The Bakkar Bride

The Bakkar Bride By

Jewel McGuire Triskelion Publishing www.triskelionpublishing.net

Triskelion Publishing 15327 W. Becker Lane Surprise, AZ 85379 First e Published by Triskelion Publishing First e publishing March 2007 ISBN 1-60186-120-6

Copyright 2007 Jewel McGuire All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, recording or by any information retrieval and storage system without permission of the publisher except, where permitted by law.

including photocopying,

Cover design Triskelion Publishing. Publisher’s Note. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to a person or persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental. Play Nice: Piracy is a crime and in stealing books your favorite authors do not receive royalties or any payment.

Dedication To my family Curtis, Cheryl, Leann and Reeny for your patience and support. You put up with my crazy hours, read endlessly for mistakes, and listened to my constant babble about characters and plot. Without your help this book would not have happened. Special thanks to Sarah, critique partner extraordinaire. I believe you screamed louder than I did when I gave you the news this book was to be published. I couldn’t have done it without you.

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Chapter One Singeh Ak’ El Bakkar sauntered through the straggling groups of council members that lounged around the chambers and blocked his progress to the exits. He had to work at keeping his expression amiable. At least as amiable a Rasalasian could. His species habitual facial appearance tended to be more ferocious than most bipeds. There were a number of council members taller and broader, but the predatory grace that his body displayed as he moved was more threatening than those members who might be larger and stronger. A hand touched his sleeve bringing him to an impatient stop before he reached his goal. “Excuse me, Your Highness,” an unfamiliar voice chirruped from somewhere below his waist, “could I interest you in a shared meal?” He looked down to the small person still holding his clothing. He didn’t recognize its species, but he did recognize its importance. This being was on the investigative committee of the Alliance. “Certainly.” Singeh’s hesitation was barely a breath, but he knew the creature had caught it by its tightened grip. “I must beg your excuse, Lord, but I do not remember your name.” When standing, Singeh was perhaps two meters tall, but the surrounding mane of hair around his face made him seem taller. He towered over the small person next to him. His leathers hid most of his body, but his covering of golden fur was easily seen. He resembled any number of animals that most members could claim belonged to their planet. To Earthers, a Rasalasian resembled nothing more than a walking, talking big cat. Singeh’s golden fur and black tipped mane resembled a great lion and the split muzzle that covered his sharp teeth did little to discourage the impression. “That is understandable, Your Highness, as there are many of us in the Alliance. And many more who wish inclusion.” It was back to chirping, its face scrunched in an expression of good humor. “I am Balrick of Quarantial.” “You are the first of the Alliance who has sought me for anything, Lord Balrick. Why now?” Singeh tried to keep his voice low and pleasant. Until now most members had given him a wide berth, especially when he spoke. “I believe it is time we talk, Prince Bakkar, about your petition.” His words were ominous but he bounced on his feet with apparent glee, giving Singeh the impression their inclusion was just a formality. “Then let us eat, Lord Balrick.” Singeh stepped aside and gestured for Balrick to precede him from the now less crowded chambers. He had to slow his loping gait as he followed Balrick from the General Council Chambers, his mind searching to find the reason for this sudden interest from the Council. He and his brothers had been virtually ignored since their arrival six lunar cycles ago. Balrick slipped into an open doorway just beyond the Chambers and led the way into one of the exclusive eating establishments that catered to the highest ranked members of the Alliance. Balrick waddled to a rear table and took a seat with his back to the wall where he could see the entire room.

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Singeh adjusted his opinion of the little creature. He obviously knew how to minimize his exposure to attack. Perhaps his species were more warlike than they appeared. Singeh took one of the chairs and moved it to the other side of the table against the joining wall. If his meal companion thought it wise to be wary, then he would be also. They ordered a meal and Balrick dismissed the waiter with a wave of his hand. “So, Your Highness, while we wait for our food, perhaps you can share with me the reasons your planet is finally seeking admittance to the Alliance?” Singeh gathered his thoughts as he adjusted the placement of his eating utensils, trying to buy some time to consider how best to answer. Balrick interrupted his musing. “Perhaps, Highness, it would be more accurate to ask exactly what you are looking for. Your youngest brother’s research has not gone unnoticed.” Singeh stared into Balrick’s eyes. They were no longer twinkling with humor. Evidently they had given up some of their agenda by their actions. Maybe the Council’s supposed indifference to their petition was not accurate. He gave a gusty rumbling sigh. “Lord Balrick, there is much of our people that is not understood by…” he faltered, “forgive me, outsiders.“ “Then, Your Highness, help us understand. Would it help you explain if I mention your consultation with the Interspecies Genetics Research has not gone unnoticed? We are very curious as to why you would seek their opinion and what it means to your petition.” Trust for Rasalasians wasn’t something that came easily. But Singeh had known they would have to trust someone, sometime. Maybe this was the time. Their food arrived and Singeh used the distraction to gather his thoughts. He had to consider how much to reveal and how much to keep secret from the Alliance. Once the server left them to their meal he began to explain the seriousness of the situation. “Lord Balrick, for the Alliance to understand our petition you must first understand my people and our culture. We are a closed society. We have always been. Allegiance to our family, to our King, has always been primary. We are warriors, not statesmen. Each province keeps strictly to themselves. We are governed according to our King’s will and keep other clans outside our borders. The only time we ever accepted a person into our clan was during raids to find unmated females. When we were approached many years ago by the Alliance with an invitation, there was no thought of considering such a foreign concept.” “Until something happened to change your people’s minds?” Balrick asked shrewdly when Singeh paused, taking another piece of bread from a plate. “Yes, but this was not recent. Over three hundred years ago a plague decimated our world’s population and reduced our females to a mere few thousand world-wide.” Singeh saw Balrick’s eyes widen as he comprehended the importance of this confession. “The entire structure of our society became unstable. We were forced to change or become extinct.” “Wars?” Balrick guessed. Singeh curled a lip at his accuracy. “Indeed, the raids for mates became more and more violent. Some females were accidentally killed, some where executed by families that refused to give them up without payment. It was a bloody, but thankfully short, time in our history. We were forced by our own females to change.” “How did they accomplish this? From what you have said, I thought your society was patriarchal?” His nose scrunched in confusion.

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“It is, in all things but the mating. We had to change or perish. Now the choice of mates is left to the females of our species,” Singeh said matter of factly “So…” Balrick said, his head slowly nodding. “Your males have to find other avenues to continue their lines. I see now why your brother’s research is so important.” Singeh left unspoken how females were revered and worshiped. For centuries they had been catered to from birth. They had evolved into spoiled and demanding beings that controlled the very fabric of their society. They had changed the mating habits of an entire planet with their elevation in importance. Now a female not only chose her mates, but spent most of the beginnings of her sexual maturity sampling the males available for breeding. Most litters born were all male and very few females were birthed into a family. When a family of males was accepted by a female, each male would mate the female once she was in season trying to increase the chances of a female in their litter. The Tal e’ Feata. The Time of Tests. Such had it been for over three centuries. Females journeyed around the planet, crossing protected from province to province seeking out the most eligible males. They sampled the male’s stamina and strengths, searching for the best mating possible. It was his youngest brother, Lortin’s, initiation into the Tal e’ Feata with a southern province princess that had prompted Singeh and Barin into making the bold decision to seek membership into the Intergalactic Alliance. Both Singeh and his littermate, Barin, had taken part in the traditional Tal e’ Feata numerous times. Being Princes of the Northern Provinces of Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad, their family was considered one of the most favored and eligible of the planet. Since their celebration of maturity at eighteen winters, they had been called upon frequently to cover a visiting female and display their prowess in the bed furs during the night, then display their fighting ability during the day. They had learned at the feet of their fathers how to wield their swords and the secrets of pleasuring a female, from all her erogenous points to how to avoid her slashing claws and teeth when they brought her to completion. It was often a difficult night of arduous sexual exercise as they strove to sate an almost insatiable female followed by a day of equally grueling matches of displaying their fighting skills. Not once during the Tal e’ Feata had a female tried to please one of them and both Singeh and Barin would have been shocked if she had attempted to do so. Princess Sala Ek’ Al Parrin had arrived six months ago shortly after Lortin’s celebration of maturity. Singeh and Barin had gone to her chambers and slowly stripped the princess of her clothing and used all their combined talents to please her. Once they had both covered her insistent body with theirs and rode her as she commanded, bringing her to her woman’s pleasure several times, she ordered for Lortin to be brought to her bed furs to display his own prowess. They could not refuse her claim as it was forbidden by law. Lortin was sent for. Both Singeh and Barin had resumed their sensual attack on Sala, desperately seeking to blunt her desires. Both knowing that their youngest brother was not the typical Rasalasian male. Lortin was born late to their mother and was the only kit of his litter to survive. He had been small and sickly, causing the fathers to dismiss him as he never seemed to grow as strong

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as the usual Bakkar male did as they matured. His interests had not developed into the sword and the natural progression of learning battle and increasing physical strength that all males strived to attain. He was more interested in books and what he could learn from them. He had found great pleasure in the sciences and often times would be found in his chambers experimenting with some new idea discovered in the latest tome he had bought. Both Singeh and Barin had taken care of their small brother, at first seeking only to ensure his survival. Then, as he grew and strengthened, they had tried to interest him in the normal activities that a young male Rasalasian took part. They had learned after much failure on their part to accept Lortin as he was and found in that acceptance a new bond of kinship that surprised them both. When Lortin had arrived in Sala’s chambers, he witnessed his brothers, both on the bed furs, their bodies pumping furiously into the female as she roared her approval in cries of high pitched snarls and howls. Once his brothers had again brought Sala to her peak, she had fallen in a heap upon the furs and lazily stroked her body until her eyes caught sight of Lortin hanging in the doorway. She had perked up immediately, curving her body sinuously on the furs, the flickering lights from the pit fire playing across her soft pelt of gray. She displayed the swelling mammary glands that lined her abdomen, a clue to the closeness of her impending first season, as her body ripened and prepared to release her eggs for fertilizing. Opening her well muscled legs, she displayed her reddened priti to Lortin’s eyes. His body swelled in anticipation as her fingers rubbed there at her flesh. He had listened absently to his brothers teachings about the Tal e’ Feata, but his excitement caused all their advice to slip from his brain. He crossed the room, ignoring his brother’s signals as his hands made short work of his clothing. His body wasn’t nearly as developed as his older siblings, but the heavy erection that slid from the protective sheath low on his belly was impressive for one so young. Sala had purred in delight when Lortin’s mottled penis slipped from his sheath and rapidly hardened into a stiff lance that stood out from his thin body. The flat head had parted and the tip of the red lupili peeked from the slit, dripping clear fluid in a steady stream as he scrambled onto the furs. She turned over and lifted her hindquarters high into the air, sending out the strong scent of her body fluids mixed with the combined aromas of Singeh and Barin. Lortin’s nostrils had flared as he drew deep of the scent of sex. He wasted little time, clumsily covering her back and trying to thrust his sex into hers. His body had barely penetrated her priti when he thrashed and released the gush of clear fluid that heralded his male climax. Sala had been furious at his lack of control. It was the male’s duty to please the female and he had wasted a perfectly good erection on his pleasure and not hers. Singeh pulled his mind back from his memories of the disastrous testing as his meal companion spoke again. There was nothing that could convince him to reveal his brother’s shame. Not even a place in the Alliance. “Has your brother discovered anything useful?” Balrick asked. Singeh hunched his shoulders and dipped his head, his species equivalent of a shrug. “Not yet. Some possibilities, but as you can imagine, genetic matching does not always mean

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compatibility.” The rest of the meal passed with general conversation until Balrick hopped from his seat. “Please feel free to stay and enjoy one of the desserts offered here, Your Highness. I have a meeting I must attend. I thank you for your time and for the information. You have given me much to think over.” Singeh did not linger, but headed back to their assigned quarters, his mind once again on the events that led to he and his brothers leaving their planet. Several weeks after Sala left, vowing to never return, another female approached the palace and requested the rites of Tal e’ Feata. There was no repeat of Lortin’s embarrassing lack of control during that session. That time Lortin was unable to respond at all and he fled the chamber again without covering the female once. Singeh had exploded in fury with the female’s lack of compassion or understanding. Then he was struck by a wild inspiration. Singeh had gone to Barin’s chambers and shared his idea with his littermate. He found Barin lounging upon his bed furs. He was taller and darker than Singeh, his fur almost black against the pale pelts under his indolent limbs. Singeh hadn’t forgotten the look of astounded surprise or the calculating expression that blossomed in his brother’s eyes. “You are right, my brother.” Barin spoke thoughtfully. “It would remove us from the planet and the demands of the females. You and I know no matter what the last two should spread amongst the females, they will still come for the Tal e’ Feata. If only to brag if she should be the one to be gifted with Lortin’s ability to stay the course.” “It is a huge step for us to make for the entire planet, Barin. We must seek our fathers’ council first and then approval from the other males in the southern provinces.” Singeh paced back and forth in front of his lounging brother. Barin had snorted, then sneezed his opinion of that. He was not the diplomat his littermate was, allowing Singeh to take the lead in such matters. Besides, Singeh was Crown Prince and would be king someday when their liege passed to the next world. “My brother, you and I know that such diplomacy is just a formality. We have all heard and taken part in conversations with the other males during Tournament. They all desire the ability to find more females to breed. Entire lines are failing and dying out due to the females now selecting their mates. I don’t think any of them would care if they have to settle for an alien to breed as long as they can continue their line." Singeh stopped in front of the open windows that led from his brother’s chambers out onto the balcony. “Then we are agreed? I will approach our fathers with the idea and they can contact the rest of the ruling families. Being we are the largest and wealthiest clan on the planet, we can be the ones to represent our world to the Alliance. Once we are there we can use their extensive medical archives to find the species that can successfully breed with ours.” Barin sat up and addressed his brother’s back as Singeh stared out upon the range of mountains that surrounded the palace. “You intend to take Lortin with us.” It wasn’t a question, but Singeh answered him just the same. “Of course.” He turned back to meet his littermate’s gaze, a curl lifting one side of his muzzle. “I will tell the fathers that Lortin is vital to our mission. He can study all the species of the Alliance as well as those known but not a part of the collective to find the best breeding matches." Within weeks they had received approval from the planetary council. The first message

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was sent to the Alliance which extended an invitation to attend the next intergalactic governing session to plead their case. Both Singeh and Barin blessed the Gods that the females on their planet had never been interested in politics and had left the governing to the males of their species. ***** Singeh made his way from the restaurant and turned towards their lodging at one of the more luxurious hotels at the Starbase. He and his siblings chafed in what they perceived as barely adequate rooms. None were like their palace with its wide rooms carved into the mountain. Neither did the hotel rooms have the high expanse of windows that revealed the deep valleys they ruled. They felt stifled and hemmed in by the metallic walls and floors that surrounded them in this place. Singeh growled his name at the security device embedded in the door and almost plowed into the panel before it slid open. He stopped dead in the entryway, his nostrils flaring wide as the scents in the suite assaulted his nose. Singeh’s velvety ears flickered back and forth as he caught the faint sounds coming from Barin’s rooms down the long hallway to his left. He strode across the common room and followed the sounds to the door of Barin’s room. He thrust it open on a scene which he had interrupted almost daily for the last week. Barin had another strange female upon the floor and Singeh’s eyes cataloged the species his brother was feataing with. He didn’t recognize her kind as one Lortin had shown being compatible with them. She was a variable shade of green all over her body, her skin rough and scaly. She had no body hair at all, but she did posses a fascinating tail-like appendage sprouting low on her back. The only other colors he saw about her person was the flash of red irises when her eyes opened and she looked at him right before her head dropped back onto the floor. His eyes were drawn to the other bright color, a deep purplish slash below her tail that Barin’s erect penis repeatedly speared. Try as he might, Singeh couldn’t tell if her body had any other openings besides her mouth and the apparently general purpose one that appeared to function as her priti. “Barin,” his voice curious, “is that her priti or are you sheathing your fal e’ tele in her backside?” Barin, aware the moment his littermate entered the room, kept to his pace of long slow thrusts in and out of the Aluriean female. His chest panted with his efforts. He spared his brother a glance before he returned his attention to the fascinating sight of his thick black fal e’ tele as it disappeared once more into the female’s body. “I have no idea, Singeh. I think it is both.” Barin snarled in their chest rumbling language. He let loose a long reverberating purr of pleasure as he pulled back and delved deep again into the brightly colored opening. “You must shed your leathers and join us, brother. God’s claws! Her sheath is so hot it’s almost scalding my fal e’ tele!” Singeh watched for a long moment more as Barin apparently pleasured the scaly female. Try as he might, drawing deep into his olfactory glands the scent of the Feata, keeping his eyes on the glistening opening and his littermate’s repeated plowing of the female’s flesh, he felt not one shred of arousal. His fal e’ tele never threatened to swell past the protective sheath that kept it safe inside his groin. “I think not, Barin. When you finish experimenting with this female, join me. We need to talk about your absence at the council sessions.” His tone clearly

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Chapter Two The space station floated lonely in the void, equally distanced from the many assorted Empires, Federations and Solar Unions it served. It sat silently on the outskirts of a benign solar system that held no political or scientific importance except for its proximity to the station. Starbase Eight appeared beautiful in its own unique way, spinning on its axis with its arms reaching out into the surrounding space. It grew larger in the windows of the lounge as the ship came ever closer to its destination. The blue sun behind the Starbase sent beams of delicately hued light that framed the massive structure. The size of the station was deceptive. Soon it filled the wall of windows until nothing else could be seen. As they slowed their approach, various space vehicles zipped around the exterior of the Starbase. Ships large and small queued for the chance to dock. A monotone voice spoke behind the short figure standing alone at the windows. “We will be docking in 5:32.637 minutes, Miss Wilson. Are you ready to depart?” The bright glow of her hair caught the light from the windows and reflected on her thin face, creating a halo of reddish hues. She had pulled her long mane of natural curls away from her face with a clip, but the shear volume that refused to be tamed overwhelmed her features. She was not a beautiful woman and most humans kindly called her plain. Some would have labeled her homely. She numbered herself among that small percentage. She had few illusions about her looks or lack thereof. She considered her eyes to be her best feature, standing out a brilliant green against the freckles that spread over her face. They sometimes pulled other’s eyes from her dramatic overbite and the expanse of exposed teeth she couldn’t disguise. Mary Jane Wilson turned her attention from the uninspiring sight of her face and the spectacle she had been watching to the android who had been assigned to her on her arrival aboard the ship. “Considering the fact that I don’t have anything, I am ready whenever you are..." She hesitated. She never quite knew how to address a machine, even one that looked almost as human as she did. After her long stay aboard and her daily contact with the android, she still stumbled over its name. The last few weeks had been a nightmare of untold proportions. She had thought she had known a sense of aloneness that most people could never understand. Even a life lived completely solitary, where she had only herself to depend on, had not prepared her for the terror of finding herself yanked from not only her home and her planet, but her own time. Everything familiar had disappeared in one bright flash of light when she had found herself the victim of a deranged scientist’s illegal experiments. Waking in an unfamiliar room, unable to move, she had at first thought she was in the hospital. Her last memory of a non-descript bag lying under the park bench and exploding in a burst of blinding white light and heat made her think she had become just one more victim of terrorists. She had quickly been disabused of that when a horrifying visage hovered over her head speaking in an unknown rush of gibberish before it proceeded to poke and prod her restrained body. Her experience so far in the future had led to new knowledge. If anyone had questioned her before her abduction by the Siminan scientist, she would have said aliens were like humans

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only from a different planet. Like Mr. Spock in Star Trek. Most, like the Siminans, were very odd looking and very scary. Almost none had the same values and morals of the human race and few could be counted upon to care one way or another about one lost human being. Fortunately, she had been rescued two days into her captivity, but not before she had suffered some truly painful experiments. At least the deranged scientist had not caused any permanent damage. The rescuing Siminans had contacted Earth once her origins had been confirmed and a military patrol ship had been rerouted to pick her up. It wasn’t until she had been interviewed by the ship’s commanding officer that she learned she had not only been removed from Earth, she had been brought forward over 400 years into the future. One look at her shocked face and the Commander turned her over to the medical officer’s care and assigned the android to her during her stay on board. As she left, Mary Jane overheard him mutter, “…and Lt. ALPHA-59, keep her out of my way." She had vowed then and there not to get in anyone’s way and for the most part, she succeeded. She spent the time during their travel from Simin to Starbase Eight in her quarters except for when she was dragged from there to be examined by the medical personal or the psychiatrist who gave her therapy to ease her transition into the future. Once she had discovered the computer terminals and the extensive library, she learned all she could of what had become of Earth and more of the new intergalactic universe and its laws and politics. She had at first chafed against the long trip as the ship returned to its mission and its patrol, but then she blessed the extra time to learn all she could of what she would have to face once she was in the hands of the ruling council. “Then shall we proceed to the hanger where we will board a shuttle for the short voyage to the base?“ Lt. ALPHA-59 motioned with his arm for Mary Jane to precede him from the lounge. “Why are we taking another ship to the base? Can’t we just leave through a door or something?“ she asked puzzled, looking back over her shoulder at the android as she walked through the lounge doors into the busy passageway. She stopped, waiting for his answer and directions. She had little experience with the layout of the ship and had no clue about the location of the hanger. ALPHA-59 paused next to her and cocked his head sideways in a habitual pose as he thought, or as Mary Jane called it, processed information. She knew the android was searching his memory banks and considering the best answer to her question. The android finally answered, his head resuming its normal upright position. He indicated the direction he wanted her to go. “The area of the base where I am to hand over responsibility for you to the social services representative is located at the opposite section of the base to where we are assigned to dock. We could enter the base through the docking bay, but the resulting trip would take an estimated 48.437 minutes longer than using a shuttle.“ Mary Jane’s heart sank as she headed down the passageway. The unfortunate choice of words by Lt. ALPHA-59 reminded her that she always had been a responsibility for someone when she had been young. First, she was in the orphanage. Then she had been labeled as un-adoptable and passed through numerous hands as she was shuffled around the foster system. Once she had matured and passed out of the system, she had promised herself never to

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be someone’s burden again. She was determined not to become one now. They arrived at the hanger bay without speaking again and she looked at the assorted vehicles sitting in rows waiting for their passengers. She wasn’t surprised when the android walked to one of the very smallest of them. There was barely room for the two of them inside the small space. She consoled herself with the knowledge that they wouldn’t be in the confined area for long. She was right. Within seconds, they lifted off and spun around to face the wide bay doors as they slowly opened upon the scene outside of the docked ship. They slipped into the zipping traffic causing her to gasp and clench her eyes shut when the little shuttle barely missed several other craft as they moved in and around the ship. “You can open your eyes now, Miss Wilson,” Lt. ALPHA-59 commented as he maneuvered the shuttle onto the landing pad that would lead them into the main arrival processing station. Mary Jane gave the android a sheepish look as she pried her fingers from her seat and sat up straight. Her heart continued to pound. She wiped her palms down her pant legs as she took a look around her. She grew more and more nervous as they came closer to the moment she would be handed over to someone else. There was a surprisingly normal looking human woman waiting just beyond the end of the gangway as they disembarked. Tall, thin and lanky, her graying hair held no attempt to hold back the signs of age. The woman’s face was a little grim and grew more so as her eyes looked Mary Jane up and down. When her gaze lingered on Mary Jane’s face and her thin lips tightened, Mary Jane’s heart sank for the second time in the last half an hour. The woman turned her sour face towards the android and addressed him. “Lt., I will take Miss Wilson off your hands now.” Her voice was as chilly as her gaze had been. She held out a hand and took the small disk the android produced from a hidden pocket. Once he handed over the file, Lt. ALPHA-59 turned to Mary Jane and excused himself. She watched him go, suddenly feeling very alone and at a loss. She hadn’t felt close emotionally to the android during her stay aboard the military space ship, but he had been her only link to everything beyond her quarters. He had taught her how to navigate the computer terminal in her quarters and suggested a curriculum that had helped her immensely during her first weeks at acclimating to her situation. If you could call her acclimated. She had no clue where she was going or what she was going to do with her life. For some reason she had thought that the powers that be would just fire up their equipment and send her home in another flash of light, but she had been disabused of that rather quickly by her android. There were no easy answers to her problem, it had told her. The insane scientist couldn’t recreate the experiment that had brought her so far from earth and her time. Apparently her future was now in the hands of more than a thousand representatives of the planets that made up the Alliance that governed the explored areas of the galaxy. Here, during the latest session of the delegates, the direction of her life would be decided. Mary Jane was determined to choose her own path and not leave the details of her future to the unknown species that made up the majority of the alliance. Species that could not possibly understand her very human emotions and needs. She could use the opportunity while staying at the Starbase to find possible employment and to keep learning all she could about the workings of the law that now governed the galaxy. “Miss Wilson!” The impatient voice broke through her mental ramblings and she turned

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vague eyes onto the irritated face of the woman she had been left with. A deep sigh preceded an introduction. “I’m Luella McBride, Miss Wilson. I have been assigned by the Secretary of Intergalactic Affairs to your case. If you will come with me, I will take you to your new quarters and get you settled.” She didn’t wait as Mary Jane answered, “Pleased to meet you.” She took off at a brisk pace, weaving her way through the throngs of people disembarking from their crafts and heading off in a purposeful manner. Mary Jane couldn’t help but stare at some of the more outlandish specimens of aliens that walked, bounded, slithered or just plain undulated around her. She had looked up some of the different species that made up the membership of the Alliance and she thought she recognized one or two of them, but there were simply some that caused her to stop dead in her tracks and gape in amazement. “Miss Wilson, for heaven’s sake. You are going to offend the Albrian Ambassador if you do not stop staring at him in that fashion. Really, didn’t Lt. ALPHA-59 teach you anything?” Miss McBride snorted in disgust. “I’m sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t mean to offend anyone. It’s just…well everything and everyone is so…so strange to me. I’m sure they would understand that, wouldn’t they?” Mary Jane asked quietly. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that, Miss Wilson. Most of the beings that make up the Alliance don’t understand anything about humans and we are the minority here. Some of the Planets represented here have belonged to the Alliance for close to a thousand years. We are the newcomers and unfortunately, we are expected to conform to their ways not the other way around. Human ideals are strange to them and even though we hold a vote in chambers, we are not of the majority. You would do well to remember that and act accordingly.” Miss McBride glared at her before turning and walking briskly through the crowd. Mary Jane fought the temptation to stare around her and kept her eyes directly on Luella McBride’s back as she followed her across the room and down a series of passageways. They continued on through three or four hubs where intersecting passages branched off in all directions. She was hopelessly lost when Miss McBride stopped at one intersection that seemed to encompass a large commercial section of the Starbase. “This is one of the centers for commerce, Miss Wilson. You will be given a credit chip for purchases and seeing that you are wearing a general issue work uniform, I would suggest you take advantage of the ability to buy some decent clothing. Your new quarters are just down the right passageway at one of the more modest hostels.” The woman took off again, striding briskly down the right hand passage. Mary Jane had hardly caught up when the woman stopped again outside of a discreetly marked door. The nameplate listed the place in a number of different symbols with one very easily deciphered picture of a stick person lying upon what appeared to be a bed. Miss McBride hesitated long enough to make sure that Mary Jane was behind her before she plunged through the automatic doors. The check in procedure was painless and soon Mary Jane found herself in her small room. A quick walkthrough by the proprietor revealed the bathroom attached to her room and the minuscule food replicator in the wall next to a flat table where she could take her meals. There was little else to the room to capture her attention. The furnishings were bland along

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with the decor, obviously meant to be suitable for any biped being without offending said being’s sensibilities. “I will leave you now to make yourself comfortable, Miss Wilson. You have an appointment with the Secretary General of the Alliance mid morning tomorrow to discuss your case and the steps he considers appropriate to remedy your situation. You are probably going to be required to attend any session of the council that discusses your problem and the possible resolutions.” After giving Mary Jane the benefit of her opinion of which shops she should try and handing over the credit chip, Luella McBride left rather abruptly. She sat down on one of the chairs next to the table, sighed deeply and dropped her head on her folded arms resting on the flat surface. She had no idea if, or when, Miss McBride would come back for her and although she didn’t like the woman, she found she was hoping that at least she would come and show her the way to her appointment in the morning. There was no way she would ever find her way there without an escort. Shaking off her gloomy thoughts, she got up and left the room. She needed clothing and she knew the other woman was right. She couldn’t spend however long she was destined to be at the Starbase wearing the same general issue coveralls she had arrived in. The shops Miss McBride mentioned were all easily found, but she was left in a quandary about what was considered appropriate to wear. All the styles that were displayed on holographic models were either very skimpy in her opinion or far too colorful. She didn’t like attracting attention to herself with bright colors and there was no way she would bare that much skin for anyone to look at. After several repeated attempts to get a clerk’s attention, she finally succeeded and requested some styles that were more modest. The clerk loaded a flat shiny disk into a viewer. It contained images of numerous styles that were more discreet and a lot less colorful. Mary Jane spent several minutes checking out a number of styles with the clerk’s help. She chose several bland everyday outfits where she would blend into her surroundings and then asked the question uppermost in her mind. “Where is the library? Can I check out books there for study?” Receiving directions from the clerk, she wore one of her new everyday outfits from the store and made her way to the closest library. She had little trouble finding the texts she needed, but wasn’t able to check them out due to the fact she didn’t have a permanent identity chip. Sitting down at one of the empty viewers, she slipped the first disk into the slot and began to search for any cases that might pertain to her situation.

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Chapter Three Barin eased his leathers over his heavy thighs and buttocks, then worked the strings through the closures and pulled the material tight. He reached for his shirt and began to slide his arms into the sleeves when his gaze snagged on the Aluriean female curled upon the floor. Fascinated, he watched as she dipped her head between her legs and cleaned herself of the combined fluids from their body’s releases. Her long, thin tongue lapped repeatedly at her now swollen slit until it was free of the mixture of clear and clouded liquids that coated her glands. He shrugged his shirt over his shoulders and laced it lazily as the female finished her grooming and stretched her long body before she stood and began to dress. She seemed to cover herself more from necessity than from modesty. After all, Barin mused, she had quickly shed her clothing once they had entered his room, baring her unusual body to his gaze. They hadn’t spoken more than two or three words to each other since she followed him back to his suite. They perhaps would have said more had they spoken the same language, Barin thought. He regretted the fact that he had left that afternoon without his translator attached to his ear. But it hadn’t seemed to matter. The Aluriean was as curious about him as he had been about her. She preceded him from the room and he saw her out of the suite past his littermate’s lounging figure on one of the common room’s sofas. Singeh had shot him an aggravated look as they passed, causing Barin to give his brother a glimpse of one sharp incisor as he lifted a lip in answer. Singeh was not as relaxed as he appeared. Once the door slid shut behind the female, Barin sauntered back into the common room and eased his body down onto one of the matching chairs across from Singeh. He curled into a loose ball and waited for his brother’s admonishments. He didn’t have to wait long. “What are you trying to do, Barin? Destroy our efforts completely?” Singeh snarled at his littermate. “Come now, Singeh, how could I do such a thing? For simply sampling the delights that flourish on the Starbase?” Barin waved his hand dismissively. Singeh leaped from his position in one bound and stood over his brother’s curled form. His voice was harsh with his anger and he clenched his hands, his unsheathed claws puncturing his palms. “Sampling the delights of the Starbase? Rutting like an uncouth Mevanain snoft dog you mean! Must you Feata with almost any and every female that crosses your path? Your absence and that of Lortin is being remarked upon, along with your dubious activities.” Barin lifted both lips and bared his impressive set of sharp teeth, but backed down from Singeh as he loosed a more frightening display coupled with a savage roar. Singeh paced the common room, snarling his displeasure with the room’s dimensions and with his siblings. “God’s teeth, Barin. What am I to do with the pair of you? Lortin refuses to Feata with any female and you refuse to test any of the species that we could breed with. If you must spread the legs of females and explore their anatomy, could you not confine yourself to the

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ones who matter to us the most?” Barin’s dark face scrunched and he sneezed his disapproval of his brother’s suggestions. “Confine myself to what?” Another deep rumbling sneeze, a clear sign of Rasalasian disgust, exploded from Barin’s nostrils. “Voltarians might be able to accept our seed and birth our young, but they are quite impossible to Feata with. The female’s priti is placed so awkwardly I cannot see how we can successfully breed with them. Xiphanians are more easily acceptable as far as the physical mating, but Lortin says they would never mate all three of us. Their laws forbid it.” When he said no more, Singeh mentioned the other species that they might be able to bring back to Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad. “And humans? What is your objection to them?” When Barin didn’t answer and ducked his head away from Singeh’s perceptive gaze, he pushed him harder. “Barin? I will have your answer now.” Barin didn’t lift his head, but he did mumble his reply. Singeh had to lean closer and his ears tilted forward to capture the low voice, but he heard him clearly. “They are ugly.” Frowning, Singeh repeated Barin’s statement. “They are ugly? You refuse because they are ugly?” Singeh’s voice rose to another roar. “What excuse is that? I have witnessed your ability to Feata with any female who waves her priti under your nose. Princess Laita, remember her? She was fat and her muzzle was pocked with the most hideous blemishes and you were most enthusiastic as you repeatedly proved your stamina in the bed furs.” Barin’s languid pose disappeared as he leapt from his chair, his roar as loud as his littermate. “Yes, they are ugly! Ugly, repulsive, and disgusting. They are flat faced, fur less, and the most stinking examples of any alien species I have ever had the misfortune to meet. I refuse to mate one, Singeh. I refuse to even consider one to take home.” Singeh stared at his brother as he bellowed his objections. He sighed soundlessly. He really didn’t blame Barin. Once Lortin had brought the preliminary results of his research back to the suite, he had cringed at the revolting pictures of the human species. Of course, should they prove to be the only choice, he would do his duty and implore the Gods for kits who would resemble the fathers instead of their mother. And plead for the Gods to make sure he was able to perform his duty once he was in the bed furs. His voice gentled as he moved close to his littermate and cuffed him on his shoulder. “Regardless, Barin, you will attend the council session with me and Lortin tomorrow. They are balking at accepting our inclusion and we must show a united front together. We must find a way to get the members to agree to our joining their ranks and perhaps with their assistance we may find other species who are more compatible, if not more palatable, eh?” ***** Mary Jane dressed carefully for her appearance in the Council’s General Chambers. She had donned the loose trousers and slipped the tunic over her head and twitched it into place. A boring neutral color, she was swamped by the outfit and she would have faded into the background except for her bright hair. Once she slid her small feet into the ankle boots she stopped and wiggled her toes, enjoying the unbelievable feel of the soft buttery leather like material as it molded to her feet. She swiveled in her chair and faced the mirror over the small desk. Wrinkling her nose

