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to teach a child who would change to protect his tribe; it took centuries. The coveted male child was protected fiercely by all until coming into his own. Once that occurred, he no longer had need of his parents. It had been three hundred years since Cage’s parents’ return to the Mountain. It was Cage’s turn to mate; he was a worthy leader—or so he thought.
    A messenger had arrived to inform Cage his mate was dead, her chamber empty. The forest void of her scent. A female grown for his specific needs and desires gone before he had a chance to know her. The embarrassment of being found unworthy of a mate wasn’t bad enough. Their tribe was doomed unless he could kidnap another female from a different tribe, which he had thought impossible; the action was unheard of, until now. This little species, and now his prisoner, had big fears. She was a walking weapon of destruction.
    Cage couldn’t read minds, but when he looked at his opponent a clear image of their biggest fears formed in his thoughts. Solid black patterns built within his mind to form a clear picture in seconds from those basic building blocks. Normally there was only one image; warriors were difficult to frighten. This human was nowhere near a warrior and had so many fears they bunched together into odd shapes he tried to decipher. It had been hard at first. He supposed his body was a mess as he approached her. Tails, trunks, paws busting out everywhere. His confusion almost stopped him. Chills raced through his body; for a moment, he had wondered if the confusing skill was her weapon. But she didn’t use the opportunity to escape, she was frozen in terror.
    He was going to kill her until a definite image formed. The sight became clear, the pieces fell together. The bear, as she called it, was intense, powerful. Its scents and sounds and smells were awesome. Cage felt his body shudder with the change and when he touched her, his body charged with energy. He filled with renewed hope. Image after image invaded his thoughts, images he battled to control but tucked away for later reference. He could make other tribes fear him. They would be expecting their own worst fear; instead Cage could give them a new terror and catch his enemies off guard. He would be invincible.
    The human wasn’t trying to deceive him in his thoughts, as he had first assumed. Gazing down at the human’s slumbering form he realized this creature was vulnerable. The idea was confusing, his mother never seemed vulnerable. Although nothing could harm her, his father would have killed to keep his mother and Cage safe. This female had no mate for protection, it was unheard of. All females needed a mate to protect them. She was small, her bones delicate. She was injured; Cage had never seen an injured female. She favored an ankle which appeared to cause her distress. When in pain, her thoughts focused on her hurt, not her fears. Cage would have to exercise restraint. His nose twitched, she reeked of urine. He didn’t want to scare her to death.
    “Cage?”
    Cage moved away from the sleeping female. Cyra, she said her name was Cyra. He waved Zenon to follow him, not wanting to wake her. He sensed her exhaustion. She had mentioned she hadn’t slept at all after being caged.
    “You are letting it live?” Zenon said. Cage knew it wasn’t why his warrior was here. Zenon was his oldest and most trusted advisor. He was Cage’s first warrior, meant for him. There were other warriors in the tribe, older, but the Mountain of Creation gifted Cage with Zenon his first day after his parents went to join the Mountain. Zenon was created especially for Cage as advisor and friend.
    “This little being has given me a big advantage.” Cage smiled at Zenon.
    “The creature you changed into was stunning. It would have caught me by surprise if faced with it. I didn’t fear it, but the little thing was obviously terrified.”
    “There are more creatures to be discovered. I can un-cage her inner