Chapter 6

6

Torren flew after his anrik and their mate, following only a few wingbeats behind them. As much as he disliked being parted from Jenna, he needed a few minutes alone. So much had happened today, and he'd been reacting to the situation with no chance to make a plan.

Life as a mercenary had taught him to always be prepared for the unexpected, and his role as a sometimes-assassin showed him that anyone was vulnerable. However, his easiest marks had been the ones who couldn't adapt when the wind changed. He prided himself on his ability to make a plan but change it on the fly. Finding Jenna meant adapting quickly, and to do that, he needed time to think.

Moving her to the farm wouldn't be an issue. They had more than enough space, and they'd made the decision to furnish the largest bedroom with a bed, dresser, and other basics. Jenna could decorate it however she wished, but at least they could show her that they had planned for the day they found their mate.

Transport would be an issue. They'd need to acquire a land vehicle Jenna could drive into Haven and back. The farm was too far from the colony to walk easily, and she couldn't fly. It would be strange to have a mate without wings. They'd have to adjust some things, but nothing of real import. If she wanted to learn, they could look into buying a small aircraft of some kind. Surely the humans had that kind of thing? Then she could fly with them.

By the time they reached the shores of the ocean, he'd used his com to record two separate lists. One was a series of questions for Jenna. Her likes and dislikes, preferred foods, and a host of other details. The other was for him and Zanyr and itemized all the things they'd want to consider and then address to make their place welcoming for their mahaya .

At the top of that list were two things they needed to do quickly—select a blade to gift to their mate and commission a set of armbands for all three of them to signify their new status. He knew several artisans who could do the work, but Damos and his anrik Tra'var were the best forgemasters in the colony, and Jenna deserved the best of everything.

It was a simple, straightforward set of plans. The hard part would be figuring out how to tell her that she was mated to a pair of former mercenaries with a past strewn with bodies, blood, and brutality.

He landed and watched as Jenna kicked off her shoes and ran toward the water. Her laughter danced on the ocean breeze as she raced across the sand. She yelped as the first wave washed over her feet, nearly leaping into the air with surprise.

"It's warm!"

"The sun has warmed the sand, which heats the water as the tide comes in. Further out it cools off quickly." He'd discovered that fact for himself the first time he'd swum out to deeper water.

So far, the biologists hadn't found anything in the local waters that posed a threat to the colonists, but they still had more to learn about the currents and tides. The ocean, like everything else on this planet, was relatively unexplored and full of mysteries.

Jenna seemed aware of this because she didn't go in past her ankles. She seemed content to wade in the shallows with her skirt in one hand to keep it out of the water. She picked up shells, rocks, and anything else that caught her eye, but she placed everything back where she'd found it.

Struck with inspiration, he sent a message to Zanyr, and they both set to work looking for some small treasure for her to take back as a memento of the day.

"You think there are any gemstones here? Or are we going to wind up giving her something as mundane as a stone?" Zanyr asked via their link.

"If you manage to find a qarfing gem on the beach, we'll get it polished and set into a harani for our mate. But I'm pretty sure that's not how mining works."

"You found our mahaya on your way to work. If we were ever going to get that lucky, today would be the day."

They finished their impromptu treasure hunt not long before Jenna retreated from the water's edge. Her dress was damp, her hair disheveled from the wind. Her smile made him wish he had the cyborg's ability to capture a memory and record it forever.

She looked relaxed, happy. Beautiful… and may the ancestors give him strength, utterly fuckable.

Only it was too soon. Too quick. They had to give her time, no matter how much he ached to be inside her.

His balls tightened and his cock twitched in his pants. Turning away from her, he tried to adjust himself, but the discomfort continued.

Zanyr's laughter buzzed inside his head, but the bakaffa was suffering as much as he was.

"Cold shower before bed tonight?" He sent back to Zanyr. It was something he'd heard the cyborg males joke about. It sounded barbaric, but maybe it would help them get through the night.

The sharhal would only intensify as time passed, though it was worse when he was in her company. It was the same for Zanyr. The blending of their blood was more than a symbol of their bond. It linked their nanotech and altered their bodies' chemistry, greatly increasing the odds that they'd bond to the same female.

It would be a long night for them both. Possibly for Jenna, too, but he couldn't be sure how the mating fever would affect her. He didn't dare ask, either. He'd seen the way Jenna reacted to Saral's comments earlier. Humans weren't as open about sex as his race. At least, that's how it seemed to him.

Jenna called to them, her smile still brighter than the afternoon sun. "Can we come back here sometime? Maybe have a picnic? It's wonderful!"

"Of course," Zanyr replied. "Anywhere you want to go, we'll take you."

"You mean, anywhere on the planet," she corrected him gently. "You are allowed to leave, but I'm not. At least, I won't be once I accept the medi-bot treatment."

Zanyr scowled and cracked the knuckles of his right hand. "As our mate, you'll go where we go."

"Zan is right about that. And remember, you won't receive the medi-bot treatment created by humans. Once we claim you, you'll carry both of our nanotech. That technology is outside your government's purview. You'll be free to travel anywhere you wish."

He smiled as her eyes widened in sudden understanding.

"I forgot about that." She touched her temple with two fingers. "My brain is all jumbled right now. Especially when I think about how that transfer is done. Biting during… um…" she gestured at herself and then at the two of them. "During mating."

