Chase (5 page)

"Have you ever had sex with an Oefric? They are pretty fabulous, too." She sighed in memory.

"Shapeshifters who can control every inch of them? I should say so." Ylsa winked. "So, you will consider Mkara?"

"I will. This isn't your regular job, is it?"

Ylsa laughed. "Caught on to that, did you? Your men didn't want anyone from another species to put in a good word."

"That sounds like them. They have waited for the right woman for a while. Apparently, they had as hard a time finding a match as I did." She propped her head on her fist. "Is there somewhere I can sleep?"

Seeker Ylsa winced. "You haven't been to sleep yet?"

"I think I nodded off during my internal exam, but they were too polite to tell me."

"You can use my quarters. I have some of the dignitary space." Ylsa stood, her robes flowing around her. "Come along and get some restful sleep."

"Fine, but wake me up if we pull up to Mkara. I don't want to sleep through my arrival at my new home." She grinned, but she knew that her eyes were lined by huge bags.

They walked together to Ylsa's quarters. Nenita was pretty sure that she was unconscious before her head hit the pillow.

Nenita woke to strong hands lifting her into stronger arms. "Come along, Nenita. It is time to see your new home."

Drioth smiled down at her while Hexar lifted the small duffel she had been given. They carried her out to the observation deck and watched the bulk of Mkara approach. Blues, purples, greens, browns, greys and whites all fought for supremacy on the surface.

"The Oefric colony is in that valley right there." Hexar pointed and the screen enlarged, showing a small town with neat roads and neater houses.

"It's very pretty, also very small. A nice small town." She smiled sleepily.

"A nice small town and your new home. Welcome to Mkara, Nenita." Droith pressed a kiss to her temple and then they were off to the shuttlecraft.

Chapter Eight

Nenita was unsure and that was not a usual state for her. Ahzar, the head of the Oefric colony, was asking her to remain at his home until Hexar and Drioth could work out living arrangements for all three of them.

"It will be more comfortable for you to remain at my domicile while your men and others from the colony set up a home for you." Ahzar was serving tea and he smiled kindly at her.

It was terribly odd to be served a cup of tea by a man who was still enough of a warrior to control a group of unruly men, keeping them in line and organizing the growth of their colony.

His wife and young daughter were also in the home, making it less of a peculiar thing for her to stay with them.

"How long do you anticipate it will take for them to get the house set up?"

Ahzar nibbled on one of the sandwiches his wife had prepared and delivered, leaving them to their conversation with a slow wink and a swish of her skirts. "Ten days or so. The kits are in colony storage. They simply need to get them out of the warehouse and prepare the construction site. Your men have the advantage in that they have an entire force at their command. I believe they are already out on the edge of town marking off the property."

"What about the security of the colony?" Nene nibbled at a pastry.

Ahzar looked a little sheepish, "With your presence here, the Alliance will now guard Mkara much more closely. It isn't why we wanted you here, but it is a lovely bonus."

She chuckled. "That explains the shuttle and fighter ships when we landed. How large is the force?"

"Over a hundred. We are quite pleased with it. The Azon, Wyoran and Oefric peoples here will all bear the expense of maintaining them. We do it gladly."

She fidgeted. "Is there nowhere I can stay on my own? I am not really used to being a houseguest."

"It isn't appropriate. We have many more males than females here and it is too much of a temptation to have you running around loose."

"I am not that much of a temptation. I have made it this far in life without stumbling into men, why would strangers start now?"

Ahzar sighed. He had the look of a father about to have
the talk
with his daughter. "When a woman is agreeable to one Oefric man, she is very susceptible to be attractive to others of our species. Your pheromones change."

She blinked before laughing. "I see, so I am giving out a come-and-get-me vibe?"

He scrubbed one hand through his tidy hair. "Something like that. If you go out, take Hista or Vikya with you and you will be fine."

"So, your wife or daughter will throw them off?"

