by Jayha Leigh
“Your grandmother was here?” Atlanta asked.
“Yep,” Aloha smiled.
“What did she say about it?” Silana asked.
“She threatened; not said. She expects a wedding ring to be next to it ‑‑ soon.”
“Dammnnn, so Imax got the Grandmother seal of approval?”
“She didn’t exactly give me verbal confirmation that she approved of me,” Ianikut muttered.
“Not shooting you is a sign of approval coming from Mrs. Sojourner Carrington,” Jack commented.
“Now that you put it like that, I feel so much better,” Iain said.
* * * * *
The women demanded hospitality, and Zuri being the diva that she was, was specific about how they should be spoiled. “Hey, since you guys aren’t really doing anything, you guys should be our man servants.”
“Yeah, and since you guys are going to serve us you should put on sarongs and find some palm leaves to fan us with,” Reign added, waggling her eyebrows suggestively in the direction of Imax’s very fine and very eligible brothers and directing a purr at Hannes.
“Stop purring at my man, Reign.”
“Make me, Zuri.”
“Children,” Silana warned, breaking up a potential argument before it began.
“But Silana, Zuri’s being selfish. We get to ogle everyone else’s man but she’s trying to keep Hannes all to herself, which isn’t fair. Now the way I see it, we have a house full of Russians, a Southern boy, a Norseman, and an Austrian here, and they’re all smoking hot. It would help my fantasies if they wore sarongs while they served us.”
“And it would help my fantasies to punch you in the throat,” Zuri muttered.
“Okay, then, how about only the unattached males wear sarongs. That would still make my fantasy work,” Reign argued.
“That might help your fantasy, Reign, but it wouldn’t do a thing for mine,” Iain drawled. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather y’all kept all of your clothes on if you’re going to be around Victorious.”
“I must concur with Iain. It would not be appropriate to wander around half-dressed in front of my wife,” Steele said.
“Neither would it be safe,” Ianikut added menacingly.
Hannes simply growled.
“You guys are such spoil sports,” Reign pouted.
“It’s so cute when you guys get all jealous,” Victorious sighed as she snuggled closer to Iain.
“And alpha,” Aloha said.
Tosya attempted to lighten the mood. “Little sisters, you know you’re surrounded by men who aren’t accustomed to being in the company of such beautiful and intelligent women.”
“Since you guys aren’t going to be our man servants, you might as well leave us to our own devices.” Zuri sighed dramatically.
“Very well.” Ianikut released a sigh that spoke of long-suffering. “See, if you can stay out of trouble in our absence.”
“And no plotting to overthrow governments,” Iain remarked.
“And absolutely no thinking of other men,” Steele added, “Unless you want them to die.”
“Very slowly,” Ianikut said.
“And painfully,” Steele said.
Again, Hannes simply growled.
“The thought of men dying slowly and painfully turns me on.” The normally silent, Jack said.
* * * * *
The men left them to their own devices and went upstairs to Ianikut’s den. Nursing iced tea and a collective concern for the trouble that the Posse could cook up, the men attempted to relax.
Iain wasn’t a man of many words ‑‑ unless they involved Victorious. However, he was an observant man. Though he’d only been in the presence of these men on a few occasions, he knew that there was an otherness about them. They wielded great power, but he didn’t care. He had something to say to them that couldn’t keep any longer.
“I don’t really know what’s going on with y’all. I just know that you’re different. Nevertheless, don’t hurt those women.”
The vampires had to struggle to keep their fangs retracted. The berserker had to concentrate on keeping his eyes from glowing. The shifter simply growled.
“You know what we are?” Ianikut asked.
“No, but I know what you aren’t,” Iain said.
“And what do you plan on doing about it?” Ianikut inquired.
“Nothing until you make me do something about it.” He looked them in the eye as he answered.
“You’re not frightened,” Ianikut asked somewhat baffled that he sensed neither fear nor anxiety in Iain.
“There are things that frighten me, but none of those things are in this room,” Iain admitted. “I’m a God-fearing man and I know the limitations of other men and what they can and cannot do to my wife, and therefore to me. It’s my own limitations that I question because I know that in my quest to keep Victorious safe and happy, that I can be moved to acts that I thought I was above.”
Iain might be all human. However at that moment, he gave every male in the room pause.
“Are you threatening us?” Ianikut asked incredulously. His brothers all wore identical looks of incredulity.
“Do you feel threatened?”
“Not particularly. I’m just getting over the fact that you’re threatening us.”
“So, what’s your interest in the Posse?” Steele inquired.
“Victorious considers them her sisters, therefore so do I. I’ve been looking after those women for the last three years.”
“None of those women need you to look after them,” Ianikut interjected.
“Possibly not, but I’m doing it anyway.”
“So, if someone hurts any of those women?” Fyodor tested.
“I’d rain down the ten plagues of a pissed off Southern man.”
The berserker and the vampires simply nodded. Hannes, on the other hand, smiled. All of them however, knew that Iain’s words weren’t braggadocio or jest. He was perfectly serious.
He might only be human, but he commanded the respect of every male in the room. Humans were odd ‑‑ and Southerners were pretty much beyond explanation.
