Chapter Seven
The drive to Silverwood was another trip in companionable silence. Carolyn sat in the leather seats and simply enjoyed the feel and sound of the car around her. The edges of the road grew from rural to heavily forested with a gradual shift. They were almost there.
“Have you been back since your summer there?”
“To Silverwood? No. It has never seemed right before.”
“It feels right now?”
“Yep. Or I wouldn’t be here.” She felt more sure of that than she did of anything. It was time to go back, but only because Tara would be coming along soon. If her best friend would not be with her, she simply would not have considered it.
He turned the wheel and in seconds they were moving through the covered drive that was the entryway to Silverwood. As the trees thinned out there was only one thing for Caro to say. “Holy shit.”
“A little bit of new development has happened since you were last here.”
Her sarcasm broke free, “Oh, you think?” The small city that was taking shape before her eyes amazed her. Neat and tidy homes with enormous yards spun out on spokes from the central town square which was actually a circle.
“Holy crap.”
“It is easier for us to enter the modern world and integrate with a solid starting point.”
“This is pretty solid. How long did it take?”
“Construction started right after you and your companions left. So, around ten years or so.” He steered Mavix smoothly around the square.
“Is everyone here male?”
“There are five other women currently here, aside from yourself.”
“Westa, Fiona, Artemis, Valentine and Hannah.” She knew them all.
“Wow. You really have been in touch with them.” They were heading into one of the spokes, the height of the trees was truly amazing.
“How did they build the houses without pulling down the old growth trees? It doesn’t seem likely that they grew afterward.”
“They were very careful. The houses were all made from local trees and rocks as well.”
“How thorough.”
Mavix glided to a halt. The enormous structure that they were in front of had to be his home. There were balconies everywhere. The perfect place for a big cat to curl in the sun.
“This is my home.”
“I guessed as much.” As soon as Axom lifted her overnight bag from the trunk and closed it, the car turned back into a horse and scampered off.
“Where is Mavix going?”
“Probably to play with the other steeds. There are over thirty of them here.” He opened the door without a key and she shook her head. This didn’t need to be a gated community. Who would steal from one of the Wild Hunt and live to tell the tale?
Chuckling, she followed Axom as he gave her the tour of the house, including the odd hallways that led nowhere and the endless doors to the balconies. “So, I am guessing you like windows? Lying in the sun?”
“And wandering around the house naked. There is a reason that you can’t see any of my neighbours’ houses from here.”
“Is strutting naked an elf thing? Or is it just you?”
“It’s a shifter thing. The less clothing you have on, the faster the shift.”
Her bag was now in one of the guestrooms. “Do you have time trials for something like that?” They were on their way to the living room. Carolyn claimed the sofa with her arms spread wide.
He laughed, a nice dark comfortable laugh. “We do when we are learning. Now it is simply a matter of pride.”
“Feline pride or personal pride?”
He barked another laugh. “Both.”
“So. What is on the agenda for today? Fishing? Are you going to bake cookies?”
He sat back in the recliner. “I thought that you would like to go for a run. Full out. In public.”
This was better than getting flowers and chocolates. “Are you serious? Won’t anyone notice?”
“Everyone will notice, but no one will judge you for it. In Silverwood, the extraordinary is the everyday.”
“You should put that on the Welcome to Silverwood sign.” She got back to the matter at hand. “But seriously. I can run here?”
“You can run, jump, lift and do whatever your body tells you to do. There are no restrictions for you here.”
“Just a minute.” She ran up the stairs, changed into her running gear and was down the stairs again before he had gotten out of his recliner. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Let me get ready and I will join you.”
“What?” It was too late, he was stripping off. “Oh, my.” The planes of muscle as well as his semi-aroused cock were only visible to her for a moment and then the shifting began. In less time than it took for her to recover from a sneeze
,
she was standing next to an enormous panther.
“Let me get the door.” The cat walked up to her and rubbed against her with his head. He almost knocked her over with his enthusiasm. Caro moved toward the door and noted the large pad on the inner frame. It was a metal plate surrounded by claw marks, obviously used by Axom when he was shifted alone. “Or perhaps you should open it. I am a lady after all.” She gently moved his head away and he rubbed her one more time, then hit the plate to have the door swing open.
