Chapter 12
The guys and I take off around midday, going through town so we can pick up some supplies that we may need for the trip. Glavior insisted on toting my bags, the extra weight not seeming to slow him down at all. The twins don’t have a bag at all and I wonder how they always seem to have shit when they don’t carry anything.
“Yeah, Ahazu and I don’t have the same mates.” I explain the difference between the hounds and Az and I. “The rest of it, yes, to an extent, but not the mate thing.”
“The mate thing isn’t because they’re twins.” Dree says as he walks over to us with Syrinox. They both have sticks of meat in their hands and they pass them out, giving three to Glavior who walks up from the other direction with two more packs on his shoulders. “It’s because they are hounds. Hellhounds mate in packs, usually siblings mating the same woman to continue their line. Female hounds are hard to find, and most of them are infertile, so when a Hellhound finds their mate, it usually is within a different species, so it’s hard wired in their DNA that any biological children conceived by a Hound as either mother or more likely father, they will be hounds.”
“How do you know all this?” I ask Dree, trying desperately to ignore all the talk of mates.
“My family was in charge of the knowledge of the species. I’ve studied every species that came to Earth during the great migration.”
Oh, because that isn’t a brag at all. I roll my eyes and turn to go to the next stall. I see Syrinox’s hands moving and watch what he has to say. I’ve spent a lot longer than I want to admit watching youtube and having Az practice with me to learn his words and the more he signs, the more I understand. It”s a fascinating language, one that uses the person’s whole body to communicate. A facial expression can change a sign’s entire meaning. Every minute detail, from what hand a person uses to whether they rotate their pinky left or right means something, changes a word or phrase. It”s beautiful.
“It’s a shadow pocket.” Cerise says. He digs his hand into the pocket of his pants and pulls out coins to pay for the dry rations we’re getting.
“We have a unique gift with shadows, fire, and blades. We can also shift into our hound forms at will.” Onyx continues the conversation, even though he just walked over from a different stall, well out of hearing range. I cock a brow, looking between the twins.
“We share a soul, literally. I’m sure you and your brother are the same.” Onyx says, and Cerise picks up the thought.
“We can feel what the other feels, hear each other”s thoughts. If Onyx gets hurt, I’ll know it because I’ll feel his pain.”
“If Cerise has an idea, I can tell the group because I can hear his thoughts.”
The two of them speak together, sending chills down my spine at the weird layered voice. “We will mate with the same woman because we are one and the same.”
I don’t think she was impressed with your know it all routine, Dree. Maybe you should try something else. I say you bend her over-
“You do know I can understand you now, right?’ I ask before he can finish the lude comment he was about to make.
I’ve found that Syrinox likes to make sexual comments a lot because not many people outside of his friend group can understand his words. Me knowing the twisted shit he keeps saying to the guys is throwing him off. I actually think most of it is hilarious and a tiny, I mean tiny little piece of me kind of wishes one of them would actually do some of the things he says. Or, when he is teasing Glavior, that I would pluck up the courage to do them.
Yeah I do. So Dree, you should bend her over the next stall and spank her ass before fucking her sensless to show her how amazing she is.
I can’t help but laugh at his craziness. He seems to have gotten over the shock of me knowing what he is saying now, and he hasn’t changed a thing. I love it. Syrinox is fun. He tries to keep everyone’s mood positive and he teases the guys and me like he is a brother, not that I look at him and think brother, but the gist is the same.
“Or,” I say, turning to walk backwards so I can keep us moving but still watch Syrinox’s face. “You could take me and make them watch as you make me come and claim me as your mate first. That way you can be in charge of the decisions for the group that I don’t want to make.”
Syrinox’s face is PRICELESS. His eyes just about pop out of his head and his chin falls to his chest. Glavior actually growls and takes a step towards me as if he is going to do exactly what I suggested. The twins both pout then shoot death glares at the Siren. Dree just smirks and summons a long piece of grass that he starts twirling in his fingers.
Turning my back on the group again, I hold in my laughter when Glavior grumbles. The twins start whining about wanting to mate me first and I snicker. Dree hums in his chest and the song is one I didn’t expect the laid back man to know, Like a Virgin by Madonna. When the tune finally registers in my mind, I can’t hold the laughter back. It”s such a subtle tease to Syrinox’s reaction to my unexpected words.
This trip may be fun after all.
I take it back!
It’s been two days since we left my village to start our hike to the Keep and the guys are driving me fucking insane. Glavior walks around with his head down, tip-toeing around me like he is afraid to piss me off. Yet, he is the first to jump if I even mention needing something done. Last night I said I hated sleeping on the ground and the foolishly sweet man tried to give me his sleeping bag to use as a mattress.
The twins are almost as bad as Glavior. They hover around me, playing with my hair, offering to carry me, and practically shoving random bits of food into my mouth. The two of them are going to smother me with care before we even make it halfway to the keep. I know they are trying to prove their worth, Dree explained about Hellhound courting a bit as we walked, but I really need them to back the fuck up or I’m going to lose it.
Syrinox seems to have taken my joke as an invitation to open season on sex suggestions. I’m in a constant state of being horny and there is no easy way to ease the need because I’m surrounded by these men all day and night. I swear if the man doesn’t stop saying sexual things, I will not be held responsible for jumping him.
Dree is the only one I don’t want to murder right now. He has spent the last few days educating me on the different creatures in the world. He is like an endless pool of knowledge about supernatural creatures and humans alike.
