by Rie Warren
Incoming.
We silently spread out into ambush position as nusoon season dowsed us in more vaporous fog. Up ahead, warriors rushed from the heavy haze, becoming visible one at a time, presumably commanded by Truda.
Their boots stilled on the rain-bitten soil—I counted them twelve strong against our seven, but we were the elite, and we weren’t turncoats.
They stopped in front of Khalon while we remained invisible.
The rank and file separated just as rain began to spit from far above—cold glassy icicles biting into my skin. And the female, Truda, strode between her bribed conscripts gathered from X’s uncle’s trainees.
She wore long twisted blonde braids from the crown of her head down her back. She stood a good six-feet-eight inches tall, and her body was lithe and lean as any warrior woman.
The hard, harsh look on her face was nothing like Laurel’s soft smile or her bold cajoling.
Drawing a short sword from its sheath, she faced Khalon.
Her lips were red. Irises a strange diluted pink. And her voice a growl when she asked him, “Where are the little abominations you promised me? The children?”
“I’ve got your prizes right here.” Khalon shifted in a blur of movement, drawing his own blade.
The sound of his sword unsheathed was our signal.
Roars slicing through the fog like blades that soon would be slashing through flesh, we bounded from the thick foliage.
Truda paled when she saw X—tall as a mountain, angrier than I’d ever seen him, and formidably muscled—bearing down on her with lightning fast strides.
He emerged from the mist like a murderous demon intent on her death. “My children are safe in my palace . . . with my human mate, you vile bitch.”
Falling back, she shouted, “Stay steady! He’s letting the varmint humans take over the planet. Xyib*eepthxnin is not your lord!”
Truda’s soldiers crashed forward, war cries streaming from their mouths.
I handled the pommel of my battle-ax, bellowing and bursting forward until I met up with a fighter. His lips pulled back in a snarl, he slashed at me with little agility.
Hauling back to take aim, I put my entire weight into the downward thrust of my ax. I separated the skull of the male like his head was fruit from the rubek plant.
Slinging brain matter to the soaked ground, I spun in time to dodge the hot blast of light Kerta sprung from her fingertips. The ordnance hit like a photon beam, Kerta’s prey dematerialized to a molecular level in one heated instant.
Holy fuck.
And remind me not to get on her bad side.
No time to think, I backed up Magnar, who battled against three traitorous fucks with furious lashes from his whip. One opponent went down and another popped up.
Cozmo ran by, slamming a male across the back of his head, bashing his brains in one crashing blow.
Truda—down by four warriors already—made her stand in the slashing rain. “Kill him! Kill the king!”
Distracted by the cunt’s shout, I took a slam to my shoulder. A blade dug in, but it wasn’t enough to halt me. Spinning, I knocked the conspirator to the muddy trampled ground. I reached back, caught the hilt of his knife, and pulled it free of my flesh. Another cloud of fog rolled in just as I stomped the male in the middle, pinning him down. And I lobbed the knife straight into his chest, puncturing one of his hearts.
My head whipped around, wet hair blurring my vision.
Mud, earth, rain, pain, mist . . . I couldn’t locate Jedrek among the battling warriors.
Where the fuck is Jedrek?
Fear lodged deep in my gut. I beat off another attacker, the glinting blade of my ax shearing his head from his neck.
Directly in front of me, X gruesomely gutted the last man guarding Truda. Sloppy slick entrails plopped to the ground just before the male’s disemboweled body crumpled in a macabre heap.
Intent on his quarry, he tucked his chin down, irises flipping vertical in hot golden ire.
Nearly foaming at the mouth now, Truda hollered, “You’ve tainted the bloodlines! You and your brother. Mating human females,” she spat out, taunting X. “What about racial integrity? Now you’ve produced two revolting half-breeds, a pestilence to the planet. You’re not worthy of the aristocracy!”
I let out a roar, ready to descend on the crazed bitch ax-blade first when I finally caught sight of Jedrek. Feeling like my hearts were being ripped from my chest, I watched from too far away, helpless, as a sword plunged into the right side of his torso.
