Ice and Lightning Ch. 08

LYRA

They had smelled my pregnancy the day after the sealing. I had been vaguely aware they had been smelling and kissing my neck every time they passed by me, sometimes even crossing the room to plant a kiss on my neck and breathe deeply through their noses. Thinking back, their comments that I "tasted different," which I had attributed to the sealing, were actually something else entirely. I closed my eyes again and took some deep breaths to collect myself.

Apparently, that was not the reaction they were looking for. "Lyra!" Gabriel said. I opened my eyes again and looked at my mates. I could tell they were beside themselves with excitement, but they had to understand they had had a few days to digest this; it was new to me. I laid there for several more minutes then sat up and pulled both their heads to me so that all our foreheads were touching. I kissed Caed's, then Gabriel's and told them I was so, so happy. I was thrilled beyond comprehension that we were mated and sealed and now I was going to be able to share this tremendous experience with them.

It had taken us a year to get here, and quite a road it had been. It felt bizarre to me that this was the moment for which I had been brought here, but what happened from there had made it a wholly different occasion. A hundred "what ifs" started running through my head. What if I had been sold to a Yelarian who was cruel and abusive? Well, I guess Gabriel was in the beginning, but that was different. What if I had been sold to a male who was mated and I had been just breeding stock as my babies were taken away and raised by the mated couple? What if I had been sold to Gabriel and mated to him first? I had no doubt one of us would have been dead by now. I had vowed to kill Gabriel once before, but the reality is he probably would have killed me first, either from going too far with his barbaric games, or because he got sick of my shit. What if I had been sold to two Yelarian princes who's parents only wanted offspring to rebuild their empire? I chuckled at that.

Then the questions started piling up. I knew Caed would have the answers, even though he probably wouldn't tell me everything. Gabriel always backed me up on that and held Caed accountable for his withholding of information. Right now though, I was going to lie back and enjoy the moment. Both of my mates also laid back and each of them put a hand on my tummy. That made me almost jump out of my skin with love and excitement. We dozed like that until late evening.

When we returned to the house and had dinner, there was a lot of sharing of glances and smiles. As usual, Caed's grin was as big as his face and his eyes sparkled. I didn't know if Gabriel's smile would ever reach his eyes, but he was definitely smiling here and there and I had also thought I would never see that.

When we retired to the living room, it was question time. "How long will I be pregnant?" "As long as it takes," Gabriel replied. He was such a shit. "Another year," Caed answered. So, as long as I had known them. I was happy about that. I wasn't quite ready to give up some of our indulgences.

"Will we be able to have sex?" I asked and Caed chuckled "The whole time and as much as we want, because we don't have a reason to wait four days anymore." I liked hearing that. Oh! That's why we had gotten off the schedule. We didn't need it any more. Those sly foxes.

"Can Gabriel still... uhhh... satiate his needs?" Gabriel sat forward at this. "As long as he stops ramming into your cervix and you're not losing more blood than I think you are," Caed answered. I blushed. Wow. He really had known what was going on between me and Gabriel.

"What will the birth be like?" I couldn't imagine giving birth to a baby with wings. Caed said "all births, even human, are traumatic." That was not an answer. I didn't have to say anything though, as Gabriel cleared his throat. Caed looked at him, exasperated, then he met my eyes. "Even though it's possible for humans to carry Yelarian babies, they cannot survive the birth. The magic has allowed us to cut the babies out without losing the mothers or the babies, but we don't exactly know how that will work with you. Do we?" I could tell that was a terrifying unknown for both of them.

"What about your family?" The brothers exchanged a hard look. I had no idea there had been so many discussions between them. Caed assured me his parents would never lay eyes on our child. Gabriel wanted them to know everything in order to establish that our child would be raised by us, and out of reach of their toxic influence. I think he was looking forward to rubbing a little salt into that wound. I guessed I would be the tie breaker on that. I would have to see what developed.

I was hit with a feeling of longing for my own parents. My mother had died years ago in childbirth, so it had always just been my father, my sister and me. I grieved hard that they would never really know what happened to me. They must still be distraught. Tears started to form in my eyes. Caed came to me and kissed them away. I smiled. I truly was happy.

