Ovation (Galaxy Circus #9)

Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Echo

I ’m jittery and impatient, and I’ve been wide awake for hours, worrying about Lila and the others and how their visit on Vilax is going. In the past, something like this wouldn’t have bothered me, but the further along I get in my pregnancy, the more I worry about my loved ones. Previously, all I worried about was Maxsim and me and surviving the next day, always on alert for Natalia to attack, and now that is no longer an issue, you’d think things would be easier, but it really isn’t. Now I have a lot more loved ones to worry about.

Our five little bundles of energetic joy make my heart swell with emotions. I can’t imagine how I could love anything more, but the thought of our own flesh and blood babies is low-key terrifying. What if something goes wrong? What if I’m a bad father? When I expressed my feelings to Maxsim last night, he laughed so hard he would have fallen off the bed if it were off the ground.

How could he be so insensitive? I rolled over and didn’t speak to him for the rest of the night, but it meant I didn’t get my daily dose of sex, and now I am irritable and horny, which is not a good combination in a hormonal person. I want to be knotted or locked, and I’m kind of jonesing for it. These pregnancy hormones are no joke.

Huffing, I sit up in our nest. Maxsim’s quiet snores tell me he’s still fast asleep, and I’m still annoyed at him. He tried to talk me around when he realized I was upset, telling me I was going to be a wonderful father and that I already was with our current babies, but it was too late. I need Lila. She is the only one who will understand. Or is she? Nikos! He would understand too. I quickly climb out of the nest and leave the room, the change in temperature making sweat trickle on my fur. Our room is kept at subarctic temperatures, especially for us, so it always takes me a moment to get my bearings and for Xavier’s spelled pendant to work.

Once my temperature is regulated, I head down the hallway that houses all the bedroom doors, going to the very end. The children’s nursery was deliberately placed far away from the rest of the bedrooms just in case the soundproofing didn’t work in any of them. There is nothing more disturbing than walking in on your parents copulating, especially if it’s a group bonding experience. I still shudder at the memory of seeing my own omega father getting railed by the rest of my parents. I stick my head in just to check. They have been known to get up and wander around the suite in the middle of the night, but all five of them are tucked safely in their beds and water pods.

Smiling, I close the door again and make my way to Nikos’s room. I knock on it and wait. It doesn’t take too long before he opens it completely naked, his hair a tangled mess and his eyes blurry with sleep. He blinks at me for a moment before opening the door wider and letting me in.

I enter without a word, hurrying over to his bed and climbing in. It smells like him, like spicy, salty margaritas, and I bury my nose in the pillow. He stares at me before shrugging and returning to bed, climbing in next to me.

“What’s wrong, little pussy?” he asks, rolling onto his side and arching an inquisitive eyebrow. “It is very early for you to be awake in your state.”

I freeze. “My state?” I ask, snarling a little.

He holds his hands up in defense. “You’re growing two living beings. I remember how exhausting it was,” he explains, reminding me why I am here. He has been where I am.

I sigh. “Sorry, I’m a little irritable, and it’s making me irrational. I had an argument with Maxsim. He pissed me off.”

His eyes brighten with understanding. “Ah. It is alright, sweet kitty cat. People who are not so knowledgeable about how being pregnant feels can make the mistake of speaking before truly thinking about what they are saying.” He runs a soothing hand over my head and down my shoulder.

I close my eyes and start to purr at the sensation, wiggling a little closer. My perfume begins to fill the room with my need, and I wince in embarrassment. When I crack my eyes open, he is looking at me with knowing eyes.

“You would like your fins stroked, no?” he asks, and I frown.

“Huh?”

He shakes his head and chuckles. “What I mean is that the pretty kitty needs to be stroked? Am I right?”

I bite my lip before nodding. “I’m so freaking horny. It’s basically a permanent state.”

He nods with knowing eyes. “I remember it well. I spent most of my pregnancy aching for Lila since I was being held prisoner by my father with no relief in sight. I understand very well.”

He’s quiet for a moment, and I look everywhere but at him.

“Would you like me to take care of your need? I can’t lock or knot you like your alphas, but I bet I can make you feel good and take off the edge until Lila can get back or Maxsim removes his head from his ass.”

I gape at the merman. Gone is the silly airheaded prince he always portrayed, and in his place is a male who looks at me with desire and want in his eyes.

“No need for reciprocation. I would just be happy to help you out—if Maxsim won’t bite my head off, that is,” he promises. “If not, I am happy for you to snuggle in here until Lila returns.”

He waits patiently for me to decide. My body is already joyfully accepting the offer, my blood rushing to engorge my cock and make my asshole throb with need, but my mind is at war. Lila wouldn’t care one little bit about me taking Nikos up on his offer. She would probably pout that she wasn’t here to join or watch, but Maxsim’s reaction is another thing.

