The Falls (Alien Clutch #4)

Chapter 1

The aircraft was a surprise, but Lee supposed it shouldn’t have been. With their wealth and status, it only made sense that Eral and Ronet also owned a private aircraft.

They’d just never mentioned it.

But there it was, the morning they were to leave on their vacation, just parked in front of the house. A proper ship, with sleek wings and prominent engines. It wasn’t a huge ship by any means, but certainly large enough for two Dresht and a Human.

Eral and Ronet had had a space-faring ship all along, and Lee had never known.

“It’s not our fastest or most powerful ship,” Eral explained, making Lee’s head spin with possibilities of faster or more powerful ships within reach. “But since it’s your first time traveling a greater distance, we wanted to use one of our most comfortable models, just in case.”

“It’s not an overnight flight,” Ronet put in, “but there’s sleeping quarters in case you get bored.”

Bored? Lee couldn’t imagine being bored while in the air again. He was wearing all his jahin at the moment and couldn’t speak, but he didn’t need to in order to convey his pleasure. He beamed at his mates and darted in to nuzzle under Eral’s chin before turning back to the ship.

Eral laughed fondly. “You like it then?”

Lee nodded, making a pleased sound around his gag. He’d known they’d be flying to the Falls—Eral had said it was several hours away even by ship, but he hadn’t realized it would be a personal ship.

Maybe Lee would even be able to ride up front, near the controls. Just to see everything from a pilot’s view again. To properly experience being in the air.

The thought had him tripping forward eagerly as he was led up the walkway and into the ship, his eyes going everywhere all at once.

He’d been in the small, more local vehicles, and their technology wasn’t anything that out of the ordinary.

This space worthy ship was more of Lee’s area of expertise.

It had been so long since he’d been in a ship, and he wanted to look at everything.

Eral let him explore the belly of the ship as he and Ronet talked over where to set the luggage, and Lee was hit with a wave of both nostalgia and gratitude as he glanced back over at his mates. Because it was true that Lee missed flying. He missed the exhilaration and exploration.

But he didn’t miss the freedom flying had once given him.

Not when he had Eral and Ronet, giving him everything he could ever want.

Belonging to his mates meant safety and pleasure and comfort in a way Lee had never experienced before.

He wouldn’t give that up for anything. Being grounded and ending up on Dresht had been the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Which wasn’t to say that he wasn’t excited to be flying. That he wasn’t excited for this trip. He’d thought, before seeing the ship, that he’d at least enjoy the scenery as a passenger. That he’d finally get to see more of the Dresht planet than their neighborhood or downtown.

But this—this was so much better. He would see… he would see everything. And now knowing that his mates not only owned a ship but several? Lee had so much more potential to fly.

He knew they’d give him anything he wanted. He just had to ask.

Eral came to find him as Lee was poking around the sleeping quarters. “Alright sweetling,” he said, bending down and scooping Lee up. “Time to get settled in.”

Lee trilled in happiness, turning into the Dresht and curling his padded hands around his neck.

At this angle the senchr inside him shifted up to rub insistently against his prostate, and it sent wonderful warmth through him.

He was still wet and open from their coupling this morning, and he was grateful they’d made the time before leaving.

Anticipated excitement of the trip would have had him fussy and needy the whole way there if they hadn’t indulged him.

Eral carried him to the front of the ship where there were three pilot chairs, two larger ones clearly meant for Dresht, and a smaller one set between them.

Eral took his own seat, then arranged Lee on his lap.

“Of course we had the ship adjusted for you when you came to us,” Eral said, nodding at the Human-sized chair. He smirked knowingly at Lee. “But I have a feeling for this first trip you’d rather spend it in our laps, wouldn’t you?”

Lee was quick to nod his agreement and then push back into Eral’s chest. The Dresht’s arms came around him and he nuzzled at Lee’s neck. “You only really need your own seat for when we leave the planet's orbit. Safety and all that.”

Lee nuzzled Eral back, then watched fascinated as Eral reached around him and began hitting buttons on the dash. It came alive as messages on the screen flew by. Lee cozied himself into Eral’s lap and didn’t interrupt, taking it all in.

