Panthera Spelaea Ch. 51-60

The weeks spent at the remote farm let me integrate with my lion's mind. I still wasn't in control, but I could push across to him feelings, wants, and desires. Sometimes he would not listen, but when it was important, he did. It wasn't full control, more like riding shotgun in a car. You could tell the driver where to go, but he might not follow your instructions.

Cave lions and cave bears were not friends or allies in their world; they were both apex predators, fighting over the same big prey animals and territories. My lion sniffed at the bear, a low rumble coming from his chest. The bear didn't attack, so he wandered over to the girls instead. Svetlana had put my swimsuit, shoes, and sunglasses into a backpack along with extra clothes and water. "Everything is good," Svetlana said as she rubbed my neck. "Let's go exploring."

My cat didn't want to leave them behind with another Switcher around. He laid on his stomach and waited for the girls to hop on. Anna took her customary place at the base of my neck, her legs in front of my chest, while Svetlana sat behind her. I stood up and moved away from the crew and family Art had in the isolated valley.

My lion was restless. He could scent the lookouts, but the terrain was not familiar and the rocky landscape not to his liking. The cliffs and steep trails were better, and we ended up in the shade looking over the rolling hills of the Italian island. I let my lion stay in control, lounging on the rock ledge as the girls leaned on me and we watched Art hunt for food below us.

We had a private location, so we didn't even change back for dinner. His crew cooked a big dinner on the beach, including a roasted lamb for each of the switchers. My cat didn't understand the need to cook food, but he didn't mind the taste of it. As the sun set, I was still gnawing on the bones by the cliff, watching the others around the fire.

Most of the crew returned to the ship, but Art and I stayed in our animal forms. The guards set up tents near the fire, allowing the sentries to rest in between shifts. I cleaned the blood off my face in the surf, then came back and plopped down on a large blanket near the fire. The girls sat in front of me, talking with Art's family members about life with a Switcher.

They found out a few interesting things. That part about your body healing itself and remaining in peak form? There was a reason why all the switchers we'd met looked to be in their mid-twenties. Aging was a form of degradation, and the Switcher gift undid the damage and restored you to your physical peak in your mid-twenties. If you were young, you grew into it; older, and your aging reversed. I was pretty close to that peak, so I didn't see the changes except for bulking up a bit.

My essence would heal damage and stop aging in the girls, but not reverse it. If they were away from me for a year, they would age a year and never get it back. "I never thought swallowing would be the path to eternal youth," Anna said with a laugh.

"More reasons to stay with our man forever," Svetlana agreed. "The sacrifices we have to make to look good for him," she giggled as she snugged into my chest.

"It's not all easy. You're going to stay young and beautiful forever, while watching your parents and your children age and die," the Captain told us. "We've grown up knowing Art would never change. Art himself knew what would happen if the Gift went to him. I imagine this is all a shock to you."

"It doesn't all seem real yet," Svetlana confessed. "We love each other, and physically we've never been better. My parents are having a hard enough time accepting the love triangle we have together. I don't know how I'll tell them I'm effectively immortal."

"There is no hurry for that," the Captain replied. "It might be a decade before they say anything about how you haven't aged a day. When that time comes, you'll have to trust them with the truth, or cut yourself off from them completely. The ones like Edward who live in the world have to do this over and over, leaving everyone they know and going somewhere new."

"We'll figure it out," Anna said. "Our real problem is John here." My cat raised his head, a low rumble coming from his chest. He didn't like the thought that HE was the problem. "We have zero chance of living out in the world like Edward does. He's been all over the Internet for weeks, and many people believe he's responsible for sixteen deaths. The Internet doesn't go away."

Svetlana let out a sigh. "I hadn't thought about that. His face will never change, so he will always look exactly like the person in the pictures. Our photos are out there, too. Since they won't ever find the killer, we'll always be looked upon with suspicion."

"We will figure it out, somehow."

"And not in Russia. Can we ever go back?"

The Captain answered for them. "I doubt that would be wise. Ekatarina is doing what she can to cauterize the interest in your cat there, but we don't know how widespread the information is, or who is really behind it. Add in public opinion, and I'd never recommend going." I could smell Svetlana's disappointment as it sank in. Anna was happy seeing the world, as her childhood held few good memories. Svetlana was different. I might have to find a way to bring her parents to the States permanently. I was sure they'd want to be around their grandchildren.