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at her reflection, she barely glanced at her features and concentrated on the wealth of red hair sticking out in all directions. Clean and shinning, Mary Jane’s deep red curls were almost untamable. She had mistakenly thought once as a teenager that if she cut it short and had it layered her hair would be more manageable. She ended up looking like she had been electrocuted. The cruel taunts and laughter insured she never cut her hair again. Wet, her curls now reached below her buttocks but they always pulled up into tight spirals as they dried, quickly springing up around her face. Years of practice had her fingers flying over her scalp weaving her hair into a French braid that reached down her back to her waist. Once her hair was finished, she tried to tuck the ever present errant curls back into the tight weave. She soon gave up, catching sight of the time. She was to meet the Secretary of Intergalactic Affairs in less than a half an hour at the Council Chambers. Dread crept up her spine as she remembered her meeting that morning with the Secretary. She didn’t understand exactly why she just couldn’t return to Earth. She was human after all, and that was where she belonged. The Secretary tried to explain that had the scientist who had brought her forward in time been on Earth, she would be under human jurisdiction. But, since it was the Siminans who caused her predicament, and they were liable under the Intergalactic Alliance authority, the General Council would have to decide what to do about her situation. It all seemed rather pointless, she thought. In her mind the most logical thing to do would be to find a way to send her home, preferably to her own time. At least she felt more comfortable back in the 21st century. Hurrying with Secretary Daniels directions in her hand, Mary Jane arrived at the entrance to the Council Chambers. There was a long line of person’s slowly passing through the security checkpoint and she stopped to look around and find the Secretary. A strange clicking noise erupted behind her causing her to jump, then whirl around. Her eyes widened, startled by the pair of…well…insects standing right on her heels. They continued to click their front appendages at her and when she only stared at them, her head tipped back to take in their extraordinary height, they began to chirp rather excitedly. “For heaven’s sake, Miss Wilson, you’re blocking the Probisous and holding up the line. Get out of the way before they pinch your head off,” came the voice of Miss McBride from somewhere to her right. She hastily moved out of the way and quietly apologized to the irritated insects. “Oh, I beg your pardon.” Miss McBride took Mary Jane’s arm and pulled her further away from the surging crowd. She stopped a few feet away and pulled her closer. Miss McBride’s hand dipped inside a pocket in her jacket and she drew out several items. One, a glowing disc like pin, she attached to the collar of Mary Jane’s tunic. “This is your identity disc with your clearance into the Council Chambers general sessions. Make sure you don’t lose it and never forget it or they won’t allow you in.” Once the disc was secured, Miss McBride lifted the other piece of technology from her deep pocket. Mary Jane had a glimpse of a shinning piece of metal that was looped in intricate

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swirls before the older woman clipped it to the whorls in her ear. It pinched the shell of her ear and she grimaced as Miss McBride inserted something in her ear canal. “Stand still!” Miss McBride cautioned her. “Don’t move, Miss Wilson. There…that will do.” Miss McBride stood back and eyed her up and down. “That is a translator. We will activate it once you are in chambers. It will translate any of the languages spoken by any of the delegates into 21st century English. Secretary Daniels ordered one preprogrammed for you so you could understand what is going on during the session.” “Do you know when he will present my case?” she asked, nervous at facing the entire Alliance. “I believe he has requested the Chief Delegate to allow him to do that first thing in this afternoon’s session. It’s not going to be popular, I’ve got to warn you. There are issues the Council has been arguing for weeks and you are going to interrupt them. Some members are not going to be happy,” Miss McBride stated almost gleefully. When had anyone ever been happy with her, she wondered. Shrugging off Miss McBride’s warning, Mary Jane followed the woman as she headed off in the opposite direction from the long line. She stopped at a different door where fewer people were waiting and she spotted the Secretary obviously waiting for them. “Are you ready, Miss Wilson?” he asked, not offering a hand and not really looking at her either as he gestured for her to precede him through the doorway. Two giants stood on either side of the open doors, their faces hidden by the intricate helmets they wore. Their skins were a sickly gray shade and appeared to be rough in texture, but it was the shear bulk of muscle that she could see that convinced her that it would be wise not to bother them. Once they moved through the doors, she hung back to let the Secretary lead the way. The room echoed with voices covered in layers. Shrill shrieks overrode low growls and snarls that almost hid the very normal sounds of more human types of languages. The din was overwhelming, but it was her first sight of the delegates gathered around the huge room that had her stopped in stunned amazement. Set much like a theater in the round, the Chief Delegate with his committee leaders had podiums in the center and the representatives spread out in tiers along the walls. It was an impressive sight. Secretary Daniels told her there were more than a thousand member planets in the Alliance, but she knew there were far more people than that in this chamber. Each planet had two or three representatives plus each delegate’s personal staff. The room was not only crowded with delegates and their employees, there was a gallery set above the chambers where tourists and citizens could watch the proceedings. She was pulled from her stunned stillness when Miss McBride grasped her elbow and led her to one section on a lower tier where there were no planetary designations in front of the seats. Each chair along the long row was taken up by various persons who would be petitioning the Alliance for their cause, either personal or political. Miss McBride pushed her into a box that was empty and told her to stay there until someone came for her after the daily session was over. Left alone, Mary Jane looked around the large room, her eyes skipping over the varied and different species that filled the chairs in all the tiers. So different, so unusual, sometimes they were almost fanciful creatures of a warped

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god’s imagination. There were reptilian species, insect like species, and even some strange creatures that appeared to be parts of a number of different species. Her eyes rested on several that appeared mostly human like and wondered where they came from. Suddenly, the translator in her ear came to life and the surrounding wall of noise separated into recognizable speech. All the babble turned amazingly easy to hear, unfortunately for Mary Jane. She could hear the speculation as Alliance members commented about her case. Her heart sank as she realized every word that she heard was not positive. Disgruntled comments were interspaced with snide remarks concerning her petition. It seemed no one was feeling any compassion for one lone displaced human being. A door opened abruptly at one side of the room and seven different beings walked through it towards the center dais in the room. The assembled members quickly took their assigned seats. The rumbles, grumbles, squeaks and chirps ended as silence descended on the Council General Chambers. All seven members on the dais took a seat behind their podiums as the tall, thin alien in rather colorful robes stood behind the center pedestal. Mary Jane’s eyes were not on his commanding presence but on a man seated to the far right of the Chief Delegate. Secretary Daniels was one of the members of the Inner Council. No wonder her case was being presented so soon, she thought. Once the members settled into their seats, the Chief Delegate activated a panel on the front of his podium and the silence echoed with his voice as he called the afternoon’s business into session. “Gentle Beings, the 16th session of the General Council stardate 1413.6 is now called to order. We have changed this afternoon’s agenda as per the request of the honorable Secretary of Intergalactic Affairs for Earth." The grumbles began again and she could feel each and every eye in the chamber zero in on her seat. Embarrassed color flooded her cheeks and she ducked her head. The Chief Delegate’s voice droned on for several minutes while she tried to overcome her shy reaction to the attention from the multitude of faces looking at her. Once the Secretary of Intergalactic Affairs stood and control of the floor was placed into his hands, the seas of probing eyes turned to listen to his long-winded speech. Mary Jane lifted her flushed face from her chest and slowly squared her shoulders. She was determined to listen and hopefully take part in whatever discussion came about. It was her life they were going to try and decide and Mary Jane was resolved to have some say in her future. She felt her face slowly drained of the excess color as everyone’s attention focused on the Secretary’s words. It didn’t take long for the color to come rushing back as she felt other eyes staring at her face again. Almost all of the delegates were watching the Secretary, but she could feel the intense gaze of someone else in the room. Sucking her top lip over her prominent teeth, she swallowed hard and tried to ignore the impulse to turn and stare back at whoever was watching her so intently. She took a deep breath and stiffened her spine, clenching her trembling hands into fists on her thighs.

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Chapter Four Singeh followed his reluctant siblings back into the Council Chambers. It had been an unbelievably boring morning session in chambers and when they had broken for a mid day meal, it had taken all of his considerable control not to thrash his brothers. Barin had point blankly refused to return to chambers after the meal break once they learned that their petition was being delayed again, this time by a human problem. Singeh had threatened to confine Barin to their ship docked far from the social areas of the Starbase before his littermate agreed to return. It did not stop his annoying rumbling, but it had stopped his verbal complaints. Lortin had said nothing, but his silence was eloquent. He had tried once or twice to convince his eldest brother that he would best serve his family by returning to the extensive library on the base, but Singeh told him in no uncertain terms that he would join his brother locked in their ship if he persisted. They were late arriving and had barely made their way to the petitioners tier when the Inner Seven had entered the chambers. Singeh growled his impatience at his brothers pace, almost pushing them into the only empty seats left. He made sure that both Barin and Lortin preceded him into the box leaving him to block any attempt by the two to leave early. The admonishing looks by their immediate neighbors had Singeh curling a lip as he hastily slipped a translator into his ear. He paid only partial attention as the Chief Delegate announced the afternoon agenda. He watched Lortin adjust his own earpiece to listen. Barin had slouched down into his seat with his arms over his chest and his long legs stretched out, crossed ankles resting on the top of the box wall. His eyes were defiantly closed and the smirk that tipped his lips clued Singeh into his rebelliousness. He was not going to do more than grace the chambers with his presence and he refused to appear the least bit interested in what the members of the Alliance would think. The Chief Delegate finished his short speech and relinquished control of the floor to the member delegate from Earth. As the human began to speak and the entire room’s attention focused elsewhere, Singeh leaned forward in his seat and yanked his littermate’s legs from the top of the box wall. When Barin turned a snarling face on his brother, Singeh was waiting with a furious expression of his own. One that warned his sibling that he would brook no nonsense from him and that he expected obedience. Barin was bigger and perhaps stronger, but Singeh was the Crown Prince and his station was higher than that of his littermate. A lifetime of conceding to his brother’s wishes was well ingrained and Barin subsided. Singeh started to sit back and focus on the delegate from Earth as he explained his important petition. The rest of the assembly settled back into their seats to concentrate on the center podium, giving Singeh a sudden clear view of the profile of a female sitting at the other end of the petitioner’s tier. Heat shot through his chest and then settled immediately in his groin. A startled and aroused low pitched purr escaped his throat as Singeh froze, his eyes narrowing on the delicate features that were turned from his gaze. His ferocious expression melted into a look of awe, his eyes wide and amazed. “Exquisite,” Singeh breathed low in his native language, drawing his brothers’ attention. Both

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looked at the intent expression on Singeh’s face. Noting the direction of his gaze, they leaned forward to see just what had caused his unusual reaction. Neither one had the chance to see as Singeh’s arm shot out and he shoved both siblings back out of his line of sight. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the small features that he willed to turn completely to face him. His eyes narrowed further as he cataloged the female’s extraordinarily beautiful face. Her nose was long and thin and aristocratically elegant. Her skin although unadorned by fur, was a delightful pink color. But it was her muzzle that captured his gaze time and time again as he looked his fill. He watched as her upper lip pulled down over her magnificent teeth hiding them from his sight and his eyes explored the delicate curve of her lower jaw and its sharp pointed chin. When she released the top lip and her teeth gleamed in the light, Singeh felt his fal e’ tele threaten to unsheathe in his leathers. Barin’s voice growled in his ear, “Singeh, what are you staring at?” And when he received no answer, he demanded Singeh's attention, his hand vice-like on his littermate's arm. “Singeh! You are causing others to look upon us with your rumbles.” And Singeh was rumbling. Long low vibrations of pleasure, sounds made deep in his chest. Neither brother failed to spot Singeh’s long fingers as they dropped to his crotch and pressed against the swelling telltale bulge. Singeh finally turned to them, his gaze still filled with awe and his voice reverent. They both turned to see what their brother had witnessed. “She’s…she’s perfect. We must find a way to convince her to return home with us for the Tal e’ Feata and persuade her to mate us.” Barin’s eyes, along with Lortin’s, had found the object of Singeh’s sudden desire to acquire a mate. Although they had participated in the Tal e’ Feata many times, both Singeh and Barin had known that no female of their species would consent to mate without Lortin reaching maturity. They had staved off any serious interest by any female by slipping in the second day of testing. There had been no spectacular failures that would alert the fathers that they were deliberately trying to dissuade a female from mating, but they pulled their strength just enough to appear clumsy or slow. Both brothers’ eyes froze on the sight of the female. They both knew she was human, but she didn’t resemble any of the others aboard or the pictures available. Eyes riveted on her superb features, Barin was the first to comment on her hair. “Brothers, look at her mane!" He breathed reverently. “Why does she conceal such magnificence? Where have they been hiding such beauty? I didn’t know humans were truly such lovely creatures.” Lortin gulped loudly as he tore his gaze from the female. He was not as well versed in control as his older siblings and he had become immediately hard at the sight of her. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and forced himself to look at his brothers and not the female. Excitement tinged his voice as he growled his approval of Singeh’s choice. Fear tinted his eyes as he thought to his two previous attempts at the Tal e’ Feata, but he could not ignore the look in Singeh’s eyes. He had already claimed this female as theirs, now it was up to the three of them to secure her desire to be their mate. Singeh looked at Barin and Lortin and saw the same swirl of heat that swept through his body echoing in their eyes. They wanted her also and he couldn’t resist the teasing that

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escaped his mouth. “But Barin, she will stink. You said humans stink. How will you Feata with her?” Barin showed an impressive set of sharp teeth as he snapped back at his brother. “Then I shall douse her in the sweetest perfume I can find, but I shall breed her when the time comes." Singeh’s eyes were pulled back to the human female. He could find no repulsion at her fur less state, but Barin was right in one thing. Her mane was as exquisite as her face. He found he was glad she had not left it loose for any other males to admire. He wanted the sight of her mane flowing over her body to belong to only them and his arousal kicked up another notch as he imagined her long mane caressing his body as they completed the ritual mating. “Lortin, go now. Find out who she is and where they keep her hidden.” Singeh grasped his brother’s arm as he passed and stopped him for a second as he lowered his voice to his quietest pitch. “I want to know everything about her by the evening meal.” Once Lortin left the chambers, Singeh and Barin kept a close eye on the female that they were going to claim. They kept a sharper ear on the proceedings once arguments and objections erupted around them as the delegates began to debate what they were going to do about the female. The littermates shared an identical look as they both turned and gazed at each other. There was no debate to them, she would be their mate and she would live on Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad. ***** Mary Jane shuddered as the session drew to a close. She had resisted the urge several times to remove her translator as the words of a number of the delegates rang in her ears. It was one thing to suspect that no one cared what happened to you, but another to hear it shouted out loud in a room filled with people. As the afternoon wore on endlessly, her resolve to have a hand in her own fate stiffened with each outburst from one planetary member to the next. She didn’t see the necessity for her to come again to the chamber sessions, at least not until she could do some research into her rights. Once the General Council had finally agreed to shelve her petition until further review, she saw the opportunity for time to find some way to convince someone to allow her to return home and seek human help with her problem. The members began to file from their seats once the seven members in the center had left the room. Some began to gather together in the middle of the room to stand talking, creating a wall between her and the exit from the chambers. Mary Jane sat quietly in her seat and stared at her clasped hands, waiting for either Miss McBride or the Secretary of IA to come and get her. After a few minutes, she decided to go back to her room at the inn. She could still feel the uncomfortable sensation of eyes on her and she just wanted to get away from the entire room of babbling voices. She had just stepped a few feet from the dividing wall onto the chamber floor when a large pair of feet encased in strange scaly boots appeared in her line of vision. Since they were directly in front of her, she had to stop walking or risk running into the boot’s wearer. When they didn’t attempt to move, Mary Jane stepped back and gasped when she bumped into a rock hard body standing behind her. A strange sensation caused her stomach to drop and her knees to shake at the feel of hard warm flesh against her back. Her gaze flew up and up, startling her

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when a golden pair of narrowed eyes captured her. She just stared for a few flustered seconds into the eyes of the being blocking her way. She had stepped forward when she had bumped the person behind her, but this creature was not moving to allow her to leave. Caught between two warm bodies, she was shocked by the burst of arousal that flowed over her and settled between her thighs as she felt herself grow wet. Her eyes finally focused on its…his face. He was quite handsome in an alien way. His hands and face were lightly covered with short downy looking fur that was almost as golden as his slanted eyes. His face was broad at his forehead, but his mouth and jaw were tapered into a short muzzle that looked even softer than his body hair. It was a lighter color and contrasted dramatically with his reddened lips and much darker golden colored fur. But it was his magnificent mane of dark yellowed hair tipped in black that framed his good looks perfectly. It took Mary Jane a few moments before she became aware that the creature’s gaze was roaming over her face rather intently. She felt an embarrassing flush wash over her neck and face. She ducked her head, stepping sideways to get away from the two bodies that had her hemmed in. They both mirrored her movements causing her to freeze. She took a shaky breath and looked over her shoulder at the intimidating wall of flesh that blocked her back. Her eyes widened with fear as she took in the appearance of the other creature right behind her. It was staring just as intently at her and she registered the look of surprise that flashed in its golden gaze. This one was just as feline looking as the one in front of her, but he was much taller and broader. He was as dark as the other was fair, his shining coat a deep black color without the large mane of his companion. Where the first alien was differing tones of fair to golden, this one had no break in his coloring. Except for his fierce gold eyes and equally fierce looking teeth, there was no color to him at all. She looked back at the creature in front of her when her translator sprang to life in her ear and she realized that he was speaking to her. “I…I beg your pardon? I didn’t hear what you just said,” Mary Jane spoke flustered, nervous and leery. “It is I that should apologize, Gentle Lady. It was not mine or my brother’s intention to frighten you. We only wished to introduce ourselves to you and perhaps be allowed to learn of you?” Singeh spoke soothingly, somehow aware that the normal growls, rumbles and snarls that made up their native language could be interpreted differently by a human. “I am Singeh Ak’ El Bakkar and behind you is my brother Barin Ak’ Sel Bakkar. We are Rasalasians from the planet Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad. We, too, are petitioning the Alliance and have met with little success.” When the men didn’t mirror her next movement away, Mary Jane relaxed slightly. Once she heard that they were also outsiders here, her interest picked up and surprisingly her arousal kicked up another notch. “Oh? You are not members then?” she asked curiously, still flustered and attempting to hide her unusual reaction to this pair of strangers. Barin had stepped around her, but made sure he stood behind and to the side of Singeh. He hadn’t missed the look of fear that flashed in her eyes when she looked at him. He was naturally impatient to garner some of her attention, but knew somehow it would be best to

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allow Singeh to take the lead. “No, we are not, Gentle Lady. We seek to be admitted to the Alliance for there are some very difficult problems that they could help us overcome on our planet,” Singeh answered, inwardly delighted at the female’s appearance and manner up close. Her eyes were a brilliant green that glistened as they looked at him and her voice was quiet, her gestures gentle and soft. So unlike their females. He had drawn in the scent of her as she had stepped close to him and he had discovered the very aromatic tones of her skin and mane. She didn’t smell like the other human females on the Starbase. She had no deep cloying scent about her person hiding her natural odor. He could smell her hormonal undertones along with the personal sexual scent that drifted from her body. She was aroused, but not in season either. Singeh was grateful that they had time to convince her to join with them and blessed by her obvious attraction. “Oh, that is too bad. I’m sorry it’s taking so long.” Mary Jane sucked down her top lip as she debated whether to ask these strange men about their situation. “How long have you been waiting for them to give your petition a chance?” Singeh stepped closer and almost growled in triumph when she didn’t automatically back away. “I do not want to discourage you, but we have been here over sixty of your Earth days.” Mary Jane’s expression fell and her lower lip trembled for a second before she could control her reaction. Two months? They had been waiting two months with major problems on an entire planet? Her heart sank and her hopes went right with them. There was no way they would give her paltry problem any priority if they were ignoring an entire planet. Singeh read her face easily. Reaching out he slowly took her wringing hands into his and cupped them between his palms. The sensitive pads of his fingers, where there was no fur to cloak the feel of her skin, lightly caressed her hands as he tried to ease the troubled expression on her face. “Gentle Lady, please do not be distressed. Perhaps we can help each other with our problems? Could you not share your name with us?” She looked up again into the broad golden face and saw the genuine concern in his eyes. Surprised, and a little stunned by his apparent interest in her problems, she wondered how she could possibly help them. She frowned and spoke. “Mary Jane, my name is Mary Jane Wilson, Mr. Bakkar.” She stumbled over the strange pronunciation of his name. Singeh’s lips curled and lifted for a second as he corrected her, “Singeh, Lady Marrrry Jannne. Singeh Ak’ El Bakkar. But you must call me Singeh.” Mary Jane blushed as her name came from his lips in a rumbling purr that caused her insides to flutter dangerously. Her name on his lips in that strange accent sounded sexy, inviting, eliciting a response she wasn’t sure she welcomed. She shyly ducked her head and softly whispered her first attempt at his given name. “All right, Singay.” Singeh’s shoulders hunched forward and his head dipped closer to hers as his feet shuffled for a second. Someone else may mistakenly think he was embarrassed or self conscious, but Barin knew that his actions revealed his brother’s pleasure at her speaking his name. Singeh’s voice lowered and he rumbled gently above her face, feathering her forehead with his breath. “Perhaps, Lady Marrrry Jannne, you would consent to take your evening meal with my brothers and myself? So we may talk and learn of each other? So we may help each

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other?” Mary Jane looked up suddenly, finding his face close to hers and looked directly into his eyes, her gaze suddenly speculative. She searched his eyes and expression and seemed to find what she was looking for. Singeh released the breath he held when she slowly nodded and agreed to eat with them. “Yes…yes, I will have dinner with you this evening. I think you might be able to help me, but I am not so sure I can help you in any way.” “Lady Marrrry Jannne, you have no conception of just how important you may be to my people."

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Chapter Five Both Singeh and Barin escorted Mary Jane back to her inn once she had agreed to share the evening meal with them. They didn’t just take her to the inn, but followed her inside right to her door. She didn’t know what to think of their large, but silent attendance. They both walked along side of her with the darker brother more behind her than at her side. At first she had felt rather overwhelmed by their large bodies so close to her, but once they guided her through the crowds of delegates and out into the hallway, she was feeling grateful for their buffering presence. She had expected to be left at the inn door but when they arrived, Barin stepped forward and through the inn’s front doors, while Singeh held her back until he reappeared. At his brother’s nod, he led her forward into the building. “Why did we not all go inside?" she asked curiously. Singeh and Barin looked at one another over her head, sharing an equally puzzled look before Singeh spoke. “Lady Marrrry Jannne, do not the males of your people protect their females?” Mary Jane gave Singeh a startled look. When he only stared back with a perplexed expression, she turned to look at Barin. His expression was no less bewildered as they stopped at the entrance to a hallway. “Well, yes, I suppose they must. At least I assume so. I am not really sure what they do nowadays. In my time, women were very independent." She sputtered to a halt when both brothers’ expressions turned from perplexed to down right baffled. “Independent?” Barin muttered, thinking about Rasalasian females. They were strongly independent, demanding and unfettered as they moved around the planet searching for eligible mates. But they never traveled anywhere without escorts who would protect them from any and all males that might try to force her to breed into their family. Especially if their line was close to extinction and they were not considered suitable. “What do you mean by independent? Our females are independent, but they are wise enough to accept a male’s protection,” Barin stated arrogantly. She edged into the hallway towards her room unsure of how to answer him. “Well, most women in my country, in my time, took pride in being able to take care of themselves without a man telling them what to do. I know there were some who liked being dependent on a man for her home and…” She trailed off as the brothers incomprehension only increased. She wondered for a second if her translator had quit working. When they looked at each other and did what appeared to be a shrug with a shake of their heads, she decided they heard her but didn’t understand what she meant. She stopped outside of her door and waved at it. “Here is my room. Maybe I could explain this better later.” Singeh gave a quick nod of his head. “Perhaps that would be best. We are much different in our thinking, our two species. I do not understand this custom of females caring for themselves without protection. One of us will return to accompany you to our evening meal in

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three hours, if that would be suitable?” Mary Jane nodded. It wouldn’t take her long to get ready. After all she only had the three outfits she had bought yesterday and the one she wore briefly to meet the Secretary that morning would do for a meal. She thought she might use the rest of the time looking up as much information as she could about these people and try to learn why they were interested in her and their strange comments about the females on their planet. ***** Lortin entered the hotel and headed to his suite, a strange expression on his face. His research at the media center and library had led to some very interesting information. His pace picked up and he loped up the stairs and down the hall until he reached the rooms, eager to share his knowledge with his brothers. It was rather heady, knowing that they would be interested in what he had to tell them for once instead of politely listening before going back to their pursuits. When he opened the door and rushed inside, he stopped in amazement at the sight of his brothers and some of their palace staff from the ship rushing around the common room. The entire space in the room had changed dramatically. Gone were the long sofas and chairs along with the assorted tables and lighting devices. Instead, the center of the room held one of their own low meal tables surrounded by the softest pillows that they had brought from home. It was set in the traditional manner for an important guest, one that they would be trying to impress with their best dishes and cutlery. Several delicacies were already on its surface and Lortin’s mouth began to water at the enticing smells that drifted by his nose. He wondered for a moment just who was coming to the evening meal until his gaze focused on Singeh and Barin in the back of the room in one corner. Both of his elder siblings were squabbling about the placement of several furs they were holding. When Lortin’s eyes dropped to the pile of furs, brought especially from Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad should they find a possible candidate for mating, he was suddenly sure who was eating with them. “Brothers, what are you doing?" he asked, even though he knew. Why would Singeh, who should know better, be setting the stage for the Tal e’ Feata? Barin turned to look at his younger brother and hissed when Singeh placed his furs strategically on the bedding. “What does it look like, Lortin? Pull those off of there, Singeh. I say mine should be in that position and yours can then go to the left.” “Brothers, maybe I should have asked why are you making the bed furs for the Tal e’ Feata? She is not going to agree to test us.” That got both older brothers’ attention. They ceased arguing where each fur should be placed and turned as one to look at their younger brother with questioning frowns. Lortin held up a handful of metallic disks in a rainbow of colors. “According to these history books and essays, human females often share a meal with a male, but they don’t take part in the Tal e’ Feata afterwards. It is our custom to do that, not theirs.” Both Singeh and Barin’s faces fell ludicrously as they stared at the informational disks in Lortin’s hand. “You are sure of this, Lortin?" Barin demanded. “Of course I am. I checked all the information I could find about her century, not ours. The custom to eat with a man and go to public places of entertainment was called dating.

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Female humans normally date several males while searching for a mate.” Singeh and Barin nodded slowly, then moved closer. They dropped their bed furs, curiosity rampant in their eyes. “So, human females test the males by this dating custom?" Singeh asked as he curled upon one pillow beside the table. “By using this term date, there is a time limit?” Barin asked as he joined Singeh at the low table. “When do they Feata to see if the males can pleasure and protect her?” Lortin looked confused a moment before he answered. “Well, brothers, I cannot tell. Some books say females wait until they take a male to mate in an elaborate ceremony. Others say the female featas with many males until she chooses, much like our females. Only they Feata with one male at a time, not every male in a family.” The brothers fell quiet as they each pondered the strange habits and customs of human females. Singeh nodded his golden head again thoughtfully as his fingers dipped into a bowl on the table and lifted a morsel of food to his mouth. Chewing slowly, savoring the tang of fruit from his planet, he thought about what Lortin had revealed. “We do not know enough of humans it seems, brothers. We should remove the bed furs and when we sup with Marrrry Jannne, take the opportunity to learn of her preferences. She might be one of the females who require this elaborate ceremony before she will test us.” Barin interrupted Singeh, “Yes, but, Singeh, she might be one who does not. We should leave the furs in case she is.” Lortin rumbled into the argument he saw brewing. “I think we should sup with her and get rid of the bed furs.” When both older brothers turned derisive gazes on their younger and much less experienced sibling, Lortin became defensive. “Singeh, Barin, you have to agree I am right. There is much we must learn of her and her ways before any of us attempt the Tal e’ Feata. She comes from a different century of Earth and she is not like the females from her planet that I have researched. The females now know of our customs and habits and if they agreed to sup the evening meal, they would know they have agreed to the Tal e’ Feata.” Barin could not disagree with Lortin’s assessment of the situation, as much as he might like to do so. “So, Lortin, what do you suggest we do, then, tonight? How are we going to find out what Marrrry Jannne would wish from us?” Barin asked, a sudden flash of memory of her fearful eyes in his mind. Somehow he knew his chances with the female were slimmer than Singeh’s, she had reacted shyly but positively with him. “I think we should sup only and allow her to guide our steps. She is curious. I have seen her logs into the library. She is studying all kinds of species and Alliance law. Let us discover what she needs most and supply it. I could find no references to any of her own kind who have taken an interest in her situation.” Singeh stood and called to the palace staff who had withdrawn once the brothers sat at table. He ordered the removal of the furs, causing the staff to be very confused at the turn of events. “We have some time before someone must escort her here for the evening meal. Let us all watch some of those history book reports of their mating habits, Lortin. I do not wish to damage our cause before we start.” Lortin jumped up and moved to a viewer. He set down the disks and sorted them by color, setting the blue ones aside as he loaded a plain sliver one. He moved to the chapters on several of the disks, further confusing the issue with the fact that depending on where a female

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was from on the planet, the mating habits changed. Barin sneezed in disgust. “This is getting us nowhere! How in the God’s blessings are we supposed to entice her to take us to mate? What if she was from one of these places where the fathers decided the mating and they never meet the males before the mating ceremony? And I can see no reference to females taking more than one mate. It is always one mate.” Singeh sighed gustily, “Except for the males. I see where there were a number of places where the males had many females? How do they take care of so many females by themselves?” Each contemplated the demands that one female made on a family of males and couldn’t imagine the task of trying to please more than one female by themselves let alone a pack of them. Shuddering, Singeh stepped back from the viewer. “It is almost time to go and escort Marrrry Jannne. Shall we all go or should we send only one of us?” Singeh’s unsure expression was echoed by Lortin, but not Barin. He spoke decisively to his siblings. “I think you should go alone, Singeh. She has not met Lortin and she is afraid of me.” And when his brothers would have argued with him, “No, I could see it in her eyes. She was fearful of me but she reacted well with you, Singeh. You go and escort her while Lortin and I finish the preparations for the meal.” Once they agreed upon the human female’s escort, Singeh left the suite, a spring in his loping figure as he remembered her delicate face and her wealth of curly mane. Lortin, removed the disk from the viewer and stacked it with the others. He watched as Barin fussed with the table and plumped the pillows back into shape. “You think she will not accept you, Barin?” he asked, not knowing how to react to his suddenly unsure brother. Barin was perhaps the most arrogant of the three, confident in his prowess and had always been a particular favorite of the females. At least on their planet. Barin paused in his task, his body freezing into immobility in an instant. He ducked his head and shifted one of the bowls a fraction before he answered. “I don’t know, Lortin. I had not considered mating with a human female. The ones here…they did not please me overly and I am unsure of how to satisfy a human. The others you had researched, I did some reading of my own. I learned their anatomy and what was written about their Feata practices. They were not as distasteful to me as the humans we encountered here.” Lortin’s lip curved into a pleased smile as his hand lifted the blue disks in triumph. “But, Barin, I have the answers to those questions here. I found these disks that humans made showing them feataing.” Barin’s eyes lightened as he looked at the polished blue surfaces of the half dozen or so disks. “It shows them actually doing the Feataing? Are they medical disks or educational research?” “I don’t know, Barin. I did look for a moment at one. I think maybe they are historical accounts because some are dated from the century where our female came from. All I know is they allowed themselves to be recorded as they Feataed. I thought we could study them and perhaps learn how Marrrry Jannne might like to be pleased.” When Barin moved to take the disks, Lortin quickly jerked them from his reach. “I don’t think so, Barin. We need to watch these together with Singeh and besides, they are hours long and we don’t have that much time before he returns with Marrrry Jannne.” Both paused, neither wanted to consider what could happen if their guest would happen to demand the Tal e’ Feata once the meal was finished. They could in their ignorance ruin their

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Chapter Six Mary Jane nervously wiped her hands down her tunic as she paced in her room. She had done a preliminary search on her room computer’s data banks and dug up a few lines about the Rasalasians and their planet. She now knew generally where their solar system was in comparison to Earth, a little of their history including a long passage about a deadly plague that had struck the planet over three hundred years ago and the changes in the fabric of their society. She had found it intriguing that the male dominated culture had been reversed to a female based one. The information about the changes were sketchy, it seemed that the Alliance hadn’t been very interested in the solar system due to its lack of strategic position in the galaxy and the Rasalasians lack of interest beyond their own world. There was also a long dissertation from one of the member worlds in the Alliance who was sponsoring the Rasalasian delegation as they appealed for membership. They had pleaded for the application due to humanitarian reasons, stating the Rasalasians needed all their medical expertise in discovering the reason for declining births of females, the lingering effects of the plague, and the planet’s slow recovery. The rest of the information she found was news excerpts concerning the Ak’ l Bakkars. Their arrival and subsequent exploits socially amongst the many members and crew of the Starbase were almost daily fodder for the gossip columns. Especially the darkest brother, the one who’s intense aura of power and sexuality had frightened and aroused her earlier in the Alliance General Chambers. He, it seemed, was cutting a wide swath through the many females on board and had fast become notorious for his conquests. The eldest, Singeh, was noted by the press as being a rather impatient looking diplomat, although he was present for each and every session of the General Council meetings. The youngest was rarely mentioned in the reports. It seemed he was present at the first initial sessions where his elder brother spoke for admission, but soon was not seen at any of the social or political functions. One thing had been very clear to Mary Jane. The three were not only ambassadors from their planet, they were the top ranking and most eligible males—and princes of the largest province on the planet. Princes. Royal personages. Way, way, way out of her league. What in the world did they think she could possibly do to help them, she wondered. The chime of the door interrupted her musing and she hesitated for several seconds, staring at the door with a sinking sensation. She wanted to answer the door, but didn’t want to. She was afraid the princes would find that there was no way she could help them and, therefore, they wouldn’t be able to help her. When the chime sounded again, she screwed up her courage and moved to the door, releasing the locking mechanism allowing her guest in. When Singeh moved through the open door, his shear size caused her to back up several steps to give him room. Once she had jerked away from him, Singeh stopped short. “Is there something wrong, Marrrry Jannne?” he asked, disconcerted. “You are not

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afraid of me, are you?” His tone was gentle and the soft growling r’s and n’s in his voice as he spoke her name caused a different kind of shiver to course over her. Mary Jane swallowed and shakily denied his comment. “No, no, not at all. Its just, well, you are rather large and take up so much room...” Her voice faded away when he moved again, this time deliberately coming closer to her and invading her personal space. She held her ground and tipped her head back so she could see his eyes. Singeh reached out and stroked the pad of his finger down her cheek gently, his eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter as she visibly shivered at his touch. “I am glad, Marrrry Jannne, that you do not fear me. I do not wish such feelings for me from you.” Mary Jane’s eyes had widened in surprise when he touched her. The soft leathery feel of his fingertip as it trailed down her skin was unexpected but not, she found, unpleasant. She stilled, uncertainty tensing her body when he leaned forward towards her and his face came close to hers. He was going to kiss her. Her heart skipped several beats as her whole body shook in anticipation. She stiffened further when his face bypassed hers and dipped to her neck as he buried his nose in her nape, snuffling gently as he delved around her hairline. He made one final pass as his breath wafted from his nostrils and teased the tight red curls behind her ears before he pulled back. She stared at Singeh, shocked and speechless. She wasn’t quite sure if what he had just done was a normal greeting gesture for his people or if he had done it for other reasons. But one thing she was sure of, he had just sniffed her. Sniffed at her like an animal. She waffled between outrage and the lingering sensation of surprising desire that had shot through her as his breath had caressed and warmed her flesh. She focused on his eyes. They were no longer twinkling with mirth. The golden orbs were watching her face and reaction closely, their depths molten, vivid with unmasked desire. Singeh was not hiding his reaction and a tingle of both fear and hot desire shot through Mary Jane again, her hand coming up to rub her neck. “Did…did you just sniff me?” she asked, sure that what she saw in his eyes was a figment of her imagination. It was probably caused by her startling reaction to his nose on her neck. Singeh’s soft muzzle lifted and he exposed a small glimpse of his teeth in a rare smile. He couldn’t help his reaction to her words. She looked even more beautiful when she was flustered. She was visibly ruffled by his scenting of her and he fought an urge to do it again, not only to take in her exotic aroma once more but to see her so disconcerted. “Yes, Marrrry Jannne, I scented you and I must say,” Singeh moved closer, close enough to brush his body against hers as his voice lowered to an erotic purr, “you smell delicious.” Singeh’s warm breath washed over her face, flustering her further. That and the sudden predatory gleam in his eyes caused her heart to jump, then begin to pound. Licking her dry lips, she finally tore her eyes from his, trying to ignore the very

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unexpected feelings welling up inside of her. She looked desperately at the door as she stepped back again. “Sh-shouldn’t we be going? Um…where is your brother?” Her voice squeaked. Not at all sure she would find Barin’s presence a buffer, Mary Jane still thought another person, any other person, might deflect Singeh’s startling intense interest. Singeh stepped away, giving her some breathing room but she still had to pass uncomfortably close to him to reach the door to her room. Rushing out of her room and then the inn, she had to stop uncertainly in the wide hallway, realizing she had no clue where she was going. A soft touch on her shoulder pushed her slightly to her left. “This way, Marrrry Jannne,” an equally soft voice came from behind her. She obediently turned in the direction she was guided and headed deeper into the long curving corridor. She felt his presence hovering over her. Mary Jane tried to puzzle out his strange interest in her. Sure, she had had several men ask her out and pay attention to her. She had even slept with a couple of them, but none had ever looked at her with Singeh’s intensity. None had caused the fluttering sensations that skipped up and down her spine or the odd tripping of her heart. Deep in thought, she automatically changed direction with each gentle guiding touch from Singeh’s hand. Mary Jane blinked slowly once when they left another endless passageway and entered a set of double doors. The vast size of the room, along with the luxurious decor, reminded her that her dinner companions were obviously wealthy princes and nothing like her previous dates. Singeh noticed the deep furrows in her forehead and wondered what she was thinking about so hard. In his experience, when a female thought too much about anything, it was not a good sign for the males in her vicinity. She didn’t take much notice of her surroundings until they had reached his hotel. Once they entered the lobby, she had stopped abruptly in front of him and he had to dodge around her still form. Singeh touched her shoulder again with the polite tap his people were accustomed to using with each other. “This way, Marrrry Jannne.” He turned, now leading the way to his and his brothers’ suite, leaving her to follow him. Mary Jane blinked again. Noticing Singeh’s fast disappearing back and the looks from a number of people in the lobby, she scurried after him catching up when he touched the call plate of the elevator. They were not alone in the small compartment when its doors opened and they entered. A few other patrons had queued with them and followed them inside. She did not fail to notice that Singeh placed his body between her and the other occupants, holding her in the back corner until the elevator stopped. “Excuse us, please.” Singeh rumbled a demand for passage as the lift deposited them on his floor. Unfortunately, for a Rasalasian, what amounted to a possibly polite rumble came across as an irritated snarl to her and the others. It didn’t take long for the other people in the lift to scatter out of his way and let Singeh escort her from the small cubicle.

