Absolute Power
Chapter 14
Kate was really hungry after burning up a lot of energy lately and she couldn't hide from her parents forever. Besides she did love him so she followed Rick into the kitchen. Rick was a human and dressed while she was still a Panthera tigris, a white tiger.
"Well, there you are." Jo was teasing since it was looking like it was up to her to make breakfast. She was smiling as she liked Rick. Then she saw Katie who was still a tiger. The color drained from Jo's face. "Oh, Katie." Jo left Rick and let him finish what she'd started. She bent down and took Katie's head in her hands. "What have you done, baby girl?" But it was a question that she already knew the answer to.
Jo turned to look up at Rick who was avoiding her. Jo went back to looking at Katie. She couldn't answer any of her questions like this. "Okay, one tap of your paw for yes and two for no. And you better not lie to me or I'll make you hurt in ways you didn't know was possible. Got it?" Jo looked down and saw one tap of her paw.
"Okay, you two bonded last night, didn't you?" Jo looked down and saw one tap of her paw. She both should and shouldn't be angry. It was obvious that these two were sexually active. She had even bought those condoms for when they were. She'd just been trying to look out for her daughter.
"You've learned something, haven't you? The need to do it again is already pushing at you, isn't it?" She was young and full of hormones. Jo knew well just what she was feeling. She saw one tap of her paw.
"That's the animal within you. It has needs just as you do and if you let it it will rule your entire life. If you can't reach an understanding you may never be a human ever again." That was the risk of having sex in animal form.
"Ask Rick if you don't believe me. He's probably been his tiger more often than we have. I'd wager he's feeling what you're feeling right now."
Kate actually did look at Rick but didn't ask him anything. "You need to think, Katie, not react. Talk to your animal inside you. You two need to reach an accord or one of you might never be seen again." Jo truly feared it was going to be the human side of her. That was because Katie was trapped inside her tiger if she didn't want to kill any cubs that might already be forming in her body.
None of them were going to know until she was out of heat. Jo was also hoping that Rick could control himself around her. Her scent could drive him to have sex with her in animal form and guarantee that she was pregnant with cubs.
"Jim, get down here! These two have bonded; Katie's trapped in her animal and in heat. You need to talk with Rick or Katie may end up forever a tiger."
Jo wasn't sure it was that bad, but it had the potential to be. "You're really hungry, aren't you?" Jo knew she was but asked the question anyway and saw her paw tap once.
That had Jo getting up and moving past Rick to reach the refrigerator. Fresh meat would be best. Freshly killed and still warm, actually, but unless one of them went out hunting for her that wasn't happening.
Jo found one of the few steaks that they had and took it out. She started cutting it up and put it on a plate. "Here, this will have to do for now. One of us can go hunting later until you can change back to human." If she could or was willing to. Though knowing that you might be killing your cubs made it damn near impossible. The animal in her would never allow it.
Jo watched as Katie nearly wolfed it all down in one or two bites. That told her that Katie was not just hungry but starving. "You're with me. This way." Jo took her to the living room just as Jim showed up to have a talk with Rick.
Jo sat in one of the chairs. "SIT and don't move an inch." She had a lot to tell her and didn't want her running away. If it wasn't so serious it would have been funny as Katie actually sat on the floor like someone's trained pet.
Jo took a deep breath and began speaking. "We're shifters so we're hated and hunted. Because of that you've not been allowed to be in your animal form. I'm going to talk to the animal inside you now.
"This world hates us and as long as you've been alive we've never met another shifter until Rick. I know what you're feeling, my animal has been trying to talk me into allowing it to come out now that we are in this place. On a limited basis it's going to happen, we both know this. However, we both know the dangers of being seen.
"We're almost extinct and the risk of that happening has never been greater. To find out that another shifter is the cause of this near extinction only makes it worse. One of our own kind has my animal howling in rage. You can probably hear yours clearly now." Jo glanced at Katie and saw her paw tap once.
