by Ella Long
Loyal, stubborn, courageous, nurturing… And sexy as hell.
The stars had chosen well for me. If she looked after children that were not her own with such fervor, what would she be like with ours?
I knew I was smiling like a fool, but I had every right to. It was the day I’d waited so long for. The day I found my mate.
“You’re not going after them,” Ghislan commanded. “I’ll send a squad to retrieve them.”
“You’ll do no such thing!” Ashley insisted.
Oh, that fire. That spark. She was perfect. And we were going to have such fun training her.
I stepped away, motioning for Ghislan to follow me. “Let her have this, brother. We’ll set the drones to follow her, and guards to monitor the feed.”
At his frown, I shrugged. “You can always punish her again later.”
He grinned, and turned back to her.
“By nightfall, we’ll expect you back,” he commanded.
“I’ll need some clothes, unless you want me walking out there stark naked.”
We both growled at the thought.
“Easily supplied. But don’t be late,” I added.
“Or what?” She rolled her eyes, her fragile mask of toughness settling back over her delicate features.
“Or we’ll have to renegotiate,” I smiled, almost, just almost, willing for her to break the rules already.
As we prepared to let her go, I moment of fear flashed through me. What if she didn’t come back? Even if she intended to, any number of dangers could befall her, could possibly harm her before the assigned guards reached her side.
One thing I was completely secure about was her mark. She bore the scent signature of both me and Ghislan. Even a Najiik wouldn’t dare harm her now.
She was marked with the royal blood of the highest Xael.
She didn’t know it yet, but we had made her a princess by the cut of our teeth.
Ashley
I was very surprised that they just let me go.
Ghislan seemed to be some kind of a big cheese around here. I knew that he said he was a lord commander or whatever, but I didn’t believe that he was in charge of the entire Xael settlement.
Watching how the others scurried to do his will, I guessed it was legit.
All Ghislan had to do was call out to the nearby guards and they came inside quickly with a bag of supplies. They handed me some trousers, boots and a t shirt. I pulled the pants on then slipped the shirt on quickly.
The heavy boots felt like heaven to me. I had been struggling along in a pair of canvas flats that were almost completely threadbare.
The two men gave me a new backpack, this one padded, with some food and water in it as well as all the medicine I’d tried to steal.
“Before nightfall, remember,” Sadhbah reminded me.
“You try traveling with a pack of ten-year-olds,” I snapped back, but at his stern expression a thrill of fear, and something I wasn’t even going to try to analyze ran through me.
My own reaction to them had frightened me badly.
How could I let them do that to me?
How could I like it so much?
When they started touching me it was like I was outside of myself. I couldn’t stop it even if I had wanted to.
I didn’t want to stop them.
That was the problem.
I had never felt like that before. I expected to shove them off me, scream at them, fight, struggle, yell. Anything for fucks sake! Instead I practically opened my legs and begged them to fuck me.
But that wasn’t the next thing to do, not now.
“Pull it together, Ashley,” I muttered to myself, then set off across the nearby fields with the pack on my back.
I had strong intentions of never returning to this place. Whatever the hell that was back there, I wanted no more of it.
But Ben still needed treatment. All the kids needed food and warm clothes. At the Xael camp they could have hot baths and big meals. I couldn’t condemn them to the harsh wilderness just because I lost control of my pussy for a few minutes.
The whole way back out to the farmhouse I cursed and argued with myself. It took me longer than I expected, I was still tired and malnourished even if the recent orgasm had invigorated me somewhat.
What the fuck was wrong with me? My orgasms had always been a rather complex affair, involving a lot of relaxation and mental stimulation. Most men weren’t up to the task of teasing me up the way I needed to get to a full climax. I had given up on anyone ever giving me a real, bone shaking orgasm.
That’s what I just had though. A skin shattering, mind blowing orgasm.
I tried to rationalize. I was exhausted and hungry. Maybe it was just my depleted reserves and the high excitement of the moment. That had to be it. I wouldn’t dwell on it any further.
I picked up my pace and jogged as much as I could. The faster I got there, the faster my kids could get comfortable and have a hot meal.
“Ashley!”
Giselle shouted as I came through the trees, and a couple of the other kids came running.
“Here, here,” I said, quickly handing out protein bars and sugary drinks around the press of tiny bodies.
“Way to go, Miss Ashley!”
“That’s the best score yet!”
They all exclaimed over the gifts and just assumed my little raiding mission had been a complete success.
This wasn’t going to be any fun.
I waited until we were all gathered back at the farmhouse to break the news. Ben still slept, hot and sweaty. I looked at the antibiotics I’d gone to steal, and realized he was far beyond what they could do now.
But maybe, not beyond what the Xael could do.
I poured some of the liquid antibiotics into his mouth, rubbed his throat until he swallowed while thinking what to say.
“OK, class, silent listening time!” Who knew the arcane rituals of grade school would still give us a working framework during the apocalypse?
The kids sat around me in a semicircle, Giselle and Andy pulling up chairs behind them.
