by Trina Bates
-You need to give me space little one, I felt the pain, the love, the worry, and the sadness. I heard your words about happiness with my Doyen. I will not hurt you, nor will the others when it is their time to shift.-
Jolting away, Ebbin's ‘Flyer’ came into view. With me now far enough away, an enormous Aves stands, shaking out it’s massive wings. From tip to tip, they have to be at least nine feet in width, His entire body is covered in black feathers. In the waning sunlight, they look almost blue against the rays. What shocks me isn’t just his body, it’s the fact this, thing, has lightning or electricity sparking all over its body! Yellows, blues, greens. I’m speechless.
Rhydian told me, when his beast takes over Ebbin is there, in the background, and knows what’s happening. If that’s true for Ebbin, I want him to know I’m here, and show him how amazing he truly is. Scooting closer to the bird, I hold out my hand, like I would to a strange dog, and let it sniff me.
-Please don’t bite me. That beak looks like it can tear my damn arm off.-
-It can, thank you for the most welcome of compliments. For you to see my strengths and comment on them is a proud moment for a creature like me. Though you should not worry, I will never cause you harm. You are welcome to assess me anytime you like.-
Smirking at his words, I put my hand on top of his head and feel the soft velvet of his feathers. The same softness I had felt when I was getting clawed by his talons before he was fully shifted.
-I'm still new to all of this. I'm sorry I pulled away from you when you spoke into my head. I wasn't ready for that. Can Ebbin hear me?-
I wonder whether or not he’s conscious of what’s going on. I’m worried about how he feels at whats just happened to him and what’s still to come.
-He can. He's very worried for you. Also scared of what he is, what we are. Little one, my name is Rigar if you ever need a flying lesson, I would be very honored to help you with anything you need. Regrettably, I must go now, the shifts need to happen fast for the others to acclimate to his mind and their new bodies. You will need to step away from me. This shift will be much easier than that of mine, but Enbarr will need much room. See you soon little one.-
Standing, I catch a glimpse of my other two men. Crouching like little chickens behind the bench seating.
“You can come out now. Rigar assured me that no harm would come to me for Ebbin's final shifts. Enbarr is next. Though he didn't say which shifter it was,” my voice is light and filled with laughter, seeing two big men hiding away while I am right in the thick of things.
“Yeah love, no harm will come to you. We’re a threat. All dominants, that’s what we are, and his beasts need to stake their claim and converge with Ebbin. Their all at war right now, inside of him. It’s best we stay back here, and we aren't fucking chickens. We’re respectful,” Merrick juts his chin up at the last part which brings a smile to my face.
Hearing scuffling behind my back, I crouch down and wait for whatever shows up next to emerge and face me. I might not listen to everything they say, but I’ll do my best to welcome the next shifter with respect. I might be the Alpha, since I apparently claimed them all, yet I have no idea how the dominant shit actually works.
Enbarr turns out to be a giant freaky snake with arms. The forest green with moss colored scales take over his entire body, in length he’s about twelve feet long and at his widest, where a man's chest should be, he was much more broad than Ebbin was in human form.
Enbarr’s eyes are bright yellow with red slits for pupils, just like a snakes usually are, just different colors. Other than a very wide mouth and flat nose, he has mostly humanoid features. Instead of hair, he has a hood on the back of his head like a cobra with three red circles on the back. Testing the air with his slitted tongue, he slithers over to me with his head held high and arms at his sides. When he’s within a foot of me, I jump up and take a step back out of surprise and a little fear.
Fear was a fickle thing and apparently, he can taste it on his tongue as he let that strange forked thing fly out of his mouth several times before he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes never blinking or leaving my face.
-Rigar was right in the fact I will cause you no harm. I'm sorry if my appearance is frightening. I can find somewhere private and wait for Caius to emerge.-
He was right, he was frightening, but also a part of Ebbin. He will find no reason to feel unwanted around me. He can’t change who he is. He’s beautiful in his own way and I will do what I can to show him that.
