“Thank you for coming to help,” she said.
“I’m Adam Reichler, this is Craig Foustman. We’re…”
“Leena’s men,” she finished with a warm smile. “I’m Megan, swaya to the leaders of the house of H’oug. Our house welcomes you.” She shook both of their hands.
“Leena’s mentioned you to us; it’s very nice to meet you, Megan.”
“Where is Leena?” she asked.
“Making a delivery to the house of, well crap, I don’t recall the name,” Craig answered.
“Doesn’t matter, in time you’ll know the names of the twenty-one houses on Mesta.
Leena transports between all of them on a regular basis,” she added. “Would you like to wield a shovel or help herd those algers over there to a new paddock?”
Craig surveyed the slow-burning field and the corral. Algers were huge, six-legged animals with spiked horns. “I choose shoveling. What about you, Ad?”
“You have to ask?” he said, eying the formidable beasts.
“They look scarier than normal right now due to recently being sheered. Alger hair is used in the fabrication of many of our textiles. They’re actually sluggish, docile creatures,”
Megan said as they walked toward the burning pasture. “We’re all very excited about yours and Leena’s good fortune in finding each other, and I can’t wait until we can talk in depth, but now obviously isn’t the time. My mates are directing the watering in the north section. They’ll be extremely pleased that you’ve joined our efforts here.”
Megan quickly introduced them to the six men working the line then mounted a xander and rode off. Craig and Adam grabbed shovels and began digging.
“This fire was deliberately set?” Craig asked.
“Yes, this method is used to cleanse pastures after five seasons of planting. We closely monitor weather conditions when choosing the time to burn, but sometimes the Gods decide to add a bit of excitement to an otherwise mundane task,” Jarsa replied. “The risk of the fire getting out of control is slim however we always err on the side of caution.”
“You must be extremely unique individuals.”
The random statement made by the man standing on his left caught Craig off guard.
“Why do you say that?” he asked, looking at Therr, who was resting his arm on the handle of his shovel while giving him and Adam the once-over.
“Leena is one of a kind. The Gods would only bond her to men who can handle her distinctive ideas and behaviors.”
“I can’t tell if that’s meant as a compliment or not,” Adam said, warily.
“My apologies; I most certainly meant it to be one.” Therr bowed at the waist. “She is a high-spirited, confident woman. Life as her mates will, I’m sure, never be dull.” He and the others nodded in agreement.
“It is surprising that you are here without her,” Asha commented. “I assumed she would keep close to you during your first venture out.”
“She’s on a seven hour delivery run.”
“Leena is unaware that you’re here?”
“If we’re supposed to get her permission to go about our business that’s gonna be a major point of contention.”
The men erupted into laughter, and more than a few issued humorous well wishes. Asha clapped Craig on the shoulder. “The Gods are indeed wise.”
Leena kept the dome down, punched up the volume of one of her favorite musical groups and took off for home. She and her crew had completed the delivery ahead of schedule, and she was anxious to be with her mates. She’d done a lot of soul searching during the flights and was feeling much more like her normal, confident self.
Cowardice was not a fault she thought she was capable of. She was furious at herself for not being forthright with Adam and Craig from the start, and for feeling relief when she’d been called away. It was selfish and grossly unfair to deliberately keep something so important from them.
She was the only female born in the last three generations of her extended family unit.
Fighting for what she believed in, making her voice heard and holding her own among alpha males was a regular event, one she’d never shied away from in the past.
The three of them were soul mates. Challenges were inevitable but the bond was unbreakable. If her men questioned the path their lives were taking, it would be one more thing they all had common, and they would work through it together. Leena whistled and hummed through the rest of the journey home.
Assuming they hadn’t spent the last hours sitting in the house doing nothing, she went directly to the work building. She wanted to surprise them, so she used the side entrance instead of walking around to the service door, which she assumed would already be open.
“Hi, I’m home,” she called out cheerily.
