Page 16 of Night's Bride

Vrel shook his head in denial but lifted his eyes to meet his twin’s gaze. “No. It was not too bad. Nash was out there, in fact.” He replied slowly so Vikt would catch everything he meant to convey. “And it was perfect. Better than one could hope for.”

“Really?” Emily laughed and gave an exaggerated shiver. “You guys are crazy. I wish I had thick fur like you.”

His gaze dropped to their mate and he smiled, his heart filling with adoration. “Unnecessary. We will keep you warm.”

“Yes,” Vikt agreed slowly, his eyes glowing with visible anticipation. “Very warm indeed.”

Chapter

Fourteen

CHAPTER 14

Emily felt like she was in the middle of something that she did not understand the rules of. While she had been initially a little disappointed that she had not received a full triad, she had come to adore Vikt and Vrel and enjoyed their life together and had been content with the idea that they wouldn’t allow any other Ragoru to interrupt the peace of their family. And now there was Nash and things felt like they were shifting in unexpected but not wholly unwelcome ways. And it was the fact that she wasn’t feeling a kneejerk reaction to reject the way things were changing that concerned her. Did she not feel the depth of feeling and commitment for Vikt and Vrel that she thought she did? The idea that she could be so fickle unsettled her and made her anxious even as her affection for the big alpha grew as each day passed. And with the snowstorm blowing furiously outside, she could even get enough distance to truly test her feelings.

She exhaled in exasperation as she rounded the corner from the corridor leading from the sub chambers into the main room.She proceeded to stumble to a stop as Nash’s head turned toward her and the male straightened from where he had been crouched beside the hearth, the prominent plating along his spine and the back of his skull somehow even more visible than that of her mates and more imposing.

“Emily,” he rumbled in greeting, his deep voice vibrating in a way that made her pulse quicken.

“Nash. What are you doing here?” she inquired politely as she took a step into the room so that he wouldn’t perceive any reluctance on her part when it came to being in the same room with him. “I thought your plan was to assist Vikt today to restock the firewood in the back room from the outer building.”

He inclined his head in agreement. “We just finished. He sent me in ahead while he checked a couple of traps near the den for fresh game.” The corners of his mouth twisted in amusement. “He claimed that I was still recovering, and he did not wish for me to stay outside too long and sicken.”

Emily laughed softly despite herself. “That sounds like something Vikt would say. He has a big heart.”

“They both have this way to them,” Nash agreed with a chuffing chuckle of his own, his tail flicking with his amusement. “It is rare to see such qualities among Ragoru. Sometimes I wonder what we once were—if our species was more like those males before survival made us harsher and more aggressive to survive. We are predators first and foremost, but,” he shook his head in wonder, his ears flattening slightly to the side, “they make me hope that we must have once been better. And maybe could be again.”

Emily peered at him, surprised by his deeply contemplative words. Although the Ragoru were cunning and far from stupid, she didn’t expect that. Even Vikt and Vrel did not seem to spend much time reflecting on their past on their homeworld. They would answer her questions, but beyond telling her of theexperiences that they remembered, they did not seem to give the past any great weight.

“That was then… before,” Vikt had replied with a yawn as Vrel grumbled in agreement. “That life was in a different world. It is not important. But life here, in the clan, is good. Our future here is all that matters. If we do our part, we will be happy and safe.”

Nash must have picked up on the direction of her thoughts because he chuffed quietly. “Vikt and Vrel do not speak of the homeworld, do they?”

She gave him a guarded look in reply, not wanting to unintentionally make her mates appear less in the alpha’s eyes, but the male flicked his claws absently in the air.

“I mean nothing by it. It is normal, I believe. I would not be surprised if many Ragoru within the clan prefer to forget about our life there and who we were. Here there are safe territories and full bellies. It is comforting to forget the violence and starvation.” A shadow passed over his face, but it disappeared altogether when he smiled at her. “I spent much time alone, which gave me a lot of time to think. And to wonder.”

Emily nodded slowly in response. She could understand that. “Are you hoping to discover your past by coming to the clans, or to find something new?”

His yellow eyes blinked at her in surprise, but then he grinned, not the least bit affronted by her question.

“I think I was interested to see if it could happen. It seemed impossible,” he admitted. “My decision was equal parts hope and curiosity. More than anything, I needed a place to belong.” His ears twitched and he glanced back toward the fire. “I have been alone too long. It is not good for my kind. Being alone too long can cause rogue behavior and madness. I have lost so much in life—I do not wish to lose myself.”

Emily fidgeted, suddenly disconcerted with the direction of their conversation. Despite feeling a strong draw to the male, she had blocked him out as strictly an intruder, a potential aggressor and threat to her new family. She hadn’t imagined—or perhaps hadn’t wanted to imagine—that he was a male with profound pain, damaged with the rest of his species in ways that she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

A world and a lifetime filled with starvation and violence as they fought every day to survive. The Ragoru were not invaders as so many people in the capital believed them to be—as Trish saw them. They were refugees from the edge of death given a second chance for a home and life that they had never experienced. Nash wasn’t there trying to disrupt her mates’ happiness or to even force himself into their lives. Nash was just looking for a place to belong, a family, and chance alone delivered him at their door.

Her gaze lifted to the mantle level with his ear. The four carved images made by Vrel’s own hand. She was never sure how much she believed in the Mother, but there was a softness sculpted in the female’s expression despite her superior size to the male around her. Mother Ewa radiated a certain grace in that moment that could have easily been a trick of the firelight, but Emily was certain that a warmth was present within the small carved image. As if it were all meant to be.

Nash followed her gaze to the little figures, and he grunted softly in acknowledgment. “Mother Ewa and the Dark Fathers surely saved me that day when they delivered me through the forest and brought Vrel to me.”

She swallowed and brushed her hands nervously against her skirt. “Do you believe that?”

The alpha glanced over at her in surprise. “There is no doubt. What else could it be but their grace that bestowed such good fortune upon me. It would have been enough to havebeen rescued from death’s sleep in the snow, but to have found warmth and affection with Vikt and Vrel… and you,” he rumbled in a husky rasp that shot to her belly. “It is every blessing I have ever wished and prayed for.”

A blush rose into her cheeks and she glanced around the room, praying for something to distract her from the intensity of the moment. “Are… are you hungry?” she stammered. “There are some dried apples. Vikt and Vrel do not like breads or things made from dough—I think it may be due to Ragoru tastes,” she added and internally winced at her obvious rambling. She drew in a steadying breath and smiled over at him. “They both agree that I make a delicious cobbler, if you would like to assist me.”

His ears pricked with interest. “Assist you in preparing this food?”

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