by Lacey Thorn
“They planned to use her as pani,” Erika added, making her mother and Reanna recoil in horror. No woman would wish to have such a fate.
“My goddess!” Reanna exclaimed. “And there was no one to stand up to them? No one to stop them? But you are a Guardian! Surely you could have stopped them?”
“And exposed herself for a Guardian,” Erin murmured. “No, to leave was the only true choice.”
“That is just what I’m sure my aunt thought,” Farrah agreed.
“I’m sure that she sent you to the Donans as much as to Erika,” Erin told her with a smile. “I believe that there is probably little that she doesn’t know.”
“I believe that you are right.” Farrah smiled back.
“That is part of the reason that we are here today, Mama,” Erika interjected. “Farrah is to have her joining ceremony tonight and we were hoping that you could stand in as her family. I have been forbidden to attend.” Erika added this last with a twinkle in her eye and a huge grin on her face. As Erin was the only other person at the table who had ever been present at a ceremony it was entirely for her.
Erin threw her head back and laughed and laughed until tears ran down her face. “I can just see the faces of your mates now, daughter. I am sure Arik and Galen were very adamant.”
“Yes, they were,” Erika agreed.
“Why do I feel like I am missing something very important?” Farrah asked.
“Me too,” Reanna agreed.
“You will both learn at your own joining ceremonies and not a moment before,” Erin told them. “And I would be delighted to stand in as your family, Farrah. I would consider it an honor.”
“Thank you,” Farrah nodded.
“Now then.” Erin stood from the table and all three other women got quickly to their feet as well. “Let’s go into my private gardens and see what you can do. You can put out the flames?” she asked Farrah.
“Yes, I can put them out,” Farrah told them. “I can even give the illusion of fire and flame where there is none.”
“Wow,” Reanna said, awed. “I would love to see such a sight.”
“I will show you gladly,” Farrah replied.
By then they were in the garden and Erin led them to the very thickest part before showing them to a bench and sitting down. “Whenever you are ready, Farrah, show us what you will.”
Farrah walked a little way from where Erin and Reanna sat while Erika walked to a tree close by and leaned against it. Farrah took several breaths before turning and holding her hands in the air. “I call upon the Goddess of Altair. I claim the very fire of the air. In my hands a gentle flame,” Farrah opened her hands and each held a small ball of fire, “becomes the torch by your name.” Each ball of fire shot up from her hands so that it looked as if her very hands were torches. “A soft caress of flames going higher,” the fire burst from her hands shooting high into the air, “I thank you for my gift of fire.” And the flames were gone. Farrah stood as she had when she started as if the flames had never been.
“That was amazing.” Erika approached her, transfixed by what she had seen. “How did you do that?”
“What?” Farrah asked with confusion. “I have done nothing yet but ask for the goddess’s blessing on my gift.”
“Where did you learn to do that?” Erika asked.
“Aunt Asme told me that I should always ask for a blessing before using my power. A respect for what I have been given.”
“But where did the words come from?” Erika needed to know. “Did the Mahiki teach them to you? Did she send some for me?”
“No,” Farrah told her. “She said that I would just know what to say.”
“So I should just know?” Erika was shaking her head.
“Listen with your soul,” Farrah encouraged her, “and you will know the words. I heard you before and there are some that you already know and say. Just concentrate and the rest will flow from you.”
Erika closed her eyes, raised her arms high over her head and listened intently to the call of her soul, searching for the words she needed. “I call upon the Goddess of Altair. The power of earth I wish to share.” The earth began to tremble under them and the trees and all the greenery began to wave in as if moved by a wind that didn’t exist. At least not at the moment. “No rock untouched, no tree unbent.” It was as if the unseen, unfelt wind was trying to tear the very trees from the ground and toss them out of the way. “I thank you for the gift you sent.” Erika dropped her hands and all was still and silent once more.
Reanna and Erin sat quietly on the bench, overcome by what they had just been blessed to witness from these two women, these two Guardians of Altair. It was an amazing sight and so far Erika and Farrah had only issued the call for the goddess’s blessing.