The moment the blade sliced into him, my new markings throbbed.
“No!” Fear ran like ice in my veins.
Jedrek dropped, dagger flying from his grip, blood spraying from the wound that must’ve punctured one of his hearts.
Legs pumping, I descended on his assailant. Ax blade swinging, I tore into his chest and just kept going. Each meaty thwack and shower of crimson blood feeding the untamed rage pounding through me until nothing was left but a gory mess of Zenithian flesh.
I scrambled across the wet earth toward Jedrek. Rain hammered down, and he lay crumpled on blood-soaked ground, mud all around him.
He was ghastly pale. Spectral white. And yet more blood seeped from the jagged gash that tore his flesh apart and left one sluggishly pumping heart open to the unkind elements.
Lifting his head onto my lap, I swept my fingers over his face, murmuring over and over, “Not you. You won’t die. Open your eyes, please, meehra. Please!”
I glanced up just as Khalon’s body smashed to the ground, a spear deeply embedded in his chest. Dying like a warrior, dying like he wanted. But not Jedrek. I wouldn’t let him go. I’d never let him go.
I nearly wept when Jedrek’s arm rose, and his fingers fluttered weakly around my wrist. All-consuming relief surged through me when he drew in a staggered breath.
Relief and unquelled grief.
The clashing metal of sword against sword, the heavy smack of body against body finally stopped. The fighting over.
The disloyal warriors all dispatched to the underworld.
I staunched the flow of blood on Jedrek’s chest, holding in tears that threatened to burst from my eyes. I wrapped a cloth over the wound, drawing the two sides together over the gaping gash.
Truda alone of her people remained standing. And she was unmarked, untouched. But not for long.
Wearing a mean grin, Magnar wrenched her arm behind her back. “Kneel before your king.”
She struggled until Magnar torqued her arm higher and higher.
Tossing a haughty look at X, she slowly sank to her knees.
X approached her, eyes hard, sword stained with dripping blood.
“Did my uncle know about your wicked plans? The slave trade you perpetrated?”
“The Commander.” She sneered, white-blonde braids turned dark beneath the howling winds and spitting rains. “Yet another weakling. He’s never suspected me, his lover.”
“You are the abomination.” Angling his sword above her face, X watched as her dead warriors’ blood dripped in rivers down her temples.
“I’ll meet you and your children in the underworld,” Truda derided.
“I doubt that very much.”
Rain beat down on her upturned face, and X pointed the tip of his fine-edged sword at her throat. “I’ve never killed a female before, but you’re a disgrace to your gender and your species.”
The sharp metal nicking her neck, Truda repented, head bowed, shoulders shaking. “I deserve a trial.”
“I am your king. I am your judge. I am your reaper. And this is your trial.” Giving no quarter, X swung fast, severing her head from her body.
Her skull slurped to the sodden ground, the clean cut pumping crimson jets. X stood tall, cleaning his sword and surveying the massacre unfolded around us.
Bodies.
Blood.
Red.
Rain.
Death.
“Remind me never to piss him off,” Je
drek muttered just before he lost consciousness.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Laurel
WHEN PRAIRIE, THE king, Magnar, Cozmo, Kerta, and Khalon had returned to the palace—the royal babies safe—relief had sailed through me. But Dex and Jedrek weren’t among them.
Worry about their absence gutted me.
It’d been the longest night of my life, waiting with minimal word on the two warriors. Zane and Astrid were adamant I remain in their quarters, telling me Dex and Jedrek wouldn’t be pleased if I was on my own.
It was the longest night followed by the most harrowing morning. Trapped inside while X and the rest went out to confront the female called Truda, all I could do was pace and wait. Stuck in the royal chambers, I played with Baby X, whose smile was to die for, and tiny Fallon whose royal skin marking—the all-seeing eye—made a distinct gold pattern on her skin.
Fallon gurgled when I rattled the legrib toy in front of her—a cuddly that would’ve been a teddy bear on Earth. The babies’ cuteness distracted me from the unknown with Dex and Jedrek.
For a while.
