Sarazen's Hunt

by Isabel Wroth

  “If we are perceived as a threat, Tarek and Clary would have no choice but to treat us as one and eliminate us.”

  Kalix inclined his head, his thumbs slipping under the hem of her tunic, brushing back and forth over her belly.

  “I would like for you and I to approach our ruling pair and make our intentions clear. To assure them of our loyalty to the pride honestly and ask their permission to attend the breeding festival.”

  “Not half an hour ago you were trying to get me to go to S9 as soon as possible. Clary was going to drag me to the festival herself if I didn’t agree to go. Now you want to ask them for permission?”

  “Alec,” Kalix murmured gently, “the festival makes our mating official under the laws of our people.

  “Once it is so, we would have the power to challenge any member of the pride for territory and title as per the old laws. It gives us a measure of protection we at this time do not have.

  “Tarek is fair, he is without contest the strongest Asho to claim the title, but he is also a father and a mate.

  “He has already stated he will raze the pride to the ground before he allows harm to come to his family. I cannot say I would not do the same were our positions reversed.

  “You have done so for your own people, I have no doubt you would not do it again to ensure their safety. So, now we know you are a match for Clary’s beast, we will make it known along with pledging to serve the pride loyally. Do you agree?”

  Alec chewed on her lip for a moment, considering what Kalix was telling her and the implications that came along with it.

  *****

  Kalix waited for Alec to give him her answer. She was on the verge, studying him in a way she hadn’t yet done. It was a deeply penetrating look, as though she was searching his face, his eyes, for something. Their bond?

  Perhaps some truth she felt he was keeping from her? He didn’t know, so he sat still and did his best to allow her to look as much as she wanted.

  He had shifted his weight earlier, attempting to take some of the erotic pressure of her spread thighs from over his cock, but she was still in heat and there was nowhere he could shift or move her without feeling the burn.

  Her beast had been satiated with his blood, but Kalix’s beast had not yet been so satisfied and was slavering, licking his chops, his mouth watering for the sweet taste of his mate.

  He saw the moment something unfurled inside Alec. Some uncertainty laid to rest as her fingers began to knead gently at his chest, pushing and flexing just ever so slightly at his skin.

  “What you’re proposing sounds very much like you and I being equal partners in this.”

  It was his immediate reaction to tell her equality had nothing to do with what he was proposing. But he could tell from her tone that she was hopeful, desiring to be his equal. He struggled to find the right words to explain.

  “Not exactly.” Her fingers immediately quit their tender massage and he felt the sharp prick of her claws. “Let me explain.”

  He took her narrow eyed silence as acquiescence and took his time. “It is not dissimilar to how you seek to protect the cubs in your care—”

  “They’re children, Kalix. Children who require protection. I am not a child.”

  “Alec.” Her lips pinched at his gentle reprimand. He struggled with the urge to command her as he did his warriors, but he knew without doubt it would only cause her to fight him. He had not yet earned the right to command her.

  “I am intently aware you are not a child. I am attempting to explain to you the urges of my beast. I know you are strong. You are a female worthy of respect.

  “Even so, you are still female and still my mate. No matter your strength or your power, I can do nothing other than ensure you are safe and protected from harm.

  “I will stand behind you when you need me to support you. I will stand beside you when others doubt you, and I will always seek to stand in front of you to protect you from danger.

  “I understand you must fight me, challenge me until I prove myself worthy to take that place between you and all others, but you must understand I will not change my mind in this. It is my duty, my honor, my right as your mate to protect you.”

  He reached up to coil a long silvery curl around his hand, rubbing the softness of the springy length between his fingers.

  Alec moved ever so slightly, her head tipping into the caress like it was the most tender she had ever received. Her lashes even fell half mast, like he was kneading at her fur instead of rubbing a skein of her hair.

  Kalix thought back to the bath they had shared, how nervous his hands had made her, yet how she had arched into almost every touch, starved for the affection she didn’t realize he had been trying to give her. His throat worked as the enormity of his failure, his selfishness, stared back at him.

  “I have already given you cause to doubt me. I left you to your grief because of my selfishness, and I would not blame you if you never forgive me for it.

  “I vow to you I will never abandon you again. I will do whatever I must to earn your trust.”

  Her lashes fluttered over her bright eyes, her pupils elongating in a quick snap, desire perfuming the air between them for a moment.

  “Don’t treat me like a pet.”

  A pet? What foolishness was that? “I have seen you skin two Sarazen cats, mate. A pet is not ever something I would think to call you. Sit here with me for a moment and think on what I’ve said about speaking to the Asho. Mm?”

  She nodded, hesitating for a moment before sliding down to lie beside him. Of her own volition, she kept one slender leg thrown over his thigh, her cheek finding a comfortable spot over his heart, her hand fisted so tightly in his shirt it was a wonder the material didn’t tear.

  She trembled every now and again, and Kalix could practically hear her thoughts as they raced through her mind. In an attempt to soothe her, Kalix let the rumbles of his beast free.

  The soft vibration was meant to calm and relax his mate, and for a time it seemed to work. The tightness of her muscles eased, she took a deep, cleansing breath and sighed as she snuggled closer to him.

