5. Bracken

Chapter 5

Bracken

“ W hat is wrong with Clem?”

I glanced over at Kiar, who was using his large body as a bed for Clem and Sun. Sun slept peacefully, more or less tangled in Kiar’s scales. But Clem? My Clem was twitching, murmuring, thoroughly disturbed.

How many nights had he been acting like this now?

It seemed like nothing was as it used to be ever since we’d woken up in that cell. Clem used to sleep like a baby. All of us had been confident about our places in the world.

Kiar reached over Sun’s sleeping form, looking to me with hesitation, before stroking Clem’s head. I was curious as to why he was treating him so nicely, almost as if he were his mate. He used to dismiss Clem with a hiss at the slightest annoyance. And Clem had been happy to trot after me, his dearest “friend” regardless of what anyone said about him.

It was a nice change of pace, to see them getting along for once. A change that I somehow liked .

That in itself was odd… I used to be more possessive. I would lose my mind if anyone tried to touch my pet. The idea of someone else touching Clem still made my blood boil, but Kiar didn’t feel like someone else anymore . In a way, he wasn’t separate from me. I didn’t mind him being close to Clem or Sun.

I still wanted to be in charge of their pleasure though, there was no denying that part. At least Clem’s magic hadn’t changed everything for me.

Clem gasped, his body jerking in sleep without waking him and Kiar shook his head.

“Something is wrong,” he said lowly.

I swallowed, not saying a word because normally, I used my claws, strength and size to fix things, but I didn’t know what to do here.

“He is fine,” I said, gruffly. “It’s just a nightmare.”

Kiar gave me a curious look, perhaps wondering if Clem often had bad dreams terrorizing him at night. Then he nodded and swung his girthy tail in such a way that it pinned Clem down.

Clem struggled instinctively for only a moment and then sighed and sagged, soothed by the weight.

Good. At least Kiar knew what to do with bad dreams.

I turned away, determined to keep watch while the others slept. It was all I knew how to do.

Nothing so much as stirred through the night.

I was surprised by how quiet it was. We had escaped from prison after all. We were wanted dead–and had already been executed. Why were we not being tracked down by the current noc king to be removed. Or perhaps we were being followed and they were terrible at their jobs.

I snorted.

When Hadi ordered someone dead, I had made sure the job was done. These new noc royals were pathetic.

When the morning sun began to stain the sky a pale blue and the others began to stir, I was restless, eager to be of use.

I managed to keep my mouth shut until they were standing and stretching before I could hold it in no longer.

“Come,” I said to Kiar, who was still stretching out. “We need to find more food.”

“No,” Sun said. “Please. We ate enough yesterday.”

The look of disgust on his face reminded me of his reaction to our catches yesterday and made me burn with shame.

“You didn’t even eat,” I said, frowning.

“I had berries,” he argued.

“That’s not enough. You are not a mothian. You need meat.”

“We need to keep going,” he argued.

“Not until you’ve eaten,” I insisted.

We had a silent stare-off and then Sun sighed.

“Fine, but I want to be on the go by noon.”

Delighted that I had won, I grabbed Kiar by the wrist and pulled him along.

“Unhand me,” he said, shaking me off. “What has gotten into you?”

I shrugged, unsure how to explain the restless feelings broiling inside me.

“Sun did not like the food we brought him yesterday. We failed him.”

Kiar paused and gave me a look.

“He was just not hungry.”

“No. He was disgusted by our catches. They weren’t what he wanted.”

Kiar’s jaw set.

“Then today we will catch all different animals. We will find the ones he likes to eat.”

Delighted, I clapped him on the shoulder.

“I will catch ten animals.”

“I will catch at least that much,” Kiar returned.

Challenge set, we both took off in opposite directions.

I lost myself in the task. Sun hadn’t eaten any of our big catches, so this time I concentrated on small animals. Despite their sizes, they were quick and difficult to snatch out of trees or burrows.

Once I’d captured fifteen, I realized that the morning sun was nearly high above me. Sun needed time to eat before we left so I grudgingly stopped myself from obsessively finding more for him and began back toward where he and Clem had been left.

It felt so much safer during the day when no nocs would be awake and exploring. I had never seen so much daylight in my life as I had in the last few days. It was strange living in reverse, but I didn’t mind it either. I was adjusting quickly to this new life.

The familiar sound of something sliding over the underbrush alerted me to Kiar’s arrival before I could see him.

“There you are,” he said, appearing from behind a large tree.

