Lyra blinked. “Three?”

  Himmy frowned. “Is that a problem?”

  “My species generally pair bonds. Anything outside of that is considered deviant behaviour by the masses. This is going to take some getting used to.”

  Imko cocked his head. “But you don’t have an objection to the contest? Some species do.”

  Lyra shrugged. “Women and men have courtships that are defined by their circumstances and social structure. You guys have the added details of alphas, betas, and omegas in the mix. It just adds layers to the needed rituals for courtship.”

  Imko looked at Himmy and smiled. “What was our ritual?”

  Himmy chuckled. “You broke the manacles holding me, kissed me, and told the elders that they weren’t getting back to Peltin until they agreed to surrender me as payment.”

  Lyra giggled. “Seriously?”

  Imko sighed. “Seriously. She was at the end of her receptivity, but her scent still pulled me to her. One trace of her, and I followed her scent through a warship and into the hold.”

  “He punched right through the wall.” Himyana leaned against his shoulder.

  “That is so sweet.” Lyra smiled. “So, Imko, how did you end up president?”

  He sighed. “I was voted in once Himyana caught.”

  “Caught what?”

  Himyana patted her belly. “This. Only a breeding alpha can be president.”

  Imko sighed. “It is when alphas are considered to be most stable and forward-thinking instead of reactive.”

  Lyra smiled. “Probably smart.”

  Himmy smiled. “We will give you some vids of alphas in combat training later.”

  “Why?”

  Himmy grinned. “If there is anything that’s going to kickstart a hormonal response, it is watching half-naked alphas wrestling and fighting each other.”

  Imko sighed. “Down, girl. Your scent is heating up.”

  Lyra smirked. “If you want some alone time, you can stow me in a cupboard or something. I am travel-sized for your convenience.”

  Himmy laughed. “I am not that bad off. He is, but I am not.”

  “Well, on my world, it is pretty much the same in relationships. The ladies choose the timing unless the male is persuasive. Or in my dimension. Whatever. I really want to figure out where I came from in the grand scheme of things.”

  Imko frowned. “I am wondering about that as well. The other blanks have taken on different hair colours. Eye colour is uncertain. The colours are not what we would consider standard, but they are growing on the scalp, eyebrows, and groin.”

  “I am guessing that it indicates that there are very different people percolating under that hair.” She picked up a lock of her dark-blue hair. “I drowned in water this colour.”

  Himmy frowned. “And that just killed my frisky impulses.”

  Lyra settled on a chair and said, “Sorry. It’s been a busy day, and things are a little wavy.”

  Himyana sat up. “How are you feeling?”

  “Um, hungry again. Sorry.”

  Imko scowled. “We are going to need the researcher here with all the historical data for the other blank projects.”

  “Right.” Himyana grabbed her tablet and started to tap. “Those buggers should be having panic attacks by now.”

  Lyra leaned forward and finished off all the food and tea. “I am obnoxiously hungry.”

  Imko nodded. “Fair enough. Himmy, order some more food. If your body is telling you it is hungry, it is for a good reason.”

  She sat, and her stomach rumbled. “So, those weapons are all Su’ath?”

  Imko nodded. “Himmy got them all in battle or after battles.”

  Himmy kicked her feet, and Imko helped her sit on the couch next to him. She started to squirm forward, and Lyra moved to help her up.

  “Su’ath weapons are all very usable by anyone who picks them up, but only the warriors can charge them up.”

  Himmy linked arms with her and walked her to the wall with the seven weapons mounted to it. “I got all of these in the siege of Peltin. The only one I didn’t see in action was the cylinder.”

  “I think I know where they got my body blank, and I know it is going to cause an issue.” Lyra smiled.

  Imko stood behind them and said, “Where?”

  Omega Yten Lyra reached out and touched the cylinder that lit up, and as her fingers curled around it, the unit hummed. Metal shot out forward and back, and she stood with a spear in her hand, shrugging at the two shocked MaKorith.

  The look in Imko’s eyes wasn’t good.

  Lyra shrank the cylinder again and put it back on the wall. “Well, I guess you know what it does now. So, when the researchers get here, are they going to take me apart?”

  Himmy blinked. “You are a Su’ath blank.”

  Imko murmured, “Just us on that front now. No one else needs to know. How did you figure it out?”

  “Himmy showed me the weapons, and they started to warm up, and the cylinder glowed.” Lyra stepped away from the wall of weapons to ease her hosts’ battle-ready bodies. “So, what do the Su’ath look like?”

  Imko blinked. “Like us, but the skin shades are tinged with red. They have been stealing citizens for the last four decades.”

  “Did you used to have a political relationship with the Su’ath?”

  Imko frowned. “Of course. They were unstable allies.”

  “So, when the omegas here were killed, did theirs survive? They had them, right?”

  Imko blinked. “They did not mention them, and none were ever brought to territory negotiations.”

  “So, you and they are not friendly... like ever.”

  Himyana shrugged. “Never. We have not exchanged personnel, and the embassies on the colony worlds have been destroyed. There is no more shared occupancy on any of our worlds.”

