by Viola Grace
“What is it that you are doing?” She whispered.
He winked then raised his voice. “Is everybody ready?”
The guardians grinned, and the magistrates passed out data pads to everyone except Beatrix. She waited, and then, the guardians did something and handed the tablets back so the magistrates could witness them. When they had all the tablets, they brought up a new screen and turned it to Beatrix. “Miss, you have enough funds to purchase an avatar and the guardian team. If you would care to offer them the position of mates, I believe that you have enough funds to pull it off.”
She looked at the tablet and dropped it. Vehn caught it with a grin. “That isn’t my account.”
The magistrate grimaced. “It is. Please, start proposing to your males so we can get this ratified.”
She looked at the guardians and avatar, who were staring at her with their arms crossed. Waiting.
She blinked and wrung her hands. She whispered, “What am I supposed to say again?”
Ssran-Lianic chuckled. “You tell us how pretty we are and then ask us to be your mates. One by one.”
She inhaled and then walked to Vehn, who jolted in surprise. “Vehn, we had a less-than-graceful start and an awkward learning curve, but you have made me moan, laughed with me, and found the ticklish spot that I hope you have not shared with the others.”
He grinned and winked, his tail swaying with his excitement.
“Would you accept me as a mate?”
He grinned and kissed her, murmuring, “Can I try stinging you now?”
“Um, is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
She looked up at him. “How long does the sting last?”
“Four hours.”
“We can give it a shot between nursing the little ones. I don’t want to chance contaminating their breakfast with a stimulant.”
Vehn’s tail started dripping venom. “Deal.”
She kissed him again. “You might want to mop that up. You are dribbling.”
She walked to Lioth and took his hands. “Lioth, you lift me up, and you dance with me. You calm my heart and lift my spirits. Will you be my mate?”
He smiled. “I will. I am honoured by your offer.” He leaned and kissed her.
She turned to Toln. “Toln, you almost fucked this whole thing up with your big mouth, but over time, I have grown to have an appreciation for it. You have learned when to hold your tongue and when to let it have free rein. Will you be my mate?”
He grabbed her, kissed her, and flicked his tongue against hers. She was gripping him tightly when there was a cleared throat next to them. She leaned back, and his stinger was waving excitedly.
“Yes, I will take you as my mate, as many times as you will let me, Bea.” He chuckled. “Can I sting you?”
“Not until the kids are weaned. I am pretty sure that you would push the timing of things to the very limit.” She patted him on the chest and squawked when he grabbed her from behind and lifted her off her feet. He kissed her neck and set her down.
She looked at the last two and turned to Ssran-Lianic. “Avatar. You jumped at the chance to have me here, changed me to suit you and them, and gave me a base to start over again. Ssran-Lianic, you have been a shoulder to cry on, a pain in my ass, and a good friend as well as an interesting lover. Would you be my mate?”
He grinned. “I will. You are good at proposals.”
She nodded. “Tha—”
He grabbed her and bent her back in a kiss that left her staggering.
She straightened and brushed her hands over her skirt. “Thanks for that.”
She walked over to Breth and put her hands on his chest. “Breth, I left you for last because you were the first. The first to gain trust, the first to explain your world to me like I was a toddler, the first to put a finger on my soul and a few other parts of me.”
He grinned.
“I left you for last because you were the first, and I would like you for always. Will you be my mate?”
He stroked her hair, caressed her cheek, and leaned in to kiss her. “I will.”
She whispered, “By the way, it was your image that my avatar showed me, and it is what brought me here.”
He leaned back with wide eyes, and then, the kiss began with him holding her against his chest, her feet kicking in the air.
The magistrates announced, “All dowries accounted for, and Madam, you are now the mate to all five of the men you have proposed to. The funds have been put in trust for your offspring, and the government thanks you for taking these men into your care. They have been a pain in our backsides for months.”
She smiled. “I promise that they will limit their interference in the future. Wait, do I have to pay again if there are more children?”
The men laughed, but she was serious. Ssran-Lianic shook his head. “No, you have purchased the rights to us fair and square, as you say.”
She exhaled in relief. She went to the dispenser and got herself a cup of tea while her mates discussed something.
Bea felt a pull and looked around before walking out the door and using her com to get transport.
She had somewhere she needed to be.
Chapter Nine
The creche was staffed by guards who tried to stop her from entering. They all passed out and slept as she stepped across the threshold.
She walked up to the spot where her girls were lying, and all the attending nannies were asleep. She looked at Atrix, and she stroked her cheek. “You aren’t supposed to do that to those who are caring for you.”
Atrix opened her mouth and wailed, setting off the other four.
