Lyrie

 

F ootsteps approached the small, dark, refuse-strewn cave where I cowered.

I cowered?

Shivers wracked my frame, and my heart pounded like a herd of pillions against my ribcage.

Because I was me, but not me.

I was something else.

“Sweetheart?” Khal murmured from the cave’s entrance.

Funny how the endearment would’ve passed through me like heat on a summer’s day in my old life. Why had he used it?

Bent over to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling, he came closer. He extended his hand, as if I was a wild beast who needed to be tamed.

Perhaps I was.

Clenching my teeth, I resisted the urge to rear back, spread my wings, and challenge him with my teeth and claws.

No, the urge didn’t come from me. She wanted to do this. My griffin. She didn’t trust anyone.

She didn’t trust Khal.

Khal knelt down beside me, and I was surprised to only see compassion on his face, concern in his amber eyes.

How could he look at me this way when I had turned into a monster?

“First time changing sucks, huh?” he said. Pivoting on his heel, he lowered himself onto the ground beside me with a groan, and rested his back against the stone wall.

Changing.

I was not a shifter. I was…Only the gods knew what I was.

“Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?”

My exhale was the only sound I seemed capable of delivering, but Khal nodded, as if he knew I agreed.

“Didn’t realize you had Aaidarian blood, sweetheart,” he said, squinting up at the ceiling.

Near the walls, wints swayed in the soft breeze skirting through the cave, chittering when the movement caused one to bump into another.

When I tried to speak—to deny his statement, because I was one-hundred-percent Glian—only a snarl came out.

He tilted his head, studying my agitated movements. “You must have some blood, long in your family’s past, or you wouldn’t be in this…predicament.”

Growling out my agreement, I lowered my head onto my hands—paws. I had large, light brown-furred paws. With lethal-looking claws. I liked them; they made me feel…safe.

Somewhere deeper within the cave’s system, water trickled, a rippling gurgle as it sped down walls and along flat, stony surfaces, until it joined with other small streams, becoming part of a larger river.

How had I not known about these caves? Or that there was this much water down here? In the desert, water was more precious than ebony gypsa.

“Remember it like it was yesterday,” Khal said, resting his palms on his bent knees. “The first time I changed, I was a puny, thirteen-year-old kid.”

I huffed. Sort of huffed, because I had a hard time believing this solidly built man had ever been puny. Actually, my huff came out like a rumbling growl, because I couldn’t control my tongue or refine the sounds that erupted from my throat.

Not yet, anyway. Would I ever?

“It hits us in puberty,” he said. “At least little kids don’t have to deal with it, although those of us who come from mixed parentage are super curious about what we’ll change into and rather eager to have the change come upon us so we can find out.”

Shifting around on my haunches, I settled on my side to watch his face as he spoke.

His gaze cut to me, but instead of revulsion or judgment, I read acceptance there. Knowing he understood meant…Well, had anyone ever accepted my bad as well as my good?

One or two people in my family, maybe, but no one else.

The fear that had been overwhelming me stepped back a pace, letting rational thought take over. My wings settled against my spine, and my fur unruffled.

“But before we…talk more, I guess I should help you change back into the Lyrie I’ve come to know and…” He swallowed. “To know, anyway. A human woman.”

Know and…? I shouldn’t ache to know what he’d almost said.

“On Aaidar, we learn the mechanics of shifting from the time we’re cubs—” He cut a glance to me, “—but I don’t imagine they teach you anything about how we shift, not here on Glia.”

The only things I knew about shifting, I’d learned from books.

“I’ll keep it simple. It’s really not hard to change back into your human form.”

Easy for him to say.

“You just think hard about your fur turning back into skin, your paws into hands, and your tail—” Leaning forward, he stared toward my back end, “Yup, you’ve got a tail.”

Of course, I did. I was a griffin. A mix of a lioness and another creature—in my case, perhaps a bird, because I had wings. Although, I didn’t have talons or a beak. While I couldn’t see my own image, I knew my face was that of a lioness’s. Maybe I wasn’t a mix of a lioness and a bird, but a lioness and a dragon.

I liked that. Dragons ripped their enemies apart.

“So, do it, Lyrie,” Khal said. “Think about skin, hands, the pretty face I’ve been thinking about for days.” He coughed and looked away, as if he’d said something he shouldn’t have.

He thought me pretty, did he? And he’d been watching me? Intriguing notions, but he probably meant he’d been unable to look away, due to my colorful bruises and my crooked nose that had been broken not long after they’d captured me.

Nothing pretty in any of that.

“Do it,” he said again, swinging around to face me. “Think about what you were before and tell yourself you want to be that again.”

