Feral Heat Read online

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  "Kai, are you all right?"

  The words drifted to him in a fog. He opened his eyes, rubbed at them and tried to focus. Dull witted with pain, he growled, “What happened?"

  "I don't know,” Aric muttered. “One moment I was watching you mate with the female and the next...” He reached for the back of his head and pulled away bloody fingers.

  "What the fuck?” Kai sprang from his pelt bed, ignoring the pounding in his brain. Using both hands, he parted Aric's long, blond hair and examined his scalp. “You've got a gash back here. Someone struck you, hard."

  Aric shook his head slowly and with care. “I can't say. Hurts like the blazes though."

  "Sit.” Kai stepped to the small table that held a basin of water just inside the door.

  Aric dropped onto the bed, sitting cross-legged, his back to Kai.

  Kai grabbed a cloth rag and dipped the corner into the water, soaking it. He returned to Aric and pressed the cloth to the back of his head.

  "Blast it, that stings!” Aric jerked forward.

  With a low chuckle of relief, Kai gripped him by the shoulder and held tight. “Take it easy. Let me see to you.” He leaned down, circling one earlobe with his tongue. “I could have gotten you hurt badly. I'm so sorry, my love.” The very thought made his blood run cold. How could I have let this happen?

  Aric relaxed visibly. “I'm fine, honestly.” He leaned back and shuddered. “Yes,” he murmured.

  A moment later Kai heard a contented purr rumbling in the back of his lover's throat. After staunching the flow of blood, he tossed the rag away. Back at Aric's side, he said, “You'll live. Probably have one hell of a headache."

  "I already do.” Aric rubbed his temple.

  Placing both hands on his lover's broad shoulders, he massaged the firm flesh under the thin tunic. The body he manipulated was the closest thing to perfection he'd ever seen. Muscles rippled through Aric's biceps and masculine thighs. His abdomen flexed tight, the powerful glutes in his arse even tighter. Kai smiled. Those were some of his favourite muscles.

  Glancing down, he realised he was still naked. His cock thrust forward without inhibition. Taking a step closer, he knelt and pressed his erection downwards against the upper curve of Aric's bottom. “You said you watched me with the female?"

  "Mmm, yes.” Aric leaned against him, closing his eyes.

  Kai tightened his grip on his lover's shoulders, thrusting his pelvis forward. “The thought excites me. How did it make you feel?"

  Aric's head fell forward for a moment as he seemed to revel in the pressure against his back. Smoothly, he rose to his knees and spun around until he faced Kai and the rampant erection that now rose bare inches from his face.

  He gazed at Kai's stiffened shaft then slowly looked up until their eyes met. “How was it supposed to make me feel? You're the ruler of the clan and tribe. You can have whomever you choose."

  Kai's slow smile was intentionally wicked. “I desire you. Thoughts of you flooded my consciousness as I took her. It would have been glorious to have you there, partaking of her delights alongside me. I love you, my sweet cat man. Nothing, and no one, could possibly change that, could alter how I feel for you."

  Aric leaned forward, his tongue circling the tip of Kai's cock. When Kai inhaled with pleasure, Aric drew the head into his mouth.

  "Yesss.” Kai tossed his long black hair back and thrust his hips forward. “I've always desired you, and for more reasons than your skilled tongue. You're my partner, Aric. My soul mate and life mate."

  Raising his head, Aric continued stroking Kai's cock and balls. “The female had fleshy teats and a nicely rounded bottom. I could see you enjoyed them."

  Kai glanced at him thoughtfully. “Her scent was most arousing, her body from good, sturdy stock. I've never had such a reaction before. For the first time, I might have found a female I connected with on another level. She might even be the one to bear my kits. You know that's the only area in which we're lacking."

  Aric drew the skin of Kai's shaft back and forth, coaxing a drop of pre-cum from the tip. He flicked it with his tongue. “You're right as usual. You asked how I felt, watching the two of you. Jealous, a little envious maybe, but to be very honest, it made me extremely horny."

