by Becca Van
“God, what did I do to deserve you all? I think, no I know I’m in love with you as well. With all of you. I just need a little more time to adjust properly, and I need something to do with my time. I can’t spend all day every day sitting around in the garden. I’ll get fatter than I already am.”
“I don’t ever want to hear you speak of yourself like that again, Jessamine. You are not fat, and we don’t care if you do put on weight. You are precious to us, sweetheart—your heart, mind, and body—no matter what size you are. Don’t you get that yet?” Hakon stopped in the hallway to look down at her sternly.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make you mad. It’s just, I was always treated differently back on Earth, and for so long. I guess it will take a while before I begin to believe what you say and what I see in your eyes when you all look at me. I’ll try not to put myself down anymore. I promise.”
“See that you do, baby. You are gorgeous, and we wouldn’t have hesitated to pick you out of thousands of women, no matter what they looked like,” Dagr replied, making her smile at him.
“Thank you. You all make me feel so special.”
“That’s because you are special, little Jess,” Loki drew to a halt beside them. “Are you ready to face them all, beautiful?”
“Yes. Let’s go eat. I’m starving,” Jess said, then laughed as her stomach growled, giving testament to her words.
Chapter Twelve
Jess held Hakon’s and Loki’s hands as they led her into the dining room. Oops, she should try and remember the correct terms for the particular rooms she was entering. Feasting room, that’s what her mates kept calling it. She sat down in the seat Loki pulled out for her and felt her cheeks turn red when she saw so many men staring at her.
“They are in awe of your beauty, sweetheart. Just ignore them,” Hakon whispered in her ear.
Jess lowered her eyes to the tablecloth and tried to ignore the curious stares. One of the men in the table closest to theirs was making her feel very uncomfortable. She could see him gawking at her from beneath her lowered lashes. She felt Loki lean in closer to her, and he whispered in her ear.
“You are our mate now, little Jess, and as such, you are now a leader of our people. If you wish to question anybody, feel free,” he said, then placed a kiss on her temple.
Jess lifted her head and stared back at the rude warrior. He didn’t even seem to notice that she was looking at him. She lifted a hand, pushed her hair back from her face, and nearly burst out laughing as the man watched her every move. She finally had to find out what he found so fascinating about her. She lifted her hand, pointed her finger at the warrior, and beckoned him over by curling it back toward herself. She covered her mouth to hide her smile as the warrior jumped from his seat and swaggered over to stand in front of her. He threw her for a loop when he bowed to her in deference.
“How may I be of service, Lady Jessamine?”
“Uh, what is your name?”
“I am your humble servant, Bjorn Ziland.”
“I was just wondering why you kept staring at me,” Jess said quietly so only the warrior could hear.
“Surely you jest, my lady?” Bjorn asked. She saw him look from her to his leaders, only to see them shaking their heads in negation to his question, then back to her again.
“No, Bjorn. I’m afraid I have no idea,” Jess replied.
“You are the most stunning female I have ever seen. You have fire highlighting your hair when the sun shines upon it. And your body…” Bjorn groaned, and Jess watched as he made an hourglass shape with his hands in the air. “Your body was made for…Sorry, I will not continue. Thank you for asking me your question, my lady. My apologies, sirs. Lucky bastards,” he muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Jess to hear anyway.
Jess knew her face was tinged red with embarrassment. She’d never heard anyone besides her mates wax poetic about her before, and that was only a recent occurrence. But then she burst out laughing as she saw the scowls on all three of her mates’ faces. Her laughter must have been contagious, because first Loki began to chuckle, then Dagr joined in, and so did Hakon. Soon everyone in the room was in fits of laughter, and that made Jess laugh harder, because most of them had no idea why they were laughing.