Mating. The word rang in his ears and sent half the blood in his body flooding straight to his cock. He wanted that. Wanted to bury himself in her body and hear her soft little gasps and groans as he showed her what it really meant to be mated.

"Yes, blossom. That's when we'll claim you." Zanyr's voice was dark and tight with what Zanyr realized was arousal. If they kept talking about it, they'd wind up doing more than just talking.

Zanyr had moved closer to Jenna, and his scales had tightened to a shimmering gold he'd didn't often see when they weren't in combat. Yeah, his anrik was deep in the thrall of the sharhal .

The wind shifted direction as they spoke. It flowed in from offshore, brisk, cool, and heavy with the scent of rain. He glanced up and noted the dark clouds blotting out the horizon. Veth . When had that happened?

"Storm coming," he sent to Zanyr. It was only an observation, but the words held a note of foreboding he didn't understand.

It was a change in the weather. Nothing more. Unlike many soldiers he'd known, Torren wasn't superstitious. He didn't believe in omens or rituals. He'd known males who never changed their socks before a battle, or always carried a talisman with them for luck.

If the universe worked that way, he'd never seen any sign of it. The ancestors were another matter. They didn't provide guidance or protection. They simply watched, judged, and sometimes sent signs when they approved or were displeased. They didn't interfere in the lives of their descendants or the choices they made.

At least, that's what Torren believed. Others held different views, but that was also their choice. In the end, that's all any of them had—the right to choose for themselves. That was why he'd left home in the first place, and Zanyr had done the same.

Zanyr turned to look over his shoulder and then grunted in annoyance. "Looks like your first visit to the beach is over. We should get back to Haven before the rain starts."

As if to underscore his words, the wind gusted hard enough to make all three of them shiver at the sudden drop in temperature.

"Is that why it's colder now?" She wrapped her arms around her upper body. Torren registered the gesture and then realized the cause. Their mahaya wasn't dressed for flying. Her simple navy-blue dress was too light to offer her any protection from the elements, and she didn't have any nanotech to help her regulate her body temperature.

Zanyr was bare-chested, and all Torren had to offer her was the sleeveless vest he wore. Still, it was something. He skinned it over his head and handed it to her.

"Put this on. It should help keep you warm on the flight back."

She blinked at him, ignoring the offered garment to stare at him. "You're half naked."

"Only half," he joked. "Now I match Zan, who was in such a hurry to meet you he forgot how to dress himself."

Zanyr scoffed and slapped his palm to his chest. "I had my priorities straight."

"I've never been anyone's priority before. Thank you." Jenna's words hit with all the force of a comet strike.

Without thinking about what he was doing, Torren stepped in front of her and dropped to one knee, the simple treasure he'd found for her resting on his upturned palm. "You will always be our priority, Jenna."

Zanyr knelt to his left and made his offering a split-second later. "Witnessed."

"I… uh… wow," Jenna stammered. She reached for them uncertainly, her hands shaking as they hovered in the air without making contact with either male.

"We are yours, mahaya , and you are ours. As strange as this may be to you, it is the truth," Zanyr said, his voice soft and melodic. Torren didn't see this side of his anrik often. The male had the mind and body of a warrior, but he had the heart of a poet.

She carefully took the offered gifts from their hands. "These are for me?"

"Reminders of our first day together." Zanyr pointed to the bit of driftwood he'd given her. "The sea has caressed this wood so often it's been polished smooth. That's what I want for us, ana-thi —a lifetime of love and caresses that leave us both polished and shining."

Jenna's eyes lit up as her fingers closed around the driftwood. "That's beautiful, Zanyr. I-I don't know what to say." She laughed. "I know dozens of languages, but I don't have the words for what I'm feeling right now. So, thank you, my mahoyen ." She spoke the words in Vardarian and then again in Galactic Common. "Thank you for your beautiful words. I won't ever forget them."

Torren inwardly cursed his friend in every language he knew. By all the winds that blew, how was he supposed to follow that ?

He waited for inspiration to strike, but nothing came to him. Aware that he had to say something, Torren went with the simple truth. He touched the seashell she held in one hand. "I chose this because the color reminded me of the sky, and the way the shell twists and whirls made me think of the wind as it swirled around us on our first flight."

Zanyr stayed outwardly silent, but he sent a message to Torren. "Not bad, Vex. Your time at court is showing."

"Fraxx off." He sent the message without looking at his anrik . He knew the smug male would be trying to hide a smirk but probably failing at it.

Jenna looked up at him with soft brown eyes. "I will treasure the memory of that first flight forever. You showed me Haven from a new perspective, all from the safety of your arms."

"And we'll fly again soon. Very soon, in fact. Come here, Jenna. It's time we took you home."

Zanyr nodded. "I'll fly cover. But first, I need to kiss our mate again."

Watching his anrik sweep their mate into his arms was something he'd imagined hundreds of times, but the reality was far more satisfying. She smiled and went to Zanyr with a shy eagerness that melted Torren's heart. A sense of tenderness coupled with a powerful urge to nurture and protect his mate bloomed like a flame in the darkest hour of the night.

So this was the sharhal . No one had warned him that the sudden rush of desire wasn't the strangest or the strongest element of the mating fever. It was the sense of soaring on an unseen wind so powerful he couldn't break free. All he could do was hang on and see where it took him.

He watched and waited for Jenna to finish her kiss with Zanyr before she returned to his side. Wherever this wind would take him, they'd make the journey together.