StarPyre

sex in our prison cell, we had been asleep for over a day. I had given Celyze enough of an energy boost to allow him to expand his search beyond our galaxy. Ryzen and Xenak had latched onto his signal and used the connection to lead them to the Vhalxt pirates.
That was why he’d been so unresponsive. He had locked himself in the beyond to give us a fighting chance of survival. When the Vhalxt realized that they were being followed, they’d dragged him away and had been about to eject his body into space when the ship was attacked and raided.
Zyxel had rescued his body and immediately brought him to the infirmary, where Celyze could awaken from his trance safely.
I hadn’t even had a chance to celebrate his heroism or our newly acquired freedom before another piece of life-altering news had been thrust upon me. I had no choice but to live the remainder of my years on a tropical planet in some secret refugee community. The only positive, other than not being eaten or enslaved, was that other humans already lived there. Apparently, I wasn’t the first human abducted. About a hundred other humans had been rescued and were living freely among the aliens.
I would become the newest addition.
“Tori . . . ” Luwyn cautioned.
“Just tell me!” I snapped, fists clenched. “I would rather deal with the heartache sooner than later.”
“We can’t . . . or, I mean . . . ” Auro scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to being able to talk to you, after all this time.”
“What they are failing to tell you, Tori, is that we can’t leave you,” Celyze comforted, enclosing both of my hands in his. His honeyed voice was serious, but his icy blue eyes swirled with life. “Or at least, we wouldn’t want to. We knew you were sterile while we were locked in that cell, but each one of us—for one reason or another—spilled his altered essence within you, creating a permanent bond.” Releasing one of my hands, he grabbed a handful of my long hair and pulled it over my shoulder, holding it out for me to examine. “The rainbow coloring in your hair is proof that we’ve claimed you. Each of these unique strands matches the color of our wings, showing the world that you are claimed.”
“What are you saying?” I asked, searching his face. “Why?”
“Only when a Swynemi male’s mating pheromones are triggered does his body activate sperm production. Therefore, he is mated for life to the female he spills his essence into,” Luwyn explained. “No one but his mate will ever appeal to him again.” He stroked my free hand as his wings fluttered. “I must admit, when we were first together, I only mated with you to keep the Vhalxt happy, but I completed the bond because something about you mesmerized me. I didn’t know if we would survive, but I wanted to make the best of our time.”
“So no matter what, you’re stuck with me? Some biological trigger prevents you from choosing another woman?” I stepped back, yanking my hands away as I felt my heart shatter. I didn’t want to be a burden that they were forced to shoulder just because they’d had to mate with me to survive. I hated the idea of my males going through the motions of a relationship, instead of wanting to stay by my side. “Did any of the time we spent together mean anything to you? Or am I just an unfortunate consequence of a desperate attempt to survive?”
“Tori,” Auro murmured, his wings drooped behind him. “We spent many solars within that confinement. Our only hope for survival was that Celyze might, by chance, be able to reach someone through the beyond. Yes, you were presented to us as a female to be bred; we knew that for at least one of us to survive, we had to bind ourselves to you. Through Celyze, we learned of your condition, yet it no longer mattered. Luwyn had already fallen for you by then, and both Celyze and I bonded with you fully aware we would never have offspring. We didn’t care.”
“We cared more about surviving as a unit—all or none,” Luwyn added. “That is, until Celyze tried to play the martyr.”
“I was trying to buy you ungrateful idiots more time!” Celyze hissed, flaring his wings toward his crewmates. “The point is, we were willing to overcome our cultural differences to be with you, Tori. Even if we only had a small moment left in our existence.”
“And now?” I asked as I steeled my heart for the answer. I’d gotten my hopes up too many times in the past, only for me to end up crushed and in tears.
“While leaving our friends and family will be a challenge, especially after a mooncycle of imprisonment, we will persevere. I have great hope that once this war ends and the dust settles, we will be free to roam the galaxy,” Auro replied. “I will miss being able to pilot a spacecraft.”
“Agreed. It will take a while for me to get used to planetside once again,” Luwyn sighed. “But I can use my skills as a hunter to keep me occupied and our clan well-fed.”
“Are you sure this is what you truly want?” I licked my lips, nervously eyeing the males who’d gone to hell and back with me. I desperately hoped I hadn’t misunderstood them.
“Tori, you were the flame in our darkness, when our need was so dire,” Celyze breathed as he advanced toward me, his icy eyes passionate. “Cosmic Souls have a word for those who appear when times are darkest and burn all the troubles away. You know what we call them?”
I shook my head, speechless. For every step I retreated, he moved forward, closing the distance between us. His glowing eyes held mine as he stalked toward me with his wings flared out, blocking the world around us. I