Reyna screamed as the force inside her burst loose. She blinked and when she came to herself, she was crouched on all fours, ears back, fur raised, front and back claws extended, her back against the exit. Her tawny head swung toward Jorlan and she hissed her displeasure, flashing fangs.
“Good girl. I knew you could do it,” Jorlan said, his voice filled with pride and what sounded like…relief? His reaction made no sense.
“She broke through the bonds. I’ve never heard of any female doing that before,” Zander exclaimed in awed tones.
“How the hell did she do it?” Rick asked, his confusion evident.
“L-look at her eyes,” Harlan stammered.
The panic-filled words caused her attention to swing back to the breeders still positioned around the contraption in which she’d been restrained.
“Shit, they’re glowing silver. What the hell is she?” Brad, the boldest of them, asked.
Reyna realized she’d forgotten to insert her contacts.
“Your queen, now show her proper respect,” Jorlan commanded.
“Those fangs are not the fangs of a Felini female,” Rick muttered defiantly.
“You think the rumors are true?” Harlan asked the others, still eying her warily.
Reyna screamed and they flinched before slowly backing away. She could see their fear. Sense their distaste of what she was. She paced back and forth, her tail whipping the air.
They’d come to her for refuge. Begged to live with her. She’d taken them in, given them jobs and financial independence, and allowed them to live free of the repressive restrictions of a normal Felini pride. This was how they thanked her? By subjecting her to the same rumors and innuendos which had dogged her all of her life? To her face, as though she couldn’t understand what they were saying?
First her friends with their stupid dare. Then the vampyr who’d claimed her against her will. She’d experienced her first shift and hoped she’d finally be normal only to be subjected to this damnable firestorm by the one person who knew how she felt about them. Now her own pride had turned against her and gazed at her with disgust after all she’d done for them. It was all too much. She had to get away.
Closing her eyes, she thought of the one place she could be free and simply…vanished.
Reyna ran, and ran, and ran. Immersed deep within her cat, she let it have its head. She didn’t think, didn’t feel, just existed. The cat, with its first taste of real freedom, took over.
*****
Tariq burst out of his rooms, feeling wild, his blood rage barely in check. Only one thought rang through his mind, finding his Heart’s Blood. He teleported into his throne room and bellowed, “COME TO ME!”
Footsteps pounded from every direction as vampyrs came pouring in. They gathered quickly, weapons ready to face the unknown threat. All ages, from fledglings to masters, warrior and trainee, they came until over three hundred plus were assembled and the room was full.
In a small corner of his mind, Tariq knew he appeared the raving manic. Hair wild, half-naked, pants open, his chest and stomach still sporting drops of cum, claws bared and fangs extended. His cock was red and swollen, extending out from his body and bobbing with every step he took. He presented a fearful sight and more than one of his clutch drew back in alarm.
“FIND HER.” He slammed an image of his Heart’s Blood in their mind so savagely several fell to their knees, gripping their heads. Others rocked in place, faces tight with pain.
“Leave no stone unturned. Search all day and night if you have to but find her. NOW!” The last was roared.
His men instantly scattered to the winds. The force of so many bodies teleporting at the same time created a temporary vacuum. Strength gone, Tariq slowly dropped to his knees. Shivering, body shaking, mind in turmoil, he bowed his head as tears streamed from his eyes. “You have to find her,” he whispered.
*****
Thirty minutes later, Jorlan called in to report. “I did as you commanded.”
“What happened?” The voice was tense with expectation.
“She broke free.” A feat no female should have been able to accomplish.
“Good, she’s growing into her powers.” There was a wealth of satisfaction in the tone.
“The response of the others was not…good,” he warned. “She didn’t have her contacts in and they saw her natural eye color. That, combined with her strength…”
“Bigoted fools,” the voice sneered.
“They are afraid,” he said in as reasonable a tone as he could manage. He’d told her a Firestorm wasn’t a good idea. Now he was the one left to deal with the fall out while she—
“They hate and fear anything they don’t understand.” Her bitterness was unmistakable. “How did she handle it?”
“She ran…vanished.” Jorlan didn’t blame Reyna one bit. Maybe this was the push she needed to run to her vampyr instead of away from him.
“Unacceptable. She must learn to deal with it. Be tougher.”
He frowned, his protective instincts where Reyna were concerned rising to the forefront. “Give her time. You’re expecting too much too fast,” he cautioned, still trying to be reasonable. “You’ve always fought against her embracing and using her gifts. Now suddenly she’s supposed to welcome them, accept her otherness? It’s a lot for her to overcome.”
“Time is the one thing we don’t have. There are already rumblings about the success of your venture. Too many of the young ones are discontented. Having grown up on earth, they’re tired of abiding by the strictures of leaders who try to live as though we were still on Felini. They want what you have. When the others discover all is not as we’ve portrayed it to be…”
Territorial, possessive bastards. Several of the pride’s young males and females had come to Reyna looking for a different way of life. His and Reyna’s business success was a threat to the elders’ power base. Something they couldn’t allow. If they knew Reyna had finally come into her own…?
“The past cannot be allowed to repeat itself,” she continued harshly, fear making her voice shake.
“Reyna’s strong. She’s already proven—”
“Nothing!”
“Isabella!” he protested sharply, forgetting their security measures.
“No, Jorlan, she’s proven nothing but that she can stand on her own without the support of the pride. She must do more. She must show she’s not prey. Prove she’s willing and able to protect herself and those important to her. Learn to use the gifts and talents she’s been given. If she doesn’t…”
Jorlan didn’t need to be reminded of what the outcome would be. They both knew in vivid detail exactly what the consequences could, and most likely would, be should their pride leader discover Reyna was not only displaying but embracing the Vampalien side of her nature. He opened his mouth to reply.
Jorlan.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Isabella asked.
“I’ve got to go.” He disconnected the call, ignoring Isabella’s demand he not hang up.