by Laurie Roma
Cael stilled for a moment. “He had his bonding time with you. I have claimed today with you for my own while Ryder continues to rest. I would like the chance to give you what you wished for last night.”
Allie tried to remember what she had said when she was falling asleep.
“I want to make you happy,” Cael said softly.
“Oh.” His promised touched her deeply. If only she could stop feeling sorry for herself and go with the flow today he might even be able to accomplish it.
Cael stood and held his hand out again. “Come, Allison. We have places to go.”
Allie looked at him suspiciously. “Places, like where?”
Cael sighed and held her hands in his. “I will not lie to you. I will tell you anything you want to know. Today is for you to ask whatever you will for you to be comfortable with me, to know me…us. The blood bond of brothers is different…We share thoughts and memories like a collective being. We may do separate actions during the daylight, but when we sleep, our brains connect. When we awaken we each have the other’s memories of the last rising.”
Allie was shocked. That was definitely something she hadn’t been expecting. “Why didn’t Tynan tell me that?”
“The truth is he was too overcome with wanting you.” Cael’s voice lowered into a husky growl. “It is torture for us, for me…for one of us to have touched you, tasted you and not know for myself.”
Oh god, he knew…everything Tynan and she had done together. “So that’s why you all bond to the same woman?”
“Aye, it would be impossible for all of us not to want you.”
Okay, so the trio bonding thing was starting to make more sense. Allie sighed. “I still don’t like it that he didn’t tell me before he bonded with me.”
Cael’s eyes grew hard. “I know, and he has definitely felt my displeasure for causing you such pain.” He took a deep breath and seemed to calm himself. “Now come, I want to show you my world.”
“I would like to check on my patient, on Ryder, before we leave.”
Cael smiled warmly at her. “As you wish.”
* * * *
Cael led Allie out of the palace, holding her hand as they walked down the front steps of his home. He had taken her hand as they left their suite, and he hadn’t let go of it since. She guessed that he had seen what Tynan had done the previous night and wanted that same connection with her.
Allie had been amazed by how improved Ryder was since last evening. Overnight the damage done by the sword wound to his side was almost healed. Cael said in another day he would be awake and ready to meet her.
But in the interim, she was glad she had the day with just Cael.
Something about him helped her relax, and she didn’t think it would take too much to push her off the edge of hysterics again like last night. His large frame shielded her, and his strong hand in hers made her feel…cared for, like she belonged with him.
It was a nice feeling, even if she didn’t completely trust it yet.
Allie was astonished by the sights as they walked through the courtyard outside of the palace. It was like stepping back in time, with a few interesting additions. Off to the left there was a large training field where Allie could see various men fighting with swords or other weaponry. Some even snarled and went at each other with the bare hands. This new world was a strange mixture of the past and future. The Arcadians reminded her of warriors of old, but the touches of technology were like something out of a science-fiction movie.
To the right was a beautiful garden with exotic flowers that filled the air with their spicy fragrance. The two sides seemed so different, but it seemed that this new world was filled with dualities that she would have to get used to. Cael waited patiently as she inspected the different species of flowers, pointing out a variety of names she couldn’t possibly remember.
He led her through the gates of the palace so that they entered a marketplace where vendors sold a variety of food and other items. It was clean and reminded Allie of a festival she had once been to with friends.
“Are your people celebrating something?”
“Aye,” Cael said with a smile. “They celebrate your arrival.”
Allie was speechless as she came to a stop. She was suddenly very aware that every eye in the marketplace was on her and hunched her shoulders in embarrassment.
Cael halted and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. “Allison, you are their new princess, and you are beautiful beyond measure. They will want to look.”
“Aye, that we do,” a voice came from behind Allie. She could feel Cael stiffen then relax again as his eyes filled with welcome. Her eyes widened as she stared up as him, watching his expressions for any sight that she should be worried. Cael smiled down at her, using his other hand to stroke softly over her pale hair. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “Do not fear, my love. They are friends.”
Even so, Cael moved Allie behind him with a gentle push, until he blocked her from the sight of two very large, dark warriors.
Allie peaked around his massive form to see two newcomers dressed in brown leather pants and warrior’s vests. Instead of having straight black hair like all the men she had seen so far, these two had shaggy brown hair that made them look somehow more savage than the giant man she was currently hiding behind. Each of the new men had tribal tattoos painted on one side of their bodies on their arms up their shoulders and to their necks. It was beautiful scrollwork and must have hurt a great deal when they got them.
Damn they made them big and handsome in this world!
Cael growled a warning to Allie in her mind. “No other should be pleasing to your eyes but your mates.”
Allie mentally rolled her eyes. “I’m not blind. Relax. It doesn’t mean I want them the same way I want you.” She paused as she noticed something. “They have tattoos just like your fathers.”
“When one of the trio dies, the others mark their skin in remembrance,” Cael explained.
Allie thought it was a nice gesture. She was sorry for their loss and couldn’t help but be glad that Cael and Tynan didn’t have to mark their skin for the loss of their brother Ryder, who was still recovering from his injuries. Just the thought of losing one of her mates had her gut clenching in terror.
