I stop and wait, my eyes accidentally roving over their large, strong bodies. I realize I’m ogling them and I shake myself, crossing to the window to gaze at the forest. This side of the home is opposite the river, and I can see mountain peaks in the distance.
I’m on an alien planet. Just wild.
“It’s ready, wedari,” Atiox rumbles, voice low and sexy.
“Get in, feel your nest,” Ziam encourages.
I take in the gigantic bed, covered in the pillows and blankets I chose. I cross to it slowly and climb in. It’s high off the ground, and bumpers edge it under the blankets. I settle in, leaning back into the insane amount of pillows as I grin.
“It’s perfect. Thank you,” I say, smiling at them.
They all stand at the foot of the bed, an edge to their looks. But I can’t exactly tell what it is. Desire is a part of it, which causes both a shiver of fear and one of anticipation in me. What the hell. But there is something else in their eyes.
“You must invite us into your nest, the first time, Octavia,” Lux says. “It is sacred.”
Oh.
“Okay,” I say, forcing a smile. “Thank you again.”
Their faces fall, but the disappointment is quickly hidden.
“We will let you settle in,” Lux says, voice strained. She turns, tail taking Atiox’s even as she uses a hand to turn Ziam towards the door.
When it’s closed behind them, I sigh and lie back into the pillow just as the tears begin to fall.
Chapter Thirteen
Ziam
The next morning, I awake in Ati’s bed, Lux curled up on his other side. He hadn’t said anything last night, but I could tell he took Octavia not inviting us into the nest hard. So we had silently trailed him to his room and climbed into bed to comfort him with our presence.
I yawn, dropping my tail off the bed to stretch it.I should see if I can slip away and start breakfast without waking anyone.
But as soon as I start to roll away from Ati’s body, he grumbles sleepily and drops his arm over his eyes.
“Zee,” his voice is rough, and it makes my heart melt a little. “Come back.”
I chuckle. “Only if you suck my cock.”
I can see his grin from under his arm. “Mmm, I don’t know, I was hoping to make a Zee sandwich with Lux.”
Lux, apparently awake, rumbles, “Let me get my mechacock.”
I laugh. “I was going to make breakfast for our pack.”
She’s rolled and is digging in the desk near the bed. “Won’t take me long, love.”
Atiox reaches out and snatches my tail, tugging me back into bed as I laugh.
WELL, LUX WAS CORRECT; it did not take long. I leave them curled up together and hurry to the kitchen. I want to get some rytryl eggs started. But as I step into the kitchen, light-hearted and enjoying the sound of the kexai singing, I freeze.
Our omega stands, two cabinets open, head tilted upward as she studies the contents. Her tiny, odd five-toed feet are bare on the stone floor, and she’s in Ati’s shirt, looking like a kit playing dress-up in her parent’s clothes.
Tenderness fills me as I take her in. I just want to love and care for her. And fill her with my seed, of course.
I do not envy Lux and her designation of training and managing our omega’s behavior. An alien, whose people have not known of intelligent life for very long, and far from her home. She certainly will not take discipline like an omega raised in a society with a pack structure, who have been in contact with other planets for generations. And our omega in particular seems... fragile, perhaps. Or perhaps all alphas feel such about their little mates.
Octavia’s shiny, short, yellow hair is in disarray, as though she had tossed and turned a lot last night. I frown and open my mouth, but at that moment, she closes the cupboard, and spots me.
