When Balir advanced and mimicked the motions, he also lifted his free hand to her face, the pad of his thumb brushing over her lips to feel the smile there. He spoke the words solemnly and wore a smile of his own when she said them back.
After they’d performed the actions and spoken the words, Nina held her bloody palm up to them. Each valo reached forward and covered her hand with theirs.
“Hearts of my heart, I accept each of you as you are. Not as man, beast, or valo, but as Aduun, Balir, and Vortok.” She looked each in the eye as she spoke their names. “We four are now one.”
Vortok stepped forward as soon as she’d finished speaking, lifted her up into his arms, and kissed her. Nina wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss with all the joy and love she felt in that moment. He set her down, slowly, letting her naked body slide along his abdomen, and her feet had barely touched the bottom of the pool before Balir pulled her close, kissing her with equal passion.
When she broke away from him, she turned to Aduun. He was still, silent, watching. She stepped toward him, raising her hands to his face, and cupped his strong jaw. She stood on her toes and leaned closer to brush her lips across his. “Accept him,” she whispered. “You are not Aduun and his beast, you are Aduun.”
She glanced from side to side at the other two valos. “All of you. Accept your beasts as you have accepted me. If I am part of you, they are too. I wish you to know peace.”
Aduun placed his hands on her elbows, bringing her attention back to him, and guided her arms around his neck; she slipped them beneath his quills. He pulled her flush against his chest and lifted her, smoothing his hands down her outer thighs to curl her legs around his waist. His cock, unsheathed, pulsed hot and hard against her bottom.
“You are our peace, Nina.” His eyes flashed before he closed them, capturing her mouth in a fevered kiss. There was nothing soft about Aduun, but even though he took what he pleased, he always gave more in return. Heat flooded her as his tongue swept past her lips and flicked against her teeth.
Another set of hands — large, calloused, and strong — ran over her back, along her sides, and moved to her front to cover her breasts. She moaned against Aduun’s mouth as Vortok squeezed her soft flesh and stroked her sensitive nipples. Aduun pressed closer, his chest flush with hers. She gasped, tilting her head back and breaking the kiss as Vortok pinched her hardened nubs, sending a jolt of pleasure to her core.
Long, graceful fingers settled on her cheek and guided her face to the side. She found herself looking into Balir’s pale, unseeing eyes as he dipped his head and claimed her mouth. His long, dexterous tongue slipped between her lips to explore her mouth, his fingers delved into her hair, and his thumb brushed along her jaw. She moaned.
Aduun’s head dipped to her neck, and a moment later, she felt the crown of his cock nudging her open sex. Nina pressed her heels into his lower back, silently begging him to enter her.
He thrust hard and deep, filling her to the brink. She gasped against Balir’s mouth but didn’t pull away from the kiss. She raised one hand and curled it around his head, holding him to her as Aduun pumped his hips, setting a rhythm that stoked the fire burning within her, building it higher and higher.
Without thought, she opened her senses to them and found theirs equally open to her. A torrent of emotion and sensation swept between the four of them; lust, pleasure, possessiveness, adoration, loyalty, belonging, and love. She trembled with their combined power and felt her valos tremble in turn.
“Nina,” Aduun growled against her chest, his tongue slipping out to lap at her collarbone. His hips quickened, pounding his shaft into her, driven by his beast’s fierce need to claim his mate. Pleasure engulfed her, escalating with every thrust until she burst. Aduun slammed into her one final time and roared, his cock thickening and filling her with his release as waves of ecstasy flowed through her veins. She cried out against Balir’s mouth; he stole her breath, taking it for himself.
They stayed like that for a time, Aduun’s lips brushing over her neck and jaw, his hands clenching her thighs until his knotted shaft finally slipped free. With a groan, he unhooked her legs from his waist and lowered them. Not a moment later, her pelvis was tilted back and lifted, and the blunt head of Vortok’s cock entered her from behind.