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She had caught the puzzled gleam in Singeh’s eyes once the other people in the elevator gave him a wide berth along with alarmed glances. She had to bite back a sudden urge to laugh as she realized he didn’t understand his impact on the others or their reaction to him. Her hand had flown up to cover her mouth as the smile that she couldn’t contain spread over her face. When he looked even more puzzled at her shinning eyes, giggles erupted from behind her hand. “You are amused?” he growled at her, confused by her reaction. When the giggling continued and she only shook her head at him, her hand still covering the lower half of her face, Singeh shrugged with feline grace and gently pushed at her shoulder. Her giggles stopped and the return of her nervousness dried her mouth when Singeh stopped a short distance from the elevator and opened a door. His hand had reached out and he pushed lightly at her shoulder, now a recognizable signal for her to move in a particular direction. She passed through the open door and into a short entryway. She could see the large room beyond the archway at the end of the short hall, but her eyes had focused on the two men who had been lounging on some pillows as they uncoiled their bodies and surged eagerly to their feet. She recognized Barin immediately. This other man would certainly be the other brother Singeh had mentioned. Avoiding looking at the scariest of the trio, Mary Jane focused on this obviously younger man. Where Barin was completely dark and Singeh was golden, he was a combination of the two. Shorter than both of his brothers, he was a mottled black and tan with white tufts peeking from his ears. He wasn’t nearly as heavily muscled either, but appeared to be a sleeker version of the two. But it was the expression in his eyes that caught the bulk of Mary Jane’s attention. Where Barin’s was arrogant and hard, and Singeh’s was no less lethal looking but a softer version of Barin’s, this brother’s was unsure. His bearing was as straight as his siblings, his presence only slightly less commanding due to his youth, she thought. But it was the very expressiveness of each of the brother’s eyes that she was startled to realized she could easily read. Their faces did not show their emotions as well as their eyes. They both moved towards her and she could feel Singeh as he closed the door and came to stand behind her. Keeping her eyes on the younger of the two approaching her, she was able to shed some of her nerves. Singeh’s voice purred in her ear as both of his brothers fetched up in front of their guest. “You have been introduced to Barin, but this is our youngest brother Lortin, Marrrry Jannne. He has been eager to meet you.” Mary Jane pulled her top lip down over her teeth and hesitated. She slowly reached out a hand and said, “I am pleased to meet you, Lortin.” She wasn’t surprised when he looked at her hand puzzled, but she was taken aback when he dropped to her feet and grasped her foot. When she unbalanced, Singeh’s hands cupped her waist and steadied her against his chest. “I am sorry, Marrrry Jannne, I forgot to explain. Lortin is only going to remove your footwear. We do not sit at table with them upon our feet. It is not sanitary to bring dirt to the meal,” Singeh apologized. “Oh,”yeah she answered, unable to think of another reply as the youngest brother eased her boots from her feet, his fingers brushing against her soles. The shiver of excitement his touch elicited startled her.

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Once the soft leathery boots were removed, Mary Jane was led to the low rectangular table surrounded by mounds of pillows. Singeh surprised her when he stepped back and rounded the table to face her on the opposite side, allowing his brothers to seat her. His eyes watched his brothers closely as each took an arm and eased her down upon the brightly colored pillows. Once she was settled on a pillow and had arranged her legs and feet comfortably, both Barin and Lortin begin to pile the other pillows around her back. She had begun to relax as she watched Singeh settle himself among the pillows on his side of the table. Both Barin and Lortin leaned over her and ran their noses from the nape of her neck to the very sensitive spots just behind her ears. Singeh’s gaze met the shocked look in her eyes as his siblings scented her. A surge of incredible desire shot through his body as both Barin and Lortin lingered over the ritual scenting of a female. Instead of the polite sniff that was given almost all females, his brothers were obviously as captivated by her aroma as he had been. Both Barin’s and Lortin’s eyes had narrowed in pleasure and their lips curled as they drew in her fragrance again and again, running their nostrils over her skin and hair. Singeh had to fight back the surge of arousal as his fal e’ tele began to swell inside its protective sheath. Images of him and his siblings pleasuring Mary Jane danced in his head. He forced the images away. This was not the time to initiate the Tal e’ Feata. She sat frozen, undecided what to do. Evidently this was some kind of customary greeting in their culture and she tried to puzzle out if she should return the favor and smell each of the brothers or not. When the two noses traveled down her nape and back again, her eyes involuntarily closed as their breaths wafted over the skin behind her ears. She shivered as goose bumps prickled her skin and her nipples tightened embarrassingly. A soft growl came from across the table and the two noses sniffing repeatedly right at her ears pulled away. Mary Jane’s eyes opened languidly and blinked slowly as she focused on Singeh sitting on the other side of the table. She could see his brothers from the corners of her eyes as they arranged themselves on either end of the table. The shaky breath passing her lips caught in her throat as two fiery golden orbs ensnared her eyes. He was not hiding his reaction to what had happened. Instead of being angry, he obviously approved of his brothers actions. Confused, she tore her eyes away from his hot gaze and stared blindly at the arrangement of bowls and platters on the table. She tried to calm her stunning reactions to each of these men and rationalize her awakened body’s arousal. She reached a trembling hand out to touch the edge of a bowl. “What…ahem, excuse me,” she said as she had to clear her clogged throat. “What is this?” Three long lightly furred fingers reached out to the bowl in question and dipped out a small piece of the yellow fleshy looking fruit. Each hand lifted with the morsel on the tip of one finger and the food was thrust under her nose. “It is cabria fruit. A delicacy from the southern provinces of our planet. You must try some. It is especially delicious,” came the husky voice of Lortin on her right. When she looked down and saw there weren’t any utensils and the three fingertips pushed closer, she reached out and tried to remove the fruit from one and saw the three offerings pulled back. “No, Marrrry Jannne. It is our privilege to feed you, our honored guest. Please eat.” Singeh’s low purring voice encouraged her from across the table.

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All three hands lifted back towards her face and she hesitated. Inwardly cursing her lack of knowledge of their customs and hating to insult her hosts, she finally leaned forward and delicately nibbled the sticky morsel from Singeh’s finger. The sweet fruit’s unusual flavor burst over her taste buds and she hummed her approval of the treat. As she chewed the piece, her eyes met Singeh’s again across the table and he gave her a look of intense satisfaction. “It is good, is it not? Try some more.” He encouraged her, nodding at his brother’s offerings still held out in front of her. Mary Jane licked the fruit from the men’s fingers and as she chewed noticed that each dipped into the bowl again and took a portion of the fruit for themselves. This pattern continued throughout the meal as each bowl’s and platter’s contents were described by Lortin before they each took a small amount and offered it to her first. She grew more comfortable with each offering until she began to eat almost absently from their hands as the conversation around the table centered first on her planet and customs. Once the brothers opened the door by asking her about human customs and habits, it emboldened her to ask about theirs. Lortin, she found, was a font of information. He obviously knew a lot more about the different species that made up the Alliance and he often surprised his brothers as he revealed details of their own planet that they seemed not to know. By the end of the meal, she had made an appointment with Lortin to meet in the Starbase’s extensive library to research her case within Alliance law. She allowed Singeh to press her to come back with Lortin for the next evening meal, and even shared a word or two with Barin who had sat silent but watching her intensely throughout the meal. She was relieved when Singeh offered to return her to her room at the inn. Although the evening had been pleasant once she got past some of their unusual customs and habits, it had been nerve wracking. All three brothers were intense in their regard as they had gazed at her all during the meal and she couldn’t understand why they had stared at her so. She could literally feel their stare as they traced her features and especially when they lingered on her mouth and jaw. Although she never caught a hint of the ridicule or pity she was accustomed to seeing in others when they looked at her, she had grown more and more uneasy with the intensity of their regard and her surprising attraction to each of the brothers. The trip back to her room was uneventful and she wasn’t surprised when Singeh walked her all the way to her door. Unsure of what to do once she got there, she waited but he didn’t press her to enter her room or linger. He ran the soft pad of one finger down her cheek again before he reminded her of her promise to dine with them the next evening. Once she nodded her head, he turned and loped down the hall and out of her sight. Mary Jane entered her room and locked the door behind her. She headed for the closet and removed her clothes. Suddenly very tired, she slipped on a nightgown and sat down on the bed. The entire evening had been filled with not only surprises but her body hummed with astonishing desire. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been so astonishing had only one brother caused the surge of longing throbbing between her thighs, but she had experienced the same reaction to each of the brothers. Incredibly, and unusual for her, she found herself wanting each of them. Oh, Lortin hadn’t caused as intense a reaction as either of his brothers, but her reaction to both Singeh and Barin had shocked her with its strength. She had never felt so attracted to more than one man before and her body’s responses to each of the men confused and secretly,

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shamefully, delighted her. Mary Jane stood, flung back the covers on her bed, and crawled between the sheets. Her mind kept reliving the evening, especially the way the men’s noses felt buried in her neck and the fierce regard of their combined gazes as they had stared at her. Tossing and turning, her wayward thoughts doing nothing to ease the burning of her body, she attempted to get some rest. She found sleep elusive that night.

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Chapter Seven Singeh moved with feline grace as he stalked behind Mary Jane, returning with her to her room at the small inn where she lived on the Starbase. A week, one very long week, had passed since he first caught sight of the beautiful human in the Council Chambers. Progress for Singeh and his brothers had been very slow with this female. Frustrated desire for her had burned deep in his loins each day, but tonight he would satisfy both his thwarted needs and her unspoken but not unnoticed desires. Tonight he would wait no longer for her. She had come to the evening meal each night after spending most of the day with Lortin in the library researching Alliance Law and previous Council decisions over the centuries. Only Lortin could be said to have made significant progress with her. Singeh and Barin had both witnessed her growing fondness for Lortin and their easy manners in each other’s company when their younger brother escorted her from their studies to their suite each evening. She rarely spoke to Barin, giving him cautious looks from the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t refuse his attentions during the meal or his ritual scenting of her when she arrived. Singeh had taken hope from her subtle reactions as she received their ritual scenting. He was well aware she did not understand the ritual. They did not scent all females when meeting. Such overt displays were only used to declare their interest and a female’s acceptance and reciprocal scenting the signal for the beginning of the Tal e’ Feata. She seemed to take sensual delight in the scenting and each evening when Singeh returned her to her room at the inn, he had increased his personal attentions. From the first touching of her face to last night’s lingering scenting where he dared to taste her, her response had been very encouraging. When he ran his tongue lightly from her nape to that small area behind her strange ears, her eyes had lost focus. She had arched closer to his body and gasped. When he had pulled back and looked into her green eyes he had encountered a cloudy haze of desire. Her breath had panted over his face and it had been a test of his control to leave her and not avail himself of the opportunity to cover her body with his. He and his brothers had one more night of study of the disks that Lortin had found at the library. Each was a new and startling glimpse into the sexual wonders of the human race. They had found them difficult to watch, the participants in the demonstrations had been particularly ugly, but they had endured. In the process they had learned much of the humans mating habits. Some shocked them deeply. The touching of tongues with mouths together had causing a flurry of conversation about why they would do such a thing. Lortin was the only one who seemed to find a reason, speculating that such behavior could be likened to their rubbing of muzzles, a sure sign of deep affection between the sexes. They had found on a few disks, to their intense relief, sections were a female was covered by several males at the same encounter. They had all expelled relieved sighs and admitted they had been worried that humans would not be accepting of more than one mate at a time.

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They had been equally shocked by two other demonstrations. One, where one male enjoyed the attentions of two females, had them changing their opinion of human males. They obviously were braver than any Rasalasian male they knew. How could they pleasure more than one female without losing control of her? The other demonstration had caused shocked disbelief. On every disk there was a portion where the female licked and suckled the male’s fal e’ tele while his facial expression showed intense delight. There were equally frequent instances where the males tasted the female’s priti. When they watched it for the first time, they thought they understood, but it wasn’t until they watched the final disk that they learned that human females were gifted with an outer abundance of special nerves for sexual pleasure. Rasalasian female’s sexual nerves were buried deep inside both body channels. They had watched the final disk when Singeh returned, reluctantly leaving her again at her door. This disk had been a clinical discussion of the human body and the reproduction of their species. Once they had watched it several times, memorizing the female’s pleasure points, erogenous zones, and their breeding cycles, Singeh and Barin had to agree with Lortin that it was vital that they had learned this before they began the mating ritual with Mary Jane. Nothing was to be left to chance. When they finished watching the final disk Singeh turned to his brothers and growled, “Tomorrow night.” Barin’s eyes lit up and he leaned forward eagerly, but Lortin spoke up before his brother had a chance to speak. “It should only be you, Singeh. We have spoken once or twice about what Marrrry Jannne calls boyfriends and she has only had these male companions one at a time,” he urged his eldest brother. Singeh turned questioning eyes on his sibling. “You think this is best?” At Lortin’s decisive nod he asked, “And when she accepts me onto the bed furs, how do I convince her to allow you both the Tal e’ Feata?” Lortin scrambled to his feet and crossed the room to gather together the disks. He was stacking them carefully as he pondered Singeh’s question. He finally turned and spoke slowly. “Not to your bed furs, Singeh. I think it better to pleasure her first in her room. This is our space and she is sometimes uncomfortable here. She will feel in more control in her own room. Once she experiences your expertise, she will perhaps be more amiable to us joining you.” Barin sneezed his opinion of Lortin’s statement. “Oh, she will accept you, Lortin, make no mistake in that. I will be the one she refuses.” Disbelief flashed in Lortin’s eyes. “Why would you say such a thing, Barin? Females, why all females, enjoy your time in the bed furs.” Barin looked again at Singeh and saw his own doubts reflected in his littermate’s eyes. “But, Lortin,” he said as his gaze held Singeh’s, “she is not as the other females here. We can all agree on that. She fears me. She likes you, but you are right about one thing. It must be Singeh who covers her and pleasures her first. She desires Singeh.” *****

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They had reached Mary Jane’s door and Singeh pushed the previous night’s conversation and revelations to the back of his mind. His task this night would be much pleasanter than during the last week when he had to leave her alone to her bed. When she turned to him at the door, a gentle smile on her face, Singeh knew she was expecting a similar farewell as the other nights. He deliberately moved closer to her than before, watching her eyes blink in confusion when he didn’t stop until he was pressed lightly against her. He was tempted to howl his satisfaction when she gasped, but didn’t step back. He eased one hand onto her waist as he dipped his head towards her. When her face lifted to his, he remembered the actions of the other human females in the mating demonstrations. Rather than reveal his ignorance in how to tongue her mouth, he took advantage of her exposed neck to breath in her scent and taste her skin. Singeh could feel the little puffs of her breath tickling his ear as he slowly licked her bare skin from her exposed collar to her ear and beyond. The feel of her skin, bare of the normal soft fur he was accustomed too, was highly arousing to his senses. Her body fluids were intense and undiluted without the thick covering of fur and he could taste the rich flavor of her body’s excretions. Singeh nuzzled her under her chin and turned her head to allow him to repeat his actions on the other side of her neck. Her breathing had turned ragged and her body trembled in his arms as he grasped both hands on her waist, dragging her tight against his hard body. Licking behind her ear, Singeh smelled the first whiffs of her increased arousal. The musky scent propelled a surge of lust though his groin and he let go of a portion of his control as his fal e’ tele swelled in its sheath. “Open your door, Marrrry Jannne,” he growled hotly in her ear. She reached blindly behind her as shudders of delight coursed through her body. She had never before felt such intense desire, but she knew it had been growing stronger each night as they dined together and he escorted her back to her room. She had been afraid of her fascination with Singeh and the forbidden attraction she had felt for his exotic looking brothers. They were alien and very close to animals in their appearance and actions, but as she had spent more and more time with them, their intelligence and personalities had overcome her hesitations. Even her knowledge of her lack of beauty had not stopped her from fantasizing about all of them. The look of need in Singeh’s eyes had blazed at her every night and she had been very aware of his desire. He had not tried to hide his feelings, but his refusal to do more than smell her each night before he left had confused her. But tonight when she had turned to say goodnight, the glint in his eyes had revealed his intentions, and God help her, she had felt a frisson of answering desire, not fear. She fumbled for a few seconds as Singeh’s roughened tongue scraped the tender flesh behind her ear again and again. Each pass of the wet appendage sent shivers over her body and an answering throb between her thighs. She could feel herself growing damp as her core wept in delighted anticipation. Her hand found the security plate and it deactivated the lock once it read her hand print. Singeh pulled back enough to look her in the eye, his gaze roving hotly over her face, eyes blazing with erotic promise.

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Singeh could read her arousal and her slight hesitation, but didn’t give her time to question his actions. Pushing open the door, he guided her through, shutting it behind him. He held her gaze as he spoke again. “Lock it, Marrrry Jannne. Lock it now,” he demanded roughly, letting go of her waist. He had to know if she truly wished for him to stay. Mary Jane’s eyes focused on Singeh’s face once his hands fell away from her. She searched his expressive eyes anxiously. She didn’t really understand his obvious attraction for her, but for once she was not going to question the whys and whatevers in her life. For once she was going to take what promised to be the best sex she had ever had and worry about the rest later. Stepping around him, she touched the security pad and sealed the door. She didn’t have time to turn around before Singeh’s arms circled her from behind and pulled her tightly to his frame. His hands came up and boldly palmed her aching breasts and rubbed circles over her tight nipples causing her to gasp again and arch into his hands. “These…these mean you desire me, do they not, Marrrry Jannne?” Singeh asked as he plucked delicately at her distended nipples though her clothes. Embarrassed, she found it easier to answer him without his gaze directly on her face. She moaned her assent when he pinched her aching nipples again lightly. Fire had caught in her blood and she felt as if she was burning from the inside out. She leaned back into his strong body, letting him take her weight as she squirmed and thrust her breasts into his hands, wanting to feel him touch them. Singeh was inexperienced with humans, but not untutored. He knew there might be moments with her of uncertainty, but this was not one of them. He read her body’s signals and gave her what she wanted. Taking her breasts in his hands, he cupped them and began a massaging caress that seemed to satisfy her as she cried out softly. Satisfaction raced through him at her response. She enjoyed his touch and nothing could have pleased him more. Nothing but perhaps touching her naked flesh with the nerve rich pads of his palms and fingers. No sooner did he think of it than he began to tug at the hem of her tunic, drawing it up her torso until his hands slipped underneath. He found her breasts again and snarled his displeasure at the covering still upon them. His hands fumbled trying to find the workings of the garment. He could have screamed his frustration when he couldn’t find a way to rid her of its hindering presence. She stilled when Singeh’s annoyance became clear. She almost smiled at the sound of his irritation with her bra and realized that he had no clue how to release the catch. She felt the bulge that he rubbed against her backside and her excitement had grown as his hands had reached under her top. She took a shaky breath and covered his fumbling hands with hers, stepping away from his body. She swallowed and turned to face Singeh, her eyes drifting over his frame rather than meeting his eyes. Another deep breath and she found the courage to tug her tunic off and drop it on the floor. When her shaking hands lifted to her bra, Singeh drew in a rasping breath and he seemed to hold it as she felt his eyes follow her movements. Her fingers touched the clasp between her breasts and as she released the clip. She found her eyes lifting to watch his. He stared at her chest, his eyes narrowed, the golden irises

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almost glowing with heat and lust. When she pulled the cups from her breasts and bared them to his gaze, he made a sharp sound. Almost a moan mixed with a rumbling purr, a unique sound and highly expressive. She forgot to be embarrassed at the size and state of her breasts. They had swelled and lifted, the crests tight and puckered with arousal. His appreciative gaze had eased some of the tension inside of her and she sighed in relief. She gasped again when he reached out and instead of touching her breasts, he grasped her around her waist and lifted her, dragging her up his body to bury his nose between her breasts and snuffle them. The room swirled suddenly and she found herself flat on her back in the middle of the bed a few feet away. She blinked at the sight of Singeh as he lifted one knee then the other onto the end of the bed and crawled with lazy grace up her body. The impression of a great cat stalking his prey flashed into her mind at the sight of his feline-like movements. The rippling of his muscles beneath his leathers and fur were easily seen, and for a second apprehension flickered to life inside her, but it died on seeing the admiration blazing from his eyes. He hovered over her, dipped his head and scented the valley between her breasts again, drawing in the aroma of the light film of sweat and her own unique odor. He purred his excitement and pleasure at her scent and he gave up another measure of his self-control, not waiting for her signals to tell him what she wanted next. His tongue darted out and he drew it in a long leisurely path from beneath her breasts, up between the small globes and over her chest to her throat to flick off the end of her chin. Her gasp of pleasure and the confirming glow in her green eyes emboldened him to continue. From the demonstration disks he knew humans liked to be tasted, and he was not loathe to pull her essence into his own body. Singeh dropped his gaze to her heaving chest before he touched her breasts again with one hand, lifting one to his mouth as he found the hard tip with his tongue. Mary Jane gasped and moaned when his rough tongue grated against her nipples. He spent equal time on each pouting crest, but she arched and writhed with frustration when he didn’t suckle there. Her hands had lifted to bury in his wild mane of hair and she used them to tug him closer trying to force her nipple into his mouth. She groaned in disappointment when he missed the signal. “Please,” she begged, but he ignored her and moved lower “No, Marrrry Jannne.” He rumbled against her ribs, “I could hurt you too easily.” His sharp teeth scraped her skin, then his broad tongue lapped at her belly above the waistband of her trousers. She stilled again when Singeh used his much larger body to ease her legs apart and settle between them as he explored her abdomen. She was further shocked when he slid down farther on the bed and his shoulders shoved at her thighs, widening the space between them. His great head dropped and his nose pressed right in her crotch, sniffing loudly as he smelled her groin. She tugged on Singeh’s mane. Embarrassed heat filled her face as it raced up from her breasts and chest. When he levered up from between her legs, she almost sobbed in relief until she saw the wild look in his eyes. “God’s teeth, Marrrry Jannne! You smell so delicious, so hot and welcoming. I must taste all of your desire,” Singeh snarled heavily, his hands grabbing at the waistband of her trousers and yanking them down her legs. He had forgotten about her shoes and gave up the battle to remove them totally as the strong scent of her arousal reached his nostrils.

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Ignoring her stunned eyes and frantic hands, he opened her legs again and spread them as far as he could, pulling her trouser covered feet up until they rested against her bottom. Exposing her priti to his hot gaze, Singeh looked his fill and found her unlike the females in the demonstration disks. They had been bare here, only skin covering their pritis, but Mary Jane’s was covered with a lush swirl of red gold curls that tapered from the top of her pubic bone to the opening of her body. Her scent called to him, tempting him, invading his senses until he could not wait. Dimly, Singeh heard her voice crying out to him as he lay back down again, shouldering her thighs and holding them open for him to explore. Her hands grasped and tugged at his fur and tangled in his mane, but Singeh would not be denied. He ignored the word no and her voice as she stammered questions to him. Her rich scented arousal now filled his head and he drew it deep into his nasal cavity, imprinting the scent into his mind, before he unfurled his broad tongue and gave her one long lick from the puckered nether opening exposed to his gaze to the top of the plump lips protecting her innermost parts. His tongue curled as he licked that one long swipe between her thighs, gathered the moisture that her body had secreted and pulled it back into his mouth and over the taste buds in his cheeks. Fire exploded over his body as he reacted to the hormone rich secretions. He cried out his approval and launched an incredible assault on her senses. Singeh’s jaws widened and he used the broad flat surface of his tongue to cleave his way between the outer lips of her priti and expose the sensitive bundle of nerves sitting at the top of her slit. There he used the tip of his tongue, curling it around the small button, teasing it mercilessly, lapping at it with the roughened texture, scraping it gently until she screamed out, thrashing under his mouth. Singeh didn’t know how long he tasted of Mary Jane’s pleasure, but the fur on his face was soaked with her juices and her body trembled uncontrollably. Her voice sobbed for him to stop, penetrating his haze of lust.

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Chapter Eight Mary Jane lay shattered on the bed, her body shaking, her legs trembling. Her chest heaved as she tried to draw oxygen into her starved lungs. No man had ever kissed her down there and she hadn’t known what to expect. The first touch of his tongue on her had almost sent her off the bed, electricity shooting over her entire body, and then settling right where Singeh concentrated his attention. She had come almost immediately when his tongue touched her clit and she had quickly built to another climax until one orgasm crashed on top of the next. She finally heard her voice hoarsely begging him to stop and she felt him lift his head from her open thighs. She couldn’t seem to pry her eyes open, but she felt him lift from her slightly and then a tug on her right foot as he removed her shoe. Another tug on her other shoe and it left her foot and fell with a thud to the floor. Her trousers followed the shoes and she was finally able to open her eyes a fraction to see Singeh kneeling at her now bare feet. His eyes were shadowed with concern as they watched her face, but once she looked at him, he seemed to judge that she was all right. Her breathing had begun to quiet and she attempted to bring her legs together, dimly realizing that she was lying completely exposed to Singeh’s gaze, when he slipped off the end of the bed. She lifted her head to ask him where he was going, when she noticed his hands pulling at the laces on his shirt. He quickly untied them and drew the soft leather over his head and tossed the garment on the floor on top of her discarded shoes and trousers. Her eyes were glued to his hands as they next yanked on the ties of his trousers, the large bulge inside hindering his ability to get the article of clothing off his body. She took in the wide expanse of golden fur covering his deep chest and noticed the narrowing of his torso as it reached his hips, hips that suddenly were bared to her gaze. Singeh shoved his trousers down his legs and toed his boots off, yanking the last item of clothing from of his body. When he straightened, he paused to stand unashamed of his powerful body as Mary Jane looked at him. His thighs were heavily muscled and she wondered for a second if he often ran as they bunched under her gaze. But it was the juncture of his thighs that held her fascinated gaze. He didn’t quite look like a human male there. There was no sac hanging with testicles like a human, but there was a furred swelling, long and thick from the base of his groin rising up his belly. As her eyes wandered over the swelling, the top seemed to part and a slick golden rod emerged. The furred portion continued to part, slowly traveling down to rest at the base of his groin, completely exposing the flat topped rod. Once free of its furry covering, it stood out from his body and she could see a hint of red flesh peeking from a slit in the center of the flattened top. Knowledge burst into her brain and she flushed at her stupidity. Of course. This was his penis and she stared in fascination at it. It wasn’t huge, but it was definitely large and a throbbing awoke again between her thighs. She couldn’t seem to drag her eyes from it as Singeh crawled back upon the bed at her feet, taking them into his hands and moving them apart. Her breath caught and her heart jumped in anticipation the closer he drew to her. She

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wondered why she wasn’t feeling apprehensive, but she forgot to think of anything at all when he wrapped her feet behind his back and he lowered himself between her open legs. His hand came up and grasped his penis and stroked it as he guided it down between her legs. She jumped, surprised when a clear stream of fluid spurted from the slit on top of his penis and landed on her clit. Suddenly she tingled and burned, her clit throbbing mercilessly. She groaned at the feeling. He ejected another spurt as the tip lowered even closer. This stream coated the entrance to her body. All the nerves at the opening of her vagina sprang to life at the touch of the fluid and her body swelled of its own accord, blood rushing to the tissues, readying her for Singeh’s possession. She moaned as Singeh fitted his penis at her opening. Her heels dug into the small of his back, urging him to hurry. Once in position, Singeh watched Mary Jane’s face for signs of discomfort. Her body was much smaller than any female he had covered before and he didn’t want to hurt her. He eased his hips forward, his arms shaking as he held his body off of hers. He snarled at the feel of her tight sheath as her muscles parted and he slid inside of her body. He tried to stop once he entered her, but another spurt of fluid in her channel caused her to cry out wildly and her hips to jerk up and take him further inside. She reached out with her hands and grabbed his shoulders, trying to pull him down on her as her hips rose and fell beneath his. Singeh, caught up in Mary Jane’s excitement, could not hold out against her demands. Conditioned to give a female what ever she insisted upon, he thrust into her body with a long sure stroke, guiding her hips with one hand. He could feel his fal e’ tele cleaving through her channel, the fluid from his body slick inside her as he released more and more of it to ease the tight fit. Soon she dripped with his juices and her sheath heated to almost unbearable heights as he thrust harder and harder into her willing body. She couldn’t understand what happened to her. Her body felt on fire. Her insides burned with intense pleasure as Singeh’s cock pulled and dragged on her tissues as he moved in and out of her. She felt the pinching pain of his size but didn’t care, the sensation only heightening her pleasure. Shocked, she realized it was her voice calling to him to move faster, harder. Her voice crying out gutturally as he complied, his hips beginning to hammer at hers. Each hard thrust had her screaming out as he hit bottom only to slam back when he withdrew again. Suddenly, Singeh withdrew and pulled her legs from around his back. Mary Jane frantically grabbed at him, trying to wind her legs around him again. She pushed up with her hips, trying to bring him back inside of her aching body. He easily held her off and flipped her over on her stomach. When she tried to get up on her hands and knees, Singeh pushed her flat again, covering her with his heavy body. His breath was hot in her ear when he growled beside her head. “Lay still, Marrrry Jannne. I must…I need to take you like this.” Panting, she writhed under him as he gathered her pillows and shoved them under her hips raising them up until he was satisfied they were at the right height he desired. When he

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spread her legs apart this time, he stopped to admire the small globes of her backside and the view of her priti at this angle. Singeh used his superior strength to hold her hips down with one hard forearm as his head dipped down. This time when he dragged his tongue over her exposed body he started at the swollen hard button jutting out from between her nether lips, stopping to dip into the small opening of her reddened priti before he worked his tongue over her anus and up the line that separated her butt cheeks. This time when his curled tongue pulled back, his musk was mingled with hers, creating a whole new taste as he spread their combined juices over the inside of his cheeks. His fal e’ tele swelled further, curling up and thickening as he covered her back with his body, guiding his cock inside her. One long stroke and he was buried again inside of her tight sheath, her heat surrounding his fal e’ tele and causing his teeth to grind as he fought for control. He needed to bring her to her peaks before he could allow his own pleasure to explode. Setting a rapid pace, Singeh rode Mary Jane’s body unmercifully, powering his way into her each time he pulled back. He could hear her unending cries and roared his satisfaction when she collapsed beneath him after another series of climaxes ended. His mouth opened and his jaws locked on her nape as he shuddered his own completion, strong jets of clear fluid bursting from the slit on top of the flat tip of his fal e’ tele throwing her into another strong orgasm. Singeh dragged his body off of Mary Jane’s, afraid of crushing her. His fal e’ tele slipped back into its protective sheath as he eased her off of the pile of pillows and on to her back. He lay curled into her side as she lay panting, her body wet with sweat and their combined body fluids. She didn’t open her eyes for some time and he waited patiently until she roused, moving slowly and her eyelids lifting. He cupped her cheek in one hand and spoke softly to her. “Are you all right, Marrrry Jannne?” His concern evident in his voice. She stared at him disbelievingly. She had never in her life ever experienced anything like what they had just shared. She had thought she knew what was coming when she let him into her room, but nothing she had known before compared to what had happened. She had experienced so many climaxes, she couldn’t count them and her body was still throbbing with demands. The insistent pulse between her thighs made her grow wetter, hotter. “I want you again,” she confessed, her legs moving restlessly on the bed. She felt her face flush deeper as she reached out to touch Singeh’s chest and run her fingers through the soft fur covering sleek muscles. His skin rippled as her hands explored his body. His broad shoulders and lean flanks each felt the touch of her fingers, but he only lay quivering under her hands, the bunching of his muscles and his rumbling purrs letting Mary Jane know he enjoyed her touch. Growing bolder, she turned sideways and levered herself up on her elbow reaching for the fur covered swelling on his lower abdomen. She lightly traced the contours of his hidden cock and was gratified when he made that unusual sharp noise again, a moan mixed with a snarl. The bulge swelled further under her touch and she watched fascinated as his fur parted at the top of the swelling and his penis began to slip from its covering. It was probably seven or

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eight inches long, the bare skin a darker golden tint than his fur. As each inch was slowly revealed, Mary Jane noted the differences between his cock and a human man’s. The head wasn’t rounded like humans. Instead it was flattened with a wide top that held an extra flap of tissue on the rim. The slit, horizontal instead of vertical, gaped open to reveal a reddish piece of flesh. Under her gaze, it kept swelling until the furred covering bunched at the base of the now completely exposed rod standing erect from Singeh’s groin. He remained still and unmoving under her gaze, obviously waiting on her to make a move. His cock twitched and swayed and a clear dribble of fluid bubbled from the slit and dripped down the sides of his erection to land on the covers. Mary Jane’s breathing hitched at the sight of the fluid and the insistent throbbing between her thighs grew more demanding. She reached out and wrapped her fingers around his cock, running her hand lightly up to the top then down to the base, spreading the slick fluid as more was released. Singeh breathed in great pants, trying to keep from mounting her again without preamble. Her touch had reached some place deep inside of him where no female had ever gone. Her admiration exposed by her gaze caused his heart to swell as rapidly as his fal e’ tele. She was gentle with her explorations and he fought his animal nature to guide her movements to better please him. He wasn’t accustomed to any female concerning herself with his pleasure. Once she had slicked his entire fal e’ tele with his juices and struck a slow rhythm, caressing him up and down, he unclenched a fist and reached down to grasp her knee and lift it to rest on his hip. He touched her open priti, fingering the swollen folds with the pads of his fingers, spreading them further to expose her equally swollen bud of nerves to his touch. Their explorations ended quickly as both Singeh’s and Mary Jane’s desire burned out of control. Soon they were panting in each others faces and she pulled on his cock, guiding it between her legs as Singeh removed his fingers from her dripping core to widen the space for his hips. His spurts of fluid coated her fingers and thighs as she fitted the flat head to her vagina, easing it inside before she let go. She reached up and wound her arms around Singeh’s thick neck as he glided inside of her, his hips bunching, setting a slower pace than before. Drowning her moans in the fur on his chest, she gasped and cried, tears falling down her cheeks at the intense pleasure that burned insistently between her thighs and deep inside where his cock stroked and teased her channel. She came again and again until she became hoarse from sobbing out her pleasure. Singeh could feel her growing limp in his embrace and knew her to be exhausted. Quickly, he picked up his pace and let go, the final jets of clear ejaculate gushing from his fal e’ tele to fill her and overflow onto his fur. When he caught his breath, he stroked her mussed braid and cuddled her to his chest. He lay quietly inside of her body, still semi-erect as he felt the rhythm of her breathing slow. Mary Jane lifted her head tiredly from Singeh’s chest. Her arms had loosened from around his neck and she tightened them again, drawing his face closer to her. An overwhelming feeling of affection surged in her heart as she looked into his golden eyes and saw an answering emotion glowing in his gaze. Once his face was level, she placed her mouth

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over his muzzle, unsure of how to kiss him, but suddenly needing to express her feelings without words. She rubbed her lips over the velvety texture of his soft lips and her tongue licked delicately at them. Singeh was shocked when she touched her muzzle to his. The tiny darts of her tongue on his lips caused his heart to swell in his chest. He purred deeply as he slowly rubbed his jaw and muzzle over hers, reciprocating her gesture in the only way he knew how. She suddenly sighed deeply and drifted off to sleep, her limbs entwined with his, his cock still seated inside of her body.

