by Lacey Thorn
He was only moments older anyway. He and his brothers Finn and Tanner were as close as triplets could be. They all had the same short black hair, much shorter than most warriors, and the aqua blue eyes of the royal family. They each stood seven feet tall. Tall even for a warrior. But then they were built like their fathers were. Bram hoped that his brothers were faring well. With their connection, he felt sure that he would know if anything was wrong.
But now he had to focus on the here and now. He had to locate the Mystic. She would have awakened by now. He had felt the stir in the air as his brothers and the Guardians would have too. She was here and she was aware, and soon she would find herself in the arms of one of her three mates. Bram was more than anxious to see what the goddess had in store for him.
He made his way into the village hoping to spot one of the men he knew. Arik Savari, Alexi Donan, and the Mederra brothers Drago and Ulrik. They would have all made it here ahead of him. He was confident that he would find a place of welcome with one of them. Of course as the son of the Prince any of the warriors would accept him into their home and feel lucky to have him. And as the son of the Island Mahiki, Princess Asme, the women would feel just as blessed to have him in their homes. But sometimes a man wanted to be among someone that he might be able to consider a friend.
He was lost in thought, walking on the outskirts but not yet into the village when he became aware of the woman. She was gorgeous. She had golden blonde hair that fell in a braid down below her waist and when she turned and smiled at him his heart caught at the sight of the aqua blue of her eyes. She smiled, motioned her finger for him to follow, and disappeared into the trees.
She was indeed a great gift from the goddess and he counted himself blessed that he was to be the first of Verbani warriors to claim her. For he had no doubt that in the next few moments he would claim her.
He followed through the trees barely managing to keep her in view as she moved noiselessly in front of him. It took him a moment to realize that the swing of her ass that his eyes were glued to didn’t have a braid bouncing on it. She had pulled it forward and even as he followed he could see her undoing it. All that hair would be around her, around them as they made love. He wondered at the smell, the texture. He wanted to wallow in it, in her and he still didn’t even know her name. How was that even possible? He could feel the swell of his cock, the way it pressed against his pants, growing fuller with each delicious sway of her hips. He wanted to bare her, take her to her hands and knees in front of him and mount her like an animal. That was exactly what he desired, to claim her as the animal she already made him feel like.
She disappeared and he hurried to the spot. Pressing the tree limbs aside he stepped into a glen. There was a pond in the middle of it and flowers around. It was a beautiful oasis. As he scanned the area taking everything in, his gaze settled on her and he lost his ability to think, to breathe, to move. She stood there, her hair loose and hanging around her in lustrous curls. Her top was already on the ground before her and even as he watched her skirt joined it before she toed off her sandals. Then with a teasing smile and a robust laugh she was running into the water.
He finally felt like he could move his feet when she called to him.
“Come join me, mate. The water is perfect.”
As he knew that she was meant for him, she also seemed to know that he was meant for her. Yes, the Mystic had awoken and the knowledge she now possessed would save them all. But first he would claim her, without his brothers. Not the way things were normally done, but then little would be the same when bonding with the Mystic.
He slowly began taking his clothes off holding her gaze with his as each article was removed. He made no attempt to hide the straining length of his erection. He rather liked the way her gaze lowered and then flared as she took in what he had for her. Bram would be her first, then Tanner would be the next to arrive. And then finally Finn would arrive. But for the moment Bram could focus on nothing but the woman in front of him in the water.
Slowly he moved toward her into the water. She played no games, didn’t seek to avoid him, but stood tall and awaited his arrival. No fear, just a hunger in her eyes that he knew was reflected in his own.
“What took you so long,” she murmured as he stopped in front of her.
“I was enjoying the scenery,” he replied reaching out to gently run a finger down her cheek. Soft, her skin was so soft. “You are very beautiful.”
“The goddess would give no other as a mate for the three Verbani warriors,” she assured him. Her hand lifted from the water and slowly she stroked over his chest.
“I fear that I am at a disadvantage here,” he whispered his breath catching at the feel of her confident caress.
Her hand snuck below the water to wrap around the solid length of his cock. With a wicked grin that was all woman she softly assured him otherwise. “I feel no disadvantage here.”
His eyes closed as a groan left his lips. Her hands were wicked and way too knowledgeable as she stroked him from tip to balls. “I was referring to you knowing who I am and me not knowing your name.”
“I am Reanna,” she replied as she moved her other hand to fondle his sac while the first continued an up and down rhythm on his cock. “And you are Bram, the eldest of the three.”
“Yes,” he moaned.
She leaned into him then, the turgid points of her nipples brushing against him. She was petite but then most women were compared to his seven-foot height. Her golden hair was calling to him and with another groan he wrapped his hands in it and tugged her head up. He bent low claiming the first kiss as his, just his. She was like liquid heat, like fire and ice and so much more.
Her lips parted beneath his and then their tongues were fighting for dominance. She challenged him for control her hands moving up over his stomach to his chest and then grasping his shoulders in a hard grip. With a jump she was out of the water, her legs wrapping around his waist so that her wet cunt was rubbing right along the shaft of his cock. They both became lost in the sensations ripping through them. This would be no tame first mating, no slow caresses for either of them. She was so tight against him, her cunt so wet and hot as she rubbed it against him.
