8. Nia

The window in my room is covered by a sheet of wood tarred and nailed to the outside of the house. Based on what Vex told me about how one of the women was kidnapped by other demons, I’m sure it’s Beren and Lyath’s way of keeping me safe. Not to mention, storm season is going to be here soon.

There’s a small sliver of warm light from somewhere else in the house, I think right outside my door because there’s the faint orange glow of a fire. It’s just enough to give the room enough light so I can look around and guess what the shadows are.

I don’t remember coming to bed or most of what happened when Beren woke me after my nightmare. I know he was in my bed, holding me. I wanted him to stay with me all night because I needed someone there to make sure the nightmare didn’t come back. I can’t really ask that of them, especially when it’s clear they were in bed together.

Ugh, and I definitely checked out Lyath for way longer than is okay. Pretty sure I almost groped him, too.

I groan and hide my head under one of the pillows before looking around my room. I have a small wardrobe, a chair in one corner, and my covered window. That’s it.

After taking inventory of everything, I crawl to the foot of my bed and take a peek out of my door. A squeak escapes my lips when I’m staring at the sleeping bodies of my new roommates softly illuminated by a fire that’s in their room.

I duck my head back away from the doorway, unsure if I woke either of them. I didn’t know the house was so small or that they would have their bed set up so that the foot of it was only a couple of feet from the door. The rooms are small, so it makes sense that there’s not much room for the bed. I still didn’t expect to see the giant men cuddling out in the open.

“You are awake?” Beren’s voice is rough like he just woke up. I really hope it’s not because of my squeal.

I peek my head around the doorway again. I want to pull back when I catch Beren’s eyes staring right where I am.

Lyath is lying next to him, one arm thrown over his torso. A torso I should not be staring at as Beren scoots up the bed to more of a sitting position.

“Nia?”

I know that the males of this planet only say someone’s name if they want to bed them, but I’m almost positive he’s saying my name in a platonic way. It’s the only thing that makes sense with how he’s said it twice now and yet hasn’t made any actual moves on me. I keep thinking, or more like hoping, that the two demons lean more bisexual, but that hope is slowly dying every time my name is said without a hint of lust in Beren’s voice.

“Beren,” I say his name in response, eyes shooting up to see what his reaction is. His lids narrow until his eyes are just slits of black under his scaled lids. So, he’s angry about that. Maybe I’ll stick to not saying any names, then. There’s no need to upset the roommates before it’s even been a full twenty-four hours of sharing a house. “I didn’t know our rooms were so close.”

“They are,” Beren answers. It’s my turn to narrow my eyes at him. Is he always short with his words, or is this just special treatment for me?

“Okay, well, good morning to you,” I say, keeping my eye roll to myself as I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. I can still see Beren and Lyath in my peripheral, but I don’t want to seem like I’m forcing myself into their lives.

“Very good morning.” Beren’s words are sharp and sound like he isn’t having the morning he is talking about. I’m about to make a quip about it, to tell him I can just stay in the great hall if he doesn’t want me here. I didn’t even know I would be so much in their business. I don’t get the chance before he adds more to his statement in the same cold tone. “Waking up to both of my mates. A male could get used to such things.”

I ignore the flutter of my heart and the pulsing in my core at his words. He’s just kind, or as kind as he knows how, since his words lack the warmth of a sincere compliment. He wants to make me feel more at home, not wanting me to feel like an interloper even though I one hundred percent am.

“I normally watch Lyath sleep in the morning until he wakes,” Beren says after a long pause of silence. “If you are not in any rush, we can just sit in one another’s company. But, if you would like to go back to your sisters, I can escort you.”

“I’m fine with hanging out.” I don’t want to be more of a burden for them than I already am, and sitting here with Beren doesn’t seem too bad. Maybe he’ll start to warm up to me.

Of course, the idea of him warming up to me is a pipe dream because we spend what feels like an eternity sitting in relative silence. Every time I look over to where Beren is sitting with Lyath draped over him, he’s staring at the other demon with so much love and adoration it twists my heart into knots.

