The Shadows of Night (19 page)

No one molested him.
 

He maintained his human form until he had crossed the field.
 
Once in the forest, he shifted into his stag form and into a gallop.
 
Not because he feared retribution, but because he was eager to see Katara again.

“I do not think this tactic will prevent the Fang from attacking us for long,” Hart said late the next morning.
 
They had all gathered together in the monarch’s private audience chamber to discuss the situation when he returned.
 
“Sooner or later, they are bound to mount an attack to recover the bitch.
 
But hopefully it will buy us enough time to replicate the flying fang we recovered and create new ones, enough to protect ourselves.”

Prong sighed.
 
“I do not like the idea of having to kill anything, even if it is necessary to protect our people.”

“Nor do
I
, brother.
 
But it is something we cannot avoid any longer.
 
The world has changed, and we must change with it, or find ourselves destroyed.”

“We kill for our dinner every day,” the lioness remarked.
 
“I do not understand this squeamishness you have about killing.”

“I know that you do not,” Hart said.
 
“And perhaps it is not necessary for our two Kindred to agree on everything.”
 
He glanced at Katara, who was in her leopard form, sprawled out on the stone floor in a patch of sunlight.
 
She looked warm and contented, and distinctly unsavage.
 
“Perhaps we can build on the bonds between our people another way.”

Katara’s ear twitched toward him,
then
she rolled over.
 
As she rolled, she transformed into a human, so that by the time she had rolled all the way toward him, she was fully in human form.
 
He did his best not to gape at the shapely lines of her body.

“What ways did you have in mind, Lord Hart?” she purred.

Hart felt a reaction that was embarrassing, considering the proximity of both their relatives.
 
At least he wasn’t as
bare
as she was, or he would have been truly embarrassed.
 
As it was, his mother smiled knowingly, and Prong grinned outright.
 
Only his father looked annoyed.

“Hart,” he said in a cold voice.
 
“I forbid an alliance between you and this… woman.”

Hart lifted his chin.
 
He had made up his mind, and he refused to let his father’s prejudices deter him from the course he had decided to follow.
 
“Then I shall go live among the Claw, Father.”

“You would bring dishonor on us all by living with these—”

“Do not say animals,” Hart snapped.
 
“They are no more animals than we are.
 
She is a woman.
 
My woman
.”

At Hart’s overt defiance, his father’s skin rippled, and his robes tore and fell to the ground as he transformed and lunged forward.
 
Hart started to jump aside, then paused, amazed, as his mother shifted into her doe form.
 
She was still slender and graceful, despite her years, and she leapt in front of Hart, presenting her side, so that the monarch had no choice but to skid to a halt.

The monarch bugled and pawed the ground, but she turned her head and regarded him with sorrowful dark eyes.
 
It was not the way of Antler women to involve themselves in the affairs of men, and Hart couldn’t help but be impressed by her courage.
 
Glancing to the side, he saw Katara’s wide-eyed expression and realized she was impressed as well.

The monarch shifted back into human form abruptly, naked.
 
“What would you have me do, then?” he roared.

The consort shifted as well.
 
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze without flinching.
 
“I would have you respect your son’s choice.
 
He has done our people a great service, risking his life for his Kindred.
 
Would you reward him by sending him into exile?”

The monarch hesitated, and Prong stepped forward, laying a hand on Hart’s shoulder.

“If he goes into exile, Father,” he said quietly, “I go with him.”

The monarch shook his head in anger.
 
“Very well,” he growled at last.
 
“Do what you must, Hart.
 
But do not expect my blessing in this matter.
 
What sort of children do you expect from this mating?
 
Can an Antler and a Claw even
have
children?”

“I know not,” Hart said.
 
He smiled at Katara.
 
“But I intend to find out.”
 

Prong rolled his eyes.

Hart rose and offered his arm to her.
 
“Katara.
 
Walk with me.”

She came to her feet in a graceful motion and moved to his side.
 
Together they stepped out into the long hallway, passing curious courtiers, who had clearly been eavesdropping on the royal family’s argument.
 
He pulled Katara some distance down a lesser-used corridor,
then
bent to kiss her hungrily.

She returned his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, then gazed up at him.
 
“I missed you yesterday, Antler.”

“And I you, Claw.”
 
He looked down into her eyes.
 
“I never thought a woman could come to mean so much to me, let alone a Claw.
 
I do not intend to let you out of my sight again.”

She rested her head against his shoulder.
 
“Nor I you.”
 

“Will you mate with me, Katara?”

She lifted her head.
 
In her green-gold eyes he saw doubt.
 
“You mean forever?”

“Yes.
 
I mean forever.”

“Do you want to mate with me because you believe it will strengthen the bonds between our people?”

He heard the quiver of pain in her voice, and he shook his head.
 
“No, Katara.
 
There are other ways to bond our people together.
 
It is not my duty to wed you.
 
It is simply what I desire.
 
You have brought meaning and purpose into my existence, for the first time.
 
You are the woman I’ve been waiting for.”

