1. The Rock-Hard Stranger

1

THE ROCK-HARD STRANGER

Zarrie sneezed, tiny white feathers exploding in a cloud around her.

Pinks groaned. "Zee, why do you keep losing feathers?"

Not that the ten-month-old baby cared. She giggled and showed off her pincer grip by picking up one of her feathers, promptly shoving it into Pinks' nostril.

"Argh!" He jerked back and shook his head, sneezing violently.

Zarrie burst into infectious laughter. Pinks couldn't help smiling, even as she shoved a second feather into his newly-empty nose.

"Baby," Pinks grumbled, right before his nose tickled and he sneezed again.

Zarrie laughed so hard, she farted.

Pinks pretended to growl as he pounced on her, blowing a raspberry against her belly.

Maybe it was obvious to everyone: Zarrie was amazing. She was Pinks' most important person, and Pinks hadn't even known how much he'd needed her until she'd entered his life. Zarrie's other dad had come and gone in a flurry of feathers, never even stopping to explain that sex with him might end up with Pinks getting pregnant. With a species Pinks didn't know how to care for. And couldn't afford.

What a jerk.

Obviously Pinks had gotten knocked up. Obviously.

Blinking away his exhaustion, Pinks put Zarrie in her crib and grabbed his phone, shuffling around to the front windows of the safe house to make sure no one had found them.

The thing about Zarrie's species was... she was so rare. And kidnappers wanted to steal her for gods-knew-what.

They'd already been kidnapped once. Pinks vividly remembered the sour stench of the men, the loud bangs of the van doors sealing him, his friends, and their babies into the darkness.

But just because Pinks had escaped didn't mean the kidnappers had forgotten about him and Zarrie.

He peeked around the curtains of the front-facing windows, taking comfort in the normalcy of the neighborhood: small houses with neatly-manicured lawns, birds fluttering in the trees. No cars drove along this dead-end street, and someone walked their dog not too far away.

He tried to breathe out the anxiety in his chest, going to the windows at the sides of the safe house. The neighboring houses either had their curtains shut, or they didn't have any windows facing him at all.

His phone buzzed. His new friends—mates of his rescuers—were chatting about using vegetables as sex toys. He couldn't help a small smile, replying to the conversation.

Guilt stabbed through him, though. His own friends, Walren, Ivo, Nat, and Killian... All of them had been trapped in the van with their babies, and all of them had helped to shove him away, creating a distraction so he could escape.

And here he was, pacing around like a sitting duck because he didn't know how he could help.

Pinks' rescuers had promised that they were tracking down his friends, but what if they were too late? What if his friends had already been separated from their babies?

It was enough to give him ulcers.

He wrung his brain for ideas. Then he replied to the chat and crept to the back windows, which faced a dense forest.

Something was off about the forest today.

Pinks froze when he realized what it was: a gray blob maybe fifty yards away, mostly hidden by trees.

That hadn't been around this morning... had it?

His heart pounded. He stayed as motionless as he could, watching the blob.

It was so still that it could've been a rock—except Pinks scanned the forest several times a day, and he would've noticed if there was a rock when he'd first moved in.

When he'd waited half an hour and still the rock hadn't budged an inch, Pinks went to check on Zarrie. She seemed fine. So he crept to the front door and slipped out, locking it.

Pinks took a long detour. He crossed the road and went down several houses, before crossing the road again and sneaking through someone's backyard. From there, he circled back through the forest, going slowly to avoid all the crunchy leaves and twigs.

Twice, he thought the mysterious rock moved, until he realized that parts of it sparkled in the sunlight.

The closer he got, the faster his heart pounded. This was exactly like a horror movie, except it was all happening in the day.

He was twenty yards away, expecting the statue to suddenly attack him. Then, he was ten yards away.

Five yards.

The blob was a statue of a man, actually. A man two heads taller than him and twice as broad. He had a strong jaw, full lips, and determined eyes. He was wearing a button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up to reveal strong forearms, and his chest... His chest should've been illegal, with the way it stretched his stone shirt, his shoulders broad and muscular. Then there was the bulge between his legs, girthy and curved, bigger than anything Pinks had seen.