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Chapter Nine Mary Jane passed another disk back to Lortin and slid a new one into the small viewer in her left hand. She absently opened her mouth, accepted a piece of roasted fowl from Singeh’s greasy fingers, and chewed it. “You see, Marrrry Jannne.” Lortin pointed out a passage on the new disk. “It says nowhere in the wording that only people born after a certain year are Alliance citizens. Earthers are automatically granted the full rights and privileges of the Alliance and have equal protection under the law.” “Hmm…yes. I see what you mean, Lortin,” she said after she swallowed and tucked an errant curl behind her ear as she jotted a couple of lines down on her note pad. Barin, lying on his side, immediately reached out and tugged on one of the tight spirals, dislodging the strand again. Mary Jane, now more relaxed in the brothers’ presence, shoved her hair back in place and didn’t waste her breath taking him to task. Singeh had convinced her earlier that week, after spending their first two nights together in her bed, into wearing her hair loose once she entered their suite for the evening meal. Barin had been deeply fascinated with the halo of unmanageable curls and every evening, once he fed her a few bites, would play with the deep red strands. He would give her a mock innocent look from his golden eyes whenever she reprimanded him, causing her to soon give up. She and Lortin continued throughout the meal to plan strategy for the next day’s meeting in the Alliance General Council Chambers. It was time for her to make a move to establish her independence from the Council’s perception that she was theirs to do with as they pleased. She wanted to make decisions on her own future, not be arbitrarily shuffled around at the Council’s whim. Singeh, Barin, and Lortin were well aware they personally had little time to convince her to test them and take them to mate. She was fast approaching the fertile time in her cycle and according to Rasalasian law, once Singeh had brought her to his bed furs, if she did not test his brothers and permit them to breed her when she was fertile, they would have to allow any others the right to woo her from them. At the same time Singeh persuaded her to let her hair down in their company, he also convinced her to remain for the night in his room. He had slowly begun to broaden her sexual experiences each night in his bed. That first night upon his bed furs, once she shuddered in the throes of her first peak, he used his fingers to spread the slick juices from their joined bodies over her anus, sensitizing the puckered tissue and relaxing the tight muscles. He had gotten one long finger inserted before she crashed over another cliff of pleasure, crying out as he worked the digit deep into her back passage. All through the night he had continued the anal play until she eagerly welcomed the invasion of his fingers. Each night since, he introduced something new to their coupling. She had been quite fascinated with his selection of Rasalasian Feata toys, but hesitated to use a few of them. She readily accepted several long phallus shaped toys inside her priti but had balked at the smaller ones designed to stretch her back channel and prepare her for taking him there.

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It had taken a few nights, but he had gotten her to try one sel e’ tulu, a device used by their females to open the anal muscles and train them for mating. Rasalasian females had two clitorises, and unlike human females, they were buried deep inside their bodies. The first one was only used in the Tal e’ Feata. Buried deep in her priti at the mouth of the womb, it was stroked by fingers, fal e’ teles, and if a male was dexterous enough, tongues to bring her to her woman’s pleasure. But the second smaller clitoris was connected to the female’s ovaries. Lying about five or six inches along the anterior wall inside her anal passage, it had to be stimulated to breed. For a successful mating of the males and a female, one male would need to empty his seed into the womb while another stroked the bundle of nerves in the back passage, triggering ovulation. If a female allowed each eligible male in a family above maturity to breed her during a seasoning, she completed the traditional ritual binding her to the males, accepting them as her mates. Any kits conceived during a mating were claimed by all males that had bred her. Rasalasians raised the children of a female as their own and the individual parenting of a child was never considered important. Mary Jane, they were all aware, didn’t need the stimulation to release her eggs to be fertilized. But the brothers had agreed that their instincts would demand during a true mating that they complete the ritual as it was designed and none of them wanted her to be uncomfortable during the breeding. Singeh watched as she and Lortin talked animatedly about what she must do the next day, his ears tuning out their conversation. His focus was entirely on her face as she spoke. She was so expressive in her facial movements and her affection for Lortin shone from her eyes each time she looked at him. When she would shoot Barin a scolding glance each time she was forced to rearrange her hair, she showed her lessening of her initial fear of him. Singeh found hope in her reactions to his brothers. It was not unheard of for a male to take a female to mate singly, but these cases were rare and the male was always a single kit without siblings. He did not think he could let her go or take her to mate by himself. All three brothers were tense. The scenting of Mary Jane that evening had alerted each of them to her impending ovulation. Her hormone rich aroma had sent each one of their instincts clamoring to bed her and empty their seed inside of her womb. But Singeh had sent his siblings a warning glance. They had to wait. They had to pass through the Council session with her free of their influence before they could attempt the Tal e’ Feata or breeding. Singeh’s plans for that night among his furs would begin her final preparations for the event, should she be coaxed into accepting them. ***** Mary Jane moaned low in her throat as her fingers dug in the soft furs spread out underneath her. She clenched her teeth as her thighs trembled and she forced her knees deeper into the slick pile trying to keep from collapsing in a boneless heap. Singeh’s hands had left her hips, no longer holding her buttocks in the air as he finished, his cock deep in her ass. The pressure and the hint of pain had her moaning again as he sat buried inside of her, letting her absorb the intense feeling of fullness and the burning stretch in

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her rear end. She had almost refused him when he pulled from her gripping vaginal muscles and pressed against her anal opening, loosened and relaxed from the workings of his fingers. She didn’t understand the sudden surge of incredible lust and need to feel him take her there as the stream of lubricating fluid jetting from his body coated her, but as soon as the head of his erection touched her anal opening, she forgot her objections and pressed back against his invasion. The entire experience had been mind-blowing, the slight pain, the burning ache and the feel of him sliding in and out of her had taken her to a new level of sensual pleasure that had only intensified when Singeh had taken one of his toys and slipped it under her and pressed it slowly into her pussy. The added volume in her front passage had only made the fullness in her ass seem larger, the friction hotter and more powerful, causing her to explode and tighten on Singeh’s penis until she milked another climax from his body. She slowly buckled to her stomach, feeling Singeh’s cock slip from her body as she landed flat. She was breathing harshly, drawing great gulps of air into her starved lungs as she felt Singeh hover over her prone body. He panted as hard as she did, but he did not lie upon her back as was his usual custom whenever he took her from behind. Within seconds he lifted away from her for a minute, but he returned to place gentle hands on her waist and lift her and arrange her body upon the pallet of furs. Hot breath wafted across her cheek as Singeh leaned over her lowering his face along side of hers. His tongue lapped softly over her jaw and face, his voice a rumbling purr in her ears. “Marrrry Jannne, I have no words to say how you fill my heart, how you please my body. You are a miracle to me, to my family, to my people.” When she smiled, pleased by his words and tried to turn over, Singeh’s hands held her still. “Not yet, Marrrry Jannne,” Singeh sighed against her face. “But, Singeh, we have to get up,” she protested. “We have to get ready to attend the General Council meeting in a couple of hours and I need to finish preparing my speech.” “Not yet, please, Marrrry Jannne. I need to finish my preparations also,” Singeh answered vaguely as she subsided with a frowning look over her shoulder. When he pulled a selection of fluffy pillow-like furs closer and lifted her hips again into the air, Mary Jane’s smile curled into a wicked smirk. Her pussy clenched on the firm foam-like phallus still deep inside when a dart of renewed desire shot through her. He was insatiable, or maybe she was, she thought as he stuffed the furs under her belly and her body throbbed in anticipation when he pulled her legs apart. She had experienced more sex in the last week than in her entire life before she landed in the future and she still wanted more. Lying exposed, she widened her thighs, shifted her knees and arched her back. Her breath shuddered between her lips as she buried her face in the soft bedding and flexed her hips in Singeh’s face. When he didn’t immediately cover her body with his and try to slide his cock inside her, she lifted her head to glance over her shoulder. Curiously, Singeh sat back on his haunches, his

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gaze between her opened thighs. “Singeh?” she asked, puzzlement clear in her tone. He looked up and met her eyes for a second before his gaze dropped back down. “You are beautiful, Marrrry Jannne,” he breathed reverently, not seeing the flash of uncertainty in her eyes at his words. One hand reached out and cupped her mound in his palm. “Your priti is flushed and red, the eallie is moving back and forth as your muscles ripple around it, just as they do to my fal e’ tele when I am inside of you.” Singeh sighed deeply, “But it is time to release it from your body.” With those words, Singeh’s fingers grasped the toy’s base and he eased it from her clinging body. Her muscles clamped down at first, trying to keep it inside, but a stronger tug had it slipping from her with a soft slurping noise. Singeh was tempted to pump the tool back in as she moaned, but he grasped hold on his self-control and quickly rid himself of the device. Reaching behind him, he dropped it in the case. He fumbled for a second, finding the special sel e’ tulu. It was shaped much differently than the eallie, made specifically for the back passage and to be worn inside the body for long periods of time to prepare a female for breeding. “Now, I must give you the sel e’ tulu. Will you wear it for me, Marrrry Jannne?” he asked, one hand still cupping her mound, while the other lifted the device and placed it at her anus. He watched as her eyes widened and her gaze turned unsure. He pressed lightly and the slim rounded tip eased past the tight entrance, then he stopped. When she didn’t protest but still stared at him uncertainly, he pressed a little harder, driving the tapered bulb deeper inside. He watched the ring of her anal opening blossom around the appliance. “Wear it for me today, hold it inside your body and, as you feel it as you move, remember me here deep inside of you this morning.” Mary Jane’s eyes heated at his words. The feeling of the fat toy sliding deeper into her ass definitely reminded her of his cock breaching her in the same way. She took a deep breath and relaxed her butt muscles, pushing against the invasion, feeling it stretching her wide. Once he stopped pushing and moved away from her, she clenched her butt, feeling the bulk of the toy and the tight fit of her muscles around its base. A frisson of erotic sensation shot though her rear at her movements and she gasped out loud. “I…I am not sure I can wear this out in public, Singeh. It makes me feel…I don’t think I will be able to walk with this in,” she protested. Singeh reached out and gently turned her over, pulling the extra furs from underneath her body. He stood quickly, beating down the erection that was threatening to escape his control. He had never before wanted a female so often. He usually had to switch with Barin with each coupling so he could recuperate before he could cover a female again. He took her hands in his and helped her to her feet. “Come, let us bathe and dress. You will grow more accustomed to it in a few minutes and see that you can walk.” Singeh pushed at her shoulder, guiding her towards the bathing room across the bedroom. His eyes watched her awkward gait as she moved ahead of him. She was definitely walking differently, her legs splayed out further as she tried not to jar the sel e’ tulu. “I notice you don’t say that I will get used to it and forget about it.” He was on her heels in a second, his hand sliding down over her butt cheeks, his fingers delving in the cleft between to flick the base of the anal plug. Her steps faltered as Mary Jane gasped at the surge of hot sensation in her ass and his equally hot words in her ear.

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“Oh, no, Marrrry Jannne. I do not want you to forget about it. I want you to remember it each second of the rest of this day and to think about how it is going to feel tonight after our evening meal when I fill your priti with my fal e tele’ and this is still deep in your back passage.”

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Chapter Ten Mary Jane sat quietly listening to the representative from Qurilian expound endlessly on some trading agreement between his planet and a consortium of solar systems. She knew from Lortin and Singeh’s coaching that their turn to speak would come when the Qurilian member finished. The Rasalasians were going to forfeit their place in the schedule so she could address the full council. Her heart beat hard in her chest and she trembled with anxiety. She nervously wiped her palms down her trouser legs and tried to concentrate on the speech she and Lortin had developed to address the council members. She felt uncomfortable sitting alone in her box and realized just how accustomed she had become to having one or more of the Ak’ l Bakkars constantly with her. She fought the urge to squirm in her seat as the Qurilian minister droned on and on. When she had shifted in her seat earlier, the jolt of pleasure that had shot from her stuffed bottom almost made her cry out loud. She had kept herself still since then but, just as promised, she never forgot that the plug was inside of her. She would unconsciously clench her muscles around it and her pussy would weep as she remembered Singeh’s vow that morning. With her mind drifting in a rather graphic fantasy, the members and visitors erupting into polite applause startled her. Flushing embarrassed at her daydreams, Mary Jane’s head dropped and she fumbled with her notebook. The minister from Qurilian took his seat. Anxiety skittered over her nerves, causing her hands to shake. She felt the moment Singeh stood and left his box. The surrounding tiers had grown quiet once his planet’s delegation was announced and the soft rustle of his leathers could be heard as he made his way to the center podium. “Gentle beings, I thank you for your attention.” Singeh began his prepared speech. Pride replaced the fear as she listened to Singeh plead his planet’s cause so eloquently. She knew he was waiting for her to stand and request to speak, but she and Lortin had agreed on waiting towards the end of his speech. They didn’t know when Singeh would receive another chance to explain their needs and she knew it made little difference when she was given control of the floor. As she took in Singeh’s speech, she lost her sense of injustice about her situation. She had not once asked any of the brothers why they were petitioning the Alliance. As she listened to their reproductive problems and the effects that still lingered three hundred years after the plague, she felt quite small. Mary Jane caught one of Singeh’s questioning looks as his eyes passed over her box. Forgetting the audience, she smiled widely at him in apology. His puzzled eyes reminded her of their plan and she gave him a slight nod. When Singeh spoke the final words of his speech, thanking the council members, she stood and cleared her throat. “Would…” Her voice came out in a squeak. “Would the honorable representative of Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad yield the floor?” The applause abruptly ended as a hush fell over the assembly. Singeh gave her a look of approval as the rest of the members, staff, and guests turned in their seats and stared at her in surprise. “The representative of Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad yields to the human lady, Marrrry Jannne Wilssson.” Singeh made the formal and correct reply. Protests, startled comments, and

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outraged attempts to gain back control of the session erupted around her as she stepped out of her box. She kept her eyes on Singeh and ignored the thousands of sets of eyes marking her progress as she approached the center dais. Singeh stepped out from behind the center podium and met her at the edge of the raised platform, reaching down to take her hand and help her up the tall step. The crowd continued to shout out around them. Singeh leaned close to her ear whispering, “Stand your ground, Marrrry Jannne, and do not let them intimidate you. What ever you do, do not give up your control of the floor. This is your moment, make the most of it.” With a lingering trail of fingers over the small of her back, Singeh turned and strode back to his box. Mary Jane kept her gaze on his figure until he entered his box to sit next to his brothers. They both caught her gaze, Lortin giving her a supportive nod of encouragement, and Barin sending her a smoldering look from his golden eyes. Startled, she looked down at her notebook, wondering at the intensity of Barin’s frankly sexual look, confused for a second. The crowd had not settled down much and she lifted her head to defiantly scan the tiers surrounding her. At her look, most of the members quieted and the Chief Delegate appeared at her elbow, speaking loud enough to be heard over the remaining rumbles from the seats. “Miss Wilson, perhaps you would allow me to speak? I am sure you are not accustomed to this forum and…” “No, thank you, Sir. I know what I am doing, but perhaps you would make yourself available for some questions?” She spoke firmly. Lortin and Singeh warned her about giving an inch to anyone who would speak. Once she lost her control of the proceedings, it was likely she would never get it back. Under Alliance law, once a citizen had the floor, he or she could direct the subject and tone of the session as long as they kept control of the floor. She intended to keep control until all her questions were answered and she gained command of her own fate. “Gentle beings of the Council, Chief Delegate, and Delegates of the Inner Council, I wish to verify my status as a citizen of the Alliance and to demand my rights under said citizenship.” When the seats erupted in protest, Mary Jane had to close her mouth as her next words were drowned out. When the din didn’t subside, she gathered up the gavel sitting on the top of the podium in its holder and banged it vigorously, surprising the assembly and herself with her energetic pounding. When they abruptly fell silent, she set the gavel back firmly. Her tone had changed, angry at the interruption. “That’s better. Now as I was saying, I wish to explore my rights as a citizen of the Alliance and your attempts to usurp my rights under the law by taking away those decisions that belong only to me concerning my future.” She let the dull roar that flowed over the room subside on its own this time. It didn’t last long and as soon as they settled down again she turned to the Chief Delegate and addressed him. “Chief Delegate, according to Alliance Law, is it not true that I am a citizen of the Alliance with all rights and privileges accorded to any citizen?” “Well, Miss Wilson, you have to admit your situation is unique," replied the Chief Delegate. Mary Jane’s voice was soft, but insistent. “But, Sir, that is not what I asked you. Am I not, a woman born on Earth, automatically accorded all right and privileges as a citizen of the Alliance?”

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“As I said, the situation is…” She raised her voice and cut across the Chief Delegate’s attempt to not answer her question. “Yes or no, Sir? According to the ratified constitution dated 1261.34 Earth citizens shall be included and afforded all rights and privileges with full protection under Alliance Law. Is that not what it says?” “Well…yes…but…” “Thank you, Chief Delegate," she interrupted again. “And as a citizen of the Alliance with full rights and privileges, and as it seems the entire council has declared me unfit to make my own decisions as to my future, I would now demand that you produce the court order or proclamation that has declared me to be unfit.” Her eyes traveled the tiers stopping once in awhile to make eye contact with someone. Her eyes stopped at the Rasalasian delegation, seeing their combined looks of pride and encouragement as the silence lengthened and no one spoke. “Chief Delegate of the Council, is there such a document from an incompetence hearing?” Mary Jane speared the tall alien with a look that let him know she was not going to give up until he answered. “No, there has been no such hearing as you know, Miss Wilson,” he admitted reluctantly. “Therefore, according to Alliance Law, since I am able and willing to make the decisions required about my life, and I am not subject to the will of the council in this matter, I would formally declare that I do not recognize the General or Inner Council’s authority in the matter of choosing where I go and what I do to secure my future.” The chamber erupted again as the entire delegate body shouted either encouragement, approval, and in most cases derision, at Mary Jane’s pronouncement. She held her ground, just as Singeh had counseled her and waited for the assembly to calm. “And…and, as I try to make those decisions,” Mary Jane raised her voice to reach over the last rumbles from the tiers, “I would ask the General Council’s leave to seek their advice, and considerable experience, to reach a well formed plan to secure the best future for myself.” Her last sentence caused the last rumbles to disappear. Her obvious concession to the General Council’s ego went a long way to soothing the members objections. When she had set her strategy with Lortin, she was very conscious that she knew very little about the future and what her options could be. She wanted the assurance that she had some help to fall back on in case she found she really was unable to make an informed decision. Catching Lortin’s eye, she gave him a subtle nod and smile. Their plan was working. Even though Lortin knew his brothers’ plans for her, plans that he wholeheartedly supported, he acknowledged their possible failure with Mary Jane. She was so unlike any of the females from his planet. Soft-spoken, warm and giving, she was the opposite of any Rasalasian woman he had ever met. Lortin ached for her, needed her to accept him and Barin as she had accepted Singeh. He knew he would probably only hold her friendship throughout their mating, should she choose them all, but he found in himself a need he had never felt before. He needed this bonded unit with his brothers and not live solitary any longer. He watched as Singeh and Barin left the box along with the rest of the assembly when the Chief Delegate called the afternoon’s session to an end. She remained on the dais

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surrounded by the inner seven of the council. His brothers headed straight for Mary Jane, ready to return with her to the suite and stake their claim, hoping that since she was very close to the fertile part of her cycle, she would submit to the Tal e’ Feata and test them. Once the Tal e’ Feata was completed, they would be free to try and breed her during her fertile season, cementing the bond and finishing the mating ritual. By the time the Rasalasian delegation made it to the dais, a large number of delegates and members alike surrounded the platform seeking to learn more of the quiet human female who had, with devastating logic, secured her right to choose her own way in the Alliance. Barin almost snarled with frustration as the crowd barred their way. “Singeh, these fools could not see the treasure before their eyes a week ago and now they keep us from our prospective mate. Shall I remove them from our path?” Singeh felt a combination of intense pride in Mary Jane’s accomplishment and the same frustration mixed with trepidation at the importance of the next few hours. He would like nothing better than to unsheathe his ceremonial sword and cut a swath through the delegates and members blocking his progress, but thought better of it. Her rout of the Council would not be tarnished by his, or any of his brother’s actions. “I think not, Barin. This is her victory and we must let her enjoy it to the fullest.” “You are serious? Does she really think that these idiots can help her decide what is best for her? She will be loved and protected under our name once she accepts us to mate,” Barin argued as he watched her diligently over the heads of the people in front of them. “Yes, I know she will, but she must come to discover it herself.” “And you do not intend to help her along with this discovery?” Barin snorted inelegantly. Singeh stopped his forward progress and turned to look at his littermate. “Barin, I have done all I could in the last days to show her what delights that await her under our protection. We know it is not her way or the way of her people normally to take three mates. We will not force the issue as our ancestors did before the plague. Patience, my brother, and we shall be rewarded.” They finally reached her side only to hear her grant the Secretary of Intergalactic Affairs from Earth an appointment. Disappointment came crashing down upon the brothers as they overheard her agree to a meeting right away. Mary Jane turned to the AK l Bakkars, a wide smile on her face, one for once she didn’t try to hide behind her hand. Her emerald eyes glowed with happiness and satisfaction at the outcome of the afternoon. None of the brothers could find it in themselves to wipe that look from her face. “Oh, there you are. It went so well, didn’t it? The Secretary has asked me to meet with him and the rest of his office right away so they can help. Isn’t that great?” She spoke with quiet excitement. “What about the evening meal, Marrrry Jannne?” questioned Singeh softly into her ear. The hand touching her back slid surreptitiously down to her rear and lightly brushed her cleft, causing her cheeks to clench on the sel e’ tulu and a deeper flush to flood her face. “I will join you as soon as I finish talking with the Secretary,” she promised Singeh earnestly, looking into his eyes. Sighing, he agreed, ignoring Barin’s rumbling growl of dissatisfaction. “Until later then,

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Chapter Eleven Mary Jane followed the Secretary of Intergalactic Affairs into his office and took a chair opposite his desk. Flushed and elated by her triumph in the General Session, May Jane barely noticed the grim expression on the Secretary’s face. She also ignored the small interchange between him and Miss McBride in the outer office when the Secretary whispered in his assistant’s ear as he passed. She scooted her chair closer to the desk when Mr. Daniels sat down. She spread a number of sheets of paper over the top facing him. “Now, Secretary Daniels, as you can see I have been doing quite a lot of research into the future…well, the present now. But anyway, there are a number of educational opportunities I could try for. But I will need to find a job first…” Daniels broke in on her and caught her attention to the fact that he was not pleased at all by the turn of events. “Miss Wilson, it’s plain to see by today’s actions that you have been very busy researching Alliance Law. Do you have any conception of what you have done?” he demanded, his face scowling. “Why yes, sir,” she answered, puzzled by his frowning face. “I have secured my right to choose for myself the direction of my future.” “I guess you could call it that,” Secretary Daniels came back sarcastically as he stood up and began to pace the confines of his office. “What you have done is removed yourself from almost all assistance from the Council. No room at the inn. No meals. No clothing allowance, unless of course, you have a way to pay for these things yourself?” His arms waved in sharp movements around his head. When she sat stunned and speechless by his tone and his revelations, he gave her a grim smile. “Exactly, I am afraid you will have a difficult time finding employment, but I suspect that is not going to be a problem for you.” “Why?” she asked, growing more puzzled by the minute. “Well, Miss Wilson, everyone on the Starbase is well aware of your, shall we say, intimate connection with the Rasalasian delegation.” She was shocked by the implication apparent in the Secretary’s voice and tone. She had no clue why his office would care or even make the effort to find out what she had been doing the last ten days. Embarrassed heat flooded her face, but as suddenly as it came it left as a haze of anger spread over her. “You have been spying on me? How dare you! Why….why…” She sputtered to a halt, unable to express her outrage. “Miss Wilson, whether or not you believe me, you are my responsibility. I hesitated to say anything to you. After all, I don’t know you and you might be accustomed to having, er…affairs.” Mary Jane’s face heated again, but anger still seethed inside her. “Mr. Daniels, I don’t care what you think I am doing or who I am doing it with. My…my love life is no ones business but my own.”

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She realized the truth in her statement. She had moved from just enjoying a night or two of sex to a more emotional attachment with Singeh. For the first time in her life she had a love life. She had moved beyond sex to making love. She felt secure in Singeh’s affection for her. He showed her how he felt with his touch, his gaze and his insistence on her pleasure. No man had ever taken such consideration with her before and she found it heady and telling. “Miss Wilson, I ah…well my concern…this is difficult.” Mr. Daniels was clearly disturbed by something and she lost some of her anger as she frowned, watching him return to his chair. “What? I don’t understand, Mr. Daniels,” she asked. The Secretary was clearly uncomfortable. His eyes wouldn’t meet hers and he thrust a hand through his hair as he fidgeted in his seat. “Miss Wilson, perhaps it would be better if I asked a couple of questions first. What do you know about the Rasalasian delegate’s reasons for petitioning the Alliance for admittance?” Mary Jane’s frown deepened as she searched her memory. She really hadn’t paid much attention to the news reports about the Rasalasians except superficially. Most of what she had read had been recent and concerned their social life on the Starbase and not the political reasons for their visit. Except for Singeh’s speech about their population problems after the plague that had decimated the planet, she really didn’t know much. “Well, I know what Singeh said today in his speech, but I really haven’t had those kinds of discussions with him or his brothers,” she said slowly, wondering why Daniels had mentioned it. Secretary Daniels sighed deeply and rubbed his face with his hand. “Listen, Miss Wilson, I really don’t like to interfere with someone’s personal life. It really isn’t my business, but you are a special case for me—for the government, actually. I asked Miss McBride to contact Dr. Van Horn to come and speak with you.” Daniels hesitated for a heartbeat, then plunged on. “I am sorry but I do have to ask you, have you had sex with them all?” “What?” Mary Jane, shocked to her toes, yelped. Her mouth opened and closed several times after her first outburst, but nothing came out. Daniels rubbed his face again, “That’s what I thought.” Before he could speak again, there was a soft chime from the outer office that alerted Daniels to the arrival of Dr. Van Horn. Relief showed starkly on the Secretary’s face as he touched a panel on his desk to open the door. Standing quickly, Daniels moved around the desk and strode across the room in quick impatient steps, his hand out thrust towards the rather vague looking little man who entered his office. He grabbed the man’s hand and pumped his arm vigorously as he guided him to Mary Jane’s chair. “Doctor, how good of you to come so quickly. I want to introduce you to Miss Wilson,” Daniels said. He dragged Van Horn over to her shocked figure still sitting stunned in her chair, watching the two men blankly. “Miss Wilson, this is Dr. Cyrus Van Horn. I asked him to come and explain a few things about you’re, ah...new friends. Cyrus, Miss Mary Jane Wilson. You will remember that I spoke to you about her a few days ago?” Daniels prompted.

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Dr. Van Horn dropped Daniels hand like a hot brick and turned suddenly fascinated eyes on her. He stared quite openly at her, but his expression wasn’t the normal one she had grown accustomed to when people looked at her. His eyes held a lively intelligence that belied his rather scatter-brained appearance. He walked up, grabbing another chair and dragging it next to hers, before he sat down facing her. She held his gaze, suddenly sure that this nondescript little man with his unkempt hair and untidy clothes was really very discriminating. He probably used the absent-minded professor routine to discourage unwanted interruptions. When his left eyelid lowered into a wink, hidden from Secretary Daniels, she was sure she was right. “I see we understand each other, Miss Wilson,” Dr. Van Horn said, a small smile ticking at the corner of his mouth. Ignoring the suddenly sharp look from Daniels as he sat back down behind his desk, Dr. Van Horn leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and kept his gaze on her. “I know you are wondering why I am here and I won’t keep you in suspense. Secretary Daniels called on me earlier this week when he became aware of your visits to the Rasalasians suite and your daily trips to the library with the youngest Ak’ l Bakkar prince.” He paused as she lost her puzzled look and the beginnings of anger moved over her face. “I will tell you what I told Mr. Daniels. My life is my business and I don’t welcome your interference in my personal habits. Just why are you so interested in what I am doing?” she asked suspiciously. Dr. Van Horn’s gaze didn’t waver as he sat back in the chair, crossed one ankle over his knee and folded his hands, fingers touching his pursed mouth. “I agree that your personal business is your own, Miss Wilson. But you must understand, you did ask leave of the Alliance General Council to aid you in making decisions and that is why I am here. Not to give you advice, but to give you complete information so you can make a well informed decision about your life.” Mary Jane’s eyes narrowed on the Doctor. “Why would the Secretary ask me if I have had sex with all of the Rasalasians?” Dr. Van Horn’s eyebrows shot up at that, causing his head to turn and give the Secretary a mocking look before he turned back to her. “Miss Wilson, I know quite a bit about the Rasalasians. I was consulted in my professional capacity when they arrived here months ago. But first let me clear up a slight misunderstanding. Daniels wasn’t asking if you had sex with all the Rasalasians, he was only asking if you had been intimate with all the Princes.” “I…I…what a question to ask. No, certainly not,” she answered the Doctor. She was embarrassed by not only the question, but her unexpected reaction to it. For some perverted reason, the thought of being intimate with Singeh’s brothers didn’t disgust her. After the first few seconds of shock, she had felt a forbidden tingle of excitement at the idea. “I see.” It was the Doctor’s turn to narrow his eyes on her. “Have they attempted to have sex with you?” She faltered, embarrassment draining away at the look in the Doctor’s eyes. For some reason he was asking these crazy questions, important reasons. “Why?” she demanded, suddenly nervous at what the man had to say.

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“I think it’s best that we cover some history before I go into much detail. What do you know about the Rasalasian problems? The ones they came to us to help solve?” Van Horn asked, watching Mary Jane’s face carefully. “Well, I only know what Singeh said in his speech today, basically. I watched some of the news stories on the computer, but that was mostly about social events. I understand they are having trouble building the population back up after a devastating plague that happened a long time ago,” she answered thoughtfully. Van Horn nodded his shaggy head and leaned forward again. “Listen, Miss Wilson, there is a lot more to their population problem than the plague. You know it happened over three hundred years ago, right?” And at Mary Jane’s nod, he continued. “Well, from what I have been able to learn, there were some problems before the plague hit. It didn’t help matters that there were too few females born. It seems the male’s seed contains almost exclusively male sex markers. They rarely had female offspring as it was. “Then the plague hit. They lost millions of males, but they lost a lot of females. They were left with a few thousand females and that hasn’t increased much over the centuries.” She knew the crux of the issue was coming by Daniel’s face and the Doctor’s tensing figure in his chair. “So why are they here?” “Their society has changed drastically since the plague. Females were well protected because unmated males would stage raids on families with a female and essentially take her forcibly. She would be mated with that family if they were able to successfully get her out of her home. Or there would be arranged political marriages if you will. This was normal and an acceptable way of life.” “Then the plague hit,” she commented. Dr. Van Horn gave her a look of approval. “Yes, then the plague hit. The society became a more female driven one, at least socially and for marriage purposes. Now the females travel around the planet and they choose their mates. The males must prove their virility and their ability to protect her. No female is accosted or restricted anymore. She has complete control over her choices.” “Doctor, what is your specialty?” Mary Jane asked, suddenly sure what it was but needing to hear it from the doctor himself. “As you might have guessed, I specialize in fertility problems and matching species for breeding. I normally handle interspecies breeding problems. If a human and say a Zibrlian should decide they want to marry, they come to me and I see if they can create children or not.” A hard lump settled in Mary Jane’s chest, a premonition of disaster coming over her. “And the Rasalasians asked you to find these breeding matches, I assume?” Dr. Van Horn nodded again. “Yes, they wanted our help in finding ways to fix their mismatched birth rates. They also have trouble with too many still births in a litter. But they did want to find out if they could breed successfully with any other species.” She licked her dry lips and forced the question out. “And humans…are humans a match?” “Yes, they are, Miss Wilson,” came the soft reply, eyes watching her reaction closely. She stood slowly and walked around the room, thinking hard. She remembered the two

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brothers as they approached her at her first Council meeting and knew that her being human was at least one reason that they introduced themselves. Sadness welled inside her, burning her lungs as she tried to breathe calmly. Did Singeh, did all the brothers, think of her as a brood mare? Was that why they were lavishing all this attention on her? A sudden terrifying thought crossed her mind as the frequency and intensity of their sexual encounters came rushing back to her. She turned a pale face back on the doctor and wrung her hands. “Doctor, could I…could I be pregnant? I have been with Singeh several times.” Boy, what an understatement that was, she thought almost hysterically, feeling the anal plug still buried deep in her ass. “That would depend on several things, Miss Wilson. That was why I asked about whether or not you had sex with all the Princes. In their society a female takes all the siblings in a family of males to mate. The females require certain, stimulation so to speak, to ovulate. They always have multiple births and any one or all of the males in a family can father the children in a litter.” “Oh!” Mary Jane’s shocked exclamation echoed around the room. When she didn’t say anything else, Dr. Van Horn continued. “You see, when I had the Princes come in to give me samples of their semen for testing, I thought at first I had discovered the reason for the declining births. The ejaculate samples from each of them held no sperm. The fluid was clear and very rich in chemicals that I have never seen before, but there were no fertilizing cells. “When I had the Crown Prince come in and explained the lack of sperm in their ejaculate, he informed me that unless a female was ovulating and triggered a certain olfactory gland with her scent, they never released sperm. “We tested the fluids extensively and discovered that the chemicals caused an intense reaction in the nerve cells, creating stronger orgasms in a female and increasing her ability to feel pleasure. “Once we were able to find the scent trigger, we got some viable samples to test and discovered their trait of almost entire concentrations of male sperm cells.” Dr. Van Horn stopped his lecture and met her eyes again. “Now as to your question, unless you accepted all three of the Princes into your bed and only if you were ovulating at the time, could you get pregnant.” The doctor raised his brows at her and waited patiently as she caught her breath and absorbed all the information they had given her. “I guess then the answer would be no, I couldn’t be pregnant. Thank you, doctor.” Mary Jane’s mind buzzed with all that Dr. Van Horn had said. Why hadn’t they told her? Why hadn’t Singeh told her about their way of life? Was it because he truly didn’t care for her? Was he using her for just sex? Or did he expect her to have sex with his brothers, too? Did he know how his body fluids would affect her? Had they planned to addict her to their bodies? To sex? She couldn’t think. There was so much running through her mind it was spinning. She could feel a bubble of hysteria growing in her throat and she knew she was on the verge of screaming.