I want someone to look at me like that, but as far as I can tell, I’m mated to two males who only want each other. Every time I look over at how in love Beren and Lyath are, I feel even worse for myself until, finally, I throw myself back on the bed with an unpleasant whine and wait for Lyath to wake.

“We will be working on the farm today,” Beren says to me when he drops me off at the great hall’s doors. He has one arm wrapped around Lyath’s shoulders. He offered his other to me when we first started walking over here. I felt strange intruding into their happiness like that, so I shrugged it off and followed them to the tribe in relative silence. “If you need anything, send one of the other brothers to come get us. I do not want you going out into the trees on your own. Not until we have a path cleared to the house, at least.”

“So I just wait here until you come get me?” I ask, a little confused about why they even want me in their house with them. It seems kind of silly to sleep in the same house every night for them to drop me off in the morning like a kid going to daycare.

“All of your sisters are here, as well as food and water.” Beren narrows his eyes at me like he’s trying to figure out what’s not to like about the setup, which is fair. I just thought I was going to get to hang out with them a bit more. Makes sense that they want their alone time, especially if they won’t be getting it at night. Beren leans down, eyes scanning over my face before he stands back up and sighs. “You are unhappy?”

“No, it’s fine,” I lie straight through my teeth, and Beren seems to catch it.

His eyes narrow again, this time barely a movement at all. His lips slide over his teeth from side to side, and then he’s placing a hand on his hip and rubbing one of his horns.

“If you wish for something else, you must ask it,” Beren says, his voice holding a hint of annoyance that I’m pretty sure he saves only for me. At least I’m the only one I’ve heard him use it with. Well, me and Lyath when Lyath’s been teasing him. “You are the first human female we have had to take care of, and we do not know everything that is happening in your mind.”

I’m sexually frustrated. The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t say them. Beren doesn’t need to know it’s been more than two years since I’ve gotten laid. He’s done his part in making sure I get to stay on this planet with my friends. That’s all I can really ask of him.

“I’ll be fine,” I say again, this time keeping my eyes level with his and not backing down when his jaw ticks back and forth. “I can stay in the great hall tonight if you guys want your privacy. I hate feeling like an intruder in your life.”

“You are my mate,” Beren’s icy tone makes it seem like he would prefer me not to be. “I take care of my mates. You stay in my home.”

“I’m just saying if you guys want your privacy away from—“

Beren steps closer to me, a hand on either side of my head, pinning me against the door to the great hall. My words die in my throat as I see the intensity of the look in his red eyes. Oh, I’ve really done it now. I was trying to be helpful, and I’ve managed to piss him off even more.

“I take care of what is mine.” Beren lowers himself until his face is level with mine. “You are mine.” His forehead touches against mine, his red eyes taking up all of my vision as he consumes all of the air around us. “Am I clear?”

I try to nod my head, but it’s difficult with him pressing against me. He can feel the soft movement, though. His eyes flicker back to black, and his lips tug upward into what could almost be called a smile.

“I will be back for you before nightfall,” Beren says as he rises to his full height.

He reaches one hand behind him, allowing Lyath to take his hand. His smile is genuine this time when he looks at Lyath, and I wish more than anything I could have him look at me like that. When he tells me I’m his, when he says he wants to protect me, it makes me think maybe he wants me. Then, he looks to Lyath like he’s the most amazing male on the planet, and I’m reminded that they don’t want me because they have each other.

“Do not get into trouble,” Beren warns me, his eyes flicking over the length of my body. A flash of something that I might describe as desire if I were delusional flickers across his features. His smile reaches his eyes just like it did when he looked at Lyath when he looks back into mine. Then he says something that only serves to confuse me further. “I punish mates who get into trouble.”

“If you wanted to stay with them, you probably could’ve just asked to stay with them,” Deja says to me as she furiously rips at the seams of a pair of shorts she just messed up. “They’re out there doing manual labor, so I’m sure you would’ve regretted your decision, but you could’ve done it.”

