“Bloodthirsty female,” Orth chuckled as he hefted her into his arms, careful of her injuries. Tah grinned, following close behind. She was their bloodthirsty female. Life certainly would never be lacking with that one. Already, Heidi wouldn’t be slowed down. Even wounded, she insisted that Orth either move faster or put her down until he finally yielded to her wishes and hurried out. As it happened, they made it just in time to see Gund heave the dead body over the side of the stairs amid the revelers below.
“There is your Fool’s Ball King!” Gund roared. “Now leave, unless you desire to join his entourage in the next world.”
A shocked silence fell for half a heartbeat before the screams started. Humans in various states of undress scrambled and jostled each other in an attempt to be the first out, spilling over food and drink and the instruments of their pleasure in their hurry to get away. Tah grinned at the hysteria. Let the humans see for themselves the Ragoru that they mocked. He was more than satisfied that the ballroom soon emptied, clearing the way for the females of the menagerie to slowly depart from the building, all except the Atlavan who lingered at their side, staring at everything around her in horror. Heidi leaned back in Orth’s arms and grinned at Gund.
“Nice job, Gund. Now let’s find Beni and get out of Dunvar. I’ve had enough of this place to last me a lifetime.” Heidi wheezed. “We have a pair of ladies to get back home. I sure hope Beni is good at keeping secrets and doesn’t tell Faltz about her adventures in mingling.”
Tah, Orth, and Gund all grimaced together in shared horror and grunted in agreement.
35
Weeks later
Heidi lay back on her sleep mat and leisurely stretched. The Mintar had set her back up in the dome she had used before, much to her delight, but now she was sharing it with three doting males who had been on pins and needles and attentive the entire time she’d been healing. They had been so sweet and caring that Heidi was eager to make up for lost time now that she was cleared for strenuous activities by the healer.
It turned out that the Mintars proved to be gracious and enthusiastic hosts when they returned with news of the Master’s death. While the Order would still cause them problems, it seemed that the entire clan was looking forward to the future, including the selection of the clan queen. For the first several days, there had been nothing but celebrations, music lightening the atmosphere as plentiful food and drink were brought out and shared. The Mintars weren’t much for dancing or anything like that, but they knew how to throw a good party. They were also quite generous with the smoking weed. That made her stitches a lot more bearable in those first few days.
The only stain on the happy occasion was the fact that Beni believed in absolute honesty with her mate. Heidi couldn’t fault her for that since that was, more or less, the policy she planned to live by with her mates—she just wished that the woman had waited until after they were well on their way to the Black Hills. Having a giant male glare at her for a week straight while she was recovering was enough to make her wish she had the ability to go back to the Master and ask him to finish the job.
Not that the Master had done that much damage. Despite everything, it seemed that old age had finally caught up to him. He’d been quick, but a slice that should have been fatal several years ago had been easy to patch up. Apparently, her bodice—bless Viv’s layering and massive embroidery—had caught up the sword enough that it screwed up his blow. Viv had also done the stitches in her side and cheerfully endured every curse word directed at her. Heidi admittedly made a terrible patient.
On the plus side, Mintars apparently loved battle wounds, so Heidi got to enjoy considerable pampering from the entire clan while she healed. Tah grumbled excessively about the males constantly bringing her things, but whenever he did, she just teased him about being jealous since he hadn’t needed stitches. Although the blade had drawn blood, all the damn tough skin and fur had been even more protective than Viv’s sewing.
Now, however, she was bored. Visiting was all fine and good, but she was ready to move on and so was her triad. The males had been talking more about where they might find a good territory to dig out a den before any rogs started coming. She’d laughed until she realized they were serious. She had never really considered being a mother, but she supposed that chasing after little fuzzballs could be fun. Or maddening. But in the latter case, she had three tough males to hand the monsters off to.
A shuffling sound at the entrance caught her attention. Curious, she rolled over and smiled as Orth poked his head in. “Hey.”