  Laughter shook Kai's frame, and he caressed Aric's face, admiring the masculine beauty of his mate. He hated that he'd caused discomfort, but he loved that Aric had been aroused. “No reason for jealousy, my love. You're uppermost in my thoughts at all times. If I'm lucky enough to mate with the female again, I'll want you there. Although the pleasure of having you both at once might be almost too much for me to bear.” He drew his hands away and over his own chest, past his puckering flat nipples. At his smooth neck, he froze. He patted his chest and neck again then looked around quickly. His heart raced. Panic threatened to overtake him.

  "What is it?” Aric paused in his ministrations.

  "It's gone.” Kai wrenched his body away from his lover's grip and dropped to the bed. Frantically tossing furs and throws aside, he scattered things across the floor in his search for that which he prized more than anything else.

  "What? What's gone?” Aric scrambled after him.

  "The talisman.” Kai clutched his neck. The leather thong and the deep, bronze-coloured gem never left his neck—until then.

  "By the gods!” Aric's eyes widened with fear, and he too bent to search. “What could have happened to it?"

  Kai stomped around the room, kicking everything he'd thrown out of place. “I don't know.” He gripped the wall angrily. Rounding on Aric, he grabbed the front of his tunic. “Did you see anything? Anyone?"

  "No, Kai!” He shook his head firmly. “You had the talisman earlier. I saw it on your neck. I saw it when you were naked with the female."

  "I always have it,” Kai growled.

  Aric looked at him.

  "Almost always.” Kai glared at the ceiling and roared his anger.

  "Let us search further,” Aric insisted. “It might have come loose."

  "Highly unlikely,” he muttered, angry with himself for confronting Aric in such a way. Of course the man would tell him if he'd seen something. He was acting like a fool and had to stop. “Continue searching, please. You know how important this is to the entire tribe.” He looked in corners while Aric tore through the bed clothes and furs again.

  "Nothing, Kai,” Aric finally said.

  "Fuck!” He strode to the entrance and looked out. “I didn't simply misplace it."

  "No.” Aric moved behind him. “It must have been taken."

  Kai turned to stare at him. “The female."

  "You sensed something unusual about her."

  "Her scent. Highly arousing yet disturbing..."

  "A pheromone of some sort?"

  "Fuck!” Kai yelled again. “I don't know. I don't even remember her leaving."

  "The last thing I remember was you mounting her."

  "So she couldn't have struck you.” He paced the hallway outside his chamber, his mind racing. The amulet, it had grown hot, it had tried to warn him of something. How could I have ignored it?

  "An accomplice, perhaps?"

  Kai faced him. “What are you saying, Aric? You think she was part of a planned deception? A ruse to steal the talisman?"

  "Highly suspicious, Kai."

  "We must find the female.” Kai kicked himself mentally. He'd been taken in by her charm and beauty and the prospects of what the future could hold. Top that off with an irresistible scent that virtually drugged him, and he'd been lost. Most unlike the responsible behaviour he normally exhibited.

  But that look of fear she had. What was that all about? Damn, he needed to find her. Her and the amulet. He missed its weight around his neck already, and the knowledge of what its loss could mean was a weight he didn't want to experience for long.

  He lifted his face, inhaling. “We can track her scent.” He took two steps towards his sleeping chamber and then turned back to Aric
. “Ready yourself for the hunt. And Aric? Tell no one what's happened."

  Aric nodded, a look of fierce loyalty in his piercing blue eyes.

  "Time is short,” Kai told him.

  "I agree."

  Without further conversation, both men crouched on the floor of the cave. The change never failed to startle Kai, even after all these years. Pain, like a bolt of lightning, stabbed through him. He arched his back, the muscles along his spine shifted, blissfully pulling at the back of his ribs. The bones in his thighs condensed, thickened, his arms grew heavier, his fingers and toes cramped with a sudden jerk. The torment turned to sweet pleasure as his body shifted. The joy of being reborn into the shape he loved, adored, and the sleek animal joy of simply being, made his heart sing. He tried to scream his bliss, but his voice was little more than a mewling squeak.

