She didn’t want to go to Usatho, but her brother needed support. Two years in, her bond was sold, and the Overseer was waiting to take her.

Two hellish years after the asteroid hit Earth, Mercy and Mender stagger to a pickup point and get taken to the education station. They get medical care, education, and languages. Mender goes through a few queries while Mercy is in medical, and when she is out, he comes to her with the offer. After discussion, they decide that he should take the offer, and he does, but she has to remain with him. It’s his addition to the contract. Then, they wait.

Two years later, her brother is on his way to fulfilling his contract, and his breeding partner decides that she is a drain on resources. He has her hauled to the bond auction with an eye to putting her up for auction before her nephew is born.

On a whim, the assessor decides to re-run her compatibility tests due to her physical condition when she arrived, and to his delight, she is now companion-class. The first step is to offer her to the overseer, and he announces that he’s on his way.

Mercy serves tea to Overseer Usatho. He looks her over and agrees to offer her a bond contract. She gets to stay on the planet that her twin brother calls home, which is really all that matters.

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Fated Consort

Copyright © 2022 by Viola Grace

ISBN: 978-1-990635-09-0

©Cover art by Angela Waters

All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.

Published by Viola Grace

Look for me online at violagrace.com.

Fated Consort

Shattered Stars Book 9

By

Viola Grace

Chapter One

Horror curled in Mercy’s gut. “Warlord Kedantic, I don’t understand.”

“It is simple, Mercy. I no longer have need of you.”

“Mender is sick. He needs me.” She looked up toward the bedroom where her brother was in late-term misery.

“He needs the physicians that are working with him. He is near to term, and when he bears my heir, he will have another focus than his little sibling. Our child will take all of his attention, and he will start the next phase of his life. You are not going to be part of it. It is our way to send the young out to start over, but as you are an alien, I am going to resell you. Your elder will remain here, and you will be released into the universe.”

She felt herself turn grey. “No.”

He looked at her with his third eye squinting. “Did you just tell me no?”

He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air. “Mender cares for you, and that is the only reason I am not throwing you into that wall to listen to you snap.”

He whistled sharply, and two of his personal guard stepped into the room. “Take her to the capitol and put her in the auction. Get the best price you can for her. I need to afford a nice gift for the baby.”

A guard grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the floor, covering her mouth as she inhaled to scream the house down. She fought as hard as she could, but the green and red monsters she and her brother had landed with were huge and experienced hunters. When they caught prey, they kept it. Mercy guessed that she was the rarest of events. They were throwing her back.

She was sullen when the assessor came to take a look at her.

He was businesslike. “Species?”

“Terran. Human.”

“Compatibility class?”

“I was assessed three years ago at a three, but I was ill at the time.”

He nodded briskly and held out his hand. “I will verify you.”

She took his hand, and sudden and all-encompassing heat flared through her. She whined and folded in on herself, pressing her thighs together and covering her belly with her free arm. He let her hand go and pulled her against him. “Oh, you upgraded while you were out. Excellent. We have to offer you to the overseer, but if he doesn’t want you, there is a line for females with your classification.” He stroked her cheek. “You are very nearly priceless, dearling.”

She whimpered as the pulse continued between her thighs.

She glanced at the guards, who were staring at her like she had grown another head.

The assessor chuckled. “This call to the overseer will be interesting. Come in, sweet. We will get you out of this tunic and into something pretty for presentation.”

She sulked and was handled into the building. The cuffs were snapped around her ankles, and Mercy winced as an attendant came back to the changing area and whispered to the assessor. He raised his brows. “It seems the overseer wishes to see you. In that case, we are going to do a full makeover. You are in a sad state. Dry hair, patchy skin, the sun has blistered you everywhere. Those barbarians don’t know how to treat someone as precious as you.”

“Uh, they do, but they save it for their breeders.” She smiled weakly. “I don’t qualify.”

She fidgeted as he made arrangements on the tablet.

“Let’s get you into showroom condition. The overseer will be here in two hours.”

Mercy squeaked. “He’s coming here?”

The urbane man with silver gold skin and silver eyes smiled. “Of course. He’s delighted to see a possible companion on his own soil without having to travel through the stars. Is there anything you would like me to pass along before he leaves his home?”

She opened her mouth and closed it. “Nothing fit for polite company. Give Usatho my best.”

He paused. “You know the overseer?”

“We’ve met.”

Groomers came to collect her, and they looked at her hair. She was shoved into a regen unit and given keratin supplements to replace what she had chopped off. Her hair was grown down to her butt, her skin was scrubbed and polished, and her nails were filed and shaped. Her skin was oiled and massaged, and she was primped and dressed in silky, gauzy fabrics that wrapped around her and floated in the air as she moved. She wanted to get away, wanted to run, but on Usath, everyone was a hunter, and she was stuck as prey. The ankle cuffs didn’t help either.

She wondered how long it would take Usatho to complete her humiliation?

The assessor summoned her to a tearoom where more worthy clients were seated. Usatho sat with his wings draped on the ground behind him.

“Serve the tea, please.” The deep rumble of the overseer sounded in the room.

Mercy sighed and moved to the centre of the room, she knelt in front of Usatho’s low table, and she served the tea as she had been taught on the education station.

“Hm. Such a graceful little thing. Delicate. Too delicate, do you think?”

The assessor went into his sales pitch. “She is within the specifications you have set out. If she was to become your companion, her proximity to you would increase the match percentage. I did the sensuality assessment on her myself, and she nearly scorched my synapses.”

“That thing? Huh. Who would have thought it?”

Mercy seethed and politely served him his tea on her palm with her head down. He didn’t take the tea. He reached past her outstretched arms and threaded her hair through his fingers. “Silver. Interesting. Who would have thought a thing like you would have such hair?”

She was looking down as the teacup started to burn her hand. Something pale near his waist caught her attention. The cup wobbled, and the tea splashed, burning her. She yelped and tried to catch the cup as it fell slowly toward the table.

Usatho caught the cup and set it down, and she went straight into an apology bow. “I am sorry, Overseer Usatho. A clumsy thing like me should never be considered.”

He touched her hand, and she fought the flinch, but the whimper escaped. He turned her hand back and forth. “You are still not acclimated to Usath, Mercy.”

“No, Overseer.”

The assessor blinked. “You know her?”

“Of course. There are two Terrans on this world. The other is the bonded breeder to Warlord Kedantic. He is her brother.” Usatho still had her hand in his, and she started shivering. “He refused to travel without her, so I bought them both for Kedantic. It seems he has tired of her in his keep. What did you do, Mercy?”

She swallowed the burn in her fingers and the shame of her position. “The fruit tarts. Mender would order them, the cook would make them, and he would give them all to me. Kedantic said I was stealing from his breeder, and he wanted me gone.”

“Oh. Dear. What is he going to tell Mender?”

“That it is tradition for the youngest child to be kicked out of the eldest’s house to find their way in the world.”

“Ah, they do have that tradition, but I believe that I know the problem with that logic.” He was chuckling. “You are the eldest.”

She jerked her head sharply. “By three minutes.”

She felt something warm and wet on her fingers. She clenched her thighs together and whimpered as his tongue slid over the burn. The pain faded instantly, but heat rushed into its place. He took the pain and heat from her palm, took two of her fingers into his mouth, and sucked slowly as his tongue moved around them. The rhythm of his suction broke her breathing into ragged gasps, and the pulse in her clit started a roaring in her ears. As his tongue continued to slide around, she jerked as the tense throbbing inside her snapped. She shuddered with two fingers in his mouth, he pulled her toward him with a snap, and he let her hand go and kissed her softly. She was surprised by the gentleness of the kiss. She was pinned against his massive chest, but his lips moved across hers with a slow nibble. She whimpered softly, and she felt his smile before he lifted his head. “I believe you once said that there was no way you were a match for me.”

“Um...” Mercy tried to push her upper body away from his. “That does sound like something I would say.”

He narrowed his silver eyes. “You knew.”

“Um...” She tried not to look at him, but she was at close range.

“You knew and hid it from me for two years.”

“I wanted to stay near Mender. He had a problem adjusting when he got here.” She sighed.

“Ah, I recall it. Visits there were tense.”

She nodded, and the assessor was sitting with the astonished expression and disappointment of someone who realized they were losing a sale.

Mercy looked at Usatho. His silver eyes, charcoal skin, and black hair made him striking; the tattoos that looked carved into his skin were fascinating. She wanted to trace them with her fingers and see how far they went. The huge wings trailing behind him made the most amazing sound when he took off or brought down prey.

“So, what was Kedantic looking to make out of you?”

The assessor named a number.

“Done. It is still a bargain, but we need a contract.” He looked at the assessor. “Can I get a contract drafted?”

“Of course, Overseer. Standard companion contract?”

“With a consort clause.”

The assessor nodded and got to his feet. “Right away, sir.”

Usatho made a deep noise in his throat and said, “Now, where were we?”

She snapped her hand up and covered his mouth. She needed some answers, and now there were no witnesses.

Chapter Two

“Usatho, why is my braid hanging from your belt?”

He chuckled and raised his brows. She pulled her hand from his mouth.

“You said that if I liked your hair so much, I could keep it, so I kept it.” He smiled. “It is very slippery and silky smooth. I enjoy caressing it when I am thinking.”

She swallowed. “Oh. It wasn’t bound in silver like that when I cut it off.”

“I know. I felt it deserved more respect than you gave it. I am delighted to see that they used regen treatments on your hair.” He threaded his fingers through her hair, balling it up in a fist before bringing her head to his lips.

He kissed her forehead, cheeks, the tip of her nose, her chin, and finally, his lips traced hers. She held still as he moved his wide mouth over hers.

He pulled away. “This could be better if you participated.”

“I am petrified.”

He leaned back in surprise with a smile. “You are fearless.”

“No. Not always. After Earth exploded, I didn’t have much time for socialization, if you understand my meaning.”

He blinked. “No. I don’t understand.”

She blushed. “Well, you know how you take casual lovers from the hunters at the keep?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t.”

“Of course not. They prefer males.”

“Ever. With anyone. Ever.” She looked him up and down. “You are outside what is considered standard parameters for my species.”

He chuckled. “And with care, you will take me in. With time, you might carry my child.”

She turned bright red. She remembered her brother’s embarrassment when he gave in to Kedantic, and affection had started between them. He had always been bisexual, but to be the dainty member of the relationship had come as a bit of a surprise to his six-foot-two linebacker self.

Kedantic treated him like a princess. Literally. The massive three-eyed dude brought Mender pretty things, soft things, cuddly things, and to his mortification, sexy things. Mercy had kept him calm and made sure that he focused on his growing affection for the warlord and their new world.

“Right. That.” She looked at the gleam in Usatho’s eyes and wondered who the hell was going to keep her calm right before his kiss blanked out all thought.

She kept her hands in fists against his chest as his lips moved over her mouth, parted her lips, and his tongue caressed her mouth gently before sliding along her tongue and coaxing her into participation. When she stroked his tongue with hers, she moaned and he chuckled. He tasted like... she delved in deeper to make up her mind. His teeth were sharp, and his canines were long. He didn’t lisp like she thought someone would with those teeth, but they were at the front and sides of his mouth and felt like they were over an inch long. He held her mouth, and he began to control the kiss.

She let her lids flutter closed as he kissed her, and the contact got more and more intense. His hold on her back eased up, and she felt his long fingers moving down her back, the light gauze of the gown no impediment to his touch. When his long fingers slid between her thighs from back to front, her eyes opened in surprise, and she squeaked. He went past the soaked fabric and to her clit. Her surprise was turned into lust as his fingers flexed against her sex, and she tried to rock against his hand.

His palm behind her kept her from backing up, so she was stuck pushing her pelvis forward in slow and then more urgent thrusts.

Her hands plucked at his clothing, and she gave in to his kiss a moment before her world exploded in wet heat once again. She sobbed, and her hips slowed and then stilled. He continued to flex his fingertips, and she whimpered. His tongue slowed and eased her into a slow, lip-licking kiss. She shivered, and tears tracked down her cheeks.

Usatho frowned. “Why are you crying, Mercy?”

“Too much, no control.” She hiccupped. “Scary.”

He cuddled her against him. “I am going to break your control over and over until experience lets you make new parameters for what is too much. Do you have any requests?”

She swallowed. “Oh. Can I see Mender?”

“First, you must settle into life as my consort, and then, we can visit your brother.”

Mercy mumbled against his chest, “How will I know if I have settled?”

“You will come for me because I need you and because you want to. I will be first and your brother and his child second. Are we clear?”

She opened and closed her mouth in surprise. “Oh. Um. Okay.”

The assessor knocked on the door and brought in the short contract podium. He set it next to them, bowed, and backed to the corner. Usatho looked at the draft and made notes on it until he was satisfied. He looked at her, smiled, and caressed her cheek before adding one note. “There. Now, look it over.”

She swallowed and nodded. Negotiating her own contract had been a class at the station.

Mercy looked at the standard boiler plate of the companion contract that had been altered to include the word consort with the duties toward Usatho listed as doing her utmost to provide him with an heir by making herself available to him whenever required, hinted at, or invited. She bit her lip, and he murmured, “Keep reading.”

His hand was on her waist, and she read about accompanying him whenever he travelled on this world or others, and the final addendum was that she made every effort to present herself as a lady and would be compensated for the effort. Her uniform would be provided at Usatho’s expense and would be exclusively dresses and skirts.

She got down to the heir portion. If she managed to provide Usatho with a child, her contract would free her with the three million credits that were being held in trust for her. She looked at him and added that if the child survived and she did not, the funds would go to her brother’s children.

He leaned in and took the stylus, adding an allowance to be provided to her family line and stroking out her death bequest. “The warlord is likely to try and collect on that.”

She paled. “Oh. Right. Dresses every day?”

He chuckled. “Wear what you like as long as you allow me free access to you.”

“What will I do when we go to the keep and you take other lovers?”

He grinned. “You are it. A compatible companion is worth five casual lovers or more. I may need to have sex with you at the keep, but that will be part of the price of travelling there.”

“At the keep? You mean in a chamber?”

He chuckled. “No, as I negotiate patrols and habitation of the desert reaches.”

Her mouth went dry. “You are going to screw me while you carry on a conversation?”

“More than likely at some point.”

“What is your plan for when the jealous hunters try and kill me?” She was nervous. The men of the keep fought each other to get into Usatho’s bed.

“One might try, but the others will learn that my little ninya is off-limits.”

She blushed and inhaled as his mouth pressed against her neck, as he sucked slowly. The wet heat from earlier trickled down her inner thigh as her body produced more and more at his slow, wet caress.

“You are bound to Usath, so be bound to me, and I will make it so much more pleasant for you. Companions are cherished and consorts more so. The world will bow at your feet, and you will see your brother again.” He murmured it against her skin.

“Can I at least talk to him? Open coms? You can be in the room.” She gasped as his mouth moved on her again; her sex clenched and belly shimmied.

“Agreed. It does not need to be in the contract. I can feel your worry for him.”

She nodded. “Childbirth is hard enough to deal with when you have been raised to know it is a possibility. He had no idea until it was offered as an option. He’s scared every day, and Kedantic is impatient with the nerves.”

He chuckled. “I believe that Kedantic is about to learn what your brother is made of. Your companionship was a contract point. The warlord has broken the contract. Baby or not, Mender is free the moment you sign this contract or any other in the sector.”

His hand was gathering up the fabric of her skirt, and he slid his long, strong digits in the wet heat she was leaking. “I had always wondered if this delicate neck was sensitive. This is delightful. Sign.”

His fingers traced lazy circles as she signed the companion contract with no end date, marked it with her thumb, and let the scanner take the pattern of her eye.

Mercy set the stylus down and then lunged forward as two wide fingers slid into her with just enough pressure to drive the breath out of her lungs. The podium was moved by the assessor. She would have pitched to the floor, but Usatho wrapped his forearm around her for her to grip, and he continued to thrust his fingers into her while his mouth worked on her neck.

He sucked, thrust his fingers, and her breath sawed in and out of her lungs. She was wet, hot, throbbing, and when he grazed his fangs against her, the sensation was too much. She arched into his grip and shuddered as her body clutched at his fingers, and she slicked up his hand. Her low moan broke as he thrust into her again and again, keeping her inner spasms going. Mercy had her nails dug into Usatho’s arm as the fire slowly receded to a simmer in her bloodstream.

