Lost Bloodline 3 - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

None of them let their guards down for long as they worked. When he checked on the groups, Koda noted no one moved in less than a group of two, and he would regularly catch the others glancing towards the mountains to check for any sign of the trolls approaching.

As soon as he and Hans had a good dozen of the trimmed beams ready, they started carrying them to the edge of the fields near the track the trolls had used last time.

“You can go check on them,” Hans said with a snort as they dropped the second batch of beams and he caught Koda eyeing the path that led up into the mountains far more intently this time, watching where Calandra and Sienna worked.

“What?” Koda blinked at him in surprise, and Hans rolled his eyes at the black-haired champion.

“Sienna and Cal are the furthest from the village, so it’s understandable you are worried about them.” Hans nodded to where the compact forms of Koda’s mates stood at the edge of the lake where the path wound up into the foothills.

“It’s fine, Hans. I appreciate it, but I’m not going to leave you to work on your own,” Koda said after a moment of hesitation. Hans swatted away his excuse a moment later.

“I’m not alone. I can drag Arthene and Samira into helping me find the right spots for these for a bit. There are only so many spears that can be made, even with them only needing to trim the branch and attach the fang. We should see if we can’t get some of those teeth worked into clubs. I remember hearing about this kind of club that used sharp bits of glass as a blade rather than a sword—might work for those.”

Hans said the last part thoughtfully and rubbed at the stubble on his chin with one thick hand, smearing dirt and chips of wood around his face. Koda wanted to argue, but he couldn’t deny that the large man had a point about checking on the two of their group furthest from support. He just didn’t want to be seen abusing his position.

But you aren’t abusing it, Koda reminded himself. Just because they are your mates doesn’t change the fact that they are the ones most at-risk.

“Fine. I’ll go check on them and then double back to help you finish up here. Take a break and get some water, too. For all the nights are cold out here, that sun has been damn hot today,” Koda agreed and got a nod of acceptance from the horned man before Hans turned to trot back through the ruined section of fields and into town.

Surveying the nearly ripe fields of corn, rye, and other crops, Koda shook his head before turning to jog towards Sienna and Calandra.

We need to resolve this, and soon. There aren’t enough hunters to guard the fields and village while all this is harvested, and I know they’ll need time to prepare it for winter storage. They’ll have plenty of meat—that’ll be easy to do with the herds and we can help them hunt—but better not to risk it. How their hunters roam but their young and old remain stationary is odd, but I guess that is because they’ve spent so long hidden safely by obscurity since apparently no one wants these grasslands enough to conquer them.

“Hey lover, come to distract us from all this hard work?” Calandra called, having caught sight of his approaching form. Sienna didn’t tease him though, instead turning to survey the trail leading into the hills, her ears upright and tail hanging limply in concern. Clearly, she was worrying that they’d missed the approach of the trolls.

“Not so much,” Koda returned as he slowed to a walk while stretching his arms over his head.

Calandra stood with her fists on her hips, her helmet hanging from a strap on her belt and her axe across her back. Sweat glimmered on her pale skin, but her olive eyes glimmered in amusement as she watched him approach, the sun glittering off her chain armor and the brass buckle of her wide kidney belt.

“Oh, good,” Sienna sighed and turned back to Koda with a relieved smile, her tail picking up into a happy wag now. “I was worried we’d missed them.”

“Naw, just wanted to check on my mates since you two were the furthest from support. I know if something showed up, you’d have both raised an unholy hell to get our attention. But I can’t help but worry about my beautiful mates.”

Koda watched them carefully as he approached and struck when he saw Calandra relax.

The dwarven woman let out a shriek of surprise as Koda dipped and scooped her off the ground, the weight of her stout form and the armor nothing in the face of his blessing enhanced strength. The shrill sound was rapidly muffled as Koda brought her up onto his hip and pressed a kiss to Calandra’s lips, morphing into a contented moan as she wrapped her arms around his neck to ensure he didn’t get away until she’d had her fill.

“Save some of that for me,” Sienna said with a playful pout, to which Calandra unhooked one arm—keeping the other firmly wrapped around Koda’s neck—then used it to beckon her closer.

Sienna’s tail spun faster as she stepped up behind Calandra, but the wolf beastfolk yipped in surprise when Calandra hooked her arm around the back of Sienna’s head and dragged the other woman in before seamlessly transferring her lips from Koda’s to Sienna’s.

