by Belle Harper
I lowered myself to the floor and crawled to him, my hands hovering above his body, not knowing what to do. I wanted to help him in any way I could. Even if it was just sitting here and talking to him, I would do that until he was healed.
“Aalee?” I whispered. “You have to get better, you hear me? You can’t leave me, okay? I need you.” Tears streamed down my cheeks, I could taste the saltiness of them on my lips. I didn’t think I would ever stop crying.
Axoh moved in beside me and started to look at Aalee’s injuries. Luna’s mate was the best healer in the clan and if anyone could fix him, he could. I just knew it.
“He is healing very slowly. It is taking longer on his body to heal with the new mating hormones.”
I looked over to my mates who had moved in closer. Mating hormones? I didn’t touch him… Oh my god. He must have touched me to help me get away when I was knocked out.
“Did you want him as a mate? Did he upset you? Did he touch you without asking?” a male behind me asked. I didn’t know who that was, and I wasn’t about to tell him what must have happened. He might not believe me.
“I wanted him as a mate,” was my only answer. I didn’t confirm or deny anything, and I told the truth. I had wanted him from the first time I laid eyes on him. I knew there was something there, I just didn’t know what.
“Maybe if you lay with him and touch him, he might heal faster,” Axoh suggested, and I looked at him. I thought he meant touch him in a sexual way, but he pointed to the small bit of skin showing through the wraps and I realized I was the only one thinking that. I carefully moved into the nest beside Aalee. His sleeping face was so sweet. There were cuts and all types of marks on there, but he still looked like the Aalee I had come to know.
“Hey,” I whispered when most of the people in the hut moved out. I found a patch of skin on his chest and gently placed my hand there. His body was warm, that was a good sign. Or was it a bad sign? He felt like my mates, so I assumed good.
“Thank you for following me, for coming for me. I knew you would, but I didn’t want this to happen. You mean so much to me, even if you don’t know it. I want you as a mate, you have known my interests in you before, but now my feelings for you have only grown. Please wake up. Please.”
He didn’t move, or even stir. A blanket was placed over the both of us as Jaka brushed my hair off my face and placed a small kiss on my temple.
“Sleep, I will watch over you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jaka
A week had passed, nothing more could be done with Aalee. His body had healed, but now they worried his mind was lost. He hadn’t woken, his eyes never moved. But he had one time moved some fingers which Hadley had screamed out to me about a few days ago, but that was days ago. Nothing had changed since then. He hadn’t eaten anything and only had some water when Hadley had made him swallow. It took a long time to even do that. It was sad to see such a strong warrior struggling to live.
If anyone could bring him back to us, it would be Hadley. I knew Aalee cared deeply for her, but after speaking with Adee and Jaim, they believed he kept his distance because he thought himself broken, not good enough for her. Which wasn’t true. Hadley had a huge heart, and before I met her I thought I was broken… I was lost without a clan. But Hadley chose me. She could have picked any other male, but she didn’t. And now more than ever, I wanted her to be happy. And Aalee made her happy.
“Did I tell you about the time I went to get coffee and I really wanted to get some cake? Cheesecake, to be exact, oh yum. You would like that, I think. Well, as I was saying, I went to get coffee, but they had no cheesecake. I couldn’t pick anything else. I was craving a good cheesecake. So, I walked ten blocks to get one. And it was so worth it.”
Hadley had been talking to Aalee every day. She hadn’t left his bedside, only to urinate and waste. She had been eating and sleeping there all day and night, and she told the most fascinating stories. I loved listening to them even though I didn’t understand most of it. The way she talked with so much happiness was what made the stories so alive.
“I have some pixxe, my heart.” I showed her the two I picked for her and Aalee. I always brought two of everything. On the first day, Vetok only brought one for her and she cried that Aalee had nothing. Vetok tried to explain it was only because he wasn’t awake, but Hadley was inconsolable, and it was agreed that we brought food for both of them at all times.
