by Kelex
“That you might have an illness that could infect the whole ship,” Oz said. “Diseases quickly incubate in such close quarters. We have to treat this and quickly—before it spreads. And we have no doctor on board, either.” He rose. “I’ll be right back with Dagr and some things that might help. Give me a few minutes.” He marched to the door, pausing before he left. “Rest. I’ll return soon.”
Llyr did as he’d been told, but the heat only seemed to rise. The fluttering in his belly grew, as did his worry. But what surprised him most was his cock—it lengthened and hardened.
Oh no… not this.
Please not this!
Need swamped Llyr… spreading throughout his body. He squirmed against the mattress, his slick wetting his backside. A moan slipped from his lips… and he reached under his pants to caress his swollen cock. In a frenzy of need, he removed his clothing. He left them in a pile on the wooden plank floor. Writhing against the mattress, he took himself in hand. Llyr stroked the length, but it was nowhere near enough.
He needed more.
He needed Oz and Dagr.
Desperately.
It seemed an eternity before Oz reappeared with Dagr in tow. As soon as they crossed the threshold, he moaned loudly. “I need.”
Both men froze at the door, their faces a mask of shock.
Llyr cried out again, another wave of lust crashing into him. There was no doubt then.
He was in heat.
A low moan came from his lips as he stroked himself again. Oz and Dagr were at his side in an instant. Clothes flew off, and soon they were as naked as he. The bed he lay upon was too small, so he was quickly transferred to the floor by two pairs of strong hands. He writhed within their embrace, silently begging for their touch.
First Oz claimed his mouth—the hunger rising. Dagr claimed it next, all while their hands roamed all over his body. They added to the frenzy of need. Coupled with the early stages of his first heat, he was soon mindless to the pleasure. It only took moments before the instinct took over.
The instinct to procreate.
He rolled to his knees and arched his back, crying out to be filled. Llyr’s ass was high in the air… exactly as he’d envisioned days before. Barely able to form coherent speech, he could only use his body to plead for what he desired.
“Please,” he finally ground out. “Need…”
The days of fighting his attraction to Llyr had tightened Dagr like the string to a bow. Minutes after Dagr lay beside Llyr, something snapped—the shattering of his self-control. That splintering was vicious, destroying any resistance on his part. He was no longer himself. He was a caged beast in the moment the steel bars of a cage were opened.
His mind pulsed with one lone thought. To fuck the beautiful merman on the floor.
Their beautiful merman.
A haze of something filled the cabin. Dagr inhaled. A cloying scent filled his nose, and the aroma only fueled his need. Ripping at his clothing, he clawed each piece off to bare himself. Vaguely cognizant of Oz disrobing at his side, he gave the man a quick glance. Their eyes met, and there was an instant thunder of understanding.
There was no more fighting the compulsion.
They would finally claim their male.
Llyr let out a trilling moan that sent shivers down the base of Dagr’s spine—it was a sound like nothing he’d heard before. Somehow, it spoke to something deep within, calling out something primeval. He could no longer hold back. He had to answer the primal need he could hear in Llyr’s tone.
For some reason, something the witch had said whispered through his mind. Llyr was omega… their submissive. A growl rose in his chest. Innately, that submission pleased him.
Their omega ached. Only they could soothe him.
Dagr barely recalled closing the gap. Or moving Llyr to the floor. All he knew was he needed to touch… to taste… to fill their merman’s body with his seed.
After Oz stole Llyr’s first kiss, Dagr demanded one of his own… swooping in to capture those pale pink lips that had haunted him every night. Only when he could barely breathe did he release Llyr from their kiss—and watched as Oz claimed another. Powerless to stop himself from savoring more, he trailed his lips down over Llyr’s neck… and shoulder… and on to their merman’s ear.
All while his hands massaged every inch of skin he could reach… every dip and curve… every line of muscle and sinew… covered by velvety skin. Desperation pulsed through his veins… throbbing like another spirit within. He craved Llyr in a way he didn’t understand… not that his brain was operating enough to scrabble together an answer. Instinct thundered within… the same voice which had whispered in his mind and told him to claim this man now bellowed and demanded he fulfill what felt like destiny.