“Show me more,” Erin encouraged them. “I want to see everything.”
* * * * *
It was much later that they all four returned to Erika’s home to prepare Farrah for her joining ceremony. Reanna was bidden goodbye and headed to her own home while Farrah bathed and Erika and Erin sat beside her in the room to let her know what her ceremony would consist of.
“I am to be completely naked!” Farrah exclaimed in shock. “In front of everyone. I am just to walk in naked?”
Erika grinned, remembering how she had felt about that little fact as well but it was Erin who answered.
“You are to be free of restrictions…bindings,” Erin tried to explain. “You go to them as you came into this world. It is a symbol of your rebirth from the girl you have been to the woman you now are. Every woman enters her ceremony the same way. You are not the first and you won’t be the last. ‘Tis the way it is.”
“Who will be there? Will they be naked too?” Farrah glanced quickly to Erika. “Is that why your warriors forbade you to attend?”
Erika choked on a laugh. “Not exactly. There is a part of the ceremony where they will be, er…exposed though. That is why my mates were so adamant.”
“Exposed?” Farrah was breathless with fear and perhaps anticipation as well.
“Let’s just go through this from the beginning, okay?” Erin interrupted. “The only people there will be Mariska, who is the mother of the Donan warriors. Her mates are gone at the moment so you won’t meet them yet. Then I will be there as your family. It will be only me as well as my mates have gone to find our sons and check on them.”
“Any news yet?” Erika interrupted to ask.
“No, my dear,” Erin told her, shaking her head sadly. “I have heard nothing from your fathers or your brothers.”
“Is something wrong?” Farrah asked.
“My brothers Drago and Ulrik were to return home two weeks ago after two years of guarding along the coast,” Erika replied softly, “but they have not shown up yet.”
“I will pray to the goddess for their safety,” Farrah told the two women.
“Yes,” Erin answered, “we all will.” She gave her head a slight shake, refocusing on the task before her, preparing Farrah for her joining ceremony. “Back to the ceremony, girls. The only other people in the room will be the three elders of the village. The oldest is a lovely woman named Isma. She will conduct the ceremony. The first part will be for your warriors. When you enter you will see a spot for you, as you have three warriors instead of two I’m not sure who you will stand between. You will know when you see it though.” At the look of insecurity on Farrah’s face Erin smiled and touched her gently on the arm that rested on the lip of the tub. “I will be with you. I won’t let you down so don’t worry. When your warriors have completed the first part of the ceremony then it will be your turn.”
“What is their part? What do I do?” Farrah insisted.
“Their part is a simple claiming with words. You will stand and remain silent while they speak,” Erin told her.
“I was not even aware of what my mates were saying at the time,” Erika confided to Farrah and Erin. “I was so nervous that it just seemed to breeze past until it was m
y turn.”
“And when it is my turn?” Farrah asked, her voice shaky with nerves.
“You will step away from your mates, turn to face them and kneel at their feet,” Erin told her.
“What?!” Farrah exclaimed.
“You will kneel and begin your part of the ceremony,” Erin continued as if Farrah hadn’t spoken. “First you will kiss the boot of each of your warriors.”
“Not in this lifetime,” Farrah said with a fierce scowl on her face. Erika snickered and Erin continued. “This is to show your respect and obedience to your mates, a sign that you are willing to join with them.”
Farrah was muttering beneath her breath now while Erika was trying hard not to laugh out loud at the mere thought of what her mother was going to disclose to Farrah next. Erin just continued on, ignoring both of them.
“Next you will use your mouth to pleasure each of your warriors, drinking of their seed—” There was no ignoring the screech that tore from Farrah’s throat.
“No! No and no and no!” Farrah yelled. “I will not degrade myself that way in front of all those people.”
