Sloane thought Naral was part fish, because the woman’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She just stood there in shock. Queen Maya finally nodded to her guards to take Naral away. Once the guards grasped Naral’s arms, she screamed, “No! Sayr, Day, Coyak, tell them the truth. I was a good mother! Don’t let them take me.”
Chapter 25
Queen Maya, along with the kings, watched as the guards escorted the screaming woman from the room. Uri went to the podium and calmed the guests, letting them know they’d be back once the children were settled, and in the meantime, the queen would speak on the importance of adoption and financial support for these children. Jessie and Marie made their way to her and the boys, but she let them know she was okay, and her concern was for the children. They understood and went back to help with the guests. Sloane, along with Lian and Lyon, gently gathered the three boys to the closest private room they could find. Uri, Papa Gav, and Papa Roweq were hot on their heels to help in any way they could.
Once inside the small sitting room, Sloane looked over to Sayr and Day, noticing Day’s red cheek. She brought her hand up to assess the teenager’s face, but in doing so, Day flinched as if she’d hit him. “Oh, honey, no. I would never hit any of you. I just want to make sure you’re all right. It looks like it hurts.”
“No worse than any other time she’s done it,” Day grumbled as she heard Uri take in a sharp gasp.
Day squared his shoulders and pushed on. “I mean no disrespect, but we want to take our brother and return to our home. Letos will be our guardian and see to our care. He is a fair and just male who helped us with Coyak’s escape.”
Coyak gripped her waist tightly and whimpered, “No, I want to stay with fara, Lian, and Lyon.”
She could tell everyone was getting agitated because emotions were already high. Lian and Lyon stepped forward, annoyance lacing Lian’s words. “You’ll do no such thing. The queen herself has awarded you to us. You’ll be with the three of us until your age of majority.”
Day and Sayr bowed their heads in defeat. She didn’t need super-smelling abilities to see they were devastated by Lian’s declaration. She touched her husbands’ arms in a gentle manner, silencing them. “What Lian and Lyon meant to say is that we were going to surprise Coyak tonight.” She looked down at Coyak and ruffled his hair. He smiled back up at her with love in his eyes. “We were going to let him know that we adopted him.”
Coyak let out a squeal of delight and hugged her, then went over to Lian and Lyon and hugged them, too.
With tears slowly trickling down her cheek, she continued, “Here’s the issue: I can’t imagine my life without Coyak, but I can’t keep him from his brothers and let you two fend for yourself. I guess what I’m asking is if you would give us a chance? Not because it’s what the queen ordered you to do, but because you want to. We are hopefully giving you one of the things your moth—Naral never gave you . . . a choice. I won’t force you to come with us. In fact, if you really want to go back home, I’ll speak with the queen to allow it.” She inhaled a stuttering breath to try to gather her strength. “But I love Coyak with all my heart and I know we’d love you two just as much and as every child should be.”
Coyak released Lyon’s hand he was holding and walked to Day and Sayr. He hugged each of his brothers. “Fara isn’t like Mother. She’s nice and doesn’t hit, yell, or anything. Lian and Lyon are good fathers; they’ve been teaching me my warrior training. I’m a good warrior, aren’t I?” the little boy asked as he looked back to her husbands with expectance.
Lyon and Lian nodded and smiled. “Yes, you are, little one.”
“Why do you call her fara?” asked Sayr.
As if it were common knowledge, Coyak responded with, “Because the Goddess sent her to us.”
Everyone smiled, even Day and Sayr. Uri finally interrupted and placed a hand-held healing unit in Sloane’s hand. She smiled at her new mother-in-law and took the unit. Living with so many rough and tumble boys, she’d learned how to use the unit. She slowly took a tentative step toward Day to heal the now-bruising cheek. “May I?”
Day looked at her for a few moments and then gave a curt nod. She placed the probe to his cheek and, in moments, the redness and swelling were gone. She handed the unit to Lyon and brought her hand back up to his cheek. She caressed his face, and this time he let her. This poor child even leaned into her touch, craving the warmth and affection only a mother could give him.
