by Kali Argent
She was faster now, stronger, and she had more stamina. It had taken her a couple of days after waking up to get used to how sharp and clear everything sounded. Mostly, she felt like herself, she looked like herself, and more importantly, she wasn’t dead.
There had been a moment of panic when she’d worried about what Cord would think, if he’d be scared of her, especially the first time she lost her temper and her eyes flashed red. She shouldn’t have worried. The kid had thought it was cool.
“Isla?” Knox opened the door and peeked into their suite where she was busy pulling on her boots. “Hey, sweetheart, the regents are here.”
He smiled at her as if she was the most precious thing on Earth, and her nervousness at meeting with the regents melted away. “Okay, I’m ready.”
She crossed to the door, but stopped when Knox continued to block her way. Bending, he slanted their mouths together, kissing her teasingly, but with a promise of things to come. Stars, she couldn’t get enough of them.
“Now, you’re ready.” He tapped the underside of her chin with the knuckle of his forefinger and kissed her nose. “We’re set up in the dining hall. Slade and Bastian are already there.”
“Oh, my stars. You left them alone with the regents?” She shoved at him, easily moving him this time, and hurried toward the staircase. “Are you insane?”
She loved her guys, but she could only imagine what would happen if one of the regents said something insulting about her while she wasn’t there to keep the peace. Jogging down the stairs two at a time with Knox right behind her, she bounded into the restaurant, but slowed to a walk as she approached the round table where Slade and Bastian sat with the two regents.
When they spotted her, all four stood, making her a little uncomfortable. “Hello, Regents.” She bowed her head slightly. “Thank you for coming.”
“I hear you have some information to share with us.”
The female regent smiled warmly. Isla had met Regent Adira Singer while on X21, and she’d found the woman to be kind and fair. She was a pretty woman, likely in her forties, with dark hair and a single strand of silver in the front. She’d pulled the locks into a neat bun, and she adjusted her red and black uniform jacket as she took her seat once more, indicating Isla and Knox should do the same.
“This is Regent Roman Newgate.” Regent Singer went around the table, making further introductions, then folded her hands atop the mocha-colored tablecloth. “So, let’s get started, shall we?”
Regent Newgate watched her carefully, but his gaze held compassion and understanding, something Isla hadn’t expected. It gave her courage and hope, and she took a deep breath before launching into her story. Once started, she stopped only to breathe here and there, needing to purge the information in one go without anyone questioning her.
“So, you were already here in the sanctuary when Commanders Fielding and Covey say they caught you trying to destroy evidence. Is that correct?” Regent Newgate tilted his head to the side, a barely noticeable movement that spoke volumes.
“Yes,” Isla answered, “that’s correct.”
“I’m sure Sadayka Tavish can vouch for that.” Regent Singer winked, her lips curving a little at the corners. Just as quickly, she adopted a neutral expression and continued. “You’ve had quite an adventure, Miss Blevins.”
“Cadell,” Isla corrected automatically. “Isla Cadell.” There had been no ceremony, but she didn’t need one to make their mating official in her book.
Regent Singer lowered her head. “Miss Cadell, then. Congratulations, by the way. You look good as a Krytos.” She lifted two fingers to her mouth and tapped at her straight, white teeth. “Very nice.”
Blushing at the compliment, Isla thanked the woman, nonetheless. “It’s been an adjustment, but it feels right.”
“Yes,” Regent Newgate added, “congratulations, indeed. I do, however, have to wonder why the conversion was necessary in the first place. I was under the impression is was a highly risky procedure.”
“It was necessary because your commander fucking stabbed her.”
Choking back a groan, Isla reached under the table, resting her hand on Slade’s thigh, and squeezed. They needed the regents on their side, and his combative tone wasn’t helping.
“We think they went through a middle man, Haldar Jorkin, to hire an assassin to kill my mother,” Isla explained, “because she was going to leave them and take my family’s fortune with her. Commander Covey admitted this to me, right before he literally stabbed me in the back.”
