Chapter Six
Ziam
The air is cool and wet. My long toes dig deep into the low foliage that grows in the forest behind our home. I’m looking for crimple roots. Dried, they make a wonderful tea for slow winter mornings. Though that coffee that Pack Traex barters is delightful too.
I spot the light blue, feathery leaves of a crimple root and I squat to dig it up.
As I tuck it into a pocket of my foraging apron, I catch sight of some ferczen berries.
It’s a bit late in the season for them, and I have a stash drying in the larder, but another bush’s worth would be good for trading.
I start to pluck the large, swollen fruits from the plant.
Just as I’m finishing up, my handheld buzzes. I frown. I forgot to leave it at the house. I don’t like being disturbed. I ignore it and continue on my search for crimple roots.
But then it vibrates again.
And again.
Sighing, I dig it out of my sweater pocket. My eyes quickly run down the messages, and my mouth drops open.
“Zatura,” I whisper, rereading.
I turn and run towards the house.
IT IS EXACTLY ONE DAY later.
One day since our pack’s life turned upside down: our omega will soon be joining us. I’m watching out the kitchen window as I nervously grind tristal seeds.
This kitchen is my favorite place in the entire star system. I was lucky enough to match with Atiox and Lux just as they were designing the pack home. We clicked immediately, and before the traditional seven outings were even over, I was improving upon their planned kitchen.
This is my space. With the huge larder, organized preserved foods that I can harvest, the chilling unit, and the large stove and oven, in addition to a small hearth I can also cook in.
The kitchen’s stone walls are cool in the sun season, cool enough that I can still bake in the mornings without it being uncomfortable.
And in the winter, I make cookies every day—now that we have our own sweetener operation here in Setias—to get the chill out of the space.
The transport pod turns the last corner of the forest and enters the clearing right where the river bends in towards the house. I put down my pestle hurriedly and wipe my hands on my apron as I head for the door.
I get there just as the pod stops. I press a hand to it, and the lid flips open. Grabbing the three folders, I shut the lid firmly. The pod automatically slides backwards, turning and heading back to the city.
I hustle back to the kitchen, placing the folders on the table even as I call, “Endral!”
I grab the one labeled “Endral Charax.” That’s me.
Inside is a large, slender bound book with “Care and Feeding of Humans” across the front.
I ignore it and grab the brief just as Ati and Lux skid into the kitchen.
“Is it the packets?” Lux asks, unable to see around Atiox’s broad chest. She steps around him.
They snatch theirs, flipping them open.
“A human!” Lux crows.
I know she was hoping for a human. I smile, placing a hand on her lower back.
“A female,” Ati adds.
I slide the thick animation sheet forward and press my thumb to it. The tiny three-dimensional holograms appear, turning slowly. They look like gray, faceless versions of the two human omegas already here at Setias.
“So odd, no tail,” Ati mutters.
“I imagine it makes knotting their holes easier,” Lux says lowly.
My cock stirs. I am so ready to discover what a human omega’s pussy and ass feel like.
The animations start to mate and we watch intently.
“Seems very similar,” Atiox offers.
“His hand,” I say, pointing. “Why is it focused there?” I grab my manual, flipping quickly, hoping for detailed diagrams. Indeed, I find one of a human female.
Ati had spoken to Pack Gathea; apparently they had spoken with the Concord office to get more details added, having found the manuals insufficient.
My eyes skim, and I rotate it for my pack mates. “An external pleasure center, how odd.”
“I cannot wait!” Atiox yells, his deep gray eyes meeting mine. “Two sleeps! Then she’s ours!”
“Shit,” Lux swears, “We are going to need smaller sitting places for her!”
“Oh, Zatura,” Atiox breathes, “How did we forget that!?”
Yesterday, we had ordered a varied array of nesting materials and knotting preparation supplies, including trainers. I’d also been cooking basically since I’d found out, putting things in the cold cellar for when we need an easy meal.
Atiox is near panicking. My tail curls around his in a tight spiral as I know helps center him. “She can sit on one of our laps for a few rotations if needed,” I reassure him. “Let’s grab the request comm and get things ordered. But it will be alright, Ati.”
He smiles at me as his breathing slows.
“Besides,” Lux adds, “I want her horizontal as much as possible.”
We chuckle.
“I need to study,” I say, picking up my manual. “It sounds like, from what Traex and Gathea said, that humans can eat most of what we usually do. But still...”
They both nod. But Lux adds, “Come, let’s sit by the fire. I imagine we all want to read our folders.”
“We can snuggle,” Ati adds needlessly.
I grin at them.
They’re perfect. And an omega will only make our life more perfect.