by R. E. Butler
“Not always, but usually. I think there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to matings and clans. Every clan has to make their own way.”
“You can make biscuits?” She grinned at him.
“I’ll make some for you tomorrow, sweetheart,” he promised.
He stopped walking again and put down the cooler. They were in a small clearing, surrounded by tall trees. “This is about fifty yards from Dante’s home, about seventy-five from Orion’s.” He gestured to the trees around them and said, “We’d clear the area of course, and make a path that would reach the road, wide enough for our vehicles. We’re close enough to visit the clans, but far enough away for privacy.”
He walked a few steps away from her and ducked around a tree. “Here is the kitchen.”
“Very grand,” she laughed.
Nodding, he walked between a few more trees and said, “This is the dining room. We’ll need a big table for all our cubs.” He walked around her with a big smile, trailing his fingers down her arm, “The family room. Big-screen TV for Nyte, comfy couch for Fade, fireplace to keep our sweetheart warm.”
“What’s in the room for you?” she asked, imaging a big room like he had described.
“You,” he answered simply.
Stomping his foot a little to draw her attention to the ground, he told her about the den where they’d spend their winters, and then gesturing upwards, he told her about the second floor, with plenty of bedrooms and lots of windows to enjoy the woods.
“What do you think of my vision?”
“I love it.”
He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her gently. “I love you.”
“Oh, Az, I love you, too. You’ve got a very good imagination.”
“You bet I do. In fact, I am picturing what you’re wearing under all those clothes and really, really hoping that it’s nothing.”
She looked around the woods and realized how secluded they were. It was the first time she’d ever been alone with Az. Her body tightened in response to the wicked thoughts suddenly traipsing through her mind. Az inhaled softly and made a sound in his throat that sounded like a purr.
She lifted her hands to take off her jacket, and he stilled them. “It’s too chilly to strip out here.” His fingers rubbed against the underside of her wrists as he looked down at her. His eyes darkened. “I want you.”
He dropped to his knees before she could respond, dragging the cooler towards him. The Velcro ripped noisily as he pulled the top open and withdrew a cheerful red plaid blanket that was lying on top of the food he’d packed. With a quick flick of his wrists, he shook out the blanket and laid it on the ground; then he settled his hands on her waist.
He looked up at her, his fingers kneading her flesh. He slid his fingers slowly under the waistband of her jeans, running them along the front of her body and making her skin tingle. He undid the button and lowered the zipper slowly, never taking his eyes off her.
She slipped her fingers through his thick hair, which was a soft brown color and long enough to dust his chin. Sifting the strands through her fingers, she held his gaze until he tugged her jeans down her thighs and then lowered his gaze to her panties.
“I was going to guess red,” he said. She’d chosen white and pink striped panties. She lifted her shirt over her breasts and showed him her matching bra. “Beautiful,” he said roughly.
He nuzzled her stomach and kissed her navel, licking the edge before tracing his tongue along the line of her panties. He drew the panties down until they met her jeans, and the air, which had seemed quite warm for so late in the fall, suddenly seemed colder, making goosebumps rise on her skin. Or maybe it was excitement that gave her chills, as Az’s eyes darkened further, and he lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her clit.
The greedy bud twitched under his lips, and she caught the corner of a smile from him before he opened his mouth and licked her.
“Oh, Az,” she groaned, grasping his hair in her fists. His hands slipped around to cup her cheeks as he pulled her even closer to his talented tongue. He licked a circle around her clit, lazy as if they had days and days to reach the peak of pleasure, when all she wanted was to come right now.
“Tease.” She tugged lightly on his hair and he chuckled.
His teeth grazed her clit, and a shiver shot down her spine. He wiggled his tongue between her lips, growling lightly as he tongued her pussy. She bent her knees slightly, leaning into his tongue as he began to stroke her, flicking the tip of her clit with his tongue. Her body followed his motions, her hips moving towards his mouth as he teased, lapped, and stroked her clit and pussy until she felt like she’d go mad if she didn’t come. He gripped her ass tightly in his hands and sucked her clit into his mouth. Her whole body shook as she came, struggling to remain on her feet while Az sucked her clit like it was his favorite piece of candy. She moaned loudly, her hands twisting in his hair.
