Night of the Zandians (Zandian Brides 1)

“It is a sacred place,” Tarren says finally. “Can you feel it, too?” His eyes seek mine.

“I do.” I touch his face, along the scar. “Yes.”

“Your crystals came from here.” His voice is low and he touches my ear. I push my head into the warmth of his palm.

Jax cups my nape, running his thumb along the tendrils of hair there. “The crystals are not just for beauty.” He drops a kiss onto my neck. “They are a reminder you are as sacred to us as life. You wear the crystals to show that you are necessary to us, for life and our future. It’s a bond that can’t be broken.”

I tear up and put my hand on top of his, so both of our palms press into my body. “Thank you. I have never been so valued in my entire life.”

I force my thoughts to stay here, in this moment, not to lurch to the future. “Can we… go out? May I touch the crystals?”

“Let’s go.” Ronan holds out his hand. “I want you to look at all the colors and tell me which are your favorites, and I will compare and see if mine match. I have a special fondness for the one with hints of red.” He smiles at me. “I don’t know why, but I just do.”

“The moss is thick alongside the waterfall,” Jax says. “We can relax there, a safe distance from the edges.”

“It’s so loud.” I almost have to shout to make myself heard. This close to the falls, the power is extraordinary, and terrifying. So much water can crush and destroy anything, even as it’s a force for life. Nature is a fierce goddess.

Rocks studded with crystals are interspersed with ferns, scattered amidst the thick moss. I wander to the closest one and run my hands over the crystals, pink and teal, aquamarine and garnet, allowing my fingertips to feel them. Then I close my eyes and touch again, and to my surprise, feel a thrum, a spark, coursing through me.

Startled, I blink and look around—was that real? My mates watch me, hunger in their eyes.

“There’s energy here.” Jax says with a smile at my reaction. “We all feel it. If you can too, that will only strengthen our bond. I didn’t know if a human would feel it, but—we have much to learn about how Zandians and humans interact. Change each other.”

They seem even more powerful than before, as if the very air here revitalizes them. I’ve never seen Ronan stand this tall, or Tarren look this magnificent. Jax’s profile is beautiful beyond belief, his muscles perfect.

Jax nods to his cousins. Once again, they communicate without words, and when Jax turns to me and holds out his hand, gesturing to a thick patch of soft moss a few dozen feet away, I smile.

I wasn’t sure it would be appropriate. Now that I’m here, mating by this waterfall is not just acceptable, but necessary. This place calls to me. I want to be one with my Zandians, and I can barely contain my arousal as Jax strips me of my clothes, without words. It’s too loud to speak, and at this moment, we need no language.

We fall into a rhythm that has become natural, an order we understand from many nights together. And when I come against Ronan’s mouth, and with Jax’s cock, and then Tarren’s, I cry out my orgasms, screaming my joy into the roaring water that swallows my sounds but tosses them back in its echoes across the valley. And what I’m shouting out is this: I’m happy.

8

Tarren

I have exciting news,” I call, my heart pounding as I enter our dome, late in the evening. The sky is dark, with the stars and constellations bright like diamonds on black ink. The dome smells like bread, something Riya must have baked this planet rotation. Although I don’t eat like she does, I’ve come to enjoy the welcoming aromas associated with her human habits.

Jax, seated on a stool, his legs spread wide, frowns down at a large map on the table, tapping his fingers in concentration. Ronan lies on a couch, Riya nestled up to him; he’s playing her some holo on his Comm tabb. Her eyes sparkle as her hair brushes his shoulder. My cock quivers, imagining her hair on my skin, but—later.

“Katya is pregnant with young,” I call out, slamming the door and stamping my boots on the patch of cloth Riya admonishes us to use. “She announced just now.”

Jax leaps up and the map drops to the floor in his haste. “What great news,” he roars, punching the air with his fist.

Ronan comes over and gives me a rough hug. Then he steps back and laughs. “Well, maybe I should save the embrace for the Zandian who put the baby there,” he remarks, and we all laugh, a little too loudly, perhaps. “We should all celebrate. Riya, what do you think?”

But Riya’s gone pale, eyes wide, as if in shock. Then she blinks and rubs her hands together. “I’m… beyond myself with excitement,” she says, her voice low.

Like veck.

Is our little mate sorry she’s not pregnant first? Stars, I never want her to feel like a failure. Not at anything.

She touches her face and looks out the window for a moment, and I pick up a wave of unease from her. Is she scared? I look to Jax and Ronan for clarification, but neither have caught her expression, and by the time she rises to her feet and shifts her long hair behind her ears, she’s smiling, too, her cheeks back to their regular color.

“It’s amazing,” she says. “A baby. The future. Of course, we knew it was going to happen.”

“But nobody was completely sure,” Ronan added. “So it’s a relief. The first young in the repopulation project.” He grabs Riya around the waist and swings her in a circle. “How about we spend some time tonight making sure we are the second group to announce?” He puts her down and steps back. “Unless… you already… are… expecting?” His eyes go wide, and his face goes still.

I snort, because he’s touching her belly like she’s made of something fragile.