by M. K. Eidem
"You are ours, Cali," with that, Jamis captured her lips in a brutal, claiming kiss.
Cali sank her fingers into Jamis’s hair, her tongue tangling with his, meeting his passion head-on. No more hiding who and what she was from him, from them. As she continued to kiss Jamis, she reached back, pulling Taarig closer. He readily complied, running his hands along her sides as his mouth ravished her neck.
"Gods, that feels good, Taarig," she gasped as she ripped her mouth from Jamis. This was what she'd always needed. These two. Her mates. But right now, she needed more. She needed them so deep inside her that she didn't know where they ended, and she began. But that wasn't going to happen until she got them as naked as she was. Using the hand still gripping Jamis’s shirt, she pulled.
Jamis jerked back, his eyes narrowing, as she ripped his shirt in two then began licking and nipping her way across his chest. It was going to take him some time to get used to the fact that Cali was Zagreus, which meant she was extremely strong. Strong enough to take everything he and Taarig gave and give it back. That fact aroused him in a way nothing ever had.
"You think you're in control here, little beast?" he growled.
She looked up at him through her lashes, finding she like the endearment. "I think you need to fuck me, but you're both wearing way too many clothes."
Faster than an exploding supernova, Cali found herself on her bed, flat on her back, with a naked mate on either side of her.
"Oh, we're going to fuck you, little beast, but first we're going to make you our Lalla."
"Yes," she moaned, her back arching up off the bed as they each sucked one of her nipples deep into their mouth, sending solar flares of desire straight to her core. Gods, it had been good between them before but nothing like this, with them moving in perfect sync, playing her body in perfect harmony.
"You're ours, little one," Taarig growled, releasing her nipple as both their hands moved down her body and over her mound. Each coated his fingers in her hot slickness. "This is ours."
Cali could only gasp when they both plunged thick fingers in and out of her tight channel, driving her desire so high that she nearly orgasmed. How was that possible when they'd only just begun?
"Please," she groaned, sinking her fingers into their hair. She had no qualms about begging for what she wanted. "More."
"Oh, we'll give you more, little one. Soon you'll be fuller than you ever imagined." Taarig and Jamis shared a look then slipped their fingers from her channel.
She opened her mouth to protest then closed it when Jamis rolled over her. He rested his weight on his elbows as he settled between her legs, the head of his cock notched at her entrance.
"You are mine, Cali. From this moment forward, nothing will ever separate me from you. Not even my life span ending." With that vow, he entered her in one mighty thrust.
"Gods yes!" Cali cried out, her legs wrapping around his waist, bringing him closer.
Jamis thrust into Cali again and again. He needed to feel her surrounding him, needed proof that she was here and alive. He didn't think he'd ever get over Nalo hitting that door release.
Cali felt the shift in Jamis, desperation that had nothing to do with desire. Cupping his cheek, she lifted his gaze to hers. The emotion she saw in them she felt to her soul. "I'm here, Jamis. I'm here, I'm safe, and I'm yours."
"Forever," he snarled, his eyes boring into her. "Tell me your mine forever."
"Forever, Jamis," she vowed, "And you'll be mine? Both of you?" she asked, looking from Jamis to Taarig.
"Yes," they answered in unison.
In the next instant, Cali's world shifted, and she found herself straddling Jamis’s hips, his cock never missing a thrust as he pulled her mouth down to his so her ass was up in the air.
Taarig gave himself a moment to take in the beauty of the scene before him as he moved behind Cali, his knees spreading her legs wider. Jamis, the male he'd agreed to bond with so many years before, was passionately kissing the female they'd agreed would be their Lalla while his cock slid in and out of her channel.
"I can't hold back much longer here, T," Jamis ripped his mouth away from Cali's to look at Taarig over Cali's head. "My sphere is lowering."
Moving closer, Taarig slid his cock through the slick desire that coated the crease of Cali's ass. Separating the gorgeous globes that made up that crease, he placed the head of his cock against the tight rosebud he'd revealed.
