When Reece and Angel reached the galley, it was nearly deserted. They each made themselves some oatmeal, an apple, and a fried fish fillet. It was an odd assortment, but the only things that were edible at the time. They had restocked in Madagascar, but most of that was kept frozen and they didn’t want to spend an hour preparing their meals. They made small talk as they ate, then Reece was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled out of his seat. The arms momentarily released him, and he spun around to come face to face with Ciera. The feverish look in her eyes scared him just before her hungry lips met his. She quickly forced her tongue into his mouth.

“Uh, maybe get a room,” interrupted Angel.

“My thoughts exactly,” added Ciera. “It’s been too long, Reece. I need you. Now!”

“How can I say no to that?” asked Reece, looking over at Angel with feigned innocence.

“Go,” laughed Angel. “I’ll clean up. Have fun, but don’t forget we have a mission bright and early.”

Reece allowed Ciera to drag him to her quarters, kissing him passionately the entire trip. When she slammed open the metal door while trying to pull his shirt off, Reece heard a squeal from inside the room. Yanking the door shut, Ciera dragged Reece across the room and pushed him onto the lower bunk of her shared bunk bed. Naeva, looking flustered, peeked out from the top bunk, just above Reece’s face.

“What do you think you’re doing?” asked Naeva, her eyes wide as they darted back and forth between Ciera and Reece.

“Not a good time to talk,” growled Ciera as she pulled off her pants and tossed them to the floor. “He’s all mine right now. You can have him after I’m done with him.”

“What has gotten into you?” asked Reece as Ciera struggled with his belt.

“I don’t know,” answered Ciera. “I just know that I need you inside of me right now.”

“So, much for foreplay,” laughed Naeva from the top cot.

“Aren’t you going to leave?” asked Reece when he noticed that the sexy Iranian Lycaon hadn’t bothered to get up.

“Nah,” answered Naeva casually. “Ciera said I could have you when she was done with you, so I’ll be patiently awaiting my turn.”

Reece’s mind was swimming. He had enough to worry about, but with an incredibly hot woman pulling his pants off, he decided not to resist. He didn’t know why she was so desperate, but he decided to just go with it. Maybe it was the Goddess’s will.

By the time she took him into her mouth, there was no turning back. It wasn’t long before he was ready and Ciera quickly pulled herself up, straddled, and then lowered herself onto him. Once he was sheathed inside of her, she became almost animalistic in her movements, the primal need to mate bubbling to the surface. Reece didn’t know what else to do other than to go along for the ride. Not that he minded in the least. It was an extremely pleasant ride.

The two of them stayed like that for some time, Reece holding off so that the waves of Ciera’s pleasure could crest several times before his own. When his time finally came, he could swear that Ciera was somehow milking him. Whatever was happening, the feeling was exquisite. While coming down from his high, Ciera’s greedy lips pressed against his own and she sucked his tongue into her mouth, moaning around it. Reece was still fully hard, and Ciera began picking up speed when Naeva’s head popped out from above them.

“Hey, you had your turn,” she hissed at Ciera. “Get off of him, now!”

The two females stared daggers at each other until Reece cleared his throat.

“Fine,” said Ciera. She gave a little pout while reluctantly pulling herself from Reece. She abruptly flopped down on the bed next to him. “He’s all yours.”

Naeva flipped off the bed, already fully nude, and smiled naughtily at Reece while he admired her scorching hot body. Her dark brown eyes gave him a hungry look as she licked her lips. It didn’t take him long to pick up on the fact that she was more than ready for him. He also noticed that she was sporting partially elongated fangs and her claws were not fully retracted.

Whatever was going on with Ciera, was also happening to Naeva and she could barely contain the animal within. When she immediately went to mount him, he breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t tried to take him into her mouth. Filled with obviously sharp teeth, that was the last place he wanted his manhood to enter. However, while she ground herself onto him, she couldn’t help but draw several long scratches down his muscular back with her claws.

The wounds healed quickly from the sexual energy he was absorbing from their union, another ability he had picked up from his apparent lineage and the long proximity to the nightcore. He felt more alive than at nearly any other point in his life. Reece began to wonder if this was the new normal. The thought would have brought a smile to his face if he wasn’t already smiling in sexual satisfaction.

He lasted much longer with Naeva since he had just finished with the beautiful Ciera a few minutes before. After she came down from her second pleasurable climax, she crawled off him. Pulling her blanket from the top bunk down to cover the rug on the metal floor, she got down on her hands and knees with her gorgeous ass facing Reece and gazed back at him expectantly. While she waited, Naeva shivered in delight, an aftershock of pleasure rippling throughout her body from the long-lasting climax. After she finally came down, she peered over her shoulder at Reece, her eyes half-lidded.

