by Jools Louise
Neea growled viciously, swiping a lethally sharp claw at her sister’s face. The ensuing slice cut bloody grooves across one cheek.
“She is now forever branded a traitor to her family. This wound will not heal. I will ask that she be banished and sent to one of our outer moons, alone, so she can harm no one else with her vicious games.” Neea glared then lashed out again. This time her claws ripped off the garment which covered Frizta’s lithe form.
“She does not deserve to wear the colours of my clan. She will be cast out cold and naked. She tried to kill my son. She would have lain with my mate, then probably killed him, too, and then danced on my grave.” Another swipe of claws opened new wounds across breasts and belly.
“Heartless, mean-spirited bitch!” A final jab and a new set of claw marks across both sleek thighs. “You are no longer of my family. My children, your nieces and nephews, loved you. You would repay their love with a death sentence. You will die a lonely, lonely female with no one to love you!”
Max and Sol shared concerned glances as Neea then fell to her knees, weeping harshly.
Max left the comfort of his mate’s arms, crawling over to his friend and gathered her close. Her head was buried in the crook of his neck, her tears soaking his chest.
“My lady, your sentence is far more lenient than I would have done. My uncle will at some point be delivered justice, but I fear I will end his murderous life. You have a strong heart. Perhaps over time Frizta will repent and become the sister you deserve.”
Neea continued to sob, clutching at Max for solace.
His heart ached for her. Betrayal was a terrible thing. When it was a betrayal by someone close to you…? He knew exactly how Neea felt. His arms tightened, and then he heard the return of Myre, who was still complaining as he cursed loudly, carried as he was by Raven and Jayde.
He heard the hitch in Neea’s sobs, and then she raised her tear-soaked face to stare as the knights landed.
Myre glared at the unrepentant duo who grinned back mischievously. They high-fived each other as Myre turned his back and strode to his mate.
Taking her gently in his arms, he stood for several moments holding her and placing tender kisses on her damp cheeks.
“We will do whatever you wish with her my love. She has deceived us for too long. Now it is her time to pay the consequences.” Myre spoke gruffly, his eyes fierce yet sad. The look he sent over to Frizta was less so. He looked like he wanted to rip her to pieces right there.
“Papa, why is Mama crying?” a little voice spoke and everyone froze.
Max answered, kneeling in front of the little shifter.
“Frizta did something very bad and now she has to go away. Far away, where she can’t hurt anybody else.” Max smiled as the cub crawled into his lap, sucking a thumb.
“She hurt my brother, Zekon. She is not a nice aunty. She was mean to us. Can I scratch her with my claws, too?” He asked innocently, looking curiously at the gashes on his aunt’s naked torso. He didn’t appear afraid or repulsed.
“I think perhaps we will let your mama and papa decide what to do with her, don’t you, Mizzon?” Max asked, cuddling with the small shifter. In humanoid form, they were all chubby bundles of fun. In shifter form, the bundles came complete with fangs, claws, and a fearless disregard for safety. Max had a moment of panic wondering how his little ones were going to turn out. All six of them. At the same time. Crap!
“It’s a bit late to be worrying about that now, Your Majesty. Although at least my children came one at a time. So glad they didn’t all come at once,” drawled Myre, who had been eavesdropping on Max’s thoughts again.
“Hey!” He yelped as Neea smacked her mate on the arm and Max poked his tongue out at the large shifter leader.
“I’m just glad I didn’t mate with you...look how you turned out!” Max spoke cheekily.
Myre gave him a sneering look, curling his lip in scorn.
“At least I’m not about to be father to six critters which look like Raven or Jayde!” He retorted smugly.
“Hey!” Jayde yelped, pretending to look offended.
“Better they look like us than Sol, I think. All that golden hair and those girly violet eyes!”
The slams kept coming, the knaves all joining in the insults as everyone laughed at them. Myre gave as good as he got. Max rolled his eyes, smiling at Neea who shook her head at their antics.
“What are we going to do with Aunty?” little Mizzon piped up as the laughter died down.
