Page 31 of Possessed By the Leonid King

The air was warm and heavy. It was a struggle to take a breath at first because of the dense mugginess of the air. “It smells like the botanical gardens, but better. And the salt air. And the sound of the waves! Oh my gosh. I always dreamed about seeing the ocean! Or going on a vacation.”

Rupex was silent.

“Sorry. I know this isn’t a fun place for you.”

“No, no. It is a very happy place. I was only thinking... my cubs will never say such things. I will take them to see every corner of this galaxy. The deserts of Serval-One, the jungles of the Tigerites, the opulent steppes and palaces of the Leopardines... My life was a vacation. This was home.”

Now it was Layla’s turn to be quiet. What a great life they would have! What a great life I could have if... if I stayed with them. But maybe Rupex won’t even tell the cubs I was human. Will it show in their faces?

“Here. This way to Alana’s hut.” The sand thinned and two paths emerged, leading into a forest filled with sandy grass and trees with thick striped trunks.

The hut was painted blue and yellow, weathered by salt, sand, and wind. Shingles were missing off the roof and the door hung slightly off of its wooden frame. “Are you sure I shou—”

“My sister would welcome it. She was much more loving and open than I.”

“Hey! You’re pretty loving and open.”

Loving. Open. The way he split her open around his cock, the way he loved her, licking her all over, sending her skin into an overdrive of delight... Layla forced herself to think logically before hormones overtook her again. “Speaking of open, will you tell the cubs about me? That I was human?”

“I hope you’ll tell them yourself. You... you will stay in touch, won’t you?”

“Oh, sure. Sure, yes. If you want me to.” Not ready to be a mom. Not ready to be a mother, Layla, don’t kid yourself, no pun intended.

Not ready to be a single, poor, struggling mom on Sapien-Three, living from contract to contract. But living with a Leonid on his floating mansion of a star cruiser? Traveling the galaxy with him?

Maybe...

“I would like it if they knew you. I miss my mother terribly.”

“Me, too. Don’t remember her, but I miss having one.”

She loved the way the gigantic paw wrapped more tightly around her hand, engulfing it well past the wrist. No one had held her hand in... well, she couldn’t recall when. She had held Wendy’s small, brown hand, and Dax’s hand, and Elio’s little fingers...

It struck her hard, like a rogue wave.

I loved them like little brothers and sisters... like kids, even. I wanted to protect them and love them. I failed.

“You didn’t fail at loving them. I didn’t fail at loving Alana, even if I couldn’t save her. A virus hasn’t killed your friends, one hopes. You still have time.”

Her already flushed skin burned a deeper hue. How much had she muttered aloud?

To take her mind off of the constriction in her throat, tears that she had long ago stopped shedding, Layla bounded up the three sagging steps that made up the front of Alana’s little hut.

Rupex reached above her and pushed it open.

The air smelled fresh but damp—like the smell she was coming to associate with the oceans around the island. “It’s not much, but it could be yours if you like. At least the clothes.”

The inside of the house was painted that same aggressively cheerful blue. There was a table with two stools (low for Leonids, but she’d have to climb up to get her bottom on the flat round seat). There was an old-fashioned ore stove and pump sink. It was hard to believe that outside there was a fortress that could travel the galaxy with every modern convenience. Layla couldn’t imagine why Rupex would like this place.

Maybe Leonids like things primitive. She shivered.

“Oh, you poor thing. What is that, a spare bedsheet?” Her host took her arousal for a chill.

Layla looked at the thin white material knotted around her. “I think so. I didn’t go to the medical bay to get another gown.”

The air hung heavy between them. She didn’t go get a gown because he had torn her last one to shreds in their passion.

“Here.” Rupex suddenly walked into a room that had a painted green bedstead and no mattress. With a grunt, he heaved open a little wardrobe and pulled out three silver packages that had been compressed to the thinness of flat pillows. “Here it is. ‘Alana. Pre-Academy.’ These are my sister’s things before she went to Academy. Children’s wear.”

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