by Erin Raegan
Another roar shook the floor under my feet, and I couldn’t keep Prin from screaming once more.
Mona took Prin’s little hand. “Most of the castle’s cleared out now. Most were too afraid of Tahk to stick around. It’s just us, the guards, and Prin’s family. Maybe we should send you guys over to Bailey’s.”
“Vyr won’t allow it,” I muttered.
“I’ll talk to him. Prin can’t stay here like this.” Mona pressed little kisses on Prin’s hand and made a funny face, her tongue hanging out and wagging back and forth. Prin gaped at her a moment then let out another scream. Mona winced and pulled back. “I’ll go check on Vyr before he runs back here.”
I nodded, watching her go. When she opened the door, it revealed Yilt and the other guards assigned to Prin while Vyr was indisposed. Vivian had had to beg him to help with Tahk the first time, but Vyr only left Prin after Uthyf let him drag the Dahk he was familiar with to his daughter’s side.
Vyr didn’t trust—well, anyone. But Yilt had once watched Prin while Vyr saved Vivian—and in turn Roxy, Mona, and me—from the Juldo Master. Borv and Jyn were the only other two allowed around Prin, besides Ferhen—a weird bird-man. I had no other way to describe him. Ferhen had been there the day Prin was born. He came back to Home World with us before returning to his home. We hadn’t seen him and his bird-like features since then.
Vivian was helping with Peyton’s labor, and she’d tasked Roxy and me with Prin’s care. Though we didn’t know each other well, Vivian trusted me with her daughter. It was humbling and heartwarming. Though I suspected the giant fur monster watching my every move from the back of the room had something to do with her leaving her daughter with me.
Gus was in one word, petrifying.
He had been quiet for the past few hours, which was a change for him. Normally he would whine and growl every time Prin showed the slightest bit of distress, but even he gave up after the fortieth time she screamed for her parents. Thank the stars.
The first time Prin cried, Gus had looked seconds away from smashing in my head with his spiked tail. Yilt had tried to talk Gus down earlier, but he only seemed to make Gus’s mood worse. After Vyr instructed Yilt and the others to leave us alone in the room, Gus seemed to relax. Now he appeared downright exhausted. I guessed all the males in the room had him on alert.
Gus’s presence barely fazed me now. When he wasn’t snoring like a freight train, he was purring to Prin. If he wasn’t so large, I may have wanted a Gus of my own. He was the puppy of aliens. At least he wasn’t an oversized spider like Mona’s protector, Mantu.
There wasn’t quite a word that could describe the fear Mantu and his brothers instilled in me.
Tahk roared again, and it was so loud I was honestly afraid the walls of the castle would crack. I hoped Mona was successful with her talk with Vyr. If this went on much longer, I had a feeling Prin was going to lose her little baby voice.
That was if Tahk didn’t kill us all in his efforts to return to his mate’s side.
2
Vyr
Tahk roared once more and flared his wings to shake me free. But I held on, as did Uthyf, Olynth, and Tohn. Wohn stood with the others circling the raging commander, prepared to intervene if he managed to free himself from our hold.
Haytu, Tahk’s father, crouched in front of his son, his own face a mask of fear and rage. But the older Dahk had slightly more control of his rage and was attempting to calm his son. Nothing was working.
Nothing would work. I did not agree with keeping a male from his mate while she was in such pain and distress. Though I did not believe a single male in the throne room felt anything but sick about what we were doing. Even the king himself visibly struggled with the decision to separate them.
A male should not be restrained in this way. I did not believe the male would harm his mate if we freed him, but the healer was who was in his line of fire.
My mate had been in such pain once. She was brave and beautiful throughout it but seeing her in great pain had killed me. Not to be able to ease her. Not to be able to comfort her.
Ignyt stood at the ready with his brothers, prepared to restrain the commander in the dungeons if it became necessary. Uthyf was not yet ready to take so much freedom from his commander, though if Tahk did not calm soon, there may be no other choice.
