by Lucy Kelly
“Yes, she’s awake and admiring her Ankida’s beautiful wings. Ooh―what is that wonderful smell?” Natalie asked.
“Our wings let off a pheromone that’s designed to lure our mate into joining with us. Since you can smell it, it just proves once more you are perfect for us,” said Reeko.
Natalie felt warmth invade her body and dampness beginning to flow between her legs.
Oh, yeah, she was ready to join!
“Hmm, I really like it,” she said, shifting her hips a little until she felt another sharp pain. Well, maybe not right this second, she thought.
“Well, I don’t really smell anything,” said Jennifer, “which is probably a good thing. Even though you’re probably going to get a swelled head about it, you need to prepare yourself for some major adoration. You saved Addie and the ship. You’re a total hero, Nat,” she said.
Natalie pulled her attention from her men and let herself listen to what Jennifer was saying. She was glad everyone was okay. Now she was worried about her friend; no one had mentioned how she was—if she were even alive.
“Did that asshole, the duke, kill BianCa?” Natalie wanted to know.
“BianCa’s brother, the king, came on board with their personal physician. She’s hanging on but her injuries were really severe. They don’t think her heart will hold out. They’re growing a new one for her as quickly as they can. If necessary, they’ll put her in stasis until it is ready,” Jennifer explained.
“How did he get a bomb and two weapons past our screening? That’s what I want to know. Am I going to have to start carrying a stun stick just to greet visitors to the ship?” Natalie asked everyone in the room.
“If you must continue this duty, then you will do so with us to protect you,” said Peet with Reeko nodding his agreement.
“My heroes,” she said looking back over at them.
The scent of her Ankida was getting really distracting to Natalie. Her nipples had tightened into tight buds and she was so wet she was sure the sheet underneath her must be getting damp. She tried to concentrate on what Jennifer was saying but her eyes kept wandering to her two men. The sight of their wings was hypnotizing. She forced herself to pay attention.
“The duke was shooting at me. BianCa jumped in between us and took the hit meant for me. I hope she makes it,” she said.
Jennifer caught on to the way Natalie kept looking over at Peet and Reeko. She knew they deserved some time together.
“I know everyone is wondering exactly what happened. I’ll go and let them know you’re awake and feeling better. See you later, okay? I’m really glad you’re not dead. Do me a favor, okay? Next time, wait for the warriors. I only have one best friend. I’d be really pissed and have to kick your ass if you went dead on me,” Jennifer said as she leaned over to give Natalie a hug.
She still had a catch in her voice. Natalie could tell she was on the verge of tears. “Okay, it’s a deal. And don’t forget you owe me a lasagna dinner,” said Natalie, as she watched her friend leave the room. She saw Jennifer wave and grab her handkerchief as she left.
As soon as Jennifer left the room, Natalie let out the moan she was trying so hard to hold in. Instantly, her two Ankida stepped closer, bending over her.
“What is it; are you in pain?” asked Peet with a worried look on his face.
They were so tall; their hips came to the edge of the bed. She noticed they were as turned on as she was. Without saying anything, she reached out with both hands and ran them over the front of their pants. This, of course, allowed the sheet to fall and pool at her hips.
“Your scent―I really need you to do something,” said Natalie.
She tried moving her hips again and grimaced at the pain. But she was willing to put up with some pain if they made this ache go away.
She ran her hands over her breasts. Reeko and Peet leaned closer, completely entranced. The need to join was upon them. Her musky scent rose up from the bed to entice them.
She grabbed their hands next, placing one on her aching breasts and the other between her legs. “Feel what you’re doing to me. I’m so wet, I feel so strange, I need you inside me. I need you both inside me,” she said.
She felt a moist dampness leak from her rear and she began to swallow over and over as the sex organs in her throat swelled and her second breathing tube opened.
Peet couldn’t help it; he pushed two fingers inside her and used his thumb to flick over her clit. A small orgasm rolled over her and she began moving her head from side to side as the sensations grew and grew.
“More—I need more. Harder,” she cried out.
Reeko bent and, massaging one breast with his hand, took the other in his mouth, sucking deeply on her tight, extended nipple.
The wings of both brothers spread and began to move gently up and down. Luckily, the spread of their wings hid her completely from view when the medicals rushed into the room. Stopping suddenly, they turned their backs to the bed.
“You need to stop,” said Delpha. “Lady Natalie can’t handle any exertion until she is completely healed. Her heart rate and breathing are increasing. Remember her internal organs were damaged. She needs to remain calm in order to recover quickly.”
Peet and Reeko slowly stood. Reeko gave Natalie a swift kiss while Peet removed his hand and brought his fingers to his mouth, licking her essence from them. He pulled up the sheet and helped her tuck it under her arms. He and his brother turned to the medicals.
“You can turn now,” Peet said. He waited until both Delpha and his brother, Zephyr, turned to face them.
“The need to complete the joining is upon all of us. We cannot control the urges from the pheromones we’re secreting. We don’t want to harm our mate. Help us,” said Peet.
“My brother speaks for me also. We do not wish to cause Natalie further injury. You were correct; the urge to join overrode our control,” said Reeko.