Taking the last step between us, I take his large hand in mine, look into his eyes and smile. “Please don't ever hide from me. You’re a part of all of us. It's nice to meet you Enbarr, I’m Mira.”
-I am unable to form words the way you are, but it is my pleasure. Thank you for welcoming me. I have less time than Rigar did. I will be shifting soon. I will see you again. I hope you will oblige me in some time alone soon, some time to understand you and your world better. Though your mate will always be present. Getting to know this world will be hard and I would enjoy a little help.-
“Anything you need. See you soon Enbarr.” Letting go of his hand, I close my eyes, breath in some fresh air waiting to meet Caius.
A few moments later a loud snarl breaks through the air. My eyes popping open to a beautiful, panther that’s standing proudly before me. He’s unlike any of the pictures I have ever come across of panthers from before. They’re extinct now, so all I have to go on is the Cloud and books from before the Fall of the Veil. From a few feet away he looks to be all black, but when he turns in the sunlight, you can see the difference, the cinnamon colored spots more prominent against his shining black coat.
I have no fear of him, strangely enough. All I feel is a deep need to run my fingers through his fur. Walking boldly to him, I kneel right before his face, look into his light blue eyes, and throw my arms around him in a hug. The playful panther falls onto his side, with me tumbling onto him having lost my balance at his abrupt move.
Purring, he licks my face with a very rough tongue, and for a moment we just lay there together before he speaks into my mind.
-The memories I have from being in your mate’s head are wondrous. You're like nothing I expected. Hello, young Valkyrie. Please, hold tighter to me. This will hurt.-
Sitting up, looking at him dazed, my eyes go wide as soon as I endure the first bits of what feel like fire shredding through my entire body. My back bows and I slump over unable to hold myself up. Caius is above me, snarling and growling one second, then I feel a heaviness fall onto my chest. I think I hear a few scuffles, and what I swear is Ebbin's voice telling me to breath and to let it take over, but I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t have time to look at my men and see if they’re all here with me, as another shot tears through me. This time the pain is too much to handle. It feels as if someone has taken a branding iron, shoved it into my chest and is twirling it around my heart. My world goes black as I pass out from the pain that is clawing through me.
Ebbin:
Watching Mira with my inner beasts, and hearing the words she was saying in their minds, I couldn't have been more proud. She wasn't disgusted with any of them. She accepted them as if this kind of thing happened every day. I’m in complete awe of her. She showed fear when fear was warranted, which showed all of my companions she was smart but brave, and love when it meant the most. The ease of how she accepted everything was amazing and helped calm all of us.
Rigar, Enbarr, and Caius tried their best to make the transitions on me easy. Melding our minds was a confusing experience. From the way they talk in my head to the knowledge they have, they’re nothing of what I was expecting when I heard Rhydian say I was shifting.
When I thought about how they came to be my companions and why they were chosen for me, Rigar came to the front and showed me how they came to be. The images and thoughts flowed so easily, there was no pain or confusion.
They were not born or made, they were there from the beginning of
time. Flowing in an aether and watching over the worlds, they were spirits. They wandered on another plain waiting for their perfect host. They are able to learn, even to love. They watched over every realm, every plain waiting for a pull. They had watched many of their friends be drawn to other worlds, watched what happened when the others bonded with their new hosts.
When Caius was drawn to Rigar, and soon after Enbarr, they knew they would be with the same host all tied together somehow and that somehow or someone is me. Trying to find the pull they had heard about, they started the search for me when they felt complete and it was almost time for them to descend.
As scared as I am with finding out I’m Other, it’s a surprisingly easy role to fall into. It means I’ll be able to stay with Mira, watch our daughter grow, and spend an eternity with her. Grow stronger bonds with these men, I know without a doubt will never leave her side or mine. We’re all a family now.