  Lyra twisted her lips and paused as two large trays were brought in. When they were alone again, she wandered over to the trays and started eating.

  Imko muttered, “We are having dinner in three hours.”

  Lyra’s stomach rumbled alarmingly, and she kept eating. “Whatever my body is doing with the food, it is doing it fast, and there doesn’t seem to be any indicators of processing.”

  Himmy chuckled and said, “Speaking of, excuse me.” She waddled her way to a door in the corner of the room.

  Imko looked at Lyra. “So, do you think you are a plant of some kind?”

  She met his gaze and crossed her arms. “I think the Su’ath were trying to do the same thing you are, but your guys managed to catch the consciousnesses and stuff them in the bodies. What I want to know is how this body processes food because it doesn’t feel normal.”

  He looked at her and nodded. “Right. I am going to make some calls. Are you up for some invasive exams?”

  “Oh, baby. Talk dirty to me,” she muttered.

  His raised brows and grin made her realize what she had said to this guy who was nearly four times her size. She clapped a hand over her mouth.

  He picked up a tablet and opened a link. “Kresso, I have a guest here who needs a full and discreet exam.”

  “Has Himyana cut you off?”

  “No, if she cut me off, it would be an emergency, and you would need to bring blood.” Imko chuckled. “It is for a friend of Himmy’s who isn’t feeling like herself.”

  “Fine. I will be there in an hour. Please have me cleared for arrival.”

  “Are you sure? It is so much more fun when you fight your way in.” Imko chuckled.

  “Why couldn’t I have had a brother who was less political?”

  “Because then you wouldn’t have a brother who was so good-looking,” Imko smirked. “See you in an hour. Bring a full kit.”

  “Kthack,” the man on the screen muttered. He disappeared.

  Lyra blinked at the word that didn’t translate into anything other than deviant ass fucker. It was concise. It also meant that there was a standard method of doing it.

  Imko laughed and set the tablet down. “Nice to have a physician in the family. I wonder what he is going to make of you.”

  Himmy came back looking relieved. “Did I hear Kresso?”

  “Yeah, I called him to help with Lyra. At least I know he won’t leak any information about her.”

  “Right. Did you give him clearance this time?”

  “I am getting around to it.” Imko grinned and slowly typed some codes into the tablet before pausing. “How do we spell Kresso again?”

  Himmy grabbed the tablet and slapped in the codes. “Idiot.”

  Imko wrapped his arms around his mate. “Did you call the president an idiot?”

  “I called my mate an idiot. Kresso doesn’t like it when he has to fight his way in.” She slapped the hand on her belly.

  “I have so little fun in my daily work. Taunting my elder brother is one of my favourite things to do.” He kissed her neck.

  Lyra smiled at them and kept away from the wall of weapons. She looked up; the trays were empty, but she didn’t feel full. She wiped her fingers on a napkin and checked her white outfit for crumbs. Maybe white wasn’t the best instinct.

  She sipped at the tea and waited while the couple slowly made out until there was a bit of a ruckus from outside the long doors with security locks.

  Lyra stood up and looked toward the door when Imko walked up to it and opened two panels of glass with a grin. The man who came through the doors almost made Imko look delicate.

  The man was huge, carrying a heavy pack and another bag draped over his torso. “Right. Where is the patient?”

  Lyra was staring at him in shock, and when Imko pointed to her, she felt put on the spot. She darted to the wall, got the cylinder, and put it in front of her.

  Her voice was clear. “No way is that getting anywhere near me.”

  His black hair and green eyes showed his resemblance to Imko, but the thick neck, wide shoulders, and huge hands were off the scale that had her shaking. His scent curled toward her and started that reaction between her thighs.

  Oh, fuck.

  Chapter Three

  There was an armed omega in the room, and the scent of her arousal was luring him in. It went from luring to mocking him, and he was not in the mood to be mocked. Kresso looked past his half-brother and charged into the room, dropping his equipment on the way.

  The force blast to the chest threw him backward, and his brother caught him.

  Himmy shouted, “Lyra, no!”

  The small creature frowned and aimed at him again.

  Himmy walked toward her and kept herself between the pearly woman and Kresso.

  There was a frown on the woman’s face. “Himmy, step aside. He’s dangerous.”

  “He wouldn’t hurt us.”

  “Not you. Me. He’s going to hurt me.”

  “He’s a doctor. He isn’t going to hurt you. He handles me and the baby all the time. He’s not dangerous. He just looks it.”

  The small woman glared at him around his sister-in-law. “I don’t trust him.”

  “I won’t leave you alone with him, Lyra. He won’t do anything to upset you. I just need you to put the blast staff down before the guards take you down.” Himmy was approaching her calmly, and she put her hand out. “Please, Lyra. Give me the staff.”

  Kresso straightened and watched as the tiny woman shrank a piece of tech that she had no business activating and handed it to Himmy an instant before the guards behind her threw her to the floor and pinned her hands behind her back.

  They cuffed her and hauled her to her feet. Himmy was protesting, but Imko grabbed her and said, “It’s for the best that she’s restrained.”

  Kresso’s mouth dropped open when the tiny thing said, “Your first night as lovers must have been hilarious.”

