Page 67 of Bought and Shared
“We’ve mated,” I say, knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt it’s true.
“Yes, Materi, we have,” Oren contentedly agrees. “And somehow I love you now even more than I did five minutes ago.”
Knox grunts and adds in a sleepy voice, “It’s the same for me. It must be our bond reaching across the link. It’s multiplying our love times three.”
I smile a dreamy expression and rest on Knox while Oren slowly lowers onto his forearms, capturing me between my two perfect men while we wait together for their knots to release. I reach out, stroking both of my mates’ arms. “I love you, too. Always and forever.”
EPILOGUE
One year later…
Aurora
“It’s here!” I shout, ecstatic over the mail.
Tearing it open, I scan the contents and begin jumping up and down.
Oren runs in from the kitchen and frowns. “Are you sure you should be jumping up and down like that, Mate? It seems unsafe,” he lectures, rubbing the bump on my belly.
I roll my eyes. “It’s fine. He’s not going to fall out.”
“Still,” Oren huffs, ever overprotective of our unborn child, “One can never be too careful.”
I roll my eyes as Knox enters the room. “What’s all the commotion about?”
He’s just gotten out of the shower and he’s wrapped in nothing but a towel. His body, a work of art, is on full display and I nearly forget the letter I’m holding.
“It came today,” I say a bit breathlessly, waving the piece of paper at them. “I got it!”
Forgetting his towel, Knox drops it and drags me into his arms. He begins kissing me all over and I squeal with joy. I don’t even have to tell him what’s inside. They know. Between our bond and my constant searching of the mail for an approval letter, they know exactly what I’m referring to.
Oren takes his turn hugging and kissing me as Knox retrieves his towel and sadly wraps it back around his waist.
“I’m so proud of you, Kitten,” Oren whispers into my ear, his embrace like home to me.
When he lets go, I step back and exhale. “I can’t believe it. I’m so excited. It says I start my new job on Monday.”
Oren, using some of his clout around the base, was able to secure funding for a new program at Fort Kent. It will allow experienced women like me to act as public relations ambassadors between the new draftees and their Voltan masters. Having lived through the terror and humiliation of the Voltan process and emerged from it happier than I ever could have hoped, I’m honored and thrilled to do anything I can to help make the transition easier and less frightening for the draftees.
To put it mildly, I’m ecstatic. Between my new job, the college courses I’m taking, my mates, and the baby growing inside of me, I have enough joy and happiness swelling in my heart to make my chest burst.
Even the kidnapping attempt by my family last summer feels like a distant memory. Knox has told me he’s personally taken care of Micah and that he’ll never have another chance to hurt me again. I don’t bother to ask why that is because I don’t want to know the details.
Currently, after a whole year, my family and former community are still under investigation due to their part in my kidnapping. It seems even governments ruled by aliens are bureaucratic nightmares when it comes to getting things done.
Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about my father for the time being. He’s been brought in both for the kidnapping and to discuss, for a long time, his part in the rebellion. Though the odious man is vehemently denying everything, he has become an indefinite formal “guest” of the state. Unfortunately, this, I’m told, has made him a martyr in the eyes of his community, and Oren fears keeping him imprisoned will only lead to more human dissent in the future. His upcoming trial, at which I will testify, will settle that matter once and for all.
What makes me most upset is my inability to talk to my mother and tell her about the baby. She detests the Voltan so much, I fear she will reject my child even if she is informed. That is something I would never be able to forgive.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for you to go to work,” Knox teases me with a smile. “Maybe we should rethink this position, Mate.”
I playfully slap his shoulder. “Stop it! You know how much I’ve been looking forward to this job.”
Knox tugs on the sleeve of my dress, which is one of my own choosing, now that we’re fully mated. “Well, you’re going to haveto promise to still make time for Oren and me once you start working on base.”
“You know I will,” I tell them, standing on my tip toes and giving them both light kisses on the lips.
Knox and Oren share a challenging look before staring back at me. I decide they must need a demonstration to be convinced of my sincerity.
Sliding the straps of my dress one at a time over my shoulders, I turn toward my mates and say, “Why don’t you gentlemen follow me, and I’ll show you exactly how much time and energy I have for the both of you.”
Knox and Oren both grin big and trail willingly behind me in a unified response. Giggling, I run into my bedroom, knowing they’ll follow me wherever I go.
The End