Chapter Three

Othoni

I didn't tell anyone else Lev was coming home because I wasn't sure if he was coming home for a visit or to stay for good. My jaguar and I prayed for the latter, but we weren't holding our breath. If there was anything my true-mate and I were equally matched in it was stubbornness.

He came in the dead of night, and I met him in the jungle. I wanted to throw myself into his arms and lose myself in him, but the look on his face said that wouldn't come until later. When we had our first child, we decided that we'd be parents before lovers. It was a choice every good parent made. So as much as my body craved the touch it starved for all these years, I let it be. We settled for pressing our foreheads together. My jaguar purred, throwing out the notion that Lev might disappear again if we said or did the wrong thing. We stood like that for a long time, heads together and fingers entwined. Our cats purred and nuzzled. They were luckier than we were. They could cross back and forth over our mating link no matter how far away we were. Finally, Lev pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. I buried my face into his chest reveling in his scent – familiar and new all at once.

When we came apart, still holding hands, we didn't head back to the house. Jaguars weren't afraid of the dead of night. We were made for it. So we headed to our spot away from the prying, glowing eyes of the village. Some things the other cats didn't need to hear until things we decided. Plus, I wasn't ready to share Lev with them just yet. For a few hours, I needed him to be mine again, because if tonight's talks didn't go well, I wasn't sure how long he'd be mine.

"Forever," he said over our mating link having picked up my thoughts. "That hasn't changed, mate. We are still us. Somethings are immutable no matter the distance."

We settled into our favorite tree, high in its branches. So, we wouldn't be disturbed. For a long time neither of us said anything. Lev took off his backpack and after fishing out a bottle of wine he let it hang over the branch for safekeeping.

"I know it's not made here but taste it. It's strawberry," he offered the bottle to me after opening it.

I took a tentative sip. Outside food was once used against the pard by non-shifters to poison us but I knew Lev wouldn't betray me like that. The bubbles tickled my tongue, but it tasted good. I took a longer swallow before passing it back to him.

"We have more in common with the Moonscales and other shifters than we ever did with the humans' so-called governments. Not everyone out there is good, but most of them are."

"And the war?" I asked.

"Started by someone who couldn't accept the fact not everyone is like her," Lev shrugged.

"And those would be the people you invite into our territory?" I arched a brow.

"I think you and the first-mate of the Moonscale Dragons would get along, but no I don't want to invite just anyone into our territory. Eben came and Sergei acted out. They're all happy now. I only meant you can change the rules about mates and if they can live here. Othoni, I'm about to say something that either you'll laugh in relief about, or you'll shove me out of the tree over, but I have to say it. Just know I say it with love."

"You're scaring me, Lev," I said, curling my fingers into fists so that he didn't see them tremble.

"It might be scary to hear," Lev nodded.

"Just spit it out."

"There is an odd hubris to keeping that particular tradition now that we are relatively safe."

"What do you mean?" I scooted closer to him and took the wine back.

"You just took the wine. You're planning to push me out of the tree already," Lev laughed, and the sound wrapped around me like a warm embrace.

"Not yet," I laughed too, because his was contagious.

"By saying that Sergei can't bring his true-mate home you think you're smarter than the magic of true-mates," Lev said, tightening his hold on the branch.

"I never said that!" I shook my head.

"But your actions do."

"Where did you come up with that nonsense?"

"It hit me while I paced in front of Moonscale Manor," he said.

"I don't think that! The rules are---"

"Yours to change!" he said and snatched the wine back to take a long drink. "Maybe you change just that. If someone here has a true-mate who isn't a jaguar they can still live with us or come to visit if they need or want to live somewhere else."

"And what if the pits follow them?"

"We fight," Lev shrugged.

"We don't fight."

"We can fight," Lev countered. "Hell, fight with magic for all I care. It worked on that fucking hate group, didn't it?"

I swallowed hard. It had worked. Everyone working together had worked out for the best.

