Chapter 26
Dark shapes moved through the water, dorsal fins cutting the surface with lethal grace. Orcas. A pod of at least six, hunting in the darkness.
“Transient killer whales,” the crew confirmed. “They hunt at night, following the salmon runs.”
Emmy watched, mesmerized, as the orcas coordinated their attack. One would dive, driving salmon toward the surface, while others waited to strike. The efficiency was brutal and beautiful.
“Apex predators,” Zander observed. “Like us.”
A harbor seal popped up near the boat, curious eyes watching them before disappearing beneath the surface. Minutes later, a group of Steller sea lions lounging on rocks began vocalizing with deep bellows that echoed across the water.
“They’re louder at night,” Spence said.
“Declaring territory,” a crew member said.
The aurora appeared around midnight. Not the dramatic green and blue curtains they’d seen in Mordnik, but subtle bands of pink and red, to the north. Emmy pointed them out to Zander.
“Toby explained that they are different colors at different altitudes,” she told them. “We see the bottom at Mordnik, but here, we’re seeing the tops of it in the distance.”
“It’s still beautiful,” Spence said.
“It is,” Zander agreed, his gaze on her rather than the sky.
And Emmy felt his meaning: All of this was beautiful, but especially her.
They stayed up top until the food was ready for them, and Emmy was happy to go inside to warm up a little. The hot seafood chowder really helped with that, and the sandwiches curbed her hunger. They didn’t stay inside long before making their way back up top, and it was a good thing.
Barely five minutes later, a humpback whale surfaced about a hundred yards away, its massive body rolling through the water, blow visible as mist in the chilly air. They watched in silence as it dove, tail flukes rising above the surface before disappearing.
“ That’s what I most wanted you to see,” Emmy said softly. “The wildness of it. The life that exists when humans aren’t watching.”
“I’m glad you showed me.” Zander pulled her close. “It isn’t often you encounter creatures close to you in size.”
“I see a lot of nature,” Spence said, “running as the wolf, but I feel like Emmy sees so much more, flying in Faerie.”
“But that’s in Faerie. I don’t often get to see this kind of nature in Midgard.”
And that made Emmy consider all of the realms she lived in, now.
The coterie house, of course, but she’d soon have her lab as well.
Gareth wanted it fast-tracked, and that meant approving everything fast, so they could break ground before the cold moved in.
She’d worked with the architect on every detail, designing the layout, specifying equipment, and planning for a team she’d hire herself.
And then there was Mordnik, where they’d return in November. One last season of intensity and darkness, spending it together while she planned her first experiments for GeneSynth.
This year, she’d spend her days in the silo learning cattle genetics, condor DNA, and building the foundation for what came after.
And when they left in January, she’d come home to the suite in the coterie basement, to live the life she was building with her men.
“I’m excited for Mordnik,” she said aloud. “To spend three months just … being . No pressure to finish a degree or prove anything. Just us, with me planning and preparing for the work I want to do when we return.”
“And the balls,” Spence added. “Don’t forget the balls.”
Emmy laughed. “How could I forget?” She sobered. “But this will probably be my last year to be at Mordnik the entire time. Once I’m busy with my new lab, I won’t be able to leave for three months.”
“I’ve considered that,” Zander said. “I figure you’ll have some vacation time you can take, but I can also aim most of the balls for the weekends. We’ll fly you to us for every ball, plus some weekends in between. We’ll see each other so often, we won’t have time to miss each other.”
“Oh, wow. That’s … yes. That can work.” She turned to him and threw her arms around him. “I was so worried about not being able to go, but that will be perfect!”
She looked at Spence. “Plus, I’ll see the sun when I return to Anchorage. Of everything about Mordnik, that’s the only thing I’m actually dreading.”
“When we return from Mordnik, everything will be different,” Emmy mused. “But good different. I’ll have work instead of school…” She shrugged. “Okay, timewise, maybe not so different. We’ll still be able to coordinate our schedules, so we have time together most evenings.”
Through the bond, she felt both men’s agreement.
“Is there anything we need to add?”
She switched to telepathy. Something one of us needs, that they aren’t getting?
My needs are simple, Zander answered. A male and female in my life whom I love beyond words, someone to hurt, a varied diet, and a way to feed and keep safe the people I love and am responsible for — and that means the vampires and daywalkers. I have everything I want.
A varied diet — Emmy felt the deep satisfaction in his words.
Two or three nights a week, he fed from Spence or Emmy, but he fed from others most of the time.
He’d explained once that he chose based primarily on the energy he needed, which might be an apex predator before a big meeting, or someone calm, like a deer, if he needed to handle something more delicate.
He frequently drank from Felix before the big orgies at Mordnik.
However, it also depended on what he had a taste for, and Emmy understood that as well.
She picked something up from Spence, just the edges of a feeling. Was he blocking it from them?
Spence? Something you need to tell us?
I … I … Maybe. I mean, I’m yours, to use as you see fit. My needs aren’t—
Your needs and wants are absolutely important, Zander interrupted. Whether we give them to you as you expect, or in another fashion, is up to us, but you know better than to think anything about you is unimportant.
Zander wrapped their boy in his arms, and his next words came through as an order. Tell us.
Extended denial. Weeks. Months. Longer, if you deem it.
No coming. No release. Just aching for you both.
Service for the sake of service, so I’m forced to focus on your pleasure and not my own.
Spence’s mental voice roughened. I want to feel it.
To be desperate and needy and completely at your mercy.
Emmy’s smile was slow, wicked. I’ve been considering it, knowing you needed it. It’s one of the reasons I’ve had such fun making you come so often in recent weeks.
Zander chuckled. Sadist .
She smiled. Guilty as charged.
Zander pulled away from Spence and cradled his cheek in the palm of his hand. No promises, but Emmy and I will discuss it. What else?