He lifted his head from her neck, and there was a soft licking that commenced. She could hear it behind her, and she smelled the tang of her own sex. She bent her head forward in mortification, and he calmly cleaned his hand, fingers, wrist before threading that hand in her hair and pulling her head up. “No embarrassment, Mercy. We are only getting started.”

She whimpered, and he kissed her again, making a happy humming sound as his tongue drove her own taste back into her mouth. She was arched back in his grip like an offering because she was one. To increase their power, Hmrain needed a companion that he could feed on to gain more energy and power. Hmrain-compatible bond servants were the most expensive in the galaxy because they were rare, they were powerful, and they were hunted by other Hmrain. The contract gave her protection, and staying close to Usatho would keep her safe.

He lifted his head and made a weird purr as he smiled. “A companion. Excellent. Once we properly join, I will be able to feed more efficiently.”

“Is efficiency important?”

“It will keep me from draining you, but it will also keep me close to you so that I don’t lose my precious source.” He ran a thumb down her neck.

She shivered.

He chuckled. “Pour me tea again.”

She swallowed. “It’s cold.”

He smiled. “I don’t care.”

She nodded and swallowed. “You will have to release me.”

He chuckled. “Fine. But stay close. You won’t like it if I have to chase you down. I will. But you won’t.”

“I am wearing the binding cuffs on my ankles. If I try to run, I fall.”

“We will keep those for a while.” He set her away from him and patted her backside. “Now, the tea.”

She got up and went to the tea service, preparing another cup and then moving close enough to present it to him with her hands covered by the edge of her sleeves. He took a sip, and he smiled. “Still warm. Things have happened quickly. A few times.”

She blushed and folded her hands in her lap.

“You make an excellent cup of tea.”

“Um. Thank you. The tea ceremonies on Earth were something that I always had an interest in but was never allowed to explore, so when it was offered at the station, I took full advantage. Did Kedantic really break his contract with Mender?”

“Yes. It will be interesting to see what your brother does.”

“I think Kedantic is about to find out that his pretty pet has teeth.”

Chapter Three

Mender sat up, and his nausea was finally fading. There was a tray of fruit tarts next to the bed, and he smiled. He got up and stretched, rubbing the muscles protecting his baby. His attendant came in, and Mender smiled. “You are looking well this morning. Looks like that treatment Mercy put together worked. Where is she? It isn’t like her to let those tarts go to waste.”

Dornic turned and left the room with a weird expression.

Kedantic walked in and smiled as his gaze raked Mender from head to foot with a heat that caused a distinct twitch in Mender’s cock. “Hello, lover. You are looking better.”

“I always look good to you, Ked.”

Their kiss was soft tongues meeting and bodies pressing together. When they parted, Mender looked up at his breeding partner. “Where’s Mercy? I thought for sure that she would be in here the moment I felt better to crow about her new tea protocol for me. She fucking loves that stuff.”

“About Mercy—”

“And those tarts. I can’t believe she has left them unmolested. She loves those things.”

“Why don’t you have a few, and we can talk about your astonishing recovery?” Kedantic stroked Mender’s cheek again and ran his thumb down his neck.

“I can’t stand them. I ate them when I got here to make you happy, but Mercy has been finishing them off for me since.”

Kedantic paused. “You never ate the tarts.”

“No, and when I got pregnant, the smell of them started to make me ill, so Mercy would take them to her room. What is all this about tarts?” He had a deep feeling of unease. “Where’s Mercy?”

“Mender, calm yourself. It is our tradition that when the younger siblings come of age, they leave the protection of the eldest. Mercy is gone.”

Mender felt a chasm opening under him. “What?”

“As the eldest, you are entitled to your own life.”

Mender was still grappling with things, but he said, “I am not the eldest. She is by three minutes. We are twins. Where is she?”

Kedantic got grim. “She has been sent to the bond auction.”

Mender rubbed his forehead. “What?”

“She was taking what was yours, so I sent her off to make her own way in the worlds.” He waved it off. “She will find a protector and start a new life while you have your life here with me.”

Mender finally caught on to what was being stated. “You sent my sister away. You dumped her back in the bond auction!” He struck Kedantic, and the warlord stumbled back in surprise.

Mender muttered, “I have to get her back.” He stalked past Kedantic and grabbed clothing. He pulled it on with short jerks. “You sent her to the spaceport?”

“To the bond auction there. Yes.” Kedantic reached to grab him.

Mender struck his hand away. “Don’t. Don’t ever fucking touch me again. I will have your child, and I will dump my ass back into that auction and go and find her. I don’t care if it takes the rest of my goddamn life. I will find her.”

Kedantic grabbed him. “Our child takes precedence.”

Mender snapped himself free, surprising his lover. “I was created on the same day as Mercy. We were in the womb together. Her joy was my joy, and my joy hers. She made it her duty to calm me when you first took me. She let me know that she still loved me, cared for me, and would support me and be a good auntie to our child. She thought of me and my needs every day of my life, and the one day that she doses me into sleep, you fucking sell her! I cannot look at you. I cannot stomach your scent, and I will not tolerate your touch until Mercy is back. If that is never, then so be it.”

“You cannot deny me. We have a contract!”

Mender growled at him. “Read it. That contract is contingent upon the presence of my sister. Did you forget?”

Kedantic stumbled back, his third eye going wide. He remembered it.

“You broke the contract, not me. I want access to the com. I need to call the assessor at the bond auction and see if Mercy is still on Usath.”

Mender was having trouble closing the top lacing on his leathers, so he just left with them gripping his hips tightly. He headed down, and the friendly faces of the household paused when he growled and snarled his way to the com room.

He flicked the links together and got a hold of the assessor’s office. “Is the assessor available?”

The Usathan on the other end of the call nodded. “Just a moment. Are you buying or selling?”

“Checking inventory. Terran female. Brought in by two of the warlord’s men.”

“Oh. She’s gone. Her contract was signed hours ago.”

Mender gritted his teeth. “On-world or off-world?”

“She remains on Usath.” The registrar looked at him and smiled. “You are her brother.” He laughed. “She is fun one once you give her privacy and freedom to speak.”

“Where is she? Is there contact information?”

The registrar started laughing and provided this information. “She’s safe. She will be cared for. And your warlord will have the money he wanted for a present for the baby. A substantial one.”

“Someone wealthy bought her.”

“You could say that. I am not at liberty to give contact details, but the contract is available on the public registry. Here is a link.”

Mender read the link eagerly and stared as he sat back. “That’s... not possible.”

The registrar shrugged. “Apparently, she was ill when she was first assessed. Now, she is whole, and it is accurate. Her bond holder is pleased with his purchase. Knowing your sister, she will contact you when she can.”

“How long could you have known her?”

“I watched her negotiate with her patron for the final contract. She has spirit and was willing to subdue her classification if it meant she could be your dependent.”

Mender felt Kedantic in the doorway. “Yeah, she is a strong woman. Okay. I will wait for her to contact me when her patron lets her. I can start making plans with her then. Oh, who do I talk to about broken contract terms?”

“Contact us anytime. We will put the penalties into play if the proof of breach can be issued.”

“Thank you. My proof is that you just re-sold my sister. She was supposed to be safe with me.”

“Ah. A note will be on your file. Mender of Terra. Contact us any time.”

“Thank you. At least I know she’s safe.”

He disconnected the call and turned toward Kedantic. “You are so fucking lucky that it isn’t even funny. And if you think you are ever going to be able to tell Mercy what to do again, you are insane.”

Kedantic scowled. “If she comes near me, I might not be able to stop myself.”

Mender smiled slightly. “You had better.” He squeezed past his lover in the doorway. “She’s the overseer’s consort.”

Mender counted to five before he heard Kedantic whisper with horror in his tone. “What?”

Grinning, Mender patted his belly and went for a walk outside. “Your Auntie Mercy is now the second most important person in this entire world. Isn’t that fun? That is going to give your daddy fits, and I can hardly wait to watch and see if he develops a twitch.” He sat on a stone wall and looked out over the blooming desert that he now called home. Exposure to Kedantic’s venom had given him resilience to the environment, and carrying the child had tripled his strength. Mercy had looked up each phase of his evolution and kept him calm. Yeah, he was only good as a mate to the Usath, but after Kedantic’s betrayal, a life of celibacy was now holding a certain cache.

“I didn’t think she was good for you. She didn’t fit here.” Kedantic murmured.

“She knew that. I knew that. I just needed her here until the baby was born, and then, she would leave on her own. She knew she didn’t fit here. All she wanted was to see me happy... and eat fruit tarts. That was where she got her happiness. They reminded her of home. They reminded me of home, too, which is why I couldn’t eat them.”

Kedantic held out his hand, and Mender reluctantly put his hand in that of the man he had wanted to spend his life with. “You never talk of how you came to be at the education station.”

Mender frowned. “Why do you want to know now?”

“Because normally I just take you to bed when you look sad, but I am guessing that is not an option. So, how did you survive your world’s collapse?”

Mender told him about being at university, at seeing the thick line of a broken star streaking across the sky. His sister rocked up in her car, screaming at him to get in and his complete obedience to the urgency in her expression. She drove off, and the building that he had been standing next to collapsed as she left the road and went through the city park, driving one step ahead of the tear in the world beneath them until they made it past the panicked population and out of the city.

Mender told Kedantic about their escape. About finding food on a world that didn’t grow wild anymore. Eighteen months of hiding and seeking, telling secrets and sharing jokes, sleeping back-to-back. Mercy got thinner. She gave him more food because they needed him to do the heavy lifting.

He remembered when she watched the night sky without rest and found the pickup point without them having a radio. They got to the pickup point, and she was so thin that she was rejected. She swore to them that she wasn’t sick, just thin. They gave her a piece of fruit and said if she could keep it down, she could travel. She ate it slowly with a lot of water, but she kept it down. That piece of fruit was their ticket off-world because he wasn’t going without her.

“She eats the fruit for you.” Kedantic groaned.

“Yup. To show me that she is still trying.”

“Oh, I have fucked this up.”

“Yes. You betrayed my trust, broke our contract, and now, my sister is higher ranking than you because you were jealous.” Mender squeezed his hand and chuckled. “I knew that Mercy was going to rule the world one day.”

“I still can’t believe that that little thing has enough stamina to please an Hmrain.”

“That little thing hauled me over mountains, through valleys, and hunted wildlife to feed me. She’s tough, but she pretended to be inept to keep the focus on me. She might not be able to take down one of your hunters, but she would definitely mark him for life if she didn’t worry about how it would reflect on me.”

“You know I want to see this.”

Mender nodded and turned toward his mate and presented his head to the third eye. A few seconds of having his memories touched caused a startling result in his breeding partner.

His warlord sighed, and the regret had been there in his mind. “If I had asked you for this earlier, would you have shown me?”

“Probably not. You sold her. You took the strongest pillar of support I have ever had, and you discarded her without telling me. You are going to need to beg for forgiveness.”

“I will, every day of our lives.” Kedantic was sincere.

“Not me, dumbass. Her. We lost our world once, and she almost just lost it again. We are all we have from an entire world of memories and traditions. Yeah. She is going to make you beg. And not in a fun way. When she gets mad, she stays mad.”

“Am I doomed?” He sighed.

“No, but it is going to hurt.” Mender smiled. “If you ask nicely, I might just kiss it better.”

Kedantic squeezed his hand. “What do I have to do for you to forgive me?”

“I might manage it before the child is ready to emerge. What you need to do is bring my sister here so I can see her.”

“But... the overseer.”

“You sent her to him. You bring her for a visit. If I can hug her, I can think about letting you touch me again.”

“I could order you to fuck me.”

“No, you can’t. You broke the contract. Until Mercy is with me... you aren’t.”

Chapter Four

Usatho took her to the seamstress attached to the bond auction house, and he ordered her a wardrobe, half in silk and half in leather. Underwear was not mentioned. He chose the fabrics and colours that he liked, and that was it. Two ready-to-wear outfits were packed for her, and the rest would be delivered.

Mercy was surprised when he brought her to the jeweller and ordered a hundred bangles that would fit her wrist. The first dozen were put into a flat box that he tucked into a pocket. “What are those for?”

Usatho smiled. “I thought it would be sweet if every time we truly came together, you had something to remember the moment by.”

“I am fairly certain I am not going to forget.” She chuckled.

He made sure she had a grip on her clothing, spread his wings in the middle of the commercial district, and then brought them down with the sounds that made her nerves sing.

They rose from a standing start, and when he got far enough away from the buildings, the wings angled, and they flew toward the mountains. Well, he flew, and she cuddled against him for warmth. He was exceptionally warm, and the mountain air was not.

She was constantly shivering when they landed, and he lifted her against him and kissed her to keep her warm. “This is what the leather clothing is for. It is impractical to have you travel in gauze. Feel free to steal my body heat.”

She didn’t need to be asked twice. She slid her hands under his wrap vest and pressed herself against him, pressing her cold nose against his skin. He chuckled, and that weird hum came out of him again. “We are going to get you a cloak. You will gain physical resilience over time, but it won’t happen quickly.”

Mercy shivered, and he started to walk into his stronghold.

“Overseer, you managed to obtain her. Excellent. Your quarters have been arranged as you requested.”

“Thank you, Tovisk. Have a hot beverage brought up. My consort isn’t suited for air travel.”

“Of course, Overseer.”

Mercy muttered, “Thanks, Tovisk.”

She heard the servant pause. “Mercy?”

She turned her face toward him and blinked as light assailed her. “Hi. Nice to see you again.”

The Usathian stared, and then, he slowly smiled. “It is an honour to see you again. You are looking a little pale.”

“Cold and shocky is all.”

Usatho cleared his throat.

“Ah, welcome to the stronghold, my lady. Just tell us what you need, and it shall be done.”

She smiled. “You won’t have much to do if he doesn’t put me down.”

Usatho chuckled and eased her to her feet. “I can take a hint.”

Tovisk stared. “You look like a woman and not a boy.”

“That is because I am a woman. A female.” He still looked confused. “A breeder of my species.”

Tovisk cleared his throat. “I thought you were an adolescent and your brother was the mature one.”

“No, I am older but of a different gender. This is my adult form.”

Usatho kept an arm around her waist. “And she is so very soft.” He trailed a clawed finger over her cheek. “And smells sweet.”

She swallowed. “No unauthorized sniffing, please, Tovisk.”

He grinned, and his third eye winked. “Yes, mistress.”

Usatho began to steer her with a hand on her back. “This way to my private space.”

She tried to keep up, but her legs were stiff, and he lifted her again.

He murmured, “Sensitive to cold and heat, how did your species survive?”

“We died when a giant rock hit our world.”

He sighed. “Ah, yes. Sorry. One tends to forget. That is how I got Tovisk’s people. They were without a home due to their world-changing alignment with some orbiting bodies, and they needed a new home, so I brought them here.”

“How long ago was that?”

He shrugged. “Two hundred. Maybe more.”

Mercy nodded. She had known that the Hmrain were a designed species. Created to take care of empty or damaged worlds, they invited survivors from situations like Earth’s to inhabit those worlds. She hadn’t considered that companions were not permanent accessories, but that is why the contract lasted a hundred years. When she was done, there would be another.

“Lord Usatho, how many companions have you been through?”

He chuckled. “You will be my first, so I am going to take very good care of you.”

She swallowed. “All right. Would you like a care and feeding manual? I made one for Kedantic about Mender.”

He chuckled. “I will figure it out. I have access to the medical archive as well as your own physiological history, right up to the most recent assessment that got the bond auction centre so excited. There has been an interesting change.”

He was escorting her downstairs to a huge space with a giant bed in one corner and floor-to-ceiling windows that opened onto a view of the desert, the hills, and the valley. There was a huge desk, chair, and a com centre that her vision locked on.

Usatho chuckled. “You know the rules, Mercy.”

She paused and blushed. “Yes, my lord.”

“Explore this chamber. It is going to be your home for the next week. Longer, if we need to continue your adaptation to your new role here.”

She walked around and found the toilet, the bathing room, and a closet. “Are your lovers going to be upset? I know there are five hunters at the warlord’s keep that will miss your attentions.”

He chuckled. “They were mine to take, but I was not theirs to have. They may be upset, but if they harm one hair on your head, I will slice the heads from their bodies with a swing of my wing.”

He walked to the terminal, and she watched him put a lock on the screen. He didn’t trust her. It was probably wise. At Kedantic’s home, she was known for getting around rules using literal logic. Apparently, their four-year-olds couldn’t match her way of thinking through things.