Carolyn did not waste any more time. She had the all clear to run as fast and as far as she could, so she did. It was fantastic. Each and every step she took gained more and more speed until she knew she was a blur on the landscape. Her enhanced eyesight took in the design of the town, registered the hands raised in greeting as she whipped past, welcomed the sight of Fiona and Westa, and her hearing kept her apprised of how close Axom was.
Her blood was singing in her veins. This was the first time in her life that she was able to use her abilities to their fullest, and she wasn’t going to let go of the feeling anytime soon. When a car pulled out in front of her, she vaulted over it. When a tree seemed to appear in her way, she used a grip on the bark to change her direction. As she crossed a field
,
a small herd of steeds decided to race her, so she let them win. Axom was running at her side by the time she left the field and she was revelling in her new freedom as she led the way back to his house.
Sweat was coating her from head to toe and she knew that she must look a fright, but the instant that they got into Axom’s home
,
she was on him. “Shift in to your bipedal form, I am not going to have sex with a cat.”
Chapter Eight
“Normally I wouldn’t jump a guy in this state, but I want you now and I don’t want to change my mind.” She was shaking with the urge to throw herself on him.
His shift was mercifully brief and it was a very surprised Axom that caught her as she lunged at him. Since he was nude, she was fighting to get her own clothing off as quickly as she could. He helped her, and finally after thirty seconds of waiting, they were skin to skin.
“Oh yeah. That is what I want.” She ran her hands down his chest, his sides, then cupped his ass. It was only when he buried his hand in her hair and took her mouth in an eating kiss that she remembered the niceties of sex. As he let her go
,
she asked, “So, did you want to fuck me here or in your room?”
“I am going to
make love
to you in my bed.” He suited words to actions and picked her up by wrapping her thighs around his and walking up the stairs.
The friction of his rock hard cock against her pussy was maddening. She angled her hips slightly to get more direct pressure on her clit and mewled when she was successful. He groaned as she worked herself against him.
The distinct pressure of a door at her back made her groan with relief. The bed was imminent. A few seconds later, he tilted her back onto the soft and silky surface with another groan. She had locked her legs behind his back and was dragging him with her. He almost slid into her through the slick moisture that she was copiously producing. He stopped just as he entered her.
“Carolyn.”
She barely heard him through the pleasure that that one inch was giving her.
“Carolyn.”
“What?”
His face was serious with beads of sweat dripping onto her as he breathed deeply, “With this action, we are mated.”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” She arched against him, “More, please.”
He gave her what she wanted, slow and hard. He pulled almost all the way out of her and then slid to the hilt over and over until she was panting and squealing with each thrust. Her body was a coil of muscle and sensation being drawn ever tighter. Finally, it snapped and she screamed in relief as her body trembled and shook in reaction.
Axom grinned in triumph and increased the speed of his thrusts, drawing out her aftershocks and reaching for his own release. Caro could feel her body climbing the sensation mountain again when his face contorted and he jerked into her, hard. The shudder and groan that he emanated was rather gratifying for Caro, she wasn’t sure that she had been the only one having a good time.
As Axom collapsed onto her, she wrapped herself around him. Her arms were around his back, her thighs around his hips and his head tucked down on her shoulder. It was nice.
Her body was still humming with energy, but she could wait. Maybe. As their bodies cooled
,
she smelled something aside from their joining, the scent of blood. Had he bitten her? Had she bitten him?
“You grabbed my back. It felt good at the time.” He kissed her neck lightly.
Obviously, she had been speaking out loud.
“No. You were speaking in your mind. I can just read your mind at this range, now that we are mated.”
“We are
what
?” Wait, she remembered. He had said something right when she had been begging him to screw her.
“Yes. That was the moment. I had to warn you before, or you would have been able to challenge our mating in front of witnesses.”
“So, you are saying that we are mated.”
“Yes.”
“Is this a for life thing?”
“Yes.”
“What are your duties in this arrangement?”
“To maintain a home, to keep you well supplied with whatever you need and to keep you satisfied when you go into heat. Those are the basics.”
He was still speaking into her neck, and as he spoke
,
he began to lick the sensitive side of her neck with a tongue that was just as raspy as the big cat’s. “I can keep the attributes that I wish to.”
“That is getting annoying.”
“Sorry.” He seemed distinctly unrepentant as his spent shaft slipped out of her while he worked his way to her breasts. That rough tongue was going to be the death of her.
