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Nervous was not the way to describe her feelings. Panicked like one of her own prey was more like it. Niika Baker stood in the Nine embassy and watched her aunt fiddle with her hair.

Daphne was standing nearby with a sly smile on her face. “You know, we have never had so many people of the Stone Folk in residence.”

“Well, his mother is here, so it stands to reason that there would be a few more than usual.”

Niika bit her lip, and her aunt grinned.

Her gown was burgundy and gold, a sweeping span of silk that wrapped her torso and flowed freely around her legs. One week since her surgery, and now, her knees were going weak.

Daphne suddenly grew solemn. “It’s time, Niika.”

Her Aunt Emaline took her arm, and they walked to the stairway that led into the ballroom.

Emharo and her husband, Rivvin, were in the group of people lining the walkway that would take her to Cavos.

Niika went through a dizzying round of hugging all her friends and family then greeting the cousins, clan reps and the mother of her bond mate.

The moment she took Cavos’s hand, her nerves faded. She walked with him through to the mating gardens and followed the protocol for the Stone Folk by taking a crystal from the attendant and holding it in her palm.

She didn’t remember the words they spoke as the blade came up out of the stone. She focussed on slipping the crystal into the hilt of the knife and then flicking it with her finger. She sliced his wrist with the humming crystal dagger.

He lifted her wrist to his mouth and bit down with sharp, pointed teeth that he had been careful to hide from her until now. Her blood coursed down the dagger, and she slipped it back into the registration stone.

Wound to wound, they sat for a moment before he lifted her wrist to his mouth and licked the bite closed. She followed on his wrist, the shallow cut sealed slowly but surely as she lapped at him. It was appalling to her sensibilities but actually not horrible in the execution of it.

When they were finished with that portion of the ritual, they kissed and Niika felt heat running through her body. She broke the kiss suddenly. “Is that what you have been dealing with?”

He smiled and kissed her again. “Just wait, it gets worse as you synch to me.”

“You always give me something to look forward to.”

He chortled and helped her rise to her feet. “It is a very ancient custom.”

“Yeah, I am not falling for that one again.”

His grin was delight and endless smugness. He had her right where he wanted her.

The reception was hours of fun, but Niika missed most of it.

The harmonics of the crystal had let her cut his skin, but the rest of him was still hard as stone when they tumbled into bed and he stroked her from neck to knees until she twisted against him.

He was careful as he moved between her thighs, delicate and deliberate as he shifted inside her, and she felt like a cherished treasure as he took her to heights that her cousin had only whispered and blushed about.

Niika had been excited to be able to sit cross-legged again, but it didn’t even come close to the delight of being able to wrap her legs around her bond mate.

Curled up against him, she stroked his chest slowly. “So, when do you think we can get back into the forest with Morro and Tidae?”

“I think we should take at least one more day to rest and recuperate from the stress of our families being in attendance.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm.

“Stress, hmm?”

“It is an ancient custom. Trust me.”

She grinned and moved over him, sliding her body against his until she had his complete focus. “I don’t think trust has anything to do with it.”

He sighed as she joined their bodies. “I will do whatever it takes to get you back into your wilderness.”

The phrasing was loaded with innuendo, but she didn’t mind. She wanted to get her wilderness back into her as well. It had been far too long.

Two days later, they were back next to the skimmer with their original party. Niika had her hair braided tightly against her skull, and she had to admit, Cavos was very good at doing her hair.

They returned to their camp, and the shield was still in place. Fortunately, they had fresh supplies.

“All right, gentlemen. You know what to do.”

This trip was putting the Wilders first. If they needed to run and hunt in their shifted shape, she was going to give them a worthy foe.

While they worked on the camp, she used her returned dexterity to climb a tree and saw off a few supple branches. The basics meant that everyone without claws was going to be carrying a spear or long blade. This was not easy prey.

Humming to herself, she wrapped a strip of fabric around the hilt of a knife to bind it to the stick. She heard a familiar sound.

“Gentlemen, we are about to be visited. If you injure this animal, I will gut you like a Zaphling.”