He grinned playfully and made his way to her side. She scooted over, making room for him on the bed. She loved his playful side that had been emerging more now that they no longer had any sort of imminent threat hanging over their heads. Orth wiggled into bed beside her, his gray fur brushing her as he dropped his head and nuzzled her. “I have exciting news.”
Heidi cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Orth nodded excitedly. “The Mintars suggested it, and believe that the Atlavan will agree to it, especially after we return their female. Chivi is nearly recovered enough to make the trip back to her territory and agrees to speak on our behalf. Bakin says there is a tract of land along the Dark Hills that is a protected forested area. There is no threat from hill people in that area, game is plentiful, and there are good places to look to dig out our den.”
“That is great! That will put us in an easy position to visit either the Mintars or the Atlavans.” She grinned and snuggled into the bedding. Everything was coming together beautifully. She was likely a wanted criminal in Dunvar for two murders, but who gave a fuck? She had killed many people, and those were the only two she genuinely felt good about ridding the Earth of. Besides, out here, it didn’t matter. There were no guards to arrest her, and while the Order might try to hunt her down, she wouldn’t make it easy on them. In any case, she couldn’t foresee ever returning to the Citadel again.
She cracked open an eye and looked up to see Orth still smiling expectantly at her. She had an idea about why he was smiling since she just had received the same news earlier, but she couldn’t resist teasing just a little. “Was there other good news?”
He nodded quickly. “The healer said that it was okay, so…” He cleared his throat meaningfully and looked toward the door. Tah and Gund stepped in, their fur freshly groomed and each bearing a gift of flowers. Beni must have told them about flower-gifting traditions. They set the flowers on the bed next to her, each male wearing a nervous expression. Orth and Tah both looked at Gund expectantly and the big male stepped forward.
“Now that the Master is gone and you are recovered, we formally ask your decision on mating,” Gund rumbled. “Will you accept us as your triad? As your mates?”
Heidi’s eyes widened and she looked from Gund to Tah and then to Orth. All that she saw was love, hope, and trust reflected back at her. She hadn’t expected that. She knew that they wanted to mate, but she thought they would be too eager to get on to the fucking to give mating much priority right away. She couldn’t think of a single thing that she wanted more. She had no concept of a life after her objective was complete, and now she could imagine no life other than one that included them. She knew they would let her drag it out. They would let her wait as long as she needed until she was ready to mate, but she didn’t want that. She wanted them in every conceivable way for the rest of their lives.
Why did she want to cry?
She blinked back tears and gave them a wide smile. “Fuck yes. You are mine. Forever.”
Elation swept over her triad. Orth grinned, and Tah puffed out his chest with pleasure. It was Gund, however, who took her breath away as he kneeled beside her and pressed his head into her lap as a quiver ran through his huge frame. She stroked a hand over his head, trailing over one ear affectionately.
“You have chosen, and we are yours,” Orth whispered in a choked voice. As Gund shifted out of the way, Orth gently stripped away her clothing. Once she was bare, he did no
t waste time reacquainting himself with her body. His hands explored her gently and eagerly. Every stroke sent her higher into bliss as she shivered with pleasure. His claws tugged at her nipples, exploring the globes of her breasts before sliding down her belly in a path to her mons. His lower arm came up to toy with her clit, teasing her as she squirmed beneath him.
Tah grinned down at her as he came forward. He climbed onto the bed on her other side, his arms coming around her. He ran his muzzle against her body, his tongue flicking against her skin, making her gasp at the rapid, unexpected sensation paired with Orth’s teasing touches. His hand joined Orth’s, both males licking her body, their tongues stroking her sensitive skin, worshipping every scar with their fingers and mouths.
Her breath left her in a sigh as she writhed between them, their bodies pressing in around hers. Hot fur and hard cocks brushed against her with every move of their bodies against hers, demanding hers, calling out to her need.
