Untamable Lover (Worlds of Lemuria: Earth Colony Book 2) (2 page)

When they were done, they rolled him onto his back. As if he needed any more humiliation, they washed his groin. He endured the cleaning as best he could. What choice did he have? Soft hands retied the string at his hip, covering his maleness and giving him a modicum of privacy.

“He looks so peaceful. I wonder how he got those scars,” Til asked.

“I doubt we’ll ever know,” Bet replied.

“Should we trim his beard?” 

“Aramie likes to shave his face and clip his goatee. We’ll leave that for her.” 

A pleasant warmth spread through his body. Aramie, his second in command, had spent quite a bit of time by his side, taking care of him. Her constant chatter had helped ease the loneliness. 

When Til spoke, her words were soft, quiet. “Really? Isn’t that interesting.”  

Silence filled the room.

Bet cleared her throat. 

“What? I was just admiring. He’s a handsome male in a rugged sort of way.” 

“That’s enough. Time to go.
Now.
We’ll come back later and change his sheets.” 

“Okay—” 

Smooth fingers pulled the sheet up and tucked the soft material around his shoulders. The towel was removed from beneath his head. Now that the bath was done, his racing heart slowed back to its normal pace. 

Water sloshed and a squeaky wheel crossed near the foot of his bed. Clothing rustled and soft footsteps padded toward the exit. As the door opened, a cool breeze blew across his face. He relished how it tingled his skin. A desire to go with them rose to the forefront of his mind, but he couldn’t and that burned deep in his gut. The door closed behind them, and he was left alone with only his tortured thoughts to keep him company. 

Chapter Two

Aramie scanned the training facility, searching for her next opponent. Several Panthera males and a few females worked out either alone or in groups. The room stank of sweat, assailing Aramie’s sensitive nose. Her jaw flexed. It was only a matter of time before one of the males challenged her, again. 

As Demir’s second in command, she’d assumed the tenuous role of interim Pride leader. Even though she and her sister had been with the Pride less than a year, she’d risen in the ranks through sparring match wins and her impressive number of Gossum kills. She refused to relinquish her authority, and she’d had to fight a few males to remind them why she’d earned her position. 

Although she had the ability to lead this ragtag group, she ached to find a cure for Demir. Her chest tightened. Demir continued to deteriorate. Her Pride leader still looked healthy, but his organs were slowly shutting down. 

Gaetan, the Keep’s
Haelen
, had analyzed the empty dart casing. He’d found nothing but untainted, ancient water. The old healer had exhausted all of his options trying to find out how that had put Demir in a coma, but so far nothing had worked. He continued to give Demir fluids on a regular basis, but Demir wouldn’t last much longer. 

Tension tightened Aramie’s insides, clenching her stomach into a ball. Aramie wouldn’t give up—she couldn’t imagine life without her Pride leader. Biting the inside of her cheek, she headed for the closest rack of weights and grabbed a twenty pound dumbbell in each hand. She lifted the load, silently counting the number of hammer curls.

Sidea walked into the room. Aramie relaxed, the tension leaving her chest.

“Hey, sis!” Sidea approached, her wide smile brightening Aramie’s mood. “Got your message you wanted to talk. What’s up?” 

Aramie placed the weights back on the rack and glanced around the room. No one seemed to notice them. Adrenaline surged through her bloodstream as her excitement got the better of her. She stepped closer to her younger sister and lowered her voice. “I ran into Ginnia in the Hall of Scriptures. She showed me an ancient text describing a place called Blue Pool. The scripture spoke of a sacred blue sunstone, one that might heal Demir.”

Sidea gripped Aramie’s arm. “That’s fabulous. Where is this place?”

“That’s the problem, no one knows.”

Her sister’s shoulders slumped, but she gave Aramie a slight smile. “You want to look, anyway, don’t you?”

Aramie couldn’t stop her own smile as it tugged at her lip. “You know me so well. The description leading to Blue Pool sounds familiar—we have to try.”

“When are we leaving?”

“I wish we could go immediately, but the sun’s still out. We’d burn to a crisp if we left now.” Aramie exhaled. “It irritates me that we’re forced to be night creatures. We leave at nightfall.” 

Sidea wrapped her arm around Aramie’s shoulder and leaned in. Her breath tickled the back of Aramie’s neck, sending a chill over her shoulders. “Perfect. Until then, we should burn off some energy. Kitani and Jonue look like they need a good spar. You interested?” 

