by Regine Abel
The first Braxian shop opened on Venus Hive. Despite its resounding success and the absurdly high prices people were willing to pay for our useless goods, it quickly became obvious that our males couldn’t run these shops, not understanding the craft or the appeal of those pretty, luxury items or beauty products. To Mercy’s dismay, Braxian fathers and mates refused to let their daughters go live and work on a pleasure barge. While I understood her anger, I would never admit that I, too, would have refused to let any daughter of mine go there without a full contingent to look after her.
Yeah, I still had a long way to go with this equality thing.
Finally, it was agreed to send Celia, Clan Leader Colpen’s half-breed daughter. A pretty little thing, she’d been quite abused before I abolished the laws making slaves and half-breed females free-for-all. To his credit, Niklas had made his best efforts to send her away on various tasks whenever he had guests coming to his compound, but by law, even his clansmen could make use of her as they pleased. Now in her late thirties, although still beautiful, no man would take her as a concubine or wife, even with the changing mentalities, for she’d been too extensively used. Venus Hive gave her a chance at a new beginning, while still aiding the home world.
Mercy became a stout defender and protector of the hybrid females, providing them with employment in her new lab, and education to give them a chance at a better future. Although she struggled with the idea of being ‘shackled’ to Braxia, she decided to move the headquarters of her research center here, actually buying extensive lands near the Keltrix Market to build the facility, as well as a small residential area for the staff who would join. On top of a generous salary increase, as an added incentive, employees who relocated here would have a free home built and decorated to their specifications—although based on predetermined templates to respect Braxian architecture.
While Braxians eyed this sudden influx of foreigners with a certain amount of wariness, they welcomed the financial benefits with so much construction work to be done, from basic infrastructure, to roads, and everything else in-between. More importantly, some of the research projects Mercy intended to run were drawing the interest of some of the most brilliant minds in the galaxy. Right behind them, many investors wanted first dibs at the development licenses for some of her most revolutionary patents.
Sometimes, I almost felt ashamed by the tremendous help my mate had been. Without her, I doubted my reforms could have blossomed the way they currently were without bloodshed. Thanks to Mercy’s wonderful insight about the women’s craft, and now with her research center, she’d brought early proof to my people of the viability of my changes.
Still, we needed to pace ourselves. The men still struggled with their females working and contributing to their respective clan’s income. Finding out Mercy was planning some basic combat training for the women proved too much for the men to handle. I walked into our bedroom, bracing for what I knew would be a heated conversation, only to find her already waiting for me, arms crossed, a mulish expression on her face. I groaned inwardly, and my shoulders slumped.
“Woman, don’t…”
“Don’t woman me!” Mercy said in a hard voice. “This is not open for debate.”
“Mercy, you know I’m an advocate for change, but you can’t just flip everything on its head overnight and not expect people to balk,” I argued running my fingers through my hair. “The men have made plenty of concessions. Give them time to adjust before you demand more from them.”
“It has nothing to do with them!” Mercy snapped back. “Why do men always have to make everything about themselves?”
“Because we are insecure idiots, and we need our females to coddle us otherwise we break. And when we do, it’s excessive and ugly,” I said, slowly approaching her.
She snorted. “THAT’s your justification?”
“It’s not a justification, merely facts,” I said with a shrug. “Don’t you think I deal with the same headache every time I—”
A subtle, unusual scent stopped me dead in my tracks. My nostrils flared as I inhaled deeply, parsing what struck me as an abnormal combination. Understanding finally dawned on me. My chest constricted at the same time my heart soared.
“What’s wrong,” Mercy asked, a look of confusion on her beautiful face.
“There will be no more fighting or training for you,” I growled closing the distance between us. “I forbid it.”
“You forbid it?” she exclaimed, outraged.
I didn’t respond. Dropping to my knees before her, I pressed my nose to her stomach and inhaled deeply. Joy and wonder coursed through me as I received confirmation of my assumption.