  Kai twisted, and shuddered as the bones realigned themselves along his spine, and groaned with both pleasure and torment when his feet morphed into the small, toed pads he knew so well. The digits on both hands and feet grew, morphing into paws with razor sharp claws more deadly than most weapons. His ears moved and his jaw elongated. His nose flattened, changed, and he was aware of a much keener sense of smell.

  Glancing down, he saw the sleek black fur sprouting and basked in the sensation of his pelt. His cock and balls drew up against his body. A pouch engulfed his shaft. A tail emerged and grew above his arse, elongating until it was the length as his newly formed body. His cat shape was streamlined for running. In this guise, he could cover twice the ground in half the time.

  On all fours, he stretched, luxuriating in the play of muscle straining against muscle, enjoying the feel of his animal physicality, his post-change arousal. Next to him, Aric had shifted into a handsome, golden-yellow beast with flecks of brown in his fur and a large, black patch at the tip of his long, sinuous tail. He paced the floor, acclimating himself to his new shape.

  The beauty of his cat-lover never failed to inspire awe in Kai. He prowled next to Aric, nuzzling his thick, furry neck. The feel of sleek fur against his own sent a shiver down his spine. He nudged the golden cat's head with his nose and snuffled along his face. Twisting around, he pressed the length of one side against his lover's body.

  Aric wasn't shy either, rubbing his head against Kai's fur from his belly to the taut curve of his hip. Reaching out with one long forepaw, he batted at the tip of Kai's tail. Playfully, the tawny cat leapt behind him and pressed a cool nose against his anus.

  Kai did the same, nosing around Aric's puckering hole. They moved in a circle, head to tail, sniffing and licking each other. Annoyed, Kai realised his senses seemed less sharp than they should be. The amulet, it heightened them, and he missed it more than he could have imagined.

  There was a job to be done—an important task—but Kai knew this was important too, no matter how dulled his senses were. Reconnecting with each other in this form filled a primal need. If there were more time, he'd mount Aric before doing anything else and fuck him until they both howled. He adored seeing his mate overwhelmed with pleasure, could think of little that could drag him away from it.

  Reclaiming his territory was Kai's first instinct.

  But reclaiming the talisman was paramount—more critical than slaking his animal lust. Finding the amulet was essential for the very survival of his tribe. Without it, there was no telling what might happen. A war could tear the clans apart. It could destroy the entire tribe.

  Nodding, Kai took the lead. He got her scent from the furs, barely, and again missed the talisman. Careful not to lose the elusive trail, he followed the heady aroma from his chambers, where it became muddied with the members of the clan. Once out of the cave's wide front entryway and into the forest, it became clear again. As he ducked under the sea of pale green ferns, the scent of the bush intoxicated him. The musk of rodents made him fight back a sneeze, as did the cloud of dust from the disturbance of his passing. He slunk ahead, his belly close to the soil, his nose twitching. Every whisker, like radar, sensed his nearness to objects, trees or brambles along his pathway.

  Inhaling, he tried to keep the scent, that distinctive, deadly fragrance they needed to find, and soon.

  There, maybe. He turned and it vanished. He moved ahead cautiously.

  Aric's gentle footsteps to one side nipped at his attention. A heartbeat, picked up when he passed a small burrow where a family of rabbits sheltered from the hunters of the day. Later they'd venture out and be preyed upon.

  A scuffling noise in the distance made him veer that way. He snarled just loud enough for Aric to hear and slithered through the underbrush, barely moving a leaf as he crept by.

  Searching, his senses open, straining for some hint of her scent—that intoxicating, sensual smell that had driven him to such distraction. Anger flared, and he quickly forced it down. No time for it, not now. They had to find the talisman of the cougar tribe.

  A soft growl from where he knew Aric hunted turned his head that way. His heartbeat raced. To run, to hunt—he felt so alive.

  Aric turned and headed across the top of a rock bluff they'd explored many times together. He stopped and peered over the edge.