The arrival of the serving boys put an end to the laughter, and everyone concentrated on filling their bellies. Once the meal was over, warriors began heading toward the table where Jess and her mates sat and began to introduce themselves to her. Jess smiled and nodded politely as each man bowed before her and said their names, but she knew she had no chance in hell at remembering all of them, if any. She gave up after the first ten, sat back, and smiled until her jaw ached. They were down to the last few warriors when a ruckus at the far door drew everyone’s attention. Nadal Highmond and two other men, who had to be his relatives because they had similar features, were making their way toward her and her mates. The men were obviously in a hurry and had frowns on their faces
Dagr stood, his voice roaring across the room making Jess jump. “What are you doing here, Nadal? I thought I banned you from our realm and household for one moon cycle.”
“Forgive me, cousin. We have come to warn you of a threat to our women. One of our warriors and his brothers are rumored to have gone strange of mind. They are searching for any female they can get their hands on to mate with. They don’t care if the female has already been claimed. We have searched far and wide for these men, but have not been able to find them. We have others out searching for them, and they have been seen heading in this direction,” Nadal said anxiously.
“We’ll have to help out with the search, brother,” Dagr stated. “We can’t have any of the females’ safety in jeopardy.”
“I agree. Bjorn, gather all available warriors and have them ready to search for these men,” Hakon commanded, then turned to Jess. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. We are going to be busy for the rest of the day it would seem. Can you find your way back to the bedchamber and the gardens, or do you want me to send you with an escort?”
“No, that’s okay. I think I can find my way back. If I get lost, I’ll just call,” Jess said, tapping a finger to her temple. She stood up onto her tiptoes, grabbed at Hakon’s shoulders, and pulled him down for a kiss. She turned and repeated the process with Dagr and Loki, then moved toward the door.
Jess sighed as she took her time heading in the direction she thought their room was. She must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, because she found herself standing in the doorway of a massive kitchen. Instead of retreating, she walked further into the room and saw several young men cleaning away the breakfast dishes.
“Can I help you, my lady?”
Jess turned her head toward the boy who had spoken and gave him a smile. “You can start by telling me your name.”
“I am Baldr Zigfried, and these are my brothers, Ari and Tyr. We are named after our fathers who look after the security of this realm.”
“I am pleased to meet you. Now, how come you are the only three cleaning up this big mess?” asked Jess.
“It was our turn, my lady. All the serving boys take turns in cleaning up,” Tyr answered.
“Well, since I have nothing better to do, let me wash, and you three can dry.”
“But, we cannot ask you to do such menial work, my lady. It’s not right,” Ari said, his face blushing red as he spoke.
“Well, as far as I am concerned, I am no better than you are. I helped make this mess, and I would feel much better if I could help clean up. Now, move over, Tyr, and let me at the sink. And for goodness’ sake, call me Jess, not my lady.” Jess grumbled as she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
“Yes, my, uh, Jess,” Tyr stuttered out.
With the four of them working together and Jess at the helm, they had the kitchen back to rights in no time. All the dishes were put away, the counters and food simulators were clean, and Jess felt satisfied at having had something to do. She walked to the kitchen door, the three boys follow
ing at her heels like adoring puppies. She rolled her eyes mentally and tried not to let her humor show.
“May we escort you anywhere, Jess?” Ari asked courteously.
“Hmm, well, you could point me in the direction of my bedchamber if you know where it is. That’s the only way I can find my way out to the gardens.”
“If you’ll come this way my—Jess, we will lead you out to the gardens,” Baldric said, offering Jess his elbow.
Jess gave him a smile, wrapped her arm around his, and let him lead her to a section of the gardens she’d never seen before.
“Thank you so much. I would never have found my way by myself,” Jess stated. “You can go if you want. You don’t have to hang around me. I’m just going to wander for a while.”
“We have nothing better to do at the moment, Jess. It would be a pleasure to spend some time with you,” Tyr said earnestly.
“Okay, since you know your way around better than I do, lead the way.”
