Chapter 4 Brynn
brYNN
Later, we lay tangled together watching the moons set, my body deliciously relaxed. Coone’s tail wrapped protectively around my waist while Nim and Sim bracketed me on either side. Nim and Sim have some explaining to do. What just happened back there?
“Sleep, you are thinking too loud,” Coone whispered and complained against my hair. Zirc said Coone was a spy. He would know about Nim and Sim. Then I yawned.
I nodded, already drifting off to sleep, feeling safe and cherished despite Zirc not with us.
The peace was shattered by an urgent pounding at the door. Roqs barged in.
“They’ve found us,” Roqs growled. “We need to move. Now.”
I sat up, my body protesting, my mind still foggy from sleep. I looked around, my eyes adjusting to the dim light.
Coone was already up, his body tense, his eyes scanning the room. Nim moved to the window, his gaze fixed on the horizon, his body poised for action.
“Who’s found us?” I asked, my voice a soft whisper.
Sim turned to me, his eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination. “The Purple Tribe,” he said, his voice a low growl. “They’ve come for us.”
Fear coursed through me, cold and sharp. Roqs had become a fugitive, Sim and Nim will be taken away from me if they are found. I thought we were safe, hidden away in this sanctuary by the sea. But it seemed our sanctuary had become our trap, and our time was running out.
We had to move, and we had to move fast. Our lives, and the life of my unborn child, depended on it. Coone looked to where I was touching my lower stomach and then grind his jaw.
The guards with us, headed by Clitasoxdfwe’h, urged us to board the same vehicle we’ve been using since we escaped from Purple Tribe.
My mind must had been so frazzled because in less than no time at all, I found myself walking into another hideout.
I missed what they have called this, leaving me alone while they discussed and growled out our escape options.
Our new hideout was beautiful, eerie, and utterly alien.
The walls were rough-hewn stone, veined with luminous crystals that pulsed with a soft, ethereal light.
Miners back home would have a field day, even I wanted to pluck what looked like a straight line of diamonds near the doorway.
But the wind howled outside, a mournful cry that penetrated the thick stone, a constant reminder that we were fugitives, hunted by Nim and Sim’s own tribe.
I stood in the center of the cavernous space, trying to ground myself, trying to absorb the sheer strangeness of it all.
The others were scattered around the room, each a point of focus in my ever-shifting world.
Roqs and Coone were in a corner, perched on opposite seats, their eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.
They were silent, watchful, muscles coiled as if an enemy is about to attack.
Near the entrance, a guard stood rigid, his presence both reassuring and a stark reminder of the constant danger that clung to us like a shroud.
He was one of three, loyal only to Nim and Sim, and his very posture screamed of the secrets they held.
Nim and Sim looked relaxed, confident that this new hideout is known only to them and the few males they trusted.
I should be worried about Zirc, the baby growing inside me, the very real threat of capture. But my traitorous mind was still replaying the memory of our last sexcapade.
I settled onto the cushions in the dimly lit sanctuary, wincing as my muscles protested. The past hours were intense as we tried to evade the elite Red Guards of the Purple Tribe.
“So,,” I began, looking at Nim beside me. “I need to understand what happened back then. Like…isn’t Simrod your twin?” Yes, my mind was still stuck on that particular scene.
Nim exchanged a look with Simrod, a silent conversation passing between them that I couldn’t decipher.
Finally, Nim sighed, his broad shoulders slumping slightly.
“It’s a long story, Brynn. I’ve been hesitant to share this, as it’s a delicate matter for our tribe, and for Sim.
” His voice was low, laced with an undercurrent of something I couldn’t quite place – perhaps guilt, or maybe something more complex.
“I’m tired of hiding,” Simrod interjected, his usual playful grin replaced by a fierce, raw intensity. “I want Brynn to know the truth, even if it means facing the consequences. I’ve always felt like an impostor, living in Nimrod’s shadow.” His voice was thick with a pain that resonated within me.
Nim stared at Simrod, his eyes softening.
