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