She explored the office area. The comfortable lounge for watching entertainment made her smile. It was huge, but she knew from watching him having sex with others that his wings were incredibly flexible. The public sexuality that was normal in the warlord’s keep had become the norm. The Usathians were all male, but this generation had a problem. Their warlord couldn’t breed with one of their own kind. It might have been the food or environment of their new world, but Kedantic needed a breeding partner from another species. Once he had a child, the pheromones that the child produced would allow the other Usathians to breed. Until that happened, the entire generation was sterile. Thanks to Mender, the pregnancy was happening now. A few months down the road and he would deliver via c-section, and the warriors who had paired off and wanted to reproduce would come and visit the baby.

Only Mercy, Mender, the physicians, and possibly Usatho knew that the egg that Mender was carrying had belonged to her. She wasn’t even sure that Kedantic knew. She asked Usatho, “My lord, do you think Kedantic will want a second son?”

“It is possible. Why?”

“You know about how Mender got pregnant?”

“He and Kedantic fucked.” Usatho chuckled.

“I mean about the egg that got things going.”

“Ah. The harvest on the ship. Yes, I recall it. They gathered ten viable eggs from you and implanted them when Mender was ready to conceive.”

“So, he still has nine?” She tried to act casual.

“He does. Kedantic’s physicians are very good. Mender can carry as many as he likes, but only one at a time. They meant to harvest five from you, but you fire off in doubles.”

She nodded. “Our family is full of twins, going back centuries.”

“That will make things very interesting for us, I think. I will have to bring a few more races here to allow for a female element, regardless.”

“Back to the bond auction?”

“I can just place an order for more of your kind.”

She wanted more humans more than she could say, but “That will cause issues. If they attempt to take any of the males as mates, they will be disappointed that our males can’t get pregnant without a donor and a lot of intervention.”

He chuckled. “They know. It is common knowledge, though where the material came from is not described. They just know that there was another Terran donor. Many probably assumed it was male, but your species specs were made commonly available to any citizen who wished to learn, just as the Usathian specs were made available to you.”

He finished at his desk and nodded to Tovisk as a tea tray was brought in. “Thank you, Tovisk. Bring food in two hours and again in six hours after that.”

Tovisk nodded. “For two, my lord?”

“Yes, for two.”

“Yes, my lord.” He was grinning and nodded to Mercy, who was as far as she could be from the bed and still be in the room. “My lady.” Her discomfort must have been plain.

Tovisk left, and her urge to call him back for conversation must have been plain on her face.

Usatho walked over to her and tilted her head up. “Did you want him to recite the thread count on the pillows?”

She bit her lip. “Um, no, but there are furs on the bed, and there may be hunting stories involved. I could go for a good story right now.”

“Oh, I know a good one, but you need to drink your tea first. You got very cold on the flight here.”

She felt mutinous, and she frowned. “I feel fine.”

“If you don’t drink your tea, I will take your internal temperature manually, and I know you are not a fan of that.” His grey eyes gleamed, and he tapped her chin.

She stepped back, whirled, stalked over to the desk and poured herself some tea. “That was my least favourite medical exam ever. Why were you there, anyway?”

“I had to verify the genetic origin of the eggs being provided.”

“You made the doctor nervous, and it hurt like hell. He was more interested in answering your questions than the damned procedure.”

“Yes, I suppose that is true. He also had never performed an ova extraction before. I was trying to keep him calm.”

“Yeah, well, telling me that you wanted to see my hair out on your pillow at that point was a mistake.”

He snorted. “You did take me by surprise there. Having your hair delivered to my quarters after you were off the ship was an interesting move. I am glad that they returned your hair to the length it was on the vessel. I also love the colour.”

She blinked. “It used to be brown. This happened after the asteroid. It was a rough time.”

He watched as she finished the first cup and raised a brow until she filled a second cup.

“I hate fire tea.”

He grinned. “It’s good for you. The sweating response will help you warm up. Once you are physically stable, we are going to go over ground rules and what you can expect as my companion and consort.”

“Why both? Why not just a body servant or a companion?”

He stroked her cheek. “You are not a stranger that I have to introduce myself to, and I have seen you in action with Kedantic and Mender. You are very capable of dealing with my people. It will allow me to focus on bringing in new colonists if you can deal with many of the day-to-day events here.”

She was falling into his gaze. “That is a lot to expect of a fuck buddy.”

“I am not expecting it of them; I am expecting it of you.” He leaned in and whispered, “And since I have you, I will no longer need them.”

She brought her cup up and slurped her tea. His slow grin showed the deadly sharp fangs, and she swallowed as slowly as she could. This cup of tea was going to last the entire afternoon.

Chapter Five

She eventually was sipping at an empty cup, and he simply took it out of her grasp and set it down.

“Now, though I would like nothing more than to throw you down and lose myself in you for a few days, I want you to be comfortable.” He cocked his head, and he smiled. “Not too comfortable, but I want you hot and taking me willingly. So, we are going to begin with familiarity.”

Mercy couldn’t stop staring at him. “What?”

“Strip.”

“I would, but I have no idea how they got me into this outfit. There was a swarm of fabric and then... ta-da.” She held her hands out. “I don’t even know if this is a single piece of fabric or ribbons.”

He chuckled. “Fair enough. Come with me.”

Usatho took her by the hand and led her to the bed. He sat and pulled her between his knees. “This is a presentation gown. The sleeves tie across your chest, and the rest of the fabric is tied in place with ribbons. It is quite pretty.” He smiled wickedly. “That said...”

He crooked two fingers, hooked them into her cleavage, and sheared the dress down the centre with the wet sound of tearing fabric ringing in her ears. She looked down in shock as he gently moved the fabric from her shoulders, and it hissed softly to the floor.

He looked her over, and something hot flared in his gaze. “Ah, you have more muscle on you than you did on the ship. And more flesh. This is excellent. You are exquisite.”

She blushed, and she knew the colour descended to her navel. She could see it.

“Come now, ninya.”

Venomous kitten. Great.

He leaned forward and licked her neck. She swallowed, and he pressed his mouth to her, sucking at her skin. His mouth and jaw covered half her neck. That wasn’t unnerving at all.

A breeze curled around her, and she shivered. He paused and pulled her through the torn remains of her dress and sat her across his lap. She felt the heavy throb of his erection through his leather pants, but she had seen it before, so it was only the sound of a warning bell as far as she was concerned. It had already featured heavily in her fantasies, but she had no idea how it would fit. She wanted him to fit, but she had no idea how to get from idea to execution.

He chuckled. “It seems I have to adapt my plans yet again. How should I begin?”

She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around her. “I don’t know.”

He caressed her hip. “What would you like?”

She blinked. “To be next to my brother, helping him with morning sickness.”

Usatho snorted. “From me. With me. How would you like to be touched?”

“I don’t know? You aren’t on a scale with anyone I had contact with before the asteroid, so I am at a loss.”

He looked at her and sat back. “Kiss me.”

She squeaked. “What?”

“Kiss me. I am putting myself in your hands. Let’s see where you take me.”

She looked down. “Can I put something on?”

“No.”

Mercy growled and sat up, squirming around until she knelt on his thighs. He was going to say something, but she cupped his jaw in her hands and drew her tongue along his lower lip. He paused. She pressed a kiss to his lips with her mouth closed, and he reciprocated, the firm line of his lips sending shivers through her as he returned the kiss but didn’t advance it.

She kissed him with more enthusiasm and flicked her tongue against his lips. He opened for her, and she tasted him with cautious forays that kept her clear of the pointed fangs. She let out a small happy sigh and moved her hands to his shoulders as she increased the touches of her tongue against his. His tongue slid into her mouth, and she moaned loudly in the silent room. Mercy tried to jerk away, but he put his hands on her hip and shoulder and kept her close.

He murmured, “That you react is due to your classification. You respond easily and frequently. It makes it easy to feed on you.”

She swallowed. “That is a charming sentiment. I keep forgetting that I am a psychic food source.”

“No, you are a sexual energy food source. My designers built in a need for those like you so that I would not forget the needs of those around me. It crafted empathy, and I must say that now I have had the smallest taste of proper energy, I am hooked.”

She was still held inches from him. “What was the other energy like?”

“Water. It was necessary, keeping me alive, but you are rich, nourishing nectar. I drink from you, and I get stronger, better, smarter, and more deadly.”

Mercy swallowed. “That is a lot to ask of a kiss.”

He chuckled. “A kiss is where it begins. It doesn’t end there; it will just compound over time.”

She nodded. “Can you ignore the sounds I make?”

He leaned back and paused. “This one time, I will pretend that I heard nothing if it will help you relax.”

She bit her lip. “It might.”

“Then, make what sounds you like, and I will endeavour not to respond, though I may make a few sounds of my own. Acceptable?”

She nodded. “Also, do I have to be naked?”

“Yes.” His tone was absolute.

She nodded and leaned toward him, using her tongue against his lips and delving deep before he joined her. When she flicked his tongue and rubbed along his, he groaned, and the sound went right through her before curling low in her belly.

She huffed lightly and whined as she continued the kiss and slid her fingers under the edges of his vest. She stroked her fingers over the tense, smooth leather of his skin and made a happy little sound at the pleasing texture. His wrap tunic loosened, and she smiled as she was able to stroke her hands down his shoulders and trace over the marks on his chest. They tingled when she touched them, like static electricity. She wondered what that would feel like against her lips.

She cupped his jaw and pulled her mouth from his, working her lips over his jaw and down his neck. She flicked at his skin with soft passes of her tongue, and she smiled at his taste. Salt, musk, and something that was specifically Usatho. She made a small happy sound and licked her way down his neck.

She couldn’t help herself. She purred, trilled, and chirped as she made her way down to the marks on his chest, pushing away the loose leather of his shirt and moving her tongue softly against the designs on his chest. Her tongue tingled as she licked his skin, and a wave of heat ran through her. She moaned, and she shivered as she tasted the musk of his skin and cuddled against the body heat that pulled her and made her want to wrap herself around him.

She pressed against his chest and started to slowly twist against his skin to get contact. He trailed his fingers down her spine.

“You are amazingly soft, Mercy. Like a kitten.”

She was panting. A slow trickle of moisture was moving down her inner thigh. She shivered and pressed against him. He pressed two fingers to her thigh, dragging them through the wet invitation. He raised his fingers to his lips, and she stared at him as he licked slowly. His eyes got hot.

Her pussy throbbed, and she whined softly, then paused in mortification.

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I didn’t hear anything.”

She smiled at his willingness to play the game for her. She made a happy sound and kissed his lips again. He threaded a hand into her hair and held her head as he stroked his tongue along hers while he slipped a hand between them. He stroked the slippery join of her thighs and found her clit. She whined softly as Usatho’s mouth made her dizzy, and she pressed her breasts to his chest while he rubbed at her slippery sex until she arched back and moaned. Her channel clasped at a non-existent invader, and she whined softly for more.

His circling digits got closer to her aching opening. She whined as his fingers slicked the entire area around her sex before the first dipped into her, and her body clasped it eagerly. The second finger went in, and she moaned, her head drooping to the side. She shuddered as his fingers stroked inside her.

She had lost control of the intimate contact at some point, and she wasn’t sure she was upset about it. His hand in her hair kept her positioned so that his tongue could flick and tease her. She whined and tried to press against him and get closer. She stroked her hands over his head, neck, and shoulders and ran her fingers through his hair as his digits moved inside her.

She moved against him, rocking and twisting. He widened his thighs, and her thighs spread as that was where she was kneeling. She felt the surge of liquid falling out of her around his fingers, and she felt hot when she realized that she was wide open and the kiss had paused. He looked at her features as he worked a third finger into her. She panted softly, and her head lolled a little as she whined.

His fingers moved slowly inside her, and her fingers plucked at his skin as ripples of pleasure came from feeling the tense skin moving slowly with his digits holding her wide, slowly moving to expand the capabilities of her softest skin. She plucked at his shoulders and clutched his neck as her hips rocked around his hand.

He whispered against her lips. “Clench if you can.”

She squeezed hard, and he grunted.

His chuckle was wicked. “Strong little kitten.”

She murmured and whimpered. He was taking up a lot of space inside her. His thumb ran through the honey she was leaking, and then, it swirled over her clit. He kept four fingers inside her and swirled his thumb on her clit over and over until she grunted and clamped down on his hand as she came. Her hips jerked against him, and she was so full. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and shook as she held on while her body focused on his filling her and clasping him tightly.

He nuzzled her neck while she slowly contracted around his digits.

The bite was a surprise.

She shrieked as he bit down at the edge of her neck near her collarbone. White-hot pain ripped through her and burned along her nerves. She whimpered and hung from his jaws. She felt a touch on her clit again, and pleasure stuttered and started again. His thumb slipped and slid around and around her clit, and she whimpered and went limp in the grip of his teeth, her mind supplying the image of a large dog for her. She gasped and whimpered, then squealed in surprise as her clit throbbed and his slow and careful attention to her sex continued to build tension inside her. His fingers twisted, and she yelped as he hit her g-spot, and the flash of sensation made her jump.

He pulled his fingers out of her, and she gasped and shook in relief, his mouth still holding her and a creeping heat coming from his jaws. He slid two fingers back into her, and to her nervousness, he began searching.

Her body jerked when he touched the spot inside her, and he sought her clit with his thumb again. The fingers within her started rubbing, and she moaned as she hung from his jaws, with one hand supporting her head and the other inside her.

As his fingers continued on her g-spot, she gasped like a fish as she fought for breath with the teeth under her skin and fingers slipping inside her. He widened his thighs, and she dug her nails into his skin. She moved her hips against his hand as the pressure and burn turned to pleasure. She rocked on his hand as the tension pulled her along until she screamed, and she felt the surge of moisture over his hand. She went limp and panted in his grip. His fist in her hair was her main means of support. His fist and his jaws still clamped around her neck kept her upright.

He opened his mouth, and she collapsed. He had been holding her up more than she thought. He nuzzled her and licked the punctures on her neck. When he raised his head, his eyes were glowing. “Oh, yes. My perfect little consort. We are going to get along very well.”

She looked at him with what she knew was a stunned gaze. “Oh, great. I was worried.”

He hugged her and laughed as he licked his way across her face, stopping for a deep kiss. The tasting was heady. She tasted her own blood in his mouth, and he made that happy sound again.

Oh, great. A delighted eternal monster, and he liked the way she tasted. This had never been on her Christmas list.

Chapter Six

He set her on the furs of the bed and sucked his fingers. He untied the laces of his trousers and toed off his boots.

Mercy’s body was still fighting to come down after that last orgasm, but watching him strip wasn’t helping her gain calm. She was closing her thighs when he growled. She looked at him, and he was focused on her sex. Another surge of cream came from her, and he smiled slowly.

He pulled his clothing off, dropping it to the ground. “You know, from the records and other Terrans who have become Hmrain companions, they had difficulty with size at first. Why is it that I feel I will fit into you comfortably?”

Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. “I couldn’t really guess.”

He settled her higher on the bed and laid on his belly, up on his elbows. “I think you have an idea. The muscle here...” He trailed around her entrance, “Is harder, like it has been exercised to get stronger, but it expands so far.” He stretched two of his fingers, and she let out a squeak.

He rested his chin on her mound. “How did that happen, Mercy?”

She was leaning back on her palms. “Uh...”

“Your med scans did not show this kind of elasticity.”

“Um. It is super embarrassing.”

“It is delightful; I just want to know how.”

She covered her face. “I got Mender to ask for a second set of toys. He said he lost his, and Kedantic got him another set.”

Usatho chuckled, and with his chin in contact with her, it did interesting things. “For personal enrichment?”

“I was bored.” She bit her lip.

His eyes saw what she was hiding. “You competed with your sibling.”

She squirmed. “It sounds so weird when you say it that way, but yeah. He was a little iffy about being the breeder for the warlord, so we have always been competitive, so... he got the second set of spacers so that some friendly competition could distract him from taking Kedantic on.”

He snorted. “How long did it take you?”

“It took me a week, but it wasn’t easy. It took him fourteen days, but I told him he was beating me.” She sighed. “He was having enough trouble adjusting to the artificial womb. Becoming a hermaphrodite messed with him a little.”

“Ah, gaining a womb was a step too far?” He chuckled.