Did I, though? In this shape, I’d fought off an enemy.

In human form, I could barely defend myself against a teromotan.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back to being helpless Lyrie. While frightening, my griffin form was growing on me. Inside me.

“You can stay in your griffin shape for as long as you want,” he said, as if he’d picked my uncertainty from my mind. “But the longer you remain in this form, the harder it will be to shift back. When we first gain the ability to change in puberty, we’re only allowed to become our beast for short periods of time. There are stories about shifters who…” He paused and directed his attention down to the cave floor. “Well, that’s something to talk about on a different day.”

If I stayed in this form, I could find my way out of the caves and fly free. Find my way home.

Home.

Which wasn’t my real home. The Resistance had settled in a cave system far out in the desert, but it wasn’t the place where I grew up. The home where I’d sunk my roots. Roots that had been yanked from the soil when we were driven from our cities and into a wasteland.

But what remained of my family was there, now. North. They’d welcome me.

Not in this form.

Yet still, I didn’t want to be human-Lyrie anymore. She had nothing to live for.

“Do it for me?” he asked in a low, coaxing tone. “I want—no, I need you. Change for me?”

Did he understand the lure of my griffin form? It had wrapped itself around my heart in a warm, snug embrace. It didn’t want to let go.

Think. Hands. Skin. Bones in an upright, human shape.

Focusing on my paws, I thought, hands…and by the gods, they started to change.

Khal leaned forward. “Yes. That’s it. More. Let the thought fill every cell in your body.”

The moment my fingernails emerged, they receded.

Hells, no.

As much as I wanted to flee after tearing my enemies apart—starting with Hartlin—Khal didn’t want me to remain a griffin forever.

He stroked my face. My neck. My side. “I know you can do it.”

Maybe I did have something—someone—to be human for.

“Keep trying,” he said.

Closing my eyes, I urged everything inside me to change. Fire coursed through my body, searing each muscle, tendon, and bone.

My fur withdrew, and skin took its place.

Rising onto my hands and knees, I closed my eyes and gave into the exquisitely painful process. I let it roar through me.

“Damn good job,” he said. He rubbed my shoulder. “Should’ve mentioned that you’d be naked after, though, huh?”

I half-chuckled, half-sobbed as I settled back on my butt. My human butt. Staring down at my hands, I flipped them over. No paws.

Cold sunk up into me from the ground, and I shivered partly from reaction, partly because it was damn frigid down here.

“Come on,” he said, taking my hand, urging me up and onto his lap.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck, and huddled against his chest as his arms enfolded me. He rested his chin on top of my head.

“I think changing back hurts less than becoming my cheetah,” he murmured. “But others might disagree about the whole thing.”

Inane words, but his lulling voice stilled my quivering flesh. I took in a deep breath. Released it. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Leaning back, he looked down at me.

“For understanding. And for helping me.”

“There’s not much I wouldn’t do for you, Lyrie.” The break in his voice told me he bared everything to me.

My heart splintering, I was beginning to think I felt the same, despite the fact that he’d pushed me away in his cell.

Had there been a reason other than a lack of interest in me?

When had all this caring crap started to happen? As if I’d only be happy if I made him happy. I didn’t like feeling this way, because it exposed all my vulnerabilities. Loving someone meant they could hurt you.

I’d be stupid to let myself need him.

We stood, and I huddled my arms around my waist, struggling to hold in my quakes.

“Here,” he said, unbuttoning and pulling off his shirt. He held it out to me. “You can wear this.”

I stuffed my arms through the sleeves and buttoned it up. While it covered the important parts, it only hung to mid-thigh. But it was warm, and it smelled…It smelled like Khal.

Since we couldn’t stand upright here, we left my tiny cave.

“When you shift next time,” he said. “I recommend stripping first.”

“That’ll be fun.” I cocked my head, unable to imagine the looks on my family’s faces if I yanked my shirt over my head and tossed aside my undies. “Do shifters just fling off their clothing whenever and wherever they please?”

“I do.”

I snorted and shook my head. “Does Hartlin…?”

“Does he what?” he asked.

“Do you think they know I can shift?”

He shrugged. “Hard to say.”

Smoothing my hair, I frowned. “Why wouldn’t they?” With all the vials of blood they’d drained from me, it would be strange if they hadn’t checked for something unusual inside me. DNA? I wasn’t medically trained, but I’d had a good education.

“Would they give you free rein if they thought you could shift and fight back?” He waved to the larger cave system behind him. “It would be a bitch trying to track a shifter down here.”

Finding me would take another shifter. Like the one who’d come after me earlier.

I growled. “They put me down here and sent a man after me. A shifter.”