Nusoon weather wrapped the palace in a foggy shroud, making the forced enclosure even worse, a brooding murky sense of doom descending on the fortress.
Finally Prairie looked up, her expression distant the way it became when she heard thoughts from the king.
“What is it?” I rushed to her side.
“The battle’s over. They’re coming home.” She rose, taking Fallon into her arms.
“Dex and Jedrek?” I asked, my heart slamming inside my chest.
“I don’t know yet.”
Astrid passed small X to Zane then linked her fingers through mine. “We’ll wait for them at the palace entrance.”
Minutes passed, then an entire half hour. I needed to know if Dex and Jedrek lived.
Finally the white cloudy fog broke over a huge male form.
The king shouldered forward, carrying a completely wrapped body.
Instant fear shot a dagger through my heart. I hurried down the steps, dread lodged like a stone in my throat. Before I made it to the king, Cozmo emerged from the mist, rushing forward. He captured me close.
Muffling a cry with my hand, I tried to escape his arms.
“Stop, Laurel. Stop!” Rearing back, he framed my face in his hands. “It’s Khalon. Khalon’s the one who’s dead.”
I beat my fists against his chest. “Where’s Jedrek? Where’s Dex?”
He spun me by my shoulders just as Dex appeared from the foggy ether. He carried Jedrek in his arms, Magnar helping. All of them drenched, some of them bloody, none more bloody than Jedrek. He was nearly as pale as the bandages swathing his torso where the blood hadn’t already leeched through the gauze.
“Is he alive?” Horror spread bony fingers through me.
I raced across the sodden turf, stopping only when I reached my men. “Oh God, Dex. Is he alive?”
Supporting our mate in one arm, he held a hand out to me and drew me close. “He’s alive. I promise.”
A new wave of relief swept over me, and it was then I realized how much both males meant to me.
Swiping tears from my eyes, I leaned over to press a tender kiss to Jedrek’s lax lips.
He gave a small grunt then his coal gray eyes opened the barest amount. “Hey you.”
“Sssh. Don’t talk.”
“Wait.” His voice coming out in a rough whisper, he grabbed my hand in a shaky grip. “Need to tell you . . . I love you, Laurel.”
My eyes shot to his, my heart pounding doubly hard. “What?”
Dex shifted Jedrek in his arms. “He didn’t think he’d survive to tell you.”
“Oh, Jedrek.” I kissed him again briefly, whispering against his lips. “I love you too.”
Prairie approached the small ring of warriors, X embracing her against his side.
She took one glance at Jedrek and said, “His cock’s hard. I’d say he’ll live.”
“Meehri,” X warned, but he didn’t seem too put out.
“What?” Always outspoken, Prairie challenged, “I bet Jed here got him a dose of Sexy Dex’s super potent cum last night. Tell me if I’m wrong.”
Dex blushed.
Jedrek groaned, but that could’ve been the pain from his injury.
I figured Prairie was right about the two of them. I wasn’t jealous. Not in the least. Perhaps a tiny bit envious I hadn’t been there to see Dex fucking Jedrek for the first time though.
But there was a sparkle of tears in Prairie’s eyes when she fondly caressed the side of Jedrek’s face. “Besides, I believe Jedrek’s too stubborn to die.”
I could only hope the queen was right.
****
Over the next several days, the healer, Dex, and I smothered Jedrek with attention. Zenithians were typically a strong hearty race, but seeing the powerful male laid low kept me awake day and night. The tear to one of his hearts cut deep, and he suffered from a high fever, which tightened his skin in a bright red rash, heat encased inside him.
“Good thing we have two hearts,” Dex tirelessly reassured me.
And Jedrek recovered from the fever-heat. The healer came every hour, extolling the re-gen properties of Zenithians, which was supposed to mean Jedrek’s second heart would heal and beat again.
Dex and I diligently tended him, eating and drinking and sleeping only when ordered to by the others.
The third day, Jedrek was able to get up and walk around. He grumbled when we gave him a bath because the proud male didn’t want anyone taking care of him. But that didn’t stop his body from responding to the slick wet heat of Dex’s and my hands working over him.