They hadn't used this position during their night together, one of the few they hadn’t. Cali had wondered about it but now understood. Jamis and Taarig hadn't trusted themselves to force her into a triad without her permission.
"Please, Taarig," Cali begged, pressing back against him only to find she couldn't move. "Make me yours."
"You've been ours individually from the moment our creation sphere wanted to lower. Now you'll be both of ours. Forever." Taarig pressed forward slowly. Zagreus or not, their Cali was still tiny compared to Jamis and him, and he refused to harm her. He met a moment of resistance before her body opened, welcoming him home.
"Yes…" Cali breathed, throwing her head back, so her ass arched even higher in the air. It allowed Taarig to fill her, and he was right. She'd never felt so full.
Then they began to move.
First, Jamis, slowly pulling back, so she felt every inch of him rubbing against Taarig's cock through the thin membrane that separated them. Then he started to push back in, and Taarig began to pull out.
"Cali?" Jamis growled his question.
"More," was all she could say as she dropped her head onto his chest, and they gave it to her.
With powerful strokes, they worked in tandem to claim their Lalla. The only female in the universe that would ever bear their offspring.
Jamis’s fingers speared Cali's glowing strands, holding her to his chest as his creation sphere tightened in preparation to release his life force into Cali, making her their Lalla. His and Taarig’s eyes met over Cali's head, and Jamis knew Taarig was ready too. An Apre didn't have to release his life force into a female's channel to claim her, just within her body, but for both to claim her, to bond her to them, they needed to do it at the same time.
"Now!" Taarig shouted, and together they thrust one last time into Cali. As their life force surged into her, Cali orgasmed and released her power, binding the three of them together.
Forever.
Chapter Twenty-One
Cali lay on her side, her back pressed against Taarig's front, her head resting on his bicep, while Jamis lay on his back on her other side, her fingers making small circles on his chest. Her entire universe had shifted when the three of them had bonded. Yet nothing had changed.
She was still Cali, the only female of Dakota and Paul Baker-Wik'ax and Caradoc Wik'ax, but now she was something more. She was now the bond mate to Star Base Commander Jamis Dexxirs and Sub Commander Taarig Ynn, two of the most feared and powerful Apre males in the universe. And they were hers, but did they understand that their lives had now changed too?
"What's wrong, Cali?"
Cali looked up over her shoulder at Taarig. Had he felt her concern? Could the meld take effect this quickly?
"Cali?" Taarig asked again.
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking about how things are going to change now that we've bonded. Especially for the two of you."
"For us?" Jamis rolled up on an elbow to lay on his side to look at her. "Why would things change for us?"
Cali looked back and forth between them. "Because I melded with you. Our life spans are now tied together. You're half Zagreus now."
"What?!" they shouted together, both bolting straight up in bed, causing Cali to sit up too.
"You didn't realize that?" she asked quietly.
"I…" Taarig looked at Jamis for a moment. "I don't think we did. I know I'm still adjusting to the fact that you're not Earthan."
"I'm considered half Earthan, just like you're now half Zagreus."
"Ruk!" Jamis swore, risin
g from the bed.
"J…" Taarig rolled off the other side of the bed. He knew Jamis wasn't going to react well to this new reality. Jamis only liked change when he was in control of it.
"Just give me a rukking moment!" he growled at Taarig as he began to pace.
Cali could feel Jamis’s anger and sense of betrayal flowing through their bond, as well as Taarig's disbelief and uncertainty. They'd known she was Zagreus. She'd thought they understood at least some of what that meant but apparently, she'd been wrong.
Was this the way her mom and dad had felt after melding with her father?
Was this how her father had felt when they didn't readily accept it?
Like his heart and soul were being shredded by those that were supposed to love him.
Wrapping the sheet around her, she got out of the bed and put some distance between her and them.