They all turned their gazes on the figure of the snarling traitorous female who stood naked and frozen in place a few yards away.
“I can’t risk another spell until I’ve rested.” Max said apologetically. “The spells take a lot out of me, especially now that I’m pregnant.”
“Max, that’s okay. She is our problem to deal with. You have helped us more than you can ever know.” Neea reassured him.
“We could leave her here with a guard then have her transported later after Max has rested.” Sol spoke up, glaring at Frizta.
“Excellent plan. Szmia is en route to the penal colony on the Reddan Moon. But since we don’t really know who else was working with Frizta, I think we will question her later. She’s not going anywhere in this state!” Myre sneered at his in-law.
Everyone left the courtyard, leaving a magick cordon around Frizta which would prevent anyone taking her. No one would put it past her to have a backup plan ready to rescue her should things go to hell. The cordon would incinerate anyone daring to try.
Chapter Nine:
Six Eggs for Six knaves
Months later, Frizta had been safely transported to an outlying moon near the Reddon Penal colony.
That was the least of Max’s concerns.
Right now, he was screaming at the top of his lungs, sweating like a pig, and cursing everyone who had anything to do with him getting pregnant.
The birthing process was excruciating.
A birth canal had mysteriously appeared in a very odd place, creating a great deal of pain as it seared through his insides. He had not thought to ask what happened when a male conceived, or how the eggs would be laid. He was finding out the hard way.
The birth canal opened up just under his penis behind his balls. A new hole had appeared the nearer he came to term, and he had difficulty sitting without a very comfortable cushion being placed under his posterior.
He felt the moment when the first egg moved into position, his hips stretching to accommodate the thing. He screamed bloody murder.
Sol and the rest of the knaves wisely kept silent, and absent. Neea was afraid Max would cast a magick on the fathers whilst in the throes of birthing madness and send them off into the oblivion of deep space…minus a spacecraft.
Since by now Max was screaming every curse word he knew and inventing a few new ones, that was a fairly real concern.
Fairly soon the screaming stopped, then the sobbing began and Max wanted his knaves to be near him again. The pain had decreased dramatically since all the preparation had completed. Now he wanted his mates with him.
Sol arrived first, looking sheepish and slightly squeamish.
“My lad, I hope you don’t think that after all the fun and games you’re just going to stand there like a lummox!” Neea was not sympathetic. But then she had done this eight times already. Max liked her attitude.
Raven, Jayde and Ochre came next. They all sort of hovered like nervous suitors as they stood, undecided on how to help. Indigo and Shimmer snuck in behind, as though trying to hide behind their mates and Max burst out laughing.
“Come here, idiots! I want you near me. And if any one of you pukes, I will have you castrated!” Wincing, Sol sat next to Max on the large bed. Cradling him, brushing the damp navy hair from his cheek the golden dragon settled in stoically. The others all sat gingerly, hands brushing against Max soothingly. An arm, a shoulder a knee. They obviously had no clue what to do.
A deep, guttural groan escaped Max as
he felt the large oval thing inside him move inexorably to the end of the birthing tube. He clenched his teeth, yelping in pain as it popped out like a cork from a bottle, complete with requisite noise.
Immediately Neea placed the egg into a birthing basket which had warm stones heating it from underneath. The first egg was golden in colour and Max smiled at Sol as Sol’s eyes began to tear up.
“Hey, dad. The alpha has a son.”
“Or a daughter,” Neea retorted, grimacing.
“No, my lady. This is definitely male.” Max said with such certainty that Neea believed him.
The process was repeated five more times. Each egg was a different hue. Jet black, jade green, amber, silver, and dark purplish blue. Each knight had a child.
“How long do we wait until they hatch?” Neea asked, fascinated. All shifters had live young. She had never met a dragon shifter before and to her knowledge, they were they only shifter race to lay eggs like this.
“In about three weeks,” Ochre said, speaking up. “The shells are hard now, but they soften to a tough leathery shell and are absorbed into the youngster as each one grows. They don’t hatch, exactly, merely form into young dragons. They stay in this form for three years, and then they are able to shift. A dragon shifter ages quickly in the first three years. Each will be fully grown by the end of that time.”