Her need happily answered.
A warm muzzle brushed against her face and a hand dipped further between her thighs, a warm knuckle pushing against her as Tah whispered, “Our blood, hearts, and souls will mingle. This meeting will break us down, destroy us all, but we will be reformed and breathe again together as one.”
Her body shook, her heart opening at the promise in those words. One arm hooked around Tah’s neck and the other around Orth’s as she rode the pleasure they stirred within her, her fingers digging into their fur as small tremors stole over her. She felt a brush of fur over her legs as a large, solid body blanketed her lower legs, pushing away the touch of the other males from her pussy. Staring into his heated yellow eyes, she eagerly spread her legs wider to accommodate Gund’s bulk as he leaned in.
“Through blood we are born, and through blood we are born again,” Gund growled.
She moaned when he chose that moment to dip his head and stroke his tongue leisurely against her inner thighs until he worked his way to her slickened cunt. His tongue dove into her channel before sliding up to her cunt until he drew out the first of her orgasms, her pussy clenching against his tongue as she whimpered and begged.
With a growl, Gund lunged, biting the skin at her pelvis. White heat snapped through her and she shrieked at the shock, and then again when Orth and Tah simultaneously sank their teeth into her shoulders, whiting out the world all around her. For a time, she was aware of nothing but them as they panted and growled around her, their bodies shifting as they rode their own lust. Their extruded cocks rubbed against her, teasing them both. She groaned, her mouth opening wide at the pleasure that consumed her.
The first taste of blood came as a surprise as Gund pressed his bleeding wound to her mouth. She pulled back at first, but submitted at his warning growl, opening her mouth to accept his gift. Once he was certain that she got enough, he pulled away, and Tah repeated the procedure, his exalted growl turning the blood exchange into something wonderfully erotic. She was fully on board by the time Orth pressed his cut hand to her mouth, tonguing it as her body arched and bumped against Gund’s thick cocks as he positioned himself over her.
Tah and Orth’s hands slipped between them, dropping down to grip Gund’s phalluses and notch them at her openings. He growled low in pleasure, his voice mingling with her needy moan. The fire in her was burning hot, the need to culminate the mating and seal it for all time.
She needed him. She needed all of them to bank the white-hot need burning through her.
The male groaned and shivered, sinking into her eager body as his cocks stretched her wide.
“Now we claim you for always,” he growled, pumping his hips against her, the deep, driving thrusts making her gasp and wiggle demandingly against him until Orth’s commanding arms snapped around her. One of his hands gripped her leg, holding it against him and, at his direction, Tah did the same so she was helpless as the large male rutted into her. She never thought she would be one to like giving up control, but by the Mother, fuck, did she ever! Her orgasm crashed over her with such intensity that her hips slammed upward against him, straining against the hands that held her as his knot slipped into her.
He drove the knot deeper as he ground against her, pouring his hot seed within her. His secondary cock vibrated in her ass through it all, sending wave after wave of pleasure to drown her as another orgasm gripped her hard on the heels of the first. Her body instinctively ground up against him, her cunt demanding every drop as she clung to him.
When he finally pulled free, making her moan as his knot dropped away, Orth’s head was immediately between her legs, licking her greedily while Tah cleaned Gund’s still swollen members. All three males eventually backed away, Orth and Tah’s predatory eyes watching her. She sat up, and that movement was all it took for the males to be on her. Tah yanked her forward, but he yelped in surprise when Gund yanked him back, drawing him flush down onto his still swollen cock. Tah groaned and shifted his weight against Gund, who moaned as he braced their weight on his primary arm, his second arms embracing the male. Tah’s cocks wept precum as his hot eyes turned on her with need.
Orth’s grip tightened around Heidi, and she was lifted into the air before she was settled over Tah’s lap, her thighs sliding around him. Tah’s hands gripped her legs as his other set aligned his primary cock at her entrance, tucking his secondary one to the side. His raspy groan of pleasure filled her ears as he was penetrated and filling her at the same time. Heidi gasped and shivered in pleasure, and Orth chuckled from behind her.