The healer had advised against straining his body more until he’d fully recovered, which meant Jedrek went unrelieved even as the head of his cock turned purple with need.
Equally aroused, Dex and I slept in the other bed. But we did little more than kiss because it wasn’t fair for us to get off while Jedrek couldn’t.
By the fourth day, building sexual tension crackled like a force field inside our chambers.
Jedrek lounged in his bed, glaring at nothing in particular.
Sitting beside Dex on one of the new sofas, I mentioned to him, “Someone seems grumpy.”
“That’s his usual disposition, meehri. Get used to it.”
“I can hear you. And I’m not grumpy.” Jedrek shifted beneath the furs that lapped around his waist. “I’m horny and bored, and I want you both back in my bed.”
“We wouldn’t want to cause you more injury.” Dex smirked, picking up on my playful mood.
“I think he needs some cheering up.” I rose, the sheer robe I wore hiding little of my body.
“I don’t know.” Leaning forward, Dex skimmed a hand along my belly then down between my legs where I was growing hot and wet. “He’s still recovering from the battle.”
“The only kind of cheering up I want is sex.” Jedrek kicked aside the fur blankets, revealing a jagged pink scar on the right side of his chest.
Nevertheless, he certainly didn’t look like an invalid.
Tawny muscles rippled all over his torso, and the emerging three-ringed skin marking had nearly connected into a finished design—covering over the wound. The deep delta V of muscles at his pelvis led down to a huge thoroughly hard cock whose head already seeped precum.
“Hmm.” I licked my bottom lip, gaze roving over Jedrek’s completely virile body. “I don’t think the healer would approve.”
Standing up behind me, Dex slipped the robe from my shoulders.
Jedrek hissed in a breath through his teeth.
My hips swung from side to side, and Dex’s rough palms stroked upward from my waist to my breasts. He lifted the white mounds as if offering them to Jedrek who sat straighter in the bed a few feet away from us. Using his thumbs, Dex tweaked my nipples into high peaks as my head lolled back against his bare chest.
One of Dex’s hands left me, and I heard the rustling of clothing behi
nd me.
When he made contact with me again, he was completely naked. With a dip of his knees, he slipped his cock between the juncture of my thighs. He seated his full firm length against the dewy lips of my pussy. His cock so thick, so erect, the veiny shaft and swollen head extended far beyond my legs.
I whimpered.
Dex grunted.
Jedrek groaned. His silvery irises flashed with radiant need, and his hand fell to his heavy balls, so full of seed.
A hand on the side of my neck, Dex encouraged me to turn my face, to meet the thrust of his tongue with my mouth as he glided his cock along my engorged greedy cunt. I dripped all over him, moaning into his kiss, only turning back to Jedrek when he cursed.
His jaw tight, muscles bulging, cock fisted in a firm grip, he ordered, “Stop teasing me and come suck my cock, dammit.”
“Will that cheer you up, meehra?” I asked, and Dex reached low to slap his fat shaft against my unquenched pussy.
“Now,” Jedrek commanded.
“I think he means business.” Dex drew his cock back through my lush lips, inciting me further.
He prowled onto the bed with primal male grace, the muscles from his boulder-like shoulders to his delicious ass to his massive thighs clenching and releasing. I followed with a slow saunter, capturing both males attention.
Jedrek widened his thighs, making space for both of us. I crawled beside Dex, and we lowered our mouths. But before either of us engulfed the broad cap of Jedrek’s cock, Dex drew my mouth to his. He traced my lips with his tongue then slowly, richly delved inside. My breasts felt heavy, and Jedrek’s prick lurched, hitting my neck and leaving a dribble of precum on my skin.
Dex drew back with a lush smacking sound then angled my neck. He homed in on the drop of preejaculate and licked it up.
I scanned across Jedrek’s spread form, and his sharpened gaze strayed to mine.
“Suck me.” He slapped the heavy rod of his dick against my cheek.
I latched onto the wet head, moaning when musky heat exploded across my taste buds. He was so large I couldn’t take much, but oh how I savored his taste, his incredible hardness, his enormous rampant rod.