Tahk was being tested. His instincts were being tested. If he failed, the birth of his babe may be shrouded in terror and grief. That was the only reason I’d agreed to go along with this farce. That, and the safety of my mate. She was in there with the healer who could do nothing for Tahk’s mate.
I would not allow the commander to lay a single finger on my mate. I did not truly believe he would allow himself to do such a thing, but he was out of control and I could not take the risk.
“Tahk, listen to me, my son. You must calm yourself,” Haytu implored. “You will miss the birth of your babe if you cannot regain control of your emotions.”
Tahk panted through his fangs, his face flushed with wrath. “Release me.”
Haytu sighed sadly. Peyton’s cries echoed through the castle and Tahk roared, bucking in our arms.
The door creaked open and Uthyf stiffened. “No, my Mohna, leave us.”
“I need to speak with Vyr,” she shouted over Tahk’s howls of fury.
I glared at her. I could hear my Prin’s cries. They made my spine prickle. She needed me, yet I was held here by some strange new sense of obligation. That, and my Vivian would not forgive me for abandoning her friend’s mate. Though if Vivian knew how our babe cried for her, I believed she would release me from this duty.
Tahk bucked again and Uthyf shouted for Syn. The younger male held the commander as the king slipped out from the tangle of limbs.
“My love, Tahk is not stable.” Uthyf took her hand and moved her back to the doors.
Mona skated away from Uthyf and looked at me. “Vyr, Prin can’t stay here. Let Yilt and the others take her to Bailey and Olynth’s.”
“She does not leave the castle,” I snarled. My hands tensed around Tahk’s restrained arms.
Mona huffed and looked at me through fiery eyes. She had come a long way from the cowering female in that cage on Juldoris. I was proud of the young queen who stood before me now, but I would not allow her to take my Princesa from this castle.
“Vivian agrees with me,” she said, looking perfectly poised and prepared for my anger. “You can be by her side in a second if necessary.”
I snarled, slamming the commander down. “She agreed to this? When?”
“Just now.”
“I will speak to her.” I let go of the commander and the Dahk around me cursed, bucking with Tahk.
“No!” Mona and Uthyf shouted.
I sighed and bent over the commander once more. “Commander, I will speak to my mate. Calm yourself and I will speak to yours as well.”
Tahk froze and glared at me. Haytu looked at me in shock.
I misted away without another word.
3
Peyton
I screamed as my baby girl tried to cannonball out of my vagina.
Hector—technically Vyr now, but I didn’t give a single fuck—and Vivian argued in the back of the room. I glared at them. With all the mental strength I had left in me—which wasn’t much—I willed them to shut the fuck up.
I was tapped out, mentally and physically. I had nothing left. But this hell was far from over and the assholes around me weren’t making it any easier.
The contraction slowly ebbed away and I collapsed back on the bed, panting. Gryo gaped at me, his eggplant-colored face nearly white in terror and shock. He had pretty much looked like that from the very first contraction. Myrna, Pyntera, Byda, and Wayka—Tahk’s mothers—didn’t look much better.
Viv and I had tried to prepare the Dahk for a human birth, but it seemed no amount of “it’s going to hurt” and “worst pain imaginable” was the same as seeing it firsthand.
My poor guy had tak
en it the worst. Tahk had pretty much lost his mind last night when little baby decided she was ready to claw her way down my birth canal. And since then? He was the opposite of the calm and collected Dahk commander I was used to. He had lost his mind hours ago. Gryo had a nasty bruise on his left eye as a souvenir.
Now Tahk was gone and everyone around me was watching me writhe in pain. And I hated them and I wanted him back so he could smack every single one of them since I could barely sit up to do it myself.
Vivian caught my glare and winced. If I looked deep down inside, I knew they were only trying to help. Gryo and the healers were there to monitor and make sure everything went as smoothly as possible. My mothers-in-law were there for support. As was my own mom. My best friend was there for the same and to help my girl get the hell out of me.