“Would you like some water?” She shook her head. I didn’t like that she wasn’t eating or drinking enough for herself and the kits.
“I shall just get some for Aalee,” I told her, and she agreed. When I handed her the cup, I asked her to test the water to make sure it was cool enough for him. It was how I got her to have something to drink when I was watching them. We had been taking it in turns, but Vetok was not good at patience and yelled at her yesterday when she didn’t eat. He was told not to come back until he had “cooled down” which were Luna’s words.
Brooklyn had told us, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” I didn’t understand it, and neither did Vetok. But Elle told us that my way of speaking to Hadley was the honey, and Vetok was the vinegar. Honey was saying things to her in a way that made her want to eat and drink. Vinegar was yelling at her to eat and drink.
Vetok was upset, but with himself. He had been staying away, mostly lurking outside the hut. We all knew he cared for her, and he was very protective. He was having a hard time protecting Hadley from herself.
“Do you think he will wake up?” Hadley asked me, and it wasn’t the first time she had asked this. She had asked us all. I was glad Jeralk was no longer in the hut, it was hard having him so close to my mate.
“With you here, I know he wants to wake up.” I didn’t want to give her false hope, and I wanted to be the honey and not the vinegar. She nodded at my answer, I was only telling her the truth. If I was lying there like Aalee I would want to wake up.
She moved closer to him and wrapped her arm around his chest. I watched as it slowly rose and fell, never changing. I wished for him to wake, it would break Hadley if he didn’t.
“My heart, I think maybe the kits are hungry for their pixxe?” I was trying another way to get her to eat. Elle had been worried about the kits as she wasn’t eating or drinking enough.
“Oh… yeah. I wasn’t hungry but I need to eat for them.” I let out a sigh of relief. She sat up and started to eat the pixxe. She would bite off pieces and offer them the Aalee, even placing it against his lips at one stage. She ended up eating both of them and I smiled. I felt like I had done something good for my mate today.
“Would you like me to wash you?” I had brought water and hoped that she would be ready for a wash. I didn’t want to ask her to go to the river to wash, it was too scary even for me for her to wash outside.
“No, thank you.” I nodded and held her hand, my tails wrapping around her ankles, and she sighed as she laid against me.
“How did we end up here?” I knew this wasn’t a question for me to answer, she just was wanting to think out loud. She did this often with me. I loved that she trusted me with all her thoughts.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m supposed to have my happily ever after, but without Aalee I don’t know how that is going to work now. He is just as much of my mate as you all are, yet he doesn’t know it. He might never know it. And that is scaring me the most.
“I know that if he dies, there is nothing I can do. I have come to terms with it being a possibility. Even with him being fully healed on the outside. Something is broken inside, and I can’t fix it, as much as I wish I could.
“I just want him to know that I choose him, I will always pick him as mine. Even if he never wakes up. He is mine, as I am his.”
We laid together quietly and she fell asleep in my arms. I looked down to Aalee. I had prayed to the Goddess he would wake many times. I was almost wanting to be the vinegar and yell at him to wake. But I wouldn’t. It
wouldn’t help.
I watched over him sleepily. I needed more rest but I had promised Hadley if she was to sleep, I would watch Aalee. Nothing changed, he slept as if he was just tired from a long day. He licked his lips, probably tasting the pixxe she had placed there earlier and rolled over… he rolled over!
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hadley
“Aalee?” I heard Jaka whisper. I smiled He was talking to him too. I liked that, I didn’t want to be the only one who did. He needed to hear us all, know that we were all caring for him.
“Jaka?” The voice was so low I could barely hear it. Maybe it was Axoh coming to check on Aalee. He came a few times a day.
“It’s me, it’s Jaka.” I smiled. He wasn’t a big talker and it was funny how he answered to his name. I snuggled in closer to him and his arms held me tighter.
“Can I have water?” I heard that better, but my eyes didn’t want to open. It was like I was underwater. I hadn’t slept enough and now I was hearing things, because it sounded like Aalee. But if it was Jaka would have woken me.