Ronet returned to them before long and took the other seat. He looked over Lee with a smile before turning to the controls.

“Everything’s ready,” Eral said.

Ronet let out a pleased rumble. “I guess we're off then. It’s officially the start of our vacation.”

Lee couldn’t tell them how much he was looking forward to it with the humshus filling his throat, but he felt the flush of joy anyway.

He nuzzled back into Eral again as the engines started to boot up.

He could feel the acute rumbling of the energy, and then the gravity shift as the aircraft lifted off its landing gear.

Then they were flying.

***

The flight took most of the day. Lee watched the scenery fly by from Eral’s lap, and the Dresht pointed out the cities or points of interest as they passed overhead.

He enjoyed himself, enjoyed it so much he couldn’t stop squirming, shifting left and right to try and see everything all at once.

At one point Eral laughed, amused, and asked, “You really like flying, sweetling?”

Lee had been quick to nod his head. Even as a passenger, there was nothing like flying.

They arrived at the Falls in the early afternoon. Lee watched it come up on the horizon, a swell of mountains on the otherwise flat terrain. There was green too, so stark against the reds and oranges of the rock planet it was startling to see.

Ronet slowed the craft as they got closer, veering off from their straight trajectory toward where they’d be staying.

By the time they were pulling up to the rented cottage, everything around them was lush and green outside the window. It had been so long since Lee had seen this much foliage, and the vibrancy almost hurt his eyes.

The cottage itself was charming and cozy looking.

It wasn’t nearly as large as their sprawling home, but it fit into the landscape well.

The roofing was mossy, the cottage itself tucked into the surrounding rock.

It was clearly maintained and tidy, but someone had taken care to make it blend into the nature around it.

Just beyond the cabin, a short hike away, was a waterfall.

“I always forget just how beautiful it is here,” Eral said.

Ronet navigated the ship to a stop, the motion bumpy for just a second as the landing gear came down and the craft settled.

“We've been working hard these last few years,” Eral continued. “I’m glad we’re making more time for relaxation now that we have Lee.”

Ronet rumbled his agreement. “To the first of many vacations with our yshain, my mate.” He pressed several keys in rapid sequence, Lee memorizing them on instinct as he heard the engine wind down.

“Are you ready to see the Falls, sweetling?” Ronet asked as they rose from their seats.

Lee hummed happily, hugging Eral in delight. The flight had exhilarated him, and now he was eager to see this new area of the planet, with its lush greenery.

“What a good yshain,” Ronet said with fondness. To Eral he said, “I’ll get our things. Why don’t you show him around a little bit? And then you can give us both a tour.”

“Sounds good,” Eral said, nuzzling his mate before carrying Lee off the ship.

The first thing that Lee noticed when they left the ship was the quality of the air. It was wet and heavy and cool. Where they lived was arid, and although some evenings got chilly as the sun set, they very much lived in a desert. It was so different here, and he sucked in air through his nose.

“Let’s have a look at the cabin first,” Eral said, walking him to the front door. “And once Ronet is done, we can go look at the waterfalls.”

They’d told Lee about the Falls before they’d settled on coming here for vacation.

Lee had learned that the whole area was a dedicated public resort.

It was expensive and aimed for privacy, but there were still odds they might run into other Dresht here.

Eral and Ronet had been straightforward about that.

After everything that had happened only a few short months ago, they hadn’t wanted any surprises for Lee.

But as Lee looked around, he couldn’t find it inside himself to be tense.

He trusted his mates to care for him and protect him, and he had his implanted tracker, as well as the emergency button in his mitts.

Besides, their cabin was in a secluded area, with nothing but green all around.

If there were other cabins, they weren’t near enough to be visible.

It also helped that they’d assured Lee that at any point when they were outside, or at the pools, both of them would be with him.

They’d also gifted him an additional tracker for this trip, a shiny gold collar that locked around his throat and couldn’t be removed without the physical key left back at home.

It was redundant, Lee knew, what with his implanted tracker, but having something tangible, something Lee could reach up and touch, made him feel better.