His hands slid down to her ass cupping and squeezing the cheeks there. She was a perfect handful and his lust spiked as he thought of taking her there. He tugged and fondled pulling her cheeks apart and rubbing one index finger along the tight crease brushing against the pucker of her anus. And she went wild.
Her lips pulled from his and as he sucked in a great gulp of air as her mouth locked onto his shoulder biting at the base of his neck. He tilted his head back and cried out at the feel of those sharp little teeth, not in pain, but in sheer ecstasy.
He wanted her, wanted to shove his cock as deep inside her as he could. But he wanted her to be comfortable, to ensure her first time was as painless as he could make it. But even as he thought of moving toward shore and laying her back on the cool grass she took the decision from him.
She had been riding his length and now with a hard downward move she slipped a hand down to hold him in place as she took him deep, so fucking deep his teeth clenched and his hands tightened on her ass. She held still for a moment. He assumed she was adjusting to the feel of his cock inside her. So he did his best not to move as well though it was taking every ounce of self control that he possessed. She was so tight and hot and wet, the most heavenly thing he had felt in his life. She fitted him as if she had been made just for him. And perhaps she had been.
“Reanna,” he whispered her name bending his head to nuzzle her temple where her head rested on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“No,” she moaned her head rolling back and forth on him before she lifted it and met his eyes. “I need more, Bram. I need,” she cried out as he began to walk them out of the water, each step driving his cock deeper.
He knelt on the shore and both of them cried out at the feel of her flush against him. But as much as he loved th
e feeling they both needed more now. So he leaned forward until she lay beneath him on the cool grass, her legs still bent and wrapped along his hips. He braced his hands beside her head and bent to give her one more kiss, relishing the feel of her tongue against his.
“Hold tight,” he told her and she nodded, her eyes already glazed.
He wanted to be slow. He wanted to take his time and savor her and this first experience for them. But he would have to save that for another time. She bucked beneath him straining to keep him inside even as he pulled his cock from the hot sheath of her cunt. She was arching against him trying to follow, unwilling to let him leave her body.
“You’re killing me, mate,” he grunted, sweat dripping from his brow as he fought hard to maintain control.
“Then take me,” she growled and bit down hard again on the straining cord of his neck.
“Fuck,” he cried out and slammed back into her, forcing her back to the ground beneath them.
Hard and fast was what she seemed to want and goddess help him it was all he could do now. She was perfect, her body made for his. Next time, he vowed to himself it would be slow and easy, soft and sweet. But there was no control left for either of them to try that now. Instead their first mating was raw and intense. This was no tame miss with him but the Mystic, a warrior in her own right, a woman who their entire island had been waiting for whether they knew it or not. And she was his and Finn’s and Tanner’s.
He couldn’t wait for his brothers to feel her, to claim her, couldn’t wait for the four of them to love as one. But he wouldn’t trade this moment alone with her for anything. His woman was taking him, claiming him, and marking him as her own. Her teeth in his neck, her nails in his shoulders, the heels of her feet on the back of his thighs just under his buttocks, she was taking from him as well.
“Harder,” she cried and he wondered if that was even possible.
“Faster,” she demanded and he knew he couldn’t.
“Now!” she screamed and he was already there bursting inside her even as she came around him. Her pussy clenched and rippled tightening impossibly around his shaft until he thought she would break him off inside her.
Her teeth loosened on his neck and he shuddered as she licked over the wound he could feel there. Then she was looking up at him and her eyes, the same aqua blue as his, were filled with satisfaction. She leaned up and cupped his jaw in her palm before kissing him softly on the lips. Just a chaste brush of lips but yet it held more meaning in its simplicity than the consuming kisses of before.
“My mate,” she whispered. “We have much ahead of us.”
And with a sigh he lowered to the ground beside her turning her into his arms so that his cock could remain within her. She was right. They had much ahead of them, so much that rested on their shoulders. And for the first time he felt a tiny surge of frustration at his birthright. He wanted nothing more that to stay here with his mate, exploring and learning. But fate had more in store for them and unfortunately there was little time for quiet moments in their immediate future.
“We’ll make the most of the few private moments when we can,” she whispered to him and it no longer surprised him that she knew what he was thinking.
“Yes,” he agreed and let his gaze meet hers again. His birthright was the reason he had this woman as mate and for that he would do exactly what was needed of him.
She pulled from him and they both groaned as his cock slipped free. She sat up beside him and ran a hand idly over his chest while her gaze seemed to penetrate the trees around them.
“Tanner will be here by nightfall,” she informed him, though his own link with his brother had already told him the same thing. “And Finn will head this way once he deals with the chaos surrounding the palace.”
“Chaos?” Bram sat up beside her.
Reanna smiled at him. “He is fine. He will leave in the morning and be here by tomorrow night. Then we will all be together.” Her gaze tilted skyward. “And finally it will be time to invoke the blessing of the goddess once more.”