"You should have told us about this before!" Jamis growled, his swirling grey eyes containing the slightest glow revealing the transformation was already taking place. "Given us a choice."
Cali blinked back tears at Jamis’s allegation. "How is it different than you making me your Lalla?"
"The difference is we asked," Jamis nearly roared at her.
"So did I!" she fired back just as loudly. Bond mate or not, she wasn't going to let Jamis talk to her that way, although there was a wobble in her voice. "When I vowed I'd be yours forever, you both vowed to be mine!"
Shock crossed Jamis’s face before he spun on his heel and resumed pacing.
"We did, and we are," Taarig spoke for both of them. He gave Jamis an irritated look, then before moving toward Cali, he gave her a reassuring smile and said, "It's just going to take us a little time to adjust." He lifted a hand to caress her cheek only to still when she flinched and quickly moved out of his reach.
"Then I think you should take it," she told him, pulling the sheet tighter around her.
"What do you mean?" Taarig asked quietly.
"You want time to adjust, then go," she waved her hand toward the door. "Adjust."
"You want us to leave?" Jamis abruptly stopped pacing and just stared at her.
"I want the males who are supposed to be my mates, to want to be my mates," she told Jamis. "You don't seem to. So go, take all the time you need to adjust. When you have, let me know, and we'll see where we go from there."
With that, Cali turned and walked into her cleansing room.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Taarig just stood there for a moment, unable to believe his Lalla had just walked away from him or that she'd flinched when he'd tried to touch her. He'd seen the pain in her eyes she'd tried to hide, but even more, he could feel it.
He growled as he rounded on Jamis, "I could beat you bloody right now."
"Try it," Jamis growled back.
"I'll do more than try if you don't get your head out of your ass right now. What were you thinking treating Cali like that?"
"Are you saying you're okay with her and what she did?"
"She didn't do anything except agree to be ours. Forever. Or did you plan on it being all one-sided?" Taarig accused.
"Of course not!" Jamis immediately denied it. "I'm fully committed to Cali. It's just…"
"You're no longer the most powerful one in this relationship," Taarig finished for him. "Welcome to my universe."
"What?" Jamis gave him a shocked look. Was Taarig saying he wasn't happy with their relationship? It was the first time Jamis had heard it. Jamis had risen through the Coalition faster than Taarig, but that was because Taarig refused any promotion that would separate them. If he hadn't, Taarig would probably be the Commander of his own Star Base. "T?"
"It was my choice, J," Taarig reassured, knowing what Jamis thought because even as angry as he was at his bond mate, he wouldn't let him think he regretted his decision, "But that doesn't mean there aren't times it chafes when I have to follow instead of lead."
"You lead all the time. You're my second."
"That's right. I'm your second. I only lead when you're not around, and I'm okay with that, professionally. Privately I expect to be treated as an equal because we are, and you always have, but now it's not just us. Cali's involved, and she's more powerful than either of us, and that's what got you so upset that you harmed our Lalla."
Jamis didn't like the way that sounded. It made him seem petty and childish, and he wasn't. Was he? He'd known their relationship would change when they made Cali their Lalla. He hadn't considered they'd physically change. And they both had. The proof was in the faintest lines of energy flickering beneath his and Taarig's skin. Suddenly the rest of what Taarig said hit him, and his eyes widened. "I'd never harm our Lalla! I didn't touch her!"
"You harmed her with the way you reacted and your words. She completely opened herself up to us, trusted us, and you rejected her!"
"I didn't!" Jamis denied, then scrubbed frustrated hands over his face as he thought back over the last few minutes, seeing it through Cali's eyes. "Ruk! I didn't mean it that way. I just needed a moment to adjust."
"I know that. Cali doesn't."
"Then let's go explain it to her."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Cali tipped her head up and let the water raining down from above hide the evidence of her tears. Gods, her heart had never hurt so bad. She had everything she'd secretly dreamed of for the briefest of moments. More because she had two males who loved and accepted her as she was.
Cali.
