Blurb:
Isser and Sol's pack is in trouble. Jewel's newborn cubs are ill and the
pack needs money to treat them. Leaving the more experienced wolves to
protect the women and children, the two bounty hunters agree to
undertake a questionable assignment from known criminal Linus Lilymann.
He wants them to find his stolen ruby and he insists he can't possibly
go to the police. Normally, Sol and Isser wouldn't even consider it, but
right now, it looks like the cubs only chance.The mission turns out to be not what the expected at all. For one thing, Ruby's a person, not a jewel. And for another, she's a dangerous tiger shifter who escaped her kidnappers only to spend her life in a convent worshipping a cat goddess. She's never been out in the world, she's utterly unprepared to deal with men like Sol and Isser, and what's worse, her first shift and her first sexual heat will happen on her twenty-fifth birthday. Soon. And only sex will help her hold onto her humanity.
A tiger in heat will make a mate--or a meal--out of her first lover. Sol and Isser might be able to help her, but if they fail, their entire pack will suffer. It's a difficult decision: protect the pack or protect their new treasure.
Excerpt;
Sol gripped the shuttle’s comm and turned it off.
They didn’t want any ships to hail them. He set the coordinates in the computer
to take them to the planet Atala. “I wish we were closer. Every second counts,
and I want to earn this bounty and get back home. Linus Lilymann—huh, he’s such
a crook. You know we’re probably looking for stolen, stolen property,” Sol
complained.
“I know, but Lilymann has plenty of money. This
is important to him if he’s willing to contract professional bounty hunters. He
doesn’t get the goods until we get paid.”
“Fair enough. You were the one to get the
details. What exactly are we hunting?” Sol asked. His eyebrow rose.
“His ruby? As in singular? One gem?”
“That’s what he said. He said it’s the ruby he’s
always wanted, and he needs it back before the full moon. A woman took it.
We’re not supposed to take the gem from her. He wants us to bring the woman
instead. He said she has it, without a doubt, and just to bring her back to
him, alive, and that’s it. He gave me this bit of fabric. It bears her scent.
She smells a bit strange, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
Sol took the scrap of pale material and pressed
it to his nose. He inhaled sharply.
“You’re right. This scent isn’t quite human. Even
the most mutated human wouldn’t smell like this. It’s not like anything I’ve
encountered before. It’s almost wolf, but different. Strange.” He sighed and
shrugged as he handed the clue back to Isser. “I hate hunting women, even
thieves. Makis would never have accepted this job...” Sol paused and rubbed his
tired eyes. “If Jewel and her pups die, the pack will never be home again. I
doubt Rion and Makis would even survive. Rion might because he has Boon to
think about, but Makis wouldn’t have anything if they all three die. If we
weren’t on the run, we could take out credit. They’d already have had the
benefit of a doctor. Even free from the clan, we are still suffering. I pray to
the gods someday we’ll have true safety to live in the old way. Jewel is the
glue holding us together. Everything turns to shit when she dies.”
“Don’t...fucking...talk...like...that... Just
don’t! Makis is our leader. He’d never leave us by choice.” Isser sounded
younger than his years and even a little frightened. The way he said leader
could’ve easily been substituted for father.
“You feel it, the way it is for the three of
them. Don’t tell me you haven’t woken to a wave of passion in the middle of the
night. Occasionally, I’d experience the strong impression of the possessiveness
and awe those two have for her. That’s the dream, to love like nothing else
matters. It’s why we risked everything to leave the clan. I doubt I’ll ever
have what they have, but it’s beautiful. I wouldn’t want to live if I lost a
mate and that kind of perfect, forever love.”
Sol heard the clatter of Isser’s seat belt
releasing. He turned and noticed his brother’s enraged scowl as the man
crouched down in the single pilot compartment next to him. “We can’t think like
she’s going to die. We do the job, and we get them what they need. We make it
better, got it?”
