The Quest III: Return to Volter Read online

  THE QUEST III: RETURN TO VOLTER

  An Ellora's Cave Publication, February 2004

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

  PO Box 787

  Hudson, OH 44236-0787

  ISBN MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-84360-764-6

  Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned):

  Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), Mobipocket (PRC) & HTML

  THE QUEST III: RETURN TO VOLTER © 2004 MARILYN LEE

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. They are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  Edited by Martha Punches.

  Cover art by Michelle Walker.

  THE QUEST III: RETURN TO VOLTER

  Marilyn Lee

  Prologue

  You are sufficient, my cub?

  In the gathering dusk, Slayer lifted his head from his front paws and looked across the distance separating him from Meka, the carnivore who had borne him. This was their last night together and he wanted her to find pleasure in his company, but his heart felt heavy. With the rising of the sun, he, his sire Hunter, and his human mate, Jemi Hunter of Earth would set out for Tern Terra beyond the mountains that towered over the land. Once he left Volter, he would never see the slim, human female for whom he longed again.

  Ayanni. He had wanted her the moment he saw her at the river, not far from his pride’s home territory. He had seen her, mated with her, and lost her. All in the space of a short time. With the rising of the sun, she would be lost to him forever.

  I am…not.

  Meka, a large, majestic and beautiful carnivore, rose to her feet and padded over to him. She lay next to him. Your wounds trouble you?

  The wounds he had received at the hands of his sire’s younger sibling gave little discomfort. No. My wounds are nearly healed.

  What troubles you, my cub?

  He told her of Ayanni, who had haunted his thoughts since he’d seen her. Even as he’d battled his father’s younger sibling for the life and honor of his sire’s mate and his own life, he had thought of her. Thoughts of her had given him added courage and strength to battle on even as the wounds on his flanks had been ripped open by the teeth and claws of the carnivore born and bred in Tern Terra, ancestral home of the powerful, shape-shifting carnivores.

  She does not want me. She has accepted another male.

  Meka let out a low, angry roar. You are the future ruler of Tern Terra, land of the Great Carnivores. How could she choose another? Are you not brave and worthy of your sire? Did you not battle a much bigger, mature Tern Terrain for the sake of your sire mate’s honor? Did you not disdain to back down although gravely injured? Are you not the finest cub ever born in Volter? Who is this insignificant human who would choose another over you?

  She does not think so. She has forsaken me.

  She is not worthy of you! You will find a she-vore in Tern Terra worthy of you and one day return to Volter with your mate to show your cubs. When you return, there will be great joy and pride in all the carnivores of Volter, my cub. You will forget the insignificant human who dares think you unworthy.

  I do not wish to forget her. I ache for her, Meka.

  Then you should take her, my cub. No female may deny you.

  The suggestion repulsed him. He had considered finding Ayanni and trying to convince her to come with him. He had been so certain that she would meet him at the agreed upon time at the tree where they had met and mated within ten sun risings. But she had not met him. Although he longed to claim her as his, he had never thought to use force.

  He closed his eyes, allowing visions of her slender, dark body, with long, silky hair falling over her shoulders, her warm skin glistening with droplets of water, as she rose from her swim, to dance along his memory.

  She had surrendered her womanhood to him with a sweet passion, and innocence that branded her image in his heart and mind. How could he take her by force? I cannot. She has made her choice and I must learn to be sufficient without her. I would ask a great favor of you, Meka.

  Ask and I will grant anything within my power, my cub.

  Watch over her. There are many dangers in the Volterian forest and she is so beautiful and desirable. Let no one harm her.

  What does this human look like, my cub? How will I know her?

  She has long, dark hair that falls over her shoulders and lovely dark skin. Her body is slender with small breasts, wide hips, and a curly mat of hair covers her mating channel.

  Meka was silent before replying. What does she look like with her human covering on, my cub?

  He explained as best he could.

  Where does she live?

  He told her how to get to the small hut where he had last seen Ayanni.

  Meka rose to her feet. Let us go there together, my cub, and retrieve her.

  We cannot. She has made her choice. Will you watch over her for me, Meka?

  I will tell the prides of her and when and if she roams into our territory, we will do our best to ensure no harm comes to her.

  With that he had to be content. Just before sun rising, he and Meka, accompanied by both her pride and that of her sibling, Berka, set out for the hut stop where his sire and his human mate awaited him.

  Shortly thereafter, he took his leave of Meka with a heavy chest and a great sadness. As he followed his sire with his mate on his back along the trail leading out of the Volterian forest and towards the mountains, he heard Meka’s wail of despair fill the air.

  My cub! Do not forget she who bore you and values you.

  I will not forget and I will return, Meka. I give you my oath, he promised.

  The knowledge that by leaving he was grieving her added a heavy weight to him. As a younger cub, he had dreamed of one day going to the land of Tern Terra with his sire, but he had not realized how sad this leaving of she who bore him and the human female he so desired would be.

