“Ga’rae,” Ohlen croaked the call into his wrist unit. His hand shaking while he stroked the length of Andi’s furred body,
“Not now, warrior!” Ga’rae sounded panicked. His shout terse enough to give Ohlen pause.
“My mate, Andi, has just shifted into a fully formed Sarazen beast.”
There was a heartbeat of silence. A pause long enough to make him wonder perhaps if there was something of greater importance happening than this. Though how anything could be more important…
“Her status?” Ga’rae demanded. Ohlen shook his head. Licking his lips when she made a pitiful little sound. Rolling her dark eyes up to him. Eyes ringed with the brightest purple.
His purple. The purple of his eyes. “Alert, alive.”
“My female, Tarek’s and Falken’s all are in the process of the same. Andi shifted. Fully shifted?”
“Yes.”
“Bring her to medical, now. A team is waiting for you.”
Andi moaned when he slid his arms under her. He winced in sympathy. Murmured his apology to her, hurrying as fast as he could without jostling her. Warriors stopped to stare in the hall but wisely got out of his way. Just as Ga’rae had ordered, a team of medics waited with the scanner situated over an empty table. Andi shivered, curling into a little ball when Ohlen stepped back to allow the scanner to move over her. Whiskers pulsing with the fear he could smell wafting from her.
“Andi, I’m right here. Relax and allow the scan to move over you.”
It took some coaxing, but she uncurled and lay flat as the medics instructed her to do. Just as her scan was completed, Tarek, Ga’rae, and Falken rushed in carrying their mates. All three of the human females, fully formed, gorgeous little beasts. Ga’rae began barking out orders, demanding reports. Never moving farther than arm’s length from the sleek gray beast that was his mate. Ohlen bent to touch his brow to Andi’s. Rubbed his cheek against hers. Smiled when she rumbled softly at him. He kneaded his hands into her muscles. Buried his fingers deep into her pelt,
“You are without doubt, on two legs or four, the loveliest thing I’ve ever seen.” His little mate chuffed an affectionate sound. Weakly lifted her nose to bump his cheek,
“Breathe deep and feel it with your new senses. Test the truth of my words.”
She did, her ribcage lifting as she drew in a breath and held it. Another content little rumble rolling from her muzzle,
“Never have I felt such honor as this. Thank you, my one, for trusting in me.”
He looked up when one of the other females made a snarling sound of discontent. Ga’rae focused on his mate while instructing the warriors and him, on the protocol they would follow. What they would do until such time as sufficient data could be collected to explain this miraculous transformation.
Brennaugh arrived. His demand to know why his warriors were being kept from their mates cut short when he saw the four human females in their new forms. Lying weak from the change on the medical tables. Ohlen stayed folded over Andi. Unable to keep his hands from learning her new shape. Tracing the circular pattern of her spots. Imagining she would melt into the darkness and be all but invisible to an untrained eye.
He looked up from his fascinated study of his mate at Gwen’s snarl. Saw her ears flatten to her skull when Ga’rae told her it was impossible for her to shift back into her human form so soon.
“Your beast will not allow it and you do not possess the control it will take to change so soon.” Gwen’s lips peeled back to show her mate her teeth and she barked a sound at Clary.
Andi lifted her head to watch. Even he could feel a charge ripple through the air. Every warrior present watched the commander’s mate close her eyes. Tuck her chin down to her chest and roll her body, her shoulders. Flexed her paws and slowly, her white fur receded, her shape changed. Morphed until a nude female knelt on the exam table, panting with exertion.
“You were saying?” Clary said defiantly and promptly fainted.
Ohlen jolted out of his open-mouthed shock when Andi moved beneath his hands. She trembled. Rolled to her belly and groaned. Oh no.
“Andi, please. Don’t be stubborn and try to change back so soon.”