CAED

Gabriel had smelled her pregnancy right away. He had been around pregnant women before, so he recognized it. He was also the one who had wanted this so badly. I hadn't really wanted or thought about offspring much, but Gabriel had much more animalistic instincts and he felt the need to "spread his seed." I almost laughed when he told me those exact words, but I realized he was serious and so I held it back. She had concieved the day of the sealing. He had smelled it on her first thing the next morning and as soon as he said something, I smelled it too. I had to admit, it stirred my own basic impulses. The need to claim her, the need to protect them, and the thought that there was someone growing inside of her who was more important than all of us, felt heavy. Substantial.

GABRIEL

Gods, what the thought of her pregnancy did to me. I could never have imagined the swelling pride, and the feeling of protectiveness that almost sent me into a rage just thinking about it. I often thought of what I would do to anyone who looked at her, let alone thought of hurting either of them. She had been shielded from our society for a year, but this had to be dealt with publicly at some point. The birth of a new prince or princess was no small thing and Caed was naive to think he could hide it from our family. Until then, I was going to do everything I could to just cherish every moment with them.

Lyra became hyper protective as well. She didn't want to fly; she thought we might drop her. She was worried about having sex, but she got over that when I brushed my hand low in front of her and sent a shock of electricity directly into her. She was worried about the electricity. She was worried about what she ate. She was worried about how much sleep she was getting. Gods, she was being ridiculous. Caed explained to me that anything we were experiencing was multiplied exponentially in her. Afterall, the baby was in her. I understood after that, but vowed I was going to take her to my bed and "clear her mind" at least once a day. Caed thought that was absurd, but it was promptly obvious that it worked. Pain and lack of control result in intense focus, for everyone. She just had to give herself over and let go. It grounded her every time.

She finally loosened up a bit and settled into the idea that she could not control everything and would lose her mind if she tried. Life became the best it had ever been. Although we had all been happy and enjoying ourselves before, it was clear concentrating on sex every four days, and four days only, was inconvenient. The freedom we now had was intoxicating and I also had not anticipated the love. Gods, the house was so full of it and between the three of us, there was always a hand on her belly. I imagined the child could feel the love through our touch.

CAED

She was getting more beautiful by the day. Watching her belly grow and her breasts get large and heavy made my mouth water for her. It was next to impossible to be on top but I had taken a very strong liking to bending her over things. Her ass had filled out during her pregnancy and watching that round thing bouncing back and forth on me was mesmerizing.

Gabriel said he wanted to watch the bump grow and asked her to walk around naked all the time. She turned him down, but she did start folding her shirts up after he threatened to cut the bottoms off all of them.

She seemed to be more attached to us than ever. She didn't want to sleep unless we were all in the bed. She didn't want to go anywhere unless we all went. If someone had told me this was going to be my reality I would have called them crazy. Before Lyra came, I had been contentedly alone for decades. I resented that I was going to have to share my space and, gods, to have Gabriel back in my life was one of my worst nightmares, Now here I was, feeling there could be nothing better.

GABRIEL

I felt the sealed mating marks were not enough. I wanted her to have marks for the baby. The magic was not quite so intense for that, the ceremony much calmer. I had talked to Caed about it. After sealing the mating marks and knowing how it made us feel so much more connected, he was on board. He knew Lyra would want it and that seemed to be the sole motivation in his life. Mine too.

We told her together. She looked a little apprehensive because of the pain of the bites but I could tell she really wanted it. I told her the ways it would be different. The marks would disappear once the baby was born so the cuts and magic didn't have to be so strong. The marks were actually symbols for luck and fortune. She asked about love and I looked at Caed questioningly. He said he didn't know why we couldn't use their symbol for that. I told her "every ceremony, something different with you." I could tell they both knew I loved the idea as much as they did.

LYRA

The priestess set the magic again in Caed's room. I was nervous, but nothing like I had been for the sealing. The pain of the bites was still clear in my mind, but they had warned me. Now they were reassuring me it was nothing like that.