Adam and Craig were nowhere to be seen. Leena went outside to Elsie and called out again. When silence was the answer, she turned to head over to the house. Leena’s breath hitched when she noticed her hover car was gone.
“Oh come on now, this is just mean.” Leena stared up at the heavens, hoping the Gods were listening. “I’m sorry I doubted you, and I’m sorry I put off explaining things to them, but was this really necessary?”
Unless they were merely taking a drive through the countryside, she knew they would run into someone, somewhere. The communal nature of the district was both a blessing and a curse, depending on the circumstances. Everyone looked out for each other, were there to support in a crisis and celebrate life’s good fortunes, but that led to a gross lack of privacy at times. If Han hadn’t issued his do not disturb edict, they would have already been inundated with curious, well-meaning visitors, and her over-protective relatives.
Leena reached for her communicator then stopped. Despite their short tenure together, she had learned a great deal about her mates, and Adam and Craig would definitely not appreciate her checking up on them. It was her fault they’d had to take matters into their own hands to seek the information she’d withheld; further behaving as if she didn’t trust them would not be an intelligent course of action.
“See? I’m figuring out this mate thing,” she muttered, walking leisurely to the house.
She stood in the middle of the living area, trying to decide what she should do to pass the time until they returned when she noticed two chairs and empty dishes at the computer desk.
Leena activated the console and read the screen.
“Okay, so they already know the basics, maybe that’s a good thing.”
The front door swung open. Adam and Craig strolled in, dirt-streaked and sweaty.
“Hey, sweetness,” Craig said.
“You’re home early,” Adam remarked. “The delivery went well?”
“Um, yes,” she replied, completely taken aback by their appearance and casual greeting.
“Ah, where have you, I mean what have you…”
“Don’t forget ‘with who have you’,” Craig helped.
His humor went a long way to easing her discomfort. She glanced briefly to the computer. “Should I begin by begging for forgiveness or leap right into giving a very logical explanation regarding my omission of key details?”
“That’s up to you, angel, but either approach is going to wait until we’ve showered.”
Adam gave her a fast kiss and proceeded down the hallway.
Craig didn’t say anything. He simply smiled at her as he walked by.
Barely fifteen minutes had gone by when Leena heard them coming back down the hall.
She took a healthy swig from her goblet of cushingberry wine. Two others were filled and waiting next to the bottle she’d set on the table.
“Needed some liquid courage, huh?” Craig picked up a glass. He swirled the bright yellow liquid around and sniffed before taking a drink. “Just to let you know, it takes a lot to get us drunk.”
“That’s not my desired end result.” Leena emptied her glass in one more swallow. “I prefer this wine because it has relatively low alcohol content; I’m quickly affected by spirits.”
“And you just chugged an impressive serving,” Adam said.
“I’m angry at myself, embarrassed and nervous; so far it’s not even taking the edge off.”
She smiled when Adam partially refilled her glass.
“We met Megan today, along with some other friends of yours,” he said, taking a seat on the couch. “A call came in about needing help at a pasture burn. Luckily, we’d done some research before going or we would have been at a severe disadvantage.”
Craig went and sat next to him.
“Join us, angel.” Adam patted the cushion, but Leena decided to keep a little distance by sitting against the opposite arm of the couch.
She tucked one leg beneath her and faced them. “I’m sorry. I should have told you about the bond from the start, but I was fighting it myself.”
Both men looked hurt.
“Wait, please let me explain. The Gods being solely responsible for who we fall in love with has bothered me since I was a teenager. Why did they give us intelligence and free will then take away our ability to make such an important decision on our own? I’ve been steadfast in not allowing the prospect of finding or not finding my mates to overly influence my life plan, and I’ve been quite vocal that if it did ever happen, I wouldn’t blindly succumb to the will of the Gods. Well, you’re here; I’ve succumbed and am feeling like a fool for all of my doubts.” Leena felt as if the weight of the galaxies lifted from her shoulders.
