Page 39 of Ragoru

She nearly choked on those last words as she struggled to contain her laughter but somehow managed to make her excuses and hurry away. She could feel his eyes boring into her, however, as she made a beeline for the cafeteria line.

Eating in her room sounded like a fine plan. And it just kept getting better and better as she felt his gaze follow her as she fled the room.

It wasn’t until after she’d eaten her fill and had sprawled across the bed that her mind returned to her mates and the joy she’d felt earlier shifted into misery as tears pricked her eyes. Damn it. She missed their furry hides. Though she had napped easily enough before, it now felt cavernous without her triad curled tightly around her. Rubbing her eyes, she curled onto her side and prayed to the Mother for sleep to come. She would leave at daybreak and hopefully avoid any further encounters with Huntsman Vale.

CHAPTER32

Sabol breathed in the air eagerly, his tail wagging. Her scent was getting closer. The first taste of it the other day had sung through his veins, and all of yesterday he could barely do anything due to his desire to drink in her scent as she steadily made her way closer. Of course, the wind didn’t always cooperate and bring it like it should, but his fur bristled with excitement knowing that she would be cresting over the rocks at any moment. He’d caught glimpses of her along the path whenever the twist and turn brought her within range of visibility, but his patience was finally about to be rewarded!

“Calm down before you get so excited that you leap for her and send you both toppling over the side of the mountain,” Vrishna instructed dryly, though his own eyes gleamed with happiness as he watched for their mate.

Sabol’s hackles raised at the male’s teasing. “Hilarious,” he growled in pretense of a challenge.

The large male simply grinned at him in response as he stretched across the ledge to take full advantage of the midday sun hitting that spot. Despite his languid appearance, Vrishna’s head was at an angle where Sabol had no doubt that he would still be able to easily spot Evie coming up along over the bend.

Anticipation wound its way through Sabol as he sank into a crouch, a fine tremor rushing through his limbs. Her scent teased his nose and grew stronger until it was accompanied by the sound of breath and the scrape of rock against rock beneath her feet. Her hand grasped the side of a rock, and the fingers gripped as she pulled herself up. He could hold himself back and wait until she cleared the rock. He rushed forward and crouched down, scooping his four arms around his female, catching her off guard. A startled shout left her which soon turned to laughter as she twisted her head around to look at him from where she dangled in his embrace.

Sabol immediately dropped his nose into her neck as he crushed her to him and carried her away from the ledge, a happy rumble vibrating in his chest. Small human hands ran up the sides of his face and curled around his ears to apply a gentle pressure as they stroked from root to tip. An ecstatic moan left him as he cuddled her up against his ruff.

“I’m guessing you missed me?” she whispered. She leaned her forehead against his broad cheek. “I missed you too.”

“Us as well?” Vrishna interrupted as he pushed his way in to nuzzle Evie despite Sabol’s grip on her. He huffed at the opposition Sabol’s arms presented and narrowed his eyes at him. “Share our female, brashu. We all felt her absence.”

Evie’s lips brushed his fur as she gave his shoulder an affectionate pat. “All right. Put me down so I can say hi to Vrishna and Thral too.”

He glanced over at them, noting the way the other two males were working their way in closer, their own expressions filled with happiness and pleasure at her return. It was a huge difference from the melancholy that had gripped them as they had stared out over rocky slopes and down into the valley. The restless ache and crushing weight that had gripped them during those days had disappeared as if it hadn’t been a foe that each of them had fought daily against. There wasn’t any way for him to enjoy holding Evie uninterrupted for even a moment longer. Nor did he wish to deny them when they all had been mired in that same helplessness. Despite his desire to hold onto her and never let her go again, Sabol adopted a relaxed grin as he released her, turning her over to Vrishna’s enthusiastic hug. The large male practically engulfed her much smaller body, his fur puffing out with delight.

“It is so good to hold you again, rya. The nights have been endless without you,” the male murmured into her hair as he nuzzled one cheek and then the other.

“I haven’t been able to sleep well without you either,” Evie replied. She pulled back to give them all a warm look. “Without any of you. It really put a lot of things into perspective.”

“For us as well,” Thral agreed as he gently tugged her from Vrishna’s grasp.

Evie’s arms curled around his neck as she went to him, her body pliant in his hold as she raised her brows quizzically. Thral’s body shuddered with his sigh as he curled himself around her, his eyes squeezing closed as if to control the powerful storm of his emotions. A small tremor ran through him that Sabol would have missed if he hadn’t been watching their alpha so intently, basking in the pleasure of their triad’s reunion with their mate. The male’s ribcage expanded as he dragged in a deep breath, and his head tipped so that he could comfortably look down at her.

“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” he rasped. “You won’t be leaving us behind. You would venture anywhere without us. I refuse to ever endure that uncertainty and fear of not knowing.” He bit out each word fiercely, and Sabol’s ears pricked warily, wondering how Evie might respond to their alpha’s forceful declaration.

To his surprise, she grabbed ahold of Thral’s scruff and dragged his head toward hers so she could press her brow against his, her happy laughter filling the air.

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that because you aren’t going to ever be able to get rid of me after this.”

“We aren’t?” Sabol asked eagerly, needing that affirmation from her that he was not hallucinating. She’d been clear that she wasn’t entertaining any idea of mating yet. Not until her task was done. Yet he felt his heart speed up, spurred on by excitement. “You will stay with us?”

She turned her head to include him and Vrishna in her smile. “Like I said, it put things in perspective. Which is that I don’t want to do any of this without you. I don’t want to go to bed alone or pass my days without having you with me. All of this is empty and sad without you.” She shook her head slowly as if in disbelief despite the smile growing wider on her face. “I don’t know how, but somehow I’ve lost sight of what I was supposed to be focusing on. You three are it for me. I don’t care about going back to my post or even the Citadel when all this is through. All I want is to be with you.”

“You will not need those things when we have our superior den,” Vrishna put in smugly. “When you have that and a triad of mates to love you, there is little else that is required.”

Evie’s expression softened. “You really love me?”

Thral grunted, his arms squeezing around her tighter. “So much so that these days have been like a waking nightmare I can’t escape,” he admitted in a low grumble. “There has been no warmth nor softness without you.”

“And I’m guessing you don’t just mean the ground?” she said as she blinked her eyes rapidly.

If Thral noticed the moisture that brightened her eyes, he didn’t comment on it. He merely tucked her tighter against him, her head fitting beneath his jaw perfectly as he hugged her close.

“The ground would be a perfectly agreeable nest so long as you are in it,” he grumbled.

“Perhaps we should prove it to her?” Vrishna added, his eyes slitting slyly, making Sabol loudly bark his laughter at the male’s suggestiveness.

---