The Princess' Indiscretion

Story by Gideon Kalve Jarvis on SoFurry

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The Princess' Indiscretion

By Gideon Kalve Jarvis

Sleep does not come easy to the head that wears the crown. I learned that many years ago, through trials and dangers that I do not like to consider overmuch, for many of them still weigh heavily in the present, lacking resolution. Once I would pray to the ancestors for their wisdom and guidance, for the light to see my path, and for the right to join them some day in the halls of the honored dead. Now, I pray for strength.

My eyes were staring at the ceiling, tracing the dim outlines of the beautiful stucco paintings there. I could hear the soft sounds of my harem around me, feel their movement, sense their contentment. The harem of many kings is a place of contention and intrigue, but not mine, or so I like to hope. I have an angel for a first wife, and a clever angel at that, and she and I have worked together very carefully over the years to ensure that, when the trials of running this land are finished at the end of the day, my life in the harem is sweet indeed. It is a relief that I need desperately, without the constant infighting that can come from an uncareful choice in brides and concubines.

Basking in the warmth and comfort of this closely-pressed ball of golden-furred femininity after the rigors of my day, one might think that I would sleep like a log. But it was not to be. I looked to my left, at the smile of the precious lioness who consented to be my bride so long ago, before I ever even dared to stand up to the former king and take my place as the rightful ruler of this land. It was her confidence in me that gave my heart wings, and filled me with the courage and determination that I would need to ascend the throne. Now, her head resting over my heart, one of her gentle hands resting upon my lush, red mane, I was struck with the realization of how deeply I loved her, and how deeply I think that I shall always love her, no matter what might come. Even if she should betray me...

But it is better not to think of such things. While I lack the stealth of the lionesses around me in hunting the prey of the veldt, I have a great control over my strength, which is more than considerable. With the utmost care, I lifted my first wife from her place, and settled her back down without a sound or a single whisker disturbed, my hands looking so massive against her lithe feline frame. She moaned softly, and as I stepped away from the cushions that made up my sprawling bed, I could see the females of my harem pulling closer together to fill up the gap I had left. Saw her stretch an arm out and pull her younger sister close to her warm body, the smaller lioness taking my place as best as she could.

It was as I looked at my own gap that I realized there was another form missing from the tangle of female limbs. It is a common practice for young lionesses to spend their years of developing sexual maturity in the harem, so that can have the opportunity to observe the techniques and skills that will help them please their future mates. At present, I have only one such lioness who has taken part in the time of observation, one daughter who should have been quite exhausted, judging from the number of times I saw her fingering herself earlier in the evening. One daughter who, despite all my desires to the contrary, was presently missing. Could this be the reason for my disquietude this night? It might indeed be the case. Regardless, this mystery needed resolving, and so I carefully picked my way through the tightly-pressed mass of lionesses, reaching out for and donning my robe as I reached the door, cinching its belt around my waist to hold it shut, and thus avoid scandalizing whatever staff might be up and about at this time of night.

While I might lack the keen nose of one of the painted dogs that roam the veldt, I am not wholly without senses equal to the tasks that are required of them. In this case, following a faint trace of a woman's perfume, still lingering in the air of the corridor. Bright moonlight shone in through the arches that ran along the side of the corridor, leaving it open to the night air and the full moon above. It was almost as bright as day to my keen golden eyes, and so there were no secrets hidden from me as I rounded a corner, letting me look out into the palace garden nearest the outer wall.

There stood my errant daughter, the princess of her people, one of my favorites, and the one daughter that I think I have allowed myself to spoil more than any before her. Kana had always been a precocious kitten, and it has followed her into adolescence and her young adulthood. She always took risks that others would never dare, not even most of the young lions, and she had proven herself a strong fighter and mighty hunter. I had actually taught her some of the way that we males use to fight, and though her sleek, almost peach-furred body was certainly not suited to the raw savagery and imposing brute strength required of the fighting style, still she learned well what she could do, and I am forced to acknowledge that, if she had been born a male, she would likely have been the one to supplant me.