He sighed again. "Yes. They won't misbehave in front of a mated woman or a young one."

"Interesting. I suppose a colony run by scent is something I will have to get used to." She mulled over her next words. "What will I be doing here?"

He looked surprised and bought himself some time by eating another sandwich. "I suppose you will be able to choose your occupation. What did you do on the station?"

She grimaced. "I was a flight mechanic."

"Ah. Well, I am sure there is something for you to do around the colony."

"I am a master of getting things unstuck. It's my defining talent. Finding the right thing and the right spot."

"Perhaps you would like to participate in the manufacture of your home then? It seems that your skills may be of use in that venue." Hista piped up from the doorway where she had been lurking in the shadows.

Her husband scowled. "I don't think it would be appropriate."

"She barely knows them, Ahzar, and they her. Building together would be ideal." His wife stood behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders while she met Nenita's gaze.

"Could you take me to the site, Hista?"

"Of course." Her golden eyes twinkled. Her black hair was braided into a halo and with a sudden snap of logic and a flash of talent, Nenita knew she was looking at the woman who would be her sister-in-law.

"I believe we will wait until we finish the snack. Please bring Vikya here so that we can share a meal before you take our guest out for hard labour." Ahzar knew that he had lost and Hista brought her ten-year-old daughter in to sit and join in the conversation.

It was a nice afternoon with Ahzar pouring tea and Vikya peppering Nenita with questions about life on a space station.

"…and then there was the day that the gravity engines stopped. Everything was everywhere and we couldn't restart the gravity until we got the folks off the ceiling in the arboretum."

"Nene, what happened then? How did you get them down?"

Vikya was looking at her with wide eyes, but it was Hista who asked the question.

"I think the answer will have to wait for another day. I want to see the plot that the men have picked out. Hista, would you take me?"

"Of course, Nene. Did you want to change into standard colony togs or remain in your jumpsuit?"

"I will keep to the jumpsuit." She stood and bowed to Ahzar and Vikya. "Let's get out there before I need to rip their efforts back to nothing."

"Good point." Hista linked her arm with Nenita's and led her out of the house and past dozens of other neat homes. Each had room for a kitchen garden and a small yard. Hista's house was larger, but she was wed to the head of the colony council. It made sense.

They walked to the edge of the growing town and Hista tugged her down a small dirt lane. When they turned past a tall hedge, Nene stopped and gasped. A massive pile of lumber took up a good section of a huge lot and an army of men were flattening and clearing the ground.

Hista grinned, "I am thinking that it will be less than a week."

"I would say so." Her talent was going bonkers, pointing out errors in the grade that were corrected before she had a chance to say a thing.

All of the men were working shirtless and based on Hista's knowing grin, it was an appreciated view by all of those watching. Nene stifled a smirk when she noticed the gathering of women in the shade, sipping beverages and watching construction.

"Shall we join them?" Hista quirked her brow.

"Not quite yet. I want to talk to Hexar and Drioth before they build me a palace."

Hista nodded and wandered off to join the observers while Nenita turned and walked into the phalanx of sweaty, swearing men.

She found Drioth and surprised him when she tapped him on the shoulder. "I need you and the other one."

Arms wrapped her from behind and lips nuzzled her neck. "The other one? Not very flattering."

She walked with them to the edge of the lot and turned to face them. They both looked so proud of themselves.

"What the heck are you building?"

They looked hurt. "A home for you and us. It has to be twice as big as the others because it will hold twice as many people." Drioth's logic was unassailable.

"Couldn't you have started small and left room for expansion? I get the feeling folks will be expecting me to have triplets or something." She bit her lower lip and looked to the crowd of workers who were staring at them as they spoke.

"Ignore them. We want to start so that you are completely comfortable and have everything that you need right from the beginning."

She smiled and went up on her toes, kissing Hexar softly on the lips before turning to Drioth to do the same. "I already have everything I need to start a life here. Now, can we discuss the grade of the foundation?"

