Excessica Anthology BOX SET Winter (63 page)

“Goddess,
I hope you’re watching out over my hard-headed brother and her. They belong
together.”

* *
* *

Racing
through the forest, Shu followed the scent of Gregory. He was being quite
obvious in his scent trail. It enraged her further that he thought so poorly of
her that he was making it easy for her to find him.

“Slipping
aren’t you, Alpha? An enemy could easily find you.”

“I’m
not worried about an enemy, Mate.”

“I’m
not your Mate!”

“You
were warned if you shifted what would happen, Shu.”

Her
ears twitched as she heard the rush of fur and wind. When he sprung out of the
foliage, she vaulted into the trees overhead, her Jaguar heritage showing.
Running along the maze of branches she easily outdistanced him. A soft laugh
escaped her mind.

“It’s
going to take more than a pouncing game, Alpha, to claim me, for I am no
ordinary tiger.”

“Bitch!”
The affection in his voice was apparent along with his frustration.

“So
I’ve been told. You wanted this…me shifting and running wild for you. Well,
I’ve shifted and I’m running, but now it’s a battle to see if you can catch
me.”

*
* * *

Keeping
his eyes peeled, Gregory searched for the streak of white inside the trees.
I
should’ve expected her to take to the trees but one would think she would stick
out like a sore thumb with her white coat.

The
glimmer of white appeared in the corner of his eye. He rolled with her as she
landed on top of him. He scrambled to pin her under him but unlike tigresses he
had encountered in the past, she didn’t meekly give in because she was on her
back. Raking with her claws, she squirmed away and scrambled to her feet.

“Oh
no you don’t, Shu!”
He tackled her from behind. There was no way in hell he
was going to let her disappear into the trees again. Using his heavier weight,
he pressed her down against the damp earth. Clamping his mouth over her shoulder
he held her in place.
“Damn, why are you fighting me, when it’s obvious you
want me as much as I want you?”

“
I’m
not normal, Gregory. I’m a half breed…”

“There’s
nothing wrong with your breed. You’re beautiful and I want you.”

“But
you said…”

“That
we were going to your father’s. As much as it pains me, I’m not going to claim
you today. I’m going to take you to home and if you find yourself in this
position again, you’re going to be claimed.”

Lifting
and releasing her, he shifted back. In human form, he ran his hands over her
heaving tigress body. She looked up at him with her beautiful big blue eyes and
accepted his caresses. For the first time in her adult life she allowed, even
welcomed, another to explore her base form.

* *
* *

Brazil,
South America

Shu
stood between her father and his mate.
The dancing torches flickered
over the roughly hewn circle. Her mouth grew dry. Here was her own nightmare.
In the foliage surrounding the circle the gleam of hundreds of eyes reminded
her that the pack was present but watching from the shadows, waiting for her to
fail once more.

“Dad,
I don’t think I can…”

“Shu,
you can. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. Your man traveled half way
around the world to claim you…”

“So
he’s an easy bet. I don’t know why you’re so worried….” Maria’s snide remark
was cut short with a glare from her father.

“Despite
what my foolish mate thinks, daughter, you’ve nothing to be ashamed of. Go and
take your place in the circle. Don’t roll over passively because you think he’s
all you can have. Make him work for it. Make him earn the right to have you.”

She
nodded. Shedding her robe, she changed swiftly and walked calmly into the
circle. Her heart was thumping and she was keenly aware of the eyes staring at
her. A soft cough from her father started the mating ceremony. Gregory came to
the edge of the circle in his human form. Moving forward, he breached the inner
circle. Walking right up to her he knelt at her side. Touching her from head to
tail, he rubbed his hands over her.

“Mine.
Every inch of this beautiful tigress is mine.” With a blur he shifted so the
proud
Xiamen
tiger stood in his place. Letting out a roar, he let
everyone in the vicinity know of his claim. Rolling over to her back, she
exposed her tender belly to him. Leaning down, he gently left his mark on her
throat before urging her up. Urging her over to her father, they both stopped
in front of him.