“You are not the first to be overcome by the need. Thank you for making the right decision. We will put you in stasis until Natalie is completely healed. Go with Zephyr and he will assist you,” said Delpha.
Both brothers turned back to Natalie, “I love you, Natalie Warner. We will see you again in two days,” said Peet.
“I love you as well, Natalie,” said Reeko.
“I love you guys, too. You are so getting lucky when I get out of here,” she said.
“Third base?” asked Reeko with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“Home run, my loves―it’s time to go all the way,” she said, using the old baseball analogy she had taught them.
As they were leaving the room, she thought, funny how almost dying can clear things up. She no longer wanted a slow courtship; she was ready to start her new life.
Delpha came over and handed her a large cup of water. “You need to replenish your fluids. You lost a lot of blood,” he said, trying to distract her from her arousal.
He walked over to the panel and increased the air circulation to remove any lingering pheromones from the room. He knew how strong the urge to join was. When he returned to the bed, he was happy to see her vitals were getting back to normal.
“They’re going to be okay, right?” she asked, as she tried to think non-sexy thoughts. Stabbing, bombs—I need to concentrate on that. Oh, God, I killed a man!
“They will be fine; stasis is just that. They will awaken just as they are now. They will be ready and able to complete the joining with you. Are you well?” he asked, in a concerned voice, as he noticed the sad expression on her face.
“I just realized―I killed him, didn’t I? I’ve trained for years, but I thought of it mostly as exercise. I actually killed him,” she said. Before he could respond, she straightened her shoulders. “I’m not going to feel bad about it. He needed killing. He was going to kill BianCa and then blow up the ship. He wanted the king to blame us for BianCa’s death and then have his own people blame BianCa and her brother for killing us. He wanted to start a war and usurp the throne.”
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br /> “That is very good information to have,” said a voice behind Delpha.
The medical moved out of the way and Kylan Azazyel, consort to the queen, entered the room.
“We were hoping you could fill us in on the details. How did you learn of his plans?” Kylan asked.
Natalie, who was holding up the sheet in one hand and the cup of water in the other, looked over at Kylan.
“I’m sure Natalie would be pleased to answer your questions, Lord Kylan. However, if I may be allowed to check her wound first? Also, she should finish her cup of water before she speaks for any length of time,” said Delpha.
Before he could say anything more, Natalie interrupted. “I need a t-shirt or a sports bra or something. I know you need to look at me, but my girls here aren’t included in the invitation. I’d like some loose pants or something, too,” she said in a rush.
No way was she letting this sheet drop again.
Delpha didn’t think this was a good time to tell her they’d had to remove all of her clothing before surgery. Or to point out that he was a medical. He would allow her to preserve her modesty; it obviously was important to her. If this helped her to calm, it was a small thing.
“What if I send Jennifer and Marta in to assist you? Lord Kylan and I will wait in the corridor and give you a few minutes to take care of things,” Delpha said.
She could see Kylan didn’t really want to wait but when he realized how uncomfortable she was, he agreed with Delpha’s suggestion.
A much more collected Jennifer came back into the room. Natalie confessed to fooling around a little with her Ankida so they changed the sheets, in addition to helping her into the bathroom to wash up a little and get dressed. Marta had come up with some loose yoga pants which hugged her hips and didn’t cover the healing patch on her abdomen. Jennifer brought her a bikini top similar to a sports bra. She could put it on like a bra and it zipped up the front. Then they gave her one of her sleep shirts to have for later.
“Thanks for the help—especially with the pants. The whole bendy-twisty motion is not my friend right now,” she said to Jennifer and Marta.
“Anytime, I’m just really happy to see you’re going to be alright,” said Marta.
“As soon as the doc clears you, I’m bringing you a plate of lasagna,” Jennifer added.
“Cool. I’m not really hungry, just thirsty. Zephyr said I needed to push the fluids.”
Soon, she was settled back in the bed, sweating a little from the pain. Moving so much had been a bit of an ordeal but she hadn’t wanted her friends to call in any of the warriors to lift her. She was lying back and taking shallow breaths when Kylan returned. He held another drink.
“Here, Delpha says you can have some broth. He said he would send Catherine in to check your wounds a little later,” he said, handing her the cup. “Are you ready to tell us what happened?” he asked. He noted the signs which showed she had overdone it a little.
“Excuse me, Natalie; your health is more important than hearing the story right now. Drink your beverage. I’m going to see if you can be given a pain reliever. I can see you are quite uncomfortable.”
“Thanks, Kylan—I did push it a little. I don’t want anything too strong, but I won’t say no for something to take the edge off the pain a little,” she answered.
Kylan stepped out of the room to find one of the medicals. The ship was in one piece; his mate was safe. He could wait a little longer for the answers he needed. He felt ashamed of himself for pushing her. His worry over his own mate had nearly caused him to harm another’s. Seeing Catherine at the end of the corridor coming to help Natalie, he strode over to meet her.
Thirty minutes later, Natalie had an injection to keep ahead of the pain. She’d had two cups of water and a coffee-flavored protein shake. She was thinking more clearly and was ready to tell the story of what happened. When Kylan returned, he had King Ben KowLer with him.