Knowing what I did about Kana, it was no surprise, then, that I found her where she was, standing proud in the moonlight, her only clothing a simple wrap around her waist, her budding breasts thrust out and up to meet the kiss of the silver moon, the light pink of her perked nipples visible even from my vantage point. She was staring up at the moon, as though looking for a sign from the heavens. But I knew what she was really here to find, for I had done similar things in my youth. Kana wasn't waiting for a divination from reading the sky. She was waiting for a lover.

Giving a soft, impatient growl as she awaited the lucky lion-boy who had caught her fancy, and who would soon steal into the garden to taste her treasures, Kana pulled at the front of her wrap, and then tossed it carelessly aside, now standing naked like a goddess in the silver light. And she was indeed divine in appearance, her curves smooth, supple, and so inviting it made my hands ache to touch her. She was very much in the image of her mother at a younger age, my first wife having been almost the spitting image of this fiery female who now seemed to stand in defiance of all social mores and even the heavens themselves, her nudity a matter of pride, for there was nothing that she had to hide, beautiful as she was, the tuft of her tail marking its impatient lashing.

She had not long to wait. Resting my hands on the rail of the arched walkway that overlooked the garden, I saw a dark shadow detach itself from the other patches of darkness, and then begin to make its way to my daughter. Her ears turned, and her body followed, just in time to meet the rushing, desperate embrace of her paramour, her muzzle rising to meet his in a kiss so passionate, I could feel the fire of it from where I stood, making my robe part slightly with my filling sheath. Perhaps I should have intervened then, embarrassed the lovers and stopped things before they proceeded any further. But I am no hypocrite, stopping others from doing that which I have enjoyed deeply myself in times past. Besides this, I have never been very good at denying my precious daughter anything that she desires in the first place, try as I might. I was curious as to who her suitor might be, for they were now embracing under the overhanging branches of a tree, and I could not quite see this strange male's features. There was something strange about him, though. Something that I couldn't quite place.

The ground beneath the tree being rather hard-packed, and thus not a comfortable bed at all, the lovers soon stepped forward, still pressed so closely together, their lips moving against one another in the practiced manner of longtime lovers. Kana seemed to have learned her lessons well from her time in the harem, though I supposed that I would soon see if she had learned more than simply how to kiss. But then, as the couple separated, Kana kneeling before the proud male who had come to claim her, her hands going to his crude leather loincloth, my eyes widened, my nostrils flaring as I realized what manner of creature that my daughter had chosen. This was no brave young lion, come to deflower the daughter of a king. This was a hyena, spotted and stinking from the filth that his kind consumed to live.

I was about to storm forward, to charge down the stairs to the garden and bring this debased upstart to grips with a true warrior, when my daughter unloosed his loincloth, letting it drop as carelessly as she'd discarded her own wrap. This made me pause, despite myself: the male before me must have had some zebra in his ancestry somewhere, for it was impossible to miss the massive black shaft that bobbed as it sprang to full attention, glistening in the moonlight. Then I heard my daughter's eager exclamation as she took that fulfilling length into one hand, and began to stroke the hyena's cock like a common whore, her bright eyes fixed on his swollen, pointed tip like a kitten about to receive a present. I knew her reactions. They were those of a lioness, full of the experience born of watching her elders engage in all manner of erotic acts, eager to put all that she'd observed to its best use. If what I read of the situation was right, and I have had a great deal of experience in these matters, then this was my daughter's first time with any male. Her first time with a lover that she had chosen by herself, a male who was strange and savage and forbidden. Could I truly be heartless enough to deny her such an experience? Did I have that much hate in my heart that I would break hers, just because of my distaste for her chosen mate?

My jaw relaxed, and I gripped the rail before me with one hand, the other loosening my robe's belt, baring the front of my body to the open air. I looked down, and couldn't help but smile, feeling my own confidence restored: I was not as long as the young male I saw below me in the garden, but my pink shaft was quite a bit thicker, and had rows of rubbery nubs, intended to erotically tease and stimulate the insides of whoever I mounted. I had nothing to be ashamed of, as a male as much as in my position as king, and it was with this thought that I took a firm grip on the base of my throbbing member, my eyes roaming over the scene playing out below me in the garden. I stepped to the side lightly, all the better to get a clear view of everything that was taking place. After all, as I considered it, the rough-hewn, blunt features of the savage male in the garden below did have a certain charm to them. In fact, the more I looked at him, the more I realized he might even qualify as handsome.

