Valinteena

In a world left with scars from a great war, the humans rejoice in their victory, but also weep at the cost. Unaware of the blind hatred that led to the slaughter, an entire race was nearly erased from the face of their lands. They believed they had wiped the shifters from the face of the planet, little did they know very few lived on in the very forests they visited, and in the villages they traded with. Forced into hiding, the shifters built a new clan, and lived by the old rules, hiding from humanity. 

Kyera Shade of the Moon is a Shapeshifter who takes the form of a White tigress with silver stripes. Alone in the world, and carrying the weight of her clan on her shoulders, she attempts to uphold the law she was born to, and protect the remaining of her kind. Her heart decimated by the deaths of her brothers and the absence of her mother, she finds herself caught in a net and unable to break free. In her moment of desperation, a hand reaches out and catches her. A man who threatens to steal her heart away, but can she learn to forgive herself? Can she find love and salvation in another's arms after the betrayals of so many? 

Clovis of the Dancing Rain is the fourth Prince of the Forest Kingdom. He is a clever man, but had no wish to be king. Perfectly happy to raise is Daughter in peace now that his young wife had passed. There was darkness and secrets in his past, but there was no place for revenge in his future. Not until they took it too far. Pushing his bottom line a need to take the crown lit in his heart. However, he needed one thing more than anything else... the right woman by his side. As if the answer to a prayer, a woman appeared. Beautiful and trustworthy who loved his daughter as much as he did, if not more. Yet her heart was broken, her world surrounded by secrets and shadows, perhaps she was best left alone. However, would he be able to live without her?

The Tiger Within

"Clovis, I… I know what you want but I do not know if I can give it to you." Kyera replied her voice filled with indecision. There was so much stress in her body that he couldn't help but reach out to stroke her side.


"Kyera, I want to be able to trust you completely, and have you trust me the same way. No more secrets, no buffering me from your emotions. Let your heart speak to mine." Clovis replied watching her expression flicker through the confusing river inside her. He wanted so desperately to dive into that chaotic stream and pull her out. However, that was impossible no matter how bad he wished it wasn't.


"I guess thats true. Clovis, the reason I have never mentioned that woman is I want her dead. If it wasn't for the promise I made to my brothers, I would have killed her when we met again. As far as I am concerned she's a homewrecker and a murderer. She left us and has the audacity to try and tell me our marriage is wrong. I men for crying out loud she bred with a GOD." Kyera rambled off the words she  wanted so desperately to say. The flood gates opened and her thoughts flooded out. Clovis waited patiently for the words to come then sat in shock as they did. 


He knew she had continued speaking but his mind was stuck on what he had just heard. Her lips moved but that one word repeated in his mind. "Wait… your mother slept with a god?" Kyera stopped and looked at him slightly confused now. She had thought they covered that. Then again he had reacted quite calmly for him to have actually understood it. 


"Yes, when my mother was sacrificed to the God of Death, he decided not to kill her. Instead he left a babe in her womb after each visit until he fulfilled his side of the deal." Kyera explained laying down beside him. Clovis tried to process this, watching her movements as she did. 


"Your mother made a deal with one of the Gods she met during the sacrifice?" he asked honestly just a little out of his depth. Kyera nodded smiling at him. 


"My mother wanted a daughter, and no man to threaten her right to raise her children. Afterall she had been ripped from her mother's hands. So The Shadow King agreed to her request and my brother's were born first, and then me. The original angel of the deal." Kyera laughed a bit closely at her self. "And yet I am alive and my brothers lay slain." 


"I see. You're literally a gift from the Shadow King." Clovis smiled and wrapped a arm around her pulling her against his chest. Kyera tried to laugh but it turned to a somewhat broken sob. 


"More like a curse. My mother left us, father can't be with us and my brother's were murdered. I fail to see how I am a gift of the divine." Kyera replied tears on her cheeks. Clovis sighed kissing her forehead tenderly, letting her cry he caressed her hair. 


"Kyera, you are a gift. Very few creatures could go through what you have and still be so kind. You are not bitter or cruel. You are nurturing and protective. Your a wife and a lover, but also a princess and a protector. Many would have been consumed by rage by now. Realize that and also realize you will never walk this road alone again." he whispered soothingly,  hoping she would listen. Her emotions were so rugged he could feel her power thrashing to control it.


"I just…. Don't know anymore." she whispered and he nodded holding her in a full embrace now. 


"Then its a good thing I do. Now, Misses Dancing Winds, it is time you fall asleep. I love you." he whispered into her ear, before closing his own eyes to rest.


Good Thing I Do