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She needed to get out of the office, needed to think. If she could only think this through, everything would be all right. “Excuse me, Doctor and Mr. Daniels. I have got to go. I have got to think about this.” She rushed towards the door only to find it blocked by the Doctor, his eyes concerned. “Miss Wilson, I only told you about the Rasalasian mating customs so you would be aware of what they might ask of you. It is by no means a certainty that a full mating is what the Princes have in mind. I know for a fact that the middle brother has been quite active on the Starbase with a number of different females so we considered it possible that Singeh AK’ El Bakkar was indulging in…” Dr. Van Horn’s voice trailed away as he saw his word’s impact on Mary Jane’s pale face. She had winced visibly when he had said indulging and he knew that although she had been attentive and listened with intelligent understanding, it was obvious she was emotionally involved with at least one of the princes. She trembled and tried to take hold of her shaky thoughts and emotions. She really needed to leave, needed to find somewhere where she could sort out the crazy ideas that were whirling around in her head. Tears burned her eyes and she was afraid she would further embarrass herself if she didn’t get away. “Thank you, Doctor. I really need to go. I have to think about this and I can’t do that here,” Mary Jane choked out. Mercifully, Dr. Van Horn stepped away and activated the door’s sensors, effectively opening it for her. Shooting him a grateful look from her moist eyes, she made her escape from the Secretary’s office.

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Chapter Twelve Mary Jane rushed blindly from the Secretary’s office and right past the avid gaze of Luella McBride. Tears stung her eyes. She barely noticed Miss McBride’s sneer or her hand raise as if to stop her progress. Nothing the older woman could have said or done would have stopped her headlong flight from the government offices. Once she reached the hallway, she plunged into the crowds making their way in all directions, intent on their destinations. She had automatically headed back to her room at the inn. She barely paid attention to the people she jostled and finally became aware of her surroundings when she took a corner blindly and plowed into someone’s back. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she mumbled an apology, skirting around the man’s still figure only to stop and take in the area. She was in the small shopping district close to her room. I can’t go back there. Memories of the two nights Singeh had spent in her bed crowded her mind. Fresh tears flooded her eyes as she remembered how sweetly, erotically, Singeh had pleasured her body those two nights. There was no way she could face those memories in that room. Why had they done it? She cried inside her mind as she turned abruptly and headed in a new direction. Had Lortin befriended her, worked at her side every day, to teach her Alliance law only looking for a way to bed her? And Barin, a sudden flash of memory brought back the look he had given her that afternoon when she had won her independence from the council. Now, the frankly sexual look of hunger in his golden eyes made sense. Was the playboy prince anticipating screwing her next? A flush of anger covered her rioting emotions. She felt as if each of them had led her down the garden path, deceiving her on purpose just so they could get her into bed, each of their beds. After all, when had anyone really cared about her? What she thought, how she felt? Sharp pain stabbed her heart and a harsh weight settled on her chest pushing the air from her lungs. Echoes of whispers filled her ears as Mary Jane veered off down one less traveled passageway until she found an open door. The scent of soil reached her and she followed her nose into a large thriving garden. Well defined paths meandered through towering bushes and flowering shrubs. She found an isolated section where a bench sat off in a bower of ivy and sweet smelling blooms of strange neon purple. She slumped down onto the padded surface and let the echoes fill her mind. She replayed Singeh’s words spoken the last week in his bed. Had he lied when he purred into her ears those sweet words of pleasure and love? For they had been love words she recognized. Words of praise as she responded obediently to his guiding hands, growled words of pleasure when ever she had used her hands or mouth to return the gifts of pleasure he had bestowed on her. Remembering the fierce look in his golden eyes and the tension in his hard muscles when he eased his body inside of hers, Mary Jane had been sure he was deeply affected by their joining and thought he had been holding back his own desires to ensure her pleasure.

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Silent tears kept falling as she relived each and every moment with Singeh, Lortin and Barin. She recognized the small signals, now, that she had missed before. The scenting each time she entered the suite, the subtle touches by Barin and his teasing games with her hair. Lortin’s shy admiration that held a hint of what she had considered an adolescent crush, but now realized was bashful desire. It was true. They all wanted her. But did they care for her? If anyone had asked that morning, she would have confidently asserted that both Barin and Lortin liked her and Singeh loved her. But now doubts assailed her as she again went over each and every encounter with the princes. Did each of them conspire to make her believe that they were her friends to lead to becoming her lover? Did they see her as their only chance at having children and were willing to take someone like her instead of one of their own kind? Choking back a sob, she again felt the device Singeh had placed that morning in her rear as her muscles spasmed around it. Hot desire shot through her as she remembered that morning’s session of love making with Singeh and his hot words of promise for pleasure that evening. Her body throbbed with desire and she grew damp as her mind seemed to take on a life of its own. Wild fantasies sprung alive as she played scenarios through her mind of her with Singeh making love, only to have his face replaced by one of his brothers. Shocked and disgusted with her self, she tried to shake off the pictures running through her head, sure that she was sick. How could any woman love one man but have such thoughts about his brothers? Were Dr. Van Horn’s descriptions of the mating rights of the Rasalasians the cause of her sudden wild desires? Or did she really feel that way about Barin and Lortin? She couldn’t ignore the surge of wild excitement she had felt at the thought while in Mr. Daniel’s office and now as her mind lingered on the idea. It was against everything she had been taught, everything she had believed about herself and her morals. She was definitely aroused by the thought of having all three princes for herself. Standing up quickly, wiping her eyes with her fingers, Mary Jane wandered back onto the path and followed it until it passed by a wall of tall windows with seats. Standing in front of the wall and seated along the side of the walk were a number of different beings all watching the scene on the other side. She quickly turned to look out, rubbing at her pale cheeks to remove any traces of the tears she had shed and hiding her face from the others. She sniffed, dabbing at her nose with the sleeve of her tunic, as her eyes took in the port lying just outside the windows. A number of ships of all sizes were docked along the long tentacles reaching out from the port while smaller craft zipped along their sides, delivering passengers and goods to the spaceships. She stood there for hours, watching the coming and going of the ships large and small, taking special note of the ships that seemed to be permanently docked. Her restless mind worked on the puzzle of the princes and her feelings as she pondered what she had learned. Logically, her mind told her that Singeh, Barin and Lortin acted just as they should. After all, who was she to say their way of life was wrong? That their culture and the way they

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had been brought up to behave and believe was immoral? How could she believe they were perverted whenever her own thoughts about such a possibility caused her arousal? It was why they had apparently chosen her that was a mystery to her. And her sudden wild fantasies were not quite so sudden, she had to admit. She had been instantly attracted to Singeh when he had spoken to her at the first meeting she attended at the General Council. But to be honest, her initial fear of Barin hadn’t been so much for his intense aura of animalistic danger, but for the equally intense desire reflected in his eyes when he had looked at her. Barin radiated an almost overpowering sexual allure that had frightened her. Or at least her reaction had frightened her, which was why she had responded so readily to Singeh. He was as focused as Barin in his regard, but in a calmer manner that she had felt was easier to handle. She admitted to her self as she watched the spaceport that she was as attracted to Barin as she was to Singeh, but was afraid she couldn’t handle him. Lortin was different. She really liked him, really cared about him. The hours spent researching Alliance law had given her a chance to learn much more about him than she learned about his brothers. He was open about who he was, what interested him, and what he liked to do. He was gentler than his brothers, more scholarly and intellectual in his pursuits. She remembered him speaking several times about being different from the other males of his culture and feeling like an outsider among his family. He had been quick to assure her that his siblings had accepted him as he was and even encouraged him to follow his own path, but that their fathers had disapproved of his choices. She had felt more kinship with Lortin than she did with Singeh and Barin. After all, she was an outsider with her people, too—in the twenty-first century because of her lack of beauty and in this century because of her displacement. Mary Jane had felt a deep empathy for the youngest prince. She thought him quite handsome and once he had relaxed in her presence after a few days, very charming in his quiet way. But sexually, she had only thought of him in that manner after the Doctor’s revelations that afternoon. Was it because the Doctor disclosed the nature of the brothers’ mating habits that she thought of him that way or had she buried an attraction she didn’t want to acknowledge? She hadn’t come to any monumental decisions during her long pensive contemplations. She only knew she couldn’t go forward until she faced them and asked what they intended to do and why. Only then could she decide what she was going to do herself. Shaking off her thoughts now that she had decided on at least some kind of action, she wandered down the now deserted paths in the scenic outlook garden. The paths were darkened and she wondered how long she had been standing there lost in thought. Checking her timepiece, she was appalled to find half the night period had passed unnoticed. She was to have had the evening meal with Singeh and his brothers again and she was over six hours late. Picking up her pace, she found an exit and the almost deserted passageway. She

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realized she didn’t have a clue where she was on the ship or how to get back. It didn’t take her long to find a com center along a wall and get directions, surprised at how far she had wandered from her usual neighborhood. Mary Jane retraced her steps back, passed the gardens and finally found the main passageway that would take her to the Rasalasians hotel. She hoped they would still be up, she didn’t think she would rest until she talked to them all. ***** Singeh paced the confines of the common room in the suite. The bowls and plates of congealed food still remained on the low dining table, now cold and unappetizing hours after they should have been eaten. Several times one or another servant had entered the room and tried to remove the ruined dinner, but Singeh’s snarls and growls had caused them to beat a hasty retreat, leaving the spoiled meal on the table. Not one of the palace retainers who had accompanied their princes to the Starbase was willing to take the brunt of Singeh’s displeasure. None could remember him being in such a foul mood before, not even during the disastrous Tal’ e Feata with one of the southern princesses. Singeh passed the low table again, his golden eyes burning with emotion as they saw again the special meal lying wilted and unappetizing. He and his brothers had spent hours that afternoon planning this night’s evening meal. They had chosen the foods that she had especially shown a liking for over the last two weeks of dining together, readying the room in preparation for the anticipated hope of finally having the chance to secure her willing participation in the testing. Their bed furs were spread out in welcome in the corner, their placement just so to fulfill all required traditional edicts and customs. None of the brothers wishing to forget any law or ritual practice that might nullify their claim on her. What had gone wrong? Singeh worried. Where was Mary Jane? This was not like her at all. Her beauty had drawn him and his brothers to her initially. But it was the true beauty of her gentle and loving nature that had cemented their affections. She wouldn’t just not show up for the evening meal once she promised to attend. As each minute crawled past the hour for the meal, each brother became more and more worried. Barin was the first to begin snarling his displeasure and fears. He wanted them all to begin a search for her immediately, but Lortin and Singeh convinced him to wait. After all, flushed with victory, Mary Jane might have lost track of time. She often did along with Lortin when they had been studying. Barin had subsided, but reluctantly. Once the dinner hour passed and another was half over, Singeh and Lortin had to admit to their own worries. All three were ready to leave and search for her, but Barin and Lortin convinced Singeh to remain behind should she show up. After all, if she had truly lost track of time, wouldn’t she hurry to the suite first? Singeh stayed behind, letting his siblings leave to search for their prospective mate. He had insisted on them wearing their Rasalasian communicators, wanting to stay in touch without dealing with the Alliance technology, which might be monitored. Lortin and Barin had called in every half hour or so once they had found out that she had

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not returned to her room at the inn. They had traced her movements from the General Council chambers to the government offices and the Secretary of Intergalactic Affairs for the humans. They had lost her trail there. No one had remembered seeing her once she had left there except for one shopkeeper close to her inn. She had simply vanished into thin air and there was no way to trace her on the huge space station. She did not wear a communicator that could be tracked like most of the other inhabitants of the Starbase. Lortin had been left at the inn to wait and see if she showed up and Barin had left to hunt for her. He was a more superior hunter than either of his brothers, he had her scent and when he chose to use his talents, his prey never escaped him. Singeh, pacing furiously, waited with impatience to hear from either of his siblings. As each hour passed and he contacted his brothers only to receive the same news, his anger and fear grew. He had come to the conclusion someone must have stolen her from them. He was convinced that their interest in her had caused someone who opposed their inclusion into the Alliance to take her and use her against them. His musings were interrupted by the chimes announcing a visitor. A startled Singeh halted in mid pace when the chimes rang, his eyes taking in the clock on the wall. Who would be at their door at this hour? Sudden dread chilled Singeh’s hide, perhaps this was news of her. When the chimes rang out again, he forced his feet to move towards the door. He hesitated for a second before his hand reached out for the panel that would open the door. He absently noticed that his finger shook as it lifted and pressed the door release. Alarm shot across his features when he took in the sight of Mary Jane on the other side. She was disheveled and her face pale with streaks tracking down her cheeks, attesting to the fact that she had been weeping.

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Chapter Thirteen “Marrrry Jannne!” Singeh burst out, reaching to gather her into his arms, his alarm increasing when she gulped his name and her tears began to flow again. “Who has done this to you?” he growled the question into her hair, awkwardly trying to comfort her as her tears increased. He had little experience soothing a female, his own species were more liable to tear someone limb from limb instead of weeping. “I shall kill them for you!” he promised, causing her to hiccup and choke out a garbled sentence. When she pushed away from him, he reluctantly let her step back, not sure he had helped her with his offer. The sight of her face wet and blotched with tears but a smile on her lips confused him. She almost laughed out loud at the look in Singeh’s eyes. His bewilderment was easy to see. Something had eased inside of her when she had seen the frantic look on his face followed by relief when he realized who was standing outside of the door. His clumsy efforts to stop her crying and soothe her had gone a long way to really calming her, but when he offered to kill himself and his brothers as the ones who had done this to her, then her sense of the ridiculous had overwhelmed her. “Singeh, you can’t go around killing people you know,” she chastised him gently, not knowing how to begin her explanations. “Why not?” Singeh asked belligerently, ready to defend her to the death if necessary. No one would hurt her without suffering the consequences. “Oh, Singeh,” she breathed, shaking her head. “Because, you would have to kill your brothers and yourself, that’s why.” His astonishment was plain to see and she broke eye contact. Looking around the room, her gaze caught the meal lying uneaten on the low table. “Oh, Singeh. I am sorry about dinner. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I forgot about it.” Singeh grasped her shoulders and turned her around to face him. A gentle finger lifted her face to his. His eyes, questioning and puzzled, met hers. “What do you mean, Marrrry Jannne? Why would I have to destroy my brothers and myself?” She gulped and sniffed, uncertain now that she faced him. It was difficult to bring up the subject. Heat washed over her cheeks as she broke eye contact again. He waited patiently, not forcing her to meet his gaze, but maintained a strong and unbreakable grip on her shoulders. “Are you planning on giving me to your brothers?” she burst out. “Do you want me to have sex with them, too?” The silence was loud and long in the room and she finally lifted her face when Singeh didn’t say a word. His hands had tightened on her shoulders and she had heard his harshly indrawn breath, but he had remained quiet, feeding Mary Jane’s certainty that she was right. Heart pounding, she braced herself for what she would find in his eyes. What he would see in hers in return frightened her even more. When the words left her mouth, a surge of

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conflicting emotions had assailed her. A forbidden desire had warred with her common sense and a natural ingrained morality from her upbringing. What she felt wasn’t normal, she realized. At least not for her or most humans. But, a naughty voice whispered in her mind, according to Dr. Van Horn it was normal for Singeh and his brothers. Singeh’s golden eyes didn’t flinch from hers and she could read the resolve in his gaze. Waiting, she swallowed and tried to take control of her wayward thoughts as scenes of erotic pleasure played in her mind. Singeh’s gaze sharpened when she trembled under his hands. “Do you fear me, Marrrry Jannne?” he asked softly. “Or do you fear yourself?” Her heated flush became more intense and she couldn’t hold his gaze any longer, turning her head to escape the sudden knowledge that burned in Singeh’s eyes. Somehow he had suspected what she was thinking. “Marrrry Jannne, there is no reason to be afraid of either yourself or of me. I would never hurt you, indeed, I would live to please you daily, hourly, if you so choose.” “And…and it would please you to give me to your brothers, wouldn’t it, Singeh?” Mary Jane said softly. “I thought you loved me. How can you love me and want me to share the things we share together with them?” “I would never ask you to do so, Marrrry Jannne, not if I thought it would displease you or make you unhappy. What is this love that you say? We have no such word in our language,” Singeh persisted, his face dipping towards hers and trying to see the expression on her face. “Well, love is…love. Wanting someone’s happiness over your own. Needing them in ways you will never need another person. Wanting to be with them always, no matter the difficulties and hardships and wanting to share the rest of your life with them. Make a home with them and raise a family. That is love.” Her face softened as she recited her definition of what love was to her. “If that is what your love means, then I can say that you were not wrong when you thought I loved you. I want these same things also, but only with you,” Singeh stated. “Then how can you expect me to be with your brothers?” she asked again. Singeh dropped his hands from her shoulders and sighed, knowing he didn’t really know how to adequately explain his and his brother’s needs. “Marrrry Jannne, you must understand. This is the way of our people. From the earliest times, we have always shared amongst our siblings. As the eldest, it is my responsibility to secure our mate. Before the plague, I would have been required to negotiate a bridal price with another clan and bring home a mate for me and my brothers. Or lead a raiding party and take one. Our people have never had enough females to mate each male separately.” Singeh hesitated, gathering the words he needed to try and make her understand. “How can I offer to be your mate and take you home to live with me as is my dearest wish if I must deny my brothers the chance to father their own kits, to know the supreme pleasure of a mate? I do not know if I can be that selfish. If I can sentence them to a lifetime of celibacy while I take the joys of your body as my own?” Mary Jane heard the anguish in Singeh’s tone, realizing he had given a lot of thought to their situation, had probably been thinking of it since their first night together. His last words

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she barely heard as he whispered them lowly. “But I would if I must. I cannot give you up.” She approached Singeh and laid a trembling hand upon his back. “Singeh, I…I don’t know if I could do it. I mean, how can I go from your bed to theirs? How often would I be required to let them use my body? Would I belong to them like I would you? I don’t understand this custom.” “I would only plead with you, Marrrry Jannne, to try once. To offer to Barin and Lortin the Tal e’ Feata. If, once the ritual testing is done, you find you cannot endure their touch, I will demand that you be exempt from the mating.” Singeh looked into her eyes with a tortured expression, only he knew the agony her refusal of his brothers would bring. “Tal e’ Feata? What is that?” she asked warily. “It means the time of testing. A female can demand a Tal e’ Feata with any eligible males in a family. There are tests of strength and a male’s battle readiness so she can see their ability to protect her. She also tests the male’s virility and stamina in the bed furs. If the males are able to satisfy her, she can choose them as her mates.” “She sleeps with them all in one night?” she asked astonished. “Marrrry Jannne, you don’t know our females. It takes two or more to satisfy any female. One could never hope to keep her sated.” Singeh snorted, amused. “Would I be expected to sleep with all of you in one night?” Images of her going from one room to the next on a set sexual schedule floated in her mind. “Marrrry Jannne, there would be nothing to fear. I would be with you through the testing. I would never leave you to do this alone knowing your doubts,” Singeh said, trying to ease her mind. Surprised, Mary Jane stared at him blankly for a minute. “You mean I would have to…to…have sex with your brothers in front of you?” Her voice rose on each word until she almost shrieked the last one. Singeh’s lip curled and he gave her a wicked smile, one she recognized from several of their own sexual encounters. It usually heralded one of his more outrageous suggestions. “Not at all, I would be participating also, Marrrry Jannne. All of us would be there at the same time.” “You’re joking!” She gulped, bug-eyed. “No, I would not make a mockery of the ritual. It is custom for the eldest to be the main mate. To answer your question, you may demand pleasure from any of us at any time. You may choose to exclusively spend your time amongst the bed furs of only one of us when ever you are not in season. But, when you are in season and fertile, the law says you must breed with each mature sibling.” She continued to gape at Singeh, amazed at the suggestion that she bed them all at the same time and equally amazed at her body’s involuntary reaction to the thought. She was not as horrified at the concept of being with them all at the same time as opposed to being alone with either Barin or Lortin. Another surge of lust shuddered through her body at the temptation. And Singeh could read her arousal, his sensitive nostrils catching the flood of pheromones along with the flow of feminine fluids that her body released as her mind continued to tease her with explicit fantasies of sexual delights. “Be truthful with me, Marrrry Jannne. This does not disgust you, does it? You find the

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idea arousing. I can smell your excitement at your thoughts.” Singeh pressed her, needing her honesty. She flushed further, the heating of her blood increasing at Singeh’s purring voice. She knew then that she would try this just for him, would allow the temptation to experience his customs once to see if she could really belong to him—to them. She had truly wanted to belong somewhere all her life and the acceptance she had found in the prince’s company had attracted her like no other experience, even the nights she spent in Singeh’s bed. Pleasure was fleeting, but the need to feel accepted on a daily basis was pure enticement, one she couldn’t resist. “If…if I should agree to try this testing, Singeh, would I have to finish it with each of your brothers if I find I can’t do it?” she stammered. Singeh took her into his arms, hugging her to his leather clad chest and held her tightly. “Marrrry Jannne, De’ al Cahish, adored one. If you cannot truly enjoy Barin or Lortin’s presence in our bed furs, I would not demand that you take them into your body.” She tipped her head back and took in the fleeting look of sadness in Singeh’s eyes before they cleared. She suddenly had an inkling of what concessions he was making for her. If she couldn’t enjoy his brothers as she did him, then he would deny something that was instinctive and natural for his people. Could she do it? Could she accept the intensely sensual Barin and the shy Lortin sexually? Her body throbbed with need, but could her mind and conscience live with sharing herself with more than one man? Have their children and live as one family unit? She didn’t know, but she found she was willing to try. “When…ah, ahem, when would I have to do this testing, Singeh?” She cleared her clogged throat and choked out her question. Singeh only smiled, joy flickering in his eyes as they met hers and he released her to walk to one of the short hallways leading from the common room. Thrusting his head around the corner, Singeh roared for his retainers who were waiting anxiously in the kitchen. Once they arrived in the doorway, each glanced at Mary Jane with relieved looks before they scrambled to do Singeh’s bidding and remove the long cold meal. Over the clatter of dishes and plates, she barely heard Singeh as he touched one jeweled emblem on his chest and softly spoke to his brothers. He saw her look and explained. “I had sent them both to search for you. I was going to go myself, but Lortin convinced me to stay in case you contacted me here.” Once they were alone and the servants dismissed for the night, Singeh advanced on her, the predatory gleam in his eyes causing the warmth in her blood to blaze to life. She turned to head towards his room, but Singeh was upon her in seconds, arms wrapping around her to lift her off her feet. Quickly turning her around, he buried his muzzle in her neck and licked her throat. Shivers ran up and down Mary Jane’s spine at the feel of his rough tongue lapping at the tender skin where her neck met her shoulder. She didn’t protest as he moved across the room, lost in the pleasure his touch always brought as his hands moved from around her waist to cup her buttocks and gently squeeze. Gasping, she felt her muscles contract on the anal device that Singeh had placed inside her earlier that afternoon. Electric bolts of desire shot through her rear to throb inside her core

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as her body grew wetter knowing what was to come. Her clit pulsed with heat when he gently lowered her to the floor. She expected to feel the hard surface of the floor, but was startled at the soft furs that cushioned her back. Shadows darkened this corner of the room, the soft lights barely reaching the area. The gloom covered Singeh’s face. But his golden eyes shone brightly upon her as his hands began the task of removing her clothing. Her breathing was loud over Singeh’s soft pants of desire as she wiggled and lifted to try and help him rid her of the suddenly constricting garments. Singeh’s hands slid under her tunic and lifted it from her hips and over her shoulders, tugging it over her head. He tossed it further into the corner as his fingers eased under the waistband of the trousers and underwear and tugged them down her hips and thighs. A couple of gentle tugs removed her shoes. Singeh sat back upon his heels and savored the picture of Mary Jane lying bare upon their furs. His, Barin’s, and Lortin’s all mixed together, making a plush and comfortable bed for their prospective mate. His heart pounded in his chest, his blood rushed though his body at the knowledge that they would finally have the chance to persuade her to join with them, to breed with them, to be their chosen mate. His fal e’ tele rapidly swelled and his leathers became uncomfortably tight. Her scent called to him and his superior eyesight easily saw the glistening dew dampening the bright red curls that covered her priti. He could also smell her ripening scent of fertility and knew they had perhaps only a day to convince her to declare them her mates. “Singeh?” she moaned, calling to him questioningly as she shifted restlessly on the furs. An answering groan rumbled from his chest and Singeh abruptly stood and shed his leathers, tossing the clothing around him haphazardly until he stood towering above her, his penis shedding the sheath that protected it. She watched the slow revealing of Singeh’s cock and her body thrummed in anticipation. Her hand lowered to cup herself and press, trying to relieve some of the building pressure and ease the ache between her thighs. There were no words between them as Singeh grasped his dripping cock in his hand and dropped to the furs. She shifted as he lowered, spreading her legs and offering herself up to him, tempting him with her body. He didn’t give in to the temptation, instead covering Mary Jane with his body, sliding his fal e’ tele over her mound and rubbing it over her clit to tease and torment her. His mouth went unerringly to the hard berries that topped her small breasts, laving them with his tongue. He knew she loved to have her nipples abraded. Her moans of pleasure rewarded him, her hands clasping his head to hold him to her. He tortured her with teasing licks and soft scrapes of his sharp teeth until she bucked underneath him demandingly, trying to maneuver his fal e’ tele into position and in her body. He finally obliged her, lifting his hips and a hand to fit his penis at her entrance. Several pulsing spurts of fluid splashed over her slit and set fire to Mary Jane’s flesh as Singeh pressed into her in one long stroke. Soon the room filled with the sounds of their lovemaking. Her moans and gasps of pleasure, Singeh’s grunts as his body bunched and thrust, and the wet sounds of his cock as it dragged through her channel releasing more and more fluid. After she reached her first climax,

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Singeh eased upright and flipped her over, putting her on her hands and knees to take her in his favorite position. He had barely covered her body with his and pushed into her tight passage when he saw in his peripheral vision both Barin and Lortin removing their leathers as they approached the bed furs.

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Chapter Fourteen Singeh set a slow and easy pace as he plunged deeply into Mary Jane’s body. He found great excitement knowing his brother’s eyes were upon her body as he took her. When he felt Barin at his back, Singeh pressed one hand between her shoulders and lowered her until her chest rested on the furs. This position raised her hindquarters higher into the air and gave Singeh a better angle to reach into the depths of her front passage. He could hear his sibling’s harsh indrawn breath when he grasped Mary Jane’s cheeks and spread them apart, giving Barin a clear view of his fal e’ tele as it parted her flesh and disappeared into her body along with the base of the sel e’ tulu peeking from her opened anus. Excitement overwhelmed him as Singeh saw his brothers’ rising enjoyment and anticipation. He leaned over her back and set a punishing pace as he quickly brought her to another screaming climax. She couldn’t catch her breath. Her heart pounded out a rapid rhythm as she clenched hard around both Singeh’s cock and the anal plug. When he had entered her, she had cried out at the intense sensation of him pressing into her narrowed vagina as the anal device gave very little room for his cock to move. When he started thrusting, the snug fit created a whole new dimension to the fiery friction she was used to. Her first orgasm had caught her by surprise as it rose to a crescendo quickly, washing over her and leaving her shaking. She hadn’t been surprised when he flipped her over and took her from behind. He normally turned her whenever she reached her first climax so he could take her that way. But once her second and even stronger climax had her in its grip, she was startled when Singeh laid over her back to whisper harshly in her ear before gathering her to his chest. One steel hard arm slid under her chest as his muscles bunched. Singeh lifted her straight up as he leaned back, his cock still buried deep inside her body. Moaning as her body slid further down his erection, Mary Jane felt Singeh rearrange her legs until her thighs were spread on the outside of his wide opened legs. Before she could focus, one hand gripped her loosened hair and tilted her head back and up. Singeh’s tongue slid into her opened mouth as she gasped, taking her breath as he tasted her tongue. His arm was hard on her chest, clamping her back to his chest as he cupped one small breast in his hand and pinched her nipple. She was drowning in sensation. Singeh’s taste lingered on her tongue as his dipped repeatedly into her mouth, capturing her moans of pleasure. His fingers teased her nipple, plucking at the hard nub and squeezing the small mound, while his hips bunched and released, sending his cock sliding in and out of her body. Suddenly, a moist wet rasp swiped over her other breast and a mouth took her nipple deep into a hot cavern, suckling her flesh. Her startled yelp was smothered by Singeh’s tongue before he breathed harshly in her ear. “It’s alright, Marrrry Jannne. Only as long as we please you, I promise this. Look and see, De al’ Cahish, watch as Barin pleasures you.” Her hands left Singeh’s knees where she had been balancing herself and fluttered in the air before they latched onto a sleeker head. She pried her eyes open, gasping as a bolt of pure

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lightening shot through her when Barin’s mouth pulled harder on her breast and Singeh’s fingers twisted her other nipple. The first thing she saw was the anxious gaze of Lortin over Barin’s black head. His eyes were bright with sexual hunger, but he couldn’t hide his uncertainty as he watched her face for signs of rejection. Her eyes half closed as another surge of incredible heat burst over her, leaving her shuddering in Singeh’s arms. When she was able to look down, she encountered the intense hot gaze of Barin as he released her nipple from his mouth and gave it repeated swipes from a rough pink tongue. The sight of him so obviously enjoying his attempt at pleasing her, caused her body to clench all over, drawing a helpless moan from Singeh. Barin’s eyes flashed knowingly at her when she moaned at the sight of him taking her other nipple from Singeh’s fingers into his hot mouth. He didn’t linger long there and she cried out in protest when his mouth left her nipple wet and pouting. Her hands, that had been trying to guide his mouth back, tightened in his fur as his head dropped along with his body down farther on the furs. She stiffened in Singeh’s arms when Barin stretched out on the furs between their opened thighs. He was at eye level and she gasped a protest as his gaze locked onto their joined bodies. “Singeh?” she cried only to be shushed by his answering croon in her ear. “Hush, De al’ Cahish. We only wish to please you.” Singeh panted in her ear, deeply aroused. He began to thrust again, pulling away slightly only to surge back into her tight passage. He knew Barin watched—scenting and waiting. He also knew he couldn’t hold on much longer. “Brother,” he growled as he moved a little more aggressively, “it is time.” Barin didn’t hesitate. His head moved closer and his long pink tongue rasped through the damp flesh above their joined bodies, seeking out the small bundle of nerves that Singeh had described. She shrieked as Barin’s coarse tongue found her clit and began to lash at it repeatedly. Singeh’s cock now moved forcefully in and out of her and her helpless response overwhelmed her. Soon she rode on the edge of another orgasm, her body tightening, her muscles straining to achieve release. She didn’t realize she chanted their names, begging for that extra something that would put her over the edge into oblivion. Barin answered her pleas with a scraping of his teeth over the hard button under his tongue and he succeeded in pushing over her limit. Her body stiffened as she released out a long low cry, a cry cut off as her body shuddered uncontrollably. She felt Singeh’s cock swell and the deep wash of his ejaculate as he snarled his own pleasure in her ear. He shuddered himself, his arms a hard band around her body, as he whispered his praise into her ear. She still trembled uncontrollably when Singeh pulled from her body. She whimpered a protest, her core a throbbing ache of emptiness, but she couldn’t speak as tremors and aftershocks thrummed though her. Singeh didn’t let her go, but he leaned back against the wall, holding Mary Jane to his chest, their bodies still opened. Singeh lifted his head and his eyes stared into Barin’s hot gaze. His brother’s aroused body was poised, but he waited for Singeh’s signal. Nodding, Singeh reached down and held

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her open thighs under his palms. As Barin moved forward, Singeh spoke again in her ear, encouraging her for what was to come. “Marrrry Jannne, open your beautiful eyes and see my littermate, my brother. Give to him the joy of your body. Gift him with your pleasure.” He felt her still in his arms and knew she watched Barin closely. Her thighs continued to tremble and she instinctively tried to close her legs only to stop when she tore her eyes from Barin’s and caught sight of his erection. She gasped and her eyes widened at the length and breadth of Barin’s cock. Her mind grappled with the certainty that he couldn’t possibly fit inside of her, but her slit throbbed and wept harder, her and Singeh’s combined juices flowing out of her pulsing core in preparation. Barin read the hesitation in her eyes and started to pull back, only to be stopped when she reached out and touched him intimately. Her fingers lightly caressed the tip of his fal e’ tele before they wrapped around his erection and tugged him towards her. He allowed her to lead him to her body, watching as her pink priti pulsed visibly as if it were hungry for the penetration of his body into hers. He shuddered when his fal e’ tele made contact, his lubricating fluid spurting generously to ease his way. Once she worked his flat tip into her entrance, Mary Jane released him and Barin looked into her now slumberous eyes, searching for any further uncertainty on her part. When he didn’t find any, he began to work his fal e’ tele inside of her passage. She was very tight, her narrow passage difficult to maneuver. Barin stopped once he had worked an inch or so inside and she flinched. “Singeh, you will have to remove the sel e’ tulu, I don’t want to hurt her,” Barin gasped out painfully. He had to force himself from pressing further into her body, his needs were insistent, hammering at him to complete the joining of their bodies. He remained still, holding on to his self-control, acknowledging to himself that he had never found a test so difficult. She tensed when Barin’s cock stretched her beyond anything she had experienced before. She heard his words and felt Singeh’s hands leave the insides of her thighs. His hands lifted her at her waist while Barin’s palms cupped her buttocks. Her eyes clenched shut when she felt Singeh’s fingers tug at the base of the anal plug, pulling it from her resisting muscles. There was a moment of pain when her anus widened as the thick bulb slid past the exit to her body, and then the device was gone. She cried out as Barin resumed his steady push into her body. She felt her muscles stretch as he opened her to his invasion. Her fingers gripped Singeh’s wrists as Barin pulled out an inch or so, and then eased back inside, sliding in another inch farther than before. Each retreat had him delving deeper into her body, his way eased by the repeated bursts of ejaculate that coated her channel. Each burst of fluid had her arching into his advance, eager for him to join with her completely, her insides on fire, and her clit swelling and throbbing. “Oh, God, oh God!” Mary Jane chanted as Barin used his hands to tilt her hips as he slid home, seating himself all the way to the entrance of her womb. Another spurt of fluid deep inside coated her cervix, making her womb clench in anticipation and sending a shudder though her reproductive organs. Barin leaned into her body using Singeh as a brace as his hips flexed and bunched, driving his cock in and out of her receptive body. Once the deep quiver ended in her womb, her ripened ovaries swelled and quaked in response, releasing the eggs that had matured. The surge of pheromones that seeped through her pores once she ovulated reached

