A Twitch of Tail (Wiccan-Were-Bear)

by Butler, R. E.

  Jorah knocked on the door twice but didn’t open it, and Melo cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders as he stood from where he’d sat next to Tera for the duration. With deft movements, he pulled Tahlon’s shoes and pants off, and then said, “Tahl? You can shift now, brother. Your leaving is complete.”

  Tahlon’s eyes fluttered open, and he breathed out a sigh of relief and began to shift. Tera had never seen a person shift into their animal form before and was mesmerized by it. Tahlon’s human form morphed quickly, bones cracked and reformed, fur sprouted, the wounds on his back closed, and his human features bled away until an enormous white tiger with black stripes stood before her.

  Tahlon stretched, his tail lashing back and forth as his claws dug into the carpet with loud tearing sounds. Seeing him healed brought tears of relief to her eyes, and she blinked them away, laughing as he swung his big head towards her and purred. His pale green eyes swept over her body and he yowled softly.

  He moved forward slowly, bracing his paws on either side of her body, forcing her to lie down on her back as he stood above her. Lowering his head, he ran his nose down the side of her neck, making her skin prickle. His scratchy tongue lashed at her skin. She raised her hands and rubbed them along his chest and up his neck as he sniffed and licked her, nuzzling her shirt up and licking across her stomach with a throaty growl.

  Melo gave him a shove on the shoulder with a laugh. “Alright, lover boy. Let’s go outside so you can stretch your legs.”

  Tahlon made a sound like a growled sigh and licked Tera’s cheek before moving off her, his tail twitching in annoyance. She stood with Melo’s help, and Melo opened the back door, and they stepped out onto a small brick patio. Tahlon moved off the patio and into the yard, lifting his head to sniff at the air. He padded around the house in a large circle as they stood watching.

  “Oh, he’s making me dizzy,” Tera laughed, sitting on a plastic chair. Tahlon had circled the home several times.

  “When we shift, our bodies are filled with energy that demands to be used. He’s pacing around the house so he can use up the energy that he would normally spend going for a hunt. In a couple hours, he’ll be able to shift back into his human form.”

  Melo left a short time later to get dinner and bring it home for them. Tahlon moved up onto the patio and sat on his haunches in front of her.

  “You’re pretty gorgeous, you know that?” she asked him.

  He purred again and laid his head in her lap. She stroked her fingers over the soft fur on the top of his head and said, “And I’m pretty damn lucky to have you in my life.”

  Chapter 8

  Tahlon wasn’t happy to get a phone call early Sunday morning from one of the house servants of the king and queen, announcing that they were going to stop by at eight a.m. It was bad enough that the queen had tried to humiliate Tera and influenced the leaving, but to also delay their departure home was just too much.

  Tera looked much more relaxed than she had since they arrived on Friday. After she tended to him when he was in and out of consciousness following the whipping, she had played with him in the backyard while Melo was gone, chasing after him and grabbing his tail. He loved the sound of her laughter. He hadn’t been sure that she would be able to look at him without remembering the whipping, but she was proving to be resilient and strong. Even so, Tahlon was glad as hell they were going to be leaving this place far behind.

  When there was a knock at the door promptly at eight, Melo opened it and let in Jorah, followed by the king and queen and two house servants, carrying covered trays.

  Genevieve looked around the house with disdain. Tahlon slipped his arm around Tera’s shoulders and drew her close. He didn’t trust the queen.

  Genevieve smiled sweetly. “Since we didn’t have an opportunity to welcome you properly, I suggested to Tiduaron that we have breakfast this morning. It would be a shame for Tahlon to leave the ambush without properly saying goodbye to his former queen and king.”

  Tera, clearly attempting to be polite, said, “Thank you for your courtesy.”

  Melo fetched the chairs from the kitchen, and Tiduaron and Genevieve sat across from the couch, where Tahlon and Melo sat on either side of Tera. Jorah stood behind Tiduaron and Genevieve. Jorah had taken over as the king’s personal guard when Melo left the ambush, so Tahlon wasn’t surprised to see his friend there. He held no ill will towards Jorah.