“Mark me,” Llyr cried between kisses. “Make me yours…”
The anguish in Llyr’s tone made it impossible to think. Compelled by Llyr’s need, he rolled to his back and dragged Llyr atop him. With his chest to Llyr’s back, the merman’s bottom rested on his hard, pulsing shaft.
On his knees, Oz moved between Llyr’s thighs—spreading their omega wide. He gripped the base of Dagr’s shaft and stroked it a few times before pressing it against Llyr’s tight, wet hole. The wetness there caused him to growl low in his chest, something unusual registering through the fog. But it was nowhere near enough to tear his mind from its solitary purpose. He needed to be inside Llyr as much as he needed his heart to beat.
With Oz’s help, Llyr sank, inch by delicious inch, onto Dagr’s shaft. Both he and Llyr moaned in concert when they hit bottom. “This is where you belong, omega. Planted on our cocks. Filled with our seed.”
Oz groaned at Dagr’s words, the sound of impassioned agreement. Llyr looked over his shoulder, moaning at Dagr’s words. “Yessss,” he hissed before rolling his hips and prompting a moan from them both. The rest of the sounds that came from Llyr’s lips were whimpers as he writhed on Dagr’s cock.
When Oz pressed the head of his cock against Llyr’s hole and the base of Dagr’s—and slowly sank into Llyr’s wet heat to join—Dagr sensed they’d died and gone to heaven. A satisfied rumble crashed through him, his whole body jolting with what something akin to lightning. Oz slowly drove deeper, until he was to the hilt. They both clung to Llyr, balls deep inside their beautiful merman.
Time stopped existing. Driven by a madness to claim—to mark this male as their own—Dagr rocked deep into Llyr’s body alongside Oz. Dagr dug his fingertips into Llyr’s hips, pumping the smaller man up and down his shaft. Oz’s thick cock rubbed against his own, adding to the delicious friction.
Llyr’s body seemed created for them. Voracious to experience their little merman shatter between them, he quickened their pace while moving one hand to the base of Llyr’s thick root. Oz already had a hand there, pulsing up and down the shaft. He added his above, moving in tandem to bring their little lover to completion.
His sweet cries of pleasure were music to Dagr’s ears. Llyr thrashed his head against Dagr’s chest, waving it back and forth as commands for them to give him “more” and “harder” fell from his mouth. Dagr dug his fingers through the silky strands of Llyr’s copper-colored hair and forced the man’s head back so he could nip and lick at those pink lips—swallowing their lover’s cries.
They kept driving, filling Llyr over and over again—Dagr searching for absolution. Like the dance Llyr had been so compelled with on deck, they moved with practiced perfection. Oz leaned in to kiss Llyr’s lips… and then inclined further to claim Dagr’s mouth for a moment before returning to kiss Llyr again.
They were one body. One entity. Giving and taking with equal abandon.
When he finally came, it was as if the world stopped. He cried out, blasting Llyr with a thick flood of cum. Oz followed behind him seconds later, filling their lover. Their roars of completion filled the cabin. Everyone on the ship had to hear them—and for once, Dagr didn’t care. They’d marked their male, and he wanted everyone to kno
w Llyr was theirs.
Forever.
Once they crashed down to earth, he sought to ease from Llyr’s body—yet their omega struggled to let them go. Llyr’s spasming muscles clenched their cocks—his body tight. After a couple of moments—when they’d finally untangled—they lay there, breathing loudly. A jumble of arms and legs, cocks and smiling lips, all floating in the aftermath. The ship slowly rocked back and forth, a slow, soothing sway. As he calmed, questions circled inside his mind.
Yet he refused to speak and destroy the unearthly calm spreading over him.
Eventually the questions clawed at him. In the frenzied moments before and during, he’d almost believed Llyr was what he claimed to be. Even now, lingering doubt filled him. The reaction to Llyr had been strange and he had to understand the compulsion that had claimed him. “What was that?”
“I’ve never felt something so… chaotic,” Oz said, turning his attention to Llyr. “I was out of control, yet completely controlled. I couldn’t stop myself from having you. Is that how it is with a merman?”
