Eighteen
Five planet rotations later, Balvan was back in the medic bay. Beings rushed out of his way as he stomped along the corridors, carefully carrying a puffker in each of his palms.
He scowled. Not even two adorable balls of fluff could battle his scary countenance. Everyone feared him.
Everyone except his females.
Balvan entered the girls’ chamber and three heads turned, two topped with blonde hair, one with brown. Elyce, seated in a chair beside the sleeping supports, smiled at him and his stomach fluttered. She was so fraggin’ beautiful.
“Green,” Yazmin, the chattier younger sister, announced. “Green is good.” Her gaze returned to her more traumatized sister.
The two of them wore green flight suits. The gauze on Yazmin’s arm was stained to match her garment. Elyce wore green chest and ass coverings, the leather accentuating her generous curves.
They had mated at sunrise but he wanted her again. He suspected he’d never stop wanting her.
Now was not the time or the place to indulge that need, however. Little beings were watching them.
“It’s Balvan.” Elyce repeated the words she told the girls every time he arrived. “He would never hurt any of us.”
Zaliki stared at him with suspicious eyes. The girl hadn’t talked since she’d been rescued, her screams of terror being the last sounds she’d made.
But she was fully conscious. Finally. He dwelled on that good news. Her mind should heal. When it did, her words would return.
Her silence didn’t lessen how he felt about her. He already loved the girl, loved her sister also, would do anything for them.
“What do you have for us?” Elyce beckoned him closer.
With every step he took, Zaliki wiggled farther and farther away from him, until she teetered on the edge of the fused sleeping supports.
Not wanting to scare her more than he already had, he stopped his approach. “These are puffkers.” He held out his palms, showing them the small creatures.
“Ohhh…” Yazmin, the youngest sister, leaned toward him. “They’re cuties. Do you see them, Zaliki?”
The older sister’s gaze flicked down to the little creatures. Sparkles, always hungry, chewed on his thumb, her growls more adorable than menacing. Glimmer purred, her little body curled into a ball, vibrating against his skin.
Zaliki’s gaze returned to Balvan’s face. She narrowed her eyes at him.
He didn’t move, didn’t react.
Yazmin, not as cautious as her sister, crawled closer to him. “Why do they have stuff around their legs?” She looked at Elyce, covered her mouth with her hands and whispered, “Did he hurt them?”
The girl was like the others. She thought he was a monster. Balvan hid his pain under a blank expression. Only his female saw the good, the caring in him.
In his beautiful eyes.
“Balvan would never hurt any defenseless creature.” Elyce defended him. “He saved the puffkers. Some bad males were doing not very nice things to them. Balvan made them stop.”
“Did he crush their heads?” Yazmin was obsessed with that violent act. “Like he did with the bad male who hurt us?”
“Glimmer had two bad, bad males hurting her.” Elyce took the black puffker from him, shifting the fluff ball to her own hands. “Balvan picked the males up and threw them far away. He’s very strong.”
Yazmin looked at him. He flexed his muscles. Her eyes widened.
“The bad males will never hurt Glimmer again.” Elyce petted the tiny creature. “Balvan will protect her. He protects all of us.”
“Glimmer is safe now.” Yazmin lowered her face until her nose almost touched the puffker’s. The creature’s tiny tongue flicked over her freckled skin and the girl laughed. “She licked me. Did you see that, Zaliki? Glimmer likes me.”
Zaliki tilted her body toward the puffker, looked at Balvan, and then froze.
“I don’t know what happened to Sparkles’ bad males.” Elyce turned Yazmin’s attention to the other puffker.
“I hunted him down and broke all of his arms, all of his legs.” That had given Balvan great satisfaction.
“The bad males will never hurt Sparkles again either.” The bloodthirsty youngest sister declared. “They only hurt one of her legs.”
“They hurt that leg badly.” He shared that sad prognosis. “She might never heal.”
“Ohhh…poor Sparkles.” Yazmin moved toward that puffker.
Balvan extended his hand, putting the creature within her reach.
Yazmin looked at Elyce. His female stroked Glimmer’s head. Yazmin reached out and touched Sparkles the same way. “She’s soft. Oh, Zaliki, she’s so soft.” Her voice rose with excitement. “And her leg will heal. I know it. She will become all better and everyone will love her.”
“Elyce and I love her now.” Balvan’s tone was gruff. “Even if Sparkles stays broken, we’ll still love her.”
Even if the girls never recovered from their trauma, they would love them.
