“Why does it feel like I should have roots?” 

My mouth felt loose as laffy taffy stretched out too much, my words coming out slurred and thin.

Shayn’s amusement colored the otherwise quiet morning. “You have two well-functioning feet.”

“I’m covered in sap…” 

… Which was probably the strangest thing to come out of my mouth since coming to this planet, but what could I do? My eyes dragged closed against my will, Devan’s arms so warm and strong around me.

“It will wash off,” Devan said, shifting me against his chest. “Here, don’t go to sleep just yet.”

“But will it wash off your fur?” I moaned, my head lolling on Devan’s shoulder.

“Shouldn’t you worry about something else other than his fur?” Malax’s irritation pricked my sleepy consciousness which had been so far occupied by the dreamlike haze left after the soulstone ritual.

“You’re just jealous Devan called dibs on carrying me,” I muttered. Maybe I felt a bit petty, after all. They were the ones who covered me in the sap in the first place and Malax had taken to it enthusiastically despite the audience of elders watching us. I was never going to forgive him for almost making me orgasm in front of a bunch of old cat aliens—including all three sets of their parents.

“Take it easy, ember. You went through a lot tonight.” Shayn’s voice was a lot nicer to listen to, smooth and calm like hot chocolate on a chilly night. He reached over Devan’s shoulder and brushed his hand over my hair, the one part of me not covered in sap.

I looked down at my chest, covered by a robe sticking to my skin uncomfortably. If this dried, they’d have to cut this robe off me. Shaking my head, I tried to focus.

“Will it scar, do you think?” 

“Probably not,” Devan said. “It didn’t scar on us.”

“So… um… you three are mates, right? Your soulstones went crazy for each other?” 

“It’s called resonation,” Malax muttered. “I hope no one hears her speaking gibberish.”

“It’s like duck o’clock in the morning,” I said, throwing my arms wide, nearly smacking Devan in the face. He wobbled as I threw us off balance, but quickly shifted me in his arms and kept walking towards our tree. “No one’s up but the birds.”

“And us,” Devan said.

“And the elders,” Shayn added.

“Anyway. You three resonated or whatever, right? So shouldn’t you have been good then?”

“What do you mean good?”

I covered a yawn and nuzzled into Devan’s chest. “Why did you have to do the mate hunt anyway? You’re already mates.”

“Well, there is one thing we can’t do,” Malax said. My eyes widened. But I swore they did do those things! Had I been hallucinating in the mating heat? Had I gone crazy with lust?

“Children,” Devan clarified.

“Ohhhhhh!”

Shayn, ever the responsible and reasonable one, explained for my poor, dazed brain. “That ceremony is part of the coming of age process. You find the person or persons whose soul complements yours, who cannot be an individual without you. Many pass that ceremony without finding a partner and they are individuals who only need themselves. I can count on three hands the number of partners are present in the dale currently. On the other hand, the mating ceremony is a rite to find your breeding mate.”

I squinted, not seeing anything inside the early morning darkness. “That doesn’t sound great…”

“It doesn’t?” Devan’s voice was full of surprise.

“Well, if it’s just for kids… you know, humans don’t have to go through all this. They choose a partner and then, um—” My jaw cracked on a huge yawn. “Am I still a tree?”

Shayn clucked his tongue in amusement. “The effect of the leaves will take some time to fade.”

I nuzzled Devan’s chest. “I feel like I have branches instead of arms.”

***

A bath was drawn on the deck and I laid back in the water, my branches—legs—stretched out and barely grazing the other end of the tub. My eyes closed as I laid my head back. “Ahh… time to photosynthesize.”

A hand brushed my hair behind my ear. “Don’t fall asleep yet.”

“Too late,” I murmured.

“I think you stunned poor Devan.” 

My eyes flickered open in surprise only to find Malax standing and shedding his kilt. “Uh, what? Why?” 

“Devan’s dreamed of finding his mate his whole life, as everyone else here does.” 

Malax’s muscles rippled as he bent to slide off his shoes and it was a good thing I wasn’t talking or else I would’ve been tongue-tied. It was even harder to pay attention to what he was saying, especially when he straightened and showed off his ripped chest and skin tapered waist, the sun high enough to give me a breathtaking view of every inch of him. 

If only he would turn around to show off that biteable ass—

“Autumn? Are you paying attention?”

The monster between Malax’s legs twitched under my gaze. “Um… what?”

“Am I boring you?” 

Malax’s cock bobbed into standing attention.

“Um…” I swallowed what little spit I had. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from that monster, barbs covering his length, the silky skin between them barely visible between rounded barbs that I knew would feel delicious inside me.

Malax’s cock suddenly moved—as did the rest of his body as he slung his leg over the side of the tub. 