But right now? I gave zero fucks about logic. I wanted to bitch-slap anyone who got close.
Kudeyas—my sister-in-law and close friend—was pretty much the only one I could stand at the moment. That was because she was silent, and when she wasn’t, it was because she was shouting at anyone I told her to. I looked at her then back at Vivian. My new bestie caught on quickly and jumped from her chair at my side. She bared her fangs at Hector and Vivian, and they both lowered their voices.
They were still audible, but it was better than before. I didn’t care what they were arguing about. If that made me a bitch, oh well. I was in one of Tahk’s robes, completely soaked in sweat. I smelled like ass. My legs were spread every five seconds so a parade of healers and Gryo could get a load of my pissed-off vagina. And my mate was off pummeling anyone and everyone in his effort to get back to me.
I wanted him back. I wanted him gone. I couldn’t make up my mind.
All I knew was that I was in so much pain, I could cry and not a single fucking alien on this entire damn planet of so much advanced technology could do a single fucking thing to help me.
Sitting back down, Kudeyas looked at me. “Do you wish to walk again?”
I shook my head and blinked the sweat from my eyes.
“The pool?”
“Too tired,” I muttered. I had walked and walked until my feet couldn’t hold me up anymore. Then I laid in the pool until my fingers were prunes. Gryo did not like me in the pool and was completely against a water birth. So I was pulled out and laid back down.
Gryo lifted my sheet again, and two healers, Sylva and Hyda, grabbed my legs and spread them wide again. Gryo ducked low and made a sound in the back of his throat that was filled with a little more disgust than I was willing to handle at the moment.
He shouted when my foot connected with his nose. Hyda gaped at me, her hands suspended in the air from where I’d ripped my foot from them. I shot my let-the-fuck-go eyes to Sylva and she slowly lowered my other foot back to the bed before stepping away.
“Viv,” I snarled, “tell Hector to take a motherfucking hike and get the hell back over here right now.”
Vivian sighed and glared at me. “Vyr, I don’t care. Send whoever you want with her, but take her to Bailey’s so she can get some sleep.” She walked away from him. “And take Lydia with you!”
Hector snarled something before he ghosted away like a freaking smoke bomb.
“I swear to god, Pey,” Vivian spat through her teeth, “you’re being a damn baby.”
I spat at her every vile curse word I could think of, and Byda sucked in a shocked breath, stepping farther away from the bed. Good riddance. She was my favorite of Tahk’s mothers, closely tied with—shockingly—Myrna, but I was so fed up with every single one of them gaping at my vag as if it was a crime scene that I didn’t give two shits about telling any of them to suck it.
My mother sighed and laid a fresh warm cloth across my forehead. She was the calm in the storm. She had been quiet most of the day, which allowed me to ignore the subtle-as-a-foghorn reprimands in her eyes every time I shouted at someone.
“It hurts, you bitch.”
Vivian groaned. “You know, I did this on a moon. Without healers, or you, or a room full of people ready to drop what they’re doing to be at my beck and call. I had a big bird and a giant growling fuzz ball and the love of my life, but still he didn’t know a single thing about bringing a baby into the world. I was basically on my own. You could show a little gratitude.”
I screamed as another contraction hit, furiously chucking a pillow at her head. Vivian batted it away and flipped up my sheet, baring my goods to the whole room. Whatever she saw had her eyes widening and looking back at Gryo.
“What? What is it?”
Vivian looked at me with the biggest grin. “You’re fully dilated. She’s coming.”
“Really?” I asked, tears filling my eyes. It was almost over? I was going to bring my girl into the world now?
Vivian nodded fast, her eyes filling with tears to match mine.
“Tahk,” I choked. “I need Tahk.”
Everyone in the room looked at the door warily. I got it. I did. My guy had nearly torn the room apart when this all started and didn’t give two shits who got in his way. But no way in hell was he missing the birth of his daughter.
“Vivian…” I was nearly ready to sob with fear and relief and longing and so many emotions. I was a mess.