One of the lookouts pointed to the sky just before midnight. "Helicopter inbound," he warned over the walkie-talkie.

The girls sat up, and I switched back. Svetlana dug in the backpack and tossed me my clothes. Art led us up the trail with three crew members. "It's Edward. He's going to land over there." We headed that way to meet him.

The helicopter landed on a flat area overlooking the beach, unloading a single white male in his mid-twenties. Edward was wearing khaki shorts, a white sleeveless T-shirt, and sandals. His shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, plus his tanned and athletic physique would make him look at home on any beach in the world. He handed off his bag to one of the crew members as we approached. "Art! So good to see you again! It seems like years since I've seen you!"

The two men embraced and stood back to look at each other. "It has been. You haven't changed a bit in twenty-two years," he teased.

"You either, you old man!" They both laughed, then Art brought him over to meet us. "Edward Smith, may I introduce our Cave Lion switcher, John Cantwell, and his mates Anna and Svetlana."

"TWO mates? You lucky man," he said as we shook hands. Our greeting was more than just physical; we were taking in each others scents and sizing each other up as potential threats. The girls introduced themselves as my cat growled low in the chest. "Damn, man, that's some possessive cat you have there. I'm not going to bite them, that's your job."

"He'll get used to it," Svetlana said as she stepped back into my side. "He was the same way with Art at first, until he realized we weren't in danger from him."

"I can't blame the bloke. Two beautiful shielas? Greedy, but that's lions for you. Keeping the males away must be a full-time job for him." He flashed a smile, his perfect white teeth almost glowing. "You don't happen to have any sisters, do you?"

"I'm an orphan, and Svetlana is an only child," Anna replied. "Sorry."

"Quite all right. I'll keep watching and waiting for my match to come along. I need to get out and run, mates. That's one long-ass flight with multiple connections."

"How long to Tasmania?"

"I've been traveling since Art told me that Ekatarina met you and verified you were a Cave Lion shifter. Drive to the airport, puddle jumper to Sydney, then twenty-four hours in the air with a stop in Qatar to Rome. Another puddle jumper to Sardinia, followed by a helicopter ride. Long-ass travel, but it's worth it to see it's all true. I can't wait to see your cat!"

It was dark, we were isolated, and the sentries were still out. "Why wait any longer," Art asked. "Our sentry spotted some wild boar in that direction." He pointed to the northwest.

Edward was visibly excited, and my lion was interested. "Have you ever hunted with another predator?"

I shook my head. "I've barely hunted by myself, mostly deer in Russia."

"Follow my lead. Wild boar aren't easy prey; they are fast, live in small groups, have excellent smell and hearing, and tusks that can rip you open. We approach from downwind, choose our targets, and attack at the same time. Don't pick the biggest ones, they don't taste as good as the smaller pigs."

My cat was licking his chops in my mind. "How will we communicate?"

"Just watch, your cat should know. If he doesn't, go to the other side of the herd and pounce when I do."

I looked over at the girls. "Do you mind?"

"Are you kidding? Bring us some fresh BACON," Anna said.

"We will watch the hunt from here using our drone," the Captain said.

That was enough for me. We both stripped down, and I kissed the girls before letting my cat take control. Edward approached warily, tail and stomach low as stood protectively in front of the girls. The Scimitar Cat was similar to a Saber-Tooth Tiger, with smaller and straighter upper canines. He was about half my size, maybe four hundred pounds, with a short tail and fuzzy spotted fur. Where I was built with powerful muscles, he was leaner and looked fast. His namesake upper canines went outside of his lower jaw with his mouth closed. He was a predator suited to smaller prey, while my Cave Lion evolved to go after bigger animals.

We sniffed noses, then he rubbed his head along my shoulder. My cat relaxed enough for the girls to pet him. Where I came up to head level, his shoulders came to their waists. Anna thought he was "cute and cuddly," which caused Edward to snort and shake his head and my cat to growl. Apex predators shouldn't be 'cuddly' and my girls shouldn't find any other man 'cute.'

