by Viola Grace
Breth chuckled. “Yes, what did you do, strip her and stare at her like a side of meat?”
Vehn winced. “Sort of. Most of the women I have been with knew what they wanted.”
“So you didn’t have to. Fine. Things have changed, and now, you need to know how to manage what might become a mate over time.”
“Why isn’t she a mate now?” Vehn asked it boldly.
Breth murmured, “Because that is a choice she must make. We can only accept or decline. The likelihood of her accepting all of us as mates is slim. She doesn’t have a dowry for a start.”
Lianic chuckled. “If she breeds five daughters, she will be able to afford any mate on Ssran or several.”
Breth chuckled. “So, we wait until the eggs are scanned for sex, and then, she can be paid for the production of the children.”
Lianic nodded. “Ssran is even looking into offering her a bonus if she will feed the children.”
Breth frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Her species lactates; the children will do better if she can provide the nutrients they need.”
Breth looked at where Lioth had lifted Bea into his arms, and as he stood there, she was rising and falling on him, his hands supporting her.
“What does that mean?” Vehn whined with curiosity.
Lianic smiled. “She produces milk in her breasts. It’s why her body responds so favourably to contact there. The pleasure is a programmed reward for nurturing the children. She won’t have a standard pregnancy, so the response will have to be stimulated chemically, but if she agrees, her body will take over after getting started.”
Breth murmured, “I hope I can watch.”
Lianic chuckled. Toln snorted. “I want to help.”
Across the yard, she finished riding Lioth to satisfaction, and they both remained locked together, kissing each other softly as they relaxed, foreheads pressed together, and smiles shared.
Breth smiled. “Lioth only had her once, but I think his heir is just fine.”
Vehn grimaced. “I think I have some making up to do.”
Toln clapped him on the back. “You didn’t really do anything wrong, but you didn’t do much right. Take today as a training day and figure things out. Maybe watch some Terran porn; there is some pretty good stuff out there.”
Lianic looked at him. “You seriously did that?”
“I wanted to know what I was getting into. Literally. I had no idea that she had more space than the natural model.”
“I thought that was rather clever of me. Space for us and the eggs until she expels them.” He chuckled as she and Lioth started to move again. “My brother is setting a new standard for making her smile.”
Vehn frowned. “Is she more responsive with her clothing on? It seems so.”
Lianic chuckled. “She is insecure, so us delving beneath the clothing means that she will still have concealment if we change our minds. She is comfortable in the clothing, so if we don’t take it away, she has reassurance.”
Vehn frowned. “She’s complicated.”
“She’s a woman who isn’t on a mission to fuck for memories. She wants a home and a new life, and her body has become her ticket to it. Before her disease took her over, she used to be a photographer. An image taker. She could make art out of what she was looking at and show other people her vision. She has the ability to see the world around her and interpret it to be something bright and hopeful. I saw the images she used to take, filled with children and the natural world. They were amazing. Minerva-Gaia showed them to me.”
Breth frowned. “How did they choose her?”
“Genetic compatibility and the ability to take the adaptation we needed. Other worlds are getting a slow trickle of these women, but it is not an easy process for them or the worlds waiting. They give up their lives, their bodies, and in most cases, their classifications as Terrans. Our little princess there had been trapped in an agony-wracked body for years, decades, but she was the best match, so her avatar reset her biology, removed the triggered gene, and put Ssran genes in its place. They will become more apparent over time.”
“Will she get scales?” Vehn blurted out.
Lianic chuckled. “Some. Lines down her arms, around her face, and down between her breasts.”
Ssran-Lianic finished the thought, “She will be spectacular but still pale. She must always stand out.”
They watched the slow dance that Lioth took her on, and then, the couple shuddered together and clung tight.
He waited until they had uncoupled before triggering the meal units using some of his vast planetary power. She was going to eat and had to eat while seated in his lap. He would have his prize after eons of waiting.
Chapter Eight
Bea stepped away from Lioth, and she felt... at peace. “That was very clever.”
He grinned and kissed her forehead. “I thought so. I will dance with you anytime, Beatrix.”
She nodded and yawned.
“Oh, dear. Just before Lianic feeds you dinner. This won’t go over well.”
She shrugged. “He can do what he likes, or he can put me in the cage. As long as I don’t have to think much, I should be fine.”
“Aw, poor darling. Come on. I think dinner is ready.”
She walked with him into the house, went to wash her hands and face. When she emerged, Ssran-Lianic held his hand out to her, and she sat across his thighs. He took a note from Breth and explained what she was eating and how it had been prepared. He only threatened her with the cage when she bit him.
Halfway through dinner, there was an alarm, and the guys got to their feet, coming to her one by one to kiss her goodbye. Even Vehn.
Lianic held up the next piece of food and described a tiny sandwich. She opened her mouth, and he put it in.
“Is what is going on dangerous?”
“They are evacuating an island. Seismic event. I am surprised you aren’t getting on me about natural disasters; it happens a lot.”
