Shifter’s Mates: Leopard’s Surrender

Chapter 1

 

Daiyu

Legends say that the snow leopard was a gift from the ancient gods, those ephemeral ancestors of natural spirits who had cared for the tiny, insignificant planet I’d been stolen from. It used to be called blue, but was now the gray and brown of a dying world.

I didn’t know if the failure was because of our inattention. Did the storms come because we insulated ourselves in the Tibetan mountains, ignoring the increasing disquiet of the ground under our feet? Or had it been a completely random occurrence?

When stars die, they take whole solar systems with them like death brides in some ancient cultures. Instead of a pretty virgin, dying stars demand whole civilizations as comfort for their afterlife. Earth’s single sun wasn’t quite dead—yet—but its catastrophic spasm of mortality had doomed all life on Earth.

I wished I could read my ancestor Chen Xifeng’s writings. I’d found them in Canada, stored carefully as if they waited for my arrival. They waited still, tucked carefully in the pack tossed haphazardly in a corner. Her mix of Mandarin and Szechuan confused me, even though I knew she’d written the Chinese script to stymie a casual glance. Her hand-painted texts were a mixture of complicated formulas and speculation. She’d believed the storms to be a test—one we’d failed in a most spectacular fashion—and had set a surprisingly accurate time frame for the collapse of the planet.

The door to my cell opened and I steadied my breathing. I didn’t worry about the new creature who had come. His loud, strident voice didn’t concern me, and I didn’t bother to open my eyes to look at him.

He smelled of death and sickness. His steps stuttered, punctuated with loud clicks of a cane or crutch. The first time he’d visited, he’d borne the scent of his own hot blood, along with the unmistakable rangy musk of a strong tigress of breeding age.

The Andreyev Panteris was alive and well, and judging by the smell of blood, very, very angry. I’d had to hide a smile. Xifeng had written she would be the most powerful Panteris ever to exist, and I could smell that she hadn’t yet come into her full ability.

“Has she woken at all?”

I perked my ears to listen to the soft words.

“No, Commander Norkad. We’ve eased up on the meds just in case she’s having a reaction, but there hasn’t been any change to her heart rate or respiration.”

“All right.” The sick male sighed heavily. “It’s probably easier to transport her like this. Just keep an eye on her and hope she doesn’t shift into anything too big to manage. I don’t get paid enough to lose any more body parts over this fiasco.”

I heard footsteps and the door opened. “Are we on course for—”

The door closed, cutting off whatever he’d been about to say. I stifled my growl of disappointment at not learning our destination. I would have to be content that no additional drugs had been injected into our body. It wasn’t difficult to purge them, but the effort left us weakened. Not difficult didn’t mean it wasn’t tiresome, and we often slept many hours afterward.

I closed my eyes and settled my breathing, deciding to spend my time more productively and meditate on the pale gray eyes of my genetic mate. I’d caught a glimpse of his photo before I’d been summarily loaded into my current home. I found it interesting that a male of a different species and not from Earth would share eye coloration with my leopard.

I’d often tried to reach him through my meditation, but I’d never been successful. It was a skill that required many years of study, and I wasn’t old enough to have developed it with any facility. Even so, I sometimes thought I could smell him. Dakar’s scent was an enticing mixture of ice and pine mixed with musk. My leopard wanted to bury her face in the enticing perfume and roll. I had to agree with her.

I let myself drift. Maybe I’d get lucky today.

 

Dakar

I smiled faintly and lowered my head toward the female wearing blue Council robes. She didn’t look like she cared for them much and scowled as the sleeves trailed into the plate of steamed mara in front of her. The scent of grakon tickled my nose. I’d always liked it, and War Mate Renata appeared to enjoy the spicy root as well.

“Commander Dakar, why haven’t you found Chen Daiyu yet?” A hint of irritation laced her tone, but it was no greater than my own.

“I’ve been researching snow leopards, Councilor. They are secretive and shy. Daiyu will be hiding if she’s managed to get herself free as Soledad did.”

Neither of us mentioned the trail of bodies the jaguar had left behind. She’d taken matters into her own paws and had begun to mete out justice to anyone who had been a known associate of Norkad’s. Worse, none of us could figure out how she’d managed to stay hidden so long.

I wasn’t really even sure why I was here. I’d submitted my sample to quiet my science officer’s nagging. He’d been on the original team that had determined the possibility of matches with the Earth females. I’d thought nothing would come of it and forgot all about it until I received notice that a mate had been found.

