by S. E. Smith
"I..." Grim's cheeks darkened. "Yes, but that is different."
"Really?" Lisa smiled as she rose and stepped into his waiting arms. "Why?"
"Because I'm male, and they are female," he told her gruffly, enfolding her in his arms.
"Really?" Lisa leaned back in his arms giving him a teasing look. "That's the reason you're giving me? Because you’re male?"
"Females..."
"Have as much right to do what they want as any male does."
"They need to be protected," he argued.
"Truth," she agreed. "But doing one doesn't mean you can't do the other. They need to explore, Grim. Need to find their place in this world. And they can't do that if you lock them away. If you don't give them some freedom. The garden is a safe place."
"It wasn't for you," he growled, remembering Luuken.
"And that will never happen again. Not only because Wray recognized me as your Queen, but because you have tripled the guards along that portion of the wall." She reached up to gently cup his cheek. She knew it still bothered him that she was attacked in their garden. "We are safe there, Grim. Because of you."
"You mean everything to me, my Lisa. You, our girls, and the one yet to come." He reached down running a careful hand over her protruding stomach.
Lisa couldn't help but smile. Grim loved her changing shape. He was always touching and caressing her, especially her belly. He still couldn't seem to believe that his offspring was growing there.
"And you mean everything to us."
"Manno!" The girls’ little voices called from their room. "We're ready for our story."
"And it seems the ones we currently have are impatient for their story."
"Yes, they always are." He smiled slightly at that. "So we let them keep their secret?"
"For now, yes. They won't be able to keep it to themselves for long," she told him, and together they went to their girls.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"Manno?"
"Yes, my Miki?" Grim asked, sitting down beside her on the bed she shared with her sister.
"Can you tell us a story about the Great Raptor's son?"
"His what?" Grim looked at Lisa, who was on the other side of the bed next to Carly and frowned.
"Male offspring," Lisa supplied. There were still times when Earth words slipped into their conversations that Grim didn't understand.
"Oh." He looked back to Miki. "Why would you think he had a son, Miki?"
"Well he would have to... wouldn't he? You have mommy and us. The Great Raptor must have a family too."
"I..." Grim realized that in all his existence it was something he had never considered. The Great Raptor just was. But looking at the expectation in his daughters’ eyes, he knew he couldn't disappoint them.
"The Great Raptor's son helps him guard the skies of Luda...."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Lisa released a tired sigh as she rested her head on Grim's chest with a leg thrown over his, her hand resting over his heart, as her rounded stomach nestled against his flat one. Grim pulled her close, his hand gently caressing her belly.
"You did too much today," he growled gruffly.
"Not too much," she denied. "I didn't meet with Ull, as we planned, but it was a long day."
"You will see him and those with him tomorrow."
"With him?" She tilted her head up to look at him. "I thought it was just Ull I was meeting with."
"So did I, but it seems there is a Kaliszian ship traveling with him."
"Why? Because of the Ganglian ship the Kaliszians found with Earth females?"
"Yes, that is my belief."
"Then we need to get up and meet with them." Lisa started to rise, only to have Grim's arm tighten, stilling her.
"Ull has already gone back to the Searcher. He and the others will return tomorrow after you have rested."
"Oh." She laid her head back down and snuggled in closer, silently glad she didn't have to get out of bed. "You did a wonderful job coming up with that story about the Great Raptor's son."
"It was that obvious?"
"Only to me."
"They continually surprise me with their questions."
"They make you look at things differently, don't they?"
"They do," he agreed, reaching up to touch the blue and green thumbprints attached to the necklace the girls had given him just that morning, and how they requested to call him Manno.
Lisa covered his hand with hers, knowing what he was thinking. "They love you very much, Grim. So do I."
"I know," he told her gruffly, his fingers tightening on hers. "It makes me the most blessed male in all the universes, Known or Unknown. Now rest, my Lisa."
Three
"Eat up, girls," Lisa told her daughters the next morning. "Once you're done, we are going to go find the cape you forgot in the garden yesterday."