Nina gasped. She hooked her heels around Vortok’s thighs, and his powerful hands held her up by her hips. She threw her arms around Aduun’s neck for support, crushing her lips against his, and felt the brush of Balir’s body shifting between them as he positioned his shoulders beneath her knees.
Balir’s hands trailed down her sides. Before she realized his intent, he angled his head, bone plates brushing over her stomach, and trailed his tongue over the top of her sex to flick her clit. Lightning blasted through her, and liquid heat flooded her core, easing Vortok’s entry.
Vortok pushed slowly, allowing her to take him into her body inch by thick inch. Nina panted against Aduun’s mouth and writhed, undulating her hips as she sought more of Balir’s ruthless tongue and mouth, more of Vortok’s cock.
When Vortok had Nina fully seated upon him, he growled, grinding himself against her. The fur around his pelvis tickled her backside. He slowly pulled back, and she nearly cried at the loss before he slammed back into her again, and again, and again. From this angle, the sensation was overwhelming, threatening to shatter her mind, and yet it wasn’t enough. She needed more.
Finally, Balir pressed his lips over her clit and sucked. Her vision went black for an instant as the intensity of her orgasm struck her. He hummed, prolonging the electric zing strumming her nerves as Vortok continued to thrust into her.
Balir released her clit and kissed her hip while Aduun grazed his teeth down her neck to cover her nipple with his mouth, slowing her descent from the peak she’d just reached. Vortok bucked wildly behind her, stomping a hoof and splashing water as he came with a bellow. A gush of heat filled her.
Nina’s heart was pounding, and her breath was ragged as she felt her mates changing positions again. Vortok kissed the back of her neck, nuzzling her hair gently before withdrawing from her. She moaned at the loss of him. The cool, misty air from the waterfall swept over them, making her more aware of her release and her lovers’ seed mingling on her thighs.
Balir rose in front of her and guided her legs around his waist as Aduun had done. Eyes hooded, Nina smiled as he slowly slid his shaft into her. The ridges of his cock stroked past her clit, setting her nerves alight, heightening the sensation with every pump of his hips. He trailed his lips along her collarbone and neck, leaving fire in their wake, and his tail curled around her leg, brushing her skin. Nina’s head dropped back, and she closed her eyes, simply feeling.
Aduun moved into place behind her and slipped his hands between Nina and Balir, his calloused palms roving along her abdomen and breasts, caressing her, bringing every inch of her body to life. Vortok grasped her hair in one hand and leaned over her to settle his mouth atop hers, his tusks brushing against her skin. She met the savagery of his kiss and returned it.
Balir’s thrusts were slow and measured, as though he were savoring the feel of her around him. He built her up gradually, almost teasingly until her entire body thrummed, and she was begging him — begging them — to push her over the precipice again.
Reaching behind him, Nina curled her fingers and raked her nails down his back. That was all it took to set his beast free. He stiffened, tightening his grip on her hips before he released a deep, undulating growl and broke into a frantic pace. His tongue lavished her neck, and his sharp teeth grazed her tender flesh, sending ripples of pleasure-pain shooting to her center. His hips pumped wildly, moving with a lack of restraint he rarely displayed.
They peaked together, Nina’s cries muffled against Vortok’s mouth and drowned out by Balir’s snarl. Every muscle within her body clamped as her inner walls quivered with release, tightening around his cock. She floated high, mind and spirit soaring, heart near bursting with
pleasure and love.
When she finally came down from the heights of passion, Balir withdrew, and all three valos caressed her skin with hands and lips, loving her, praising her. She hummed contently, body limp as Aduun bent down and swept her up into his arms. He carried her deeper into the pool with Balir and Vortok at his side.
Silently, they cleaned her, running hands over every inch of her skin, worshipping her as they washed away blood, sweat, and sex. No matter how clean she became, she knew their scents would always linger on her, marking her as theirs.
She looked at each of them, and without words, she let her love pour into them — and then proceeded to show them they were just as much hers.
