Overview
Cole never thought he'd find himself in those he was running from... Until he met Nexhan, clan leader of a legendary shifter race.
After a century of vengeance, Nexhan, clan leader of the Rune Fang, returns home to find his people teetering on the edge of extinction. Still plagued by his past and his sense of failure, he has closed himself off from even his closest friend. He is desperate to return to the shifter way of life, but doesn't know how to cope with the death of his family and his lover.
Cole is the typical outcast—clumsy, quiet and angry. After years of disappointing his parents with his inability to master his cougar's predatory skills, he runs from the pressure to mate a female who he's unable to love, but he never expected to end up living among the saber-toothed cats. Heck, he didn't even know they still existed. Embarrassed by his lack of skills, he retreats into himself, quietly nursing his pain.
A chance meeting in the forest leads Cole to accept Nexhan's help and companionship, but he never imagined he'd be trusting the male with his deepest secrets. Nexhan vows it's just sex, but the cougar intrigues him like nothing and no one before. Can he move on and finally lay to rest his troubled past?
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781784302948 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Totally Entwined Group |
| Publication date: | 11/21/2014 |
| Series: | Children of Shairobi , #1 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 172 |
| File size: | 410 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Nexhan sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring as he tested the scents — the crispness of the weeds, the softness of the wild flowers in full bloom and the sweetness of the sequoia sap. He flicked his ears and looked up. The trees filled overhead, their thin leaves making way for only a few ribbons of sunlight to stream down, lighting up the fog like clouds of silver.
Home.
It had been too long since he had looked upon the giants of the forest, the forever living, and he couldn't help the surge of warmth that spread through him. Here was the raw, primal beauty of the Mother, the majesty of life and perseverance, and Nexhan had almost forgotten why he had left in the first place.
He reared up on his powerful hind legs and unsheathed his claws, the curved weapons sinking into the twelve-inch thick bark. He pulled, feeling his claws stretch and the bark give away into tiny splinters. He knew this tree, remembered when it had been a ten-foot sapling. That had been over seven hundred years ago.
His sensitive ears caught the smooth cooing of a hawk in the distance and he craned his neck, watching a branch shift above him. The low caterwaul of a bobcat sounded far away. He curled his lips back and issued a roar, a reclaiming shout that stretched across the land and echoed through the trees. It was his declaration of returning, his staking of the territory, and a stern reminder to all that dwell here that the boss was back on duty.
He was home.
Nexhan fell back on all fours, the cool dirt shifting under the pads of his heavy paws. The grasses and wood debris tickled his toes as he pulled his massive weight forward, inhaling the calming scent of the forest. It was so welcomed against the overwhelming stink of the human city — all that rotting garbage and pollutants. He wondered how he had ever survived living in the metal forests of humanity.
He arched his back and rubbed himself against the scratchy bark of a Sitka spruce, spreading his scent along the surface. Like many of the trees, their trunks were covered in mats of moss, the tiny, sage-green bristles soft against his pelt like thousands of little fingers.
He cocked his head and perked his ears as the soft beat of wings caught his attention. He knew this sound, and despite having been away for so long, he recognized it instantly. A hummingbird emerged from the shrub, the steady pumping of its little wings like a blur of color as it hovered in front of him. The creature's thread-thin beak poked him gently in the nose, the bird's body no bigger than his nostril. He chuffed a hello, his breath sending the bird backward, and the tiny thing floated away into the bushes to do its business.
Nexhan took a deep breath and stuck his tongue out, tasting the scents, reacquainting himself with the forest. A cool breeze swept down and flowed through the trees, rattling their branches softly. It caressed his fur like a parent's reassuring touch and he reveled in the contact, his heart soaring.
The song of earth was all about him. It was in every tree, every root, every stone. It was in the air, in the tiny spores and pollen grains that danced in the wild winds. It was in the hummingbirds, the hawks and the insects. It reached out through the moss and the ferns, and shot up through the giant sequoias, spreading out into the sky, churning with the mighty thunderheads. It was energy, life. He was being welcomed home by the forest, the beasts and the birds, and by his Mother. It felt wonderful. There were no words to describe her melodies, her gentle hums and deep crescendos. Beauty was too plain a word.
Along with the breeze came a peculiar scent. He curled his lips over his fangs and sucked in so that he could get a better taste. It wasn't one of his brothers, but it wasn't wholly animal, either. Curious, he padded over the lush forest floor, silent as a snake, and made his way toward the scent. It was fresh, earthy, with the spice of male musk.
He weaved through the huge trunks and padded softly over the brush, his paws making not a sound as he closed in on the intruder. Nexhan lowered his head and flattened his ears as he drew closer, the sound of thumping and agitated growls filling the air. The creature was making so much noise that he was likely to pass as a human, as clumsy and loud as they were. And humans frequented this forest. Mostly tourists. They called Nexhan's home Redwood National Park, but to him it was Weywoni Le Gai, home to the red daughters, the ever living of the Mother.
