by E. M. Moore
She went to the bed and I followed after her. The dresses were very thin and very white. They wouldn’t keep much to the imagination. But as Mekhi’s mom said, at least they were something.
Immediately, I was drawn to a shift with crocheted flowers around the neckline. The same pattern was around the waist where it looked like the material would gather.
I ran my hands down the length of it. Mekhi’s mom was immediately by my side. “You like that one?”
“I do,” I told her.
She picked it up by the shoulders and held it out. “Excellent choice. I think it will become you very well.”
I bit my lip and stared at the fabric. A tingling started in my stomach. I’d never imagined myself getting married, but this was kind of like that. Well, except for the poisonous bite part. The white dress, the ceremony. This was about as close as I was going to get. And with a guy like Mekhi? I didn’t know if it could get any more perfect.
“Let’s slip this over your head,” the older woman prompted.
She pulled it over me while I let the towel drop to the floor. The hem of the dress followed, falling to my knees. When it was fully on, she stepped back and smiled. Her eyes turned glassy and I swallowed. All she’d done was help me prepare for this, but I felt very close to her. Getting ready for a mating ritual was a bonding experience.
She turned and opened the closet door. On the other side of the door was a full-length mirror. I stepped in front of it, taking a look at my reflection. I twisted and turned, looking at myself from every possible angle. Here, in the muted light, you couldn’t see right through to my skin, but if I was in any kind of light with it on, everything would be visible.
That didn’t matter though, did it? I was Mekhi’s mate. He was the leader and this was what his people needed.
“You’re going to bring him to his knees, Anika. He won’t be able to help himself around you.” Her face glowed. “Hopefully you can bring more serpent kind to our people.”
Whoa. Wait a minute. “You want me to…”
“Have offspring,” she said, finishing my sentence for me. “Of course I do. Children are very rare. I would welcome one with everything I have in me.”
The back of my neck itched. Theoretically, I understood what mating meant, but I hadn’t yet gone that far in my head. Couldn’t we at least just have sex for fun first? Hell, the kiss I’d shared with Mekhi yesterday night had just been sweet, not alluding to sex at all.
The sex I was down with. It was the whole offspring thing I wasn’t so sure about. I’d never had parents of my own, so I’d probably be terrible at it.
Still beaming, Mekhi’s mom moved me to a chair in front of a mirrored dresser. She sat me down and worked on my hair, drying it first and then primping it as best as she could. “Would you rather wear it up or down?”
I twisted my head back and forth. “Down, I think.” I thought it looked better in this skin. The one I’d chosen was beautiful with long brown tresses.
“I agree,” she said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll get my friend Bette up here. She’s the best at hair.”
I shrugged. Now that I was clothed, I really didn’t care who saw me. Before she could leave the room, I grabbed her hand. “Thank you for giving me some privacy today. I really appreciate it.”
Mekhi’s mom nodded. “I just put myself in your shoes and realized public nudity wouldn’t be my thing.”
“You’re exactly right,” I told her with a laugh.
She turned and opened the door. With a booming voice, she called out, “Bette, we’re in need of your assistance.”
Footsteps immediately came up the stairs. Bette emerged with a bag in one hand and a round hairbrush in the other. She was about the same age as Mekhi’s mom, but was ready with an eager smile. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
She set to work right away, carrying on a conversation with Mekhi’s mother, who I now knew as Fiona. She curled and fluffed, moussed and hairsprayed. Her mouth worked as much as her fingers. “You should see how nervous Mekhi is. It’s so cute.”
Fiona looked from me back to her friend Bette. “I’ll have to make sure I see him before it’s time.”
“He’s pacing around the house, sneaking glances up the stairs as if he can’t wait to see her.” Bette fluffed my hair again and met my eyes in the mirror. “You’re a lucky girl.”
I nodded. “I’ve only known him a short time, but he’s already been very good to me,” I told her honestly.
I caught her sneaking a peek at the mark on my upper arm, which the dress showed off. She stared at it for a good few seconds before looking away. “I think we’re almost done.”
Fiona and Bette both stood behind me in the mirror, smiling. I had to admit that this was the first time I ever had celebrity hair. When I moved, it seemed to stay perfectly in place without looking like it had been doused with a gallon of hairspray. It was pretty amazing.
Fiona put her hand on my arm, and I stood up. Turning toward them, I gave them the full look. Bette clasped her fingers to her mouth and Fiona still glowed, her cheeks pink.
They ushered me over to the full length mirror in the closet so I could do the same. I looked myself up and down. I was very pretty. I waited for the same visceral reaction to come, but it didn’t. This body still wasn’t mine.
I smiled and nodded before turning. “Is it time yet?”
Fiona looked down at her watch. Her eyes rounded. “My Goddess, it is. Bette, run down the stairs and tell Mekhi he can leave for The Rock. We’ll be right behind them.”
Bette left the room and I stared at Fiona. “The Rock?”
“Yes, it’s our---”
“Sacred space,” we both said at the same time.
She nodded knowingly.
I took in a deep breath, trying to calm my beating heart. Now that we were done primping, everything that was about to happen came back into my mind.