Day immediately broke down crying and wrapped his arms around her. She held him as he sobbed, kissing the top of his head reverently. Between sobs, he shouted, “I hate her! I hate her! We tried to be so good, but she never loved us. Why, fara? Why did she hate us?”
Her heart broke for these boys. She looked over to Sayr and he, too, was crying. She opened one of her arms to bring him into the fold. Without hesitation, he came and embraced them both. “I don’t know, sweetheart. What I do know is that I won’t let anything like that happen to you again.”
She let the boys cry as she held them. Finally, she patted their backs and broke apart from the embrace. “On my planet, females aren’t a commodity like they are here on Arenia. Meaning, good or bad, we were treated like any male. So, I’m going to tell you something about myself. I had horrible parents. I learned at an early age to depend only on myself. That way, I didn’t give someone the opportunity to hurt my heart. When I was older, I realized I didn’t do anything to cause their ire. They just were who they were and there wasn’t anything I could do to change them. No matter if I wanted to shout, yell, or demand they change, I knew they wouldn’t. But I’ve found someone, or specifically, two someones who love me and would do anything for me. I can’t change the past for you or me. I can only build on today, for the relationship I want with Lian and Lyon and to show you the motherly love you all deserve.”
The boys gave her a watery smile. She knew they understood her sincerity because of her scent. With their father’s help, Lian and Lyon led Day, Sayr, and Coyak to some chairs, to give them a quick look over to make sure they truly were all right.
When they did, Sloane turned around to find Uri standing there, wringing her hands in worry. She was still in shock that Uri had orchestrated this whole thing. At what point did Uri even suspect Coyak’s lineage, and why didn’t she say anything sooner? “What is it, Uri? Are you okay?”
“I’m truly sorry I deceived you, Sloane. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me? After our last meeting, I finally put the pieces together of Coyak’s heritage. You see, Sloane, of the upper-class citizens, only a few even knew of Coyak’s existence. Naral was very secretive about their third child. Most people didn’t even know he existed, let alone that he’d gone missing. Those that did know of him suspected the boy would probably be better off, wherever he was. It would be better than living with that vile woman.”
When she was about to argue, Uri raised her hand to halt her from speaking. “I know what you must think of our race, but you must understand, no one could prove her abuse because she’d never take the children anywhere. Naral only brought Day and Sayr because I told her the queen herself was requesting all children be in attendance. Sloane, it’s only by the grace of the Goddess that Coyak looked identical to Councilman Pike. I would never have known Coyak was the late Councilmen’s son until Coyak explained that he just remembered his mother and two brothers. I brought my suspicions to the queen and we met in length about the situation and decided this was the best course of action.”
Sloane’s heart burst with love for this woman. She threw out her arms and hugged Uri, crying, “Thank you, Uri. Thank you for giving me not one son, but hopefully, in time, three.”
Uri hugged her back with all her might. “It’s I who must thank you. You didn’t cast us out of our sons’ lives even after the way I acted toward you. You also have hopefully given me three grandsons. We could not be prouder of our sons, and most of all, you.”
Uri stepped back from the hug and grasp
ed Sloane’s face in-between her hands. She reverently kissed Sloane’s forehead. “You need healing. Healing of your broken heart. I know you told the boys that you didn’t give anyone the chance to break your heart, but for you to be conditioned to do that is a sad state of affairs. I’m sorry your mother and father were nasty to you. I know you’ve given love to each and every child you meet, but . . .” Uri kissed her forehead again. “It’s you, child, who needs a mother’s love, and I’m just the mother to show you what you were denied for far too long. Is that all right with you?”
Sloane couldn’t help herself—she hugged Uri again and bawled. Bawled like the little girl who needed and craved the love of not just her father, but most of all, her mother. She was so lucky; she’d gained her health back, not one, but two loving husbands, three sons, and a mother and two fathers who wanted to be part of her life. She was truly blessed.