  “What if they decide we’re a threat?”

  Kalix wanted to assure her all would be well, but he honestly didn’t know what would happen.

  “I do not know. But whatever happens, we face it together.”

  “Can we just go now and get it over with?”

  “We can. The Asho might not have time to see us and we may have to wait—”

  “Fine. I just want to get this over with.”

  “Very well.”

  Though he was loathe to cut short this small truce between them, Kalix let Alec go as she sat up. She seemed to realize how she had draped herself over him and frowned in confusion, like she couldn’t understand why she had done it.

  A blush painted her cheeks, but whatever her internal debate was, she did not slap his hands away when he reached down to help her to her feet. They began the hike back to the fortress, fingers tangled together in comfortable silence.

  Well, Kalix was comfortable.

  Alec frowned and continued to shoot their joined hands little looks, like she was analyzing the reason why she wasn’t pulling away yet.

  Or perhaps she was enjoying the sensation and hadn’t expected to. And then she looked mildly sad. He asked her why, making her jump slightly, her blush deepening while she now seemed determined to look anywhere but him.

  “I was remembering something,” she stated flatly, distancing herself from the emotion, from the sadness he could smell wafting from her soft skin.

  Kalix gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, watching her closely enough to see the startled look in her expression.

  “Tell me?”

  Her long lashes fluttered and she used her free hand to scoop her wildly curling hair to one side, exposing the shaved side of her skull.

  “When Meg and I were kids, we used to follow people.” Alec glanced sideways at him through her lashes, as though
gauging his response, perhaps expecting him to laugh or something.

  “Meg was fascinated by the way other families interacted because ours was so violent. I could have cared less, but where she went, I went.

  “I remember this one time, we climbed up into the trees and walked along the branches, swinging from tree to tree, following Clary’s parents.

  “They took walks together every day at sunrise, no matter what craziness was happening at the settlement, they always held hands.”

  “It sounds as though they cared very deeply for one another.”

  Alec gave a quick smile, ducking her head a little. Kalix did smile, because of all the memories Alec had, this one had sprouted because they were holding hands, walking through the woods in the early hours of the day together.

  Despite their strolling pace, all too soon they were back within the walls of the fortress. Zhenya saw them, having just returned with his little army of cubs and grinned wildly to see them together.

  He bounded over, never seeming to run out of energy, greeting them with the gleeful exuberance of his youth.

  “Hey! Where you been? I came with breakfast but you both were already gone.”

  Kalix deferred to Alec, uncertain what she wished to say to the cub. If she would decide to pretend nothing of importance had occurred, or not.

  “Had a rough start this morning with Jonas, and I needed some space to talk to Kalix. Soon as we can get clearance, we’re going to make a visit to the mountain. Think you can hold down the fort while we’re gone?”

  The cub frowned, his bright eyes darting back and forth between them seriously.

  “Course. But uh, can I go with you? Tomorrow is... well... I mean I don’t have to tell you. I’d get it if you didn’t want me around—”

  Kalix did not know the significance of tomorrow’s date, but it brought agony to his mate to think of it.

  She quivered beside him like she might bolt, but instead she dropped his hand and reached out to hug her sister’s cub. The affection itself was startling.

  Alec more often than not barked orders at the young ones, rarely showing them the softer side of her heart Kalix knew was in there.

  Grief crackled between the pair, making Kalix half rabid with the need to soothe the ache, but all he could do was watch and wait.

  “I’m not good at the touchy feely stuff like Meg was, Zee. But don’t ever think I don’t want you around. Go pack your crap for a few days away. We’re leaving as soon as we get the word.”

  Zhenya nodded and gave Alec a tight squeeze before running off, leaving Alec to stare after him almost longingly.

  Kalix carefully set his fingertips to her waist, his palm flattening to her back when she didn’t jerk away.

  “Alright?” he murmured, getting a jerky nod in response as Alec retreated behind her emotional blast doors. Protecting herself, keeping the waves of feeling at bay so she was once again composed.

  “Yes. Make the call, please.”

  He sighed as he watched her walk away, their brief bit of closeness gone for the time being. Needing information from a reliable source, Kalix sent the request to speak to Tarek, then went to hunt down the cub.

  Zhenya was in the room he shared with the other young males his age, carefully tucking what spare clothes he had into one small satchel.

  “Kalix, are we ready to go already? I’m almost done packing.” Zhenya smiled at him eagerly, practically glowing with excitement.

  Kalix cleared his throat and clasped his hands seriously behind his back. “No, not yet. I wished to ask you about what you meant. The significance of tomorrow? I would ask Alec, but seek to continue our truce, not antagonize her.”

  The cub’s smile dimmed but he nodded in understanding, closing the flaps on his satchel before seating himself on his narrow cot.

  “It’s her birthday tomorrow. Hers and Meg’s.”

  The scent of sadness ripened once again and Kalix was unable to remain so far away, his beast urging him to offer the cub comfort as though he were one of Kalix’s kin.

  He sat beside the cub and leaned forward to brace his elbows on his knees, tilting his head to catch the young male’s gaze.