Erika laughed but Erin silenced them both with a look of such anger that both women’s mouths dropped open. “There is no degradation in what takes place between a woman and her mates except what you place on it. You drink from them to show how you will take care of them, provide them nurture and succor from your body while you take the same from them. You do this to show how well you will see to the needs of your mates, no matter what those needs may be. You do this because not to do this would be to say that they were not worthy of you. You do this to show your love, Farrah, to them, for them.”
Farrah shook her head, seeing the wisdom in Erin’s words and knowing that she spoke the truth.
“Truth be told,” Erika replied softly, “I was more than willing to pleasure my mates by the time I was required to. It was as if no one else existed for me in that moment but them, the three of us and the love we wrapped around us. There was no shame, no resistance, nothing but us, together, bonded forever.”
Farrah took in the look of love and adoration on Erika’s face and took strength in that. She knew that she loved Marcus, Bannen and Alexi and no matter how she felt about the ceremony itself she must remember and hold on to that love. She would do what she had to do because she loved them and wanted to spend the rest of her days with them. There would be no shame in conveying that to all who were present no matter how she was required to show it.
“I will be fine,” Farrah assured them. “I will do what is expected of me gladly. I love them. There is no shame in what I share with them.”
No one saw the shadow at the door. No one heard the harsh rush of breath as the man there listened to Farrah’s pledge of love. But it was with a heart full of love and pride that Marcus moved away from the bedchamber door and went to find his brothers. They finally had the love that they had always wanted from the one woman who called to their souls. They were lucky men indeed.
* * * * *
Erin held Farrah’s hand as she guided her into the great room where Farrah’s three mates awaited her. She could feel the slight trembling in Farrah’s arm but no one else would be able to see the nerves. Farrah’s face was lifted high, her shoulders squared, her steps sure. She might be nervous but those watching her approach would never see it.
Farrah stepped up between Alexi and Bannen and when she was in position Marcus moved so that he stood directly behind her. They all stood facing the five other people in the room. One of them Farrah knew, Erin, and Farrah took comfort in the other woman’s presence. One of them she recognized by the blonde hair and blue eyes as the mother of Alexi, Bannen and Marcus. She was a very beautiful woman and Farrah was comforted even more when she saw that the woman wore a red top as well. They were both of the fire caste and that would ease things for both of them, she hoped.
The other three people in the room were a woman and two men who were most probably the woman’s mates. The woman she knew from Erin was Isma and the village elder. As the ceremony was mostly for the benefit of the women it was only right that Isma oversaw it. At Isma’s nod the ceremony began.
Alexi and Bannen both turned to her and cupped her breasts in their hands. Marcus reached around her and placed one of his hands over each of his brothers’. Bannen spoke the words.
“We, the Donan warriors, lay claim to this source of nectar both for ourselves and for our children,” Bannen declared in a strong voice that carried easily through the room.
“So it shall be,” Isma replied.
The hands were moved and now Marcus cupped his hands over her stomach while Alexi and Bannen each laid one of their hands over his. Marcus was the one to speak this time, in a voice just as clear and loud as Bannen’s. “We lay claim to this womb that it may nurture our seed and give it life.”
“So it shall be,” Isma replied.
Alexi cupped her face and turned it gently to him so that she could see the truth in his eyes. “We claim this gift granted to us with all we are, mind, heart, body and soul.” Then he gently kissed her on the lips.
Bannen turned her to face him next. “We claim this woman as our own. Pledging to her our fealty and might.” Then Bannen bent and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
“So it shall be,” Isma replied.
Lastly Marcus walked around to face her, startling her when he bent to his knee in front of her and bowed his head. “We claim this sweetest of gifts with bended knee and humble spirit. Our hearts overflow with love for all she is and all she is destined to be.”
Farrah caught her breath as Marcus stood and took her mouth in a passionate kiss that rocked her senses and set her blood afire. Could he possibly know that she was a Guardian or were his words just a stroke of fate?
It mattered not as now it was Farrah’s turn. She tuned everything and everyone out, focusing solely on the faces of her mates, the men she loved. She and Marcus switched places and she knelt in front of her three warriors and willingly bent low to place soft kisses upon their boots. She looked up at them when she was done and came up to her knees. Their eyes were bright blue and she could see the shining light of love as well as the deeper, darker flames of lust.