Bonding with my own beasts is confusing and pretty amazing at the same time. The fact that they will always be there is comforting; scary but comforting. No one was expecting this to happen. Especially not me. I may not have known my family, but this didn't seem possible. I went through all the tests the Conclave could throw at me. There were no signs whatsoever that I would ever be anything but a Hollow. Mira and I have even talked about it at one point. We bonded over the pain we both went through as youths and how we wished we could have been stronger, to fight back at what has happened to us, and here we are now, after all of that torture, we’re fucking badass, powerful Others.
In that moment, I wanted to sweep Mira into my arms and rush to the bedroom. There was more going on though and the beasts inside me worried me a little on that part, the part with them being there for everything. Not only do I have three other guys watching our every move, I now have my very own voyeurs in my mind. How did everything get so twisted today? We were just supposed to go see who was the biological father to our baby. Now, everything has changed. I can’t help but wonder if it’s for the better.
-We will respect your privacy and only come to the surface when you ask, or we can feel we are needed. We have only had each other for an eternity. We are used to the company of one another.-
-Thank you Enbarr, it will take some time getting used to all of this. Since I'm kinda stuck with you all. Is there anything you have ever wanted to do? Maybe experience in your own bodies? This has to be strange for you as well.-
They’re mine to take care of now; they’ll take care of me and the others and it’s my job to make sure we all can coincide together, get along, and be happy.
-We will tell you when the time is right. We want nothing but to see out of your eyes. To learn your ways, it will take time with your mate to go through the rest of the changes that are to come. We will be here if needed, but we understand you will need to be there in your own body, for now.-
Seems like they know just the right things to say, but what’s he talking about, ‘the rest of the changes that are to come’? We need a fucking break. There’s so much going on so quick, we’re all getting whiplash from the onslaught.
-You need to take back over now. Mira is about to transition. Can you feel it? The static in the air, the power coursing through her? She accepted all of us. She is complete.-
Caius’s words ring through me again and I feel something strange, though I’m not sure what just yet. It feels like my insides are turning inside out and the urge to be, different is making my head spin.
The air feels charged and there’s an ominous feel behind his words. When I look back through Caius’ eyes, he’s standing over Mira. She’s on the ground screaming in agonizing pain. Caius is snarling at Merrick, and Rhydian who are trying to get to her, but are being cautious and respectful of my companions. The worry and pain on their faces evident and it pulls at me. They really do love her, I can feel it and see it in their eyes. They can’t get close to be with her in her time of need, because Caius is too dominant and still views them as a threat, even though I can feel through him, he knows they’re here to help. He’s protecting her until I can take back control.
-Caius, you need to let me shift. Let go. They will not hurt her. They all love her too. She isn't just mine anymore. She is ours as we are hers. I don't know how all of this works yet, but please, let me shift so I can take care of her.-
I can feel the relief and concern rush through him before he finally lets me have control and shift back into my Hollow form. Well Other now, I suppose. Shifting back is surprisingly easy. I feel Caius relax into the shift, and I follow his lead, letting my body take over and do what is necessary to be in my own skin again. Within seconds, not knowing I had even shifted back, I’m laying over Mira, naked. I don’t care and the others don’t take a second glance at me. We’re all worried about our woman laying there screaming.
Looking down at the love of my life while she’s in such agony is tearing me apart. I can’t fix this, it’s supposed to happen from what Caius said, so I do what she did for me. I grab her and pin her to my chest and tell her what I can to try and soothe her, ease her pain.
“Mira, I'm here. I'm okay. You're going to be ok. I won't let you go, you need to let it take over. Let it happen. With four bonds and four shifters, that you accepted, the bonds are settling themselves within you. The human side was fine, but when you accept our beasts as well, it cemented the bond within all of us. We’re all yours, we all accept you. I love you so much, Bugs, just breathe.”
With one last scream, she passes out and goes limp in my arms.
I close my eyes and feel the tears streaming down my face, feel the others trying to pick Mira and I both up, but I’m stuck. I‘ve never seen her look so frail and small. It’s wrecking me, inside and out.
