Cage (Dark World Book 1) (11 page)

“Look, I’m no Bible thumper, but I don’t for a second think some mountain created me.”

“No, I don’t think it did either. You were born, like I was. I think it knew of you and chose you. For me.”

“What’s coming our way?”

“I think maybe our son will deal with the human aspect.”

“Look, your females may give birth to just one son, but humans can have multiple births. No, it’s not an invitation. I’m just sick to death of hearing about the chosen son. It’s irritating. Boys, boys, boys.”

Cage looked astounded. “More than one son?”

Cyra sighed and gritted her teeth. “My Aunt had six sons. She also had three daught…”

“Six sons?” he interrupted and sounded as though he didn’t really believe her.

“Yes, six.”

Cage grabbed her to his chest; she yelped a protest. “If it’s really possible, do you have any idea what this will mean to my people?”

“I do.”

Cyra and Cage turned at the voice. Cage was on his feet dragging Cyra with him. The male warrior was the one Cage had recently defeated. He was pissed. And, he was staring straight at Cyra.

“You, female, yes I can decipher your language with you so close. I can also see into your fears.” Cyra felt a tingling within her mind until a hammer of a wall came crashing into her thoughts. She immediately knew Cage was protecting her. The warrior bellowed in rage as Cage growled.

“Damn you, Cage, and damn your female. You, human, first give this tribe warrior the means to defeat any warrior in thought. Now you claim to ruin the order of our world by being able to produce many male offspring. That will
not
happen.” Then to Cage: “When the other leaders realize what she is capable of giving you, the advantage will not bode well for you.”

“Go to your female, I’ve released her and will not look for another, Roar,” Cage said.

“I already found my female, weeping, a rarity for our females. My female wants to return to the Mountain. She says the Mountain is urging the female mates back. But it’s you, you have harmed her. Her fears when she fell into despair were uncontrollable the moment I touched her. She insists I cannot keep her safe because you were able to take her from me. But I know she sees something more. All six females you touched and turned cold want to return to the safety of the Mountain. You have doomed five tribes in your haste and your greed. Only I was able to convince my mate to stay and have our son because I persistently came back for her.”

Cyra saw Cage take a step back. From the look on his face she could tell he was devastated. He’d had no idea. The warrior, Roar, scowled at Cyra.

“You had your female all along and she wasn’t good enough for you. Perhaps she is good enough for me. My female has told me as soon as our son is born she is returning to the Mountain. My son will not be deprived of a mother.” Roar made a motion to grab Cyra; she squealed and backed up then toppled to the ground when Cage changed. Godzilla mega sized and morphed. The warrior took a step back; the shock in his eyes as he gazed up between the mountain-toed beast was astounding.

“I will kill whoever touches my mate,” Cage bellowed and Cyra placed her hands over her ears. The ground shook. “Go, Roar, and let the others know I do not wish to war with my own species. Something bigger is about to happen on this planet. This female has been given to me; you will not touch her. I can’t bring back your females, but maybe they weren’t meant to be.”

“You talk in riddles,” Roar yelled.

Cage returned to normal. Cyra sat where she had fallen watching both huge males verbally battle.

“Whatever is coming may be coming faster than what the Mountain had thought. This is the first human the Mountain has sent and the first time females have returned before it’s their time,” Cage thundered.

“You have put six tribes in danger, be warned.”

“There has been enough loss. It ends here. If you harm my female you will be killing my future heir.”

Roar scowled. “There is no heir.”

Cage centered a look so intense onto Cyra she scooted back on her ass. His gaze returned to Roar.

“There will be soon.”

Cage rent the air with a war cry. Every hair on the back of Cyra’s neck stood tall. Her arms covered in goose bumps. Cage planned to have sex with her. A beast-male-alien. Cyra dribbled into her panties and groaned, she’d thought she was past that.

“There is no way in hell we are having sex.”

“I have no idea who or what hell is, but we are having sex.”

