by Wells, Juno
Hannah turned around completely with wide eyes. She didn’t look concerned by how close they were. “You’re kidding?”
They frowned. “Of course not,” Wraxic said. “I would show you but it’s at another temple with many more people. The footage is popular and showed only there to encourage worship.”
“I thought it was like religion on Earth.”
“Religion on Earth is different?”
“Not really, I suppose. It’s just that on Earth our technology was… well, nonexistent, at the time when most major religions were formed that there’s no real proof of it being true. You really… you really just have footage of them? And proof of all the things they did?”
“Yes. We have absolute proof.”
“I suppose that’s why everyone is so devout,” she said, then grinned. “That’s really cool. I feel like a dick for writing it off now.” Then she flushed, looked around where she was standing, and said, “Sorry that was really disrespectful.”
Wraxic laughed and took her hand, dragging her forward to show her more of the exhibitions. “You called it a religion, but it isn’t, if my AI had explained how the term is used on Earth correctly. Some things are lost in translation. We call them goddesses because they are people we revere, not because they are all-powerful and mythical.” He pointed to a photograph in the exhibit in front of him. It showed the three gorgeous women stood with flowers in their hair amongst dozens of Vaherian men. “They created us. They shaped our whole society. We respect them, and the wishes they had for that society.”
She didn’t pull away from Wraxic’s hand and Aavik felt emboldened to ask, “So now you know that the goddesses aren’t just something we made up, do you believe that finding your mate is real too?”
She opened her mouth then shut it again, sucked in a big breath. “I don’t know about that.”
She pulled her hand from Wraxic’s, and he sent Aavik a glare.
Aavik wasn’t going to give up that easily, though. He came right behind where she was looking at an exhibition, her back to them, and wrapped an arm loosely around her waist. He didn’t want her to feel trapped, but he had a point to prove.
She dragged her backward so she was flush against him. His blood pounded in his veins and his cock throbbed at being this close to his mate, but he didn’t act on them. He wished he could have kept his cock in check—it would have seemed less of an aggressive move if his hard on hadn’t been pushing into her back.
There was nothing he could do about how badly he wanted her, though, and he ran with it. He laced fingers through her hair and tipped her head back, ghosting his lips over her exposed throat.
She made a slightly protestation, trying half-heartedly to pull herself away.
“Are you really telling me you don’t feel that?” he asked, breath making goosebumps erupt across her neck. “You don’t feel that desperate longing inside you? You don’t want to never let me go?”
He kissed her throat and a soft moan escaped her lips. “Aavik,” she breathed. “I—”
The sound was music to his ears. His name, moaned like it was a prayer. He tightened the arm around her waist and kissed her neck again, struggling with the urge to teleport them straight back to the bedroom.
Wraxic moved on silent feet until he was in front of her, and his hand dithered in the space just before her body.
Then he couldn’t fight it any longer. He brushed gentle fingers across her abdomen and she shivered against Aavik’s chest.
Still she didn’t protest.
Wraxic’s fingers dipped beneath the shirt and ghosted over the bare skin of her stomach just below Aavik’s arms. He bit his lip.
Kissing her lips felt like too much of a gamble, like it would break the spell. Her eyes were screwed shut. Did she even know whether it was Wraxic or Veiko that was touching her, working his way from her stomach to her breasts which heaved with every heavy breath she took?
All Aavik knew was that he was going to milk every moment he got with his mate. He slipped his hand beneath her shirt to caress her smooth stomach. His lips mapped every inch of her throat. She rolled her hips when he nipped it with his teeth and the sound made his cock throb.
Before long he was going to take it too far and lose her, but he couldn’t stop himself. She was all he wanted. Every muscle ached to take her completely. He wanted to taste not just her throat but all of her. He wanted to be inside her.
He almost jumped in surprise when she stretched one arm out behind her, to where Veiko was standing. “Veiko,” she said, voice thick and low with desire.
“No,” Veiko said. The word was definite, but his tone was anything but. It was full of strain, of someone barely in control of their actions. “I don’t trust you.”
His words shattered the moment and Hannah’s eyes snapped open. That had probably been Veiko’s intention.
A beat passed, everyone deadly still, before she pulled Aavik and Wraxic’s hands off her and wriggled away from them so she was stood on her own.
“Fuck,” she said, still breathing heavily. Her skin was flushed all over.
She looked gorgeous.
“What?” Aavik asked innocently.
“I really didn’t mean for that to happen.” She turned around, pressing her hands to her face even though they couldn’t see it.
“No, but the goddesses did,” Wraxic replied.
“I can accept that they’re real, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to give up all freedom over my love life to them just yet.”
Voices that didn’t belong to any of them drifted into the temple, and all three men were immediately alert.
“We should leave,” Veiko said, and took the initiative to grab Hannah’s arm and start marching her out of the temple. No amount of uncertainty over what the general mood towards humans on Vaher was going to make them teleport in the sacred place.