Aramie scanned the small crowd of warriors in the training center. In the far corner, Kitani and Jonue seemed focused on their tasks. Jonue was in the midst of a push-up, her hands and toes pressed firmly against the mat. 

Kitani held a large weight in each hand. She raised them to her shoulders and pushed the heavy metal over her head. When she moved, the thin shoulder strap on her shirt revealed the scarred puncture wounds at the base of her throat—the sign of a mated female.

She caught Aramie’s gaze. Her eyes brightened and a smile crossed her face. She lowered the weights, patted Jonue on the shoulder, and pointed at Aramie. Both females jogged over.

“Sidea, check out these muscles.” Jonue flexed her bicep and winked. 

Sidea squeezed Jonue’s arm and nodded. “Nice, very impressive.”

“Aramie, I beat one of the males in a sparring match today.” Kitani’s breaths came hard and fast, evidence of her recent workout.

Aramie’s chest expanded at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Good. You’re ready to go on patrol.” 

“You’ve both come a long way.” Sidea beamed at Jonue and Kitani. “Watch out Gossum, here they come!”

Kitani’s laugh reverberated off the stone walls. As she calmed, her focus riveted to the entryway. Her laughter ceased, her smile faltered.

A couple of males stood at the entrance to the training center, Leon and Hallan—Kitani’s and Jonue’s mates. Hallan had deep-set brown eyes partially hidden behind his furrowed brow, disapproval in his stark stare.

Leon was slender with well-defined muscles in his chest and arms. Long braided hair fell over his shoulder. His gaze narrowed, and his eyes turned into slits. He stalked toward his mate. 

Kitani stiffened. 

Leon clenched her arm, yanking Kitani to him with a swift pull. “I told you not to train. How dare you disobey me.” 

Aramie squared her shoulders and took a step toward him. “Stop! Let her go.” 

Hallan stood next to Jonue and placed his hand on her shoulder to show his possession of her. The sunstones lining the walls brightened, heating the room as the Keep reacted to the tension emanating from the group.

Leon’s fingers dug into Kitani’s skin. She inhaled through gritted teeth, but didn’t cry out. 

He sized up Aramie, his gaze raking over her body. A pointed tooth glinted from his curled lip. 

Indignation coiled in Aramie’s stomach. How dare he bare his fang to her. 

He loosened his grip on his mate. With a slow, predatory gait, he approached Aramie. “Mated females shouldn’t spar. Your decree goes against Demir’s will and our tradition.” He spat on the ground at her feet. “I won’t abide by your decision. Kitani won’t train.” 

Hallan nodded. “Neither will Jonue.” 

The hair on the back of her neck rose. She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward. “Females should have the right to choose whether they fight or not. As leader of this Pride, I make the rules. You have no choice but to follow.”

The other males stopped their training to watch the scene unfold. With hushed whispers and pointed fingers, they stepped out of the way. 

Leon stared her down. “I challenge you for the right to lead this Pride.”

At almost twice her size he outweighed her, but she was the alpha. After her mother had abandoned her and Sidea, she’d honed her battle skills defending herself from males like him. If he wanted to take her on, let him try. The release of pent-up energy would be good for her. 

She smiled, showing her fangs in a display of dominance. “I’m all yours.” 

Leon backed up, the muscles in his arms taut with tension. He pounced, shifting into his panther form. His sleek, black coat glinted in the light, and his eyes were slits of amber. She followed suit, the dark pants and shirt she’d worn absorbed beneath her fur. They collided in mid-air, claws and teeth glinting in the light. 

He ripped into her skin with his razor-sharp claws. Pain radiated up her arm and into her shoulder, but she ignored it. She bit him on the ear, her teeth sinking into the soft tissue. His eerie howl echoed around the chamber, and the scent of blood mixed with the stale odor of sweat. As they landed on their feet, they broke apart.

He circled her, his predatory gaze focused, determined. 

Aramie waited. This male favored his right side. 

Just as she expected, his body tensed, and he attacked from the right. She slipped under him, scratching his belly, leaving a trail of four lacerations from her knife-like claws. He snarled a feral cry of rage and bit her on the flank, his teeth sinking into her tender flesh.

