“That I’m fertile.” The awe in Zuran’s voice was the same thing Olan was feeling. His bondmate looked up, and the breath shuddered from his chest.
“We will visit the healer. She can confirm it.” He grasped the back of Zuran’s head, drawing him close so that he could press a firm kiss to his lips.
Samantha wiggled herself in between them, wrapping her arms around the other male. “Let’s go visit Vasana.”
* * *
Zuran
“Sit down and let me have a look at you,” Vasana, the healer spoke softly.
Zuran took a hesitant step forward before lowering himself onto the soft seat on the floor in front of the female. His mates stood outside the door of the hut and he was sure they had their ears pressed to the wood. This was something he had wanted to do alone. If the vilebloom was wrong he was going to need time to prepare how to deliver the news.
“Can you be sure?” His voice came out harsher than he meant it to and he winced when Vasana arched her brow. “Forgive me. This is incredibly important for my family and I.”
“I understand, hunter. Turn so that you can place your head in my lap.” He did as she asked, spinning around and lying back, his head resting against her crossed legs. The healer leaned over him, placing her hands over his chest before sliding them up his shoulders and neck, stopping on the sides of his head. “Close your eyes, Zuran. Let me communicate with you.”
His body tingled all over and he swore he heard soft whispers in his mind. It seemed like hours passed while he lay there on the floor, listening to the soft, but indistinguishable voices. Vasana shifted under his head as the tingle along his skin stopped and his mind quieted once more. “You may sit up now,” she said gently.
Voices outside the hut caught his attention. He frowned up at the healer just before the door was thrown open.
“You cannot go in there!” Olan’s voice boomed.
Zuran shot up looking straight into his mama’s face. “Oh, Zuran!” she exclaimed, rushing in and dropping to his side. “What’s happened to you?”
His papa and younger sister, Vura, followed close behind. Vura had been a small kit the last time he had seen her, barely even walking when he had gone through his Choosing Ceremony. Now, however, she was nearly the mirror image of their mama and looked like she wasn’t far off from her own ceremony.
His eyes narrowed on the older female. “What are you doing here?”
“Your sister told me that she saw you come to Vasana’s hut. My only son visiting the healer? I had to come and make sure you were alright.”
Zuran snorted. “I haven’t been your son since the day I stepped out of the agmari bloom and was proclaimed a hunter.”
“I didn’t stop loving you simply because you became a hunter, Zuran,” she protested. “You knew we couldn’t follow you to the other village, not with your sister.”
“You never even took the time to seek me out.”
His mama huffed. “Well, you were constantly on the go. How were we to know where you would be from one day to the next?”
“I meant here,” he growled. “I have been living in this village long enough for you to have come to see me, to visit my mates and make up for lost time.”
The stunned look she gave him told him everything he needed to know.
“Get out,” Olan growled.
“You cannot command me, breeder,” his mama snapped.
A sigh escaped his lips and he turned to Vasana. “The results?”
The healer pulled her gaze away from where Olan and his mama nipped at one another. “Your extended breeding heat is a consequence of your hormones building up. Each year you went without breeding it became worse, yes?” He nodded. “Your heat will eventually cease once your hormones have leveled out or once your body senses the change within your mate during pregnancy.”
“And what about his fertility?” Samantha asked from the doorway. The talking in the room ceased as they turned to look at Vasana.
The healer placed a gentle hand on his and smiled. “Everything I saw within you tells me that there should be nothing to keep you from producing a kit with your mate.”
“I’m fertile?” he heard himself ask.
“That's it. Out! The three of you need to leave,” Samantha said, glaring at his mama and for once in her life, the older female didn’t argue. With one last glance at him, she gathered his family up and left the hut.
“Are you upset?” Zuran whispered as Olan crouched down in front of him.
“Upset?” His bondmate’s face screwed into a frown. “Why would this upset me?”
“You are Samantha’s breeder. It was one thing when we thought I was unable to father a kit, but now…” The thought that Samantha could grow and birth a life that he helped to create left him speechless.
“Zuran.” His little female wrapped her arms around him, pressing soft kisses along his jaw.
Olan’s hand slipped into his and he dropped his forehead down to Zuran’s. “There has never been another male more worthy than you.”
* * *
Samantha
“How much farther?” Samantha asked, running her fingers over the pretty blue leaves of the tree as she walked by.
“Nearly there,” Zuran called back to her from his position up ahead.
Olan grinned when he turned back to look at her. Her short-leg-people struggles were a never-ending source of amusement for them. She had lived here long enough to know she didn’t want to be too far away from her mates in the misty forest.
“Come on, Fanahala!” Olan called.
“Stupid aliens with their stupid long legs,” she mumbled, picking up her pace. Off to her right, something caught the edge of her vision, a massive plant with long, flat leaves that spread across the ground. The area between the thick stalk and the leaves was flattened, almost like a platform. Her eyes darted to Zuran and Olan where they had stopped to inspect one of the sturdy vines they liked using as rope. “I’ve got time for a side quest.” With her bottom lipped clamped tightly between her teeth, Samantha drew closer. If she hadn’t known better she would have sworn the plant was calling to her, inviting her over.