“We need to find a new home,” I started cautiously.
“But Miss Ashley…” I held up my hand, and the whines died down.
“Remember when the other grownups left us, because they were stronger, and they didn’t want to wait for us?”
Seven solemn faces nodded. Two teenagers looked thoughtful.
“Remember they didn’t think we should wait for Ben to get better?”
More nods, angry this time. Adults have nothing on kid wrath. Those little guys can hold a grudge like nobody’s business.
“I found a way to make Ben better,” I paused. “And have better food for everyone. And even real beds. But we’ll have to leave here.” I looked around the circle. The faces of the kids were so thin it tore my heart. Suspicion was stamped around the teenagers faces.
So glad I hadn’t wanted to teach high school.
“Leave for where?” Giselle demanded.
“Golden,” I admitted. “The Xael have offered us sanctuary.”
Andy pushed his chair to the floor as he rushed to his feet. “I’m not going into one of those camps,” he insisted. “No way in hell. You can’t tell me you’re taking the kids there.”
The kids, now frightened and confused, began to wail.
“Of course not,” I snapped. “We have sanctuary. The Xael aren’t monsters. We’ll have food and a warm place to sleep and medicine for Ben.”
“What did you have to trade, for this sanctuary?” Giselle asked, eyes far too knowing for her age.
I swallowed, heat and shamed mixed in my chest.
And hunger.
“Nothing that wasn’t worth it,” I insisted. “All that matters is getting you all to safety.”
Andy hung back, sullen, as I organized the kids, found their coats, laced shoes and hoisted Ben to my chest.
“Come with us or not,” I announced. “You’re old enough to make up your own mind
.”
We’d only gotten halfway down the driveway when he caught up, catching two of the little kids by the hand.
“Only because you need me,” he muttered, and I let it go without another word.
Teenagers.
The walk back took much longer. I struggled to hold Ben in my arms. He sagged against me, limbs loose and flopping to my every step. His breathing sounded like the rattling of an old train with a terrifying wheeze as he tried to get air into his lungs and then back out again.
The afternoon was fading to evening by the time we reached the edge of the camp, and I was almost ready to drop. Too many days without proper food or sleep and the bombardment of challenges had taken it out of me.
I stumbled, and as if by magic several of the Xael guards appeared out of nowhere. As they reached my side, the leader sniffed heavily, then straightened.
“Please come with us, my Domna.” I staggered, and he hesitantly put his hand under my elbow. “Allow us to assist you.”
“The hospital,” I croaked out, all my strength going to just getting one foot in front of another.
“Let us take the other children to their rooms,” another guard suggested, pointing down a row of buildings.
I nodded, and Giselle and Andy led the little ones away, backs straight.
I was proud of them, and I’d tell them. Just as soon as we got to the hospital.
But the guard didn’t take me to St. Anthony’s.
Instead he led me to another building, one of the Xael’s tents.
They must always be fighting, I thought, all these tents and temporary buildings. Ready to move in a moment.
A tall copper skinned man with an expression that would have fit any human doctor stepped forward. “I am Finbarr, my Domna, head of this medical facility.” He intoned, bowing before me. “What do you desire?”
I was shocked by his manner. Why would he bow to me?
Too tired to care. Care later.
“Care for this child.” My voice came out harsh and ragged. He nodded to me and held out his arms, taking Ben from me and placing him on a nearby bed.
I watched for a few seconds until I was satisfied Ben was receiving the best of care.
Not that I could tell. I’d probably be able to follow along in a human hospital, but this?
There was plenty of movement around that tiny, still frame, but I had no idea what was happening.
All I could do was worry.
After I while, I realized I wasn’t helping anything standing around.
My guide brought me to the house the rest of the kids had been taken to.
A very small woman with the copper skin of the Xael but with tiny features bowed to me as I entered the house.
“I am Mishra, my lady. I will care for your young.”
I stood over her, wondering if she needed my permission to rise. This was utterly staggering.
Only a few hours ago, I was a starving wreck. Now everyone was bowing to me like I was queen of the galaxy.
“Great, thanks,” I answered as best I could, wondering if I was stepping on a whole bunch of social customs without knowing it.
I went in to see the kids and to my delight they were jumping on the clean beds, shrieking with laughter as they threw pillows at each other. There was a TV flickering in the corner with cartoons playing and platters of food had been laid out for them. In the next room I could hear water running and see a big plume of steam.
I had no doubt that Mishra was going to get them all cleaned and into new clothes.
Good luck.
“All is well, my lady.” Mishra bowed to me again. “You may return to your mates. I will call you immediately if you are needed.”
“Thank you, Mishra.” I started to back away, not at all equipped to deal with this.
My mates, she said.
The men, Ghislan and Sadhbah, they were my mates now?
I didn’t think she meant it in a slang kind of way either.
She seemed to mean it in a Discovery Channel kind of way.
The worst thing was, I didn’t even mind. I kept searching myself for some kind of indignation, but it just didn’t happen.
