Chapter 10: Paws, Purrs, and Panic

The boulder scraped against the stone floor with a sound that signaled ’Game Over’.

The cave was completely dark except for the faint glow of dying embers outside, which slipped through the cracks, and the soft light from Kael’s golden eyes.

His eyes glowed, bright as headlights catching a deer on the road.

Ren backed up until her butt hit the cold stone wall. “Okay, Kael. Let’s talk about this. Use your words. Not your growls.”

Kael didn’t use words. He stripped off his loincloth.

Swish. Drop.

“Words, Kael! Words!” Ren squeaked, squeezing her eyes shut. “I said talk, not strip!”

“Too hot,” Kael rumbled. His voice was thick and a little slurred, like someone tipsy on whiskey. But he wasn’t drunk on alcohol…he was caught up in the Mating Heat and the lingering smell of pork fat.

He stalked toward her. Ren could feel the vibrations of his footsteps in the floor.

“You smell…” Kael groaned, stopping inches from her. He braced his hands on the wall on either side of her head, trapping her. “…like mine.”

He leaned down. His hot, wet nose pressed against her neck, inhaling so hard the fabric of her tank top fluttered.

“Kael, listen,” Ren tried to reason, her hands hovering uselessly over his bare chest, afraid to touch but needing to push. “I am a human. We have protocols! Dinner! Movies! A background check!”

“You talk too much,” Kael whispered.

He licked the hollow of her throat.

Ren’s knees buckled.

It wasn’t a messy lick. It was rough and possessive, sending a shock right to her toes. His tongue was hot, textured, and surprisingly skilled.

[System Notification: Target ’Kael’ is initiating ’Foreplay – Beast Style’. Recommended Action: Submit. Or find a squeaky toy.]

“I don’t have a squeaky toy!” Ren hissed at the system.

Kael moved lower. His hands slid down the wall to grip her waist. His thumbs dug into her hips, his grip bruising and desperate. He pulled her flush against his hips.

Ren gasped. She couldn’t ignore what was happening. He was hard…like granite…and huge.

“Kael,” Ren choked out, panic warring with a very confusing biological arousal. “You are… very excited.”

“I burn,” Kael growled against her collarbone. He bit down gently on the strap of her tank top and tugged. “Skin. I need skin.”

Riiiiip.

The strap didn’t break, but it snapped against her skin.

“Okay, that’s it!” Ren yelled.

She did the only thing she could think of. She reached up and grabbed his ears.

His fluffy, white tiger ears on top of his head.

She scratched. Hard. Right behind the base where the cartilage met the skull.

Kael froze.

His growl cut off with a strangled gasp. His eyes rolled back in his head. His knees, which were trembling with lust, suddenly turned to jelly.

“Oh…” Kael moaned, a sound that was half-pleasure, half-whine. “There. Yes. Right there.”

“You like that, you big baby?” Ren said breathlessly, scratching faster. She used her nails to scritch deep into the fur.

Kael slumped forward, his weight pressing her to the wall. The aggression faded, replaced by pure bliss. His leg thumped against the ground, over and over.

“Good boy,” Ren cooed, her heart pounding a mile a minute. “Who’s a good Alpha? You are. Yes, you are.”

[System Notification: Critical Hit! Host has discovered Weakness: ’Ear Scratches’. Target sedated.]

Kael purred, the sound deep and steady like a tractor. He rubbed his cheek against her chest, nuzzling into her cleavage for comfort.

“More,” he slurred. “Don’t stop.”

Ren walked him backward, awkwardly, since he was draped over her, until they reached the pile of hay.

“Down,” Ren ordered.

Kael collapsed onto the hay, dragging her with him. He sprawled on his back, naked and glorious, looking at her with hazy, adoration-filled eyes.

“You possess magic fingers,” Kael whispered reverently. “Better than mating.”

“Let’s not go that far,” Ren muttered, crawling out from under his arm. “But it’s safer for my pelvis.”

She tried to scoot away to the edge of the bed.

Kael’s hand shot out. He grabbed her ankle.

“No,” he grumbled. “Stay.”

He yanked her back. Ren tumbled onto his chest.

“Kael! It’s hot! You’re like a radiator!”

“Quiet,” Kael said. He wrapped both arms around her, holding her tight. He pressed his face into her stomach, breathing in her scent. “If you move, the itch comes back. If the itch comes back… I bite.”

He emphasized this by nipping playfully, but sharply, at the soft skin of her waist through her shirt.

Ren froze. “Okay. Okay! I’m staying!”

She lay there, resting her cheek on his pectoral muscle. It was hard as rock, but his skin was surprisingly soft. His heartbeat was slow and powerful, thumping like a war drum beneath her ear.

The adrenaline began to fade. Ren realized how exhausted she was.

She looked at the man-beast holding her. As he slept, he seemed younger…less like a warlord and more like someone who just wanted to be held.”You’re lucky you’re cute,” Ren whispered, tracing a faint silver scar on his chest with her fingertip.

Kael twitched at her touch but didn’t wake. He just tightened his grip, murmuring something in his sleep.

“My… bacon…”

Ren snorted. She couldn’t help it. A giggle bubbled up in her chest.

“Unbelievable,” she whispered into the darkness.

[System Notification: Bond Level Increased to 15%.][Status: ’The Cuddle Buddy’.][Warning: Rival ’Vex’ is currently mixing potions in the forest.]

Ren ignored the system. She closed her eyes, letting the rhythmic purring of the Alpha lull her into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The Next Morning

Ren woke up because she couldn’t breathe.

It wasn’t smoke. It was weight.

She opened her eyes to see a wall of white fur.

Sometime during the night, Kael had shifted back.

She was currently being used as a teddy bear by a 600-pound white tiger. His massive paws were wrapped around her, his claws sheathed but heavy. His head was resting on her legs.

And… he was licking her stomach.

Her shirt had ridden up. Kael’s rough tongue was rasping against her navel.

“Ack!” Ren shrieked, batting at his nose. “Morning breath! Violation! Bad kitty!”

Kael’s head snapped up. His golden eyes were clear. He looked at her, then at his position.

He didn’t look sorry. He looked smug.

Chuff.

He shifted.

The fur retracted, the bones reshaped, and suddenly, the naked man was back, hovering over her, his hair messy and his grin wolfish.

“You taste like salt,” Kael announced as a morning greeting.

“And you smell like drool,” Ren countered, pushing his face away. “Get off. I have to pee.”

Kael rolled off her and stretched his arms over his head. The movement showed off every muscle. Ren made herself look only at his face.

“Go,” Kael said, gesturing to the cave entrance. “But do not go far. The tribe is awake. And today…”

He stood up, his expression hardening.

“Today, the other Clans arrive.”

Ren froze, holding her pants up. “Other Clans?”

“The Beast Gathering,” Kael explained, grabbing his loincloth. “Every moon, the tribes meet to trade. The Wolves. The Lions. The Snakes.”

He looked at her, his eyes darkening.

Ren felt a chill that had nothing to do with the morning air.

“Great,” she sighed, grabbing her frying pan. “More hungry mouths to feed. Kael, does this world have a concept of ’catering fees’?”

Kael ignored her. He walked to the entrance and shoved the boulder aside with one hand like it was Styrofoam.

Sunlight flooded the cave.

“Stay close to me, Ren,” Kael commanded, stepping out into the light. “If a Snake offers you a fruit… do not eat it.”

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