I nudged him towards the trail, and we set off towards the wild boar sighting. We were lucky in that the winds were out of the west, so we could move north and turn into the wind. He was the expert, so I let him lead the way. We must have made quite the pair on the drone video, looking like a lion and his cub, until you realized he was a full-grown cat the size of a Siberian tiger.

I picked up the scent first, chuffing softly and raising my nose to the wind. Edward's cat picked it up as well, and we followed the wind towards it. Both of our cats were adapted to silent movement despite our size. Luck was with us, as the herd was just beyond a rise, allowing us to stop with just our heads in view and scope them out. The small valley was long and narrow, with the ends on each side of us. The hill dropped off quickly from our vantage point. The eight boar were digging around under some bushes about fifty feet down the hill. Edward moved back a little, so I did the same.

I was a little surprised when he shifted and leaned towards my ear. "I'll move to the left and come in from the side. When they see me, they'll scatter towards the rocks on the right. That's where you need to be waiting." He shifted back and crept off, staying out of sight of the pigs.

I moved to the right, silently moving to box them in. Cave lions aren't ambush predators, but we will use features of the land to our advantage. We found a space where the rocks narrowed the path, and set up in the darkness just beyond.

I waited for two minutes until the pig's alarm squeals told me Edward's attack had begun. The herd ran my way as his victim's squeals continued. As expected, the herd burst through the rocks with a three-hundred-pound sow in the middle.

I picked a smaller pig of a hundred pounds, leaping from the darkness and grabbing its rear leg with my teeth. It tried to fight, but my big paw held its head to the ground. I quickly shifted my bite, my jaws closing on its neck and shaking it until I heard the neck break. The other pigs ran off into the scrub.

I carried my meal in my mouth, retracing the steps the pigs had taken in their panic. Edward had his pig in his teeth, and it was bleeding out into the sand. It made sense; his long teeth could penetrate the thick neck of the pig, and he just had to hold the weakening animal until it died. My cat wanted to head back to his pregnant mates, wanting to keep them fed. Edward got to his feet and began to drag his kill towards the beach.

Art and the others had watched the whole thing on live video, and were already preparing to butcher and roast the pigs. I dropped my kill at Svetlana's feet, accepting the girls' scratches as they thanked me for bringing it. I let Anna wash the blood off my face, then curled up with them by the fire as my girls fell asleep under the stars.

Ch. 52

We headed back to the boat in the morning, leaving behind the smell of roasting wild boar on a spit over a fire at the end of the beach. "Get some breakfast and relax, and we'll feast when our guests arrive this afternoon. The entire ship is at your disposal."

"Thank you, Art." My cat was comfortable with both of the other switchers after the night ended. My girls weren't the only ones who found big cats to be comfy pillows; one of Art's granddaughters, and a junior member of the crew, had snuggled up with Edward overnight. The perky brunette had her arm around him as we boarded the launch, and it looked like they were headed straight to bed.

I was sitting in the stern with Art as Edward's hand roamed under her shirt. "It doesn't bother you?"

He just chuckled. "How long did it take you to realize that Svetlana was the one for you?"

I had to think about when it was that I realized. It wasn't love at first sight, though I liked her immediately. She pursued me, tracking me down in the hotel bar. "I wasn't in good shape when we met in the hospital. I guess it was at the end of our first night spent together. She tracked me down in the hotel bar, and we ate dinner and talked into the evening before walking together in the park. When I said goodnight to her, I knew I loved her." Svetlana smiled at the memory.

"Edward is still looking, and I have not seen him in a long time. We've always hoped that the sons and daughters of switchers would be more likely mates than normal humans, and he is not bad to look at. I expect many of my younger females to spend time with him in the hopes that something sparks. I have talked to them all, and they are rotating through on a schedule."

"So this cruise is kind of like The Switcher Bachelor," Anna teased.

"And bachelorette," Art replied. "Ekatarina is still looking for her mate. She's spent more time with me recently so there are fewer suitors, but there are some younger males who will be spending time in her company. You have no idea how lucky you are to have found these two so quickly."

"I am the luckiest man in the world," I said as I pulled the girls into my sides and kissed them both.