Az turned her roughly, and she dropped to all fours, trembling from the pleasure that wove like hot hands through her. She vaguely heard a zipper being lowered and then Az slammed his cock into her pussy, and she shoved back to meet him, their bodies colliding as he fucked her hard. Her hands gripped the blanket as she felt him thicken and pulse inside her as he came. He shouted her name and gripped her hips tighter, holding her in place as he emptied inside her. She could feel the heat of his come, and she spiraled into pleasure once more, collapsing with a hoarse cry, her stomach clenching and her eyes rolling back in her head.
Az leaned over her, panting heavily, kissing her hips and across her back, pushing her shirt and coat up to kiss up her spine. “Mine, mine,” he chanted in between kisses. “Mine.”
She rolled onto her back, her legs between his, her pussy still clenching. Grasping his hot, wet cock lightly as he groaned, she growled, “Mine.”
“Fuck yes, baby, I’m yours.”
His eased to her side and slipped his arm under her head to cushion it and rested his palm on her stomach.
“I think we just christened the living room,” she said.
He laughed and kissed her cheek. “Wait’ll you see what I can do in the kitchen.”
She couldn’t wait.
* * * * *
Nyte watched over the older woman as she did reps on a weight machine. She had hired him as her trainer several weeks earlier for twice-weekly sessions. He always took care to focus on those who hired him, but he couldn’t stop his mind from drifting to Whisper frequently. For the last week, she’d been staying at the apartment, and he and his brothers had been alternating staying home with her so she wasn’t alone. When he had stayed home with her two days ago, they’d made love in the empty apartment and then gone out to lunch and spent the afternoon talking. He’d enjoyed it, but he could tell she was getting bored. Her life before she met them had been busy and exciting.
Nyte added another small weight to the machine. Mrs. Johansen asked, “Did you always want to be a trainer, Nyte?”
“I guess I’ve always enjoyed taking care of myself.”
“Did you go to college for it?”
“I went for business. I recently got my trainer certification, though.”
She hummed and concentrated on her reps, and when she finished, she shook her hands out and rolled her shoulders. “I’m sure that all the girls enjoy how handsome and fit you are.” She winked at him, and he smiled.
“I’m mated.”
Her brows rose in surprise as her gaze dropped to his hands. “I didn’t know you were married. You don’t wear a ring.”
“Mated, not married, and my tattoos are my rings.”
“Marriage is different than mating?”
“Yes and no,” he said, but she waved him off.
“I’m just a nosy thing, don’t mind me. I was just trying to distract you while I caught my breath. On to the next torture device.”
He picked up her folder from the floor and scanned the sheet to see what they’d accomplished so far during her hour, and then led
her to the next machine. As he got her set up, he thought over the short conversation with her. Mated and married weren’t the same thing, because for hyenas mating was more serious than marriage. Marriage for humans could be broken through divorce, but a mating was forever. The marks that Whisper wore on her neck were as much a sign that she belonged to them as they were a sign that they belonged to her, too. They wore the tattoos of their mating, but she didn’t wear any rings. If someone didn’t know what the marks on her neck meant, they might believe that she wasn’t mated. Fury stole through him, and he barely restrained a growl.
After finishing Mrs. Johansen’s session, he said goodbye to her and went to find Az in the breakroom. He filled him in on the discussion he’d had with his client and Az blanched.
“Shit. Do you think she thinks we don’t want to marry her?”
Nyte grimaced. “Since we haven’t mentioned making her our legal wife since the mating ceremony, I don’t know why she would think we wanted it.”
“Damn it. All she and I have talked about was having cubs and building a home. I never thought about asking her to marry us because we’re mated and she feels like our wife already.”