“We need to get her inside,” Rhydian’s large frame came into focus and I was surprised to see him with as little clothes on as I did. “I can’t believe you’re a fucking Ternary! Glad to have you on our side,” he says with pride in his voice, but it’s lost on me right now. My emotions aren’t with them, but with Mira.
“Yeah, now we have one more person to keep from the Conclave. Not going to be as easy as Mira since he fucking works under them and he’s supposed to be my guard. If they come near him, they are going to smell what he is in a heartbeat,” Merrick’s words make me panic. He’s right. There’s no way I’m ever going to be able to keep my job now that I’m Other. What the hell am I going to do?
“Don’t worry about it man, here,” I look up and barely catch the fresh meat before it hits Mira, I glare at the fucking Warlock that appeared out of nowhere, one of his damn portals no doubt, but can’t get the smell of the sweet meat off my mind. I don’t give the fact that it’s raw a second thought as I tear into with a fervor I didn’t know I posses, and relish in the sweet taste while the blood drips down my face and onto Mira.
Rhydian offers to take her and I sadly, in my weakened, hungry state, let him.
Mira:
Waking in the comforts of my own bed, the first thing I notice is that I’m alone. There are whispers outside the door and sounds coming from down the hall. Nothing alerts me to let me know who it is and no one comes in to check on me.
The second thing I notice is a heavy feeling in my chest, almost like something’s pulling me in different directions, but only when I think about my guys. My guys that should be with me, but aren't. Thinking about Ebbin, I can feel he’s worried, tired and he’s angry at someone.
-I hope I’m not the cause for that anger.-
I think to myself, but too quickly I remember every one of them can hear my thoughts when I think them loud enough. I wonder if I can sneak in and listen in on their thoughts before someone comes rushing in here.
Thinking of Rhydian, I find him arguing with Kigiree about the way he spoke to me and how he could have messed things up for being such a ‘sexed crazed beast’. Rhydian can’t fathom how Kigiree can be that way since it’s their job to give justice on the people that thought heinous, perverte
d thoughts. Kigiree argues he would never act on those thoughts, they aren't wrong they’re normal and he points out that Rhydian was the one to actually do the deed, with me and three other men. I feel bad for the way they’re arguing though sweet, it isn't necessary. They’re both amazing.
-Shut up, both of you. Kigiree, I don't know if you can hear me. If you can, I can't thank you enough for what you do when you're forced to shift. I hate it, and what it does to you, but thank you. Rhydian wouldn't be the man he is today without you.-
I feel Kigiree’s appreciation, his pride and ego inflate but I hear no words from him.
-Rhydian. I'm fine he was funny and made that very surprising and scary ordeal bearable. He gave me compliments, yeah they were dirty, but if you have ever truly listened in on my mind, you would see I am much worse than he is.-
-I'm glad you're awake, love, I'll be there soon, I'm at home getting a few more things Rhett forgot. How are you feeling? And yes, I have heard such things in your mind… it’s fucking hot.-
It’s surprising to know we can talk to each other with such a large distance between us, but also very comforting.
-I’m tired and worried about all of you. Are we leaving when you get back? I need a shower and to pack a few of my own things. Y’all kind of stole the show and stopped all that when you decided to scare the fuck out of me and shift.-
-Your fault technically. You claimed us as yours. Therefore, your fault. Sorry, love. I have to go, Rhett is about to open a portal so we can bring our other truck to haul everything. See you soon.-
-You can bring a truck through a portal? Holy shit!-
-Rhett can.-
I don’t have time to reply before I feel him leave my mind, making me feel a little insecure and alone. Instead of dwelling too much on why’s and how's of all of this, I search for Merrick since I know he isn't with Rhett and Rhydian. Instead of trying to hear his thoughts, I try to search for his eyes in our bond and see if I can view what he does, see out of his eyes.