She walked toward the sound and found the meadow where the creature was frolicking with his mate. She stood and watched, feeling Cavos come up behind her.

The beast took exception to the other male near her, and he charged. She dropped her spear and stepped forward until the animal jerked to a halt and shook his head in frustration. She was not going to let him spear her bond mate.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. They are highly migratory, but I have only seen a dozen or so in my time in the wild.”

She smiled as it snuffled across her body and the horn finally settled against her heart. She remained calm and placid as it tested to make sure she was still herself. When he rested his head on her shoulder, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

The female was investigating Cavos. The male let out a snort of caution, but she simply flicked her mane and nuzzled at Cavos for a touch.

Nik looked to her mate and showed him how to stroke and scratch at the soft and silky hides.

The wind shifted, bringing the scent of Morro and Tidae to them. The horned animals jerked and thundered off, manes and tales flaring.

Nik grinned and turned to Cavos. “Welcome to my world.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That was amazing. Now, let’s see how well Morro and Tidae can run. Take us to their prey.”

Nik laughed, “I have just the thing.”

Trusk, Cavos and Nik sat up in the trees and watched as the Wilders dodged and jumped over the stampeding beasts that didn’t want to be prey.

Trusk eventually asked Nik, “You are the hunter, won’t you step in?”

“Just a little bit more. They haven’t learned their lesson yet.”

“Mate. I think Morro is getting tired. Please step in.”

She grinned. “I don’t think they are going to thank me, but all right. You two stay safe. I don’t want to explain an injury to Dr. Meevin.”

She clambered down the tree, gripped the spear she had stowed at the base and ran to help the Wilder’s bring down the ten-foot tall, woolly beast that they were trying to corner.

It took three rolls under charging animals to get close. The horns and the speed were a problem, so she cheated. She killed the beast with a spear to the eye. She made a coughing noise that gave them a wide area to work with and repeated it until the herd made its way to the next meadow.

Morro’s features were still all predator. He formed words with difficulty. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. The kill may be mine, but the carcass is yours. Don’t let the wool touch the meat or you will spoil it. I am going to coax my husband out of that tree now.”

She turned and wandered away, leaving the spear in the animal and her two Wilders with their knives and basic knowledge of butchering. She heard the sounds of a carcass being dragged, and she smiled. It appeared that Wilders were either born with the intelligence of how to process an animal, or they actually listened when they were being lectured.

Once the animal was taken care of, they sent the signal for pickup. That animal would feed two hundred Wilder in need of actual meat.

Sitting next to Cavos with the fire burning, she looked at the two Wilders. “Have you had enough?”

Trusk shook his head as the other two sat thoughtfully. “Not smart enough to call a halt.”

Cavos stroked her hair slowly as they waited.

“We need more. The fish are fine for a while, but they are not enough for us. If we don’t have the meat, we lose the ability to shift or trigger our ruts. It neuters us.”

Tidae whispered the last.

“Fine, then, you just have to decide, do you want to go bigger or meaner?”

Cavos dragged her into their tent and told the Wilders, “You have until morning to decide. I will try to gain her assistance from the outset this time.”

Nik was scowling at her bond mate when she heard Morro say, “He is a selfless man, taking one for the team.”

Cavos held her tightly as she tried to clamber out and kick Morro’s ass.

He was laughing silently. “Two weeks ago, you wouldn’t have been able to flail around like that.”

He pressed soft kisses to her neck and started to undo her coveralls.

“Two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been in a tent with you. How are we going to manage this with them close by?”

Trusk’s helpful voice said, “Don’t worry, we can’t hear a thing.”

Cavos’s shoulders were shaking as he pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “Perhaps it has to wait.”

Niika grinned. “Oh, no. If they want to listen, let’s give them a concert that will send them running.”

“Oh, I do love a challenge. Ancient custom?”

“New tradition.”

He kissed her and bore her back to the bedding. “I may be a historian, but I can adapt.”

She laughed as her clothing was peeled away and her new flexibility was challenged by the close confines of the tent. She had always loved a challenge.