Spence’s arousal kicked up, and Emmy felt heat low in her belly. Whatever Spence was about to say, she had a feeling would be a really big deal.
Daily discipline. Not punishment, just the strap or a belt, reminding me of who I am to you both.
Every night at the same time, but I never know the severity.
Maybe three licks. Maybe ten. Maybe a hundred.
Your choice, always your choice. Just … something that keeps me grounded in my submission even when we’re busy with other things.
Emmy exchanged a look with Zander across Spence’s back. Through the bond, she felt his interest, his approval of the request.
I can’t make demands, Spence added quickly. I know it’s asking too much—
“Really?” Zander’s voice dropped into that dangerous register that made Emmy’s clit throb. You want daily beltings?
Spence shivered. Yes, Sir. Your choice of severity. Same time every night, so the anticipation can build, but I never know who will deliver it, or how bad it will be. A reminder. But it’s asking too much—
It’s not. Zander’s hand settled on the back of Spence’s neck. Emmy and I will discuss the details. My initial response is that we choose the implement, not you. However, with some alterations, I’m pretty sure the two of us will come up with a plan we can get excited about.
Through the bond, Emmy felt their wolf’s overwhelming relief and gratitude. She reached for Zander privately.
Nine p.m. every night, and it’s like you read my mind — sometimes the cane, loopy Johnny, tawse, paddle. Like you said, that’s our choice, not his.
Agreed. Zander’s satisfaction flooded through their connection, and he spoke to both of them again. And you, little dragon? Is there something you want?
Emmy considered, searching her desires, and found … nothing. No unmet needs, no cravings unfulfilled. She had her men, her work, her independence, along with both a sexual partner and sexual submissive.
I’m completely fulfilled, she sent honestly. Everything I have is everything I want.
Good. Warmth wrapped around her through the bond. Then we’ll focus on giving our wolf what he needs.
The three of us work because we communicate, Zander said. Because we adjust as circumstances change. It’s important we keep doing this.
And because we trust each other, Emmy added.
But mostly, Spence said, because we love each other .
Zander breathed in and back out. Sometimes, love alone isn’t enough. Long term, communication is vital. Do we need to return to once-per-month scheduled conversations, Spencer? So you tell us of any needs as they arrive?
No, Sir. I’ll do better.
They stood together at the rail, watching the dark water slide past, and Emmy felt her men’s contentment through the magical bond between them.
Around two AM, they passed more jumping salmon, silver flashes catching moonlight. The orcas returned, hunting with renewed intensity, and the boat slowed.
Bioluminescence appeared in the water — tiny organisms lighting up with each disturbance, leaving trails of cold fire in the boat’s wake. Emmy leaned over the rail, mesmerized by the glow.
“It’s called dinoflagellate bioluminescence,” she explained. “Algae that produce light when disturbed. Completely natural chemistry.”
“Like magic,” Spence said. “And you just knew that, off the top of your head?”
“I wrote a paper on it as an undergrad. It fascinates me. I wanted it to be magic, but it isn’t.”
Or maybe it was just another kind of magic — nature doing what it had done for millions of years, indifferent to human observation.
When they pulled back into the original bay, the threesome realized the cruise was coming to an end. The cruise had been five hours of glaciers, wildlife, and perfect beauty. Emmy felt simultaneously energized and peaceful.
They stood and walked to the front rail, the three of them shoulder to shoulder, watching the stars wheel overhead.
“The lab starts construction in four days,” Emmy said quietly. “They want to break ground before it gets too cold. Gareth says it should be mostly finished by the time we return from Mordnik.”
“And then you start saving the world,” Spence said with a smile.
“Just the condors. And maybe some cattle. The world can wait.”
Zander’s arm wrapped around her waist. “You’ve already changed your world. Our world. Made it better just by being in it.”
Through the bond, Emmy felt his sincerity, his fierce pride in what she’d accomplished.
And she remembered the Emmy she’d been when she arrived — broke, desperate, and rebellious as fuck. Also, a little broken. Learning that money could stop flowing, and what that meant, had been a hard lesson.
She looked between her men. Zander’s cool ancient presence, Spence’s warm steady strength. These two men, and the life she lived with them … it was what she’d been chasing her whole life without knowing it.
She had everything.
Her research — with results that mattered, that would make a difference.
Her men who loved her, challenged her, and held her steady.
Her future stretching for centuries or longer, and everything she might figure out in that time. So much science out there to figure out.
Her family, both biological and chosen, the rifts healed and relationships rebuilt.
The Dragon King’s and Swan Queen’s oldest daughter had finally found her place.
In the distance, an orca breached, its massive body arcing out of the water before crashing back with a spray. The primal sound echoed across the bay, and Emmy breathed in the cold, salty air.
Emmy stood between her men and felt their threesome as a triangle. Ice, fire, and the foundation that held them both.
Three points, three lines, unbreakable geometry.
“We need a selfie,” Zander said, “So we remember this moment.”
Zander detested selfies. For him to initiate one was unheard of, and Emmy realized he felt the same as her, in this moment.
Emmy and Spence smiled for the selfie while Zander only looked into the camera, so she telepathed Spence, Serious face. No smile.
They took another, and then, when the three laughed at Emmy and Spence copying Zander, she touched Zander’s phone to take a third pic, with all three laughing.
“Whatever comes next,” Zander said softly, “we face it together.”
“Always together,” Spence agreed.
Emmy looked up at the stars, at the aurora dancing pink and red on the northern horizon, at the dark water reflecting infinite light.
“Always,” she promised.
And meant it with every fiber of her dragon soul.
The future was theirs.
And Emerald Drake, reluctant heir to the dragon throne, had made a life in Alaska with two men she loved all the way to infinity and back.
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