by M. K. Eidem
"Yes, because you would have gone all Supreme Chairman, giving orders and demanding answers, instead of listening and acting like a dad."
Paul closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, consciously reigning in his power because his Dakota was right. As usual.
"It seems you left something out when you told us about your parents," there was no censure in Jamis’s words or gaze as he looked down to Cali.
"I warned you it was going to be tricky," she reminded him meeting his gaze.
"Tricky is a bit of an understatement," Taarig murmured, pulling her gaze to him.
"You have no idea," she breathed.
"California Rose, you have some explaining to do," Paul said as he and Dakota crossed the room, taking in how Cali and the two males were touching. "As do your Commanders."
Stepping away from her mates, Cali placed her hands on her dad's chest as she rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Hi, Dad."
Jamis watched as one of the most feared males in the universe wrapped his arms around his daughter, their Lalla, and pulled her in close. There was no doubting the love he felt for Cali. It was in his every touch and look.
"You're okay?" Paul whispered in her ear.
"Yes, Dad. I swear. I'm so sorry. I scared you."
"Are you sure?" Paul held her at arm’s length and ran a critical eye over her. His daughter had always been beautiful, but now there was a special glow about her.
"Yes," she reassured him. "I wouldn't lie to you about something like that."
His gaze shot to the Commanders. "But you did about these two, it appears. You assured me you weren't involved with them."
"If you remember, I asked if you wanted to know, and you didn't answer." Cali maintained eye contact with her dad as she stepped out of his arms and back into Jamis’s and Taarig's, which immediately wrapped around her. "We were just getting to know one another then, so there was nothing to tell you. Since then, we've bonded."
"What?!"
"Now, Paul," Dakota put a calming hand on her mate as she looked to her daughter. "I'm sure Cali was going to tell us."
"I was," Cali immediately agreed, understanding her mother's look. "I just wanted Jamis and Taarig to have time becoming used to becoming Zagreus before throwing anything else at them."
"And we're anything else?" Paul questioned.
"As my mom and dad? No. As you being the Supreme Chairman? Yes."
Paul found he couldn't argue with that. He hadn't missed the Commanders’ shocked expressions when he'd entered the room, which told him Cali was telling him the truth. "I suppose I can understand that."
"It seems a male blamed the Commanders for the death of his mate. He attacked them, and Cali got caught in the crossfire," Dakota explained.
"Where is this male," Paul growled.
"Ended," Jamis told him. "He blew his head off but not before he shot Taarig and ejected Cali out an airlock."
"I'm fine, Dad," Cali quickly reassured.
"Our daughter can heal, Paul."
"Mom!"
"What?!"
"She had to heal her mate to keep him with her," Dakota continued as if neither of them had interrupted. "The way we were."
"She forced a melding?!"
"No!" Everyone in the room immediately denied.
"I'd never do that, Dad," Cali whispered, hurt that he'd think she would. "Taarig was shot after we'd already committed to one another."
"Cali…" Paul couldn't stand the look in his daughter's eyes or how she sank deeper into her mates' arms.
A blinding light suddenly filled the room, and Jamis and Taarig pulled Cali deeper into their arms, their bodies wrapping protectively around her.
"Where's my daughter!" the demand rattled the walls of the base and set off its destabilization alarms.
"Caradoc, stop!"
Jamis looked behind him to see Cali's mom rushing toward a floating ball of light, which quickly transformed into a glowing male that enfolded her in his arms. As it did, the trembling ceased, and the alarms quieted.
"Ruk, Caradoc!" Paul swore. "How many times have I told you, you can't teleport into a Star Base that way? It destabilizes the structure."
"Do you think I rukking care?" the still brightly-glowing male replied.
"Please, Caradoc," Dakota pleaded. "Calm. Cali's fine."
"Then, where is she?" he demanded but did as Dakota requested his glow dimming.
"I'm right here, Father." Cali pressed a hand to each of her mates' chests, and they finally allowed her space to be seen but didn't release her.
