Page 70 of Bonded By Savages

“The Priests let you have this place?” I ask, still unsure.

“Yes. The one thing those Priests care about is new Aurelians, and we made them understand there won’t be any children unless we feel safe. Not that they’deverget their filthy hands on my son. We’re going to raise him right…and I’m so happy he’s going to have a friend.”

I smile, gently rubbing my belly, still not quite able to accept how much my body is going to change. I’d seen the holo-vids of Queen Jasmine when she was pregnant, but seeing it in real life is something else. I can hardly believe Aria can walk.

“Boys, why don’t you show our guests around? And no playing rough!” she says to her triad. I see Ark’s eyes flash, and he licks his lips. I know exactly what he’s thinking—promising her a punishment in his mind, to be given years later.

She waves her hands, and a big side door opens, and she walks into a massive living room. There are big couches across from a holo-vid screen, and another set of couches stare out at a huge viewport. I can see everything. Obsidious below, and trillions of stars.

The universe doesn’t seem so uncaring anymore. I look over at the door closing behind me, nervously. Aria sees my glance. “Don’t worry. They’ll do the usual posturing and dick measuring, I’m sure, but they’ll relax when they realize we all want the same thing. Plus, they don’t want to piss off a pregnant woman.”

Aria slowly walks towards the sofas looking out at space. “Your triad is gorgeous,” I say, smiling.

“Yours are lookers too. Gods, aren’t we the luckiest?”

I smile, huge. “For the first time in my life, I can say yes. I am the luckiest person I’ve ever met. I…I can hardly believe this is all real.”

She sits down heavily on the couch, staring out at infinity. “Oh, it’s all real. Very real. When your boobs start swelling up you’ll see what reality is.” I realize why she’s wearing a black dress. It’s slick from her breasts, already producing milk in anticipation of her huge, hungry babe. I shudder, imagining my own body changing, and deep down, I can’t wait.

I hope it isn’t rude, but I have to ask. “Doesn’t your back hurt?”

“Not at all. The Bond takes care of that. They just get…awfully full and swollen. I shouldn’t scare you, but it honestly feels like a massive pressure.”

“What do you do?”

She smiles, completely unashamed. “My men take care of me,” she says, and I don’t press further, getting this image in my head of my own swollen breasts having milk squeezed out of them by Damian and Tarak while Raython massages my aching back from behind. There’s no Bond anymore enhancing my arousal, but the pleasure dress slowly caressing me makes my lust ignite, and I shiver, forcing it down. Why is it so fucking hot imagining their oiled-up hands slowly squeezing and massaging my swollen breasts?

“He’s kicking. Pretty sure he’s going to be a soccer player.” She sees my confusion. “Some sport humans play, the rich ones with their own fields. Ugh, they say the Bond makes pregnancy painless, but I’m half convinced that’s a lie to make any human woman dumb enough to consider getting pregnant from one of those giants go through with it. Kidding. I believe it.” She sighs, leaning back deeper into the couch. I let myself sink in deeper next to her, staring out at the beauty of space.

I bite my lip, suddenly nervous. “You’re going to raise him up here?”

She nods. “Yes. I’ll show the rest of it, later. There’s an entire massive room dedicated to a swimming pool. Aurelian soldiers used to train in it, and now I lie next to my men, and they drink wine while I relax. Ugh, I’m jealous of your pleasure dress—I can’t fit mine anymore.”

“I know a bit of needlework, I’ve got dozens they bought for me, I can put two together.”

“You’re a lifesaver.”

I look down at Obsidious, growing wary. “It’s not the Priests I’m worried about, though. War’s coming. The first warships left today.”

She turns, giving me a steady glance. “I wasn’t going to tell you. But I trust you. We have a secret little project. My men have been working hard, for the last seven or so months. We can’t Orb-Shift a station this big. But we’ve been buying Orbs, as many as we can afford.”

“Orbs? My men earned many talons, and never used them…we could help. But what’s it for?”

“That’s a plan. I’ll have Callum—he’s the pretty-boy—talk to his contact to get more with whatever you can spare. We’re outfitting a Reaver. It’s already got three Orbs. There’s no way in hell I’m risking Orb-Shifting with my son in my belly, or out of it, for that matter, even if that War-God was guiding us himself. But we can escape faster than any ship in either fleet, Loyalist or Separatist. And there’s room for you, too.”

I let out a big sigh. “You’re…I…” I fight for words. “I feel like I’ve got a future.”

“You do. More than you ever believed. You’re new to being Bonded, right?”

I nod.

“Get used to it. You’ll be alive for thousands of years, and if you keep your boys out of trouble, they’ll be with you too. I heard you met the War-God himself? Is he as intimidating as they say?”

“He’s a man. He’s a man who lost his mate. I feel sorry for him.”

“Sorry for Obsidian. TheShadow wolf who will bathe the universe in blood.Well, even if you trust him, I don’t, and that’s why we’ve got the best escape vehicle in the world. With a few more Orbs, we could power our shields until only a planet killer could pierce them.”

I gulp, remembering that strange eye in the mirror, the eye I tried to get out of my memory. Raython can’t remember anything from his time in the void, and we all agreed to forget it.

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