“Wrong, Sim, mate of my heart.” The declaration caused me to gasp, the words hanging heavy in the air.
I noticed Roqs and Coone exchanging surprised glances, their brows furrowed in confusion.
“I’ve always lived in your shadow ever since I met you.
You are the rightful heir and next alpha of the Purple Tribe.
It’s only my blood that ties me to our fathers.
But in all the ways, it was always you who held our tribe and steered the young ones from the political machinations of our fathers. ”
“Wait,” I held up my hand, trying to piece together the puzzle. “Are you saying Simrod isn’t actually your twin? But you look identical!” The sheer audacity of it made my head spin.
“Genetic modification,” Nim explained, his voice soft but steady.
“Simrod was created to be my spare, engineered to match my appearance exactly. The tribe needed to ensure there would be an heir, no matter what happened to me.” I didn’t know the news shocked me so much I was pulling away from them.
Nim reached out and pulled me closer to him on the long lounge sofa, his touch surprisingly gentle, but with an undercurrent of possessiveness.
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.
“Like a backup cloud drive,” I muttered, earning confused looks from my alien mates.
“Never mind, Earth reference. But...why? Why go to such lengths?” The sheer desperation of their society, the lengths they’d go to for power and control, I’m starting to wonder if I need to get off this planet and go back to Earth to raise my child.
How can they do this to a child when there are so few of them?
Coone, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke, his voice low and smooth.
“The Purple Tribe was desperate for heirs. The current Alphas struggled to produce offspring, and with the prophecy looming…” He trailed off, his tail twitching nervously.
Yeah, being a spy, he would be privy to almost everything.
“The prophecy that seems to be causing all this chaos?” I asked, remembering the whispered fragments I’d heard before. The sense of impending doom, the weight of ancient expectations, it was starting to feel suffocating.
“The same,” Nim confirmed. “When it became clear that I might be the only heir, the tribe took…precautions. Simrod was their redundancy policy.”
“Redundancy policy?” Simrod’s laugh was bitter, a raw, wounded sound that made my heart ache.
“More like a convenient puppet. Do you know what it’s like to spend your entire life pretending to be someone else?
To know that your entire existence is just a backup plan?
” He looked at me, his eyes pleading for understanding, and I saw a reflection of my own loneliness in his pain.
I reached out and took his hand, squeezing it gently. “You’re not just a backup plan, Sim. You’re you, and that’s more than enough.” I couldn’t pretend to understand the depth of his pain, but I could offer him the human connection he desperately needed.
The guard at the door shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting from me to the twins, clearly unnerved by the raw emotion in the air. But I couldn’t stop now – I needed to understand.
“So all this time, when you were appearing in public together...” I began, trying to piece together the puzzle.
“We were perpetuating the illusion of twin heirs,” Nim finished, his voice strained. “It gave the tribe stability, knowing there were two of us. But it also made us targets.” His eyes were filled with a weariness that belied his age, a weight that I could see in his every movement.
“More like target practice,” Roqs growled from his position near the door, his tail lashing back and forth, a clear sign of his simmering anger.
“Every rival gang and opposing tribe saw two potential heirs as twice the opportunity for chaos.” His voice was rough, laced with a possessiveness that sent a shiver down my spine.
I leaned back against the cushions, trying to absorb everything.
The weight of their secret, the years of pretense, the constant danger…
Yet somehow, it made perfect sense. The way Simrod always seemed to be watching Nim, mimicking his movements.
The subtle tensions I’d noticed between them.
Yet, Sim cannot hide his true nature which is very vocal.
And Nim who liked to be in the background.
“And now?” I asked, looking between them, searching for answers in their strange, alien faces. “What happens now that I and a few others know?”
Nim and Simrod shared another look, but this time I could see the shift in their dynamic. The truth had changed something between them, lifting a burden they’d carried for too long.
“Now,” Simrod said, his voice stronger, his eyes burning with a new intensity, “we stop pretending.”
