Page 75 of Sawoots Story

Her body moves in slow motion, her hands coming out with a powerful strike. I roll with her shove, timing her movements like I’ve been studying judo since childhood. She’s grown stronger with the Bond, and so have I. The Bond has some interesting physical effects that go beyond making us the perfect vessels for Aurelians.

Tasha almost loses her balance as I dodge, then catches herself, grinning at me.

“I’m still getting used to this,” she says, flexing her arms and testing her new strength. “Maybe I’ll put Aelon overmylap,” she laughs, and we walk together out of the diplomat’s hall, side by side like always. The hallways were beat up before. Now some of the doorways have long cuts from Orb Blades when Aelon ordered his men to break them down to get to us. Some are shattered to pieces.

We have no need for an escort now. No Aurelian is suicidal enough to go near a Bonded woman. We walk the ancient hallways to the mess hall, and I feel my triad’s presence even before I press the buttons to open the blast doors to the hall.

I can’t help but beam at them. They are wearing matching black workout shorts and t-shirts that contrast against their pure white skin. Their clothes cling to their muscles. They need to update their wardrobe, because the Bond changed them, too. They got even taller, wider, and stronger and became huge, beastly specimens of masculinity. Even Tar’ank lets the ghost of a smile come to his lips when he sees me. He’s still a brutal warrior, but I feel the possessiveness radiating from him.

He knows he would be lost without me. He cares for me, craves me, needs me.

The mess hall is empty except for my triad standing at one end and Aelon, Iunia and Vinicus standing on the stage in the middle of the room. It’s strange to see Aurelians with colored eyes, but my Bond-heightened senses can even pick out the ring of green around Vinicus’s newly brown eyes.

It humanizes them. They don’t seem so alien and aloof anymore. Tasha’s triad stands behind a massive chest, so big you could fit Garrick and myself in it. It would be a tight squeeze, but I wouldn’t mind that right about now. The chest is wood, strapped with iron, well-made and durable.

I give Tasha’s hand a quick squeeze and stride towards my triad, breathing in deeply. Even my sense of smell is better. The sweat of men is usually so offensive to my nose, but my three smell right. I love getting sweaty with them in bed, feeling our bodies slick against each other. Garrick flexes his biceps hard as I approach. He does it when he’s trying to hold back the Mating Rage, like putting the blood into his muscles will keep it away from his cock. His big bulge twitches as I approach, and I have to look away. We’re in public, and it’s still hard to hold back.

We’ve been in a state of lust since we became Bonded, but there’s still so much we haven’t done. I’m ninety percent excited and ten percent nervous what awaits me on their space station in their pleasure room.

“Garrick!” Aelon booms out as Tasha stands in front of him, her head not even touching the bottom of his crossed arms. She smiles at me, and I know that no matter how far apart we are, we’ll always be together. “You served us well. Because of your actions and bravery, we were able to drive back the Toads. For your service,” he says, and drives his foot into the container with a powerful kick.

It moves only a foot, grinding against the floor. Whatever is in it, it’s heavy.

“Go on,” I say to Garrick, looking up at his gold eyes that seems to exist only to stare at me. They light up whenever he looks at me. He grins and walks up the steps to the stage. He stands in front of the huge chest, then grabs the metal clasp and heaves it open.

My eyes are drawn into the prize inside.

It’s an Orb. Huge, much bigger than the one that powers the Reaver. It seems to suck in the light and air of the room, and I get a cold feeling as I watch it. Part of me wants Garrick to slam the container shut so I don’t have to look at it, but I must get used to the things. Orbs are the reason we can travel the stars, but it’s like my eyes were never meant to see such colors. The rippling, blue-black hue of the thing is somehow darker than empty space yet brighter than a sun. I take a step towards it, drawn to its might, and Tar’ank grabs my arm and holds me in place.

Garrick closes the chest with a heavy clunk. I’m out of the spell. I let out a big breath. “Thank you, Aelon,” says Garrick in a formal tone.

“It’s the least I could do. Now that space station of yours can move.”

I got the specifications of the space station from the triad in one of the brief moments we weren’t…busy. Well, as best as I could with my mind foggy from lust. I’ll have to talk to Theme and get him to explain it to me in layman’s terms. It’s a huge hunk of metal, more like a flying planet than anything else, but it was powered by conventional fuel like we used to use back in the Oil Age on Earth. Changing over to Orb power will make moving the big bulk of the station effortless—and it might even be able to Orb-Shift, if we decide to risk it.

If the universe erupts into chaos, we can beat an escape, or go to the aid of innocents displaced by the coming storm. That’s if Aelon and Garrick are right about the future of the Aurelian Empire, so split apart civil war seems inevitable.

“Funny how things change, isn’t it, Aelon? There was a time neither of us would have backed away from a fight,” states Garrick. Even though he worked for the alien captain, I liked how he never kowtowed to him. They treated each other as equals, giving and getting respect.

Aelon grins and unfolds his crossed arms, wrapping them around Tasha’s neck and pulling her close to him. “There was a time we had nothing worth protecting. I’ll have a triad load up your Reaver. I’m sending you off with two more Reavers, and I give you permission to hire two triads from my team. They all owe you a debt. I’m sure they will give you a good deal on wages, or you can keep the Reavers on auto-pilot. Either way, I wish you all the best. May our paths cross again.”

“You as well, Aelon. It’s been an honor to be part of your team. May our paths cross again.” The two alphas nod to each other, never fully relaxing around another triad, respecting each other’s potential for violence.

Garrick turns his back to Aelon and walks back to us. “Are you ready? Say your goodbyes,” he tells me, and my eyes get wet. I rub the tears from them and Tasha and I meet in front of the stairs, giving each other a huge hug. We’re both scared to break it off. Finally, it comes to an end. “Good luck, Sawoot.”

“I’m always lucky,” I say with a wink. “Good luck taming this beast,” I say, cocking my head over at Aelon and his triad.

“I think you’re going to be the one with your hands full.” She grins back at me. With that, I walk away, and I don’t look back as Garrick, Markrin and Tar’ank flank me. I feel so calm and comfortable between the three of them, huge walls of muscle and strength that keep me safe.

It’s bittersweet leaving Tasha, but I know we’ll keep in touch. Every step I feel like I’m walking towards my destiny—when I almost fall.

The Bondthrumsso hard in my mind my legs give out, and Garrick grabs my arm, holding me up. “You okay?” His aura is concerned, but he breathes in, his nostrils flaring, and he tastes my sudden lust.

I can’t help myself. My hands move like someone else owns them, and I’m reaching down his shorts, wrapping my hand halfway around his too-thick shaft. I can’t even get my hand all the way around him.

“Prepare the Reaver,” snarls Garrick to his men, and Tar’ank’s lips draw back in an angry grimace. He wants me, too, but it’s Garrick who is being taken by the Mating Rage.

Garrick growls, slamming his hand against a button to open the door next to him. He pulls me into a storage closet that looks like it hasn’t been used in years, dusty rations lined up, and the door closes behind him.

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