7 comments/ 40620 views/ 66 favorites A Jaguar's Mate Ch. 01 By: jtoughkat This was meant to be my first submission but as it was being edited and I did not want to insult my editor by posting the raw version whilst she was working on it I posted Trusting Love. I am sorry for anyone who was expecting a second chapter to trusting love but I will try to post that in two days time. Thank you to Sexybabybunz who edited this chapter and did a wonderful job on it. I credit her on the uninterrupted flow of the story from one paragraph to another and the much improved tense and grammar. thank you again. * With the stillness of a statue he stood, immobile as if petrified. His eyes, though scarcely blinking, the only sign he was not a wax model. The intensity in their depths was inhuman, frightening, searing into anything foolish enough to gaze into them. He was in the shadows, his eyes eerily visible like those of a night predator. The shadows caressed his body, delineating the raw power of its muscular planes, sculpturing an exceptional beauty, one too unnatural that it was content with the night. Somehow he was clear to any who passed him; hollowed cheeks gave an impression of sternness which was accented by the cast of his firm full lips, despite their sensual aspect. His forehead was high and intelligent looking; his brows dark and slashed across it, a testament to decisiveness. A hard square jaw and aquiline nose completed a face of pure symmetry that only an artistic genius could fashion. Anger radiated from him, raw, untamable rage pouring from every part of him. The clenched hands and jaw, the intent focus of his eyes that nevertheless saw nothing, a warning of danger any creature could recognize. Thankfully, few passed through this late in the day, as this part of the park was now too dark. Upon seeing him, they scurried away, chilled by a touch of something beyond what they knew. Even the women who gave him an appreciative once over still hurried away. He barely noticed, concentrating on the intoxicating scent that was the single thread to his sanity. It was a warm blanket upon the chaotic devastation his mind had long decayed into, the one tenuous grip shielding the innocent from the agonizing death he would deal. Violence churned in his soul, needing only the smallest of triggers to set it off. Everything annoyed him, the changes a few decades had wrought chaffed his corroded sensibilities, evoked wrath like the world had never seen. All he had left was the thought of her, the knowledge that she was out there in the world waiting for him to find her. She passed here frequently, her scent stronger than anywhere else -- as fresh as that morning -- he noted. He would wait for her to come by, too weak to chase her down but unable to concentrate on anything else. This had to be the route she used to and from work and soon she would be coming by. His blood churned; need throbbing through him at the thought of burying himself inside her, claiming her after decades of being denied even her presence, sweet heat soothing the anguished memories whilst he repeatedly drove into her. A groan sounded low in his throat, more a growl, as his already hard body hardened even more. Years without any warm human touch enflamed his desire beyond even the call her body held for him. With unsatisfactory images of her upon a screen he had had to suffice, a silhouette of her ambrosial body, charcoal gray eyes, luscious full lips, waist length hair -- he had a weakness for long hair -- and that smooth creamed coffee skin. The things he had imagined doing to her over the years! Knowing his debilitating need for her, his captors had gone as far as to take a sweater that was soaked in her blood to his torture chamber. The man who had brought it casually announced her death as if she were no more than a dog. He had gone mad; complete insanity, raging and yanking against his chains, uncaring as they bit into his flesh. For days he raged, until he remembered the scent of ice in the blood. They had collected it over the years just to break him. They had almost succeeded. That was when he had broken loose. He knew he was close to his breaking point and that he could not allow. Her life would be hell without him and that could never be allowed. Pretending anguish, he savored her scent, drawing strength as he let it wrap around his being to alleviate his broken spirit; until they saw through his ruse to his growing strength. He would hurt her, regrettable but inevitable. The madness they had awakened in him he could barely suppress. A taste of her would bring him back to himself that was paramount; although he could not allow himself to hurt the innocent. Her scent was like wildflowers under the summer sun, with a feminine undertone that was unique to her. She was near and alone. Anger rose in him at her idiocy even as it suited him. His kind were not the only predators in the night. Humans were much more dangerous in places like these, hunting for no other reason than immediate gratification. His kind did not hunt unless it was necessary and even then, they caused only minimum harm. She would never make that mistake again after he was done with her. * * * * * Fatigue cloaked her, aching her joints and back. She needed rest; a day of doing nothing more than preparing her meals or better yet ordering take-out. Thank goodness tomorrow was her day off and she could do just that. She loved her new job, and would not trade it for anything but it could be very tiring. A pleasant kind of tiring though, causing a sweet ache to her muscles and filling her heart with the knowledge she had done a good job. Moving had been a good idea, she had to remember to thank Kev for talking her into it. A new start was exactly what she had needed and from the get go it had been utopic. Her co-workers were great to work with and as she had not replaced nor was in competition with anyone so there was no tension to make things difficult. She had fit in as if they had worked together for years and in the six months she had been there, her clientèle had steadily increased as word of her magic hands spread. She had a nice apartment at a bargain rental and had already saved more than she had ever thought. She was a far cry from the shell she had been when she moved here. Speaking of Kev, he would not be happy with her walking the park at this time of night. No doubt he had already called a half dozen times and was now camped at her doorstep or coming to intercept her. It was comforting how protective he was, though he tended to be extreme at times. Looking around at the dark tree lined part of the walkway she was now on, Aage suddenly wished she had called him. As a rule, she did not leave work so late but an important client had come in, the kind that would generate more up market clients, there had been no choice. Kev wouldn't have minded and she wouldn't have to face the danger she was certain she was in. The hair at the back of her neck rose, a primal reaction to danger she always headed. Her instincts screamed for her to run despite that she knew it was futile. An inexplicable part of her recognized something in the air, a scent musky, dark and erotic, danger. It triggered a wisp of memory that flittered away as if dismissed by her conscious mind back to her unconscious. Whatever she was about to meet aroused deep fears she had thought long gone. Fears darker than the recent ones she longed to escape, ones from a time when she had known only comfort and love, the ones her mind had suppressed to retain her sanity. Unable to take another step, she stopped. Carefully so as not to court the danger she started to backtrack. That's when he appeared from behind the tree. She froze. He was big, tall! At least six eight he towered over her five foot eleven. Muscles rippled on every plane of his body. Shoulders so broad that no burden could bow them flowed into an expansive chest which tapered into washboard abs, slender hips and ... oh! He was completely naked! An impressive, long, thick, erect shaft jutted out, so hard and ... and impressive! Her wide fearful eyes flew to his. She gasped. It did not take a genius to figure out where this scene was headed. Her irreverent mind had the audacity to remind her of all the dumb heroines in horror movies who walked alone in the dark when people were being killed. She had always scoffed at