Hannah didn’t fight him but moved her arm so it was linked through his rather than letting him drag her. The moment they were over the threshold, Veiko activated the teleporter and brought them back to their room in the castle.
Aavik followed closely behind, Wraxic too.
Then they were back in their room with an awkward weight hanging over them. The bed called to Aavik, and he wondered if Hannah felt the same thing. He was positive that the goddesses had blessed her too, that she knew they were her mates.
She just wasn’t used to their way of living. She would accept it in time.
The message came through to all three men at the same time, before Hannah could say anything.
“The King requires your protection,” the AI informed Aavik.
“Shit,” he muttered.
Hannah raised a brow.
“We have to work.”
She seemed to sag in relief. “That’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Aavik minded. He minded very much. He was loathed to just leave her here to her thoughts when something that big had just happened. He wanted to continue to prove his point, to show her by taking her to bed that being mated with someone wasn’t something to be afraid of, that it was the best thing in the world.
But he’d never disobeyed his king, and he didn’t intend to start now.
As he walked to the doorway, he cupped Hannah’s face in his hands and kissed each cheek. “We’ll be back soon. Don’t go wandering, you scared us.”
He thought she was going to kiss him. Her lips puckered and for a second she leaned in, but then something in her changed and she looked away.
She wasn’t going to be able to fight it forever.
15 Wraxic
Wraxic beamed at the other three men as he pulled the long straw from Hannah’s hand.
“Looks like you two are working today, then,” he said, folding his arms.
Veiko tried to look relieved, but Wraxic wasn’t buying it. Aavik didn’t try and hide his jealousy.
“We’re starting a rota from today,” he said. “And I’m definitely having tomorrow.”
Vei
ko grunted, “You can sort it out between you. I’m working every day.”
Hannah tucked her hair behind her ears, a smile on her lips as she watched them squabble over her for the thousandth time.
“We have to go,” Veiko said. “The king is expecting us.”
Aavik came and kissed Hannah on each cheek and she didn’t pull away. Wraxic’s whole body was at peace as he watched the interaction. He had no idea that being with his mate could have such a huge impact on his life, even though everyone he’d ever known that had found their mate had told him the same thing.
Still, feeling it was different. The utter contentedness of just being beside her, of her not rejecting their affection, was bliss.
“We’ll see you later,” she said.
Then the two of them were left alone.
“So, did you have anything you wanted to do today?” he asked.
“I was wondering if you had like… a gym or anything on this planet,” she asked, stretching her hands above her head. She eyed his shirtless chest. “I mean, I’m sure you all work out.”
“We don’t have a gym as such. We spar. That’s our exercise.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that would be a very good idea.”
“Being cramped in the palace is starting to get to me. Could we go for a run?”
“Sure!” Wraxic had always been the one up for letting her do whatever she wanted, and now he didn’t have to try and convince the others that letting her out of the palace was a horrible idea. “Or we could go for a walk,” he suggested instead. “A hike. There are some cool places nearby, you can see the scenery.”
“That sounds great.”
Instead of teleporting out of the palace, they walked through the grounds toward the huge gates. The place was in the middle of nowhere and so civilization was still a way off even when they left the palace grounds. A mountain was in front of them.
Hannah tilted her head back to try and see the top of it. “I’m pretty fit, but I’m not sure I can climb a whole mountain in a day.”
“I was thinking more like halfway up,” he said. “And we can teleport back down again.”
“I so want a teleporter,” she said, starting walking. They’d both brought water and snacks with them, Hannah in a backpack and Wraxic in a pouch that sat on his waistband.
“I’m sure we can arrange for you to get one,” he said. “I can’t see why not. We have to run it through the king, but I’ll ask Veiko to put in a request right now.”
He was silent for a moment while he sent his request via the AI.
Hannah was frowning and completely blanked him when he asked her if she was missing Earth. “Hannah?” he said, touching her arm gently and making her jump.
“Sorry. I was just talking to Amy. I never asked her how communication works between AI.”
“Oh.”
They walked through the foothills side-by-side and for the first time Hannah told him all about Earth. He knew next to nothing about the planet except for what the king had told him, which wasn’t much beyond the fact they were genetically compatible with Vaherians.
She spoke animatedly and Wraxic barely heard a word she was saying, he was too busy staring at her bright face and the genuine smile on her lips.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said, interrupting her sentence but unable to hold the thought in anymore.
Her cheeks heated. “Oh. Thank you.”
“I mean it.”
He stopped walking and cupped her face. “I just want to touch you all the time.”
Her eyes were wide as she looked at him. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this yet,” she said. “It’s confusing for me.”
“What’s confusing you?” He rubbed his thumbs against her cheek, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself kissing her. That would cure her confusion. She’d be as consumed as him.
“I didn’t even know aliens existed until a few weeks ago, and now I have three of you telling me you know I’m meant to be with you forever. Well, two, I suppose. I’ve never really had a real relationship before, never mind an alien one that got this seriously this quickly with three men. It’s a lot to take in, you know?”