Regent Newgate’s mouth fell open, and his eyes widened. “Do you have any proof of this?”
“She just told you that he confessed,” Bastian snapped. “Besides, they’re dead. Evidence isn’t going to change that.”
Regent Singer turned her head and coughed into her hand, but not before Isla caught the crooked smile that graced her mouth. Regent Newgate, however, looked less amused.
“And just why are two Alliance commanders dead?”
“If someone tried to kill your chosen,” Slade said with the air of someone trying to explain two plus two equals four to an overemotional toddler, “would you let them live?”
Something passed through the regent’s eyes, and his expression clouded, just a brief flicker, before he straightened and cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t.”
“Then, there’s your answer.” Leaning back in his chair, Slade folded his arms over his chest, stretching the fabric of his black T-shirt to its limits. “I’d talk to Jorkin. His arm has probably grown back by now, so he might be in a talkative mood.”
Isla snorted, picturing the Reema wandering around his club with a tiny nub of an arm as it slowly grew back. “We were also able to recover security footage from the day my mother died.” She nodded at Knox. “Show them.”
Bringing up the evidence on a tablet, he passed it to Regent Singer, and they all sat quietly while the regents watched with rapt attention. Several minutes later, Regent Singer passed the tablet back, her lips pursed.
“I’m so sorry, Isla. I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve gone through. Personally, I don’t believe you were involved in your mother’s death. There are too many inconsistencies in the report, and virtually zero evidence against you.”
“I’m inclined to agree.” Regent Newgate linked his fingers together on the tabletop and leaned forward with a heavy sigh. “This footage is troubling, and I can’t deny that innocent men don’t try to murder their stepdaughter.”
“And our son,” Bastian interjected, a lower growl in his voice.
“They tried to kill a child?” The muscle in his jaw ticked when Regent Newgate spoke, and the vein in the center of his forehead began to pulse. “I’ve heard enough. Adira?”
“I agree.” Straightening, she turned to look at Isla and nodded. “Isla Cadell, on behalf of the Alliance, I’d like to extend our sincerest apology for the grief and suffering this has brought you. As soon as we’re back in the Capital, we’ll be launching a full investigation into the former commanders’ dealings, and anyone who was associated with them.”
“As such,” Regent Newgate continued, picking up where his comrade had left off, “we are prepared to offer you a full pardon, exonerated of all charges.”
“Thank you,” Isla gasped. She hadn’t expected it to be that easy, but then again, the truth was on her side. “Thank you, Regents.”
A strange look swept over the female regent’s face, and she started to speak several times before finally getting out the words. “I was wondering if I could meet your son?”
“Oh, of course. Bas?”
Nodding, Bastian rose from his seat and left the room without a word. The mention of Cord did remind Isla of something else she wanted to ask the Regents.
“Obviously, Cord isn’t my biological child. He’s Xenon.”
Regent Newgate gasped. “There’s a Xenon on Earth?”
Isla could resist rolling her eyes. “He’s four. I promise he’s no threat to y
ou.”
“No, no, you’re right.” The regent actually laughed. “I didn’t mean it that way. I was just surprised. I’ve heard a lot about them, but I haven’t had an opportunity to meet anyone from Xenthian yet.”
Yeah, well, if he was going to the Ministry of Nations meeting, he’d get his chance. Inwardly, Isla chuckled at the thought of the regent’s first introduction to the race coming in the form of Elder Torren Blue. She really wished she could be a fly on the wall for that conversation.
Regent Singer grinned. “You were saying?”
“Yes, well, he’s mine, but I’d like to make it official. I want legal documentation appointing not only myself, but my mates as well, as Cord’s legal guardians.” She wouldn’t take any chances that someone might one day try to take him from her. “I’ve already spoken with the ruler of Xenthian, as well as a representative of the boy’s family. They won’t contest it.”