  Genevieve snapped her fingers and the servants put the trays on the coffee table, lifting the domes. One platter held five delicate plates filled with danishes, tiny muffins, and a clutch of grapes. The other platter held two teapots and five cups. One teapot was black and the other white, ringed with tiny red flowers.

  The servants passed out the plates and then the cups. One of the servants, a young male named Kerry, filled a cup from the white pot and lifted it towards the queen. Genevieve made a gesture with her hand, “Tera first, she’s a guest in our ambush.”

  Kerry nodded and handed the cup to Tera. Then he filled a second cup and handed it to Genevieve. The queen lifted her cup with a thin smile on her face and paused, as if waiting for Tera.

  Tera smiled at Tahlon and gave a small shrug of her shoulders, lifting her cup to her lips.

  Wait.

  What was that smell?

  He jerked Tera’s arm, snatching the cup from her fingers.

  “Tahl?” she asked in surprise as he brought the cup to his nose and inhaled deeply.

  Fleonra-weed!

  That was the herb that he used to prevent himself from being able to impregnate the queen. For a female, it was so potent that it would terminate a pregnancy within hours of ingestion. If the queen tried to get Tera to drink it, that meant…Tera was pregnant! Joy and rage rose up inside him like twin tidal waves, rage winning out.

  Slamming the cup down, he rose to his feet with a snarl, his fangs elongating in his rage. “You tried to abort our mate’s cub? Have you lost all sense?”

  Genevieve gasped in surprise, lifting her hand to her chest in mock offense. “Why, Tahlon, to speak such things to your queen —”

  “You are no queen of mine!” Tahlon roared. A veil of red slid over his eyes, and his cat struggled to break free, to shift and tear her into pieces so she would never terrorize another person again.

  “Stand down, Tahlon.” Jorah stepped in front of Genevieve. “I will not allow you to attack the queen.”

  “She tried to kill our cub while it lay helpless in its mother’s womb, Jorah. She should die!” Tahlon snarled.

  “I will kill you before I let you touch a hair on her head, Tahlon,” Jorah said, but Tahlon could hear the regret in his voice. He didn’t want to fight Tahlon, but he would.

  Tera stood up quickly. “Get out of this house, now. All of you.”

  No one moved. Tera lifted her hands, and the house began to shake. The sound of pipes rattling filled the house.

  “Get. Out.” Tera’s voice was low and dangerous. The tea in the cups and pots boiled, causing the porcelain to shatter.

  Jorah pulled Genevieve to her feet and hurried both her and Tiduaron out of the home. The young male servants gathered the trays quickly and exited the house.

  Tera lowered her hands and sank down on the couch, letting out a gusty sigh. The rattling ceased immediately.

  “Shit. Shouldn’t do that.” She fanned herself, panting.

  Tahlon sat down fast, as did Melo, who had risen when Tera did. “Are you sick? Did you hurt yourself?”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s just a bad idea to use my power when I’m upset, it drains me faster. I feel like I just ran ten miles uphill.”

  “What did you do?” Melo asked.

  “I boiled the water in the cups and in the pipes. It made the old copper pipes make a lot of noise. Impressive, but relatively harmless. Unless of course I got really mad, and then I’d probably have let the water break through the pipes and wash Genevieve right out the door.”

  Melo kissed her temple with a chuckle
. “Clever little sweetheart.”

  She stopped fanning herself and looked between Tahlon and Melo. “I’m pregnant?”

  Melo said, “There wouldn’t be any reason for her to have given you the fleonra-weed except for that purpose.”

  Tahlon picked up her hands that were clammy and trembling and held them between his. “I think the mark on your neck is a cub collar. When a female becomes pregnant, her skin will flush around her neck like yours.” He touched the mark with the fingers of one hand. “I thought it looked familiar, but I couldn’t figure out where I knew it from. Genevieve probably scented your pregnancy when we first arrived. I thought I saw her scent you, but then she made such a fuss about you smelling badly that I didn’t think anything about it. Female tigers can scent pregnancy very early. Normally, females are very protective of pregnant females.”