I held up both hands proudly.

“Fifteen,” I said.

“I caught nine,” Kiar said, grudgingly. “But that’s only because we didn’t catch any birds yesterday, so I caught only birds today.”

He held them up to show me.

“Good thinking,” I said, nodding. “I caught only little ones. I thought perhaps the other ones were too big.”

Kiar’s eyes widened.

“Ah. I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose Sun is quite small.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “He is small and delicate.”

“Not for long,” Kiar mused.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, glancing at him.

To my confusion, he was doing his best to hold in a smug smile.

“What is it?”

“Oh, nothing,” Kiar began. “Only that, Sun let me stretch him last night.”

I nearly tripped over my own feet at the same time that my heart leaped.

“You used both of your cocks on him?” I demanded.

“No,” Kiar said, “but close.”

“Stop talking in riddles,” I snapped. “Did you open him, or not?”

“I opened him, but with my tail.”

I snorted and began to walk again.

“ Please , Kiar, that doesn’t count.”

“It does!” he snapped. “He couldn’t fit both, but he told me I could try to stretch him, and I did. Soon he’ll have all of me inside him.”

I glowered, frustrated by this news.

“And it was delicious,” Kiar went on. “He is tight, but with the right training, he will be able to take us.”

“ I should do the training,” I growled. “After all, I have experience. How do you think Clem is such an expert at taking big cocks?”

Kiar shrugged.

“I assume you forced it in until he got used to it. He would like that because mothian’s enjoy pain. Sun will not enjoy your rough techniques. He needs me. ”

I clenched my jaw, irritated beyond belief.

“It’s not fair that you were out there fucking him while me and Clem were waiting for you.”

“Why isn’t it fair?” Kiar asked. “You can’t even fuck him to begin with. You’re too big.”

My frown deepened.

That was what was the most unfair part of all. I wanted Sun. I wanted him to be mine completely, the way that Clem was. But he couldn’t take me. He couldn’t even handle Kiar’s cocks...

“Once I do get them both in, you know you will probably be able to fit after that,” Kiar reminded me kindly. “I’m doing this for both of us, really. And for Sun too... mostly for him. He likes to be bent over, you know, helpless as he’s fucked. He’ll feel even better, barely able to handle my cocks. And when I stretch him out… Let’s just say he doesn’t know the first time about being helpless to pleasure. Trust me and my process, Bracken.”

It was an odd thing to say, but I understood completely… even if he was still mostly bragging.

I wanted to give Sun my cock because I knew he would like it. Not just so that I could feel him from the inside–although, I needed that badly too.

A shadow suddenly skirted out from behind mine, distracting me from my thoughts.

I paused, about to turn around and then suddenly realized it was a familiar shape. It was a spider noc and the only one of those I’d ever known was Hadi.

Our former king had yet to join us in the physical realm. It was a wonder that his spirit was still here at all. He had been dead for the longest. But it seemed that Clem’s magic was stronger than I had ever known, because there he was.

When I had reached this level of shadowy presence, it hadn’t taken me long to regain my physical form after that.

“Hadi will be with us soon. He is getting stronger,” I mused.

“Yes, he is,” Kiar replied.

“...And you’re alright with that?” I asked.

Kiar eyed me with confusion as Hadi’s shadow disappeared.

“Why wouldn’t I be? When Hadi returns, we will return to our stations. He has always been pleased with loyalty. He will reward us…”

I must’ve glared because Kiar hissed softly at me.

“With what?” I asked. “Allowing his mortal enemy to be bound to him for eternity? Do you think we can really keep Sun happy that way? Do you think Hadi will overlook being shackled to our human mate?”

Kiar’s face twisted up, and then his gaze hardened, hissing harshly now.

“What are you suggesting Bracken? We will serve our king, Alhadya. We do not serve Sun. He will be gifted to us. No different than when Hadi gave you Clem.”

I went silent. It was times like this I wished Clem was beside me. I could reveal things to him that I couldn’t reveal to my oldest allies and friends, feelings that would have gotten me beheaded before the coo, in fact.

The Gods themselves hadn’t seemed to know how to control and organize us nocs once we awakened. It had been chaotic. But under Hadi’s command, we had driven the human vermin to the brink of extinction. We had taken over their capital city and made it our own. We had won countless battles. We had served Hadi when we had collectively only served our hunger and bloodlust before his ascension to the throne.

But I had always been uneasy with this arrangement, this absolute subservience. It felt unnatural from the start, made more precarious by this bond forged through the tether.