Khal stiffened. “You get a good look at him?”

“All of him. He was naked. And he tried…”

Khal gripped my upper arms and stared down at me, his face cratered with concern. “What did he do?”

“He tried to rape me.”

Releasing me, Khal stormed a few steps away, before turning. “It can’t be. You sure he…”

“His erection, let alone his words, ‘I’m going to fuck you,’ kinda gave him away.”

“Sorry. I don’t doubt you if you say he tried. It’s just that…”

“What?”

“There aren’t many shifters on Glia.”

He must mean his friends who now lived with the Resistance. “Maybe the Regime hired another battalion from Aaidar?”

Face clearing, he came over to stand in front of me again, a relieved half-smile quirking one side of his lips.

“Must be.” He glanced around. “He’s gone, though. I don’t hear or sense anyone down here but us.”

“I shifted, and he took off.”

Khal’s smile became full. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him happy, but I liked it. I could get used to seeing his grin directed my way.

“You make a pretty awesome griffin,” he said. “I can only imagine what the guy thought when you changed in front of him. Your wings…” He shook his head and chuckled.

“Will you teach me how to do it so it’s easy? I don’t like that it just happened.” That I was out of control. There were many here in this compound I’d gladly seek vengeance on, but I’d escape the compound, no matter what. What if I shifted once I was back at the Resistance stronghold and hurt someone I loved? I couldn’t bear for that to happen.

“You shifted because you were angry. Our beasts can sense when we’re in danger. They rise up and force a shift to protect us. It’s instinctual.” He rubbed my back. “It takes time and practice, but we’ll work on it until shifting feels seamless. Here or…”

Gods willing, not always here.

But I couldn’t imagine being able to become my griffin at will. To control the wonderful creature inside me. Head tilted, I stared up at him. “Are griffins common on Aaidar?” He’d only mentioned great cats.

“None that I’m aware of.” He took my hand and sat, pulling me back down onto his lap. It felt different being close to him with clothing on.

I’d rather feel his skin pressed against mine.

I shoved the thought away before it could swirl through me like liquid fire.

“My arm—” One of the guards had broken it. Badly. But now, it felt like nothing had ever happened. “You reset and wrapped it, but there’s no way I healed that fast.”

“Cats do.” He lifted my arm and carefully turned it over, studying it. “Because our bones elongate and grow, the calcium is redistributed. Shifting must’ve finished the healing process for you.”

Wow.

“I still don’t understand how I can shift.” I said. “My family has been Glian since the beginning of time.”

“Someone in your past must’ve mixed with an Aaidarian.”

Gnawing on a fingernail, I scowled. “It’s impossible.”

“As impossible as you being able to shift into a griffin.”

Which we both knew was my new reality. My shoulders fell, and I leaned into him again.

“Does it bother you?” A thread of sharpness edged into his voice.

“Shifting into a griffin?”

“That, and…”

I centered my chin. “I’m proud of my heritage. That means all of my origins.”

“That’s a good thing. Especially now, because…”

Pulling back in his embrace, I frowned up at him. “Why especially now?”

His amber gaze darted away, before narrowing on my face. “They sent me down here for a purpose.”

Something in his expression, and in his tone, made me realize I hadn’t asked him how he’d found me. Or why he was free to stroll through the caves on his own. Let alone why we were both free and not locked up in chains.

He raked his hair. “I’ve got to get you pregnant. As soon as possible.” One eyebrow lifted. “Now, if you’re up for it.”

Ah, of course. “It’s our only chance of escaping the compound, isn’t it?”

“If we do it, we buy time. A few days, at most, between when they test our hormones to make sure we did it, and then test you to see if it took.”

Needing distance between us—between my heart and his—I climbed from his lap.

When I said I’d fuck him days ago, I’d seen it as a task to get over with. But a jumble of emotions were scrambling inside me, making me feel all mixed up and confused.

In some ways, I was the person I’d been before my capture. But I was also the Lyrie who’d struggled to survive in this harsh prison. Plus, the woman who, despite my best intentions, was falling for Khal.

How in hell had I let it happen?

I stalked away from him, crossing the large chamber before striding back over to stand before him, trembling.

He’d risen, and he watched me intently. Not pushing or making demands. Just letting me be the one in control. He must’ve decided I didn’t want to be with him, because he said, “It’s okay. I won’t force you.”

Funny how the other guys I’d been with had been more than eager to drop on top of me and shove themselves inside. Yet Khal, who could make his own life easier by talking me into this, was still willing to let it go and take whatever punishment they delivered.

Fuck. Love. Yes, that’s what the emotion surging inside me was. Even knowing the feeling was lethal.

