Page 35 of Strays
She lifts her chin. “What’s the point in pretending I don’t want you, when tomorrow you’re going to bite me? And worse, what’s the point in pretending I don’t want that bite? Because I really do. It sounds insane, but the second I saw you, I felt this pull. This longing to belong.”
Her eyes shine. “I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. And there won’t be any room left for denial after that.”
She swallows. “I’m still ashamed of it. But what I want tonight, what I reallywant, is to sleep in a nest with my aegis.”
Shane exhales like he’s been holding it in for twenty minutes. “Thank fuck,” he mutters.
She laughs, wet and breathy, her eyes shimmering with tears.
The hum starts in my chest, and my brothers follow. I’m starting to get used to the way my body acts without asking permission around her.
I look into her eyes and try to pour everything I feel into that one look. I want her to know I understand how hard this is for her. “Thank you,” I say. “For waiting for us. For choosing to come. For letting us in. We’ll do everything at your pace. All we’ve ever wanted was to find you; everything else, we’ll figure it out together.”
She smiles, and suddenly, a delicate flush of pink rises to her face. She glances down at her hands as she speaks. “Come. I want to know what it feels like having you in a nest with me for the first time.”
More Than Flesh:Restoring Purpose in Gregalis Lives Through Christ
Preface from the Author
As a pastor, a husband, and a father, I do not approach this topic from theory alone. I have lived it.
Almost two decades ago, I met a young woman named Laure. Gregalis by birth, she had known loss and pain and believed the path she had chosen was the wrong one.
She didn’t know it then, but the Lord had guided her choices. While others of her kind give themselves over to the sin of polygamy, Laure chose differently. Going against her family, she bonded with a single aegis instead of a pack.
When we met during a charity outreach I was leading among the poor in Boise, Idaho, her husband had died, leaving her a widow in a very difficult situation. But from the first time I heard her story, it touched me profoundly. The choice she had made to reject polygamy, even though lust and indulgence in carnal desires are the norm among her kind, showed me from the first day we met that she was meant to be a symbol of redemption to all gregalis.
By God’s grace, Laure came to faith and we married. Through Christ, she became a woman of gentleness and dignity. She is my proof that no one is beyond the reach of the cross.
Our daughter, Johane, was just a toddler when Laure and I began this journey together. Raised in a godly home, Johane has grown into a bright, compassionate, and gifted young woman. I raised her to know she is not a prisoner of her biology and certainly not of its destructive instincts.
This document is not merely guidance. It is a testimony, a roadmap for any who feel called to stand with us in showing the gregalis the path to salvation.
Rev. Mark Johnson
Portland Grace Fellowship
Council Member, ECIM
CHAPTER EIGHT
Bride
My hands are shaking as I pull off my boots and crawl to the center of the nest. The moment I slide in next to her, my mind goes completely blank. I draw her into my arms, wrapping around her, but it’s like I’m watching from outside my body. No control, just instinct.
Panic flashes through me. She could reject me any second, find me overwhelming, threatening even, trapped by my size.
But she just sighs, nestling closer.
I don’t even know what I'm feeling right now. Every good thing at once.
Shane settles on her other side, and she reaches for him. He presses close, sandwiching her between us. I worry about pressing too hard against her bruised ribs, but when I try to ease off, she pulls me tighter.
Jay stretches out behind me. She slides an arm under my neck to reach him, her fingers softly combing through his hair. When I glance back, his eyes are closed, expression peaceful, almost reverent.
After everything she told us about her upbringing, I worry that being like this with all three of us might be too much. But I can hear her heartbeat, calm and steady, and her deep, even breaths, like she’s basking in this moment just as much as we are.
I don’t know how long we stay in the nest, but I savor every second. Not everyone gets to experience their wildest dream coming true. I know how lucky I am right now, more than I ever thought I could be.