She noticed his nostrils were flaring, and she swallowed. “It was not a progression that he saw his life travelling down, but when he met Kedantic in person and responded, he admitted that life with him held a certain allure, but the price was a little surprising for him. It was one thing to have the womb installed and another to learn how to use it.”

He laughed. “Clever. Do you think he would have made it without you?”

She shrugged. “I doubt it. He wouldn’t have made it past the first night that his lover was rough with him. He hadn’t experienced that before, so it was rather... surprising. I talked him down. We had some cake, and Kedantic brought him something pretty.” She snickered. “He took the stretching more seriously after that.”

There was something weirdly comfortable about talking, despite the fact that he was inhaling deeply to memorize the scent of her sex. She knew what he was doing. He knew what he was doing.

“What do you think your sibling will think of this situation?” His arms were under her thighs, and his hands stroked up her belly and cupped her breasts.

“He will be jealous and then congratulate me.” She chuckled. “And then ask for details.”

“And what will you say?”

“Thank you, and mind your own business.” She reached out and stroked the point of his ear, caressed his hair, and stroked her fingers over the laser-straight nose. He caught her fingers in his teeth, then sucked them into his mouth, swirling his tongue around them. The wet heat of his mouth caused her body to erupt in goosebumps. Her nipples were tight, and he rubbed them with rough fingertips.

She pulled her fingers out of his mouth and slid them into her own, one at a time. His eyes got hot, and she bent her head toward his as he lifted his head to hers. She held his head and kissed him softly. She raised her head. “What happens next?”

He leaned up and took her mouth again. His tongue flicked, swirled, and cajoled, and she was moving to meet him with every slide. He tasted like every favourite thing she had ever had in her mouth, and she wanted more. She threaded her hands through his hair, and soft, wild noises came from her throat. His wings were folded tight against his back, but the dry scent of feathers was there when she got closer.

She was moving her hands to his shoulders and getting ready to shove him onto his back when he lunged up her body, and his conical cock lodged itself in her slit and began to work into her with small plunges and retreats. He was looming over her, and his charcoal skin was her sole focus. She was arching up with one of his hands supporting her backside. He was working himself into her, and then, he huffed and muttered, “This could take a while if I do it.”

He held her to him and reared up on his knees. She yelped, and he was a few inches into her. He supported her with a hand under her ass and eased her legs around his hips. Her hands were placed on his biceps, and he smiled. “Now, go as far as you are comfortable with, and we will start from there.”

She looked at him and looked down. Over six inches of a thick, wedge-shaped erection was waiting for her that she could see, plus the four-plus inches inside her. It was nice that she couldn’t see how much was already in her. It might freak her out.

She pressed the soles of her feet together, flexed and rolled her hips. He slipped in a little, and Usatho smiled at her. “Lovely, kitten. Only take as much as you want.”

She whined. “I want it all.”

He chuckled and pressed his forehead to hers. “Soon, precious. It does not have to be today.”

She rolled her hips again and slipped further onto him. She let her head loll on her neck and sighed. He had started off wide and was heading into gargantuan. Her opening was aching, the muscles complaining, but this was as far as he would go... without intervention.

Mercy rose up and sank back down. She repeated it, and then, she lifted her left breast and bent her head to flick her nipple with her tongue. He made that high-pitched hum that he created when he was either happy or horny, and he nudged her head away and took over the flick on her nipple. She felt the surge of warmth inside her, and she slid onto him, much to his surprise. She was about an inch from his base, and there was pressure at her cervix. That was an impact she was going to be careful about.

She slowly pushed up, using her feet together to lever her up. She held onto his shoulders and moved on him with deliberate care.

“Ah, you are surprising, Mercy.”

She was focused on moving on him and ignored him. The aching burn inside her was becoming part of the pleasure, and she knew she was approaching a short-burn orgasm while she rose and fell.

She counted down as she prepared to let go. Three—two—one—aaahhh!

Her scream was short-lived as Usatho caught her lips in a kiss, but he tilted her so that her back was on the bed as he rocked into her throughout the orgasm and kept it going. Wave after wave of bright heat rippled over her, and her voice offered up her squeaks and gasps. It went on and on. She was caught up in it when she heard the door open and soft feet. Usatho opened his wings, and he murmured, “No one but me, little cubling.”

He continued stroking into her, and the slow clasps of her inner walls gripped and moved around him. When he finally let her relax, she dropped like her strings had been cut, and she groaned. Silky fur caressed her back and arms.

She was dazed as she looked up at him, sweat coating her and a hot throb moving inside. Mercy was blushing as she met his gaze. “How far did you get?”

He looked down and chuckled. “Nearly all the way, cubling. You have done fairly well. Now we need to wait while the venom does its work.”

“V-v-venom?”

He smiled and bent his head to lick at the bite marks. “Venom. When we find our companions, we bite, and they start to transform.”

“I thought that didn’t happen until you got comfortable with your bond servants.”

He licked at the marks and murmured, “I am very comfortable with you. Our banter over the last two years has only whetted my appetite, and now, I am free to indulge it, so I intend to.”

“Has it been so long? You have been through so many of the hunters.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t go through them. I went into them, brought them pleasure, and then left the keep.”

She rocked her hips as a test. “You didn’t um... find pleasure?”

He lifted his head from the slow licking of his bites. “Oh, I did. I found yours and took it into me. It kept battering at me in waves, so I continued to take it in. One encounter with you and I feel stronger, my mind reaches further, and a future with you at my side seems so very bright.”

She started to move her hips again in time with his licks, and the feel of his hard length moving inside her made her shudder. She arched up and squirmed against him. He chuckled. “Now, you need to eat. I can’t have my precious consort getting faint when there is so much to take from her. I want to learn every taste, every sound, and every whisper that your body makes.”

He slowly withdrew from her with a groan that made it sound like he was leaving his favourite place. He cuddled her against him and stroked her hair before he gripped her hair in his fist and kissed her. “Welcome to our home, Mercy. I hope you will be very happy with me because I know I will be very happy with you.”

She looked into the starry eyes that had gone from a single point to a constellation in his gaze. “Oh. Wow.”

He chuckled and stroked her cheek. “My bright little star. We are going to make Usath a world to be reckoned with.”

Her stomach rumbled.

“But first, we must keep your strength up.”

He sat up and pulled her onto his lap and then walked to the table near the entertainment area. There were two trays but one chair. He sat down and fluffed his wings out, then removed the cover on one tray, pulling it toward them.

She looked at the chunks of meat, vegetable, and fruit that were arranged haphazardly on the plate. “Eat, or I will feed you.”

She looked at him. “Does that thing ever take a break?”

He looked at her curiously, and she shifted her weight to rub against his erection. Understanding crossed his rivetingly masculine features. “It will rest when you do, but it does not need to. Why?”

There were no utensils, so she picked up a chunk of a vegetable that she didn’t like and quickly ate it. When it was down, she ate a small piece of meat and then a vegetable she did like.

“Why are you concerned about it?”

“I have rarely run into a male that had an erection and wasn’t planning to immediately use it. I understand it happens, but it hasn’t happened in my personal experience.”

He hummed. “I do not need to use it. I could use my hands or tongue. Now that we are connected, it is just a matter of harvesting your pleasure, over and over.”

“Why not the Usath?” she mumbled before she swallowed.

“They are water. They can keep me alive and have enough power to keep me functioning, but they cannot help me evolve. Their brains do not broadcast on your frequency. You are not water. You are the richest nectar from the most exotic fruits. Nourishing and delicious.” His hand splayed out over her belly. His voice rumbled next to her ear. “Very delicious. Keep eating.” He licked the curve of her ear.

“I am not very hungry.”

“Your life now is going to involve you burning a lot of unexpected calories. That means you will have to intake more food. Today, we are working on getting more into you, and we are going to gradually increase your capacity.”

She mumbled around some meat. “We already did that.”

He made that happy hum. “And we will do it again. But first, keep eating.”

Mercy chuckled, and Usatho reached around her to pour a cup of tea.

“So, is Tovisk going to come in while we are doing that a lot?”

“He arrived on schedule. It was your delightful continuation of release that meant we were not perched and waiting for his arrival.”

She looked at him while nibbling. “It’s my fault?”

“No. No fault. Just the explanation. He will return again in six hours with more trays, so if we are still occupied in the same manner, he will be aware of it again.”

She nodded and swallowed another of the nasty celery-type vegetables on the plate. She quickly ate some meat and then a different vegetable.

He chuckled. “You don’t like the vegetables.”

“Not the way they are prepared. No. And I haven’t been allowed in a kitchen to try and find a better way to do things. Well, one that would suit me more.”

He nodded. “What about Mender?”

“Mender could probably eat a shoe and find a way to enjoy it. Feeding him was a full-time event when we were running.”

“Was surviving difficult?”

She stopped eating and stared down at her hands. “I wouldn’t want to do it again. I think I might have let the building collapse on me.”

He cocked his head. “Would you?”

Mercy remembered the burning instinct that she had been subduing with anti-psychotics until that day. The devastating withdrawal had meant she was nearly completely dependent on Mender for a week or more. Time had been blurry.

“I might. I am not the same person who got Mender and drove for the countryside.”

“I have read your file, but the details are sparse. You have a mental condition?”

She smiled. “I did. It turns out the best thing for it is overstimulation. When everything went dark, we had to find supplies and shelter. My medication wasn’t accessible, so I went through withdrawal. Mender took care of me, and my more aggressive side came back online. It was surprising. My family had put me on the drugs when I was a child.” She chuckled. “You know the leaves that spin when they fall?”

He cocked his head. “Hiran leaves.”

“Yeah, my mind was like that for a while before it stabilized, and then everything was brighter. Turns out that was good for survival, which is probably what that part of my brain was for initially.” Mercy grimaced. “I should head back to the bond auction and let them sell me. I am defective by my species standards.”

Usatho smiled. “In that case, I am a fan of your defect. Your mind is bright; you and your brother survived long enough to get to a collection point.”

She smiled. “That was fun as well. They were going to take Mender, but I was rejected when we arrived.”

She ate some of the fruit and smiled.

“Rejected?”

“Yeah. I was in early-stage organ failure. My body was shutting down.”

He wrapped a hand around her hip.

“Starvation. No supplies. We had to hunt for meat, and after a year and a half, we weren’t finding much. Out of the two of us, he could carry me if he had to while I was not in the same situation. If he went down, there was no way I could haul him anywhere.”

Usatho touched her chin and lifted it. “Truth?”

“Truth. They didn’t want to take me on the shuttle because they thought I was going to die on the way. One of the officers said that if I managed to eat in front of them and keep it down, they would take me. Mender got me a piece of fruit, sliced it thin, and handed me that first piece. It was hard. Really hard. My teeth and gums were raw and ached, but I got the thin slice down. Then water, then more. By the time half the apple was gone, an hour had passed, and they agreed that my will to live was enough to take the gamble on. So, into a gel tube and up to the station, where I was given bulking IVs, and Mender stayed with me. My education started in the med centre, and Mender helped me get back into mobile condition and kept with me until I was able to join the group classes. They were surprised when I showed up, and I still had to check in with medical every few days, so I wasn’t given the standard language briefings, but I got common and Hmrain while I was getting the boosting treatments in medical.”

He blinked. “You were so close to death?”

“I had lost sixty percent of my current body weight. Atrophied muscle, organs that were failing, skin parchment thin.” She shrugged. “It was... not good.”

“Mender helped you survive?”

“Sure. We are twins. In certain cultures, we would have been killed at birth because two babies born at the same time were thought to be sharing a soul. He and I have never been apart in any meaningful way.” Mercy smiled. “Both of us ending up here was a surprise.”

Usatho smiled. “He is a good choice for Kedantic. His experience with both male and female lovers brought him to the top of the list. Why did you test so low on compatibility?”

She laughed. “You sound irritated.”

“Eight seasons. You could have been with me for eight seasons.” His growl was accompanied by his arms wrapping around her.

“You functionally live forever. Two years isn’t anything to you.”

He nuzzled her neck. “But it is so much for you. I could have stopped you from hiding in Kedantic’s keep.”

“I wouldn’t have come with you. You would have had to move Kedantic and his hunters here because I would not have separated from Mender while he needed me, and he did need me. That alteration may have seemed minor, but there was a lasting psychological impact. It took him a bit to get used to it. I had to coax him out of shock while pretending to be invisible to the hunters. It took some practice, but once I realized they all considered me weak and underage, it got easier. I was suddenly the equivalent of the younger brother, and it was funny.”

He switched out the trays and took the second serving, eating his serving and giving her a few pieces of the vegetables she had eaten without comment and some enthusiasm.

She fed herself when he gave her the pieces and was relieved when she wasn’t hand-fed. Sitting naked on his lap like a ventriloquist dummy was mortifying enough. She was just thankful that his hand wasn’t currently up anything.

Mercy took stock while Usatho ate, and she checked for aches, pains, or bruising. There was an ache deep inside and the bite marks, but otherwise, she was just tingling all over. Nothing that would cause her an issue in the morning. That was if they stopped now. She could feel the ridiculous length of him and doubted that stopping now was an option.

Usatho murmured, “I am going to have to check your files. Since Kedantic was your original bond holder, he has the original scans.”

“Um, you were pretty quick arriving at the bond house. Were you in the neighbourhood?”

He snorted. “I was not about to miss out on a compatible female, and when I learned it was a Terran, it had to be you. I can move pretty quick when I have to.”

“Were you afraid I would get out of the cuffs?” She kicked her legs.

“I was afraid that the assessor would broadcast the results. I had to purchase your bond before any of my brethren got the message. As the overseer, I have the right of the first offer.”

Mercy paused. “You mean I could have held out for more?”

He snorted. “It would just mean combat between myself and another of my kind.” He chuckled. “I have met you and knew what I was fighting for. I would win.”

“I was under the distinct impression that I was underwhelming. If you had been fascinated by me, would you still have taken on those hunters?”

He chuckled. “I could not have you, so I needed someone. Like I said, they are water to your nectar. Their pleasure gives little, but it does take the edge off.” He stroked the edge of her cheek with his knuckles. “It didn’t hurt that you were watching from behind that pillar with your eyes wide and fast breathing.”

She went from amused to sitting with her cheeks on fire. “Uh, well, you were in one of the alcoves. It was hard not to watch.”

He chuckled. “I kept my wings folded back for a reason.”

“Oh.”

He sucked his fingers clean and lifted her chin. “Red means shame, yes?”

She nodded.

“For wanting or watching?”

“In my culture... both.”

He raised his brows. “Really? How peculiar.”

“Well, there was a degradation of social norms, and sex was one of the only free things at the end, but there are taboos against family members, and as close as Mender and I are, seeing someone having sex wasn’t something I had engaged in before.” She skipped mentioning that watching two guys was definitely off the menu for what she had seen before.

He chuckled. “If we join in events at the keep, will it upset you?”

“Uh, probably not, but it might upset Mender and possibly your other lovers.”

He tutted. “They do not pine for me. They enjoy the attention and the reward.”

“There’s a reward?” She was shocked.

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “There is. That is why we stopped at the jeweller.” He held up her left hand. “The marks of your pleasure with me will go here.” He lifted her right hand. “The marks of my pleasure will go here.”

“Uh, is it a competition?”

He kissed her, his tongue softly stroking hers until she was turning toward him and holding onto his shoulders. When he lifted his head, he whispered, “I have never given a band to the right hand, no matter the lover, until now.”

“But you didn’t...”

“Pleasure isn’t just the release. It is the touching, the trust, and the surrender of your partner.”

He wrapped his hand around her throat and held her for a kiss.

She sighed and leaned into him as he wrapped her in his arms. She was warm, supported, and desired. All she needed was to be a foot taller, and the frisson of terror when he pressed against her might turn into something more fun. Well, she couldn’t have everything.

Chapter Seven

“I did not consider that bathing with all those feathers would be a good idea.” Mercy lazily stretched her legs out. Apparently, an after-lunch bath had been necessary. She wasn’t complaining. All the exterior aches and pains were melting away.

Usatho watched her squirming around and smiled. “They aren’t precisely feathers. They are organic, and I do grow replacements, but they are responsive materials. To you, they are silky soft, but I can cut stone or metal with them if I wish.”

She paused while wrestling her hair into a bun. “Really? I always thought they were just feathers.”

He grimaced. “Why are you tormenting your head?”

“I want to keep my hair out of the way, so it doesn’t get snagged on anything, but I am not good at putting it up anymore.” She bit her lip, but the moment she relaxed her grip, it slithered loose. Usath had been great for the strength of her hair but not for its manageability.

