Page 20 of Night's Bride

“Blessed Mother, that sounds cruel,” she muttered.

Nash flashed her a sweet smile. “You may think it is cruel because of the pain, but for me it is hope for the future. If there is even a chance, I will take it.”

A chance of it? It was less a chance and more a definite likelihood once she got over the shock of everything happening so quickly.

“Y-yes. I know it will happen,” she whispered. “You will be mine. I just… I need time.”

She felt terrible offering such a poor excuse, but Nash inclined his head, understanding bright in his eyes.

“Mating must be different between humans and Ragoru,” he mused. “So many things are, so it must be.”

Vikt nodded, and he glanced apologetically at Emily as if preparing to betray some secret. “It is. They wish to bond. This is something Thral explained to all of the clan males when he spoke of the arrangement with the humans. Even though Emily quickly bonded with Vrel and me, it was because she arrived with this expectation. We were already one in her mind. Even then, we saw that her heart bond with us was slower. With you, her heart bond is coming first. She just needs time to make you one with us as well.” He glanced back at her and his ears tipped toward her uncertainly. “I hope you do not mind that I shared this insight, rya.”

Emily shook her head, at once amused and rendered completely speechless. It seemed that they understood the situation a lot more clearly than she thought they did.

Nash nodded contemplatively as he regarded her. “It is natural if you need more time to adjust to the change. Just know that my certainty is clear now. Whenever you are ready, I am ready.”

“As are we,” Vikt and Vrel echoed.

Warmth spread through her at their words, and she was certain that she was blushing yet again. This time, however, itwasn’t from embarrassment but utter happiness. Joy flooded her in such a way that she hadn’t felt since she was a kid waking up on solstice morning with a small pile of brightly wrapped gifts waiting for her. It wasn’t often that her family had been able to afford such gifts for her, but they never forgot about her. She hadn’t believed that she would know such joy again when she was sent so far from home, but here she was and there was no better gift than three males in front of her.

A smile bloomed on her face, and she spun away to run clumsily through the snow. “Well then, come on!” she shouted over her shoulder. “What are you waiting for? Let’s enjoy this beautiful weather!”

The damn Ragoru had far better balance on the snow than she did, and their large paws kept them from sinking like a stone in the snow like she did, but it didn’t matter. They had fun chasing each other among the trees. Vikt and Vrel teamed up and managed to drop Nash into a deeper snow drift, but the males emerged, chuffing their laughter uproariously as they shook the snow from their fur.

And at the end of the day? Emily drowsed lazily with them in front of the fire, feeling content and finally without worry as they piled together. Their soft ears flicked against her cheeks and jaws, and three heads burrowed against her neck.

It was a moment she wished could last forever. So she savored it, capturing everything meticulously within her memory where it could continue. Regardless of what the future brought, that moment would remain.

Chapter

Eighteen

CHAPTER 18

Another storm was coming soon. Vikt could scent it on the air and would have welcomed it and the coming Withering Days if there weren’t something else that he could not quite define. He knew that Nash also sensed it because the alpha often stepped outside of the den and spent long stretches staring out into the woods, his fur ruffled with his agitation. Vikt had not realized until that moment that this was what had instinctively drawn the male out, even in the worst weather, to stand guard over their den. Even without a commitment exchanged between them, he had been out there, protecting them against any coming danger.

“You worry too much. You always did have an active imagination,” Vrel grumbled with a yawn when he poked his twin in the nose with his foot. He swatted his paw away and rolled over, giving him his back. “Go back to sleep.”

“It is not my imagination,” he whispered back vehemently. He hated it when Vrel downplayed his instincts. The male did not possess much in the way of basic survival instincts but choseto believe that Vikt was in no better of a situation. The truth was, as much as Vrel excelled with his crafting and artistry, Vikt possessed the keener senses of a hunter. “You would not say that to Nash.”

Vrel snorted quietly in amusement. “Nash is an alpha. We are… us.”

“That does not make me useless,” Vikt growled in turn, hurt.

His brother rolled over, his eyes popping open with an expression of surprise. “Vikt…”

“Who is useless?” Emily murmured sleepily.

“No one,” Vrel retorted as he sat up from the nest. “Vikt, I never said that you were useless. I would never say that. You and me together, we are one.”

“But not the same,” Vikt growled in annoyance. “I may not be an alpha, but I am a hunter. I am capable of relying on my senses.”

Vrel shrank back, his ears flattening at the vehemence in his tone. “Are you saying that I am not?” he whispered.

Vikt immediately felt terrible, and he crawled close to his twin to curl around him. “That is not what I meant. We are twins, and as close as any two can ever be, but we are not the same.”

His twin shuddered beside him as he drew in a deep breath and let it go. “I know. I just do not like to think that we are not sharing all the same experiences. We have always been a part of everything together until recently.”

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