Chapter Twenty Eight

 

All three of the Protectors hung their elbows over the fence, watching Earth’s version of the nublers, or what passed for such beasts called ‘horses’ there on his pixie’s planet. Beings which only had four legs instead of six as they cavorted in the corral.

“So similar, yet so not what we’re used to,” Tyshar mumbled, his eyes traipsing over the beasts that ran within the enclosure, muscles quivering as they passed by. “Have you ridden them, discovered the differences?”

“I have,” Rykhan stated firmly. “They are viable, considering their limitations in the lack of extra limbs.” Eyes gleaming, the Protector pointed out certain ones. “She’s shy, but fast. That one? Yes, he is a prize. Swift of foot but distracted by his ladies.”

Wyst’s gaze moved to the stud who chomped and used his body to press the females of his harem into submission by running them into the boards. “He wields a strong command over his females and his young.”

Rykhan turned his head to his warrior brother. “Which is the natural order of males and their females?”

Wyst couldn’t help his chuckle. “Only if the female lets him. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but not all females, human or otherwise, easily relinquish control.” The other two warriors laughed along with him as they moved from corral towards the outbuildings.

“I know we’ve only been apart for a little more than a wend, but I miss spending time with those of my own kind, who speak my native language.” Rykhan’s head was down as if watching his steps, his hands shoved in his pockets as he made his confession.

Tyshar clapped a hand on one of Rykhan’s shoulder in reply, but turned the conversation a different direction. “So outside of taking care of your mate and the animals, how have you spent your time? Have you been working on fortifications or defensive measures to secure the property?”

“It took me three days to make the main house livable since it has not been inhabited in a while. With my Leah close to birthing, I did not want her to breathe in the dust or the fumes of the cleansing agents.” Rykhan sighed and glanced at the first outbuilding. “It’s probably just as bad in each of the three small houses as well as the upstairs rooms in the main house. Fair warning, you will need to clean whichever place you intend to stay.

“As for defenses, I have been in contact with Arbrynt who had me order a satellite TV dish which he says can be added to, providing a level of security. I also discovered a room underneath the kitchen which can be used for hiding although Leah can no longer safely navigate stairs in her condition. I’d be grateful for any additional ideas and help in making the ranch safe.”

Wyst cleared his throat and thought of how to word his next question. “Your mate has grown larger, much larger since last I saw her. Is that normal for human females?”

“Dani’s mother believes she will bring forth your daughter within the next two wends,” Tyshar added.

“Which means Jyrl’s estimation was off by more than a bit.” Rykhan shook his head and turned to look at the main house. “Why am I not surprised? To speak honestly, I’d wondered if I was going to be the only one to help my Leah when her time comes and have spent a fair amount of heras on Earth’s internet to study the birthing process.”

Wyst’s feet stuttered to a stop and he looked at his friend in shock. “Males can help deliver a youngling?”

Rykhan frowned before replying. “I do not know about others, but if I am all the help available I’ll do everything I can to help my mate bring our daughter forth.”

“I think that was one of the old customs, Wyst, and not a statement of fact. Since you grew up on Nutrol surely you assisted in the birth of your animals, correct?” At Wyst’s nod, Tyshar continued. “I believe it is much the same in all mammals, including females. Although I cannot tell you the reasoning behind the old strictures of no males attending the birth of their younglings.”

“New planet, new rules,” Rykhan announced with a grin and a shrug before opening the heavy door leading directly into the kitchen.

“Now I for one am hungry. Do you think you can talk your mate into preparing the meals now that you’re here? Tsiran knows my female and I have tried, but no one has your pixie’s touch in the kitchen.”

“The Pam is not my mate,” Wyst growled but turned his head away as he felt a guilty heat hit his face. “Tyshar will probably recite the Tragyard long before I will.”

His words met the mark in turning Rykhan’s attention to their darker-skinned brother. “You have found your mate?”

Tyshar didn’t respond except to go to the refrigerator and grab a bottle of water.

Rykhan’s frown more than spoke of his confusion. “Who is the female? Someone you recently met?”

Still the other warrior said nothing, calming drinking as his eyes roamed over the eating area attached to the fully appointed kitchen.

“Do not tell me it was the Basule female who traveled with you on the two-wheeled, death-trap of a transport you arrived on!”

“It is called a motorcycle and you will not call her by that horrible name.” Although Tyshar’s voice was quiet, it held enough steel to cause Rykhan to blink. “She is a hybrid female. The offspring of a human female and a Sulari.”

“The Dani and her family are our friends, Rykhan,” Wyst offered, trying to reduce the tension rolling off the other males. “I would have gone into Gyed’s ether if not for the help of her parents.”

Tyshar took another sip, his gaze never leaving Rykhan. “What was it you said? New planet, new rules? I think you are right…in ways none of us anticipated.”

Wyst pulled out a chair at the large table and sat down as Rykhan let out a long, deep sigh. “I don’t know about either one of you but I am hungry. Do you think your mate is up to preparing food? My Leah and I have tried, but nothing compares to the magic your pixie concocts in the kitchen.”

Wyst smiled and glanced at Tyshar, seeing his other brother grinning in what appeared to be relief at Rykhan’s redirection. “Wait until you taste what the Dani and my Pam can do together! It will, as the humans say, knock your socks off.”

Rykhan lifted one side of his mouth in a half-grin. “I swear I will never fully understand English and its slang.”

“You and me both, warrior,” Tyshar agreed.

 

*.*.*.*.*

“Guess you really can’t call yourself ‘besties’ until one of you feels the other one’s cervix,” Leah said with a laugh.

