by Lia Davis
"How did you get a human anyway? Isn't she forbidden, or is that part of the fun? " She hooked one leg over the deck railing. "Or maybe it’s the other way around. Once she understood the power she held, she's probably been leading you around by a leash."
Everyone, including the cat, became silent.
Julian turned to her.
She looked at him then Porter. While they wouldn't answer her questions, she had no doubt one species would decipher the riddle. "What power do I hold, and what does it have to do with the moon?"
"Oh, now I get it." A smile took over the female’s face accentuating her high, sculpted cheekbones. She motioned for Alyssa to come forward. "Even if we're different species we have to stick together."
"Alyssa." Porter growled.
She wanted to tell him to sit and stay, but chose to bypass him and walk to the female.
"Here's something to remember any time you delve with certain select species of shifters." She hissed. "Once a month, when the moon is full, they can't control themselves. Their only goal is to mate. They will say and do just about anything to get a fix, and trust me when I tell you that all of them at one point or another have fantasized about defiling a pure blood human. The more forbidden the better."
The night the boat tossed and turned, knocking her into walls and slamming furniture into her didn't beat her up nearly as bad as the moment every one of her doubts was clarified into something as simple as a basic shifter need.
Without a word she straightened. For someone who studied shifters she should have remembered about lunar cycles and mating rituals. For someone who never had a male she should have known there had to be such an easy explanation. For someone who consistently made snap decisions, she didn't disappoint with this one.
She spun on her heel, pausing only to stop the returning dizziness. Her knees wanted to give out and a bizarre weakness encompassed her as she broke out into a sweat.
"Alyssa." Julian practically jumped in front of her.
"Go get what you need to fix the ship." She side stepped around him, but Porter came up beside her.
"What that female said means nothing." He took her arm.
"Are you or are you not in some lunar cycle?" She pointed at each of them.
Their silence answered her question.
"Then I suggest you get whatever it is you came here for." All she wanted at the moment was to lie down. Served her right, since they never committed to her. Another one of her snap decisions came back to haunt her, but in this case it was a snap assumption.
"We didn't come here for her." Porter tightened his hold.
"You didn't show up at Anthros for me either." She leaned over. "I'm not your charity case."
"Are you kidding me?" Porter's eyes dulled. "Is that what you think?"
"It's what I know." She shook him off her and stepped toward their quarters.
"Don't you want to see the island?" Julian put his hand on her back.
"I've seen enough." She continued toward her goal.
"I want you to come with us." He practically tripped to keep up with her.
"There are more than enough females here for the two of you. You don't need me." She slipped inside and slammed the door in his face.
The bed beckoned her, but not for the usual reasons. She rushed forward and gave in to her need to lie down.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes. Unable to get comfortable or clear her mind, she tossed and turned. However rather than death, images of Julian and Porter swirled in front of her. Why couldn't she just have them until the end? Maybe she wasn't enough. Exhaustion consumed her.
With a gasp she sat up. The only indication time passed was the night sky outside the window and the light of the moon glowing throughout the quarters. Porter and Julian hadn't joined her.
Her energy returned, she got out of bed and searched the ship. Neither male could be found, not even a note.
She ran her hands through her hair and turned toward the moon. Earlier she vowed to live every experience to it's fullest. Lunar cycle or not, her life included her Lyknonians. She walked across the deck and scanned the island, where the huts flashed small glows of light, little flickers of passion.
Again, making a snap decision, she ran inside, grabbed the only few things she had of any worth, and climbed down the ladder to the dock. Along with living her life to the fullest, she would make sure her males never forgot her.
"Alyssa will like this." Julian held up a necklace with a portokali gemstone. The orange illuminescent jewel was only found on a few of the islands.
"I think Alyssa would like it more if we returned to the ship." Porter shoved his hands in his pockets.
"You think you know all about humans, but you are wrong, at her essence she is a female, and females like gifts." He nodded at his find.
"Let's get back to the pier, we should have never wandered this far from her." Porter kicked at the dirt street.
"Are the two of you lost?" Another one of those pussycats curled around a palm tree and smiled at them.
Porter moaned.
They had already been stopped three times by different females, but after doling out their third rejection he’d thought they were home free. The cats either decided they didn't want females or didn't like them, either way was fine with him. He just wanted to get back to Alyssa. "Oh my God, Porter."
"I'm your God now?" Porter shoved him. "What's your problem?"
"Nothing that I can't fix." With slow, deliberate movements, the female stalked over to them.
He purposely straightened up, needing to figure out something.
She came over and petted his chest.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He smiled, plucked her hand off him and grabbed Porter by the shoulders. "Nothing!"
"Unless your nothing has to do with getting the supplies and getting back to the ship, stop touching me." Porter pushed him back.
"I don't want this female." Julian glanced back at her, nodded and turned back to Porter. "I mean it’s not that I couldn't mate, cause you know the moon and all, but I can keep it under wraps until we get back to our girl."