them. Now she was the one caught in a stupid mistake and like them, unable to run. She had always wondered at that but now she knew; running was futile. Still, she would try. His eyes were afire, all consuming, and steely with no hint that compassion had ever touched their depths. Like a python's scales they mesmerized her, the eyes of a ruthless predator who had found his prey! Without giving her leave to obey her burning instincts, he was upon her, her intentions divined. His hand, strong tensile steel cut off her impulsive scream without utterance. Horrified she stared at the blood-covered manacle on his wrist, a thick chain falling from it. She felt the other one biting into her side where his immovable hand held her to him. "Shhh Aage, I will not hurt you." He whispered a low inhuman growl that sent shivers down her spine. Did he expect her to believe him? How did he know her name? She kicked him. He swore, savage and succinct. The arm around her waist tightened for an instant before her world spun and she lay in his arms, her legs dangling ineffectually. His arm locked her knees together preventing her from kicking out and the other held her upper body to his, her hands trapped to her sides. Through her simple cotton blouse the heat from his masculine form seeped into her fright chilled body. He was like a furnace, his smooth skinned muscular strength declaring any of her efforts futile before she even attempted them. Still, she did not intend to lie still whilst he kidnapped her. As his hand still covered her mouth her first effort was to bite him, but the strength of his hand made opening her mouth unfeasible. She attempted to kick out but her legs barely scissored; wiggling her middle did nothing to break his hold on her. She was helpless but had no intention of giving up, there was always a way out of even the most hopeless situation and hers was far from it. Sure she was alone in a dark park with a naked man bent on doing who knows what to her but she would be fine! Okay, it looked bad! With panicked vigor, she thrashed her body as much as she could; given the tight hold he had on her. She barely moved but she reasoned if she made it difficult for him to hold her she might have a chance. She refused to be raped! "Aage calm down, I will not hurt you." Yeah right, says the creepy naked guy manhandling her on an unlit part of a now deserted park. She might have been stupid enough to come through at this time of night but she had enough sense not to buy that. Remembering what Kev had taught her about self-defense, she slumped against him trying to lure him into complacency while awaiting her chance to escape. Her heart hammered against her breast, fear churning through her veins, but she was not going to let it dictate the outcome. She knew that in situations like this fear often helped the aggressor and no way was she ever going to give someone else power over her again. "Police freeze!" an authoritative voice ordered. He froze, turned slightly to glance over his shoulder, affording her one too. Two burly officers stood a few feet behind them guns drawn, their demeanor uncompromising. As brawny as they were, they were as nothing compared to the man who held her. Still they were armed and unless he was an android, he was unarmed. This was her chance, heart soaring she resumed her struggles with more strength, she shouted behind his hand though it did not carry far. "Put her down!" the same cop ordered his voice inflexible. They had guns, at last she was saved! Never again would she cut through the park, not even during the day and a car, she would deposit one first thing tomorrow regardless of the cost. No more stupid mistakes, life was too precious. But her hope was premature. Instead of putting her down he ran. Shots rang behind them. She screamed in her throat, and then sheltered against him. Bullets whizzed past and she made herself smaller, curling against the body she had been attempting to get away from. He jerked as one of them found its mark. The tears she had been holding back flowed, her bravado of before cowered at the reality of death she faced. How could they shoot at a hostage? Was she not precious enough for consideration? What if his body had not been big enough to shield her? Shaking uncontrollably, tears raining down her cheeks and chilled to the marrow of her soul, she curled into him. Why was this happening to her? She was nothing special even with the fact she aged well. At fifty-eight she looked like she was in her early twenties but she had no explanation for it. She had been called a freak, experimented upon and coveted by different people. Could he be like the people she was running from? Was he going to kill her? She did not want to die; she had yet to live. "Everything will be fine Aage." He soothed, his deep voice vibrating through her body. "I will not hurt you." She looked up to him with pleading eyes; his were the gentlest aquamarine, inconsistent with the situation. He removed his hand from her mouth. "Please," she sobbed, "Let me g-g-go." "I'm sorry I cannot." He sounded sincere. She cried in earnest, fearful gasps of anguish raking her body. With extreme tenderness he lifted her to lie on his shoulder, his hand cradling her head as if to keep her safe, ironic when he was the one threatening her. Large, absolute trees surrounded them, monstrosities that had endured men for centuries. If she was to die, it was only fitting to be in the forest, the place that held untold horrors for her. With no other option, she lay still against him, aware of the tensile strength holding her close and the slight escape they afforded. Despite that his hold on her was not crushing, in fact it was almost gentle, another inconsistent detail in her kidnapping. Hope swelled her heart, it was possible he meant it when he said he intended her no harm. Kidnappers rarely held their victim as if they were precious, or she could just be refusing to see the truth of her situation, instead seeing what was not there. A Jaguar's Mate Ch. 02 The bionic stranger who had kidnapped her did not tire, which made sense, after all bionics had no lungs to struggle with the intake of air, no muscles to be overtaxed by constant motion. He had been running for over an hour now, maintaining an impossible speed, 25 miles per hour if she were to guess which meant they were far from any search the police might be conducting. They were now in the mountains and it would be a while before any search was conducted this far. He had a knack for finding a path through the most difficult terrain, choosing a way no mere man could follow. His skin which should have been chilled was warm against her body, the play of muscles beneath her cheek lulling her numbed mind. It made no sense, his speed and even breath suggested something not human, even the temperature of his skin in the chilly mountain air but the movement beneath her cheek, upper body and thigh were all too human. Was he a freak like her? Is that why he knew her name? Maybe there was a freak data base or website, like freaksrus.com where they were all registered. Or with her luck he was a government lab rat engineered to find her. Either way she was screwed, she had no idea where he was taking her and by the looks of it no human had ever been this way. As bad as that was it wasn't the worst of it. Maybe it was his strength or maybe the musky wild forest scent of his skin or maybe even the way he held her with all the tenderness of a man who knew his strength but chose to protect. Whatever it was, something dark and forbidden unfurled inside her, some need that had long ago been suppressed she had no recollection of it. Her blood sang with innate knowledge, a cry primal and fierce calling to the man who held her. It was as if she knew him, had known him beyond time and a part of her awoke to him, for him. Despite her mind's numbness her body reacted to his, with every step he took his bare chest rubbed against her bare arm and the side of her breast with her other arm rubbing against his. Her thigh brushed against his lower stomach too near his aroused member to cause increasingly potent pyrotechnics in her stomach. She had to resist the temptation to wiggle just a bit, enough to brush against him, enough to rub a nipple against his chest. The temptation to free her hand and caress the expanse of smooth hard skin she could