Chapter Nineteen
Ziam
We’re all snuggled on the couch, well into our wine and dinner, when Atiox’s handheld pings. He sighs and digs it out.
Instead of tapping out a quick reply, he stands, carefully tucking the blankets around Octavia. She peers at him through the thick-framed glasses, silent.
He crosses to the far wall and opens the built-in cabinet with the information processing system.
As he sits, powering up the large screen, Tavi straightens, peering to watch him intently.
Eventually, she goes back to her book, but only for a moment.
I set down my handheld, where I had been reading a human cookbook that I had had the Office of Integration get for me.
Spaghetti seems totally doable if I substitute plump rock fern fruit for tomatoes and make the pasta from tristl.
Octavia stands, and the blanket falls off her as she grabs for it. She gazes at it for a moment, glances around, and decides to do without it. I bite my lip in an attempt to be silent and not purr for my emboldened little omega.
She crosses to Ati and I note the blue base of the trainer peeking out from between her cheeks. I look to Lux and see her silently fixated on our Octavia as well.
She stands next to Ati and his hand reaches out, cautiously wrapping around her waist.
In response, she settles upon his knee.
Lux and I exchange happy glances.
“The techs in Figate are again refuting my numbers, saying the data doesn’t back up the number of outages.”
Her short hair tilts to the side as she looks at the screen through the glasses. “Do they not have access to the same database?”
“They do,” Ati growls, “But they don’t seem to care enough to reference it.”
She huffs, annoyance clear. “You said there are some outages in the sun season too?”
He nods, his large hand gentle on her hip.
“Well, lazy fuckers,” she grumps adorably, “We’ll just gather the data for them.”
She leans forward, studying the keyboard before her fingers hover over. She clicks away, slow but steady, her head dropping to look at the letters here and there.
“Also, Atiox,” Octavia says in a steady voice, “I need you to get me some more info about the power structures and capturing methods that are available on this planet.”
Ati throws a glance at us over his shoulder. I shrug.
“Yes, omega,” he purrs softly.
EVENTUALLY, WE COAX Octavia from the processing unit.
She was getting frustrated, I could tell.
Whether it was her ‘slow’ typing, which she cursed the names of those poor four men a few times about, or the singular ‘bullshit’ response from Figate that she received, I’m unsure.
But my omega was getting riled up, and that put the three of us on edge.
“I’m just saying,” she grumps as I pull her gently from the chair that Ati had let her take over, “they couldn’t code their way out of a wet paper bag.”
But suddenly, a yawn hits her. I watch her flat teeth as she does so, and it causes me to yawn. When I look back to her, she’s smiling warmly at me.
“I guess it’s pretty late, huh?” she asks, looking at the large windows. The river is barely visible in the dim light.
“I was thinking,” Octavia rushes the words out and I feel my packmates perk up, “I was thinking that a snuggle might be nice.”
A pause and we nod. But she continues, voice tiny, “In the nest.”
Silence.
Thunderous purrs erupt from us all, and Lux and Ati stand immediately.
“Yes,” I say, pulling her towards the stairs.
She giggles. “Just snuggles, just snuggles!”
Ati scoops her off her feet, burying his nose in her hair. “Anything you want, wedari. Anything.”
OCTAVIA IS SET GENTLY down in the doorway. She steps inside, lamps on but covered adorably with fabric, giving the room a calm green shade. Her nest looks perfect: warm, cozy, safe.
She climbs in, nude and settles herself, pulling a very soft looking peach blanket over her body. Ati crosses the room and drops to his knees. I can almost feel the desire, not sexual desire, but the need to comfort, to be close to our omega, flowing off him.
“You can enter the nest,” Tavi breathes, eyes wide and expectant.
We all purr as one, again, as our omega seems to draw out of us, all the time.
Ati climbs in first. He has been bare chested all evening, and I watch Tavi stare at him.
Lux and I step to the nest and climb over the raised edge.
We do not remove any clothing; we do not want Octavia to think we will not honor her request.
Her face gentles, seeing us all, as the moment is quiet, crystalline.
Ati lays down next to her, and she smiles, spreading her blanket over him.
Lux nudges me with her tail to Tavi’s other side, and I move slowly, giving her time to object.
But my omega says nothing as I curl around her body, my chest to her back, my tail curling over her calf.
Lux lays across Ati’s chest, her hand landing over his nipple, but not playing.
Just resting. Octavia’s little hand sneaks out, slowly, across Atiox’s chest. He seems to be holding his breath.
And she takes Lux’s hand, lacing their fingers together, both touching Ati.
I purr louder. “The best cuddle puddle,” I rumble, my eyes closing in the happy, warm atmosphere. The scents of my mates, the sugared floral, the zesty aroma of Lux, the sweet, toasted smell of Ati, all mix together and my heart swells with pride. My pack.
I DON’T KNOW IF I DOZE, or if I simply am bespelled by the energy and merely lost track of time. But I come back to myself as Octavia wiggles.
We all pull back a bit, as we had been pretty smothering.
“I’m tired,” she whispers, “But this has been wonderful. Hopefully, we can do it again soon?”
We all make complacent sounds, removing ourselves as slowly as possible. We each kiss Octavia on the mouth, her pussy wetting even at the short, but intense, kisses.
It takes a lot of work to fight my instincts and leave the room. But we all do, linking tails as we shut the door to the nest.
“She is trusting us,” Lux purrs as we head down to Ati’s room.
“It’s intoxicating,” Ati responds.
“It’s perfect,” I add.