Pardus they came into contact with, and Fahd and Morgan sometimes had a rough time of it when they visited other prides. His family was one of a very few among the Leo that were accepting of other clans.
Rowan was already nervous. She was about to meet the rest of Laithe’s family. On the way down, Laithe had left her alone in the atrium while he and his pride made the last minute preparations to land. She’d thought long and hard, taking the opportunity to figure out how she felt about all of this.
She couldn’t explain it to herself, but she definitely felt a connection to Laithe. Those few minutes during their lovemaking when she saw things from his perspective had been unbelievable. He was so gentle with her, but she had the feeling that he could be ruthless when he wanted to be. She didn’t think that they would let a weak Leo become a pride leader. He had to be something special.
And he seemed so totally devoted to his pride. He was so gentle with the little man named Catan. Laithe had spoken briefly about him, explaining that he had been abused horribly and might be nervous about approaching her. And he was accurate -- when she’d met Catan he’d hidden against the console he was working at, nodding once before turning and hiding his face again. It wasn’t until Asad had moved closer to him that Catan had relaxed, leaning into Asad’s bigger body, rubbing his face up against his shoulder.
And that was another thing. The pride seemed so open with their affection. All day she’d noticed them touching each other. Little brushes against the other men, stroking their fur, intertwining their tails. But it didn’t appear sexual. At least it wasn’t sexual most of the time. They’d genuinely seemed to take comfort from the presence of each other.
Rowan was a little jealous of the affection until she realized that they were doing it to her as well. Whenever Laithe spoke to her, he managed to position his body so he brushed up against her. He constantly stroked his palms over her arms, holding hands with her whenever they were together. Fahd too touched her frequently. It was… different, and she realized it wasn’t so bad. Thinking about it now made her go all soft inside. She could have a family if she chose to stay with these men. It almost boggled the mind, but she wasn’t going to let any doubts ruin her happiness. For the first time she could remember, she actually felt as if she might belong.
Her own family had never made her feel this way. She had been a disappointment to them, never smart enough, never pretty enough. They wanted her to be like them, traveling the world and trying to save everyone else, but when she’d balked at their restrictions, they’d finally washed their hands of her. It was disappointing, but she’d learned to live with it. She just wasn’t made to be like that. It was almost comical that after years of refusing to move to Africa to be with them, she was now living in a place very similar.
Looking up when Laithe pressed a hand against her back, Rowan spied a group of people exiting one of the buildings. This must be Laithe’s family.
“Go with Fahd and the others, Nawra. I must speak with my family. It is customary, do not worry,” Laithe reassured her.
She turned to look to Fahd, moving forward when Laithe ran his hand down her arm one last time. Fahd took her elbow and propelled her over to a separate abode, Morgan and Rajiv following behind them.
She admitted to herself that she was a little intimidated by the large Tigris. He looked exactly like a really fierce Tony the Tiger, something that should have made her laugh, but she had a feeling not many people made fun of Rajiv and lived to brag about it. There was darkness to him that told her he wasn’t a man to mess with.
Morgan, too, was silent, keeping his distance from the rest of them, walking past them into the abode and down through a hallway to disappear. Rajiv stopped at the entrance, waiting for Fahd and Rowan to enter before remarking that he would stay outside.
She was left alone with Fahd, watching him wander into what must be a sitting room that sprawled down to a lower lying platform. It was the same vibrant green as the rest of the hut, and Rowan wondered if they had somehow made it out of the grass outside. It was all the same color. She stood in place, eyeing the interior of the small house.
“This is Laithe’s home when he is on Felid. We all have rooms here, befitting our status as part of his pride. Although it is pretty rare that we are actually here, and not on The Shahnaz,” Fahd offered, staring unblinking at her while she looked around.
It wasn’t that she was trying to avoid his eyes, there was just so much else to see. Okay, fine, she was avoiding him. This was so awkward now that Laithe wasn’t here. She still couldn’t believe that she’d slept with him. Her face grew hot. There had been absolutely no sleeping involved in what they had done. She just didn’t understand the connection to him. Were her feelings because of Laithe, or was she coming to care for Fahd? She was so unsure about these new emotions. This whole thing was giving her a headache.
“He has gone to talk to his family, in case you were wondering. He needs to make his case to keep you, to prove that he has mated. Once his father accepts his mating, we will bring you to them to undergo the ceremony.”
“Who
a… wait a minute… what ceremony? Why didn’t Laithe say anything about this? I thought everything was agreed upon already. Does this mean that his father can reject our mating? What the hell will happen to me if he does? Are you going to send me back?” Rowan knew she was panicking when thoughts started to fly around in her head. Her chest felt tight at the idea that there was yet another thing that she couldn’t control. This couldn’t be happening… not when she was this close to considering staying. Now Fahd was telling her that some other guy could make her leave him.
“Calm down, gorgeous. Laithe will not let you go. And if his father even thinks about it, Laithe and the rest of us will keep you regardless.” Fahd stood up to move in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Rowan looked up at him, memorizing the features of his face. He seemed so strong, so gentle. Suddenly she wanted to know more about him. She just needed to find the words.
“I think we need to talk,” she said.
Fahd sighed, exhaling loudly while he brought up one hand to rub against his nose. Turning, he started to walk away, grabbing her hand at the last moment to tug her over to the platform. He sprawled out along it and urged her to sit beside him.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
Rowan took a deep breath of her own. “I want to know what’s between you and Laithe. And what it means to me.”
Fahd paused, clearly considering his words. “Laithe and I go back many years. My father, Pantheras, has been the personal guard to Haytham for many years. They are very close. They love each other very much.”
“But isn’t Laithe’s father mated?”
“He is, and he shares his mate with his brothers, Laithe’s uncles. But he also shares Laithe’s mother, Ariel, and himself with my father. My mother was a Pardus, but she died shortly after my birth. My people are different from the Leos. It is not as common among us to share mates. And it is nearly unheard of among the Tigris. A Tigris male will kill any man that tries to steal his mate. The Pardus are similar. We are solitary by nature, and will only come together to mate.” Fahd paused, rubbing a hand down his face with a sigh.
The Felidae 1: Laithe’s Pride Page 5