She put her hands over his and then pulled his away by the wrists. “I’m not saying it’s never going to happen, because I do feel something. But the fact I feel something makes it harder. I feel like my choice is being taken away from me.” She looked away. “I’m sorry. I just need some time.”
Dropping his hands, she kept walking up the incline without looking back.
Wraxic had to just stand for a moment, not sure whether he was pleased or devastated by what he’d just said.
I’m not saying never.
It wasn’t a ringing endorsement of how much she cared about them.
Not when he already knew, without a doubt, that she was the woman he was meant to spend his life with.
He fought the urge to argue her points and hurried to catch her up.
They walked in silence for a while after that until they hit a rough patch where the path they’d been following ended abruptly. It was replaced by a rocky face with a much steeper incline.
“We should turn around. Or teleport up a bit,” he said.
“What? No way. It doesn’t look that bad.” She moved forward started clambering over the rocks. It wasn’t graceful, but she didn’t hesitate either.
“Wait, wait,” Wraxic said, not moving. “This is too dangerous. Let’s just skip ahead to the next bit.”
“The dangerous bits are the fun bits,” she said, looking around from where she was already a couple of meters up the incline. “You can stay at the bottom and catch me if I fall if you’re that worried.”
Then she was back to making her way up the rocks. Wraxic did as she’d said and waited at the bottom, too tense to notice the great view he was getting of her ass in the tight, practically see through, pants she was wearing.
When a rock crumbled beneath her feet his heart was in his throat. He dashed forward, sure that she was going to have broken her neck on a rock on the way down before he could catch her, but she recovered herself easily and continued up until she lifted herself over the top of the ridge with more upper body strength than he’d expected.
She looked down with a broad grin on her face. “Coming?” she called.
He got up the rock face much quicker than she did and joined her where she was perched on a rock taking a drink of water. She offered it to him and he took it.
“You terrified me.”
“I was fine. It wasn’t that steep.”
“You almost fell.”
“Not really. My hands and my other foot were both stable.”
He shook his head.
“I know you want to keep me safe, but that doesn’t have to mean wrapping me in bubble wrap. I’m sturdier than I look.”
Then she stood and kept walking.
Wraxic almost resented that he was even more endeared to her now. Of course she looked so frail compared to the Vaherians that he thought she would snap in two the moment someone tried to hurt her—that opinion hadn’t really changed—but she could obviously look out for herself too.
Maybe he needed to reevaluate a little.
The rest of the way was easier going. There was a path, even if the incline was steep. “Let’s stop here,” he said when they reached a flat ridge. “Look at the view.”
He fought his instincts when Hannah sat down on the edge of the ridge, feet dangling over the side. Visions of the rock crumbling away like when she’d been trying to climb earlier haunted him. He stayed behind her, legs around her and arms resting on them so he would be able to grab her if something went wrong.
She didn’t seem to mind that his calves grazed her hips and pressed against the length of her thigh. She was breathing hard but didn’t seem exhausted.
“It’s really gorgeous,” she said. “I had no idea how high we’d climbed.” She drank deep from her water and offered it to Wraxic,
who declined just because he wanted to keep his hands free to catch her if it came to that.
She was right: the view was gorgeous. He didn't bother pointing out the palace—it was obvious that was where they’d just come from—but there were several other landmarks he showed her.
“That’s the edge of the city,” he said, gesturing to the far right where the tips of the large buildings that housed the majority of the Vaherian population sat. “We’ll go one day, when things have calmed down. You can see the arena from here, too. There’s the temple that you wanted to visit but Veiko said was too busy.”
She stiffened slightly in his grasp.
“Wraxic,” she said, looking in that direction. When he leaned to the side to see her face, she was squinting at it. “I overheard a conversation yesterday you should probably hear.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“When I was trying to find my way back to my room after having Amy implanted I got a bit lost and I stumbled across a room where some meeting of some sort was taking place. It was behind these fancy double doors, I’m sure it was the king who was speaking.”
“Who was he speaking to?”
“A Hystian.”
Wraxic frowned. “I highly doubt it.”
“They were talking about how he was going to extract and trade the Tricanite from beneath the temple.”
Wraxic laughed and Hannah stiffened further. “You definitely misheard,” he said.
“I’m serious, I—”
“No, I’m serious. That temple is sacred. We’ve always known there’s Tricanite beneath it, it’s not a new revelation. Everyone agreed that it would never be touched because it would mean desecrating important ground. You misheard, and it probably wasn’t even the king speaking. It definitely won’t have been a Hystian.”
“Wraxic—”
“Come on, stand up and get away from the edge. I’m terrified you’re going to fall off.” He pulled her backwards, not very gently, until she was on her feet and away from the sheer drop down the mountainside. “Just forget about it. You definitely misheard, and you’d only just gotten your translator. It’s a mistake.”
Hannah stared at him, his straight face, and sighed. “Okay. A mistake.”