by L. M. Brown
“We’ll be landing shortly,” Delta called. “Are you all secured back there?”
“Yes,” Trix replied through the ship’s internal comms. “They’re all sound asleep.”
“For the first time in eight days,” Farron chuckled as he sat in the co-pilot’s chair and buckled up. “They are lively little babes, aren’t they?”
Delta laughed. “They are indeed.”
They headed down to Lupalia, arriving at what appeared to be a different landing area to the one Farron had visited before. There were few others ships and hardly any canines around. The place seemed almost deserted.
“Where are we?”
“It’s a private port,” Delta explained. “Only those with special permits can use it. I’ve had one since I bought my first ship, since it’s the nearest port to my parents’ home.”
Delta brought the ship to ground and secured the ship computer so no one else could use it. “Are you ready to meet my parents?”
Farron nodded. “I am. I’ll go and fetch Trix and the babies.”
“I’ll help,” Delta said.
It didn’t take them long to leave the ship, and they only had to return twice for items they had forgotten.
They left the port and hired a cart to take them to Delta’s parents. Farron appeared fascinated with the woolly haired creature which pulled the vehicle.
“I’ve never seen one of those before. What is it?”
“It’s called a honka, because of the honking noise it makes when it approaches an obstruction.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t honk too loudly and wake the babies,” Trix commented, with a rueful glance at the lumbering mammal.
An hour later, Delta banged on his parents’ door and waited for one of them to answer.
“Your staff are a little slow,” Farron commented as they lingered on the step.
Delta laughed and rolled his eyes. “Ah the joys of being noble. Canines don’t have household staff. If we want something doing, we do it ourselves.”
Farron flushed. “Sorry, I guess I just assumed.”
Delta kissed him on the lips. “Don’t worry about it.”
The door opened just as Delta pulled away from Farron.
“Ah, there you are,” his mother said. “Where were you that it took you so long to get here?”
“The Cage was on the outskirts of the system,” Delta replied.
“The Cage?” His mother gaped at him in horror. “Whatever would you need to go there for?”
“To get me,” Trix said quietly from behind Delta.
Delta turned and wrapped his arm around Trix’s shoulders and guided him forward. “Mother, may I introduce you to Trix, and Farron.”
Farron nodded and gave a small bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Trix mumbled something too quiet for Delta to hear. He could tell the feline was nervous. He suspected Farron might be too, but the avian appeared better at hiding it.
Delta waited for his mother to acknowledge his introductions, but she glared at Trix before turning back to him. “When Gray informed us that you’d taken leave of your senses and gone chasing down some feline, I didn’t want to believe it.”
Delta snarled at the insult to Trix and silently cursed Gray for his meddling. “Why did Father summon me here so urgently?” he asked. “Is he in?”
His mother stepped back, muttering about the indignity of having a filthy feline in the house.
Trix hung his head and Delta maintained his connection to him, reassuring him with his touch that he was by his side and there to support him.
They all crowded in, the babies thankfully staying quiet in their hover-cribs.
“Can we make this quick?” Delta asked. “We want to be on our way as soon as possible.”
Delta’s mother gestured to the seats and they all sat. His father entered a few minutes later with a woman Delta didn’t recognise.
“Ah, Delta, there you are. Do you remember Aria?”
“No, should I?”
“Aria is the healer who tended you when you were sick as a child.”
Delta shot a quick glance at his mother. Considering how much she had raged about the healer since his illness, he couldn’t believe she would willingly let her into the house.
“Your father has invited Aria here so we can discuss undoing what she did before, so that you can choose your mate wisely.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your temperament since your illness doesn’t allow you to properly assess who would be a suitable mate. This is clear from the fact that you’ve brought two prospective mates here, one of which is a feline. We hope that once your rebellious side is suppressed again, you’ll be more amenable to taking Gray as your mate, and forgetting this foolishness.”
Delta rose and gave Aria a quick bow. “I thank you for what you did to save my life as a child, but your assistance now is not required. I’m sorry my parents have wasted your time.”
Aria returned his bow with a nod. “I see you’ve not claimed either of your companions as your mate. Is there any reason why not?”
“Yes, there are reasons, but you’ll forgive me if I don’t share them with you. I feel that they are the concern of only myself and my mates. No, they’re not claimed, but they are my mates just as surely as if they had been.”
“It’s my fault Delta hasn’t claimed us,” said Trix, his voice quiet and hesitant. “I’m not ready and Delta respected my wishes to wait.”
“Felines are never ready to be claimed when that claiming lasts longer than a month,” Delta’s mother commented with a sneer.
“Mother!” Delta rounded on her and glared.
She gave a haughty sniff and turned her sneer on Farron. “Whether or not the feline wants to be claimed, you haven’t claimed this one either. Is he equally promiscuous?”
Delta growled, but it was Farron who replied.
“We’ve decided to wait until all three of us are comfortable with our relationship and ready to be claimed. Our relationship is one of equals.”
“Farron is right,” Delta added.
“And if the feline is never ready to be claimed?”