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Singeh and Barin’s sensitive olfactory glands immediately. Barin’s cock swelled larger and the scent trigger in his nostrils caused the sheath lying at the base of his penis to part further, allowing his testicles to descend. “God’s teeth, Singeh, I will not be able to hold back,” Barin growled out as he picked up his pace, the instinct to mate driving him on to place his seed deep inside Mary Jane. “Help me brother, help me.” Singeh’s own cock had hardened again as soon as her changed scent reached him. He cursed aloud as he realized she would have to accept them now, before the testing was over or he would have to force his brother from her body to keep him from breeding her without her permission. Singeh cupped Mary Jane’s chin in his hand and forced her head around far enough to see her face. Her eyes were half closed, a look of ecstasy covering her face as she cried out with each thrust of Barin’s body in hers. She had wrapped her legs around Barin’s waist and her hips rose and fell to counter each and every thrust as they grew swifter and harder. “Marrrry Jannne! Marrrry Jannne, you must look at me. It is time, you are fertile and if you allow Barin to continue, he will empty his seed in your womb.” Singeh called out to her harshly, his fingers shaking her head, trying to garner her attention. “You must stop, Barin, stop now! She must answer or you have to pull out,” Singeh warned his sibling. He clearly heard Barin’s groan of agony as he quit moving on his last down stroke and held her body still under his. “Please, oh, please. Don’t stop now. Oh, God, I need you to finish.” Mary Jane cried out as her fists struck at Barin’s shoulders and arms, trying to force him to resume his thrusts. Singeh caught her flailing fists and wrapped her delicate wrists in one hand. He licked her face, and called out to her, trying to calm her as she struggled in his embrace. “Marrrry Jannne, you must listen to me,” he demanded. “You have ovulated and are ripe. We can smell it upon your skin. You must tell us if you choose for us to mate you or we have to stop. We cannot continue without your permission to spill our seed.” “Oh, please, Singeh. Please, don’t stop. I don’t want you to stop.” She looked at him frantically, her eyes begging him for relief. “Do you understand me, Marrrry Jannne? If we continue, if we breed you, you will have claimed us as your mates. We shall belong to you until you cannot breed any longer or wish to leave us. We can never leave you until you dismiss us, do you understand?” Singeh shook her head lightly, tense with his own raging desire to plant his seed inside of her body. “Singeh,” she panted, writhing as the burning ache in her loins flared, demanding release again. “I want to finish, I need for you to finish.” “Do you understand?” “Yes! Yes, I understand, now shut up and finish,” she yelled out, her body screaming for relief. Singeh nearly howled in joy and relief. His shining eyes met his littermates over Mary Jane’s head and he lifted her from his trapped erection, feeling the descent of his own testes from his body. Barin held his fal e’ tele still buried deep inside her body and clamped onto her hips, holding her still for Singeh. He growled deep in his chest as he felt his brother slide into her back passage, the walls of her channel rippling and massaging his cock with Singeh’s

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movements. Barin, hearing Singeh’s moan as he finished, let go of his last bit of control and began to hammer into her body. He was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to hold on until she reached her peak, but he was secretly relieved when she shuddered and screamed out as an orgasm quickly took her. He came almost simultaneously with her, yanking at her hips so he could reach as far inside of her as he could. Barin could feel his fal e’ tele as it grew harder and harder, swelling and lengthening until the flat tip pressed against her cervix. The mating began as the flap of skin along the tip of his penis swelled and curved up to wrap around the neck of the cervix and sealed it closed. The vertical slit in the tip lined up with the small opening into her womb, the red lupili shooting out of the slit through the opening into her womb. Barin screamed a deep primal call as hot streams of semen shot out of the lupili into her womb. He shuddered and trembled as he held her locked to his body, intense pleasure unlike any he had ever known electrifying all the cells in his body. Barin didn’t know how long he lay upon her limp body before his fal e’ tele disengaged from her womb, the last of his seed spent inside of her. He dragged his still painfully erect penis from her sheath, feeling the beginnings of a new wave of desire come over him. He would need to breed her again and again, as would his brothers, the instinctive mating lust driving them to plant their seed until her eggs were fertilized. Barin released her hips from his hands, falling away from her body to flop down on the furs. He knew he could immediately take her again, but he had to give way to his siblings and allow them the same right to breed their mate as he had just taken. Lortin held back as he waited for Singeh to remount their mate. By rights, he should have been the first to breed her, being the eldest and heir to the king, but Barin had gotten lucky. He was startled when his brother called his name softly.

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Chapter Fifteen “Lortin, come here,” Singeh panted, cradling Mary Jane’s sweat soaked body to his chest. They were both gasping for breath, Mary Jane lying boneless upon Singeh as her body shook with pleasure. Lortin hesitated, uncertain and wary, afraid to make another mistake with a female. He shook with arousal, his erection painful as the sights and scents of what he had witnessed made his head swim. This was not like the previous times he had witnessed his brothers covering a female. This was Mary Jane, their chosen mate and this was not the testing. This time he would have to breed her, his own testicles feeling odd hanging below his fal e’ tele. He inched forward, shaking with both fear and anticipation, staring at her body lying open upon Singeh’s like an offering to the Gods. Her wild mane of hair was plastered to her body, showing hints of her pale flesh through the wet strands. But it was the junction between her delicate thighs that held his attention. He had watched Barin’s body as it strained over hers, and he had known the moment Singeh had slipped into her back passage, but his view had been obstructed. Now he could clearly see Singeh’s fal e’ tele between her buttocks and his testes as they contracted rhythmically just below the base of his erection. He moved closer and his own erection swelled as the scent of Barin’s semen grew stronger in his nostrils. A hint of cloudy fluid showed at the entrance of her priti and he noticed the deeply reddened flesh of her body as her blood swelled her tissues. He looked into Singeh’s eyes the moment he moved between both of their thighs and his brother gave him an encouraging nod as he spoke to her. “De al’ Cahish, look again upon one of your mates as he comes to fulfill his duty to us. Please welcome Lortin, Marrrry Jannne,” Singeh called softly to her, his voice strained with his own attempt to control the wild lust to mate with her. Lortin froze when she opened her eyes lazily and stared at him. Her eyes looked down upon his stiff fal e’ tele and he felt it pulse and sway under her gaze. He wasn’t as thick as Barin but he was longer, Mary Jane observed as she stared curiously at Lortin’s nakedness. Where Singeh was golden and pale, Barin’s cock had been thick and black and as menacing as his expression. But Lortin’s cock was a mottled combination of the two elder brothers, much the same as his fur. Amazingly, a new surge of arousal pumped through her body at the sight of his hard penis. She had already climaxed more in the last hour that she had experienced in an entire night. She bordered on exhaustion, her thighs and pussy sore, but her body thrummed to life at the sight of another aroused brother. When he hesitated, she looked back into his face. She could read the uncertainty in his eyes along with a strange fear, one she couldn’t decipher. Her heart swelled with affection for this younger brother and she found a need deep inside of herself to ease him. She reached out a hand and saw him flinch. Lortin shook harder when she stared so long at his fal e’ tele, unable to see the reaction in her lowered eyes. When hers lifted to meet his, he saw her hand reach out and he involuntarily

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jerked away, afraid she was going to take a hold of his erection like she had Barin’s. If she touched his fal e’ tele, he knew he would spend his seed too soon and outside of her body. He gasped, shocked, when her hand softly cupped his muzzle in her palm. She gently stroked his face, her fingers petting him softly and she spoke as gently to him. “Come to me, Lortin. There is no reason to hesitate. I want you,” she stated simply, not knowing that to touch another’s muzzle was a supreme sign of affection. Something hard in his chest, an aching pressure, diminished at her touch. Lortin moved eagerly, lining up his body with hers as her hand continued to stroke his muzzle. He pushed awkwardly at her priti, feeling her opening in welcome as he slid into the moist warmth of her body. He let loose a yipping howl as he felt her flesh surround his, delight zinging over his entire body. Mary Jane’s hand slipped around his head and she pulled him closer to her face as her legs curled around his hindquarters. Once her face pressed to the side of his and she moaned into his ear, Lortin eagerly began to thrust in and out of her body. He knew he was going to spill his seed too soon and he tried to hold back, but he was thwarted by Mary Jane herself as she scratched his ears and rubbed her face along his muzzle, groaning to him. “That’s it, yes…yes, Lortin. Oh God, harder please. Come for me. Come for me.” After only a dozen thrusts, Lortin felt the beginnings of the eruption. He pushed hard inside of her, as deep as he could go, and held there still as he swelled. His fal e’ tele attached to the mouth of her womb and he screamed as the lupili extended into her womb and loosed streams of his semen. His body shook and quaked for long moments as each spurt caused him to experience a separate orgasmic jolt. He felt the moment his fal e’ tele detached from her womb and he fell back upon the furs next to Barin. It was strange, he thought, how his lack of performance didn’t seem to matter as he caught the gleam of satisfaction in Mary Jane’s eyes. He wasn’t entirely sure she had reached her own peak, but her smiling approval and her affectionate gestures had gone a long way to reassure him. Barin and Lortin watched avidly as Singeh, a pained look on his face, pulled gently from her back passage. She gasped, but didn’t protest as he lifted her from his body and laid her down next to him on the furs. He moved her limp limbs, arranging her to his satisfaction on the furs, before he covered her body with his. Mary Jane watched him with half closed eyes as he poised over her, and he watched her carefully as he guided his engorged penis back to her priti. The need to spend his seed in her was great, but Singeh knew she was not only exhausted but sore as well. He didn’t want to add to her discomfort, but he couldn’t contain his desires. He slid easily inside her, his brother’s body fluids making her flesh slick. He wasted little time, setting a pace that would bring her to a climax quickly, using a thumb to caress her clit. Her arms reached up and around Singeh’s head, pulling him down to her face. He eagerly followed as he plied her body with his hand and his cock. Her mouth opened and he licked her lips, dipping in between to rub his tongue on the slick surface of hers. Her taste exploded in his mouth, causing him to thrust harder and swifter into her welcoming body.

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He felt the moment her body tightened and began to spiral into her peak. Waiting no longer, Singeh buried himself deep inside her body and held there as his own attached to hers, locking them together as he roared his completion of the mating ritual. They were hers now, he thought with satisfaction. They were all mated, and with the God’s blessings upon them, they might have created new life between them. ***** Mary Jane drifted slowly awake, a fog of lethargy weighing her limbs and eyelids down. She couldn’t move and could barely breathe as her senses gradually took in her body and surroundings. She could feel Singeh pressed to her front, his arms cradling her to his side. Her nose was buried in his soft fur somewhere along his ribs and her arm was around his chest, holding him lightly in her own embrace. She felt toasty warm, Singeh’s body heat in front and another’s along her back pressed much lighter to her body but keeping the cool air in the room from her. Even her feet, notoriously cold no matter the temperature, were heated by a warm fur rug. Bits and pieces of memory started to pop into her head as she wakened. She vividly remembered making love with each of Singeh’s brothers and a flush covered her body as she remembered the intense pleasure she had felt. Once Singeh had emptied his seed into her body, she remembered floating in a haze of exhaustion, her eyes so heavy and her limbs so limp that she wasn’t able to speak or move. Hazy recollections of being lifted and then being surrounded by hot soothing water floated in her mind. She wasn’t sure, but she thought that someone held her while others gently washed her body and hair. She didn’t remember anything else until she had begun to wake a few minutes ago. Her stomach growled as hunger reared its head. Mary Jane’s last meal had been breakfast that morning and she realized she was starving. Stretching out from under the fur across her feet, she moved her legs and bit back a groan as muscles protested. Her inner thighs were tight and her core very tender, leaving her in no doubt as to the brothers’ lusty strength. Singeh’s voice rumbled in her ear, speaking once she moved in his arms. “Marrrry Jannne, De al’ Cahish, you are awake?“ “Ummm…yeah,“ Mary Jane answered him, snuggling closer to his warmth. She felt the tension in his body and wondered why for a second or two before her arm slipped lower down his abdomen with her movements. Once it brushed against the swollen sheath protecting his penis, she realized he was hot and ready for her again. Her own body, tender and sore, answered with renewed desire, shocking her. But it was her stomach that prevailed. A loud and demanding growl loosed between them causing Mary Jane to chuckle. “I’m starving, Singeh. The spirit is willing but my flesh is weak with hunger.“ She lifted her head and smiled into Singeh’s golden eyes. She saw an answering ruefulness shinning back at her as he silently acknowledged not only his desires, but her needs. His upper lip curled in what she now recognized as a smile while his arms reluctantly

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slid from around her body. He stood swiftly and stretched in a graceful feline arch of muscles and sinew. His swollen cock throbbed visibly inside its protective sheath. An answering throb pulsed in her core, but her stomach resumed its warning and Singeh’s eyes glinted in humor. “De al’ Cahish, I will return soon and satisfy your insistent hungers, both of them,“ he promised, turning swiftly to amble down the hallway to the kitchens. She lifted on one elbow to watch the spectacular sight of Singeh’s uncovered rear as it bunched and clenched with each step. She had almost forgotten that she was lying naked upon a huge pile of furs and that she was not alone until a movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Heart pounding, Mary Jane’s head whipped around to snag on Lortin’s face as he lay supine at her feet. She flushed a pale pink as she remembered her warm feet and knew that Lortin had been the fur rug that covered her toes during her sleep. The look now in his eyes caused the flush to deepen and her to remember her nakedness. Lortin had broken eye contact and was busily pursuing her body on the bed. His rising lust plainly seen as his hand absently rubbed his swollen sheath. It was silly, her sudden need to cover herself with her hands, she thought. After all, he had seen a lot more of her body just hours ago and, she remembered mortified, he had witnessed both of his brothers as they had made love to her. A slight movement at her back brought Barin into her thoughts. He was not snuggled to her like Singeh had been, but his body warmth was there. She eased around onto her back and both elbows to take a look at his face. Once she saw him lying on his back, his gaze pensive on the ceiling, Mary Jane forgot her shyness at her own nakedness. He was clearly as aroused as both his brothers. The swelling on his stomach much more intimidating than either Singeh’s or Lortin’s, but his expression was brooding. Concern had her sitting up and laying a small hand on his chest. “Barin, what is it?“ she asked. The expression disappeared as if it had never been and he softly answered her, laying his hand over hers. “Nothing, my lady.“ She was not convinced. She knew something was bothering him. He had looked so…so heartbreakingly alone for that small second before he had controlled the look on his face. But she could tell he wasn’t about to tell her and nothing she would say would convince him to do so. His heartbeat had picked up under her hand, pounding out a rhythm that called to her. He pressed her palm harder under his as his breathing picked up to keep pace with his racing heart. She was startled until she heard Lortin’s soft voice from the end of the pallet. “Do not look so alarmed, Marrrry Jannne. Our reactions, Barin’s, Singeh’s, and mine are normal. You are still emitting strong hormonal signals from your body, telling ours that you are ripe for the breeding. It causes ours to demand the mating until yours no longer calls to us.” Barin tensed as Lortin spoke but he didn’t move, still holding her hand prisoner against his body. Mary Jane’s eyes wandered over his figure lying stretched on the furs. She could see his sheath attempting to part and the enormous effort at control Barin asserted to keep his body under his command. Her stomach stopped grumbling as sexual desire rose to meet Barin’s obvious need of

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her. Her core began to weep in anticipation and her nipples stiffened. She knew the moment Barin became aware of her arousal. His eyes widened along with his nostrils and his breath hissed sharply between his teeth. His fingers curled around hers and she watched as his eyes took on a feral glow. The clatter of dishes broke the spell as Singeh ambled down the hallway and into the common room carrying a large tray overflowing with plates and bowls and a large carafe. Neither she, Barin, nor Lortin moved from their frozen positions as Singeh set the tray down noisily in the midst of the large bed of furs. As the clatter of lids being taken from the dishes rang in their ears, the aromas from the food reached Mary Jane’s nose and her stomach clenched and complained loudly again at its emptiness. Ruefully, she wondered how she could feel so aroused one moment and so voraciously hungry the next. Both appetites were strong, but the need for nourishment outweighed her body’s other desires. When she reluctantly pulled her hand from under Barin’s, she met his eyes again, seeing the fires banked behind the now calm expression on his face. Her own expression promised a reward for his patience as she turned back to Singeh waiting for her. His own golden gaze was riveted on her face. She turned around and sat, naked except for her glorious red hair that hung around her body in a gleaming curtain giving peeks of her charms through the silky strands whenever she moved. She read the knowledge in Singeh’s eyes as they stared into hers, pleased at finding her hovering over his littermate’s prone body. Confused by his reaction, still thinking in terms of human relationships, she wondered for a few seconds how he could not be jealous of her obvious desire for someone else. Her thoughts were scattered when both Barin and Lortin rose to curl up next to her and reach for a morsel of food from one of the several plates. When their fingers lifted with the food to feed her, she felt a sudden rush of affection for them both. She had to admit she loved being catered to by each of the brothers and she wished she could show them how pampered she felt by their attentions. Reaching out, Mary Jane shocked the princes by taking a piece of glistening fruit from one of the bowls and turned to Barin, sensing his more immediate needs, remembering his forlorn expression just minutes before, and pressed the sweet flesh to his lips. “Open your mouth,” she instructed huskily, giving him a pleased smile when he complied automatically. “See, isn’t it wonderful when we receive as well as give?” He delicately licked the juice from her fingers and palm, letting go of her hand to watch her feed Lortin then Singeh in turn. She took bites from each of the brothers, humming her pleasure in the tastes of each of the foods pressed to her lips, but mostly taking great joy in each brother’s acceptance of her feeding them in return. They lingered over their impromptu meal in the late hours before what passed for dawn on the Starbase until each was satisfied and other hungers reared their heads, demanding equal satisfaction. The tray with its empty dishes was shoved from the furs and Mary Jane found her body surrounded by soft pelts both above and behind as each of them took her again, their bodies locking with hers as they spilled their seed into her womb, cementing the bond between them.

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Chapter Sixteen This was to be the first General Council meeting they attended since their mating and Singeh found his nerves tightening as he and his siblings, each surrounding Mary Jane in the protective wall of their bodies, entered the grand chamber. They had deliberately waited long past her fertile period, giving her the chance to grow accustomed to each of them belonging to her before they returned to renew their petition. She had accepted each of them during their first night together, but afterwards, she had returned to spending her time in Singeh’s room and bed. It had taken Singeh several days to convince her that he welcomed the idea, nay…encouraged the idea of her sharing her body with his brothers. That, although he relished making love to her nightly, he was dismayed by the knowledge that his siblings were left lonely and bereft of the joys and comfort of their mate. Once she understood that he embraced her desire for Barin and Lortin, she began to spend time with each of his brothers. But she only slept in his furs, always joining him sometime in the night to curl her sated body up to his, her scent mixed with one of theirs wafting around their entwined bodies. He and his brothers had been disappointed by her human biology even though they had known that human females only ovulated for one day a month, unlike their own females. Once Rasalasians were in season, they remained so until they were impregnated. They would have welcomed many more days of sharing her during the breeding, watching each other as they pleasured her. Singeh had been deeply aroused and delighted at the sight of his mate being pleasured by his siblings. The ecstatic expression on her face as Barin, Lortin, or sometimes both of them brought her to her peak again and again had tripled his own pleasure. The only cloud upon their horizon was that they couldn’t tell during the ritual scenting of any change in her hormones to indicate whether or not she had conceived. Singeh had found that although he longed for her to be carrying their kits, he equally longed for her to reach her next seasoning period. Once she ovulated again, they could each share her among themselves together as they planted their seed deep inside her womb. ***** They had been noticed immediately upon entering the Chambers. The typical noisy atmosphere in the vaulted room hushed for a second before the whispers started. When Lortin had explained to her the evening before that her circumstances had changed, she was now a Princess and under their protection, her astonished expression had amused each of the brothers. It seemed their mate was still thinking in terms of her human status and upbringing. Barin, directly behind her, stiffened in readiness. No one would insult their mate or make her uncomfortable. She had confided her fear that her changed circumstances would make the others in the Alliance look at her differently. They reached their assigned box in the petitioner’s tier. Lortin entered first, followed by

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Mary Jane, then Singeh and Barin. She was flanked by the youngest and eldest as they sat, but Barin remained standing, moving to her back and effectively closing her off from the assembled delegates. The crowd assembled on the chamber floor parted as if a force field had moved through the sea of bodies. Mr. Daniels, accompanied by Miss McBride, rapidly approached their seats. She braced herself as she caught the expression on their faces. The Secretary looked grim, but Miss McBride looked distastefully curious. Mary Jane felt the older woman’s avid gaze crawl over her, eyes flickering before they moved on to the Princes. Speculation ran rampant in Miss McBride’s expression and Mary Jane found herself fighting a grimace of distaste. She knew what the officious woman thought and she discovered a hereto unknown streak of actual hatred for her. The Secretary stopped right at the edge of the partition that separated the box from the floor. “Miss Wilson, I have been wondering when we would get a chance to see you again. We never did finish our conversation about your future before you left my office.” Her eyes continued to watch the expression on Miss McBride’s face, but when she opened her mouth to answer she was interrupted by Singeh’s soft menacing growl. “Mr. Dannnniels, you would be wise to remember to speak to our mate with proper respect. We do not take kindly to such insolence. You will address her as Princess Ak’ A’el’ Bakkar from now on.” Secretary Daniels blanched, but held his ground when Singeh leaned forward as Barin’s hand rested lightly upon the ceremonial sword strapped to his side. The threat was very clear in both Princes’ eyes boring into his and he visibly gulped before he carefully bowed from the waist. “I beg your pardon, of course. Your Highness’ will excuse me, I hope, when you hear how worried I was when I didn’t hear from the Princess. She had come to us for advice about her future, but never returned. It was natural for me to be concerned.” Ever the diplomat, Daniels hastily tried to repair any offense he had given. Earth, being one of the smaller and less significant members of the Alliance, couldn’t afford to alienate any future link with any planet. And Miss Wilson was now a very important link to Ra’s Ak’ al Asad. Nonplussed for a moment by the Secretary’s abrupt change in both tone and attitude, she couldn’t get a word in edgewise when Barin leaned well over her seated figure and snarled at Mr. Daniels. “Her future has already been decided. She has chosen and is no longer your concern.” Mary Jane, startled by Barin’s venomous tone, tore her gaze form Miss McBride’s speculative one and turned in her seat. Laying a soft hand on his forearm, she felt the tense steel-like muscles under her hand as his clenched harder on his ceremonial sword. When her gaze reached his face, she felt her eyes widened in distress at his furious expression. His eyes glowed with menace. His lips curled completely up, baring his teeth in an ugly snarl. “Barin?” She tightened her fingers over his arm, unconsciously stroking his fur in an attempt to calm him. She didn’t understand his moods, this twin of Singeh’s. He was very protective of her, in a standoffish way. He rarely spoke to her verbally, but his eyes often followed her every move.

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He tensed whenever she touched him, just as he was doing now. She met his snapping eyes, felt him tense further under her hand, and saw his withdrawal in increments. She could see him rein in his flashing temper, felt the effort it took for him to pull away from the couple standing directly in front of her. Within seconds, he was standing straight behind her, withdrawing his arm from under her hand. He was still edgy, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, but he no longer bared his teeth. His face was frozen in a sneer, one that she was saddened to see. He was not happy, Mary Jane thought. He hadn’t been since their first night together and his temper grew shorter in consequence. She finally tore her eyes from his expression, not fooled a bit by his retreat. She turned back to their audience. “Prince Barin is correct, Mr. Daniels. I have made my choice, one I hope both you and the Alliance will accept with consideration and respect. I know what I am doing, Sir.” Mr. Daniels gave her a quick skeptical look from under lowered brows before he pasted on a social smile, one he had perfected through years of dealing in political and diplomatic situations. “I would like to offer my sincerest good wishes on your, ah, marriage, Princess, and for your future happiness.” He shot a look at the trio of grooms and then addressed her again. “Dr. Van Horn was in my office today and expressed a desire to see you again once he learned of your marriage.” She frowned, touching Singeh’s thigh when he shifted restlessly in his chair. “Why would he want to see me again, Mr. Daniels?” “I believe he wants to discuss the ramifications of your union and perhaps examine you, if you would give permission.” She was at first puzzled at the request from the Secretary, then more baffled by her mates’ silence. She had been sure one, if not all three, would object to the appeal by Mr. Daniels for her to see Dr. Van Horn. When she sneaked a peek at each of them, she found Singeh looking thoughtful, Lortin appeared intrigued, and even Barin didn’t outright object to the idea. “All right, if Dr. Van Horn wants to see me, I am willing to visit him.” When Daniels brightened, Mary Jane added, “But only with us all there. I won’t go alone.” ***** When Barin’s eyes had snapped down to her upturned face, his heart had clenched hard at the sight of her exquisite face. Her emerald eyes had pleaded with him, so eloquent with worry that Barin pulled back and gave her what she silently demanded. He would rather have cut out the tongue of the diplomat standing in front of his mate for the way he had spoken to her. And once he had removed any chance of the male repeating his discourtesy, he would cut the hideously ugly female’s eyes from their sockets so she could never again look upon Mary Jane’s face in such a manner. Heathens, without a clue as to how to treat a member of a royal clan of Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad. He knew she did not understand his temper, couldn’t know the cause of his brooding. He was not jealous of his siblings, but he envied them her generous affections. She shared herself with them all, but he couldn’t help noticing her easy manner with Lortin, often

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seeing her embrace him and rub muzzles. He didn’t mind her choosing to sleep in Singeh’s furs, a normal choice in their society as he was the heir and eldest of the brothers, but her manner with his littermate was close and relaxed. She often rested against his body using him as her personal lounging chair. They frequently pressed their muzzles together, and Mary Jane would delicately lick Singeh’s lips until he responded with the same action. This always led to him lifting her and heading for his rooms, leaving his brothers behind to listen to the sounds of their bed play as their cries of pleasure drifted from Singeh’s rooms. With Lortin, she often teased gently. Their relationship almost as if they were siblings. They would tease and bicker, leading to mild rough and tumble games. Singeh would watch them with an amused and indulgent expression on his face as they played like young kits, rolling around the common room. Even when she chose to attend Lortin’s needs in his bed furs, their laughter was heard as often as their moans of desire. The only time she touched him was when she came to his bed furs. Her green gaze would be anxious and apprehensive as she watched him from the corners of her eyes. She would disrobe and stroke his body, often exploring him intimately. She never embraced him spontaneously or touched his face or muzzle. Once he fell back from her body, she would rise and cover herself, scratch his ears and leave him. She never once had stroked his muzzle or touched his face and Barin felt the lack. Barin’s deep thoughts were interrupted by Mary Jane’s voice as she questioned the Secretary. He remembered the physician, remembered his own examination and the tests the Doctor ran when they first came to the Starbase months ago. The ache in his deep chest lessened when he also recalled the very advanced laboratories and abilities of the Alliance. If they could discover so much about their bodily processes in so short a time, perhaps they could discover if she had conceived. Hope swelled in his heart at the thought of her being connected to them forever, mother to their kits. Should she have children, she would likely not leave until they were grown and should they be able to have several litters, she would be tied to them for perhaps decades. He had discovered that human females, or more accurately Mary Jane, were much different from their own species. She was not as demanding in the bed furs, confusing Barin often with her gentle, firm touches as she attempted to pleasure him. She didn’t seem to understand it was his and his brothers’ duty to pleasure her, provide for her, and protect her. Not hers to pleasure them. Perhaps these differences in humans would keep her from leaving them once she was unable to bear kits any longer. Perhaps she wouldn’t leave with her kits should she find one of them unable to please her any longer. Barin had tuned out the drone of voices once the Council meeting began, lost in speculation. His eyes moved automatically around the chamber, seeking any threat to their mate, but his mind remained deeply entrenched in the possibilities of their future with Mary Jane. He found he was both anxious to leave the Starbase and take their mate home, and dreading her reaction to what was an alien planet with alien customs and culture.

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Chapter Seventeen Once the Council meeting had finished, with a surprising vote for acceptance of the Rasalasians, they had escaped as soon as possible to their suite. Singeh and Lortin had been especially pleased with the results of the vote, crowing with delighted anticipation of being able to not only return home with the good news, but also return with a mate. “We will be envied beyond measure once the other males catch a glimpse of you, Marrrry Jannne,” Singeh announced to her. “They will take one look upon your face and line up for the chance to visit the Alliance planets.” Lortin had grabbed her for a rib cracking hug and rubbed his muzzle over her entire face. “Grrrrryowl, it is true. We are the luckiest of siblings. Once they see your gentle manner and how you always please us, they will fight for the right to search for a mate.” Only Barin had not carried on about their return home. He had quickly moved to the other side of the common room and intently watched the by-play between his brothers and Mary Jane, not voicing an opinion to anyone. “Barin, what is wrong?” she asked, disengaging herself from Lortin’s exuberant affections. When he shook his head negatively at her, she refused to just ignore his obvious separateness, his melancholy causing an ache to build in her chest. “Barin,” her voice chided him, “don’t tell me it’s nothing. Something is bothering you and I promise you, I intend to find out what it is.” Obviously seeking to divert her from the line of questioning that would sooner or later lead to answers he didn’t want to share, Barin asked about the proposed visit to Dr Van Horn. “And what of this Doctor who wishes to see you? Do you know exactly what it is he wants from you?” She gave him a look that told him she knew exactly what he was trying to do, but because of the wary looks both Lortin and Singeh were giving Barin, she chose to follow his lead. “He probably wants to ask me about you and the mating. He was the one who told me about your mating customs and the work he was doing for your people, trying to find a way to help your population disparity.” She was satisfied by the wary, perplexed look that statement caused to flow over each of the brothers’ faces. After all, instead of telling her themselves that they intended to have her literally marry all of them, they had each dragged their feet until someone else had broken the news to her. Sighing at their foolishness, and the qualms that she had experienced at first, Mary Jane asked them what they thought about visiting the doctor. “Do you want me to go see Dr. Van Horn?” Watching the indecision that flickered in their eyes, and the way each of them checked out the other’s reaction, she knew that they really weren’t sure if they did want her to pay the doctor a call. “Come on now, Singeh…Lortin. You both never cease to tell me what you think about

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anything else. And Barin, I expect you to tell me your opinion. Frankly, I am tired of trying to guess at what you think.” She had marched up to Barin by this point and stood toe to toe with the big male, unafraid of him hovering over her. Her eyes flashed green fire at him, demanding an answer. “Very well, De al’ Cahish, I would like for this doctor to examine you. We cannot tell by scent if you have conceived or not, unlike our females who emit a singular aroma when they are expecting.” She was caught off guard by Barin’s blunt statement, but before she could say anything Lortin spoke up. “Its true, we cannot tell, and each of us is wondering if the mating took. But there are some things we haven’t learned from the doctor. His initial exams of each of us and our physiology told us many things about our bodies we didn’t know. Perhaps he can tell us why you react the way you do when we are amongst the bed furs.” ***** Dr. Van Horn’s offices were not exactly what Mary Jane had expected. They resembled Secretary Daniels’ more than a physician’s. At least any physician she had ever visited. There was no waiting room per se, just a lobby with a soothing waterfall in one corner and a couple of chairs against the wall with a table between them. Done in shades of medium blues and earth tones, she had unconsciously relaxed once she and the Princes entered the room. There must have been some kind of signal that announced their arrival because a charming, middle aged gentleman came from down a short hall to greet them. “Hello. You must be the Princess Ak’ A’el’ Bakkar.” He smiled widely, but didn’t offer his hand in greeting, stopping well short of them where he stood and gave a short bow. “I am Dr. Van Horn’s assistant, Dr. Wilder.” She stepped forward and stuck out her hand. “Yes, I am Mary Jane Bakkar,” she said, mangling her own name terribly. She was puzzled and a little embarrassed by the man’s formal bow, but realized too late that she wasn’t supposed to offer her hand and give him the opportunity to touch her. Dr. Wilder was too much of a gentleman to allow her to be uncomfortable. He quickly stepped forward and took her hand, giving it a gentle shake before letting go. He did it with an ease of manner that Mary Jane envied, neither holding her hand too long nor letting go so quickly that any insult could be inferred. Dr. Wilder’s voice smoothed over the awkwardness as he gestured towards the hall he had just come down. “Dr. Van Horn is waiting in his examining rooms for you. Perhaps we can go in?” She looked back at her three husbands, checking to see what they thought. Her mind still boggled at the reality of having three men at her beck and call. They all three looked at her, waiting on her to make the decision about whether or not to see the doctor. Although they each had expressed in their suite that they would like for her to see him, they stuck to their avowal to let her make the final decision. Promising herself that someday each of them were going to learn how to make a mutual

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decision together, she smiled at Dr. Wilder and headed towards the hall. Once they reached a door that stood open, Wilder stepped back to allow her to enter first followed by the Princes. Mary Jane smiled at the sight of Dr. Van Horn seated behind his much cluttered desk. It was covered with disks, markers of some sort, clipboards and a number of gadgets which she would be hard pressed to describe. Her gaze landed on one long, speckled instrument that hummed with a greenish glow when Dr. Van Horn stood. “I am so glad you decided to come, Princess. Please, won’t you sit down for a moment so I can talk to you about what I would like to accomplish here today.” Gesturing at the grouping of chairs in front of his desk, Dr. Van Horn waited until the Princes and their Princess were all seated before he sat down himself. “Now, as I have been informed, you have completed the mating ritual and are now mated to all of the Princes of the house of el’ Bakkar?” Van Horn paused and she realized he was waiting for her to speak. “Ah, well…yes, Dr. Van Horn,” she stuttered slightly, still unused to just blurting out that she was sexually involved with three men at the same time. Even if he was a doctor, Mary Jane was worried he would judge her much the way Secretary Daniels and Miss McBride had silently disapproved. “There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Princess. Believe me; I have seen a lot stranger matings than yours.” Van Horn gave her a sympathetic look. “Really? Like what and who?” asked an eager Lortin, his scientific curiosity aroused. Van Horn’s face showed his amusement as he turned to the only one of the male Rasalasians who had spoken. “Let us just stick with your mating right now, Prince Lortin. Perhaps later we can discuss the oddities of the universe.” The doctor stood again and gestured towards another room attached to the one they were in. “Let’s go into the scanning room and we shall get a look at what is going on, shall we?” Within seconds she found herself lying upon a soft couch with all four men surrounding her. Nervously, she waited while the doctor touched the panel above her head, pressing here and there until he grunted in satisfaction. “There…um…interesting…” He fiddled some more with the panel and she could see the curiosity pick up in his eyes as he took in whatever he saw. She quickly looked at Singeh, Barin and Lortin’s faces and twisted around trying to see whatever had their attention. “What? What is it?” Mary Jane demanded, craning her neck to get a glimpse of the panel. All she could see were blips and lines with rapidly scrolling bursts of text that was impossible to read at that angle. Dr. Van Horn noticed that Mary Jane’s frustrated wiggling disturbed the readouts. “Please lie still, Princess. Here, let me get you a screen.” He reached around to the side of the couch and swung a flat paneled screen attached to an arm across to where she could see. Another touch to the panel over her head activated the smaller screen and it came to life in front of her eyes. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make heads or tails from the information that rapidly spun by. Huffing disgustedly, she tapped Dr. Van Horn on the thigh. “Hey, what does all this mean?” she asked.

