4. The Three Alphas of the Tumulus Hive
Chapter 4
The Three Alphas of the Tumulus Hive
Earlier that Day
Bellator - Legionnaire Alpha
M y legionnaires will need to help the servitors clean this up. Bellator surveyed the rocks covering the path leading into the valley. It must have happened last night. We did have a lot of rain.
He was picking his way over the rocky debris to continue his morning check, when movement in the sky caught his attention.
“Whoa!” He gaped at the fiery rain.
The meteor shower was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Scores of white-hot orbs strafed across the sky. They skimmed so close overhead that he cringed from the terrible rumble and vibration. They were striking in the west, kicking up massive amounts of dirt and debris.
“Oh,” he grunted in surprise when one of the meteors struck the valley, followed by a dirt plume. It was so close it must’ve landed in their territory.
As legionnaire alpha, it was his duty to protect his hive. Any other time, he would’ve sent one of his betas to check it out, but this was so unusual his instincts kicked in.
Bellator shifted form and took off running to inspect the strange anomaly. It would be faster if he flew, but with the fiery debris raining through the sky, that didn’t seem wise. Instead, he’d taken his four-legged form. The fero were limber mountain predators, and much better equipped to cover the distance than his bipedal form. Despite his form, with all the adrenaline pumping through him, he ran faster than he had in a long time. It wasn’t every day that fire fell from the firmament.
Bellator made it into the valley, was crossing the prairie, and nearing their border when he heard the commotion before he saw them. The legionnaire deltas and omegas assigned to patrol the area had already arrived. They were lined up along the rocky border, just inside the neutral zone, all staring into the Nemus Hive’s territory. As he approached, it was hard to discern what they’d found from all the excited bellowing and the line of bodies obscuring his view, but it was obviously the fiery orb he’d seen.
“You found the meteor,” he commented as he neared the row of his brethren. “I knew it landed close.”
Proel, legionnaire gamma and the sector captain, glanced back at him wearing an odd expression. “It’s an egg.”
An egg?!
Bellator stepped past the row of his brethren and his eyes widened. There was a giant gash in the earth. The meteor had struck the ground in their territory, skidded across the plain, over the border, and came to a halt several paces inside Nemus territory. Laying in the muddy rut was a white, oblong sphere that looked just like an egg. Except that’s not what stunned him or why everyone was riled. The egg had cracked open, and inside it lay a tiny humanoid.
“Quiet!” Bellator barked, and everyone grew silent.
The humanoid appeared to be Vorto, but also unlike any of his people. The being’s eyes were closed, but he could still see how small they were. Then again, the person was small, perhaps a youth. The little humanoid had a full mane of long, dark curly hair on their head. Most Vorto only had hair when in their animal forms. His brow furrowed. He couldn’t quite picture what animal they were mimicking that possessed such a long mane. Nor did he understand how they fell from the sky. He wasn’t a fool, the egg was mechanical, and not an actual egg. That still didn’t answer where it came from. He’d never heard of any sky hives.
As Bellator studied the unconscious being the wind shifted, and he smelled the most delicious aroma. Before he could place the compelling perfume, he also scented blood. There was a reason the being was unconscious. Its descent from the firmament had been traumatic. What’s worse, the river was too close. Water was seeping into the rut and steadily rising.
Blight! That is not good.
Bellator surveyed the muddy terrain. He didn’t spot any of the Nemus Hive coming to check on the crash. More of the meteors fell in their neighbor’s territory and lands farther west, so that probably had the Nemus preoccupied. Unfortunately, the injured being needed help now.
“Stay here,” he ordered as he crossed the border.
None of his subordinates questioned him, but they all were grim. There were very strict rules for entering another hive’s territory. Under the circumstances, he felt it would be forgiven.
Bellator hustled to the cracked egg. He froze when he got a better whiff of the scent radiating off the being. He’d never smelled the heady sweet perfume, but the concentration of it made his sex instantly harden, which was shocking and new.
It's a female, his instincts screamed. A queen!
Bellator gaped at the tiny female, struck dumb by the realization. He couldn’t have been any more shocked if he’d been struck by one of the meteors itself. This hardly seemed possible. There hadn’t been a queen among the Vorto in generations. He was the fifth generation after the Blight that killed all the queens. Not a single generation since the awful plague had seen a queen emerge, not even a weak or ailing one. The Tumulus hive was not unique, all of the Vorto hives had suffered this blight. Things were becoming desperate. His hive’s chrysalis chamber held two, maybe three more generations at best, and all the other hives were the same.