“His name is Trix,” Farron snapped. “If you’d kindly remember the name of the father of my young and stop insulting him, it would be appreciated.”
“You dare to speak to me like that?”
Farron rose and stood toe to toe with her. “I’ll treat you with respect when you treat Trix the same way.”
Delta hid a smile at Farron’s protective streak. Farron may have been submissive in bed, but right now he was pure noble—dominant and powerful.
Delta helped Trix to his paws and gently nudged him towards the door. “Come along. Let’s get out of here. I’m sure the babes will want to feed soon.”
Trix nodded and hurried to leave with obvious relief at their imminent escape.
“You aren’t going already?” Delta’s father asked. “You’ve only just arrived.”
“I won’t stay here while my chosen mates are insulted. Unclaimed or not, they’re the ones I’ve chosen to share my life with. If you can’t accept that, that’s your problem.”
Before his parents could reply, Delta had shepherded Farron and Trix out of the house, their babies along with them.
“So, Cygon?” he said as they walked back to the spaceport.
Farron halted and turned to face him. “Don’t you want to talk about what just happened?”
“Not really.”
Trix came to a stop a few paces away. He cooed at the babies, but it was clear he was listening avidly to every word. Not that Delta minded, but he did wish that Trix understood that he had the right to participate in the conversation too.
“Do you really want to leave things with your parents like this?”
“You heard them, they have no intention of accepting either of you as my mates.”
Trix shook his head. “It seemed to be me they had issues with, and you can’t exactly blame them. I’m
not exactly an upstanding member of feline society.”
“You’re one of my chosen mates, that’s all they should need to treat you as a member of the family.”
“But I’m not really your mate, am I?”
Delta held out his hand for Trix to approach him and take. “Claimed or not, you’re very much my mate. As is Farron.”
“Excuse me.”
Delta turned to see Aria close behind them. “What do you want?”
“A moment of your time, that’s all.”
One of the babies chose to let out a loud wail and Trix grimaced. “I should get them back to the ship. I can’t feed them while walking.”
“I’ll come with you,” Farron said. “Are you going to catch us up, Delta?”
“Yes, this won’t take long.”
Aria waited only until the others were out of earshot. “Your father didn’t tell me why he’d requested my presence here. I’ve been waiting some days for you to arrive, so that he’d enlighten me.”
“As I told my father, I’ve no need of your services.”
Aria raised her hand in a gesture of peace. “I apologise for my impertinent question back at the house. It wasn’t meant to be an intrusion into your affairs.”
“Really? Then what was it?”
“I wasn’t sure whether fear of the wolf blood is what kept you from staking your claim. Those with the wild nature of a wolf are sometimes worried about the lack of control during sex.”
“I have no such fears.”
“No, I don’t believe you do.”
“Was that all you wanted?”
“No. I wished to tell you that your parents are mistaken about me.”
“In what way?”
“The wolf within you, which fires your blood, was always there. My cure for your illness gave you the ability to draw on the wolf, but nothing more.”
Delta had always suspected as much. “And suppressing it now?”
“Impossible. I taught you how to access the strength of the wolf. Once taught, it cannot be forgotten. You must learn to accept what you are.”
Delta gave her a smile and shook his head. “You mistake me. I’ve already accepted what I am. My only real concern about the wolf is the reports that true wolves cannot take more than one mate their entire life.”
“That’s true, but you’re not a full blood, are you? As removed as you are from your full wolf ancestors, there should be no difficulties in taking more than one mate, providing they’re willing, of course.”
Delta frowned at the implied insult. “If I were the type of canine to take an unwilling mate, I would already have claimed them both.”
Aria nodded thoughtfully. “I believe you, and I hope that you claim them soon. Even I can see the wolf is restless and eager to seal the bond.”
Delta glanced in the direction Farron and Trix had gone, but they were both out of sight. “Are you sure it’s the wolf, and not just me?”
Aria chuckled. “Perhaps you’re right.”
Delta said his goodbyes and took a slow walk back to the ship. He had to stop thinking of the wolf as some kind of separate entity that lived within him. This was who he was, and he accepted that. He just hoped his two mates could do likewise.
Chapter Fourteen
It was another month before they arrived at Cygon. They travelled slowly and spent several days at one of the spaceports on route. The babies were growing fast and in need of more items.
Now they were about to land on Cygon, and Farron was just hours away from introducing Trix and Delta to his family, as his mates.
Trix sat on one of the comfortable chairs Delta had purchased for their enlarged bedchamber. The furniture floated just above the floor and rocked a little, even if the ship was at a standstill, as it was now.
“He’s hungry today,” Farron commented as he nodded to Vynor, who had been latched onto Trix’s breast for some time.
Trix smiled up at him. “Jealous?”
Farron chuckled and shook his head. Trix hadn’t had sex with either himself or Delta since they’d picked him up from the Cage. He had fed from each of them, but had done nothing more than that. At least until last night.
Feeding three babies meant that Trix was also hungrier than usual. He had fed from Delta, then Farron, then Delta again. When he was satisfied he had scrambled up and one of his breasts had brushed against Farron, whose body had reacted instantly.
