GREN

The beach encampment seems more chaotic than before. My memories of this place are of crying, frightened females, tired mesakkah natives and their mates doing their best to calm everyone, and bitter cold. And Willa, of course. Most of my memories are around her pretty, speckled face as she approached me, no matter how afraid everyone else was.

Today, the beach encampment is full of laughter and talk. People gather around two large fires, sharing stories and chattering. There is a smell of blood in the air and someone scrapes a hide while another person—a male with four arms—works on a fishing net. The sadness and fear is gone, and there is even a child in a dark-skinned, unfamiliar female's arms. The scents are overwhelming, as is the noise, but Willa's face brightens as she regards them.

"Willa!" someone cries out happily and rushes toward her, arms outstretched.

My mate squeezes my hand and then moves forward to embrace the female. "Lo! It's so good to see you!"

"You, too!" The female beams at my mate, and glances over at me, turning her happy expression in my direction. "And you too, Gren."

I nod at her, unsure how to act. I have never met others in such a way. It has always been a face-to-face meeting in an arena or a competition. When I talked with others in holding pens, it was to assess the competition, never simply to be friendly. I do not know what to think or what is required. I notice a big male walking up behind the female, one with four arms. As I watch, his skin shifts colors rapidly, mimicking my darker shade as he moves to his mate's side and puts a hand on her waist.

"Oh," Willa says, startled.

"Meet K'thar," Lo says proudly, almost defensively. "I met him on the island. Him and his people live here now. Please don't be afraid. I know they look different but they're people just like us."

Willa looks at me, astonishment in her eyes. Then, she giggles, shaking her head. Water streams from her eyes, but they are not the sad waters. Instead, she just keeps giggling, leaning against me. "Don't be afraid," she gasps. "Oh my word."

Lauren seems distressed, her shoulders stiffening. She looks to Brooke and Taushen, mystified. "What is it?"

My mate swipes at her eyes. "I just…sorry. Everything's funny when you're tired." Willa sighs and leans against me, and I can feel her body trembling with laughter—and exhaustion. "I left this camp with Gren because no one saw him as a person. They were too afraid. Now we come back and the entire beach is full of strangers. I bet not a single one is tied up."

"To be fair, no one from K'thar's clan—or any of the other clans—has attacked anyone. Gren did." Lauren gives me an uneasy look, and I can feel Willa stiffen defensively. My mate would protect me from all who seek to speak badly of me.

It is…adorable.

"I did attack everyone," I tell my mate before she can step in and assault her friend with words. "I should have been tied up. My goal was to fight my way out." I touch Willa's mane, then touch her shoulder in a caress. "I assumed it was another arena in which to fight."

The four-armed alien crosses two of his limbs over his chest and nods. "My people fight in great competitions for the honor of their clan. Or we did, before the Great Smoking Mountain died and took everyone with it." He gives me an assessing look, one I have experienced many times. "You have won many battles, have you not? You have that air."

I nod. This one understands.

My mate relaxes. She smiles up at me, and then reaches out to Lauren. "I'm sorry if I seem prickly, sugar. I'm just…real tired." She gives her a wan smile. "We're actually here to visit with the healer."

"Oh my goodness." Lauren's expression changes from wariness to sympathy. She squeezes Willa's hand. "You look fried, but I didn't want to say anything. And skinny. Both of you are so skinny." Lauren's expression is kind as she looks at both of us. "Are you staying overnight? K'thar and I have an extra tent high up on the beach, with his clan. We've been keeping supplies there and things for the baby, but we can make you two a bed. Just give me a little time to straighten things up. We were going to set it up for Gail and Vaza—you'll meet them, I'm sure—but they brought their own tent and furs. You haven't met them, have you? They've come from the Croatoan tribe and they're living with our clan, too. They're adopting Z'hren and…gosh, it's such a long story." Lauren waves a hand in the air. "I'm going on and on and you both look dead on your feet. Do you want something to eat? I'm pretty sure Veronica's sleeping. She and Ashtar are worn out from flying."

Willa looks over at me, and just that small look sets off her teats. They shake in a dull roar—the “song” of resonance. Hot need blisters through me, exhausting in its ferocity, and even though my body is tired, my cock is ready and the need to claim my mate makes me shudder. Willa's knees buckle slightly and she collapses in my arms.

"We need a shelter," I say, speaking for the first time. My language is different than their sing-song one full of loud noises, and I am not entirely sure they will understand me like my Willa does, or if they will think I am attacking.

But the one known as K'thar nods. "Follow us. Come, L'ren, my mate."

"Of course. You guys need rest. Come on."

Brooke hands our things over to Lauren and her mate, and then looks at her male. "We'll get you guys some food and let the others know you're here. If we see Veronica, we'll send her your way."