She huffed and looked around. The place was uncluttered, which was disappointing.

He leaned back with his elbows on the edge of the tub. His shades of grey were fascinating, and the muscles that sculpted his body made her mouth water. “What are you looking for?”

“A stick. A piece of wire. Some shears.” She wrinkled her nose. Her hair was already clean, but she didn’t want it floating around like a web while she soaked.

He held out his hand. “Come here, fidget.”

She huffed and took his hand. A quick jerk, and she was flat against his chest. “Now, let’s see what you need.”

He looked at the unravelling coil, and to her amusement, he tightened it up, and then, it was stable.

She looked up at him. “What did you do?”

She reached her hand back to pet the bun, and he grabbed her wrist.

“Guess.” He whispered it an inch above her lips.

She swallowed and fought the urge to lick his mouth. “You used your superior intellect and found the one strand that would hold it?”

He smirked. “I am very smart, but no.”

“You are still holding it.”

He chuckled. “No.”

She turned her head and felt something restraining her hair. “You used... a feather?”

His eyes gleamed. “A feather.”

Mercy nodded. “So, I give it back to you when I am done with it?”

“You could, or you could become the custodian of it. My feathers do not shed and do not pull out unless I release them, so that is the only loose feather on this world.”

She looked up at him. “Why would you do that?”

“You needed to put your hair up, and I am very attentive to your needs.” He nuzzled her ear. “Your ears are adorable. Round like a cub’s, but so soft and just this downy coating.”

She shivered, and her nipples hardened against his chest as he explored the edge of her ear and flicked his tongue around the whorls. When he sucked her earlobe, she moaned, and her clit throbbed.

“You are delightfully sensitive. I can see why my species is so taken with yours.”

She whispered, “Why?”

“It is so easy to get your surrender to pleasure.” There was wonder in his tone. “It is like your body wants it with everything it has.”

Mercy blushed. “You know what happened to my world. Pleasure and sweet contact are highly prized now.”

“Did you have something else before?” He cocked his head.

“Pleasing your partner was more important than anything.”

“What of your enjoyment?”

She shrugged. “Secondary, if at all.”

He made a tsking sound. “So much waste.”

“So, do you plan on collecting other compatible Terrans?”

He paused as he finished nuzzling one ear and switched to the other. “I doubt another will present herself so prettily to my demesne. The likelihood of another of your kind being suitable for me is incredibly small. Besides, Hmrain only take one companion or body servant at a time. They become everything to us.”

“Um, what happens when I die?”

“I will grieve for decades. If we have children, they will be my joy and solace. If we begin proper coupling, that moment will be delayed for a few of your lifespans. As long as you have the will to remain with me, you shall.”

Mercy’s eyes were wide. “What about when Mender dies? I have lived for him for these last few years, and we lived for each other before that. I think I will lose my heart if he dies.”

“You will have his children to dote on and to tell about their father and the fight for survival that led him here.”

“I think I might lose my mind when that happens.”

“The future is unset, but I will be here to help you gather yourself and refocus your actions, even if your focus is to declare war on other species. I will be with you. We will be together in that.”

She saw the future as a gaping maw of uncertainty. Mercy bit her lip and fidgeted. The warm water vibrated around them. She looked up at Usatho, and he smiled. “You want to see your sibling.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“No.”

She tensed her lips. “Why not?”

“Because it will not always be possible for you two to be together, and it is best that you face that reality now.”

She growled at him when he said that. He stilled. “Did you just growl at me?”

Her instincts suddenly started blaring an alarm. “Yes?” It was second nature to growl at the keep. She growled when folks elbowed her at breakfast.

“Growling will not be tolerated. You will express yourself with words and not snarling.”

“Or what?” The instinctual part of her tried to gag her, but the reckless portion of her personality came forward when stressed. This was the part of her that had swung her car around and picked up Mender when she saw the edge of his building buckling in her rear view mirror.

She tried to move away from him, but his hands around her hips kept her pinned to him.

She pushed against his shoulders with her slippery palms, but he held her. His eyes glowed bright, and he let her flail and push at him as she tried to squirm loose. Something in her mind burned with fury.

He nodded. “There it is.”

Her calm mind remained in the back and watched her rage flash out and go apeshit all over the overseer of the planet. The rage lasted a long time, and when it burned itself out, she swayed, and he caught her.

“That is the berserker rage that worries Kedantic. He has never seen you turn it on your brother, but he knows it lives inside you.” He chuckled and tucked her against his neck, scooping handfuls of water and pouring it down her sweaty back.

She tried to push away from him, but her arms were shaking. She tried for a minute, then gave up. “I have never hurt Mender. Not even when we were kids.”

He stroked the back of her neck softly. “He worries about your rage and the child.”

She blinked. “Oh. Right.”

“You are set off by laughter and mockery. You flip when you are denied what you want. If you had had a weapon nearby, you would have tried to use it on me.” He murmured it softly to her. “Could you feel what was going on?”

“I could, but I just sit in the back and let the rage do its thing. Fighting it hurts.”

“This was the illness you mentioned.”

“Yeah. It’s called bipolar disorder. Lots of folks get depressed and manic. I am one of the lucky ones who are manic or aggressive.” She mumbled it against his shoulder. “The aggression comes on and fades quickly, but the rage can last for days.”

“Hm. I can help you with this, at least make the aggression more controllable. It will take time, but we can get you your control without numbing your instincts.” He paused. “If you want that.”

She looked at him, and her eyes were burning. She wanted to cry, scream, and punch anyone who got in her way. Currently, he was her only option.

Mercy asked him, “What would the method be?”

He rubbed the bite marks. “This has started it. You are being mapped and measured by the nanites in my bite.”

“Oh. So, this was going to happen regardless.”

Usatho stroked her skin and kissed her temple. “Yes. I wanted you to have full disclosure before the second portion of your transformation starts. I also wanted to see your reaction to being denied access to your brother. It was not as violent as I had feared. I am surprised that you didn’t try to drown me.”

She muttered, “I didn’t have any leverage, and your wings provide too much friction against the side of the tub for me to use surprise.”

He laughed and kissed the side of her face. “That is the little teegat that I first met. I was worried when you were so graceful during the tea ceremony.”

“I like the tea ceremony. The amount of concentration it requires is soothing. It is control from start to finish, and I find that relaxing.” She felt his heart beating under her, her breasts pressed into him, and she breathed him in. Her anger was nearly gone, and the endorphin high was still in place with the hypersexual urge that always hit after a rage.

“Hm. That was a tension shift.” He pressed his lips to her temple. “What happened there?”

She started shaking and wanted to rub against him, but she just lay panting, slumped, and boneless. He continued to rinse her with the warm water, and then, he whispered, “Hold your breath.”

He leaned forward and carried her into the bathing pool, taking her under the water to the bottom. The heat closed around her, and she could see his wings stretch out as he took her to the tile, held her there for a moment, and lifted them both out of the water with a huge flap of his wings. They lifted out of the bathing pool and landed next to it.

He held her against him, and his wings moved in strong, controlled flaps. Air moved around the bathing chamber, and her skin went from soaked to dried in a minute.

Usatho smiled. “Now, we relax and discuss what needs to be done.”

“Done?”

“Yes. There are certain conditions that need to be met. I need you to surrender, but if you are not comfortable with that, we will have to find another way.”

She looked at his features and his serious expression. “Yes, my lord.”

He quirked a smile at her. “Is the formality a surrender?”

He walked out of the bathing chamber and into the main living area. He carried her to the bed and settled her before fiddling with something at the end of the bed and bringing straps and cuffs up to attach to her ankles.

“What’s going on?”

“I am arranging you so that I can explain what is needed. If you can surrender while bound, it will be an excellent first step.”

“Why is it needed?” She bit her lip.

He cocked his head. “Because I think the sight of you bound and waiting will be one that will burn itself into my memories to be treasured for centuries.”

She shivered at the heat in his tone and swallowed as his anticipation dripped from his lips. Her body responded with a small surge of moisture, and he smiled before kissing her softly. When he raised his head, her arms were above her and crossed at the wrist, tied to the headboard. Usatho caressed her belly lightly. “There, now I can begin.”

Mercy tugged at her restraints, and all that happened was she arched up into his grip. Uh oh.

Chapter Eight

Usatho moved over her and brought his body in full contact with hers. He covered her completely and slowly brought his weight down. Mercy watched him watching her, and she panted as his body pressed hers into the thick pad underneath her.

She stared up at him, and he smiled and flexed his wings to cover them. She was plunged into darkness, and the scent of him surrounded her. She breathed him in and twisted her wrists in their confinement.

“Why the restraints?”

He slowly started to rock against her, his body dragging against her skin. “They help me predict where you are going to be so that I don’t lose control.”

“What are you doing now?”

Usatho chuckled. “Gaining familiarity when the softness of your skin, the parts that tense and peak. The scents that come from you when you get hot, and the soft sounds that your body makes when it prepares a welcome for me.”

As he said that, she felt another surge in her channel.

He chuckled. “Like that?”

“You can hear that?”

“Oh, yes. More than hear it, smell it and feel it. It was the first thing that tuned to you. I know what you like to watch but don’t know what you like to feel, so that is what the restraints are for.”

She stared into his eyes, and he moved against her in a slow rocking motion. Fire bloomed on her skin where his body touched hers, and she pulled at her cuffs, wanting to wrap herself around him. She kicked and jerked as he moved on her, and his cock grazed her inner thigh. Her folds were slick, and she heard herself as she shifted. She froze.

He chuckled. “Just a little contact, and you are already slick. It’s delightful.”

She blushed, but his glowing eyes were the only thing she could make out. She stared into his eyes and watched the stars slowly move in his eyes. “Where did those stars come from?”

“From you. These are all the stars we can see in our future.” He continued moving on her, and she started arching up against him. Her legs flexed, and she tried to wrap around him.

“Ah, ah. No rushing. Now, I am going to taste you. Don’t worry. It shouldn’t hurt.”

She braced for a bite, but instead, the brush of lips followed by the flick of his tongue caressed her temple and moved across her forehead until he had covered her cheeks and finally her lips.

When his tongue slid between her lips, she breathed in deeply through her nose. He took up all the space in her mouth. “Now, we can begin.”

“Begin what?” she whispered as he slowly trailed his fingers over her skin.

He smiled. “Begin training your body to call to mine. It will make our time together easier if you call to me when you have a need. I will answer it, and we will both benefit.”

She thought about fighting her responses. Thought about it. His steely glare made her think twice about it. He stroked his fingers down her inner thigh, and her leg jerked until the restraint stopped it. He chuckled and trailed his fingers back up again, then down the inner thigh of the other leg.

“Your need rises so quickly.” His gaze met hers after noting that what she could feel was a surge of wet heat. His fingers stroked and slid against her.

She looked away. “Yeah, it does.”

He paused and touched her cheek. “It upsets you.”

“On my world... it was problematic. You are only supposed to feel arousal when someone else is with you, and even then, it is supposed to be your partner that sets you off after a suitable time of courtship.” She struggled to find the words that matched what the Usathi considered acceptable. “My responses have been an issue since I began to develop.”

Usatho slid two fingers into her, and he asked, “An issue?”

“Societal rules did not have much place for people like me.” She rocked her hips against his hand. “And then the world ended, and there was no time to feel, only survive. That led me here, and here, there was no place for the needs and wants that I have.”

He let out a low hum and pressed his lips to her neck. “There is a place, and that place is with me. I want your lust, and I want your heat, and I want the energy you release when you reach your peak, the sounds as you go wild.”

As he spoke, he worked his way down her body. She started to twist under him when he scraped his teeth over her nipples and waited until there was a responding invitation inside her. He murmured, “Teasing you here causes you to soften and open. You are a puzzle box.”

She gasped when he licked his way down her belly, squeaked when he licked her navel to see what it did, and froze when he settled between her spread thighs and started to taste her. This wasn’t licking. He was definitely tasting. He paused, cocked his head to analyze, and went back in again. His tongue teased her opening, lapped up the fluid she was leaking, and then he slid his tongue all the way in.

“Sonofabitch!” She held the restraints in her fists, and her back arched violently. His nose pressed her clit, and when he chuckled, she thrashed.

He pulled back, and she whined as she panted, and the feeling of his tongue widening enormously and lashing around inside her slowly faded.

He grinned and moved up her body, pressing his cock into her and surging his hips until her body resisted. “Very nice, Mercy. You were very surprised just then.”

She gasped and held very still. She panted shallowly as she tried to keep her body from touching his except where he was impaling her.

“You are very deliberately not looking at me.”

Mercy nodded.

He trailed a wet finger down her neck. “Use your words. I know you can speak Hmrain.”

She shivered. “What do you want me to say?”

“Why were you so surprised when I put my mouth on you? Do your people not do that?” As he spoke in the liquid language, he eased into her a few more inches.

“Um, we do, but my tongue can’t do what yours did.”

He chuckled. “My wings are not the only part of me that I control.”

He withdrew slightly, and she exhaled in relief, only to yelp as he slid in, and her body was nearly doing the splits to accommodate him. She was stretched to the end of her tethers. She was panting rapidly and staring up at him while his cock started to move and twist without his hips moving.

She gritted her teeth and hissed. “Now you are just showing off.”

He held onto her hip with one hand and braced with his wings and free hand under her left arm. He leaned back and slid in, and she shuddered.

“Do you find this enjoyable?”

She met his gaze and nodded.

“No pain, no tension, no discomfort?”

His cock stroked over her g-spot with steady repetition.

She stuttered as she said, “N-n-no.”

The smile on his face was savage. “Good.” He touched her hands and wrapped them around the restraints, and when she was set, he drove into her with steady purpose. He somehow bent and kissed her, and she sighed against his mouth and then sobbed when the first orgasm flicked through her. He pulled his mouth away and smiled. “Let’s see if we can’t do better.”

She blinked. “You want me empty.”

He chuckled. “I want you satisfied. I think I know how to do it.”

His hips rolled against hers, and then, she felt something that hadn’t been there before.

“What’s that?”

“That? Oh, just another adaptation. You can examine it later.” He continued to move and groaned as he drove into her.

Something took her clitoris in a firm grip and pulsed around it. It was tugged and stroked and squeezed in rhythm to his thrusts into her. She felt the hot tension building in her body once again, and he nipped her neck, and she screamed and pulled on the restraints.

He roared and drove into her, pressing her to his sleep platform, and she felt a hot throbbing inside her. He shuddered over and over, and her body kept slowly clasping and fluttering around him.

Mercy felt a weird fullness that wasn’t right, and it kept building. He continued shivering into her, and the trickle escaping her had little to do with her and everything to do with his contribution to the event.

She started whining and trying to get comfortable as he filled a very limited space that already had him occupying it.

After long minutes of him trying to burrow through her body, he finally lifted his head and kissed her slowly, softly, soothing her as if he knew how tense things were. He lifted his head. “Now, let your body take it in.”

She looked at him in shock. “How am I supposed to do that? I don’t control any part of me.”

He laughed, and the grip on her clit started to pulse softly. She gasped as her body started to flutter around him with increasing tension until she arched against him and moaned.

“So, it seems I can control part of you.” Usatho kissed her again.

As her body continued the soft convulsions and fluttering, she felt less full. The near-pain of it was receding.

“What’s happening now?”

“You are absorbing what you can, and the nanites that I gave you earlier are using that material to adapt you to the environment. After a few couplings of this nature, you will be the physical best you can be, and then, we can go travelling to visit your brother and his breeding partner.”

Mercy gripped her restraints and felt her shoulders burning. “Oh, goody. I do not enjoy being tied. Everything is going to hurt tomorrow. Possibly today.”

He blinked and released the straps on her wrists, then reached back and got the ones on her ankles. “They were really for me. The way you move on me is hypnotic, so I didn’t want you to distract me from my purpose by setting me off too soon.”

Her hips ached as she flexed her legs. She brought her arms down, wincing, and wrapped them around his shoulders as she scratched him lightly.

She lifted her hips and rolled against him, causing him to jerk forward and grunt as more heat spilled into her.

He muttered, “That is what I was referring to.”

She chuckled. “Sorry. Just trying to work the ki—the aches and pains out.”

He sighed. “And now we need to be here longer.”

“It can just run out.”

“And waste precious Hmrain DNA? Sacrilege. Literally. On some worlds, Hmrain have set themselves up as gods.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have a swelled head like that.”