Everyone stared in awe at Ochre, who was the quietest of the bunch of knights. This might be longest anyone had ever heard him speak.
“Wow!” Max said, eyes wide.
Ochre grunted, nudging his shoulder against Jayde in embarrassment. Jayde put his arm around his lover, cuddling him close.
“Don’t be embarrassed, love. We love that you know all this. We’re all quite ignorant, since most of our parents told us nothing. Mine were quite glad to send me off to warrior school as soon as possible.” Jayde placed a tender kiss on Ochre’s soft mouth, heating up quickly until they were both panting as they separated.
“You grew up together, didn’t you?” Max asked curiously. He knew something of their history, but not all.
“Yes. Ochre was orphaned quite young. He was taken in by my mother as a youngster. We’ve been friends ever since.” Jayde smiled, snuggling his head into the crook of Ochre’s strong neck, nuzzling into the hot skin there.
“Then I’m very glad you honoured me by allowing me to carry the next of your line.” Max nodded his head regally, placing a hand on Ochre’s. The dragon gave a shrug of his shoulders and smiled shyly.
“I am honoured to be part of your mating pod.” Ochre responded quietly, blushing slightly.
“I’ll say!” Max burst out, rubbing his ass ruefully which had the others bursting out in laughter. Ochre blushed again and Max smiled at him, pulling on his hand and dragging him closer.
“I am very much in love with you, Ochre. The ritual is one thing, but the bonding proves the heart of a dragon and the feelings the mating pod have for each other. The bond is strong in each of you. That isn’t just about preserving heritage. It’s about the love we have for each other. My parents had the same for their pod, but I believe our love will prove stronger.” Max brought Ochre’s head down, meeting the soft lips with his own. Growling softly, Ochre opened for Max, tasting the sweetness of his mate and feeling the love and affection reach through their bond straight to his heart.
Despite his love for Jayde, Ochre had still felt like something was missing. Almost a lonely feeling. Now that the missing piece was in place, he realised it was the mate bond. That connection which tethered all seven hearts to each other in a way that would only end in death. He felt the welling of his own love flow from him, into each of his knave mates and felt their reciprocal answer.
“In two days, the birth canal will be no more and I can resume normal…activities.” Max whispered against Ochre’s succulent mouth as he swirled his tongue greedily along his lover’s. “I find I am hungry for my beautiful mates.”
A low growling came from each knight, and Max smiled against Ochre’s mouth as he scented their arousal.
“My love, we will indeed help you resume your…activities. We will have to find a way to decide who goes first.” Ochre licked a path along Max’s soft cheek, nibbling the earlobe until Max shivered.
“First?” Max stuttered, head falling back in ecstasy, for a moment forgetting he had just given birth.
“To fuck you right into the mattress!”
Max gasped as desire assaulted him at the carnal promise. He gripped Ochre’s shirt, kneading the firm muscle of his lover’s chest.
Finally his lips left Ochre’s. His eyes were golden pools of desire, swirling with yearning.
“My goodness! I feel quite hot all of a sudden!” Neea exclaimed, face flushed as she watched the pair. “That was some kiss!”
Max blushed furiously, having been so caught up with the kiss he had forgotten all else but his mates. He had felt their desire and love and pride through the connection. He had felt, the instant he had bonded with them all, when their fears and loneliness and yearnings had dissipated until they were one whole. He just hadn’t shown this much desire for his mates in front of others before.
“I suddenly feel a need to find Myre. I’ll let you guys…bond a little more.” Neea left hurriedly, smiling wickedly at Max and winking at the knights.
Sol gently got the birthing basket. The thing was not small and definitely not light, but he carried it with ease. Laying it beside Max he and the others gathered around to stare in awe at the six eggs lying there. Max brushed a hand over each one, stroking them gently. He felt their life force beneath his hand, the strength startling in something so small.
“They feel healthy. Even at this stage they will sense us here,” Max said, blinking back tears as he looked up at his mates.