"Humans rule this planet and being discovered means death. For all I know we three are all that remain of the Panthera tigris race. You want cubs; I understand that. But you also have to know what the threat is of having Katie in animal form for years. Through pregnancy, birth of the cubs, and then nursing them.
"It isn't just the time, it's the energy that's required. If we can't keep Katie well fed she won't have the milk for her cubs. The meat that will be required will place us all in danger. Rick's father isn't stupid and he has great power. He'll add to his search anyone who is buying lots of fresh meat.
"The two of you need to reach an agreement as we have reached an agreement. If Rick's father finds us, Katie dies and you'll die with her. You need to let her be human so she can talk to us. We'll wait until after we're sure Katie is or isn't pregnant. Don't even think about leaving from this spot until you two have reached an agreement. Do you to understand me?" Jo demanded. She looked at the tigress and finally saw a paw tap once.
"Good! Now just sit there and don't even think of moving. …Or else!" Jo thought about leaving the threat off but decided to add it. Then she got up and left Katie sitting there in the middle of the living room.
She found Jim and Rick still in the kitchen. "How are you two doing?" Her husband hadn't said a word which was good since Jo didn't need the distraction.
"I understand and my animal and I have reached a deal. It wasn't that hard. We both know what my father's capable of doing. Though the allure of being with Kate again is strong. There are only just so many of us. You three are the only shifters I've ever encountered outside of my father and mother," Rick told both of them.
"Your father has really been that thorough?" Jo was a little shocked.
Rick lowered his head and nodded. Even on the trip here he had never sensed another shifter. Granted they'd spent a lot of time in large cities where shifters dared not go, but he hadn't as yet sensed any in the nearby village which was very small.
"I hate that man!" Jo felt her anger for him rising. Her animal was waking up now that it had a chance for life while living out here. It felt safe for a change and even it was roaring against his father.
"By no one more than me." Rick had the scars to prove it.
"We're going to need fresh warm meat. Katie's going to crave it soon, pregnant or not," Jo warned.
"I'll go in a bit," Rick assured her. "I bought Kate a bow and arrows if one of you wants to come with me. I have things to do before we can leave, though. I need to construct a bag to carry it, bring a knife to prepare it with out there, and some rope to hang it with."
"I'll go," Jim said. "Jo needs to stay with Katie. Four eyes are better than two. Do we have traps?" They had left so fast that what they'd had been left behind.
Rick shook his head. "We'll probably need to go back to Zurich to get those. We'll need to go before it snows or we risk being trapped. We'll also need to stock up on food for when the snow comes. The VW isn't going to handle the winter weather. Only the car you don't like will be useful then."
"We have time. If Katie and her animal can reach a compromise that makes both of them happy." Jo turned to look where she had left Katie and wondered how she was doing.
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Kate, still as her tiger, showed up in the kitchen. "She says she and her animal have reached an agreement," Rick relayed and listened to the agreement. "Kate can be human provided that her tiger gets to go outside at least once a month. To run through the trees and have some fun."
Jo and Jim were actually a little surprised. That was basically the deal they had made with their tigers. "A family outing as tigers would be nice." Jo could almost not wait for that day.
"Let me get my things and we can go hunting. We'll have to go to Zurich again if we want say half a cow and arrange for delivery of a freezer to store it. We'll have to do that tomorrow if we want it to happen before it starts to snow." Rick headed for his new bow and got Jim the bow meant for Kate.
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"Is hunting legal here?" Jim asked, wondering if they were risking being spotted and arrested which would be very bad.
"High hunt ended in September. Low hunt which involves small game, ends at the end of November. Since we're in October now and with what we're after, the answer is no. But there's an exception. Hunting for Alpine ibex lasts all of October so as long as we're particular in what we shoot, we should be fine even if we're spotted," Rick explained since he was late joining Jim because he was on the Internet.