Uri held on to her with a fierceness only a lioness had for her cubs. Her mother-in-law cooed into her ear. “Shhh, child, I’ve got you. Everything will be all right. I’ve got you.”
“That’s the thing, Meema. I know you mean it and I couldn’t be happier.”
Uri froze in her cooing and looked at her again. “What’s a meema?”
She smiled at the older woman. “It’s another name for a mother . . . but more special.”
Uri smiled, then whirled around to announce to her bonded, “I’m a meema!”
Papa Gav and Papa Roweq both smiled and winked at her as Lian and Lyon stood up and did the same. For Sloane, it couldn’t get better than this. Her world was truly complete. Just as the thought crossed her mind, Lian and Lyon’s expressions morphed from smiles, to astonishment. She tried to figure out what they were looking at, but the mystery was solved when little Coyak pointed to her lower abdomen and screeched, “Look!”
Chapter 26
She looked down, not knowing what could have everyone’s attention. What she saw was a white mark just underneath her navel. Her head shot up to Lyon and Lian to confirm that what she was seeing was correct, when she was met with both men smiling from ear to ear at her.
“Is it? I mean, is it really . . .?” She was overtaken with emotion as tears sprang to her eyes and words escaped her grasp. Although she still couldn’t have children, baring their marks on her body was profound. She knew from her conversation with her husbands that no one knew exactly what the combined mark would look like. Lian and Lyon had to guess when they inscribed all three of their thick wedding bands. She noticed it was almost identical to the white mark on her stomach.
Lian and Lyon came forward and enfolded her in a big hug. They both kissed her cheeks and bent down to inspect her mark. They both held their forearms up to her stomach, showing her that indeed it was their mark.
Just as they did, a thought occurred to her. “I don’t understand. Why did it happen now? Why not when we, you know what, or at our wedding?”
“Your heart wasn’t open and accepting.”
“Yes, it was. I love you both very much.”
Lyon shook his head no. “We don’t mean open and accepting of us, but open and accepting of our lives. It’s hard to explain, but this means you’re accepting of our lives and you trust not just myself and Lian, but our family. For so long, you were closed off from trusting that you couldn’t imagine having anyone truly love you unconditionally.”
~~~~~~~
When they returned to the party, Meema Uri immediately led Lian, Lyon, and Sloane to the podium and made a huge fuss over her sons’ mark on Sloane. After Meema Uri was done going on and on about her mark, Uri started to announce the winners of the silent auction and was pleased to announce they’d raised a considerable amount of credits to help benefit not only this orphanage, but many others. The queen herself made a final and impromptu live auction prize of a day with the royal family. All the males in the ballroom started bidding in a frenzy as their females, Arenian or not, wanted to spend a day with royalty. The bidding was feverish as a group of four males wanted to please their newly bonded Earth females and drove the bidding quite high. The other bonded groups in the room graciously bowed out, but not before raising a considerable amount of credits with their final bids.
When they were finished, Meema Uri, Papa Gav, and Papa Roweq introduced her and her bonded to who she thought were influential political figures. From what Sloane could piece together, the queen and kings kept in close contact with the numerous councilmen, so they knew what was going on in whatever region of the world the councilman was from. The councilmen would advise the royal family as to the state of crops, planetary defense, or natural disasters in their region of the world.
Lian and Lyon apparently knew most of these men because of their fathers’ work as councilmen, and they both shined like the sun. They were naturals at this political game of give and take, and she hoped she, too, could help in any way possible. The weird thing was that once she, Uri, and whatever bonded female they were speaking to in the group conversed, it seemed to make a difference in their males’ dealings. It was only then that Sloane truly understood that the females of this planet weren’t as helpless as they seemed. In a nice way, without lies or conniving, the women of this planet were very influential to their bonded males. It seemed that they helped guide their bonded males in their everyday dealings.