“Just like that?” I asked, a mixture of disbelief and hope rising within me.
Nim shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips, and Sim let out a wicked grin. “Exactly!”
I nodded, a strange sense of relief washing over me.
Nim used his other arm and placed it around Sim, pulling him close.
“My mate,” he breathed with conviction, his voice thick with emotion.
“I’ve long wanted to call you that out loud, not just in my head.
No more shadows, no more spares. Just us.
” His words were a declaration, a promise, and I felt a warmth bloom in my chest.
Nim placed his forehead against Sim’s. To my and everyone else’s shock, Nim kissed Sim hungrily, his palm tight against the back of Sim’s head.
It was raw, passionate, and utterly breathtaking.
Unbidden, I grasped Coone’s hand tightly, who moved so that he’s sitting beside me.
It was as if I was a voyeur watching a private moment unfold between two souls who had waited a lifetime to be free.
“Now,” Sim declared with a wicked gleam in his eyes, “we don’t need to pretend by fucking a female or other male between us.” His words were provocative, a challenge, and I felt a thrill of excitement course through me.
I snorted while others laughed. Of course, one thing they all have in common is their pursuit of being the best in sex on this planet. Like those famous Nimsims, thus their name. Coone chuckled beside me, the sound a low rumble that vibrated through my skin.
“Cool, you’re also mated to Zirc, right?” I declared happily, feeling a surge of affection for my strange, alien family.
The temperature in the room dropped, and it felt as if someone scratched chalk on the board.
Coone stiffened beside me, his eyes widening slightly.
The three looked at Roqs, their faces tight with apprehension.
Shit, I forgot Roqs was touchy about this subject.
He wanted to be Zirc’s mate since forever, but it turned out he’s mated to another.
The sting of that realization was a sharp, bitter taste in my mouth.
Roqs’s eyes flashed with anger as he declared, “Zirc was only ever mated to Coone, and now to Brynn. That’s it.
He is not mated to another manasty.” His tone left no room for argument, his voice a low growl that sent shivers down my spine.
What he wasn’t saying, Zirc still has a chance to have a manasty mate.
I felt my face flush with embarrassment.
“But...I thought...” I trailed off, looking between Nim, Sim, and Zirc in confusion.
“How come Zirc was intimate with you two? Doesn’t that hurt Coone?
” The complexities of their relationships, the tangled web of connections, it was all starting to feel overwhelming.
Coone squeezed my hand gently, his touch reassuring. “I was always cool with it, sweetheart. That’s just how Manasties and Nekos like me operate. There’s usually a central person that holds us all together.” His words were calm, but I could see a flicker of something deeper in his golden eyes.
My brow furrowed as I tried to process this. “Has it ever happened before that a female can be mated to more than one?” I asked hesitantly, a tremor of fear running through me.
Nim’s expression grew solemn, his eyes losing their usual light, same with Nim and Sim.
“Our female race has been gone for about a millennium now.
We know of no other female species compatible with us except-“ He cut himself as if he was about to say something else. “Until you, Brynn. And now you’re pregnant with a child.” His words were heavy, a reminder of the responsibility I carried, the impossible position I was in.
He did not say our child even though I’ve been intimate with him. Which reminds me. “How come you are sure that my baby isn’t Coone’s?” I stopped and looked at Coone. Horror in my eyes. Could it be that he was -
Coone just smirked. “I’m not in heat, sweets. We can only make a female pregnant when we’re in heat.”
“Oh,” I said deflated. So my baby daddy is either Zirc, Nim and Sim if what they said was true. Only fated mates can impregnate a female. How...convenient for them.
Before I worked myself up to a frenzy, Sim piped up, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of hope and trepidation. “There have been rumors about the Silver Tribe finding a solution, particularly the last Alphas who were Zirc’s parents.”
Roqs’s frown deepened, his jaw clenching. “That is not my story to tell,” he said gruffly, his voice laced with warning. “It’s the most closely guarded secret of our Tribe.”