Shu
changed back swiftly. At her side, Gregory shifted.

“Why,
daughter?” His question was obvious.

“To
you it may seem as if I let him claim me, Dad, but he won me long before I ever
entered any mating circle.”

“I
did?”

Looking
at her mate, she nodded. “Why fight a mate who has already shown me tenderness
when before I only have known pain and hurt? By letting me go when he had the
chance to mate me, he claimed my heart. I saw no reason to fight something I
wanted. If this brings disrespect to our pack, I apologize, but I am not a
Jaguar hybrid, nor am I a tiger hybrid. I’m simply Gregory’s mate.”

Her
dad’s voice was gruff when he answered. “There is no shame in taking what you
want, Shu. Perhaps this should be a lesson to all of us. Go with your mate now.
Celebrate your joining.” Turning away from his daughter and her mate, Enrique
addressed his pack. “She is Claimed!”

Loud
roars echoed over the forest.

* *
* *

Shu
gasped as Gregory pushed her back on the bed. Following her down, he pinned her
hands beside her head. Nuzzling her, he pressed his body against hers.

“Goddess,
I love your smell.”

“I
thought I told you I wasn’t going to be your personal cache of catnip.”

“So
you did but here you are lying naked in my arms. I love you, Shu. You were mine
from the moment I set eyes on you.” Pressing her hands above her head, he
whispered for her to leave them there.

Gripping
the pillow under her head, she clenched her fingers as his mouth slid down her
neck to her breasts. The fiery lash of his tongue over her straining peaks had
her panting.

“Please
Gregory!”

“I
am, Mate. Pleasing you is my pleasure.” He trailed open-mouthed kisses from her
breasts down to her stomach.

“Gregory?”
Her hesitation was apparent. “I don’t…”

“But
I do. I want to taste you. Now lie still and let me have my taste.” His growl
washed over her sensitive folds as he buried his face between her thighs.

“Oh
god!” She arched up, helpless against his sucking mouth. When he took her
swollen nub into his mouth and lashed it with his tongue, she exploded.
“Gregory!”

“Grrrr.”
The animalistic sound ripped from his chest as he scrambled up her form and
hooked her legs over his arms. Sliding fast and deep inside her he let out a
roar. Shu screamed as he forced her orgasm to continue. When she came back down
from her peak, she realized he was still hard as a rock inside her.

“Gregory?”

He
bared his teeth at her before jerking out of her. Rolling her on to her knees,
he entered her from behind.

“Mine,
Shu, all mine!” He began hammering against her, his balls slapping against her
as he surged in and out of her, now intent on his own release and dominating
the writhing woman under him.

She
cried out and bucked under him as pleasure, dark and tense wracked her body and
she never felt the change wash over her.“Oh…god…”

“Mine!”
He repeated before his change washed over him and he buried his fangs deep in
her shoulder.

Her
scream of pleasure echoed through the house followed by his grunt as they
spasmed against each other helplessly. As they sank down the bed collapsed
under their combined weight.

* *
* *

Shu
couldn’t help but laugh as she watched her mate try to repair her bed. Leaning
against up against her dresser, she tried to hide her smile each time he
glanced suspiciously in her direction.

Finally
frustrated he threw his hands up in the air. “Fuck it! We’re sleeping on the
floor, Shu.”

“Don’t
worry about it, Mate. When we return home, we’ll make sure we get a much better
supported bed. Or we’ll just have to tell our base forms they can’t romp around
on it.”

Walking
up to her, he gathered her in his arms. “Return home?”

Looking
up at him, she smiled. “This is my father’s home. My home is with you at the
Preserve. I’ve never felt any more at home there than I do in your arms. So in
the morning take me home.”

“Of
course, my mate,” he whispered against her head.