“They dropped me off here so they could have alone time.” I roll my eyes and focus back on the stitching of my shorts. I don’t like having all of my bits just freely hanging out underneath my tunic, and I’m determined to make a pair of shorts I can wear by the time Beren and Lyath come to pick me up to take me back home.

“Then stop complaining about not being near them,” Deja grumbles under her breath, but she side-eyes me to make sure I heard her.

“I thought you were trying to seduce the other demons?” Kendra asks, holding up the scraps of fabric the rest of us have thrown into a pile. I snort a laugh when I see she’s made what can best be described as a bralette and a thong out of the scraps. She turns to Olivia, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Care if I change into these now?”

Olivia’s cheeks stain bright pink when she sees what Kendra’s holding up, and then she shakes her head with a smile on her lips. “Rules are rules, Kendra. No nudity in the dining hall.”

“Rules shmules,” she laughs before standing from the table and taking off down one of the hallways.

“She’s going to come back out here dressed in only that,” Diane tells us all as if we aren’t acutely aware of just how free Kendra is in everything she does.

“Where are her mates?” Olivia looks around the dining hall and waves down Kendra’s mates. Xoth is the first to us, and Olivia whispers something in his ear that has him trying to hide a smile. Erkoz shows up just as Xoth is standing up and clasps him on the shoulder.

“Kendra has new clothing that Olivia thinks we will enjoy,” Xoth tells Erkoz, who looks right down the hallway Kendra disappeared down.

“Well, let us go see if this is true,” Erkoz says. He looks down at the rest of us, all working on our sewing skills, which are slowly but surely improving. His eyes snag on me for a moment, and then his smile doubles in size. “When are you going to have my brothers woo you? I would like to watch it because I think it will be very entertaining.”

“Erkoz.” Xoth frowns at him, but even I don’t miss the way he looks at me to see my answer, almost like he’s just as interested. Life here really doesn’t have much going on if my wanting to find a demon to sleep with is the best entertainment. “Leave the females alone.”

“Fine, but only because our female needs our attention.” Erkoz smiles at all of us before running off down the hallway where Kendra disappeared.

Xoth watches him for a moment before leaning down and whispering something to Olivia. Her face remains bright pink as she shoos him away with a giggle. Xoth looks back over to me, shakes his head, and follows after Erkoz.

“What was that about?” Deja asks, pointing her needle at Olivia in an accusatory manner. “Do I need to go tell your mate that other males are making you blush?”

Olivia lets her head fall back against her chair and lets out a long laugh. “I’ll be telling him about it tonight,” she says with a wave of her hand. “No, they were apparently tasked with keeping an eye on Nia. Since I’ve asked them to go handle their mate, they’ve told me I have to make sure she doesn’t find herself in any trouble.”

A choking sound between a laugh and a gasp escapes my lips before I can stop it. “What?”

“It’s just males being males,” Olivia says as she returns to her sewing. “Your mate just wants to make sure you’re safe.”

I nod my head, trying not to give away just how flustered I am by her confession of what Xoth asked of her. Of course, my mind takes me back to the threat Beren gave me before he and Lyath left for the farm. Olivia doesn’t seem to know about that part, about the threat of punishment that didn’t seem much like a threat and more like something I want. She also thinks it’s normal mate behavior, which makes me wonder if I’m getting my hopes up for nothing.

“All right, enough about territorial males and more about how we’re going to let the others know that you’re an available female.” Deja wiggles her brows at me, letting her fabric fall to the table along with her needles and thread. “Dath won’t be back for a few more days, so I’m free, and I want to help.”

“I mean, just tell the others she’s interested in playing with them.” Olivia shrugs. “I’m pretty sure Kendra doesn’t even proposition them anymore. They just show up.”

“Olivia’s mate!” Deja stands from the table and waves down Ralleth.

He’s been talking with some of the other demons since Olivia shooed him away when we all started sewing so we could have girl time instead of girl time with mates watching and touching some of the women. As soon as he’s called over, though, he excuses himself from the group he’s talking with and moves over to us.