Mercy gasped, her fingers slipping hesitantly through my hair. “Ravik?” she asked, her voice uncertain.
“My mate,” I whispered rubbing my face against her flat stomach, before looking up at my woman. Her chin trembled as she gazed at me. “Twins,” I said, in response to her unspoken question plainly written on her features.
Rising to my feet, I pulled her into my embrace. One hand still in my hair, Mercy slipped the other between us to lay her palm on her stomach.
“You… You can smell it?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yes. In the days following the first month of pregnancy, a pureblood is able to recognize the change in scent. You’re at least four or five weeks in, and you’re carrying a pair, boy and girl. That threw me off at first. Boys smell woodsy, while girls smell spicy. The mixed scent confused me. Braxians don’t have twins.”
“Twins,” she whispered, rubbing her stomach with an air of wonder.
I kissed her. She returned it with fervor, full of love and tenderness, and then we rested our foreheads against each other’s. Mercy wrapped both hands around my back, holding me tight. Moments later, I felt her mood shift.
“These twins, I will not fail. Promise me, we’ll keep them safe,” she said, looking back at me, a haunted look in her eyes.
“Nothing and no one will harm these children,” I said with savage conviction. But just as I spoke those words, I realized she was thinking about more than what Lorik had done to our previous child. “You did not fail your sisters, my love. You may not have found your brother’s clients list, but you will find your sisters. Your father promised your mother as much. In due time, when your Goddess wills it, you will be reunited.” I caressed her horns before cupping her face in my hands. “The Fates never meant for you to find that list. They sent you here to find me, to save me, and to save Braxia.”
“And for you to save me,” she said, looking at me with adoration. “For Braxia to free me, and finally let me be Mercy.”
I caressed her hair that had grown a few more inches in the three months since that terrible ordeal.
“I love you, Mercy,” I said, my heart full to bursting.
“I love you, too, my beast,” she said before burying her face in my neck.
“I mean it,” I said after a beat. “No more fighting for you until they’re born.”
She stiffened and pulled back to glare at me. I smiled, a little smug. Mercy grimaced, the urge to do something unpleasant to me plain to see.
“I’m so going to kick your ass when it’s done,” she said.
“Bring it on, my love. Bring it on,” I said before kissing her again.
* * *
Mercy
Ravik had not been kidding when he said Braxians could smell pregnancies. You would think a switch had been flicked on as that very morning, no one had paid me any mind. But that evening, for last meal, every Braxian who got a whiff of me first had the same confused expression plastered on their faces before it turned to shock and disbelief. Ravik preened and swaggered at having his superior virility thus confirmed by being the first Braxian to have planted twins in a woman’s womb. I could have kicked him.
A few days later, I received a vidcom from my baby sister Aleina who had just delivered her first-born son. Naturally, she wanted to know when I’d be coming back to Xelix Prime to
introduce my husband to the rest of the family and meet my new nephew. In my response, I revealed my own pregnancy. As expected, she demanded I return home at once so the Veredian healers could keep an eye on the health of the babies and me. When I politely declined, she threatened to get on one of her battlecruisers and bring me back kicking and screaming if needed.
So much for me being the oldest sibling…
Although I agreed with no more combat training for me, it annoyed me to no end that he would put his foot down about it. Anyway, the women took care of that, going into protective overdrive with me. They wouldn’t allow me any type of exertion, strictly watched how many hours I worked, and ensured I ate properly. Even that damn racer Dajia wouldn’t cut me some slack. Just like the Braxians, one whiff sufficed for her to know my condition. While she allowed me to ride her for the following four weeks, she refused to go at anything faster than a walk. Whenever I tried to urge her on, she’d knock on my horns with her tail.
At the end of those four weeks, the middle of my second month, she refused to let me ride her at all. I still visited her, though, or she’d throw hissy fits for being neglected.