Chapter Seventeen
Aduun lay in the soft vegetation, lightly trailing the tips of his claws over Nina’s arm. He relished the feel of her tucked up against him. The steady sound of the nearby waterfall provided soothing ambiance, and its mist — combined with the shade — offered pleasant relief from the lingering heat of the desert. Despite the water and the lush vegetation, he sensed that they were still on the border between areas, lingering in a neutral space that didn’t seem to hold the dangers of either place. There was a little farther to go, all downhill, before they truly arrived in whatever the next area was meant to be.
Not that he wanted to go. This waterfall, this pool, was more than a bit of welcome relief from the hardships of the last few days. This was the place where he and his brothers had truly become one with their mate.
This was the place where he’d finally accepted his beast.
In the end, it had been as simple and complex as that. Whether he’d wanted it or not, the beast had been forced into him, had been made part of him, and it had been given no more choice in the matter than he. Nina was right — it wasn’t Aduun and the beast, it was only Aduun.
How had he not realized after a thousand years that his constant struggle against his beast had only fueled its rage? His anger and defiance had only fed into that primal part of him, his resistance had only triggered the beast’s instincts and encouraged it to battle his will.
“We should leave soon,” he said. His voice didn’t sound convincing, even to his own ears.
“A little longer,” Nina murmured drowsily. She was wedged between Aduun and Vortok, with Balir nestled between her legs, whose arms were wrapped around her waist and head rested on her stomach. All three were touching her skin as though she might disappear if they removed their fingers from her. “This moment, this place, belongs to us.”
“Every moment will belong to us, once we’re out of this place.” Vortok’s voice was devoid of bitterness or doubt.
Nina had already given Aduun hope, despite his best efforts to resist — hope that they would find their missing tribesmen; hope that they would leave this place alive; hope that they could build some sort of life with her afterward. But hope wasn’t the same as certainty, was it? Having faith in someone or something didn’t mean it would work out as they wished. Chance, fate, still played a role, and it wasn’t likely to be on their side.
From the beginning, a lack of hope or poor chances wouldn’t have discouraged him. Even if he were alone, he’d have pressed forward, driven by the need to save his people, by his desire for revenge on Kelsharn. Though he hadn’t been the only one to pay the price for it, his past failure to achieve such goals wouldn’t dissuade him from trying again. He would fight a thousand times over if it meant the next attempt would result in victory.
But, now that he’d seen what Nina was capable of, now that he felt at peace with himself and his companions for the first time since his change, he knew there was a chance of success.
Even if it was a tiny chance, it was more than they might’ve had without her. He’d been fighting for everything the first time; now, he actually knew what that meant. He’d never expected he could have so much more to lose.
Nina inhaled deeply then sighed. “Aduun is right. We need to go.”
Balir flattened a hand on the ground and propped himself up. “Are you sure you’ve rested enough, Nina?”
“Mhmm. I’ll wake up more once we get moving.”
Aduun raised his head and kissed Nina’s bare shoulder, running a hand down her arm to entwine his fingers with hers. Her scent filled his nostrils, sweeter and more alluring than ever, and it pleased him to detect traces of his own scent mixed with it. Now that she’d agreed it was time to leave, he regretted having spoken up about it so soon. He didn’t want to end this time with her. Not yet, anyway.
Balir groaned and stood up, but not before trailing his tail over the backs of Nina’s knees, eliciting a giggle from her. “I will get our food.”
“Now that you mention it, I am starving.” Nina turned to lay on her stomach, folding her arms beneath her head as she watched Balir walk toward their small pile of belongings.
Vortok covered her backside with a hand. “You and I think more alike with each passing moment.”
“Your next meal is all you think about,” Balir remarked.
Grinning, Vortok gave Nina’s bottom a squeeze before patting it gently. “I have something else to occupy my thoughts now.”