Natalie told them everything she remembered from the time she first met the duke in the docking station. She took sips of the warm and soothing broth as she spoke. She told them about BianCa activating her personal communicator to let her know what was happening.
“I don’t think she expected me to come to her rescue. I think she expected to die. She just wanted to make sure I called security so they would know what her husband was plotting and to save Addie and Grace.”
“Thank you, Natalie. I had faith in my sister’s innocence in this plot, but it is good to have her innocence proven by another. We are in your debt. If there is anything you desire and the KowLer people can provide, please, just ask and it is yours,” he said.
“Well, I am getting married in a couple of days. I could use a nice dress,” she said, blushing.
“Then you shall have the dress of your dreams,” Ben said with a smile.
A dress was a small price to pay for his family’s honor and peace amongst his people.
“If you will excuse me, I’d like to return to my sister’s room.” He turned to Kylan. “With your permission, I’ll use your communication equipment to contact my second in command with the information about what has happened. We will need to make sure there is no backlash against the duke’s clan. We need to preserve peace instead of having a war the duke wished for,” he said, bowing his way out.
Kylan had a few more questions and then he left.
Catherine came in a few minutes later to check on how she was healing.
“Do I have to stay here? Can’t I go back to my quarters if all I’m going to do is lie around for two days?” Natalie asked.
“We’re still testing Nephilim healing on humans. I need to make sure you don’t have an allergic reaction to the healing patch. How do you feel about being a guinea pig?” she asked with a smile.
“Well, it’s better than the alternative,” Natalie told her, as Catherine lowered the sheet and checked to see how her wound was healing.
“You’re doing well. Now, if you’re tired, you can sleep. Or if you’d like some company, I’ll agree to a short excursion.”
“If you mean I can get out of this bed, I’m all for that!” said Natalie.
Catherine grinned and called out. Two large warriors came in with a chair.
“This is Jenner and Evoxan; they came to your rescue. So they have earned the privilege of helping you,” Catherine explained.
“Hi, guys,” Natalie said.
They both got a little red in the face and bowed. They didn’t have a wheelchair on board so they brought in an armchair. The warrior named Jenner came around and lifted her off the bed and put her in the armchair. Another warrior came in with two long sticks, which they placed under the arms of the chair, through two loops attached on either side.
I feel like a maharajah or something, Natalie thought.
They carried her out of the room. After a few minutes, she wondered where they were taking her. They passed through the waiting room and by the dining hall. She was surprised when they headed to the largest docking bay. She got the shock of her life when they carried her inside. Nearly every man and woman on the ship was there.
She started to cry when all the warriors in the room knelt and pledged to do her bidding and see to her safety. When they saw her tears, they all went quiet and looked confused.
Grace, who was sitting in a chair at the front, spoke, “Rule number one, women cry when they are sad, but they also cry when they are happy or moved emotionally. Her tears mean she is touched and feels she doesn’t deserve your tribute.”
Natalie nodded to let them know Grace was telling the truth. The men relaxed again. Those standing with their pregnant mates, laughed. Soon, many were laughing. The queen was alive as were all of them; it was a reason to celebrate―and celebrate they did. Natalie even got a chance to taste a couple of bites of lasagna. She was still healing, though, and it wasn’t long before she was beginning to feel tired. She asked Jenner and Evoxan to return her to medical so she could rest.
The only ones missing w
ere her Ankida; she missed them a lot and wished they were there. She was settling down, trying to find a comfortable position, when Grace came in with her Ankida.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier. Addie has declared that you and your Ankida will be given a suite of rooms in the palace, which will be designated as yours throughout your lifetime. According to her research, it’s the highest honor to be given a Nephilim, as they strongly believe in family and living in close family communities,” said Grace.
“I feel a little bit as if I really don’t deserve it,” Natalie said quietly. “I didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t have done if given the chance.”
Justyn bent over her bed, took her hand in his and said, “What’s important is you did it. You didn’t hesitate, though your own life was at risk. Please allow us to honor you.”
“I’ll accept the honor. I don’t want to embarrass all these guys or act snotty. I guess I’m still having trouble getting a handle on my emotions. Tomorrow, I’d like to find out how that asshole got weapons on board the ship. Right now, I need Peet and Reeko, but they have to stay in stasis until I’m all the way healed,” she said, turning pink.
“Don’t worry―in a couple of days, you’ll have your very own private celebration,” said Grace with a grin.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Natalie grinned back.
Chapter Nine
Since she was still bedridden, Addie watched on a monitor as Natalie was honored by her warriors. She was happy for her friend. This way, even though she was joining and moving to the Azure House lands, Natalie would be sure to visit HeVanth.
She turned to Kylan and Cassandra, who were sitting on the couch side by side. “Please don’t feel bad that you couldn’t warn Natalie in time.”
“I feel so helpless. Maybe if I understood how this Seer thing works, I could have saved BianCa. They say she might die,” said Cassandra.
“Cassandra, the hardest part of your gift is the knowing and accepting you won’t always be able to act on your visions. Remember when you thought they were dreams? You can only do what you can do. You’ll go insane if you take responsibility for all the things you can’t change.”