The sharp sting caused her to flinch, but she wouldn’t let that affect her. Cold and calculating, she contained her anger, using the added energy to track her prey. She stalked him this time, staring him down. 

He bared his teeth. 

A soft chuckle bubbled up from one of the males to her left. 

In the fraction of a second Leon turned to look, she attacked. Barreling into him, she knocked him over. With her preternatural speed, she straddled him and closed her teeth around his throat. 

He stilled.

She didn’t move, but maintained her position of dominance over him. Fast breaths heaved in and out of her nostrils. Her heart pounded from the exertion. She closed her jaw another inch, tightening her hold on Leon’s throat. He mewled and changed into his human form, his clothes fitting back to his body.

She released him and transformed as well. Still straddling the humiliated male, she leaned in and stared into his eyes. “I am Pride leader until Demir regains consciousness.”

In a sign of submission, he lowered his eyes and placed the bridge of his nose under her chin. Now that she’d secured another victory, the males would think twice before challenging her anytime soon.

She fisted his shirt and dragged him to a standing position.

Leon’s shoulders slumped forward, and he backed up, out of her way. He made eye contact, and hatred, hot and deep reflected in their depths. “When Demir wakes, you’ll be lucky if he doesn’t kick you out of the Pride.”

A tendril of fear snaked its way into her heart.
He might be right.
If that happened, she and her sister would be on their own once more. She raised her chin, unwilling to let him know his words had hit a soft spot. “Do you wish to challenge me, again?”

His eyes narrowed, and he held her gaze. A small smile curved at the corner of his mouth. “I have better things to do.” 

He turned his attention to Kitani and pointed his finger at his mate. “This isn’t over between us.” He visibly clenched his jaw then headed out the door. 

Hallan raced after Leon, but the look he gave Jonue could’ve melted stone.

A chill ran over Aramie’s arms. By training the mated females to fight, she’d done what she thought was right, even if it went against Demir’s rule. Although part of the mating ritual, she’d never believed in the practice of females submitting to their mates and it was one of the reasons why she’d stayed single for so long. Submitting was so old-fashioned, left over from the days before the great scourge, when the females could still bear children. In Aramie’s eyes, mated Panthera should be equal. 

Kitani pursed her lips and glanced at Aramie. “Thanks for standing up for me.”

Aramie gave her a brief nod.

 “He’ll be a bear to deal with later, but I know how to handle him.” Kitani winked at her then raced after her mate. 

Aramie’s chest constricted. Challenging Leon’s dominance would strain Leon and Kitani’s relationship. Hopefully, the mated pair could work through their issues.

Jonue hugged Aramie. “I better go, too. Hallan’s a bit more understanding, but even he’s having a hard time with this. Thank you for helping us break through the old ways.”

Her friend patted Sidea on the shoulder before heading toward the exit.

Leon’s threat rang in Aramie’s ears. What would happen if Demir regained consciousness? Would he kick her out of the Pride? She didn’t know, but she’d rather find out than lose him forever. After watching her mother submit to male after male then run away, Aramie had vowed never to follow in her footsteps.
I will never become a mated female.

Now that the spectacle was over, the other males returned to their workouts. The tense atmosphere dissipated and loud, male banter filled the room. 

Sidea ran her fingers along Aramie’s arm. “Hey, you did great. Only a few scratches, pretty impressive.” 

“Leon has been itching to challenge me ever since Demir—” She couldn’t finish her sentence. Her throat was too tight.

“Sis, it’s ok. We’ll be out of here in a few hours. We’ll find Blue Pool and that sacred stone.” Sidea’s eyes gleamed with pride and respect. She glanced around the room. “Besides, these males need a good kick in the pants once in a while. I love to watch you do it.”

Aramie couldn’t help smiling. Sidea had a way of bringing out the best in others. Maturing while on the run without the protection of a Pride had turned them into formidable warriors and close siblings. What would she do without her sister at her side? A cool breeze raised goosebumps on her arm. She suppressed an unsettling shiver.

Chapter Three

Strong fingers massaged Demir’s scalp, pushing shampoo through his shoulder-length hair. The soapy water, mixed with Aramie’s unique strawberry fragrance, relaxed him to the point of bliss. He didn’t like being touched by others, but something about Aramie’s fingers made him give in and unwind. Not that he could move, but he could still feel, and her touch lit a fire under his skin.