Cael’s hand stroked down her hair in a comforting gesture. “You will not lose us.”
“A warrior’s greeting to you, Prince of the Sands,” one of the large men said.
Cael reached out to clasp forearms with the men then stepped back, pushing Allie away from the men again. “You have traveled far from home, Princes of the Forest. What brings you to the sands?”
“Ronan and I were traveling when we heard of your brother’s death. We came to pay our respect,” Dominic said.
“And to offer our swords to hunt down the rogues who killed him,” Ronan growled, his voice filled with rage.
“Ryder is not dead,” Cael said, pride filling his voice. “My mate saved his life.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. “How is this possible? Show me.”
Allie watched as Cael brought his hand to his mouth and bit into his palm. Ronan did the same, and they clasped their hands together. Ronan let out a gasp before pulling his hand back. Both Ronan and Dominic stared at her with disbelieving eyes.
“Impossible,” Dominic whispered.
Allie forced herself to step to Cael’s side, no longer content to hide behind him. He let out a soft growl, but she ignored him. “Not impossible, just difficult,” she said.
“She is a treasure beyond value,” Ronan said to Cael. “If she but came sooner, our mate and brother may have lived.”
Allie’s heart went out to the man at his pain-filled whisper. He had obviously lost his mate and brother to injuries of some kind. It was sad knowing that these people, or whatever they were, had so much to learn about medical treatment that could save their lives.
If she was stuck here at least she would be useful.
“I’m sor
ry I couldn’t help them,” she said truthfully. Even though these men were friends of Cael’s, they were so large up close that she felt intimidated. She slipped her hand back into Cael’s and relaxed as he squeezed her hand, holding tight.
“Your mate has hair the color of sunlight, too pale to be real,” Dominic said. His hand reached out as if to touch her, but a snarl came from behind them so fierce that it made Allie jump.
“Do not touch her!” Tynan said as he stormed up to join them.
“He meant no disrespect,” Ronan said cautiously. “Sheath your claws, my friend.”
Allie stared up at the enraged Tynan with alarm. His face had contorted into an animalistic snarl and claws had slid out from where his fingernails used to be.
Holy hell, he had claws!
Tynan took several deep breaths to calm himself down, and his claws retracted back into his fingertips. He turned bleak eyes to Allie, their glow dimmed with sadness.
“Do not fear me, little one. I would never harm you.”
Allie knew he wouldn’t, but he was still a pretty damn intimidating sight.
“Ahh, okay. The claws were just a surprise,” she made herself say to him through their blood bond. Surprise… Shit, it was shock. Aware now that she had plastered herself against Cael, she stepped away and held her ground. She made herself stay where she was as Tynan gently reached out to take hold of her other hand.
“Our claws only come out when we fight. I would never harm you with them.” Tynan turned to face Ronan and Dominic. “Forgive me. We are newly mated, and I have not yet learned to control my fear for her safety…or my displeasure of having other males near her.”
Ronan smiled sadly. “No need to forgive. I remember that feeling well. She is one you will have to guard closely. Other males will be more than curious. We have never seen anything like her.”
Allie’s irritation grew as Tynan told the men of how she came to be in their world. She was getting sick of them speaking about her like she wasn’t standing right there. She yanked hard on Tynan’s hand so he looked down at her, startled.
“I’m getting pissed that you guys are talking about me like I’m not here.”
Tynan searched her face then glanced at Cael. Allie could tell they were talking to one another, and that just made her even angrier.
“Allison, males of our world do not address the mates of others unless they are family,” Cael tried to explain.
“Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why?’”
“I mean, why can’t another male speak to me? I find it very rude for someone to talk about me instead of to me while I’m standing right here.”
“It is a sign of respect,” Tynan said with a sigh.
Allie snorted as she released both of their hands. “To you maybe. It shows a clear lack of respect to me. Excuse me, I think I’ll go back inside so you can finish your conversation with your friends,” she said bitterly.
This was just another reason why she didn’t belong in this world. Nothing made her feel more like a “thing” then people talking about her like she didn’t matter.
Allie turned to leave, but Cael grabbed onto both of her hands. “Allison, do not leave. We have not yet celebrated your day of birth.”
“You are not just a thing to us,” Tynan said in her head.
“Then prove it,” Allie said out loud, in a clear challenge. She knew it was a risk to challenge him so publically, but it was difficult for her to stand there and let them treat her like she was less than them. If she didn’t say something now, she would never be happy in this world.
Tynan read her thoughts and nodded solemnly. “My apologies, mate. Allie, this is Ronan and Dominic Karos, Princes of the Forest Palace to the West. Ronan, Dominic, our mate, Princess Allison Dracor.”
Allie was surprised when both men bowed their heads to her. The princess thing was really going to take some getting used to.
“We did not mean to disrespect you, Princess. If we had known to address you directly, we would have,” Ronan stated with a smile.
