Comanche by Marteeka Karland and Shara Azod

Beads of sweat dotted Baer’s skin as he sat in the small adobe sweat lodge behind their quarters, surrounded by the others in his Triad. Something was wrong, seriously wrong, yet none of them could sense danger to the compound, the tiny patch of quasi-civilization the First Gen Warriors had worked so hard to create in the middle of natural chaos. The powers that had come to them, slowly at first, then with a vengeance once they’d been mated, let them see — or more accurately feel — into the future. It didn’t always work that way for an individual’s life or path. If it had, perhaps they wouldn’t have lost their mate and their children almost a century ago.

At the thought of their lost wife and children, Baer’s heart welled with sorrow. Things had been volatile then. Different. There had been no safe haven for Warriors. When the WCGA realized the offspring being produced by First Generation Warriors couldn’t be controlled, the killings began, and very few survived unscathed. The children who were too old to be “re-educated” had been taken away, tossed into government-run orphanages with no knowledge of their own heritage. All special abilities had been forced down into the psyche so deep that they had been forgotten. The women — mates to proud Warriors — had been slaughtered. The massacre spared no one, and only a handful escaped to live in silent desperation, eventually dying without the other parts of their souls.

No. He would not relive it all again. Not now. There was potentially too much at stake for him to be distracted. There was someone… someone they needed to find. It was imperative they do so, and soon. That was all Baer knew for certain.

The others chanted softly, and Baer pulled his thoughts back to his Triad, shoving the past firmly in the back of his mind where it belonged. If they were to have a successful Spirit Walk, he had to empty his mind and open himself to the spirit world and to his Triad.

The three of them sat in a circle surrounding a large pot of burning incense. Fragrant smoke full of sage and lavender hovered above them like a blanket, allowing them to focus their spirits and see into the moving future. That was the folly of a future Spirit Walk. What they saw was only a small number of possibilities. The future was always in motion. Each thing they did to get there affected the outcome.

Naked, cross-legged, Baer looked to Tyger and Wulf in his mind. The three tuned themselves perfectly to each other during this time. They were one, pooling their strengths and power to tap into the spirit world. In this form, they could talk to the ancients who came before them, spy on their enemies, or find the source of the disturbance plaguing their dreams. It cost them, though. The merging of their minds demanded the merging of their bodies as well, though Baer didn’t see it as much of a sacrifice. It was almost a compulsion. At times, even weeks after a Spirit Walk, Baer sought out one or both of his Triad for relief. This time, the need would be much worse — he knew it in his very being.

Baer knew they looked for a person. Finding one person in the entire world would take intense, prolonged concentration. Sexual need was but a byproduct, one he thoroughly enjoyed.

In a dream-like haze, Baer let himself slip into the others. Their minds merged until they were not three but one. Images flew by with blinding speed, unfocused and impossible to distinguish or separate. Experience had taught Baer not to try. Images of importance would reveal themselves as they came along. Through the haze of color and lights in the vision, an image of the open sea appeared, clear and sharp. More so than if they’d actually been there. The intensity of it hurt his eyes. More than that, he could smell the salt in the air, hear gulls crying, waves crashing. Sea spray wet his body and clung to his hair. He could hear the creaking of wood as if he were on a boat before the image flickered and faded into a white, blinding light. His first instinct was to fight the intensity of it, but he held himself strong in body and mind. He didn’t flinch as one scene blended into another and he was looking at steel and concrete. Children laughed and called to one another before a deafening rumble drowned out all sound, shaking his insides until he thought his organs would liquefy.

Then there was silence.

What did it mean? Spirit walks could be incredibly helpful. More often than not they were infuriatingly vague. Just as he thought the images would stop, a pair of bright, deep blue-green eyes framed by long, dark lashes came into focus. They were delicately slanted, with the barest of dark liner around the lids. Flecks of copper and bronze sparkled in their depths, flickering as the light played across their surface. Deep in the pupils, he and his Triad were reflected. Immediately, Baer was drawn to those eyes. They were obviously female, but it was more than that. He knew, deep in his soul, they must find this woman. She was in some way very important. Whether it was to the community or to them personally, Baer didn’t know. But the pull he felt toward her, the pull they felt toward her, was a force they had no hope of resisting. Not unlike the first time they had seen their mate.

