Chapter 3
Soleil
I hunkered down in some brush far enough that he wouldn’t see or hear me, but I could still track him. As much as his words battered against me, digging their claws into my pelt, we were inevitable. We were mates.
He didn’t know it yet, but we would always crave each other.
Want each other with a need so visceral he would not be able to live without me.
His reaction was normal; all humans feared my Beast form.
What left me reeling was believing it would be easier for him to see my human body first, but that hadn’t helped either. He was still frightened.
Mate shoved through foliage with angry swipes, cutting and slicing a path with ease.
He would have been a magnificent Beast. I loped up the next branch, digging my claws into the trunk to get higher to keep him within sight.
Keeping my distance was harder than I thought it would be—the fur on the back of my neck stood.
Another predator was near.
I lowered my head, sweeping my attention around my mate.
A flash of movement forced me to burst off the tree, bolting forward, uncaring of the noise I made.
Those stripes looked familiar, and that was very bad.
My mate couldn’t meet the same fate as the previous couple.
Claws slicing open their bellies, the tiger devouring their meat .
. . Leaves smacked against my pelt, but I didn’t let it slow me.
A roar exploded through the jungle, and I unsheathed my claws, breaking through the final leafy barrier keeping me from my mate.
He faced the stalking tiger, backing up with his eyes narrowed on it, ready to fight it.
No fear showed in his eyes, just intense focus.
It made me want to claim him more.
I didn’t stop my momentum, wanting to take every advantage. Springing with my claws out, I sank them into the tiger’s pelt, clinging.
The tiger roared while his head swung from side to side.
He was twice my size, but I couldn’t let him kill Mate.
Rearing, the tiger managed to shake me off, but not before I gouged my claws down his side.
His bellow caused birds to take flight. I landed on my side, rolling with the momentum to back up with my head lowered.
The tiger faced me, ignoring Mate. I backed up, trying to get him to follow me.
Even if it meant my death, I would get him away from here.
I chirped, flicked my gaze to Mate who remained frozen, chest bursting up and down with ragged breaths.
Leave here. I hoped he could read my insistence in the small look because the tiger lunged.
Though I evaded his first swipe, he did it again and managed to toss me to the side.
I rolled from the impact. Before I could stand, the tiger was on me while I scrabbled against the dirt.
If he managed to grab hold of my throat, that was it for me; I wouldn’t be able to save Mate. I jerked to the side, and his teeth sank into my shoulder. With a yowl, I sliced at his side frantically.
Suddenly, a loud hiss exploded through the clearing. A bright, searing light burst to life. The tiger jerked, and its teeth released my shoulder. He whirled on Mate who was now holding flames, then roared and loped away.
I rolled onto my side and carefully climbed to my feet, and my paw buckled. The thing Mate held fizzled, the flames slowly fading. I squinted against the light, trying to gather my strength until it was nothing more than smoke.
Mate approached slowly—cautiously. I didn’t move an inch. Watching what he’d do. He exhaled slowly, nostrils flaring.
“Are you okay?”
I cocked my head. He was asking about me? I carefully crept closer, ignoring how he stiffened, and rubbed the top of my head against his pants, purring.
Mate gasped, and I flicked my ears, listening for any other sounds. “You’re bleeding?” His hand hovered over my injury. “And I care?” he said that so low, I wouldn’t have heard it if I wasn’t in my Beast form. I moved to the side so he wouldn’t touch the painful patch.
He took a step back and stared down at me. I sat on my haunches, looking up at him. The way he watched me was like he watched the tiger, but I would not harm him. I sniffed, inhaling remnant fear clinging to him.
Shifting, I stayed sitting.
“I will not harm Mate,” I insisted.
His expression had tightened, face pale as he studied me. Was he going to run again?
“I did wrong?” I cocked my head, trying to understand. His lips were down-turned, and he seemed bothered. No, angry.
His jaw bunched, and I could hear his teeth grinding. “What are you?” he breathed.
“Mate.” What was he not understanding about that?
His gaze slid to my shoulder. “You are hurt,” he said gruffly.
