Page 16 of Ragoru

Evie woke surrounded by warmth… quite literally. And she thought she was cozy and snug with Sabol in her tent. Though she was sandwiched between Sabol and Vrishna, it was Thral who blocked out the majority of the nighttime chill with his large body curled over hers, his jaw pillowed against her chest. Two of his four arms were wrapped around her, elbows braced against the ground, and the other two splayed over the hips of two males at her sides.

She smiled sleepily, reluctant to leave their embrace. This was better than she’d expected. Although she took the time to wash last night, though quickly since she had six pairs of eyes pinned on her the entire time, she had been prepared for the possibility of a cold night. Knowing that they wouldn’t all fit and that none of the males would be willing to be left out, she hadn’t bothered putting up her tent. She chuckled to herself as she brushed her nose against the silken fur of Sabol’s chest.

Whereas Sabol had been squeezing into it with her every night since their first shared nap, she couldn’t even imagine throwing two more Ragoru into the mix. She was relieved to discover that it was just as warm sleeping under the stars with all three of them rather than tempting another tent collapse. In fact, it was even more comfortable.

As if aware of her change in wakefulness, Thral’s ear flicked and he grumbled, his muzzle rubbing against her breast sleepily. Evie felt the response of her desire, and she swallowed back a moan as Sabol’s left hand tucked on her breast twitched, this thumb grazing her nipple. As tempting as it was to savor it, she ignored it in favor of the stronger call of nature as she wiggled out from under all of them. Arms gripped her sleepily in protest but not hard enough to prevent her escape, though Thral snorted awake as he came crashing down between the other two and lifted his head to blink blearily at her.

She slapped a hand over her mouth to hold in her laughter. “Sorry,” she whispered.

Thral peered at her, grunted, and proceeded to let out a bone-cracking yawn that showcased his numerous sharp teeth. She whistled softly to herself as she shuffled behind a tree and freed herself of her pants as she practically danced in place with the urgency. With teeth like that, she had to admit that humans were lucky that the Ragoru weren’t inclined to eat them. With the size of the males, she wasn’t sure if there was a more imposing predator on all of Solum.

“Evie?” Thral’s sleep-rough voice called out.

“I’m here. Had to pee. I will be back in a second.”

He grunted in acknowledgment, and she heard his steps retreat. She hadn’t even noticed that he’d moved in close to her tree. She shook her head. She was going to have to become accustomed to how silently all three males could move. Although Sabol often made a point to make noise when he approached her, she knew it was unrealistic to expect them to do so all the time. She just needed to pay attention better so that she heard their quiet movements, and they weren’t startling her by simply walking around. Her lips twisted with amusement. Might as well save herself the heart attack for occasions when they intentionally snuck up on her. She didn’t know about the other two but Sabol seemed to find it amusing, and she had a feeling that with extra eyes and ears around as they traveled, his hijinks weren’t going to end. Just the opposite, in fact.

She finished her business and straightened her clothes before heading back around. She was startled when all three males, who’d apparently been waiting patiently crouched together where they’d been sleeping, stood and headed toward her tree. Her eyes followed them in surprise, and she bit back an uncomfortable laugh when she heard the unmistakable splashes of urine.

“Okay, community pee tree then,” she observed aloud. “Like there aren’t a million trees right here.”

Vrishna chuffed his laughter as he came back around, his yellow eyes gleaming as they slid over her possessively. A tad too possessively for virtual strangers but she surprisingly found that she didn’t mind.

“Sabol has been covering your scent trail for some time. You haven’t noticed?”

He had? Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she looked over to the male in question for confirmation. He grinned in response, and she felt her cheeks heat. Okay, so community pee tree wasn’t new, and she was just now noticing.

Vrishna’s large bulk closed in around her. “It is natural for a moving triad with a female. It is different when we are in our territory and we are able to establish scent claims and mark the trees with our claws so that other Ragoru know not to intrude. He was protecting you, as are we. With all three of us covering your scent, it will be less likely to draw the attention of a rogue.”

She swallowed. That wasn’t the first time he mentioned rogues, but she’d been too caught up with everything going on yesterday to ask about it. “Are rogues common?”

“No,” Thral rumbled as he slinked over to her and brushed his muzzle against her head fur.

