Today's snippet is from If Only Loving a Cheetah Were Easy (Lubirea Mai). With this story, the shifter wasn't the dominant mate. I enjoyed the concept and think another story with the same theme is in the future.
Tye took off out of the store as fast as his legs would carry him. Now, he was running for his life. As in the wild where lions killed cheetah babies, in the shifter world, lions and tigers killed unmated cheetahs. On the totem pole of big cats, cheetahs held the bottom rung. They were considered worthless and potentially dangerous by the other cats unless they were their mate. Then they were invaluable.
“Give up, little kitty. You are going to taste so good.”
Terror surged through Tye and he pumped his legs harder. He couldn’t take the time to pull out his car keys. Any hesitation and the lions would be on him. The moment they had him in their grasp, the men would shift into their lion forms. The first bite would force Tye into his cheetah form. By the time the lions finished their massacre, there wouldn’t be any traces of Tye left.
Tye sprinted around to the back of the building, hoping to get lost in the outside warehouse full of lumber and other inventory. Oh crap, a twelve-foot wall of wire fencing stood in front of him. The entryway must be on the other side of the store.
Having no other option, Tye veered left and followed the fence until it ended at a small parking lot. Dashing across the lot, he hopped a curb onto a patch of grass. Just ahead was a side street. His heart sank. The street looked deserted.
Heavy breathing behind him had Tye ignoring the fatigue overtaking his muscles and he pushed himself harder. He didn’t want to die. As he reached the street, a lone light pierced through the darkness. An urge to touch that beacon of hope had Tye turning in that direction.
“Gotcha.”
Tye’s outer long-sleeved dress shirt was yanked tight, choking him. Panicking, Tye let his inner cat take over, and he flipped his body around. The material ripped over Tye’s shoulders and head, leaving him in his T-shirt. Off balance, he crashed to the asphalt. Tye closed his eyes. This was it. He was going to die.
An engine’s roar drowned out all other sounds. Tye opened his eyes and found a blinding light inches away from his face.
“Get on,” a deep, gravelly voice ordered.
Never hesitating, Tye jumped to his feet and raced to the side of the giant motorcycle. On the dark edge of the halo caused by the cycle’s headlamp, Tye saw his attackers pacing back and forth like the lions they were.
Tye placed his hand on the driver’s muscled arm. A sense of home stole over him. Electric tingles zipped over Tye’s skin and headed straight to his cock.
“Get on now.” Impatience tinged the demand, sending Tye into action.
Stepping on the footrest, Tye swung his jean-clad leg over and plopped his ass on the leather seat. The motorcycle’s engine gunned, and Tye grabbed onto the man’s leather vest. His fingers tightened as the cycle took off, jerking him backward.
Tye’s mind raced as fast as the scenery they passed. Not once, during his one hundred years of life, had he experienced such a powerful engine between his legs. The low growling vibration sent his senses soaring. What his imagination thought he could do on this motorcycle had his dick hardening.
Tipping his face up toward the night sky, Tye took a deep breath of the sweet, fresh scent of the wind whipping past him. Shock opened Tye’s eyes wide. Could it be?
Tye licked his lips, leaned forward until his nose was next to the thick tanned neck in front of him and breathed deeply. Starbursts of light exploded behind Tye’s eyelids, and adrenaline shot through his bloodstream, sending pulses of heat to his groin. He thought he had been hard before from the rumbling motorcycle, but now Tye’s hard-on had become painful.
The scent tantalizing his nose told Tye two things, no three things. One, the man before him was human. Two, he was Tye’s mate. And three, Tye was screwed six ways to Sunday.
If he could have, Tye would have pounded his fists against something in anger and frustration. Why did life have to be so unfair? He was a lowly cheetah, and a scrawny one at that. Tye needed a mighty lion or huge, vicious tiger for a mate. Instead, he got a human.
The vibration between Tye’s legs changed tempo. Looking around he saw they were slowing. This wasn’t good. They needed to put more distance between them and the lions. Otherwise they both were dead meat.
The motorcycle pulled into a street parking space behind an older model red minivan. A black leather boot with a large silver buckle on the side kicked the cycle’s stand into place. The sudden quiet was startling when the driver cut the engine.
The big man braced his foot on the pavement and turned toward Tye. “Should I take you to the police station or somewhere else? Those guys looked ready to do some serious damage.”
Tye lost his breath, lost the world surrounding them, and almost lost his mind. He could only sit there and stare at the man before him. Short, more salt than pepper colored hair covered the man’s head and a neatly trimmed silver beard adorned his rugged tanned face.
Tye blinked and then blinked again. The skin of his mate’s face was deeply tanned.
It was his mate’s brilliant blue eyes that drew his gaze and mesmerized Tye to the point of losing all train of thought. Mating lust began to simmer through his system. Tye blinked again when what he was seeing registered. He could see the blue color of his mate’s eyes.
At least he thought they were blue. He would have to ask someone. For the first time the world was no longer a mixture of blacks, whites, and grays. Kittens were taught that mates gave shifters the gift of color. Tye was astounded by all the colors around him, even if he wasn’t sure what name went with what.
A wide thumb brushed against Tye’s bottom lip. “You look intelligent enough. Do you have problems speaking?”
Tye came back down to earth with a thump. They were in danger, and if he didn’t get them out of there, they were dead.
“My name’s Tye Curry, and I’m so very glad to finally meet you,” Tye babbled. “But we really need to get out of here. We’re not far enough away yet. Those li…um guys can still track us.”
Blue eyes widened at his statement. Tye hated that his mate quit caressing his lip. He needed the touch. But then in the distance he heard the sounds of running feet coming closer. Dread churned in Tye’s belly. Turning, he looked down the street. Tye’s dread turned to horror when four lions appeared out of the darkness. They paused under a streetlight and lifted their noses, scenting the air.
“What the hell?” the big man exclaimed.
Tye turned back around. “We’ve got to go, now.”
It turned out that fate had been nice enough to grant Tye a smart mate, for the man never hesitated and turned on the machine. The next moment Tye was holding on for dear life as they flew down the street.
It didn’t take long for them to leave the city. The long stream of highway stretched out before them with only the cycle’s headlight lighting the way and the deep rumble of the engine filling the air.
Tye relaxed against his mate, resting his cheek between his wide shoulders. The contact helped ease the building urge to kiss his mate. Tye knew that soon things were going to get bad. Somehow he was going to have to make his mate understand that he was a cheetah shifter, that they were mates, and if they didn’t follow the rules, they would both die a painful death.
Then there was the tiny requirement that they would have to go before the head cheetah council member and have their bond sealed.
Yep, things were going to get very bad.
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