By the third month, I stopped complaining about being mothered by all the females. My baby bump had swollen overnight. I couldn’t see my toes anymore, even when stretching my neck to look over my stomach. My feet and ankles kept swelling, a discomfort only relieved by the wondrous creams made by the fishermen’s wives of Clan Podek.
By the fourth month, regret at not obeying my sister’s demands started settling in. My belly had grown to the size of a small moon. Working was no longer possible. Standing or even walking around for more than a few minutes proved too much for my back. I would never admit it, but as the fifth month creeped in on me, the underlying fear the Braxian females tried to hide from me echoed my own. Braxian babies were massive, thus the absence of multiple pregnancies. With my smaller frame, worry that I wouldn’t carry them to term gnawed at me.
Despite his brave front, Ravik’s face, too, showed concern for both the children and me when he thought I wasn’t watching him. Thankfully, Veredian pregnancies only lasted six months. In the first week of the fifth one, a Tuurean ship landed on Braxia, bringing my mother and her mate, Dr. Minh. I blubbered all over her, relief and joy mixing in equal measure. I didn’t know whether to kiss or punch my mate for keeping her impending arrival a secret from me. With her being one of the most powerful Veredian healers alive, and her mate being the top medical doctor from Xelix Prime who had helped solve the Veredian infertility issues, I no longer feared for the welfare of my babies, or myself.
The Tuurean presence further increased my prestige and, by extension, Ravik’s standing. That Admiral Lee’s second in command, Kamala, personally escorted my mother spoke volumes about the esteem the Tuureans held me in. Sexy as hell, covered from head to toe in her celesium armor, and her face covered by a shiny, black visor, Kamala was sex on legs. Despite her synthetic voice, she had every man drooling and speculating about her and the Tuurean race as a whole. I knew what hid beneath that armor, but it wasn’t my secret to share… not even with my mate. I hated keeping things from him, but soon enough, all would be revealed.
Mother naturally freaked out at finding my hair so short. She berated me for being ashamed of it once I gave her the watered-down version of what had happened. And then, she berated me some more for not letting them know how serious things had gotten here, and for not asking the Tuureans and Xelixians for help.
Why did the whole world want to baby me?
Using her powers, she had my hair back to its original length in no time—which made me cry again—and then proceeded to fully heal the lingering scars that marred Ravik’s back from the savage whipping Hagan had given him. This pregnancy had turned me into quite the crybaby. However, the awed expression on Mother’s face every time she eyed the mountain of a man that was my husband always made me giggle.
In the three weeks leading up to me delivering the children, Minh took great interest in the healing creams and ointments the Braxian females were making, going so far as to spend time in my lab to perform some enhancements. His work served both his insatiable curiosity and passion for medical science, but also his paternal need to help me by aiding my new people. Although he wasn’t my father, Minh had adopted me as his daughter—like he had my younger sister Aleina—the day he married my mother. While no one could ever take my real father’s place in my heart, I liked Minh and was grateful Mother had found happiness again.
Or rather, real happiness.
When the babies finally decided the time had come, Mother, Kamala, and I lost our shit when Ravik thought to wait it out with his men in his Hall. Too bad I missed the proper dressing down Kamala gave him when she went to fetch him. The Braxian females screamed in outrage at the sight of a man entering a birthing chamber. If I hadn’t been so busy pushing and screaming, I would have rolled my eyes.
I’d never seen my beast so frazzled as he approached the birthing bed. He seemed at a complete loss and utterly distraught by my pain.
“I am helpless to aid you,” he whispered when I stopped pushing, looking ashamed and vulnerable.
Holding on tightly to his hand, I peered at his beloved face. “We made these babies together, let’s bring them into this world together. You can’t take away my pain, but you can lend me your strength through it, like you’ve done once before.”