About
Dakota Trace

Dakota hails from the home state of the Hawkeyes, corn
and pigs. Surrounded by children’s laughter and the corn fields, she crafts her
stories. She enjoys writing romances and sci-fi/fantasy stories. She is a
romantic at heart, so even the sci-fi stories have an underlying romantic plot.
She started writing at the tender age of fourteen and hasn’t stopped since.
Although it is a mystery to most where she finds the time to write. Aside from
being a full time wife and mother, she also works the dreaded overnight shift
at a clothing company.

To find out more about Dakota visit her at
http://dakotatrace.wordpress.com/

MEDUSA

By Piers Anthony

Feeding
time. Erik brought the food for the captive alien creature. She was an elusive
marauder, caught mainly by chance; more than one man had died before a sample
specimen had been caught. Confined, she had been quiet, knowing she could not
get at him, but he remained careful. He set the severed haunch in the aperture
compartment, closed the outer gate, then drew the inner gate open.

Medusa
pounced on it, catching the projecting bone with her head tentacles that gave
her her name and hauling it onto the floor of her cage. She lay with her four
legs tucked under her body, out of play, their devastating claws not showing.
Her tentacles held the haunch firmly and fed the bony end into the circular
mouth orifice that irised just wide enough to take it in. There was a sound
vaguely like that of a meat-cutting saw as her circular teeth sliced into it.

Slowly
the bone disappeared into her mouth, guided by the tentacles. Erik knew that
the interior teeth were cutting off thin slices, so fine that the result was
virtually powder or liquid. She did not chew in the human manner, she shredded,
so that she could then swallow and digest the resulting mash. The process took
time, but what else did she have to do here?

The
rest of her food processing was different too. She had no bladder, no anus; her
wastes were processed by her feet. One for solids, another for liquid, a third
for gas, the last for heat. They could be used defensively, too, flinging out
turds, spraying corrosive liquid, blowing a choking stench, or applying a
burning paw. Medusa's captors had discovered such features the hard way. But
such weapons were not used indiscriminately; Erik himself had never been
threatened. Evidently she was aware that he was harmless.

She
finished the haunch and walked on the sand pit, doing her business. She could
eat and assimilate just about anything, whether meat, plant, or mineral, being
an omnivore. One reason they fed her well was so she wouldn't start chewing on
the walls or bars, as it were; she might discover a way to break out. That
would not be good, because she was a deadly predator, silent and swift. He was
learning increasing respect for her; she was a fine creature.

Then
he became aware that Medusa was paying as much attention to him as he was to
her. Her three eyes were fixed on him, triangulating in three dimensions. She
could see and hear precisely; he had noted the signs. What was in her alien
mind?

Erik
had been in nominal charge of her for the past month. He was what was
colloquially called a BEM aide: the person who fed and observed the specimens
here on the human outpost on Phew 114. The name was for Potentially Habitable
Earthstyle World, because of its gravity, temperature, atmosphere, and
background life. Soon it would be terraformed, which meant seeding by Earth
viruses, bacteria, fungus, lichen, and primitive plant and animal forms. They
would marginalize or eliminate existing life forms, making the planet suitable
for colonization by advanced life: human.

Mainly,
his job was dull. He had made most of his notes on the captive animal in the
first few days; after that he was just a kind of baby sitter, making sure she
was healthy and secure. He spent his time reading, playing computer games,
corresponding with friends back on Earth, and snoozing. Lonely, he had taken to
talking to Medusa as if she could understand, and reading aloud to her. She
seemed less restless when he did that. She was especially attentive when he
read erotic fiction; maybe he put more feeling into that.

“Medusa,
I wish you were a lovely willing human woman, instead of a vicious alien
beast,” Erik said rhetorically.

In
her barred cage, Medusa rolled onto her back and spread her limbs, like a dog
wanting a belly rub. But she was no dog. In fact she looked startlingly like a
nude human woman, with breasts and a furry genital region.

Erik
blinked, fearing he was hallucinating. He had been too long without a woman.
How could a tiger-like animal suddenly seem like a girl? She had not had such
body parts before. In fact she was considered female only because she lacked a
penis. Her kind evidently did not need such a member for urination, and
probably not for anything else.

