A Price for a Princess (9 page)

Jandor shook his head.  "Unfortunately not.  Lorence itself would be safe haven, but the route there is treacherous.  There are many slaver camps along the way."

"Slavers we could handle, but Raiders are an entirely different thing."  Perseus said.  "They're brutal.  If Daeton fell into their hands," he stopped speaking, his grip tightening on me. 

Jalar said, "Jandor, the pride could help escort them to Lorence.  With so many to help, the Raiders wouldn't dare try anything."

"But who will see you safely home?"  I asked, reaching across the table and squeezing Jalar's fur topped hand.

Jalar grinned broadly.  "They don't mess with our kind.  We're not considered worth the trouble of selling into slavery."  His free hand flexed and sharp claws appeared.

I laughed.  "That is good to know."

"We'll welcome the assistance to get to Lorence."  Perseus said and Rysk and Tyrant agreed.  The little tangle of fear in my belly eased.  If they weren't worried, then I wasn't going to worry, either.

After our meal, we walked out to the market to explore and replenish our supplies for the next day's trip.

As we wandered from stall to stall, Perseus chatting easily with everyone, I began to feel antsy again, as if my bear were pacing in my mind.  Since it was how I'd felt in the market in Cholas, I closed my eyes while Perseus chatted with a young man who was sharpening a knife.

I turned my head slightly, opening my senses, and the antsy feeling eased.  I opened my eyes and was staring down the long street where the market stalls edged both sides and felt for sure I was supposed to walk down that way.  I took a step away from Perseus, dropping his hand, and moved to take another step when I felt the lightest brush of fingers against my wrist.

I looked down to see that the bracelet Rion had given me was gone and a golden furred youth was darting away through the crowd.

"Hey you little shit!  Come back here!"  I yelled and took off after him, darting between people and keeping my eye on his swishing blonde tail.

He broke through the crowd and I surged after him, ignoring the people who were calling my name.  I snagged the little cat-kid's tail and pulled and he yowled loudly.

"Get your hands off my brother!"  A large hand reached in front of me and pulled me away, sharp claws digging into my shoulder, pain and then numbness following in their wake.

My vision went dim immediately and I slipped to the ground with a groan, and in the last moments of consciousness I felt warm, furred arms lift me up from the ground and cradle me close, and my bear growled in contentment.

Chapter 8

The fog lifted from the edges of my mind and I had the distinct feeling I was being licked.  It felt good, but strange.

"Shouldn't she be up by now?"  Perseus hissed.

"Ananda said she'd just cleaned the dart fish, so the poison was fresh.  Hopefully she'll wake up soon.  I think I caught most of it."  A voice I didn't recognize said.

"It's a good thing you were so close."  Perseus said.

I drifted away again, peace settling over me.

When I woke the next time, it was to a purring vibration against my back.  I opened my eyes and found Perseus laying in front of me, a relieved look on his face.

With a quick kiss he said, "Thank the
great horse
you're awake!"

My mouth was dry, but I managed, "What happened?"

The purring stopped suddenly and I rolled to my back and found myself looking into the eyes of a very handsome golden furred cat-man.  A Leonemen.  My heart stopped beating for a moment and I reached blindly for his hands and looked at them.  "Oh, it's you!"  I laughed, tears springing to my eyes and I hugged him tightly as he chuckled in my ear, a purring sweet sound.

"In the fur."

I looked at Perseus who was smiling at me.  "He saved you, sweetheart.  If he hadn't been right there, you could have slipped into a permanent sleep."

"Tell me your name," I pulled one of his fur topped hands to my cheek and he smiled.

"Ekho.  When I stopped having the mate-dreams, I was afraid it meant you'd died.  Perseus said he thought you stopped having them because you'd found him already."

"So tell me what happened!"  I demanded and they both smiled.

Ekho said, "Ananda was cleaning a poison dart fish when she saw you snag Bartholomew by the tail.  She thought you were going to hurt him, she didn't realize he had stolen your bracelet.  When she tried to pull you away from him, her claws broke through the skin and the poison on her fingertips got into your system.  I sucked most of the poison out.  There's a healing essence in our tongues, and that helped to ease the pain.  You've been asleep for a day."

I looked over at my right shoulder and found a bandage.  It was then I realized I was naked.  I blushed hard and wished there was a blanket handy.

Sensing my sudden shyness, Ekho pulled a blanket around from the bottom of the bed and covered me up.  "You were feverish for a good part of the healing sleep, sweet.  I promise I didn't look.  Too much."

I laughed, my blush easing.  He was my second mate, after all.  I would have just liked to be conscious for the introduction.

"Is Bartholomew okay?"  I remembered pulling on his tail pretty hard.

"Of course.  He's very sorry.  Unfortunately, before their father died and left them orphans, he taught him that stealing was a good way to support the family instead of working hard.  I'm trying to teach him better manners, but its slow going."

I told them both how antsy I'd been feeling since we'd arrived in the town, and how relieved I felt now to not only be awake and not in a coma from poison but to have found both of my mates.

Ekho moved to Netic Springs six months ago, escaping a prearranged mating his mother wanted for him.  He had already had the mate-dreams with me, so he knew that mating with another wasn't going to work for him, but his mother thought she knew best and would not take no for an answer.  Instead of continuing to fight with her, he left and headed south, hoping to meet me along the way.  He met up with a few Leonemen in town and decided to stick around and hope that I eventually crossed his path or he was drawn to go somewhere else to find me.

