"Yes." She gasped when I added another finger, stretching her. "Yes—keep me pregnant?—"
I prepared her slowly, more than was strictly necessary because I wanted her desperate and begging and ready to accept anything I gave her. Wanted her overwhelmed by need when I finally pushed inside.
"This is our home," I said while working her open with deliberate movements. "Our territory. Ours to defend. Ours to raise our young in. Ours forever."
"Ours," she agreed, her hips rocking against my hand involuntarily. "Ours—please?—"
I removed my fingers and positioned my breeding cock at her entrance, making her look at me before I continued. "This is the first breeding in our claimed territory. I want you to rememberthis moment. Remember me inside you, filling you, making this place ours."
I pushed inside with one slow, deliberate thrust that seated me completely.
She was tight despite the preparation, pregnancy having changed her slightly in ways that made everything more sensitive and responsive. I felt her stretch to accommodate me, felt her body welcoming mine the way it always did now.
"Feel that?" I started moving with deep, powerful thrusts. "Feel me claiming you? This territory is ours now. Marked. Defended. Home."
My forked tip provided the friction she needed and I wanted her overwhelmed, wanted her lost in sensation. "Going to breed you every day in this nest," I said, my voice dropping to that possessive growl she responded to. "Multiple times most days. I'll fill this nest with our young over the seasons."
She came with a cry that echoed through the empty caves, through chambers that would soon hold our offspring.
I felt my knot beginning to swell, my body demanding the lock and the claim and the breeding that would mark this territory as ours in every way that mattered. I thrust deeper, seated myself fully, and let the knot expand until we were locked together completely.
The connection was perfect. Tight. Complete.
"Mine," I said against her throat where the bond mark pulsed. "My mate. My nest. My territory. My future."
"Yours," she gasped, still shaking from her orgasm. "All yours."
I came hard, seed flooding into her in greater volume than usual because this mattered more. This was claim-breeding. Territory-breeding. The kind that declared ownership in every way that mattered to both our species.
The bioluminescence in the cave walls pulsed brighter in response, reacting to our breeding, recognizing the claim we were making.
We stayed locked for a long time while the sun moved across the entrance, casting changing patterns of light over us. The thermal vents hummed their eternal song. The electromagnetic energy wrapped around us like acceptance from the cliff itself.
When the knot finally released, I didn't pull out immediately. Just stayed inside her, feeling her body hold mine, feeling the absolute rightness of this place and this moment.
"Your belly's bigger than it was this morning," I said, pressing my hand where the eggs rested. "The breeding accelerates their growth. Another week and you'll be obviously pregnant to anyone who sees you. Week after that, you'll lay them."
"And then you'll get me pregnant again immediately."
"Yes." No hesitation. No doubt. "Maintain your fullness. Fill this nest with our offspring."
She smiled despite her exhaustion. "Good."
We spent the rest of the day settling into our new home.
I flew patrol routes around the territory, checking boundaries and looking for any sign of Kethar or Vhel, identifying potential approach routes they might use. Everything was quiet. Too quiet, in a way that made my instincts sharp. They were out there somewhere. Planning. Waiting for the right moment.
Hallie organized the nesting chamber while I patrolled, making everything functional and comfortable simultaneously. When I returned from my final patrol, everything was perfect and ready for the life we'd build here.
"Tomorrow we set defensive measures," she said when I landed. "Traps. Choke points. Make sure when they come, they regret every decision that led them here."
"Tomorrow," I agreed.
We moved to the southern entrance as the sun set and sat together watching the three moons rise over our territory. The vertical world spread endlessly below us—our domain now, our responsibility to defend.
"In three days, Kethar and Vhel attack," Hallie said quietly, stating what we both knew.
"Yes."
