…but, at the same time, there’s a nobility to their beliefs, and a justice that they adhere to, and a code of ethics they seem to have established for themselves.
Albeit one that calmly accepts brutal violence and callous murder of those, like Peter Paradooli, who deserve it.
It’s difficult what to make of the Aurelians – because they represent both so much of what’s right and wrong about the universe; a perfect ying and yang of darkness and light.
And it’s not even as simple as that.
Those things are just how outsiders might view the Aurelian triad – but what about me? My relationship with them goes even deeper.
They terrify me, with their brutal size and strength, and their unyielding purpose and determination…
…and yet each of the warrior triad would kill and die for me, unquestioningly.
And if I truly am their fated mate – a possibility so infinitesimally small that I’m scared to even think about it – then that devotion amplifies a thousand-fold.
I mean, I’ve heard what they’ve said – the whispered desires each of the three Aurelians has confessed regarding the possibility of me being Bonded with them…
…but I don’t know if I want them to be right or wrong about the Bond.
Everything I know about this sacred connection is shrouded in rumor, or learned from half-truths. I need to know more – before I let myself give in to my desire for these three dominant aliens, and we all learn once and for all whether I am truly Bonded to them or not.
Because once we learn that – there’s no turning back.
I take a ragged breath, and my focus returns to Conan.
He looms over me. His glistening body is chiseled perfection, and he stands as proud and towering as a statue in front of me. His cock is currently soft – yet heavy and huge, like a length of swinging meat, and part of me aches to take his flaccid length in my mouth and feel him harden between my lips.
…but the other part of me holds back.
I try not to stammer, as I ask:
“Tell me, Conan… Augustus is convinced we’re Bonded – your triad to me. He believes I’m your fated mate.” I take a deep breath. “But what does that even mean? Truly?”
Conan nods, considering my question.
Eventually, he murmurs: “The Bond is sacred, pet. It unites a triad of Aurelians to their one, true, fated mate for all eternity – just as I am Bonded to my battle-brothers.”
He strokes his chin thoughtfully.
“Obviously, I’ve never experienced the Bond with a female – but I imagine it’s as powerful as the Bond our triad shares. We’re closer than any brothers could be by blood alone. We can speak to each other’s minds. We can share each other’s emotions. It’s as if our three separate souls flow from the same wellspring.”
Then those slate-grey eyes turn to me.
“If Augustus is right – if you are our fated mate, as I suspect too… If we are Bonded, Ashley, then the moment we seal our connection your mind will never be alone again.”
I shiver at the thought, and I’m not sure whether that’s from yearning or fear.
“You’ll feel us there,” Conan taps the side of his head to demonstrate. “You’ll sense our every mood. Our thoughts, our worries... You’ll be one with us”
His face is like stone as he speaks – carved as if from marble.
As for me? I’m trembling at the thought.
I look at his emotionless visage. I remember hearing the rumors that Aurelians can’t even feel emotions the same way humans can, and I feel momentarily disgusted at myself for ever believing that these three could.
Had I allowed myself to project emotion onto them? To merely imagine all these wonderful things I believed about them?
I ask: “And what… What happens if we are not Bonded?”
Conan shrugs.
“It matters not to me. Bonded or not, one thing has become clear: I do not lust for another woman. Only you, Ashley.”
I shudder.
He said that not even knowing if we were Bonded or not. He made that commitment not even knowing if somewhere out there, out in the vastness of the universe, there was a human female who might truly be able to give the triad what they desired.
A genetic Bond. The ability to birth their heirs.
What would I be if they ever found her?
Or, even if they didn’t, what value did Conan’s pledge truly carry?
Sure, he said he doesn’t lust for another woman… Yet.
Not now – but what about when I grow old and he stays young?
The Bond may grant a longer life to the Aurelians’ fated mate - but without it, I’ll continue to age as a human rate, while the Aurelians will age at the speed of their species.
In what is just the blink of an eye to their race – a race that lives thousands of years – I’ll have become an old lady.
I’ll be old and grey, Conan – while you and your battle-brothers are still in the full bloom of youth.
Conan cocks his head, looking down at me. I know he can’t hear my thoughts – even the Bond doesn’t allow that, unless you consciously transmit them – but I can tell he senses my disquiet.
He gently reached out – grazing my cheekbones with the back of his fingers.
“Trust yourself,” he murmurs. “Trust your instincts.”
My instincts? They ache for this man – him, and his two Aurelian battle-brothers. When I’m with them, it feels as though the world is finally safe for me. It feels like nothing could hurt me. I feel something I’ve never felt before – security.
But I wonder, though… Is that merely because I’ve been a slave for my entire adult life? Can I not even imagine life alone?
While it’s a terrifying thing to be trapped in slavery, it offers a certain… stability. You never have to worry when your next meal is going to come from, at least…
I understand now why women so eagerly join those