"Yes," I tell her, and that seems insufficient. I try to think of what Willa would say. Not Blessurhart, because that word implies the other is stupid. The Praxiians have no word in their language like the one that springs to mind, but it is one I have heard my Willa say before. "Dankall."

"Thank y'all," Willa murmurs, snuggling up against me. "You're so sweet, Gren."

Taushen and his mate give us approving looks, and then I follow the others through the cluster of people. Many eyes watch us as I carry my exhausted mate across the beach, but none are angry or frightened. No one tries to take my mate from my claws, or worries I will harm her. There are curious looks, but they seem like normal people.

I wonder if most of Willa's fear is on my behalf. Is that why she stays away? Does she want to stay here with them? I saw the way her eyes lit up when she glimpsed her friend. She was happy to see her.

Lauren and her mate bring us to a cluster of tents set between the high walls of a narrow canyon, a short distance from the gathering on the beach. Here, the pebbles give way to rocky chips, and the cliffs look as if they are made of the same crumbly stone as the path that led to our cave. Several hide-covered tents are clustered together, and they point us at one in the back. "We'll get you two set up." Lauren grabs a bundle and pushes the flap back, immediately moving inside. "I'll make a bed. Won't take but a sec."

K'thar watches his mate, then turns to me, his voice low. "It is good to see another warrior. The females here are soft and need protecting. Every set of hands helps."

I say nothing, thinking of my Willa. I am looked at as a helper instead of a problem? Strange how things have changed over the course of a few days.

"Stay as long as you like," K'thar tells us. "Whatever home we have to offer, you are welcome to share."

"Thank y'all," I say carefully, and when Lauren emerges, I duck into the tent and gently lay my exhausted Willa down. The tent flap hits my tail and then we are alone…or as alone as we can be in an encampment full of strangers.

Willa whimpers, reaching for the loincloth that took me far too long to put on. “Need you,” she tells me. “Everything hurts.”

“I am here,” I say to her even as she frees my cock. “I will not leave you.” I undo the knots that hold her leggings on her body and then pull them down far enough to expose her cunt. She is hot with need, and wet, and her whimpers grow stronger as I press my cock into her warmth.

We mate swiftly and brutally. I hold off on my climax until I feel Willa clench around me, her cunt quivering and squeezing my cock with her release. Only then, do I come, emptying my seed into her.

It does not take the edge off, and I begin to feel despair. What if the only solution to ease my mate’s pain is for her to resonate to a different male than me?

I do not like that thought at all. It makes me murderous…but so does Willa’s misery.

I hope the healer has answers for us.

Like every night since we resonated, we do not get much sleep. Need wakes us every few minutes, forcing our bodies together for a quick mating, only to fall back into a restless slumber once more. Dawn comes, and I feel no more rested than I did when I went to sleep, and I can tell from my Willa’s hollow gaze that she feels the same. I would give anything to chase that look from her eyes. She curls up against me, exhausted, and buries her face against my neck.

“No matter what she tells us,” Willa murmurs, “We’re in this together.”

I hold her close. She is a gift beyond anything I ever imagined. Even though we are both physically tired and frustrated, I would change none of this. Even my worst day with Willa is better than I ever dreamed for myself.

Something scratches at the flap of the tent right before I smell Veronica’s scent, mingled with that of her mate’s. “Knock knock,” she calls out. “Can we come in?”

Willa looks at me, and I nod. “Yes.”

A moment later, Veronica pulls the tent flap back, smiling at us. “Hey you two! You look…not as good as when I left you, and you were dying,” she says to me. “So that’s rather impressive. Can we sit? Come on, Ashtar, baby.” She gestures at the male behind her and a moment later, the big golden warrior pushes his way into our tent, then drops onto a bundle of furs.

He casts us an imperious look, then opens his arms up for Veronica. “Your throne is ready.”

“Dork,” she tells him, but moves to sit in his lap anyhow, her cheeks red. “So, what’s going on, you two?”

Willa sits up, her hand resting on my thigh. “Our resonance. Something’s wrong with it. We keep mating and…” She shrugs, weary. “Nothing seems to happen.”

Veronica exchanges a look with her mate. “So the point of resonance is that you’re supposed to make a baby. It’s entirely possible that there’s something…incompatible between yourself and Gren. That’s not how resonance is supposed to work, of course, but there’s a lot of things that aren’t quite right with Gren.” She glances over at me. “No offense.”

I nod. “Because of how my former masters changed me?”

She extends her hands out from herself, spreading them and staring at her palms. “When I went inside you to heal you, it felt…different than healing everyone else.”

“How so?” Willa asks, fear in her voice. I can feel her fingers twining in my fur as she holds on to me. She worries for me.