“Wait—this is my bath!”

“And how are you going to wash yourself when you can’t even function?” Malax raised his eyebrows while he sunk into the water, sending me scrambling for the other end as his legs tangled with my branches—legs. He leaned back against the tub and offered a smug smirk. “I’ll wash you off.”

While I stuttered, he grabbed my waist and yanked me into his lap. I gripped the side of the tub before I could slam into his chest.

“Ow! Why are you so—” 

I stopped on a gasp when his cock slid between my lower lips. Stars blinded me. I shouldn’t be responding so quickly, so easily, but it was like my blood was boiling under my skin. I couldn’t help but rub against him, sparking more of those brilliant stars in my vision. What was this, some kind of side-effect of those leaves I ate?

His fingers pinched my waist. “Are you in heat, little ember?” he purred, sending a wicked tendril of lust straight to my aching clit.

“N-no.” Clenching my eyes shut didn’t keep back the rolling pleasure of the simple slide of his cock against me. “No, I just—”

“Desperate for me? And you were complaining about how I rubbed the sap on you earlier, too. Tsk, tsk. You shouldn’t be so contrary.”

“I’m not, ah!”

“I guess I should start cleaning you now…” his hands tickled up my ribbones before he cupped my breasts. “I think I’ll start here, what do you think?”

My head lolled back and I started to pant. “Is that sap some kind of aphrodisiac or something?”

“Do you take us as deviants?” The way he said it didn’t line up with how he was tweaking my nipples, making me squirm whole he smirked. “Do you think we think about vekking all the time? Looks to me like it’s you humans who do that.”

All this squirming was bringing me close to the edge. “Ah, Malax!”

“Look at you. I bet you’d be soaking wet outside this tub,” he said, eyes dark and swirling with arousal. “Do you want my cock, ember? Is that what you want? Do you want me to vek your hot cunt until you can’t breathe?”

“Oh, oh, god—”

He fisted his hand in my hair. “Don’t be thinking of other men now when it’s my cock you want.”

From the grip on my hair to the barbs sliding against my clit, I was overwhelmed and done for. I came, spasming on nothing, the ache leaving only bitterness behind.

“I want—” I grabbed hold of his wrist. “I need your cock.”

The heavy-lidded eyes of the tiger underneath me sparked. “Good,” he purred. “You’ll have it, princess.”

“I should’ve figured as much with you two out here.” Shayn’s amused statement was followed by Devan’s huff of annoyance.

A growl ripped out of my throat. I froze. Was that me? And why was Malax growling too?

It’d been a flash of the most annoyance I’d ever felt. But that wasn’t right. I expected Malax to growl, he hated to get interrupted when we had the rare moment of alone time, but why would I? Alone, together, it didn’t matter to me—I wanted all three of my princes.

I stared down at Malax’s annoyed frown. Why—

“Enough,” Malax said, dropping his hands to my hips and lifting me. I lost my train of thought when he notched his cock at my entrance and then gasped when he brought me down. “Ha!” His gasps echoed mine, jaw going slack as he filled me.

“Mal—”

Vicious satisfaction curled his lips. “That’s right, call my name to the dale.”

I grabbed his shoulders as his next thrusts sent me flailing into his chest. “Are you going to fuck me or gloat?”

His smile was blinding. “Both.”

Utter asshole—!

“Want to really get under his skin?” 

Fingers brushed my jaw, Devan turning me toward him with the simplest touch. Malax’s grip pinched my hips, but he couldn’t do anything but grit his teeth when Devan swooped down and stole my breath. Amusement and desire curled thickly within me, my toes curling against the tub, the sounds of water splashing fading while Devan’s tongue pierced my mouth. My touch left water drops on his bare chest, nails scratching against silky fur, and he leaned into me, pushing harder against my lips, drowning me.

Yet underneath that was an annoyance unlike anything I’d felt. A possessive, jealous feeling that shouldn’t have been there. I gasped as I pulled away from Devan, holding back a snarl that definitely wasn’t mine.

“What the hell—”

“Come here,” Malax growled, tugging me away from Devan, his mouth covering mine, tongue roughly pushing inside as if he was trying to erase the taste of Devan from my mouth. Malax could be a selfish lover on occasion, in the sense that he didn’t want to share, but this felt deeper, like I was sharing those same feelings. I groaned into his mouth while endorphins flowed into my body, digging my fingers into his hair and losing myself in the sensation of having him all to myself.

The friction was killing me. His stamina could last for ages when he wanted, but now he thrust into me desperately, digging into my hips, his barbs shockwaves of sensation demolishing my composure.

It built up unbearably and all I could do was hold on as he thrust deep, to the hilt, and suffocating pleasure overwhelmed me. My cunt spasmed around him, sucking him in greedily.