"See! You know it! I have another idea too if you're tipsy enough to hear it," Lev laughed.

"I'm not tipsy!"

"I hope not! If you are I might say you're too drunk to consent to what I'm thinking about."

I scooted closer until my legs rested over his and he was close enough to kiss.

"Nope," he shook his head, "none of that until we figure this out. We've waited this long. What's a few more hours?"

"Agony," I whispered back to him. "I'm hard and slick and can't stop looking at your lips."

"Then just agree with me. Agree that Sergei can bring his mate and baby to visit. Agree that others can bring their mates. What happens if Azien's mate isn't a jaguar? Or our grandkid's mate? What then? He just doesn't get a mate either."

"The leader's mate is always a jaguar or another big cat at the very least."

"Things are changing. The world is evolving. It may not be that way forever, mate."

"So, you just want me to let just anyone in here?" I asked, running my hands up his thick, muscular thighs.

"Not just anyone," he shook his head. "I want you to let the true-mates of our pard in."

"But they'd have to go out to find them," I said, leaning in closer to him.

"Not if you take my idea to heart," he said, leaning back.

"Stop that!" I growled and tightened my grip on his thighs.

"No!" he laughed. "This isn't a booty call. It might turn into make-up sex, but not until I'm ready to make-up."

"What is it then?"

"What if in addition to this new change about allowing true-mates to join the pard even if they're not cats we make enough of the potion so that everyone over whatever age you decide can find their true-mate?"

My blood ran cold.

"See, selfish," he shrugged.

"What?" I snapped.

"You want it only for the leaders."

"It's always been that way. It's that way so that we continue the line and ---"

"Selfish," Lev said, scooting away from me.

"Stop that! It's not funny, Lev."

"I'm not trying to be funny. I'm trying to make you see how the world looked to Sergei. You had in that little bottle everything needed to make him happy and you weren't going to give it to him. You wanted him to spend his whole life never having what we have. That's fucking selfish, mate."

My blood ran cold and my dick fell flaccid. He was right. No one had ever said it that way.

"Mate," Lev cupped my face. "I don't like saying these things to you. I'd defend you against anyone who said them, but we are alone in our tree and they are true. You only did things the way you were taught to do them, but you are also the only one with the power to change how they are done. Give them happiness. Give them their true-mates or at least the chance to have them. We'll expand the village. I'll build each new dwelling by myself if I have to. I'll do my part. I'll have my Moonscale friends run background checks – that's where they look into—"

"I know what they are. I know because you know, Alpha," I sighed. "Am I really such a horrible person?"

"No," he answered quickly. "You did what you knew and that's all we can do until we know better. So, now I'm asking you to do better. I'm begging you to lift our son's banishment and to meet our grandchild. I'm begging you to be who you always were – only more of that, because you know it's possible now. I'm not saying it'll be easy. I'm not saying everyone's friendly out there, but I'm saying as a pard I think we can do this. I think we can trust fate and the true-mates of our jaguars to be good people or at least good enough people not to bring about our ruin. I've made friends too, mate. I've made friends with people who aren't afraid to fight for what's good in the world. If we need them – if something were to happen and we needed an army bigger than we are, we have them."

He cradled my face in his hands, and I tried not to cry. I'd missed him so much. My very soul vibrated inside my body with how much I missed him.

"How?" I asked him.

"Which part, mate?"

"How do we do this?"

"First, we tell our kids. Then we tell the pard once we know the details. Maybe we make them wait until they're thirty or whatever age you think is good. We'll make it work. Maybe it won't go smoothly at first, but we'll make it work."

"Let's make it work," I nodded. "Now can I have that kiss?"

Lev's soft, demanding lips crashed into mine, answering me with a resounding yes. My fingers dug into his thighs as our tongues danced between our mouths. His taste washed over my senses, engulfing me and making me want more all at the same time.

"No romping in the tree unless you want to shift," Lev whispered an old rule of ours between kisses.

