The Choosing (9 page)

She pushes a little, guiding him back down onto the makeshift bed, and Jerath goes willingly. Serim is still whispering words, a stream of beautiful prayers for the Goddess to bless their union.

Serim falls silent. The first part of the ritual is now over, and Jerath’s heart rate spikes. He knows what happens next and his body is coiled and ready. The lava berries are coursing through his system now, setting his skin on fire and making him ache with need. He can feel Serim’s touches deep inside as she runs her fingertips over the taut skin of his belly.

His head is a little foggy, his mind blissfully quiet, and he vaguely registers that this is also due to the berries. But then Serim’s hand closes around the base of his cock, and Jerath feels nothing but the delicious pressure on his sensitive skin. She uses her mouth to get him ready. He lets his eyes fall shut and arches his back, moaning loudly at the feel of the hot wetness wrapped around him.

When Serim pulls away, Jerath’s cock is hard and straining against his stomach. He wants to pull her head back down, get her to carry on what she was doing because it felt so good, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knows he needs to let Serim take the lead.

“Jerath.”

When he opens his eyes, his breath catches in his throat. Serim is lying beside him and is almost shimmering. Her skin is bathed in a pale-blue light that makes her look otherworldly to Jerath’s hazy mind. She looks over at him and reaches out to take his hand in hers. Serim smiles and whispers, “Trust me,” before spreading her thighs and placing Jerath’s hand between her legs.

She puts her hand over his and guides his fingers until Jerath is rubbing and circling and Serim’s breath stutters. He marvels at the sight of her, head thrown back and mouth open.

She starts to speak the incantation again, and her voice is rough with arousal. Jerath feels the words. They heat his body and he wants to… needs to….

“
Serim
….”
It comes out as a plea and Serim smiles at him through her words, as though she knows exactly what he needs. It’s not like his dreams, where he longs to touch and lick the warm, hard body underneath him. But the feelings are almost as powerful as the berries coax Jerath’s body into a heightened state of desire and keep his mind pleasantly empty.

Serim moves his hand so he’s no longer touching her and she moves so she’s now straddling Jerath’s lap. He feels her brush against him and he almost whimpers with the need to be inside her. It’s something Jerath never expected to feel. Ever. But the urge is so strong he can barely contain it.

Serim raises her hands to the sky and her voice gets louder and louder. “We beg thee, oh honored Goddess. Take this offered union and bless this male with your most precious gift.”

Jerath feels the shift in the air around them. The wind picks up and brushes against his skin. It’s like a thousand tiny fingertips all over his body, making his blood boil, and he just wants to take Serim and claim her.

His hands curl into fists at his sides, but the need inside him is growing and growing, and he can’t help but grab Serim’s hips and pull her roughly against him.

“Serim!” Jerath looks up at her, begging her to help him.

His mind is sluggish and he knows what he wants, what he has to do, but there’s something stopping him and he doesn’t know what it is. Serim’s voice cuts off once again and when she lowers her gaze to meet his, her eyes are the glowing blue of her panther. She growls at him, her teeth elongated and sharp, and he can feel her nails dig into his skin as her hands come to rest on his stomach.

“Take me, Jerath… claim your gift.”

Her words ignite a fire inside him. Magic crackles through his veins and burns away the unseen force holding him back. He flips them over, Serim landing on her back and Jerath settling between her legs. He slips his hands under her shoulders and holds her tight. Her eyes are wild as she watches him and he wants to claim her, wants to take what is rightfully his. The wind swirls around them now, licking at their skins and urging them on.

He pauses to glance at her, and when she hisses his name and tells him to hurry, he pushes inside her with one long, hard thrust.

And
oh
,
Jerath has never felt anything like this before. He’s consumed by Serim’s heat and his whole body trembles with the pleasure of being inside her. She’s firm under his hands, her body more boyish than soft and feminine. When Jerath closes his eyes it’s easy to imagine a flat, muscled chest instead of rounded breasts and that the body underneath him is that of another man. He loses himself to the moment. Serim rolls her hips, her nails dig into his back, and Jerath feels something building inside him.

His mind may be hazy, but Jerath knows it’s more than just his orgasm. He can feel it work its way up from his toes. It snakes up the backs of his legs, pushing him to go harder and faster. Serim starts to whisper the final words and the feeling intensifies. Jerath clings on as heat flares up his back and out along his arms to the tips of his fingers.

Serim’s legs wrap around his waist and pull him toward her and Jerath knows that this is it. She screams out the last words of the ritual and roughly shoves Jerath’s head to the side of her neck. His fangs lengthen and he sinks his teeth deep into her flesh.

Jerath’s body shudders as he releases inside her, and he greedily drinks down her blood as she climaxes underneath him. Pain flares hot and sudden across Jerath’s back. It’s like a lick of fire tearing across his skin and he throws his head back, Serim’s blood dripping down his chin as he cries out. He feels the tattoo as it forms, the image of his animal searing onto his skin as the magic flows through his body. It’s all he can focus on, the pain so intense that Jerath’s vision whites out and he collapses on top of Serim, still buried deep inside her.

J
ERATH
has no idea how much time passes before cool, gentle fingers brush over his cheek.

“Jerath?”

He slowly opens his eyes to find Serim peering down at him. Jerath blinks in confusion. The last thing he remembers is being on top of Serim. “How did I…?”

She blushes a little. “You were heavy, Jerath. I had to… um… move you.”

He very rarely sees Serim embarrassed or lost for words, and for a second he can’t understand why she would be now. Jerath’s mind is beginning to clear, though, the effects of the berries finally starting to wear off, and it all comes rushing back to him in a flurry of very vivid images. Him and Serim… together… the ritual…
sex
.