Nexhan peered out from behind a sequoia, his nostrils flaring wider this time as he observed the cougar — a young male, sleek and muscular — darting around, pouncing as if he were playing tag with a swift-footed rabbit. He was in good health, his body strong, beautifully built — made to kill and protect — but his movements were awkward and uncoordinated. His coat was smooth and tawny, his eyes a most peculiar violet like the twilight sky, and he had an air of youthful uncertainty about him.
He was shifter, just like Nexhan. But, what was he doing here?
Nexhan cocked his head in intrigue and stepped out, making himself known. This was Rune Fang territory, and although wild cougars made this forest their home, the cougar-shifters very rarely strayed into his domain. They tended to keep to the mountain regions, scouring the cliffs of the Rockies and building their homes around the high-altitude forests.
The cat jerked when Nexhan chuffed a greeting, the male's body stiffening, ears flattening. He hissed a warning but fear lurked his eyes. Not fear as though he believed he'd be harmed, but fear of the unknown. Nexhan understood. His species was on the brink of extinction and a young cougar-shifter wouldn't recognize a Rune Fang if one pounced him head on.
Nexhan chuffed again, attempting to ease the male's uncertainty. He stopped a few feet from the smaller cat and eyed him with amusement. The male curled into himself, his hackles up, claws unsheathed, those lovely eyes watching him with wariness.
Using the current of energy that flowed out from the earth and known only to shifters and their ilk, he plucked a thread and relayed the message, "You're a long way from home. Why are you on Rune Fang land?"
The male seemed stunned as his mind filled with Nexhan's words. Perhaps he hadn't been taught how to communicate using the language of the earth? Well, he was young, but all cubs were shown how to read the currents, decipher them and send their own thoughts through. But the cougar-shifter merely blinked at Nexhan, his ears going back, his pupils expanding as though he were deep in concentration.
Nexhan tried again, "What is your name?"
The male didn't respond, just pushed his butt back against a rock and hissed. Nexhan towered over him, his height twice that of the young male, his weight nearly triple, and the cougar-shifter was spitting at him? Really? A bit annoyed and maybe a little amused, Nexhan curled his lip, letting the cat get a good look at the fourteen-inch fangs protruding from his skull — as though they could be missed with a closed maw, anyway? For laughs, he roared an ear-piercing shout of superiority.
The cougar-shifter started, his pupils dilating further, his ears flattening so much that he looked goofy, but he made no move to run. He wouldn't. That would be a show of weakness, and young males were notorious for their foolish bravery. The humans called it balls of steel. Either way, the cat wasn't backing down, even when he knew he had no chance of besting the six-foot Rune Fang in front of him.
Nexhan considered roughing up the cougar a bit, show him one didn't disrespect a clan leader in his own territory, but a familiar call caught his attention. He perked his ears and didn't miss the way the cougar relaxed. Nexhan answered the call with an inviting roar, the mighty rumble shaking the very earth.
The male wasn't too far off, a quarter of a mile if Nexhan had judged the distance correctly. His brother responded again, a sound of eager anticipation. Nexhan wondered how the clan would welcome him back. Would they be angry that he had abandoned them or happy that he had returned to his family? He wasn't sure, but the call of the fellow Rune Fang was music to his ears, as sweet as the voice of the Mother herself.
Nexhan settled his gaze on the young cougar-shifter and whipped his tail back and forth playfully. The ancestors of the big cats, the Saber-Toothed Tigers had had short, stubby tails, but Rune Fangs possessed long, flowing appendages tipped with colorful fur that was used in a variety of expressions. Though, most Rune Fangs took offense to being grouped with the extinct cats. While all livings things were born of the Mother, the Children of Shairobi were divine in their own right, the result of the union between two gods.
The cougar-shifter watched warily, but seemed to have relaxed, his ears coming up in attention. He was peculiar no doubt, and Nexhan was curious to see his human form. It was hard to judge exactly just how old he was, but Nexhan reckoned early twenties, not necessarily a cub.
His brother's chuffing pulled his attention away from the cougar-shifter and he chuffed back at the large male padding his way over. His sable-colored coat was smooth and shiny. Darker stripes of auburn streamed across his face and back in thick bands growing thinner the further they went. His large chest puffed with heavy breath, the neck and underbelly paling into cream, and one of his fangs was broken at the tip. His orange-tipped tail shimmied back and forth in excitement, and his dark yellow eyes, rimmed in orange — the color of a sunset — were wide in disbelief.
Nexhan instantly recognized his clan brother. "Nakoda?"
The male chuffed louder, the waves of communication hitting Nexhan like a brick wall of excitement. "Nexhan? You've returned?"
If he could smile as a cat, he would. "Yes, brother. It is I!"
Suddenly, the male set into motion, his big body crashing up against Nexhan. They banged heads, and Nakoda whipped his tail, moaning as he curled his weight around Nexhan. Nexhan soared inside, his heart banging against his ribcage, and he swore he could have grown wings and taken to the sky. His clan brother! His closest friend!
Nakoda flattened his ears and growled, batting Nexhan in the face with his tail playfully. "I thought a mocking-birdshifter was playing a joke on me. Surely, I never expected the call of my clan leader to fill this forest once more."