She could tell he was amused by her mates’ quick acquiescence to her demand but didn’t let that bother her. Allie smiled at his apology and could feel both Tynan and Cael stiffen at her side. Tough. They were going to have to get used to her being civil to others if she had to stay here.
Through their bond, Allie could feel Tynan’s worry that she may desire the two other males. Ronan and Dominic were sought after as breeding partners because of their lighter coloring, but that didn’t matter to her. She was having enough problems dealing with the males she already had, and there was no way in hell she was going to add anyone else into the mix.
“Our best wishes to you on the day of your birth, Princess,” Dominic said.
“Thank you.”
Dominic turned to Tynan. “Before we leave we wanted to warn you. We were asked to escort Vanya back here.”
“Why is she back when she is mated to a trio of your warriors?” Cael asked.
“She cast them aside,” Ronan explained. “It has been a year’s cycle, and she has not yet conceived. She has petitioned our house to be released from the mating.”
Tynan and Cael let out a low curse.
“Vanya has always been trouble. This was her fifth set of trios. How fare her mates?” Tynan asked.
Dominic shook his head. “They do not seem to be too concerned. They never completed the bonding ritual. In time the bond will fade. It was all they could do to keep her from spreading her thighs for other males anyways. If their seed did not take inside her, then she is free to seek out another mating.”
Wait a minute, the mating bond could fade?
As Allie’s mind absorbed that little piece of information she could hear Tynan’s determined growl fill her head.
“She did not blood bond to her mates. We will not release you from the mating. I cannot. Ask me for anything else but that.”
Allie sighed. She wasn’t asking to be released from the mating, but seriously, these boys were going to have to start telling her shit before she learned it from others. Whoever this Vanya was, she sounded like a piece of work. “Are you saying a female can cast aside her mates if she doesn’t get pregnant and doesn’t blood bond with a trio?”
“That is not something you will ever have to worry about,” Tynan growled.
“Oh, get over yourself. I was asking a question purely for medical purposes.”
Tynan’s face softened. “Forgive me, mate. I should have known. If a trio does not produce a babe for a female who wants one, then aye, she is able to seek out another mating if the mating ritual has not been completed. It is rare, but a female will sometimes do it if their desire for a babe is great and their needs are not being met.”
“But why do you automatically assume it’s the males that are the problem?” Allie had to ask. All of the males turned to stare at her intently.
“What do you mean by that?” Dominic asked.
Allie sighed. Really? Was this world so backward they didn’t know this? “Sometimes it’s a woman, or a female that has a problem inside her that causes her to be unable to produce children.”
Dominic stared at Tynan incredulous. “Is this possible?”
“If our mate says it is so, then aye, it is,” Tynan announced with conviction.
Allie felt a wave of happiness that he had backed her word without hesitation. She felt the pride he felt in her, and it went a long way in softening her anger toward him. His eyes glowed brightly at her. “You are not out of the doghouse yet, buddy.”
“What is this doghouse you speak of?”
Allie let the images pass to him through their blood bond and laughed at his insulted expression. Her stomach suddenly growled, making her cheeks pinked with embarrassment as all four men stared down at her.
“We must feed you, my love,” Cael said as a grin spread across his face. “Tynan, you should take our friends to the palace to share the noon meal while Allison and I continue on our o
uting. We must speak of this matter of breeding later with our fathers.”
Tynan hesitated before he gave a terse nod. It was obvious that he didn’t want to, but he had promised his brother time alone with their mate.
Both Ronan and Dominic struck their chest with their fists. “Honor to your mating.”
Allie smiled shyly. “Thank you.” She turned to Tynan and hesitated. “We’ll see you later?”
“Aye, mate. Enjoy your day.” Tynan felt a pain deep in his chest as he watched Allie walk away from him. He hated the watchful way she looked at him. He had carelessly broken the bond of trust that had been forming between them, and he knew that he had much to make up for before he had her again.
Chapter Six
Cael led Allie to where a group of six warriors waited for them on hover-cycles. He had her get on in front of him, and they took off out of the city toward the sea with the other warriors following behind them.
“Why are they following us?”
“Since we are outside of the city we have guards to ensure your safety. You must promise never to venture beyond our city walls without one of us with you. It would be very dangerous. There are rogue males that hunt for females they can steal.”
Allie quickly agreed, as she had no desire to go exploring their world alone.
When they arrived at the sea, the warriors took off, fanning out a distance away so that they were far enough to ensure privacy but close enough if needed. Cael helped Allie off of the cycle and hefted a large sack from the back of the vehicle.
Allie was surprised that the sand near the water was spongy and not granular like back on Earth. She pressed her foot down and smiled when it made an impression that slowly faded when she lifted her foot back up. “That’s pretty cool.”
Cael laughed, delighted in her. “When the water and the sand mix, it hardens into sand sponge we can walk on. Come, Allison. We will feast in a pike.”
“A what?”
“Is that not what it is called when you eat your meal on a blanket by the sea?”
“I think you mean a picnic.” Allie laughed.
Cael frowned. “Aye, that is what I meant to say.”