Too tired.
I left the old house, heading back through the tents. I noticed a Xael watching me from a nearby doorway. He was whittling a long shaft of wood and looked up as I passed. He waved and I realized I would never mistake his features. Not only was his skin copper gold, his hair was burnished bronze and his eyes pale yellow.
I don’t know why he took so much notice of me, but I passed it off. I headed for the biggest tent I could see, the place I had met with Ghislan and Sadhbah earlier today.
The place where… I pushed that thought away to the back of my mind, chided my traitorous body.
I needed a bath and a good meal more than anything, but I also needed to thank them.
Seeing my kids so happy energized me.
I had to let them know what a great service they had done for me.
All of that was true.
Something that was also true was that I would have done anything, literally anything, to see those men again.
Not for the first time I wondered, what the hell was happening to me.
Ghislan
As the day started to fade Sadhbah and I moved back to my main command center, an old mansion on the edge of Golden. I liked this old town with its historic buildings. It was utterly barbaric compared to our technology, but I found I enjoyed its character.
We were both waiting eagerly for Ashley to arrive and we found we couldn’t focus on anything while she was away.
She’d need food.
Gentle care.
Warmth.
Before we could unleash our lusts upon her, she had to be stronger.
Just thinking about her responses to our touch was maddening. And in moments, she’d be here.
Ours.
I set up my private room with platters of food and warm lights, everything she might need to recover as quickly as possible.
Sadhbah found all this very amusing and spent his time helping himself to the food.
The moment she entered the house, we both stood up straight.
The scent was unmistakable. Those few minutes we waited for her to come up the stairs were the longest of my life.
When she entered the room with two guards at her back, I could see the confusion on her face. When she had been captured this morning, she was dragged around by the upper arms. Now she walked ahead of two escorts that stayed a step behind her with their heads down.
Should I tell her that she’s royalty now?
I wasn’t sure if I should. It might imply that she had status with us. Her power existed over others, not over us.
“I’d like to thank you.” She spoke steadily, even though I could smell the exhaustion in her. “My children have been received and they are comfortable.”
She opened her mouth to say more, then shut it, looking at the floor. She blinked, shaking her head. When she next spoke, her voice was ragged.
“I’m here… Here to… Fulfill my end of the bargain.”
She sounded so hesitant and innocent I almost groaned aloud. She was so tasty; I couldn’t believe she didn’t know it. Even without a perfect pheromone signature, she would be very beautiful. Surely, she fought off males all the time.
I couldn’t understand her innocence, her naivety. It was almost as if she didn’t understand how gorgeous she was. How powerful that made her.
“You’re tired, little one,” Sadhbah walked towards her, hands outstretched. “Come with us, let us bathe you.”
She looked between us both and I felt like some great war was being waged within her. She seemed caught on a keen edge, not knowing which way to turn.
“Ah, show me the way, I guess.” She looked at the floor and I found her attempts at being demure utterly maddening.
I hoped I didn’t look like the sex crazed, frothing maniac I felt like. I couldn’t have hidden my eagerness
, no matter how hard I tried.
But I didn’t push her down, ravage her like a beast. Small victory.
At least for now.
Sadhbah moved forward, taking her arm. I followed them into the nearby bathroom and saw my brother had indeed been busy. Fresh water scented with oils filled the tub and soft petals decorated the water.
Candles lit the edges of the room and she gasped aloud with so much pleasure it was like getting punched in the cock.
“Let us undress you, my lady,” Sadhbah command was gentle. In a way his deference was a little mocking, but only because he knew he’d already made her come once and he was going to do it again.
Very soon.
And we both knew she would beg for it.
She nodded, mouth working over words she didn’t speak. As Sadhbah stepped forward she raised her arms and he pulled the shirt off.
Her breasts bounced as the shirt lifted up, perfect creamy skin with dark pink nipples revealed in the flickering light. My brother and I both gasped and I knew he felt the same as me. As if our cocks had stolen every drop of blood from our brains.
She lowered her arms slowly, looking between us both uncertainly. I stepped forward and tugged the waistband of her trousers, slowly pulling them down her legs. She lifted one foot, then the other as I carefully took off her boots and slipped the pants from her feet.
The tub was a high standing thing, ancient and cast iron with clawed feet. I didn’t even look at her body as I picked her up and placed her gently into the water. I knew I’d never stay on task if I looked at her too closely.
Sadhbah and I stood at either side of the tub. She looked up at us with amusement, smiling in spite of herself. I admired her strength and courage, to take a strange day like today and smile at the two of us with our eager and hopefully not predatory smiles.
I thought maybe it had been so long since she had a bath that it went a long way towards helping to see us favorably.
I didn’t really know how human women reacted to our scent marker. Perhaps she could fight it or not succumb to it.
So far it seemed that she was responding but really, I knew nothing.
“You’ve been very good,” Sadhbah said softly. “See how nice it is when you obey us?” She frowned, about to protest when instead she merely nodded.