“You like this, rya?” he whispered.
“Fuck yes,” she admitted.
Orth’s grip tightened on her arms, and she felt one of his hands grab her ass before he positioned his pre-cum slicked cock at the entrance. With a slow push, he breached her, his thick head filling her until he was deeply seated. Her body felt so full she moaned, her cunt and ass clenching, sending a shockwave through the males as everyone groaned aloud.
She wasn’t certain who moved first, but she was fairly sure it was Gund who initiated the movement that sent a rollercoaster of rocking and thrusting as they mated as one, cocks working, rutting into hot sheathes. They writhed together, their moans collectively growing louder. Heidi could feel herself winding tighter and tighter, her body trembling with the need for release.
Tah’s claws bit into her flesh as he orgasmed first, his cum spraying into her. Gund’s roar as he followed was not eclipsed in the least by Orth’s breathy groan as he unloaded in her ass. The dual sensations of both males releasing within her ignited her own orgasm. It shot through her with such strength that she screamed out her pleasure, not caring who heard. Her one hand that had somehow wandered back into Orth’s mane tightened on it. His low growl of pleasure as his cock twitched within her and shot out another spray of cum sent another micro-orgasm trembling through her.
Together they collapsed on the large sleeping mat, their limbs entangled. Because Gund’s knot did not emerge for Tah, he slipped easily from the other male’s body as they all sank together in one big heap.
Heidi stared up at the leather roof of the dome, gasping for breath. Her eyes eventually slid over to her mates who lay around her, their eyes half-slit in sated exhaustion. She grinned at them and waved a hand toward the kettle by the fire pit.
“Anyone up for tea?”
All three males made sounds of disgust while she laughed.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Heidi grinned as she watched Gund put the final touches on the entrance of their den. His chest was thrown out with pride as he smiled at the ornately carved door. He’d labored much of the summer over it when he was not digging out the den with his triad. His talent at woodworking amazed her. She never knew that the burly male had such an artistic bent. The neatly carved figures of their family were more stylized, but the way the figures moved around each other was so beautiful that it took her breath away.
“What do you think?” Gund asked, his ear tilting her way.
She
came up beside him and leaned into his charcoal-gray fur. “I think it is marvelous,” she declared, drawing her fur cloak tighter around her. It was well into fall, with the scent of winter in the air. Although the Atlavans assured them that the winters were mild in the hills, they took precautions against the cold and gifted much to their family to bring them comfort during their first winter in their den.
“You are going to give him a fat head,” Tah remarked as he came up beside them, his arm laden with supplies. “It is about time that the door is finished. I was wondering if we were going to have to tie leather over our entrance like we have in the past when we wintered in caves at the rate you were working.”
Gund snorted dismissively. “You will be thankful for such a good door when the Withering Days come.”
Tah grunted in acknowledgment as he eyed the door speculatively.
Heidi glanced up at the males curiously. “Withering Days?”
“It is a time that comes once every revolution when Ragoru spend the darkest days of the winter holed up in their dens with all that they need to cherish their rya and show their adoration,” Gund explained.
“It is our rutting season,” Tah added ever so helpfully with a leer. “Days and days of rutting. It will be magnificent.” He sighed, a shiver going up his plated spine.
Heidi’s eyebrows flew up, and she looked at the door with renewed appreciation. Days holed up in their comfy little den with everything they needed, doing nothing more than fucking? A solid door with a lock sounded like an even better idea, especially with the Order snooping through the hills more as of late. Soon, the winter weather would make them disappear, but they seemed to be very interested in the hills.
Heidi smirked. Let them even try to find their den. The entrance was well hidden in a crevice that couldn’t be found unless one really knew what they were looking for. It had even frustrated their Atlavan friends when they attempted to visit during construction.
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