Maybe that was why he was a statue. Someone had gotten jealous of the giant's cock size.

Pinks tensed his limbs, waiting for the statue to unfreeze and leap at him.

But the statue remained a statue. Pinks raised his phone and took a picture, before he realized that the statue was... changing colors? His shirt was turning whiter. His face became more flesh-colored. His eyes were bluer now. And his skin almost looked soft.

His phone buzzed with his friends' messages. Pinks pulled up the chat, backing away.

PinksThinks:

Uh guys? Sorry to derail the chat but

This giant statue just

Came alive

In front of me!!!!!!

WolfCubDad

Pinks?? Where are you??

JoeyNotAKangaroo

Isn't he at the safehouse?!

Pinks didn't even have the chance to reply. The statue was moving. The man blinked, and a rocky film fell away from his eyes.

Pinks needed help. Oh, gods, he needed help, stat. His hands shook so much that he couldn't type anymore.

PinksThinks

I

ifeliafjelra

aoeflvi

The statue-man swiveled his head, exactly like a robot in a horror movie.

Pinks screamed. He did the first thing that came to mind: He threw his phone at the man.

It hit his bulge. His still-gray, rock-hard bulge.

The phone shattered.

"That's not the kind of rock-hard I'm looking for," Pinks yelled.

He whipped around and sprinted for the safehouse, straining his ears to hear if the man was following him.

Except his foot caught on a tree root. Pinks lurched forward, slamming hard into the ground. Pain burst through his hands and knees.

With a curse, Pinks got his feet under himself, only to hear a voice right behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"No! Don't touch me!" Pinks scrambled upright and lost his balance again, stumbling sideways and crashing into a tree trunk. "Ow, fuck!"

If he were a character in a horror movie, he would be dead in the next ten seconds.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the statue-man said.

Why did his voice have to sound like silky dark chocolate? Pinks snarled, "I don't believe you! You have the eyes! And the weird swirly head!"

There was a pause. "I have the eyes...?"

Because no villain would stop to ask about their eyes, Pinks turned around warily.

He was struck by the clearest aqua-blue eyes he'd ever seen. Auburn hair. Pink lips. Holy hell, the man was tall. And big.

Pinks backed up against a tree, inching sideways to get as much distance as he could between them.

The man blinked. Then he raked his gaze up and down Pinks, slowly, intently, in a way that promised to make babies, not kidnap them.

Pinks' body responded with a spark of interest so bright, it scared him a little.

"Who are you?" Pinks growled. "Why're you stalking me?"

The man frowned. "Stalking...? This is the first time I've ever seen you. My name is Galent."

He had to be lying. Pinks waved at the forest around them. "You're right outside my house!"

Galent opened and closed his mouth, glancing at the row of houses just past the forest. "I was... drawn here. By something that might lift my curse."

"What curse? You mean where you turn into a rock?"

"Yes, I c—"

Right in front of Pinks, the man froze. His feet turned into stone, gray creeping up his legs and clothes to his torso, then his head. Frustration flashed in his eyes; his jaw muscles twitched.

In moments, Galent was once again the statue that Pinks had crept up on, still and silent. There wasn't even a heartbeat.

Pinks squinted at the statue suspiciously. "You're not trying to catch me off guard, are you? Because this is a really sucky way to do it."

He crept closer, lightly kicking the man in the shin.

The impact went up Pinks' leg; Galent was really rock-solid.

"If I were stronger, I could totally kill you," Pinks said. "Can you hear me? You can cough twice if you do."

Galent didn't reply. Pinks made a rude face at him. Then he flipped the man off, and turned around to shake his ass.

The statue remained as motionless as ever.

"Huh," Pinks said. "Well, there's one more test."

He hesitated, because this was kind of... questionable.

He backed away a couple of paces, then lifted his leg to roundhouse kick Galent in the nuts—exactly what Pinks would've done to his kidnappers.

At the last minute, he changed his mind, sending his foot smashing into Galent's rock-hard thigh.

It hurt. Pinks yowled and fell over, clutching his throbbing foot.