Olivia stands from her seat, keeping her fabric in her hands as she finishes one of the hems of a pair of shorts. Ralleth takes her seat and then wraps his arm around her waist to pull her into his lap.

“What is it my creature’s sisters need?” Ralleth asks, not being remotely sneaky about pushing his hands up underneath Olivia’s tunic and grabbing high on her thigh. She flushes again but makes no move to get him to stop. He lowers his head to admire her work, completely forgetting he just asked us a question. “You are to wear these?”

“That’s the plan,” Olivia says, holding the shorts up so he can see them better.

Ralleth’s eyes narrow on the shorts like they’ve wronged him in some way. “They will make you less accessible?”

“Again, that’s the plan,” Olivia laughs as she leans back against him and stares up into his eyes.

“You are cruel.” Ralleth shakes his head, finally returning his attention to the rest of us. “What is it you need?”

“We need you to gather up the males that can woo Nia,” Deja says, wiggling her eyebrows in excitement.

I might be more embarrassed if I hadn’t already resigned myself to this being my life. I told Vex I was fine with mating anyone who’d take me when I came to this planet. I knew all of my friends were here and happy, so why couldn’t I be? The fact that no one except for an already mated male offered to mate me wasn’t part of the plan. In fact, I was kind of hoping I’d end up with someone who couldn’t get enough of me and wanted me as soon as possible.

I feel like I’ve been blue-balled at this point. I mean, I have yet to be pursued when I was promised very horny males. It’s been so long since I’ve been laid. I’ll take anything at this point, so long as it’s a living male who’s excited to be with me.

“Oh, that is easy enough,” Ralleth says, craning his neck around to see who all is in the dining hall.

Some of the demons are off working on their respective hobbies or jobs, but most of them spend much of the day in the dining hall, where everyone talks and hangs out. Deja’s told me that she’s more than happy to go somewhere more private, but I like having everyone around to hang out with. It makes it feel like we’re all living in one giant family instead of everyone doing their own thing. Plus, if I need alone time, my house is away from everyone else except for Lyath and Beren, and I’m pretty sure they’d give me alone time if I needed it.

“If any brother is interested in wooing a mated human female, you may speak with my mate,” Ralleth announces to the whole room.

Heads snap in his direction, and all talking ceases. It’s eerily quiet, and it takes everything in me not to bust out laughing. When I look over at Deja, she’s holding a hand over her mouth. Her other hand is held up in the air in front of her as if to tell me not to say a damn word or she’s going to lose it.

“My Ralleth.” Olivia’s flushed face pales in an instant as she stands on his lap to fix his error. “You may speak with me about wooing my sister, not me. I do not want to be wooed.”

“What?” Ralleth’s eyes go wide, and they flicker to red as he wraps an arm around Olivia’s waist, standing and holding her close to him like someone might come and snatch her away from him. “My mate.” He snaps at the others like anyone thought there was a real possibility he was talking about Olivia when he made his announcement.

The others were stunned into silence because they couldn’t think of why he’d be saying something like that. He doesn’t give any of them a chance to reassure him, though, before he throws Olivia over his shoulder and carries her down the hall to their bedroom.

“Well, that went about as well as I imagined it would.” Deja finally lets her laugh free when Ralleth and Olivia are gone.

Most of the others watch us from where they’re seated, but no one comes to speak with us. No, Ralleth and Olivia both said they needed to speak with Olivia about wooing a mated female, which means they’re all going to wait until she’s back out here so they can get her permission. Weird tribal laws, but I’d take those over no laws at all.

“Do you think anyone will take you up on your offer?” Diane asks, holding up a perfectly sewn pair of shorts that make me envious of how she’s picked up hand sewing much faster than the rest of us.

She stands from the table and shimmies the shorts up her legs and over her hips before tightening the strings that make the front clasps. She lifts her tunic, showing them off to all of us. When she looks up, she smiles at her mate, who’s walking over to us. “Don’t worry, Almaac. I’m not the female wanting to be wooed.”