"Well then let's go to her."
He exhaled and looked down, the exhilaration of the moment waning. "Is that how you know?" Flashes of Porter's first mate and Alyssa seemed to meld together in his head.
"Something like that," Porter whispered. "I never thought you would know."
"We…" He cut himself off, but he wanted to tell Porter they had to find a way to save her. Hopefully she didn't need saving.
"We will." As if reading his mind, Porter nodded. "We will."
"Let's go give her our present." Once more he held his jewel up and shuddered as another presence came up behind them.
They both turned. A huge male Gatarian approached followed by three others. "Your present?"
"No." Porter put his hand over his eyes.
"Don't try to shift and outrun us. You may have the strength, but we have the speed." The male corralled them forward.
"I think we have a misunderstanding." Julian held the necklace out to him.
One of the other cats swiped it away.
"Come on." The male cat pointed ahead.
They walked forward. "Port." They could shift and get out of there in a second.
"Alyssa." Porter growled. "They know she's there."
"Plus, then we would show up without clothes. That would be bad." He shook his head. "What would she think then?" Arriving back at their female with nothing on after docking on Gatari would make them guilty even if they’d done nothing.
They were taken to a wood building and locked in a metal cell.
"Why would you steal that when we were supposed to be getting supplies?" Porter took him by the collar.
"We're supposed to be pirates. Alyssa needed something to make her happy." They had no money, how would they get out of here?
"This is the second time. She's a better pirate than we are." Porter released him.
He paced the perimeter of the cell, bumping into Porter twice. No wonder Alyssa hated small spaces. They needed room to stretch out. "You know her name means to cure madness. That's interesting, don't you think?"
Porter glared at him. "From the alyssum flower. I've used it in cures myself."
"Sort of interesting she came to us then." Once more he walked around, ending up right back where he started.
"It's more like we came to her."
"Somehow, we need to negotiate ourselves out of here. She's going to be scared." His heart racing at the image of her being all alone, he grabbed the bars of the cell.
"We can't leave her alone out there." Porter joined him. "This is bad."
Right as he primed to tear the cell apart, the door burst open. Alyssa and one of the male cats entered.
"Alyssa!" He shook the bars. They allowed her to run around an unfamiliar island without their protection.
"Be quiet." Porter kicked him.
"Stop it." He elbowed Porter back.
"Both of you stop it and be quiet." She stepped up to the cell, pointed at him and then at Porter then turned her back to them. "That's them."
The male rubbed his chin. "They were caught stealing a very valuable piece of jewelry."
"It was a present." He called out.
Alyssa didn't acknowledge he spoke. "What will it take to get them out?"
"They need to make recompense and to pay the fines, or they're staying right there."
Alyssa tapped her foot.
Porter huffed. Julian shook his head. They had no money or anything of any value except the woman in front of them.
"I have something better than money." She glanced up at the cat.
The male paused, looked her up and down and smiled. "Oh, do you now?"
Beyond his control, Julian’s fangs grew in his mouth.
"I'm going to kill you." Porter shook the bar.
"Even better than that." She stepped back and pulled a small wooden box out of her bag.
Julian couldn't think if anything better than her, but held his breath and his words.
"You've heard of the Antiamorphis drug on Anthros?" She lifted the lid to the box.
The cat held up his hand. "Listen here."
Both he and Porter leaned over to see what she brought with her.
"This is the injection." She pointed to something in the box. "This is the antidote."
"I thought those were lost with the shipwreck," Porter whispered. "Those should be ours."
At the moment he could only muster a nod. Why did she hide them? Did she think she might need to use them?
"Who are you?" The cat reached forward.
She pulled back. "My name is Alyssa Wilkinson, I am a former Liaison for Anthros."
"How can I be sure you're telling the truth?"
She lifted the syringe. "I am happy to give you a demonstration."
"I believe you." The scent of the male's fear saturated the room. "We'll take them in exchange for the Lykans."
"That's not all." She returned the syringe to the box and closed the lid. "We also need the supplies to fix our ship and I want you to promise to use this for research not as a weapon."
"We will do as you ask." The cat unlocked their cell.
She placed the box in his hand. "Thank you."
He and Porter collided with each other exiting the cell. They took their spots on either side of Alyssa.
"We will be by in the morning to pick up what we need." Porter led them toward the door.
"Liaison Wilkinson!" The cat called out to her.
They all turned around.
"I wouldn't want you to go without your present." Their jailor dangled the necklace from his fingers.
She took the bauble and the three of them walked outside into the night air.
They made their way down a path. Both he and Porter stopped and allowed her to get a few feet ahead.
She spun toward them, put her hands on her hips and looked up. "The moon is still full."
They both stared at her. The questions piling up in his mind all centered all those syringes, some poison, some a cure, exactly like real life.
"I suppose if it affects the tides why shouldn't it affect those who may be more in tune to nature?" Almost as if she were trying to emulate the movements of one of the female felines, she sauntered up to them.