“It’s a highly unusual request, but I think we can make that happen. Give me a couple of days, and I’ll get back with you.” Regent Singer’s face lit up when Cord bounced into the room, holding Bastian’s hand. “Hello, little one. You must be Cord.”
Completely unabashed, Cord strolled right up to the regent and held up four fingers. “I’m this many. How many are you?”
“Cord!”
Regent Singer laughed right from her belly as she waved away Isla’s concern. “He’s just fine.” When Cord held his arms up, she lifted him easily into her lap. “I’m afraid I don’t have enough fingers to count how old I am.” She brushed her thumb over the thin scratch on his neck. “Did you have a good Christmas?”
“Yes.” His little nose wrinkled, and he frowned. “Until the bad men came. I don’t like the bad men.”
The regents exchanged quick glances, but were interrupted when Cord abruptly turned to Regent Newgate.
“Can you fly?”
“I, uh, no. I’m sorry, buddy. I can’t, not without a ship or a shuttle.”
Cord threw his hands into the air and groaned dramatically. “No one will take me flying!”
Everyone at the table burst into laughter, and in a sudden rush of love for her son, Isla finally gave in to his strange obsession. “If you’re really, really good, you can go flying with Kylir this afternoon.”
“Really?” Wiggling out of the regent’s lap, he ran around the table and threw his arms around Isla’s waist. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you, Mommy.”
Her heart melting, she kissed the top of his head. “I love you, too, leelan. Why don’t you go see if there are any cookies left in the kitchen?”
“Okay,” he agreed easily, skipping off toward the door at the back of the room. “I’m going flying. I’m going flying,” he sang all the way out of the room.
“He’s beautiful, Isla,” Regent Singer compliment. “And high spirited!”
“Don’t forget smart,” Regent Newgate added. “You must be very proud.”
Looking to each of her mates, then back to where Cord had vanished into the kitchen, Isla smiled wide enough to show off her new fangs, her heart filled with joy and love.
“You have no idea.”
* * * *
Isla awoke the next morning to the sun on her face, and three sets of strong, masculine hands roaming her body, stroking and caressing her sensitive skin. Since her conversion, she felt everything more acutely, both emotionally and physically, and while it had been overwhelming at first, she’d grown to love this new part of her.
Cord had been invited to a sleepover with Kylir and Rakesh, their gift to Isla and her mates, giving them some uninterrupted adult time. She’d have to remember to do something extra special for them as a thank you.
“Mmm,” she hummed. “Good morning, my loves.”
They’d come together in every way possible the night before, and some she hadn’t known existed. Her new body didn’t have the same need for a long recovery time. She felt no aches, no soreness, just a clenching in her belly and a growing throb between her thighs.
“Good morning, tava,” Slade whispered against the shell of her ear. “How are you feeling?”
“Hot.”
Their touch ignited the embers that always seemed to smolder just below the surface these days. Their hands smoothed down her arms, across her belly, up and down her thighs, soft, light…teasing. Flames of desire licked over her skin, and she began to squirm against the mattress, eager for a firmer touch, desperate to have their hands and mouths where she needed them most.
Prying her eyes open, she gulped at the intensity in her mates’ gazes. They looked hungry, and she was the only thing on the menu.
Slade circled her erect nipple with the tip of his index finger, gently at first, just the barest whisper of a touch. Then he lowered his head, capturing the hard bud between his teeth, and bit down just hard enough to pull a strangled gasp from her. The sharp tinge of pain fueled her desire, sent a gush of warmth to pool between her legs.
Rising up on his knees, Bastian fisted his long, thick cock, stroking it from crown to base. Isla’s mouth watered, and a shiver rippled down her spine. She tried to sit up, intending to go to him, but fell back with a loud cry when Knox chose that moment to lick a long, wet path between her slick folds.
Bastian returned, bracing himself beside her head as he used his free hand to pinch and tug at her other nipple. Bending, he slanted their mouths together in a hard, demanding kiss, delving his tongue between her gasping lips.
Knox’s mouth closed around her clitoris, and he sucked hard as he pushed two fingers into her slick, aching core.