“I would hope not,” he says, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her tunic up so he can see her shorts. His lips pull down into a frown, his brows pulling together. Then, he’s on his knees, pulling his mate closer to him as he examines her shorts. “These are inconvenient for me.”

“But they’re comfortable for me,” Diane says, leaning into his touch.

“Fine, but not in the house,” Almaac says before looking up at the rest of us. “Beren’s mate, you are the one asking for males to woo you?”

“I just want some companionship,” I answer, trying not to let my embarrassment show. I want what everyone else here wants. It just sucks that I can’t have everything like they can.

“Does your mate know?” Almaac asks, his hand moving down Diane’s body until he’s holding her thighs and scooping her up into his arms. She lets out a squeal, her face turning pink as he holds her close to his chest, and she wraps her legs around his abdomen.

I answer his question with a shrug because I don’t really know how to answer. No, I haven’t spoken with Beren about it, but it’s really none of his business since it’s not like he wants a real relationship with me. If he were actually my mate in all the ways some women are mated to the demons, then I’d ask his permission. Seeing as we’re glorified roommates, I don’t think it’s particularly necessary that I ask him before trying to get into an alien’s pants.

Almaac shakes his head at my answer but then focuses all his attention on his mate. “I want to take you home. It is late.”

“Let me say goodbye to everyone.” Diane wiggles in his grasp, but his fingers only clutch her tighter.

“Diane says goodnight,” Almaac raises his voice so it can be heard over everything else in the dining hall. A few of the demons call back in, saying goodnight to her, but for the most part, they all look and then return to what they were doing. “Keep an eye on Beren’s mate. We were told to tell him if she got herself in trouble.”

My cheeks feel warm again at the thought of Beren now asking two separate demons to tell him if I was doing anything that they deemed troublesome. I should find it humiliating, a bit demeaning. Instead, I’m having to tell my stupid heart that it means nothing and he’s just making good on his promise to keep me safe. Nothing more. I can’t even think about it being anything more because if I do, it will only hurt more when he flat-out rejects me.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble.” Deja waves Almaac and Diane away before leaning on her forearms over the table and narrowing her eyes on me. “Why’s your mate so certain you’re going to get into trouble?”

“I have no idea.” Which is the truth because I’ve done nothing since being here that would warrant him thinking I’m a troublemaker.

Sure, I want to have some demons woo me, but that’s been thought out and approved by the tribal leader. It’s not even happening tonight because all the demons think they need to go to Olivia first before coming to me. Maybe if they were throwing themselves at me, Beren might have reason to think I’m causing trouble. But as it stands now? I’m completely and totally harmless.

“Well, I want to know what your mate thinks you’re up to when he’s not around if he has so many demons watching over you,” Deja says, sitting back in her chair and picking her sewing back up. She only finishes a few more stitches before the great hall doors opening catches our attention. “Speak of the devil.”

Beren and Lyath come walking in, eyes scanning the dining hall for me. When they find me, they both seem to relax. Again, I don’t get my hopes up because, for all I know, they were worried about me being without them all day because I’m a weak human and not because they actually care about me.

The smile on Lyath’s lips makes my heart ache, though, and the way Beren stares at me with such intensity has me thinking maybe there’s something there. No, stupid brain and stupid heart. Thoughts like those are going to leave me hurt and without even a demon to be with on the side.

“Are you ready to go home?” Beren asks as he nears the table. He offers a hand to help me up that I take before letting it drop when I get to my feet. I set my shorts on the table, deciding to leave them until tomorrow because I still have quite a bit more work to do on them.

“I guess so.” I stretch my arms over my head and shift my weight from side to side.

“Good.” Beren pats my shoulder once before turning back to Lyath. Just like this morning, Beren tucks Lyath under one of his arms and offers me the same. I don’t take it. It’s too much and makes me want things I know I’m not supposed to want. So, I step beside them and let them lead me back to our home.