FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 4: The Secrets Out

He tirededly unlocked his apartment door and stepped through. He was dragging his coat off when he heard the door being closed and locked behind him. He hung his uniform coat up and stowed his weapon and harness in a safe in the closet.

He turned to make his way to the bedroom when Tendaji wrapped his arms around his waist and nuzzled his face from behind. He sighed and stood still. His mate took that as a sign of willingness or at least capitulation to being touched. He moved his paws to the tom's shoulders and began a deep massage of the tight muscles there. Feral let his body relax under his mate's soothing fingers.

'I didn't realize just how tense I was.' He thought conceding his mate was good for something.

Tendaji tsked mentally as he felt Ulysses relax under his kneading fingers. 'He feels just like a board. I'm willing to bet he's not had anyone do this for him in a very long time or at all.' He mused.

He ceased what he was doing and smiled at the groan of dismay from his mate.

"We'll continue this in the bedroom. I want to get to those tight muscles without the interference of clothes. Have you eaten?" He asked as they began to move to the bedroom.

"Hmmm, yes, I managed to grab a sandwich earlier." Feral said as he entered the room and began to strip off his uniform.

"A sandwich? And just how long ago was that?" Tendaji demanded as he helped his mate undress.

"Uhh...I don't know. Around three or four, I guess." Feral admitted.

"That's much too long ago. I'll check your kitchen and see if I can't rustle up something." His mate said, shaking his head. "You need to take better care of yourself."

"I have been extremely busy, you know." Feral reminded him.

"That's no excuse. You have plenty of people around you that can insure you eat." Tendaji snapped.

"My Sergeant usually does that for me and he's the one who got me the sandwich." Feral said sharply, defending his staff.

"Well that's good to know but you still should have stopped and picked up something so you wouldn't be having the headache you're suffering from now." His lion mate persisted. "Get cleaned up and I'll get us something to eat." He ordered and left before Feral could say anything else.

Growling in annoyance at his mate's pushiness, Feral went into the bathroom to wash up and prepare for bed.

Some twenty minutes later, Tendaji returned with a tray containing roasted tuna sandwiches, tall glasses of milk, and chips.

"Smells good. How did you know I liked roasted tuna?" Feral asked as he took his meal from the tray and sat on the bed.

"Well it was about the only thing you had in your fridge and I happen to like them too." Tendaji said with a shrug, taking a healthy bite of his own sandwich.

They ate in quiet companionship. Feral had flicked on the TV and they watch a bit of David Litterbin's show as they finished their meal.

When they'd finished, the lion took the tray back to the kitchen then returned a few minutes later. He reached out for the remote and turned off the TV.

"Roll over onto your stomach." He commanded.

Feral sighed but did as requested. Tendaji straddled Ulysses' thighs and began a deep massage of his mate's back. The dark tom grunted under the initial force but soon relaxed as his lion mate dug into the tense muscles and forced them to release. By the time he reached his mate's buttocks, Uly was nearly asleep.

Tendaji smiled tenderly down at his totally relaxed mate. He knew Uly thought he was going to make sexual demands of him but the lion was not that insensitive to his mate's exhaustion. He had obviously been pushing it for far too long and needed his rest badly.

The lion got off his mate's body and moved down the bed to grab the sheet and blanket then pulled it over the two of them. He shut the light then settled down to spoon Ulysses from behind. Very quickly they were both sound asleep.

The morning's light caressed the sleeping pair. Feral woke with a huge yawn. As he stretched and prepared to leave the bed, he had to admit the massage he'd received last night had allowed him get a very good night's sleep.

As he shoved the bedding off, he was immediately halted by a powerful arm. He groaned as he knew what was going to happen. He wasn't disappointed as he was pulled down to his back and a smug looking lion stared down into his face, lust shining in his eyes.

"I think you owe me for the massage last night, Uly." Tendaji said with a smirk. He leaned down and stole a passionate kiss.

Feral moaned, the weight of his mate pressing him into the bed and his hot member prodding him between his legs made him hot quickly. Some part of his mind still found his response shocking. That his body reacted soo eagerly for the attentions of this lion defied any logic he tried to put to the situation. It just didn't make sense but...ooooh...did it feel soo good.

Tendaji took him for a quick fiery ride that brought them both screaming only moments after they'd started.

"Aaah my wonderful jewel! You please me soo very well. I just can't get enough of you." Tendaji murmured heatedly as he nuzzled his panting and sweating mate.

"I still can't get used to how easily I respond to you. It just doesn't seem natural." Feral said with a grunt, pushing his mate off so that he could get up. He almost succeeded.

"Not so fast, my love." Tendaji said, in some amusement, as he pulled his mate close for a kiss. When he released the dark tom, he stared into his golden eyes a moment. "We are soul mates, Uly. The sooner you accept that the easier it will be for you." He admonished.

Feral frowned, still not getting this soul mate thing but let it drop. He couldn't change what had happened and, anyway, he was beginning to like all the personal attention and, of course, the intense sex.

"I need to get ready for work." He said in resignation.

"I know. I wish we could have a little time to get to know each other better. I guess it's going to have to wait until I present you to my King and Pride." He sighed, releasing his mate.

Feral stood up quickly in case Tendaji changed his mind but paused before going to the bathroom. "You've mentioned this before. When is this thing supposed to take place and how long will it take?" He asked.