Aduun chuckled and pushed himself to his feet. While Balir passed around a few pieces of dried meat, Aduun carried the waterskins to the waterfall and refilled them. When he returned to the others, Nina was sitting up, laughing at a story from Vortok as she ate.
He paid little attention to Vortok’s words; they’d heard one another’s stories countless times, had experienced many of them together. It was the ease with which Vortok spoke, Nina’s casual laughter, and the knowing smile on Balir’s face that caught Aduun’s attention. Apart from their bestial appearances, this could otherwise pass as a morning out of their old lives — the camaraderie, the amusement, the comfort.
The journey had been long and difficult for all of them, Nina included, but if this was what they could claim at the end…
He knew things could never again be as they’d once been. He could never have his old life back. This couldn’t erase all those years of suffering, of pain, of enslavement, but it was more than he could ever have hoped for.
This would be a life worth living. A life he longed to have with every part of himself.
There could be no failure.
When Balir offered him some meat, Aduun accepted it and ate quickly. What they’d shared here, at the base of this waterfall, was something special, something he’d hold onto for all his days, but they needed to press onward. It was selfish to lounge here in contentment and luxury when their people were somewhere beyond, suffering.
After eating, they checked to ensure everything was packed, drank from the waterfall, and resumed their journey, guided by the calls for help Nina heard in her mind.
The runoff from the waterfall formed a stream that continued downhill. They followed alongside it; fortunately, the decline wasn’t as drastic as it had been coming down from the cliff to the pool. Before long, the rocks were gone completely, giving way to increasingly thicker vegetation. The direct sunlight never fully returned, leaving them with a hazy, grayish sky that suggested the potential for rain.
The land was largely level at the base, with only shallow dips and low rises to break the monotony, many of which revealed the tangled roots of gnarled trees. Aduun had spent time in the forests around the tribe’s lands and was familiar with many plants and animals, but the vegetation here was strange to him. The trees had wide, relatively short trunks, contrasted by long, reaching branches — some of which were easily twice as long as the trunks were tall. Vines and fuzzy-looking moss hung from those branches in many places.
Though it wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been in the desert, the air was quite warm; it was also thick, stifling, and wet.
The stream flowed into one of the depressions, becoming something closer to a pond. Aduun led the group over the higher ground surrounding the depression. Tall, grass-like plants grew along the edges of the water, and swarms of tiny inse
cts buzzed and flitted in the air.
Pausing at the highest point, Aduun surveyed the landscape. More small bodies of water were scattered around as far as he could see, marked primarily by the tall grass growing at their borders. Most of the trees stood on patches of raised ground, but a few had their bases submerged completely in the water, their trunks weathered and gray.
“He really likes to make these transitions jarring,” Nina muttered, stopping beside Aduun.
He glanced at her. Though her skin didn’t have the unhealthy red hue it’d take on beneath the desert sun, sweat glistened on her forehead.
“All part of his game,” Aduun said.
“The natural order of Sonhadra was never his concern,” Balir added from behind them.
“None of the Creators seemed to care about that,” Nina said. “They changed so much on this world…especially the people.”
The reminder didn’t spark quite as much anger in Aduun as it would have a few days before. His frustration and fury were there, without question, but they had been tempered now by his sorrow. By that taste of hope he’d been gifted. Sonhadra and its people — his people — had been changed forever. He hated that fact, but now he understood that it was beyond his means to change things back.
The old world was gone forever.
But now he had Nina. Now there was a meaningful future ahead of him.
“Come,” he said softly before continuing forward.
As they advanced, the landscape subtly shifted; the water grew increasingly murky and more prevalent, covering wider and wider stretches, the ground became softer, and the plant life became stranger.
The trees increased in variety and number, growing in tight copses scattered through the water and on the high ground, and the vines and moss clinging to them thickened. Some of the vines had strange, bulbous growths on them. Odd plants grew at the bases of trees and near the water, many in surprisingly bright pinks, purples, and blues. Some grew in clusters, some alone; some had long stalks, while others looked like fat, misshapen eggs.
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