Bea sighed and fed her, soothing the others and then picking up Beta to start the rounds. By the time she got down to Trexi, the guys had shown up and were staring.
She snorted. “I didn’t do it. Atrix called me and said she was hungry. She also took care of the guards and nannies.” She leaned back against the wall while Trexi finished snuffling and sucking, and she burped her.
“Someone else can do the nappies. They ate a lot.”
The fathers all took care of their little golden darlings without a fuss. That was when Bea knew she was on an alien world. Five guys changing diapers without complaint... that was some alien magic right there.
When the girls were attended to, and all the staff was awake, Ssran had a conversation with the infant who inherited more than Lianic’s durability.
Bea chuckled. “So, I guess I am putting a cot in here. I will have to tell Temnor to open up in the afternoon.”
Breth frowned. “I did not think of this aspect of it. If the infants summon her, she will forever be travelling between us and them.”
“Not forever, just six months or so.”
Lioth spoke over his daughter’s fluffy head. “No fucking way.”
The nannies were confused, and a researcher arrived in time to see the guardians removing their children from the creche and getting into their summoned shuttle. The babies were heading home.
Mating night was postponed until there would be an addition built on the guardian base so that fathers and daughters could be near Bea.
It took three weeks, and the babies had more than doubled in size, much to the delight of the research team. The nannies had been sleeping in the caretaker’s room, but now, they had quarters of their own.
Bea had been sleeping in the living area with the babies as they tended to need her in the night. The guys had been waiting.
Now, the creche was ready, the pump had been working for a few days, and the bottles worked, and Bea was being hauled into a bedroom after she had expressed.
Snagging intimacy during breaks between feedings and their missions had been difficult, but she was eager for an actual, formal, mating night.
The babies had been spaced out to four hours, and they had brought the pump into the room with them. No distractions.
She stepped into the room, and her e
yes widened. It had been added on the other side of the house, and she had been blocked from looking in it. Couches, cushions, mattresses were one thing; the suspension rig made her nervous, and the mounting horse even more so. Oddly, the four superheroes and the planetary avatar just made her smile. She chuckled.
Vehn smiled as he walked over to her. “Something funny?”
“I have been thinking of this as a formal mating night, but I am the only one dressed.”
Vehn whispered as licked her earlobe. “We will fix that, but first...”
The sting in her hip made her eyes widen, and he held her as it started to take effect. Fire started to streak along her nerves, and she looked up in shock. He kissed her softly and waited. He did not have to wait long before she was up and grinding against him. The others peeled her off, and she was surrounded by hands, tongues, and tails as she gave in to the feeling of skin on skin combined with the delight of having her mates with her. Waves of pleasure started... and did not stop.
She groaned and tried to disentangle herself. Ssran-Lianic pulled her out, and the other four just moved together to take up the space she had made.
He carried her outside for some fresh air and sat with her in one of the new gardens he had helped design. The base was becoming more of a home by the day.
He held her on his lap, and she was wrapped in warmth.
“Are you happy here, Beatrix?”
She glanced up at him. “Why? Are you going to send me home?”
His arms tightened on her. “Absolutely not, but if there is something we can do, something we can offer you, I would like to know so we can get on that.”
“You guys are overachievers. I wanted a baby, got five. Wanted a lover, got five. Wanted a home, got a compound that is rapidly evolving into a play place, wanted money to claim my mates, got enough to buy a spare. I have a business that is thriving without me even being there, so I think I have got what I wanted. The only thing I seem to run short on is clothes, and that is definitely at Toln’s door.”
He grinned and kissed her softly. “We don’t know where he is putting them.”
“If he starts wearing them, we will have an intervention.” She sighed, and her breasts felt full. “I need to go pump if I am going to go back in there. Breth will drink it all otherwise.”
“Leave them for a minute, and it is Lioth you need to worry about. He has packed on about twenty pounds of muscle since he started sneaking in while you slept. That stuff is powerful. The researchers are astonished at the growth and immune systems of our little darlings.”
“Yeah, the girls are getting enormous. Sorry that they are all out of standard species colouration.” She shrugged.
“They are hybrids. We are delighted that they are strong and golden. Folk will know your daughters at a glance. How old will they be when mature?”
“Emotionally? Never. Physically, around twenty, but they will be able to breed a lot earlier, so they are going to need a distraction.”
“They can breed before they are completely developed?”
“If they take after my species there, oh yeah. It isn’t recommended, but it is definitely possible. Chaperones everywhere after they start ovulating to the point where the hormones are noticeable.”
He sighed. “Noted. I will keep an eye on Atrix. Will you help with monitoring them?”
“Sure.” She sighed with the relaxation of a woman who had backup when it came to childcare. “You guys didn’t actually want more, did you?”