  “Birthday? Forgive me, this term is not one I am familiar with.”

  Zhenya made a face like he thought Kalix was making fun of him, but a moment of deliberation and the cub answered.

  “The day they were born? Humans celebrate the day each year with a party. Um, a festival? Not a big one or anything, the last few years we didn’t have much to give one another in the way of gifts, it was more of a ‘congratulations you survived another year!’

  “Meg always made sure we did something special. She told me once she always got Alec a laugh for her birthday, because Alec didn’t laugh enough. They were born only a few minutes apart, you know.”

  Zhenya’s eyes filled with unshed tears, his lips twisting in a mockery of a smile when Kalix reached up to squeeze the back of his neck comfortingly.

  “I did not know this. Thank you.”

  Zhenya nodded, twisting the strap of his satchel around his fingers. “I want to give Alec something, I made it. I don’t want her to be upset.”

  “You know she would not be upset because of your gift, or because of you.”

  “Yeah. But it would still hurt her.”

  The cub was far too wise for his young age. Forced to be so by his circumstances and the danger ever present on Moika. This cub, the others, they all deserved peace after all they had survived.

  Alec especially, and yet they were still in danger. Perhaps not immediately so, but it stalked them like mangy, hungry predators circling the edges of their society.

  “It will likely always hurt, cub. But it would hurt more if she were allowed to think you had forgotten.

  “I have some gifts for Alec myself, perhaps if we gave them to her together, it might lessen the sting. Hmm?”

  Zhenya swiped his arm across his nose, glancing up at him hopefully. “Yeah?”

  “Yes. Tell me more of your human day of birth celebrations.”

  TEN

  Alec didn’t bother to hide her expression when Kalix landed the transport inside the mountain fortress, noticing the presence of only two warriors instead of the entire squad she had been greeted with last time.

  Kalix set his palm to her waist to urge her forward, Zhenya bouncing alongside her with a grin on his face while he looked around at the citadel.

  The kid was fascinated by everything, head on a swivel at all times, drinking in everything almost ravenously.

  It made Alec almost smile, reaching out to grab him by the back of his tunic to keep him from falling over while he was looking straight up at the ceiling and all the carvings in the stone.

  “We won’t be meeting with the Asho until tomorrow morning. Ne’tare has situated us in our previous guest quarters, and we’ve been invited to join the evening meal with the other mated pairs in residence.”

  Zhenya gave a sideways skip, “Can I go?”

  Secretly, Alec adored the look Kalix shot the kid. “You were invited as well, cub. Yes.”

  Having never been to what sounded like a fancy affair to Zhenya, naturally he asked Kalix all about it the entire walk up to their quarters.

  *****

  It was difficult to sleep inside the cavernous rooms. They felt too much like a tomb. Alec hadn’t ever been inside a tomb before, but she remembered the horror vids shown every Friday night in the dining hall on Moika with uncomfortable detail.

  This place, as luxurious and comfortable as it was made to appear, was still a cave buried deep inside a mountain.

  Most of the hybrids living here now had spent the majority of their lives on board a starship, so cramped quarters were familiar to them.

  To Alec, she couldn’t think of anything more hellish.

  She tried to think of anything else to combat the crushing darkness. Her mind rolled backwards and forwards, searching for anything to latch onto.

  She
longed to be back in the forest, high in the trees, close to the air and sky. Where she could run, fight if she had to.

  Here, there was no space to do anything other than be cornered.

  “It takes time.” Kalix’s voice drifted from the depths of the shadows, making her already thundering pulse leap and crash against her ribs.

  “W-what?” Alec felt her beast shift inside her, blink, and she suddenly saw in streams of heat. Yellows, greens, reds.

  She saw the enormous bulk that was Kalix sitting not far from the bed. Unsure how she had stumbled on this weird new ability, she waited to see if it was just a fluke.

  “More time than you think for the urge to run, to fight your way out of what your mind tells you is a dangerous situation, isn’t the first instinct that comes out in the dark. Do you need some air?”

  “Ah... yes. Air. Um, I can see you.”

  Kalix tilted his head curiously, his features plain as day. “See me?”

  “Something happened to my eyes. I see you, like I’m looking through a thermal readout display.” She saw Kalix blink and a shine came over his eyeballs. Green and reflective.

  He reached out to catch her chin, gently turning her this way then that. He smiled, brushing his thumb over her jaw before he released her.

  “It is an ability most have to work very hard over a span of years to achieve. What were you thinking of when the shift happened?”

  “You startled me, I hadn’t expected you to be awake. I wasn’t thinking anything, it just... happened.”

  “Interesting. Lights low.”

  Even dim, the glow of the lights caused her to wince and shut her eyes. When she risked a peek a second later, her sight was back to normal, and Kalix was exactly where she thought he had been.

  “Why do you keep sitting up to watch me sleep?” she blurted out without thinking.

  His lips kicked up at the corners. “Because it brings me peace to do so. Does it make you uncomfortable?”

  “Yes.”

  “I would prefer to be lying beside you.” Alec opened her mouth to tell him that wasn’t happening tonight, but he held up a finger to stop her. “I know. Come, let us walk for a while.”