Nexhan laughed inside. Of course there was no such thing as a mockingbird-shifter, but there were those that could become huge raptors, birds of prey such as hawks and eagles that tended to be skilled vocally. "And I would say I'm nothing more than an illusion. But, I am here."
He was aware of the cougar-shifter watching them intently, fascination crossing the cat's face as he tried to catch the waves flowing back and forth. The cougar seemed as though he wanted to join in on the show of affection, but he stayed put, his butt planted firmly on the forest floor.
Nakoda followed Nexhan's interest and flicked his ears. "His name is Colban." When the cougar hissed, Nakoda corrected, "Cole ... I've been trying to show him how to speak through the earth, but so far he's only been able to receive messages, not send them."
Realizing they were talking about him, the cougar-shifter squeaked a greeting, the coo very much sounding like a hello. It was just a simple trick of shifting his vocal cords, much like the 'I love you' dog Nexhan had seen in a website video the humans called YouTube.
Nexhan chuffed in greeting then blinked at his friend. "Is he lost?"
"Cole has been with us for three months now," Nakoda said then turned to regard the young male. He growled low in his throat. "Go back to the village and let the clan know our leader has returned."
Cole cocked his head and curled his tail around his paws, apparently in confusion. His glowing violet eyes were attentive, interested, but his body had grown lax, the uncertainty melting away into curious content. Then he looked at Nexhan with awe and ... intrigue?
"Quickly now," Nakoda growled.
The cocky male turned his back to them and whisked his tail high in the air, letting them get a good look at his jewels, a motion of disregard for authority. He quickly disappeared behind the trees before Nakoda could reprimand his impudence.
Nakoda shook his head as if he were trying to rid himself of an annoying insect. "Young males. Their egos transcend the species."
"You're going to complain? We were much the same way, if you haven't forgotten, old man," Nexhan teased, shoving his weight up against the other cat in a playful push.
"If I recall correctly, you were the instigator and I was the one who always had to get you out of trouble," Nakoda chided, his eyes bright with amusement. "And who are you calling old? We were born the same year."
"Yes, but I'm two months younger," Nexhan quipped. He sniffed the air, wondering if any of his other brothers were in the vicinity.
Nakoda was quiet for a few moments, his face thoughtful, amber eyes tracking Nexhan's every movement. He let out a big breath. "We've missed you. Nashuk has tried several times to form a search party. Everyone practically agreed someone needed to track you down, but no one was willing to go."
"No one is angry with me for leaving?" Nexhan asked incredulously. Of course, they wouldn't have come for him. Before he'd left, he had explicitly forbade any to come after him, and many were anxious about entering large human establishments. He didn't blame them. Leaving one's home wasn't easy and it had been torture for him.
Nakoda growled and pounced on Nexhan, who was caught off guard. His friend's weight pushed him to the ground. He laughed inside, rolling over on his back as the male bit him playfully on the neck, his thick fur absorbing the deadly fangs. He clawed the cat's hide gently in acceptance.
"Are you kidding? You are our clan leader," Nakoda said sternly. "And more importantly, our brother. Of course we're happy you're back."
Nexhan sighed then wiggled out of Nakoda's grasp and walked away in silence, stopping to look up at the reaching sequoias. They were so tall, so proud and strong. It was a little known fact that their roots were shallow, the dozens of fingers that anchored their impossibly tall bodies running close to the surface. But they spread out far and wide, linking with the surrounding trees and creating a network of support for themselves and other trees. They established a unity with one another, a community where each was as important as the other and, if one fell, it left a vulnerability in the network. That tight-knit structure has allowed them to survive for thousands of years, the strength of each other keeping them stout against the vicious winds.
The Rune Fang clan was much the same way.
Nexhan sighed and whispered along the waves, "It takes more than blood to make a clan leader. I'm a coward for abandoning the family."
And he was, no matter how much his friend was willing to argue the point. The Rune Fang were on the verge of extinction, numbering only fourteen at the time of his departure one-hundred years ago. While most shifters were endangered, his people were hanging by a thread. It was only a matter of time before the great guardian cats of Shairobi disappeared forever. They had no more females to breed with, and the males that had tried to mate with human women over the centuries were met mostly with failure. They could live forever — if circumstance allowed it — but they were not immortal. All it took to end their existence was a well-placed blade.
How had it come to this? His people had once been a great tribe. They had been the guardians that watched over the portals the gods used to travel between worlds. They were the strongest, the fiercest of the earth-shifters, and part of the savage warriors of the Mother, battling her enemies with pride and bravery. The humans called the beasts they resembled saber-toothed tigers, but they were the Gatekeepers to those who remembered the old days.
Now they were nothing more than a memory, a story told to cubs around a campfire like a fairytale.
Nexhan knew why he had left. The memory came back to him like a floating wisp of smoke. He had been afraid his brothers would have seen the weakness that had dug its claw into his heart and soul. Once he had been in impenetrable mountain, but he had quickly been reduced to rubble within a few hours. The hurt had been etched upon his face as surely as the stripes graced his fur. He had been terrified of failing them as both a leader and a Rune Fang. And then there was the anger, the insatiable need for revenge.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Primal Desire"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Lupa Garneau.
Excerpted by permission of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
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