She nodded shakily. “Okay, okay, we’ll get him.” She looked around the room in a panic then ran to the door. “Vyr!”
He misted right in front of her, his eyes wild and searching for hidden dangers.
“It’s time. Bring him.”
Vyr looked at me then looked back over his shoulder.
Gryo glared at him. “The king won’t like it.”
“I don’t care,” I growled through a sob and bowed up through another contraction. “Tahk!”
I screamed his name over and over. Gryo dropped the clean sheets he was arranging at my feet and backed away from the bed until he was nearly huddling in the corner. My guy roared my name, and the walls and floor shook. Curses filled the halls outside my room, then he was there, barreling into the door, cracking it against the wall. Vyr barely moved out of the way in time.
Tahk charged to my side and curled around me, cradling my body and lifting me so, so carefully from the bed.
“No, no, put her down!” Vivian shouted over all the yelling in the room.
My mother looked ready to smack Tahk but wisely held back.
But Tahk didn’t listen. And neither did I. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and held on. Over his shoulder, Uthyf and a parade of male Dahk crowded into the room, panting, their faces flushed and worried. Tahk was growling into my hair.
I grabbed the sides of his face, looking him in the eyes. “She’s coming, babe.”
“Now?” His voice was distorted from rage and terror.
I nodded. “I need you to help me.” I kissed his lips and bared fangs. “I need you to not kill anyone so you don’t miss it.”
Tahk, my badass commander, gulped and trembled. He blinked his silver eyes at me and nodded. Just once. But it was enough.
4
Lydia
We were going to Bailey’s. Peyton’s screams had taken on a frightening pitch, but not a single roar answered them.
Vyr had given in. Somehow, Mona or Vivian—or possibly the two of them tag-teamed him—had convinced him to let us go. The baby was coming. Peyton was pushing now, but it would get worse before it got better and Prin was exhausted.
She and I were loading onto a ship and we had an entourage. A large one. Yilt walked beside me, and Gus, Borv, and Jyn stood at my back. Nearly twenty other guards surrounded us as we left the castle, but they did little to curb my nerves. The castle had been attacked not too long ago by a group of Dahk that did not like us humans on their world. Uthyf and Tahk had beat them, but the danger was far from over.
Frankly, I was shocked Vyr had given in. But really, he could be at Prin’s side in a second if he needed to be. One call from Yilt and he would be there—if his freaky abilities didn’t alert him to any dan
ger beforehand. He had a knack for knowing when Prin was hungry, or tired, or just wanting him or her mom.
It gave me the little courage I needed to follow the band of terrifying Dahk ahead of me and carry Prin into the dangerous world outside. There were three of them, and they were definitely not the Dahk I was used to. Something about them was just different. The way they carried themselves, but also the way they looked. They didn’t arm themselves like a typical Dahk. Their weapons were strange and otherworldly. More otherworldly than Home World. They were also heavily scarred. Their bodies told a story of battle and blood.
The middle one glanced over his shoulder at me, and I tried to stifle my shudder. A scar ran from the top of his deep purple lip and up through his left eye and brow. The eye had clearly been injured at one point. It was a milky white that was shocking next to his clear silver right. He grinned at me, and I looked down at the baby in my arms. He snickered as Roxy shuddered beside me.
I didn’t know why they were with us. I had never seen them before. It seemed strange for Vyr to send them with us, but Yilt hadn’t batted an eye and he was so sweet you couldn’t help but trust him. If Yilt didn’t think twice about their presence, then neither should I.
Still, they were hard to look at without thinking of the scarred Juldo. Without thinking of the Juldo Master and that dead look in his eye.
We boarded the ship with Yilt, Borv, and Jyn. The rest of the Dahk circled outside, prepared to follow on wings. Roxy sighed when the three scary Dahk stayed outside with the rest of them. We shared twin looks of relief as the ship lifted into the air.
Borv snickered. “That is Ignyt and his brethren.”
We stayed silent, watching Borv share an amused look with Jyn.