Mekhi was about to bite me in front of all his people.
No big deal, I tried to tell myself. Just another day in the life of Anika the Morphling.
Chapter Fourteen
Fiona wrapped her arm through mine and we exited the house together. The town was eerily quiet. Fiona caught me looking around and she explained to me that everyone would be at the mating ceremony. It was mandatory.
Well, that didn’t freak me out at all. Not one bit.
We took the same path down the road, then to the forest trail that led to The Rock. Mekhi’s mom helped me just as Mekhi had last night, though it was easier going through the terrain now that it was light outside. When we neared the clearing, Fiona stopped. She patted my hand and smiled. “Thank you for coming to us Anika. We’re very blessed.”
Without another word, she walked us forward again. At the edge of the forest, we stepped through the last barrier of trees and was barraged with rays of sun. I squinted through the bright light, stepping forward along with Mekhi’s mom.
With the next step, Mekhi came into view. Everything else fell away. I could feel others eyes on me, but they weren’t so much an annoyance, it was just an observation. Ahead of me was Mekhi, head of the Serpent people. He wore a linen shirt and pants that matched my outfit perfectly. It was like the ultimate beach wedding without the beach.
As we stared at one another, his eyes widened and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. He reached for me and his mother handed me off, bowing to us as she did so. The first moments of the ceremony, I couldn’t recall back even if I had to. Riah was to my left, though separate from us. I could feel his bond there, but it was mostly Mekhi for me, his bond bright inside me just like the sunlight. I was vaguely aware of someone talking and Mekhi answering every so often, but we were so caught up in one another that I wasn’t fully pulled from his gaze until he asked, “Are you ready?”
I blinked as if awakening from a sleep. “For what?”
The crowd laughed, and I immediately stiffened.
Mekhi was right there, holding my arms steady as he looked
me right in the eye. “For me to claim you.”
My stomach twisted, both in nerves and in something more primal. He wanted to claim me. And I wanted to let him.
I nodded.
My skin tingled. Goosebumps rose all over my skin while my body waited in apprehension. The wait between when he said he was going to claim me and before he did anything seemed like forever. My body pricked here and there, my hairs standing on end. Electricity swarmed all around us.
Mekhi just stared. His mouth dropped into an “o” as his eyes raked all over me. “You’re beautiful,” he finally said.
I almost tensed. I hated when people said that because I could make myself to be anything I wanted. Of course I would pick whatever would make me beautiful. But, I barely had the chance to react. Mekhi picked up the strands of hair that fell over my shoulder, admiring them.
I looked down. Startled, I gasped. Auburn colored hair lay in his palm. It was dark with tinges of gold and red.
Riah moved close. I looked up at him. What I saw in his eyes made me still. “You changed, Anika,” he said.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean too.” I hoped I hadn’t messed up all the work Fiona and Bette had put into me.
“Never apologize for showing us your true self,” Mekhi said.
“My true self?”
Riah nodded. He picked up my hand and kissed it. “You’re glowing.”
“Stunning,” Mekhi whispered reverently.
I leaned closer, trying to see my reflection in his eyes. I saw the outline. The wavy hair that had only changed color. I was about the same height as the skin I’d worn earlier, maybe a tad taller. “Is it really me?”
“I wish you could see yourself right now,” Mekhi said.
Riah shifted his stance back and forth, eyes raking all over me.
The man who’d been in the background talking cleared his throat. Both Riah and Mekhi snapped their attention toward him, Riah practically growling.
Mekhi though, only nodded. “It’s time.”
He pulled me to him and arched my neck. I took in a breath, holding it in my chest in anticipation. My body thrummed, waiting for him to bite. He nuzzled me first, his lips whispering over my skin. Kisses came next, soft ones that made my knees tremble.
I knew right before he was about to do it. His hands tightened, then fell away. A hiss split the air, and then I was a goner. His fangs sliced through me in one instant, and then the next? Darkness came.
The next thing I knew I was walking through a garden. How had I gotten here? Everything was hazy. Fog rolled in from the corner of my eyes, making everything look ethereal.
I followed the path even though I wanted to stop and take in my surroundings.
“Come child,” a voice said from further in the garden. The voice was male, and benevolent sounding. I had never heard something so beautiful in my whole life. It almost pained me to hear his voice.
I finally got to the end of the path, and got my first look at what I could only describe as an angel. The bright light that enanamated from his body was too bright for me to see his features. He was surrounded in gold and white shining light. Like you would imagine a star looked like up close.
“Who are you?” I asked, my voice hitching in the back of my throat. I probably shouldn’t have spoken to him, but I couldn't help myself. I had to know.
“Who I am is not important. What is important is that you are in grave danger.” His deep voice dropped several octaves until goosebumps covered my entire body. I didn’t know how, but I just knew everything he was about to say would be true.
“When Mother Panther awakes, the animal world will again be thrust into war. A Morphling, though young and ignorant of her kind, will rise to unite the races against their creator once more.
With the moonstone as guide, The Chosen One shall travel to Her all seeing eye. There, the answers will lie.
If this prophecy be not fulfilled, all will die.”
