Page 9 of The Ozar Triad

“My mate?” He tried to speak gently, but his voice deepened with his concern.

Her fingers firmed on his arms and she said words he didn’t understand. He glanced at Rujali. He was the linguist of their trio and naturally spoke many languages without use of the translator. “Did you understand her?”

Rujali shook his head, his beads swaying. His brows pushed together. “I have not heard that language before. It sounds so strange.”

Her body stiffened and her fingers tightened, before she yelled something and jerked out of his grasp. He would not let her fall and held her tightly.

“Be still,” he said. “You’ll hurt yourself even more, my mate.”

As he spoke, the smell of fresh blood was foremost in his senses. He growled. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a gasp of air.

She reached back, formed a fist, and struck him in the center of his chest. The resounding sound of flesh against flesh seemed to be much louder than it actually was. Rujali blanched and Setzan gasped. Her knee connected with his thigh, and another fist struck him in the same location. That wasn’t a mistake. There was a fair bit of force behind her punches, as though she knew what she was doing. He’d never known a female to be this way.

“Stop her, Klaej. She’ll hurt herself more!” Rujali’s fingers circled over the lip of the container.

Setzan’s jaw fell, revealing his fangs as his jaw became slack. It had been few and far between since he’d seen him look so destroyed. They’d been five annuals old when Setzan had learned his favorite pet Clavas had found its way into the great beyond. That was the same look as now.

“I’m trying,” Klaej said. His hands felt big and clumsy as he tried to be gentle while she thrashed, but he was not going to let her go. Not when she would fall into garbage.

“Do something, Klaej!” Rujali bellowed.

Klaej hooked one arm beneath her rump and the other around her waist and brought his lips to hers.

She body went still, and he thought he’d been able to calm her. Then she pushed against his biceps and kicked his knee. She tried to shift away from his kiss, and he moved his hand from her waist to splay around the back of her head. He slid his tongue along the seam of her closed lips. They were so soft. Pliable. And her taste—ambrosia.

Her limbs stopped moving, and he was pleased to note that both Setzan and Rujali had joined him in the container. Rujali was at her back, cushioning her movements with his chest as well as holding her arms in a position so as not to hurt her. Setzan knelt and wrapped his arms around her legs, keeping her still so she couldn’t kick and hurt herself against his much-harder thighs.

She spoke gibberish, but the quake in her voice told him just how scared she was. Once they had her back on their jet, they would give her a translator and then she would understand.

Her eyes darted between Setzan, Rujali, and then back to Klaej. They were filled with a terrified alarm that tore through him like a lash. Their mate must never fear them. She would learn that she would feel nothing but pleasure from them, and she should learn now. She couldn’t move. She was safe, but her expression told him she didn’t know this.

“Kiss her again, Klaej. Calm her some more,” Rujali said.

Stabilizing the hand on her head, he placed his lips against hers once again. She clamped them shut, making an outraged sound in her mouth, dragging a breath in through her nose. She would learn to accept the gentleness they gave, but she was a different species. They would need patience, just like gentling a wildstandon.

She tried moving her head to the side, but he firmed his long fingers so that she was still. Rujali made a shushing sound, his lips near her ear, and Setzan rubbed her thigh, a low comforting purring emanating from his chest. She was surrounded by her mates, as was her rightful place to be.

He slid his tongue along the seam of her mouth, exploring. Tasting. He used his lips to massage hers, caressing and teasing. Slowly, the stiffness went from her body, the tension draining from her limbs until she was supple and pliant in his arms.

He gently nipped her lips, letting her learn the feel of him, letting her taste him as much as he tasted her. This was what she needed, a slow introduction to her mates. Her body, her instincts would tell her what to do.

She made a small sound, one so quiet he barely heard it, but then her lips softened and parted. He didn’t waste a second. He swept his tongue into her mouth and groaned. This was more than he could ever have anticipated. She was a drug and he was already hooked.

His heart rate spiked when she made another little noise and kissed him back, her lips as soft as the most luxurious silks of their Homeland. Her lips caressed his, tentatively at first, and then firmed as she melted against him.

Her tongue danced with his, tasting him back. Their kiss grew deeper, more urgent. His cock hardened in his leathers almost painfully. He pressed his hips into her belly, letting her know how much he desired her.

Setzan’s purr grew louder, vibrating around them. Rujali ran his fingers through her hair and down her shoulders, his own rumble joining his brothers.

Her mouth fell away from his. He drew back, his eyes opening, though he hadn’t realized he’d even closed them. She was a dead weight in his hands. Her breathing was even, her heart a steady thump against his chest.

“You kissed her unconscious,” Setzan said.

“I didn’t mean to.” A cool slither of worry worked its way through the haze brought on by her kiss. “Do you think…” He swallowed. “I didn’t hurt her, did I?”

Rujali brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “No, brother, but she is injured and was scared. You calmed her. I think the stress of her situation has taken its toll.”

“At least you calmed yourself,” Setzan said. “Your skin is all lovely and green. Not a trace of red of to be seen.”

---