  Kai remembered, in the spring of the year, when the moss was green and the tiny blue flowers scented the air, they'd fucked their brains out there while watching a young doe give birth. The rhythmic grunts of the deer had echoed their own. The fawn had stood almost immediately, and by the time he and Aric were done, the pair had already wandered into the brush.

  Aric's sleek, tawny back drew him ahead. Crouched as he was, his head over the side, his bottom high, mounting him would take little effort. He sensed the desire, the need in his lover and fought the urge to answer it.

  Shaking his head to clear it of such lustful thoughts, Kai approached silently and joined his mate. Peering down, he saw the river snake around large boulders and the trunks of long dead trees. He also saw signs of visitors.

  Aric looked over his shoulder and nodded. He too must realise they were close. He must also have realised the other thoughts on Kai's mind. The golden cat raised his arse and swished his tail. Under other circumstances, mating would be a normal and natural part of their day. This day was different, very different.

  Kai lowered his shoulders and, after giving his lover a soft nip on his flank, returned his attention to the riverbank below. The fire pit still smouldered. Tiny wisps of smoke curled upwards only to be taken a moment later by the breeze. Patches of grass, flattened by the weight of men or some other animals, circled the pit.

  Aric sneezed.

  Kai glared at him, turned back to the view below and watched for any sign of movement. Nothing, but he was sure he smelled something besides the smoke. Damn, his sense of smell was so dull. He glanced at his lover again and then back at the sparse camp he'd led them to. It was a signal for them to move closer, investigate and hopefully find ... something.

  Bouncing to his feet, Kai looped around to where a small slide had made descending from the top of the bluff less dangerous. They'd still have to watch their footing, but there wasn't much chance of breaking anything or creating a landslide. He trotted to the centre of the small avalanche, found the rock he wanted and leapt. Landing crouched, he looked over his shoulder at where Aric stood, nodded then turned and leapt again. He came to an easy landing stance close to the clearing, a dozen feet from the fire pit.

  The smell of humans was strong there, almost rank. Kai circled the glade, keeping within a leap of the underbrush and cover.

  He caught a whiff of Aric. His nose twitched. Glancing up, he spotted the deep tan of his lover's hide across the way, nose to the ground. Lowering his face, he went back to sniffing around, trying to pick up a scent. The breeze increased and he smelled something.

  He stepped out into the sunlight, lifted his head and scanned the bank of the river as far as he could see.

  A bird took flight from just ahead of where Aric slunk through the edge of the brush. Overhead, a red-winged hawk s
wooped suddenly to one side, and not far away he sensed a shrew's panic.

  Aric joined him in the clearing. His tail held low, he came close and rubbed his forehead against Kai's shoulder. Together they went to where the fire had been. A wisp of smoke from the middle swirled up and was taken by the wind. Even that stopped after a few moments, and the air quickly cleared of its rich odour. He should have been able to follow the scent he sought, even through the smoke. He again cursed his misfortune, and hoped to remedy the situation soon.

  At last Kai caught a whiff of musk and his head snapped towards it. The smoke had indeed masked the scent, but as soon as it was gone, he got it. His heart leaped. Down close to the earth, near one of the logs that must have been seating for at least one person. He caught the smell of at least two more males, he was sure. Her accomplices? Again he wondered at her fear. Was she being forced somehow?

  A rumble in his throat attracted Aric from his place ten paces to the right, and he was there in a flash. Aric lowered his head, taking in the aroma, then lifted it to search the air.

  Where had the woman gone? Where was the talisman?

  There, to the north. Stronger, that smell—it was her.

  The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Shuddering, he took a step towards it. Turning his head, he hissed softly, urging Aric to hurry.

  His lover inhaled the scent and nodded, stepping towards him.

  Turning, Kai leapt into the brush again, the smell of her filling his thoughts with the encounter they'd had. His cock pulsed. Over his shoulder he heard a soft mewling noise and knew it was affecting Aric too.

  This wasn't just some perfume a female would use. It was too powerful. He'd never felt anything like it before.

  He raced ahead into the deep woods. Deer scurried away. One, a beautiful, large stag, turned to face his foe, only to be ignored as the two cats ran past him, scarcely noticing his presence.