Awoken from the Deep

by Octavia Kore

  “When have I not?” Xuvri asked before yanking the door open with a snarl. “What do you want?”

  “Unbelievable,” Ky muttered.

  “Hello to you as well.” She heard Trakseer’s snide reply. “Bemni was kind enough to help me bring your evening meal, so perhaps you could try not to scare her away before she has had the chance to deliver her share?”

  Bemni was a younger female whose family Ky’s mitera knew and who happened to live quite close to their home. She’d even shown an interest in Ky’s duties a time or two before everything with the elders came to light.

  Xuvri grunted in response, and Ky’s fushori raced along her skin, conveying the impatience she felt with her male. “Ignore him, Bemni,” Ky said as she shoved him out of the way. “He has no manners to speak of.”

  While she didn’t consider herself weak, Ky knew she wouldn’t have been able to move him if he hadn’t allowed it. She smiled at their guests as she stepped in front of Xuvri, ignoring his grumbling as she took the plates they offered and passed them back into his hands.

  “These are for Eina,” Trakseer handed her the bag from around his neck and took the one Bemni slid off of her shoulder. “A few of the other females heard about your offspring and thought you might appreciate them.”

  The kind gesture brought a lump of emotion to her throat, and she smiled at the chieftain. “I will have to find a way to properly thank them.”

  When Bemni handed over the last of the gifts for Eina, she stumbled away from the door and fled through the courtyard. The front gate swung shut behind her and Trakseer sighed. “A pleasant evening to you,” he said as he made his own retreat.

  “She ran as if she thought I was going to hunt her down.” Xuvri said, kicking the front door closed behind them.

  Ky didn’t tell him that she probably did think that. They’d been told horror stories of his people for so long that Bemni would naturally fear him and any other Grutex she came into contact with. Ky wanted to tell him so that he understood, but those tales would have to wait until she was sure the poison was out of his blood.

  “You could have thanked him,” Ky said, bumping her hip against his body and slipping in front of him as they stepped into the gathering area where Esme was still nursing Eina.

  “Or the two of you could spread your legs for me so that I can give my thanks for the feast that lies between them.”

  The heat and desire in Xuvri’s voice sent a thrill racing through her. She wanted to drop the food and the other bags Trakseer had given them, but Eina’s excited grunts pulled her back to reality. None of them had eaten more than a galging fruit since leaving the ship, and with Esme nursing their youngling, she needed this meal. “Food first,” Ky said, her voice breathy. “We will have no strength for what you have in mind if we do not eat.”

  “How do you know what I have in mind?” Xuvri asked, setting the plates on a low table in the center of the room.

  Because I have the same things in mind, she thought, eyeing their female as she laughed at the curious look on Xuvri’s face. Xuvri took up a spot at their feet as Ky sat down next to Esme. Some of her favorite dishes were included in the meal tonight, and she took great pleasure in feeding them to her mate as she continued to nurse Eina. Ky could feel Xuvri’s eyes on them, and her excitement grew every time Esme’s gaze cut toward their male. Although Ky still sensed some fear in her, there was also need brewing within their little human, and it wasn’t only for Ky.

  She tried to distract herself by looking through the gifts they’d received for Eina. The cloth coverings from the other females were a blessing, and she smiled when she noticed that they had included paste, lotions, and soft wraps for her as well. All of these things had most likely come from the market square where vendors set up stands or brought their carts in to sell their goods. The Venium traded credits in the dome, but here in the village, Ky’s people used coins.

  When Ky and her parents left for the dome, they’d taken only what they could carry, but that hadn’t included any of the coins they had hidden away. Since nothing within the house seemed to have been disturbed during their time away, she assumed no one had been permitted to enter, which also meant their savings should still be safe.

  Esme handed Eina to Ky so that she could recall her suit and adjust her garments. Now that they were in the village, Ky would be able to properly dress her female. The thought excited her as she burped their youngling.

  “It was really nice of them to give us all of these things for Eina,” Esme said, touching the soft blanket that sat between them. “Now we just need a place for her to sleep and to get her changed.”