Sol nodded, but the horror echoing from Isser’s
subconscious hit him in waves of agony. They’d all lost family and community
once. The idea of losing what they had slammed into his heart with agonizing
force.
“At least we won’t have to go through any
wormholes. Sit back and relax, Bro. We’re on our way,” Isser muttered. He gave
his brother a quick look before he punched the accelerator on the old ship. The
stars stretched out into long lines around them as they sped through space in
the direction of planet Atala. The money they needed to take care of their pack
waited for them.
* * * *
Ruby ached all over. Sleeping on the cold ground
wasn’t what she was accustomed to doing. Her life of learning and prayer hadn’t
prepared her for being on the run. Since her escape, she’d managed to avoid the
men searching for her by staying in the dark woodland. New men, more skilled
trackers, had joined her kidnappers. The idea of so many males hunting her was
terrifying. She suffered, so ill, her whole body burning, as if it were on
fire. The primal wilderness wasn’t helping her hold on to her civilized
humanity. The tiger wanted freedom. Ruby missed her warm, safe bed back at the
house of worship. Her pussy throbbed, and she glanced up at the sky
superstitiously. She’d been warned about the urges. She wanted meat, rare—raw,
delicious meat. The desire struck her as odd since she’d grown up on a
vegetarian diet.
Her mind wandered to the many ceremonies where
the male devotees worshipped in the temple. Ruby remembered singing the hymns
with passion as she observed the women riding the hard cocks of their silent
lovers. Little arrows of excitement darted through her core as she imagined
hairless, purified male bodies naked and chained. They lay in a state of
helpless arousal during the full moon.
Her fingers brushed her mound through her
tattered robes. She moaned. Pleasuring herself before her consecration was a
terrible sin against the goddess, so she stopped and ignored the ache for
release. If she didn’t get back to her planet, and the house of worship, she’d
die. She’d escaped before they could deliver her, but somewhere on this world
lurked the man who’d paid for her kidnapping. She’d heard the monsters talking.
They knew her time was running out. Luckily, her change had given her the
strength to escape, but now that power had left her. This world didn’t have the
red burning moon of her home, but the lack of astronomical markers wasn’t
stopping her body from the tormenting effects of her first heat.
Panting, she lay in the cool grass, trying to
focus on the sensation of the cold dew instead of how much she craved the end
of her virginity. If she were home, she’d be lying naked, awaiting the male
worshippers who would unleash the cat inside her. Until today, she’d dreaded
the experience, but now she needed sex.
A wave of dizziness hit her. Light-headed, Ruby
sat up. The early-dawn light burned strangely bright. She lifted her hand to
shield her eyes, and the action caused her to notice her nails. Gasping, she
pulled her hand closer to her face. Her eyes widened, and her lip trembled. She
squeezed her mouth tightly shut to stop the tremble. Terror gripped her. The
bitter taste of bile rose up in her throat. The nasty flavor caused her to suck
in a deep breath as she fought to maintain her composure. Her nails had grown
into sharp claws, and each of her knuckles had a frightening patch of hair
jutting out from her skin.
She wanted to kill prey and eat it. A consecrated
youth learned the virtue of a sweet and serene attitude. Now she desired
violence as her inner agitation escalated. Her stomach rolled. Hunger had
always been a usual part of her daily routine. Showing restraint at all times,
included meals, was part of her ritualistic worship practices, but she’d never
experienced such a gripping demand for sustenance. Agony curled her into a
ball. She took deep breaths through her nose and exhaled deeply out of her
mouth. When the torment subsided, Ruby stretched. Sitting in the dirt wasn’t
going to fill her belly. A strange urge to hunt made her restless.