Furthermore, as his advisors and trusted guards, our king had never turned that cruelty to what was clearly mine.

But I had no doubt that now he would. He would hurt Sun once he had a body. I knew this in my bones, even if Kiar couldn’t see the truth.

It was unforgivable, the thought of anyone else making Sun suffer, even the king. But I couldn’t leave Kiar behind, I realized as he slithered next to me. We were the left and right hands of darkness. I’d be greatly diminished without him.

Maybe, once he saw Hadi’s true colors, I could convince him to join us somehow.

I had little hope that Hadi could see reason and allow Sun to stay by our side as a slave once we conquered this world. For once we united the stones, any human that remained would wish they were dead, I had no doubt.

So that was a hopeless thought. And I had even less hope that Sun would accept submission under Hadi without getting himself killed. For now, I stopped pondering on the future and focused on the greatest basic instinct, my most treasured emotion, Tsuki had granted my kind— lust.

“Let us go feed them,” I said, flapping my wings to shoot between the trees, eager for alone time with Sun afterward, since I was now too impatient to wait for Kiar’s tender love and care to stretch our mate completely. At the very least, Sun should use his mouth on me and only me without having to attend to Kiar and Clem’s needs for once.

It took a while for Kiar to catch up, which made me smile. At least I was stronger and faster and would always have my wings–flying was a treasure that Kiar could only dream of. I would have to comfort myself with that knowledge, at least.

When I reached the others, Sun was sitting against a tree, playing with his sharp pieces of stone and Clem was on the ground playing with flowers. They were like two innocent little animals. No more threatening than the small creatures that I had captured for our meal.

“What are you doing?” I asked Clem.

He looked up at me with his round black eyes and showed me a chain of flowers.

“I’m making Sun a crown,” he said proudly.

Sun lifted his head, looking over.

“That’s for me?” he asked.

His cheeks reddened as Clem approached and carefully placed his creation on top of Sun’s head.

“There,” Clem said sweetly.

Sun shook his head, but he did not look displeased. He looked fond of Clem and almost lovingly toward him.

“Here,” I said, lifting my day’s catch high up for Sun to see. Surely food was more important than flowers that would wilt and die on top of his pretty hair.

To my immense disappointment, Sun grimaced.

“Great, thank you,” he said, putting down his little weapons and standing to look at my catch more closely.

“You do not like it,” I said. I could feel myself deflating. What was it that Sun did like? Why couldn’t I figure it out?

“I could do without the dead rats to be completely honest,” he agreed.

“Perhaps you would prefer these,” Kiar said, finally arriving.

It was more than a little gratifying when Sun’s face fell at the sight of Kiar’s bounty.

“Oh... is that a nest of baby birds?” he asked uneasily.

“Well... yes,” Kiar said slowly. “Do you not want any of it?”

Sun swallowed, looked between us and then sighed.

Carefully, he stepped toward me, examining the animals in my hands.

“I supposed I can have this one,” he said, plucking the rabbit from my hands. Then he went to Kiar. “I’ll take this one too.”

I watched him select one of the medium sized pheasants and then he stood back.

We both preened.

“I’ll have to prepare them and cook them to eat, but... I suppose we have already waisted most of the day and it will be good to have food to take with us as we travel. It will save us more time as we go.”

“Of course,” Kiar agreed readily. “Take your time Sun, we can always continue our journey in the evening.”

He nodded but did not move, eyeing us both.

“All I ask is that, if you are going to eat the rest, please do it where I cannot see or hear you.”

There it was again, that uneasy grimace. Suddenly, everything clicked.

“Ah, I see! It bothers you when we eat!” I said triumphantly.

Sun’s face scrunched cutely.

“That’s an understatement.”

The food that remained in my hands was barely enough to fill my stomach, but I took it with me, went behind a bush and devoured it.

When I returned, Sun had started a small fire and was skinning the animals and cutting them up.

It seemed much messier than how I ate, and certainly gorier than how Kiar ate. After all, he swallowed everything whole, but humans were odd creatures, so I let it be.

It took some time for Sun to finish cooking his meal and eat. When he did, he didn’t even finish half of it.

What was left, he wrapped up in leaves and tucked into the skins he had prepared from our leftovers last night.

“There,” he said. “Now we don’t need to stop for as long as we travel.”

“And where exactly are we going?” Kiar asked.

Sun shook his head.

“Just to the stone,” he said vaguely.