“Hadley, Hadley, my heart. Wake up, Aalee wishes for water.”
I had never woken faster in my life. The fog in my head lifted as I sat up, looking to Aalee to see if it was real. I saw his big eyes looking back at me and tears pricked my eyes. I threw myself at him and he tensed. I placed my face on his chest and took a deep breath as I listened to his heart. It was faster now.
Aalee’s arms slowly wrapped around me, but once they were there around me he was tense. I felt him kiss my forehead and I started to cry.
“Hadley, are you okay?” Jaka’s voice was laced with concern, probably wondering why I was crying over Aalee waking up. I sat back, Aalee’s arms loosening around me, and I smiled down at him, wiping the tears away. He really was awake. His hair had fallen into his eyes, but I couldn’t have that anymore.
I pushed the hair out of the way as Jaka moved closer with the water. We helped Aalee to sit up and he drank all the water and asked for more.
“Hadley, you should drink too,” Jaka reminded me. I nodded as he handed me a cup. I drank as much as Aalee did and I just couldn’t believe it. Had he heard everything I said? Did he know how much I loved him?
“I will go tell everyone you are awake.” Jaka was swift on his feet and was out of the hut before we could even reply. We couldn’t take our eyes off each other.
“You stayed with me?” Aalee asked. I nodded, suddenly feeling a little shy.
“You spoke to me, or was that a dream?” I laughed.
“Yes, I talked to you. A lot.” I saw the corner of his lip rise as he gave me this amazing grin. Oh, he heard me.
“You have my heart, Hadley. You always did, I just didn’t know how to give it to you. Until now.”
I kissed him so hard, and with so much passion, I thought I would explode. But the hut did, with everyone coming to see Aalee awake now.
I moved aside but he wouldn’t let me go. Every time he looked to me that smile returned and I felt myself finally relaxing. He was safe, he was awake, and he was mine.
Aalee was my mate.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hadley
3 years later…
I ran, laughing and throwing my top behind me. The suns shone brightly and I felt free as a bird. My arms stretched wide as I ran as fast as I could. I saw a flash of purple pass me through the trees and quickly changed direction.
“You can’t catch me,” I called out, taunting them. I let out a squeal as Adee dropped from the tree… naked as the day he was born. I laughed as he grinned wide.
“You have to let me think I’m winning… you cheat,” I teased him as he wrapped me in his arms.
“I am no cheater,” he replied in perfect English. I laughed as he spun me around before placing me back on my bare feet.
“Run, Hadley.” His tails were going wild behind him, giving away his thoughts. I winked before I set off again. It was so nice to feel this free, wild, and I came to a sudden stop when I saw a very cheeky tail coming from the tree in front of me.
I cocked my hip to the side and smirked.
“Mmm… someone needs a lesson in hiding,” I teased. The beaming smile I got from that was worth it as Aalee stalked towards me.
“Maybe I want my mate to find me. It is not often I get to chase her through the trees,” he practically purred. I almost had to fan myself, he was so sexy and smooth. Who would have known under that grumpy exterior all those years ago?
“That’s true… maybe I need some kisses and your cock?” He charged at me, picking me up and spinning me, Adee right beside him now as he set me down. They both led me to where they had laid some blankets down. They had even picked me flowers.
“Aww, you treat me like a princess.” They both nodded as Aalee lost his loin cloth. Now I wasn’t thinking about flowers, I was thinking of all the fun I was gonna have riding them both. I pointed to Aalee. He knew what I wanted as he laid down, his arms stretched wide. Then I winked at Adee as I took my underwear off and threw it to him.
I moved to straddle Aalee. I kissed him deeply as I felt him touching me all over. I pulled back and reached for Adee, kissing him and stroking his cock. I rubbed myself along Aalee’s length before he flipped me over. Adee was between my legs, stretching me wide as he licked and sucked at my clit, while Aalee was sucking and nipping at my nipples until I came. But they didn’t stop, they switched positions until I cried out once more.