She shrugged. “Nature is a bitch. But it has to move on. The islands wouldn’t expand without moving. Wind brings destruction but also pushes the rain and then drives off the clouds.”
He nodded. “It does. Thank you for seeing it that way.”
She shrugged and opened her mouth like a baby bird. Waiting.
He chuckled and explained the next mouthful. The more she ate, the sleepier she got.
“I am really sorry, Ssran-Lianic, but I am super tired.”
“No worries. I have time, and you need sleep. Would you like to sleep in the cage or with me?”
She blinked. “I have a choice?”
“Of course.”
She hummed. “With you. I would like to feel what it’s like just to curl up with someone.”
He smiled, and when the remnants of the meals were gone, he led her to his room, disrobed her with tiny kisses on the exposed skin, and he settled her in bed, spooning around her.
Late in the night, she had gotten the rest she needed and turned to him. He met her slowly and gently, rocking her senses until she had completed activating the last of her embryos and then more for fun.
The guardians arrived at the avatar’s residence, sooty, dirty, and exhausted.
Bea bullied them into the guestroom showers and took their suits for cleaning and repair. They came out and pulled her into one of the conversation pits, Breth on one side and Toln on the other. The other two bracketing in. They each had a hand on her somewhere, and they slept. Bea was already rested, and she looked at the amused avatar, who was moving around doing meal prep.
“Can’t stop the caretaking just because you say you quit, huh?”
She grimaced. “Apparently not. Now, how long do you think they will sleep?”
He shrugged. “A few hours. Do you want something to eat?”
She thought about it. “Yes, please.”
He sat near her head, and he fed her while she was pinned under
muscle and scale. He stroked her hair, and when she had finished a few pieces, he held a cup of water for her. Then, he fed her again.
“Are they like this every time they return?”
He shook his head. “No, but rescue missions are tough. There are always those who don’t make it, and it hurts.”
Breth pulled her back against his chest and buried his face in her hair.
“I know you have refused the caretaker position, but until you deliver the eggs, they will need to touch you when they come back to make sure you are safe. I will relocate to their base and commute to the city.”
“How long until the eggs emerge?”
“Four months. Then, Ssran is yours to explore. We will take care of your children.”
She nodded and kissed Toln’s forehead. “Thanks. I will worry about them, but I guess that is part of this.”
“It is. If the children need it, will you feed them?”
Bea looked at him. “Of course. I am guessing that Gaia accounted for that as well.”
He nodded. “Yes, we have the catalyst, but after the eggs are extracted, it will be three months in incubators before they are ready to hatch.”
She chuckled. “So, three months to explore the world. I can make a start.”
Toln murmured, “I can show you my family home.”
Breth mumbled, “Or I can show you mine.”
“I have seen plenty from both of you. There are four months to go where you can see me as much as you like. There will also be considerably more of me to see by that time. You will be sick of me.”
They cuddled her closer and murmured that they would never get tired of her. She smiled and knew they had no idea what they were talking about. Time was about to speed to a crawl.
* * * *
Ssran-Lianic looked at the incubators with their precious cargo and their security systems. Two days and a terrifying amount of blood from Beatrix, and they had their eggs. Vehn’s was the largest. After his slow start, he had thrown himself into pleasing their mate with increasing enthusiasm, and she had responded to his efforts.
Now, she was recovering, and her body was resuming its pre-pregnancy dimensions.
He walked down the hall to her room and found her up and getting dressed. “Where do you think you are going?”
She smiled and blinked through tears. “I am going to the apartment in the city that you set up for me, and then, I am going exploring.” She held up the flat wristband. “You can call me when you need to. I just need to be away from all this because it hurts.”
He stepped toward her, but she held her hand up.
“Stop. I just need time to draw the line between being a breeder and a parent. Until they were out of me, I hadn’t really realized how steeped in the attention I was. Well, that has to stop, so I am going now. New life, new body, new start. Call me if you need anything.”
She smoothed the line of her skirt, and she was no longer wearing the clothing of the avatar’s household. It hurt to see her in something else. Ssran-Lianic wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her that the attention didn’t have to end. She was welcome in his house and bed anytime, and he knew the guardians felt the same way.
He watched her stride out of the med facility and to a waiting transport. She curled in on herself as she was driven away. He could see her crying. Fuck.
* * * *
Owning a small business on Ssran was markedly easier when the avatar forced the local guilds into cooperating with her. She had a tiny bar, restaurant. She took orders, served patrons, had staff, and anyone who wanted to could dance.
She had been working at her bar for two months when the news announced the hatching of the guardian heirs. She sat down and looked at the images of the five tiny girls in their fathers’ arms. An army of nannies was waiting.
The little girls were all a pale opal colour with their fluffy head crests in their father’s colours. Bea’s arms ached to hold them.
“They look really pale and weak to me.” One of her regulars spoke.
She stared at the image as long as she could until the news changed. “Shut up, Yinson, they are perfect.”