“Take me, Reece,” she demanded huskily, like an animal. “Take me now!”

Giving in to the compelling need, Reece pushed himself off the bed and mounted her from behind. He watched her naturally tan skin ripple while he vigorously gave himself to the sexy woman. He could hear Ciera over his shoulder, talking dirty to both him and Naeva. He could also hear her playing with herself while she watched the two of them mate. Between Ciera’s activities and what he was doing with Naeva, he had more than enough stimulation to finish. Once he had come down from his high, instead of rolling off the gorgeous Iranian and passing out, Reece felt even more energized. It felt odd. Reece knew that it was only strange because it was so new to him, but it should have been completely expected, considering what he was.

“Oops,” jested Naeva. “I didn’t want you to finish already. I guess we’re just going to have to do it all over again.”

“Let me help,” added Ciera as she crawled over to the two of them and pulled Reece back and out of Naeva.

Turning him, she cleaned him off with her mouth. Naeva flipped back over and lifted her legs back, allowing Reece better access. He rejoined his body to Naeva’s and proceeded to bring her to new heights over the next half an hour as he recovered and then released again. By this time, he was practically buzzing with energy, as was Ciera. Naeva just stared at the two of them with a cocked eyebrow and laughed.

“You two are incorrigible,” bantered the dark and sultry woman before her face grew intense and she cocked her head curiously as she regarded Ciera. “What is it?” she asked.

Ciera just smiled brightly, eyes twinkling with joy. “I’m pregnant!”

“What?” asked Reece numbly, color draining from his face as his mouth hung open before he finally managed to ask, “How long?”

“Just now,” she replied playfully, giggling in delight.

“What do you mean, ‘just now’?” asked Reece incredulously, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes. “How could you possibly know that already?”

“I’m a lilin,” stated Ciera matter-of-factly, as if that explained everything. “We are fully aware of everything when it comes to sex and reproduction. Give me another hour and I will be able to tell you the sex of the baby. A day, and I can tell you the eye and hair color.”

“Wow, okay...” said Reece, trying to make sense of this life-changing surprise. “I guess we’ll just have to save the world a little quicker now. It does make me feel good that if I don’t make it through this whole mess, a part of me will live on. So, how shall we raise this new baby? I’m thinking...”

“Ugh, about that,” cut in Ciera. “Now, before you say anything more, you need to understand some things. I just told you that I know everything about sex. Well, that includes love. I know you care about Naeva and me and love us in a way, but you’re not in love with either of us. You’re in love with Karina and Aika, and good luck with that. Naeva and I both know that and accept it.”

Reece glanced over at Naeva, who simply nodded silently, a bittersweet smile spread across her face. Ciera took two steps to stand next to Naeva and they each put an arm around the other as they faced him together.

“Just so you know, we are in love with each other,” continued Ciera, Naeva nodding in agreement. “You have given us something we could never give ourselves. I still need you and I do love you, and you’ll be a great father to this child, but Naeva and I will be responsible for raising this child. It’s what we want, and I know that deep down it’s what you want as well. Now that I am pregnant, I’ll be in a symbiotic relationship with the child. It will sustain me as I will sustain it while it grows within me. Now, that doesn’t mean I won’t want a top-off from time to time, but for the next thirteen months, I don’t need it.”

“Thirteen months?” asked Reece, grabbing onto something she said that wasn’t so dangerous to ask about.

“Yes,” answered Ciera. “There are many differences between lilin and humans. You see, our gestation takes a bit longer for several reasons, not least of which is the requirement for sexual energy. Of course, there are many ways to get this, and the mother transfers it to the child through the breastmilk until it can fend for itself.”

“Okay, good to know,” said Reece numbly, his mind reeling. “So, what now?”

“Well, very soon I won’t be able to go on missions,” explained Ciera. “I’ll need a place to settle down for a year and nest. You know, create a safe place to begin raising our child. For now, Naeva and I have some unfinished business. Stay and watch if you wish. That’ll make it all the hotter.”

“I’d love to,” answered Reece. “But I’ve got to get back and finish preparing for tomorrow’s mission.”

“Suit yourself,” said Naeva as she grabbed Ciera in a naked embrace, the two women kissing passionately and trying to suck on each other’s tongues.

Reece shook his head and laughed. “Don’t have too much fun,” he instructed as he walked out the door. Neither woman peeked in his direction, too interested in each other, but they both waved to him as he shut the door.

Walking towards his quarters, he decided to visit Aika. Despite the long day, he wasn’t tired and knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep. He was buzzing with energy. Plus, he hadn’t seen her all day and wanted to talk to her before the mission. Knocking lightly on the door, he heard no answer. He was just about to leave when he heard a loud moan from under the door, followed by giggling. Apparently, Pasha had also decided to visit her. Not wanting to interrupt, Reece decided to head back up to the carrier’s deck and watch the ocean for a while. It was always beautiful at night. When he walked out into the cool night air, the smell of the sea was offset by a slow drizzle.

