Page 47 of Where the Shadows Land (Garden of Hope #1)

EPILOGUE

ASTORIA

A storia watched the first sunrise of spring, wrapped in a blanket and cradled against Mairuk’s chest. The warm, golden light of dawn painted the sky in an array of pastel hues.

The once barren land between the garden walls and the forest now grew wild plants of all kinds.

Bastian’s preferred route tamped down a path, and he ran down it now, searching for his breakfast. Though much of the growth remained in winter’s lingering slumber, green buds and new leaves sprouted with the promise of new life.

“Are you certain?” Mairuk asked, breaking the silence between them.

“Yes. I’m ready to start trying, if you are.

” Astoria fidgeted with the hem of the blanket, unable to meet the three pink eyes that burned into her skin with the concern she felt reverberating through their bond.

“There are no promises, though. I might not be able to have another, but we can try. If you want.”

“Astoria,” Mairuk whispered. “We are honored to take this chance with you. It does not matter to us if the child grows within you or if we spawn them in the dirt. You are ours and we are yours. However they arrive, the offspring we have will be lucky to call you their mother.”

“I’m still scared. There’s so much that could go wrong. I don’t want to get your hopes up if…” Astoria swallowed hard, her tears blurring her vision.

“We have no expectations. We will stop taking the berries and see what happens. If come next spring nothing has taken root, we can try spawning into the dirt.”

“Human birth is complicated and dangerous and I—”

“There are human midwives in Bounoss. If there are none available, then we will find a sage.” Mairuk rubbed their hands across her shoulders. “We can visit the city once the time comes, alright?”

“Alright,” Astoria said.

Mairuk leaned down and kissed her, slow and deep.

Astoria wrapped her arms around their neck, her skin prickling in the cool air without the warmth of the blanket.

Without breaking the kiss, Mairuk lifted her in their arms and walked.

Astoria pulled away, the buzz of their kiss tingling against her lips. “Where are you taking me?”

“You wanted to start trying, did you not?” Mairuk purred. “We have yet to take the berries this morning. Why not get an early start?”

“You insatiable beast!” Astoria giggled.

“Only for you, love. Always for you.” Mairuk captured her lips with theirs again, and Astoria melted against them.

Her fingers reached up into their gills and stroked through them.

Mairuk groaned against her lips, their speed picking up.

They rushed past the gate and into the cottage so fast it made her dizzy.

Her back hit the bed and Mairuk pulled back, tossing the blanket she covered herself with off to the side.

Their hands roamed over her body to the hem of her sleep dress.

They broke the kiss to lift the dress from her body.

Their eyes burned into her skin as they took in the sight of her.

Every time they looked at her, pure adoration shimmered through the bond they shared.

Mairuk returned to her lips and removed their pants.

The moment their olctae were free, their arousal dripped across her thighs and stomach.

Each splatter buzzed against her skin and stoked her need higher.

Mairuk sank to their knees and kissed down her body. Their rough palms squeezed her chest, the soft fat of her stomach, then her thick thighs. “You are so beautiful, Astoria. Every time we see you naked, we are reminded again how lucky we are that you are ours.”

Warmth flooded Astoria’s chest from both their influence and compliments. Both were things she never tired of. She ran her hands through their silky gills and hummed. “I love you.”

“Let us show you how much we love you.” Mairuk spread her thighs wide, put her legs over their shoulders, then dove into her cunt and feasted on her.

Their long, textured tongue scraped against her inner walls as they devoured her.

Each twist and flick pushed her deeper under their influence and closer to pleasure.

Their tongue flicked over her clit, and her hips jerked.

A sharp, strangled gasp left her when they did it a second time.

Every slow, torturous lick they made across her clit dragged pleasure from her until she was a panting, gasping mess.

Mairuk kept her hovering right over the edge, an expert at bending her body to their command.

Their tongue rolled inside her, scraped over her clit, then repeated the process again.

“I want to come, please!” Astoria begged, her words high pitched and tight.

“No,” Mairuk said in her mind. “You will not come until you have both our cocks in your pretty little cunt. You can wait, can’t you?”

Astoria’s mind blanked out. Mairuk had never denied her release when she asked for it. Most often, she had to beg her monster to stop. She whined and rolled her hips, but Mairuk pulled back and tutted at her. “If you are unable to behave yourself, vixen, we will have to tie you down. ”

A strangled moan shot out of her when Mairuk dove back in.

They sunk two of their thick fingers into her tight pussy, stretching her wide.

Their lips wrapped around her clit and they curled their fingers up, rubbing the place inside her that always stole her breath.

“You can’t tell me not to come, and do that ! ”

Mirth seeped into the bond, and Mairuk doubled their efforts.

Astoria fisted the sheets below her, doing everything she knew to hold the pleasure back.

Mairuk’s expert touch kept her teetering on the edge, always pulling back just before the wave crested.

Each time they brought her to the precipice, they pushed her peak higher.

There wasn’t room for air in her lungs around the pleasure.

Her clit throbbed under Mairuk’s tongue.

Her inner walls fluttered at the same rapid pace of her heart around their writhing fingers.

Wetness coated their hand, the evidence of her need so obvious each stroke sent wet sounds ringing through the air.

The longer Mairuk edged her, the less coherent her thoughts became. Astoria shook with need, each cry strangled and breathless as they masterfully played her body. Her heartbeat thrummed in her ears and her back arched, desperate for the release they denied her again and again.

Mairuk pulled back, their eyes bright with desire.