Golden brown hair slightly darker than his fur color dusted his shoulders.  His eyes were bright green like spring grass with narrow pupils like a cat.  His nose was slightly flat and his lips were plump, and when he smiled my insides went melty.  I wasn't sure how tall he was, but he was lean and muscular, and the golden lion-like fur dusted his cheek bones, ran down his neck and across his shoulders and arms, and down either side of his body.  His muscular chest was completely bare of hair and the lower half of his body was covered with light colored trousers, obscuring my view.  The fur was short and soft like velvet.

He drew his knuckle across the back of my cheek.  "You're so beautiful.  How'd we get so lucky?"

I really felt blessed myself to find both my mates in this realm and to have them with me on the journey to the palace.  In a world that I didn't understand with the wizard after me, having people I trusted with me was even more important.

Ekho said we were in the home he shared with a mated Leonemen couple, another male, and the two children.  He suggested a trip to the bathroom and a good meal and a walk to see how I was feeling after being in bed for a day.  I liked all of those ideas.

Ekho went to see about dinner and Perseus followed me into the bathroom. When the door shut, he pulled me into his arms.  "I thought I lost you.  When you ran away from me, I couldn't see you and then you were on the ground, unconscious.  Next time," he lifted my chin with his fingers and his face became very serious, "you plan to run into danger, you make sure you take me or Ekho with you."

"I promise, Pers.  I'm sorry.  I, I didn't even think about what I was doing when I ran after the boy. I just wanted the bracelet back."

"It wouldn't have been worth dying for."  He said soberly.

I nodded, shame pinking my cheeks.  It had been a gut reaction.  I would have to work on that.

The shower in the shared bathroom of the home was similar to the one in Perseus' home, with a showerhead over a drain in the corner.  He stripped out of his trousers and joined me in the shower - strictly for cleaning he promised - and just as the water went from pleasantly warm to frigid, we finished and hopped out.  After drying off, Perseus pulled one of my new dresses from a satchel and I put it on, along with a pair of comfortable moccasins.  I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and secured it with a leather tie and we went to find the kitchen.

The other Leonemen were talking quietly around a large round kitchen table.  The female had white-blonde fur and her belly was round with child.  The two males had the same golden colored fur as Ekho, as did the young girl and boy. 

The girl and boy both looked uneasily at me as Ekho brought them over.  She couldn't have been more than twelve, he more than 5.  With a nudge from Ekho, Ananda said with a soft voice, "I'm very sorry that I hurt you, Daeton.  I thought you were trying to hurt my brother."

"Thank you for apologizing."  I smiled at her and turned my eyes to Bartholomew.  He shuffled his feet and kicked at an imaginary spot on the floor.

"I'm sorry for swiping your bracelet."  He handed it up to me with a forlorn look in his eyes.  I slipped it on my wrist and chucked him under the chin.  "You'll listen to Ekho and try hard not to be tempted to steal anymore?"

He nodded, his eyes wide.

"Okay, I accept your apology."

Ekho shooed the children over to the table and Perseus kissed my cheek and moved over to the table to sit down.  I noticed that Ekho was fidgeting, his hands clenching and unclenching.  "Are you okay?"  I asked.

His brow furrowed and then he sighed, "I am, I just, I want to hold you so badly but you don't know me and I don't want to rush you."

My stomach did a little flip at his sweetness.  Where Perseus had made assumptions without worry, Ekho tread carefully.  How different my two mates were!  I stepped to him and slid my arms around him, realizing for the first time as my hands rested on his back, that the velvet fur covered his back as well.  It was soft and silky to the touch and I ran my hands up and down his back slowly to feel the texture against my palms as he put his arms around me and pulled me close.  He shivered suddenly and laughed, kissing my ear, "If you keep that up I'm going to embarrass myself."

I was about to ask why, when I felt the hard ridge of his cock against my hip.  I stifled a laugh and tipped my face up, "Sorry."

"I don't believe that for a second."  He laughed and pressed his mouth to mine.  The kiss was sweet, tentative at first, and then I felt his tongue trace the seam of my lips and I opened them.  He tasted sweet, like he'd just eaten fruit and we held each other in the kitchen until little Bartholomew said, "Gross, are they going to stop soon?"

The kiss ended with both of us laughing and we turned to the table and sat down, me between my two mates.  The others at the table were introduced as Harrah and his mate Fawn, and her brother Elam.  I asked about Rysk and Tyrant and was told they were staying in the inn we'd had plans to stay in that first night, and that someone had been sent to let them know I was okay. 

The table was set with platters of cooked meat and my inner she-bear rumbled in approval.

Ekho kissed my shoulder with a smile, "Would you like to go hunting?"

"I haven't shifted yet."

"But you're of-age, right?"  He quirked a brow at me.

"I am, but I just turned 18 at the last full moon and I didn't shift that night and I haven't shifted yet.  Since I've been in this realm, I feel my bear more than I ever have before."

"Maybe you'll shift now that you've found both of us."  Perseus said as he cut into a thick steak.

Fawn said, "You can go all the way to a bear when you shift?  That's amazing.  It's like the bird-people, they have wings all the time, but they can go all the way to birds.  It would be incredible to be a real lion sometimes."

Harrah gave her an indulgent smile, plucking her hand from where it rested on her large belly and kissing it.  "We are as we were made, kitta."