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Here it is, part ten of destiny intertwined. This one took me a while to write but I think it turned out alright. Hope you enjoy it.

As always, comments are appreciated.

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Continued from Lan'as'atal...

Cerule sat before the fire dressed in a light robe, thinking. Outside the walls of the house they had been given, silence lay heavily upon the world like a thick blanket. Starlight and moonlight shone down through the window nearby and crawled across the floor towards the tiger. Cerule rubbed his tired eyes, for he was still recovering from the spiritual battle with the necromantic curse. But sleep, the one thing he truly desired right now, had proven to be elusive, so he sat out before the fire in the hearth, thinking. Since Jeno had died, he had lived his life alone. No friends, no family, and he had thought himself at least content if not happy with that way of living. He had been free to wander anywhere he willed, spying out the secrets of the natural world. But all that had changed when he met Jessica. She had made him realize that he had been deceiving himself all his life. He hadn't been happy or even content, nor had he been free. For, like all Ka-lin, he had been hunted his entire life and he had lived his life in constant fear that his next fight to survive would be his last. Traveling with Jessica had been the greatest time of his life, but something was still missing even then and he thought he knew what it was. There was no place that they belonged, or at least there hadn't been.

They belonged here, on this island in the southern sea. Whatever choice he made, he and his love had agreed that they would stay here. But it was that choice that kept him from rest. Normally, he was quick to make decisions, but this one gave him pause. Somewhere along the way, he had stopped being just another nameless wanderer in the wilderness. Somehow, he had become a hero and that alone was a shock. But now, he was being asked not only to fight for something greater than his survival, but to lead an army in doing so. It was a staggering prospect and he did not think that he could manage it. He shook his head once more and stared back into the flickering flames, his mind running in a continuous loop of thought.

He was so absorbed by his thoughts that he didn't notice the other person in the room until she touched his shoulder. He jumped at her touch and looked up at the woman he loved. His jaw dropped open when he caught sight of her. She had always been beautiful to him, but standing there in a sleeping robe of grey silk, illuminated by the low light of the fire, she looked different. She looked primal, seductive and exotic with the glittering fire reflected from her eyes and the silver stripes that covered her body. She smiled at him and gave him a sweet kiss before speaking.

"Pondering the choice?" She asked and he nodded, unable to look away from her seductive form. "Had any luck?"

"None." He replied and she nodded.

"Then come back to bed." She said, pulling him to his feet. He smiled at her as he rose and finally managed to look away from her. He shook his head as she walked back to the bedroom's doorway and then looked at the fire once more.

"I don't feel like sleeping right now." He stated, his mind already returning to the loop of thought that had trapped him.

"Who said anything about sleep?" Jessica replied, her voice full of innuendo. Cerule looked back at her in surprise and found that she stood in the bedroom doorway, naked, her eyes reflecting eerie green and a look of playful desire in her eyes. Thoughts of the choice before him were instantly driven out of Cerule's mind and he walked to the bedroom, stepping over the silvery puddle her sleeping robe had made on the floor. Jessica moved out of the doorway and back into the room as he approached and he hurried his pace slightly. The moment he passed the threshold of the room, he was seized from behind by two arms clad in white and silver. Jessica kissed along the line of his neck and the arms slid beneath his robe, her fingers sending rivers of sensation through him as they ran through his pelt. A moment later, the searching hands undid the knot holding his robe closed and the silken garment slid to the floor, helped along by Jessica's hands.

With him standing naked before her, she released him enough for him to turn around. They embraced and after a gentle kiss, they stood still, Cerule holding her to him as he had on the rampart of the academy when they first declared their affections to one another. But something was different this time. Jessica's body was almost hot to the touch and Cerule could feel the swift beat of her heart as she pressed against him. And then, a scent found its way to his nose, a scent that his body recognized even if he did not. It was an intangible scent, one that did not belong to anything he had encountered before, but that didn't stop it from having an effect. His own heart began to quicken its pace and Jessica must have sensed something because she began to kiss him fiercely. Her hands stroked all of his body and every sensation was more powerful than ever before.