Jamis and Taarig watched the eyes of Cali's father turn to them, glowing even brighter while his body solidified. Neither of them had ever met a pure Zagreus before and what they had heard was insufficient. This being was tall, head-and-shoulders taller than them with thickly muscled arms and legs. His face was angular with pale skin similar to Cali's, but his eyes glowed crystal clear, not Cali's warm topaz. His shoulder-length hair was also transparent and pulsed with energy.
There was supposed to be only one Zagreus with hair that color.
"Cali?" Taarig asked.
"Yes, my Father is the Paramount," she answered his unspoken question.
"Who are these males that dare touch my daughter?"
"Father, these are my mates."
"You dare meld without my permission?!"
"Caradoc!" Paul and Dakota exclaimed.
"I didn't need your permission," Cali growled as she pushed her way from between her mates to confront her father. "Only Jamis’s and Taarig's. Unlike you, I asked before melding with them!"
Jamis watched the Zagreus Paramount's head jerk back as if struck before he steadied himself and his hands began to glow. "What have they done to you that you speak to me that way?"
"They've loved me!"
"Caradoc, calm down," Dakota pleaded, but when she reached out, he shrugged off her hand.
"No! Don't you see they've taken advantage of our daughter?!"
"They haven't."
"They have, and I won't have it." With that, he threw two energy balls, one at each male.
Cali reacted instantly, throwing up an energy shield that sent the energy balls back at her father, hitting him in the chest. Caradoc's eyes widened in shock as he stumbled back several steps.
"Caradoc!" Dakota rushed to her mate's side. "Stop!" she ordered as her hands ran over him, checking for injuries.
"You shielded. How is that possible?" Caradoc demanded.
"What?" Cali questioned sarcastically. "The Great and all-powerful Paramount doesn't know something?"
"Cali!" her dad reprimanded sharply. "Now is not the time."
"Really, Dad?" Cali continued to shield her mates as she looked at him. "After he attacked my mates? I think it’s a perfect time."
Paul was shocked at the amount of power glowing in his daughter's eyes. It'd never been there before, or was it something else she'd kept from them.
"Caradoc, you will apologize to our daughter," Dakota ordered. "Now!"
Jamis was shocked when the Paramount looked down at his mate and seemed to soften. Still, Jamis’s instincts told him to beware. A glance at Taarig told him Taarig felt the same way.
"If that is what you wish, my love," Caradoc lifted his gaze to his daughter. "Once Cali lowers her shielding."
"Cali?" Dakota looked expectantly at Cali.
"Not until I have his vow," Cali told her. She didn't trust her father not to attack again.
"My vow?" Caradoc growled, his eyebrows drawing together.
"To not directly or indirectly harm my mates."
"If that's what you need, then I vow," Caradoc spit out.
"A Zagreus binding vow," Cali elaborated, "that anything you cause to happen to my mates will happen to yours."
"You dare to threaten my mates!" Caradoc roared.
"You threatened hers first," Paul quietly reminded him, and while he was displeased that Cali's demand could put Dakota in danger, he was also proud of her becaus
e she'd done something only Dakota had been able to do. Back the Paramount into a corner. "Give her your binding vow."
Caradoc's eyes shot to Paul. "I will never vow anything that could potentially harm my mates."
"Only if you broke your vow would they be harmed," Cali told him quietly. "Are you planning to?"
"Yes, Caradoc," Dakota stepped away from her mate, a questioning look on her face, "Are you planning on breaking a vow made to our daughter?"
"Dakota…"
"You were," Dakota whispered, backing up even further. "You were just waiting for the chance."
"You want her melded with two Apre that you know nothing about?" Caradoc demanded.
"I want her to meld with the males she loves and who love her. Without all the turmoil and heartache we went through. Don't you?"
With a growl that had the base trembling again, Caradoc's gaze shot to his daughter. "You have my binding vow that I will not be the cause of any harm that comes to your mates. If I do, then it will also happen to mine." With that, destabilization alarms went off again, and in a blinding light, the Paramount disappeared, along with his two mates.