“No. I think… I think I might be in heat,” Llyr murmured between breaths.
“In heat?” Oz asked. “What does that mean?”
“The witch said your males do not get pregnant… so I assumed your females do. Do they not go into heat?”
“Female animals go into heat,” Oz said. “Humans don’t.”
Llyr’s face seemed to get redder. “Oh. I was unaware.”
“A female animal goes into heat when she can become pregnant. Can you… become… pregnant?” Dagr asked, even as he knew it was insane to ask. Of course a man was incapable of becoming pregnant. But he was unable to explain away what had just happened.
“You and Oz aren’t mermen. Nor did you lock within me… so I’m quite sure it’s impossible for you to put a babe on me,” Llyr answered.
“You’re quite sure?” Dagr asked. “But not absolutely sure?”
Oz glared in warning. Dagr forced himself to not talk sense into Llyr.
But he also realized what had transpired between them was abnormal. More magic? Dagr doubted it. If he was honest with himself, he had sensed all along there was no magic manipulating their emotions. Yes, he realized there was some kind of spellwork surrounding Llyr—a masking of some kind. What he did comprehend was the magic’s tentacles were absent—nothing extended to him nor Oz. At least he didn’t think it did. If it was more powerful than he realized, perhaps it was beyond him and his senses.
“We’re two different species,” Llyr said. “And as I said, you’re incapable of locking within me.”
Oz’s eyebrow rose. “Lock? We did have a hard time pulling out.”
“An alpha merman has a muscle at the base of his penis. It locks him to his omega for several minutes—until their seed has been deposited into the omega’s womb. That, of course, did not happen. It was only a moment, and you soon pulled out.”
Dagr exchanged confused looks with Oz.
“How long does this heat of yours last?” Oz asked.
“Usually a couple of days,” Llyr said. “But since this is my first, it could be off a bit. The firsts sometimes are.” He smiled. “My first heat. And my first encounter.”
“You’re a virgin?” Oz asked, shock in his tone.
“There’s no way a virgin could’ve taken us both,” Dagr replied. “Not without pain.”
“Well… theoretically I’ve never been with another—but I have used an olisbos on myself. To prepare me for my first time.” He frowned. “I should’ve used a bigger one—but I never expected two.”
“What’s an olisbos?” Oz asked, cocking a brow.
“A cock… crafted of stone and polished smooth so it glides in with ease. We omegas use them to prepare ourselves to be claimed.”
“So you’ve been with no other men?” Dagr asked.
“No. You’re both my first.” A small, shy smile spread on his lips.
Dagr’s heart fluttered a little in his chest, though he was loath to admit it. Somehow knowing he and Oz had been Llyr’s first…
It shouldn’t have mattered. He and Oz had bedded many men and women. So many, he’d lost count over the years. Yet he still never forgot the first. He and Oz would likely stay in Llyr’s memory forever.
He’ll stay in mine forever, too.
The thought gave him pause. He eyed their lover, capturing that swirling blue-green gaze. Even after the countless lovers they’d shared, this one—this crazy little merman—would be one he’d never forget. Dagr reached out and brushed a few strands of hair from Llyr’s damp forehead.
In a matter of a few days, this man had tunneled under the walls he’d erected—effortlessly.
Llyr’s face reddened a little, and his stare drifted, a small smile on his lips.
“What?” Dagr murmured. “Why do you look away?”
Llyr lifted his stare. “I wonder how you feel after all this—knowing you struggle to believe in me.” He gazed away again. “Now my needing forced an intimacy I doubt you wanted.”
Dagr turned Llyr’s focus his way. “I wanted. I’ve wanted you since you arrived.”
“And fought it every step of the way,” Llyr whispered. “Now I gave you no choice.”
Dagr took Llyr’s chin and forced the man’s attention. “The only thing you forced me into was letting down my guard for a moment. Maybe I needed the push.”
“I told you he was ready to fall,” Oz whispered to Llyr. He eyed Dagr. “Weren’t you?”
Dagr chuckled under his breath.