see was compelling, focusing her mind when she should be thinking of escape. What was wrong with her? She knew the Stockholm syndrome took longer than an hour to set in so it had to be her own special psychosis, Aageosis, no that did not sound right. Aage syndrome was much better, the diagnosis for people who took a shine to their abductors and wanted to devour every inch of their delectable smooth skin. Not to mention the inappropriate sense of humor. Was it the magic of his deep hypnotic voice? Kidnappers should not have such melodic voices it was too unfair, what hapless female victim would stand a chance? Or maybe it was the sincerity she thought she sensed in him or even those aqua eyes of his. Lord she was a mess; she couldn't even fight off her kidnapper. If, well not really if but when he raped her would it really be rape when she was getting so aroused? Fear again froze her blood at that, the blood that had been heating up as she became aware of him, her body went rigid and he adjusted his arms about her. No, no matter how insane she was becoming she would fight to her death than let that be. "Relax sweetheart, it will be okay." Sweetheart? what right did he have to call her sweetheart? Bile rose in her at the implications, only a psychotic lunatic called his victims endearments, a man who pretended to know her and probably would soon be claiming they had a romantic relationship. What was wrong with her that she attracted creeps? Aage had never thought keeping her body rigid would be so taxing, all too soon she was exhausted, her muscles painfully aching that she had no choice but to relax into him again. She had to come up with a plan to escape before she lost more of her sanity and so much more. The forest triggered long buried memories that battered against her already fragile sanity coupled with the situation she was now in she couldn't stop the scream that erupted in her mind. "Aage stop." He commanded in a gentle voice and she froze again her mind going still. Had he heard her scream? Was it possible? It couldn't be possible, O God she was going to die. A nudist android who could read her mind had been drawn to her by her own freakishness and was going to do who knew what to her. Death was preferable to any of the things running through her mind and she had an active imagination. Yet she was disturbingly calm, the core part of her was serene even excited despite the efforts of her mind to slap it into some semblance of self-preservation. She could not exactly make a viable escape plan if a part of her was actually purring to be in his arms. The longer he held her, the more contented she became, that insane part of her taking over. In fact she felt something move beneath her skin; an itching need she had felt before, like something wild and animalistic lived under her skin and wanted out. She had always been able to control it, to push it back inside but now it would not have that. No! She needed control, she needed space, she needed to put whatever was unfurling in her back inside, and she had to hold it in. Strength poured into her veins, panic filled her mind and she struggled harder than she had before, her arms straining against his as she screamed her denial. Being kidnapped was one thing, a person could be reasoned with, the possibility of rape was only that and even her unexplainable behavior likely had a perfectly good explanation but what was rising in her was too much. Too foreign, too strong, too wild, too uncontrollable. Heat raced through her veins, pain ached her joints, her bones feeling as if they were being elongated and shrunk. Her skin itched abominably, the hairs on it feeling coarse and raised. That there was even hair on her skin scared her, she had had her body hair lasered off. She could hear her bones cracking, feel her jaw shifting as her lower teeth protruded further out than her upper ones. Her screaming voice deepened until it sounded more like a growl of pain. She wanted the arms around her gone, the hot skin felt hotter than a brand, for the same reason she wanted to be held forever. She snapped at him even as she rubbed herself against him, a primitive need to fight him and entice him arose. With age old instinct she had never had she clawed his side with nails that were now claws and he instantly let her go. Before she even started to fall her body sprang up like a tightly wound coil that had suddenly been let go. Gaining more height she twisted in midair, her limbs tucked neatly about her then she landed lightly on her feet, not even needing to bend her knees. She was more aware than she had ever been. The light night breeze felt sensual against her heated skin. She read the messages it carried, the rustling restlessness of the trees, the soft crooning of birds settling in their nests, the flutter of a night owl's wings and the scent of its feathers, the musky warm scent of huddled deer, prey. Shock brought back a measure of her sanity, horror at the overwhelming desire to hunt them, to taste the hot bloody meat of a fresh kill. She could even hear the heartbeats of her prey, knew they were about two miles west of her. She knew where west was despite the darkness and her previously faulty sense of direction and she could see as well as she did during the day. His musky scent seemed magnified, irresistible calling to dark needs she had never guessed at. His flavor tantalized her tongue despite that she had not tasted his skin, reminiscent of a yearned for treat she had half forgotten. It was an erogenous temptation that assaulted her senses, drawing her to him against her better judgment. She yearned like she never had, ached in secret places she had never known to ache. He raised his nose and sniffed the air and she knew he could scent her arousal. His body hardened even more the muscles of his chest seeming to enlarge, to become more defined. His savage beauty became sharper within the primal need awakening between then. Her own body softened readying itself for him and a purr vibrated through her. This was what she had long wanted, what had been missing for so long. The freedom and the knowledge she had him where she wanted, that he was hers at last. It had been too long, he had been gone too long and for that he would pay. She would bring him to his knees; torture him as only she was capable. Yes, his strength meant nothing, his power insignificant to what she could make him do. She was an enchantress, irresistible and powerful in her need. He was cursed and blessed to respond only to0 her. Ancient knowledge told her she had all the power, held him in thrall like a slave awaiting his mistress' pleasure. She circled him with feline grace, her hips rolling a taunting rhythm daring him to approach. Her feet fell on the forest floor with perfect balance, a testament to her readiness. He would have to prove himself worthy of her, worthy of the right and strength to take her. She was queen and having abandoned her he had no right to assume anything, no right to touch her. It was her place to test him, to judge his substance and decide if he lived or died. With preternatural speed and grace she spun away from him and ran. Her feet found the safest place to fall, a path where none was, instinct had her finding and passing through the most difficult trail she could make. She avoided brushing against anything knowing not to leave her scent about or disturb nature. She ran with freedom, confidence and joy. She ran with all the speed she had never known she had, she ran away from any human habitation. The wind was to her back so her scent could not be carried to him and as much as she could she found rocks to step on where the barest touch was unlikely to leave a lasting scent. The wind felt good on her skin, she was swift enough that her suitor was nowhere to be heard, cunning enough that it would take all the skill he had to find her. He had no chance where she was concerned, she was of ancient blood, powerful in ways his own wasn't and she would prevail. He had shamed her, abandoned her to pain when he was meant to protect her and for that she would last long enough to be free of him, long enough that she would prove superior and then his life would be hers. After all a cat that could not catch and subdue his mate deserved death. The thought was final, coldblooded, primal in its simplistic reason that it snapped whatever this