"I'm serious. In our history, even those who got the Gift after they were married found out that person wasn't their mate. Eventually, the spouse died or left, and they found another. No one has ever found their mate in their first year as a switcher, and you find TWO inside a month. Truly remarkable."

"So the human doesn't choose the mate," I picked up. "If the human loved a woman and the animal followed along, you wouldn't wait that long."

"Very perceptive," Art replied. "The animal must choose who it shares its spirit and gift with."

"Good thing our cat loves us," Svetlana said as she rested her head on my shoulder. Her eyes got wide when she thought of something. "Wait. If the cat makes the choice, and the cat moves from one human to another when his host dies, what happens to the mate? Is the bond broken?"

"The bond remains with the animal. This has happened amongst the Dire Wolves; the female mate became the mate of his younger brother after his death. The animal will try to claim her, but sometimes the humans don't feel the love. That can create some real problems."

"What happens then?"

"If the animal can't get the human to take the mate, he can become unstable. It gets better with time and distance, but it doesn't end until she dies. Only when the beast senses its mate is gone does it seek out another."

My cat wasn't happy with the line of discussion about putting mates away, and I wasn't happy with the implications. I'd figured that if I was killed, the girls would be free, resuming aging, and able to move on with their lives. Now I knew the person who took my cat could take my women as well, and I didn't like it a bit.

We arrived at the superyacht, and I escorted the girls back to our stateroom with the words fresh in my mind. "Shower," I said as we entered the room.

The girls pulled off their suits and coverups and headed into the marble and glass shower. I practically ripped my swimsuit off, intent on claiming the girls as mine to calm my cat. I kissed both of them under the spray, then lifted Svetlana up with my hands and pressed her back to the wall. Anna placed me at her entrance, and I let gravity drop her until I filled her completely.

"FUCK! So fucking big," Svetlana screamed as I started to lift her again. I didn't give her a chance to catch her breath. I started stroking into her faster and faster until her moans became screams, and screams exploded into her powerful orgasm. My teeth bit into her shoulder as she came, not breaking skin, but leaving a mark that would bruise. It was my claim of ownership over her, and my cat relaxed a little after it was done. I let her come back to us, then I lifted her off and set her on shaky legs.

"Your turn," I said to Anna. She hopped up, her arms around my neck and her legs wrapping around my hips as I put her back to the wall. I was still so big and hard a lineman couldn't climb me, and the smaller girl was going for the ride of her life. She was wet and ready for me, but it still took a few strokes to fully sheathe myself in Anna's sex. I slammed up into her repeatedly, bringing us both to a screaming climax a few minutes later.

I bit Anna's shoulder, this time closer to the neck. It would bruise well and show for days.

I sank to my knees, sliding Anna down the wall until she was sitting in my lap with my shaft still filling her. I kissed her deeply, then turned to Svetlana and did the same. "Feel like you own us now, big guy?"

Anna knew exactly what this was about, and she was happy. Svetlana was as well, and she wasn't done with me. We rinsed the sea and sand off of us and shampooed our hair clean, then dried off and headed to the bed. Anna straddled my head so I could finish cleaning her out, while Svetlana sucked me to hardness and started to ride me. Our lovemaking was slower now, the initial need to mark and claim my mates sated. I filled Svetlana on her third orgasm, then Anna gave her a fourth while sucking my seed out of her.

We had breakfast delivered to our room, and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

The sound of a helicopter hovering woke me up. Looking at the clock, it was almost eleven. I woke the girls. "We should get ready for lunch, and see if that the guest Art was talking about."

I figured more beach and water time was coming, so I dressed in board shorts, boat shoes, and a cotton Hawaiian-print shirt. The girls chose bright flowered sundresses and sandals, with bikinis visible underneath. We walked up a deck and forward, waiting outside Art's office until the helicopter landed.

A man stepped out, and he wasn't what I expected. The male was over six feet tall, tan, and well-built in a way that came from hard work and not a gym. He had wavy black hair to his shoulders, bright blue eyes, and a square jaw. He was dressed in blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a blue flannel shirt with a white Stetson.

He looked like he just stepped out of a magazine ad.