  In all of the madness of the day, Ky had forgotten to show them around her home. Our home. “Come, I will show you the room.”

  Leaving things behind had broken her heart at the time, but now Ky was grateful to be able to share them with her mates. Her mitera kept the old cradle safely tucked away in the corner of her room. She’d sworn she would use it again one day, and even though her mitera was pregnant when they left, the old bed wasn’t something they’d been able to take.

  Now, instead of being used for her sibling who was due to make an appearance soon, Ky would use it for her daughter. “This used to be mine,” she told Esme as she laid Eina down to change her soiled cloth cover. The ones from the market were soft, and even the youngling seemed to delight in the feel of it. When they’d cleaned her up and tucked her in, Ky and Esme joined Xuvri in the hall. “There is something I want to show you,” Ky whispered, taking Esme’s hand and tugging her toward the other end of the hallway.

  The way Esme’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink told Ky that her female might suspect this was something not so innocent. Did Esme think it was going to be something sexual? While she wouldn’t deny she hoped to engage in those activities again soon, that wasn’t Ky’s intention just yet. She’d done this once for Amanda when the female first arrived in the village, and since it had obviously delighted her, Ky thought it might do the same for her mate.

  She opened the door to the bathing chamber and stepped aside as she ushered Esme into the room. Her female’s excited giggle brought a smile to Ky’s face. This was their home now, and Ky wanted both of her mates to be happy and comfortable here. Xuvri propped himself against the wall just inside the chamber, his eyes on Esme as she marveled at everything on the shelves.

  Ky sat down in front of the small vanity where she and her mitera had once combed and pinned up Amanda’s hair. It felt as if so much time had passed since that day when they stood here together, unsure of what the human’s arrival meant for them. Would her mitera receive Esme in the same way she had Amanda? Would she be excited to learn that she was already a granddam?

  She needed to ping her mitera soon, if for no other reason than to check up on her. Kyra was close to giving birth, and the thought brought with it a pang of guilt. Ky was going to miss the birth of her sibling. It was something she’d been looking forward to since arriving in the dome, and now, after all of their excited preparation, she might not even get to be there.

  “God, this might be even better than the tubs on Earth,” Esme said, running her hands over the edge of the basin.

  “Maybe you should get in and try it out,” Xuvri practically purred, making Esme laugh.

  Ky’s fingers brushed over the long white braids that hung over her shoulders as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. There was an old ritual among her people, something not often practiced by the younger generations, in which an individual who felt weighed down by their past would cut their hair to symbolize a new beginning. Ky’s gaze drifted to Esme and Xuvri, and she smiled. They were her new beginning, and despite all of the uncertainty that laid ahead, Ky knew she would never want to be anywhere without them.

  Silently sliding open the drawer, Ky reached in and pulled out a pair of metal shears. It had been so long since she’d done anything more than trim her hair, and Ky’s hands shook a little as she placed one of her braids withi
n the shears, pinching her eyes closed as she worked the blades through the hair. When the length fell to the floor, she moved to the other side, cutting that as well until the loose ends brushed the top of her shoulders.

  “What are you doing?”

  Ky opened her eyes to see Xuvri staring at her reflection within the mirror, wide-eyed shock on his face as he pushed away from the wall. Esme followed his gaze, and when her eyes met Ky’s, her female smiled.

  “You cut your hair,” Esme said as she stood and walked over to the chair. A moan nearly escaped Ky when she felt her female’s fingers comb through her shorter locks. “You look beautiful.”

  “I wanted to start over,” Ky whispered as she stood, her eyes darting between them. “I wanted to let go of my past and remind myself that this is a beginning… this is our new beginning.” She pulled Esme close before turning, touching the ends of her hair as she watched Xuvri approach. He looked at them like a predator, all six of his eyes roaming over them as his tail moved side to side behind him. She’d seen tigearas move like that just before they pounced and she was feeling an awful lot like prey at the moment.