Malax finally lay still. Panting, hugging me, his forehead rested on my shoulder.

I took a few big gulps of fresh air, eyes closed, feeling like I’d been hit by a sledgehammer. “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know, why don’t we find out together?” Shayn said while he unwrapped my arms from around Malax and tugged me away. Vague stirrings of annoyance filtered through me while Malax fell back against the tub, but they were faint.

I stood, Malax’s cock slipping from me while he grunted. He looked up at me as water fell from my body, a small waterfall over his chest. “Princess,” he said, “you sucked me dry. Are you still hungry for more?”

Fuck. The fact that he could still talk dirty when he looked ready to smoke a cigarette and go to sleep made me shiver, and not from the cold air touching my wet skin.

“Hungry for our heat,” Shayn murmured, arms encircling me. “Let’s bring you inside to clean up. It seems your brute of a mate didn’t bother washing you properly.”

“I cleaned her thoroughly,” Malax growled while Shayn helped me out of the tub. 

I glanced back at him, mouth twitching. “He’s not lying.”

While Malax smirked in victory, Devan wrapped a fluffy towel around me, but it was his warmth I leaned into when he encircled me from behind.

“Mm, this feels nice.”

“Do you still think you’re growing roots?”

I wiggled my bare toes on the deck. “Hmm, maybe?”

He bent close to my ear. “Then how about we remind you of your legs, ember?”

Shayn watched us with glittering eyes. I couldn’t look away, even as my mouth curled. “By wrapping them around you?”

Devan slid his hand down my hip. “You know us too well.”

“I’m sure the princess thinks our desires are easy to read,” Shayn said, brushing my cheek with his fingertips. His gaze dropped to my lips. “Very easy.”

I leaned into his palm. “Malax lied, didn’t he? This is an aphrodisiac.”

Devan’s chuckle washing over my bare throat sent goosebumps flaring down my neck. “Perhaps it’s something else you feel.”

I felt like a cat in heat. Ready to lay on the ground with my ass up. This wasn’t normal lust caused by their musk—

“Wait! Why don’t I smell your musk right now?” I turned around and Devan compliantly let me sniff his neck like a hunting dog. “No, it’s still there. It’s not very strong, though.”

Their musk was like taking a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven. You wanted to snatch them up right away. They were irresistible when they scented—which had led to some back-breaking nights, let me tell you. But why was it muted now? Usually during sex, they could suffocate me in the stuff.

Have I become immune to my mates?

I smirked. Oooh, Malax was going to hate that! He loved nothing more than riling me up.

Devan turned his head and brushed his lips over my cheek. “I can feel your smile. You’re thinking something cheeky, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.” I bit my lip. “Is it time to go dirty up the sheets?”

“Only on Malax’s side,” he replied, and ignored the irritated growl behind him. He threw his head back. “Malax, you seem so comfortable. Why don’t you relax while we take care of our mate?”

Like you were supposed to do, hung in the air unsaid. I hid my smile in Devan’s shoulder. They might be soulstone brothers, but that didn’t mean they never competed with each other. Malax may’ve won the first round, but Devan was throwing the gauntlet down for the second round.

Which was fine by me. A girl needed to enjoy male power displays on occasion. 

Devan lifted me easily and I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips.

“So they’re legs after all,” I said, grinning. “Let’s go test them out.”

“You are going to drive me insane, ember,” he said, fingers digging into my bare ass. “I’m going to enjoy every minute.”

The towel slipped off somewhere between the deck and the bedroom. My skin was still sticky with sap in places, sticking to Devan’s fur, his hands as they roamed my back and kneaded my ass. His cock was a heavy weight between us, and I was suffocating with the need to fill myself with it. Precum shone on its tip when he laid me down on the mattress, and I took the first chance I could to rub it into my fingertips.

“Ember,” he growled. “Roll over.”

Lust was overwhelming me again. Crushing me even while I got on my knees. Devan’s hand slipped between my legs, fingers probing and then pushing into my heated sex while his other hand spread my cheeks for a better view. Desire was as sharp and cutting as summer in the south, thick on the back of my tongue when Shayn joined us, spreading himself out in front of me, as irresistible as a cold water fountain on that summer day. The proud lines of his face had faded, replaced with familiar longing.

Devan’s fingers slipped into me, almost like he was pushing Malax’s seed back inside me. My back arched, need and filthy lust making me gasp.

“Tell us what you want.”

I looked at Shayn, at his beautiful cock standing to attention. “I want to suck you,” I said.

Shayn spread his legs. “Bring me that pretty mouth.”