Then
he stared. Not only did she have breasts, they were visibly expanding, while
her thick midsection was thinning into a girl-like waist. Her short limbs were
lengthening into humanly-proportioned arms and legs. Her feet were shaping into
hand-like extremities, with fingers and toes sporting delicate nails rather
than rending claws.

“Medusa,”
he said, awed. “You are shape-changing!”

“Mmmm,”
she agreed. It was more like a purr than a growl, the only vocal sound she
made.

His
jaw dropped. “You understand me!”

“Mmmm.”

“Medusa,
stop! If the authorities knew you could do either, they would destroy you
immediately.”

She
rolled back onto her feet, faced him, and nodded her head.

“You
do
understand me,” he said. “At least well enough to respond. You never
gave a hint before. Are you sapient?”

“Mmmm?”
She could do inflections, and he had learned to pick up on them.

“Sapient:
having human intelligence and judgment. Smart. Savvy. Knowing what's what.”

She
shook her head.

“Not
as smart as I am, but smarter than an animal?”

She
nodded.

“Why
are you letting me know, after concealing it until now?”

She
was silent. He realized that the question was too complicated for her to
answer, since she couldn't talk.

He
tried again. “You have a reason to tell me?”

She
nodded.

“Your
welfare is affected?”

She
was silent. Too complicated again. But he was able to simplify it by breaking
it down into more specific concepts. He had to clarify words and rephrase
often, but they were making progress on a dialogue.

“Is
someone treating you badly?”

Head
shake.

He
got an idea. “You can hear things, not just in this room?”

Nod.

“You
learned our language by listening?” He had given her a lot to listen to.

Nod.

“You
heard something that made you decide?”

Nod.

“Is
there danger?”

No
reaction.

“Is
there danger for us—for human beings?”

No.

“For
you?”

Yes.

Now
he was getting there. “There is a threat to you?”

Yes.

“And
I can help?”

Yes.

“Do
you want me to make a complaint on your behalf?”

No.

“Medusa,
I am really just an observer. I have no authority. I represent HETA, Humans for
the Ethical Treatment of Aliens. The military folk let me work here because
they want to show that they are not mistreating alien captives. I am trying to
understand you and the other specimens. If I make a ruckus, they will simply
ship me out. I do want to help you, but I have to be careful. I need to be very
sure of my facts. What exactly is the threat?”

Medusa
did not respond. But further dialogue zeroed in on it. The base was going to be
closed in a few days. Because of the coming terraforming. He had not realized
that it would be so soon.

“And
that means they will probably destroy the study specimens,” he concluded.
“Because they won't have the time or money or inclination to return them to
their places of origin. That dooms you.”

Yes.

“Medusa,
I can't just let you out. This planet is doomed. It has air and gravity
compatible with Earth life; that's why the base is here, and why you are here
for observation. But outside this base it is going to be burned off and
reseeded. You would soon die.”

Yes.

“Then
what?”

And
in due course he came to it: she wanted him to help her return to her own kind.
Because otherwise she and they would die. She was trusting him with the secret
of her intelligence and her ability to shift her form, and asking for his help.

“Medusa,
this is impossible! They will not let me simply lead you out of here, let alone
let you board a spaceship, assuming there were a refuge for you on some other
planet. I can't just buy tickets for two and escort you there the way I could
for a woman. You're an alien creature!”

She
lay on her back and spread her legs. Her torso was now startlingly humanoid,
with full breasts and thighs. He realized that she was emulating the nude
figure on the girlie calendar he had put on the wall, and doing it remarkably
well.

Medusa
was trying to seduce him into helping her. The thought repelled him. Yet as he
looked at her, he also felt a certain guilty temptation. She was trying to be
human-sexy, and he had not seen an available young human woman in months, let
alone had sex with one. There were only the matronly officer's wives, and
prostitutes he couldn't afford.