Only to have Galent melt back into flesh and bone, gray fading from his body. "—can't help when I turn. Damn it. It's not supposed to happen again this soon. Are you okay?"

"You hurt me," Pinks cried.

Galent frowned. "You threw your phone at me. And kicked me."

"Your cock broke my phone!"

"Sure," Galent said dryly. "I go around swinging my cock like a baseball bat, murdering phones all over the country."

Pinks tried not to notice the way Galent's mouth wrapped around the word ‘cock'. Instead, he hissed, "You're a murderer."

"I murder phones and holes." Galent smirked. "Would you like another demonstration?"

Pinks' hole squeezed. It had been a long time since he was held down by a big, strong man. Since before Zarrie.

At the thought of his daughter, he jerked, cursing himself for forgetting that she was still all alone in the safehouse.

Pinks reached out with his hearing, catching the way she babbled to herself. Not in any distress. Good.

"I still haven't gotten your name," Galent rumbled, taking a step closer.

Pinks took a step back. "You're not getting it!"

The giant hummed. Then he glanced back at the houses, rubbing his chest. "Well, since I'm not forcing you to do anything, I'm resuming my quest."

Pinks watched as Galent strode toward the houses, turning his head this way and that. Now that he was no longer a statue, he didn't move like a robot, instead prowling through the forest like a predator.

Except he seemed to be heading straight for the safehouse.

Pinks' dread grew as he trailed behind the man, all the way to his own backyard. Galent frowned, stepping up to one of the windows.

The window Zarrie was behind.

Pinks panicked. He threw himself between Galent and the window, shoving at his warm, solid chest. "This is my house! You're not allowed in there!"

Aqua-blue eyes locked onto him. "I need to undo my curse."

"You can go around the house," Pinks growled. "Maybe what you're after is beyond it."

Galent blinked. "All right. We'll try that."

He backed away and circled the safehouse. Pinks followed the man to the front yard, his hackles threatening to rise. Except Galent shook his head, turning back to the house.

"It's in there. Whatever can fix me."

There was something in the safehouse that wasn't like anything else. Pinks' stomach sank. What if Galent wanted to steal his baby, too? "You're not allowed in there."

"You know what I'm looking for," Galent said, looking too deeply into Pinks.

"No," Pinks lied.

Something flickered in the giant's eyes; his gaze turned shrewd.

"What is your name?" Galent murmured, leaning so close that his breath rushed over Pinks' lips.

Pinks' stomach jolted. He jerked backward, trying to decide if it was better to attack the giant, or bide his time. He wasn't strong enough to take Galent down by himself. He needed reinforcements, damn it! Who knew how long help would take to arrive? He didn't even have his phone anymore. "You're not getting my name."

Galent licked his lips, backing Pinks up against the wall. This close, his heat soaked through Pinks' clothes. The broadness of his body, the solidness of him... it made Pinks' insides tingle in a way he'd forgotten.

And his scent. Gods, his scent.

Rich oakmoss filled Pinks' nose, along with undertones of smoke, and mineral stone.

It was the best smell in the world. Pinks hated that it had to come from this man, he hated that his nose kept twitching because he couldn't stop sniffing.

Galent's eyes glinted. "Do I smell good?"

"No," Pinks growled, baring his teeth.

"Ah." Galent's mouth curved. He lifted his hand, his fingers mere inches from Pinks' vulnerable throat. Then he reached higher and caught Pinks' hair, tipping his head back to bare even more of his throat.

Pinks' heart pounded. This is too dangerous.

"I can hear you," Galent whispered, sliding a finger down Pinks' chest, right over his heart.

Pinks froze. Except it occurred to him: If Galent could hear Pinks' heartbeat, then he could also hear Zarrie in the house, babbling to herself.

"You want to steal my baby," Pinks growled.

Galent sighed. "I would like to borrow your baby."

" No. You won't even get to look at her." Pinks bristled. "Much less lay a finger on her."

"All right."

"Really?" Pinks narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you."

The giant gave him a considering look. "I have a proposal," Galent said slowly. "How about I put a baby inside you, and you let me borrow yours?"