She didn’t have the slightest idea about how to
stalk prey, and yet her tiger wanted to do it. The beast had always been deep
inside her, but this was the first time her inner animal was strong enough to
control her. She didn’t like it. The sensation of losing control shook her with
terrifying ferocity. Every moment she became more feline than human. Nothing
made sense this morning. Her mind filled with images of animals running, but
instead of thinking of them as creatures, she thought of them as delicious
food. Her breath caught. She battled the impulse to run off into the wilderness
and hunt. This foreign woodland taunted her with its majesty. Lost and alone,
she wasn’t sure where to go. What remained of her rational thought reminded her
she needed to find a way back to her sanctuary. The old mother would know what
to do. The other tiger priestesses would help her through this transition.
A noise caused her to sit up. At least two
light-footed creatures were running. Instinct changed the way her senses
brought information to her brain. Everything hit her mind so much more richly
and yet in a truly primal way that left her feeling off-kilter. She tried to
stand, but the world spun, and she landed hard on her ass. Ruby moaned, closing
her eyes. Cramps filled her stomach. This pain clawed her much worse than her
monthly cycle, this fire burned through her—killing her. She closed her eyes
and sucked in a deep breath.
“Who are you?” The gruff male voice terrified
her. Ruby’s eyes opened quickly. She lay too weak to flee. She must have fallen
unconscious for a few moments. Her body wouldn’t respond, as it stayed
worthless for moving or fighting. This affliction had taken a great toll.
Terror grew exponentially as her blurry vision sharpened, and she realized just
how large and imposing the male’s body truly appeared. She could smell him. He
wasn’t human.
“I am Ruby, devotee of the cat goddess,” she
managed to respond. This man wasn’t one of her attackers. They’d been human.
This male was like her. Shifter. His warm amber eyes weren’t cruel. His hair
was long, black. He wore it tied back in a ponytail. He was handsome. She
didn’t have much experience with men, but this one was so unmistakably perfect
she was able to register his masculine beauty even in her condition.
“Shit! Damn it, Lilymann is fucking with us. This
is the girl,” said the male who’d questioned her. “Do you smell her? I think
we’ve been played.” Weakness lingered, and she couldn’t open her eyes, but he
wasn’t talking to her.
“You’re right. The scent is different now, but
it’s definitely her. She’s—oh gods, no, that spiciness—she’s a tigress,”
replied another man. “That’s what smelled off about her scent. She’s never
shifted. That’s why we couldn’t tell. Tigers don’t shift until they go into
heat. Damn it!”
She managed to open her heavy eyelids. The second
man was almost as beautiful as the first man was. His hair was much lighter,
and she marveled at the various shades of blond, light brown, and red that
glinted in the sunlight. This stranger had hair any woman would envy, but there
was nothing feminine about the sculpted masculinity of his face. He was
incredible. He was also...different. She’d seen men who wanted to serve, but
these men looked ready to dominate. They frightened her, but she also found
them fascinating. He glanced at her, and they made eye contact. His eyes were
such a deep green they reminded her of the forest. The image of a wolf leaping
over a fallen log filled her brain, and she drew in a deep breath. She sighed
before the exhaustion became too much, and her eyes closed again of their own
accord. Ruby laid her head down in the dirt as she gave up the struggle. The
weakness was intolerable, but she knew no remedy except returning home to the
goddess.
“We aren’t looking for a gem. She’s the ruby. Oh
gods, how were we so stupid as to believe this hunt would be as simple of a
matter as stolen property?”
She had no idea what property he referred to, and
she didn’t care. She hadn’t taken anything from anyone. Ruby drew in another
deep breath, and her brain registered what was bothering her. These men were
shifters—wolves. Why wolves would agree to hunt another shifter was a mystery
to her. Her curiosity didn’t last long. Pain raced through her abdomen, tearing
a cry from her lips. She hurt so badly she curled into a fetal position. She
didn’t care what happened to her anymore, because she was dying. No one could
hurt this bad and survive. She agonized over the emptiness of life cut too
short and unfinished days. She wished for another day—an hour even—just to
enjoy existence. As she lost consciousness, the darkness swept away her pain,
and she sighed with relief.
Copyright © Ashlynn Monroe
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