He has been much more relaxed since I became pregnant, and even liked my suggestion for Link to join us during our next heat, but we haven’t really discussed playing with anyone else in our mating group. He didn’t outwardly reject it, though, when Lila was talking about it during our last time together. I reach down and grab my cock through my loincloth. It aches something fierce, and although I know I could take care of it myself, I do like the idea of Nikos lending a hand.

“I can see you are conflicted. How about I go wake your mate and have him take care of you instead?” he suggests, starting to get out of bed. He doesn’t seem upset. Instead, he is perfectly understanding.

“He laughed when I told him I was worried about being a bad father.”

He stops and turns back to face me, no amusement on his face at all.

“Ah, well that was pretty stupid of him, wasn’t it? I completely understand. I have had the same feelings, and I am sure he feels the same way too, but Echo, he probably laughed because you have taken to fatherhood more naturally than most of us. You protect and cherish our babies like they are the most important things in the galaxy.”

“They are,” I reply. “I would give my life for them.”

He nods. “Exactly. You have nothing to worry about. Trust me, okay?” He reaches out and strokes his hand over my fur again, and I push up into his touch. “Maxsim laughing was not okay, and you are entitled to feel hurt. He will grovel to you when he wakes and finds you are not in bed with him. All will be right again.” He drops his hand and rolls to face the ceiling, closing his eyes. “Sleep here for now, and Lila will be back soon.”

I snuggle into his side, and he lifts his arm, putting it around my body. My cock rubs against his naked skin, and I groan. “I would like you to take care of it for me, but I need to talk to Maxsim first,” I say, and he nods.

“How about you just stroke it, and I will stroke mine at the same time?” he suggests, tossing his blankets back, revealing his erect cock dripping with fluid. I stare at it in the low light of his room. In this form, he has scales over it, but they lie flat against his skin. It is nice and girthy, and my mouth waters at the thought of feeling it in me. My asshole throbs, and I reach down and tear off my loincloth, tossing it to the floor. Stroking myself to completion is not cheating, and lots of people use visual aids to assist them. That’s what porn is, after all.

I roll onto my back so I have full access to stroke my length, but I keep my eyes firmly locked on him. I watch him fist his cock in his hand and match his tempo as he strokes it up and down.

He mutters dirty words to me that have me panting and almost begging him to fuck me, but I clamp my teeth down and tighten my grip, furiously tugging on my dick. It doesn’t take long before we both spill our seed all over our hands. I desperately want to lean forward and lap up his release, but instead, he climbs off the bed and heads into our shared bathroom. When he returns, his eyes shine with pleasure, and he passes me a cloth before cleaning up his own mess.

Once we are clean, he tosses both in a nearby clothes basket before climbing back into bed. He crawls over me to return to his spot, his naked body brushing across mine in the process, and I moan quietly. He stops and looks me in the eye. “Next time, I’ll come down your throat and you will come down mine,” he promises, and I squirm at the idea of sixty-nining with the gorgeous merman.

He returns to the position he was in and drags my body against his. My itchy need has settled, so I close my eyes and fall asleep, blissfully thought free.

M axsim finds me snuggled up to Nikos the next morning. I see his nose twitch, obviously scenting the spilled cum in the basket, but instead of roaring and losing his shit, he thanks Nikos for taking care of me before apologizing profusely. He says laughing like he did was insensitive of him, and he should have reacted differently. I can’t believe he is being so mature about all of it, and I secretly wonder if maybe he got his own advice from somewhere.

I assure him nothing except seeking our own pleasure occurred, and he actually gave me a blanket green light to go further with any of the others if I ever wanted to in the future. I am tucked firmly back into his side and still speechless when Lila and the others return from Vilax.

They don’t return alone. Saxon’s cousins, Musette and Mehira, are with them. Both of them begged their mother to do some galaxy travel, and she approved it. They are going to be the new fliers in the Vilaxian act, along with Saxon’s clan sister, Vanity. The cousins are loud and excited to be on the ship, giving all of Saxon’s mating group big hugs and welcoming us to the family. It’s kind of sweet and so very unlike our quiet, watchful Vilaxian, and it’s nice to see him lighten up when they tease him.

Vanity, on the other hand, is quiet and subdued and hangs back. She is very much like her clan brother. She greets us politely but doesn’t get involved in any of the chatter. I watch her and notice she has sadness in her eyes. I hope being in the circus will eventually change it.

On the way back to our suite, Saxon tells us that she decided not to join a clan. She doesn’t like the politics involved and decided she preferred to drink from a donor. All three girls will be drinking donor blood or from volunteers. Lila has sent out a ship-wide invitation, and I’m sure they will have no shortages. All three of them have the beauty of a Vilaxian. Musette and Mehira hope to find their blood roses while on their travels, and I have my paws crossed for them.

