Page 15 of Night's Bride

His ears tipped toward Nash uncertainly and he glanced back toward the doorway. Vikt was inside assisting Emily with her bath. Vrel normally would be there as well, except he was distracted by the alpha’s odd behavior. Nash truly wished to stand outside in the snow for such a long time. He enjoyed snow as much as the next Ragoru but with the snow whipping around the cold, cutting air, he did not understand the appeal.

“You may join me,” Nash rumbled, his deep voice breaking the silence of the night.

Vrel’s ears flattened slightly with indecision. Join him… without Vikt? It was unthinkable. While Vikt often hunted with the other males within the clan, Vrel had never spent company with another Ragoru without his twin as a buffer.

“Or not,” Nash continued with a wry chuff. “I forget sometimes.”

Bouncing uncertainly for a moment, Vrel finally stepped toward the other male, his ears lowering instinctively at the brush of falling snow. “What do you forget?”

Nash swung around, his head craning over his shoulder as he grinned at Vrel. “How it is with twins.” He cocked his head. “Have you ever done anything without Vikt?”

Vrel swallowed but shook his head, his ears flattening completely against his skull at the line of questioning. “Only Emily.”

Nash’s brow arched, the pale snow clinging to him emphasizing his expression. “You have mounted your mate without him? That is bold. Even among triads, the interest in sharing is strong enough to discourage that. Males who are comfortable not sharing often are males who cannot truly share and seldom find a mate.”

“Not that,” Vrel hastened to reassure the male, embarrassment rolling through him. He was no deviant rogue to be worried about. “I meant to say that I spend time… alone… with Emily. Just no one else.”

He fidgeted in place, his paws scuffing the snow beneath him. “I am not a very good hunter,” he admitted. “Males who tolerate Vikt’s company think that I am useless.”

Nash frowned back at him, his concern evident on his face. “And Vikt allows them to speak in such a fashion about you?”

A smile split Vrel’s muzzle at the thought, and he shook his head with a chortle of amusement as he crept closer to Nash. “No. My brother is smaller than they are and does not enjoy violence, but he always gets in one good blow before they trounce him.”

A hard look crossed Nash’s face, and Vrel’s smile fell. He regretted saying anything now.

“They trounce him,” Nash repeated, his voice cool.

Vrel lifted his upper arms helplessly. “Have you not met us? My brother is braver and more outgoing than I am, but neither of us is strong… or large… or really capable of showing aggression and dominance. We are easy to overcome, and they do so to make a point, for the same reasons that Vikt attacks despite the odds.”

Nash growled unhappily but settled heavily into the snow, tipping his head back and lifting his eyes to the bright moon visible between the branches of the nearest trees. Vrel’s gaze shot up to the beauty of the moon and dropped back to the male for a long moment before he crept over the snow, closing the distance that separated them. Lowering himself into the snow at Nash’s side, he gave the alpha a cautious smile when Nash’s gaze briefly flicked to him and warmed.

Vrel’s tension eased and his heart lightened as he followed the alpha’s form and leaned back to admire the moon. His breath caught for a moment at the sight of the pale moon riding high over the snow laden trees as it shone down at them from a break in the clouds. Its light sent a beautiful shimmer over the snow upon the ground and the faintest hint of luminance to the snowflakes falling from the sky. Suddenly he wanted to rush inside and rip Emily from her bath so that she too could admire the sight, but his mouth twisted wryly as he imagined what her reaction would be if she were thrust, soaking wet, out into thesnow. Lacking in fur and size to keep her adequately warm, she would not be very pleased.

“You and your twin should not be fighting to survive alone,” Nash grumbled after a moment, his voice once more cutting the weighty silence. Vrel stilled as his chest tightened with fear and an undeniable surge of wonder. “Especially not with a mate,” he continued. “You can barely take care of yourselves, much less a mate.”

Vrel’s brow lowered into scowl at the insult—whether it was intentional or not mattered little. The male clearly thought that they were incapable. It seemed that the moment they had briefly captured fled. “You believe that we are incapable of caring for our mate?” he bit out as he shoved to his feet.

The glance Nash cast upon him was one of surprise. “No, not that,” he quickly objected. “I just mean that you deserve a triad—an alpha who will care for you. And for your mate. It is difficult for any Ragoru without a full triad. Even for an alpha. You saw for yourself how close I came to dying on my own. All three of you deserve more,” he added, ears tipping uncomfortably to the sides of his head.

Peering at the male, Vrel’s annoyance fled, and a new warmth settled within the pit of him. Nash wished to join their family. He was certain of it. He did not understand how the alpha had resisted drowning in Emily’s musk night after night—and for a moment he had been concerned that Vikt was wrong and that the male was not affected by their mate.

It seemed that they were right after all.

Vrel met Nash’s gaze steadily and inclined his head in a stiff nod of acknowledgement despite the pool of nervous excitement gathering within the pit of his belly. “You are right,” he admitted as he turned away to head back to the house, hiding his smile until his back was turned to the male.

“You are leaving?” The note of disappointment was evident in Nash’s voice, and Vrel barely kept himself from trembling with excitement as he stooped to gather more of the firewood to warm the den.

A male wishing to join them was good fortune, but it was doubly more so that the alpha wanted to bond with them properly rather than simply desiring access to their mate. The latter happened more often than anyone wished to admit, especially with less desirable males attempting to join an established and strong triad that had perhaps lost a member to some detriment. A settled female was often worth overlooking such flaws. Nash gave him hope for the future of their den.

Vrel straightened and waved a segment of split wood at Nash with a smile. “Back to Emily. As much as I enjoyed this interaction, my mate is bathing, and I do not wish to miss all of it.”

Tucking the wood under his arm, he spun away, a wide grin stretching across his muzzle at the defeated groan that rose up from the alpha behind him as Vrel hurried inside. It was only a matter of time.

Dropping the wood in its proper bin and shaking the excess snow and water from his fur, Vrel trekked over to where the tub was set up in front of the hearth, his gaze alighting on his mate with delight. Submersed entirely in hot water, she was a vision to him with her wet hair slicked over her head and floating in the water that was deep enough to just barely cover the tops of her breasts. With the water and firelight, she had a warm radiance to her that made Vrel want to hold her tightly close.

Her eyes rose to him as he dropped beside her, his fingers teasing the surface of the water as he draped one arm over its side. Her lips curled in response as her gaze dropped down to his claws tracing little patterns against her wet skin.

“How was the weather outside?” she murmured. “The snow still coming down? You look slightly chilled.”

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