  Tera snorted. “She’s got a fucking screw loose.”

  Tera took one of his hands and one of Melo’s and laid it against her stomach. “I might be carrying one of your cubs. How do you guys feel about that?”

  Melo laughed and kissed her cheek. “Are you kidding me? This is the best thing to happen since we found you in Midas’ kitchen.”

  Tahlon nodded in agreement. “We’re ready to start the next chapter of our lives together, Tera. This cub, and any others that we have, are joyfully welcomed.”

  “I love you both.”

  They promised that they loved her, too. Tahlon was still furious over what had almost happened. If he hadn’t been there to stop her from drinking the tea, they might never have known she was pregnant in the first place. A large part of him wanted to kill the queen. But a better revenge was living his life to the fullest with the woman he loved. It wasn’t a bloody revenge, but it would wound her. She’d shown her true colors in front of her mate and would have to answer for it.

  Tahlon touched her forehead with the back of his hand. She felt flushed. “Can we get you anything, baby?”

  “Take me home, please.”

  Now that was a great idea.

  It took only ten minutes for them to get on the road. Tahlon drove the first leg of their journey while Melo sat in the back, and Tera rested her head in his lap and slept. Tahlon was very proud of her for standing up for him. He had been so enraged in the house that he might have fought Jorah to get to the queen. Her distraction had shifted the focus from himself to her. He didn’t like that the show of power had exhausted her so much, and he would speak to her later about being more careful now that she was carrying a cub.

  Whether the cub was his or Melo’s, it wouldn’t matter. They were a family and any children she carried would belong to all of them. Unlike their parents, he, Melo, and Tera weren’t going anywhere, and their children would grow up in a home that was filled with love and support.

  * * * * *

  Monday morning, Tahlon drove to a drug store to buy a pregnancy test for Tera. She wanted to take a test before she made an appointment with a doctor. He’d never had to buy this sort of thing before, and when he walked into the pharmacy and found the right aisle, he didn’t know which one to choose.

  He must have stood in front of the shelves looking confused for too long because the pharmacist stepped from behind the counter and asked if he needed help.

  “My mate is pregnant, but she wants proof before she goes to the doctor.”

  “Ah.” The older woman had gray-streaked blonde hair in a tight bun and half-glasses perched on the end of her long nose. At her prompting, Tahlon explained that she was Wiccan and her mates were tigers. “Do you know how far along she might be?” the woman asked.

  Tahlon shook his head. “She’s not sure. She has the cub collar, though.”

  The woman, whose nametag identified her as Deloris, said, “If she has the collar, then she’s at least two weeks along. It doesn’t show up until after two weeks. It has to do with the hormones in the blood building and the tiger DNA infusing her body to help her and the cub.” She looked at the shelves and pulled two bright purple boxes and handed them to him. “These are specially designed for the mates of shifters. They’re sensitive enough to read early.”

  “I need two?”

  Deloris smiled. “It’s a woman-thing, trust me. She’ll want two, plus the doctor’s confirmation.”

  Tahlon thanked her for her help and took the tests to the counter to pay. When he returned home, he found Tera pacing in the family room nervously, only wearing one of his shirts that fell to the middle of her thighs.

  “I thought you’d never get back!” She smiled in relief.

  “Aw, I missed you, too, baby.”

  She snatched the bag from his hand and huffed. “No, I have to pee!” She turned and bolted for the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

  He looked at Melo who stood at the counter with a cup of coffee in one hand. Melo said, “She told me that it’s most accurate with the first piss, so she’s been pacing since you left.”

  “I got back as fast as I could. There must be a hundred kinds of those tests. I didn’t know which to pick.”

  Melo said, “We already know she’s pregnant. The cub collar alone is enough to prove it in my mind, but this is for Tera’s peace of mind.”

  A few minutes later, Tera walked out of the bathroom holding a white, plastic stick between her fingers, staring at it. She lifted her eyes and met theirs, a surprised smile lighting her face.