Although they put on brave faces in public, the four of them are in subdued moods when we return to our suite. At first I panic, thinking that the clan dissolution was denied, but they reassure us everything is fine. Despite wanting to spirit Lila away to our den, we gather with the others in the living area while they tell us what happened.

Nikos feeds his twins, my own pecs aching at the sight. I can’t wait until I can do that for my babies. The kraken babies love on the four who had been gone for the evening, despite them being asleep the whole time they were gone, but they quickly grow bored, and Ghosie sets them up with some blocks to distract them. Now there is a male who has excellent fathering instincts. I can see the longing in his eyes, and I know when Lila decides to give him a cub, he will also love and protect it like the fiercest mama bear in the galaxy.

Lila laughs when she tells us about the surprise party that the queen arranged to celebrate their mating, explaining the concept to those of us who don’t know about surprise parties, which is basically all of us but Brannock who lived on Earth. We all laugh when she tells us about Xavier killing the chandelier when he thought they were under attack.

“Luckily they didn’t do a cake that had someone inside it or they would have been killed!” Lila chuckles.

“You have cakes with people inside them?” Ghosie asks, his bright fur paling ever so slightly as he swallows nervously, his attention turning from the children to Lila. “Is this something I need to worry about when we get to Earth?”

We all wait silently for her response as she looks at us with a small frown on her face.

“Seriously?”

“I thought some of the galaxy species we created were barbaric, but we don’t bake people in cakes,” Zeydan mutters.

Brannock bursts into laughter, making me jump in fright. Maxsim rubs my arm soothingly and growls at the Aaz’axian who is in his human glamour. He seems more comfortable in it than his real form, but who am I to judge?

“Sorry,” he apologizes, his loud chuckles lowering in volume. “They don’t bake people in cakes. Sometimes they will have a fake cake and have someone jump out of it as a surprise for the person whose celebration it is.”

I purse my lips, trying to imagine it inside my head.

Lila nods. “Traditionally, it’s a pretty girl or guy without many clothes on as a surprise for the birthday boy or girl.”

I glance at my mate, and he appears as bewildered as I do. “Huh?” I look back at Lila.

She stammers and blinks and looks to Brannock for help. He gets up and goes over to the tablet that controls everything in our suite. We watch quietly as his fingers run across the screen, and then he hits a button, and the big viewing window turns into a screen and an Earth movie plays on it. We all watch as a dark, long-haired man walks around with a gun at the ready. He pushes a large cake out of his way, and suddenly, music starts to play and a girl pops out of it.

The girl is only wearing a jacket and one of those delightful bits of underclothes called a thong. Her ass is perfectly round as she sways back and forth in time to the music before pulling off her hat and throwing it. The camera pans around to the front, and she opens her jacket, exposing her very well rounded breasts.

“Oh, I like this idea. I would like a surprise cake for my birthday,” Xavier says, sitting up straight and watching the movie with more interest, as do the rest of the men.

Lila rolls her eyes, and Brannock shifts the image to a new one. This one has a girl jump out of a cake in a pretty pink outfit, then she and a group of other girls start dancing and singing in unison. This grabs the kraken babies’ attention, and they jump up and start copying the moves on the screen. Lila smiles and nods. “That movie is super old, but it’s one of my favorites. I do love musicals.”

Eventually, after telling us about the carnage during the party games, they get to the bit about Saxon’s brother propositioning Xavier. We can tell his betrayal is weighing hard on him. Apparently, Xenos’s clan caused quite a scene the next morning as they were escorted by Xavier, Saxon’s uncle, and some of the queen’s guards to the outpost they have been banished to. Lila is smug, because she convinced the queen to send Radella and Estrella as well—punishment for them trying to get between a blood rose bonding.

“I doubt we will ever be able to mend that relationship,” Saxon says quietly, but then he shakes his head and stands, scooping Jack up and whirling him high in the air. Jack squeals and claps his hands. “Anyway, enough sadness. I want to see this new adventure playground you bought for the kids. Who wants to go?” The three kraken babies cheer. Hali and Typhoon clap, but I’m not sure they really know what’s going on.

“I want to, but I have rehearsals scheduled all day. I’ll take a raincheck though,” Lila says, standing up and stretching.

“What time do rehearsals start?” Maxsim also stands, pulling me to my feet and looking to Ghosie, who has basically become Lila’s assistant ringmaster, keeping track of her schedule for her.

“You have about an hour and a half,” he says, looking at the digital clock on the wall.

“Perfect. Lila will meet you there.” My alpha grabs my hand and hers and drags us through the suite to our room.

Lila stumbles but quickly rights herself. “What are you doing?” she sputters as the door opens and he drags us inside.

“Our omega needs us. Get naked,” he growls, and although her eyes widen, she waves a hand. She’s naked in an instant, and our loincloths are gone.

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” A sly smile crosses her lips. “Present for us, omega.”

I whine with need and do as they demand.