The gesture was brief, as if seeking to comfort her, but he was uncertain how welcome it would be. That made it even more endearing to her, but before she could lean into him and enjoy it, he shifted away and cleared his throat. Her natural curiosity dulled her disappointment, though she knew she shouldn’t be encouraging that sort of closeness so soon.

“There can be many solitary males seeking others to form their triad, but that is different than a rogue. There is a sickness within them. I didn’t note any rogues in the confinement area with me, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there and hiding in plain sight. They are good at hiding.”

Sabol made a rough sound of agreement but didn’t add anything to the conversation, though there was a faint look of disquiet about him.

Concerned, she headed over to him and wrapped her arms around the thick fur along his waist, her fingers stroking on either side of the plating over his spine. “Sabol? What is it?”

His arms came around her, his claws lightly pricking as he held her. Thral and Vrishna exchanged a silent look but neither interfered or tried to jealously break up their embrace. Instead, they eased in closer on either side of the male, their sides brushing against him. The tension drained out of him and he clung tighter to her, burying his muzzle in her neck. His words were muffled against her skin, but she heard them all the same, and she expected the other two males did as well as their ears tipped toward him in mirrored expressions of concern.

“The chance of losing you to a rogue has been a fear that has plagued me,” he admitted in a strained voice. “It haunted me, knowing that I was the only one to protect you as we traveled and that at any moment a male could come and try to take you if I let my guard down. It was difficult to truly sleep, though I managed due to the scent blockers on your tent. I have seen what rogues do to females. When my triad died and I was weak and barely surviving, I came across males gutted by rogues. That alone was enough, but the memory of finding a lone, unmated female with her body used, torn up, and then discarded, her eyes staring sightlessly at the sky, has haunted me all these days.”

Thral growled softly, and to Evie’s surprise he pressed his muzzle into the other male’s scruff as one of his hands came up around to cup his head, his fingers trailing in gentle strokes along his ear. Sabol’s breath expelled in a long sigh, and tears sprang to Evie’s eyes as he leaned into the touch, accepting the comfort just as Vrishna pushed in from behind at his other side and dropped his head against Sabol’s neck as his opposite hand came in stroked his scruff. Sabol’s eyes slitted in pleasure, and Evie sucked her lips, barely able to contain her delight.

Not only was she thrilled for Sabol, who clearly needed this, but it gave her a closer insight on the triad dynamics that fascinated her. This had to be part of what triad bonding looked like.

Thral slowly broke away, his throat working with emotion as he looked at his triad brothers and then Evie. “I have seen this too,” he admitted hoarsely. “What Sabol did was what any of us would do, I believe.” He glanced over at Vrishna for confirmation, and the male inclined his huge head. Thral shuddered, a sick look coming over his face as he met Evie’s eyes. “It is a terrible sight. Unlike Sabol, I didn’t have a triad and therefore never had a territory. As a lone male, however, my search for a triad and mate took me over a lot of land, and it seemed that rogues infected our world, killing and using females indiscriminately. I would not leave you unprotected while we are traveling.”

“Nor I,” Vrishna growled, and he gave a shake of his fur so that it puffed out around him as his hackles rose. “It would be dangerous to assume that none came to this world with us.”

Thral and Sabol nodded, and a chill ran up Evie’s spine. Suddenly, she was very grateful for the communal peeing if there was any chance of a rogue wandering around.

Vrishna grabbed Sabol’s ear and tugged it gently in what she assumed was a gesture of comradery similar to men punching each other’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. Evie will be safe. You have us now. We are family.”

His eyes skated over to Evie meaningfully, and her chest filled with warmth. Even though she hadn’t claimed them and allowed them to mate her, he was including her in their family regardless. Thral’s eyes drifted over to her, and he inclined his head in agreement, the corners of his mouth pulling up as his yellow eyes warmed even as Sobol leaned further into him, his muzzle burrowing into his scruff, dragging in the scent of his alpha. She almost didn’t notice that he'd reached for her with one of his hands until it caught around her wrist and dragged her into their crushing embrace. Arms enveloped her as Sabol hugged her between him and Thral, Thral’s arms encircling them both. Vrishna, not to be left out, came up in front of Sabol and Thral and wrapped his arms around both males as he held her between all three of them, a sound of happiness rumbling from his chest that vibrated through her.

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