His shock and awe instantly turned to panic. The queen, the first queen to appear in a long time, was injured. The red splatters were actually blood, not her natural coloring. It covered her tan face and soaked her pale blue coverings. He had to get the queen help now. Bellator shifted to his humanoid form. Very carefully he used a claw to slice through the straps holding his queen in the mechanical egg. It was a relief to feel her heart beating.
She’s alive!
“Be strong, my little queen,” he pleaded as he gently tucked her bloodied wayward limbs across her chest, then picked her up.
His chest clenched feeling just how light and delicate the queen was. It was a wonder she survived the terrible plummet from the sky at all. As Bellator carried her back into his own territory, he studied her injuries. There was a gash on her forehead. The blood wasn’t coming out fast, yet still, it worried him since she was so small. His gaze went to her arm. It was also covered in blood, but he didn’t see any actively bleeding wounds.
“She’s a queen!” he announced as he reached the border. “Proel, hold her.” Bellator reluctantly passed the injured queen to the gamma. “Everyone fuse with me. She is injured and it will be faster if we fly.”
The omegas and deltas surrounded him and fluxed, collapsing into an amorphous mass, then fused with him. Bellator didn’t wait for them to completely merge before he shifted into his screo form. The raptors were common to the mountain territory where his hive resided and they were swift fliers. The only difference between him and an actual screo was that he was larger, massive once merged with his brethren.
As carefully as possible, with Proel’s help, he clasped the queen in his overly large talons. They formed a cage around the queen’s tiny curled up form. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best and fastest option. Pushing off with his empty foot, he leapt into the air, and streaked toward the mountain hive, flying as fast as he possibly could. As the alpha of the legionnaires, it was his job to maintain concentration so they all stayed fused and didn’t come apart mid-flight. They’d practiced this many times, but this was the ultimate test. Thankfully, everyone understood what was at stake. He could feel just how focused his brethren were as they skimmed over the treetops covering the mountainside. He’d never been so relieved to land safely on the veranda of their hive.
“What did you find?” Phara, the hive’s consort alpha, rushed toward them.
“Our queen!”
Artifex – Servitor Alpha
“Bellator has found our queen!” Phara rushed into the supply room.
“Hmpf.” Artifex dubiously glanced over his shoulder before focusing on the inventory again.
He couldn’t believe Phara and Bellator were attempting this prank again. Did the alphas think after ten orbits he’d forgotten their antics? The pair just wanted him to make another feast. That’s what happened last time. He and his caste of servitors stopped what they were doing and began frantic preparations for the mythical queen. He and his workers toiled all day over a lavish feast, cleaning, and other preparations. In the end he and his fellow workers were left disappointed and tired. The only consolation was that it was an exceptional meal.
“I don’t have time for your pranks. We need to know what supplies we can spare if any of the neighboring hives are damaged by this meteor shower,” Artifex indignantly replied. “That entire shelf can be given away. Put it on the list, Diligen,” he instructed the servitor gamma helping him.
“This is not a prank! You are needed in the infirmary now!” Phara roared.
Artifex spun, shocked by his fellow alpha’s behavior. Phara didn’t even explain himself. The male simply rushed out of the store room. Worriedly, Artifex followed.
There were stories about past generations of consorts becoming imbalanced. The consorts were especially prone to the condition. It had to do with high levels of mating hormones but having no queen. Phara definitely had bouts of sorrow in the past, but they all did as the seasons passed. The time for waking the next generation marched closer. Artifex tried to not think about the fact that the Vorto were nearing extinction. He instead tried to look forward to taking care of and raising his hatchling brethren. That honor, and his everyday tasks kept him preoccupied. Sadly, Phara and the other consorts didn’t have those things to concentrate on.
Hopefully that’s not what was going on here.
As Artifex reached the nearby infirmary, the scent radiating from the room halted him in his tracks. Having been on many hunts he knew the scent of blood. Except this wasn’t simply the scent of blood. There was something intoxicating and sweet that also drew him into the room.
Queen! Queen! his instincts screamed as he tasted the air.
“Please, Artifex, help her,” Bellator pleaded, pain distorting his face.
Utterly shocked, Artifex stared at the tiny being cradled in the legionnaire alpha’s arms. Where had Bellator found a queen? He’d live his entire life and no females had emerged. As Artifex was questioning how this was possible, he noticed the blood.