“Craig and I didn’t know about your Gods, but we sure as hell knew something incredible was going on from the moment you touched our hands in the hospital. We’ve wondered why we instantly connected with the spectacular woman who saved us, and why it feels as if being here with you is exactly where we’re meant to be, but we’ve never questioned the reality of our emotions. We didn’t say anything to you about it because we didn’t want you to think we were crazy. When we read about the soul bond, everything fell into place.”
“That your Gods picked us as your mates out of all the billions of beings in the galaxies is mind-blowing, and is definitely enhancing our already stellar opinions of our manly worthiness.”
Craig reached over and tugged her onto their laps.
Tears of joy welled in her eyes as she gazed up at them. “I was so worried over how you would react. I thought that if I could perfectly orchestrate the reveal it might help.”
“We heard a number of entertaining stories today about your inclination to try and control things,” Adam said with a grin.
“I bet you did,” she mumbled.
“Good thing we’re here to show you how much fun it can be to just go with the flow.”
Adam slowly stroked her hair before gently twining his fingers in the wavy strands. “Kiss me, angel,” he whispered.
Adam softly claimed her lips while Craig lightly stroked his fingertips down her arms, along her sides and over the swell of her hips. Their tenderness sent Leena’s heart soaring, and as warmth and love enveloped her, she gave the Gods a silent prayer of gratitude. Knowing that her future would include the treasured mates whose existence she’d doubted for so very long filled her with wonder and contentment.
They made love together until the two moons of Mesta were high in the night sky, and drifted off to sleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
“I’ve verified the calibration of every single interface,” Leena announced as she walked onto the bridge of Elsie number two. “I think in this case, Adam, your gut feeling that something is off is, well, off.”
“He made it up,” Craig stated, swiveling in his chair to face her.
“Pardon me?”
“We needed you occupied in another area of the ship for a couple of hours.”
“Why?” she asked, utterly confused. Before they answered, she glanced out the front view window and realized that the planet they were fast approaching was not of the Aaron system. “Wait, where in the heavens are we?”
“It’s a surprise, angel.”
“But I thought we were just making another test flight?”
“A little bit of innocent deception is usually necessary where surprises are concerned,”
Adam replied. “Strap in, your timing is perfect. We’ll be entering the outer atmosphere in three minutes.”
She quickly followed his direction and excitedly wondered what new adventure they were embarking on. During their eight months together, they had built E-two, travelled most of Mesta and visited two of their neighboring worlds. The full-service repair and vessel design business that Adam and Craig started had quickly become one of the most lucrative ventures in the district, and construction on an expanded workspace was about to begin. Leena hadn’t thought it possible, but she loved them more each day. Of course, every aspect of their relationship hadn’t been uninterrupted smooth-flying. They’d had their fair share of spirited disagreements and vastly differing opinions, but somehow they always found a compromise and moved forward.
“This is Mestan house of H’oug vessel four seven zero requesting final landing coordinates.” A few seconds of silence followed Adam’s request.
“Toomsa port authority responding; confirm receipt of upload.”
“Confirmed.”
Leena squealed with glee and scooted as far forward as possible within the restraint of her safety belt.
“Happy, sweetness?” Craig asked, glancing over his shoulder at her.
“Yes, yes,
yes
! You’re so sweet to remember me saying I wanted to come here someday.”
“I think we’re on the radar of your Gods again.”
“Really? How so?”
“A couple of weeks ago, when you were on Gozen, a delegation of Toomsa diplomats had to divert to Mesta for repair of a blown secondary engine. They were on a tight schedule, and we worked almost twenty-four hours straight to get them back on their way. They were extremely grateful and thought what we charged for our services was too low. They made a production of wanting to do more for us to show their gratitude.”
“Little did they know that’s exactly what we were hoping they would do,” Adam
interjected. “We told them about your desire to see their beautiful planet, and our desire to make our beloved mate happy. No one mentioned to us that one of the dudes in the group was the Prime Minister. We will be staying in his vacation cottage on the shores of the largest ice ocean on the planet.”