The alpha was sleeping again in his nest by the corner of the not there wall, and the smaller saiyan was watching him. He hadn't moved for some time and the beta was getting curious about the larger being. He still hadn't left. No One had ever stayed like this before.

Ever since Alpha had been in his Dream Space, he had watched him very closely. Every time they sleep, Alpha was there in his space with him. Alpha talked a lot, telling stories that made his head hurt, but he didn't want Alpha to stop for some reason he couldn't understand. The words and scent of Alpha made him feel safe, but he hadn't talked to Alpha since that first time. Talking made him remember, it made the pain come back worse than just listening. Alpha had stayed away from the Safe Place though, not like the first time he was there.

It was just after first meal, and Kome said that Cat Lady told him no one would be by today until second meal. That was odd. Someone would always come by whenever he had the cubs with him. Bitter One and Cold One wouldn't leave him alone with his cubs like this. It made him feel nervous. He didn't like different because he couldn't protect his cubs as well.

He looked behind him in his own nest to see Kome and Seba curled up dozing, and his eyes softened contently. Cat Lady had brought a big meal with lots of meat today and now the cubs were sleeping the meal off. Cat Lady had been bringing better food, and he knew this was good for his cubs to get stronger. The black tail brushed his stomach and he thought of his new cubs, they needed it too.

The beta crawled over to Alpha on his hands and knees with small movements. Alpha looked like him, and he smelled good. Saiyan, Alpha said that's what they were, and he could feel something right about the word.

Alpha's hand moved, and the small saiyan froze where he was crouched with his arm halfway outstretched for his next step. When the Stronger One settled back down, he started to move closer once more.

Alpha had moved his nest from the other side of his space next to the not there wall for some reason, and the beta didn't know why. The other corner was safer, two walls angry ones couldn't come through. Was Alpha strong enough it didn't matter? He finally made it to the clear wall and crouched down beside him and inhaled.

His tail curled and swayed happily at the absence of the bad smells. Alpha had a good smell, strong smell that made him feel warm like the Hot Place he dreamed of.

Cloves.

The word popped into his mind out of nowhere he realized with a tilt of his head. He considered it and realized that word described the smell perfectly. The beta gave a soft purr as he breathed in more of that warm clove scent and relaxed. For some reason that smell made him want to curl up beside the larger male and bask in the warmth and safety it offered. Dark eyes slid over the stronger one, taking in the firm muscles and smooth mostly unmarked skin. Alpha didn't have as many marks as he did. Was he that strong? Could he really be stronger than Bad One?

Alpha's mane and tail were also nicer than his. He vaguely remembered he used to have smooth fur like that. A memory flickered in his mind, hazy and brief. He remembered feeling strong arms around him and….something involving his tail while gentle fingers scratched his scalp. The beta shook his head; he didn't like all these memories. They made his head and chest hurt, like he couldn't breathe. It felt like when he lost a cub.

Leaning close enough his nose nearly brushing the not there wall he breathed in more of that calming smell, his eyelids sinking low as he relaxed again. He didn't know why that smell made him feel so….He didn't have a word for it.

"Hello." His heart jolted as he looked over to see Alpha awake and looking at him. Alpha wasn't supposed to know!

The little beta squeaked in fright and bolted back to his nest and realized he couldn't hide under his blankets without moving the cubs. Doing the next best thing he settled behind his boys and curled as small as he could against the wall.

He looked over his cubs and nest to watch Strong One as he sat up. Alpha had a smile on his face that made the beta hiss. Alpha should have been sleeping! Now he had to wait to smell that nice smell again!

++VK++

Vegeta watched the smaller saiyan scurry with an amused expression on his face away after Toa let out that cute squeak. Now the beta was glaring at him as he peeked from his "hiding" spot, and the older man could only find that adorable. When the smaller saiyan started to hiss, it was all the prince could do to keep from laughing. Toa was so tiny that those threatening sounds didn't actually sound like a threat. If he was honest with himself, it looked like the beta was sulking at being caught.