With a great whoosh the vision was sucked into the incense pot in the center of their circle. The air seemed to pull at them; their hair whipped around their faces as if in protest of the woman leaving. Whatever their future held, the one thing Baer was certain of was the woman. It was imperative they find her and bring her back to the compound. Normally, they’d send one of the younger Warriors, but all three of them knew that wasn’t an option this time. Whoever she was, she was not some other’s mate. Baer couldn’t be sure if she was a mate at all. She was too important to send anyone but seasoned Warriors, ones who knew how to use their gifts. Besides that, it just felt wrong to even think about anyone else going to her.

As soon as the vision ended, the lust slammed into Baer. Immediately, he was hard and wanting, needing to bury himself in his Triad, to lose himself in the comfort of their bodies. Before he could move, Wulf was beside him. The other man pulled him close for a hot, demanding kiss. Their tongues met in a frenzy of desire, each hungry mouth battling for supremacy. Baer’s body burned with the magic of the Spirit Walk. His skin tingled, itched to be touched. As he and Wulf battled with their tongues, he felt Tyger’s hot mouth on his cock, engulfing him in a greedy gulp. The sucking sensation pulled him deeper into their world of pleasure and hunger that would take long, oh, so very long, to be sated.

Baer allowed Wulf to push him onto his back. He thrust his hips at Tyger and groaned into Wulf’s mouth, his cock throbbing and aching. The feel of his battle brothers against him, on him, in him, had become a familiar ache in a world of sorrow. The way they came together, mingled with their magic and power, only added to their bonds with each other. It was something they used to share with her, the woman they’d loved so much it hurt to even think of her name. Now they could only share moments like this with one another; any other woman was unthinkable. Baer let himself go, gave himself to the other men in the way he always did, as they did with him as well. Each concerned only with the others’ pleasure.

Wulf left Baer’s mouth to find the sensitive flesh at his neck and nipped his way down his torso until he joined Tyger, teasing Baer’s cock until Baer thought he might scream. Tyger always needed Baer after a Spirit Walk and prepared him thoroughly, wanting Baer hard and on the verge of climax before letting Baer take his ass. The sex act brought them all closer together — every time they indulged, the bonds that had formed their link so very long ago became stronger and stronger.

As Baer knew he would, Tyger left his cock to straddle him. A small pot of slick fluid sat by the incense pot, left to warm in anticipation of this very moment. Tyger dipped two fingers into the little vessel and coated them with the clear substance, then covered Baer’s cock liberally until he was shiny with the stuff. Guiding Baer’s cock against the entrance of his ass, Tyger sat down until Baer was fully seated inside him. The thick muscles of Tyger’s thighs bunched and knotted beneath Baer’s touch. Both men groaned at the blistering sensations surrounding and filling them.

The dim adobe was filled with the smell of clean sweat, pungent herbal incense and the sounds of their lovemaking. Wulf bent to kiss Baer once again as Tyger rode his cock up and down in a slow, sensual rhythm that was designed to give them both the maximum amount of pleasure. When Wulf sat up and offered Baer his cock, Baer opened his mouth eagerly to suck him inside. Baer grasped Wulf’s thigh, urging him to thrust as he needed, to take what he wanted with no reservation.

Sometimes the unrestrained passion between the three of them burned so hot it threatened to consume them all. Since their loss, it was the only way they could truly comfort one another, truly function as leaders of the Elder Council. Not many understood the way tragedy had reshaped them. Before, sharing like this was not something any of them had ever contemplated. There had been no need. Now they had to come together, not just to Spirit Walk, but in order to maintain balance, to find the strength to keep going.

Baer lost himself in the other two men. Pleasure was a living thing among them, a conscious entity that writhed and moaned, taking hold of them, driving them to a frenzied need. Baer’s thrusts upward into Tyger became rougher, harder, faster. He needed to come, but refused to unless his Triad came with him. It was a burning desire, a call he could not deny. He would take his battle brothers into bliss with him, or not at all. This, as all things, they did together.

The orgasm seized him at the base of his cock, squeezing his balls until there was no way to contain his seed. Tyger stroked himself at a maddening pace, his fist barely fitting around the phallus as he fought his own climax. Wulf swelled in Baer’s mouth until he could only fit the head of his cock inside.

As one, they erupted in a climax that rocked them to their very foundation. The only thing that existed in the moment for Baer was Tyger and Wulf. It had always been the three of them. Their beloved wife had completed them, and even after her death, their bond held true. When they came together, it was almost as if she were there with them, urging them to seek one another for solace. As always, the wispy ghost of her presence seemed to hover over them, never touching, never to return. All three shared a wistful smile. It was possible her spirit remained, watching over them with love. She was never coming back; it had taken years, but they all accepted that now. All they could do was hold on to one another.

She would have wanted it that way.