by J. J. Lore
Without a word, she flung herself at them, reaching up to circle her arms around their necks, dragging their faces down to hers as she pressed quick kisses to their cheeks and mouths. For his part, Leo grabbed hold of whatever part of her he could, pressing her body to his as Deklan did the same. Aura made happy little sounds in her throat as she caressed them, then drew back to stare at them, tears trickling down her face as her blue eyes glittered.
“You came for me,” she whispered, then collapsed against them. Leo was speechless as Deklan assured her loudly that, yes, they had come for her and if she was ready to go, they were, too. The functionary frowned and took a step their way even as the men who’d been charming Aura approached with expressions ranging from curiosity to scowls of displeasure.
Leo pressed Aura into Deklan’s arms and stepped between all the men and his bondmates. As soon as he admitted the claim to himself, power filled him. Deklan and Aura were his bondmates, and the strength of that connection would give him the ability to defeat any of these well-groomed, civilized men who dared attempt to separate them again.
“Leontus, this was nothing we discussed before—” the diplomatic attaché babbled with worry.
“Of what house are you, and by what right do you claim to interrupt us in our pleasant gathering?” The man, whose jeweled marks over his shoulders indicated the rank of reserve general, spoke up, his mouth set in a contemptuous scowl.
“I am Leontus, formerly of the Raghar cohort, late of His Majesty’s Centurions, and our claim is bond to Aura Tremain.”
The man smirked and took a step closer, clearly expecting Leo to submit to his rank and the apparent support of the other men who crowded to his sides. “Those without a house cannot claim. Unhand her and leave these grounds. You are untutored interlopers.”
The man looked away to the approving nods of his compatriots, and Leo suppressed his great desire to thrust his fingers into the other man’s eyes and crush his nose hard enough to send shards of bone into his brain. This officer hadn’t even done the courtesy of introducing himself. A pure rage filled him, the clean fire of imminent battle, and he welcomed it. The other man sensed the threat because he turned back, posture tensing with readiness.
One of the other ranked men stepped forward with a slight frown, holding out his hands toward Leo and the looming general. “Hold. You said Leontus, and you are Deklan? From the medical post at Vashon? You cared for Aura?”
Leo hoped Deklan nodded confirmation because he wasn’t taking his eyes off the general.
“Sir, these are the two she told us of. She claims they are bonded to her.” The younger man gave a nod and craned his head past Leo’s shoulder with an encouraging smile, likely for Aura. Leo considered the fact that Aura had spoken of them, that she’d claimed a bond with them despite his and Deklan’s idiotic refusal to recognize it before she left. Warm satisfaction filled him, nearly replacing the rage with contentment and anticipation. Love. Aura had waited for them, wanted them, and they’d been stupid enough to avoid her for months.
“By what claim? There’s been no formal declaration.” The general turned his fury on the younger officer who, to his credit, did not flinch or back away.
“Her own, sir. Her body’s claim.” The younger officer made a gesture, and Aura emerged from behind him, released from the safety of Deklan’s embrace.
“I told you all, told you, General Toth, that I had a previous commitment—”
The general shook his head and cut her off, the rudeness bringing Leo’s rage back to the forefront. “Any such commitment will be unrecognized and invalid on Alpha. These unranked men abandoned you. Not the behavior of those worthy of you and what you carry. The child would be mine, of course, or any of these others’ if you chose less prudently.”
Leo ignored the other man’s arrogance as the fact of the matter blasted through his brain. He saw Deklan close in on Aura’s side, and he did the same on the other, blocking out his view of all other inhabitants of the atrium as the truth sank in. Deklan’s hand settled against her lower belly, and with no slight hesitation, Leo joined in the caress. Her belly, well-remembered as a soft and lush curve, now held a firm knot of flesh. Their babe rested inside. Living, growing, becoming. Leo met her gaze, took in her tear-filled eyes, trembling lips and, now that he was observing, her fuller face.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Deklan whispered in a wondering voice.
“I didn’t know until I’d been here a month and finally visited the doctor because I felt so bad. I thought I was missing you, was missing you, but then there was this. I was alone and wasn’t sure what to do. I thought I had a few more months to figure it out.” Her small hand covered theirs, holding them tight to her burgeoning body. “Why didn’t you tell me I could get pregnant?”
Deklan gaped, for once seemingly at a loss for words, so Leo tried to gather his incoherent thoughts. “We should have. We should have told you so many things. We were wrong to let you go, to not follow you on the next ship. When? When will the baby be born?”
Her eyes fluttered closed for a second, and she circled her arms around their shoulders, leaning on them. He tucked her close as Deklan did, heedless of the audience around them. She sighed and rubbed her cheek against Deklan’s chest, then his own, the instinctive move for comfort and reassurance nearly undoing him. “Five months, give or take a few weeks. First babies can take their time.”
First babies. More babies. Leo tried to still his galloping heart. How could they have gone from one last, desperate attempt to see this woman and say proper goodbyes, to finding they were indeed bonded, bonded so deep they were to be a proper family, with a shared future stretching before them? Somehow he had to find a way to keep them all together.
“Aura, enough of this nonsense.” The general’s voice broke in on their miracle, and Leo turned away from his bondmates to see the other man again approaching them, his eyes firmly fixed on the prize that would never be his. “Come back to our gathering so we can continue with refreshments and conversation. These two … peons can never give you the life you deserve.”
Just as Leo drew himself up to confront the man in a physical manner that would result in severe injuries for the general and incarceration for Leo, he felt Aura’s energy spike before she stepped past him to face the other men, her body held as straight and proud as if she were under review on the parade ground.