  Although born on the plains of Volter, the blood and resolve of those born in Tern Terra, ran through him. It would take time, but he would learn to be sufficient without Ayanni. When he returned to Volter to see Meka and the prides, he would not seek her out. He would honor her memory and the choice she had made, as befitted the future sovereign of Tern Terra. And he would choose another mate…one who would not find him wanting as Ayanni so clearly had.

  He tossed his head and vowed to think of her no more.

  * * * * *

  “What is this you have done, Ayanni? What shame and poverty have you brought to the house of your father?”

  Ayanni stood with her head bowed. She had shamed her parents and the male to whom she had been promised. She should be full of remorse for all the frustrated hopes her mating with Slayer had visited upon her family. For that, she felt regret, but she found she could not regret the short, but magical time she had spent with Slayer.

  All her life she had heard tales of the great shape-shifting Carnivores of Tern Terra. Like most young Volterian females, she had dreamed of someday catching the attention of one of the great males. Hunter, the only known Tern Terrian in Volter, was bond mate to Jeroni Teyer, daughter of lord of the land, Donoun. Since one as insignificant as she was not likely to catch Hunter’s eye, she had long since realized that her hopes of bettering her family’s situation rested with a normal Volterian male.

  At the end of the last warm season, as she and her mother had fished at the river for dinner, she had caught the attention of Wyman of Volter. Wyman, only offspring of Boone, from a village on the other side of the river, would receive many h
eads of livestock and a large hut when he took a mate.

  Of all the females in their small village bordering the carnivore’s watering hole, Wyman, tall and strong, had chosen her to be his mate and mistress of his large hut. Once she was mated to Wyman, his family would give her father livestock and many barter coins that would lighten her family’s load.

  Her mother would no longer have to spend long days fishing or working fields that yielded very little sustenance.

  Although Wyman had not stirred her emotions or her fantasies, she knew how fortunate she was to be placed in a position to raise her family’s prospects. When he had spoken of his intentions to mate with her, her father had joyfully accepted.

  Until she had encountered Slayer, she had considered herself blessed by The Gods of the Mountains. She knew she should not have allowed Slayer to mate with her. But having spent so many sunsets listening to the days of old when nearly every Volterian female could expect to be chosen as a mate of one of the great Carnivores, she had been incapable of refusing him. Although she had not really been asked, she had instinctively known that had she said no and meant it, he would not have mated with her.

  But she had not refused him and now her family would suffer the consequences of her selfish longing for physical pleasure.

  “What is done cannot be undone. It grieves me to tell you of your father’s decision, my daughter.”

  Ayanni’s heart raced with fear. “He will not forgive me?”

  Her mother’s eyes filled with tears. “He will not. I am to say you are no longer Ayanni, daughter of Disston. You must make your own way, my daughter.”

  Tears blurred her vision. “What will I do on my own? Where will I go?”

  “Disston has said I must not help you, but I will do what I can, my daughter. Together we will build a small hut for you.”

  “But Mother…you have no leisure to build even a small hut.”

  “I will make time. I will rise earlier.”

  Her heart ached. Her mother already toiled from long before sun rising to after sun setting. By following her selfish longings, she had increased her mother’s burden. “Father will not allow it.”

  Her mother lifted her head, her dark eyes glinting with defiance. “I will not see you with no shelter. We will speak no more of this.”

  So she was to be on her own with no male to protect her. But at least she would have shelter. Somehow, she would survive until Slayer returned for her. For surely he would return. “When am I to leave?”

  “He will allow you to remain only until the fruits of your deeds are evident for all to see…then you must leave…and never return.”

  She was to be cast out on her own. And still she could not regret having mated with Slayer.

  Slayer. My lord. Where are you? Why do you not come to me when I need you?

  * * * * *

  A warm moist touch against her lips roused Ayanni. She opened her eyes. He stood over her. Somehow she lay in the forest with the moonlight overhead. The warm night air kissed her bare skin. Slayer. My lord.

  Her nipples hardened and a shiver skipped along her spine as she noted that his cock, long and thick, protruded from its sheath.

  He was so majestic with his sleek tan coat, glorious dark mane, and beautiful slanted green eyes. Her heart pounded and she found breathing difficult. She had waited for what seemed forever to have him come to her again. And now he was here. “My lord,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I thought you would never come again. I thought you did not want me.”

  The green eyes she so adored shone with a tender light as he bent his head to gaze into her eyes. I will always want and value you, my Ayanni. You are my chosen mate. I will always come back to you.

  The grief and despair holding her in its grip melted away and she reached up to tangle her fingers in his glorious mane. “My lord.”

  Slayer, he told her softly, brushing his mouth against her lips.

  “Slayer,” she repeated. “My lord, Slayer. I am your servant here to please you.”

  No, not my servant. Never my servant. The female I chose as my mate, my Ayanni.

  The tears spilled from her eyes and down her cheeks. “Mate me with me, my lord.”