confusion was from her mind. She could not kill anything, had freaked out the one time she had been asked to slaughter a chicken! Yet here she was contemplating cold blooded murder. What was wrong with her, what had gotten into her? She knew even how to kill him, knew that if she lasted long enough to best him he would not deny her the kill. That made it so much worse, the knowledge that rose from depths within her she had yet to explore. Dangerous knowledge, vicious, chilling and logical. There was nowhere to hide from that brutal reality, no escape from what she was capable of. Rage boiled within her, impotent and fused with a hatred that scared whatever sanity she still claimed. How could he do this to her, why would he awaken such horror in her. She was compassionate, kind and had never thought to harm anyone, had never suspected such brutality was in her. Fear became a living thing in her gut, a certainty of new unsuspected terrors that nevertheless were old. Fears of the uncertain path her life had irrevocably taken. She ran with the impetus of it, ran form the beast that was chasing her. A roar of anguish sounded behind her giving her a burst of speed beyond the unnatural one she had achieved. Lord he had been toying with her, letting her believe she could outrun him, believe that she had left him behind when he had merely kept apace and hidden. He did not crush through the verdance, his footfalls were silent but now she felt him closing in on her, felt the futility of her own speed. She wove from side to side, jumped impossibly wide gullies but he gained on her. Sobbing with tears running down her cheeks she gave it all she had but it was not enough. His arms circled her waist, lifting her off the ground so she wouldn't stumble. Had his arms been this hard before? She could have sworn they were now made of steel had his skin not been so hot, hers was chilled. She trembled uncontrollably sobs wracking through her painfully. He turned her to face him one hand manacling her hands together and holding them above her. She felt too weak to struggle, her sobs robbing her of any resistance she could have mastered. So close she had come so close and been caught, what hope was there that she would ever have another chance? He stopped running then slammed her against a tree with commendable restraint. Commendable because she knew he could have crushed he bones instead of only bruising her wrists. He spun away from her with a raging cry. A cry that could only have come from an angry jungle cat. Flinching she tried to move away from the tree only to realize she could not, somehow her insane captor had immobilized her against the tree with her arms held above her. It was impossible, none of this could possibly be happening, people did not roar, she did not run faster than a car nor did she have delusions of grandeur. There was no was any of this could be real. Yet she stood facing a raging man with claws for nails, claws he was using to decimate the bark if a harmless tree as he screamed and growled to the heavens. Where she had been shivering with impotence she now shivered in cold terror. All this rage he was unleashing was for her, because of her. It would only be a matter of time before she was the mess the tree was turning into. A matter of time before those razor claws would be cutting through her tender flesh and bones. Snarling he turned to her and her heart turned to ice at the merciless coldness in his eyes. Nothing of humanity dwelt in those depths nor was their colour human. Where they had been aquamarine now they were an amber luminous sheen, eyes only cats and dogs were allowed to have, eyes that denoted madness in a human. "Ye canna tempt me so Aage," he growled. "'Tis four decades since I've seen ye and ye donna know what they did to me. Four decades where the humans couldna do what ye have done this night." He paused to look deep into her terrified eyes and she could not breathe as she waited for him to tell her what she could possibly have done, "Ye have brought Liam McMorna over the brink of madness and now ye shall suffer for it." Aage opened her mouth to scream but her voice caught at her throat as he grabbed the lapels of her blouse together with the straps of the bra underneath. With easy strength he tore them open to expose her heavy breast to the night all the time holding her captive with those eerie eyes of his. Tears ran down her cheeks as she felt the cool air on her sensitive skin, as his hands cupped her lush flesh and his thumbs soothed her nipples. She wept silently as he broke eye contact to bury his face in the bounty of her flesh knowing there was no hope for her any more. A Jaguar's Mate Ch. 03 Page 01 Her mind had stalled, a feeble defense sheltering her soul from the chasm of madness opening before her. She stood still not just because of his mystical hold but also because her mind was too numb. Too numb to reason the need to struggle, too numb to move a muscle. She existed in suspended animation, aware of her surroundings as if watching something outside of herself. A part of her though screamed, unable to bury itself as most of her had done. It screamed for struggle, for resistance against whatever this was. While her body was another matter. It burned, her nipples beaded and aching but she wasn't sure if she could blame the air. Fire seemed to flow through her veins, yearning she fought to dismiss, to resist. There was no way this psychotic freak was arousing her. Her dysfunction did not extend to this. He was a stranger, holding her against her will after kidnapping her. A stranger, though he shaped her nude body with strong gentle hands meant to soothe. When had he removed her clothes? How had she not felt it? "Save me Aage," he whispered against her neck, pleaded. She shivered, unsure what he wanted, knowing she had to do something to survive long enough to save herself. "Remember enough tae save us both." "O-okay." she stammered. What else could she say? She really wanted to save herself, if in the process he believed he got saved so much the better. She could leave relatively unscathed. "Just don't hurt me." He lifted his head to look into her widened eyes. "Never hurt ye lass. Canna hurt ye." She was not idiot enough to believe that but she would play along. "What do I have to do?" Don't ask for sex, she pleaded inside even though she would have no real say if he wanted. "Open yeaself tae me." What? Was that a euphemism for sex? Did he have some twisted need for some form of acceptance from her? He must have sensed her fear, seen it in her eyes. "Yea soul Aage, open yea soul tae me. I canna keep the madness at bay." Oh lord he knew he was mad! Would that make it better or worse for her? She had no choice but to nod when she had no idea what he meant. His lips closed around her left nipple, drew it into his mouth. Pleasure pulsed through her entire body. Unwanted, dizzying pleasure. Her muscles fought to arc her body towards the moist heat tugging at her. The heat that inundated increasing pleasure through her body. But whatever hold he had on her kept her still, she couldn't even scream like she wanted to. The sad thing was the scream that was building inside her was not of denial like she wanted it to be. Tears poured down her cheeks at her helpless state. She wanted more as much as she wanted him to stop. The sensations driving through her fractured her already strained mind, sensations that surpassed anything she had ever experienced. He caressed her as a lover should. A tender mapping of her skin. Following the smooth sloped mountains and valleys that made up her body. It was a touch meant to imprint her into him, a reverence that cherished her. Nothing like the handful of lovers she'd had. It felt like the re-establishing of something barely remembered. Confused she trembled as her body and emotions rioted. She had always prided herself on her ability to stay in control but now whatever touchstone she'd had was lost. Denial surged with as much force as acceptance. There was something so familiar about his touch, a long forgotten dream surviving in her subconscious. One that filled a hole little acknowledged. Whatever beast lurking under her skin purred, the source of her unreasoning acceptance. She revered in that pleasure, sought to accentuate it. Awareness of power shimmered in her, an awakening. She touched the