My daughter certainly seemed to think so. She seemed very eager to please her chosen mate, even as she carefully licked at the swollen tip of his penis, slowly drawing out the motions as she serviced the male. One hand reached around, gripping his firmly-rounded, spotty rump, drawing him closer as I watched, licking my own chops, knowing full-well just how good it could feel to have every last one of the tiny, rubbery barbs of a lioness' tongue prickle each sensitive nerve ending in that tender place. It seemed that the hyena didn't know such a thing, however, and it came as quite a surprise to him as his back arched, rump clenching (and it was a fine rump indeed), a loud moan escaping his lips. Kana looked up, her eyes wide and eager for praise, concerned that perhaps the sounds her lover were making were those of discomfort rather than pleasure. A large hand stroking her between her ears and a warm smile reassured her, encouraged her, and a moment later she showed her appreciation of such silent praise by wrapping her lips around that fine length of smooth black cock, pressing forward in a technique I had seen her mother use so many times before.

The hyena, as I watched him, was obviously untried himself, as untried in sexual matters as my daughter, or perhaps moreso, for he simply watched Kana with wide, astonished eyes, as though what he was seeing, what he was feeling, were beyond all his wildest imaginings. I nodded, giving my own swollen glans a light squeeze: yes, prime virgin, all right. As virginal as my own daughter, who gagged lightly as she went a bit too far, proving a bit too eager for her still-developing abilities. But it seemed that she had been practicing (so that was where the carrots from last night's dinner had gone) and, squeezing her eyes shut tight, she plunged forward, grabbing the hyena's spotty bottom in both of her delicate hands, gripping him nice and tight as she pulled herself forward, taking him to the roots, his heavy balls pressed firmly to her chin. Her claws extended, pricking him beneath his tail, which hiked obligingly, and I watched the male's tongue loll free, his head falling back with an expression of bliss so profound, so utterly and intensely pleased, that I could feel his pleasure in my imagination from where I stood, watching.

A softly murmured warning from the hyena came only just in time, and showed to me what sort of a male that he was: only a filthy savage doesn't give a female fair warning before he reaches his peak in such a situation. Knowing this, I couldn't help but smile, impressed, regretting my decision to simply watch steadily less and less. I was even more impressed as my daughter leaned back, opening her mouth wide and extending her tongue, her hand pumping hard and fast, her expression so kittenishly eager and expectant. She was not to be disappointed, and neither was I, for with a soft whine, cut off as he sank his teeth into his own hand, muffling the sound from those who might hear and interfere, the male came, his whole body shuddering in the extreme intensity of pleasure as he orgasmed. It was a virgin's orgasm, strong and healthy, and it was fortunate that my daughter closed her bright, beautiful blue eyes just in time, her face suddenly being quite thoroughly painted with the thick jets of white cum that spurted from that perfect, black-skinned penis.

The moment soon passed, leaving the strong young male panting, trying to catch his breath as he wavered there on his feet. Typical youngster: it had taken so much out of him to yield up that one orgasm, for he'd put everything into it, as though trying to make up for any time that might be lost in the years to come. But also, typical of the young, he was already starting to recover, even as my daughter cleaned her face sufficiently to look up at him, her giggle telling me what she thought of the rather comical expression on his face - the utterly relaxed, pleased look of a male who has experienced ultimate satisfaction. Hearing her giggle, the hyena folded his arms and looked down at Kana sternly, as though daring her to laugh at him. This, of course, just made her giggle all the more, until his expression broke into a grin, and he knelt with her, leaning forward to help her clean up his mess.