Jess followed after Tyr, Ari and Baldric at her sides. The gardens were so beautiful she could spend hours just taking in the sights. They walked down the landscaped paths, the young men chattering amongst themselves as she admired the unusual-colored plants. She was just about to call a halt to their foray when she caught movement from her peripheral vision off to the left. She turned her head to see three large warriors running toward them. She tried to put herself in front of the young men, but they wouldn’t let her, and she found herself standing behind a tall wall of slight muscle.
The battle didn’t last long. The young serving boys weren’t tall or brawny enough, and they fell to the ground unconscious at her feet with one blow from each of the warriors as their fists connected with the jaws from the three fully grown men. The largest of the trio swept her up into his arms and flung her over his shoulder, knocking the air from her diaphragm. Jess struggled, not that it did her a lot of good against such large, muscular man, but she wasn’t giving up without a fight. She was finally able to pull air into her lungs, and gasped with relief as the pain left her solar plexus. She kicked, scratched, hit, and punched, but the man holding her didn’t seem to notice. She just wasn’t strong enough against such muscle. She slumped down over his back, held on to the waistband of his pants, and thought of her mates.
Jess opened her mind and pushed her thoughts out. She felt a brush and then heard three full-fledged roars echo in her brain. Her men had heard her call, and they were furious at her abduction.
“Baby, lift your head and look around you. I need to know which way they are taking you,” Dagr commanded.
Jess did as Dagr asked and looked around as much as she could. She had to let go of her hold and push her hair from her face so she could see. They were taking her into a dense forest, and she began to become even more frightened. She tried to push the fear to the back of her mind, knowing her men would come rescue her.
“They hurt Ari, Tyr, and Baldric when they tried to protect me. You have to send the healers to them. They were lying on the ground unconscious in the garden near the kitchens,” Jess thought to her men.
“It’s all right, Jess. I have sent for the healers. They will see to the young boys,” Hakon said in Jess’s mind.
“Are you well, little Jess? Did they hurt you?” Loki asked, portraying his anxiety to her.
“No, I’m fine. They’re running through a forest. I’ve tried to get away, but they’re just too strong.”
“We are on our way, baby. Don’t panic, and just do as they say. We have all the warriors out looking for you. We will be with you again soon,” Dagr said, portraying calm to her.
Jess sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. Dagr was right. There was nothing she could do to escape on her own. She was just going to have to wait for her white knights to come and rescue her. She slumped down over the goon’s back, letting her muscles relax, but made sure to look at her surroundings every now and then, so her mates could see where she was being taken. She was going to have to ask them how that worked, how they could see through her eyes.
Jess didn’t know how long they had been traveling for, but the pain in her solar plexus and stomach muscles let her know it had been quite a while. She tipped her head to the side and saw they were nearing the edge of the dense forest. She was getting a splitting headache from being upside down for so long, and her body was beginning to ache from lack of movement. She lifted her head again, and one of the other warriors in her sight made her lower her lashes. But she gathered her courage and glared at him instead of cowering as he stared at her and hoped the images were being seen by her mates. She took in her surroundings and knew they were near their destination. She shifted her aching body until the hard point of the warrior’s muscular shoulder was no longer digging into her diaphragm and shrieked with fury when he slapped her hard on the ass.
“What are they doing to you, baby?” Dagr pushed into her mind.
“He just slapped me on the butt. It hurt. Oh God. How far away are you? They’ve just taken me into a small building,” Jess explained mentally, letting her mates feel her fear and anxiety.
“We aren’t that far behind you, sweetheart,” Hakon stated. “When they get you into the building, I want you to pretend to faint. They won’t try and mate with you if you aren’t conscious.”
“It probably won’t be an act. I’m scared,” Jess whispered into their minds.
“Everything will be all right, little Jess. Just keep your mind linked with ours, and we will tell you what to do,” Loki told her calmly. “We’ll be with you before you know it.”
“Thank God,” Jess whispered, just before she passed out.
Chapter Thirteen
“Shit, I can’t feel her anymore. Can either of you?” Hakon asked his brothers.