“Sparkles won’t be like Glimmer. She won’t be normal.” Yazmin made the comment, but judging by how Zaliki’s thin body had tensed, the older sister was listening for his response also.
“I’m not normal.” Balvan met Elyce’s gaze. She smiled at him, silently encouraging him to share more with the girls. “I’m big and green and mean looking. Some beings think I’m a monster.”
Zaliki blinked once, twice, silently absorbing his words.
“But Elyce still loves me.” He allowed his love for his female to show.
“Sparkles and Glimmer love you too.” She grinned. “And those beings are wrong. You’re not a monster. You’re Balvan.”
“You won’t ever hurt us.” Yazmin’s smile stretched across her tiny face.
She petted Sparkles. Balvan didn’t move, holding the creature for the girl.
Zaliki wiggled closer and closer to Elyce and Glimmer, her gaze darting between Balvan and the puffker. Balvan pretended to ignore her, his heart pounding as she advanced.
The girl slowly, cautiously stretched out her arm. She lowered one index finger only to Glimmer’s head. Her fingertip disappeared into the creature’s thick fur.
Zaliki’s lips parted.
Would she speak, finally release the words caged inside her? Balvan waited.
“Soft.” Her voice was barely audible.
Elyce must have heard her. Her gaze flew to Balvan’s, her eyes glowing with excitement.
Moments passed. Neither of them spoke.
The girl didn’t either, Zaliki retreating into silence once again. She’d only uttered one word but Balvan considered that to be a triumph, a sign she was recovering, might overcome the memories haunting her.
Those memories should fade but they wouldn’t ever vanish. The girls’ pasts would always be a part of them, as his past was a part of him and Elyce’s past was a part of her.
The four of them would never be normal, whatever that was. But he hoped the sisters would find peace, happiness, and love as he and his female had.
Yazmin and Zaliki fussed over the puffkers. Balvan gradually transferred Sparkles to Yazmin’s small hands, teaching her how to hold the creature. Elyce placed Glimmer on the sleeping support next to a captivated Zaliki.
Balvan withdrew to the door, guarding the entrance, while Elyce chattered to the girls, telling them about the chamber they’d furnished for them in their home, musing about the nourishment bars she’d fabricate for them, enthralling them with embellished tales of Balvan’s past battles, exaggerating his strength and prowess.
Warmth engulfed him. She saw him as the hero in those stories, not as the monster, and soon the girls would view him in that role also. He observed that in their eyes, in the way they looked at him.
The girls would grow to love him as his female loved him, as he loved all of them—his female, his two offspring, his two certain-to-be-spoiled fluff balls.
They would be a family.
Balvan knew that as he knew Elyce’s distinct laugh, the shape of her face, the touch of her hand, and it filled him with the greatest joy.
He was a lucky male.
* * *
Half a shift later, Balvan was informed by Kralj that the beings he was destined to love would soon increase by three. Rhea, Orol’s mate, had claimed a chamber in the medic bay and was preparing to give birth.
“We have to leave soon,” he murmured to Elyce.
She glanced up at him and nodded, his little female not questioning that decision, trusting him completely.
The girls and the puffkers slept. Zaliki and Yazmin curled their bodies around the creatures they had claimed. The girls’ lips lifted into small smiles.
Their happiness buoyed his. He waited behind his female, his hands on her shoulders, wonder and gratitude in his heart.
Azalea and Hulagu entered the chamber. Only Azalea was visible. Hulagu was in stealth mode, not detectable to human eyes.
The Warlord-In-Training, having witnessed the aftermath of his gerel’s trauma, was sensitive to the girls’ fear of males. He didn’t want to scare them with his presence yet he would never allow Azalea to venture out alone.
Balvan understood the male’s concerns. He preferred to remain close to his little female also, rarely parting from her side.
Elyce, showing no signs she was aware of the chamber’s additional occupant, raised a finger to her lips. “Shhh…”
She stood, smoothing down her ass coverings.
Azalea nodded. She had looked after the girls previously and was a familiar face. If they woke while Balvan and Elyce were gone, they shouldn’t be alarmed.
Balvan swung his female into his arms, glanced once more at the girls, ensuring they were sleeping and safe, and he conveyed Elyce out of the chamber.
“What is it?” she whispered. “Why did we have to leave?”
“Rhea is in the medic bay.” He brushed his lips over his female’s as he walked, easing her fears with his kiss. “The other females are already there.” Azalea, due to the trauma in her past, wasn’t participating in the birth. “They’re waiting for you.”