But I’d never turned my back on danger.

He nodded slowly, as if he’d seen something revealing in my face. “I get it.”

“I don’t think you do.” Stepping forward, I placed my hands on his shoulders. “I want this. But I also want more than just to be fucked. I need…”

“I need it, too.”

Though he cut me off, the widening of his pupils sent a secret thrill through me, because it gave me hope. Not for a future, because the odds of us getting out of here alive were next to none.

But maybe he wanted to face whatever came next together.

Heat rising inside me, I pulled his head down and kissed him.

His tongue parted the seam of my lips and dove inside. Hands sliding up my waist, he cupped me through my clothing. My breasts seemed to strain to reach him. And, when he pinched my nipples, I mewed.

Pivoting us around, he backed me into the wall.

Some emotion—undefined but greedy—grew inside me. I moaned when he pressed himself against me. His cock, more solid than the granite below my feet, strained against his pants. To think, as beat up as I was right now, that I could attract this man.

A shifter. Like me.

He lifted his head and stared down at me, his pupils almost eclipsing his amber eyes. “You sure?”

“I want you, Khal. Now.” Emitting gasps of anticipation, I undid his pants and slid them down his hips, over his butt. He stepped forward and stood before me, more gorgeous than any man I’d seen in my life. His cock thrust against his belly.

He was stunning.

Absolutely perfect.

And mine, if only for this moment.

The broad expanse of his naked chest begged for my touch. I slid my fingertips across his nipples, and he tilted his head back and groaned before reaching for my shirt.

In seconds, I was naked again, and I kicked the fabric aside.

Moving close to him, I slid my fingers down his chest.

His eyes followed my hand as it moved across his abs. I cupped his cock. His body twitched and shook. Groaning, he closed his eyes, tipped his head back, and leaned into my touch.

I slid my hand down his huge length, gripping and tightening. I squeezed my way back to the tip, where I stroked him.

“I need you,” I said, ache filling my voice. I wanted what he’d given me before with a thirst that could not be slaked. “Please.”

His hand slid between my legs, sliding along my clit. He pinched the bud at the top and rubbed in circles. Leaning back against the cave wall, I almost came undone. It was all I could do to focus on sliding my hand up and down his cock.

When his fingers dove inside me, I moaned and writhed. Damn, it felt good.

I gasped and his fingers moved faster. My mind spun out of control. Breath coming faster, I spread my legs wide and arched up as he pushed inside.

A coil spun tight inside me, threatening to burst through my skin.

“Now,” I said. “Don’t drive me over the edge alone.” Not again. Be there with me, this time.

He pulled his fingers out, and I clung to him. Hands feverish, he spun me around and urged me down onto the floor on my hands and knees. He dropped down behind me and cupped my hips. The tip of his cock—his hard, solid, enormous cock—parted my slit.

“Yes,” I breathed, trying to push backward. I wanted this, wanted him impaling me to the hilt.

Everything inside me twitched with anticipation.

Mumbling my name, he moved forward, one exquisite inch at a time.

My flesh expanded, stretching to take all of him. It burned and stung, but it was an intense, wonderful feeling. Unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. My insides quivered as he pulled back and drove forward again, stopping partway inside.

“Do it,” I shouted. “I want it all!”

“Lyrie, I…”

“Khal!”

With a growl, he shoved himself deep, deep inside me, not stopping until I couldn’t take any more.

His fingers found my clit again, and rubbed.

Rocking back, he filled me again. As I gasped, he picked up his pace, slamming into me, over and over.

With each plunge inside me, I shrieked and called for him to go faster. Until he was pounding into me so quickly, I couldn’t keep up.

My knees, spread wide, braced me in place on the stone floor. My cries flew to the top of the cavern. I tipped my head back, savoring the bliss that engulfed me. “More!”

He answered my cry with a shout of his own, and drove himself, ramming into me so hard and rapid, I could barely breathe.

In a flash, I came undone, moaning out his name.

He shuddered against me, and his groan echoed around us.

Panting, I lowered my upper body onto my forearms as my insides slowly unwound.

He stroked my back, my butt. Then he pulled out and paused behind me a moment, before he dropped onto the ground on his back.

As I lowered myself onto his chest and his arms slid around my waist, I almost held in my words. I didn’t want to ruin something that had been perfect, special.

But I had to say something, because we had major problems.

“Khal?” I stroked his nipple, which peaked at my touch.

“Yeah?” he said sleepily, as if he was a fully sated beast basking in the sun.

Rising onto my palms, I glared down at him. “How in all hells do you expect me to get pregnant if you don’t come inside me?”