  Ky shivered when Xuvri slid one hand over her hip and up her side, the tips of his claws skimming the skin that her repurposed clothing didn’t cover. He pulled her to him so that her chest was pressed against his warm, hard plating. “This look is pleasing.” He brushed the fingers of his free hand over Esme’s jaw while his other hand moved up Ky’s side until it was buried in her hair. Ky felt Xuvri’s fingers curl into a fist just before he tugged her head back, exposing the long column of her neck so that he could lean forward and press his lips to her pounding pulse. “Still long enough to pull. I approve.”

  “As if I needed your permission.” She’d meant for that to sound rebellious, but it came out as a breathy whisper. Ky didn’t want to admit that she found his brutish, possessive behavior attractive, or that the sting on her scalp from his grip made her entire body throb with need, but she had a feeling he didn’t need to hear the words to know what he did to her.

  Sharp teeth scraped over the delicate skin on her neck, pulling a whimper from somewhere deep within her chest, and by the way Esme shuddered against her side, Ky knew she was watching the interaction. Their female liked this. She could smell their human mate’s desire in the air, and if Ky could scent Esme’s interest, then surely Xuvri could as well. When the tips of her male’s fangs pricked her, Ky felt her eyes roll into the back of her head and she clutched at Xuvri’s arm, praying her knees didn’t buckle.

  His low growl vibrated through her, raising every tiny hair on her body as he asserted his dominance. It wasn’t something she ever thought she would appreciate in a mate, but, Una help her, the way he was holding the two of them made Ky’s lifeblood run so hot she was sure her bones would melt.

  “Run.”

  Ky blinked, not sure if she’d actually heard the whispered word or not. “What?”

  “Run, females,” Xuvri said as he pulled back. “Go now, and when I catch you, I’m going to fill this whole damned village with your cries of pleasure.”

  A bolt of pure lust shot through Ky. She looked to Esme, and what she saw in their female’s expression wasn’t at all what she’d been expecting. Excitement and need rolled off of her in waves, and the scent of Esme’s desire was strong enough now to rival the pheromones Ky knew her body was putting off. There was a hint of smile on her face, and it thrilled Ky to see it, to know that she was just as willing to play this game as they were.

  “You’re going to waste your lead,” Xuvri warned.

  The threat in his voice broke whatever spell was keeping them in place. Hand in hand, Ky and Esme ran from the room with the rumble of Xuvri’s growl echoing down the hall after them, nipping at their heels.

  “You do not have to do this,” Ky said as she pulled Esme around the corner.

  “You keep chatting and he’s going to catch us before we even begin,” Esme said, already grinning.

  As younglings, Ky and Gulzar had raced through these halls, skidding around corners and vaulting over her mitera’s furniture, but she wasn’t as nimble as she’d once been. Although Esme had proved hard to catch in the forest on the day they met, running through the halls side by side was a bit more difficult than it seemed either of them had imagined.

  “This way!” Ky hissed as she headed toward the kitchen. Xuvri might be faster than them, but this was where she’d grown up and Ky wouldn’t be bested here. For a moment, the walls seemed to fade away, and Ky could imagine what it would have been like for her ancestors when they’d engaged in the chase. There would have been twisted trees reaching toward the sky to navigate through instead of weathered timbers and archways.

  Something primal was coursing through her, and Ky gave herself over to it. She let it consume her until all she could hear was the frantic sound of their hearts beating and their labored breathing. Light from the twin moons reflected off of the polished stone that paved the part of the courtyard that was visible from one of the open doorways.

  A shadow fell across them just as they reached the threshold, and Ky gasped as she was lifted off the ground by a strong, plate-covered arm wrapped tightly around her torso. She released Esme’s hand so that she could continue, but their little human female spun around the moment her feet touched the dusty stones just outside the door. At Ky’s back, Xuvri’s chest rattled, and she felt his unsheathed cock jerk against the back of her thigh. Apparently, he’d lost his clothing before giving chase.

  “Surprise,” he said, arousal thickening his voice as his breath fanned against the nape of her neck, sending the shortened strands of her hair flying into her face as she struggled.