Tendaji's face took on a serious cast. "I've been having difficulty catching my King to set up a time and date. When I do, it will be done quickly but we will have to stay for the Pride gathering as each member greets you and you learn their scent and face. Altogether, it will take about five days." He explained.

"Five days?! I can't be away from my duties that long." Feral objected.

"Sorry, there's no getting around it. Leave your second in command in charge. Our Pride lands are located about three hundred miles from here so we will have to fly to reach it." His mate said firmly.

"Kat's Alive! I can't leave Steele in charge that long. He's a nitwit and isn't capable of handling the normal day to day stuff let alone an attack by an omega." Feral blurted out angrily.

Tendaji frowned in confusion. "Then why in the Goddess' name do you have him as your second in command?" He asked in bewilderment.

"One word! Politics!" Feral said sourly. "Couldn't get rid of him even if I wanted to, and believe me I do."

"Oh! I'm afraid I can understand that reason only too well. Unfortunately, it can't be helped. You'll just have to hope this Steele fellow only makes a small mess for you to clean up." Tendaji said in commiseration.

"Thanks a lot!" Feral snorted in disgust as he turned on his heel and went into the bathroom, locking the door.

Tendaji growled in annoyance. He'd been hoping for a bit more play, this time under the hot water in the shower. Huffing to himself, he flicked on the TV while he waited his turn in the bathroom.

Managing to catch the morning news, he bolted upright when he heard Ann Gora's report.

"Crap! Uly is definitely not going to like this and I'm not so happy about it either." He snarled aloud searching for his phone and making a quick call.

"Tendaji here. Listen up! I need at least six guards at Enforcer Headquarter's waiting for our arrival in about half an hour...yeah...just check the news and you'll know what's up... yeah...I totally agree with that comment. See you there in a bit." He said cutting the connection. "Damn!" He growled as he continued to watch the news.

On the far side of the city at the Megakat City Salvage Yard...

Two mechanics had just opened their shop and were eating their breakfast and watching the news as they ate their cereal.

"Ahh, Jake, I'd rather watch Scardey Kat." Chance complained.

"And I want to see why Hard Drive was messing around downtown when we captured him." Jake said firmly.

Chance just grunted unhappily until, that is, when he actually paid attention to what Ann Gora was saying and spit his cereal out in shock.

"...though the two Lion Prides incarcerated in jail last night were not forthcoming on why they were on a Pride Hunt at the scene of the disaster with Hard Drive, it's this reporter's opinion that Commander Feral has a secret that he's kept hidden all his life and now these two prides know about it. During the dust up between them and before the Commander had them hauled away for interfering with an official investigation, one of the lions from the Zuberi Pride roared and said, I quote, "Paws off my mate" unquote. There was no female but Commander Feral the lion in question was standing in front of when he warned off the other pride. One can only conclude that Commander Feral is not completely what he seems and has become mated to this lion. We will keep you apprised of any new information on this odd occurrence as they become available. This is Ann Gora of Kats Eye News bidding you a good morning and I'll now turn the news over to Tab Hunter..." Jake turned off the TV and gaped at his partner.

"What the heck? Feral a mate of a lion?" Chance blurted in amazement. "But that would mean he's..." He halted, unable to articulate the only thing that could mean.

"That he's an hermaphrodite...yeah...that's a real shock alright." Jake said, rubbing his head, still taken aback by the info. "What's worse is he's right in the middle of a pride hunt. What a mess."

"Huh! That's an understatement and with the agreement between the prides and the city, no one is allowed to interfere." Chance said with a frown.

"Except that Feral managed to do so with a nice bit of legality. Man, he looked pissed." Jake said thoughtfully. "I bet his main reason was that now everyone will be aware of what he is and he'll be a target for every slaver outside of the city as well as other prides."

"Great! As if the omegas weren't enough trouble, now we have to worry about interfering lions roaming the streets waiting their chance to play 'snatch the commander.' That will distract the enforcers allowing any omega a better opportunity to make a play for the city." Chance said with a snort of annoyance.

"Yeah, that's a very real scenario you've made, buddy. Poor Feral, he might as well be wearing a big bulls-eye on that arrogant hide of his. I may not be able to stand that hard-ass but I do feel sorry for him right now. His life is in danger every moment he steps out of Enforcer Headquarters." Jake said grimly.

"Huh! I guess you're right. I suppose we should keep an extra eye for odd visitors in our city and of any alerts about Feral being snatched." Chance said sourly.

"That's going to be difficult. This city gets thousands of odd visitors daily. Wish we could put a tracer on Feral's person then at least we'd be able to track him easier." Jake said.

"Good luck with that. First you'd have to get close to him since he's not going to volunteer to be tracked and his mate would probably be real uptight by our interference." Chance said.

Jake sighed. Chance was right. Lions were extremely protective of their mates and kits. But it would be worth it to try and drop a bug on the Commander. Jake ruminated about the size and shape of the bug and how he'd drop on Feral's person.

He thought about the problem the whole day while he and Chance were fixing cars. Later that evening after the garage had been closed, Jake spent some time tinkering in his workshop.

In an old run down building, an evil pair of eyes watched a repeat of that same news broadcast that evening...

"Well, how interesting. Hmmm, wonder if I could turn this bit of information into something I could use..." A deep voice muttered thoughtfully. In the background the sound of odd screeches and the flutter of wings could be heard.