Yeah, I’d done the internal exam on her which had squicked me right the hell out. That is, until with one eye on notes and charts Blythe loaned me, I realized my girl was fifty percent effaced. Dani’s nod of approval on my findings left me feeling proud of getting over my discomfort and doing what was needed. “Just because I did it doesn’t mean we have to goddamn talk about that shit, okay?”

She was stretched out on the long couch and I was rubbing her feet. “Gotcha. But better you doing it than Rykhan. The thought of my husband and lover touching me there without lust is just wrong on too many levels to count.”

I couldn’t disagree with her.

“This is my backhanded way of saying I’m so happy you’re here.” Her smile was a little bit wonky and her eyes were wet. But from what I’d seen in the few hours we’d been at the ranch, Leah was not only riding the hormonal highway of her pregnancy, but speeding along it—laughing one minute and crying the next. And she hadn’t lied about how big she’d gotten, her belly preceding her into every room. However, her balance was off which Dani said was probably due to how fast her pregnancy was progressing; that her body didn’t have a chance to adjust to her increase in the three B’s: boobs, butt and belly.

“I’m glad to be here too. Seems like I haven’t seen you in forever, Lee.” I switched my hands to work on her other foot while flicking my glance to the table where Wyst and her Rykhan were playing some sort of game with dice, speaking a mile a minute in Picari. From what I could feel along our link, Wyst was happy and had been since we arrived. But then he’d been without his friends for a while, something I didn’t know bothered him until he was reunited with them.

“So what’s the dealio with Ty and that Dani girl? I mean, I like her, she seems nice and everything after I got over the blue lipstick and purple eyes. But do you think she’s the right one for our Ty?” Leah’s voice sounded sleepy and I wondered if she was resting as much as she should.

“She’s good people even though she’s a little rough around the edges,” I murmured. “And I couldn’t tell you what’s doing between them because neither one of them will talk about it. All I know is every night after dinner, the two go for a ‘walk’…” I used my fingers to do the air quotes. “And come back with swollen mouths and shining eyes.”

“I saw the way he watched her at dinner and it made me remember when Ryk used to look at me with that kind of intensity and awe.”

I didn’t hold back my giggle. “He still does, silly girl. It’s just you’re used to it and no longer notice it.”

“I don’t know, Pam. Feels like all the good parts of being with my guy are overshadowed by the baby.”

I raised an eyebrow as I wondered what she meant by ‘all’. “Are you saying you two aren’t…I mean, that, like, in the bedroom, he doesn’t…”

“No, we still share sex but we’re obviously more careful and have had to get pretty inventive with positions. It’s just that it doesn’t feel as…I don’t know. As wondrous and amazing as it used to be.”

“Maybe it’ll get back to normal after Starla is born,” I offered, wishing I had some words of wisdom or even of comfort to give her. But this stuff was as new to me as it was to her.

“Yeah, maybe,” Leah whispered.

We needed a change of subject and fast to prevent the next round of tears. “So tomorrow Wyst and Ty and I are gonna go to Rapid City for the baby stuff. Have you made a list of what you need?”

“Yeah, it’s on the fridge. Sorry we didn’t get to it before you got here but Rykhan thought the ride to town would take too much out of me. But shit, we used to drive forty-five minutes just to get to the airport, remember?”

Of course I did. But neither one of us were out-to-there preggers with a bladder the size of a grape. “Let him play the doting pops-to-be while you listen to your body. Do you think you could sit in a car that long?”

“Probably not,” she admitted. “But he’s just gotten so goddamn bossy!”

“Honey, I think that’s the Protectorate’s way. ‘Cause Wyst gets the same. Ordering me around like I’d actually obey him without argument.”

She snorted knowing how I hated to bossed around as much as she did. “How’s that going? I mean, whatever kind of thing you’ve got between you.”

“Okay, I guess.” I shot a glance back to the dining room to ensure Mr. Nosy wasn’t paying attention. “I like him a lot, much more than I used to but there’s still no real hearts and flowers stuff on the horizon. We can share thoughts and emotions and that’s about it.”

“And your wahroms. Can’t forget about those.” She was right. “Let me see it again.”

Shifting her feet off my lap, I got down on the floor and moved closer to her head. Pushing my thermal up, I held my wrist out. “It’s really pretty, isn’t it?”

A huge smile crossed her face as she stared into my eyes. “Yeah it is. But you know once you recite the Tragyard it turns gold, right?”

Wait…what?

She came up on an elbow and pulled the neck of her huge t-shirt down off of one shoulder. Encircling her bicep was Rykhan’s wahrom but it had changed since the last time I’d seen it. Instead of the bronze colored metal from before, it was now a bright, shiny gold.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, running my fingers over it reverently. She and I had spent hours trying to get the dang thing off before going to Urgent Care where even the doctors were flummoxed by the thing that had grown on her overnight. It had been beautiful then in a bad-ass sort of way but it looked even more awesome now that it was gold. “Wow. Did Rykhan’s change too?”

“Yep. They still match and still carry the same charge when they come together.” She rearranged her top and dropped her head back down to the arm of the sofa. “Just a different color although Rykhan doesn’t know why it would change.”

“And it happened after you exchanged your vows?” As if I needed another reason not to recite those bonding words because I really liked my warrior’s mark just the way it was!

“Uh-huh.” She gave off a huge yawn and I heard Wyst’s voice in my head asking if I was ready to go upstairs at the same time she frowned and mumbled, “Stop being so damn bossy and help me up then,” which I knew wasn’t meant for me but her husband.

Standing, I looked behind me to see Wyst waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Waiting for me to join him so we could head up to the room he’d cleaned while Dani and I made dinner. And I felt a sweep of goose-bumps run over me at the sweet smile he was wearing.

Maybe we didn’t have hearts and flowers between us, because we weren’t really hearts and flowers kind of people.

But what was growing between us was starting to be pretty freaking awesome.