Leo unlocked the door to their hotel suit as quietly as possible, not trying to wake his sleeping mate. He pushed the keycard in and gently readjusted his Sara against his chest as he opened the door and then let it softly swoosh shut when he cleared the doorway.

HIs mate's scent calmed him, and he could barely keep himself from purring in contentment. His purr could wake her, and she needed all of the rest that she could get. Her body is fragile and not enough sleep could harm her. He would never let anything harm her again.

He glanced around the room and noticed that there was a small living-room and a kitchen attached to it. He spotted a short hallway where at the end of it, there was another room. The bedroom, he decided.

Leo walked as softly as possible, his bare feet slapping against the hardwood floors and made his way to the bedroom. When he entered, he instantly recoiled. The room smelled of another male. It was faint, but the scent disgusted him, and he wanted to roar with rage. He checked that emotion though. Waking her will harm her, he growled in his head at himself. Stay calm, for her.

He would do just that, but first, he needed to get her out of that room before the other male's scent marred her enticing one.

He knew that the scent was old, faint, but that did not stop his instincts from wanting to go into a rage. The scent would not even be noticeable by other species, but he was more animal than most. He noticed it.

He prowled around the small suit again and when he bent to lay his mate on the couch, he bared his teeth and let out a silent growl at the scent of the male again. He would kill this male.

There was nowhere safe for his mate.

She would not sleep where another male has slept before. Where another male has sat before, where another male has been. She needed a nest but at this time, there was no way to get her to hers.

He momentarily debated taking the trip back to the Wild Zone so that she would be able to be in her nest with his scent surrounding her. So that she would be where he slept, where he sat, where he was being. But he dismissed the idea when considering the logistics of getting her to their home.

He knew that the night air was cold and would chill her skin. Too harmful. It could jostle her and subsequently wake her. Too risky. Her scent would call to him and the sight of her small, lovely form laying in their nest could cause him to be too tempted to mate her. To claim her. At that thought, he was unable to hold back a purr. The thought of claiming his Sara's lithe little body instantly brought his cock to attention. It strained against his sweats and he felt the top peak out a few inches over his waistband. He had to try and keep his breathing under control and his body from reacting further. Mating her while she was weak and tired would harm her. He swore to keep her safe from everyone, even himself.

At that thought, He adjusted his mate to be held by just one arm and gently urged her head into the curve of his neck. The feel of her soft, warm breath against his neck caused his cock to surge and jerk again in his sweats and he prayed for her to bite his neck and leave her mating mark. She didn't.

He slowly eased himself to the floor and laid down. The room was warm enough that his mate did not require a blanket, his body would keep her warm and would shield better than a flimsy piece of fabric ever could. Through the whole ordeal, he never left his tail slip from around her waist with the tip tucked against her throat, stroking up and down in a soothing gesture.

As he adjusted her into a more comfortable position for her on his body, he reveled in the fact that he once again held his Sara in his arms. He was once again surrounded by her scent. He had his mate.

At that, he reached down toward his cock and laid his palm against the head of it. It was hard and surged in his hand.

He imagined it was his mates warm, tiny hand holding his cock and he almost came at the thought. He slid his hand down his ridged length slowly, imagining her on his lap, looking up at him with her doe-like brown eyes and parting her lips. He stroked himself slowly and the image in his mind was so real due to the feel of his mate in his arms and her scent surrounding him, that after just a few lingering strokes, that he almost came. He stopped himself though.

Leo felt bad for masturbating and pleasuring himself while his mate lay exhausted and unaware in his arms. He would not get pleasure without his mate. He would always seek her pleasure first and then tend to himself. If he continued to touch himself, not only would he be unable to stop himself from claiming her soon after, he would then feel guilty for receiving pleasure without her.

He and his mate were a team. He would not do this without her. It would be like cheating on her with his imagination and species never cheated.

He grasped his cock once more and tucked it between his legs so that when his mate awoke, she would not have to deal with the evidence of his desire for her. He did not want to alarm her with the severity of his emotions, especially so soon after so many changes have taken place in her life.

At that, he tightened his arms around his Sara and gazed down at her heart-shaped face in fascination. How could someone so beautiful and ethereal want to be his? Chose to be with him. He knew from the bottom of his heart that the love that he felt for her was the kind in romance novels- eternal and everlasting. If something ever happened to his mate he would go insane and never return to the living. He would seek sleep with her until they were reunited in the afterworld. Her Heaven, as humans refer to it.

No one could ever ask for a better mate. Especially one as messed up as him. Someone with a tail. Someone who could never compare to her stunning beauty.

Before her, Leo had been lost. In the months leading up to finding his mate, he was without any joy in his life. The pride leader of the lions that he kept on his porch had died and the females had to be relocated to Torrent's home because they needed a male to lead them. That wasn't what had started his spiral from leader of the Wild Zone to a recluse, but it did further it. What started it was when some of the males living at Reservation came to him to teach him to read.

When they had been brought from the testing facilities to the desert before they were relocated to their new homes, the staff had attempted to teach him. They succeeded with most, but they could not get through to him. He was too stubborn and wild. He refused to learn. He had a hard time talking, much less reading words of others talking.

When he was given his own home and land in the Wild Zone, he mellowed out slightly due to the social exclusion and quiet. He reveled in it. Occasionally he would even pull pranks on other males when he was bored. It amused him and even though it pissed the other males off, they eventually started finding it funny.

They started coming around more and he minded their presence less and less each time. Although, the first few times they came near, he brutally attacked and roared until they left his space. The thought of the frightened look on the other species' faces brought a smile to his own and his mood improved even more, although it was seemingly impossible because his mate was currently cradled in his arms.

When they started coming around, they taught him to swim and to eventually read. One of the males brought him a book with a shirtless man and a beautiful woman on the cover when he found out that the male did not have access to- porn? He said that it wasn't as good but better than nothing and Leo fell in-love with the books. The sex was like that of what he heard was between mates and it made him crave one. That is what started his depression. His exclusion.

The next event was that Valiant found a mate. It hurt that the other male who was almost as wild as him, was able to find a mate but he wasn't. He was bigger than Valiant and scarier, he thought that no one could ever want him. When he found that Valliant's Tammy was with child, and then the child was born, he fell apart and wallowed in his grief. He knew he would never have what Valiant had. His chest felt hallow and painful, but it was nothing like what he felt when he forced himself to leave his mate. That was pure agony and he was prepared to die. When the imprint of her scent on his skin faded and when her covering that he tied to his wrist soiled, he thought he was lost.

Then, he was reunited with her and he would never let her go. He would cover her in his scent, mate her, fill her with his seed until it took in her body and she was properly breed. He and his mate would have a family and their nest would grow. They would have everything together, forever. He would never be without his mate again. His Sara. It did not matter that she did not want to officially mate with him yet. It hurt his heart, but he would convince her of otherwise. He would feed her, take care of her, make love to her, and help her make her nest even more comfortable. She would want to stay with him

He could no longer be the sad male he had been. Now he had a mate who needed protecting and he needed to step up. If he did not, some of the other Wild Zone residents could decide to take it upon themselves to go after his Sara. Never, his beast snarled. He had to become the leader and "scary son of a bitch", as Tiger would put it, if he were to protect his female.

Yes, mine, his beast purred. Mine. Mine. mine. mine... mine…...