Without words, Trix had guided Farron back down onto the bed, and drew his mouth to his breast. Farron had sucked on the nipple with an eagerness to rival any of the hungry babies. Trix had stroked his feathered scalp and sighed with bliss at their first moments of sexual pleasure since they’d been reunited.
Farron hardened at the memory but shook his head. “No, because I know that as soon as you’re done feeding, I’m going to be taking you right back to bed.”
Trix lowered his gaze. “Are you sure we’re ready for this?”
Delta sat on the bed, his legs crossed at the ankles. “The night we spent together at the Pleasure Station was amazing. I believe we need to reconnect in that manner before we land on Cygon. I’m not talking about claiming you, not unless you’re ready, but I think we might at least be ready for sex.”
“If you’re not ready yet, we can stay here in safe orbit until you are,” Farron assured him.
Trix nodded. “I agree with Delta. If we’re going to face your family, we need to make sure there’s no doubt about our mating. I don’t want a repeat of what happened on Lupalia.”
“We can wait however long you need. Besides, you’ve both been claimed in the manner of my clan, so there won’t be any question about that. If you need time before we have sex, we’ll give you as much as you need.”
Trix gave him a bright smile. “I don’t need more time. I’m fully recovered from the birth and I think I’m ready to take that step. Besides, you two might explode from horniness if you don’t get some relief soon. What? Did you think I hadn’t noticed that you’re staying celibate until I’m ready, not even bedding each other?”
Farron blushed. “I didn’t think you’d notice that.”
Trix snorted. “I’m a feline. Believe me, I can tell when someone’s had sex recently, and neither of you two have. I can also smell your arousal, and I’m sure Delta can too.”
“I tend to forget how felines and canines have a much stronger sense of smell than avians.”
“It has its uses,” Delta said. “Now, Trix, I think he’s finished feeding. Do you want to put him in his crib and check on the others?”
Trix nodded and slipped through the door to the adjoining nursery. The room was different to everywhere else on the ship and Delta had, in Trix’s opinion, gone completely overboard with the decor. After their latest shopping spree, it was clear there wasn’t going to be room for all their purchases, even in the larger bedchamber, so a reworking of the walls to create a nursery was the solution they had come up with. Farron liked the newly modelled quarters, and he hovered in the door as Trix checked on the babies.
“They’re sleeping soundly,” said Trix. “I’m not going to disturb them.”
They returned to the bedchamber, leaving the door behind them ajar, so they would hear as soon as any of them stirred.
Farron could tell Trix was nervous.
Delta patted the bed and beckoned their feline over. “Come here and relax.”
Trix and Farron both approached the bed.
“You first,” Farron urged. “I want you in the middle.”
His heart raced as Trix climbed onto the bed and settled down beside Delta. Farron followed right behind him.
“Don’t be nervous,” Delta whispered. “It’s not like this is our first time.”
Trix sighed. “It’s the first time while I’m like this.” He gestured to his breasts. “What if they get in the way?”
Delta chuckled. “They won’t.”
Trix gave him a dubious frown, but Farron inched closer to him. He cupped his breast
and squeezed it lightly, rubbing his finger over the nipple. Trix shivered with desire and moaned.
“Lay down,” Farron said, as he guided Trix back onto the numerous pillows that now covered the bed they shared. He kept his hand on Trix’s breast and saw that Delta was doing the same on his other side.
“Let us love you,” Delta whispered. “Let us love all of you, including these.”
Farron licked the soft mound and moved his hand lower, reaching between Trix’s legs and gently easing them apart. Trix moaned again, and Farron responded by slipping a finger into the slick heat he found there.
While Farron concentrated on that, Delta moved up and captured Trix’s lips in a passionate kiss. Farron’s cock ached as he watched his two mates devour each other’s mouths.
Trix’s cock rose from the patch of fur between his legs and nudged Farron’s arm. His cream was already gathering at the tip, and Farron licked his lips in anticipation of tasting it.
As tempting as it was to take the hard flesh between his lips, he decided to wait, instead continuing to finger Trix’s vagina, hoping that by doing so he could bring Trix to climax and help him relax a little more.
Trix gasped a few moments later and he quivered as he clung to Delta.
Farron noticed that his cock was still hard and his cream not spilt. He kept his fingers inside Trix, moving them in a slow rhythm in time to Trix’s moans.
“Farron!” Trix cried as he clenched around his fingers. “Please, touch me.”
“He needs his cock or prostate stimulating to spill his cream,” Delta explained.
“Is that right?” Farron asked.
Trix nodded. “For as long as my female hormones are dominant, touch is required for me to spill.”
“In that case…” Farron removed his fingers and wrapped them round Trix’s cock, handling the flesh with firm strokes. Trix bucked his hips in encouragement.
Delta crawled down the bed and settled between Trix’s legs. He pushed his face between them and licked him with long, loud slurps.
Trix lost the power to form words not long after that. He moaned and grabbed Delta’s fur, his hips thrusting wildly as Farron continued to stroke him.