Cage circled her. Cyra was in the middle of his floor, arms crossed over her chest, chin tilted in defiance. Cage felt like an idiot. The mess created was his alone. He chose to steal females; he risked his mate’s life because he denied what was in front of his face. Every tingling sensation he had experienced around her was a sign. The only reason he felt it wasn’t possible was because she wasn’t one of his own kind. Now every tribe leader would be after her for one reason or another. If caught, she would be killed or forced to produce many male offspring.

The idea of having many sons was thrilling. The power of his tribe would be astronomical. Cyra was a gift; she had already given him great gifts, but Cage was under no delusions, something big and something bad was coming to their world. Cyra was sent to level the field. The Mountain of Creation had a plan.

Would have been nice to have been let in on it a little sooner.

“We will breed,” Cage announced.

“No.”

Cage growled. “What do you mean, no? Why are you so difficult? My mate is supposed to listen to me.”

“Then go find her.”

“I’m staring at her.”

“Then you must be seeing someone else, because this girl isn’t mating—anyone.”

Cage concentrated. She wasn’t afraid of him, which was good, a mate should never fear her intended.

“You need to trust me,” Cage said.

“You haven’t given me any reason to. You steal other mates, you change into hideous beasts. Why ever wouldn’t I find that sexy in a…male-type-being?”

“I’m well aware of sarcasm. All I need to do is look at you.”

“So now I’m the epitome of sarcasm? Great. You’re lookin’ more attractive by the second. You’re a slug.”

A mental image formed in Cage’s mind. A tiny creature with a trail of slime in its wake. No doubt if he took its shape, she’d step on him.

“You need to understand, the other tribe leaders will have learned what you are capable of. First my new fighting advantage and now multiple births. Many will be angry, many more jealous, some will be afraid, especially if their females are already with child. A tribe leader is extremely protective of his mate while she carries the chosen child. It’s our legacy, our survival. You will be perceived as a threat to some. If you carry, not even the fearful would dare harm a chosen one.

“Once you carry my offspring, I can take the time to gather the tribe leaders and explain what I fear may be happening.”

“What would that be?” she asked.

“If my people have the need for multiple births at once, the Mountain of Creation is arming us with protectors. The Mountain can send thousands of new warriors but hasn’t. The chosen ones will need to be strong and many. Before there are more warriors, we will need more tribe leaders to care for them. If one human female found her way here, there may be more who land. I cannot allow the leaders to fear female humans; we must embrace them to save ourselves.”

“You honestly think some mountain brought me here?”

Cage walked to stand directly in front of her. She didn’t back away, but he could see her jaw tense.

“You’re not going to pee are you?” he asked.

Cyra went bright red. Cage loved it when she did that. He could make his mate turn color. He should have seen that before. He reached to take one of her hands which was locked in a death grip holding her arm. He placed her hand against his chest. Her fingers were so small. She gazed up into his face, uncertainty was written all over her.

“No, I’m not going to pee, you ass. How can I trust you when you stole all those women?”

“I wanted to save my tribe. I should have known when I turned those females cold it was my feelings for myself. What I did was wrong, but I learned a great deal about what I would and would not do. Each was in my possession mere minutes. Gazing into the eyes of fear and having me reflected back was painful. All this time when I changed, you feared what I became more than who I am standing here.”

“I don’t fear you; I don’t trust you.”

“I suppose it’s time for me to give you a reason to trust me,” Cage said. “But first I need to get you to safety. Something is calling me, urging me to bring you somewhere. The pull is too strong to be ignored.”

Cage changed into something he knew Cyra didn’t fear. The horse was large and black, but normal. What he wouldn’t give to supersize the beast; give it red glowing eyes and fangs, a horn or two. Unfortunately that would lead to his back being pissed on. He shuddered.

That’s just nasty.

Cage determined he would get his little pisser to control her actions. Cyra clung to him as he pranced from his home. He stood before his mountain home, and before his warriors. All warriors had their eyes on him.

“It’s time to fly, my Cloud Fliers. Gather our beasts for market. I’m taking my mate to a safer place.”

“A chosen one will be born to us soon,” Zenon yelled and the warriors cheered.

Cage was exhilarated. He had a new mate, he
was
worthy. His hooves pounded across the terrain as his warriors followed, all able to keep mere paces behind him. Cyra clung tight; he could hear her heart pound as her chest pressed to his withers. Her arms wrapped around his neck. She had no deep fear he could sense, but was filled with apprehension. She didn’t know it yet, but Cyra was going to be the best protected mate on the planet.