A Zagreus.
Then it was ripped away.
Was this the Gods’ way of punishing her for how she'd treated her father? By making her feel what he had?
It made no sense and perfect sense all at the same time. While the situations were completely different, the result was the same. They'd both melded with others without them understanding what it truly meant. Now Cali had to live with the consequences.
"Did you think you could dismiss us like that, little beast?"
Water whipped off Cali as she spun around, stepping out of the flowing water to find Jamis and Taarig entering her cleansing unit. They hadn't left her.
"I know I'm an arrogant, insufferable male," he told her, using the words she said to him back in that survival shelter, "but I am also the male that loves you more than his life span. When you were sucked out of that airlock, my heart and soul sucked out with you. I'll never get them back because they belong to you now."
"Jamis…" she began only to stop when he placed a gentle finger against her lips.
"Let me finish."
Cali couldn't prevent the sides of her mouth from quirking up. Jamis was arrogant and insufferable, even when trying to apologize for being arrogant and insufferable. For some reason, it made her love him even more.
"I'm sorry for the way I reacted and wish I could vow that it would never happen again, but I can't. I am what I am. It will take me some time to adjust to what this bonding means for all of us. But never, ever, take my reactions as a rejection of you or what we have."
"May I speak now?" she asked, and he moved his finger away from her lips but only to caress her cheek. "I want you to know," she looked to Taarig, who had moved to Jamis’s side, "both of you, that I'm sorry I didn't make sure you completely understood what bonding, melding, with me would mean for you."
"We didn't give you much of a chance," Taarig reminded her as he caressed her other cheek.
"I could have tried harder," she told him as she leaned into his caress.
"If things had gotten any harder, I don't think any of us could have taken it," Taarig chuckled.
"You gave us a choice, Cali," Jamis reassured her, "and we accepted. We're bonded now. Together we'll deal with whatever changes that brings."
"I want you to know that I'll do everything I can, so becoming Zagreus is easier for you than it was for my mom and dad."
"Mom and Dad," Taarig frowned at that. "How are you Zagreus if both your parents became Zagreus?"
"Your parents are part of a tr
iad," Jamis finally understood.
"Yes, my father is Zagreus."
"I wasn't aware the Zagreus entered into triads," Taarig said, grimacing slightly when the water hit him as he stepped closer to her.
"My parents are the only ones, and only a select few outside Zagreus society know it." She noticed Taarig's expression. "You've never cleansed with water before?"
"No," he told her. When he'd used the unit earlier, he'd wondered about the extra buttons but ignored them, wanting to get back to Cali. "It's a strange sensation."
"It's the traditional way to cleanse on Earth, at least it was when Mom and Dad lived there. They continued it once they settled with my father. It's become my preference when I need to relax and think." She stepped back, pulling Taarig with her, then rubbed her water-slickened body against his and teased. "How does it feel now?"
Taarig responded by capturing her lips as he lifted her, his cock hardening. Gods, how he loved this female, and now, thanks to her melding with him, he'd be able to love her for eternity.
Jamis watched his mates kiss and felt a sense of rightness he'd never experienced before. Standing before him was his future, and while it wouldn't be perfect, it would be incredibly bright. Stepping into the water, he pressed himself against Cali's back.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
They were getting out of the cleansing unit after an intense round of makeup sex and were heading toward another one on the counter when the cleansing room door suddenly slid open.
"What the ruk, Xanto!" Cali exclaimed. "I told you to stop walking into my resting chamber."
"He's done this before?" Jamis growled as he and Taarig stepped in front of her, blocking Xanto's view of her naked body.
Xanto ignored them and spoke loud enough so Cali could hear him. "I said I wouldn't unless the situation was dire."
"And what's so dire that you couldn't just link me?" she demanded, hopping off the counter to grab two towels, thrusting them at her mates. She knew Xanto wasn't interested in males, but no one saw her mates in all their glory except her.
"The arrival of your parents," Xanto told her.