Authors: Melissa Morgan
“Thank the Gods!” Cole
said. He dropped his gun and pack, and ran toward her.
She saw him running
and skidded to a stop. She shifted form and, lungs heaving, waited for him to
reach her. Her legs felt like rubber and she collapsed to the ground.
He scooped her up and
held her close, not caring that the effort popped one of his stitches. “Zara..Oh
Zara. Are you ok?” He ran his hands over her body, quickly checking for wounds.
She was covered in mud and scratches from the brush, her bare feet torn to
shreds from the rocks and sticks and prickly plants she ran over. She was
covered in the sticky fluids that shifting brought with it.
“Please. Faline. She’s
hurt.” She gasped.
“Are you okay?” He
demanded, holding her like a child. She was still trying to catch her breath.
“Fine. I’m fine.” She
reassured him. “Faline!” Suddenly she seized, her entire body frozen, and he
knew she was connected to something beyond his understanding. Her eyes went
pitch black, then slowly burned brighter, glowing an iridescent purple color he
had never seen before.
“Holy Fuck.” He
watched, not sure what to do. The others crowded around him, watching.
“Amazing.” One of the
elders said, seeing her eyes.
Suddenly she
convulsed, and began to scream. Her gut wrenching screams filled the air. She
thrashed, trying to pull away from Cole. She screamed like she was in
horrendous pain.
“Zara…what happened?”
He asked, desperately trying to hold onto her. She shrieked and he nearly broke
her arm trying to keep a hold on her. She was so strong. He released her and
she rolled out of his lap, and several feet away from him. She wailed, one
long, horrible, high pitched note, and then went still.
He thought she had
passed out and went to touch her again. Her skin rippled and he stood back.
Immediately, she shifted into a white tiger, large and majestic. She roared
loudly, nearly breaking their ear drums, and began to run back toward where she
came from. Without a word, Cole shifted and followed her, along with the
others.
When they came upon
the Panther territory, Cole didn’t see anyone, but he could smell the blood. It
was so strong, the metallic odor burning in his nostrils. They ran toward it.
At the tree line, they all shifted back to human form.
All the panthers were
gathered around a kill in the center of a circle.
“Vaughn!” Cole roared
his name. “I challenge you! To the death!” He demanded, walking out of the
trees.
The rest of the
Panthers stood around their leader, snarling and hissing, low to the ground,
ready to pounce.
Vaughn raised his
hand, calling for silence. “I will answer the challenge.” He said, stepping
forward toward Cole. “There will be no interference from my people.” He said,
voice booming with authority. “Or yours.” He said, nodding toward Zara. “How
did you get away from me, little kitty?”
“Obviously, I’m
smarter, faster and stronger than you.” She scowled. “It was rather easy,
actually. You are an idiot.” Zara stood next to her mate. She couldn’t look at
the bloody mess of tissue, hair and bone that used to be her baby sister. Her
stomach rolled at the stench and she knew, instinctively, she was pregnant. She
had to protect her baby from this man.
She had felt the way
her sisters had died. Violently, for no reason. There had been four of them,
and now there were only two. Rage boiled up in her blood and she pushed it
outward, letting her beast show through. Her skin rippled once, and she
convulsed to the ground, welcoming her White Tiger form, nearly three times
larger than the largest panther. It had long been believed that the White Tiger
were population had long ago died out. Until her, no one had a reason to
suspect otherwise.
“Oh my God!” One of
the Panthers gasped.
“Unreal!”
“That’s not possible!”
Before Cole could stop
her, she leapt into the air, her massive frame shadowing over Vaughn. He shifted
at the last moment, and attempted to turn and run. She swiped at his hind leg,
nearly tearing it off, and he screamed in agony.
His leg hung by a
couple of strands of muscle and tissue. He dragged it behind him, as he
attempted to crawl away, bleeding heavily. She growled menacingly. She stalked
him, making a game of it, making him suffer. Eventually, she swiped at his
other leg, tearing it clean off. He rolled, screaming, baring his teeth.
He attempted to claw
her, and she bit his arm, shaking her head violently, tearing the bone from the
joint with a sickening crack. She stood over him, breathing heavily, the hot
blood of his arterial wounds squirting her white fur coat. Slowly, she raked a
claw over his exposed belly, his guts pouring out. His bowels perforated, the
stench filled the air. He gurgled once, and she slashed across his throat,
tearing his throat and nearly taking his head clean off.
He never stood a
chance against her. He knew it and so did everyone else. She stood over her
kill and roared her victory to the heavens. No one dared breathe, eyes wide,
watching her. Waiting to see what she would do next.
She shifted once more
back to her human form. Completely drenched in Panther blood, she stood nude,
tall and regal. “Anyone else want to mess with the last Ancient in existence?”
She challenged. She eyed each of the panthers, and one by one, they all rolled
onto the ground, exposing their bellies to her, the ultimate show of surrender.
“Let it be known throughout all the packs, to all were’s across the globe. NO
ONE goes after me or mine EVER again!” She roared. “That includes my children!”
She said, staring straight at Cole. Slowly she put her hand over her stomach
and smiled at him.
Wide eyed, he walked
up to her, and took her hand, licking the blood off the back of it. He stood
next to her, one hand holding hers, the other wrapped around her waist, resting
over their tiny growing child. One by one, each panther licked at her hand, in
effect, swearing their allegiance to their new Queen and her Wolf mate.
Then they each knelt
at Sheridan’s feet, necks exposed, waiting for his choice. By all rights, he
could kill them, for attacking his lands and his people. No one would stop him.
He glanced down at his
mate, who stood watching. Silent. “Well?” He asked.
“There has been enough
death today.” She sighed. “Let them go.”
“Are you sure?” He
asked.
“If any of the
panthers attacks a wolf, I will kill them myself.” Zara said. “There have been
deaths on both sides today. We can’t afford to lose any more shifters. The
population is as small as it is.”
“From this day
forward, there is truce between the panthers and the wolves.” Cole announced.
He shifted into his wolf, and howled. Each of his people did the same, and the
night air was filled with the sounds of cat’s roars and wolfs howls echoing
through the forest.
The next day, all the
shifters came together for the first time, under the banner of peace during the
New Moon feast. Never before had such a thing been done in the history of
shifters. Some were uneasy about it at first, but the elders agreed that a
communal feast was the best way to stave off further wars, at least for the
time being. They had much to mourn, but more to celebrate, starting with the
mating ceremony of Cole and Zara.
Cole and Zara stood on
the raised dais, dancing where they first met, and overlooked their people, all
mingling peacefully. Their hands were entwined with three cords of rope, their
hand-fasting completed.
“Zara, I have one
question.” He said, twirling her and bringing her back into his arms.
“Ask me.” She said
simply, raising her eyebrow.
“How do you know you
are pregnant?”
“I am an Ancient.” She
said simply. “I know.” She took his hand; the one not tied to her, and placed
it over her stomach. Her hand over his, she opened the energy between them,
allowing him to see what she saw in her belly. Two tiny babies, floating in her
womb. “Twins.” She breathed. “One cat, one wolf.”
He groaned. “The
sibling rivalry is going to be epic.”
She laughed and kissed
him letting the energy bleed through them onto the crowd, who all roared and
howled their approval.