She crouched down and ran her fingers along the leaves that spread across the ground, marveling at the fuzzy feel. The stalks looked to be the same, but as she stood to investigate, something caught the toe of her boot, causing her to lurch forward and land in the middle on top of the flattened center. Within seconds the leaves began to rise, quickly closing in on her. “Guys! Help me! I’m being eaten by a plant!”
“Samantha!” She caught a glimpse of her males running toward her, but the leaves enveloped her moments before they reached her.
Great, she was being eaten by a plant. Samantha pounded her fists against the inside of her organic prison.
“Don’t struggle, Fanahala.” she could hear Zuran telling her.
“Don’t struggle? Seriously, Z, that’s your advice?”
“It’s the agmari bloom. Every Seyton will step inside one of these in their lifetime.”
“That’s super cool and interesting, but I am not Seyton!” Her anxiety began to peak just as a strange fog filled the enclosed space. Well, this was it. She’d had a good run. Darkness overwhelmed her and she felt her body go slack.
It seemed like only moments later when the leaves around her gave a massive shudder, falling open like they hadn’t just tried to digest her. “What the hell was that all about?” She asked in annoyance as she stumbled away from the plant. “I can’t believe you all willingly jump into those things.” Samantha turned to glare at Zuran and saw he watched her from where he sat at the base of a tree, his mouth hanging open and his bright white eyes wide. “What? Is there something on me? Where’s Olan?”
“I’m here, Fanahala.” Her other mate stepped quietly through the trees, the same look of shock that Zuran wore plastered across his face.
Something soft brushed the backs of her legs causing her to screech. Jumping forward she spun
around to see what had touched her, but again, the soft brush followed her. “What the hell?” Her whole body jerked backward and she suddenly found herself off balance. She stumbled, her arms flailing, just before Zuran steadied her. From the corner of her eye, a large black mass appeared and she turned her head. Wings? Who did they belong to? She spun around, but they only followed her.
“Stop!” Zuran snapped, grabbing her shoulders. “You are going to damage them.”
“Damage what?”
“Your wings.”
Her what? Samantha grabbed at a few of the feathers, tugging sharply. A screech escaped her at the zing of pain. “Holy shit. Holy shit, I have wings!”
“Perhaps this is a gift from the All Mother, a sign to show you that she has welcomed you and your people,” Olan suggested.
“Ama needs to see this.”
“Did it change anything else?” Samantha ran her hands over her face, hair, and body. There were no horns on her head and, from the parts of her body that she could see, everything else looked unchanged. The only difference in her appearance were the wings. Massive, black, feathered wings.
* * *
“Ama, I like you, really, but I’m not doing this.”
The chieftess’s laughter rang out over the cliffs, the same ones Zuran had brought her to after their escape from the ship. “It’s not as bad as you think.”
“You can do it, Fanahala. Every female does.”
Samantha looked over the edge and her stomach dropped. The pink waters of the ocean lapped at the exposed rocks below; she was not too keen on ending up spattered against them. She shook her head. “No. Not gonna happen.”
“Your wings will carry you,” Ama spoke, her voice full of amusement.
“Look, I’ve only had them for a couple of hours. I’ve flapped them around; I know they can move, but how am I supposed to know if they will actually work?”
“Like this.” The chieftess pressed her hand between Samantha’s wings and shoved her forward.
A scream was ripped from her throat as she fell toward the rocks, her stomach twisting and flipping.
“Open your wings, Samantha!” She turned to see Ama in a freefall beside her.
The massive wings at her back twitched, catching on the wind and making her wobble some. Open up! Her mind screamed frantically, and suddenly she felt her new muscles respond to the command, going wide and sending her shooting up into the air in a motion that nearly had her losing her lunch.
“That’s it! You’ve got it!” Ama encouraged, showing her how to push herself up farther.
Holy shit, she was flying. Samantha followed Ama through her paces, learning how to use her gifts. As the twin suns began to set on one of the most amazing and confusing days of her life, Samantha swooped down toward the ocean, her fingers trailing through the pink waters before she ascended toward the cliff where her mates were standing, watching her with proud smiles. She had never in her wildest dreams thought she would have a life like this; here she was with wings, two mates that adored her, and the fledgling beginnings of a new future for her people. She was going to get to do more than experience her life. She was going to live it.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Born in the Sunshine State, Hayley Benitez and Amanda Crawford are cousins who have come together to write under the name Octavia Kore. Both women share a love for reading, a passion for writing, and the inclination toward word vomiting when meeting new people. Ecstasy from the Deep (From the Depths Anthology version) was their very first published work. Hayley and Amanda are both stay-at-home-moms who squeeze in time to write when they aren’t being used as jungle gyms or snack dispensers. They are both inspired by their love for mythology, science fiction, and all things extraordinary. Amanda has an unhealthy obsession with house plants and Hayley can often be found gaming in her downtime.