“I’m to supply her with beverage.” Elyce’s eyes glowed. “That’s officially Paloma’s role but Rhea worries her sister might faint at the first sight of blood and be in need of a medic herself.”
His female would never require a medic for such a minor thing. He gazed at her with pride. She was strong, had shot a male because that male had hurt him.
“Will Orol be in the birthing chamber?” Worry lines appeared between her eyebrows.
He carried her into the waiting chamber. An irate Orol turned his head and glared at them.
“Orol will not be in the birthing chamber.” The winged male expressed his unhappiness with the situation. “I’m the father of the offspring, Rhea is my mate, and I’ve been ejected from the space.”
“That might have been the wise decision.” Balvan looked pointedly at his friend’s talons.
He moved farther away from Orol before lowering and releasing Elyce. The warrior wouldn’t hurt her…normally, but he wasn’t his normal self at the moment. The stress of the impending birth had affected his friend.
Balvan would help him through it.
As would Kralj and Dita. They stood at the far side of the chamber, gazing out a portal, their fingers entwined. Although the Ruler and his mate had their backs to the rest of them, Balvan knew they were aware of everything occurring around them.
“I can control myself.” Orol fumed, staring at his natural weapons. His talons didn’t retract.
Balvan bent over, smacked his lips against Elyce’s and nudged her toward the birthing chamber. His frantic friend wasn’t fit to be near delicate human females.
He waited until the doors closed behind her to address Orol. “Your mate will be fine. Offspring are produced in the Refuge every planet rotation.” The medic bay was the best equipped on Carinae E.
“Are those offspring modified humanoids?” Orol stood. “No. They’re not.” He answered his own question. “My offspring are the first of their kind and my mate is human, delicate. The process could hurt Rhea, kill her.” His voice cracked.
“She won’t die.” Balvan pounded his friend’s shoulders with his hands and Orol winced. “And she has pain inhibitors.”
He couldn’t promise a pain-free birthing experience. The offspring were large. Rhea couldn’t deliver them naturally.
“I can’t live without her.” Orol’s eyes were wild. “If she dies—”
“She won’t die.” Balvan cuffed his friend on the cheek.
He misjudged the power in his arm. Orol flew across the chamber and smacked against the portal. A crack radiated from the point of impact, diminishing visibility. Orol slid to the floor, his wings fluttering.
“I’ll have that replaced.” Kralj’s voice was emotionless.
Dita grinned.
Orol, being a modified humanoid, recovered quickly. “Why did you hit me?” He bounded to his booted feet.
“You were acting irrational.” Balvan had sympathy for his friend. He doubted he would act any saner if…when Elyce was in Rhea’s place. The mere thought of losing her drew a rumble from his chest.
“I’m not—”
Balvan smelled the blood at the same time his friend did. Orol roared, bending his knees and pushing off, propelling himself forward at modified humanoid speed.
Balvan, acting as quickly, snatched the warrior out of the air and slammed him face-first against the floor, smashing the tiles. Orol’s wings flapped. Balvan sat on his back, pinning his friend in place.
“I have now rescued you seven times in nine hundred and sixty-nine battles.” Balvan announced. “As you have rescued my tiny female and our two little girls, once each, I consider us even.”
He owed his happiness to his friend. Elyce, Zaliki, and Yazmin would have died if it weren’t for Orol’s actions.
“Get off me.” The winged male struggled underneath him, fighting to free himself. “They’re hurting my mate.”
“She will survive.” Balvan patted Orol’s head, that action thumping his friend’s chin against the broken floor. “It will be over soon.”
Orol muttered about revenge and fought to be free. Balvan gazed at the doors and wondered if Elyce missed him as he missed her. She was safe in the medic bay, surrounded by friends and medics, but he preferred to have her near him. There was an empty space inside him when they were parted.
He glanced at Dita and Kralj. They appeared to feel the same way; the Ruler and his mate were always together, speaking to each other in a secret language of meaningful looks and little touches.
Balvan’s gaze lowered to Orol’s flushed face. His friend was a mess without Rhea.
The need to be with mates must be a modified humanoid trait.
Hopefully, multiple births wasn’t a modified humanoid trait. His little female would have challenges carrying merely one of his offspring. He was a big male.
Balvan envisioned the future while Orol continued his futile battle. His friend was foaming at the mouth by the time the medic exited the birthing chamber.
“Rhea and all three of the offspring are healthy,” she announced.