She met his gaze again and though neither spoke they both knew what the other was thinking. There would be one more blood sacrifice before that time came and it sent a trickle of fear down Bram’s spine that it seemed that even the Mystic didn’t know who it would be.
Chapter Two
Finn couldn’t believe what had happened at the palace. He had arrived to total chaos. Godar was dead and his mother was once more missing. What had happened here? Both fathers murdered within days of each other. Why? And why did he feel that his mother had the answers if he could only find her.
She had been here. Several people had seen her, one adamant that she had blood on her, but none sure if she had been hurt. Chaos. An island full of it. And here he was to prepare for the arrival of all of their people. A task that was growing harder by the moment. But Finn knew what was expected of him, no more than what each of his brothers would give, and so he went about soothing and comforting his people. There was no more time for mourning Godar then there had been for Prince Micah. Royal blood ensured that.
He was weary, tired, and though he would never admit it, disheartened. So much death, so much betrayal. How had his family, his people, come to this? And was the end of it all as near as they all thought, as his mother swore? And where was she? His fear for her grew with each moment that she wasn’t found. With both fathers gone, she was alone. Finn had seen the fire in her eyes when she’d seen Micah’s body. How had the sight of Godar’s affected her? He wished that he could have been here with her.
He looked at the people moving about him preparing as he had asked them to. He had today to get it all ready for the influx of people headed their way. For tomorrow he would begin the most important journey of his life so far. He could already feel the pull of his mate, knew without a doubt that his brother Bram had already claimed her. The bond between him and his two brothers had always been more making him wonder if they had not inherited some of their mother’s powers after all.
Tomorrow he would head to them, the last one to join as he was certain Tanner would join them at some point today. He would be the last to claim their mate. And then they would all claim her, mark her with the royal seal of the Eagle on her right lower abdomen, proclaiming her the bonded mate of the Verbani warriors. And then? Then it would be time to join with the Guardians and invoke the goddess’s blessing once more.
And his part in that ceremony would be to protect the five women needed to perform the ceremony. To protect even unto his own life. For if one should die then all would be lost.
* * * * *
Bram followed Reanna back through the woods and into the village. He wanted to mark her now, to place the eagle on her, but knew that he shouldn’t without his brothers present. He could, but somehow it wouldn’t be right, not for him. And honestly, who would dare try to take her from him? No warrior that he knew would even try.
As they walked through the village he nodded as both warriors and women stopped and bowed his way. Word of his new title had preceded him as more than a few addressed him as, “my Prince”. It was a heavy mantle that he and his brothers now wore, one of an entire island of people. The safety and overall well-being of all the people of the Isle of Altair were now their duty. And the most important of those duties was to watch over the guardians and the mystic, all of whom would restore peace and prosperity to their lands.
“Where are we headed?” he questioned Reanna. He was having difficulty keeping his hand from her. He needed to feel her skin as much to reassure himself that he wasn’t dreaming as to forewarn others that she was claimed. He finally ceded defeat and placed his hand on the small of her back. She was his and it was best that all knew it.
She looked at him and the twinkle in her eyes stated that she knew of his struggle and found it funny. It also showed him that he was just as firmly hers. Only this woman would ever hold the power to know what he felt, thought. Only this woman would hold the power to truly bring
him to his knees.
He stopped, tugged her into his arms and kissed her there for all to see, claiming her before even speaking with her fathers, something that should never be done so publicly. But she just laughed and reached up to run her fingers down his cheek.
“I was taking you to meet my mother and fathers,” she murmured with a wicked grin. “But I fear that they will have already heard of your arrival and our very public display before we get there.”
“What you do to me,” he whispered stroking his hand down her arm until they clasped hands. “Take me to them. They may hear, but it will calm them to see us together and know that you not unwilling.”
She smiled and nodded and for a moment he glimpsed the girl she had been before she’d awoken with a Mystic’s powers and responsibilities. When this was all over he prayed that they would see more of the girl inside the woman. When this was all over he prayed that they would all still be here, alive and whole.
* * * * *
Tanner rode from the camp confident that his orders would be carried out to the letter. He’d had to do some fast thinking and creative storytelling to explain the sudden disappearance of Prince Micah’s body. He’d stated that his family had ordered it sent to the palace to be prepared for burial. And in doing so he had helped to ensure that even those who didn’t want to abandon their homes for the palace would at least do so temporarily to pay their respects to their fallen prince and to welcome their new prince.
Bram would officially hold the title as firstborn and that was okay with Tanner, and he suspected with Finn as well. Bram was the most analytical of them, the most structured and organized. It was fitting that he serve their people now. And Tanner and Finn would stand beside him or in front of him if it was required. Bram would be protected at all costs as well now, though Tanner would never tell his brother that.
He was headed toward Bram now. And their mate. He was anxious to see her, to finally know the woman the goddess had selected for him and his brothers. She would be the Mystic. His mother had already told them that. She would hold powers even greater than the Guardians. And she would be his to protect but most importantly his to love. He had often dreamed of her though he’d never shared that with his family. Just as he had dreamed of his death.