essence of power, of life itself. Time was hers, an understanding of its ins and outs blossomed inside her and she exalted at it. It was a weaving of light of which she was the core weave but instead of being one dimensional it consisted of intricate ones she could not understand. Was this the opening of her soul he had demanded? Strings wove through and from her in a kaleidoscope made of random colours and from all directions yet forming a logical complex. She couldn't understand it but she saw it had meaning behind it. A single thread's pulse drew her attention. It was no brighter than any other, its colour just as remarkable as the next. Yet it drew her with a force akin to compulsion that she had to touch it. Thick enough to just be visible, in her line of sight it thickened until it encompassed her world. She saw the texture of it, recognized the unique aspect of it and saw the discord of the length immediately before her. Of their own accord her fingers wrapped around the thread. A rushing sound filled her ears, so much pressure she had to swallow a few times to relieve it. In the moments it took for her to realize the pressure came from within she was sucked into the thread where she landed with a jolting force. Time expanded, sang in her blood until it was all she knew. Before she could get any bearing she was once again sucked away. The jolt she felt did not ripple out like she had expected. She found herself sitting in the back of a luxurious car on plush cream leather. Buttery soft it was like seating on a cloud. It smelled new, was spotless and more spacious than any car she had ever sat at the back of. Something was decidedly off. Aside from the fact that a few seconds ago she had been enjoying the touch of a madman against her will and common sense, she couldn't turn her head. She knew the car was roomy in the same way she knew she was breathing. Peripheral knowledge that had no business being acknowledged. Her eyes noted the passing scenery in passing, her mind reflective. Only her thoughts were foreign. Her body felt alien, awkward but she couldn't figure out why. While she continued ruminating on things she couldn't understand she made an inventory of herself. Her hair was short, barely touching the back of her neck when it should be midway down her back. The hand on her knee looked larger, more maleish than her small soft hands. The implications fluttered through her mind but she instantly rejected them. Her mind had just taken a weird turn just to escape her situation. She had an active mind and imagining herself somewhere else was a proved psychological coping mechanism. All she needed to do was keep calm and soon enough she would snap out of it. Centering herself she took a few deep breaths, only her breaths were still. She had no control of even her breathing. Panic flooded through her, she couldn't convince herself against her own conclusions. She was no longer in her own body. Worse she was in a male body and the power she felt flowing through her was too foreign, too much. She was suffocating, hyperventilating, and her mind on the verge of exploding. Yet the car drove on and the body she inhabited breathed in even breaths and continued its sedate existence. She wanted out but had no idea how to get out, opening herself as she had to get here was a nonstarter. She was too panicked and besides it was more likely the lunatic had done that to her more than that it had been she herself. Why would he do this to her? Was he blacking her out so that he could rape her and not have her remember it? She was jaded. Tired of the same events, concerns and conversation. Weary of people catering to his needs and the lack of challenges in her life. The women throwing themselves at her, changing and yet being the same across time. She ruminated on the lack of pleasure their company afforded and a deep need to escape it all. Only the thoughts were his and she had no control of them, they were taking over her mind until soon there would be no difference. As her terror reached its peak time seemed to shift forward and swept her along with it. She experienced the ride of time as it was accelerated through events so fast that she couldn't tell what they were. She saw it all through the eyes of the man whose body she shared, Liam McMorna, fifteen hundred years old panthera onca from the Andean people history recorded as the Chachapoyas. She knew he had migrated to Ireland during the 15th century when the Inca had invaded. Had changed his name to a local one and as he had reddish blonde hair and green eyes he and his people had fit in though their features had been slightly different to the locals. That was only general information floating around his brain. What she saw was the rest of the car ride, a car ride that ended in her hometown when the car broke down. She saw the first time he had seen her, experienced the wash of emotions he felt. Watched her own bemused, overwhelmed young face as he talked to her. She had no recollection of this but she saw as their relationship blossomed over two years and she gave her virginity to him. Witnessed the day men with guns had come for him and ripped him from her life. Days blended into each other as she experienced horrendous tortures. They tested his pain threshold, keeping him on a rake for days. Breaking his limbs to see how long it would take for him to regenerate, tested weapons upon him for effectiveness. It went on and on and on, a parade of horrendous pain as he was kept helpless. He took strength in memories of her, her touch, scent and taste until she was all that kept him strong during the plethora of pain. Until she was the last thread of his sanity. He held against inhumane experiments, helpless when he had never been thus as anger built in him. Murderous anger that had him seeing every living human as an enemy. He memorized their scents, planned how he would hunt and kill each and every one of them. Those who brutalized him, those who came to watch thinking they were safe from his identifying them and the ones who gave him pity. He caught the scents of the cleaners, the computer guys, all the support staff and the visitors. He was going to kill them, show them the side they had feared his people would show. He would relish it as he watched the last flicker of life in their eyes; relish the parting of skin as he swiped his claws through it. The scent of burning flesh as he unleashed the magic of his people upon their puny bodies. Death, death, death, he would deal them and only Aage would be safe. Years and decades passed as he planned his massacre, honed skills long thought gone from their world. Decades in which pain became his friend, where he separated what was around him from the essence of his being. It gave him time to plan, to strategize. Soon enough he would have strength to escape and woe to all humanity. Then they had given him the news of her death. Aage sobbed through his brutal escape when he realized his humanity had slipped beyound where he could recapture it on his own. He killed without remorse, seeing anyone before him as nothing more than an obstacle. Alarms blared everywhere and the soldiers who came in held some of the weapons they had tested on him but he had gained enough strength and immunity over the years to withstand them. He ran for days, somehow drawn to her despite the lack of scent to follow until he came to her town. He tracked her scent then, savouring what only his were memory had kept alive. "Aage!" It was too faint, she was too deep. "Aage, come back baby!" It was his voice. She couldn't escape him; he was in her head and even talking to her out of it. She was going crazy and the ground was gone from beneath her, darkness was all she saw. But his voice wouldn't leave her alone, it sunk into her demanding she come back, leaving her with no choice. Gasping, sobbing she came back to herself. It wasn't as dramatic as her exit had been, a rushing in of all her senses and with it more than 15 centuries of knowledge she couldn't process. "Sssh, ye were not supposed tae take it in lass." the monster holding her whispered to her. He was that and more, a king, a were, her mate, a killer. Without him she would lose her mind, with him she had already lost part of it. How could this be her life? What was she going to do? She shoved him; sometime when she had been gone he had released her