Focus! Your queen needs help!
The tiny queen had blood on her face, extending down her chest and on one arm. Panic rose inside him. Vorto were rarely injured like this. The Vorto would flux into their amorphous form before injuries could occur. This injury was more similar to what happened with the fauna.
“Please, before we lose our queen,” Phara added, the torment in his voice palpable.
That’s not helping.
“I was assessing her. How did this happen?!” Artifex countered, trying to stay calm, which was easier said than done. Never before had his ability to serve his purpose mattered so much. The pressure was enough to make him sick.
“I found her at the edge of our territory. She was in a damaged egg that was part of the meteor shower,” Bellator relayed.
“Even if she fluxed, falling from that great of a height would still have injured her.” Artifex had treated many Vorto who’d accidently fluxed while flying in their screo form. The fall to earth, even in that amorphous form, was sometimes fatal. The fact that the little queen was respirating steadily was a very good sign, though.
“Lay her on the resting pad,” Artifex instructed, and Bellator gently placed the limp queen on the leather mattress. “We need to remove her coverings to see the extent of her injuries.”
Operar, one of Artifex’s betas, joined him by the bed. It was a relief to see the male. There hadn’t been time to call for assistance from his caste. Word was obviously traveling through the hive.
“Phara, Bellator, I know you want to help, but I need you to let us work.” Artifex nudged Bellator aside. Thankfully the pair of alphas stepped back and let him and his beta get to work.
Artifex extended a claw and began slicing off the queen’s blue coverings which went from her delicate neck to her petite feet. The slick blue fabric was unusual and unlike anything he’d seen. It wasn’t made of plant fibers, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. He removed the bloody sleeve, yet found no open wounds on her arm to explain the blood. He gently prodded the bones in the queen’s forearm. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was feeling for. The queen wasn’t Vorto, at least not any hive he’d encountered. Thankfully he’d learned a trick treating the occasional wild creature they found in their territory. Artifex reached over and felt her other arm, comparing the two.
“This isn’t good.” He cringed when he felt the damage to the bones near her wrist.
“What is wrong?” Phara anxiously asked from the edge of the room.
A picture started to form and it explained why the tiny queen was still unconscious. It also made him fear what injury might have occurred to her head beyond the visible gash above her furry brow.
“I believe her arm struck her head with such force that it shattered the bones,” he relayed as he felt her forehead.
“What do we do?!” Bellator demanded.
What do we do? Artifex’s worry spiked as he studied the unconscious queen. These weren’t injuries where he could simply set the bones and wrap them. The damage was too extensive in her wrist, and he had no idea what was going on with her head. He had a poultice that would seal the wound, but that did nothing for potential internal damage. In the case of fauna he’d encountered with these kinds of injuries, they would’ve put the poor creature down.
Blight! he cursed. They needed to do something. This is a queen! Suddenly it came to him. The refectio!
The previous servitor alpha showed him the precious equipment. Along with the lesson on how to use the machine was a lecture about how it was only to be used in dire situations, since no one was making or even repairing the special equipment any longer. If ever there was an occasion to use the healing machine, this was it.
“We’ll use the refectio !” he announced.
As Artifex went to the sealed room holding the equipment, countless things ran through his mind. The overriding thought was that the future of the hive depended on him in this moment. He’d taken care of the hive for thirty orbits. In that time, he’d become experienced in growing, hunting, building, cooking, cleaning, and directing his servitors with the many tasks that keep the hive running.
But none of that matters if I can’t heal our queen. That was his true test.
Phara – Consort Alpha
Phara let out the breath he was holding when the beam coming from the miraculous healing machine shut off. The refectio had cleaned away the blood, healing the queen’s scratches and contusion, but the precious female remained unconscious. Phara anxiously looked at Artifex, silently questioning what was happening.
Artifex examined the queen’s head while Operar felt her wrist. The pair traded looks.
“Did it work?!” Phara anxiously demanded, unable to stand the suspense.
“It did!” Artifex nodded, also deeply relieved. “She’s still exhausted by the fall, so she will probably sleep for a while.”
“Thank you!” Phara hugged the servitor alpha.
“Whoa!” Artifex pulled away from him and pointedly stared at his sex.
“I know it’s hard!” Phara growled, frustrated with his vexing anatomy.