"Yes, Mommy," they said, but Lisa caught the look they gave each other. Yes, there was definitely something going on that they didn't want Grim or her to know about. She'd have to keep a close eye on them.
"Lisa." Grim walked back into their room. He'd left a few moments ago to take a comm. "Ull and the others have transported down. They are waiting for us in my Command Room."
"Already?"
"Yes, it seems General Rayner wants to get back to Pontus as soon as possible."
"General Rayner?"
"He is the Supreme Commander of Kaliszian Defenses," Grim informed her. "The other ship traveling with the Searcher is his. He also has his True Mate with him."
"True Mate?"
"I forget you have not met a Kaliszian yet."
"No, I haven't, but Kim told me about the one that gave her a blade."
"Yes, that was General Rayner."
"It saved her life on Vesta. I would very much like to meet the male that defied Wray and gave her that blade."
Grim's lips tightened as he remembered Wray telling him exactly what had happened between him and the General. Had the General not backed down, the two Empires might now be at war, something neither wanted. They needed each other too much.
"Rayner is not a male you wish for an enemy," he told her. "That he has his True Mate with him is surprising though."
"Why? Do the Kaliszians hide away their True Mates the way you Tornians do your females?"
"No, there is no reason for them to. While Kaliszians have more than enough females, they haven't had True Mates since the Great Infection struck."
"You mean besides taking away their ability to feed their people, the Great Infection also took away the Kaliszians’ ability to find true love?"
"Yes."
"That seems doubly harsh."
"Two were harmed, my Lisa," he gently reminded her, his gaze going to Carly and Miki. He had always believed he understood the horror of what Emperor Berto had done to his young females. But now, looking down at his daughters gazing up at him with so much love and trust in their little eyes, the true horror of it hit and sickened him. That type of betrayal was so unthinkable to him, so evil. If any male even thought about his girls that way, he would end them. Painfully.
"Grim?" Lisa asked quietly, pulling his attention from the girls. She didn't like how hard his eyes had gotten or how his skin had darkened. She'd only seen him look this way once before, and that had been after Luuken had attacked her. Looking back to her daughters, she realized what had him so upset, the thought of their daughters being abused that way. "It will never happen, Grim. You would never allow anyone to harm them."
"It wasn't anyone, Lisa," he murmured, looking at her.
"No, it wasn't. But that is something you would never do." Reaching for his hand, she rested it on her stomach. "To any of our offspring."
"I wouldn't, my Lisa." His hand curved protectively over her stomach. "My vow."
"I know." Stretching up on her toes, she gently kissed his lips.
"Sire." They turned to find Alger standing in the doorway. "Warrior Ull and General Rayner are waiti
ng."
"We will be right there, Alger."
"Yes, sire," Alger bowed slightly to Lisa then left the room.
"Girls." Lisa looked to them. "Your manno and I need to go meet with some people. Ion and Nairn will stay with you."
"Can they take us out into the garden so we can find my cape?" Miki asked.
Lisa frowned. When she had informed the girls that directly after first meal they would be going to find the forgotten cape, neither had been enthusiastic.
"You want to go find your cape?"
"Yes, Mommy," Miki told her.
"Alright. Ion and Nairn can take you."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Looking over their shoulders to make sure Ion and Nairn weren't watching, Carly and Miki quickly scooted under the branches where the raptor rested.
"Hi, Prince. We're back," Miki said moving toward the bird that was snuggled down in the nest he had made out of her cape. "Are you feeling better?"
Unfazed that the raptor just continued to look at her, she continued. "We brought you something to eat."
That had Prince lifting his head, his purple eyes zeroing in on the strips of rashtar she was pulling from her pocket. She'd managed to slip them into her pocket at first meal while her mom and manno were talking. Sitting down in front of him, she broke off a piece and held it out to him.
"Be careful, Miki," Carly said, being the protective sister she always was.
"He won't hurt us, Carly," Miki told her with all the confidence of a three-year-old. "We're helping him."