from his Jedi thing. Clasping the tattered ends of her blouse she walked away uncaring of the fact it was just as good as nothing. When his hand landed on her shoulder she whipped around and punched him. Her friend Kev had taught her a bit about fighting. This man had awakened her need to fight. She wanted to hurt him, give him as much pain as he had given her so she kicked him in his balls. While he clutched at them she turned and walked away. She didn't try to run knowing she wouldn't get away. And honestly where would she go? He was an immortal being, so was she by the way, who could find her on the moon for all she knew. There were a group of sadistic humans who knew she wasn't human and had kept tabs on her. And she had thought her sadistic adoptive brother was someone to be afraid of. Her life was on a downward spiral and at that moment she didn't care, it didn't matter. From his memories of her she knew she had tremendous power, which came from some unique bloodline. But it didn't help her; she had no idea how to use it. Again he was her only hope, of survival, of knowing how to control her freak. He even knew how to find her birth parents and she needed to find them. After spending the last three decades moving about to hide the fact that she didn't age she had wanted to find them so she could know why. Now she had no need to do that she knew, lord how she knew. Still she wanted to find them. "Aage..." the jerk just wouldn't get a clue! "Do not talk to me!" she commanded. "There might not be a way for me to get rid of you but that doesn't mean I have to listen to you. I want to forget you exist right now." He didn't reply and she kept walking. There was nowhere to go so what did it matter. His memories were too much to handle so she avoided thinking about them. This left her with thought of his hands on her which she didn't want to think about. But she was as good as naked with a naked man behind her whom she remembered sleeping with, if the screwed up perception she had could be called remembering. Her body had remembered though, had remembered whilst he had touched her. "Aage." There was a warning in his low growl, she knew what it was about but she didn't want to acknowledge it. "I will claw your eyes out if you don't shut up." "I can smell ye arousal." He gritted. "So what!" she demanded feeling reckless. "Are you going to throw me on the ground and rape me?" She now knew that had never been something she should have feared but he had given her that fear for about two hours. "Go to hell! I don't want you. It is not my fault that fate saw fit to tie me to you, not my fault that you were imprisoned and I hate that you made it my pain, that you gave me your pain." That wasn't entirely true. It was her fault he had been taken, and he hadn't given his pain to her, she had taken it, even her memories. Having no control of her abilities she had taken where she was supposed to have soothed. Yet how could she have soothed someone who had done nothing but threaten her? She walked on, feeling guilty and hating herself for it. She shouldn't, but there it was. He was to blame for a lot of other things. As she walked she realized she was taking turns and going to a specific place. Frowning she searched her mind to see where she might be taking them. She had never been this way which meant it was either his memories or he was manipulating her. It didn't matter which it was she was tired, hungry and having a destination was more comforting even if she didn't know how far it was. A Jaguar's Mate Ch. 03 Page 02 By Luna she was beautiful! Her eyes blazed with the threat of thunderstorms, crackling as if lightning flashed through their depth with a force to incinerate anything in its path. He was in her path. She wanted to kill him, that was obvious and he really couldn't blame her. He could admit that he had put her through hell in the last couple of hours. Having been unable to help himself was no excuse but it was the truth. A truth she now knew in ways that made him cringe. Why had she taken all his memories? He had never meant to let her know the hell he had been through. A man didn't need to have his most embarrassing experiences laid bare. He felt raw, exposed and vulnerable. Powerful as he was he had never felt like this, even when he was held captive, and he hated it. There was no way to erase his memories from her mind, he didn't have that ability but she should, if she could take them then she could release them. Would she use them against him? Manipulate him like so many had tried to do. She would have more ammunition than anyone had ever had. She had all his memories. She had all his memories! And she was pissed to a degree he had never seen in anyone. That was something to be scared of in any being, but in a woman it was worse. Hell had no fury like a woman scorned, and she definitely felt scorned. All he could do was wait to see what she would do and try to mitigate it. The Aage he had known would not have used his memories against him but this Aage was an unknown. One who had a powerful right hook. She was going in the direction he wanted, his memories guiding her. Did she know they would be alone in a cabin that was in the middle of nowhere? He wanted her, needed her with a passion that threatened his returned sanity. And he was now sane, she had taken the brunt of his rage, reduced it to manageable levels. To a point where he didn't want to kill every living thing he encountered. He still burned with a need for revenge, would not stop until his enemies were no more but he no longer felt at the verge of losing control. For now he concentrated on the seductive sight before him. He could have summoned up some clothes for her but the view before him was too tempting to give up. The blouse reached down to just above the bottom of her butt so that with every step he caught the enticing curve of it. Smooth, firm rounded with a sexy bounce to it that had him focusing on nothing else. She had not been this rounded when he had last seen her. He wanted to cup that perfect ass, sink his aching cock into it and ride her for the rest of the night. He knew the likelihood of that was next to nil. She wanted to forget he existed, had decked him when he had dared to touch her, even gone so far as to almost geld him. He found himself admiring her courage and wanting to spank her at the same time. She would look so beautiful with her reddened ass on display. He had never been a dominant lover, drawn to sadomasochistic sexual acts but he found himself aching to tie her down and take a paddle to her behind. He almost bumped into her, having been lost in the picture his mind had conjured that he hadn't noticed she had stopped. Arms crossed beneath her ample breasts she was glaring at him. He met her fuming eyes with a steady look, he knew it maddened her even more but what else could he do. "Keep your eyes to yourself." She gritted. He kept his face straight, refusing to let his amusement show. How could she expect him not to look at her when she looked so hot, so sexy? The swing of her hips alone was poetry in motion, bringing so many erotic thoughts to his mind. "Where are we going?" she demanded. "Ye're the one leading." He replied. "Don't..." she gestured angrily with her hands. "Don't play with me; you know exactly what I mean. Somehow you are leading me somewhere and I'm too strung up to put up with anything more. So where are you taking me." "I was taking ye tae a cabin in these mountains; it's nae that far from here. Ye must have picked up on me intention." "And what is wrong with going back to my apartment, my life?" He saw her start when he shifted his weight, as if she was afraid he was going to attack her again. She had to know he would never hurt her. With his memories she had to know that no matter how violent or screwed up he got she was the one person he would never intentionally hurt, not physically. "Ye're intelligent enough tae know that is nae a safe option for ye." He stated. With a belligerent look to her she notched her chin a bit higher. "Why? If she wanted him to spell it out he would, he had never believed in mincing the truth no matter how painful it might be. "They have been monitoring ye for decades, keeping track of yea movements. They managed tae collect blood from ye and ye dinna know about it. They knew what ye're when ye dinna even know it and