Felines are known for our sensitivity, and for our ability to experience sensual pleasure - it's a part of how we are made. Thus, as the hyena ran his long, broad tongue over my daughter's face, then her neck, her soft, eager moan came as no surprise, any more than the eager arching of her back, presenting her nudity to him like a petitioner offering up a sacrifice to the ancestors. Encouraged, he lifted his large, muddy-furred hands, stroking them over her body even as his muzzle lowered slightly, his eyes looking up towards her own sweet, heavy-lidded blue orbs, just before his tongue flicked over her perfect pink nipples. She cooed like a dove as the male's blunt muzzle wrapped around her breast, even as his hands roamed her body freely, exploring her every nuance, her every supple curve. As his muzzle shifted to her other breast, his tongue lashing over the lovely mound and its pink-capped nipple with almost contemplative care, one of the hyena's hands slipped down, between her legs, forcing my daughter to press one of her own delicate hands to her mouth to keep from crying out loudly, her tail lashing eagerly behind her with her kittenish eagerness, her hips thrusting out and up, into the efforts of the randy, eager male preparing her for her first claiming.

With a light squeeze, I was forced to stifle a groan of my own, my precum leaking onto the marble tiles in fat drops, as the young upstart nibbled his way through my daughter's bellyfur, that long tongue of his rather different in appearance from those of felines. I judged it was probably quite smooth, like those of the hunting dogs, and wondered what it must have felt like as it penetrated Kana's tender, untried body. Lionesses have their own rites, apart from we males, and among them is a ritual deflowering, using a special, holy phallus made of gold, to save them from the pain that might otherwise come from being deflowered by a male, going through it at their own pace instead. I've seen this phallus, however, and I can attest that it isn't anywhere as large as the male before me, nor myself - it's only big enough to do its job, and nothing more. Kana had been through this rite, as part of her step into young adulthood, and it was fortunate that she had, for it meant that the hyena servicing her was able to penetrate her deeply - very deeply. Even as she sank her teeth into her arm, I could still hear her high-pitched yowl of pleasure, her whole body tensing, and bucking uncontrollably as that upstart male touched her inner places. While it seemed that he'd found her G-spot by accident, he learned fast, and soon my daughter was thrashing around on her back, her toes curling, hips thrusting upwards into the air as she underwent a series of muscle contractions so powerful that I was worried she might injure herself.

Lying there, gasping for breath, my daughter looked almost ready to pass out, even as the aftershocks of her orgasm (or was it orgasms?) continued to shudder through her body. And all the while the hyena knelt there between her legs, a smug grin on his face - and it was indeed a handsome face, though not in the statuesque fashion of we lions. It was a gritty sort of handsomeness, the beauty of a diamond in the rough. I'd seen similar expressions on the faces of males of my own kind after they'd properly satisfied their females, and was sure that I'd had that expression myself more than a few times. After all, what greater boost can there be to the ego of a male than to know that he has brought such pleasure to his mate?

Not one to rest on his laurels, however, the hyena was moving once more, even as my daughter was only just starting to recover, the flush of her pleasure visible through the lighter-colored fur of her underbelly. Taking another step to the side, I was able to watch him stroke his shaft, coating it well with his copious juices, until his black shaft was glistening in the moonlight, before he slipped his hands under Kana's knees, lifting them, moving himself forward. My daughter was no passive bystander in this act, however, and despite her obvious fatigue, she soon reached down, taking the male's shaft in her hands, and guided him into place. Then, setting her hands on the ground on either side of her hips, providing her with support that I knew she'd need with such a vigorous male covering her, she looked up at her chosen mate, and gave him an affirming nod.