As the girls talked, the raptor rose from his warm nest until he towered over them. Slowly, he lowered his deadly beak and carefully snatched the food from her hand.
"See," Miki said to her sister smugly. "I told you he wouldn't hurt us."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Lisa made no comment when Grim stepped in front of her, pausing for a moment as he opened the doors to his Command Room. She knew why he was doing it. Even though Ull and General Rayner were considered worthy males, Grim would take no chances with her and their unborn daughter's safety. After several tense moments, he moved to the side and put a protective hand on the small of her back, guiding her into the room.
Beside Alger and Agee, there were three other people in the room. One was the warrior she knew as Ull. Standing a few steps away from him was a massive male with beads in his hair, and behind him was a small, cloaked figure.
"Warrior Ull," Lisa acknowledged, her cool gaze running over him. She still wasn't sure he was the right person for this task, but she would give him the benefit of the doubt since Grim and Wray seemed to think he was.
After a moment, that dragged out long enough for Grim to start growling his displeasure, Ull bowed slightly. "Majesty."
Grim gave Ull a hard look before he led Lisa toward the other male. "Lisa, this is General Treyvon Rayner, Supreme Commander of Kaliszian Defenses. General Rayner, my Queen, Lisa Vasteri."
"Majesty, it is a great honor to meet you." Treyvon crossed an arm over his chest and gave her a much deeper bow than Ull had. "May I present to you my True Mate, Jennifer Rayner."
The cloaked figure stepped forward, and when the cape's hood lowered, Lisa gasped. "You're from Earth!"
"I am," Jen affirmed.
"But... What? How? I just assumed you’d be Kaliszian.” She turned to face Grim. “You didn’t tell me she was from Earth.”
“I did not know,” Grim told her, frowning darkly at the General.
“It was felt that the fewer Tornians who know there were Earth females in the Kaliszian Empire, and that they could be our True Mates, the better.” Treyvon ran hard eyes to the guards in the room.
“That is truth,” Grim agreed, following where Rayner’s gaze had gone. “Alger and Agee can be trusted. They are the Captains of my Lisa’s and my Elite Guards.”
“You were found on the Ganglian ship?" Lisa ignored the conversation going on between Grim and Rayner, and moved toward Jennifer.
"No, I was taken by the Ganglians over a year and a half ago."
"A year and a half...” Lisa’s eyes widened. “Wait, your name is Jennifer?"
"Yes."
"As in Jennifer Teel?"
"Yes,” Jen was surprised this woman made the connection so fast. “Kim is my little sister."
"Oh, my God!" Lisa was immediately hugging Jennifer before any male could move. "Does Kim know? Of course, she knows. What am I saying? She sent you here. She must be ecstatic! But wait..." Lisa pulled back slightly, frowning. "Why are you here? Why aren't you with her and Destiny? She's missed you so much and has been so worried about you."
"And I've missed and been worried about her too.” Jen smiled at Lisa. She was just as Kimmy had described her. Beautiful, smart, and caring. “We spent nearly a week together before Warrior Ull arrived.” Her expression cooled as she glanced at Ull. “Kimmy wanted me to stay longer, but there are more lives involved here than just ours.”
“You’re talking about the Ganglian ship full of Earth females the Kaliszians intercepted,” Lisa said leading her to one of the couches in the room.
“Yes, Kimmy told me about what happened to you and the other females the Tornians took just like the Ganglians did us.”
Grim’s displeased growl had both women looking to him, and Rayner moving to step between the King and his True Mate.
“Don’t growl at me, King Grim,” Jen said glaring at him. “It is no different.”
“She’s right, Grim,” Lisa told him quietly. “I know you did your best, making sure that you only took unprotected females, and that none of us were abused like Kim and Jen were, but that still doesn’t make it right.”
“I wasn’t abused,” Jen informed Lisa, “and neither were the women found on the latest Ganglian ship." She ignored Lisa's shocked look and continued. "But the Ganglians aren't as 'selective' as the Tornians. They just swept up any female they found. Young, old, married, single. It didn’t matter to them.”
