Page 141 of Galaxy Circus Act One

That’s the thing about Xavier. As I get to know him better, I can see how thoughtful he is when he cares about someone. Not everyone would understand that side of him.

I hear him clear his throat, and the air starts to prickle with the intensity of his magic. “Stay close in case one of the lightning cats goes on the defensive. I should be able to deflect their lightning if need be. Let’s go and get us a cyborg.”

He overrides the locking mechanism, and the door slides back, causing a blast of air and tendrils of fog to roll out of the door. Hopefully he has protected the underside of my tentacles as well, otherwise this is going to be painful. I grit my teeth and move forward when he does, heaving out a sigh of relief when the extreme cold doesn’t touch me. We stand in the entrance to the quarters, and I think we both blink in surprise. Although Iknew it was going to be freezing, I had no idea their quarters would look like this. In front of us is a simulated frozen tundra that looks exactly like the landscape on Iceen. There are a couple of large rocks and an open space covered in ice with dips and crevices, and behind that is a rock face with a number of different openings.

I knew the main ship was set up to accommodate each species’ specific needs, like the mer tank, but I didn’t realize they had caves in here until Nambra mentioned Josa’s whereabouts.

I can see five different entries along the bottom, and then farther up are another two. I guess they need to climb the rocks to get up there, and based on what I’ve seen during the circus, they are quite agile, so it wouldn’t be a difficult task for them.

A growling sound has me focusing on the middle cave. The light in here is quite dim, and I watch as Xavier produces a ball of light before launching it into the air, illuminating the area a little more. I can make out the shadow of a cat, but still no color to give me a clue which one it is. The shadow keeps growing in size as it makes its way closer to the entrance and us, the growling accompanied by a sizzling sound.

Lightning.

“That sounds like one pissed off cat,” I mutter to my warlock friend whom I feel increase the energy of his own power. It’s like a clash of the titans. Soon, the area is rippling with the residue of both creatures’ powers, and I feel my hair start to float as static electricity clings to it. Finally, I can make out the color of the cat, and I feel my stomach sink. I was hoping it would be Maxsim, the alpha of the clan, but unfortunately, I can tell by its pale blue fur and the black mane that it’s Natalia, the vicious she beast. I should have guessed it would be her from the immediate hostility, but lightning cats can be territorial, so it might have been one of the others. She steps out into the clearing, her body buzzing with tension as electricity swirls around her. She roarsout a warning before piercing her tail into the air and launching a bolt of lightning at us. The blast of power hits an invisible barrier in front of us, which doesn’t even tremble at the contact, and bounces off, landing harmlessly against the rocks where it dissipates with a few sparks.

“Enough!” Xavier bellows, the sound reverberating off the rocks, but she doesn’t listen and launches another bolt at us, roaring her displeasure again. Before it can hit the invisible barrier, a figure leaps from the caves above and intercepts the lightning, his large body absorbing the electricity as he lands lightly on his feet between us and the enraged she-cat. Maxsim’s ombre blue body is twice the size of Natalia’s, and his roar is ear splitting, shaking the ground beneath us. He quickly puts her in her place, causing her to flinch back and bow down in front of him. The alpha is finally here.

Xavier and I watch as Maxsim’s body shimmers, and then he changes form. It’s a fast process, but it looks uncomfortable. Unlike a shifter’s change, which is aided by magic, their bones seem to rearrange themselves until he stands upright in humanoid form, his muscular fur-covered ass on display with his tail lashing back and forth in agitation.

“Holy shit,” I mutter as I take in the lightning cat in front of us. I don’t know what I was expecting. Of course he isn’t covered by his normal loincloth or circus uniform.

“Close your mouth, squidlet. You’re drooling,” Xavier mutters, laughing quietly. I bet he’s looking just as much as I am, but his perving is hidden behind that damn mist.

“Fuck off,” I growl at him, and he chuckles again, a little louder this time.

“Change,” Maxsim bellows at the female cat, the alpha command rattling even me. My beast champs at the bit to test his mettle against this worthy opponent, but his thoughts confuse me for a moment until I listen closer.