Jerath remembers the overwhelming need to take Serim and claim her as if she was his, and his cheeks flush hot. He has an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach that he was too rough with her, and his hands immediately go to touch her, to find out for himself if she’s okay, but he hesitates. Jerath doesn’t know the etiquette for after the ritual. Can he touch Serim? Will she want him to?

He wouldn’t have thought twice about it before, but now he’s not sure how to act.

“Are you okay, Serim? I didn’t….” Jerath swallows down his rising apprehension. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, Jerath.” Her voice is soft, soothing. “You didn’t hurt me.”

He looks into her eyes and he can’t handle the whole awkwardness between them. Serim is his best friend and he needs her. He won’t be able to cope with all this without her. Things have to be okay between them.

“Serim… I don’t how to do this… how to go back.”

She puts her fingers over his mouth. “We can’t go back to how things were before, Jerath.” He feels his heart sink and opens his mouth to protest, but she shushes him again. “What we just shared was sacred and magical. I can still feel it humming under my skin.” She closes her eyes and breathes deeply. “I can smell your animal now, Jerath.” Her eyes flash blue. “I can sense it inside you.”

Jerath shivers. He can feel it too: something new and exciting, lurking under his skin and just waiting to be released.

“It won’t be the same between us, Jerath, it will be so much better,” Serim continues. “You are still my best friend, and I love you as I did before.” She cups Jerath’s cheek in her palm and grins at him. And
there
is the Serim he knows. “But now you can run and hunt with me, and I can show you what it means to be a shifter.”

He grins back and feels a weight lift from his shoulders as some of the awkwardness flows away. He’s a true shifter now. He has fangs and a—

“My tattoo!” Jerath yells and scrambles to his feet. He tries to see over his shoulder, desperate to know what’s on his back. “Serim! Have you seen? Do you know what it is?”

Serim laughs, and it’s a beautiful sound in the now-still night. “Come with me.” She takes his hand and leads him to the edge of the pool. They’re both still naked, but Jerath discovers he’s not bothered by this anymore.

The surface is unnaturally calm and the moon is brighter that he has ever seen it. Jerath can see himself clearly in the water and he turns to Serim and raises an eyebrow.

“Can’t you feel it, Jerath?” She waves her hand around them, encompassing the pool and the clearing behind them. “The magic lingers in the air—it’s all around us.”

When Jerath closes his eyes and lets his new senses take over, he almost staggers backward at the flood of information that flows into his brain. He can hear and smell things he never could before, and his skin is alive with the prickle of magic. He snaps his eyes open and turns to Serim.

“Jerath… your eyes.” She’s staring up at his face, and her smile is blinding. “Look.”

He glances down to the water and sees his reflection.

Oh.

Jerath blinks. His eyes are normally green, with the barest hint of golden flecks, but the eyes staring back at him are a vibrant green, glowing brightly in the darkness, and Jerath can’t quite believe they’re his.

Serim puts her hand on his arm and gently turns him until his back is to the pool. This time when Jerath looks over his shoulder, he can see the clear reflection of his back, and his breath catches in his throat.

“It’s beautiful,” Serim whispers.

Jerath can’t speak. Serim’s right—it’s the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. His tattoo is a jaguar—sleek and powerful—and covers the lower half of his back. The jaguar is standing, looking out from his skin with its teeth bared. Its tail is up and curls at the end over Jerath’s shoulder blade. The colors are breathtaking—the golden markings, edged in black, stand in proud relief against the soft caramel and white of its fur. But the eyes are Jerath’s favorite. They’re the same bright green as his own were earlier, and they make the tattoo look alive.

Jerath wants to shift. He feels restless in his skin, as though his animal form is prowling impatiently and wanting to get out. “Can I shift now? Or do I have to wait?”

“It’s best if you shift straightaway.” Serim rolls her shoulders and stretches out her arms as she prepares to shift. “Your body needs to adjust to all the magical energy.”

“So I just….” Jerath realizes he has no clue how to actually change into his jaguar.

“Just close your eyes and let it come, Jerath. Picture your tattoo in your mind, and your body will do the rest.”

Jerath watches as Serim closes her eyes and takes a long, deep breath. The air around her shimmers slightly, and her body morphs into the majestic form of her black panther. Serim growls and swishes her tail.

“Okay, okay.” Jerath makes a face at her. “Don’t be so impatient. I’ve never done this before, remember?”

Serim bares her teeth, but lies down to wait for him.

Jerath closes his eyes. He breathes in and out, focusing on the image of his tattoo, and he can feel a sharp pull deep in his belly. He concentrates harder and follows the lines of the jaguar in his mind. Heat surges up Jerath’s spine and spirals out to his fingers and toes. His vision blurs for a second, and then he can see…
Serim
. But he’s not looking down at her; they’re on the same level now.

Jerath is on all fours and it feels like the most natural thing in the world. He can hear all the sounds of the forest and everything is so much clearer than before. He licks over his teeth and he can taste the magic in the air. Jerath laughs and it comes out like a low rumble in his chest, and he can’t help the roar of delight that escapes. Serim pads over and nuzzles at him, and Jerath licks her ears as she rubs against his jaw.

She growls and knocks into him with her shoulder before bounding off toward the trees. She stops and looks back at him, and Jerath sees the anxious twitch of her tail as she waits for him. He growls back and races past her into the forest. Jerath’s powerful muscles bunch and release as he runs. The wind rushes past his ears and he’s never felt more alive and aware of his surroundings, as he finally,
finally
knows what it is to be a shifter.

“S
O
….” S
ERIM
stretches out on her back and soaks up the late afternoon sun. “Was it everything you thought it would be?”

Jerath is lying on the grass next to her and he opens one eye to look at her. “The ritual? Or shifting?”