As she spoke to the women, whether they were Arenian or Earthlings, Lian and Lyon spoke with other bonded males, procuring trade deals for the peeta grown at the orphanage. Apparently, peeta was a very expensive spice that was highly coveted among the elite. She asked Lian and Lyon if there might be other desired items the children made, grew, or cultivated that might help sustain their finances until they could get most of, if not all of, the boys adopted. Lian and Lyon thought it was a great idea, since it wouldn’t change whatever the children were doing already to survive.
She looked over to check on the children and caught sight of Coyak in between Day and Sayr while they spoke with some of the older orphanage boys. They laughed and carried on like nothing had happened this night. Her men followed her line of sight and kissed the side of her head when Lyon said, “Children are resilient. They will love you just as all the other children do. Come, we have a surprise for you.”
They assured her that the children and the guests would be fine for a couple of hours. They took her in a small transport to their beautiful, empty home. Once there, the doors were opened by a middle-aged RaBatt servant. She could tell the servant was slightly older because her once pure black fur was dotted with several gray hairs. If she had to guess, she looked to be in her forties, like Cloray. Lian and Lyon stopped at the door and hugged the older woman. Lyon smiled at her. “Sloane, come meet Banu. She came to Arenia when she was a young female and has been with our family since Lian was born. Banu, this is our ayah, Sloane.”
Sloane smiled at Banu in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you, Banu.”
Banu said nothing, but walked up to her and, with her padded finger, she traced around Sloane’s newly formed mark. The soft pad tickled a little, but when she was done inspecting the mark, her huge, glowing green eyes looked up at her. Banu hugged her. “And I’m delighted to meet you, Sloane. I’ve watched these two grow up into the handsome, young, honorable males they’ve become. They were patient in waiting for their one true mate and the Goddess has rewarded them for it.”
Sloane didn’t know what to say but, “Thank you.”
“Please, please, come in.” Banu looked to Lian and Lyon. “Your mother and fathers have helped me to arrange everything as you requested. I’m excited to serve you.”
She looked at the RaBatt woman in confusion and then to her husbands. They gave nothing away as they led her down the hall toward very large rooms that looked to be newly renovated. Even the kitchen looked to be new. She thought it was odd they’d renovate the home when they didn’t live here anymore, but continued to be led through the house until they came to one of many doorways lining a long hall. When she opened it and peered
inside, there were two sets of bunk beds on each side of the medium sized room. Along with the four beds with matching bedding were four dressers and still enough living space in the middle of the room for activities. It reminded her of the rooms the boys slept in at the orphanage, but much bigger and nicer.
Lian opened the door directly across the wide hallway and she was greeted with the same sight. Again, there were four matching beds and four dressers. It finally dawned on her that these rooms could house the children. Her breath hitched while her hand flew to her mouth in disbelief. “Does this mean what I think it does?”
Their megawatt smiles told her all she needed to know. She threw her arms around Lian first. He held her and twirled in a circle, all the while kissing her neck. When he let her down, she quickly made her way to Lyon and this time, she jumped up into his waiting arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. Instead of kissing her, Lyon seductively whispered into her ear, “There’s more.”
Chapter 27
Sloane could feel the long, hard “more” Lyon was talking about insistently probing her core. As Lyon carried her down the hall, Lian explained there were ten rooms with four beds in each room for the children. This meant they could house more children than they could at the other orphanage. At first, she was excited, but she quickly came to the realization that she couldn’t possibly split her time between forty children.
They must have scented her unease, because Lyon whispered in her ear. “Banu is going to stay with us as another guardian. These children will have two female figures and three male role models living here full time. We’ll help each child reach their full potential, so they’re able to pursue anything they wish to in their lives. Our parents will also be here as much as they can to help. We’ll start the process of closing some of the smaller, more remote orphanages. We’ll not only bring the children here, but if they’re willing, the guardians as well.”
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