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Dr. Van Horn stopped scrolling so fast and maneuvered the smaller screen around so both he and Mary Jane could see it. Singeh and Barin looked at the larger panel while Lortin, the only brother with a clue as to what the readings might mean, quickly changed position to see the small screen and listened avidly to the doctor’s explanation. “This line here is your heartbeat and blood pressure,” he pointed out. “I can see that, Doctor. I have seen those before on board the ship that brought me to the Starbase. They made me take a physical to be sure I wasn’t permanently damaged by that scientist who brought me here.” Dr. Van Horn helped her sit up, then motioned for the Princes to stand on the other side of the bed. “Thank you. Now, Your Highnesses, I was checking to see if there were any adverse reactions by the Princess’s body to the chemical makeup of your bodies’ secretions.” At all four of their surprised looks he explained, “I am afraid I have seen several species that cannot mate successfully even after a positive first testing. Sometimes the females have an allergic reaction to the male’s semen. Once we had a male whose genitals were burned by a female lubricating fluid.” Van Horn winced in sympathy along with each of the Princes at that statement. “Knowing that your ejaculate is rich in chemicals, ones that we have only begun to test, I wanted to make sure there are no ill effects. Have you experienced any unpleasant reactions to any of the Prince’s body fluids?” She flushed at the piercing look in the doctor’s eyes and she squirmed uncomfortably as each of her new husbands turned interested eyes on her. “Ah, well…no, not really. I mean when ever they, it…this is so hard to talk about,” she wailed, not knowing how to describe the intense sexual surge she got whenever one of them squirted fluid on her private areas. Dr. Van Horn, bless his soul, changed the wording of his question to give Mary Jane a frame of reference to answer. “Let me phrase this a little differently. When any of their ejaculate touches your body, are the feelings painful or pleasurable? You see, we know that their non-mating fluids are more plentiful and filled with chemicals that cause reactions with nerves and tissues, we just aren’t sure exactly what reaction this is suppose to create.” She looked at her husbands and their eager expressions were a testament to their interest in her answers. “Don’t you know what your body’s stuff does to women?” she asked disbelievingly. They all gave her sheepish looks and Lortin spoke hurriedly. “No, we don’t. We don’t have physicians that study the body like here. They concentrate on fixing injuries and the results of the plague. Besides, not one of them would be brave enough to ask a female such a question.” She shook her head at them all. Men. Once she got started, she found it easier to explain as she talked about the intense reaction she felt whenever one of them squirted on and in her, especially if the liquid landed on her clit. Dr. Van Horn nodded his head, his fingers rapidly making notes of her comments as she talked. Whenever she would falter, he would inject another question and take her on another aspect of her sexual experiences with the Princes. He especially was interested in the mating and the sexual differences when Singeh

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mentioned to him that she had ovulated and they had been scent-triggered to release semen. He had her lie down again as he passed an instrument over her lower belly, his eyes focused on the screen. “I can see that you released several eggs. See here?” He pointed at an amazingly lifelike glowing picture of the reproductive organs. “See the pustules on your ovaries? Umm…that is quite unusual.” “That’s my insides?” she asked, fascinated and a little repulsed. This was nothing like the drawings she had seen in books. “And what do you mean unusual?” “Well, Princess, human females normally only release one or two eggs during ovulation. It looks like from what I am seeing, you released six.” “Six? Oh, my God! Surely I am not going to have six babies,” Mary Jane asked, aghast at the thought. “No, you are not having six babies. I am afraid you are not having even one. From what I see here, none of the eggs have implanted even if they had fertilized,” Dr. Van Horn said, breaking the news gently.

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Chapter Eighteen “No babies?” Mary Jane finally choked out, stunned at the deep disappointment she felt at Dr. Van Horn’s announcement. Tears welled in her eyes and she felt a large, furry hand take hers and squeeze. “Yes, I am afraid there are no babies, but I assure you, Princess, this is nothing to worry about. Most of the time it takes several attempts for a woman to get pregnant,” he said in a reassuring voice. “I would like to take some tissue and blood samples with your permission to do some tests.” “Tests?” Singeh growled. “What tests?” Dr. Van Horn thrust a hand though his messy hair, shoving the straggling locks back as he quickly gathered several instruments. “I would like to see what effects the Princess has had to your chemical rich ejaculate. We have her blood work and test results from when she was rescued for a base sample I can use for comparison.” “Our mate is not a test subject. Why should she endure this ordeal you want?” Barin rumbled dangerously, his hand held in a death grip by Mary Jane, who had tightened her hold at the mention of tests. Dr. Van Horn gave the trio of now very protective Princes a startled look. “I beg your pardon, I had thought you understood. I was not suggesting taking samples to test out of curiosity. I thought I might be able to find out if any of her body’s reactions were adverse enough to cause failure to implant. There is also the possibility that even though the ovum we were able to fertilize in the lab with your sperm seemed viable, these aren’t. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of variables to take into account.” Dr. Van Horn smiled at the foursome in front of him. He had liked each of the Princes when he had first met them. And once he had made Miss Wilson’s acquaintance, he had recognized their suitability, unlike Daniels or his assistant. “I want to be sure there isn’t anything we can do to assist you next time the Princess ovulates. I would dearly love to help you start your family, if possible.” ***** It had been a somber group who returned to their suite that evening, Mary Jane thought. She would never forget the sight of Singeh, Lortin and Barin’s faces when the Doctor made his pronouncement about her lack of conception. They had all been extremely disappointed and unable to hide it. Even though she understood what Dr. Van Horn said, she still felt like a failure. A complete failure. When they reached the suite, they had found the evening meal already prepared and waiting on the low table in the middle of the common room. Unable to keep her tears at bay any longer, she excused herself and rushed from the room. She had stopped halfway down the hall, tears flowing down her cheeks as she realized she didn’t have her own room to hide in. She flung open the only door that didn’t lead to one of the men’s rooms and locked the door behind her.

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Huddled on the seat of the commode, she gave into the pressure that had built in her chest as sobs poured from her throat. She covered her face with her hands and let all her distress out. She cried, her heart breaking. She didn’t know how much time had passed. She dropped her hands from her red, swollen face and wiped at the wet tracks on her cheeks with the sleeve of her tunic. Shuddering sobs still escaped along with watery hiccups as she cast around the small room looking for something to blow her nose on. She finally settled for one of the washing cloths, dropping it into the laundry chute when she had gained some control. Once she made it to her feet, she glanced in the mirror over the basin and grimaced at her refection. She had never looked more plain and homely as she did at that moment. Thoroughly ashamed of herself she turned on the taps and washed her blotched face and prepared to face her husbands. Each of them had come to the door, politely tapping, their voices hushed and concerned as they attempted to get her to open the door. Selfishly, she had ignored their pleas, ignored the fact that they, too, were hurting while she wallowed in her own misery. The hallway was dark and the suite hushed when she left the guest toilet. Stiffening her shoulders, she headed for the end of the hall and Singeh’s room. The knob turned easily under her hand, but she found the room empty just like the other two when she moved first to Barin’s then Lortin’s bedrooms. Their bed furs were plumped and ready for them to retire, but the rooms echoed with the silence of emptiness. A soft sound from the common room caught Mary Jane’s attention when she shut Lortin’s door. The gentle splash and slap of water reminded her of the overly large tub recessed under the floor in the main room. The brothers often lounged in its steaming water in the evenings, a custom they brought with them from their home planet. They had never invited her to join them and she had deduced that it was an apparently male custom to bath together. Suddenly she felt left out and wondered if they often felt the same with some of her human ways. It is time to make new customs. After all, she was human and they needed to create their own blend of traditions for themselves. She had yet to feel comfortable with most of the Rasalasian’s traditions and customs. Like sleeping in Singeh’s room and only visiting Barin’s and Lortin’s for sex. She found to her amazement that she preferred their first night together with them all sharing among each other as opposed to the now lonely feeling she experienced when she was with them one on one. Always in the back of her mind was the thought of the other two waiting alone in their rooms as she spent time with whichever brother she happened to be with. She backtracked to Singeh’s bedroom where her clothes were located and stripped out of her tunic and into a soft robe. Leaving the door open, she wandered down the hall into the large common room. The air was heavy with moisture from the steaming bath water. The room filled with the scents of wet, musky fur and the fragrant Rasalasian bathing oils the princes favored. She paused to feast her eyes on her men lying in the hot water. Singeh stared off into space, a pensive expression of his face, while Lortin moved about restlessly on his seat. It was

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his movements that had alerted Mary Jane by the gentle slapping of the water against the sides of the tub. She found herself smiling at his impatience and fidgeting. Her smile died as she focused on Barin. He was facing her, arms flung out along the rim of the tub, his head thrown back, eyes closed as he rested in the soothing water. His expression was dead and empty, creating an ache in her heart. If she asked, she knew he would not tell her what he was feeling. He didn’t have an easy personality, not like Singeh or Lortin’s easy manner with her. All three of them jerked to attention when they heard her cross the room. Their heads snapped in her direction, eyes quickly moving over her face while taking note of the tell tale signs of her distress. Tears clogged her throat as she saw the echoes of her own pain reflected in their eyes. She had been selfish, indeed. She paused at the edge of the tub and gave each of them a watery smile. “I’m sorry,” she forced out of her tightened throat. “No, no, please stay there,” she cried out when both Lortin and Singeh started in her direction. They stopped as she had requested, puzzled looks on their faces, waiting to see what she would do. Only Barin hadn’t moved. She captured his gaze as she parted her robe and shrugged it from her shoulders, standing straight as the material pooled at her feet. His eyes widened, then flowed over her exposed body, stopping at the peaks of her breasts then traveling down to the curls that covered her mound. Their indrawn breaths were music to her ears as she lowered one foot onto the top step. All three of the men began breathing heavily, their harsh exhalations loud in the humid room. Moisture dotted Mary Jane’s skin from the steam rising from the bath, but a different moisture sprung to life deep in her core as she took in the sight of all their faces as they greedily devoured her with their eyes. The second foot lowered and she tested the temperature of the pool, crying out softly at the feel of hot slick water as she lowered her body until only her shoulders and head were visible. Gliding through the hot water, she slid up to Lortin and settled onto his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck as she laid her cheek against his. “I’m so sorry, Lortin. Please forgive me?” she whispered in his ear. Startled, Lortin tightened his arms that had automatically embraced her when she pressed against him. “Why? Why do you apologize to me? You have done nothing wrong. It is not your fault the mating failed.” She pulled back and rubbed her face against his muzzle before she slid from his grasp and moved across the large tub to nestle in Singeh’s embrace. There she cuddled against him also, repeating her apology and sharing a melting kiss. But she didn’t stay with him either. She moved out of his clinging arms to take a shuddering breath, fighting her natural arousal at being with the three of them. She wanted desperately to make love with each of them, but first she had to make sure she said what needed saying, the remorse inside her pushing her onwards. When she tore herself from Singeh’s embrace, the ache between her thighs throbbed unmercifully. She turned to Barin, finding his gaze hard upon her flushed face, his eyes

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flashing a message of desire and confusion. She knew he and his brothers did not understand what she was doing. She held his gaze with hers as she moved in his direction. His arms were still resting on the rim of the tub, but now he was tense, his muscles rippling as she drew closer to him. He didn’t move to take her into his arms, even when hers wound around his thickly muscled neck and her legs curled at his waist as her bottom settled onto his thighs. “I’m sorry, Barin.” She repeated her apology to him, her fingers lightly caressing his flickering ears as her cheek grazed his before she buried her face in his glossy fur covered neck. Both Lortin and Singeh had moved to sit next to Barin, each of them looking at the other with baffled expressions. Singeh placed a wet palm on Mary Jane’s back and Lortin’s voice rumbled in her ear. “Why do you apologize for something which none of us have any control over, Marrrry Jannne? None of us blames you for what has not occurred,” he asked softly. Lifting her head, tears filled her eyes again even as her desire built at having all three of them close to her. She answered in a hushed voice they could barely hear. “I am not apologizing for that. I am sorry I didn’t answer the door when you all came to me. I should have known, should have shared my grief with you. I acted like only my feelings were important and yours were not. I am ashamed of the way I behaved. I should have comforted you and let you comfort me. That is the way it should be between mates.” Barin’s arms had left the rim of the tub and by the end of her explanation he was clasping her to his chest tightly while each of his brothers stroked her shoulder or lower back, each offering her comfort. They remained that way for a few minutes before the atmosphere changed. It bubbled with sexual tension as each of them became aware of the others rising arousal. The musky scent of the male’s desire floated in the water. Each of their noses caught the scent of her body’s reaction as it mingled with theirs and floated to the surface of the bath. “Um…Marrrry Jannne?” croaked Lortin as he squirmed uncomfortably next to her and Barin. “Why have you come into the bath? I didn’t think humans did communal bathing. Our females do not take the water with the males.” She turned a mischievous expression to him, her eyes now flashing with humor, the melancholy gone from her bright green gaze. “How do you know humans don’t bathe together? The people in Japan do all the time. Entire families, and even strangers, bathe together and no one thinks a thing about it,” she said, sharing her laughing eyes with each of them while her fingers still stroked Barin’s ears. Singeh ran a finger up her arm, then down before curling it into her armpit, causing her to squirm in Barin’s lap. “So you are from this Japan?” Laughing merrily, she admitted, “Well, no, I am not. I lived in the United States, but that is no reason why I cannot bathe with you, is it?” she challenged. None of the three would confess to their rising discomfort that had nothing to do with bathing and everything to do with having their mate naked with them and scenting her arousal. Not one of them wanted to make a false move, uncertain as to what to do next. She easily read their expressions as they in turn looked at each other over her head. Silly men. She took matters into her own hands, so to speak. Allowing her hands to leave Barin’s fascinating tufted ears, she trailed them over his

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cheeks and lightly fingered his lips as he froze underneath her, his every muscle going taut. She smiled into his shocked eyes as she rubbed her mound over his swelling sheath. Her hands left his face to slip under the water and seek out the equally swollen sheaths of the other two men, finding them with eager fingers that danced up and down their hidden cocks. “I want to make love,” she stated, boldly stroking each cock as it emerged from its sheath, her hips thrusting against Barin’s erection. “To each of you, all of you, right now.”

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Chapter Nineteen Barin growled against Mary Jane’s neck, his hips lifting helplessly in counterpoint to her teasing thrusts. “De al’ Cahish, you don’t know what you are saying.” She gasped at the rough caress of his tongue on her skin as Barin found the tender flesh behind her ear, one of her more sensitive erogenous zones. “Ohhhhhh…oh yes, I do.” “No, Marrrry Jannne, it’s not time,” protested Lortin even as his hand slipped from her shoulder and around her side to find her breast. The soft pads of his fingers plucked at her nipple as it puckered under his ministrations. “You are not fertile and we are past the Tal e’ Feata.” She opened her languid eyes to look at each of her husbands in turn. She stroked them individually as she met their eyes one by one. “It should be always our time, Lortin. We should be able to pleasure each other whenever we desire. Share our bodies together, no matter if I can conceive or not. I miss you. I miss you all.” Her gaze swung to Singeh as her fingers feathered over the flat top of his cock, feeling him swell and harden further as she teased his flesh. “I am not Rasalasian. I am human and I think we should make our own traditions, our own customs. New ones that fit us. As we are unique, so shall be our mating.” She reluctantly let go of Singeh, feeling him move behind her and his hands leave her back, stroking to her buttocks and beyond. As his fingers found the cleft between her cheeks, her gaze lifted to Barin’s again. His golden eyes were narrowed and watchful, looking deeply into hers. He said nothing as she wound her arms again around his head, reaching for his ears, one of her favorite parts of his anatomy. That and the large bulge she was riding between her thighs. Excitement flooded her face with color and perspiration dotted her skin wherever it wasn’t touched by water. She could see and feel Barin’s desire. She also saw the hesitation deep in his gaze and was determined that this night, he would no longer hide from her whatever was bothering him. Her nimble fingers found his ears and she slowly rubbed the tips between her first and second fingers, smoothing the downy fur and gently tugging on the appendages. Her hips still rocked against his, lightly rubbing her clit on his sheath which began to part and release his engorged cock. That was even better, the feel of his bare flesh as she held it captive between her nether lips and rode the hard ridge, using it to stimulate her already aching clit. A moan slipped out of her opened mouth as Singeh’s fingertips brushed the tight puckered opening just behind her slit. Little electric shocks zinged though her blood, heating her desire up another notch. His fingers dipped further down and found her slick core, sliding two digits deep into her pussy. The back of his hand touching his littermate’s erection, rubbing against him as Mary Jane’s hips rocked harder. Barin didn’t object to Singeh’s touch and he leaned back to give Lortin better access to Mary Jane’s breasts. His eyes narrowed further as he watched Lortin cup both of her breasts

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with his hands, squeezing them, plumping the slight flesh, before he dipped his head and tongued her turgid nipples. She felt her eyes closing as each tug of Lortin’s lips on her nipples made her muscles clench on Singeh’s fingers. Assaulted by the simultaneous sensations surrounding her body, she almost lost eye contact with Barin. She could feel each sipping tug on her responsive nipples, each stroke of Singeh’s tongue on her spine, each nerve in her clit as it grazed Barin’s thickly veined cock, and each centimeter of Singeh’s fingers as they curled inside of her pussy. An overwhelming desire to see Barin’s face suffused with pleasure, pleasure only she could bring him, came over her. She let go of his ears and grasped the rim of the tub hard in her hands. She gasped out as another wave flowed over her, arching her spine into the touch of Singeh’s mouth. “Sit up here. Barin…right here on the edge.” He gave her a puzzled look, but pulled away from her body and hoisted himself up easily, the muscles in his arms bunching and rippling. Water flowed down his fur and spread out to puddle on the floor. She dislodged Lortin and leaned forward, moving Barin’s thighs apart. She felt Singeh’s fingers slip from inside of her as she positioned herself where she wanted to be. She kept the eye contact, seeing his confusion, knowing he had no clue to her intent. Only Singeh seemed to understand what she was doing, as she caught his movement out of the corner of her eye. Singeh reached out and grasped Lortin’s arm pulling him away from her, giving her the room she needed. She could hear his soft murmur to his younger sibling. She didn’t hear the words as her hands kneaded their way up the inside of Barin’s thighs, massaging the bunching sleek muscles, until her hands wrapped around his thick pulsing cock. She stroked his cock with both hands, feeling the juices flowing down its length to coat her fingers. Once, then twice, her hands moved up and down, her eyes on his as he gritted his teeth and the muscles of his neck clenched. On the last down stroke, she lifted up and angled his cock towards her, her mouth opening wide as she took as much of him as she could between her lips. Only then, when she saw his narrowed eyes widen in shock and pleasure flood his golden gaze, did she close her own eyes. Sucking strongly, she drew him in as far as she could, felt him pulse between her lips and under her hands. A jetting stream of fluid from the tip of his cock flooded her mouth. She almost choked, the sudden burst unexpected, but she quickly gulped as another spurt filled her mouth. Her tongue and lips tingled. The sweet musky taste of his ejaculate filled her senses and lit an inferno in her blood. The chemical began its work on her tissues, swelling them with blood, loosing the muscles in her mouth. She found her jaws widening and Barin’s cock sliding farther inside her mouth. He reached the back of her throat and another fresh burst of fluid flowed from him, stilling her gag reflex as she slid lower and swallowed him down her throat. Moaning around the thick flesh between her lips, Mary Jane heard the gasping voice of Lortin as he cried out his surprise at her actions. Singeh’s rough voice answered him and his hands grasped her hips, lifting her up until he could slide his own cock deep into her body. Soon, she needed to breathe and she lifted her head and gasped as Barin’s cock bobbed in front of her face. She cried out as Singeh pulled her back against his thrusting hips, sliding

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deep into her channel, his own ejaculate coating the inside of her sheath, heating up her response. By now Barin held her head as she took him again into her mouth, her tongue doing wicked things to the tip of his raging erection. He threw his head back as deep growls rumbled from his rippling throat at the intense pleasure coursing through him. Again and again, she took the spewing fluid from his cock, moaning greedily and swallowing each spurt until it overflowed and dribbled down her chin. She opened her throat repeatedly to take him as deep as she could, reveling in the taste and feel of him. Suddenly, shockingly, she found herself on the verge of climax. Singeh pounded into her from behind, Lortin had slipped a hand under her body and was tweaking her clit. Her belly tightened. She could feel each of her muscles clench in anticipation as she strove for the orgasm just out of her reach. She released Barin’s flesh from her mouth as her body rippled with pleasure, her hips jerking in Singeh’s hands, her cry muffled by Barin’s belly as she shook in release. Once the major quakes stopped and only aftershocks shook her body, she lifted her head, her hands still wrapped around Barin’s throbbing cock. Singeh was still inside of her, his own cock rock hard and unsatisfied. Lortin’s hand cupped her mound, his fingers quiet. “My God,” Mary Jane moaned, “that was so good. So good.” Barin reached under her arms and lifted her from the bath, standing in one movement and holding her clasped to his chest. He looked at his two brothers still standing in the bath with their own erections jutting out from their abdomens and snarled, “Well, what are you waiting for? Our mate requires our attentions.” Barin barely made it to Singeh’s bedroom. Mary Jane nuzzled his neck and her hands again tweaked his ears. His fal e’ tele throbbed so hard he felt each pulse of his heated blood as it coursed through his painful erection. He stopped at the edge of Singeh’s bed furs, hearing his brothers behind him as they rummaged around the other bedrooms. He knew they were grabbing Lortin’s and his own furs to add to the communal bed they would share. He breathed hard, panting with the effort to control his urge to fling Mary Jane down upon the furs and just take her and relieve the ache in his loins. He would never forget the intense surge of scalding pleasure he experienced when she had put her mouth upon him. He did not know why she had chosen to do it, but he did not want to question his good fortune. She stirred again in his arms, wiggling and pushing at his shoulders. “Down, Barin, put me down.” She spoke while still nuzzling his neck and he could do no other than what she requested, his arms feeling bereft once he set her on her feet. She didn’t remain there. She fell to her knees, her fingers trailing down his torso until they grasped his fal e’ tele in both hands. He found his knees bending until he half crouched in front of her. Barin heard his brothers as they came into the room dragging a number of furs behind them, but his gaze was locked on their mate’s face as she looked at his dripping erection. Her eyes looked up at his in a swift glance before her attention returned to his hardness. His whole body clenched hard as her pink tongue darted out and swiped the tip of his erection, gathering up the dribbling fluids flowing from there and drawing them back into her mouth. “Ummm…more, Barin, give me more.” Mary Jane hummed her approval as her hands

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stroked him, drawing more of his addicting ejaculate from his willing body. The first jet of new fluid splattered over her face, coating her cheeks before her mouth opened and caught the second stream. She contained the third hard spurt completely in her mouth as she took him inside, her tongue swirling around the tip as he gave her what she wanted. Barin couldn’t contain his growl of pleasure at the hot slick feel of her mouth as she again worked at teasing his fal e’ tele. His hands went automatically to cup her face and hold her head at the right angle to work his erection in and out of her luscious mouth. When his thighs began to tremble with the need for release, she pulled back, tearing a snarling groan from his mouth. Her luminous green eyes speared his as she held him and rubbed his engorged tip over her cheeks, wetting them further with his fluids. “What do you want, Barin?” Mary Jane asked huskily. “What do you need? Tell me.” Barin was aware of his siblings furs now spread over Singeh’s, waiting to either side of him to see what would happen next. Frustration tensed his muscles, but anxiety fluttered deep in his belly. The female always led in the bed furs, if she so chose. He had to answer her. The need to please her paramount in Barin’s natural instincts, but he was afraid to reveal his own needs. Afraid of her reaction, afraid he would see the return of her own hesitancy with him. When he only gasped a protest at her leaving him hanging on the edge of climax, she again pulled him inside her mouth for a heartbeat, her tongue a wicked lash of pleasurable retribution before she pulled away again. “What do you want, Barin? Tell me and I will give it to you. I promise we shall not go further than this, any of us, if you do not tell me. What do you need, Barin? Tell me everything.” Her green gaze remained determined and deeply sensual, combined with her continued facial caressing of his fal e’ tele. He lifted his head, avoiding her demanding eyes, to meet the aroused gazes of his brothers as they watched Mary Jane tease his body. Each of them broke away from the sight of her on her knees to give him a look that seared him to his soul. “I want…” He forced past his tight throat, gasping as another surge of pleasure shot through him when her tongue darted out to reward his speech. “Hmm, yes, Barin, what do you want? Come and tell me.” She hummed her approval of his first attempt to answer her. He tipped her head until she looked him directly in his face, her gaze and that wicked mouth away from his fal e’ tele. “I want to watch you as you do this with my brothers. I want to see their fal e’ teles as they slide in and out of your mouth, giving them the same pleasure you have given me,” he gasped out, trying to ignore her hands that still stroked him, tightening on him as he spoke. Her brightening eyes gave him courage and he rushed into speech after he paused, wanting to get it all out and unburden his shoulders from the weight he had carried. “I want to bury my fal e’ tele so deep inside you that I stay a part of you forever. I want to watch as Singeh and Lortin do the same so we are one, linked together until we all die.” Again he paused as Mary Jane’s eyes widened in surprise, but not in rejection. “I want to take you in your backside while one of my brothers is deep in your priti. I want to see your face as you peak for each of us.” His last words were barely above a whisper as he let go of what he needed the most. “I

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need you to touch my face again. To lick my mouth and rub your muzzle against mine.” Her hands had stilled and the room seemed to freeze as the last words tumbled from his lips, his voice broke as he almost sobbed them out. “I want to go home.”

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Chapter Twenty Mary Jane could see the terrible desperation in Barin’s eyes as he spoke before he closed them, trying to hide the honesty of the stark emotion reflected there. She let go of the hardness boldly jutting out from his abdomen and grasped his wrists. She didn’t miss the flicker of emotion that crossed his face once she withdrew her intimate touch. “Barin,” she called huskily, her voice low and filled with surprise, “Look at me.” He opened his eyes and met her gaze as she rose from her knees. Her hands held onto his wrists as his hands slipped from her head to cup her shoulders. Now that he looked at her warily, she didn’t know how to reassure him, what words she could say that would remove the haunted look that lingered in the back of his eyes. Perhaps, it would be best to show him instead. “Sit down, Barin.” She nodded towards the bed Singeh and Lortin made when they had joined them. Reluctantly, Barin let go of her shoulders and backed up, his eyes now clouding, trying to hide his uneasiness with what he had just revealed. She smiled at him gently, attempting to put him at ease as he did as she had asked. He settled himself on the furs and she followed him, dropping to her knees next to him. She was aware that both Lortin and Singeh were at her back, but keeping enough distance to not interfere. Mary Jane was grateful for their tact in letting her handle Barin’s confessions. Placing a hand on one of his taut thigh muscles, she hesitated. They were on the threshold of something big, something so great that she knew that all their lives would be changed. But how should she handle this? How could she forever banish that look of intense anguish from Barin’s eyes? Reaching out, she gently rimed the edge of the flat tip of Barin’s firm erection with a finger, keeping her eyes on his. His labored breathing was loud in the otherwise quiet room. Each of them heard it catch as she moved to straddle his body. He instantly quivered and swelled under her fingers, glazing her hand with his excitement. Fitting him to the opening of her body, guiding him past the flowering lips that protected her core, Mary Jane moaned at the familiar throbbing caused by his clear ejaculate as it coated her tender tissues. Easing him inside of her body, she held on to the thickening length of Barin’s penis as she slowly worked him until he was tucked deep inside of her. Once her buttocks touched his thighs, she stopped, gasping for breath at the full, stretched sensation between her legs. Barin had grasped her hips to help her, but had quickly complied when she had demanded he stop. Now, with her bottom resting on his outstretched legs, she opened her eyes and gave him a look of such wanton heat that he flexed uncontrollably underneath her. Holding his gaze, Mary Jane called out huskily, “Come here, Lortin.” She didn’t break her hold on Barin’s eyes as Lortin eagerly jumped to her side. She reached out and curled one fist around Lortin’s jutting penis. She eyed Barin carefully as she caught the dribbling fluid from the tip and spread it generously over Lortin’s mottled cock, working her hand up and down the rigid shaft. She watched Barin’s reaction.

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Not only did she see the flare of heat as it swelled in his eyes, she could feel the increase in his pulse as it rocked though his cock and throbbed deep inside of her sheath. She could not hold back the moan of pleasure that answered that throb deep inside her. She gently rocked her hips, moving his hardness inside of her to stroke her own building fire. Her gaze caught the way Barin’s eyes narrowed in pleasure as his mouth opened and he began to pant softly. His hands tightened on her hips. His gasp echoed Lortin’s and Singeh’s when she finally broke eye contact and tugged Lortin closer. Guiding him into her mouth, her tongue snaking out to whip around the tip as it disappeared into the depths of her mouth. “Ummm…oomph,” she moaned around the turgid flesh in her mouth, lapping eagerly at the fluid that leaked from the slit. Lortin tasted different from Barin, his fluids a constant dribbling flow from his cock, not the occasional hard jets like Barin’s. His sweet, musky flavor coated her teeth and cheeks, gently firing the nerves on her tongue as she began to work him in and out, fucking him with her mouth. She forgot to look for Barin’s reactions, forgot that Lortin not only had never experienced oral sex, he was younger and not as controlled as his elder siblings. Soon, he was shaking and trembling next to her, his chest rumbling with deep grunts. His loud cry echoed in Mary Jane’s ears at the same time the slow dribble became a thick wash flooding her mouth as Lortin came, his hips jerking as he tried to bury his cock further between her lips. She pulled back, gasping, fluid running down her chin as she milked the last of Lortin’s climax from his swollen cock. Her own hips were grinding against Barin’s as excitement grew tighter and tighter low in her belly. Once Lortin’s climax eased, she lifted her free hand, imperiously demanding Singeh’s presence. Seconds later, his long golden cock glistened between her stretched lips as she worked him, sucking strongly at the flesh that had brought her so much pleasure. Singeh’s taste was more familiar, the spurts of his ejaculate denser than Barin’s, but more tangy than Lortin’s. He knew what to expect and he cupped the back of her head, guiding her mouth over his penis, helping her set a rhythm that would please them both. Soon the room filled with the wet sounds of Mary Jane’s mouth as she sucked Singeh’s cock and the moist slap of her buttocks as they rose and fell over Barin’s erection. Her muffled moans were highly aroused as the men’s ejaculate worked its chemical wonders on her nerves, driving her higher and higher as she built to a new orgasm. With her free hand still stroking Lortin’s renewed erection, she let Singeh pull away from her mouth and hand. She gasped first in protest, then moaned with approval when he stepped behind her and pressed against her shoulders. She knew what he wanted and she moaned hotly as her lust filled eyes met Barin’s once more. Propped up on his elbows, his hands slowed her hips, pushing her down until he was seated deeply. He held her unmoving on his penis. She gasped at the tight fullness in her pussy and leaned forward to rest on Barin’s chest. Her sheath moved along Barin’s cock, her muscles unable to resist their milking action, unable to stop rubbing her sensitive nerve endings over his hardness. “Oh, God. Oh, God,” she chanted as she felt Singeh’s cock at the entrance to her rectum. His fluid shot out to coat the ring of muscles, loosening them, lighting a fire that she had come

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to crave. The broad flat tip pressed into her, spreading her muscles, pinching in both pain and pleasure, as Singeh breached her ass. More fluid squirted inside to ease his way, causing her to arch her back and press back against the burning invasion. Once the head was in, Singeh began to work, slowly drawing her back then easing her forward until he could easily drive his cock into her backside a few inches. She couldn’t keep her eyes from Barin’s as his brother stuffed her full of cock. She could see reflected in his golden gaze the same hot hunger that burned in her. His hands still grasped her, but now held her buttocks spread wide to help his brother. His fingers flexed with each of her uncontrollable cries as she took Singeh as deep as she could. All three of them paused as Singeh finally reached his goal, and his cock lodged all the way in her ass. Barin’s tongue lolled over his open jaws as he panted heavily, his body tight and hard under her. Singeh was flush against her butt and spread thighs, his great head hanging over her back to tongue her spine as he waited to begin. “Kiss me, Barin,” Mary Jane gasped and moaned out, her face inches from his. His hands tightened on her butt and confusion flickered in the hot gold gaze. “Kiss me, Barin,” Mary Jane repeated as she fought the desire to start moving on those two hard cocks inside of her body, to bring on another more explosive climax. “You know what to do, kiss me now.” Still on her hands and knees, she groaned when Singeh began to thrust slowly, working his cock, spearing her ass with each clenching movement of his hips. She refused to break Barin’s gaze, hers demanding he give to her what she asked. His gaze was as eloquent as hers, speaking his desire and his hesitancy. Tentatively, Barin released her hips, allowing Singeh to take her in hand as his littermate began the mating dance. Confused, and not a little wary, he cupped Mary Jane’s face, taking in the expressions that fluttered over it as pleasure began to overwhelm her. He couldn’t resist the beginnings of his counter thrusts, the hard slide of Singeh’s fal e’ tele in the channel next to his pulling a snarl of pleasure from his muzzle. Her green eyes watched him even as he watched her. Barin knew she could see his rising excitement at the feel of his brother’s penis stroking his through the thin membrane that separated them. He could feel the saliva that dripped from his drooping tongue as he panted harder when the sensations began to devastate his control. He wanted to slam his fal e’ tele in her, watch that curious rolling of her eyes once her woman’s pleasure began to take her. He wanted to taste her, touch her mouth, and feel her passion. Moving her head closer, Barin licked her flushed cheeks and rubbed his muzzle over her entire face. He shook at his audacity in making the first move. A Rasalasian woman would never allow a male to do such a thing. Only they were allowed to initiate such affectionate and personal contact. He paused once more, as she grunted and moaned at Singeh’s increased pace, taking in her grimace of pleasure/pain before he swiped his tongue over her gaping mouth, rimming her lips. Her response was immediate and gratifying. She returned the gesture, licking at his lips and tongue with bold swipes of her own. Her moans filled his mouth as her tongue licked at his, her taste filling his senses until he was surrounded by her scent mingled with his brothers’.