I am certain that the rising, tremulous yowl of my daughter would have woken every living being in the palace then, as inch after inch after inch of slick, pulsing hyenameat slid into her snug pink treasure, each little nudge forward from her paramour making her cries rise another notch in pitch and volume. In fact, her cries would have done just that, if the hyena hadn't covered her pretty muzzle with his own, kissing her fiercely as their bodies pressed against each other, her hands reaching up to press against his chest. She broke the kiss as she felt him bottom out inside of her, looking down, her blue eyes wide and wondering at how she'd managed to accommodate such a sizable length, her hands going down to explore the place where her body was joined to that of her lover. And then she was kissing him again, lifting herself, straddling his lap as he knelt on the grass of the garden, both of them unable to keep their hands off of each other as they began to move against each other. Even from where I stood, I could hear their desperately suppressed moans and cries of passion, and the soft, wet sounds of their impassioned coupling, luscious and intensely erotic in the stillness of the sleeping palace all around them. I could see as my daughter's hard nipples dragged through the stiff, unkempt fur of the hyena's chest, and knew, as sensitive as she must be after her orgasms, that this sensation must be driving her crazy. The feel of her soft fur under his padded palms must have been equally intoxicating to the barbarian claiming my daughter, likely nothing that he'd ever felt amongst his own people out on the plains, living under the harsh desert sun without the benefit of a decent bath at the end of a day's hunting, or servants and eager harem-mates to assist in grooming. As my daughter rode the strong young male's hard shaft, bucking against him, his own hips trembling as he worked to keep from going too fast or too hard, which would have driven him over the edge long before he was ready to give in to his pleasures, I could see the connection between them. They were addicted to each other, drunk on their commingled passions as surely as if they'd been indulging in wine on the lees.

Suddenly my daughter began to bounce a bit faster, her body starting to seize up again, her lovely breasts jiggling in a way that must have been mesmerizing to the hyena, trembling through a smaller orgasm. The male she was riding sensed it, and started to move a bit faster as well, to match her, only to suddenly have Kana come to a complete stop, pressing one fingertip against his black-padded nose, before she stood up, wincing slightly as that fine length of hyenacock slipped free of her clinging pink depths, flopping, unsatisfied, against his firm belly. I had to stifle a chuckle at the utterly bewildered, little-cub-lost look on the young male's face - it made him look so vulnerable, so, well, cute, that I simply could not help but feel for him, knowing just how much of a frustration coitus interruptus could be all too well myself. I knew, though, that my daughter wasn't going to simply take her pleasure and leave her lover in such a state. I might spoil her rotten with my many indulgences, but my daughter is not mean-spirited. Suffering like that which the poor hyena was going through was not something she would allow to remain for long.

It was not long before my supposition was proven right, as my daughter made her way to one of the stone benches in the garden, and bent herself over its smooth surface, looking over her shoulder with an expression that would have melted the chill heart of a crocodile. Hiking her tail high over her hip, she wriggled her fine, firm rump towards her lover. Another slight step, and I could see her beautiful pink parts, laid so utterly exposed for the pleasure of this lucky male. He was hardly one to turn down such a royal request, and before too long my daughter gave an excited gasp as her fine little tush was gripped firmly in those huge hands, hiking her bum a little higher to make access to her tender pink treasures all the easier. She was not to be disappointed, as the eager male pressed his questing muzzle firmly against her nether regions, his tongue lashing out firm and fast. Soon his muzzle tilted upwards, his tongue probing a bit harder against the resistance he found there, and this coupled with the utterly debauched look of sheer, delighted naughtiness on my daughter's face told me where he was licking her, and what tight, virginal hole he had just penetrated with that smooth tongue of his.

Now I was paying attention, even more closely than before. Anal sex is, to me, the ultimate sign of compatibility between a male and a female. For a female, anal sex can cause deep humiliation coupled with intense, burning pain. Males have parts within them that make anal sex quite pleasurable with only minor preparation, but females lack such parts. To actually experience an anal orgasm, a female usually must be truly and completely compatible with her chosen partner. Or so I have always thought, and so my own experiences have revealed to me. I am certain that there are other theories, and perhaps they fit better with creatures that are not lionesses or other natives of the veldt. After all, I am a believer in the diversity of the races, and even more in the diversity of individuals.

Panting hard as he raised himself once more, taking up his position behind her, the hyena stroked at the very base of Kana's tail with one hand, where there is a sensitive cluster of nerves that leaves even the fiercest of feline hunters tingling with sensations so pleasurable that we seldom know what to do with the feeling. His other hand stroked his shaft, and then guided it forward, slotting it into place, the dripping, glistening tip squeezed tight against the tiny pink pucker of my daughter's fine little tailhole. He bent forward, murmuring something into her ear, a look of uncertainty on his face. My heart went out to this barbaric male as I saw this, and knew what fears of hurting the one he loved must be passing through his mind at that time. Kana's answer, however, was more than adequate to dispel his fears, as she thrust herself back upon the thick spike of his cock, a high-pitched squeal, part-pain and part-delight, forced from her throat before she could muffle her sounds of passion once more.