“Are you going to introduce yourself?” Steele turned to Hannes.
“I’m Hannes Sighelm.”
“You were near my woman recently,” Ianikut added.
“I met her at Evil Twins.”
“And?”
“And she threatened me almost as well as Steele’s wife.”
“But?”
“But not as spectacularly as Reign or as menacingly as Jack.”
“And were they right to threaten you?”
“Yes, Zuri is a woman. A delicate, beautiful woman who has been hurt by an uncaring, foolish man, and I am a male, a large, strong male. So yes, they were right to threaten me.”
“And what are you?” Iain inquired.
“Shifter.”
Ianikut and Steele both nodded.
“How did you know that I am next in line for the Kingdom” Ianikut suddenly asked Steele, since there was no longer any reason for pretense among this group.
“How did you know that I am berserker?” Steele returned.
“You have that look about you.”
“You mean the so devastatingly handsome that ladies swoon and so fierce that nations tremble before them look?” Steele answered.
Ianikut almost choked on his drink. Hannes did choke on his.
“You’re jesting, I presume?” Ianikut asked.
“Not at all. I am just going by what I’ve been told.”
“You try my patience, berserker.”
“Everything tries your patience, vampire. But it is your way, is it not?”
“I would think that being married to a black woman would’ve taught you to steer clear of stereotypes,” Ianikut returned.
“I am not dealing in stereotypes. I am dealing in fact. You vampires ‑‑ especially you Aleksandroviches ‑‑ are notorious for your nonexistent tempers.”
“Perhaps, that’
s why we’re given great berth.”
“If you call having the show, the movies, and romance novels being given great berth, obviously my understanding of the terms ‘great’ and ‘berth’ are skewed,” Steele said with a smile that spoke volumes.
“If my woman wasn’t best friends with yours,” Ianikut said.
“I would’ve already laid waste to you.” Steele smiled in the face of his brother’s growls.
“Are you guys going to do this all of the time?” Hannes asked.
Turning from their argument, both the berserker and the vampire turned to the normally silent shifter.
“Do what?”
“Squabble incessantly.”
“I do not squabble,” both said.
“As English isn’t the native tongue of either of you, perhaps you two simply misunderstand the meaning of the word.”
“Shifter, you try my patience,” Ianikut said.
“Mine also,” Steele said.
“Did you consider that your anger weakens you?”
“What danger is there, here?” Ianikut asked.
“There is always danger, Vampire. Though we are strong, fast, and hard to kill, we aren’t invincible, and more importantly, those women we love are not. In fact, they are more vulnerable now that they are associated with you. Answer this question. Of the women downstairs, who do you think poses the greatest threat?”
“Jack,” every male in the room answered.
“No. Jack is dangerous, and she makes no move to hide that fact. In fact, she wears it like she wears her gun ‑‑ in plain view. The truth is that each woman is equally dangerous, especially to a person who doesn’t consider them such. In any given scenario the individual who appears the least dangerous is the one who always gives me pause.
“So, if you were in Vegas and you had to let it all ride on just one of the women, who would you put your money on?” Iain asked.
“Toss up between Indy and Silana.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re better at hiding how they feel. In our world, few bother and while our people have taken much for granted, they aren’t stupid. Few would cross either of you, but one or two would…and those are the ones you should be on the lookout for instead of squabbling with each other, when we all know that you won’t fight.”
“And you know that how?” Steele inquired.
“Because, berserker, you love Atlanta, and the vampire loves Aloha, and Atlanta and Aloha love each other. Not even your mistrust of each other would be enough of a catalyst for you to jeopardize the happiness of your women.”
The Posse only made it through two parts of the trilogy before deciding to call it a day. Although they didn’t get the pleasure of glimpsing Ianikut’s brothers in sarongs, Zuri did manage to talk them into carrying her out on a makeshift litter, much to her delight.
Chapter Twenty
Aloha insisted that she needed Indy to marry them, knowing that Indy was reluctant to perform most pastoral duties. She dragged Ianikut to Indy’s house to plead their case. She could’ve called, but then, she wouldn’t have been able to give Indy the puppy dog eyes. Indy, in her usual fashion, declared that she wasn’t a proper pastor and did everything she could to get Aloha and Ianikut to change their minds.
“I cuss like a sailor,” she said.
“Which will come in handy if you ever become a sailor,” Aloha countered.
“I don’t even go to church,” Indy said.
“Neither do I,” Aloha answered. Though she was Protestant, she too had issues with the Church.
“I…” Indy began.
“You married Atlanta and Steele, so you have to marry us.”
“That’s because I felt it my duty to protect clergy from Atlanta,” Indy answered.
“Please, Indy,” Ianikut pled.
And a heartfelt please was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Indy loved them and thus, she couldn’t deny them, regardless of her own personal hang-ups about religion. And she did have those stellar credentials.
