The contraband wasn't weapons or drugs. It was three tiny, mewling kittens, hidden away on a dead pirate ship. As the best scout in near space, Vinze Kees expected a bonus, not a life sentence of diapers and round-the-clock feedings. He certainly didn't expect them to be Bastets-a mysterious, reclusive race whose children are prized on the black market. And he definitely didn't expect their embassy to declare him their permanent guardian. According to their laws, the kittens had imprinted on him. For life. Now, Vinze-a battle-hardened, independent omega who never planned on a family-is on mandatory maternity leave. His world shrinks to the four walls of his apartment, dominated by three alien babies who grow at an astonishing rate, demand constant touch, and seem to think his primary function is to be their personal climbing tree and milk bar. But as his foundlings rapidly mature from helpless kittens into three brilliant, powerful, and fiercely possessive alpha males, Vinze's feelings begin to shift. The line between guardian and something more blurs. They are no longer his children; they are his protectors, his obsession, and they've made it clear they have no intention of sharing him with anyone. He saved them from the clutches of pirates, but can he survive the terrifying, all-consuming love of three Bastets who have claimed him as their true mate? I will be posting this story on RoyalRoad

Steve despises being touched in that abyss where he grew up. Allowing people there to touch him meant allowing himself to endure pain. And Steve hates pain. He endured it for a long time simply because he was weak. But one day, he realized that he could no longer endure it, that it was better to die than to allow someone to hurt him again. The fact that he ended up here in this place was a fatal mistake. Steve, in his past, but the one who captured him, is in the present.