Nyte nodded. She did feel like his wife, but they’d all still let her down. He wanted her to belong to them in every way and to belong to her, too. Not just physically, not just emotionally, but legally, too.
“We need to fix it,” Az said.
“I know. When she falls asleep tonight, we’ll all figure it out.”
Later, while Whisper slept in their bed, he and his brothers slipped out into what had been Fade’s bedroom. Az shut the door quietly and turned to face them. They kept their voices low.
“First things first, we need to get rings and propose to her,” Nyte said. “Do we want to do it together or separately?” Clans normally bought their mate separate rings, one from each male.
Fade crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Why do we have to give her separate rings? We’re a clan together. Doesn’t it make sense for us to give her just one ring from all of us?”
Az nodded. “I’ve never understood the separate ring thing, either. I’d like to give her just one from all of us.”
Nyte clicked open the notes program on his phone that he had carried from the bedroom and started a list. “There are a few jewelry stores at the mall, I’m sure we’ll find something amazing for her. Let’s take her out to dinner on Saturday night and ask her to marry us.”
Az smiled. “I hope she says yes.”
Fade rolled his eyes with a chuckle. “If she says no, we’ll just have to be very creative in getting her to change her mind.”
“There’s one more thing,” Nyte said. “Should we ask her parents for permission? And if so, which ones?”
Neither of his brothers answered. Az finally said, “I think you should ask Mack. When Whisper talks about him and her brothers, you can tell that she thinks of them as her real family. I’m sure eventually she’ll feel the same about her biological family, but in her heart, Mack is her dad.”
“I think we should marry her when we go back for Bliss’s birthday party,” Fade said. “Not the night of the party, but the next day. We can invite her hyena family to come so they can share in the night. I’m sure that Mack knows a preacher that would marry all of us. Then they can all share in the day with us.”
“And our parents, too,” Az added.
Nyte jotted notes down. They were going to head to Beyton the following Friday, which left them a week and a half to get things ready. He and his brothers quickly divvied up the duties.
Nyte dialed Mack’s cell. He would still be working at the bar.
“Hello, Nyte,” Mack answered. “Is everything okay?”
He smiled at the concern in the wolf’s voice. “It is, Mack,” Nyte said as he clicked the speaker button on his phone so his brothers could hear. “My brothers and I wanted to ask for Whisper’s hand in marriage.”
There was a long pause, and then Mack said, “I’m honored, boys. I miss her every day, but I’m glad that she has the three of you to keep her happy. Yes, you have my permission to marry her. Let me know when the wedding is.”
“Actually, we wanted to see how you felt about helping us marry her next Saturday.”
“Really? But I thought you were going to come up for Bliss’s birthday? I know that Whisper wanted to play once more with her brothers.”
“No, of course we’re coming up for that. Bliss’s party is Friday night, and if we can get help on your end, we can have the ceremony on Saturday afternoon.”
Mack said, “I’m happy to help in any way.”
Nyte said he’d send an email to him by morning with what arrangements needed to be made and ended the call. Glancing at the time, he said, “We’ll call her parents in the morning.”
Az went back to the master to go to bed, and Nyte and Fade spent several hours on two laptops in the bedroom, making plans. Nyte emailed a detailed list to Mack and closed the lid on the laptop with a yawn. There was a lot to be done between now and next Saturday night, but with her family’s help, he knew it would happen.
He left Fade to continue working on the invitations, which were going to be emailed since they were short on time, and climbed into bed with his sweetheart. When he touched her arm, she rolled over and snuggled into him, sighing softly. Holding her close, he let himself drift off into sleep.
* * * * *
Az looked down at the rings in the jewelry case as Nyte talked to the jeweler about what they were looking for. He’d never thought much about jewelry, but he wanted Whisper’s ring to be perfect. It was a material expression of their love for her.