* * * * *
Aloha decided that the wedding should be a mixture of both her and Ianikut’s cultures. Since Indy was marrying them, she thought it would only be fair to incorporate as much of Ianikut’s traditions as possible into the ceremony. Their union would be considered a “mixed marriage” due to the fact that she was a non-Orthodox Christian (not because she was black). Aloha dragged Indy to a Russian Orthodox priest to get answers to her many questions. After returning from the meeting, both she and Indy were upset. Indy, because she was Indy and had particular issues with the ecumenical Church; and Aloha, because she didn’t want to take anything from Ianikut that she couldn’t replace.
“Let’s go to Reign’s house,” Indy said in a ‘don’t try me’ tone.
Indy drove her straight to Reign’s house, so the professional finder of loopholes could have a go at the problem. After sitting amongst piles of documents, books, and laptops for hours, Reign sighed.
“Aloha, babe. I’m sorry. I’ve searched high and low, yet I cannot find a loophole, small print, even an asterisk, nothing around this. Either you convert to Orthodox or…” She didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t have to.
“I see. Thanks for looking.” Aloha smiled sadly.
“Aloha, there’s something else,” Reign said.
“What?” Aloha asked, not that the something else mattered. Regardless of what Ianikut said, she just couldn’t do this to him. She just couldn’t condemn him to this no matter how hard it broke her heart.
“Let’s say, hypothetically, Imax is a vampire. He would have different physiology from you. Unlike in the movies, he can’t convert you into something you’re not. He isn’t God. There’s also no guarantee that you could successfully procreate. I could be way off base, here. Those are just hypotheticals ‑‑ except the Imax not being God thing ‑‑ that’s a given, like the first proof in geometry. It just seems to render the whole white guy-black woman thing and Protestant-Orthodox thing impotent.”
“Yeah, it does. Thanks, Reign,” she said before lapsing into silence.
“Aloha, I’m just tossing out theories. Talk to Imax so he can give you the facts before running off half-cocked.
“I’m not running off half-cocked, Reign. I’m walking off informed and resigned.”
“So, are you going to break it off?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“That’s the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard you say, Aloha. And that’s really saying something, considering some of the things you’ve said.
“If it’s any consolation, it’s the most difficult thing I’ve had to say,” Aloha answered. Aloha knew that she had no choice but to break it off with Ianikut regardless of the numerous hell no’s and looks of incredulity Indy and Reign bombarded her with.
“That man loves you, Aloha! How can you even consider breaking his heart?” Indy yelled.
“Because I love him, Indy. He’ll get over me.”
“At least give him a choice! You don’t have the right to make that choice for him.”
“I am giving him a choice, Indy. If he marries me, he’ll no longer have those choices.”
“You are such a…” Indy said, before she started mumbling. Aloha knew that whenever Indy was highly agitated, she started arguing with God. Although she suspected Indy did a lot of talking and arguing; she suspected she never won. Still, she didn’t interrupt her. Indy merely shot her a disgruntled look before driving her over to Ianikut’s house full of piss and vinegar, and not doing a damn thing to hide it.
* * * * *
Ianikut took one look at the two women and demanded to know what was wrong. “Angel, what has you so upset?”
“You won’t be able to remain in good standing with the Church if Indy marries us, and I want Indy to marry us! The Orthodox Church will only recognize our marriage if we marry within the Church, but if Indy performs the ceremony you won’t remain in sacramental communion with the Church. You won’t be able to rec
eive Eucharist, be able to serve as a godparent to any of your nieces or nephews, or serve as a sponsor at the wedding to any of your brothers. I can’t do that to you, Ianikut.
On top of that, you’re a vampire and what if we can’t have kids and then…” Whatever else she said was lost in the sound of her tears. Great sobs shook her petite body. He heard something about children and physiology in between her great sobs, and though he didn’t understand most of what she was saying he understood that she was trying to back out of marrying him. “I love you. I’ll miss you,” she wailed as she turned and ran to the door.
That was the wrong thing to say to a man in love. She didn’t make it a single step, before Ianikut crushed her to him. “Angel, I can’t claim to be an expert on any church canon, but I do know that God has brought us together. And I also know that death is the only thing that I will allow to separate us. I will NOT give YOU up EVER!”
“But Ianikut…,” she said.
“But, nothing!” He declared. “Aloha, what did God do on the seventh day?”
Aloha was startled by Ianikut’s question. “He rested.”
“Where does the sun rise and where does it set?” Aloha was totally confused now. “It rises in the east and sets in the west.”
“What month does the new version of Madden drop?”
“The last week in August. Ianikut, what ‑‑”
Ianikut cut her off. “Just as you know the answers to those questions without thinking about them, you need to know the answer to the following question: when will Ianikut let Aloha go? Never. I will never let you go!”
“Ianikut.”
“Even if no Church would agree to marry us, that wouldn’t stop me. I’d simply drag you to the highest mountain top so that we could be as close as possible to Heaven. And then, I would say the words to marry us. And those words simply are, ‘God, I take this woman.’ I’ve taken you into my body, into my heart, into my soul, and I’m not giving you up.”
“Ianikut, I love you so much.”
“And as much as you love me, it is nowhere near as much as I love you, angel.”
“Ianikut, I feel so bad though,” she said.
“How can you feel bad for me when I have you, angel?”
