Page 2 of Night's Bride

Shadows moved at the periphery of her vision, and she turned her head slightly as three other shadowy forms slipped from the woods, but they ignored her as they headed directly toward the transport where the escort attendants were still struggling to get Trish out from its belly. Three for Trish, but only two for her.

That figured. It seemed even the Ragoru knew which of them was the greater value and worth the interest of a full triad. That stung a bit. Swallowing back her disappointment, Emily mustered a nervous smile as she prepared to greet her mates.

Chapter

Two

CHAPTER 2

Vikt’s ears pricked toward the female standing in front of them, and he exchanged a silent look with his twin brother Vrel. They were an unusual pair among the Ragoru who settled in the north lands, but they were fortunate that the development of what was called “the clan” allowed them to live quietly with their unique bond. That bond made it impossible for other males to comfortably accept them into their forming triads as much as it made it difficult for them to live apart from each other. While it was not uncommon for rogs to be born in multiples, they were typically sired separately. It was rare, however, for identical twins to be born and unheard of for them to successfully mate.

The clan changed everything.

As long as one of them was always available to participate in a hunt or with any number of tasks within the community, they were offered the same comforts, protections, and rights as anyother Ragoru. As it happened, although being twins made their situation unique in terms of the lack of social hierarchy, there were a number of lone Ragoru and paired Ragoru who were accepted and indicated an interest in acquiring mates. And yet somehow they were selected in the choosing to be among the first to receive a human mate.

“She is disappointed,” Vrel commented quietly, his green gaze drifting to the triad skirting around the human transport, patiently sniffing around their own female from a safe distance. His gaze moved to the female standing awkwardly in front of them and he sighed. “Of course. She expected a triad. What should we do?”

Vikt grunted without comment and shifted uncertainly in place. One of the most difficult things about their situation was that, because of their closeness, neither of them had naturally stepped into the alpha position to take the lead. It left both of them riddled with uncertainty in nearly all situations that were normal among their kind, and it seemed that mating was going to be another. Clearly whoever selected them had not thought this part out, or the fact that it would be unlikely for them to effectively bond and reproduce with their mate without the proper triad arrangement to encourage fertility and dominance in one of them.

Their mate was bound to be disappointed in more than just the fact that she had less than a full triad of mates to please and satisfy her. There was also the fact that they suffered from an inability to extrude. It was a normal condition that afflicted many Ragoru males who lacked dominance and were not part of a triad where an alpha’s lust could properly trigger it. He was not ashamed of it, but he was certain that this would disappoint her as well.

Vikt winced and shifted again, his cocks growing hard in his sheath. Just because he lacked the ability to knot and breed,or even extrude entirely without an alpha, did not mean that he possessed ineffectual equipment. It was just going to be a challenging obstacle.

Releasing another sigh, his ears twitched and flattened out to the side as he took a hesitant step toward her.

“You are—” he began as he took a step toward her before realizing that it was presumptuous to refer to her as his mate upon just meeting.

A hesitant smile flickered across her lips and her hands rose to draw back her hood. His tongue immediately fastened to the roof of his mouth as he stared. She was far more beautiful than he had expected. Not that he had not seen many humans outside of Eve, the female who worked hard with her mates to establish the clan community in the cold lands. He always found Eve pleasing enough to look upon, but this female—she was glorious. Her complexion had a light brown cast on the verge of something almost golden that complimented the flecks of gold and hints of deep green within her brown eyes that gave her an appearance of warmth. A suggestion that was only amplified by the generous curves that shaped her form. He could scarcely believe that she was truly there for him and his twin.

“Emily Duert,” she replied in a sweet, mellow tone that made his ears tip toward the sound of her voice in pleasure. A hint of pink rushed to her cheeks and her lips twisted in a smile he understood to be awkward; he had seen Eve frequently wear that look when addressing new arrivals to the clan. “Actually, just Emily. I forgot that you probably do not use sur names. Ah, family names, that is.”

“We do not mind. If family names are important to humans, we can be Duert as well,” Vrel quickly interjected as he took a half-stumbling step forward.

Vikt grimaced as his twin’s ears flattened in humiliation at his own awkwardness. His brother was not usually so clumsy. Itwas only when he was nervous that it proved to be a problem. He did not do it intentionally, but it had not helped them find their place easily within the clan.

“Apologies,” Vrel murmured. “I am not myself.”

“I am Vikt,” Vikt compassionately interrupted his brother to save the male from further embarrassment. “This is my twin, Vrel.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Emily responded as she lifted her hand to her lips.

Vikt’s ears twitched at the surprising sound of muffled laughter. His gaze narrowed on her for a moment, suspecting that perhaps she was mocking his twin, but her eyes sparkled with such warmth that he could not believe it and was immediately reassured when she lowered her hand and gave Vrel a wry grin.

“I must apologize. I did not mean to laugh, but I am relieved to see I am not the only nervous one here.” She winced as a scream came from the transport behind them, and a look of resignation crossed her face as her eyes rolled skyward. “There is of course nervous, and then there is… that.”

Vrel grimaced in the direction of the transport, and Vikt followed his gaze… and blinked. Whereas their female had the appearance of warmth, this other female was nearly as pale as the snow itself. Even her hair was such a pale shade that her red cheeks and lips stood out brightly like stains of blood as she shrieked at her triad.

She was somewhat terrifying.

“They are truly going to take her?” Vrel whispered in awe as Emily also turned to watch the proceedings, her dark brows rising in a look of surprise.

“It seems so,” Vikt commented, his gaze following the triad as they patiently circled her, rumbling comforting growls at her.

“Ah, they probably shouldn’t growl,” Emily observed with a frown. “Growling isn’t typically interpreted as a positive reaction and will just make her more afraid of them.”

“Truly?” A look of surprise crossed Vrel’s face, and he glanced from Emily back to the panicking female. “Perhaps I should go warn Hazhel.”

He glanced at Vikt for affirmation, and Vikt nodded as he gave the triad an uncertain look. His eyes followed his twin as the male jogged toward the alpha. He hoped that the male took the suggestion gracefully. Some alphas could be unpredictable, and they did not know Hazhel well since he lived on the other side of the community from them.

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