* * * *

Cyra slipped off Cage’s back. She loved the stallion he had changed into. His pace was perfect when he ran, his footing even. There was no fear of falling—yet. They stood on a precipice overlooking a chasm. Cyra couldn’t see the bottom. The warriors looked eager. Cyra wondered if Cage would turn into a huge flying beast and carry them all. When he turned to look at his men, they cheered. Cage took her into his arms.

Cyra wanted to faint when Cage stepped off the cliff onto a puffy white cloud. The cloud solidified beneath his feet. Cyra knew if Cage let go she would drop to her death. The cloud swirled around her feet in a mist.

“Oh my God, I’ve heard of things being lost in
the
cloud
but this is nuts,” Cyra said gasping for air.

“When you learn to trust me, the cloud will solidify. You will be a Cloud Flyer soon enough,” Cage said.

One by one, the warriors jumped to land on clouds which solidified immediately. All looked confident. Air pockets scooped the clouds higher. The skies filled with warriors as the praefuge flew beside.

“I don’t know if I would ever trust someone enough to jump off a cliff,” Cyra muttered.

Cage grinned at her. “You will know trust like you never have before. I promise. I’ll figure out something. You, my little mate, are going to make me work for it.”

“These clouds are like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

The skies were clear blue with the Cloud Flyers rising and falling behind them. A commando presence, enough to terrify any below—if they were on Earth. Cyra saw strength and confidence everywhere she looked.

“Folklore tells a story of the clouds being strong warriors. Look closely at the cloud beneath each warrior, Cyra. See, you can just make out the image of a large warrior’s biceps.”

The longer Cyra stared, the easier the image was to make out. Cage was right; the clouds had formed into the torsos of warriors. Cyra was riding wind waves. A slight breeze ruffled her long dark hair and picked up the tips of the skin she wore near her bottom. There was no way she would release Cage for modesty. There were no cat calls from the warriors; when she peeked around none were staring at her, all were flying face forward, looking eager. When she glanced at Cage, he was smiling at her.

“You are honored by my warriors. All have vowed to keep you safe. All I needed to do was declare you my mate. It’s done,” Cage said. “I should have known you were the one protecting my warriors from the toxins. Only some tribes have been affected and the mess was dumped closest to my tribe. I wonder if human females protect other tribes even from a distance.”

The idea was a revelation. Had she protected the warriors? If she had, it would mean they had her immune system for a reason. Was she a mother to the tribe? Gazing back behind her, she felt drawn to those who followed. It was a strange sensation.

There was something Cyra could feel urging her forward as well. A place she was drawn to. A feeling of home sickness tumbled her tummy for a moment before settling. Cage whispered she would be fine, nothing would dare harm her. Her world was so strange now. She reminded herself that on Earth there were things created on a daily basis no one had thought possible, amazing, wonderful creations. Why not flying clouds? Glancing around, it seemed perfectly natural in this environment.

Cyra relaxed against Cage as they flew higher. They were surfing through the skies. Cage’s legs bent at the knees to steady them. The air chilled and she shivered. She pressed her body closer to his warmth which radiated around her, warming her shivering form. He curled his chest against her.

“I don’t understand,” Cage said. “You shouldn’t be cold.”

“It’s not so bad with you surrounding me.”

“You need me. You will freeze without me. I understand now. You’re headstrong and willful; the Mountain of Creation has evened the odds to aid me. We are a perfect match.”

“What are you babbling about?”

“A normal mate for a tribe leader does what her mate says. You don’t. But there will be certain situations you will need me. You don’t trust me unconditionally as a mate should. I need to show you how to trust me.”

“You mean if I trust you I’ll be warm? That doesn’t make sense.”

“No, I don’t think trust has anything to do with warmth. It must be our females are built like their mates and able to take extreme weather conditions. I’ll have to be very careful with you, especially when the cold weather season comes. I understand now why you came to me clothed; it was the Mountain’s doing. To prepare me for your differences and to learn to adapt.”