Taking control once more, the hyena gripped Kana's hips, holding her still as he forced her to take time to adjust to his length, despite her adorable pouting expression as she looked back at him with her sparkling blue eyes. Then, gritting his teeth against what I knew must be a tightness and heat so utterly exquisite that it defied description, he began to slowly, carefully press himself forward. Pressing her cheek against the bench, her claws scraping against the stone on either side, Kana panted hard, her cheeks visibly flushed even through her fur. She was drunk on pleasure from what she'd experienced before, so much so that she seemed hardly aware of the pain that accompanied such a rude penetration from such a thick, blunt instrument. Her rump clenched, her whole body tensing up as she felt her lover's heavy balls pressing firmly up against her dripping wet cunny, matting down the hyena's genital fur, and she pressed herself flush with his hips, her tufted tail standing almost straight up against his firm stomach and chest.

Their stance now set, Kana having found that she could handle her lover's member without pain (though I can only imagine the discomfort of being penetrated by such a member without the benefit of a prostate), the couple below me began to move, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed. Before too long, the stone bench shook on its moorings as the hyena let all his inhibitions go, setting himself to work in humping my daughter silly, while she desperately tried to get a grip on the bench, raking her claws until she left lines in the smooth rock, her whole world reeling with sensory overload. This time there was no holding back, no pulling out, as the hyena thrust himself deep within Kana's pulsing tailhole, balls slapping soundly against her sopping wet quim, even as he arched a finger up and around, penetrating her dripping places at an equal pace to his thrusting hips. And she was no less eager, rocking herself back with vigor and desperate lust.

The orgasms of these two youngsters came suddenly, hard and fast and unexpectedly, overwhelming them both with their passion for each other, for their complete trust and love. Burying himself to the hilt within Kana's smooth, velvet-furred rump, the hyena's head fell back as he let loose a howling yelp that gave voice to his peaking pleasure in ways that no description ever could as his body trembled, his youthful muscles standing out clearly through his spotted fur as they tensed to their ultimate limits, his entire body consumed in the fire of his orgasm and of his love as he filled my daughter's rear passage with his seed. My daughter yowled with equal loudness, neither of them holding back any longer, forgetting themselves as they came in unison, opening herself up to him, giving herself to him in the same way that he gave himself to her.

Their passions slowly ebbing out, my daughter and her savage paramour sank slowly onto the bench together, stroking their hands against each other, kissing softly as they fit together like spoons in a drawer, the strong young male keeping himself firmly set within my daughter's bum. I found that I could easily understand his reluctance to remove his shaft from such a nice sheath, and did not begrudge it to him. But despite all that had taken place, and despite the fact that I had allowed it, there were certain protocols that had to be followed, and allowing my daughter to be lovers with a nameless barbarian wanderer from the veldt was completely out of the picture.

With this in mind, I casually walked to the end of the corridor overlooking the garden, and then descended the stairs, relying on my natural stealth and the tiredness of the young lovers to muffle my approach. As I approached, making my way quietly through the soft grass of the garden, I smiled down at the pair, cuddled so close together, nuzzling and murmuring softly to each other. I could hardly keep from laughing as I reached one hand of my own down, and slid it along my daughter's heaving side, seeing the pairs of brown and blue eyes turning up to me in the startled guilt that always comes with young lovers caught in the midst of a tryst. But this guilt was mingled also with fear, for what had taken place was a forbidden act, obscene to all lionkind.

"What is your name, boy?" I demanded of the young male, holding him down with an ease that surprised me, as it always does when I exert my strength in earnest. At first the brown-eyed male couldn't respond, his throat choked with fear.

"W-we didn't...I mean, it's not..." stammered my precious daughter, until I held up my other hand, silencing her. It was the voice of Kana that seemed to summon up the courage of this intrepid intruder, and he met my eyes when he answered.