“No. I think she has passed out. I could feel her panic. She was having trouble breathing. Let’s hope she doesn’t regain consciousness until we get to her,” Dagr said with a deep growl.
“We have to hurry. I don’t think she will be out long. She’s too much of a fighter,” Loki snarled.
Hakon looked at his brothers and then increased his speed, his brothers racing along at his side. He knew they weren’t as close to Jessamine as he had indicated. He and his brothers had lost the trail they had been following for a while. It had taken precious time for them to scout around and find signs of their mate’s abductors again. The wily bastards had traveled in a small creek for some time, obliterating any tracks.
The dread of not being able to get to his mate in time was a huge burden to bear. Hakon and his brothers had never felt so useless. He could feel the knots of despair in his brothers’ guts, mirroring his own fear at not having protected their woman.
“Hakon, have the healers on standby. I want Jess examined as soon as we have her back,” Dagr snapped.
“Calm down, brother. We are no good to Jessamine if we lose control. You are a warrior. Use your training.” Hakon spoke calmly, quietly, hoping he would be able to convince himself and his brothers to be calm.
“She is waking. I can feel her in my head again,” Loki stated. Hakon could feel the rage and fear emitting from his brother as the three of them eased into Jess’s mind.
“Little Jess, keep your eyes closed and your breathing deep and even. We don’t want the men with you to know you are awake.”
“Loki?” Jess replied timidly.
“Yes, little one. I’m here, as are Hakon and Dagr. Don’t open your eyes, all right? We want you to pretend you are still unconscious,” Loki stated in a calm soothing voice.
“I can feel their eyes on me. When will you get here?”
“Ah, sweetheart, we will be with you as soon as we can. I don’t know how far behind you we are. They traveled in a small creek for a while, and it took us some time to find the trail again. We are moving fast and are relaying our path to the other warriors. As soon as we get there, I want you to hide. We don’t want you in any danger when the fighting begins,” Hakon explained.
&n
bsp; “Please hurry. I can feel them trying to get into my mind,” Jess told him and gave a mental whimper. “Oh God, I can feel one of them breathing on my neck. Nooo,” Jess yelled through their mental connection, then was quiet.
“Jessamine, are you all right?” Hakon asked but received no answer.
“Jess, answer us,” Dagr snarled through the link to their mate.
“I can feel her terror. Faster,” Loki yelled at his brothers through the link.
* * * *
Jess’s eyes snapped open when she was hauled up from the bed by the neck of her dress. She whimpered and yelled in her mind as the material gave way, ripping down between her breasts. She scratched, clawed, kicked, and punched anywhere she could connect and was satisfied when the large male holding her yelled as her nails dug deep into his hand, leaving behind bloody gouges. He released his hold on her, and she fell down, landing on her feet awkwardly, then fell down onto her ass. She scampered back away from the three huge men glaring at her furiously. She was scared by what she saw in their eyes. They looked at her with anger and lust, making her heart thud painfully in her chest. She froze as her back hit a corner in the room. She had inadvertently trapped herself. She had nowhere to go.
The man she had injured stood staring at her, fury in his eyes, but then he gave her an evil smile as his brothers advanced.
“What do you want from me? I’ve done nothing to you. I don’t even know you. Please, let me go,” Jess pleaded.
“No. Why should we not have a woman of our own? We have watched and waited as many of our warriors have found their bond mates. We are tired of living as monks. We need a woman, and when we heard about the Sigmund brothers’ unique-looking mate, we decided to take you for our own,” the man on the right said as he moved closer.
“You decided? How magnanimous of you. You decided to take another’s mate because you are tired of not having one. Do you know how ingenuous that sounds? You sound like petulant little boys fighting over a toy. Why don’t you spare me and yourselves a lot of trouble and just walk away? My mates are already on their way. They will be here in no time, and they will kill you. Do you want to die over a mere woman?” Jess asked, trying to goad them into leaving like the cowards they were.