Ohlen was not above begging, but she completely ignored him. Eyes closed. Only the tip of her agile tail twitched back and forth to show her concentration. Her silky black fur fell away and left her naked in her tiny human form on the table. She looked up at him, her eyes cloudy with pain and said, “Ow,” before those glorious eyes rolled back and she fainted too.
“Scan her, quickly,” Ga’rae ordered from across the room.
Nine
-When you wake, it will be in my arms. I vow it, my one.
The deep voice moved over her. Pulled her up from the darkness of unconsciousness. Andi blinked. Streams of orange, red and yellow dominating her sight. Another blink and the unfamiliar room she was in came into perfect focus. She was incredibly warm. Felt a strange tingling on her skin and looked down it to see she was submerged up to her chin in some kind of pink goo,
“Andi.”
The wealth of relief in the familiar voice made her tip her head back. Smooshing her head into the goo. A smile pulled her lips up when she met Ohlen’s gaze. She watched the worry in his expression melt away. Replaced with the same relief she’d heard in his tone. He was sitting in the pink goo with her, holding her tightly.
“Hi.” she croaked.
Wondering why her throat hurt. Why it hurt to speak or smile. Ohlen immediately shifted and scooped up some gel, rubbing it into her neck carefully. It was like he’d applied a tingly hot pack to her throat. The warmth penetrating within seconds to soothe the ache.
“Do you hurt anywhere?” he murmured.
Andi shook her head. Wrinkling her nose when he smeared more gel into her hair. Gross. Worse, her nose wrinkle made her realize that she had a thick layer of it on her face.
“No, don’t wipe it away. The gel is healing you.”
“Healing me?” she wheezed.
Ohlen snorted, shifting them both lower into the tub until the gel was up over her chin. Almost touching her bottom lip. About to pour into her ears. Oh sick. Gross. Ew! She fought not to squirm around. Worried too much movement and it would fill her ears up.
“You, little mate, went from human to Sarazen and back faster than any Sarazen has ever been able to do. Your body has suffered for it. The first shift back and forth is always traumatic and you did it in a mind-boggling span of time. I entered into the regeneration chamber with you just as you woke. It has been almost a full day since your first shift. I will attempt to explain further at a later time. Right now, let me just hold you while the gel does its work.”
“It’s gross.”
“So it is.”
“Can’t I just have another shot of something?” she whined.
“No.” Damn. He sounded determined.
“Please?”
“No. The sooner you relax, the quicker it will be over.”
Andi huffed at his insistence. Grumbled while she forced herself to let him hold her steady.
Her mind slid backward in thought. Remembering the pain of her body twisting. Feeling like it was being broken and ripped apart from the inside out. Ohlen’s unwavering presence. The soothing calm of his voice. Then the unbelievable assault to her senses. All the smells. The sharper vision. The fact that she’d had a tail. And whiskers.
“What about the others?”
Ohlen’s lips jumped in a bemused little grin. The kiss he touched to her lips made her skin tingle. And not from the gel.
“They are well. As soon as they wake, they too will be submerged into the regeneration chambers. Until Ga’rae releases us we are to stay in the medical bay. At this point, my one, what has happened is truly a miracle.”
“A miracle?”
He rubbed his nose up and down the side of hers. His voice dropping to an intense whisper.
“Never, in the entire history of our people, has a Sarazen taken a
mate of another species and converted him or her into a Sarazen beast. A cat, as your commander calls us. Furthermore, never has a female Sarazen been able to fully transform. They take on a half form that is even more monstrous than the males. Yet you, my one, you and the others change into smaller, yet no less lovely versions of a male beast. It is unprecedented. Miraculous. Stunning.”
Andi would have thought harder about that. Except she noticed out of nowhere that she was naked. That Ohlen was naked. He was holding her in the giant white tub full of the pink goo. Naked.
Nay-ked.
She thought she would have felt fear. Waited for it to rise, being vulnerable and at his mercy. But it never came. It was like her change, however it had come about, had taken away that weak and frightened part of her. Replaced it with something else.