“I will remember that.”
He learned each and every curve and texture of her breast, her nipples were worshiped in turn and she climaxed twice while he learned her body. By the time he made his way down her belly and between her thighs
,
she was exhausted. Her body flared to life under his touch and tongue once again as the dexterous appendage parted her lower lips and lapped at the moisture that her body was still producing.
Caro could only moan as he worked her body’s reactions with a delicacy and precision that left her gasping. When she threaded her fingers through his hair and tried to pull him up, he decided to oblige her, surging into her as he took her mouth with his own. He maintained the kiss as his hips rocked his shaft into her and he took her scream for his own as he spilled into her again.
Instead of slumping on her this time, he rolled to put her on him. Caro couldn’t move. Her entire body was limp, the product of the run, the exertion, and the elf under her. She couldn’t remember ever being this tired.
Clearly, she got one thought in her mind.
Dude, I need a shower
. In seconds he had rolled to his feet and carried her into the bath. This psychic thing may not be all bad.
Chapter Nine
“Carolyn, Westa and Henry have invited us over for dinner. Would you like to go?”
Axom was towelling her dry and she had to smile. He was asking her if she wanted to go out. That was so cute.
“Thank you. I would like to go. But after this afternoon, I don’t know how long my legs will hold out.”
“If you need it, I will call Mavix and she can carry you home.” His smile was impish.
“Right, do you want my thighs permanently splayed.” She realized what she had just said, “Don’t answer that.”
“Oh, but I want to.”
“Shut it. When do we need to leave?”
“About ten minutes.”
“You really left it until the last minute, didn’t you?”
He was slightly sheepish, “I was hoping you wouldn’t want to go and we could continue learning each other.”
“Axom, the only thing I would learn tonight is how you change your sheets. We got blood and, uh, stuff all over the ones on your bed.”
“Good point. I am going to change those while you get dressed.”
Leaving the comfort and delicate ministrations of his long fingers and the fluffy towel, she wandered naked into the guest room and grabbed a pair of jeans and a button down blue cotton shirt that made her look both classy and competent. Underwear was her normal practical cotton and lycra mix, not that Axom had noticed its lack of style. She did wish she had brought some of the prettier selections of her lingerie drawer. Well, she could not have anticipated jumping a werecat after a run.
She was just finishing her toilette when Axom appeared at her door looking good enough to eat. She would have to try that later. His smiled indicated that he liked the idea.
“You look lovely. Shall we go?”
“Sure. It will keep my muscles from locking up.”
Axom extended his arm and she took it, leaning on him a little more heavily than she would have if her thighs were able to meet in the centre again. She waddled and she knew it.
It was a short waddle. Two streets over and they were at the home of Lucky and Henry. Westa’s face lit up when she saw Caro, and Carolyn could only marvel at the happiness that glowed from her friend’s face.
Henry was doing his own glowing, only with a sort of dark moonlight happiness. But together they looked fantastic.
“Carolyn, I am pleased to meet you.” Henry immediately took over as host since Caro and Lucky were squealing and hugging.
As they parted with them both wiping happy tears from their eyes, Caro turned to Henry. Impulsively
,
she hugged him. He had made Westa happy, and that was good enough for her.
Axom let her hug his friend for thirty seconds, then he pulled her away. “You are going to give Henry a headache. He won’t know which one of you to comfort first.”
“Fine. But you have to stay next to me all night in case I get the urge to hug someone.” Caro tried to be serious, but she kept Axom’s arm around her as they went into the dining room. She just liked the feel and smell of him to be close.
It was a new addiction and she was willing to feed it.
Dinner was a friendly affair—salads, pasta, a nice grilled and spiced chicken breast. There was wine, but Caro and Westa did not drink. Carolyn knew that her metabolism burned the alcohol quickly, but with Westa, there could be one very likely reason. She inhaled deeply and asked with a grin, “So, Lucky, how pregnant are you?”
She was astonished. “How did you know?” Henry was looking shocked and pleased at the same time.
“You smell pregnant, and you weren’t drinking wine. You used to love wine.”
Henry was taking Westa’s hand and rubbing the palm. “I smell pregnant? How good is your nose?”
“Pretty darn good. You used to smell like oak and lilac, now you smell like acorns.”
“Thanks, I think.” Westa looked over to Henry. “I was going to tell you as soon as I was sure. I can’t be more than two weeks along.”
