Chapter 23 – Atlas
Chapter Twenty-Three
Atlas
M y feet pound the floor as I pace Ali’s living room. Her house is nice, but neither of our homes are truly built to house five people. Her furniture, especially, wasn’t constructed to hold a half giant.
Hex sits in the club chair, staring at the clock on the wall. It’s been hours since Silence updated us. It’s difficult being away from her and, at the same time, I know there comes a point when I have to start trusting them.
The part that’s tough to process is that I’m sure they want to keep her safe as much as I do.
Being a Highborn leader of my people didn’t prepare me for the reality of having to share one day.
Giants aren’t necessarily monogamous, but they do tend to form small family clusters with two or three males per female.
Orcs are quite the opposite of giants and fae.
Where it isn’t unusual for multiple males to share one female in either of those societies, it’s nearly unheard of for orcs.
The higher the rank, the more leeway the male is given.
He may have a mate and several other willing partners, especially if his mate doesn’t produce offspring.
The thought fills me with shame as much as it does fury.
My father claimed my mother as part of his spoils of war, but he wasn’t prepared for the consequences that came from his people when his only heir was also half giant.
I had no interest in fucking my way through the countless willing orc females.
I intended to take a mate and be an honorable leader. Thankfully, life had different plans.
I know Ali fears what happens if I slip into rut. For orcs, the condition is only resolved by breeding. Our systems know when a fertile partner has been successfully bred.
The entire situation is absurd.
I’ve spoken to Meena and Nadia about magical intervention if it ever got to that point, and they’ve assured me they would do their best.
I’d rather die than hurt Ali, but I suppose I’m selfish. I couldn’t walk away from her if I tried, which I haven’t, because she’s my fucking flame.
The universe wouldn’t have given me a mate—the most sacred gift we can be given—only to tear it away because of her magical backlash.
I refuse to believe fate could be so cruel.
“Tension vibrates off you,” Hex says absently. “You trust Malice. I trust Silence with my life and, more importantly, my mate’s life. They’ll be fine.”
I nod, spinning and pacing back in the opposite direction. I am tense. Perhaps it’s due to the fact Ali’s quickening is nearly here. I was just as riled the last few times, but she never extended the offer for me to join her in her nest.
I have every faith and confidence that she will this time, but I’ll also have to share her.
Which orcs are not known for.
Then there’s the fact that I’m goddamn terrified of what happens if she doesn’t conceive. Seeing her in pain eats me alive from the inside out. Every single time she apologizes for something outside of her control, I ache to make the world burn.
It’s no failure on her part, but she views it as such. The worst part is the helplessness. No matter how hard I try, I can’t fix it for her, and that makes me murderous.
“Kraken are polyamorous,” Hex says calmly, like that comment isn’t completely out of left field.
“I know,” I growl. They’re one of the few shifter species that are.
“Does Ali?”
“I don’t know.” I frown, spinning to face him. “Why?”
“My kraken currently carries five eggs,” Hex says, exhaling heavily. “One is likely unviable. I wasn’t aware I was still producing them because of the disconnect with my beast. Another will be unsalvageable within the year if it’s not implanted.”
My jaw falls as I swipe a hand over my face.
I’m not sure why I hadn’t considered that.
Hex could give her everything she’s ever wanted if... “She hasn’t seen a human doctor. She rarely talks about it, but I don’t think even she knows if it’s her uterus or her ovaries that are damaged.”
“I believe it was extensive damage to both,” Hex says quietly.
“It was fucking brutal. I’ve never seen magic exact a price like it did that day.
” His eyes glaze like he’s reliving those horrible memories.
“I think I still have to extend the offer. My stinger—the tentacle that gains access to the womb—won’t allow implantation of the eggs if they wouldn’t be viable. ”
“You’re saying you may be able to tell?”
“If the issue is with her ovaries or tubes, then there’s every possibility she could carry my eggs. Once her body accepts them, they would absorb her maternal DNA. They’d be her fledglings.”
“The two of yours,” I say before I can hold it back. My teeth grind together. I want to make her dreams come true, but I’d never deny her the chance to be a mother. Not even if it’s Hex who helps her accomplish it.
“When a female incubates for a kraken without accepting the eggs as her own, they’re born male if they’re fertilized.
If not, they’re simply passed from her body once they become unviable.
