“Without them we can’t live in your city?”
“No. I would also need to find places for you to live. Houses or apartments, and that costs money. I earn good money, but I’m not rich. You would all need to find a job. Any kind of job, as long as you can earn a living.”
“If you can find your kin, they could help.”
“I don’t know if I have any kin. I told you, I haven’t found any other shifters. And believe me, I’ve searched.”
“There are fifty-six of us, men, women and children. Fifteen of us landed on this planet. On our home world, we are allowed more than one mate. On this world, are you allowed more than one mate?”
“No, although there are groups where the men have more than one wife, but it is heavily frowned upon by our government in some states. Some states allow it.”
“Do women have more than one mate?”
“Not legally as far as I know.”
“What are states?”
“My country, America, is divided into separate regions, states.”
“It all sounds very complicated. On our world, there is only one government, that is why the war started so many years ago. The black cats wanted dominion over Alishura.”
“Tirzah told me your world was about to end. Where do you think the rest of your people are now?”
“We don’t know. Somewhere on a planet in our galaxy. Much of our equipment was destroyed beyond repair when we crashed, so we lost all communication. We were lucky to have survived. We only lost one of our crew.”
“I’m amazed no one has ever found you. Tirzah said you’ve seen planes and helicopters in the sky. Sometimes they take pictures.”
“If that is so, then we are in danger. We ask you now, please help us return to a civilized city. We have had a good life here in this wild region, but we, especially those of us who remember our world, long for a normal life.”
“Life among people on Earth is very different from your world. Do you think you can adjust?”
“We adjusted to primitive living. We can adjust to anything. We can teach the younger generations the language by using the translators. We are mastering your language as we speak. So will they.”
“Knowledge of English isn’t enough. Tirzah and I will have to bring you books so you can learn about Earth and its customs, its countries. I will have to do a lot of research on how I can get you all papers. It won’t be easy. And there is the problem of money.”
“Money? Please explain.”
“Money is used for payment of goods, food, houses, cars, and in this case, false papers. False papers are illegal and cost a fortune. A fortune I don’t have.”
“Does Earth accept jewels?”
“Jewels?”
“We have found several caves that have many beautiful stones in the walls. We make jewelry for our women from them. Like this.” Opek pointed at a strand of beads around one of the female elders’ neck.
At least Cain had thought they were beads, at first. When he looked closer, he knew they weren’t just beads. “Those look like diamonds. Yes, they can be worth a lot of money. And some of those stones look like emeralds.”
“We can give you many of these stones to take with you.”
“And what do I say when I try to sell them and they ask where I got them?”
“We don’t know. Maybe you found them but you don’t remember where exactly?”
“I will do everything I can to help you, but you must promise me not to punish Tirzah.”
“Tirzah disobeyed us.”
“But because she disobeyed you, I am standing before you. If you had not given up your explorations and gone further, you would have found civilization, like she did.”
“You are right and you are wise. We will reprimand Tirzah only. We have decided. You may mate with Tirzah at the Festival of Flames one day hence.”
Chapter Eight
Cain’s head spun. My God, I’ve taken on some task. How the fuck am I going to get all these people out of here? And how do I get them settled in the city? Damn, but I love that woman. I’ll do anything for her. But this is a bit much. I still think this is all a dream. I’m going to wake up soon and laugh about my science fiction fantasy. So in my dreams, I go for a bite to eat and meet a shifter like me. Is it my deep down wish to meet others like me causing this dream? Or is it becoming a nightmare?
“Cain. I understand some, but not all. Mother will give translator. Then I understand everything.”
He startled out of his thoughts and turned to his mate, the woman of his dreams, his blonde, blue-eyed angel. She’s real. This isn’t a dream. What have I gotten myself into? “Baby, they’re not going to punish you.”
“I heard the words.”
Calira joined them. “That went well, Cain. Daughter, come here.” She pointed an instrument at Tirzah’s temple and he heard a hissing noise. When she withdrew the instrument, Tirzah had a tiny round disc implanted in her temple. It resembled a silver stud with a tiny red stone in it.
Tirzah tilted her head and showed off her implant proudly. “Now I will learn your language very fast.”
Cain nodded. It was all too much to take in. He’d finally found his mate, a shifter just like him, but not quite like him. They were from another planet and now they suspected he originated from the same planet. He’d wake up soon in his hotel room. It couldn’t be anything else but his deepest desire for a mate causing his dreams.
“We have to go. There’s no time for our walk. The elders want to see us,” Tirzah told him.
It was strange to suddenly hear Tirzah speak perfect English after he had so painstakingly taught her what little she knew. That was why none of it could be real. Impossible. Crazy. Maybe that’s what it was. He was crazy and he’d wake up in a mental institution.
“Cain, what’s wrong?” Her soft hand pressed on the side of his face. Fucking hell, I might as well enjoy the dream and see how it all plays out. “Nothing, sweetheart. We’d best hurry.”
There was no more questioning. It was merely a short meeting with the elders. On the table before them stood several large wooden bowls filled to the brim with large emeralds and diamonds.