The slice was raw, but not awful. It would be fine. I shrugged, and a sting sliced through the cut on my thin, human flesh.
He raked his hands through his head fur, shoving them in.
“What is that?” I jerked my chin to the blood-colored tube on the ground. It scared the tiger away.
It took him a moment to answer. “A flare.” He rubbed his jaw. Mate plopped onto a stone, hands dangling over his knees. The fur over his eyes pressed together, making my stomach turn with sickness. I inched closer on my hands and knees, then reached out to touch his leg.
He jumped, eyes swinging to me.
“I have to be hallucinating,” he muttered. He didn’t push my touch away, and I nestled closer until I was kneeling between his legs, staring into his eyes. A deep color, rich like fresh dirt.
I had never taken the time to admire any human, but this one was different. I reached for his face, my fingertips lightly grazing against the plane of his jaw. He watched me, eyes unwavering as he took in my motion.
“I will not harm you, Mate,” I comforted.
He didn’t say anything, remaining still as I ran my fingers over his face, touching the high bridge of his strong nose, the puffy, smooth lips, and the fur over his eyes.
“What are you?”
What was I . . . His clear eyes stayed steady. I was different from humans. A creature of night and Jungle.
“Beast,” I answered, head cocked.
He breathed out harshly, looking over my shoulder. “Where are we?” I didn’t understand the question. “Why hasn’t the sun come out? Why are there two moons?”
I remained silent. He seemed angry, and I didn’t like it. He raked a hand through his head-fur. A shiver wracked my frame, and I shifted. He didn’t react, continuing to study the Jungle. He’d been sitting without moving for too long. A sound came from his belly, the rumble recognizable.
Hunger.
Mate was hungry. I slinked away from him, and he didn’t react, but when I turned to peek at him, he watched me. I chirped and sank into the forest to hunt for his meal.
I loped through the foliage until I was far enough from him and sank down on my haunches, watching and listening in silence.
It didn’t take long for the brush to rustle. I pricked my ears forward and narrowed in on the rabbit feeding on the greenery.
I rose on my paws, shifting my weight side to side. The rabbit lifted its head, freezing as it sensed a predator. I sprang off the dirt and burst forward, my loping strides allowing me to reach the critter in seconds.
Chomping down on the back of the neck, I shook quickly until it went limp. One of my fangs punctured its body, and blood spilled into my mouth. I barely stopped myself from chomping down. Rabbits were my favorite meal.
I loped back to Mate, and his head was dropped forward, fur fell onto his forehead while his eyes were closed. Making sure to make noise, I stepped harder so he could hear me approach. He lifted his head just as I stepped in front of him and opened my maw to drop it at his feet.
He said nothing. I didn’t know whether he was happy about my gift or angry. I let out a rumble and nudged it with my nose again.
“This is for me?” He raised the fur strip over his eye. What was he not understanding? I shifted, and dirt and twigs dug into my bare knees.
“I brought you food.”
He was silent again, blinking quickly. “You . . . want . . . to feed me?”
I stared at him, figuring it was obvious.
“Fuck,” he said it low again and scratched his temple. He reached forward and his palm cupped the bottom of my jaw. I was quick to lean into the touch. “You’re making this very hard.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I stayed silent. He exhaled, a muscle jumping in his cheek. He ran a thumb across my skin, and that single touch from him caused tingles to spread down. I wanted to claim him again.
His eyes dropped, and I followed his attention down to my human form.
I didn’t miss the dilation of his eyes, the flared nostrils, and the throb at the side of his neck.
He liked what he saw, and I liked that he liked it.
I puffed my breasts out. The human mates that had been here before did many things with each other’s bodies while they claimed each other.
I would do every single one of them with my mate.
“Why . . .” He exhaled. “Why do I feel like this?”
His voice sounded deeper and raspier. I wasn’t sure what he was asking, so I stayed silent.
“Hunger?” I peeked at the rabbit on the floor. He was quiet, then a boom exploded from his mouth. The sound light and airy.
And my own lips twitched.
How I craved him.
I would never let him go.