At his impassioned declaration, her eyes brightened.
 
“I am glad to finally hear you admit it.”

“Then you will mate with me?”

She lifted a slim shoulder.
 
“I am not certain I can live among your Kindred, Hart.
 
I must eat meat, which revolts all of you.”

“As long as you do it in the forest and not at the table, we will endeavor to overlook that particular flaw in your character.”

“Furthermore,” she pressed on, “your father does not care for me, and is quite clearly not pleased with the idea.”

“He will come around.
 
My mother and brother like you.
 
Their opinion means a great deal to him.”

“Your mother defied him bravely.
 
Yet I care not for the way women generally behave among your people.
 
Amongst the Claw, women are leaders.
 
Here they seem to be expected to be meek.
 
Quiet.
 
Biddable.
 
None of those words describe me.”

He laughed softly, capturing a wrist in either hand and pressing them back against the wall.
 
“No, none of those words can be used to describe you.
 
You are anything but submissive, and truth be told I prefer you that way.”
 
He smiled.
 
“But before we marry, I intend to show you the benefits of submission.”

She showed her teeth in a mock snarl.
 
“Are you certain you’re man enough, Antler?”

“Quite certain,” he said, shoving her back against the stone.

*****

The silvery stone was cold and rough against Katara’s bare back, but she didn’t care, because Hart’s hot body was pressed against her front.
 
She had spent the last day worrying about him, and the relief that had poured through her when she’d sighted his proud antlers late this morning had staggered her.
 
She’d never expected any man to wrap his claws around her heart so tightly… particularly a man with no claws whatsoever.

He held her pinned against the stone, lowered his head, and took her nipple into his mouth.
 
She gritted her teeth against the impulse to cry out, knowing as she did that they were in a public hall, and that the courtiers could well be listening avidly around the corner.
 
He kept suckling until warmth trickled between her legs, a tide that she couldn’t control, any more than she could control the tides of the ocean.

She wanted to run her hands over the smooth skin of his body, to dig her fingers into his hair, but he wouldn’t
loose
her hands.
 
She tried half-heartedly to wrench free, but it was like struggling against iron bands.
 
She was certain he’d let her loose if she asked, but she was startled to discover that she rather enjoyed being dominated.
 
Relaxing against him, she let him have his way.

He evidently sensed her capitulation, because he lifted his head, his eyes lit from within by hunger, and captured her mouth again, plunging his tongue deeply into her mouth.
 
His body pressed hers against the wall, her wrists still caught firmly in his unyielding grip, his hot cock swelling between them.
 
Despite the barrier of his clothing, she could feel it, hard and demanding, against her bare lower belly.

Haft lifted his head and looked down into her eyes, his gaze full of dark fire.
 
“We did it slowly last time,” he said.
 
“This time, let us try it the feline way.”

She remembered her own words to him.
 
Feline couplings are rough and
quick
.
 
The thought sent a delicious shiver through her, and she nodded wordlessly.

He let go of her arm in order to unfasten his breeches, then his hands slid down to her hips.
 
Without any preliminaries, he lifted her and impaled her on his erection.
 

She cried out, heedless of anyone who might be listening.
 
He felt like stone in the sunlight, unyielding and smooth, yet radiant with warmth.
 
He slammed upward into her, as deeply as he could go, and she wrapped her legs around his hips, her arms around his shoulders, and surrendered utterly to the sensations his body created in hers.

He thrust into her over and over again, and she climaxed endlessly, sobbing out her releases.
 
At last she heard his deep voice utter a low curse, felt his body shudder as he, too, found his release.

Afterward, she clung to him, still wrapped around him.
 
Finally his arms began to shake from the strain, and he put her down, on her own two feet, and gave a rueful smile.

“I truly wish never to leave you again,” he said softly.
 
“But I must warn my people of the danger they face.
 
It is my duty to journey to the other Antler towns.”

“I will go with you,” she said.

He shook his head.
 
“We have discussed this, Katara.
 
I am faster.”

“But you need a protector, Antler.
 
Someone armed with tooth and claw, to stand at your side and fight.
 
You told me earlier that the quickest route
to
many of the Antler settlements lies across Claw territory.
 
You dare not pass across Claw lands without an escort, and it will provide me with the opportunity to warn my own people as well.
 
At any rate…”
 
She stared up at him, trying to convey everything she felt for him without words.
 
“I refuse to let you go forth alone.
 
I cannot bear the waiting.”

He drew in a long breath.
 
“Very well.
 
We will go together.
 
But we must visit ten separate villages, and there is still danger from the Fang as well.
 
Keeping the bitch prisoner will not keep the wolves at bay forever.”

“Hopefully it will give us enough time to warn your people, while Prong and the others attempt to create a new weapon.”

Hart uttered a long sigh.
 
“I wish there was a way of protecting the people in this village.
 
They will be safe in their houses, but they will not stay confined forever.
 
We are a social people, and they will miss visiting each other.
 
Sooner or later, they will venture out in spite of the danger.”