He laughed. “One is very swollen right now.”

She closed her eyes. “I know. I can feel it.”

Usatho stroked her cheek. “Now stop squirming and wait.”

Mercy sighed and asked, “What do you like to eat? Your favourite things?”

“It varies, but right now, it is you.” His husky voice was a threat and a promise, and Mercy just had to wait and see which one she wanted it to be.

Chapter Nine

He carried her back to the tub to help relax her tense muscles. “You did very well, Mercy.”

He rubbed her shoulders, elbows, and wrists.

She was sitting on him with his chest at her back. Both of his hands moved over her with care and precision. He took care of his toys. He massaged her hips, and he tutted. “So tense, Mercy.”

“It was not my favourite thing. To be tied up.” She grunted softly. “It hurts the rest of me.”

He made a commiserating sound. “Well, now you know that my being inside you fully will not cause an injury, so it should not be necessary again.”

“I thought it was so that I wouldn’t distract you from your mission.” She grunted again as he massaged her thighs.

“Ah, right. Now, I cannot think of a better thing than having your arms around me, your blunt little claws scrambling for purchase.”

She looked at her nails and grimaced. “Tame kitten in a wild world.”

“You are far from tame, Mercy.”

“I feel tamed.”

“Ah, but are you satisfied?”

“I feel tired.”

He laughed. “Then, let me lead you to satisfaction, and then you can rest.”

He finished massaging her thighs and worked his hands up her body. He cupped her breasts and played with her nipples, and she put her hands on his and just enjoyed it. It was possibly the first time in her life that she just let herself feel good.

She moaned and shivered. Tovisk came in with another meal, and he paused as she reached behind her to hold Usatho’s neck. As his hands brought her to a bright climax, she thrashed as her legs kicked, and he held her with an arm around her breasts, and his mouth gently bit the marks.

He kept her flailing until she sobbed, and then, he brought her carefully down until she was slumped back against him. “That was impressive, Mercy.”

She mumbled something that even she didn’t understand, and she breathed quickly until she finally calmed and started to sink under the water.

Usatho lifted her and dried her off before taking her back to the platform that Tovisk had refreshed. He set her on the covered pad and curled up next to her, pulling a light sheet over them both.

“Hmrain, don’t sleep.”

He chuckled. “We do. We just don’t need much. Curling up with you to increase your ease with my body is an excellent use of my time.”

She curled against his chest, and he stretched a wing out, lifting her and easing the wing under her.

“There. Make yourself comfortable and get some rest. No one will disturb you.”

She cuddled up to him, draped a leg over one of his thighs, and rested her head on his chest. The last thing she heard before she nodded off was, “Your hair does look lovely across me.”

She snorted and let her aches, twinges, and warm satisfaction take her away. She really was quite tired.

Two days later, Mercy looked longingly at the com unit. “Master Usatho, I know you said we had to be here a week, but do you think that I have achieved the goal you have set for me?”

He flexed inside her and chuckled. “You want to call your sibling.”

“More than anything.”

“A moment ago, you were clawing at the bed and whispering my name.”

She twisted to look at him. “And I meant every second of it, but after three days, I recovered quickly, and I want to talk to him. I miss him.”

He sighed and kissed her. “Fine, but you will only be able to wear a sheet, and I will be in the room with you.”

She grinned and kissed him back with a lot of enthusiasm. Her heart was beating faster, and joy was spilling through her thoughts.

He laughed. “Not until you have finished taking me all in. I am your primary concern now. How do you feel?”

She rolled her hips. “Full, still probably twenty minutes away from where you would like me to be.”

He let her face forward. “Then, where should your focus be?”

She clenched around him, and he sighed.

“That was it. Again.”

The next twenty minutes were spent with her clenching and then coming around him when he brought his fingers into play, and when he withdrew, she had taken all of him, and his nanites were getting fed the genetics they responded to. It was the companion protocol.

She sat up carefully, and Usatho lifted her up, wrapped the sheet around her breasts and the rest of her, and sat down with her in his lap in front of the com.

He reached out and opened the unit with an access code and palm scan. He typed in the call ident for Kedantic’s keep, and they waited. The com officer looked at her and said, “Mercy!” and then looked at the male with his arms around her. “Master Usatho! What... how can I direct your contact?”

Usatho said, “I wish to speak to Mender. Find him and put him on. We will wait.”

“Yes, sir. I will be right back.” He scrambled to his feet, and they could hear his feet pounding as he ran.

Mercy was bubbling happily. “You did it.”

She turned and grabbed his head, pulling it down to hers while she kissed him with ravenous hunger. He wrapped her tightly in his arms and responded to her aggressive enthusiasm when a voice cleared behind her. Mercy left him and whipped around to see Mender, and she burst into tears. “Oh, Mender. I have missed you.”

She touched the screen, and he did the same while tears coursed down his cheeks. They sobbed together for a few minutes, and then, Mender straightened. “Master Usatho, thank you for contracting with my sister. She’s a handful, but I think she’s worth the effort.”

Master Usatho chuckled. “She definitely is. A few more days, and we will come for a visit.”

Mender smiled. “Thank you. It is so strange not having her with me.”

“It will just be a visit, Mender.”

He smiled. “I know, but you are still here, and now you are on this world for good, so I am happy. My baby gets its auntie, and I get to keep my sister.”

She smiled. “And I get to keep an eye on my brother.”

Usatho grumbled, “And I keep an eye on my consort.”

Kedantic appeared behind Mender. He looked at Mercy, and she knew she looked different. Her hair was back, her skin was rosy, and her lips were swollen. There were also bright pink and silver puncture marks where Usatho kept biting her. It was his personal favourite thing to do when he was cumming. Her body was starting to react to the bites as a trigger to her own orgasm. It was part of why he wasn’t letting her out. He was training her.

“Mercy, you are looking... well. Did you change your hair?”

“It was changed for me when they were doing assessments.”

“Ah. Master Usatho, you are looking well.”

Usatho had been slowly licking at his bite mark. He paused. “I am doing very well. She provides me with more power than any lover I have ever had.”

She turned pink.

Kedantic looked nervous. “Mercy, please, accept my apologies for my actions.”

“No.”

Usatho squeezed her. “Mercy. He has apologized.”

“Yes, and I could have been scanned and dumped off-world in a mining situation somewhere. I would have missed the birth, my nephew, my brother holding his child. He would have missed me standing there as his supporter during all of this. I was going to leave. I just needed the baby safe.”

Kedantic nodded. “I know. Mender let me see it. The first time he let me see some of your journey here. I understand a portion of what you have done for him and even for us. I am racked with regret, and Mender won’t touch me.”

Mercy laughed. “Mender!”

“What? He broke the contract. You were to be kept with me. He had you hauled off. I am still upset.” Mender grimaced. “The baby isn’t kicking as much, and the doctors say I need to calm down.”

“Then... calm down. I am here. I am safe. I have an alien overlord chewing on me on a regular basis. I will be there to visit soon, and if there are too many delays, I will take matters into my own hands.”

Mender snorted. “Just chewing? I can see at least four world-class hickeys on your neck and chest.”

Mercy blushed, and Kedantic asked, “Hickeys?”

Mender muttered, “Love bites.”

“Ah.”

Mercy muttered, “I haven’t seen a mirror in a few days.”

Usatho chuckled. “I keep her hair under control and enjoy the other grooming.”

Mercy grimaced at her brother. “Don’t even ask. He will tell you.”

Mender laughed. “So, you are fine.”

“A little sore and usually sweaty, but yeah. Once we leave here, he’s going to put bracelets on me, and then, everybody who knows his criteria will know precisely what we have been up to.”

Kedantic laughed. “How many bracelets?”

Usatho smoothed her hair over her other shoulder and kissed and licked it. “Nine on the right, twenty-seven on the left.”

Kedantic’s jaw opened in shock, and his third eye went wide for a moment.

Mender was laughing, and Mercy was blushing. The number was actually higher, but he only counted the moments while he was inside her and she went off.

She tried to cover her face, but Usatho took her hand and kissed her palm. “No embarrassment, Mercy. You did very well. Extremely well, and I know, in time, you will do better.”

Her eyes widened in shock, and she looked at him. He grinned, and his fangs showed bright and white against his black skin. “You look surprised. You don’t think my need for you will fade, do you? No, you will just come to me more readily when you sense my hunger.”

Mender was laughing wildly, arms wrapped around his abdomen. “Finally found a match, and our world just had to explode to do it. Congrats, panda bear.”

“And you just had to take the third option, Mender. Take care of my nibling. I am counting on you.”

Kedantic frowned. “What’s a nibling?”

Mender informed, “The child of a sibling. It applies to any gender.” Mender looked at her with a smile. “The baby says hi.”

Kedantic looked hopeful. “It does?”

Mender pulled his partner’s hand down below the view of the camera, and Kedantic’s beaming smile came through the display. Mercy almost felt pity. He had had a rough few days.

She felt Usatho’s lips pressing against her ear. “A few years from now, that will be us.”

She knew that he meant the baby, but she whispered, “I don’t think that I am going to try and sell a family member.”

He stroked her neck, cupped her jaw, and turned her to face him. “Very funny.”

She opened her mouth to speak, and he kissed her. His tongue slid deep, and she whimpered as their connection started to wake her body up. She pressed her hand to his chest and traced the markings.

She turned toward Usatho and climbed up in his lap. She heard Mender sign off, and Usatho leaned forward and clicked the com. Her brother was okay. He knew she was okay, and everything else would just sort itself out.

* * * *

Mender looked at the screen in surprise as Mercy turned to kiss the overseer. “That was unexpected.”

Kedantic crouched next to the chair, caressing the bump and smiling as the activity level increased. His delighted expression turned up to Mender. “What is unexpected?”

“Mercy was looking like she was almost... happy. I haven’t seen her expression that relaxed since we were nine.”

“What happened then?”

“Her condition took over completely by the time she was eleven, but our parents didn’t get her help for five years. She nearly killed another child at school, and that was when they decided that she deserved help.”

“Why did she attack the other child?”

“She didn’t. He attacked her, and he was surprised that the shy and quiet young woman was willing to smash his head into the floor after he tried to rape her. Her coming after him with a piece of broken wood after that was even more surprising. Fortunately, everything was caught on video, and he could not sue for damages.”

“How big was she?”

“About two-thirds of her current size and weight.” Mender stroked his cheek. “He was larger than I am now. He played a sport you would call warrior training, and he liked to see fear. After she got through with him, he could see it in a mirror.”

Kedantic said, “I am beginning to guess that I got something wrong. Her outbursts...”

“Always in my defense, and her silent attacks were always in her own defense. Many of your people did not adjust well to us being here. Your lovers were especially vicious...for a few weeks. She took care of me when you and I were unsettled. She helped me get to you every step of the way, and that is why it hurt so much when you did that to her.” Mender got to his feet. “I have to go for a walk now. If the baby is this active, I need to exercise.”

“I will come with you.”

“No hugging, no touching. You can catch me if I am falling, but that’s it.”

“You just saw her. She’s fine. He’s probably inside her already.”

“She isn’t with me. She had bruises on her back and across her skin.”

“Lover’s marks. Usatho is a little rough but very thorough.”

“Rough? He’s hurting her?” Mender’s senses were on alert. He started toward the door that would lead him outside.

“No, she was with him. You saw it. She was fine. There is no harm to her.”

“She was sitting on the lap of the overseer. Would she have been able to tell me if he was hurting her?”

Kedantic muttered, “Your sister would defy a predator if she was in its jaws.”

Mender headed for the walkway that he was authorized to use. “That is true. She has, and she made it regret biting her. Just because the medics removed our scars doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

He stretched his legs, got some fresh air, and the whole time his partner was waiting for him. He let Kedantic sleep in the same room with him but not in his bed. Mender had tried to give up the bed to him, but Kedantic wanted his child comfortable, so he crammed his enormous body onto the couch so that he could be there when Mender woke. The few days felt like a lifetime. Mender ached for him, but he was holding to this, or the next time they disagreed, Kedantic would just steamroller over him. Locking him out was the only thing that Mender could actually do to the sexy monster he normally shared a bed with.

After an hour of calisthenics, he went inside. The baby was more relaxed and stronger now that Mender had seen his other half. He knew she was okay, but he had to make sure that Kedantic realized what danger he had put them all in for acting like a jealous tool. Mender knew it was jealousy, but Kedantic didn’t understand the bond. Multiple births weren’t a thing for his people.

He sat in the common room with his data pad, and he read up on everything Usatho had ever done, and he queried those that he knew had had the overseer as a lover. Reviews were mixed, but Usatho always put their pleasure above his own, and they were exhausted immediately afterward. Mender hid his smirk. Mercy had looked a little dazed but perfectly energized. It looked like she actually was companion class. Mercy always was an overachiever.

Chapter Ten

On day five, she was finally allowed to leave his private quarters. She also got to wear clothes, so that was a treat. She was wearing a lace-up tube top and a skirt slit to the waistband on both sides. The restraint cuffs were still in place, so she didn’t worry about walking fast enough to cause an issue with the fluttery fabric.

Usatho looked at her as she walked into the main space where warlords were lined up to ask for his help with matters around their world. Her hand was on the back of his wrist as ordered.

The slightly smaller chair was next to Usatho’s, and he kissed her hands and then her lips before helping her into her chair. Since they didn’t have females, she wasn’t worried about any of them eyeballing her, so she just sat and got settled on the hard seat.

He took his seat, and he extended his wings behind them. The warm, comforting scent of his feathers wrapped around her, and she sat with him while the first petitioner came forward.

There was a problem with flooding in the upper ranges, and they were asking for Usatho’s help in redistributing some of the smaller rivers into a giant spillway. Tovisk brought a tablet, and Usatho did some calculations. He sighed. “Rjorik, you were warned against that area for settlement for this very reason. I can find you a new territory, but you can’t have the fields fed by the flooding and dry housing.”

He looked at the folks gathered. “It is just like Thenatic can’t ask me to stop the volcanoes. He wanted the region for the soil properties, and he has some of the best wine and herbs on the planet, but the price is losing the settlements every few years.”

Mercy didn’t comment. She wanted to suggest that Mender could help with designing a stilt city. He had been studying urban planning, after all. She had been into mechanical engineering. She could design cradles for the housing to simply drive to safety, but no one asked her.

“Mercy, dearest consort, what do you think?”

She paused and looked at Usatho. “What? I didn’t know there was going to be a test.”

He grinned. “Did your people ever suffer such a predicament?”

“Um, around the world? Sure. We either lost many lives and then moved the towns, only to set them up again and lose more lives when the rivers burst their banks again, or we figured out another way.”

Usatho kept his silvery gaze fixed on hers. “What was the other way?”

She licked her lips. He was hungry. She could see it. “Uh, stilt cities. Buildings are built on platforms suspended above the maximum flood levels. If you are starting from scratch, you could rig them to rise as the water did. Mender knows more about this than I do. He studied urban planning, and this was one of his favourite situations to study.”

Rjorik looked at her hopefully. “Who is Mender?”

Usatho smirked. “Her sibling and Kedantic’s breeding partner. He’s currently pregnant.”

She locked her fingers together, and it made her bracelets chime. That drew attention that hadn’t been on them before.

There were a lot of murmurs in the room, and it was all for the seventeen thick bangles that slid up and down on her arm. The fifty on the other side were impressive but negligible to the assembled Usath.

She shivered, and his wing cuddled her closer. She still wasn’t officially acclimated to Usath. Part of Mercy suspected that it was so that she would still be dependent on him. She rubbed her face in his feathers, and the wing curled around her. She was lifted off her chair and settled on his with his wing keeping her warm. Mercy turned against his torso and pressed her face to his chest.

He wrapped his arm around her, lifting her chin for a kiss before she tucked herself against him and watched as the different warlords came to ask their questions. She just let Usatho’s body warm hers and lull her into a light doze.

“Ah, Kedantic, is there something you would like to request?”

Mercy opened her eyes and looked at her brother’s partner and her previous bond holder. The father of her nephew.

Kedantic bowed low. “Overseer, I would appreciate it if you and your consort would come to my keep for a few days as guests, just to set my breeding partner at ease.”

Usatho chuckled. “Of course. When do you need us?”

“Sooner is better. His stress is having an effect on the baby. They need physical contact and that is something I hadn’t considered.”

Usatho cocked his head. “Contact?”

“Yes. Hands and arms are in contact once a day, usually.” Kedantic frowned. “I hadn’t noticed it, but after he mentioned it, I remembered seeing it.”