“Oh, my God.”
“That’s why we need to go to Pontus first," Jen glared at Ull. "To get them and return them to Earth, along with the men that were taken with Mac and me.”
“Mac?” Jen asked.
“Mackenzie Wharton. Well, Kozar now,” Jen corrected. “She was the female guide that was with us when the Ganglians took us. She’s now the True Mate of Treyvon’s Second-in-Command, and the other reason we need to get back to Pontus.”
“Those females should not be returned,” Ull growled.
“That’s not your decision,” Jen told him, turning angry eyes on him. “They are under the protection of the Kaliszian Empire, and you have been ordered by your Emperor, my sister's husband, to return them safely. And by God, you better or you’d better hope Wray gets to you before I do!”
Grim found his lips twitching as Rayner's True Mate fearlessly challenged the first male of one of the Tornian Empire's most well-thought-of Lords.
“It seems your True Mate is as fearless when dealing with much larger males as my Lisa is,” Grim murmured to Rayner.
“She is,” Rayner agreed, easing his stance slightly. “She is strong and has survived more than any female should have to. And if you ever growl at her like that again, I will end you. Blood brother to the Emperor or not.”
Grim's eyes narrowed for a moment, ignoring the way Alger’s and Agee’s hands tensed on the hilts of their swords hearing Rayner's threat. “As you should," Grim agreed, and his Captains relaxed. "Just know I feel the same about my Queen.”
Looking at each other, the two dominant males realized they had more in common than they ever thought.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Later that day, Lisa found herself walking the halls of Luanda, absently running a hand over her stomach as she thought over all she had learned that day. Jennifer was truly an amazing woman. They had sat and talked while Grim, Treyvon, and Ull discussed whatever they deemed important, but what she and Jennifer had discussed was so much more.
Not o
nly had the Kaliszians begun to find their True Mates again, some human, some not, they were also able to conceive offspring with humans. It was the other reason Jen wanted to return to Pontus. Her friend, Mackenzie, had conceived with her True Mate and while the two species were similar, the Kaliszians had no real knowledge of how to deal with a pregnant Earth female.
Lisa had immediately understood what Jen wanted. Rebecca to return to Pontus with them. She wanted Rebecca to check Mackenzie and share her knowledge of Earth females with the Kaliszian healer, Luol. Something Lisa knew Grim was going to fight her on. He would want Rebecca to remain on Luda so she could care for her until their daughter was presented. But Lisa knew that wasn't going to be possible. Oh, she wanted Rebecca here when she gave birth. But until then, there were others that needed Rebecca's skills. Jennifer had also confessed that she would like Rebecca to examine her because she believed she had also conceived.
Yes, it had been a busy but informative morning, and there was still more that needed to be decided. But first, she needed to check on the girls. Looking up, she saw Nairn approaching.
"You're back from the garden?"
"Yes, Majesty. Cook promised the princesses they could help him make cookies."
"Of course," Lisa smiled. Nothing kept her girls out of the kitchen when Warrior Tagma was making cookies. "Did Miki find her cape?"
"Yes, Majesty."
Lisa had gotten to know the males of Luanda well, especially those of the Elite Guard. She could tell there was something more Nairn wanted to say.
"What is it, Nairn? Did the girls disobey you?"
"No! Of course not, Majesty. The princesses are always well behaved."
"That is an untruth, Nairn," Lisa gently reprimanded. "You know they like to see if they can hide from you."
Nairn smiled slightly. "This is truth, Majesty. So we let them."
"What?!!"
The look on his Queen's face made Nairn realize she had misunderstood, and he quickly reassured her. "We know where they are, Majesty, we just let them think we don't."
"Oh, well that's good. Smart, too." Lisa should have realized they would never allow Carly or Miki to get away from them. "So what have they been doing, that they don't think you've noticed, that is bothering you?"