A lone figure leaned against the railing, staring out into the choppy waves. Despite the gloom, he knew her instantly. Her long platinum blonde hair gave her away. For just a moment, he considered leaving her to her thoughts. In the end, he chose to join her at the rail. He had a lot to think about as well. For several beats, they just stood there, side by side, staring out into the murky sea. Each was lost amongst a myriad swirl of worries, ideas, revelations, and random thoughts. After a couple of false starts, he finally looked over at her and spoke.

“I missed you today,” he admitted, not knowing what else to say. He couldn’t get a read on her mood and had no desire to put his foot in his mouth.

“Do you want a child, Reece?” Karina asked him, a deep melancholy filling her voice.

Reece’s heart sank at those words. He knew she wasn’t the jealous type, but the idea of children was on a whole different level. Still, she would find out soon enough and he would never lie to her.

“Funny you should say that,” he began. Karina’s head abruptly jerked in his direction, her eyes staring straight into his own. It was almost enough to make him change his mind. Almost. “I just found out that Ciera is pregnant with my child. I think it may have been Divine intervention. It was so weird. She wants to raise the child with Naeva, but I will still be a father to it. Before that revelation, I had never really given it much thought. Life has had a way of keeping us far too busy to think of any kind of future. So, um… why do you ask?”

“Because I can never give you children, Reece,” answered Karina. “And it’s not because I’m a lilitu. Lilitu’s can have children, just not me. When I was still a human and betrothed to the emperor, some of his enemies poisoned me. My ovaries were destroyed. I didn’t find out about it until many years later, but there’s no way to reverse the damage. And it was all for some stupid revenge on someone I didn’t even care about, to deny him an heir. The thing is, I never cared because I never wanted children. Not until I met you. I would have liked to have your children though, Reece. I would have liked that very much.”

Even though everything was damp from the drizzle, Reece could still make out the tracks of her tears as they wound their way down her cheeks while her eyes studied his face, looking for a sign of hope, perhaps. He didn’t say anything. There was nothing he could say to make things better. He did the only thing that made sense to him and stepped right up to her and pulled her into him, hugging her tightly.

He could feel her small body sobbing lightly into his arms and he kissed the top of her head. Slowly dropping to one knee, he kissed her on the way down, on the forehead this time. Looking at her face, his heart hurt badly. He hugged her again, putting his head on her shoulder. Reece needed her to know how much he cared about her; how much he was in love with her. Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her slow and long. Not with passion, but with quiet love, trying to find some warmth amidst the cool night air and the cold rain that had decided to pick up a bit.

“The world’s a crazy place,” he whispered to her, his mind grasping at straws on how to possibly console the woman he loved. “Maybe there’s something out there that can fix you.”

“You’re so sweet,” she replied. “But if there was, don’t you think I would have stumbled across some reference to it in three-thousand years?”

Reece had no answers for her, so he just continued to hold her to him. They stayed like that until he started to fall asleep. He had almost forgotten about her strength when she hefted him back up.

“Okay, we’ve got a big day tomorrow,” declared Karina. “You and I both need some sleep.”

“Okay,” agreed Reece. “But will you stay with me tonight?”

“Of course,” she replied, a little smile returning to her face.

They held hands as they walked across the carrier’s deck and back down to Reece’s quarters. Once inside, they quickly stripped out of their soaked clothing and hung what they could in the shower to dry. Toweling off, Reece crawled into his bed and Karina slid in beside him, curling her form around his larger body. With her long platinum hair splayed across his arm and her perfect face nestled into his chest, he held her with his arm and quickly drifted off to sleep.

The dream came again, crashing down upon his mind like a mighty ocean wave. Three faceless women stood before him. In each of their arms, they held a baby. Around them, he watched as his friends fought to keep the undead at bay, trying desperately to protect the children. Reece tried to move to help, but it felt like he was walking through cement. His movements were slow and ponderous, allowing him to make little headway. He felt a large emptiness inside of him but couldn’t understand what any of it meant. He did get the sense that the three babies were all his, though he only knew about one of them. Each had a different symbol tattooed onto its forehead, and they were all crying and holding out their infant hands to him. He recognized the symbols as ancient symbols for water, life, and earth. They left him with more questions than answers, so he continued to struggle to close the gap. He could tell he would never make it to them in time to stop the undead horde from closing in on them all. Thankfully, the dream ended before he had to watch the inevitable outcome. As he began to wake up, he heard the words of a goddess echo through his semi-conscious thoughts. “Don’t give up. The tide will soon turn.”