  His warm, rough tongue brushed against her breasts. She gasped and bit her bottom lip, her nipples tingling, her mating channel going damp. She ached all over for want of him. She parted her legs. “Please, my lord.”

  His head dipped and she closed her eyes. He touched the rough edge of his tongue to the little bud above her mating channel and she shivered. The breath was expelled from her lungs in a wild rush. “Oh, my lord, Slayer. Please.”

  He licked at her again, slowly dragging his tongue along the entire length of her pussy. Gods of the Mountains that was so wonderful. She bit her bottom lip and thrust her hips up against his mouth. “Please, my lord. Please. Please put it inside me. Take your servant, my lord. Mate with me. Take away the sadness in me.”

  You must not be sad, Ayanni. You are my choice. I will never value another as I do you.

  The rough edge of his tongue pushed against the folds of her pussy and then it happened. She felt his tongue penetrate and enter her. The world around her exploded. She trembled and gushed around his tongue. Pausing only briefly to lap at her juices as if they were the gifts from the Gods of the Mountains, he continued to jab deep in her. She moaned and lifted her legs to wrap around his flanks.

  He moved closer and deepened the penetration with his tongue, deliberately dragging the rough edge against her hot spots. She exploded again and again, until she felt as if she were drowning in an ecstasy of love, desire, and bliss for this big, majestic Carnivore she had fallen for the moment she saw him.

  “Oh, my lord, Slayer…I value you…I value you,” she moaned, slumping against the forest floor, deliriously happy.

  And I you, my Ayanni. He gave a final jab of his tongue into her and slowly withdrew it from her. She felt his warm breath against her face and opened her eyes. He lowered his head and kissed her. She eagerly parted her lips and tasted herself on his tongue.

  He drew away from her and stood over her, panting. She looked up and saw his cock leaking moisture from its tip. She knew what he needed—what she wanted to give him. She parted her legs and tilted her hips. “My lord. Mate with me,” she pleaded.

  She felt the excitement emanating from him. He went down on his hunches and inched forward until the big head of his cock pressed against her. A shock of need dashed through her. She reached down, gently cupped her hands around his thick length, and moaned with pleasure as she slowly fed it into her starving channel.

  He growled softly as he inched forward, pushing more cock into her. She closed her eyes, gasping through her parted lips. She had never thought to feel this combination of desire and love again. His big, warm balls came to rest against her bottom. He remained still, giving her time to adjust to his length and hardness again. She made a small, moaning sound to signal her readiness to be mated. He withdrew from her and pushed slowly back inside her, rubbing his cock along all her sensitive inner spots.

  She wrapped her arms around him and thrust her body up against his, kissing his underbelly and raking her fingers along his flanks. It had been so long since their first and only afternoon together. They were both eager and hungry for the physical closeness she longed for-as well as the sexual pleasure the act of mating brought them.

  She moaned, he growled deep in his chest cavity. She tried to part her legs further and he dived eagerly forward, thrusting his thick, twelve-inch cock deep into her pussy. They clung to each other and fought for that wonderful, all-encompassing satisfaction that they could only achieve with each other.

  She came and splintered into so many happy little pieces that even the Gods of the Mountains would have a difficult time putting her back together. And when she felt him coming in her, she came again.

  Battling her way through the pleasure, she clung tightly to him with her face pressed against his belly,
as he purred in pleasure and filled her body with the last of his seed.

  As he pulled out of her, the dream slipped away and Ayanni came awake with a start. Lying still on her palette on the floor, she knew without opening her eyes that she was in the hut stop without him. He was not there with her. She was alone. So alone. It had been a beautiful, useless dream.

  Chapter One

  As they made their way along the winding mountain path, Jemi felt the muscles in Hunter’s flanks tighten against her legs. He had been tense since they had left Volter. As they neared the end of their journey to Tern Terra, his body felt like one gigantic coiled muscle.

  Moving in a single column, several hundreds of yards ahead of them were Dioni, her personal bodyguard, and the four Carnivores who had come to Volter to ensure Hunter’s safe return home.

  Hunter’s only surviving cub, Slayer, trailed forlornly behind them.

  What should have been a happy time for them all was filled with stress and anxiety instead.

  She leaned forward and brushed her lips against Hunter’s mane. Hunter? Are you all right?

  I am…sufficient.

  But she knew he wasn’t. She could feel his turmoil through the psychic bond they shared.

  No, you’re not. Please let me share your burden.

  It is mine to bear alone. I must face she who bore me and tell her that Stalker has been dispatched.

  It wasn’t your fault, she protested. His younger sibling, Stalker, had come to Volter on a covert mission to ensure Hunter did not return to Tern Terra to claim his rightful place as elder offspring of Seeker and future ruler of Tern Terra.

  When confronted by Slayer, Stalker had gravely injured Slayer twice before being killed by Slayer’s mother and several of the carnivores from her pride.

  His death had been horrific, but no more so than the one he had intended for Jemi, Slayer, and Dioni.

  It wasn’t your fault, she told Hunter.