“General Toth, it is past time for me to leave. Thank you, thank all of you.” With this she inclined her head at the other men who were avidly watching the encounter. “I have enjoyed your company, but my men have come for me. As far as our bond not being valid on Alpha, I’ll point out we stand on Earth. My planet. My choice. Leo and Deklan are mine, and I will never consider any other. Goodbye.”
As the general gaped at her a moment before drawing up in an affronted frown, the other officers showing equal shock, she turned on her heel and gave them her back as she marched back to Leo, her eyes bright and a wide smile on her lush lips. Their beautiful woman, unafraid to fight a Xyran or deny an Alphan general. What a wonderful child they would share.
“Will we go back to Vashon?” Her quiet question broke him from his reverie, and he shook his head quickly. That was no place for a baby. No place for his family to make a life.
“We can go anywhere,” Deklan asserted, cupping his hand around her flushed cheek. “As long as we travel together.”
Leo told himself to stop calculating how many funds they’d saved, the possible places they could find housing and medical care, what he and Deklan might do to support her and the child, and instead focused on his bondmates. First he embraced Deklan, who was shaking, and then Aura, who was steady as a stone. “I pledge myself to you. To put you first, protect you to my last breath, and give you all I have.”
Fresh tears fell from Aura’s beautiful eyes as she nodded and whispered her agreement first to him, then to Deklan. His bondmate repeated the old words, and she nodded again, taking them in, accepting them bo
th, their shared elation rising in him like a wave. Finally complete.
Epilogue
Deklan emerged from the Redemption mine and took a deep breath of fresh late summer air, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the bright light of Earth’s yellow sun. The small conveyor belt filled with battered metal carts rattled by his side, depositing chunks of whitish sylvite crystals into a waiting bin. He’d been deep in the mine all morning, prying out ore bristling with the mineral coveted on Alpha as a reputed aphrodisiac and fertility enhancer. He couldn’t stand the flavor of the stuff, but if there was a market for it with his race, he and his bondmates were happy to supply it.
He and Leontus had been initially skeptical of Aura’s assertion they should buy up this side of a lonely mountain in Saskatoon, but she’d been busy reading in the abandoned university’s moldering library while waiting for them to come to their senses and join her those long months ago. She’d learned of the market for sylvite from one of the Alphan diplomats who’d been courting her, trying to convince her he could give her an incredible sexual experience with a mere pinch of the stuff. She had, of course, been unimpressed with him as a partner, but had seized on the idea of Earth perhaps having some natural resource worth export to Alpha.
Once he and Leo had assured her they would be happy living wherever she liked as long as it wasn’t Alpha, Aura had plotted out likely sources of the mineral in nearby provinces. They’d spent some time exploring the forests and hills and finally purchased what the locals thought was acreage useless for anything other than timber and hunting. It had only taken two large sapphires and one emerald from the stash of gems Aura had kept safe. Leo had flung himself into the project of constructing a cabin and mine and had nailed on the last shingle when Aura’s first labor pains began. Deklan smiled as he remembered how panicked both he and his bondmate had been at the prospect of tiny Aura having the strength to birth a half-Alphan child, but when their little girl had emerged red and squalling angrily at the world, their beloved had merely smiled with relief and held out her arms, ready to care for her baby.
“Hello!”
Deklan peered down the path and waved as Aura emerged from a stand of pine trees, little Io safe in a sling at her chest. His bondmate was followed closely by Leo, who was carrying a sizeable covered basket in one hand and a bundle of wires in the other. Pleasure filled him as his family gathered near. First a kiss to Io’s sweet head, then a sweeter kiss for Aura. Leo gave him a warning look as he dropped the basket and wires.
“Don’t even think about greeting me that way.”
Deklan merely shook his head and reached for the squirming baby, easing her fat body from the fabric holding her and marveling yet again how perfect she was. Dark Alphan hair, smooth skin a perfect shade of palest gold, and startlingly blue eyes courtesy of her mother. Io would be a princess on Alpha if she ever cared to visit. He tucked the warm weight of their drowsy child against his shoulder and favored Aura with a deeper kiss, his body warming with desire for her. She wrapped an arm around his other shoulder and boldly pressed her hips against him.
“I will warn you, she’s seeking another child,” Leo drawled as he drew a small knife and stripped insulation off one end of the coil of wiring. “I’ve done what I could, but now it’s your turn. I need to install that secondary pump in the new shaft. Perhaps grab up a handful of sylvite for later.”
Aura’s eyes lit up as she drew back and favored Leo with a grin as he walked toward the mine, ready to wrestle nature into some semblance of order. “You be careful in there. I want you and your shaft back in my bed tonight.”
Leo waved his hand in the air and disappeared into the darkness as Deklan returned his attention to Aura. She stroked her small hand along his shoulder and tilted an eyebrow at him.
“Here?”
“Why not? There’s a fine blanket in the basket, on top of your lunch.”
“I see,” Deklan said. “I have to do my duty before you’ll feed me.”
Aura grinned and leaned over to flip open the basket. She unfurled the blanket over a thick patch of springy grass, then returned to him to coast her hand along Io’s back. “A duty I know you will perform with great skill and devotion, as you do all things.”
He snapped her a regulation salute, and she stifled a laugh, not willing to wake the dozing baby. With a contented sigh he stared at Aura, taking in the sight of the radiant woman smiling at him, the warm wriggle of his child, knowledge of his bondmate busy building something to benefit them all, his family healthy and happy on their own land with a fine future before them. No man could hope for more.
The End
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