It
was of course impossible. Yet he appreciated her need to try to save herself.
Were she a human woman captive, sex with a guard would be an obvious idea. Men
would do just about anything for sex. How well he knew it! She was thoroughly
alien, but perhaps her mind worked similarly in this respect. Had her captors
been male monsters of her species, it would have been a fair ploy.

He
spoke at length, knowing she would not understand every word but should get the
essence. “Medusa, I think I understand you. You want to survive, and you are
prepared to do what it takes to make it possible. Even if it means prostituting
yourself to a horrible alien male, which is what I surely seem to you. You have
made your point. I will try to help you. Not for sex, but because you are
nearly sapient, and it would be wrong to let you die. But there are things you
need to understand. This must be secret. If the human authorities knew you were
sapient, they would not only destroy you, they would send a warship to this
planet to extirpate your entire species. The relatively gentle terraforming
process would be put on hold, in favor of habitat annihilation. Because humans
are essentially xenophobic. We don't want to tolerate any competitive species
who might theoretically make war against us and possibly eliminate us. We
assume others are like us, so we expect mindless violence from them. I'm
personally different, because I'm with HETA. We value aliens, and would love to
discover alien sapience and safeguard it from harm. Maybe someday this will be
standard for everyone. But right now, no one else must know. You do
understand?”

She
understood. In fact, that was why she had contacted him, picking up on his
special orientation. It was a remarkably savvy choice.

“I
doubt this will work, but we have to try,” he said. “We must make you emulate a
human woman so well it will fool others, at least for long enough. But this
will be a challenge, and we don't have a lot of time.”

She
understood.

Erik
considered. “First I need to know exactly what I have to work with. Do you have
any other abilities you haven't shown me yet?”

She
did not move, but she changed. Her color had been tawny; now it shifted to
brown, then to black. And on to red, green, blue, and white.

“You're
a chameleon!” he exclaimed. “You can change your color!” Then he reconsidered.
“But can you do two colors at once?”

Her
hide faded to white in stripes, and intensified to black in the spaces. She was
almost like a zebra. Then she became a tapestry of colored blotches. He knew
that the only Earthly creature with ability like this was the cephalapod: the
squids.

“One
more thing. Can you do a picture?”

The
calendar girl formed on her skin, in full color.

“And
you never showed this to any human being before me,” he said, awed.

The
picture faded to the original tawn.

He
realized that a predator like this might be able to emulate the prey it
stalked. A panther mixing with the herd of deer. Presumably she could control
her odor too.

But
how could they have captured her? She could have emulated a dog or even a
person, and faded from notice. But he thought he had the answer: colors were
fast, but a full emulation needed everything together. A shift of form required
redistribution of flesh and bone, and that could not be hurried. She must have
been caught by surprise, and unable to shift without revealing her ability to
do so. So she had remained in the form she was at the moment, with its
limitations. It was better than getting killed as a devil thing.

Now
she was revealing herself to him, because the alternative was to die when they
closed the base. She was trusting him out of desperation. But he was not
desperate; the closing of the base would simply send him back to Earth; could
he trust her? Because were he in her cage, she could kill him in an instant.

“Medusa,”
he said carefully. “You are trusting me because at worst I will betray you and
you will be killed. That's the same fate you face otherwise. You are not really
gambling. But how can I trust
you
?”

She
lay on her back, showing her open torso again. It was almost perfect now,
supremely sexy.

“No.
You are offering me sex. It would be no good if I got into the cage with you,
and you killed me. I can't help you unless I can trust you not to attack me the
moment you have the chance.”

She
considered a moment. Then she got to her feet. She stood against the bars of
the cage, facing him, pressing her torso forward. Her breasts projected
through, to a degree, and her crotch was accessible. It would be possible to
put his penis into her without entering the cage.

“Medusa—”
he protested.

She
let go of the bars with her paws, but kept her body touching. She thought he
was afraid she would claw him. Indeed, that was possible, but that would merely
warn him of her treachery and end their association. He was sure she would not
strike unless by doing so she could escape the cage, and then the base. No, his
objection was the idea of having sex with an animal.