The instant Bellator arrived with their queen, Phara’s shaft grew hard. It was the first time his sex had responded in his thirty orbits of existence. Her feminine scent awoke something inside him. Now it felt like a wild animal was prowling beneath his skin and it was hungry. He was tempted to shift into his fero form and go for a run, maybe hunt something, but he couldn’t separate himself from their queen.
“It wasn’t like that a moment ago,” Bellator commented.
“Our queen was terribly injured. I was afraid. Now I’m not,” he informed the chief guard of the hive.
One glance at Bellator screamed that the male was also affected by their queen, although the legionnaire alpha’s shaft wasn’t standing at attention like his was.
“At least we know your body recognizes its purpose,” Artifex teased, now that much of the tension in the room had waned. “Would you like to carry her to her chambers? The servitors should have finished cleaning it already.”
Phara desperately wanted to hold the queen. Her skin was an unusual tannish-beige. She certainly didn’t blend into the purple rock of the mountain like the rest of the hive, but it looked soft with all of its curves. His fingers itched to test how pliant those curves were, especially the two mounds on her chest. His tongue rolled around his mouth, the urge to taste the berries on her chest mounds riding him hard. Her long, wavy brown mane was unique. He wanted to comb his fingers through the silky tendrils. She also had a bit of fluff on her sex that taunted him. She definitely did not have a shaft. His sex jumped at the thought of spreading her legs to see exactly what she did have.
“Phara?” Artifex pressed.
“I better not. I-I don’t trust myself,” he nervously replied.
“I will hold her.” Bellator eagerly picked their queen up and they started walking through the winding stone corridors of their hive.
The hive was quiet as they passed, but he could feel their excitement vibrating in the air. Many eyes expectantly turned to him.
“So, what’s your plan for when our queen wakes up?” Artifex asked, voicing what everyone was thinking.
He was the consort alpha, breeding his queen was his only purpose. Before today, he'd effectively had no purpose. The day he never expected to come was finally here and he was starting to feel the full weight of it. He couldn’t disappoint his brethren. He especially couldn’t disappoint their queen.
“I don’t know.” Phara started to panic.
Sadly, he had no one to teach him what to do with a female. He’d never known a queen. His own queen mother had passed four generations ago, long before he’d crawled out of his amnio sac. When the Blight hit and the queens died, all Vorto hives halted the emergence of hatchlings, extending one generation into half a dozen. So, he was four generations removed from the existence of females. As far as he was concerned queens were a myth. The consort alpha that preceded him wasn’t well and didn’t share anything but despair about the future before passing. And though the archives held a lot, frustratingly, it lacked information their ancestors thought should be obvious.
“All I’ve seen are the fauna mating,” Phara added, his anxiety building even as his hormones spun out of control.
If it wasn’t for the animals, he wouldn’t have known that he was supposed to put his organ inside the queen.
Except our queen isn’t a horned capo that eats grass and leaps around the mountainside! He was out of his depths here.
“I am sure you will figure it out. I have some ideas.” Bellator stroked their queen’s cheek as he lay her in the bed in her chamber.
Phara stared at the queen lying in the bed. She was so unusual, yet so stunning. He ached to climb in and lie right beside her. He ached for more than that.
“I’m having a lot of ideas, too, and as small as she is, I’m pretty sure all of them will break her!” Phara countered, his fists clenching by his sides.
He’d crush their queen simply mounting her. After being injured, would she want him biting her shoulder to hold her in place? Would his sex even fit inside her tiny body?
“We need to keep her warm as she rests and recovers,” Artifex mentioned. That usually meant fluxing and piling into the same bed.
Phara glanced down at his shaft. As much as he wanted to lie beside their queen, he didn’t trust himself. He needed to wrangle his hormones and his emotions. The omegas didn’t have the hormone levels the alphas and betas possessed. Right now, they were a better option to watch over their queen.
“Consort omegas,” Phara called to the males who had followed them into the queen’s chamber. “Flux and keep our queen warm as she rests.”
Enviously he watched as a score of omegas climbed into the bed and fluxed, filling in around their sleeping queen. He sighed as he stared longingly at her.
“Come, let’s go to your chamber next door. We’ll be close if she awakens and we can make plans from there.” Artifex took his hand and tugged him toward the door.
Phara growled and resisted. Instinct demanded he stay by his queen’s side. But then he relented as it occurred to him, he might be able to think straight if he couldn’t see or smell their queen. Right now he felt dizzy, like he drank too much fermented nectar. He needed to clear his head or he’d make a fool of himself with the queen.