Jessica pressed her body against him, her kisses getting more and more insistent. The heat of her body became more intense and then suddenly, Jessica pushed him back. Cerule fell onto the bed and looked around, confused for a moment. She had skillfully maneuvered him back while they had been embraced. Smiling, he scooted up the bed a little ways until he found a pillow and then he waited for his love to join him. He did not have to wait long. A moment later, Jessica pounced on him, her furry body pressing against him once more. She kissed him fiercely again and he felt her grind her mound against his leg, leaving a thin trail of fluid behind. Every moment seemed to driving her ever further into arousal, and that in turn drove him to a more and more aroused state.

A moment later it seemed to be too much for Jessica to wait any longer. His lover straddled his hips, positioning herself over his member. With a slow but insistent motion, she thrust downward, her body shuddering as she took him into her. The moment her hot vaginal lips embraced him, he felt an incredible animalistic urge rise in him, an urge to roll her over underneath him and take her. But, even as he started to rise, Jessica's arms trapped his own to the bed, their strength strangely beyond his. A gasp of pleasure left Jessica's throat as she hilted herself against him. And there she paused a moment her eyes holding his within them. Within the blue eyes of the woman he loved, he saw a fiery look of total desire, a look he had never seen before. Then, she began to thrust onto him, slowly at first, but then with ever increasing speed.

Waves of pleasure washed out from Cerule's loins as his mate rode him and the tiger let out a moan of his own. This new position of mating was driving him crazy and he surrendered willingly to his instincts, thrusting back up into her with every downward motion. Jessica began to gasp and moan with every thrust, then her eyes squeezed shut, and she let out a cry of utter lust, a sound that only served to excite her mate. Her walls suddenly tightened around Cerule's shaft with her climax, but she didn't stop moving even for a moment. Her thrusting kept up and Cerule was amazed to feel her tightening and relaxing around him as orgasm after orgasm rocked her. Her eyes were still shut and Cerule realized that her arms were no longer trying to hold him in place. Even though he knew his climax wasn't far off, he raised his arms and gripped her legs, pulling her downward with every thrust. She gasped loudly at this change and then, mere moments later, a final climax came, one far stronger than those before it. When her walls tightened this final time around him, Cerule came, his surging into his mate. Their gasps of pleasure filled the room for a few moments and then Jessica collapsed forward onto her love, her breath coming quick and sharp.

Cerule put his arms tiredly around her, holding her to him while he waited for his body to calm down. But the heat that emanated from his love had not gone away. The intangible odor was still there, and Cerule was surprised to find that his body stubbornly refused to relax. Before he could ponder this, Jessica's eyes opened and he saw the desire was still there. She smiled at him and gave him a passionate kiss. She pulled off of him and then rolled over onto her back beside him, tugging him over so he would be on top. Cerule smiled when he realized what she had in mind. The night was just beginning...

***

In another house not so far away, another pair new to Lan'as'atal were sitting together in their home, before the fire in the hearth. Aden and Shae sat together side by side before the warm fire, thankfully free of worries.

"Where do you think Ardal went?" Shae asked, laying her head on Aden's shoulder.

"I think he went looking for Ferus." The fox replied, smiling at her. "He seems smitten with her."

"Does she like him?" Shae asked and Aden found her hand on his.

"I think she does." He answered and he felt his heart race. He hadn't felt his heart thrill at anyone's touch since his mate, Ardal's mother, had died all those years before. Since she had died, he had felt empty, for a large part of himself had been taken from him. That void had been there so long that he had stopped noticing its presence. But since a few years ago, he had been aware of its presence once again, for he had a secret, a secret that he had been hiding from everyone for years.

The secret was that he loved Shae deeply, but he had never had the courage to tell her. But more than that, his infrequent dreams of fantasy lovers had often had a specific snow leopard. He swallowed nervously and looked at Shae once more. In the firelight, the parts of her body that were visible beneath her clothes glittered with red and orange lights and he swallowed again, took a deep breath and spoke, preparing to throw caution to the winds.

"Shae..." he began and her brown eyes looked back into his green eyes. "I have something I have been meaning to tell you."

"What a coincidence," She replied, "I have something I have wanted to tell you as well. Shall I go first?"

"I guess." He said, thankful for the opportunity to put off telling her.

"As you know, I have lived alone all my life," She began, edging into the subject. "I have always been envious of you because you have known what I have not. But then, the more time I spent around you, the more I began to realize something. I realized that I love you Aden." She said and he stared at her in shock. Her gaze was locked with his and he felt her hand trail its way up his arm slowly, approaching his shoulder.