He would not yet tell us where it was, but I didn’t understand why. After all, the moonstone was useless without its sunstone counterpart, was it not? And the sunstone was still kept safely in the noc kingdom.

Whatever. I would follow the group for now. I had a sense of where we were going, despite how tight-lipped Sun was being, but kept quiet to keep the peace.

We began to walk, falling into a companionable silence as we traveled north.

We didn’t have to stop to warm up this time. The cold hadn’t returned after the warmth of the morning sun. Early winter was always odd that way, with cold and hot spells until the temperature settled. I just hoped that the cold wouldn’t return for the sake of the others. My fur kept me warm in all kinds of weather, but they did not seem to handle it well.

Even so, I knew that Sun and Clem got tired after the moon was high up in the sky because Sun kept stumbling and Clem had resorted to flying the rest of the way, making sure to keep under the tree lines in case we were spotted.

Sun stumbled again but Kiar caught him by the arm holding him steady.

“It is time to rest,” he said, leaving no room to argue.

No one did.

They began to prepare to sleep. Kiar found a spot and Sun began to drop his pack of food and stretch.

I shifted, watching them all without moving toward the group.

“Come,” Clem said, reaching for me.

He probably only wanted a cozy spot to sleep, but I didn’t argue. I liked feeling needed by my pets, especially when everyone cozied on top of and around me.

“What’s wrong?” Clem asked. He was just too attuned to my moods to hide anything, so I shifted uncomfortably before admitting what I had been thinking ever since Kiar had bragged to me earlier today.

“I haven’t had alone time with Sun,” I grumbled.

There was a moment of tense silence and then Sun lifted his head from where it was resting on my chest to look at me.

“Oh gods, don’t tell me you’re jealous, too.”

I glowered.

“Well, you and Clem made love and then you allowed Kiar to penetrate you with his tail and promised him to take both of his cocks. It is only fair–”

Sun snorted.

“Is that what you two do when you’re alone together?” he demanded. “Gossip and share notes?”

My stomach fell. Why wasn’t he just agreeing to a short rendezvous? What was the problem?

“You know,” Sun went on thoughtfully. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to take advantage of your alone time with Kiar today. After all, he could actually take your full length with ease.”

“Kiar?!” I spluttered, shocked. Kiar’s entire length went rigid around me, and he sat up abruptly.

“What are you talking about, Sun?” he demanded. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m just saying,” he said, trying to hold in laughter. “Kiar can unhinge his jaw...”

Sun and Clem both started laughing and for a while, they couldn’t stop.

Me and Kiar exchanged an incredulous look and then Kiar pulled away entirely.

“I’m going to keep watch for a bit,” he said with a world-weary sigh.

For some reason, this only made the two in my arms laugh harder.

“Let’s just sleep,” I suggested uncomfortably.

Why had I never thought of the fact that Kiar’s mouth could open like that? There were so few who could take my cock with ease... I shook the thought away. I wanted to fuck Sun. He had distracted me with strange possibilities.

To my disappointment, now he was quickly falling asleep in my arms. They both were and I supposed he was just too tired. Oh well. He had been through so much. I would never forgive General Kovit for torturing Sun or killing us.

For a while, a fantasy of tearing the other batbeast apart lulled me to sleep. Oh, if only....

I fell asleep to the lovely image, and then woke just as suddenly as Clem shouted and leaped from my arms.

I sat up, shocked to realize how deeply I had been asleep.

“Clem!” Kiar shouted and Sun tore off after him.

“What is happening?!” I demanded, jumping into the air, my heart racing at the sudden action.

“Nothing!” Kiar shouted as we took off after the pets. “Clem just started shouting and then he stood and ran!”

A dream! I realized something must have spooked him. But making so much noise in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night would do nothing but draw out unwanted nocs. We didn’t want anyone to know where we were!

Following the sound of Clem’s screams, suddenly, we rounded on them.

I went rigid, and so did Kiar, as my fear came to fruition. An enormous tiger-like predator loomed over Sun, who was defending Clem near a pit. His sleeve was torn, dagger drawn, begging our mate to, “Wake up! Clem wake the hell up!”

A panthera. They were rare nocs. The type to keep to themselves and hunt other nocs for food just as easily as they would hunt a deer.

It moved toward them and as a last-ditch effort, Sun pushed Clem back. He fell off of the ledge, limp, not even trying to break his fall. The panthera went after him.

I shot through the air toward the panthera at the same moment that Kiar did, but it was already mid-air, leaping toward Clem…