This was the second jewelry store they’d been in at the mall, and Az’s eyes were starting to cross from looking at rings. The other clans had given their mates separate rings, so that each female wore three different rings on her left hand. He liked Nyte’s idea better. They were a family together; having separate rings just didn’t make sense.
“What about this one,” Az asked as he tapped the glass over a four-stone diamond ring.
The saleswoman and Nyte both leaned over the glass as she unlocked the case and reached inside. She pulled the ring from the display case and set it on top of the glass on a small velvet-lined tray. She began to rattle off the qualities of the diamonds, but all that Az cared about was that it had four stones.
“One for each of us,” he said to Nyte as he lifted the ring from the velvet and looked at it closely. Az handed the ring to Nyte, who held it between his index finger and thumb.
Giving Az a smile, Nyte said to the woman, “We’ll take it. It’s perfect.”
Az grinned so widely his cheeks hurt. He reached into his pocket and removed a ring that he had swiped from the small jewelry box that Whisper had set on the dresser in the master. The woman took the ring and went to measure it to see if the new band needed to be sized to fit.
“What else do we need to do today?” Az asked.
Nyte glanced at his watch. “I’ve got a client at two. You can use Fade’s office. You need to make reservations for dinner tomorrow, and I told Mack that you’d call today and check in with him.”
Az nodded. Most of the wedding plans would be handled on Mack’s end. He was utilizing Whisper’s brothers and two best friends, who had already called that morning to ask what they could do to help. Nyte had contacted Whisper’s birth parents while Whisper was taking a shower, and they were thrilled to be included in the wedding plans. Their entire baro was going to arrive at Beyton on Friday night, under the guise of watching Whisper perform her last show with her brothers and their band. Mack was making hotel arrangements.
“The rings are the same size, you lucked out,” the woman said as she returned, handing Whisper’s ring to Az. Nyte pulled his wallet out to pay as Az’s phone buzzed, and he stepped away from the counter to answer.
“Hi, Mom,” Az said. They’d called their family earlier that morning to invite them to the wedding. Dante�
�s clan and Orion’s clan were also going to make the trip.
“I had a really nice conversation with Whisper’s mother, Lena, just a bit ago.” She stopped talking, and Az’s back went stiff. Was something wrong?
“Mom?”
“Are you sure about living in Kentucky, honey? I know that you followed Dante there, but it’s so far from her family. Both of them.”
The familiar pang of guilt that had been riding him since they learned of Whisper’s history came back full force. He rubbed at the space between his eyes with his thumb. “She says she’s happy here.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
She hummed in her throat. “Well, I just wanted you to know that as your mom, I love you and I want you to be happy. As the mother-in-law, I think that you need to think long and hard about where Whisper’s true happiness is. Yes, home is where you make it, and she may be a hyena but she was raised as a wolf. Your fathers spoke to Mack this morning, and he is an honorable male and raised her to respect her people and traditions even though they’re not really her own. If she’d been raised as a hyena, it wouldn’t be a hardship to move with you, I don’t think, because she would have known that was a possibility. Thinking as a wolf, though, she was planning to settle down in the pack.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“Of course you do. I’m wonderful.” She chuckled. “Your dads and I are paying for the flowers for the ceremony, by the way, as our way of contributing.”
“Thanks.”
They said goodbye, and he turned back to see Nyte accept a small black and white striped bag. “Something up?” Nyte asked as he joined Az and they left the store.
Az shared their mom’s concern for Whisper’s happiness.
They walked in silence through the mall. It wasn’t until they were in Nyte’s truck that he finally spoke. “After the wedding, we’ll ask her where she wants to live. No matter where she chooses, it’ll be home for us because she’s there.”
Az agreed. He held the bag on his lap; the slight weight of it, and the knowledge that it held the perfect ring for her, was enough to make him want to dance a jig or break out into song. On Saturday, they’d ask her to marry them. Then they’d surprise her with their wedding, and her entire family — birth and adopted — would be there to share in their special day. He couldn’t think of anything more fitting to celebrate their new lives together than sharing it all with the people she loved.