An emotion I couldn’t put a name to crossed his features, and then something seemed to fall into place for him. Ravik passed his strong arm behind my back, supporting me, and his other hand held mine. For the next eternity until our twins entered this world, through every push, through every pained scream, Ravik’s warmth surrounded me, his rumbling voice whispering words of love and encouragement. Together, we delivered our twins.
I couldn’t believe the gigantic size of the babies that came out of me. And yet, when Mother handed them over to their father after cleaning them, in his hands, they looked tiny. My firstborn was a gorgeous little girl, with a delicately-shaped Braxian nose, raven-colored hair like both of us, and Veredian markings. Unlike me, they didn’t brand her as belonging to the Warrior breed but to the Scholars. She wouldn’t have my physical skills for combat, but she would possess an innate ability to acquire knowledge in all its forms. Science, math, and technology would be child’s play to her. To my chagrin, she didn’t inherit my horns, therefore preventing her from ever claiming any Guldan heritage according to Guldar’s current laws.
My second-born, a beautiful boy with silver white hair similar to my late brother Varrek’s, thick, black horns like mine, a broad and flat Braxian nose, but no Veredian markings. Although, I didn’t say it out loud, that broke my heart. Until that instant, I hadn’t realized how strongly I identified as Veredian far more than as Guldan. As far as I knew, no Veredian had ever given birth to a child without markings. Did that mean he wouldn’t have any powers either?
Still, my heart filled with love for my two little miracles.
After she was done cleaning me, Mother kissed my forehead, and then those of each of my children. Turning to Ravik, she caressed his cheek and then signaled for Thala—who had been assisting her—and Kamala to leave the room with her. Once alone, Ravik kissed my lips and then caressed the heads of our babies.
“Name your children, woman,” Ravik said, his voice made even more gravelly by emotion.
He held our daughter to me, her obsidian eyes locked with mine as if she knew the importance of this moment.
“I name you Lissy, Lissy Xeldar,” I said, caressing my daughter’s markings. I smiled at Ravik’s sharp intake of breath. “Your namesake set your father on the path to becoming a man I could love.” I turned my gaze towards him. “A man I do love with all my heart.” Facing my daughter again, I continued, “From this day forward, through you, the name Lissy will be a synonym for love, joy, new beginnings, and the ability to embrace change for the better.”
“I love you,” Ravik said, k
issing me before I could answer.
Taking our daughter from me, he cradled her in his right arm, and gave me our son.
“I name you Garruk Vrok, after my father and brother,” I said, caressing my son’s horns.
Ravik recoiled, his strong brow creasing, making him look even more menacing than usual.
“Vrok?” Ravik said, his outrage unmistakable. “That’s my son. His last name shall be Xeldar.”
I shook my head, totally unfazed. “You already have your heir. This one is mine to continue my father’s bloodline.”
“He can still continue your father’s bloodline with my name,” Ravik said, his face taking on a mulish expression.
I rolled my eyes before looking at him. “Don’t be silly, big boy. Anyway, everyone can see he’s your blood, and females name children. The sire has no say.”
“By Intergalactic Law, maybe, but not by ours. He must bear my name,” Ravik said. “I insist.”
Sighing in exasperation, I rolled my eyes again, itching to kick his butt. I’d known from the start he would push back—and couldn’t actually blame him either. In his shoes, I’d probably feel the same. That didn’t change the fact that my son would bear my father’s name.
“Fine,” I said, glaring at him with false anger before turning to our son. “Since your father is such a crybaby, I name you Garruk Xeldar Vrok, heir to the Vrok Empire.”
“But—”
“No buts! He has your name, too. Push me on this, and I’ll remove it altogether,” I warned.
Ravik grimaced and muttered something about abusing gender rights, which only made me giggle.
“Stop your fussing, silly man. Give me more sons, and they can bear only your last name,” I said before rubbing my nose against our son’s. His yellowish-brown eyes, speckled with green, identical to my mother’s, looked at me with wonder, and his lips stretched in a toothless smile.
“Rest assured that I will, woman,” Ravik mumbled.