“Should have seen that one coming,” Koda laughed as the two women kissed. Sienna’s ears were perked up happily and her tail was going wild as she pinned Calandra to Koda’s chest and happily kissed the thick dwarven woman. “I knew you were into girls from our time with Arthene, but didn’t know Calandra was, too.”

“Women are pretty,” Calandra gasped when she finally separated her lips from Sienna’s, her olive eyes hooded. She used her arm around Sienna to pull her towards Koda. “Now, give our mate a greeting kiss, Sienna.”

“Happily,” Sienna moaned and pressed harder into Calandra’s back to kiss Koda over her shoulder. Koda used the arm not currently supporting Calandra to hook around Sienna’s waist and crush her even tighter while they kissed.

Calandra watched the two of them kiss with a smug look on her face. While being picked up had surprised the smaller woman, it was obvious from the lack of struggles that she didn’t mind being manhandled like this.

When Koda and Sienna had finished their kiss, they separated to stare into each other’s eyes for a long moment of silence. Koda could see the desire in his redheaded mate’s gaze and could feel it rising in himself, but had to put it aside for now.

“You know that there are some convenient bushes over there,” Calandra murmured into Koda’s ear hotly. “I’ll stand watch for you two if you need to go nail your huntress to a tree.”

“Cal!” Sienna laughed and did something out of Koda’s sight that made the dwarven woman straighten with a squeak of surprise. “We need to get this done. As much as I’d like for Koda to do that, the defenses are more important.”

“Nothing is more important than—” Calandra protested, before squeaking in surprise again. “Chandra’s tits! Stop pinching my ass like that, Sienna! Do you have claws, girl?!”

“Nope, just learned how to shut Netta up when we were kids,” Sienna laughed and kissed Calandra’s cheek. “Seriously, though. What’s up, Koda? Were you checking on us, or did you just want a kiss?”

“Checking on you two. Hans and I are making log pikes to lay out near the edge of the fields. We are going to dig notches in the dirt so we can lay them flat, then stomp on one end to bring them up for the trolls to impale themselves on. Saw you two already down here and wanted to come check on you.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Calandra said with a thoughtful hum, tugging one of her braids over her shoulder to play with as she thought. “I really wish that there was more metal out here, but I didn’t even see a smithy when we were checking the village out. If I had access to a half-decent smith and a supply of metal, we could make some real traps for these beasties.”

“Yeah, the impression that I got from Vysin was that they trade for already finished pieces like arrowheads and spearheads, rather than forge their own. Something we can easily set up trade for back in Silverstone, but we’ve got to get them through this first,” Koda replied, shifting his grip on Calandra so he was palming her full bottom to help support her on his hip. Calandra gave a contended coo and wiggled her butt into his grip, clearly happy with his hands on her.

“Not a bad idea. I know that our smith back home is more than capable of turning out quality work. The only issue is the metals. The mines—”

“You leave that to me,” Calandra said, cutting off Sienna. “I’m not a miner, but none of Chandra’s kin are unskilled with the secrets of earth and stone. If I can’t find more ore myself, I know a few people I can ask to do me a favor and come look at your mines to see if there are more veins of ore.”

“Our mines,” Koda corrected, squeezing Calandra’s butt again. “You are part of the family too, Cal. That makes you part of the village.”

“Agreed,” Sienna insisted, leaning forward to press a kiss to the smaller woman’s temple. “I know you haven’t had time to settle into the village, but neither has Koda. Hopefully, we can get that done when this is all finished up.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Calandra sighed happily, shifting to lean her head back onto Sienna’s shoulder while grinding her hips into Koda. “I still wake up doubting reality‌. I went from being lonely and ignored in Amberpost by those idiots in the guard to you all actually listening to me and letting me be myself.”

“Trust me, Cal. Koda is quite happy to let you be yourself,” Sienna snickered, eyeing Koda meaningfully.

“I am happy with all three of my mates,” Koda said with a shrug. “And I look forward to being able to shower affection on all three of you when we get to take a breath. I’m still worried about how we are going to provide for our family, but that’s something I can leave for the future to handle.”