Llyr smiled softly. “If it helps any—I sense a bond. To you and Oz. I barely understand it. We’re of two different worlds. I never came here expecting this.” He laughed. “I did think I could seduce you two and free myself, but not this.”
“Seduce us?” Dagr asked, lifting a brow.
“I know. It sounds ridiculous now, saying it aloud, especially considering how bad of a job I did.”
Oz chuckled. “Considering you’re lying here between two spent men, I think you did a very good job.”
Dagr was unable to shake off all his doubts and suspicions, no matter what he’d promised Oz. “Why did you feel the need to seduce us?”
“I’ll be considered ruined by the parents of the terrible boy my father wishes to marry me off to.” He cuddled up between them, sighing. “And maybe, just maybe… I can finally be free.”
Dagr was about to ask another question, when Llyr quickly sat up.
“Where is it?”
“Where is what?” Dagr asked as Llyr spun around to his knees, searching the floor with one hand. The other hand gripped around his neck.
“The pendant! It’s gone!”
Dagr rose to help in the search—as did Oz. Llyr climbed to his feet before ransacking the bed. He ripped the bedding off and dropped it to the floor.
“We have to find it!” Llyr screamed.
Dagr pulled Llyr to him, and the man trembled under his hands. “It’s alright. We’ll find it in the morning—when there’s more light.”
Llyr spun to face him, wide-eyed and looking noticeably paler in the moonlight. “You don’t understand… you don’t…” He shivered as Dagr thought he heard a howling sound outside. “They’re coming.”
Abruptly, a cry of alarm rose on deck. Another followed.
A shiver raced down Dagr’s spine.
“They’re here,” Llyr said.
8
“Who?” Oz demanded before another scream took both his and Dagr’s attention to the door.
“The Draugar,” Llyr murmured, his eyes wide.
More cries came from his men as he and Dagr quickly pulled their pants on.
“Stay here,” Oz instructed Llyr. “Keep searching for the necklace.”
On the way out of the cabin, Dagr reached for one of his swords and tossed another to Oz. The cloudy night swallowed up the light, making it hard for him to see. Oz heard the sounds of clashing swords and cries of battle. A gun erupted from one side, the b
right flash of the gunpowder sparking in the darkness. The coming storm swayed the ship violently from side to side. When a strike of lightning threaded across the sky, it lit the macabre display spread out around them.
Time slowed.
Oz watched as he saw an unknown enemy at war with his crew.
As the rumble of thunder neared, he saw skeletal remains racing towards him, sword aloft. Not a man. A skeleton. It raced nearer, sword in hand. Oz lifted his own at the last possible moment and fended off the attack.
Dear gods.
Before he could say another word, Oz raced to his cabin and pulled out his pistols. He exited and began firing on the creatures. One by one, they fell.
Only to rise again.
Another creature raced close. Oz emptied both guns into it, but it just kept coming. Tossing away the guns, he grabbed the sword he’d scabbarded—lifting seconds before the creature struck. The villain’s strength and power shocked him as he repelled the enemy sword. Using every ounce of might he had, he forced the creature to the edge of the deck—and after long minutes of fighting—was finally able to pitch the dead-thing over into the water.
A gun fired next to him, and he spun to see Dagr holding a gun aloft. He’d felled another of the dead-things—one that had been unknowingly racing toward Oz. Before he could express his thanks, the creature stirred.
In a stunning turn, it lifted itself from the deck.
Pure dread clenched at his belly. Oz jabbed his sword into the middle of the beast, and it dropped back to the deck—but only for a moment. It clawed at Oz’s sword, murmuring guttural cries that sounded almost demonic. Another flash of lightning gave Oz a better look at the creature—and he wished he’d never seen it. Rotting flesh hung off the partially visible bones. A shiver raced down Oz’s spine at the sight. Lifting his gaze, he saw his men fighting an unending battle against a foe who couldn’t be killed.
They would perish before seeing victory.
More beasts climbed up the side of the ship, a number too great for them to wage war against. It was then that Oz recognized one of the many. His brother, Brandt, stood in the middle of the deck, gazing up at him. Oz’s stomach clenched, bile rising in his throat. Another flash of lightning hit—and he could see Brandt’s once blue eyes were white.