Once upon a time I'd broken two toes falling from said tree during said event.

"Do you want to go back to the house?" I asked, pressing my forehead against his.

It only took one glance down to see that his cock was rock hard and pressing against the fabric prison of his jeans.

"I'd love to come home," he growled and pulled away from me, springing from the tree.

I leapt down after him and he caught me around the waist midair. Our lips crashed together again as I wrapped three limbs around him and snatched his bag at the last second with my free hand. I clutched its strap as we kissed and licked our way through the trees. Lev had been gone for a long time, but his feet remembered the path between our tree and our house. His paws remembered the way home.

Not long ago, Azien moved into his own home. The empty, abandoned nest made my heart ache, but now it was a blessing in disguise. No matter how old the boys got, I didn't want to scar them for life by their parents walking into the house ripping each other's clothes off and that's exactly what came next.

Sliding down onto my own feet, my slightly extended claws ripped through Lev's t-shirt. He chuckled and a growl vibrated up his throat. I yanked the fabric, ripping it from his body to reach the flesh underneath. I kissed his shoulders and his chest, dragging my mouth across his salty skin and remarking him as mine. He cupped my chin, pulling me back upright into a long, slow kiss.

By the time we made it to the bedroom not a single item of our clothes was wearable. Jaguar romping wasn't always this violent, but need fueled us and clothes just got in the way. In the bedroom, Lev kicked the door shut behind us and shoved me down onto the bed. I hissed until his mouth closed over mine and his heavy weight trapped me pleasantly between him and the mattress. He kissed me hard, his teeth scraping over my bottom lip util he sucked it into his mouth. I ground up, hard and slick again, needy for him but also never wanting his mouth to leave mine again. If he was kissing me, I knew exactly where he was.

"I missed you," I growled when he released my lip from his mouth.

"I missed you more," he said, an argument we hadn't had since we were newly met.

"We could do this forever," I laughed and pulled him into another kiss.

He ground down hard against me, his thick, hard cock pressing against my belly as our tongues swirled around each other. I thrust up, bumping against him even as my thighs parted to make room for him between my legs. His hand trailed down my belly and his fingers wrapped around my cock when they reached their destination. The air whooshed out of me when he squeezed. I gave into the pressure following his tight fist spiraling around my cock. I thrust up into his touch and he grinned right before our lips met for another long, slow kiss.

Lev let go of my cock and his hands trailed down to tease the sensitive skin of my scrotum for just a second before sinking lower to where I was slick and needy for him. His digits slipped and slid on the gooey arousal pooled outside my omegahole before finally sliding home and evoking a moan from deep within my belly. Nerve endings I'd forgotten and ignored for too long while he was away, woke up under the familiar, nimble touch of his soft fingers. I ground down on his digits, rocking over them and moving them right where I wanted them. Breathing hard, I panted into the kiss, begging with every bit of my body for him to slide his thick, throbbing cock home into my body.

I hissed as a wave of pleasure crashed into me, threatening to send me over the edge. Lev's digits disappeared from my omegahole and his warm hand slid up my thigh.

"Need a minute, mate?" he smirked before kissing my neck.

"Not a minute," I shook my head, despite the panting. "Need you inside me."

"Need, huh?" he chuckled, toying with one of my nipples with the pad of his thumb.

"Need you. Always needed you," I purred to him. "Don't leave again. I'd rather fight with you than not have you at all."

"I think we've had enough fighting to last many many lifetimes, mate," he said before raising his head and claiming my mouth in another long, tender kiss.

When he pulled away, Lev rose to his knees, knocking my thighs apart.

"Even more beautiful than I remember," he murmured under his breath.

I ran my hands over my chest and belly not wanting to lose any of his body heat. He glanced around the room and I grabbed both of his hands and entwined our fingers together.

"You better not be looking for a condom," I teased him.

"And why not?" I arched a brow.

"I want to feel you cum inside me," I said, meeting his gaze dead on.