"Charka," he said firmly. "My name is Charka, of the Witchbone tribe, and I am in love with your daughter."

"So I see," I said with a wry smile, a smile that seemed to make both of the youngsters relax slightly. "And what about you, Kana? Do you return this love?"

"Yes, daddy," said Kana, pressing herself a bit more firmly against Charka's body, his arms wrapping around her, cuddling her close in response. "We've been seeing each other for almost a month now, ever since we met after my first hunting expedition. He's the one who got me back to the others when I got lost."

I remembered the incident, and remembered those heart-stopping hours when I had no idea if my daughter was even alive, knowing full well that there were hyenas in the area who would love nothing better than to feast on her flesh, given half a chance and the setting of the sun to hide them from my questing eyes. It seems that I was right about a hyena feasting on her flesh, though not at all in the way that I had feared.

"Very well," I said after several long moments of consideration, letting the young lovers sweat it out a little, to ensure that neither of them was going to back out on their statements. When all they did was cling even tighter to each other, I lifted my hand, and then turned, walking back towards the palace. "If that's the way you want it, follow me Kana, Charka."

In a daze, the pair of them rose from the stone bench, and did as I bade, Kana's expression dreamlike and unbelieving, while Charka's was fearful and uncertain. Kana knew my moods, and seemed to guess that neither she nor her lover were in immediate danger, but beyond this, she couldn't guess what I would do. Charka, on the other hand, was walking straight into the heart of his racial enemy's den, and I could smell his fear as well as his determination. He had Kana by his side, and I knew that, as he loved her, he would do anything for her, even if it meant facing death by my claws. Strong as he was, I was much stronger, and if I desired it, I could tear him apart with my bare hands. But that wasn't my desire at all. After all, ripping someone limb from limb was hardly a proper way to welcome one's future son-in-law into the pride.

"Here," I said as I stepped out into a room that was partially filled with steam, the sound of dripping water all around us. "You two must be soaked with each others' juices. I'll get the fires going while you start to clean up."

Still uncertain of my next moves, the two youngsters obeyed, stepping into the knee-deep water of the palace's bath and looking at each other in bewilderment. I soon returned after setting more coals on the braziers and getting the pumps working once more, and looked between then, before I gave a soft chuckle.

"Relax, my daughter and my son," I said, reaching out and catching both of them in my wide, strong embrace, pulling them to me. "I think that this should be a more festive occasion. After all, my daughter seems to have chosen her mate."

"Son?" said Charka dazedly, looking between my golden eyes and my daughter's crystal blue ones. While he was still trying to figure out this strange twist, Kana squealed in delight, giving me a big hug and a kiss on my muzzle, right before she turned and kissed Charka. It was all I could do to keep from bursting out laughing at the happy-but-bewildered look on his face at this rush of new stimuli, and so I decided, as my daughter broke the kiss, to lean over and stifle my laughter by kissing him as well.

At first the hyenamale struggled in my grip, fearful and uncertain. But, as my mates will attest, I am quite skilled as a kisser, and before too long his struggles ceased, and I stroked his body tenderly with my large hands.

"I believe, dear daughter, that we should welcome this new addition to our family properly, do you not agree?" I said casually, even as I and Kana worked together to turn him so that he was facing her, while I slid behind him.

"Oh, I totally agree, daddy," she responded, pulling her lover into her arms, his hands lifting almost of their own accord as they kissed. I felt him tense as I came up behind him, stroking my large hands through his coarse fur, gripping his firm, spotty rump.

"If you object," I told the younger male, nuzzling his cheek, "I will not hold it against you, nor will I force myself on you. But I think you will enjoy this. I know that my daughter will."

Charka looked back at me, then at Kana, and wavered for a moment as he felt one of my fingers gently teasing his tightly-clenched tailhole, glad to find him clean - he'd apparently gone through quite a bit of trouble to make himself presentable to his love, which explained why I could hardly even smell the musk that normally clung so inescapably to hyenas. But then Kana leaned forward, kissing him deeply, and I felt him relax, his sheath starting to swell again as I reached around to gently stroke him to full erection once more.

"Welcome to the family," I growled softly in the hyena's ear.