“Well, the daughters were important, and we still have the sorted semen samples for more. What were you thinking?”
“I mean, the delivery of the soft shells was easy. Yeah, I was huge, but it faded quickly. So, I wouldn’t be averse to doing it again.”
He laughed softly. “Why don’t we wait until this clutch is walking before we start on the next one? As much as I love the offer, and I do love the offer... I know you enjoy being present for us and for them, and the pregnancy is distracting.”
“What, the constant need to mate? The whining in my room until someone comes home? Forcing you to take me around the world when the guardians were busy so that I could fuck someone? That kind of thing?”
He snorted. “Yes. That. Your levels were higher than imagined.”
“Fine. Then, maybe two at a time instead. Then the others can just have fun. Or one at a time. One primary partner per pregnancy and then the others to take the edge off? Keeping things even is hard.”
He paused. “That’s an idea.”
She nodded. “Good. I liked the sting, but frankly, pregnancy sex is better. I get to remember it clearly and not in a weird gropey haze.”
The avatar smiled slowly. Ssran was clearly in charge when he said, “You want to overrun my world with female hybrids? Mix our genes with Terran to become something else?”
“Um, I just want to get laid, and the babies are cute. I am not thinking long game here.”
“So, you are letting yourself be ruled by your hormones?”
“Absolutely. And the need for physical exercise since all you will let me do is light weights. Sex is the only cardio I get.”
He laughed and pulled her against him. Ssran-Lianic said, “I think that as the avatar, I should go first in the primary mate category, at least to see how it goes. I am home far more often and can book time away. I can also take you with me as I travel, so that will mean the others have to chase us around the globe. I would not mind having you to myself for a while.”
She grinned. “That sounds like trouble.”
He chuckled. “Don’t care. After there are enough hybrids to kick start a wave of talents across the globe, Ssran will offer you himself, and you can decide if I am good enough for you to remain with for a few thousand years.”
She paused. “And the guys?”
“They will live their lifetimes and be remembered.”
She looked at him with Bambi eyes. “But, the guys...”
He looked at her with narrowed eyes. “We can not have a guardian team that has a permanent status.”
“So? Rent out the younger ones. Send them off-world to look for women they fit inside. Ask Minerva-Gaia to find another one who isn’t married with children who matches the profile.”
He chuckled. “You think she will fall for it a second time?”
“Why not? I mean, it will cost a bit, but you can afford it.”
He grinned. “I spent so much buying myself for you.”
“It was money well spent.”
“But... now I would have to save up to make an arrangement for another of your species. You are pricey to alter.”
She cupped his jaw. “Aw, poor baby. All that just to get someone you could sink into.”
He sighed and smiled. “Yeah.”
She giggled at the look on his face; she cuddled up against him and was still there when Breth came out and pulled her away from the avatar, pulling her into his lap, facing him. He started nuzzling her neck before he moved down to her breasts.
“Are you racing Lioth?”
He looked up, and there was a gleam in his eyes. “Maybe.”
She leaned down and whispered, “You can just ask. I can sneak you some on the side. There’s always something in there.”
He grinned. “I am going to take you up on that. How long does this go on?”
“Differs from woman to woman, but six months to a year. Some longer. Even if a pregnancy interferes.” She looked over at Ssran-Lianic. He chuckled.
Breth ignored her words for applying his lips to her and taking anything that was left in her breasts. The other three eventually made their way out of the house and with them in the garden. It was a clothing-optional party, and Bea smiled at the realization that gaining freedom to move had been supplanted by feeling free staying with the men she loved. She might even tell them that one day.
For now, there was lust, there was joy, there was laughter, and she was with them.
There would be time for declarations later when she was ready to hear them. She had had to do all the work proposing, so now, it was time for the soft words and delicate touches.
Breth started the hissing that he normally engaged in when foreplay was underway. The others were hissing as they touched and kissed.
Ssran reached out and caressed her head. She blinked as there was a surge of heat in her brain, and the whispers became words, and the words became love, and they had been whispering them to her all along.
She looked to him and muttered, “Now?”
He grinned. “I forgot. The language is born of instinct, so it does not translate if you are not in a matching frame of mind.”
She was moving against them and had to admit that being a creature of instinct felt like what was going on at the moment.
She listened to their whispers, the hissing, and the soft clicks. She was beautiful, pretty, strong, sexy, soft, very, very soft, slick, wet, smart, and theirs. She was wrapped in their arms, caressed by them, and she finally had her mating night.
She had no idea what they were going to do for a first anniversary.
Author’s Note
I saw an image, and this story sprang to mind, and I realized I had to be pickier about what I watch on National Geographic.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
In real life, she now is engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.