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He reared up, half sitting, one hand dropping to the furs to give him leverage as his other tangled in Mary Jane’s curls and held her mouth over his. Mixed with her spicy taste, Barin could distinguish both Lortin and Singeh’s fluids that had coated her membranes, the taste causing his cock to swell into massive proportions. His mouth bit and licked at hers, his hips rising and falling until he hammered inside her open body. Growling, Barin swallowed Mary Jane’s screams as she pleaded and begged for them to take her body harder, crying out for release. A release they didn’t give her, at least not yet. Barin pulled back, both hands joining Singeh’s on her hips to slow them down and force her to accept the pace they chose to pleasure her. Ignoring her moans and curses, Barin and Singeh resumed their pace. Slow and steady, they worked in counterpoint pushing their turgid members through her wet flesh, dragging rough moans from her. Her face was a revelation, Barin thought as he watched her grimace then her mouth open as a long low groan escaped. Her face was flushed and sweat dripped down her brow and chin to fall on his furry chest. Suddenly two lean legs appeared on either side of his head as Lortin stepped in front of her. He wrapped one hand around his mottled cock and stroked himself while the other reached out to tip up Mary Jane’s face and brush away her sweat soaked hair. Barin groaned, a sound echoed from Singeh as they both watched Lortin guide his erection between her lips. Soon the room resounded with the combined cries of each of them as they all soared over the edge of pleasure, each shuddering in reaction to their orgasms, falling to the furs in exhaustion. ***** Mary Jane tucked the fur cloak closer to her body as she stared out of the large view screen in front of the room. The planet filling its expansive width had captured her full attention, her gaze anxious as she took in her future home. Strong arms encased in dark, supple leather suddenly wrapped around her and pulled her into the shelter of another body. “Relax, De al’ Cahish, you worry for nothing. They will love you and we shall be the most envied males of the entire planet when they catch sight of your beautiful face,” Barin’s voice rumbled in her ear as he cuddled her close. His hands slipped under the heavy cloak keeping her warm to cradle her distended belly in both of his palms. She lifted one hand to cup his muzzle within her palm as she leaned back against his hard body. A smile bloomed over her nervous face, banishing the worried look that had been there. These last months before they had finally been able to return to Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad had passed slowly, but filled with more pleasure and love than she could believe. After their final bonding night in the common room in the hotel, the Prince’s had decided to remove themselves, Mary Jane, and their servants to their ship. They spent the remainder of their time at the Starbase living there. Barin found that the more familiar homelike surroundings on board eased his homesickness. He had settled down. His manner was more relaxed on board. His actions were both

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gentle and bold as he no longer remained on the outside of the circle of mates. Now, he could be found more often holding her, allowing her to rest upon his body, as he curled protectively over her. The final preparations and inclusion into the Alliance had passed the week before, none too soon for the Rasalasian Princes. They hovered over her constantly now that she was breeding. It had taken only one more cycle of ovulation for her to get pregnant and once her condition had been confirmed by both scent and Dr. Van Horn, each of them had been antsy to remove her to their home world. Dr. Van Horn had chosen to accompany them home, a decision she secretly thanked heaven for. Although Rasalasians and Humans could mate and breed, obviously by her current condition, a lot was yet unknown. She knew that her husbands worried about her and the babies, just as she did. Dr. Van Horn had shared with her and the Princes the facts that most concerned him. One, that Rasalasian gestation was much shorter than humans and that their kits developed at a faster rate than human fetuses. Other than letting them know that his tests revealed there were three infants and that they seemed to be progressing nicely, he couldn’t say whether or not the babies were where they needed to be in their development. The good doctor did not have much in the way of medical knowledge from the Rasalasians. Nor could he tell them when she would deliver their children. All three of her husbands insisted that she deliver them on their home planet and she could not deny them, even though it might be safer to deliver at the Starbase. “I am not worried, Barin, at least not about what your fathers will think of me,” she scolded him, softly stroking his muzzle with her fingers. “Umm…and I do not believe you because?” he grumbled in her ear, a thread of amusement clear in his voice. She sighed and admitted, “Well, maybe just a little. But I am more worried what your mother is going to say along with all the other women. I am usurping someone’s position somewhere, I am sure.” A sneeze shot from Barin’s nose and he gave a small snarl of displeasure. “You are Princess Ak’ A’el Bakkar,” he announced arrogantly. “You usurp no one. You are the position and it belongs to no one else. If anyone challenges your rights, we shall kill them for you!” Mary Jane’s laughter rang around the room and she turned in Barin’s arms, giving him a big hug as she tried to stifle her giggles. “That’s Barin, my fierce warrior. You cannot go around killing everyone who won’t like me.” “Why not?” he argued, not seeing the humor in someone insulting his mate. “Because I said so, that’s why,” she retorted, knowing he didn’t understand but also knowing he would do anything she asked, even allow someone to live if it would please her. A throat cleared behind them and both Barin and Mary Jane turned as one to see Lortin and Singeh standing by the door. “It is time to leave,” Singeh announced, watching as the anxious look returned to Mary Jane’s face.

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Chapter Twenty-One Mary Jane stopped to catch her breath for the third or fourth time as the entire entourage from the ship climbed the wide path cut into the side of the mountain. Leaning one arm on the side of the cliff face, she tucked her cloak closer to her shivering body. Damn, it is freezing out here. She was glad not only for the heavy fur cape that literally swallowed her small figure, but the fur lined mittens that covered her hands. It’s even colder than the temperature on the ship. She had thought she had become somewhat accustomed to the colder temperatures the men seemed to prefer, but the outside elements of their planet were much worse. Everyone had stopped when she did and waited patiently for her, not once showing that a Rasalasian female would never show such weakness and would pride herself on being able to keep pace with the males. Mary Jane was grateful for their tact as she rested. She took the opportunity to gaze at the huge fortress carved into the top of the mountain that her husbands had proudly claimed as their home at the beginning of their climb. Each turn into the path would give her either a new vantage point of the castle or the deep valleys and towering peaks surrounding the palace. From fantastically imaginative turrets that spiraled into the sky to rocky blocks that seemed to cling tenaciously to the sides of the mountain. It dominated the entire landscape of the mountain range, lording over the other smaller but no less impressive keeps and manors all carved into the sides of the other mountains. “De al’ Cahish, you are feeling well?” Barin suddenly appeared behind her, his hands at her waist beginning to lift her from her feet. Horrified, she straightened and turned around in the wide path and shook her well covered head. “No, Barin, I was just admiring the view of your home. I don’t need to be carried.” She knew the Rasalasians admired strength in all people and most especially in their females. The climb was hard, but she would not embarrass her husbands by having to be carried into the castle. She was sure her being human would be one strike against her already with the King and his brothers. There was no sense in giving them more to criticize. She could see the skepticism in Barin’s eyes as he murmured back at her automatically, “Our home, Marrrry Jannne. Are you sure of this? There will be no shame if you cannot make the climb. After all, you are not accustomed to his altitude and you are breeding.” “I am sure, my love,” she assured him, her gloved hand reaching up to rub at the side of Barin’s muzzle. After Lortin’s tutoring in the customs of the ritual bride walk into her new home, she was determined to make it completely on her own. She knew one concession had been already made by allowing her to begin the climb with only about a third of the path left to walk. All three brothers stuck close to her during the rest of the mercifully short climb to the entrance to the Castle. Each one of them took turns skillfully helping her during the final stretch of the journey. Inwardly cursing ceremonial rituals, all of the Princes surrounded their mate as they entered the Castle courtyard. Hundreds of servants and fife men lined the inner yard, some going as far as climbing on

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to the roofs of the low barracks and workshops to catch a glimpse of the new princess. Even the ramparts were crowded with warriors and servants alike elbowing each other, jockeying for a good view of the arriving bridal party. It seemed to take forever to get past all the crowds of onlookers and once they passed though a set of wide opened doors, she found she was still unable to relax. Here, too, were hundreds of eyes all turned in her direction. The long, dark hall was lined with rows of males standing at attention, their leathers all alike. She nodded her head. Of course, they were military of some sort. As they began the long trek down the hall, each man gave a respectful salute to each of the Princes, but she was well aware that each of them were attempting to penetrate the cowl on her cloaked head, trying to see the face of the bride. Unlike the outside portions of the huge castle, the inside was quiet and their steps echoed down the tall wide hall. They reached a new set of huge doors where two very large spotted males waited. Their leathers were quite different from the warriors lining the hall and they didn’t salute but bowed low to the bridal party, exposing their throats to her and her husbands. These would be the personal guards Singeh had mentioned to her before they left the ship. These males only worked for the royal family. Both doors were pulled wide to expose the interior of the main audience hall. Gulping a deep breath, she clasped her shaking hands together under her fur cloak. Once the doors were completely opened, they revealed a cavernous room filled with brightly dressed citizens. She felt the weight of each gaze in the vast room as she took her first shaky steps to walk the gauntlet through the many nobles and upper class citizens of her husbands’ province. Absurdly glad of the masking cowl of her hood, Mary Jane was able to see for the first time the impact of the population problem on Ra’s Ak’ Al Asad. For every couple hundred males in the groupings of people in the hall, she might see one or perhaps two females who, unlike the males eagerly trying to see into the shadows of her cowl, were glaring hostilely at her figure as she walked to the front of the hall. A number of figures stood on a raised dais waiting for their arrival. Tension clenched the muscles in her back. She was doubly glad of the protection of her mates right behind her. She bit back a groan when cramps struck her. She could now see the five males surrounding one female on the platform more clearly and she found herself trying to guess who was who among the group. Her eyes skittered from one to another easily picking out a number of physical characteristics from each of the males that resembled one or all three of her spouses. She still wasn’t sure which one was the King, but they all were their fathers and she knew she needed to impress each and every one of them. Like a magnet, her eyes were drawn to the smaller figure surrounded by the males. She was dressed quite elegantly in a stunning gown of golden material that shimmered like satin and gave her golden fur an added glow. Once Mary Jane drew up to the steps, she could see that her eyes were as golden as her fur and the one feature each of her sons had inherited from her. None of the males had that same eye color. All their eyes were black as coal. The cavernous room was silent, none of the perhaps thousand people gathered there making a sound as they waited to see the reaction of the royal family to their newest member.

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One of the males moving away from the group and heading down the steps startled her. Somehow, even though none of her husbands had told her what to expect at this point, she had thought it would be their mother who would approach her first. She braced herself as she took in the large, and obviously older, male as he stopped in front of her. He said nothing for some seconds and she took in the black fur and equally black colored leathers on his massive frame. His muzzle and ears, sprinkled with a number of graying hairs among the rich deep color, were the only things that attested to his age. They showed him to be quite a bit older than she first suspected. Suddenly she knew who he was. This was the King. Remembering all three of her husbands’ instructions, she resisted the impulse to curtsy to him and just bowed from the waist, tilting her head to the side and offering her throat. When he returned the bow, only not as deep or exposing his own throat, a collective sigh went around the room. Initial acceptance from the King. She almost cried out in relief. She knew she still had several hurdles to overcome but at least he hadn’t rejected her outright, something she had feared would happen no matter what her mates had said to reassure her. The translator in her ear squawked to life as the King spoke to her. “Daughter, why do you keep your face covered? Can your new fathers not see who has mated our sons and brought them such joy that we can see their contentment?” His voice rumbled in her ear, but she heard the underlying concern in his tone over the teasing words. “I am human,” Mary Jane blurted out, nervous as her hands fluttered but didn’t uncover her head. The King gave a grunting laugh as his own hands lifted to her hood. “We know this already, Daughter. Our sons have told us in their communications. Come, let us look upon our new family member.” She tensed, but didn’t move as the King’s fingers gently grasped the edge of the cowl and lifted the hood from her head, allowing the material to fall from his hands to drift down her back. When his eyes widened in shock, Mary Jane almost jerked the hood back before she controlled the impulse. She held his gaze and was stunned when she heard a collective gasp from the crowd. What she saw in the King’s eyes was not disgust, but astonished admiration. His hand lifted again and he almost touched her hair springing out around her head before he quickly dropped his arm. Turning to his sons, the King address them with tones of awe. “My sons, you have done your family and kingdom great honor. She is exquisite,” he breathed. Turning back to her, the King reached out and offered his hand. “Come and meet your mates’ fathers, Daughter.” Stunned by the King’s reaction, she pulled off one mitten and reached out to take his hand. The motion parted her fur cloak and again the King’s eyes widened in shock. This time he didn’t stop as he reached out, bypassing her extended hand, and quickly untied her cloak at her throat and yanked open the garment. He made an inarticulate noise as he exposed her bulging belly, his hands going to cover the mound as he crouched down on his haunches. All four of the King’s brothers exclaimed out

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loud as they hurried down the steps to join their brother at Mary Jane’s side. Whispers and then shouts rang around the room as Mary Jane’s translator tired to keep up with all the people speaking at once. Most of it was just noise, but the King’s words to his brothers and several people close to her were easily distinguishable. “She is breeding.” “So soon. Hieee, it is a miracle.” The King’s astonishment moved through the crowd like a rippling wave on a still pond. Suddenly, the former hushed atmosphere erupted into a frenzy of sound and movement as everyone tried to close in on the scene playing out in front of the audience hall as Mary Jane’s condition became public knowledge. She flushed deeper as the din became recognizable calls of well wishes and bold remarks on the Princes’ prowess at getting her pregnant so soon after their mating. Each of the royal brothers, along with the King, had taken Mary Jane’s belly in hand, all feeling the undulating movement when the babies decided the noise had disturbed them. The looks of wonderment as her belly heaved and the startled grunting laughs that left their mouths when one of the babies vigorously kicked out in protest rang out over the crowd. “Daughter, your kits do not seem to like all this attention,” one of the King’s brothers commented, his eyes taking in her uncomfortable expression. “Just as their mother seems to also. Come and sit with us and rest. You must be tired from your journey.” All the hands left her stomach and one, the King’s, reached out again for hers to lead her up the steps to the woman who still waited to meet her sons’ mate. Nerves jangling, she looked back at her husbands to catch the expressions of pride and joy on their faces. Each gave her an encouraging nod and that slight smile, showing her the edge of their teeth as they moved to follow her up onto the dais where their mother awaited the bridal party. Helped by the King, she soon—too soon—stood uncertainly in front of the golden female as those eyes that too closely resembled her husbands’ took her measure. Once the Queen had thoroughly examined her from head to toe, she turned blank eyes on her children. She gave them the same examination she had given Mary Jane and once she took in the obvious happiness and determined expressions on her son’s faces, she finally relaxed. She turned now ruefully glowing eyes back to her newest family member. “I welcome the mate of my children and the mother of my soon to arrive grandkits by the look of your belly.” Mary Jane let out a gust of breath she didn’t know she had been holding. “Thank you, um…Your Majesty. I am afraid we don’t know when they are arriving, at least the doctor cannot say.” “Come, as Savack has asked you, and rest. The burden of carrying can make the climb here most arduous and we would not wish you to be exhausted.” The Queen gestured with one long painted claw towards a low table set in the center of the platform. As she settled Mary Jane down onto the array of furs, she introduced herself to her daughter-in-law as custom dictated. “I am your mates’ mother, Risyza, and I welcome you to our table and home. Eat and refresh your needs, Daughter, before you must acknowledge all

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our citizens.” As soon as the words left her mouth and Risyza settled herself across the table, an army of servants seemed to swarm the room. The rest of the company began to take their places at other tables scattered around the dais as well as the King, his brothers and the Princes. Surrounded by Singeh, Barin and Lortin, Mary Jane waited for the last part of the ritual to be completed. The table was quickly covered with dishes, a number of them filled with some of her favorites from dining with her husbands. When the Queen and King each dipped into a dish on the table, all eyes in the hall watched closely to see what would transpire. As both offered their bits to Mary Jane without hesitation, a collective sigh of relief could be heard from the many males in the hall. When Mary Jane made the correct response and took her first bite from the Queen’s hand, the other tables clattered as the assembly began to eat their own meals. She relaxed somewhat during the rest of the meal as the Princes’ fathers and mother took turns feeding her and plying her with questions. But she did not fail to see the many sidelong looks from the few other females present. Although her husbands’ family seemed quite genuinely pleased to accept her, she was going to have an uphill battle being accepted by the other females on this planet. Throwing off her concerns, Mary Jane concentrated on the King, his brothers and their mate—the Queen. She spent the entire meal answering their curiosity about her and her planet and found that as she relaxed with them, each of their personalities became clearer to her. Her husbands’ fathers each showed a gentler side as they dealt with her meal, often allowing their eyes to drift down to her protruding stomach. The looks of wonder and happiness at her condition eased her biggest concern that her children would not be accepted due to being half-breeds. Her main concern, that the Queen would resent her or even hate her alien-ness, also eased as they ate. The Queen now took her meal from the King’s hands along with his brothers, marveling at the knowledge that there were so many females on Earth and how their own planet could begin to recover from the plague decimation of their population. She seemed more focused on the benefits of Mary Jane’s inclusion into their society than what changes Mary Jane’s personal beliefs and customs could bring to their society. The King interrupted her musing. “Now, Daughter, come and tell us, are there many more as beautiful as you waiting for our males on your planet?” A startled laugh left Mary Jane’s mouth and her hand lifted to cover her exposed teeth. Singeh, quicker than his brothers, snatched her hand in mid-lift and pulled it back down. She blushed again at the reminder that she didn’t need to hide her protruding teeth from these people and that they found what was essentially a deformity on her planet, a sign of beauty. “I am afraid I can’t answer that question, Sir. I...well, I have not been back to my planet since I was pulled into this time. If things are much the same as they were in my century, I don’t think your males are going to find so many like me.” Gesturing toward her narrow pointed face and her prominent teeth, “You see, I am considered ugly by our standards and although during my century it was expensive and difficult to correct my facial abnormalities, it is probably quite common now to have these problems fixed easily.”

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The royal party had fallen silent, their horrified expressions more telling than words could have expressed. She confessed in a soft tone, “You know, they did offer to fix my face and teeth once I got to the Starbase but I was so unsure about doing that and then finding a way home again to my time. I didn’t think anyone would have recognized me if I had it done, so I refused.” “Thank the Gods you didn’t disfigure yourself,” Barin growled out as his large palm reverently cupped her face. The hall fell silent at the prince’s intimate gesture in public and then a collective gasp was heard when she leaned into his hand and rubbed her face against his palm, a smile clear on her lips. “Thank the Gods, indeed,” echoed around the table as each person added their gratefulness for Mary Jane’s wisdom not to change herself. The rest of the meal passed uneventfully as they began to forge a family connection with each other, Mary Jane finally allowing the acceptance she had never dreamed to find to settle over her, easing something in her soul she never knew existed. She was finally home.

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Chapter Twenty-two Mary Jane poured the fragrant tea from the pot into her mother-in-law’s cup, an amused smile on her lips despite her attempt at controlling her expression. “You are not making a joke, Marrry Janne?” Queen Risyza asked, her golden eyes wide with astonishment. Mary Jane filled her own cup and took a sip, trying to wipe the smile from her face. “Nope, I wouldn’t tell a fib about that. It’s all true.” Queen Risyza lapped delicately at her tea, her head cocked at an angle. “Surely human females truly have more than one mate?” Mary Jane shook her head both at the question and the Queen’s disbelief. She helped herself to one of the assorted delicacies on the table and shifted her swollen body trying to find a comfortable position among the pillows. “As a matter of fact, on some places on Earth the males have more than one female.” “It is not natural,” her mother-in-law muttered. She pinned Mary Jane with suspicious eyes and the questions flowed once more. “Human females do not test the males either?” “Well, I guess you could call dating testing the males. But it’s not quite like here. I mean we don’t show up at the guy’s houses and demand that they, ah…show us what they can do.” Mary Jane faltered for a second. After more than a week here and daily tea with her mother-in-law, she still wasn’t used to the women’s plain speaking on her new planet. “So, how does this dating custom show the female the abilities of the males of the family to please her? Do they fight for her? There is no feating?” Risyza demanded. “That depends on the people involved Ma’am. You see, men and women meet everyday. Either at work, school, church or other social occasions. Sometimes friends and family will introduce a couple. Then it’s up to the man to ask the woman out on a date, if he is interested in her. It’s been many centuries since males fought over females.” “The female must wait for the male to ask for her?” Risyza gave a barking laugh, her head thrown back as she fell back on her pillows. She rolled among the plush furs, her amusement at first making Mary Jane’s smile turn to a wide grin. The grin faded and a frown replaced it as the Queen’s hilarity went on and on. It wasn’t that funny. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t funny at all. At least it hadn’t been for her, remembering when she had been interested in a man and he had never looked twice at her. It had been downright hurtful. Mary Jane’s posture was stiff by the time the Queen was able to contain herself. She lifted her cup again once she sat up and drained her tea. “I knew you were teasing me, Daughter.” “I was serious, Ma’am.” Mary Jane said, truly offended now. Risyza’s hand stopped in mid-air, her eyes taking in Mary Jane’s expression. She sat her cup on the short table, her voice pitched low when she spoke. “You were not teasing.” It wasn’t a question. “No.” Mary Jane’s voice was slow. “No, I was not. I know it’s hard for you to understand. You, I mean, all the women here are spoiled. Lucky. You don’t have to worry

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about when or if you will find someone. Women on Earth are not so fortunate.” She set her own cup down, then looked the Queen directly in the eye. “You see, on Earth there are more females than males. We have to wait for a man to seek our company. We have to wait for someone to think we are worthy. Sometimes we are never found worthy. Just like most of your males here. Can you imagine how they must feel when females come to test them and find them wanting? Can you imagine if no one comes at all? Can you imagine how your own sons must have felt?” Evidently her mother-in-law heard the echoes of old pain in her voice because she turned the conversation back to dating after an uncomfortable pause. “If there is no testing of the males, what happens on this date?” Okay, I will let you get away with not answering, for now. She wondered what the Queen would say tomorrow. She had invited her husbands to their afternoon tea and she made a mental note to revisit the topic. “Oh, different things I suppose. It depends on what interests the man or woman. Usually they have a meal together. Sometimes they see a movie.” Mary Jane paused at Risyza’s confused look. “A movie is a story played out by actors. Sometimes they go to musical concerts or other pleasure events. They use the time they spend together to get to know one another to see if they might be compatible.” Risyza curled into a lazy sprawl then sneezed in disgust. Looking so much like her second son, she brought a small smile back to Mary Jane’s face. “I still do not see how they can discover compatibility without the Tal e’ Feata.” “I never said the couples didn’t have sex, Ma’am. In my time if a couple continued to date they usually had sex for pleasure.” A gleam of satisfaction lit the Queen’s golden eyes and she lifted her head to lean forward in eager curiosity. “Ah, this is what we want to know. Now tell me everything, Daughter.” “Everything?” Mary Jane hedged, not quite sure exactly what her mother-in-law wanted. A snort came from the opposite side of the table. “Yes, everything! How do the males pleasure the females? Are their fal e’ tele’s large? Can they feata for hours? Come, come Marrry Jannne, speak!” Mary Jane felt the heat of a blush stain her cheeks and she rolled her eyes. Good Lord, the woman had a one track mind. She paused, thinking that it was a good thing Risyza had five husbands. It probably took all of them to keep her satisfied. “Well…” ***** “You’re doing great, Princess. Now take a couple deep breaths and push a little harder on the next contraction,” Dr. Van Horn encouraged Mary Jane as she fell back against Barin’s body, her chest heaving. Exhausted, Mary Jane was barely able to open her eyes and glare mildly at the physician crouched between her opened thighs. Her legs trembled with fatigue and she winced when both Singeh and Lortin massaged her cramping muscles holding her thighs wide as she

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attempted to give birth. “I can’t,” she cried out weakly. “Whoever said these breathing techniques helped are liars.” Another contraction gripped her belly, causing it to tighten to a hard point and made her scream as the pain built to a crescendo. “Oh, Jesus. Oh, God, I can’t do this. I can’t!” Barin expediently lifted her up by just sitting up and holding on to her, whispering into her ear, his worried tone not hidden from any of them. “De al’ Cahish, you must do this, our children are almost here. Come, push them out into the doctor’s waiting hands and you may rest.” Overcome by the overwhelming instinct to push, she cursed and screamed, but pushed as hard as her weakened body could after three days of labor. They had only been installed for two weeks in the Prince’s quarters before she had started labor. She fretted terribly about it being too early for the babies to come. Dr. Van Horn had assured her that after he had gotten the Queen to answer some of his questions about their gestation, she was really farther along than Rasalasian females when they birthed their litters. Unfortunately, he had been unable to get any of the midwives to speak to him, let alone answer any questions about their birthing techniques. Her mother-in-law was kind, but puzzled by Mary Jane. She visited her daily to check on her future grandkits and ask questions. Her amazement at human society and human women’s attitudes, ideas and actions was almost humorous. She often left speechless at Mary Jane’s revelations or her interactions with the Princes. Of course, the Queen had to admit to Mary Jane, “I have never seen my sons happier or more content.” Mary Jane’s mating had enraged almost all of the females on the planet not only because she had taken the most eligible of the males available, but for her alien concepts. She indulged her mates. She catered to their needs and sprouted nonsense about the importance of giving males pleasure. As Mary Jane had labored, she had further alienated the females by insisting on having her mates with her when she gave birth. Pushing away the midwives who came uninvited to attend the birth of the Princes’ children, she had sent them to the far corner of the room and only allowed Dr. Van Horn or her husbands close to her. Males were not only unheard of during the birthing process, they were very unwelcome by the females who attended all noble and royal births. They considered males totally useless, except for giving pleasure and necessary only as seed donors in reproduction. The rumblings from the corner grew until they penetrated the haze of pain and exhaustion clouding her mind. None of the midwives had taken kindly to any of Mary Jane’s alien notions anymore than most all the females that graced the province. Once they had shown up three days ago, they had been outraged by Dr. Van Horn’s presence and both his and Mary Jane’s insistence on not taking advantage of their pain relieving drugs or potions to speed her labor. After Dr. Van Horn scanned the potions he had reported his results to Mary Jane and the Princes. “I think these are part of the problem with your litters,” the doctor announced. “If I am not mistaken, the chemicals your midwives use depress the infant’s respiration. I believe in

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your female’s attempt to have painless births, they are causing their infant’s deaths.” “I won’t use them,” Mary Jane had announced emphatically. Dr. Van Horn had smiled. “I would never suggest you do, Princess. Besides what the drugs do to the fetuses during birth, I cannot say what they might do to a human. You may be compatible sexually and reproductively, but these drugs are as likely to kill you as keep you from feeling pain.” In mid-groan as she pushed tiredly, Mary Jane’s head lifted and she snarled at the huddled group in the corner, “Oh, get over yourselves. If you can’t do any thing productive except bitch, then get the hell out!” Shock flickered over Singeh and Lortin’s faces, but Dr. Van Horn choked back a laugh before he urged her on, “That’s it Princess…come on, give me one more hard push…look, here it comes.” The midwives were forgotten by all of them as she cried out again, the pain between her legs blossoming into one huge tearing burn as her first child was born. It seemed to go on forever before she felt the baby slide out of her body and she fell back against Barin’s chest again completely drained. She couldn’t find the strength to open her eyes even when she heard the first mewling cries and each of her husbands’ exclamations as they reacted to Dr. Van Horn’s announcement of its sex. “It’s a boy!” A son. Their first born would some day be King of the province. Their voices blurred as another great pain gripped her sore body and she weakly attempted to sit up and push the next child out from her screaming body. The other two births passed in a haze as she lost track of not only time but the events themselves, her mind and body so worn out she collapsed unconscious once the last baby was born. ***** Something wiggled against Mary Jane’s stomach and a soft growling voice whispered in her ear, pulling her from the warmth of deep sleep. “De al’ Cahish, you must wake now. Come, open your lovely eyes. Our kits have need of their mother.” Singeh was insistent and he persisted, taking another kit from one of his brother’s hands and slipping it under the furs to lie against Mary Jane’s belly. The two kits nestled next to their mother began to root around seeking nourishment. Their mewling cries grew louder as they scented their goal close to them. Pulled completely from her rest, she groaned a protest, but the loud cries from under the furs caused a startling reaction in her body. Her breasts swelled and ached, demanding relief as she realized that they had grown hard and sore as she had slept. Opening her tired eyes, she met the anxious gaze of each of her husbands as they sat circled around her body. Her gaze snagged on Barin’s cupped hands as a small reddish furred face peeked out from his fingers. Its eyes were tightly closed, but its mouth was open displaying tiny teeth as it cried piteously and wiggled.

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Seeing her wide-eyed wonder, Barin’s hands opened to reveal the small figure he held. Tight whorls of red gold curls covered the baby’s entire body, but its little face’s long narrow muzzle was bare. Small and delicate, it fit entirely in the palms of his hands. “Isn’t she beautiful, Marrrry Jannne?” She felt her heart lurch then melt as a deep love for both the father and daughter filled her soul. “She?” Mary Jane asked. “One was a girl?” An identical expression that could only be described as both smug and awed came over each of the Prince’s faces. Singeh, closest and empty handed, pulled back a corner of the fur covering her and exposed the remaining two babies that were still rooting around her side. Considerably bigger than their sister, both cried out strongly as they searched for something to eat. One was as black as Barin and the other resembled Lortin except its pelt was more tortoiseshell-like than his mottled coat. Singeh extended one long finger and stoked the multi colored kit with a gentle touch. “This one, she is female also.” Pride and love mingled in his voice. His hand moved to the black kit. “And this one is our first born son, our heir.” She levered up on her elbow and turned sideways, wincing at the sharp pull of soreness between her legs, her hand reaching out to touch her children for the first time. She marveled at the silky texture of their abundant coats as she quickly opened her gown and bared her aching breasts. Guiding first one then the other, she gasped softly as each kit latched onto a nipple she guided into their mouths. Silent tears began to slip down her cheeks. “Marrrry Jannne? You are in pain? Should we get the physician?" Lortin asked worriedly as he tore fascinated eyes from the spectacle of their kits suckling greedily at her breasts. A wide smile stretched Mary Jane’s mouth as she reached out and lifted her second daughter from Barin’s hands, cradling her to her face. “Hello, love," she crooned and sniffed as she rubbed her face against the delicate muzzle that tried to latch onto her nose, bringing forth a joyful laugh. She finally looked up into each of her husbands’ faces, happiness blazing from her eyes as she answered Lortin’s question. “No…no, I am not in pain. I love you…oh, how I love you all.”

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Epilogue Singeh stood hands clasped behind him staring out the window at the lush valley below. Summer was here and he could see the fields far below, green and gold with crops. His eyes moved away from farms to a place closer to the palace. The entrance to the network of caves had been opened yesterday and workers were busy sealing it closed once more. Some day he would lie there deep inside next to his father and his son would stand here waiting. His heart was heavy, the ache almost unbearable. The King had been laid in his tomb and it was almost time for the ceremony. When he had contemplated his coronation in the past, it was always far into the future. The future had arrived. “Everyone is ready, Singeh.” He turned from the window and the warmth of the sun to face the only one whose presence wasn’t an unwelcome interruption to his thoughts. She was still so beautiful. She thought time was robbing her of what she considered her beauty. Singeh knew that no matter how much her hair faded and her eyes dimmed, the love that shone from her would always reveal her true magnificence. “De al’ Cahish.” Singeh stopped after the endearment. What could he say? Beloved, thank you for being here to ease my pain? For the first time since their return home he had slept here in his old rooms instead of the shared chambers he and his brothers used with Mary Jane. She had left his brothers to their grief, a grief as profound as his own, and come to him. They had spent the hours of darkness alone together as Singeh found comfort in her arms. She had left a few hours ago to prepare for the ceremony and to make herself ready. His attendants had left him alone to brood after he dressed but he had barely had time to seek out the view before she returned. She was dressed in the leathers and furs his mother had worn when his father, Savack, had taken the throne. They had been quickly altered for her smaller figure, but he couldn’t help noticing that the soft pelts complemented her now less vibrant coloring. “Singeh?” She frowned, her eyes showing her concern. He stepped away from the window and crossed the room to her side, burying his nose in her nape. “You look wonderful, Marrry Janne.” She gasped, and then snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m too short for these robes and my hair has turned frizzy. I just hope everyone is looking at you instead of me.” “I will only have eyes for you,” he said softly into her neck. He noticed she didn’t argue any longer with him. She took his hand in hers and pulled away to stare into his eyes. “Are you sure you’re all right?” “Yes. I will be fine, Marrry Janne. I miss him,” he confessed. Her free hand came up to stroke his muzzle and tears filled her eyes. “I miss him, too.” “Let us go and do this thing and get it over with.” He pulled her in his wake as he headed out the door. “I am sorry that we must face the entire province before I could beg my brothers pardons.” Mary Jane pulled him to a stop in the middle of the corridor leading to the great hall.

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“Why in the world do you need to apologize to Barin and Lortin?” “I was selfish last night. I took you away from them when they needed you the most.” He turned his face away from hers. His only regret for last night was leaving his brothers without her comfort. “Singeh, look at me. Please.” Her hand was persistent as it tugged at his and he found he could deny her nothing, not even his shame. “You needed me last night, Singeh. Barin and Lortin knew this better than I did. You know they sent me to you?” His mouth opened but he couldn’t speak, his astonishment robbing him of his words. She smiled and nodded at him, her eyes shining. “That’s right, they sent me to you. They insisted. They loved Savack but you were the son who worked closely with him, at his side day by day. They knew you needed me more than they did last night. They love you very much, Singeh.” He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off of her feet, his face buried in her fragrant hair. “I love you, Marrry Janne.” Her arms squeezed him tightly, “I love you, too.” He set her down, placed her hand upon his wrist and led her through the huge doors into the great hall. Every available space was taken with representatives of the prominent families from around their world. To his surprise, in the section reserved for alien dignitaries, Lord Balrick bounced and nodded at them as they passed. Singeh looked across the filled room into the faces of his future subjects. There were many friends, but also many foes. Among the many Rasalasians were sprinkled a number of humans who had mated to their males. Their coming after Mary Jane’s mating had upset the balance of power. There were many who would have preferred the ruling line to remain pure. The Bakkar line would remain in power, he vowed. They would go forward not backwards. His mating had not been easy, but it had been filled with love and acceptance from within making the hardships they had suffered from society worthwhile. His people would prosper even if he forced them to do so against their will. They reached the dais where his family waited and began to climb the steps. Barin and Lortin stood to the right of the throne, their faces solemn but eyes sharp on his, searching for his state of mind. Satisfied, their faces softened as they looked upon their mate at his side. His mother stood to the left of the queen’s throne, her place now given over to Mary Jane. Next to his mother, his daughters stood tall and proud. Celeas, with her exotic red-gold fur, watched them. Yizen, small but lovely with her delicate features and mottled coat, kept her gaze on the assembled crowd. Lined up next to his brothers were his sons. Syken, his heir, towered a half a head over Barin. His golden eyes were stern and his face impassive, but Singeh knew he hid his grief well even though he felt it deep. To the far left his youngest sons squirmed impatiently as they waited. Rolul and Zedric were still too young to contain their energy or boredom. Unfortunately, they were not too young to be excused from the formalities. Barin gave them a forbidding frown and they stopped fidgeting. Singeh led Mary Jane to her throne and held her hand while she sat, leaning down to rub

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his muzzle against her face before he took his seat upon his father’s, no…his throne. The End