"I...I uh," He stuttered, unable to speak the words aloud to reciprocate her sentiments and she smiled at him, putting a finger to his lips.

"I know." She said, and the pair kissed for the first time. And in that moment, that single expression of affection, the pair sealed a pact of life long affection. The kiss was over swiftly, but another followed and another after that. Neither seemed willing to let the other go. They kissed all the more fiercely and Shae slipped a hand beneath Aden's light shirt, her fingers tracing a pattern through his fur as she stroked him. Aden reciprocated her attentions and it wasn't long until Shae was tugging his shirt over his head. He obligingly removed the garment and then reached out to do the same for her. She was no more reluctant then he had been and her shirt soon joined his in a pile beside them, revealing her bare torso to him for the first time.

Looking at each other, they grinned and stripped off their trousers. Now naked, the pair examined each other a moment and then went back to kissing. The pair continued to stroke each other's fur while they kissed and then, their passions running hot, they began to stroke lower and lower until both had a hand between the other's legs. And then, after a minute of their gentle ministrations, Shae began to lie back on the rug, her legs spread invitingly, tugging Aden towards her. Aden came willing and found himself poised at her entrance. For a moment, he paused, wondering if this was right, but a moment later, he was sure that it was. Shae, showing her feline flexibility, pulled Aden towards her with her legs, resting the tip of his canine equipment in the folds of her flesh. Instinct took over and Aden pushed with his hips, entering Shae and sliding up to his knot in her. Shae moaned when he did this and Aden marveled at the difference in sensation.

When he and Ardal's mother had mated, it had been very good. But Shae seemed to be textured differently inside and he paused in the act to contemplate it. But Shae's insistent pulling with her legs made him forget it. He pulled out to his tip and then thrust back in, groaning at the sensation. Soon, he and his lover built a steady rhythm of thrusts, each moaning with pleasure at each thrust. But, each thrust was stopped by the knot and Aden had the incredible urge to hilt himself, knot and all, in his mate. But he restrained the urge, knowing that Shae would not be used to it and it would cause her pain, something he refused to do. But then, he felt Shae's hand reach down between their legs and feel his knot, giving it a little squeeze. Aden groaned and nearly came right then, but then Shae spoke, her voice labored with excitement and exertion.

"Aden, don't stop. I want it all inside me." She whispered.

The fox nodded and pressed harder into her with each thrust. Shae moaned louder, but the knot would not fit into her. Then, biting his lip to keep from cumming, Aden thrust once more, pressing hard against her feline passage. Shae, though her eyes were watering with the pressure of the knot of flesh at her entrance, wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled hard towards her. And then, with a gasp that was equal parts expression of pain and of pleasure, Shae took his knot, the sudden increase in girth making her climax. Aden continued to thrust, harder now that he was hilted within her and then, the fox could not restrain himself any longer. With a grunt, he came, ropy strings of seed shooting into his feline lover. Finally, his sight swimming with the after effects of the climax, he slumped forward onto her. The lovers held each other tight as they lay before the fire, their breathing coming in ragged gasps and then, as they regained their strength, Shae spoke.

"That was wonderful." She said and Aden smiled. The snow leopard gave her lover a kiss, then whispered once again. "How long are we stuck like this?"

"At least a few minutes." Aden answered, kissing her once again. Shae smiled and what she said next wiped the last doubts from Aden's mind.

"Good," She said, holding him tight. "I don't want it to end."

The pair lay snuggled together for a half hour before Aden's knot had relaxed enough for him to pull out, but when he was at last free, they returned to lying together, cuddling gently in each other's arms. At last, with sleep creeping over them, they got up from where they had loved and went to their bedroom, curling up together beneath the blankets, complete at last...

***

Cerule opened his eyes slowly, his lids reluctant to let in the light of day. Seeing that he lay in a beam of sunshine, his face towards the window, he closed his eyes and turned his head so his eyes were in shadow and then opened them again. What he beheld made him smile as the memories of the wild night before came to him out of the fog of sleep. Jessica lay beside him on the bed, her slim body curled against him. She still slept peacefully, oblivious to the sunshine that lay upon her face. Cerule moved slowly, allowing her to sleep on. She needed the sleep after her performance last night. She had made love like a thing possessed, her lust seemingly insatiable. They had made love four, or was it five, times before they had collapsed together into sleep, both totally exhausted.