“My heart,” Adee whispered as I tried to catch my breath. My head lolled to the side to see his beautiful face.
“Please take me, Adee, make love to me.” This was always the way. Each time I was with them together they took turns on who was first. I never had to think about it, they never fought over it. They were the most perfect mates.
He settled between my thighs and I felt him enter me, his cock was hard and stretched me in all the right places. It was slow and torturous, even after two orgasms I wanted more and he always liked to take it slow. And I loved that about him.
“I love you, Adee,” I whispered into his ear, kissing his throat. He grunted a few times and came inside me.
“I am sorry, my heart, my seed comes fast.” I shook my head as I stroked his jaw.
“It’s okay, I enjoyed it,” I replied. He didn’t always come so fast, I just had him worked up about today for maybe a little too long. He moved off me and I looked over to Aalee who was resting his shoulder against a tree and looking sexy as sin.
“Come to me.” I liked that Aalee was rough. He liked to take me against trees or in the river. Each time he wanted to make it different, and I never complained. I felt the thrill riding through my veins as I approached him. He took my hands and raised them above my head, pinning them to the tree as he sniffed my throat and licked up to my ear.
“I take you hard,” he growled into my ear as he nipped the lobe. I was so horny and worked up. His lower hands grabbed behind my knees and lifted me like I weighed nothing, spreading me for him as he rested his cock against my pussy. It was huge, purple and, god, I wanted to sit on it so bad.
I didn’t have to wait long as he thrust into me, hard. I gasped at the feeling. He held me tight as he took my mouth with his, his teeth nipping at my lower lip as he thrust over and over again. I called out his name as I came. It was like seeing stars.
“Aalee… Aaleeeeee.”
He called out his release as he lowered my hand to his neck and he cradled me to him. We were breathing deeply, it was a workout when you mated three of your mates in one morning.
I had just come off birth control and I wasn’t mating Jaka or Vetok for the next month. I wanted to make sure that this time it was one of the three of them that was the biological father. Not that they cared even the tiniest bit, but I did. It weighed on my conscious that Vetok or Jaka was the biological father to our children… kits. That this time, I would know for sure it was Jaim, Aalee, or Adee.
Aalee took me to Adee, who was laying down wa
iting for me. I loved after-sex snuggles with them both. I laid down beside him as Aalee laid on my other. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the quiet.
“A nap right now would be perfect,” I told them, because if I didn’t get up, I was going to have one. I couldn’t stop myself, I was exhausted.
“My heart, sorry to wake you, but it’s time to go back.” Adee gently woke me. I grumbled to give me five minutes, but then Aalee spoke.
“You know that Apak is going to go crazy if he is stuck with Vetok too long.” I sat up and rolled my head, stretching my neck.
“Ugh, why do you have to be the good one? Apak can handle himself. Vetok is just an overprotective father is all.”
Which was true, he was the most overprotective father of anyone in the clan. And it made me feel at ease leaving him with the kids, but sometimes I wanted to kill him. He was like a child himself.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Hadley
“Mumma, mumma.” I opened my arms wide as I watched three little half Aashi, half human toddlers running at me. I dropped down as they wrapped their little arms and tails around me.
“Glad you have returned,” Apak teased with a smile. He was so good with the kids… and Vetok.
“Thank you for having them and not killing my big one.” I winked as he knew who I meant. I saw Vetok putting his hands up in defense as if he hadn’t been difficult. Jaka just laughed.
“Mumma, Grandpa give me rock.” I watched as little Jae opened his palm and held a rock. He was my only son and named after the selfless male who gave up his life to save mine. He looked mostly Aashi, his skin tone was a darker purple than the girls. I gave him my best wow face and kissed him. Apak gave him a lot of rocks, we were getting a huge collection, and I needed to speak to him about that. We would need a bigger hut if he kept giving him rocks.