I did, licking a stripe up his cock from base to tip, then sucking down the head before he had a chance to breathe. The sound he made warmed me all over. Pleased, surprised, as hungry as I was for more. I took him in as much as I could, barbs prickly against my tongue, like sucking off a weird cactus, but seeing Shayn fist the covers and throw his head back was enough to help me past the strangeness. We were two different species coming together, my husband, my prince.

Devan slid his cock through my slick, a rough pulse flying through me when he grazed my clit, before he retreated and notched himself at my entrance. My toes curled as I braced myself.

“You have the most beautiful ass,” Devan said, kneading my ass, making me squirm.

I pushed back against him, releasing Shayn’s cock with a wet pop. “Stop teasing.”

“Greedy creature,” Shayn murmured. He looked over my head. “Give our princess what she wants.”

I didn’t have a second to brace this time. He surged into me, slamming balls deep in an instant. My back arched, senses overloaded. Full and thick and obscenely perfect. My throat broke on a cry and then Devan pulled back and came at me again and again and again, driving into me with filthy words spit out between gritted teeth.

Slap!

“Ah!”

Slap! Slap!

Two more smacks on the top of my ass, red pain blooming under his hand. Another cry escaped me, my cunt spasming.

Devan used the hand that had just smacked my ass to squeeze the back of my neck. “Keep sucking.”

Devan kept squeezing, relaxing, but above all holding me there on Shayn’s cock, holding me to them, with them. I’d never felt this dark energy from Devan, this need to control the pace. Dark and sharp edged lust, gripping instead of caressing.

I liked it.

Tingles spread, starting at the tips of my toes, shaking my thighs, hammering at my heart. Devan snarled something incomprehensible and I came with a muffled sound, my mouth full of Shayn’s cock as my cunt clutched Devan’s. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, could only withstand Devan pistoning into me as if a sinner seeking heaven.

The suffocating moment finally ended, but I couldn’t collapse, even though my shaking thighs urged me to. I could only rip away from Shayn and gasp, taking in nothing except them.

Devan growled and ground into me, spilling hotly while I sucked him in. In moments, between panting and my weak moans as aftershocks fluttered through me, his touch turned gentle, sweet, the Devan I knew stepping into the silhouette of this more dangerous Kohren. Sweetness like cotton candy burst inside me when Devan pressed a kiss to my shoulder.

“Beautiful woman,” he murmured. “Go to Shayn. Fulfill your bond.”

Shayn slid his hands under my arms and pulled me to him. “Yes, come here, sweetling.”

My legs were jelly, but that didn’t matter as Shayn crushed me to his chest. Devan’s seed and my spit made his cock’s path easy, and he filled me in one thrust. Filled me, joined me, spreading love and joy through my chest and into my soul.

Something was opening up inside me, or perhaps the door was already hanging open, it simply needed another nudge. A doorway waiting for three souls to step through…

Shayn kneaded my smarting backside, nails digging in while he soaked up that residual heat. He moved me on his cock, sliding against that place that made me tremble all over. I peeled my eyes open to find him watching me, throat contracting, languorous pleasure unfolding between us.

Here was the sweetness I missed with Devan. The feeling of being the most precious one in the world. Cherished, beloved, their soulstone mate.

My tongue moved numbly. “I feel… feel…” 

I’d spent all my life alone. No permanent boyfriend, no thoughts of marriage. The only one I could rely on was myself.

And yet now—

They were within me. There wasn’t a spot in my heart left untouched. Their essence, their souls, filled me up to overflowing, and my eyes slammed closed as it hit me, finally, what we had done, what having their soulstones meant.

Up, down, up, down, Shayn’s tight grip on my ass leading us forward. My gasps became high, breathless, each moment bringing me closer to having them completely.

“Ours,” he moaned against my neck. “Say it for me.”

“Yours,” I cried.

Coming all the way here, I never thought I would find home, but I’d found something even better.

Shayn leaned back, brushing my hair out of my face while he gazed up at me. “Your life is ours, and our souls are yours,” he said. “We’re in your care, mate.”

Tears burned behind my eyes. “Yes, yes, please!”

Our bodies came together one final time, hard enough to leave me quaking and gasping for breath. I came, holding onto him, face buried in his shoulder as he ground deep into me. Together… together…

Finally, we all collapsed to the bed. I rolled off Shayn and settled in the middle of them, boneless but grinning like an idiot.

“I think… we need a proper bath.”

“Later,” Shayn murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

“Mm.” I could get behind that.

Devan brushed his hand over my hip. Along with it, I felt his contentment like a warm lamp in my chest. “Is our tree finally bloomed?”

“I think this is a good place to grow roots,” I said. Over his shoulder, I caught Malax’s eye while he settled back behind Devan. His smile made my lips curl. “A very good place.”

My mama would really be happy for me. I hoped one day, a long time from now, I’d finally be able to tell her about my three cat princes.