  Himmy snorted and did it again when the woman slid her hands free of the large cuffs and massaged her wrists.

  “Lyra, this is Imko’s brother and the specialist he called in to be discreet.” Himyana’s lips were quivering in amusement. “Kresso, this is the first of the omega project results. Omega Yten Lyra.”

  The guards were staring at the cuffs on the ground.

  “In that case, you are now my patient, Miss. I will take charge of her now, gentlemen.” He wanted to growl and break their arms for touching her, but first, he wanted to gather her to him, wrap his arms around her, and bury his nose against her neck.

  They pulled back, and Kresso stepped forward. The blue-haired imp that had pulled the trigger looked up at him with violet eyes. She was growling at him with an adorable tone. He grinned slowly.

  Imko was dismissing the guards and locking the doors. He triggered a set of metal shutters and then nodded to Kresso. “This is the patient. We need to know what she is and what’s going on in her body. She has eaten several pounds of food but is still hungry, so can we cover where the food is going first? She’s concerned.”

  Kresso looked at the small woman who was glaring at him. “She doesn’t look like she wants an exam.”

  Himmy came up and took the woman’s hand. “She wants one. She needs to know what is going on as well. Don’t you, Lyra?”

  The pearl woman with blue hair calmed down at Himmy’s touch. She grumped. “Yes. I do.”

  She was glaring at him, and he chuckled. “If you are what I think you are, your attitude is hilarious.”

  She growled again.

  Grinning, Kresso went to get his pack. His half-brother watched over things as the med equipment emerged, and he tried to figure out what to start with.

  If he had his way, she would be impaled on his cock, growling and hissing at him, but that would be inappropriate with Himmy and Imko in the room. He wondered if he could get them to leave.

  * * * *

  Lyra felt the hackles on the back of her neck rise. Her body was hot, and the growl was vibrating out of her. The feeling of her sternum humming in her chest was distracting and definitely not human.

  The hulk came back toward her and looked around. He nodded and picked her up before setting her on a round table. “This is where we will do the exam, and you won’t be confined in any way unless you attack me.”

  She pressed her thighs together and clenched her jaw. “You should be safe.”

  He chuckled. “Back in a moment. Himmy, please, keep her quiet.”

  Lyra looked at her new acquaintance.

  Himyana stood next to the table and blinked at her. “You had an... interesting response to Kresso.”

  “Yeah, that’s the word for it,” Lyra muttered.

  “So, how do you feel about him?”

  Lyra softly murmured, “I am between clawing his face and fucking him. I can feel my heartbeat everywhere. My body is making a mess.”

  Himmy stared at her thighs, which were thankfully masked by the dress. “Seriously?”

  “Yup. This is humiliating. I just went off when I caught his scent.”

  Himmy looked at her. “You didn’t when you scented Imko?”

  “No. His scent was mixed in with yours. It made it wrong.”

  There was relief in the pregnant woman’s eyes. “Right. He mentioned that.”

  Kresso returned to the table. “I suppose you also don’t know that the MaKorith have excellent hearing.”

  Lyra frowned. “I know, but I really want to start punching and kicking you right now, and I think my body is trying to sort responses to different stimuli.”

  He set a series of scanning objects down and opened a small tablet terminal of sorts. “Right. We are going to go from the top down. Remain still.”

  She stood, and he began the scans from the head down. She breathed him in the entire time and was shaking so fast she nearly vibrated when he walked around the table before running scans on her ass and thighs.

  “Well, you have excellent self-control and an extremely aggressive digestive system. The food you ate earlier has already completely turned to blood and muscle and energy.”

  “So, what is the waste setup like?”

  Kresso blinked. “You don’t know?”

  “I just woke up in this body this morning. I don’t know how long I was in it previously, but I know this isn’t my species, and I don’t know how it works. So, Kresso, tell me how I work.”

  He stared at her. “You don’t know?”

  “You keep saying that. No. I don’t know. I know there was a blank, and my mind ended up inside it. I know I was dead on my world and alive here, but this is not any kind of afterlife I would have predicted, so it is another world and an alien-to-me body, and I have to learn how it works.”

  The huge man in front of her blinked.

  “Explain it to me as you would to a child. I can ask prompting questions if you like.”

  “Certainly. That would help. What do you want to know?”

  “So, how will I dispose of waste?”

  “You have a bladder, a urethra, and a colony of kidneys for maximum filtration. So, your urine will carry out all residual materials.”

  “Okay. Great. I will avoid asparagus.” She smiled. “Can this body get pregnant, or is it a toy?”

  He blinked and checked the scans. “Four ovaries, each with a different genetic signature. A split womb for multiple carries. Theoretically, you could go into heat twice in a row with a partner and have offspring one cycle apart.”

  “Fine. My teeth feel weird. Tense and bitey. What is that about?”

  He looked surprised. “Ah, I missed that on the first scan. You have specific teeth for mating purposes.”

  Her hand went to her mouth, and she felt the points along her gumline. “They are up high.”

  “They come down when you are aroused. May I demonstrate?”

  She was wary, but she said, “Sure.”

 

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