Their fingers slipped from her pussy and they fed them to her.

Astoria greedily sucked each one, savoring the taste of herself on their skin.

Her body trembled with pent up need. Every gentle stroke of their fingers over her skin sent new jolts of pleasure through her.

They lifted her higher onto the bed and settled in the space between her legs.

“You are doing so well, vixen. We are proud of how well you are listening to us.” Mairuk spread her lower lips and moaned, lining their tethered shafts up with her entrance. “Are you ready for your reward, vixen? ”

“Yes! Please fuck me! Please!” Astoria spread her legs wide and arced her body upwards, brushing her soaked slit over their weeping shafts.

Mairuk pushed inside her cunt, sinking deep in one solid thrust. Static filled her ears and scattered any thoughts that tried to form. All that existed was Mairuk, their cocks, their hands, and their voice in her ears. Nothing but them mattered.

Holding her release back grew more difficult the further they sank inside her. The combined thickness of both their shafts was so immense she couldn’t breathe. The burn of the stretch bordered on too much, but Mairuk gave her time to acclimate.

Their kastae found her clit. The small, vibrating tendrils cradled it within the opening and sucked hard.

Her control shattered. No matter how much she wanted to, there was no way she could hold back under the suction of the kastae .

The world went white. The only thing she registered was her distant, blissful scream of pleasure.

Mairuk’s thrusts never ceased. Each deep roll of their hips pulled more from her bones.

All she understood was bliss. Her release was so intense, she floated in it.

Mairuk’s touch and gentle words in her mind were the only thing that grounded her as she rode the ever-cresting wave.

Her vision returned, fuzzy through her tears. The pleasure and influence of Mairuk in her mind deepened the haze. Her fingers dug into their arms, her breaths coming out in gasping pants. Mairuk kissed her softly. “There you are, love. Breathe with us, in and out.”

Astoria obeyed and followed Mairuk’s deep, slow breaths. Their hand trailed down her side and squeezed her hip. “That’s right, you listen so well.”

“Mairuk!” Astoria panted.

“Look at you, taking both our cocks in your pretty little cunt and coming so beautifully for us. What a good little human,” Mairuk praised, their voice soft and rich against her neck. “We have you, our lovely little vixen. Keep coming for us, and we will fill you all the way up. ”

“Please!” Astoria cried.

“We will give you what you need,” they groaned. “You will take every drop of our spore, won’t you?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Mairuk pounded her hard, and Astoria came again .

She tensed and shook as she fell apart. Their thrusts grew shallower as they rooted within her.

Each time they pulled back just enough to tug on the roots, then they pushed deep enough the shove all the air out of her lungs.

Again and again, they rocked inside her.

They rolled a nipple between their fingers, their other hand holding firm on her hip.

Astoria lost herself to the pleasure. The feel of their skin against hers, the way her entire being vibrated from their influence.

Everything was so hypersensitive, even the softest brush of their textured skin against hers sent her higher.

Mairuk’s stunning pink eyes stole her attention, the way their neck tilted back with their pleasure just enough to send her over another peak.

Mairuk growled, their short thrusts getting more and more forceful as they rocked inside her.

Their growl deepened when the caps of their tethered shafts spread and rooted inside her walls, locking them together.

Their thick, cool spore shot deep inside her.

Each thick spurt melted her mind, and she came apart around them again.

“That’s right, vixen. Squeeze every drop of our release out of us.

Take it all, you have earned it,” Mairuk praised, their voice low and rich in her mind.

“Fuck, that’s it. Get bred, little human.

We will stay like this and not let a single drop of our spore escape you.

We will breed you like this all rutting season, and we will not hold back.

You will stay so full of our come every step you take, whatever your poor, battered human body cannot hold will drip down your thighs. ”

“Mairuk! ”

“We love it when you scream for us. Do it again.” Mairuk rocked their hips, pulling slightly on the roots tethering them together.

“Mairuk! Fuck, I can’t!” Astoria clutched their arms in a white-knuckle grip. Her heart slammed so hard she thought it might burst out of her chest.

“Yes, you can. Come for us again.”

Between the deep authority in their voice and the forceful thrusts of their hips, Astoria was helpless to resist their command. She came around them once more with a high-pitched scream, and her world went dark.

Astoria came to wrapped up in a blanket and curled up on Mairuk’s chest. The moment they realized she was awake, Mairuk helped her sip from a cup of water. They rubbed gentle, soothing circles on her back as she drank the water, then she collapsed against them.

“Are you alright?” Mairuk asked. Concern fluttered through the bond and she felt them assess her from within.

Astoria giggled and nuzzled into their neck. “I’m more than alright. You made me come so hard I passed out.”

“You listened to us so well.” Mairuk kissed the top of her head and rocked her gently in their arms. “Do you need us to get you anything?”

“All I need is you.” Astoria settled her awareness into the bond they shared, embracing the unique intimacy of being with someone mind-to-mind and skin-to-skin.

“You have us, Astoria. Always. We are yours as much as you are ours until the end of our days.” Mairuk laid back in the bed, bringing Astoria with them. She melted against them, her mind still foggy with their influence and pleasure.

“I love you, Mairuk.”

“We love you too, Astoria.”

Astoria hummed, content in their arms. No matter what the future held, as long as Mairuk was by her side, she had all she needed.

They brought color back to her gray world and taught her how to hope again.

If she conceived or not, if other Ardeloks came to the village or if they lived alone for the rest of their days, it didn’t matter.

In their arms, she was safe and happy. In their arms, Astoria was home.