“Cain Jones, as soon as you and Tirzah are mated, we would like you both to return to your city and start getting everything ready for our departure from this wild forest. When we are settled, we will help you find your kin and develop the telepathic skills you should have, and cloaking ability. Tirzah, you will go with him. Here are the stones you can convert to your currency. We can get more if you need them.”
“I think that will do just fine for now. And I think I’m already developing telepathy. Every now and then I hear vague voices in my head, but not clear enough to understand.” Cain eyed the rough gems. Some of them were quite large and he was sure could fetch a fortune. “How are we supposed to carry those?”
“We will give you a special harness to wear when you shift to cat. You are dismissed.”
“Well, that was quick,” Cain said, carrying the two bowls, one in each hand. “These are heavy, but if they are really emeralds and diamonds, they’re worth a small fortune.”
“You think they are real,” Tirzah said.
“Yes. For something different to do, on one of my holidays a few years ago, I went digging for diamonds. I saw many pictures of unpolished and uncut gems.”
It had been an invitation from one of his friends who was married and had a family. He’d tagged along and had actually enjoyed the vacation, the interaction with Bill’s family, and the digging for diamonds, although he never found any.
“I’ll take these bowls of goodies to my sleeping area for now. How about you and I go for a swim?”
“Swim? We can’t. The water isn’t safe. There are flesh eating predators in the water.”
“What a shame.” He sighed. “It looks so inviting. How do you know they’re flesh eaters? Have any of your people been attacked?”
“No. But when the elders explored, they saw savage people at
tacked by the creatures.”
“Caiman. That’s what they’re called. I guess we won’t go swimming then. As smart as your people are, I’m surprised they haven’t built a dam to stop them from getting into the pond.”
“We can go to the waterfalls. We can explore the caves where we find the stones. Do you want to do that?”
Hell, anything for some privacy with her. “Yes, let’s explore the caves,” he said eagerly.
They left the bowls of gems in the small hut where Cain had slept, then climbed the rocks to the caves.
It was quite dark inside. As soon as they were out of view, he reached for Tirzah and pulled her into his arms. “I’ve longed for this,” he murmured against her lips. Her body rubbed seductively against his and his cock throbbed with pent up desire, eager for her. “My little teaser,” he whispered, his words almost lost by the sound of the rushing waters of the fall. He claimed her sweet lips, sucked her tongue into his mouth and tasted the nectar of her mouth. He lifted her easily and she automatically clamped her legs around him, opening up to him like a clamshell ready to grab its prey. He pushed her down and his cock entered to the hilt, her pussy walls clenching him tight.
Her arms wound around his neck. He let go of her waist, cupped her buttocks and moved her up and down. Her arms wound tightly around his neck and her lips stroked his forehead, his cheeks, his nose. Playfully, she licked his lips.
“Yes, Cain, oh yes,” she shouted.
She came, her juices coating his balls, but he stopped, wanting their joining to last a little longer. “Baby, you’re so beautiful, so unbelievably gorgeous,” he told her and wished he could take her breasts in his mouth, but he couldn’t in that position.
“Cain, don’t stop. Please, please…” she moaned, twisting on his cock, trying to force him to continue. He throbbed, he ached, but still he withheld. If only they could lie down, but the rock surface was too hard and rough. He had to wait, be patient until their cats would mate. The thought of taking her as a cat tipped him over the edge. Lifting her high, he slammed her down on his cock, and again, faster. Her legs were tight around him, her vaginal walls clenched and unclenched in rhythm with his thrusts. He watched her fling her head back, drank in the sight of her beautiful firm breasts, the rosy nipples as hard as the rock wall behind them, the brownish pink aureole puckered. Somehow, he managed to enter a finger into her as yet unexplored rear opening. She pushed down on his finger and screamed—clearly not in pain, but in ecstasy. Her hips rotated and he couldn’t hold off any longer. He exploded, literally exploded so hard the come shooting out of his cock felt like a rope being tugged out. He’d never had sex like that before in his life and sure as fucking hell hadn’t expected to experience it with a girl who was a virgin mere weeks before.
Crushing her against his chest, he stood quietly with her until their breathing calmed. Slowly he set her down. “I love you, my beautiful blonde nymph. I love you so much, it hurts.”
“Again, Cain?” she asked innocently as she bent and licked his cock.
“In a bit,” he told her. The scent of their mixed juices drifted to his nostrils and his cock stirred. Could he ever get enough of her? “Let’s explore first.” Her pout was delightful. He chuckled at the little girl look she sent him.
They didn’t venture too far. It was too dark and they had no torches, but the emerald veins were plentiful. He wondered where the diamonds were. “Tirzah, I see green stones. Where are the others?”
“Much further. We can go and get torches.”
“No, it’s okay. I was just wondering.” Using a sharp rock, he managed to uncover an emerald so big, he was sure it would fetch a million. The main thing he worried about was, where could he say he’d found the stones? The Amazon wasn’t safe from human interference, and since it was without an army, they couldn’t chance an influx of gem hunters invading it. The lost tribes needed to be left in peace. The Amazon needed to be left alone. Too many had already been forced to flee as humanity invaded, logged and destroyed their habitat.