I laid on the bed, one of them on each side. They had been worshipping the bump regularly, rubbing their hands all over it and kissing it, and talking to the baby. It was so tender and sweet that it nearly broke my heart. Especially coming from Gabriel. I think I cried a little every time he knelt down and started whispering to my belly. They were both rubbing it now.

I felt Gabriel's ice as he crafted a knife. We all had our hands on my stomach. I felt a searing pain from the ice as he cut me. He reminded me to breath, like he always did when the pain started. Between their touches and the breathing, the pain was not unmanageable at all. Gabriel put my hand on top of his and allowed me to feel the designs as he carved them into me. The pain had stopped completely, and his gentle, sensual touch caused my heart to flutter. He finished the designs and licked the blood off the path he had created, then sealed the lines. My breath caught as his eyes met mine and he passed the knife to Caed. Caed looked at me tenderly, then smiled and kissed me. He put my hand over his and repeated exactly what Gabriel had done on the opposite side. I held onto Caid's hand and watched as he made graceful lines and swirls on my belly. I was getting overwhelmed by the tenderness both of them were showing. Caed finished and licked the blood while he held my hand. He looked at me again after he had sealed the marks and his eyes got misty. I couldn't handle it. Tears started flowing as he laid his head next to mine and placed his hand back on my belly. I laid my hands over theirs and cried softly.

I didn't know how this could be true. How could these hard, cold, violent beings be so gentle and loving, and I don't know what happened with the marks, but I definitely felt like there were four of us. It felt like the baby was just laying there with us. I felt more complete than ever. This was my family.

CAED

All of us had dozed off. The marks for the baby had done something to us. The feeling of love and warmth and connectedness was overwhelming. I had my hand on her, trying to feel the baby when I felt a thump up against it.

Gabriel shot upright, his eyes wider than I had ever seen them. I also sat up, and was sure my eyes were as wide as his. Lyra sat up, hysterical with excitement, and screamed "I just felt it move!" We sat there for quite some time with our hands on her stomach. The baby kept kicking, us feeling the tiniest little thumps on our fingers. Finally it settled down and we sat there in quiet.

GABRIEL

Gods. This family was going to kill me. When I felt that baby move, my heart soared and my stomach dropped at the same time. I was thrilled beyond imagination, but that same old rage reflex came roaring back. I was ready to fucking kill. Disgusting fantasies played out in my head of what I would do to someone if harm came to this family. The rage started to take over and I knew Caed felt it because when I looked at him, he kissed Lyra on the forehead, told her he loved her and left. She also knew I needed her. I needed to be pulled back from the rage, and she was the only one who could do it.

She knelt on the bed in front of me and locked her hands around the back of my neck. She pulled me toward her and started covering my face, shoulders, and chest with kisses. She said "Gabriel come back to me" over and over until I met her eyes. She pulled me down beside her and started stroking and kissing every part of my body as she tried to peel my clothes off. My rage started to subside and I looked at her body wholly differently than I had a small while ago. Her breasts were huge and heavy. Her curves had changed since she had been pregnant. My hands started to run over her whole body as I finally kissed her back. I needed to be inside her. She knew. She positioned herself so I could enter her while we stayed on our sides. The moment I felt her warm wetness the rage began dissolving. We started breathing together as I slowly slid in and out of her. We kept our eyes locked as we met each other's rhythm. She closed her eyes and rolled her head back with a moan. I pulled her face back toward me and whispered "Lyra. I need you here." Her eyes met mine and we stared at each other. We made love just like that, for a very long time. "I can't handle it," I blurted out, talking about the emotions. "Yes you can, Gabriel," she replied sternly as she started to fuck me harder. "It takes a much stronger male to love than it does to kill, and I know you are that male." I let her push me back and she mounted my cock and picked up the pace. She put her hand on my neck and pointed her finger in my face and said "You will do this" in the most fierce voice I had ever heard come from her. She shuddered and grunted and I came violently as she sank her teeth into me.