  Claw-tipped fingers traced patterns over the exposed parts of her body, and Ky tried but failed to stifle a whimper as her sex clenched. Slick trailed down the inside of her thighs as she watched Esme’s big brown eyes track the movement of Xuvri’s hand as it skimmed over Ky. The tip of Esme’s tongue slid out and swiped over her bottom lip as she shifted from one foot to the other, as if she weren’t sure what she should do next.

  “Take the suit off, Esme,” Xuvri said, his hand moving up to cover one of Ky’s breasts as he stepped outside. “Take the suit off and come here.”

  Ky watched Esme shudder as she backed away, but there was no fear on her face, no terror that Ky could detect. Their eyes met, and Ky grinned as Esme began to unravel the braids she’d twisted her hair into earlier in the day, allowing her golden strands to fall down her back.

  “Suit down.”

  The black material receded, leaving only the pants Ky had fashioned. Esme slid them off, exposing every soft curve and dip on her body to their hungry gaze. “Mine,” Xuvri hissed as his lips pressed against the top of Ky’s shoulder. “My females. My mates.”

  Mine. Goddess above, just that one word from his lips made her ache, and by the sound of Esme’s soft whimper, Ky guessed it had the same effect on her.

  “Let me make it better,” Xuvri was saying behind her as he slid his claws beneath the straps of her top, cutting through them and discarding the ruined material on the ground. “Come here.” Their male’s hand moved over her belly until he reached the tie on the front of the pants. His claws cut through that as well, loosening the fabric just enough that Ky could wiggle out of them.

  “Esme,” Ky whimpered as Xuvri’s hand slid over her bare breast, his fingers plucking the stiff peaks until they ached just as badly as her sex. She turned her head, pressing her lips to Xuvri’s in a hungry, fierce kiss as he clutched her back against his front. She wanted him inside her, needed him there. What was taking him so damn long?

  The soft slide of Esme’s fingers over her inner thighs had Ky gasping against Xuvri’s mouth. She arched as much as she was able to, silently begging, pleading for their female to keep going. Ky felt them move higher, the tips swirling over her lower abdomen before Esme dropped down to glide them through the slick coating Ky’s slit. Esme pressed her lips against Ky�
�s chest as she explored, dipping her fingers into Ky’s heat before curling them forward.

  Ky’s body urged her to move, to thrust against the digits, but with the way Xuvri held her, it was nearly impossible to do so. She was at their mercy, and it was thrilling. The feel of Esme’s tongue against her skin, the way the female’s fingers moved within her, and the scrape of Xuvri’s teeth over her lips drove her mad. So many nights she’d lain awake in her bed wondering what mated life would be like, and never ever in her wildest dreams had she pictured it like this.

  Somewhere within her mind, Ky heard Esme whisper her name as the rattling behind her increased, but right at that moment, the pressure building within her belly exploded and she clenched around their female’s hand just as Xuvri pulled back and sank his fangs into her neck, marking her, claiming her as his. Ky threw her head back, gasping and writhing as they continued their assault on her. She fisted her hand in the soft strands at the back of Esme’s head as she fought to regain control.

  When Xuvri released her, slowly lowering her until her feet were touching the ground, Ky fell to her knees. Her bones had melted, and she couldn’t trust her legs to support her anymore. Ky clutched at Esme, resting her forehead against her female’s chest.

  From the corner of her eye, Ky watched as Xuvri took Esme’s hand, lifting it up to inspect the slick that covered her fingers. He crouched down behind Ky before gliding his tongue over their mate’s palm, cleaning her skin with such slow, torturous strokes that by the time he was finished both Ky and Esme were panting and squirming.

  “On your back,” Xuvri instructed Ky, giving her a gentle nudge when she didn’t move right away.

  Ky did as she was told, but she eyed Xuvri as he leaned in to kiss the top of Esme’s head. They still weren’t sure how long the poison would affect his behavior, and while she wanted nothing more than to trust him with their mate, Ky wouldn’t let her guard down until she knew for sure Xuvri could control himself. Esme looked down at Ky with such trust and faith as Xuvri guided her down to straddle Ky’s torso.