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Other Works
Venora Mates:
Ecstasy from the Deep (short story)
Dauur Mates:
Queen Of Twilight
WORKS COMING SOON BY OCTAVIA KORE
Venora Mates:
Ecstasy from the Deep (extended edition) - May 1st, 2020
Kept from the Deep
Kidnapped from the Deep
Seyton Mates:
Breaths of Desire (extended edition)
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The Mate Hunt
A Star Touched Hearts Novella
Charity Wells
The Mate Hunt
A Star Touched Hearts Novella
Charity Wells
Rin just wanted to avoid his home territory for the duration of the mating season. Don’t get him wrong, he wanted a mate one day, just not the obsessive female who wouldn’t take no for an answer. With that in mind, he headed for the market colony on the other side of the planet. He was not expecting a sexy female to fall out of the trees and into his arms. He’s not complaining though. Tessa is curvy and sweet, soft in all the right places. And her scent is positively addictive. Rin can’t get enough of the sweet human, though he could do without her naughty kitten and his impish behavior. He’s not letting the little terror chase him away though. Tessa will be his before the season is over, he’s sure of it.
Tessa runs an old-fashioned boarding house in the market colony. Her days are pretty routine and kind of boring. She certainly didn’t intend to be up a tree that morning, but when one of the kittens escaped and got stuck up there, she had to go after it. Too bad she was too heavy for the branch to hold her. Landing in Rin’s arms was a bit embarrassing, but the sweet canine-like alien sweeps her off her feet and into a whirlwind of earnest attention and sincere attraction. But what could a handsome male like him possibly see in a big girl like her? Is she just a spring fling or is he really looking for something more?
Tessa and Rin spend too few moments together when an unwanted visitor arrives to steal Rin away and ruin the romance. Can Rin resist the biological drive of his people? Or will Tessa lose him to another?
1
Rin
What in Vren’s name is she doing? I thought, watching the curvy alien climbing the tree inside the edge of the colony’s border.
I had been traveling through the forest on foot to reach New Market Colony when noises deeper in the trees had attracted my attention. Leaving my packs beside the footpath, I’d headed into the trees to investigate.
It was one of the humans. They were still fairly new to the trader’s colony, but I’d encountered her kind before. Never up a tree though. This one huffed and puffed and groaned as she stretched for the next branch. Humans were odd creatures; small and moderately fragile, but extremely adaptable and obscenely tenacious.
Drawing closer, I watched her shimmy out on a particularly thin tree limb that would most certainly not hold her weight if she went any further. Her foot slipped and she scrambled at the bark, struggling to get it back on the branch before the rest of her followed. She paused for a moment, catching her breath, then stretched down the limb again.
“Come here you little monster!” She ordered through gritted teeth. I couldn’t help grinning as she cursed. “No! No! I swear to God you better get over here or I’m going to kill you as soon as I get my hands on your furry little ass!”
Who is she talking to? I wondered, trying to peer through the leaves. The branch trembled, rustling the leaves as she wriggled further out onto it. Something hidden in those leaves made a small plaintive sound. Curiously, I moved until I stood almost under the female. An ominous creak sounded above me.
“No, no, no, no, no, don
’t back up. Please come here,” she pleaded, making kissy noises now. The branch creaked again. “No! Don’t go up there!” The human groaned, dropping her head onto the branch. The branch cracked, lurching downward. The female shrieked, tumbling sideways off of it. I jumped forward and caught her before she hit the ground.
Soft amber eyes stared up at me through long, golden brown hair that frizzed out in every direction. Her breath panted fetchingly in her chest, making her large teats rise and fall attractively. Soft pink lips parted on a surprised squeak. She had a delicate snub nose and thick dark lashes. Her body was delightfully soft and squishy under my hands.
“Are you well, human?” I asked calmly. She blinked, then cleared her throat.
“Uh, yeah. Thanks,” she answered, wiggling to get down. Setting her carefully on her feet, I looked up into the tree again. I didn’t see anything, but heard a light rustling.
“Why were you climbing the tree?” The female was staring at me again. Her head craned back to look up at me. At just barely mid chest on me, I towered over the tiny alien. She shook herself and transferred her attention to the limb above us, making a disgruntled noise.
“My kitten climbed up there and won’t come down,” she replied with obvious frustration. “I was trying to rescue the little demon, but he’s not cooperating.”
“Kitten?” I’d never heard of such a thing before. “What is a kitten?”
Tessa
A giant dog caught me. I fell out of a tree and a giant dog alien caught me. That was the only thing I could think, as I stared up at the alien that stood over me. He was tall, at least six foot ten. At only five foot three, I felt like a child next to him. I shouldn’t actually be that surprised that he caught me, it is his planet after all. His species makes up a good portion of the colony’s population even. I just wasn’t familiar with this one.
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