The guy’s lips never moved. The words were spoken in my head and it burned its way through my being to the point that I would never forget the words. They’d been imprinted on me.
“What do you mean?” I asked, moving closer. “Me? I’m a nobody. I can’t save the world.” The words pounded through my head over and over again. I shouted through the chaos, asking again what it meant. No sooner did the words come out that everything went utterly quiet.
“I cannot tell you more, but do not question me!” he shouted, his chest expanding. For a moment, he was silent, then he said, “Go further into the mountains and find the owl people. They will be able to give you guidance that I cannot, my child.”
He started to shimmer and fade away. “Wait! Don’t leave me. I don’t know what to do. Come back.” I wasn’t sure why, but my heart felt like it was breaking when he disappeared. The fog rolled in thicker, making everything white.
I had been in the presences of something godly, I knew that much at least.
A slight tingle took over my body and heat spread through my limbs. I started screaming as the heat intensified, engulfing my body in fire. Starting at my toes and making its way up to my head, I felt like I was an inferno.
Falling to the soft dirt, I screamed and writhed in pain before everything went dark.
Opening my eyes, my body was still on fire, but I was in Mekhi’s arms instead of on the ground. I looked around and took in my surroundings and noticed we were coming up the stairs of our home. Luckily, the heat had turned simmering for the moment at least. It was like I was a pot of boiling water, slowly getting hotter and hotter.
We made it to Mekhi’s room after what felt like forever, and I knew I had to tell them about the dream before I burned into ashes. I had no doubt the end was near.
“I have to tell you something,” I croaked out, my throat felt like a desert it was so dry. “I saw someone after you bit me. He said we needed to go to the owl people and when Mother Panther awakes, the animal world will again be thrust into war.” I continued until the end of the prophecy, practically choking on the word die. If this fever didn’t get me, whoever this Mother Panther was would. When I finally got it all out and looked up at Mekhi and Riah, they were both white as sheets.
I had no idea what that meant, and at this moment I couldn’t bring myself to care. The fire in my body had morphed into something else and all the heat I felt made its way to my center. Moaning, I did something that was so unlike me. I grabbed Mekhi’s face because he was closer and brought him to me with all the passion I could muster. Our mouths smashed together in a kiss that was unlike any we’d shared before. Our teeth smashed together and I hoped it would make him do something to take this ache away from me.
Breaking through the fog for a moment, I heard Riah mention something about a fever, but I was too far gone to even try to understand what he was talking about. Before I knew it. I had reached for him and placed his hands on my body. Breaking the kiss with Mekhi. I stared up at Riah.
“Please help me. Touch me. Do something,” I begged before running my hands down my body to tweak my nipples. The only thing that did though was amp up the heat until I was a whimpering mess. I heard Riah growl and Mekhi make a strangled noise as they watched me touch myself.
Why wouldn’t they help me? I thought as the fire took me higher and higher.
I was going to burn up if something didn’t happen soon, and right now I was too lost in the feeling to care who helped. At this point, I’d even do it myself.
Chapter Fifteen
Mekhi stared down at me, pained. I moaned again, my body still rolling in feverish pulses. He pulled my hands from my body and held onto them. “It’s just the venom. It’s making you overheat.”
“It’s a different kind of heat,” I growled. “It’s not like I’m sick, Mekhi. I keep building and building.”
Mekhi looked to Riah for help, but Riah’s face was hard as stone.
“You didn’t tell me it was going to be like this,” I said, chastising. I hoped I hadn’t made a
ny kind of suggestive moans out there in front of everyone. How embarrassing.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “It’s not as if I was ever invited back to the bed chambers of the mates.”
I groaned, picturing what I was sure mates did about these kinds of things. It would make sense, wouldn’t it? That after the mating ceremony, you consummated the union?
I got to my knees on the bed and faced them. I felt as if my heart were breaking inside me. “Mekhi, please.” He was the one who’d done this to me, the least he could do was fix it.
Mekhi’s already dark eyes veiled over. He struck forward, sealing his lips to mine again. My body thrummed in pleasure. The thin fabrics each of us wore held nothing back. My nipples were pebbled, hard and ready. He yanked my head to the side and kissed me where his fangs had bitten through my skin earlier. I let out a sigh and Mekhi groaned.
His hands moved over my hips to my lower back until he pressed me forward at the same time he rocked. His thick, hard cock pressed against me and I let out a wild cry.
Riah growled, letting out a snapping sound that ripped through the room.
“Help or get out,” Mekhi said, his voice muffled as he continued to kiss the tender skin at my throat.
I opened my eyes to find Riah staring at us. His jaw was set, his gaze intense as he watched us come together. His feet shifted back and forth. “Stay,” I pleaded.
It was Mekhi’s turn to growl. He pushed forward and I landed on my back, my legs naturally going around his waist. His cock teased my entrance through the clothes we wore.
Another round of heat swamped me. “Please,” I begged to no one in particular.
I squirmed against the bed. Riah’s large hands settled on my shoulders. He kneaded my skin until he took hold of the fabric at my chest and yanked. The shift ripped, exposing my breasts.
