And that means the escape plan that Theme, Sawoot and I came up with can still work.
“They won’t be able to catch me,” I speak out loud – since the room is so empty, but my head feels so occupied with their presence. “They’ll know roughly which direction I’m in – but not my exact location.”
But if I leave tomorrow – if I abandon the triad I’m Bonded to – it means the rest of my now-thousands of years of life will be spent running. Slowly, but surely, those three Aurelians will catch up to me.
Well, that’s okay. I’m used to running.
I pull myself out of bed and nearly fall as my legs give out from under me. I catch myself before I crash to the ground. My legs are trembling from the force of my orgasms. My body is sore, my jaw aching.
I never knew anything could feel this good, though. The elation of being seeded feels better than the relief you get from hydro-morphine when you’re healing up in a hospital. I feel freer than after guzzling a bottle of whisky. Sex with the Aurelians lets me turn off my mind as I submitted to them – and that was so liberating that it’s addictive.
I sigh. I realize now that my relationship with those three gorgeous, towering warriors is destined to be…
…complex.
I think of Captain Aelon – the man who dragged me into all this.
I hate Aelon’s arrogance, but I love his confidence. I can understand him now. He’s a bright ball of anger – because something happened to him during his hundred years of service. He didn’t tell me everything, and there must be more. It wasn’t just a diplomatic incident that gave him this pure hatred of Toads. He’s a warrior – a soldier who’s been in too many battles. Now, all he knows is war.
He told me while he fucked me that I’d bear his sons. He told me he’d be the father of my children.
But how could I ever bring children into the world with men like those Aurelians as their fathers?
My sons would be strong – that is assured. But could I teach them compassion? Respect? Or would the aggression and warlike nature of their fathers be the dominant facet of them?
That’s what the Aurelians demand of me. If I don’t get away from them, I’ll be their breeding stock – used only to create an army of sons for them over the course of thousands of years. I’ll stay young and fertile for far longer than I would if I was a natural, unBonded human female – but they’ll use my years for their own needs.
“We will speak tomorrow.”
I jump at the crisp, clear voice inside my head. I’m still not used to the direct thought being transmitted from the head of an Aurelian directly into my brain. It’s just one more brand new thing to get used to – something even Sawoot didn’t warn me about.
The mental communication – it’s not like a spoken voice, and yet I recognize it as if it was. I know the thought originates from Iunia – even if I can’t hear a difference in tone.
“Okay,” I say out loud. It didn’t work. Okay, I think, but that doesn’t seem like it’s leaving my mind.
I focus on the three men. I force their images into my mind. I remember every detail of their bodies, their faces, and their features.
Even though I’ve had enough of the three men for tonight, I concentrate on them and try to project my thoughts to them.
“Okay.”
It worked! I can feel the thought differently – like the difference between thinking something and saying it out loud.
I smile. Just a few minutes in and I’m getting the hang of the Bond.
Then I hear a dripping sound – like water falling from the trees after a rainstorm. I glance down and see the seed of the three Aurelians slowly coming out of me. I walk as quickly as I can on my sore legs to the bathroom and stumble into the shower right before my legs give out.
The AI turns the water on for me, adjusting it instantly to suit my body temperature. I sit down on the floor of the oversized cubicle and let the water wash over me. Beneath the deluge, I try to get my thoughts in order.
I know what I’ve done – the commitment I’ve made and the unbreakable nature of the Bond.
But some relationships are as strong as that otherworldly force.
This changes nothing, even as it changes everything.
I’m still going to get my crew out of here.
I’m going to get Theme and Sawoot to safety. That’s the only thing I can focus on right now. Everything else is a distraction.
But will I have the strength to leave the Aurelians forever? I can feel their possessiveness, even as they’re on the other side of the ship. If I don’t get away from them quickly, I sense they’ll sink their hooks deeper into me and never let me go.
I know, deep in my heart, that I’ll now never be able to take another lover. It wouldn’t be fair to him. All I’d be thinking about during the act would be how disappointing it is in comparison to my experience with the three men I’m Bond to – the ones who gave me pleasure beyond my wildest imagining.
No matter where I went, or who I bedded – they’d still be in my head. Literally.
I’d be able to feel their auras even as I took another lover.
In fact, the only way to get them out of my head now is if they die.
“What did I get myself into?” I whisper the words out loud. They’d normally have been inaudible over the steady stream of water, but with my newly