That took his thoughts to his own lost tribe. The forbidden tribe. Had they really ended up on Earth? Could it be that he had family somewhere on this world? A small flickering flame of hope ignited in his heart. But at the same time, doubt and skepticism that this was all unreal hovered in the back of his mind.
Chapter Nine
“So what is the Festival of Flame all about, Tirzah?” Cain asked.
“Four times a year, we have a festival. If there are any couples who want to join and mate, the joining ceremony is performed at these festivals and the celebrations are done together. We have the Festival of Light, Fire, Water and Earth.”
“Surely we don’t mate in front of everyone? It’s bad enough that my cock jumps to attention every time you’re with me and everyone can see it.”
Tirzah giggled. “It’s quite common here. No one takes notice.”
“It’s embarrassing—for me anyway. I’m not used to walking around naked.”
“No. Sometime during the dancing and celebrations, couples disappear into the forest to mate. It’s the one time we’re allowed beyond the walls without special permission. Most couples are already joined as humans, like you and me.”
“But you still go through an official wedding ceremony.”
“Yes, we do. Joining as humans is allowed before the mating because we can’t procreate as humans. Some of the women have joined with several males before they settle on one or two.”
“Would you like another mate?”
Tirzah giggled. “Only if we can find another one of you.”
“That might be a hard call.”
“Cain, how old were you when they found you in the park?”
“The nuns told me I was a toddler. I could crawl.”
“Where was this?”
“In Portland, Oregon. I moved to Los Angeles after I finished college.”
“If you have family, they must be somewhere in your country, in America.”
“Sweetheart, I looked everywhere in Oregon. That seemed to be the most likely place to start my search. I never picked up the scent of any cat shifters. I looked in neighboring states. I even went to Canada and some overseas countries.”
“Maybe when the elders live in your city they can scent shifters.”
“Babe, for all I know, after listening to your elders, perhaps I fell out of a spaceship, or maybe my parents sent me to Earth in a capsule, like Superman.”
“Superman?”
Cain laughed. “I’m certainly no Superman. He’s a character in comics and movies. I’ll show you some time when we’re back in civilization.”
“I have to go and get ready,” Tirzah said.
“Is there anything special I have to do?” Just then, a young mother passed in front of them, a toddler at her side. The toddler fell and the woman bent over, exposing her genitals. Cain’s cock stiffened. It seemed he had a hard-on every five minutes and it was annoying. But, he was all male and here, with all those beautiful naked women, he couldn’t help it. Though the woman had borne a child, her slit and genitals still looked very pink and virginal. Large, pendulant breasts hung down as the woman brushed the dirt from the infant and scolded the little girl. Very large nipples indicated the little one had just suckled. He drew his breath in sharply and gazed at the woman’s slit, her opening and dusky labia.
“Cain?”
Startled, he tore his gaze away from forbidden territory wondering if Tirzah had noticed. If she had, she didn’t say anything. He had noticed she never commented on his erections, but she’d said it was common. Now, he even looked at the men to see if she was right. Occasionally, he saw a young man with a hard-on, but he never saw one react as often as he did. They were used to seeing the women in all their naked glory. “Sorry, I was thinking about something.”
“Oh. No, there’s nothing you need to do. Maybe shower before the festival starts. It will be dark soon, and the elders will light the fires and torches.”
C
ain kissed the top of her head and watched her walk away. His cock had obeyed and was dormant again, but he knew it wouldn’t last long. He wondered what she had to do to get ready. Dress? No one wore clothing here. They used large leaves as diapers for the babies. Surely, they must have had clothing aboard their ship? They were traveling to find another planet to settle on. Maybe it was just exploration and they had to go back to the planet facing destruction to fetch their belongings and other people. Yes, that was it. All they’d had were their spacesuits. There were only sixteen of them, after all.
He hurried to the falls. When he got there, he found three young men showering, getting ready for their joining, he presumed. They smiled, greeted him and continued to lather themselves with the liquid soap that always stood ready in bowls behind the curtain of water. Other bowls held fragrant oils.
Each of the men sported a hard-on, probably in anticipation of their mating or from an over-exhuberant soaping up. They were remarkably hairless. That was something he’d noticed about Tirzah—she had hair on her head, eyebrows and lashes, pubic hair, but not one small hair anywhere else on her body, not even her armpits. The men were just as smooth skinned.
Cain scooped a handful of soap from a bowl and washed himself. His own body was smooth, devoid of any hair, though he did have some hair under his armpits. He listened to their chatter, their alien language, and wondered what they were saying. Their faces clearly showed excitement, anticipation, mirroring what he felt himself.
Never having experienced the mating call of a female cat, he had no idea what to expect. He’d read up on the mating of panthers, of cats in general, but had never had the urge. His cat had mostly slept during his life, the opportunity to shift was rare, and places to roam in the city were hard to find and wrought with the danger of someone spotting him. Occasionally, he’d gone to the Angeles National Forest and roamed it for a few days and nights, but even there, he had to tread with the utmost caution. The forest was popular and well visited.
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