He gave the other a soft look before the smaller saiyan huffed and laid down to curl around his boys. Every now and then Toa would peek over the body of his smaller cub to look at him before ducking back down again.

He was becoming curious if the beta trying to sneak up on him to get a better whiff of his scent, if the repeated scenting of the air was any indication. And this was not the first time Vegeta had caught Toa coming close to him like this either. Normally he would remain still and allow the younger male to observe him, but this time he wanted to see what he would do if he moved or talked. Moving had startled him but not deterred him.

It seemed that Toa was becoming used to him, but the beta hadn't spoken since that first time in the Ao Tokonga, either in the illusion or waking world. That concerned him, but at least the beta stayed with him in the illusion world. The younger one still kept him from the house, but he wasn't hostile unless he went near it and that made Vegeta curious. He needed to find out more about his mate, and that house was his best chance all things considered if he couldn't get Toa to open up first.

He could tell that some of the stories he would just randomly talk about were causing Toa to remember something, and the small beta would hold his head wherever he was crouched. It did surprise Vegeta that whenever that happened, the submissive would remain with him. He must find some comfort with the prince if he did that. Originally the prince just spoke to let the beta hear his voice and hopefully keep the beta calm, but the steady flow of words seemed to be having a positive affect on his little mate.

He sighed leaning back against the back wall. He had a mate. That still didn't feel real when he thought about it. He caught himself reaching absently for his bite mark and stopped himself. Drawing attention to it could make them realize the significance; and if that happened, Vegeta had no doubt they would use that information against him and ultimately hurt Toa or the cubs in the process.

What would they do when they were rescued? The prince honestly didn't know what was going to happen with Toa then. What if when the beta got better he didn't want to be with him? Toa could have been engaged to someone, ready to become their mate. What about Toa's family? He already knew his own father was going to be livid for letting this happen in the first place. Both his parents wanted him to start settling down and looking for a potential mate but this was certainly not what they had in mind.

It wasn't like he hadn't looked for a mate before this. In a way, he found himself rather glad he hadn't mated anyone before this happened; and he wouldn't have to explain to them why he raped and got a beta pregnant. Everyday he prayed to the goddess for forgiveness. He knew what happened, that he was drugged with enough aphrodisiacs to make the beta's pheromones ten times more powerful, and that took away any coherent thought. He suspected they used drugs on Toa to increase his fertility as well, which would make his scent all the more potent. The cell itself hadn't dissipated any of his scent and actually concentrated it before they vented the cell if he was still able to smell it after Toa's heat. Despite knowing those details, Vegeta blamed himself for what happened, for not better controlling himself.

He wanted to believe his instincts would have kept him from hurting any beta no matter the circumstance and no matter what he did, he still couldn't remember much about what happened. Toa's eyes fiery and wild flashed in his mind. He remembered the touch of warm skin, and how good things felt, pain and pleasure mixed together from fangs sinking into his shoulder. He couldn't tell if it was real of something he imagined but there was the feeling of him holding that small body against him and how right it felt.

Glancing to the side he caught the beta staring at him again. Eyes widened before the little beta softly hissed ducking his head again as a smile crossed the prince's face. It wouldn't be hard to care about this beta if he let himself, to love him if Toa wanted him in return….or if he didn't.

++VK++

Kome had been watching Tama for the past couple of days. He had been acting very weird. Why was Tama being this way with the other male? Tama had never acted like that before, was it because he bit Tama?

The cub looked as his tama and frowned seeing him peeking over at the other male again before his eyes fell on the new scar on Tama's shoulder. It made him angry with this male. He was tired of males hurting tama and making him have cubs and then making Tama lose them. He was glad to see a matching scar on the other's shoulder. Tama had got him back and made the other pay for hurting him.