“We all knew our parents from the very beginning. The magicks are strong in dragons.” Ochre said, smiling proudly.
“I’m sorry you are bound to such a useless king,” Max suddenly burst out. “You should be at home, rather than in another dimension with a kingdom-less weakling!”
He suddenly burst into tears, his hands covering his face as he sobbed. All the fear and stress, plus the excess of hormones still flitting about his body, had him over-emotional all of a sudden. What a truly pathetic king he was. He had no kingdom, he had no people and he had no home. Yet these powerful, beautiful dragon warriors still stood by him, loved him, and gave him everything. He was not worthy.
“Max, we will return home when we have our army. We will travel to the ends of the known worlds and beyond until we get enough power to take back what is ours. Your father did not die in vain. Syrrus and Trophus made a mistake. They should have killed you and your knaves first. Instead, they killed an old man and left a strong, powerful warrior to carry on the line and seek vengeance. They left behind six powerful dragon knaves who love you with everything that is in them and will follow you wherever you will go. We have not one, but six young dragons who will grow fast and be taught all there is about respect, honour, and loving of family and home. We are one, Your Majesty. You are one of the strongest we have known. We love you, darling heart.”
Sol spoke fiercely for all of them as they watched their liege break down finally. So far Max had spilled a few tears, but for the most part he had been their stalwart. For once, he was letting himself lean on them. They curled around him, his six mates. Kissing him and offering words of comfort and love they stayed like that until Max finally fell into exhausted slumber.
As a unit, their dragon young safely ensconced in their basket, all of them fell asleep in a warm pile of bodies, taking comfort from each other.
When Myre entered the chamber later on, looking a little dishevelled and more than a bit smugly satiated, he grinned at the sight. Shaking his head, he peered into the egg basket, brushing a gentle finger over each egg.
“Well now. I’ll be very interested in the story to follow, young’uns. I’m thinking you’re going to be little terrors. At least yo
u have all these dads to take care of you, fierce warriors all. Well, except for Jayde and Raven!” He chuckled quietly to himself as Jayde let out a yelp of offence.
“Moron!” Jayde muttered to the large shifter.
“Asshole!” Myre murmured right back.
“Fancy another flying lesson, cat?” Raven suggested, his eyes open and his mouth smiling a wicked smile as Myre shuddered in remembered horror.
“Dickhead! You boys are amateurs. If you hadn’t done that looping the loop thing, I’d have been fine!” Myre growled, scowling.
“Scaredy cat! You threw up when we were flying in a straight line!” Jayde spoke up, winking at Myre’s scowling face.
With a muttered curse at the pair of reprobates, Myre promised retribution for the embarrassment and left. Idiot dragons!
The soft laughter trailing him did nothing to help his disposition, although he did grin at the banter. Nobody else dared to argue with him and he loved the camaraderie he had with the knaves. Like that of brothers. What a pity the two were such dickwads! Yes, he was going to be very interested in the next chapter as the young dragons grew alongside his own youngsters.
Chapter Ten:
Revisiting the Bond
Five days of healing later, and Max found himself screaming for a different reason. His mouth was filled by two large cocks which fucked his mouth in turn. Straddling Jayde, his ass embedded with Jayde massive cock, he was now being impaled by Sol’s larger one as well. Arching his back as the burning began as his hole stretched, he screamed out in pleasure as Sol bottomed out.
Panting with pleasure as the pain eased, Max waited for Sol to start moving. Jayde took turns sucking on Raven and Ochre, in between searing kisses with Max. Max’s mouth alternately full of Raven and Ochre’s meat and then Jayde’s swirling tongue, he was jacking off Indigo and Shimmer with each hand. Showing a distinct skill for multi-tasking, he moved sinuously atop Jayde. The double fuck increased its pace as he moved in synch with his two warriors who were fucking his ass. His mouth gobbled up the cocks, licking and sucking hungrily. Sharing pre-cum with Jayde, he was amped up to the max. He felt the warmth of pre-cum lubing his hand as he stroked along the two thick cocks in his hands with firm pressure.