LYRA

I met with the priestesses often. Caed started obsessing on the birth as we dealt with the reality that it was coming soon. He could not find any precedent of a human becoming mated to two Yelarians, but also becoming immortal, and then pregnant. Everything he read was two out of the three, never all three. Yalarian females had given birth when they were able to get pregnant, but that was never the case with humans. I was not a Yelarian and my anatomy was wholly human so we began to operate under the assumption we would have to use magic and cut the baby out. That was okay. If I kept telling myself that, it would be okay. We were all worried, but we were going through it together. They would not let anything happen to me or the baby.

The day came. I awoke in the middle of the night with a pain like I had never experienced. The sharp pain from the sealing bites was close, but it was gone fairly quickly. This just kept rolling on and on in waves. I had heard of women doing breathing exercises when they were in labor but it had not occurred to me that I had already learned these through Gabriel's sadistic lessons. I was trying to breathe through it but I cried out on a particularly bad one and Caed and Gabriel both awoke with a start. It wasn't until I looked down to a bed full of blood that I realized I knew nothing of this process. Caed scooped me up and we shot out through the ceiling. I didn't even know they could do that. Gabriel was right there with us. No one was panicked, but there was a palpable sense of urgency.

The priestesses were supposed to come to us, but everything had progressed so quickly, we went to them. They were already making preparations when we arrived. I felt static in the air as the magic worked around us and through us. I kept breathing and crying out when it was too much. Both my mates had one hand under an arm and the other on my belly. The contact of their hands helped the pain more than anything. They held me up as my legs collapsed and I doubled over, screaming.

CAED

This was absolutely the worst agony I had ever experienced. It was excruciating to watch Lyra be in so much pain and I couldn't help but panic when it became obvious things were not going well. I was being strong for Lyra, but I was beside myself and I could see that it was the same for Gabriel. His lessons had taught Lyra to focus her way through the pain so she was thankfully not fully aware of how much trouble they were in.

The priestesses could not get the magic to work. The baby was not advancing. We had expected that, but they had been unsuccessful in cutting her. Bringing a Yelarian into the world from a human was tricky. With our human, it was looking to be near impossible.

She had lost so much blood. She was losing strength quickly. I knew her will to see our baby was the only thing keeping her going. I saw in her eyes that she would have given up, but considering we couldn't get the baby out, she knew she couldn't. The most urgent problem was that her body was still trying to give birth. As this progressed, the baby's wings were tearing her up from the inside and the magic just wasn't working.

GABRIEL

Lyra let out a scream like I had never heard before. I knew her tolerance for pain and her limits. Anything that could make her scream like this had to be bad. Enough! I had had enough of watching these incompetent priestesses spin their magic while my mate and our child died. An ice dagger erupted from my hand as I stalked toward Lyra. I knew how to kill things, but I also knew how to cut them and still keep them alive. I thrust the dagger into her full force. I had designed her marks as a guide for where I would cut, if I needed to cut. I had anticipated this, to some extent. Following the guide lines, I started to carved her all the way around the baby and then straight down the middle of her until I felt the inner lining of the powerful uterine muscles give way under the blade. I focused to make sure I was just inside the walls so I didn't cut the baby, and I continued downward. I couldn't tell if she had stopped screaming or if I had completely blocked her out. I finally got the bottom of her uterus and reached inside my mate to pull my child from her body. As soon as she was in my arms, I held my daughter against me and felt a mad rush of emotion so intense it nearly brought me to my knees. I thought I was learning what love was before, but this was unimaginable. I looked at Caed. He was looking down at the baby and dropped Lyra's hand and reached for our daughter. As I watched my mate's limp hand fall, I shoved the baby into Caed's arms and went back to work on Lyra. I started by using the lighting to cauterize all of the inside of her uterus and the other areas where the baby's wings had torn her. She had organ damage, but nothing lethal. I didn't know where the blood was coming from but if I could get that stopped, she would be fine. She would be fine, godsdamned it. I kept finding more places where her insides were punctured. I was losing the war when a new solution occurred to me. I would stop the bleeding with my saliva as we did the bite marks at the sealing. I leaned over her and started to lick the blood away and press my hands where my tongue had just been. I was going to fucking save her.