"What's an ibex?" It wasn't an animal he'd ever heard of before. Rick took a picture he'd printed to show him from his coat.
"It looks like a cross between a deer and a goat with goat horns. Shouldn't be hard to spot. Let's get started." Jim started walking. The sooner they found one and shot it, the sooner they would be back.
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Jo found Katie wandering the house slowly. "How you doing, sweetheart?" Jo asked then kicked herself. They had to be yes and no questions only without Rick being around. "Can I help you with anything?" That at least was a yes or no question even if finding out what that help was was going to be difficult.
Her paw tapped the floor twice. Well, that was a good thing. "If you're still hungry Rick and your father are out hunting for big game. It may take a few hours but they'll be back with something." Jo had faith in those two.
Jo saw her paw tap once. "You know the problems don't stop there." Jo had thought of something else that was going to be hard on Katie and maybe all of them. "The bathrooms are meant for humans, not animals. You're going to have to do all your business outside." Jo watched as she sat and huffed out a growl. "Even in the dead of winter if you are indeed pregnant. Several feet of snow." Jo gave her her best Don't shoot me face.
Kate lowered her head. She was going to freeze to death all because she wanted to bond with the love of her life. It was still worth it but the costs were starting to add up.
Jo ruffled her fur and Katie shook her head. Jo kissed her head even if she had been rejected. "There's just one more thing. You should probably stay inside as much as possible. Rick's dad probably has access to satellites that can read a license plate let alone spot a white tiger that's supposed to be extinct." Jo hated it but this was their life.
That had Kate lying on the floor before she literally collapsed. She had reached her limit. One more thing and her animal was going to get a tongue lashing from her.
"Cheer up, Katie, you could be pregnant with twins or even triplets." Jo was teasing her but Katie didn't think it was funny and growled at her. Jo laughed as she walked away to find something to keep herself occupied. She found herself in Rick's den and pulled down one of his books to read.
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Hunting in Switzerland was turning out to be more difficult than back home. Then Rick pointed and motioned for Jim to go that way.
It took a full thirty minutes but they were both happy and didn't care which shot killed it since both shots had been kill shots. Jim took out the arrows while Rick rigged his rope over a sturdy branch and together they pulled the carcass up so the center of the body was at shoulder height so they could start bleeding and gutting it.
"There's one good thing to hunting here." Jim was liking this part. "I've got you to do the carrying part and it's all down hill." Jim smiled widely at him and didn't miss the glare he was getting. It was easy on him even if he was carrying both bows and quivers.
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Rick was gone, leaving the three of them alone at home. Kate was spending the morning lying on her side in their bedroom.
Kate had succumbed to the need for sex again. Granted it hadn't been all her fault. How was she to know that she was still in heat and that Rick couldn't resist her scent. She was basking in the afterglow of amazing sex.
"I love you," Kate said even though he was nowhere close. He'd gone to Zurich to get her half a cow, get it cut up, and try and figure out how to get a large freezer home to put that half a cow into.
"I love you, too," Rick replied.
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It took him three hours in town plus the two and a half hours to get there and another two and a half hours to drive back so most of his day was shot for a single trip. To top it off he'd had an additional idea that cost him almost another hour.
He had his half a cow. It was going to be three weeks before it would be ready to be picked up. He had his freezer and it was going to take three weeks to have it delivered that far. So hopefully the timing was right.
He also lost another thirty minutes when he stopped for lunch. He really hoped that dinner was waiting for him when he got home because his stomach was already rumbling. All told this one little trip had cost him nine and a half hours and he was starving by the time he got home.
"I brought goodies!" Rick smiled tiredly as he dropped the twin size sheets he'd bought. "I need some help with the rest of it. Would you warm up my dinner while Jim helps me?" Rick asked Jo.
A quick bumpy ride down the hill Jim saw that the VW had a twin-sized mattress in plastic strapped to the top. Then he found two comforters inside the VW.