I had no idea what I was going to do with a mate. My duties kept me too busy to cater to the whims of a female, no matter how enticing. I hadn’t been a monk, of course. There were pleasures to be had in the Mendaran brothels for anyone with the right price. Courtesans knew better than to demand more attention than I would give.

I also chose not to mention the strange dreams I’d been having. Daiyu was a beautiful woman, fine-boned and delicate with the most amazing brown eyes I’d ever seen. Her hair fell past her hips in a streaming platinum wave, the gray incongruous with her youthful face. It would not have been surprising to have erotic dreams of my genetic mate, yet that wasn’t the case at all.

It was almost as if she tried to speak, but she was too far away for me to hear. When I tried to touch her, she vanished, and I would have to wait another night or two to see her again. I shook my head. Renata had been speaking, and I hadn’t been paying attention.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “In her vids, my great-grandmother intimated that snow leopards were considered the mystics for the shifter clans. Like priests, I guess.”

“Soul Guides,” Rakon murmured. “We talked about that once before.”

“Yes, Soul Guides. But I don’t know if that’s an exact equivalent.” She turned to her mate. “Do you remember the message my great-grandmother gave me? She said that one of the snow leopards gave her my name.”

“I remember. It sounded very coincidental to me, but I have no experience with such matters.”

“I don’t either, but I thought it was very strange.”

“Is your given name a family name that might have been used before?” I asked. That would be a logical explanation. The idea that someone could see the future was laughable.

She finished wiping the sauce from her sleeves and rolled them up so she could continue her meal. “I really don’t know, Commander. It’s possible, but doesn’t explain why Xifeng would have said something about me leaving Earth. Back then, humans didn’t have interstellar travel.”

Taking another bite of her food, she chewed thoughtfully. “What if there’s something else?”

“Something supernatural?” Rakon smiled at her and she tossed a balled-up napkin at him.

“I know it sounds silly, but my great-grandmother certainly believed the High Leopard knew things.”

“Excuse me.” I laid my fork on my plate and tossed my napkin aside as I stood. “I have urgent matters to attend to.”

Daiyu had been trying to find me in her own way. Deep inside, I’d known it but hadn’t consciously recognized what had been happening. More precisely, I’d ignored it because such things didn’t fit with my properly ordered world. I’d told myself that dreaming of such a beautiful woman was normal.

On my way, I nearly stumbled over two of the children we’d rescued from the containment facility in sector four. Their playful growls and snaps made me laugh as they rolled and tumbled across the hall. The First hobbled after them, dressed in loose trousers and a plain-woven shirt instead of his customary robes. A wide streak of green paint decorated his bushy beard, and he wore a heavy blaster on a belt wrapped around his slim hips.

It was clear no one was taking chances with the children’s safety.

Waving a hand to stop me, he said, “Help me catch those two. I need to talk to you.”

I tried. I really did, but laughter escaped me until I had to lean against the wall to catch my breath. “Should we call you First Nursemaid now?”

The First snorted and glared at me. “Don’t make me send you to nineteen, boy.”

I sobered and squeezed his thin shoulder. “It’s good to see you happy, Uncle.” I hadn’t seen my father’s brother smile with such delight since I was a child no older than the ones he chased. “Let’s take them to the park,” I said. “They can burn off their energy, and we can talk.”

I put my fingers to my lips and blew a sharp whistle to get their attention. “All right, little ones. Everyone line up and behave, and we’ll go to the park.”

They obeyed instantly. I didn’t spend as much time as I’d liked to have, but I enjoyed playing with them and seeing them grow round and chubby as children should be. They trooped after us in relative silence, their guards trailing close behind.

The oldest boy, Muhammad, had returned to Earth to collect his clan. Despite Muhammad’s irritable and standoffish manner, I knew my uncle was fond of the boy and missed him. He, along with the rest of the leopard clan would arrive within the next six Earth weeks.

We sat on a bench and watched them play something very intense with a ball that involved a great deal of running and fighting. The smallest ones played in the tide pools and caught mara with clever fingers, popping the small crustaceans into their mouths raw. I shuddered, but they seemed to enjoy the treats.

“Soledad is marking trails for us,” the First said.

“What? How?”

“She’s allowed herself to be sighted in several locations. After months of not seeing the female at all, suddenly she’s everywhere.”

“Then it should be easy for Markon to catch her.”

“I’d like to think so, but I’m wondering if we should leave her alone. She’s led us to three nests of insurgents already. Two of them were harmless groups of students, but the other…” He grunted in displeasure and added, “The other had facilities for biological weapons.”