But if she accepts them, then there’s a chance they’ll be born female.
In that case, they can be fertilized individually.
Yes, they would be mine in a way—they’ll always have latent kraken DNA—but my brother and I were born of the same clutch.
His father is fae, as is my mother. He may have kraken DNA, but he looks like a full-blooded fae and can’t shift.
My father is obviously a kraken. He provided the eggs and fertilized mine.
Hence, how I am fae but also able to shift into a kraken. ”
“So, if her body accepted the eggs as her own, then they could be fertilized individually? Otherwise, they’d be passed once they were no longer viable?”
“Correct,” he rumbles, nodding. “My kraken wanted to inform her the night Laz implanted his eggs in Vivie, but it seemed in poor taste.”
Malice steps from the shadows, holding a wide-eyed Ali in his arms.
Silence staggers over, tossing himself down on the couch.
Ali stretches her legs to indicate she wants down. “When were you going to tell me?”
Malice puts her feet on the floor, and she wanders toward Hex in only a dress I don’t recognize. Malice and Silence are in sweats I’ve never seen before too. I’ll chalk that up to their magic.
“Soon,” Hex says, bowing his head low. “As soon as I knew it wouldn’t offend or hurt you if I offered.”
“Offend me?” she scoffs, tossing herself onto his lap. “Don’t be silly.” Her hands land in his beard, tilting his chin up to look at her.
“How much did you hear?” Hex asks carefully.
“That there’s no guarantee, depending on what area was damaged. That you’d entrust me with your offspring.” Her head shakes. “I’m overly emotional, because it’s been a never-ending day.”
She shouldn’t need to apologize for showing how exhausted she is, but her upbringing really fucked her up.
Hex’s nostrils flare and his gaze shoots to Malice. “You bonded.”
“We did,” Malice says, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, I hope you fuckers are ready for little nightmare babies. They’re like smoky jelly for the first few months. Good luck trying to catch them.”
My stomach churns.
She’s my flame.
I was meant to claim her first. Does she even need me when she has two soulmates and a chosen bond?
Ali kisses Hex. “We should talk about this more soon.”
“Of course,” he agrees, bowing his head again.
She climbs off his lap, coming to me with a nervous smile that sends my impulses into overdrive. That smile spells anxiety, and I do everything I can to keep her peaceful and happy.
She walks into my chest, staring up at me from under her lashes.
I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close.
She lets out a contented sigh. “Can we snuggle in my broken bed tonight?”
“I think that would be today,” Silence adds. “I can likely patch up the bed, but after that, I’m done for.”
“We’ll manage,” I grunt, tossing her over my shoulder and aiming for the stairs. Her fingers dig into my back as she bounces, but all my brain can seem to process is that she’s full of another monster’s cum.
I intend to rectify that.
Ali yanks the dress off over her head as I place her back on her feet.
I do the same with my shirt, trying to talk myself out of bending her over and spanking her sweet ass raw.
Fine, maybe I’m more of a feral beast than I like to admit.
It doesn’t change the fact I ache to fuck her while sinking my teeth in and making her regret not claiming me first.
“I’ll take that.” She nods toward my shirt, and her arms stretch toward the ceiling.
I pull my T-shirt down, covering all that soft skin that I’d very much like to explore. I can tell, just by the look on her face, that she’s dead on her feet, and she has every reason to be.
Her mattress is still on the floor from when the frame gave out trying to hold my big ass up, but I did remove the broken pieces earlier.
I even made the bed like a doting mate.
“My pillows,” she groans, tossing herself down face-first. She bounces on the mattress, and my shirt flies up.
I bite my lip, exhaling heavily. The urge to pounce on top of her, pin her down, and make my claim is unbelievably strong.
Fucking impulses.
She rolls over, giving me a look that screams get in the bed . I climb in beside her, and she immediately scoots over, running her hands across my pec.
“Are you upset?”
“No,” I assure her. “I love you, and that hasn’t changed because you claimed the nightmare.”
“I love you too,” she whispers, rolling onto my chest. “A whole fucking lot.” Smooth lips brush mine, and then she’s resting back with her head on my heart. Her fingers run over my clavicle and, before long, her breathing evens out completely.
She needs better curtains. Sunlight peeks through, but this angle affords me the best view of her beautiful face, so I ignore the minor inconvenience.
I fall asleep breathing in her sweet floral scent.