  “It’s a yes,” she said, and he and Melo joined her, sandwiching her between them as they hugged and kissed her and congratulated each other on their future off spring. That night, they took their mate out to dinner and celebrated their impending mating and the new addition to their family.

  Tahlon started work on Tuesday morning with the ambush construction company. He hadn’t really cared for leaving Tera at home alone, but it wasn’t as if he could simply stay with her all the time. He and Melo had a cub coming, and they needed to provide for Tera and their child. So even though his tiger was revolting in his mind at the thought, he kissed her goodbye and drove into town to start his first day.

  After a morning filling out paperwork and watching safety videos, he joined Melo and the other ambush members for lunch and then spent the remainder of the afternoon hanging drywall.

  As soon as five o’clock rolled around, Tahlon cleaned up his tools as quickly as possible and headed out to his truck. Midas stopped him on the way to the parking lot. “Good work today, Tahlon. I’m glad you’re joining the ambush.”

  “Thanks, Midas.”

  Midas looked at him and then laughed softly. “I can see you’re anxious to get home to your mate. See you tomorrow.”

  Tahlon realized he’d been practically bouncing on his feet when he was stopped. Tera wasn’t going to be home until six, but Tahlon wanted to be there when she got home. Melo left work early to go to the grocery, and Tahlon wanted to scrub off the layer of dust in the shower before she walked in the door.

  Two hours later, Tera came into the house, and Tahlon and Melo met her with kisses and hugs. While they were eating dinner, Tera said, “I mentioned to Dr. Conner about my cub collar and the two positive pregnancy tests. She said that I needed official confirmation of the pregnancy for the hospital’s insurance, so she had me take another pregnancy test, which of course was positive. Then I met with Dr. Bledsoe, who will handle the delivery.”

  Melo’s forked clattered against the plate as his mouth fell open in surprise. “You had a doctor’s appointment without us?”

  She frowned. “Not exactly. Just the test and a chat. No exam or ultrasound or anything. It’s still too early. I’ve got an appointment in five weeks to have the first ultrasound, and I was hopeful you would both come with me.”

  Tahlon said, “Of course we will.”

  Melo picked his fork up. “We don’t want to miss anything that’s going on with you and our cub, sweetheart.”

  She smiled. “I don’t want you to miss anything either.”

  Later that night, as she slept between th
em, Tahlon laid his palm gently on Tera’s stomach and closed his eyes. For much of his adult life, he hadn’t given thought to finding a mate and starting a family. He had thought he was happy, but he knew now that what he’d felt before was just a shadow of happiness. Being with Tera was like basking in permanent sunshine.

  “We’re going to be dads, Tahl,” Melo said with a soft voice.

  “I know, Melo,” Tahlon said and grinned. “I know.”

  Chapter 9

  Melo walked into the grocery store Thursday after work. Tera was working at the hospital until six, and Tahlon was meeting with Midas and some other male ambush members to discuss his joining on Saturday after their mating ceremony. There hadn’t been much time for Melo and Tera to be alone, and although he had no problem sharing her with his brother, he was going to take advantage of the few hours tonight when they would have the house to themselves. Part of him thought the most romantic thing he could do was to wait in the house buck naked and jump her when she walked through the door. But the part of him that was a gentleman, thanks to his grandmother, knew that he needed to show Tera that he loved her as much fully clothed as he did when she was naked. Because he did.

  He grabbed three steaks from the meat case and then wondered what he should serve with them. If it were just he and Tahlon, he wouldn’t bother with side dishes. He’d just serve the steaks and a few beers to wash them down. Although Tera liked meat, she also liked variety and foods like fish and pasta and side dishes. An older gentleman wearing a white coat and a hair net said, “You need some help, young fella?”

  “My mate isn’t that much into meat. I was just wondering what I could serve with steak.”

  “Oh, just about anything, really. You thought about a potato dish and a fresh salad? The deli has pre-made side dishes. Their au gratin potatoes will knock your socks off.”

  He hummed in his throat. “No, I hadn’t, but I think it would work.”