The thought made me sick and violently angry. Because of one such weapon, we’d lost our females and all hope for children of our own. “I’ll leave immediately—”

“Don’t bother. She’s already dealt with them.”

“Dealt with… Never mind, I don’t want to know.” There was a reason Soledad was cursed by mercenaries and criminals. She was fast, brutal, and without mercy.

My uncle grimaced and shook his head. “That’s for the best. In any case, I would like to leave her to continue her work, although she’ll eventually have to be brought to heel.” He grinned and nodded to himself. “Markon will manage her in good time.”

“All right. What do you want me to do? Markon will be chasing her, and it’s clear she’s chasing Norkad. Where do I come into this?”

“I want you to predict where she’ll go next. She has a plan, and you’re the best at figuring those out.”

I leaned back and watched the children at their rather violent game. If I could figure out where she was going, then I’d figure out where Norkad would be. It would be the culmination of my life’s work to watch the light fade from his eyes as he died.

“I’m sorry, Uncle. I will try to do as you ask, but I need to search for my own mate first. After what Councilor Renata did to him, added to Soledad rescuing the children, I doubt that he’s kept Daiyu. He’d have taken her to her destination as quickly as possible.”

“Exactly. I think he still has her, but he’ll be close to whoever he’s delivering her to. I want to know who that is.” He turned to look at the children and scowled. Heaving himself off the bench he shouted, “Oy! You two stop chewing on that boy’s leg!”

I had to laugh as I watched him limp over to the children in question, stooping to break up the fight amidst their snarls and growls. His inattention gave me time to think. I was hopeful that it wouldn’t take long to discern Norkad’s destination, given the trail Soledad had left. If we could find who wanted the shifters, we could stop them from being taken.

Unlike everyone else, I hadn’t truly believed Norkad had died in that explosion. I wondered what made him come out of seclusion now. Perhaps it had been the novelty of the shifters. I wasn’t that interested in his motivation, though. I had every intention of killing him on sight.

My uncle’s plot would give Markon a chance to get ahead of Soledad and put a leash on her before she did something the Ximeran people couldn’t forgive. She was their pirate heroine for now, but if she killed the wrong person, they’d turn on her. I didn’t want that for Markon, or for her.

Life hadn’t treated her well, and her first experience with Ximerans had been horrible. I understood that. Regardless of the circumstances, she’d have to be stopped eventually. Maybe if I managed to capture or kill Norkad, she’d give up piracy and live the life she’d been meant to have.

My uncle returned to his seat, hobbling wearily. The children took a great deal from him, but he’d refused to get help with them. I grinned as something occurred to me.

“I’ll leave this afternoon to track down Soledad’s path in return for a favor, Uncle.”

“You would bargain with your only family?” He peered at me, his eyes twinkling. “I thought I raised you better.”

“You hire help to take care of the children and I’ll do as you ask.”

He growled at me, but I just smirked. “Oh, very well. Maybe some of those guards can help when we’re outside. And for meals.” Shuddering, he added, “And baths.”

I looked over at the children’s guards. Several of them looked wistfully at their charges, and I knew he’d find many takers on his offer. “What’s the problem with bathing them? Surely, they’re old enough to wash themselves.”

“Several of them like water. Specifically, they like to play with it.” He pointed at the two youngest girls rolling in a tide pool. “Especially those two. I think they must be otters.”

“What’s an otter?”

“An aquatic carnivore… Never mind.” He gestured once more at the girls as they splashed. “They do that in my bathroom.”

“I see.” I had to hide my smile, but he whacked my calf with his cane and scowled.

“You just put away that grin and keep up your end of the bargain. I can still send you to nineteen.”

I stood and bowed low, the traditional courtesy toward the First only a little strange to me. It was difficult to bow toward the man who had raised me when my parents died. “Yes, First Councilor, it shall be as you wish.”

He waved me away, his attention already focused on his young charges. I walked back to the Council building to prepare for my trip. Even though I had no intention of accepting her, it was my responsibility to retrieve Chen Daiyu.

There was no room in my life for a mate, especially one so beautiful. I had to admit to a certain fascination with the idea of sharing my intellect with a predator. And my cock ached at the thought of having such a magnificent female for my own. It wasn’t to be, though. Daiyu was too important to waste on a male like me.

 

Daiyu

A shudder of the vessel, followed by a heavy thud, roused me from my meditation. I ignored the disturbance until a whiff of fresh air through the ventilation ducts made my leopard nudge me to wakefulness. Footsteps echoed through the corridor outside my cell, and she did something I’d never seen. She pushed forward into a partial shift, shunting me aside into a corner of our shared brain. I glanced down at my hand and blinked.