the only reason they dinna have ye in a two by four cell was because they had me and ye're tae young tae give them any of the information they're seeking." She paled, but kept her face set refusing to be cowered. He nodded his approval; she had some fight in her. "Ye're a fighter, I remember that, ye're going tae need it for we're going tae be in a fight for our lives." He added. "I don't want to have to fight." "Ye donna have a choice; ye were born to it, either tae be the predator or the cull, no other choice. Having the bloodline ye have means ye're expected tae be the alpha predator, or ye will be killed by those who want yea place, yea power. Others with lesser bloodlines can afford to sit back and nae fight but ye and I canna." Tears filled her eyes, he hurt for her but he had to tell her the truth, rip the bandage once and have it done with. "I hate you." She ground out. "No, ye donna" he breathed at her moving towards her until he was a breath away from her looking deep into her injured and confused gaze. "I'm naked before ye, ye canna think about anything else besides that. Yea body is burning with a need ye can just about keep at bay but it's taking everything ye have tae do so. This anger ye're showing, it has nothing tae do with wanting tae know where we're going or nae wanting tae fight. It has everything tae do with the fact that ye canna control the desire boiling through yea blood, the torrid yearning ye canna hide from." He saw the hand coming, had time to reason out the pros and cons of evading it and decided against it. The crack resounded in the silent night and his cheek stung where her hand had connected but he kept his hold on her eyes. The fire was back in her eyes something he knew he was going to love about her. She hadn't had it when she was younger, he couldn't wait to see what other differences were in her. "I might be stuck with you for now but trust me, if there is any way for me to be rid of you I will find it." "Only way is tae kill me. Are ye ready for that?" he challenged. Without another word she turned away from him then resumed walking. He went instantly hard as her hips swung with her furious walk, those delicious curves meant for a man to hold on to. And those legs! Long, shapely, sexy legs that went on forever and could send a man to hell and back. He remembered them wrapped around him, their muscles drawing him closer as he took them both towards heaven. Damn he loved the sight of them, pure perfection. There was nothing about Aage that wasn't flawless and he wanted to show her just how divine every bit of her was. It was hard to walk with a hard on, the bounce in every step highlighting his need and the feel of the air reminding him of so much. Her breath on him, a feathered touch barely there. Damn he was losing his mind in his need for her he almost wished to be back in his cell and madness. At least then he didn't have the excruciating temptation platter he couldn't feast on. She walked on faster and he knew she was as attuned to him as he was to her. It was the way of mates. She would be able to smell his desire, almost taste it and it would enhance hers and he knew she felt desire for him. What remained to be seen was whether she would give into it or continue to deny it. As he had taken so much from her he wanted her to come to him, to seduce him. Maybe his ego also wanted the validation that he was as irresistible to her as she was to him, that even as she wanted nothing to do with him she still had an overwhelming desire for him. She was almost running, keeping her speed at the threshold where it was less than running perhaps knowing that if she ran all bets were off. He would not be able to control himself if she initiated another mating run. His panther was already at the ready, waiting with that brutal patience, stalking his prey and just waiting for her to run. She was playing with fire, baiting the primitive part of him that could not, at present, reason beyound the raging fire that demanded they mate. Re-establish the bond forty years apart had weakened. The cabin was just ahead of them, a compact glass and brick two storey structure covering 1,440 square foot. The lights were off but that was expected as no one should be there. Still he stretched his senses to feel for any unusual energy, he found none but still he kept his guard up. Without a word he took the lead unconsciously pushing Aage enough to stop her from taking another step. "Don't manhandle me." She bit out but he ignored her. She had to know from his action that he was only trying to protect her. He knew she was intelligent enough to realize it without having it spelled out. Wanting to assert her displeasure was no excuse for carelessness. Turning he glared his warning to her. He had never been a man to repress women in any way but she needed to know he was in charge. He might indulge her, he would indulge her but ultimately he would decide what was best. At the moment she needed to vent, lash out for what he had put her through but he would not justify her being careless. Whatever she thought would come of their relationship he was never going to let her go. At least she had acknowledged that what they had was unbreakable. She might not like him now but she wanted him, even as she claimed otherwise. He would use that. He was ruthless in what he wanted and made no apologies for it. Soon enough they would be back in his kingdom and God help the Humans for he certainly wouldn't. He was going to purge the world of their kind, show them how weak and stupid they were. How dare they think to come after his people, dare to imprison and experiment on them. He was going to show them their worst fear, show them the future they justified their inhumanity on. He smelled her fear, saw her body freeze in that way people did when they sensed danger and were deciding weather to flee or fight. With effort he schooled his features to the blank mask he had perfected over the centuries. There was no need for her to fear him but still she did. "We have tae move as if someone hunts us. There mightna know about the cabin or they might, we shall see." Without waiting to see if she would follow he moved forward. His footfalls made no sound as he kept to the shadows. He was a creature of the night, they both were, predators created for stealth with eyes that saw far without trouble even in the depth of the night. Tonight had a full moon and favored anyone who might be watching. His skin prickled, not because he felt someone watching. It was the exposure, the idea that he might have unwanted watchers observing him, watching for weakness. Studying him for a way to kill him, a way to torture him, wanting the secrets he alone would know of. He would not have mercy on anyone foolish enough to come after him, he was strong, they had made him stronger than fifteen centuries of living had achieved. His powers were on steroids. He would not let them win, he would not die. He was the last hope of his people and his duty was above all to them. He wanted to howl his challenge to the world, dare any fool to try for him. Power built in him, raw, virulent. He wanted to rage at whoever might be watching him, reducing him to an object. He the most powerful of his people. He would trample them into the ground; leave nothing of them to be found. "Ah Liam, you're shinning, kinda like a reactor about to go nuclear. If it means anything to you I still wanna live, you know, not done with life." The bite was still in her voice but there was trepidation also. The sound of her voice brought him up short, grounded him. Taking a deep breath he released it slowly, focusing on the act and nothing else. He needed to stay calm, keep going until he could come up with a plan, take one step at a time and all that. He would get his revenge. With each breath a cooling wave bathed his insides until he was back to normal. He would be strong, he was strong and losing control was not an option. With recommendable stealth they reached the door without incident. He knew there would be none; if they had not been attacked when he had nearly lost it they were more likely alone out here. Still he needed to the routine to ground him, keep him in the now. Aage had taken his rage and trauma but not all of it, he would be having problems for a while but he had the strength to endure it. He was worried about her though. Damn