He opened his mouth.
She put her fingers to his lips silencing him and reached for Porter.
His shipmate leaned forward with no resistance.
"Remember the day in the forest when you tormented me and told me I don't feel it?" She pulled Porter closer.
Porter nodded.
"Maybe I do." She gave him a quick peck, a little taste, a tease. "How bad is it now?"
"Getting worse." Porter's voice came out strained.
"You're angry and you’re irritated, and my guess would be the females here riled you up. Your eyes are glowing." She ran her tongue along Porter's bottom lip and her hand over the front of his pants. "I was right."
Porter grabbed her and deepened the kiss.
Julian kept his gaze focused on them. His erection snaked down his leg even though she completely ignored him.
At last, she pulled back and turned to him.
She didn't give him any sexy banter, or teasing, she simply took his shirt, pulled him down and kissed him.
No, her kiss wasn't soft, and sweet that of someone who only recently mated for the first time. Her kiss owned him and took over his whole body, and he forgot everything except the urgent need surging through him. By the time her tongue connected with his he wanted to throw her down on the ground and have his way with her right there.
"If you're going to have a lunar cycle, I can take care of any urges you have, no need for cats. They did say all the shifters want humans."
For all the confidence she oozed in the office, and even out here, her voice shook at the mention of females. He glanced at Porter. No doubt he picked up on the same thing.
"Well, then our human needs to learn how to deal with the animals." They needed to give her a lesson and they needed to satiate themselves. He picked her up and quite literally slung her over his shoulder. "If I were you, I would hang on." Without any warning, he shifted. His clothes tore away leaving his other side, the one where the desire, the lust and the cravings took over and wouldn't be abated.
"Julian!" She dug her fingers into his fur.
"Let's go!" Porter transformed as well.
Together they ran toward the ship, weaving through the trees, letting the light breeze waft over them. At first she shook, still timid of their wolf form, but as they neared the sea she calmed down, the arousal that encompassed her earlier reappeared. Damn, if she didn't like a little animal after all.
Without any hesitation they leapt onto the deck. Porter burst through the door to their quarters and he deposited her on the bed.
Still in their animal form, they took their time circling the bed stopping on either side of her. They needed to show her a different type of foreplay.
Her breath came in shallow gasps, her focus darted between them, her heartbeat sped the same way it did right before she climaxed.
He wanted to push her, find out what her limits were, and Porter must have wanted the same. Without shifting, Porter leaned over the bed took her shirt between his teeth and ripped it away.
"Oh." She covered her chest and recoiled.
Rather than allow her to retreat, he joined them, stared into her eyes as he moved closer and inhaled her scent. Yes, she might seem shocked, but her body told him something different.
Unable to wait much longer he turned and remembering to keep his control, ripped her shorts away.
She crossed her legs. "What are you doing?"
They slid up either side of her.
"Julian." She shuddered, but reached out and raked her nails through his fur.
He answered by nuzzling her neck.
"Porter." Sh
e treated Porter to the same attention, scratching down his pelt while revealing her breasts at the same time.
A low growl escaped Porter's throat and used his nose to prod her back on the bed.
She resisted and he wondered if they’d pushed her too far, but then again he had to know how far she would let them go. Where did the trust end? Her next move might even answer some of the many questions he had about those injections.
She gave them a quick glance, closed her eyes and laid back.
Complete acceptance. Of all the gifts she had to give, that one action was the rarest and most priceless.
In an instant, he and Porter returned to their human state. Porter kissed her while he nibbled her neck and ran his hands over her body.
She opened her eyes and used them for leverage to sit up. He grabbed her and kissed her deep, a delicacy he knew he should savor when he needed to devour. It seemed like ages since he had relief and she was the only one who could quench his craving. His erection pulsed and stood straight out in search of fulfillment. He massaged her breast and inched his hand down to feel her.
Before he reached his goal she put her hand on his chest and pushed him back. She held up one finger and moved over to Porter.
Rather than his harsh grabbing, Porter leaned back on his elbows giving her an invitation to do as she wished though his own erection and the way he clutched the covers told a different tale.
On all fours, she crawled over him, her hard nipples skimming his body, her hair falling down around her face. She kissed his chest, his neck and at last his lips. Still, Porter didn't as much touch her.
Unable to move, breathe, or take his focus off her, he simply lay there, aroused to the point of agony watching her.
She reached down, took Porter into her hand and guided him inside her. The light between them vanished.
Porter hissed but Julian let out a moan of his own, wishing he were the one embedded deep inside her.
She dragged her hips over him in slow grinds that Julian knew would never be enough to satiate his friend. Porter needed it hard and fast, had to have it, it was ingrained in them, especially after coming out of a shift where they could have easily taken her. The time for control would come later.
"Alyssa." Porter's voice pleaded with her, yet he only fell back on the bed and let her continue the torture.