"So how do we get this thing into the house and why?" Jim feared part of the answer.
"If Kate is pregnant she's going to need a bed instead of sleeping on the floor, hence the sheets and comforters," Rick explained. Jim was very impressed with his thoughtfulness. Katie had chosen well.
"And the mattress?" He wasn't carrying that thing all the way up the hill.
"It goes on the roof." Rick pointed to the only car they had that was going to go up and down the road. "You haven't seen the freezer or the half cow I bought, yet. The cow I have to go back and get while the freezer is being delivered." That was the bad part.
Jim looked up the hill and then looked at the car that was going to take it up there. "I think my back's broken," Jim commented dryly and Rick burst out laughing. Looking at their two vehicles, it did present a problem as to how to get the freezer up the hill since he was betting the delivery truck wasn't going to make it. He needed a plan and had three weeks to come up with one.
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Kate was in their bedroom later that night with Rick; she nuzzled up to him and rubbed her face against him. "Thank you!" She loved him a little more as she walked onto her little bed that was a mattress on the floor that had sheets, comforters and a pair of pillows. She didn't have to jump up onto their bed to sleep next to him and he didn't have to sleep on the hard floor with her.
"I love you. Maybe we can christen my new bed with sex?" Kate did her best to talk him into it. "You could shift, lick my core, and then mount me. …You know you love it." She certainly loved it. "Please, babe, make love to me."
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Rick woke up and realized that he was still a tiger and that he was the one that was on the floor while Kate had the mattress. He still wasn't sure how he had let her talk him into it. However, once he'd shifted her scent had hit his nose and he was a goner. In fact now that he was awake her scent hit his nose and it went from his nose and straight to his cock. That got him up, sniffing her and doing all he could to start licking her core.
"Baby!" Kate woke to find Rick licking her core and she was already just about there. She got up and missed having him licking her instantly. But she now wanted something else. "Mount me, babe. I want you."
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Rick walked to the kitchen after showering and getting dressed to find out from Jo that Kate was outside. "She can't use the bathrooms while she's a tiger." That made sense to him and wondered why he hadn't thought about that.
"And I'm the only one that can hear her to know when she needs to go outside." Rick saw a lot of getting up and opening doors and waiting in his future. "And when there's three feet of snow or more on the ground because the first snow is going to be here in a couple of months."
"We'll know if she's pregnant in a few weeks. Unless you two have done something." Jo's eyes narrowed.
"I plead the fifth." Rick opened the refrigerator so it blocked Jo from seeing him only to have her slam it closed on him.
"Richard Castle!" Jo glared daggers at him. Was he trying to make sure her daughter was pregnant and in her animal for at least the next two years or longer? If he was she was so going to rip the two of them a new one.
"I can't help it, Jo. I love her and she talks me into shifting and then I can…tell that she's still in heat and I don't have any will power and then she…" He came to an abrupt halt. "She wants back inside now." Kate saved him by wanting back in. …For now.
"Don't move an inch, you." Jo pointed at him and headed to the door to let Katie back inside.
Next thing they both knew they had been relegated to their own bedroom and instructed to have a nice long talk about whether they wanted Kate to be her tiger for up to three years with from one to three cubs to take care of. Who were also going to need to learn to go outside to do their business.
The fun and joy of having sex had just been removed. "I'm sorry, babe." Even if she was the one that was going to be trapped as her tiger if she was pregnant.
"You're not the only one at fault here. I have no will power to resist you so it's not all on you," Rick said, stroking her.
Actually Kate thought it was since she had already leaned that he had no will power once he got a whiff of her. Plus sex while she was her tiger was more intense and she had little will power to resist it.
"Baby, can we make sure that I'm pregnant and then just plan from there?" Part of the pain was not knowing if she was pregnant and since killing them by changing back to human was out, they might as well make sure she was pregnant and make plans for that.