Balvan breathed a sigh of relief. A knot in the base of his neck unraveled, his concerns evaporating.
“But they are fragile.” The medic frowned at Orol’s talons.
“Orol would never harm his mate or offspring.” Kralj spoke for the winged male.
The medic sighed. “Then you may visit for a short duration.”
Balvan stood. Orol shot through the doors.
The medic glanced at the broken floor tiles, then at the cracked portal. She leveled a hard gaze on Balvan.
Fraggin’ hole. He was in trouble. He looked down at his big boots.
“We’ll talk about this later.” The medic uttered that ominous statement as she swept out of the chamber.
Balvan’s female was next to slip through the doors, her face pale, her lips flat. She saw him and her eyes lit up. He surged forward. Elyce rushed toward him.
Then she was in his arms and the universe made sense again. He lifted her high against his chest, covered her lips with his. She opened to him. He surged inside her, their tongues twining, the flavor of her filling his mouth.
Balvan kissed his female until she was breathless, clinging to him, her eyes dark with passion. When they were alone, he would ravish her, lick every scar, taste every part of her.
“You’re not alone.” A gust of wind blasted Balvan as Kralj walked past him, the Ruler heading with Dita into the birthing chamber.
His face heated. “No, sir.”
The doors closed behind them.
“We’re alone now,” Elyce whispered, her smile playful.
His body responded. He wanted his little female, intensely, his entire being aching for her touch.
But Orol was his best friend and he’d be hurt if they didn’t ooh… and ahhh… over his offspring. And Balvan did want to see the little males.
“Let’s view our newest warriors first.” He carried his female into the birthing chamber.
No one noticed their arrival, every occupant enraptured with the three babies batting their tiny wings, trying to escape from Rhea’s arms. Orol beamed as he helped his mate manage the trio. Paloma cooed at the little warriors, which seemed to excite them rather than calm them. Dita grinned. Even Kralj appeared happy, the shadows around his face lifting.
“They’re active little beings.” Balvan’s lips twitched. His excitement-seeking friend wouldn’t have to venture far from the domicile for action.
“They’re strong.” Orol’s chest puffed out. “And highly intelligent.”
“They must take after their mother, then.” Balvan teased his friend and the others laughed. “I won’t have to pull them out of air vents.”
“You had to do that once.” Orol didn’t take his gaze away from his sons. “Don’t pay any attention to Uncle Balvan. He has taken a few projectiles to the head.”
Elyce glanced up at Balvan.
“I survived.” He shrugged. Many of the modified humanoids had taken projectiles to the head. It wasn’t anything to get excited about. “Do they have names or are we calling them One, Two, and Three?” He changed the subject.
“This is Prazur.” Orol indicated the baby closest to him.
The baby in the middle howled, waving his tiny fists in the air.
“He wants to be Prazur.” His friend acknowledged. “Then his brother will be Kridlo.”
The baby farthest from Orol cried.
“You can be Kridlo.” Orol conceded, speaking to that baby. “That means your brother is Neba.”
All three of the babies wailed.
Kralj released a deep breath. “The offspring closest to you wishes to be named Dialo. The offspring in the middle has chosen Vietor as his name. The third offspring answers to Jeden.”
Everyone stared at the Ruler, including the babies.
“I can read thoughts.” Kralj’s tone was dry.
There was a stretch of silence and then the chamber filled with voices.
“Do they know I’m their father?”
“Are they hungry?”
“Do they need a covering cloth?”
Orol, Rhea, even Paloma peppered Kralj with questions, not giving the Ruler an opportunity to answer…if he wanted to, which Balvan suspected he didn’t.
Kralj might be all-knowing and all-powerful but he wasn’t all-easygoing.
Elyce brushed her fingertips over Balvan’s chest, that decadent touch redirecting his attention. “No one would miss us right now.” She met his gaze. “And the waiting chamber is empty. We can be alone there.”
She didn’t have to make that suggestion twice.
“I love you, my little female.” He carried her out into the space.
She leaned back, lightheartedly kicking her feet, a glorious smile on her beautiful face. “I love you too, my big male.”
If you enjoyed Dark Strength and would like to receive updates on characters plus a notification when Dark Fire (Dare’s story) becomes available, sign up for Cynthia Sax’s release day newsletter at
Keep in touch with Cynthia using the following links:
Website:
Newsletter:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Blog:
Other Books by Cynthia Sax
Refuge Series
Cyborg Sizzle Series