“Instead of feeling like one big ‘whole’ thing, you felt like a bunch of fragments stuck together. You’re not, of course. All of your limbs are yours. But if we’re talking scientifically—and I don’t know science, so this is just a guess—your DNA isn’t yours but a whole bunch of DNA strands stuck together. That’s the best way I can think of it. It’s like someone took a bunch of people, cobbled them together and made you.” She leans down and gestures at my claws. “Your hands. You have claws like Ashtar, and horns like him, too. But your tail and your three-toed feet, those are sa-khui. And the cat-like features…I’m not sure what those are.”

“Praxiian,” I tell her. I remember the feline features of my old master quite well.

“Okay, Praxiian. It’s like you’re a Starbucks drink that came off the special menu. Someone just started pumping random ingredients in to see what they could make, and no one stopped to think about what the end result would be. And I know that doesn’t make sense to you,” she says, wringing her hands. “But when I touched you, it felt like all those parts were starting to splinter. Like all of the things that held you together were failing, and if I didn’t do something, you were going to die. It was more than the infection. It was something else. Incompatibility.”

Willa is very pale. I caress her cheek, trying to comfort her. “This does not surprise me.”

“It doesn’t?” My mate turns to me, shocked.

I shake my head. “My masters had me on a heavy regimen of augmenting stims and chemical inhibitors. I felt better after each round of stims, but it did not last for long. I would not be surprised to learn that they knew something was wrong. That I was to be short lived.”

“All gladiators are,” the golden one says.

I nod.

Veronica gives me a worried look. “There was something wrong with you at a deeper level, so I tried to fix it. I think that woke up your cootie and made you want to take a mate. I didn’t have anything to do with that, of course, but I think maybe you were supposed to resonate to Willa and your cootie was too preoccupied with keeping you well. Once I fixed what I could, it went to the next step.”

“But he can’t make me pregnant,” Willa states, and her hand moves to my stomach, where it is flat and undented and has no “button” like hers does.

Veronica bites her lip and looks over at her mate. “So…I’ve been brainstorming with Ashtar and there might be a way to fix this. Two ways, actually.”

At my side, Willa tenses.

I fight the sudden surge of furious covetousness that rages through me. I want nothing more than to grab my mate, haul her over my shoulder, and flee with her into the mountains so no one can ever take her from me. Ever.

But…she is exhausted. For her sake, I must hear this. I grit my teeth, waiting.

“I can try and stop the resonance,” Veronica continues. “Basically try to tell your cooties everything’s good and they can stop now.”

“No,” Willa says immediately. “I want Gren’s baby. I want to resonate to him.” She holds tighter onto me. “If that’s the only way, I don’t want it. I’d rather keep trying for a few more months, even if it kills us.”

“Willa,” I murmur, holding my precious mate close. “I do not want you to die from this.”

“No one’s going to die,” Veronica exclaims. “Jesus. Let a girl finish her sentence. The other way is…well…” Her face turns bright red. “I can help.”

I picture having to move over Veronica, to push into her instead of my Willa—and shudder with disgust. “I will mate no other female but mine.”

Ashtar jumps to his feet, dropping Veronica on her feet and stepping in front of her. “You will not touch my mate—”

Willa bursts into tears.

“Wait, wait,” Veronica yelps, tugging “I’m not fucking anyone but my dragon! Everyone calm the fuck down!”

Someone coughs discreetly outside, and I am reminded that even though there are walls, we are not alone. Willa buries her face against my shoulder, and Veronica slides an arm around her mate’s waist, dragging him back down to his seat.

“Let’s all just calm the fuck down,” Veronica states again. “When I say help, I don’t mean like that. I mean that while you two are, ah, mating, I’d go in and coax the cootie along. Make sure sperm and egg meet and don’t reject and all that jazz. Kind of like assisted pregnancy back home, just a little more hands-on.”

“While we’re mating?” Willa echoes, her expression aghast. “You’d touch Gren?”

“Well, actually, I’d be touching you.”

My mate relaxes. “Oh, well, we can do that.”

“You…do realize I mean just your shoulders, right?”

“Whatever it takes,” Willa says firmly. “I want Gren and I want our baby. And I want to be able to have sex because it’s fun and I want my man, not because I feel like something inside me is going to tear apart. Gren?”

“I want you to stop hurting,” I tell her simply.

“It doesn’t hurt you?”

“It does, but I am used to pain. Mine is nothing.” I touch her sweet face. “Yours destroys me.”

“God, I love you,” she breathes, and I can smell her sweetness on the air. She curls her fingers in my fur and gives my mouth a nip. “When do we need to do this, then, Veronica?”

The healer shrugs. “Now?”

“No,” her mate says firmly. “Now, you must have food. When everyone has eaten, then you can do this. And I will be here to watch over my mate.” The golden male gives me a challenging look.

Let them all watch me claim my Willa. I do not care.

“Well, I suppose it’s not anything you haven’t seen before,” Willa murmurs. “Let’s eat and get this show on the road, then.”