“So,” I say, as we step over another creek in the woods. “Unicorns are real and they mate by … rubbing their horns together?”
Dree nods as Syrinox starts moving his hands. I cut him off before he can make his sex joke, honestly not in the mood to walk around in wet panties for the rest of the day.
“I swear to the Goddess, Nox, if you make one sex joke today I will tie you to a tree, cover your flesh in Honey and see how much of you is left on our way back.” I glare at the Siren who slowly lowers his hands and takes a step back. Dree chuckles as the other four men try to subtly move further from me, but still in close range.
“So, what about Orcs?”
Dree smirks again, his eyes cutting to Glavior. I pretend not to see the exchange and watch Dree with a curious expression. Glavior grunts something that sounds like ‘don’t’ but both of us ignore him.
“Orcs are easy, They are Matriarchal, so the women are the instigators in those pairings. Usually, the man will show interest by giving underhanded comments to the women, when she has enough of the veiled insults, and feels the need to claim the man, she will get physically violent.”
My brows raise in surprise. I never realized that Orcs are so physical.
“Yeah, it can be a bit off putting for most other species, which is why Orcs don’t usually breed outside of their species. A half-breed Orc is so rare that for a long time, many people thought it was impossible.”
“So how are half breeds different?”
“It really depends on what they are mixed with. If it”s a creature that is equally violent in their courtships, then nothing. However, if they are mixed with a gentler creature, then the men will show an interest with comments, but really, they are just submissive with their mates. I do mean true submissives. An orc male, full bred or half, will never initiate sex with their mate. When the bond is completed, orcs are some of the most loyal and caring mates ever noted.”
My mind is whirling with the new information. I glance at Glavior and see his face is pointed at the ground and his cheeks are dark blue. He seems really embarrassed, but I don’t know why. It’s not like I couldn’t have figured it out on my own. Maybe it is the fact that Dree is telling me, but I don’t particularly care. Glavior will get over it.
“Well that sounds fun.” I comment, wanting to make Glavior feel better but not apologizing for making him feel uncomfortable.
“Can we please talk about something other than mating?” Cerise asks, adjusting himself in his jeans.
“Yeah, if my dick gets any harder, I’ll be leaving a trail in the dirt.” Onyx says, adjusting himself as well.
Yeah right! Syrinox signs, smirking at the twins. I’m not sure if you know, but your dicks have to be big to drag the ground. I’ve seen what you guys are working with and I feel bad for Astra as your mate.
Everyone in the group freezes for a second. That is the first time any of them alluded to me being their mate. I mean, I know that they are all my mates, my magic has made that very clear, but this is the first time any of them have actually said it. There”s an awkward silence as everyone looks at each other, trying to decide how we all feel about what was just said.
Fowlynn, being the perfect Familiar that he is, chooses that moment to fly in and land on my shoulder. He breaks the silence up, tilting his head so it rests against my temple. Fowlynn caws out, nodding to all five men before jostling his wings until he is comfortably resting on my shoulder.
“Hello, Fowlynn, I’m glad you could come. I’m so sorry to pull you away from Gynnie.” I say, stroking his head and back.
Don’t worry about it. She was getting tired of me anyhow. She says I’m too caring when we’ve been away from each other too long and she needs a break from our break.
I laugh, shaking my head at his antics. This bird is ridiculous. “So, are we expecting chicks come spring?”
Not this time, though not for lack of trying.
He smarts off and I swear his eyes gleam with mischief. I’m not sure how he can be so expressive, but I think even the guys can see the male pride on his face because they all laugh with me like they could hear him as clearly as I did.
“Way to go man!” Cerise says
“Yeah, you gotta give her a reason to miss you when you’re gone bro.” Onyx chimes in.
Oh, she knows what she is missing for sure. I figure another month away will be a perfect amount of time to have her preening my feathers when I get home, if you know what I mean.
Oh, yuck, I do not want to hear about Familiar sex! The guys all laugh and I’m taken aback. I could write off the last time as them reading his body language, but now, I’m sure they can all hear him.
“Wait, you guys can hear him?”
All five of them nod, and Dree, once again, is the one with the answers. “When someone with a Familiar has mates, the familiar can interact with the mates like they are his charge, even if the bond isn’t fully formed.”
He spouts so matter of factly that I don’t even realize he outed all of us as mates for a minute. I really think about his words, digest them and figure out what the implications of that neat trick is before I pause again.
“Holy shit, Dree. Did you just subtly suggest that all of you are my mates?”
Dree glances over his shoulder at me, confusion in his gaze. “Yes, I thought we all knew that by now.”
“Yeah but”
“But what, Little Pixie?” Glavior asks, he too seems genuinely confused about what the issue is.
Syrinox answers for me. And I’m a bit aggravated by how accurate he is at speaking my feelings out loud, or signing them.
She has been trying to ignore the fact that we are her mates and you all just took that away from her. Now she has to actually decide if she is going to accept the bonds or reject them. She wants mates, but being that she is an assassin, she doesn’t think she deserves us.
Well, fuck. Now they all know the whole truth. What the fuck am I going to do now? They all know I’m an assassin, and they know I’ve been on the fence about the whole mate thing and there is nothing I can do to change any of it, so I stomp off and decide to ignore the issue completely.
We walk in silence for the rest of the day and my head is spinning. I thought I’d have more time to decide, but I just lost it all with one conversation. It’s time to finally make up my mind. Mates or no mates, that is the question.