Epilogue - Twenty-five years later
"You're sure you want to do this?" Dakota asked her daughter, who sat curled up on the couch in the Owner's Quarters on Star Base Twelve, a glass of wine in her hand.
"Yes," Cali told her. "It's time. Jamis’s and Taarig's gifts are starting to appear, and while most believe my lack of aging is due to my bonding with them, that won't last much longer."
"Alright, I'll make sure the ownership of The Brink transfers to Mae and Tay without any problems."
Mae and Tay now had five offspring of various ages, all working at The Brink, four females and their youngest one, a male. Mae correctly predicted the sex of each one. Cali's old quarters had been extensive but not for such a large family, so Cali had expanded it into Hamm's space, once Hamm had finally left the Star Base and returned home. Still, Cali was sure Mae and Tay would appreciate the room in the Owners Quarters. It would also allow their oldest offspring the chance to live on their own, even if it was within the walls of The Brink.
"Thanks, Mom."
Things had been tense between Cali and her parents after her father teleported them off the Star Base, but Cali hadn't let it interfere with her, Jamis, and Taarig beginning to build their life together. To say their relationship had come as a shock to most beings on the Star Base was an understatement, especially when Jamis and Taarig had moved into her much more spacious quarters.
At first, the Coalition disagreed and stated the Commanders were required to quarter near the Command Center. But after the Commanders pointed out that wasn't in the regulations, and Jamis and Taarig both threatened to resign their posts, the Coalition quickly changed their position. The Coalition couldn't afford to lose two of their best Commanders so soon after the Marsala scandal, which had traveled through the universe faster than a solar flare.
Over the next twenty-five years, they'd learned about each other, adjusted, and grown. It hadn't been easy as they were all strong-willed beings. Their biggest fight had been when Cali told them the truth about the vipers. She still wasn't sure which one of her mates had been more enraged, especially when they learned she'd passed out before making it into her tank. It had been several days before they'd all calmed down and made up, a record by Zagreus standards.
Jamis and Taarig had each suggested she reach out to her parents and try and resolve their argument, but Cali knew it would take time, maybe a long time. It was something her mates were still getting used to, time having no bearing on their lives.
After only a year, her mother reached out to her, for which Cali was thankful. It had given her someone to talk to that understood what Jamis and Taarig were going through adapting to their new life and advise her how to make it easier for them. Cali also knew her mom was reaching out without her dad or father knowing.
It had only taken her dad five years to reach out, and while at first, it had been stiff, they'd finally gotten back to the closeness they'd had before her melding. Paul had even warmed up to Jamis and Taarig and, after several long conversations between the three, had shared the complete construction design for the Star Base with them. They'd revealed several lifts that even Cali wasn’t aware of.
"You don't need to thank me," Dakota said. "You know your dad will do anything for you."
"I do, but I'm sure the Paramount will not approve."
"I'll handle your father," Dakota told her in a clipped tone that revealed a great deal to Cali.
"I just don't want to be the cause of any more problems between the three of you," Cali told her quietly. "I now understand how challenging it can be to maintain a happy and balanced relationship with two powerful males, no matter how much you love them."
"It can be, but when you love them, it’s worth it. Once ownership transfers, where do you three plan to go? A visit to Diter, maybe?"
Cali heard the hopefulness in her mother's voice and hated to disappoint her. "You know that isn't possible right now, Mom. Not with the way things stand with Father."
Dakota released a sad sigh, "I know," then she raised determined eyes to Cali through the screen, "but he will come around."
"Dakota," Taarig greeted as he walked into the room. "You're looking as beautiful as ever."
"Thank you, Taarig, but I believe you’re exaggerating."
"I'm not," he disagreed as he leaned down and gave Cali a quick kiss before stealing her glass and finishing her wine.
"Hey!" Cali protested, but Taarig only smiled. He went to the cabinet, pulling out another glass and filled both, then returned to the couch and sat down next to his Lalla.