“Good,” Sienna said with a cute little ‘hmph’ through her nose as her pointed ears flicked. “We have plenty of coins from the Crooked we killed. And it isn’t going to look odd using them for some time, given how many were in the area. Turning them into trade goods and supplies would be smart once Amberpost gets back on its feet.”

“If the baron’s forces do what they are supposed to, then it won’t be long before the roads are open once more for merchants. And they’ll flock to this area, knowing that people will be desperate for supplies to rebuild,” Calandra growled. “Something we will need to watch out for with our people. Our home,” Calandra paused at that, her scowl turning into a soft smile when thinking of the massive house waiting for them in Silverstone. “Our home wasn’t hit that hard, but we also won’t be getting as many traders traveling up into Silverstone. Those that do will expect to take us for everything we have. Can’t let them bully people.”

“No worries there. But again, that is a problem for the future. I’m sure Kris will know and be ready if anyone tries to cause issues,” Koda interjected, giving both his wives a squeeze. “But we need to focus on the here and now. How are you two doing after a day with those ghosts?”

“Odd,” Sienna said at first, with Calandra just nodding in agreement. “I can feel their lingering emotions, mostly with concern for their kittens and an even greater desire to see the trolls dead.”

“Tell him the rest,” Calandra teased, using the tip of her braid to hide the smile on her lips, but the twinkling of her eyes made it obvious. “If you don’t, then I will.”

“Cal!” Sienna whined. “You promised not to!”

“I promised to keep your secrets as long as necessary. I think it’s rather necessary that our mate knows—” Calandra began before Sienna cut her off with another pinch that made her yelp.

“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine,” Koda said, trying to mediate their argument. Sienna’s blush just grew thicker, and she looked down to avoid eye contact, muttering something.

“You are gonna have to speak louder,” Calandra said lovingly, leaning over to press a kiss to the base of one of Sienna’s pointed ears. “It is your right as the first mate.”

Koda was about to interject again when Sienna squared her shoulders and looked up to meet his eyes.

Just like every other time that they’d locked eyes, Koda felt himself falling into those blue-green orbs. Sienna’s eyes swallowed him whole, and he lost himself in the love that he saw reflected there. It wrapped around his soul and made the lingering aches of his day’s exertion fade away.

“Ever since the ghosts merged with us, we’ve both been feeling a shift in emotions,” Sienna explained, and the words gave him a handle to pull himself up out of the ocean of her eyes.

“How so? Nothing negative, I hope,” Koda asked quickly, and Sienna shook her head, biting her bottom lip for a moment before explaining further.

“I think it’s something to do with the fact that the spirits are constantly thinking about their kittens. It’s making us… broody,” Sienna said shyly.

“And horny. Well, more horny than normal,” Calandra interjected with a smirk, grinding her hips into his side. “Sienna’s had it the worst, though.”

“Broody?” Koda asked, not recognizing the word. He had a guess at it, but wanted it confirmed rather than operating on an assumption.

Sienna’s shy look turned to one of frustration and she glared up at him for a moment, clearly thinking he was teasing her. But the anger faded when she saw the earnest confusion in his eyes. Sighing, she buried her face in Koda’s chest. Her next words were muffled, but Koda still heard them clearly.

“I want your children, Koda. All your mates do, but since the other day, it’s gotten a lot worse. The ghosts want their children back, and because they are constantly thinking about that, it’s projecting into us.”

Koda blinked in surprise, but he felt the patriarch’s spirit stir at that idea, sending thoughts of approval and urges to Koda as well. Again, it wasn’t words but the concept that it was good and right to breed his mates. The sooner the better, because that would mean the kittens would be born in the spring and have time to grow before the next winter.

“Ah, I think I get it.” Koda cleared his throat and shuffled slightly as his body reacted to the idea. But with Calandra pressed to him like this, it was impossible to avoid her noticing.

“Oh, I think you do,” Calandra said huskily, her hip grinding increasing in speed. “Sienna and I have talked, though. It wouldn’t be right to rush into it before our home and lives are ready for children. But you can help scratch that itch, right?”

“Not right now,” Sienna interrupted, peeking up through her bangs again with an embarrassed blush. “We need to get more done today. But, if we get time tonight, maybe then?”

“Sure,” Koda sighed, his resistance crumbling in front of the temptation before him. “I think I can handle both of you—”

“Just Sienna tonight,” Calandra interrupted. “My sister-mate needs it the most. I can wait until tomorrow night. I’ll just exhaust myself today.”