Something that had fangs, fur, and claws.
Something powerful.
Andi felt that something stretch inside of her. Felt it sniff the air. Sensed its contentment as only the sensual scent of her mate and the fruity odor of the gel lingered. It was so strange. Her nose was a thousand times more sensitive. Able to detect the nuances of Ohlen’s scent. The muskiness of his cat, laying quiet beneath the hard surface of his skin. The fresher scent over that. The goop.
She could hear the pounding of the blood in his veins. Andi heard herself give a purr. Jolted because of the sound of it. The feeling of it vibrating in her own chest. Wow. What a weird sensation. It made Ohlen smile and reach up to move a gooey lock of her hair from her brow.
“Alright?” he sounded amused.
She thought about it. Flexed her fingers and toes. Wiggled just a little, pressing her lips together when he groaned softly. Andi was rather baffled by her complete lack of fear for the intimidatingly large feeling shaft, pressing into her hip. Out of nowhere, an intoxicating scent reeled across her senses. Something sweet. Thick on her tongue like the honey she remembered tasting as a child. It took her precious moments for her mind to formulate what the scent was. But it wasn’t her that named it. It was the animal that now lived inside her. The one making her see streams of heat. Making her feel this unshakable confidence in herself. Feel…powerful.
Desire. Our mate feels desire for us. The beast purred.
Not the kind of desire that he would force on her. She could feel that now too. Her new senses stretching out to feed her all kinds of information.
“Andi?” Ohlen’s voice was gruff.
She wondered if it would have been like this if she’d known him before. If she would have been so at ease and comfortable, knowing this massive male desired her. Feeling the evidence of it pulsing against her skin. Feeling her own body responding with eagerness to know how it would feel to be desired by someone who cared for her.
“Yeah. I feel really good.” she answered.
“The pain has eased?”
“It has.”
“Good, I will take us to the enzyme shower then. Are you hungry?”
Their skin slipped and slid as he stood. His hold on her didn’t falter in the least. She felt the strength in his body like she never had before. Her skin heated. Her womb tightened. For the first time in her life, she felt true desire of her own. Felt it burning through her body without a hint of shame or disgust.
“Ravenous,” she murmured. But food was really the last thing on her mind.
Ohlen looked at her and did a quick double take. His pupils stretched up and back down for a moment while his nostrils flared. His tongue stroked out over his lips like he could taste something on his skin. But he said nothing. He carried her into the enzyme wash and cuddled her while the foam bubbled over them. Covered them both while it ate away the gel and left them squeaky clean. She made a girly little eep when he stepped out of the wash, then immediately snarled and shoved her behind him.
“Apologies. Ga’rae has ordered a final scan for your mate before releasing you to your quarters.” an unfamiliar voice said.
Andi peeked around Ohlen to see a warrior staring resolutely at the ceiling. Delivering his message to it, instead of to Ohlen’s face. Thereby taking no chances that he would see her naked. She could smell his interest. Not sexual interest, so much as curious. And Ohlen’s scent of possessiveness on top of that. Acrid and sharp. Making her feel like there was pepper up her nose.
“Out,” Ohlen snapped.
The warrior spun on his heels and marched out without saying another word.
She found herself rolling her cheek up Ohlen’s arm. Her nose up his spine. Felt him go rigid when she boldly wrapped her arms around his waist to hug him. She heard him swallow at the spread of her palms on his abdomen. Scented the surge of that sweet, musky smell of his desire as she traced the tight ridges of those taut muscles. Saw the lust on his cheeks when he glanced over his shoulder at her.
“We must…ahem. Once the scan is complete we can return to our quarters.” he rasped gruffly. Muscles quivering with what she could only say was restraint.
She smiled at him slowly. “Sounds good.”
Ten
The change in her was markedly apparent. Andi walked taller. Confidently. More gracefully. As though she was taking each step atop clouds. She even went so far as to sensually glance at him upon returning to their quarters. The way she walked, he could picture her beast, twitching her tail at him enticingly.