The little cub didn't understand why the other male was still here. Why hadn't he left! Cat Lady said he was staying, that the Bitter One hoped Tama would have an easier time having cubs with this one. Kome almost didn't want Tama to have more cubs. Tama had stopped talking after Seba, stopped being himself. Every time Tama lost cubs he got sick, Tama wouldn't eat or sleep. They wouldn't let Kome and Seba see him for awhile if it got really bad like last time. Tama had held him and Seba and wouldn't let them go last time. His tail was tucked and Tama had whimpered the whole time. It scared him. Tama was strong, he never cried or whimpered before that. Tama killed people who hurt him except for Cold One and Bad One.

A shiver ran through him. He didn't like Bad One. They smelled Bad, mean, and he enjoyed hurting Tama. Last time they were here they grabbed Seba's tail and made him cry after they held him in the air by it. Tama fought so hard but Bad One still hurt him. And they laughed the whole time. Seba was scared all the time after that and was afraid to let go of him or Tama. He would shake if they didn't hold him, and he started grabbing his little tail and crying. His little brother was curled up against him like normal, and he felt a protective urge to bare his teeth at the other male.

He was so confused by him. There was a weird smell in the air now, and Kome didn't know what it meant. It was nothing like the bad smells, in fact those were gone now that this male was here, and Kome wondered how that was. This smell was…almost nice. It was warm and told him he should relax. He didn't want to relax, this male was just here to hurt his Tama. The male was staring at Tama again, and Kome was tired of it.

Kome moved to place himself in front of Tama and his brother with a glare on his face. The new male blinked as his eyes flickered over to him. He bared his teeth and let out a threatening hiss as mean as the boy could make it. The male needed to know that Kome wouldn't let him hurt Tama again.

++VK++

A loud hiss woke Seba up, and he was scared that someone had come in to take them away from Tama again. A whimper of fear came from his throat as he fought to get free of the blanket so he could hide from the threat. Kome told him to hide when he hissed, when Tama hissed and growled he needed to stay in the nest. He buried himself under the coverings in the nest and looked out to see what was happening.

Tama growled from behind him, but it was at Kome. The sound didn't sound as scary when Tama growled at Bitter One or Cat Lady. Not seeing anyone else in Tama's space, the small cub came back out from his hiding place. Why did Kome hiss like that if there wasn't anyone there? Why did Tama sound mad?

Kome was grumbling as he stared hard at the floor. Tama was baring his teeth at the older cub with a deep growl that Seba had rarely ever heard. The small boy watched as his brother gave the male in the other side of Tama's space a mean look before Tama snapped his teeth. Tama looked like he would bite Kome if he didn't stop looking at the new one like that. Tama only did that when they didn't listen. The little cub softly whined and crouched low to avoid making Tama mad.

Seba looked at the New One with a curious look to see why Kome hissed. He was watching the family with a strange look. The tiny cub didn't know why his brother didn't like him. He smelled nice, and Seba felt warm and fuzzy whenever he got a good sniff of the nice smell. Like when Tama held him and was purring. He wanted to get closer to him, he seemed nice.

While Tama was still growling and grumbling at Kome, Seba carefully moved to leave the nest and get a closer look at the male. Kome and Tama had kept him in the nest mostly; and he liked the warm nest, but Seba wanted to get a closer look. He moved about halfway out of the nest when the new male looked at him. Seba stilled for a moment nervous before his tail shyly wagged and he smiled. It took a minute but he smiled back! His tail wagged faster. Maybe they would play with him!

He let out a squeak when he felt his brother's arms wrap around him and pull him back in the nest. Seba whined in protest squirming and reaching away so he could go play. Kome just put him in his lap and wouldn't budge. Seba tried to squeeze out of Kome's arms.

"Seba!" He paused a second when Kome hissed his name softly. He ignored his brother as he wiggled and twisted he slapped the nest with his hand giving Kome a mean look. He didn't want to sit in Kome's lap! Kome was no fun, he wanted to play!

Tama rumbled and pulled him out of Kome's lap and into the area in front of him. Seba pouted with a mew only for Tama to nuzzle him but fix him with a firm stare that meant "no". His little tail twitched as he huffed in protest. The loud purr from Tama made him happy though when he felt Tama give him a lick. His own little purr joined Tama's as he got his bath. Play time could wait.