“Cal—” Sienna protested, turning towards the dwarven woman. But Calandra didn’t budge, leaning up so she could turn to look directly at Sienna.

“No, Sienna. You and Arthene opened your relationship to me, and you happily welcomed me in and indulged my fixation with waking Koda up in my favorite way. You earned the right to get some time to yourself. I would love to join you two in bed sometime in the future, but not this time.”

Sienna looked like she wanted to protest, but her expression turned startled and then amused as a broad smile crossed her lips.

“What?” Koda asked in confusion as Sienna giggled.

The wolf-eared woman buried her face in his chest to muffle the noise, but it was a good minute before she came up for air, tears in her eyes. By that time, both he and Calandra were looking on with worry as Sienna wiped at her eyes while smothering the occasional laugh that bubbled up.

“It’s fine. I was just thinking that it was a good thing that none of the spirits went for Arthene. Can you imagine how she’d react if she suddenly started feeling even more of a desire for cubs? I love our bear to death, but she’s not one for self-control!”

This time, Koda and Calandra joined Sienna in laughter.

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The rest of the day passed in a haze of work. Koda rejoined Hans to finish setting the spikes. The impromptu barricades were set around corners to trip and injure trolls, since they couldn’t be used directly to stop them. Sienna and Calandra continued to dig gopher holes and small pits to trip the massive monsters up all around that edge of town.

Caches of the spears and javelins hid in the village for use if things came to that, but they all hoped that it wouldn’t be necessary to actually fight in the village proper. The damage that they could avoid to the buildings would help the survivors weather the winter.

No one slacked off, always keeping an eye on the mountains. There were still three more days before the Silent Plains tribe would return to the village, and Koda fully expected at least one skirmish with the trolls raiding it for more food before then. He just hoped to bleed the troll chieftain’s forces some before then.

To be ready in case they were forced to give up the town, Koda’s group moved their supplies to the forest, on the outskirts of the village. Sienna dug out a shelter for them amongst the trees that would be a camouflage fall-back point. They’d still sleep in the meeting house for security, but having the hidden camp would help if something went wrong.

True to her promise, Calandra worked herself hard. The stout woman flitted from group to group, doing whatever needed doing once she and Sienna had finished with the gopher holes and planning. She chopped and sharpened stakes or logs, felled trees, and carried things. Despite her shorter height, Calandra did not lack in strength and put it to good use.

By the time it came to evening, she had fully worn herself out. Barely able to keep her eyes open to eat, the dwarven woman actually fell asleep against Arthene, which amused the bear spirit to no end.

Samira was in much the same state, having tried to match Calandra’s enthusiasm throughout the day in preparing the defense of her home. She even mirrored Calandra in using Arthene’s thigh as a pillow as the group got comfortable.

Koda glanced at Sienna and caught the wolf beastfolk watching him with a hopeful look in her blue-green eyes, tail wagging slowly. He nodded to her and tipped his head to the door. Sienna’s face split in a broad grin.

“We are going to go for a walk to check the village out one last time, maybe get a bath in the lake,” Koda said quietly to Arthene. The bear spirit waggled her eyebrows at him knowingly and blew him a kiss.

“Do more than that if you have a need to, my mate,” Arthene murmured back, a hand on each of her dozing companions' hair. “I’ll keep an eye on these little cubs till you get back. Make sure our sweet Sienna knows our love.”

“Your intuition is scary sometimes,” Koda laughed and bent to kiss Arthene on the lips lightly.

“It’s not just intuition, my mate,” Arthene rumbled contentedly. “My nose is sensitive, even in this form. I can smell it on them.” The incarnate spirit pointedly stroked the heads of both girls in her lap meaningfully. “It’s why I didn’t dissuade them from working so hard today. Calandra clearly is being thoughtful, and Samira is not ready yet. But our sweet Sienna deserves it. Go soothe her fires.”

“Love you, Arthene,” Koda murmured, kissing one of the rounded bear ears poking out of the mass of curly hair that shrouded Arthene’s shoulders. That made the big woman shiver happily and nuzzle into him before leaning back once more.

Nodding to the others who were settling in for the night, Koda joined Sienna in slipping out into the shadows of the evening.