Cat good mate for Lila. Strong, virile, and sexy.Fucking hell. Poor Lila, my kraken is basically acting as her pimp.

Calm down, asshole. She has enough on her plate. Let her settle into the mates and powers she has already, and Xavier is next, you know that, and don’t forget Link.

He purrs in response at the reminder of the sexy doctor and warlock, and then he settles back down. Fuck my life, that was close. Next thing I know, he’ll be taking them for a test run for her, and that is not really acceptable without Lila’s approval.

Natalia’s change is much slower than Maxsim’s and looks much more painful, with it taking longer for her bones to reform into the desired form. A forced change isn’t easy on any kind of shifter. When she finishes, she looks up at him with a scowl and snarls. She struggles to her feet, and I avert my eyes. I don’t need to be looking at a naked woman who is not my wife. Xavier must understand my dilemma, because I feel his power flex, and then she’s covered with their traditional loincloth garb. Unfortunately, so is Maxsim, and we hadn’t gotten a look at the front yet. My kraken grumbles deep inside.

“What were you thinking, attacking like that?” he demands angrily, stepping toward her aggressively, and she rolls her eyes. Natalia is a beta and below Maxsim in the pecking order, so she is being incredibly disrespectful. I guess her mother being the matriarch has made her cocky. I have a feeling she will end up regretting her attitude.

“They barged into our denuninvited. I was well within my right to do so,” she sneers before baring her teeth at us and hissing. Down, kitty.

“This is not Iceen. Those are not the rules we live by here,” he scolds her before turning to look at us, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. “Natalia isn’t really wrong though. You did come in uninvited, which in Iceen would get you attacked. What is it you want?”

The lightning cats tend to stick to themselves. They don’t come out and join the rest of the crew to socialize between shows, so I don’t really know anything about this streak except for the information they shared with Link, and that’s not really anything personal about each individual. It’s a shame they remain aloof from everyone else, but I guess if they have their own internal issues, they wouldn’t have time to cultivate friendships.

By now, the rest of the cats have joined us. Three huddle around the entrance of one cave, staying well out of the way. I guess they don’t want to draw an irate Natalia’s attention. Above us on the ledge of the other cave, the pure white cat, Echo, lounges, his head resting on his paws as he watches everything silently.

“I have it on good authority that there is a cyborg hiding in your caves,” Xavier explains, still in his mist form. “He is wanted for treason. He assisted in trying to kill the Adams brothers’ granddaughter, Lila, and I would like your permission to search for him.”

This has Maxsim’s eyebrows jumping in surprise, but Natalia just scoffs behind him.

“Unlikely, warlock. We would know if he were here. We could smell a stranger in our area, so he would not be able to hide himself.” She sounds so confident and smug, it’ll be nice when Xavier proves her wrong.

“Well then, either you know and you are in on his treason,” Xavier suggests, which is something that had already been rolling around in my mind, and it has Natalia paling, “or he has managed to get past you. Either way, I still require permission to search for him.” Xavier’s mist rolls back from his body, and he shows himself to the lightning cats. It is the same glamour he assumed for his harem, and not the one that I know is his real form. He puffs up his chest and his body crackles with power.I see the fur on the tips of their ears stand on end. “Actually, I don’t even require permission, I can search, but I thought I would try the polite way first.”

Natalia’s fur bristles, her claws lengthen on her fingers, and her tail crackles with electricity once more as she starts to growl. “You will not,” she says through a mouthful of teeth, but Maxsim holds up a hand, silencing her.

“Quiet,” he demands before bowing his head in consent at Xavier. Natalia cowers under the alpha command, but the look she gives him would strip skin from a body.

“I will show you through the caves. I apologize for my streak member’s rudeness. I will inform her mother, the queen, that she will need a few more lessons in diplomacy when we return to Iceen.” He turns to the three cats huddled in front of the left cave. “I’m assuming there is no cyborg hiding in your caves?” All three of them shake their heads in unison, and I have to smother my chuckle. They look like cute kitties at the moment, but Natalia proved how deadly they can be. “Very well, they are not in my and Echo’s either, which leaves us with five to search.”