Cerule sat up slowly, every muscle in his body tired and sluggish. He yawned widely, trying to count the number of times they had done it and found that his memory wasn't clear enough to tell. He managed to get all the way up and touch his toes with his hands, stretching his back and legs. When he uncurled from that position, he stretched his arms up high, reaching for the ceiling. This movement proved to be a mistake. When his muscles warmed up, blood rushed upward and his head began to spin as the blood resurged into his tired brain. Dropping back onto his back to wait for the spinning to stop, Cerule lay still, waiting for the world to right itself. When everything had returned to normal, he felt more awake than he had and looked at his sleeping mate. And with that single look, he saw the solution to the problem that had troubled him so much the night before. She meant enough to him that he would die for her. He had felt this since he first felt the affection he felt for her, but now, the choice was made for him. If he was going to fight for her anyway, he might as well do it at the head of an army.

Nodding slightly to himself, he put an arm around his love and drew her closer, nestling her naked body against his. He stroked her back slowly and she started to purr at his ministrations. He smiled and then kissed her, which caused her to wake. When her eyes opened, she smiled and cuddled closer to him.

"I have made my choice." He said after a while, and she looked up at him expectantly. "I will fight at the head of the army."

"Then I will lead the magi." She said, and laid her head back down against his chest. After a moment of laying there, she spoke again. "We will have to tell Tordek."

"Indeed," Cerule said, then kissed the top of her head. "But not yet."

"Right." She said and put her arms around him. The pair lay in each other's arms for another hour before either of them made any move to get out of bed and even then it was half hearted. Finally, just as the sun was starting its descent toward evening, the two tigers managed to get out of bed. Then, they went to the sunken bath in the next room and bathed each other clean in the hot spring water that came up through the vent in the floor. Finally, refreshed and fully awake, the pair got out and dressed in their newly cleaned clothing. They paused just long enough to make a quick meal before going out to find the huge bear. They found him standing in the clearing with the map table, talking with one of his officers.

"Ah, greetings you two." He said when the officer walked away, a smile creasing his mouth. "You have made a decision I take it?"

"We have." Cerule said, and took a deep breath. "I have decided to accept your offer. I will lead your army."

"And I will lead your magic users." Jessica said, and Tordek's grin grew wide.

"I am so glad." He said, coming around the table to shake hands with the both of them, "I had hoped you would say yes." Then, the huge bear called for runners. One of them he detailed to take Cerule to the armorer to be fitted; another guided Jessica to meet with her command. The rest were told to take the message to the armed camps of soldiers on the island that Cerule the Far Strider was going to lead them. There were many cheers throughout the island and by the time Jessica and Cerule were reunited, there was an excited current of speech that passed through the whole of the island.

Jessica stood in the clearing where Tordek had made his headquarters, waiting for Cerule to appear. When he finally did, he did not look like a wanderer from the wilderness. His blue clothing, patched and frayed from years in the wilderness was gone, replaced by a tunic and breaches of soft silk cloth. Over that had gone a leather jerkin and leggings. A suit of closely nit chainmail had been placed over the leather and it jingled slightly as he walked. Over that came plates of armor crafted of an enchanted alloy that was stronger than steel, but lighter than leather armor. Cerule's head was covered by a coif of chainmail and a helm of the same alloy. The whole thing had been painted white with silver highlights and Cerule had clasped his white cloak over it. A bastard sword of excellent make had been bound to his left side and a dagger was sheathed on his right. When Jessica first saw him, girded in the bright raiment of war, he looked exactly like a great Champion. But, when the tiger came up close and she saw the familiar aqua eyes, she knew that he was still the same tiger she had fallen in love with.

"Now we have our Champion." Proclaimed Tordek, and his officers nodded their agreement. He was about to continue when a runner sprinted into the clearing, a piece of parchment clutched in his hand. He skidded to a halt and leaned on the map table, his breath a rapid gasp. Tordek took the missive from his hand, unfolded it and read it, his eyes growing wide before he reached the end. When he finished it, his eyes flicked back up to the top and reread the message. When he looked at the young soldier who stood before him gasping for breath, he spoke. "Who sent this?"

"Chieftain Tiderunner gave it to me personally." The youth replied and Tordek shook his head in shock.

"What is it sir?" Asked one of the officers and Tordek took a deep breath before replying...

To be continued...