Mercy sighed.

Usatho asked, “What is it, Mercy?”

“We just did that to make sure that we were both alive. If we can talk daily on the coms, it will have the same effect.”

Kedantic sighed in relief but asked, “But you will still come?”

Usatho nodded. “As soon as I deal with everything, I will bundle Mercy up and fly her over.”

“Thank you, Overseer. It means a lot.”

Mercy asked, “Is he getting close?”

Kedantic nodded. “Very. He can’t get comfortable. He talks constantly to the belly and tells it stories about you. I would like to see some of those events if you didn’t mind.”

Mercy frowned. “See them?”

“Tovisk is a projector. He’s coming along with our clothing. He’s taking the flier over.”

“Projector?”

Usatho explained, “He touches your head and projects the image in your mind out onto a column of smoke.”

“Oh. That could be problematic.”

“Why?”

She leaned up to whisper in his ear, and he chuckled. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“I definitely want to see memories of that.”

“How long can someone be displayed like that before it becomes a problem?”

“Hours. It is a frequency lock. Once your memories start to play, the lock is created, and any suggestion can change the display.”

“Oh. Okay, but Kedantic is going to be unhappy when he sees some of it.”

Kedantic looked at her. “Why?”

She grinned. “Did Mender ever tell you about the men who tried to kidnap him within two months of our arrival?”

Kedantic’s red striping moved over his body, and the green darkened to black. “What?”

“I guess you will have to ask for that story then.”

“I will ask Mender.”

She scowled and sat up, leaning forward. “Not in his condition. Is he still using the herbal tea I managed to figure out? He needs rest, or the delivery will take too much out of him.”

“I know. He is resting and drinking that tea.”

She nodded. “You can get the answers out of me.”

Usatho chuckled. “She has three seasons before she will bear my child, so keep in mind that she is also carrying.”

Mercy inhaled and exhaled slowly, as she had since he had first told her. The scan had identified the speck that was the start of Usatho’s heir. One of the seventeen doses had managed to hit its mark. It was why he had been so eager to acclimate her quickly.

Kedantic blinked. “So quickly?”

Mercy shrugged. “I already had the starter kit. He put in the extra effort.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“I will explain it to you later.” She smiled.

Kedantic asked Usatho one more time. “You are coming?”

“We are coming.”

He slumped in relief. “Thank you. He’s getting very close and nervous. He wants you there.”

“Of course. I was there when he was born. I might as well be there when his child emerges.” She smiled. “What do your medics say?”

Kedantic smiled. “The child is healthy and full term. It can come any minute.”

“Then why are you here? Get your ass home and rub his feet and ankles.”

“Why?”

“Tell him I told you to, and it will make him laugh, and that will relieve stress.” She smiled. “Don’t worry, when my turn comes, he can visit after the big event. He won’t need to be there for it.”

Kedantic frowned. “I would think that you would need all the family around you that you could get. There is only one other Terran on the whole planet. You need each other.”

“I don’t want to put him in a stressful position. I am not going to give birth the same way he is if I don’t have medical intervention. If it is on the same scale as Usatho, it isn’t going to be an easy event.” She grimaced.

Usatho rubbed her hip. “You will manage. I will be there.”

“Oh. Yay. You were there when it started.”

He chuckled. “I know. I worked very hard at that.” His hand ran over her hip, and his fingers flexed. “Very. Very hard.”

She lunged up and covered his mouth with her fingers. The assembled men gasped, and she looked around and then up at Usatho’s sparkling silver gaze. “Oops.”

There was a challenge in his eyes. She pulled her fingers away and eased back. He caught her fingers and brought them back to his mouth, his tongue coming out to wrap around them and tug her fingers inside. It was the long, thin, flexible version, and she knew very well what it was capable of. The wet heat of his mouth seared her, and she whined softly.

He released her fingers and picked her up. “Excuse us, I will be back in an hour.”

She nuzzled his neck and bit him gently.

He chuckled. “Make that two hours. Leave your requests with Tovisk. I will get back to you later today. My consort has a need, and I am hungry.”

They laughed as Usatho carried her out of the room, but she didn’t care. He got them to the hallway, moved her skirt aside, and opened his trousers to get his cock out. He slid into her, and she moaned, then clamped a hand over her mouth.

He grabbed that hand and pinned it above her head as he surged into her. His wings gave them a bit of privacy, and his hips were relentless. His mouth caught hers, and they kissed and fucked against the wall with gasps and moans leaving the hall and hanging in the air.

She came, and he continued driving into her, so she came again, and then, it was an endless cascade of pleasure that began to ebb when he drove into her, and the heat filled her. His kisses got softer until his lips plucked gently at hers. He folded his wings back, and she yelped in surprise when Kedantic was standing there with a surprised expression on his face.

“You release multiple times.”

She was still being kissed by the overseer, so she gave her full attention to that.

When a grinning Usatho lifted his head, he murmured, “Your brother by contract has a query.”

“Females can. Males can’t have the same type of release. They can have a dry orgasm through anal stimulation, but they just cum with semen once, until they recover and can do it again.”

He stared at them. “You are really mated to the overseer.”

Her lover nuzzled her neck and the mark he had left. “Yes, she is, and if anyone on this world tries to raise a hand to her, they will be missing a hand, swiftly followed by their head.” He kissed softly at her skin. “And then, I will take their entire community and burn it to the ground.”

It was embarrassing, but his pledge of violence turned her on, and he could feel it. He chuckled. “Little ninya, you will tire yourself out before the flight.”

She snorted. “I am not the one who is going to be flying. You are now fed—”

“Very well-fed.”

“And you will be doing the flying. I just have to hold on.”

He grinned. “I will not drop you. Now, you are not taking it in.”

She glanced at Kedantic. “I don’t want to with him watching.”

“You know I will not allow you privacy when we are visiting your brother. You know what you must do.”

Mercy started to clench and flex around him. He still had her hand pinned to the wall, but she braced herself with her other arm on his shoulder, and she flexed again in slow repetition. After the sixth one, she started rising and falling on him until she felt the stars burst behind her eyes, and he laughed softly. “She’s greedy, and I like her greedy.”

Kedantic nodded. “I am beginning to understand how the siblings are a matched set.”

Usatho chuckled. “Do your understanding at home. I have to exhaust this little lady before we fly, and it takes some doing. We will be there for the evening meal.”

He cupped her ass and kept her on him as he walked to his quarters, where the clothing came off, and he went wild.

She slept the entire way to Kedantic’s home.

Chapter Eleven

She was warm, she was safe, and she was hungry. She heard Mender in the room, but she couldn’t see him. She couldn’t see anything. Stupid cloak. It was warm, but the hood was deep to keep her covered.

Mercy lifted her hands and pushed the cloak back to see Kedantic’s main hall and all of his hunters in their regular places and her very pregnant brother at his side.

Mender’s eyes lit up when he saw her. “Mercy! You’re awake.”

She yawned, nodded, and stretched on the warm support that was Usatho. Her arms were heavier, and she grumbled as she counted nineteen bands on her left and fifty-six on her right.

“Hey, Mender. I made it back. You can stop freezing Kedantic out tonight.”

Mender’s eyes filled with tears. “As soon as Usatho puts you on your feet, I want a hug.”

Mercy immediately started to kick free of the fabric and leather around her. When she got out of the cloak, the arms wrapped around her had to go. She looked at Usatho with tears in her eyes. “Please?”

He bent his head to hers and whispered, “You will pay me for this.”

She beamed. “I am good for it.”

He kissed her slowly and then said, “Go and greet your brother and nibling.”

He let her go, and she lunged toward Mender. It was when she was hugging her twin that the disparity in their size made her smile. She looked up at him. “Missed you.”

He blinked and prodded her bracelets. “You have kept busy.”

“Well, you know. Needed a hobby. How is the little one?”

“Huge. Getting ready to come out and see his auntie.”

“How are you feeling, Mend?”

“Heavy. Oh god. I broke when you were gone.” He sobbed.

“I am here. I will always be here. I may not be next to you, but I will always be with you.” She took his hands and squeezed.

She was smothered in his hug. “Dude, I have said it before, but you are just lucky this baby will come out eating semi-solids. You really don’t need boobs.”

He laughed a bright sound. She sighed. “You need to laugh more.”

He hugged. “Then, stay close.”

“I have negotiated for open coms between us.”

Mender laughed and twirled her around. “That’s amazing.”

“You thank Kedantic, and I will thank Usatho. I think if we switch, it won’t have as good an ending.”

He laughed. “I am all about the happy endings.”

She poked him. “Don’t be pervy. That’s my job.”

He pressed his forehead to hers. “I have missed you.”

“Me, too. More than you know. Oh, they are going to share some of my memories tonight, so is there anything you don’t want them to see?”

He cocked his head and looked at her with the same dark brown eyes that she saw in the mirror. “No. Your memories are your own, and we made it out alive, so celebrate the hard parts of the journey.”

She smiled. “Are you going to let me go?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Well, will you stop squeezing me if I tell you that as your figure comes back, mine is going to go?”

He froze and leaned her back. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. That is what the week of confinement was about. I was ovulating.” She smiled. “No room for interference.”

He stroked the nineteen bangles. “Looks like you worked him hard.”

She held up her other arm. “Not nearly as hard as he worked me.”

“Oh, so this is his...”

“Satisfaction, I believe, is his preferred term.”

Usatho chuckled. “I am right here, but yes, those are the times I ejaculated into your sibling.”

Mercy winced. “Wow. That was blunt.”

Mender laughed. “Yeah, do you want something to eat?”

Mercy grinned. “You read my mind.”

She turned to Usatho, “Can I go to the kitchen?”

“No. You are the consort of Usatho, and the food will come to you.” He grinned. “And you will come to me. Now.”

Mercy looked up at Mender. “Trust me on this; it is not a request.”

He sighed. “You are staying for a few days?”

“Yeah. Unless something changes.”

“Fine. I will let you go. How are you feeling?”

She eased away. “Pretty good. The bite has the same stabilizing effect as my lithium but with a lot more licking.”

Usatho’s voice rapped out. “Mercy!”

She sighed and stepped away from her brother and walked back to her lover. He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He whispered, “Good. I did not want to get aggressive with your sibling.”

She sighed. Things had just gotten complicated, but Mender wasn’t flinching when Kedantic touched him anymore, which was a bonus.

After a few minutes, she whispered to Usatho, “I’m hungry.”

“Tovisk is getting you a tray, sweet.” He stroked her cheek and smiled at her. “I will not let either of you go hungry.”

“Either... oh. Right.”

Tovisk came out with a heaping tray, and he brought it to the long tables, setting it in front of the largest chair and arranging the meals, just as he always did for Usatho when he had visited over the years.

The overseer lifted her and walked her over to the table, taking his seat and looking over the items as he washed his hands. That gave her a key as to what was about to happen.

He picked up some shredded meat and held it out for her. She opened her mouth obediently, and she ate. Her brother laughed, and she flipped him off.

“Eyes on me, Mercy. That is where your future lies.”

She blinked and looked into the silver with the stars floating where the pupils should be. He put some vegetables in her mouth, and she chewed and swallowed slowly. He held a cup of water to her lips, and she drank.

He would feed her one bite and take two for himself. Kedantic and Mender joined them as the rest of the men were served.

When she had eaten one of the fruit tarts, she glanced over at Mender. He sighed and held his up. “Still don’t like them, and now that they took you away from me, I like them even less.”

He set it down on the plate and pushed it away.

Kedantic nodded. “I will ask them to not be served to you. They might still show up on the breakfast tray.”

Mender nodded. “I can eat around them.”

Mercy was stuck looking at Usatho. “Can I look away now?”

He chuckled. “You may. You can even leave my lap, but stay close.”

“Good. I need to relieve myself. Did I need to drink a litre of water?”

He grinned. “It is good for you.”

She got up and shook out her skirt. “Oh, shut up.”

There were gasps from the hunters near them.

She kissed him on the cheek and then darted before he could snag her. She headed to the zone designated for her to relieve herself, washed up, and ran into two of Usatho’s previous lovers.

One of them grabbed her right arm and one her left. “So, who did you get to make these for you?”

She looked at them calmly. “They were from Usatho. I am here with him, sit in his lap, and travel in his arms. What do you think?”

The one on the left stroked her cheek with his finger. “I think you will look less attractive with some scarring.”

She smiled. “Try it.”

Part of her was delighted when he did. His companion tried to calm him, but he pulled a knife, and as per her previous pillow talk with Usatho, she was allowed to defend herself.

His companion let her go. She kicked the hunter in the groin, took his knife, and stabbed him in each shoulder in quick succession. She dropped the knife on him and walked away with the other hunter staring at her. Mercy went back to the hall and cuddled back onto Usatho’s lap.

He sniffed. “Why do you smell like blood?”

“No reason.”

The companion sprinted into the room, whispered to Kedantic, and he nodded. “Send for the healer.”

“What happened?” Usatho whispered into her ear.

“It was handled.”

He cupped her cheek and smoothed away what must have been a drop of blood. “Why do you have the blood of an Usath on you?”

“Uh, he pulled a knife on me and was going to carve me up? He was too slow. He can’t even hold a spoon right now.”

Mender asked, “Are you okay, Mercy?”

She smiled. “Fine.” She kicked her feet happily.

The man who tried to attack her was led through the hall with his chest and arms covered with blood. He looked despondent and glanced at Usatho for help, but Usatho growled at him.

He quickly shuffled away.

Mercy asked, “I thought we don’t growl.”

“You don’t growl at me. I can growl at whomever I feel like. Kedantic, I thought you warned your men.”

Kedantic sighed. “I did. I think your previous lovers think they are not counted in with the general population.”

Mercy snorted. “He said that these markers weren’t given to me. That I had them made. Then he wanted to carve me up. So... I took steps.”

“So, he insulted you and threatened you. Your response was fair and measured.” Kedantic spoke loudly enough that his voice carried.

She washed her hands, snitched another tart, and looked around with wide, innocent eyes.

Tovisk took care of their tray, and he grinned. “Ready to show them how you think?”

“No. But this will be interesting.” She looked at Usatho. “You sure you want to see how I perceive the world?”

“I think it will help your brother’s people understand what you were to him.”

“Okay.”

Mercy was laughing. Three days of camping with her brother, he had yet to shower or even try to bathe. He could always out-stink her. He was on the sidewalk near his apartment, and she pulled away. He started checking his phone, and she flicked glances at him in the rear view mirror.

She could see the top of his building, and it started to sway. She saw the danger, turned her car around, and gunned it to get to him. She lowered the passenger window and did a U-turn across honking traffic.

“Get in! Mender, get your ass in here, or I will never speak to you again.”

He looked at her, his eyes widened, and he got into the car. She hit the gas and got onto the greenspace near the river as fast as she could. Trees smacked her car, and he turned around and whispered, “It’s gone.”

“What is?”

“Downtown. It’s gone. My building. Every building.”

She felt the tears streaming down her cheeks, and she kept driving as the tear in the Earth following them gradually got smaller and stopped being a threat.

Mender looked at her, and she glanced at him as she pulled onto a country road and kept driving. “What do we do now?”

“I plan on living. Are you in?” She held her fist out.

He bumped her fist, and then he said, “Mom and Dad.”

“Were probably at home.” She swallowed.

Mender sobbed, and Mercy sighed. “You cry, I’ll drive. I will cry later.”

“I will drive later?”

“I don’t care if the world just ended. You are not touching my car.”

They laughed and continued as the world was shadowed by clouds and storms.

Tovisk lifted his hands from her, and he said, “I have a solid link. What do you want to see?”

Kedantic said, “What frightened her the most? What was the most violent moment?”

Mender muttered, “You don’t want to see that.”

Tovisk frowned. “I will seek it out.”

She could see through the burlap and wondered where the hell they had gotten a burlap bag just for the purpose of hurting people.

Her hands were in front of her, and she could hear them making plans. Disgusting plans. She got afraid, and then, she went cold. She could hear Mender near her, so he was alive. Getting jumped by other humans hadn’t really been on her radar. It would be now.

“Come on. We are going to have some fun.” She felt hands grabbing hers and pulling her.

There were three sets of hands and a blade cutting the tie at her wrists apart. She grabbed the blade, turned it and shoved it back at the holder. He screamed and let go, so she pulled the blade out and punctured the lung of the man on the left and slit the throat of the man on the right. She pulled the bag off her head, cut the throats of the injured men, and left them to bleed out.