"You know what that brings around some of the time," he smirked.

"Maybe. It is only some of the time," I said, wiggling my hips, aching to be filled up by him.

"Are you sure, mate? A kitten may not be guaranteed, but having a baby hanging from your teat while the pard under goes so many changes might not be ideal."

"I'll take the risk. Wait!" I rose up on my elbows.

"Yes?" he asked, his brows knitting up in confusion.

"You are staying, right? You're home for good?"

"If you'll have me back," he nodded.

"Welcome home, Alpha," I said and flopped back down on the pillow.

Grabbing the other pillow, Lev shoved it under my hips before his weight settled back down on top of me. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a long kiss before we shifted around, and his hand slid between us to line the thick head of his throbbing cock up with my hungry, slick omegahole. I gasped as he pressed against me, opening me up, and sliding in, easily aided by my slick arousal.

Once inside me, he growled as our mouths found each other for a long, slow kiss. My mate was home. My Lev had come back to me. The future was shaky ground for the pard. As hard as it was for me to admit, I liked his ideas even if they scared me. All I wanted was my mate with me, my children as happy as I could manage, and my pard safe. It's all I ever wanted.

"You don't have to do that alone," Lev groaned in my ear as he thrust forward sending a fresh wave of warm tingles cascading inside me. "You never did, mate. You just had to make room to accept help."

"Do you forgive me?" I asked, hating myself for bringing it up during lovemaking, but I couldn't hold it back.

"I do. I don't know how long it will take the boys, but I do. All I ever wanted was for you to come around. I didn't want to hold a grudge forever. I just took his banishment with him, because home is where my family can call it that too, all my family."

He cupped my face in his big, tender hands as we made love. Lev thrust deep into me again and again. I rocked in time with him reveling in the warmth radiating between our bodies and the fact he was home again. He was away so long it felt like he might never return to me. Now, even with him inside of me, I ached for more of him. I needed him like I needed air. How had I held my breath for so long?

Lev's pleasure rained down on me over our mating link and mingled with my own. I lost myself to him – to us. We were always best together. That's why we were true-mates after all. That's why we chose each other so long ago in the Other World.

"I love you," Lev growled in my ear as his dick shook inside me.

He was close. Both of us were. My thoughts fled and I clung to my mate for dear life as everything inside me trembled until my pleasure finally exploded, trapped between our bodies. Lev wasn't far behind me. His dick shook again, and his thrusts became fast and shallow as he sought out his own pleasure inside me. I squeezed him tight, trying to hold him in place even as he thrust himself over the edge and his warm, sticky seed spilled into me for the first time in a long time. We didn't fall still until every last drop of pleasure and passion had spilt from us both.

"I love you," I said again.

"I love you too," he said, rolling off me and pulling me in close.

In the morning we'd have to worry about the mess we made of the sheets and of each other, but for tonight we were back together and on the same page for the first time in too long and I didn't want to let go of him. He kissed my forehead and then my eyelids like he used to do every night when we fell exhausted into bed with each other. It was good to have him back. Soul soothing, even.

I wasn't sure how the pard would react to all the changes but I was willing to try them out as long as I had Lev by my side. I couldn't deny the others that any longer. I didn't know the balance between happiness and safety, but we'd find it together.

Read on to find out what new love and terrors will unfold for faces new and old.

Hello!

I wanted to drop a note here, first, to thank you all for reading this book and the previous ones in the series and maybe my other series too. I feel so lucky that I get to write stories and share worlds with every reader who picks up one of my books. Each one opens up a little more of the Hemlock Universe and I always look forward to finding out what's out there. Sometimes I know exactly what I'll find, but other things surprise even me.

I also want to extend a special thank you to everyone who has continued to support me since my father passed away on 3/3/24. Day-to-day life is slowly getting back to normal, but some days are still surreal.

For those of you following along with my quitting smoking journey, I'm back to two months at the time of writing this. Thank you all for your continued support there as well.