She turned to Alexi first. He was her heart, the one of her mates who would always see to her comfort first. He had waited for her to ask him to mate with her, refusing to take what was not offered and in doing so had won her undying loyalty and trust. She pulled his laces free and worked his mighty sword from his gaping pants. Looking him in the eye, she nipped and licked at the rounded head that already glistened with the proof of his need. She used one hand to fondle his taut globes and wrapped the other around the base of his shaft before sucking it into her mouth with quick greedy slurps. She worked up and down his length, using teeth and tongue to urge him toward release. When she knew that he was near she took Alexi’s rigid cock into her throat and used those muscles to squeeze every drop of sweet cream from him.
Alexi threw his head back and gave a low moan as Farrah sucked him dry and then gently kissed his spent rod before placing it once again in his pants and doing up the laces. His knees were weak and he gently reached down a hand and stroked his fingers down her cheek, letting her know without words how much her willingness meant to him.
Farrah glanced up at into the smoldering gaze of Marcus but moved away from him and placed herself in front of Bannen instead. Bannen, whose intense need for her overwhelmed and awed her. Here was her passion, the mate who brought her to a more primitive state of want and need. Their relationship had started out rocky, but how could you not forgive a man who needed you above all else? She slowly undid his laces, placing kisses along each new inch of flesh that was exposed until the bright red crown of his heavy sex bobbed out in front of her. She eagerly took him in her mouth, licking and sucking at his flesh while wrapping both of her hands around his thick width and squeezing up and down, still nursing the top. He came quickly, filling her mouth with the salty p
roof of his desire for her. She swallowed every drop before placing her kiss and slowly putting him away.
Bannen glided a hand through her hair, pushing a lock out of her face. His touch was gentle, his smile loving and she knew that he was content with her.
Once again she turned to Marcus and his eyes blazed down at her. She could see the evidence of his desire by the strain of his cock against the laces of his pants. She had meant him to be last although he might not understand why. This was the mate of her soul. Being with him was like coming home, like finding the other half of herself that she hadn’t even realized was missing until suddenly there he was. She couldn’t imagine ever being apart from him.
He didn’t wait for her but ripped his own laces open and, gripping the back of her head, fed her every inch of his pulsing cock. She eagerly took it, sucking it deep into the back of her throat again and again as he fucked her mouth. She moaned her pleasure at his rough handling, at the way he gave her no choice in how much of him she took, instead thrusting fully with every powerful stroke of his hips. She ate him, milking him with her tongue and throat for his rich seed and when he finally gave it to her with a fierce yell she gobbled it down and sucked for more.
Marcus was the one to finally pull away from her, easing his cock from the tight suction of her mouth with an audible pop. Still Farrah licked and kissed him, unwilling to pull away until Marcus tucked his still-hard flesh away and refastened his laces. He pulled her up to her feet in front of him and smiled tenderly at her as Alexi and Bannen turned to them as well.
Farrah smiled at her warriors, her mates. “I claim you also.” She placed a hand on Alexi’s chest. “My heart.” Her other hand touched Bannen’s face. “My body.” Lastly she looked back into the eyes of Marcus. “My soul. No other before you. No other after you. I pledge to you my love, my life.” The foursome embraced before gradually breaking apart so that Isma could finish with the ceremony and they could finally be alone again.
Isma stepped to them with Farrah once more standing between Alexi and Bannen and Marcus tall and strong behind her. Isma took Alexi’s hand and placed it on Farrah’s right breast then did the same with Bannen’s hand on Farrah’s left. The old woman then placed both of Marcus’ hands over Farrah’s stomach. “What love has bonded none shall tear through. May your love bear fruit.” Isma moved back from them and, taking in the picture the four made, smiled and nodded. “May the goddess protect and keep blessing you always.” Then Isma turned, taking the two men and two women with her as she left the room and the newly joined mates.