it how would he have known she could siphon people's memories. The trauma she would experience! He cringed at memories he wanted to forget but couldn't. If she kept them, remembered the torture! Right now her mind would be processing his memories, denying them at first then starting from his childhood. When the torture hit she would be laid low. At the moment she had a vague awareness of them but they would crash in on her soon. He wanted to take them away or at least bury them deep in her before that happened. She looked fragile, even when she impressed him with her defiant courage, and he would not have her suffering any more. The front door needed his thumb print to be opened and the lights came on. At the time he had been taken, it had been the latest in security but he imagined that was no longer the case. At least no one had changed the security on the cabin or he would have had a time of it. But it presented him with a new problem; if they were attacked the security would be outdated and easy to get past. Those that would come after him would be conversant with the newest of technology. The entry flowed into the sitting room, the furniture still the roughhewn set he had left in. A glass table graced the middle of the deep cushioned couch set. A white carpet defined the sitting room from the wooden floored entry from which the wooden stairs led to the upper storey. On the other side was the dinning which led to the kitchen at the back. The only other room on the floor was one he had used as an office/study. He wanted to go in there and start calling to his people but knew he had to see to Aage. Turning to her he saw she was still by the door, her posture unwary and showing she was ready for flight. She had to know he was faster than her, more enduring because of his great age but he could see her need to run. He had no idea what would prompt it, assumed it was being under the same roof with him with no one about. But was that worse than being in the forest with him, out in the cold with nowhere to be? "I willna be harming ye Aage. We're both tired and in need of food and rest so donna turn this into another chase, donna arouse the instinct in me unless yea ready for it." He saw her eyes widen and dart about, like she was looking for a weapon and finding none she looked back at him with defiance in her eyes. She lifted her chin, pushed her shoulders back and walked towards the stairs as if he she owned the place, which she technically did. The amusement he felt never reached his eyes. Her spirit was admirable, flaring even when she was uncertain as she most certainly was right then. He watched as she mounted the stairs with the grace of a dancer, his stomach clenching unbearably as she gave him a view of her lower lips once she was a bit higher up. It was a fleeting glimpse, gone before it could truly be registered; it hit him like a ton of bricks. He was stunned to immobility, his hand on the railing with his foot on the first step. His arousal became more painful, especially as his brain knew he wasn't going to be welcomed. The sway of her hips added to the sensual moment, the perfect rolling motion enhanced by the climbing. Mesmerizing him with their perfect motion, no move more than it should be, no exaggerations. None of that slow sensual strut females had perfected, no, the last thing Aage wanted was to entice him, which made her walk sexier than hell. She turned at the top of the stairs and he released the breath he had not been aware of holding in a whoosh. He was in for a night of hell; he just hoped it would lean more to the sensual kind. Aage had seen this movie. A cabin in the wood surrounded by miles of forest, a bad guy who might, might actually be a good guy and the stupid heroine trusting his back story and her life to him. Bad guys way into torture were after them and she had just had the awesome, awesome news that she was an immortal freak. Yay, she was having an awesome day. The icing on the cake would be if there was no cell service and it would turn into a good ol' fashioned B horror movie. Predictable, with an abrupt end that just might be the death of the beautiful if somewhat intellectually challenged heroine, her. Wes Craven would not touch this script with a five foot pole. She did not want to die but it seemed death was stalking her. She cringed at the memories that raced through her, the torture she knew would haunt her sleep. Why had she taken his memories? Was there some part of her that yearned to know him inside and out? Well that masochistic whatever was going to bite. She had known which room he was going to give to her, what every damsel needed, a mental link to the psycho who held her. So okay he didn't exactly fit in with all the psycho kidnappers but still the salient points were the same. She was here against her will; she had no means of escape and feared for her life. Maybe he wasn't the one she had to fear but hey the script wrote itself here, a clichéd one true, but still there. Her life was riveting! Her face in the mirror looked the same as always. Flawless brown skin graced a fine boned oval face, a forehead she had always thought too prominent and a mouth with too full lips. She was, in her opinion, unremarkable. What would attract a gorgeous millennia old king to obsess about her? The mating thing had to be more powerful than anything in the world. It had to be the only reason why he even wanted her. Aage wished she could deny that they were mates. The pull between them was palpable she felt like she could breathe it. It was like dynamite bathed every molecule around them, ready to explode with the slightest match. No matter how angry she was, how much she wanted to distance herself from him her mind kept coming back to sensual matters. With him as the star of her fantasies. Never had she been so attracted to a man. In fact many times she had despaired of ever finding a man she desired. If it hadn't been for her highly erotic dreams she would have thought herself frigid. Now she guessed those had been more than dreams, memories of the nights she had spent with Niall. She had never seen the face of the man in her dreams but his body and that of Liam McMorna were too alike for it not to be him. She was trembling, a reaction to the adrenalin let down, the hours of fear and regrettably the desire coursing through her veins. It wasn't supposed to be like this, she was supposed to find a good man she could love, get married, have 2.5 kids and a house with a white picket fence. She had earned that much. A Jaguar's Mate Ch. 03 Page 02 A knock sounded at the bedroom door. She had the bathroom door open, having been too distraught to do anything beyound close the bedroom door and rush to the bathroom. She needed space. Was that so hard for the idiot man to understand? "Go away!" she shouted. "Ye need to eat. The food is done." He called out. Somehow that made her even angrier. "What, you want me to sit across from you and pretend to be we're a happy couple?" Silence greeted her question. She waited him out wondering if he had just left at her outburst. There was no sound, even her heightened hearing caught nothing, but he was a master of stealth and she doubted she would hear him even if she had her ear to the door. "I will leave a tray by your door." He finally replied. She didn't hear him but somehow she knew he was gone and she took a deep steadying breath. She should be happy he was gone. Somehow she was deflated. She just wanted to curl up in her bed and forget the world existed, right after a long soak and maybe that food tray he had mentioned. When she opened the door after washing her face she found the tray outside her door. It wasn't much a bowl of soup, some toast and butter but as hungry as she was she found it to be heaven. After she inhaled it all she drew herself a bath and cried as her day finally overwhelmed her. How was she going to process the overwhelming information she had just been given? As his mate she would be queen of the shifters, how would she handle that when she had so much trouble running her own life? From what she could see she had no choice and if by some miracle she could bring herself to kill him he had said their kind gained the power of those they killed so she would have more problems. Still stuck with ruling a people she had had no idea existed just that morning. In a word screwed.