We were dappled gray skin, yet not. Flesh, yet not. Present, yet… not. I heard a chime and loud voices and tried to return to my human form. She chuffed at me in irritation and whispered to me of magic as she pushed the image of my human form asleep on the narrow cot.

I suddenly understood and fixed her vision firmly in my mind, thrusting it out to encompass the space. The door opened, and I held my breath.

“She’s still out, Commander. Should we give her something to wake her?”

“No, she’ll be easier to deliver as she is. She isn’t going anywhere. Besides, we’re only here long enough to load supplies. Leave the door open and air this place out. It smells like animal in here.”

They walked away and I let out a breath of relief as I stood. Despite my mental exercises and focus on keeping my body limber and ready, I was stiff from the inactivity. I wanted to shift, but the leopard held me back, counseling patience as we crept through the corridors to the loading bay.

It was a wrench to leave my pack behind, but I had no way to carry it. I sent a prayer to the ancestors that I’d be able to find it again. My scant collection of belongings was unimportant. I hated leaving Xifeng’s writings behind. The knowledge in those faded pages was priceless and irreplaceable.

The corridors were empty. I only found one guard in the loading bay, and he was easy enough to pass without being seen. He was too focused on the comm in his hand. I kept my footsteps silent as I walked, staying close to shadows and visual obstacles. But I wanted desperately to shift.

My leopard refused, chiding me for the impatience of a cub awaiting a treat. It was humbling and I lowered my head. She was right; I just hated being so vulnerable. People milled everywhere and my head began to ache at the nearly constant whisper of not here racing through my brain.

We hadn’t reached the end of the docks when I heard my captor arguing with another male. I froze in shock and darted behind a stack of boxes.

“Norkad, I don’t care how much you pay me. Get that tub out of my dock before I set fire to it.”

“That’s Commander to you, Imkar.”

The second male snorted. “You’re just a washed-up revolutionary. The fact is that I don’t care if you’ve been sent by the First himself. Everyone knows Soledad is hunting you, and I’m not going to give that bitch any reason to come here. You put this entire colony at risk by your very presence.”

“How dare you!” Norkad straightened, his hand tightening on his crutch.

“I don’t think you understand. People die when she shows up. And they die screaming. Because of our long association, I’ll give you a half hour to load up whatever you can and leave. If you aren’t gone by then, I’ll blow you up myself.”

I watched him spit and walk away. He shouted over his shoulder, “Half an hour, Norkad.”

My captor cursed and slammed a fist into a wall, dislodging small bits of tile. His limping steps faded as he hurried back to the ship, and I slipped out of my concealment to walk in the opposite direction. I would have to think on what I’d heard later.

We’d landed in a small but very busy spaceport, and following my leopard’s wise guidance, we pressed through the crush of beings in the direction of twin suns. I thought we walked for hours before we reached a gate. The strain of keeping us unseen wore heavily, and we were nearing exhaustion.

When the gate opened for a hovercraft laden with boxes, we secreted ourselves in the cargo as the portal slammed shut behind us. The area outside the spaceport was still heavily populated, though less than it had been inside.

Better, I could smell the vibrancy of vegetation. The odor was faint and must be some distance away, but we would soon reach a place where we could hide.

I dozed for a short time. My perch between two crates was precarious at best, but I needed to relax my mind and rest. We would reach a place where we could abandon the hovercraft soon, and we had to be ready to vanish into the forest. I hoped that Imkar’s order for Norkad to leave would hinder his ability to search for me.

I sent a prayer of thanksgiving to the ancestors for Soledad’s vicious reputation. Part of me wished I could see Norkad’s face when he learned I was missing. I smirked, and my leopard chuffed in annoyance, reminding me that gloating wasn’t attractive.

It was probably best I didn’t have Soledad’s notoriety. I would have been much more heavily guarded if I’d been considered vicious.

Snow leopards weren’t suited for such things. We were mystics and scholars. Other shifters thought we were magic, and I knew now there was some truth to those rumors. We’d simply learned to pay attention to the spirits all around us and listened to their wise counsel. Personally, I thought any shifter could do it.

The scent of forest grew stronger, and I peered around the crate to watch. Verdant green of a thick wood met my eyes and I had to hold in my gasp of pleasure. I’d never seen such abundant foliage. As we approached a tunnel made of entwined branches, my leopard pushed forth and we shifted.

In the darkness of shadow provided by the concealing vegetation, we slipped away.