His smile was still wide and genuine. “I didn’t think you would hide it from me, I am just excited and pleased that it has happened. Our race does not have a high birth rate in general. Children are cherished, no matter when or how they appear.”
With the other couple firmly engaged in their own meeting of hands and hearts
,
Carolyn turned to Axom. “Is what he said true? About your birth rate?”
He kept his voice low as Henry placed his hand over Westa’s abdomen. “Yes. For years we were afraid that we would die out as a species. When we left the Earth into Underhill, we hoped for the day that magic would decide it was safe to return. That day has finally come. It has come in the form of psychics, people of exceptional ability, and those who carry pure magic in their blood. You seven are the latter. To anchor our species to this time and place
,
we need you, and will do whatever it takes to get you to accept us.”
“You are serious.”
“Oh, yes. Nothing here occurred by chance. This town was created to blend in with the local communities, dozens of males were considered for each of you with only your best match being chosen to actually meet you in person.”
She was getting a little irritated at their highhanded behaviour. “And who made this choice?”
“That would be your friend Valentine. She came here after she was attacked by the Lios who tried to take her. She has been instrumental in choosing the right elf for the correct woman. With Westa, Fiona and Hannah, she is branching into matching the rest of the males here at Silverwood.”
Carolyn looked over at Lucky and Henry. They were watching her. “Is this true?”
Henry answered, “We cannot lie, but yes, it is true. Westa spends the better part of each day helping Valentine and the others find matches for the unmated males who volunteered to be matched to a human.”
“Some didn’t volunteer?”
“Some consider humans beneath them and they will remain in Underhill while the rest of us meet this new world head on.” He shrugged. “They will have a chance to reconsider in a few hundred years.”
“Okay. That seems like a long time.”
“You will get used to an enhanced life expectancy. The magic in you will not let you die for several hundred years.”
That was a bit of a shocker. “Enhanced life expectancy?”
“A minimum of four hundred years.” It was Lucky talking now, perhaps to calm Caro who had let a shrill tone creep into her voice. “The magic that we carry wants a chance to develop and grow. Tell me that you haven’t felt like a million bucks and never even gotten the sniffles since you came into your power.”
Caro thought for a long moment. She could remember getting a sniffle when she was eight, but nothing since the summer that she spent at Camp Silverwood. Her talents had become glaringly obvious as soon as she got home, her speed increasing exponentially until she was no longer allowed to participate in school sports. They couldn’t figure out how she was doing it, so they disapproved of her ability to participate. It sucked.
“All right, I will concede that I have not felt ill, injured myself, and that I have a peculiar energy that has been growing in intensity lately. But living that long? Come on.”
Axom took her hand. “Well, since part of our tradition is to not outlive our mates, I hope for all our sakes that you live a long healthy life.”
“You are joking.”
“I am not. If you die before me, I will follow you within days. It is simply the way we are. It is why the males who are entering your world have a true commitment to the expansion of magic. They know that they will not outlive their mates to try again.”
Even Westa looked shocked at that. Apparently Henry hadn’t told her that one either.
“Okay. On that note, Axom and I are going to call it an evening. It looks like you need to beat your fiancé. Night
,
Westa! Henry!” Caro grabbed Axom by the hand and had him out the door by the time she was finished talking.
Outside she still wasn’t sure what she would say to Axom. Sure he was fun, sexy, caring and made her heart beat faster when he walked into a room, but to bind her lifeline to his permanently? It was something to think about.
He would not let her mull it over in silence
,
however. “It is our choice, you know. We know that our long lives can end when we marry a human. We do it for love. Love of our race, love of magic and love for our mates. That one most of all.”
“But you hadn’t even met me when you were sent to me.”
“I knew that they would not send me to a woman I could not love, and the instant I saw you I knew that you were the right woman for me.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips, then released it.
“And my choice? Where was that?”
“You have had years to date, to make up your mind. Many women your age are married with children. The magic within you was calling to something else. Something like me.” A smile spread across his face as she took his hand in hers.
“You are right. It would only answer to someone who could run with me. Could fight with me and could survive sex with me. I broke two of my boyfriends and then gave up on the species.”
“Broke them?”
“One arm and one penis.”
“Oh my.” His laughter was contained, but only for a moment before it broke free to run through the streets of Silverwood.