Ohlen almost stumbled over his own feet when the scent of her desire flooded the entire room. The aroma so powerful that his own beast surged forward eagerly. It hurt to keep from changing. From pouncing on her and taking her to the floor. He fought off the fog of lust. Getting hold of himself before he dropped the tray heaped with nourishing foods he’d carried up from medical. His hands shook, hearing the rough growl of his beast filling his voice when he invited her to sate her hunger. She took a berry from the tray and wrapped her lips around it. Staring at him while she bit down. Licked the tart juice from her mouth. Tilted her head to look her fill of him.
“I feel strange.” Andi told him huskily.
He gave a distracted thought to why it was a bad idea to give in to the lust surging like tidal waves between them. Her beast was putting off enough heat to set an entire forest ablaze.
“Strange? Strange how?” he circled her. Stopping to stand behind her. To run his nose up the side of her throat where she tipped her head to expose it to him.
“Hot. Very, hot. Hot like I’ve never been before.”
She relaxed back into his hold. Her lashes fluttering when he spread one hand on her belly. Pushed the other up between her breasts to gently cup her throat. He tugged her head back against his chest so he could see her eyes.
“I will take you back to medical immediately.”
She gave a growl. Kicking back with her little foot to catch him in the shin.
“You know that’s not what I mean. If I can smell how much you want me, I know you can smell me too.”
He could. Beast’s Teeth, could he smell her.
“Andi, it is undeniable, the depth of my desire for you. Even if it were not permitted until the festival, I cannot in good conscience give you what your beast is demanding of me. Not one day past, you were terrified by the very idea of bearing my touch in any way remotely hinting at intimacy. You have just now become comfortable allowing me to hold you. Sharing your kisses with me. I would be no better than-”
Andi rocked up on her toes to reach him. Caught his lips with hers. Wrapped his hair in her little fist to keep him from pulling away. He could taste the tart sweetness of the berry she’d eaten on her tongue. Followed by the tang of blood when her little fangs punched down in proof of her arousal.
The surprise of it made her draw back with a little sound. Made her touch her fingertips to her mouth. The taste of her blood spurred his beast forward. Head spinning, Ohlen had only enough control to keep himself perfectly still and wait for her to speak. He stood frozen, his hand still curled around her throat, fingertips pressed hard into her belly. He caught not a single scent of fear or uncer
tainty from her. Watched while she licked the smear of blood from her mouth and sensually touched her tongue to the point of one of her fangs. Testing the shape of it. Speaking with the slightest lisp as her mouth learned to move around them.
“I can smell the truth in your voice. I feel you, here.” she took his hand from her belly and pressed it between her breasts. Spreading her little hand over the back of his to keep it there.
“I know you would never hurt me, but I know I could stop you now. If I needed to.”
“With a word, my one.” he made it a vow. Watched her lips curve up in a little smile.
“With a word,” she agreed softly, “I believe that. I could stop you if I had to, because of the piece of your beast you gave to me. I feel different. Good different. Stronger. Like you gave me some kind of magic spell to take away my fear.”
Ohlen tried one last time to do the right thing. To be strong for her as she adapted to the power of her beast. Her words made him feel like a god. He was tempted to allow her to think he was responsible. Let her believe he had done this intentionally, or with the foreknowledge that it would make her feel strong.
“Andi-“
Her eyes flashed at him. Her strength enough to catch him by surprise. She pushed back using a maneuver he had purposefully downloaded into her mind. Kicked his legs out from beneath him and send him crashing to the floor. Gracefully, agilely, with perfect execution to get him on his back so she could straddle his chest. So she could curl her fingers around his throat.
“Careful,” he warned. Taking hold of her wrist just in case her beast released her claws. Grinning up at her with pride.
Sarazen's Vengeance: Book 1.1 Page 6