She kept herself under control and cheerful until the last patron was out of the bar for the night. She locked up and skittered back to the monitor and brought up the news reports as they panned over the collection of the babies. She smiled, and tears dripped as she watched the signal, over and over again.
“You can come and see them.” Breth’s voice was behind her.
She turned around and stared at him. “They aren’t mine. They were never going to be mine.”
“We can still be yours if you claim us.” Breth walked to her and wrapped his arms around her. “Then, you will have them.”
She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him. “Claim the guy to get the baby?”
He nodded. “Yup. You can skip Vehn, though. He spent enough time with you that his daughter is two pounds heavier than the others.”
She chuckled. “Once he got the hang of it, I think he learned to relax and enjoy himself.” Vehn’s playing had gotten weirdly sweet in the last few months before delivery.
“He misses you. We all miss you. Will you claim us?”
She blinked. “I spent too much on the bar. I don’t have enough to dowry a guardian, and I definitely don’t have enough for the avatar.”
He growled. “The babies need you.”
She heard a hiss, and a jab hit her thigh. She didn’t get dizzy or anything. “What was that?”
“The lactating shot.”
She looked up at him. “What the hell, Breth?” He went fuzzy.
“And a mild sedative in case you wanted to be a pain in the ass. You are claiming us whether it is your dream or not. Come on, sweet.” He picked her up and carried her out of the bar.
“Asshole.”
He got onto a flier and kept her caged by his arms. “Yes, dearest. I am. Hold on.”
He flew off with her, and her skirt fluttered wildly in the breeze, waking her up slightly. She held on, and he took her to the research facility where her babies were.
Two men tried to stop Breth from carrying her to the creche, and two men ended up embedded in the walls and moaning.
“It is good that you have such a fun name with different sounds. This is our daughter, Beta. This is your daughter with Lianic, Atrix. Lioth’s daughter, Xeta. Toln’s daughter, Bria, and Vehn’s daughter, Trexi.”
He picked up his daughter and handed it to her. She smiled at the fuzzy crest and the little rosebud mouth that was seeking.
The nanny murmured, “They don’t want to drink.”
“Well, I am not producing, but bring me what you have. Blood heat.”
The small cup was provided, and she dipped her finger into it, and the baby sucked enthusiastically.
The nanny frowned. “She doesn’t do that for us.”
“You don’t smell right. Okay, I can speed things along, but I don’t want an audience. The recording vids are bad enough.”
She waited until Breth shooed the nannies and monitors out. She sat on the floor near the crib, and she put Beta to her breast. There was some rooting, snuffling, and then the little critter clamped on.
“I started on the meds last week. Didn’t need the jab.”
Breth looked at her and watched raptly as his daughter waved her fist and then brought it to rest on Bea’s breast.
Once Beta was in her rhythm, she asked for Atrix. The second infant attached, and all plans for the evening went out the window.
All five were fed, and it was a good thing that Bea came from a family of over-producers. If they could rig a pump, then she could just send the milk in via courier or drone.
She sighed, and her little girls were all sleeping with pink cheeks.
She looked at Breth. “Okay. They are fed. Can you bring me home?”
He nodded, and the cycle took off. She was tired, her breasts ach
ed, and her heart hurt. He said, “We’re here.”
She looked, and it was the avatar’s home. “Funny. I can walk home from here.”
“Come inside. We have missed you.”
She swallowed and pulled at him, which was ridiculous because he could lift her with a pinkie. He turned and gripped both her hands lightly.
She whispered harshly, “I can’t. The contract said it. I am not a mate; I am a breeder. That’s done.”
Lioth’s voice spoke from behind her. “I don’t know. I always fancied having two kids. I mean, I dreamed of having a mate, but that was before I was tapped to be a guardian.”
She scowled and craned her head toward him. “Wait. Guardians don’t have children?”
He put his hands on her waist and kissed her shoulder. “Not on Ssran. It is too hard to find females who can handle us.”
“Physically? ‘Cuz you guys are always really careful with me.”
He chuckled. “Thank you. We have tried.”
Breth smiled. “It is because we can be a little much. We are obnoxious, devoted to our work, keep odd hours, get into fights, wreck the furniture, and come home with interesting substances on us.” He chuckled. “Ladies don’t like that.”
“The swamp slime was particularly entertaining. Did lovely things for my skin before I broke out in a rash.” She smiled.
Lioth chuckled. “Toln was in a hurry.”
They started walking her into the residence. “Why are we going inside?”
“Today, there is something special happening.”
Breth got the door opened, and they gently bullied her inside. There were two magistrates in the living area with the avatar and the other guardians.
She whispered, “What’s going on?”
Ssran-Lianic came forward and took her hands. “Why, it is bonus day, Beatrix. If you want us, we are yours.”
She leaned back. “It doesn’t work that way. I have read all the histories and the laws. I just can’t afford you.”
Ssran-Lianic murmured, “Within you lies the key to keeping our daughters alive and helping them become the first Ssran hybrids to walk this world. Please, let us do this.”