Too many sensations.
Isla teetered on the precipice, certain she’d shatter into a million pieces when she fell.
Her mates kept up the barrage of pleasure, stoking the fire in her belly. Their hands moved in tandem, caressing every inch of bare flesh they could reach. She panted and squirmed, tangling her fingers into Bastian’s long hair, pulling him into a deeper kiss as she moaned against his lips.
“Come for us, tava,” Slade demanded as he traced the swell of her breast with his tongue.
“Now,” Bastian added, pulling back to stare into her eyes.
She had no choice but to obey when Knox hooked his arms around knees and jerked her to the end of the mattress, impaling her on his hard length in one, fluid plunge. As predicted, she shattered, screaming a litany of unintelligible words as she hurdled into freefall.
Her mates didn’t let her come down, either. Slade continued the assault against her nipple, and Bastian moved down her body to nip and suck at the other. Knox thrust hard and fast, rocking into her with wild abandon. Thrashing her head back and forth against the pillow, Isla arched her hips, rising up to meet him, pulling him deeper within her clenching core.
Her second orgasm hovered just out of reach until Knox gripped her thighs in a bruising hold and buried himself to the hilt, roaring as he released himself into her depths. The satisfaction of knowing she’d done that, she’d caused him to lose control, catapulted her headlong into another blinding release.
This time, her mates gave her just a few seconds to recover before Slade grabbed her by the hips and rolled with her until she ended up atop him, straddling his powerful thighs.
“We’re not done with you yet,” he teased.
And she wasn’t finished with them, either. Reaching between them, she gripped his throbbing erection, holding it upright as she lowered herself onto the ridged length. The stretch sent a fresh wave of pleasure washing over her, and she let loose a throaty moan that had all three of her males growling.
A hand landed on her back, urging her forward at the hips. Bastian caressed her upturned ass, giving it a light slap that pulled another deep groan from her. Bastian’s finger ringed her back entrance, coating the tight muscles with cool, slick gel. He took his time stretching and preparing her while Slade began a slow glide, rising into her and falling back to the mattress. Recovered from his own orgasm, Knox knelt beside her on the bed
, turning her face up to him to claim her mouth in a heated kiss as he massaged each of her aching breasts in turn.
“Breathe,” Knox whispered before searing her with another deep, demanding kiss.
Slowly, inch by inch, Bastian sank into her, seating himself so that his thighs brushed against her backside, filling her with an indescribable pressure. Together, he and Slade set the rhythm, pushing and pulling, mixing long, languid strokes with short, hard thrusts that set her heart racing and head spinning.
Knox broke the kiss to trail his lips over the curve of her jaw and down the side of her neck, finding the spot just behind her ear that drove her wild. His talented fingers toyed with her nipples, pinching and tugging, leaving her panting and gasping, moaning and whimpering.
Their tempo increased, building to a crescendo when Slade pushed up on his elbows to claim her mouth while Knox slid his hand between her thighs, unerringly finding the bundle of nerves there. He drew quick, hard circles as he whispered a constant string of deliciously erotic words into her ear.
Then Slade and Bastian pushed into her at the same time, filling her so completely she couldn’t tell where she ended and they began. Isla screamed, crying out as she exploded in another orgasm even more intense than the first two. Loud roars followed, echoing around the room, and both males stilled, shuddering and growling as they spilled themselves into her in a rush of molten lava.
Limp and exhausted, but also amazingly content, Isla slumped forward, falling over Slade’s chest, and didn’t move again. He stroked her hair, murmuring loving words against her temple. Knox and Bastian caressed her back, her sides, and down her arms, adding their own words of love and devotion.
Stars, she loved them so much it hurt sometimes. They were her family, her refuge, her protectors, and her champions. She’d follow them to the ends of the universe—even if they probably wouldn’t stop to ask for directions. She’d fight tooth and nail with them, for them, and she’d annihilate anyone who tried to hurt the people she loved.