"I have to say, Dakota, this maasika rabarberi wine is amazing." He looked to Cali. "I think we may need to stop by Earth and pick up a supply on our travels."
"You're going to visit Earth?" Dakota asked with just a hint of longing in her voice.
Taarig slowly lowered his glass. "It is a possibility. We haven't made any definite plans besides stopping on Apre. We'd like Cali to see our homeworld."
"Completely understandable. I can't believe I've never asked. Do you have family there?" Dakota had known when she boarded the Discovery that she'd never see her family again, but Jamis and Taarig hadn't.
"Some distant relatives but no one close. Jamis and I both lost our parents at a young age. It's one of the things that bonded us."
"I'm so sorry, Taarig."
"Thank you, Dakota."
Cali had known this but hadn't thought to relay any of it to her mom. She'd thought her parents would have thoroughly investigated her mates. It seems she was wrong.
"So you're going to travel the universe and experience all it has to hold," Dakota changed the subject. "You'll stay in touch, right? Let us know where you are? What you discover?"
The anticipation in her mom's voice made Cali realize exploring the universe was something her mother had always wanted to do. It was why she'd been on the Discovery. And while she had to a point, her melding with the Paramount had curtailed a lot of that.
"Maybe you could occasionally meet up with us," Cali proposed.
"I'd like that, but we'll have to see."
"You'd always be welcome, Dakota," Taarig told her.
Epilogue - One hundred years later
"It will be fine, Cali," Jamis murmured as he kissed the top of her head. She'd curled up in his lap as they approached Diter.
"I know, I'm just…"
"Nervous and excited all at the same time." Taarig turned in the pilot's seat where he'd just landed their ship and reached over to caress her cheek.
"Yes," she said as she tipped her head into his caress.
"We don't have to do this," Jamis reminded her. "It can wait. After all, we have all the time in the universe."
"We do, but this particular situation doesn't. So, if we're going to do this, it needs to be now."
"Only if you're sure." Taarig's swirling gaze gl
owed into hers, and Cali saw all the love he felt for her and all the concern. They'd talked, discussed, and argued for the last several months about this, but in the end, her mates left it up to her. After all, these were her parents.
"I am. I’m just not sure of my parents’ reactions, especially my father."
"We won't allow him to harm you," Jamis growled, and Cali knew it was true.
Over the last hundred years, her mates' gifts had appeared, and they'd been powerful ones. They could both shield just as Cali had done against her father, but Jamis could also create and wield energy weapons with just a thought. Something that had come in handy on several of the more primitive planets they'd visited.
Taarig's second gift was more subtle but just as powerful. He'd always been a brilliant strategist, but it was enhanced. He could analyze complex situations and find multiple solutions quickly. He was so skilled that Cali's dad even consulted with him on several Wik Corp matters. It had Cali wondering if the position of Supreme Chairman would one day be Taarig's.
"I know." Stretching up, she kissed Jamis’s lips, then sliding out of his arms, she did the same with Taarig. "I've never doubted that. So, let’s go do this."
Together they moved to the hatch of the In-D Core ship that Xanto had left behind in the landing bay when he'd piloted her dad's ship back to Wik Corp headquarters. Her dad knew how to fly and had piloted his ship to Star Base Twelve. On the other hand, her mother couldn't, so her pilot flew her ship back to Diter. After no one had demanded this one’s return, she and her mates had claimed it, much to Taarig's delight. Over the years, he and Jamis had learned to pilot the ship after Xanto explained how to initiate the ship’s shielding.
As the hatch opened, Cali caught the scent of something for the first time in over one hundred and fifty years.
Home.
Memories she hadn't been expecting assaulted her; good and not so good. But surrounding all of them, there had always been love. For her. How had she forgotten that?
Standing at the ramp's end was her mother, and with a small cry, Cali ran into her waiting arms.
"Oh, Mom," Cali whispered against her neck. "I've missed you so much."