She returned to her brother and said, “I got some blood on me.”

“It’s fine. How are you? Are you okay?”

She pulled his burlap bag off. “I don’t think so. That was too easy.”

“You have been off your meds for weeks.”

“I know, but that was too easy. I am going cold again, Mender, and I don’t want to be cold.” She started crying.

“Your instincts might just keep us alive. You can hunt, gather, and fish, and I can do the heavy lifting. We will get through this.”

She nodded. “Let’s rifle through their shit and leave them for their dogs. It might keep them alive a little longer. Tell me if I start to scare you. I couldn’t bear that.”

He nodded, and they collected guns, ammo, and a sled. The food was piled in, and they started hauling what they needed into the woods using a stolen snowmobile.

Tovisk swallowed.

Usatho asked, “The moment when they knew they were rescued and safe.”

Mender said, “No.”

Usatho said, “I wish to see it.”

“I don’t. I... can’t see that again.” He got up, and Mercy could hear him leave.

Usatho said, “Show us.”

Mender lowered the backpack frame to the ground and looked down from the ridge. “Mercy. You did it. You found the pickup point.”

“Hooray.” She eased out of the backpack. “You go down and get the paperwork started. I will just rest here a bit.”

Mender frowned. “I might not be able to make it up again. Get back on the pack, and I will carry you down.”

“You are too tired. I am definitely too tired. Just go. I will meet you at the bottom.”

“I am not going without you.”

“Yes, you fucking are. I am older than you. Meaner than you and... wait. That’s it.”

He laughed and turned to look down at the shuttle. “It looks so fancy.”

By the time he had finished admiring it, she had slipped over the edge. It was a steep slope but survivable if you were limp. She had no choice. She went down, bounced off dead shrubs and scrub. She heard him scream in anguish above her, and then, he was scrambling down. She went down eighty feet and felt burning on her skin, but she didn’t feel any breaks in her body. The skeleton was intact, and it was all she had left. Muscle and fat were a memory. She was held together by skin.

Mender skidded to her side, and he picked her up, staggering with her to the brightly coloured panel for intake if she guessed right.

The woman came out and looked at him sadly. “You can dispense of your dead over there.”

“She’s not dead.”

Mercy looked at her and whispered, “Fuck off.”

“I have never seen one of your kind still alive in this condition. Come with me.”

“You will take us?”

“You, yes. This one? Of course not. There is no value in it.”

They scanned her and announced the imminent failure of all major organs. “She will never make it through training.”

“She will. I swear she will. She has a lot of heart, and I am not going without her.”

The physician got an apple from somewhere. “If she can consume this and keep it down, we will take her and treat her, but it will add to her bond price, and few will want to take that on.”

Mender took the apple and got a knife; he cut a slice that was paper-thin. “Please, Mercy. Try.”

She licked her lips. “Water. I am going to need a lot of water.”

Water was provided, and she took the first bite, then the second. Another slice. It hurt. It burned. Her mouth wasn’t up for the acids and chewing anymore. She swallowed the water and kept going. The expression in Mender’s eyes was hope and agony, and she wasn’t going to let him down.

They were getting ready to leave when the apple was gone. The doctor looked at her with astonishment and handed them both the clean clothes they needed to get on the shuttle. Mender bathed her and put her in the tunic and trousers, and then they were on the shuttle and leaving their broken world behind.

Mercy touched his sleeve and showed him the education station through the viewscreen.

“New home. New start. Mom and Dad would be so excited.”

He sobbed against her neck. “Don’t you dare leave me, you psychotic bitch. I will never forgive you if you leave me.”

“Aw, I would never, and you say the sweetest things.” It took a lot of effort to pat his head, but she managed.

After that, she was checked into medical, and they studied her for weeks while she went through a version of distance learning while they tried to safely rebuild her body.

Two months after that, Mender came into her quarters, and he grinned and blushed. “I have a direct bond contract offer.”

She blinked. “What does that mean?”

“I negotiated for you to come along with me. We have another home.”

She got up. “We have a home?”

He laughed. She hugged him, and the world went bright.

Tovisk sniffled. “Anything else?”

Usatho’s voice was warm. “The moment she first saw me.”

Mercy’s memories made her laugh. If he wanted to know...

Mercy and Mender were holding hands. They walked down the hall to the overseer’s quarters, escorted by dark red and green giants. Why the fuck were all the fuckable aliens so damned big?

The door was opened by one of their escorts, and they were urged to step inside.

The bulk of shadows and strange angles was sitting at a desk and got to his feet when they walked in.

What the fuck is that? Black hair, skin, feathers, what? Oh. Silvery eyes. She could fall into those eyes.

“Welcome to my ship. I am Overseer Usatho. The planet you are travelling to is mine. Mender, you are going to become the breeding partner to Kedantic. He’s the strongest of the Usath and will take care of you. Mercy, you have the authorization to be on my world in a companion capacity, and I will ask one more thing from you.”

She nodded. “Sure.”

“The Usath are having a breeding problem, which is why your brother is needed, but he needs an ovum from you to start matters. We will extract them here, and as they are needed, they will be inserted into the altered womb that your brother has had installed.”

“Oh, sure. I am not doing anything interesting with them anyway.”

He grinned, and she saw a lot of pointed teeth. “We will begin a stimulation cycle immediately.”

The memory blurred to where she was settling on the med bed. He stroked her silvery hair. “I do love your hair. It would look amazing in my bed.”

She grinned. “You don’t say.”

She got a knife from one of the hunters, cut off her heavy braid and handed it to one of the ship personnel, being specific about where it was to go.

Yatisk patted her shoulders. “You have an excellent mind, considering what you have been through.”

She stretched and rubbed her eyes.

Usatho came over to her and lifted her to her feet, stroking her back. “What the hell is that? Really?”

She giggled. “I know. Such a romantic first impression.” She lifted her head to his. “I promise to make it up to you.”

He raised his brows. “Really?”

She nodded. “I can work in the gardens, trim the hedge, go fishing and hunting.” She trailed off. “That would be fair, right?”

He lifted her up to be even with his head. “I think I will have to get used to being one of these large, fuckable aliens. You do realize you are the alien here.”

“Um, yeah, but it was a slow turn.” She hooked her legs around his waist and pulled him in. She leaned forward and kissed him. “So, do you want a tiny female or a tiny male?”

“They will eventually get larger, but I think a male to start as it will make the Usath more comfortable, but as the child is already in process, I do not get a vote.”

He pulled her in and settled her butt in his hands. “I plan on trying another vote as soon as you are whole.”

“So, what kind of babies do the Hmrain have?”

“Wings are usually in the first generation. Not in the second generation.” He balanced her on one palm and traced a line across her collarbone. “The marks of my particular design will be on the children and their children and so on. We will have to find more species that are compatible and bring them here so that the children have options for mating partners. More Terrans?”

She grinned. “Now that we have settled in, yes. As long as the Usath know that we aren’t compatible with them without some tinkering.”

“It will be mandatory learning that the adorable soft aliens don’t fuck easily and don’t breed without medical help.”

Mender came back in with Kedantic supporting him. “Speaking of medical help, is that healer still around here? Something feels rather urgent.”

Mercy’s eyes got wide. “I didn’t have a chance to get a present! Damn you, Mender, cross your legs.”

“They don’t have Amazon delivery here, Mercy. You are going to have to get something in the space port.”

Kedantic was laughing at her, but it was good-natured as he helped his mate out to the clinic. Usatho was following.

The medic left the man who had picked a fight with her and attended to Mender. Mender hissed as pain gripped him, and Kedantic growled.

Usatho chuckled. “So much fuss over something natural.”

Mercy grabbed his face. “Nothing about a human male giving birth is natural. The women have been lobbying for it for centuries.”

He chuckled. “Medic, where can we go to be out of the way?”

“Back to the main keep, Overseer. I need as much room as possible for me and the lasers.”

“Understood.”

“Mender, what do you need?” Mercy was calm.

“I need Kedantic to hold my hand while our baby is extracted. You get to hold it second. And if Kedantic is a pain for the medic, I want you in here instead. Are we clear?”

Kedantic nodded. “Clear.”

The medic got everything prepped. “Put him down on the table, and let’s meet this baby.”

Usatho carried her outside the door, and they waited.

He lowered her to the floor, and she started to fidget.

“What are you doing?”

“Fidgeting. I hate doing nothing, but I don’t want to leave.”

He grinned, taunting her. “I am at your disposal if you want to do something.”

She looked at him and jumped him in the hall while her brother gave birth.

Epilogue

Mercy took her baby from Usatho’s arms, and she sighed. “Well, that was a bit rough.”

“You did well, Lady of Usath. I could not have done what you just did.” He kissed her forehead. He grinned. “But your brother could.”

She swatted him. “Quiet you. He’s on his last egg, and Kedantic is surrounded by tiny Usath-human hybrids. I don’t know if he is excited or terrified.”

“Once he realized that all their human genes came from you... terrified.” Usatho looked at their daughter. “This one is going to be an amazing warrior.”

“You say that about all of our children.” She chuckled and looked at the dove-grey baby with her father’s tattoo. She would darken with time. Her four siblings had.

“It is true of all our children. Tovisk’s reflexes have never been keener than the last fifteen years.”

“I am still shocked that we don’t have twins. My family always has twins.”

He chuckled. “The physiological reset might have something to do with that. Twins become dangerous, and danger isn’t something the nanites allow.”

“Aw, where is the fun in playing it safe?” She smiled and touched her new daughter’s nose.

“Are you trying to turn my hair white? It’s impossible, but I am pretty sure you could manage it.” His pointed ear twitched, and he grinned. “The kids are coming.”

Their eldest, Merth, shepherded his younger siblings in to meet the youngest. He was fourteen, and his wings were just getting large enough to glide. The cousins were with them, and all nine filled the room easily. Mercy laughed. “Your papa is on his way?”

The middle boy, all proud and stripey, announced, “Papa’s really fat. Again.”

Uratho helped her sit up. “For the last time. Ten is all Kedantic gets.”

She smiled, and Kedantic spoke as he came through the door. “Unless Mercy offers us a few more.”

Mercy shook her head. “My eggs all have dance partners, and they all have wings. Sorry.”

Usatho snorted. “That is a no from the overseer.”

Mender came in, and his boys got him a chair. He was near term... again. “Little girl?”

“Little girl.”

His three-year-old asked, “What’s a girl?”

Mender smiled. “Auntie Mercy is a girl. My species had two types of people at a glance and more if you looked closely. Males and females, but sometimes the genetics mix, and you get a combination of both, like you.” He poked his son in the tummy. “That is why the new colonists look at the Usath like that. They are surprised by it.”

Kedantic grinned. “They are surprised by all the babies. The moment that Kedder was born, we had a line of folks there to touch him. And then, the babies started to come.”

Kedder laughed. “They still touch me. I get hugged in the market. How are you doing, Auntie?”

“Glad she is with us. I was wondering if she was ever going to make her appearance.” She stroked the baby’s cheek, and Mender held his hands out. Kedder carefully took the baby and brought her to her uncle.

“Well, hello, little miss. I am your Uncle Mender. I am tall, strong, and not normally pregnant. Well, I wasn’t until I landed here, and it has been pretty stable since. So, I currently have your last cousin in my belly, and he is going to be here later today.”

Mercy perked up, and Usatho quickly made a call. Kedantic nodded silently. He had heard the tremor in Mender’s voice as well.

Kedder got the baby and brought her back to Mercy before helping his papa to his feet. Kedantic came and lifted his partner and carried him to the hall where a gurney was waiting. The cousins were going to be sharing a birthday. It was sort of poetic. They did share the same genes, after all.

Mercy held her baby and the new nephew at the same time. His first meal was waiting for him in a bowl, and Kedantic was getting ready to do the honours. She handed the new baby over to its father and looked at little Sallyth. Her face was screwed up into a little wad, and before she could wail, Usatho stuck his finger against her lips. She sucked strongly, so he grinned. “Your turn, Mercy.”

She got up and walked into another room to feed Sallyth. Mender was fine, but Kedantic found it weird. Their children went straight to natural food from the land. Their teeth even came in in a matter of months. They were careful with their Terran-Hmrain cousins until the little winged ones were strong enough to play.

Usatho crouched next to them and stroked the baby’s cheek with the back of his clawed finger. “I never get enough of watching you do that.”

“You have weird hobbies, Overseer.” She smiled softly at him. “Are we having a party when we get home?”

“I think that Tovisk can show the locals what you first thought of me when you saw me naked.”

She laughed quietly. “Oh my god, he’s huge. He’s a monster?” She chuckled. “I don’t think it is appropriate for the new colonists around our place. Let’s just keep that for me.”

His eyes glowed. “I would rather keep it for me. It has always been my deepest desire to be a true monster with you.”

“And you are, every time I ripen. I look forward to it.”

He kissed her and asked, “How are you feeling, love?”

“Like a shuttle landed on me with a strange euphoria. Where are the kids?”

“With Tovisk. I was thinking of getting another species that humans can breed with. Something that breathes water, maybe? One of my siblings has a world where water is nearly everywhere. I will ask him if he wants to bring some of those males and females here.”

She chuckled. “Ooh. A merman. The stuff of fantasies.”

He looked at her. “Hm. You need to check your priorities.”

“First, the babies, then you, then Mender... then mermen?” She grinned.

He growled at her. She ran a hand through his hair, and then, she whispered against his lips, “No growling near the baby. I had better keep your mouth busy.”

She kissed him softly, and he leaned into her while keeping his chest from crushing their new baby.

“Two weeks of regen, and I can do more than kiss you.” He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers.

“You waited eight seasons for me and a few hundred years before that. The endless time to wait for me to recover from having your baby is just a heartbeat.”

He grinned. “You are missing me?”

“Yup. Sadly, I am a consort addicted to my Hmrain, or I would have taken the contract out fourteen years ago.”

Usatho smiled. “It is so cute you think I would let you leave.”

She stroked his cheek. “I know. The moment Mender got that contract, I was headed home. You just happened to live there. Good thing that another Hmrain didn’t take in the Usath, hm?”

He chuckled. “A very good thing indeed.”

“How many of your kind are out there looking for mates?”

He grinned. “A few hundred. Around fifteen of us have found companion-class Terrans. Some are popping up in colony populations. They were too young for assessment, but over the last two decades, it has been made clear that they can and will appear in the Terran-born children if assessments are done when they are adults.”

“Huh. When were you going to tell me?”

“When you mentioned your own people. I have all the Terrans I need and the one I would choose over and over right in my home.” He chuckled. “Plus, all of my children look like her, so it is best she stays with me.”

“Uh-huh. Custody and visitation would be a bitch.” She looked down at Sallyth. “She’s lovely.”

“You are just saying that because I said they look like you.”

“I have seen our children, Usatho. They do all look like me and you and us.”

He grinned. “And now we have enough to be overseers over half of my territory.”

“Uh-huh. What about the other half?”

“Well. How do you feel about waiting until you are receptive again?”

Mercy put on a serious face. “I think that we need to practice. It wouldn’t do to get rusty.”

She lifted the baby and burped her with slow strokes on her back.

“Let me know when you are ready to practice, Mercy. I am at your service.” He lifted them both and cuddled them both against him.

She yawned. “When can we go home?”

“You were cleared an hour ago. Let’s get your cloak and fly home. I want to get you both safe and tucked in.”

He got her cloak, and she held their newest addition against her as he walked out of the new med centre, picked her up in full view of the new citizens from Terra, and launched skyward.

She held her baby, leaned against her mate, and started the clock until her body and his could play together again. The last time it was fifteen days. This time she was hoping for ten. He powered up from being with her, so it was a matter of global security. She chuckled. There were a few dozen other excuses to make sure that he was in her bed, and even as delicate as she was now, he would still find some ways to bring her pleasure, and she appreciated his determination and creativity.

She had only set out to stay with her brother, but the universe had opened up, and she had fallen in love. She just wished that he didn’t have her original braid mounted and stretched over their sleeping platform. The kids always wanted to know the story, and Usatho was always willing to tell them the tale of mommy and her hair. They could hear the rest of the stories when they were old enough. She was thinking seventy.

Author’s Note

Back to the Shattered Stars. This time, I thought siblings were a good pairing. The whole thing with the fruit pies made me sniffle, but I am currently doing keto, so a lot of fruit makes me sad.

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, 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 is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.