She was sandwiched in a hug that covered her ship suit with sweat. Oddly enough, it ranked in her top-ten favourite hugs in her lifetime.

Chapter Nine

Jikya walked in front of her, Hista slightly behind her daughter while Ahzar held Nenita's arm and approached the grooms waiting at the end of the pathway. She kissed each of her suitors on the cheek and knelt with one on either side to wait for the official to begin the ceremony.

Nenita hummed happily to herself as she waited for the wedding to get underway. Their house was ready and she only had to sneak into the raw construction phase twice to change the positions of the bearing walls.

The ladies of the colony had embroidered her dress and Hexar's and Drioth's shirts while they watched the house go up.

The official tried to combine as many Terran traditions as she could and what ended up happening was that they had hours of silent meditation with an occasional exchange of vows and declarations.

Nenita was in a happy cloud as the celebration began. The colony loved a good party and with the co-operation they had already received in building, their union was attended by everyone just to confirm their efforts were worth it.

Games began, shifting contests that worked out fastest time and best mimicry.

"How are you enjoying the games, Nenita?"

"We are married now, Drioth, call me Nene."

He inclined his head. "Nene then. How are you enjoying the competitions?"

"I have had the pleasure of seeing two multi-shifters up close, so this is a pale imitation."

Hexar grinned. "It is practice and a method for the younger members of the community to strut their stuff."

"Why are there no women competing?"

They both blushed. "While female Oefric can and do shift at will, they don't disrobe in public. It is a peculiarity of our society."

She laughed at the shy note in Hexar's tone. "Hista used to give you hell for that, didn't she?"

"And my other two sisters. They hated not being able to compete. They were highly competitive and always ran shifting trials at home. As soon as they became grown women, they had to stop and resented the hell out of it."

"I can see why. It would kill me to stop using my talent. It is as much a part of me as my hands and feet." She smiled at the colony elder who stopped by to give them a gift and his well wishes.

"We understand that, but having a female near oestrus shifting into an animal in front of a crowd tests our control beyond bearing." Drioth's dry observation had her lips quirking.

"Okay, that is a fair point. It isn't really something for public consumption."

"Hence the rules against it. It is something that is merely recommended to the females, not enforced." Hexar perked up as music started at the far end of the square.

Drioth kissed the back of her hand. "Hexar wants to dance. He's a dancing fool."

Her other husband grinned. "He's right. Shall we?"

"I haven't danced in years. Are you prepared?"

"I will deal with it." He hauled her to her feet and out from behind the head table onto the dance floor.

She was swung against him with a thud that got the collection of Oefric laughing and Hexar's foolish grin made all the silliness worthwhile. The dance was a cross between a waltz and the tango and Hexar was a wonderful instructor.

Nenita found herself laughing as she was whirled and spun around the dance floor, around other couples who dodged the wedding couple with good humour. When Drioth joined them, they took turns whirling her around until she was laughing so hard, she needed to sit down.

The third moon of Mkara was bright and full. All around the gathering, couples were sneaking off to take advantage of the bright light and the summer warmth.

Weak and smiling like a fool, Nenita slumped against her mates and sighed. "When are you going to take me home?"

Before she could blink, they swung her up so that she was sitting on an arm from each of them and the other arms formed a backrest. "You guys worked this out, didn't you?"

They laughed, Drioth grinned. "We had some time while we were assembling the house. We worked out all number of logistics."

Her face turned hot pink as they carried her past the villagers and toward their home. It was time to start their honeymoon.

The bed that they had created was enormous. All three of them could fit on it quite comfortably and that alone made her pause.

"What?"

"Logistics. While each of us has a room for a study, to sleep, we will be joined here." Drioth grinned at her with a wink.

They sat her on the edge of the bed and took off their clothing. Anticipation started pounding in her veins as memories started running through her in waves.

Her dress was one long piece, laced into place under her arms. A vaguely medieval design, she was very pleased with it. It was pretty but easy enough to move around in.