Page 14 of In Her Own Rite

His hands brush against my hips, so gentle my mind goes hazy. But then I think of Sofie, or whatever other girl he was out with last night until three in the morning.

It doesn’t have to mean anything.How many women has he made this same offer to? How many women has he helped through their heat?

“No,” I say, shaking my head firmly. “No, no. Get out and I’ll get dressed and I’ll see you at the ceremony.”

“The ceremony?” His hands fall from my body.

“Yeah,” I manage to grind out. “Your rite is tonight. Now get out.”

I stand there, fighting to keep every muscle in my body still, as I hear him gather his clothes and walk out of the bedroom to leave me.

6

KIERAN

When I go downstairs, Saga’s already in the kitchen with Maren and the guys.

“Kieran,” she says cheerfully. “Big day for you. Maybe Emerson already said?”

“Yeah. My rite.”

“Ah, good, so her skills are getting stronger,” she says, nodding with satisfaction. “I’ve already told the elders, and Gabriel has made a breakfast with enough protein to last you a week at least.”

She gestures to the stove, where a large pan of scrambled eggs and sausage awaits me. Next to that is a jug of thick Fakari yogurt, with honey drizzled on top for flavor. I walk over and start piling the food high onto my plate.

“Nervous?” Seb asks from the kitchen table.

“No,” I say, and my voice is still low and rough with sleep. I’m reeling from what just happened with Em, and it comes out gruffer and more aggressive than I mean it to.

“Haven’t you heard?” Gabe jokes. “Kier’s not afraid of anything.”

“Oh, really?” says Seb. “So that time we found a bed of snakes near the quarry and you screamed like a girl, that was performance art?”

“Something wrong with being a girl, Seb?” Maren asks from the doorway, where she’s sipping her coffee.

“Absolutelynot,” he says, as Gabe snorts into his coffee.

I take a seat at the table, digging into my eggs. I can’t fuckingbelieveI came onto Em like that. What the hell was I thinking? For years we’ve been careful, keeping the boundaries we needed to to make our friendship safe and dependable—for her. And in five minutes I’ve gone and rubbed my dick all over them.

I groan and run a hand over my face. She’s not even in heat yet, and I’m already acting like a feral teenager. Disgusting.

“You good, man?” Gabe asks.

“I’m fine.”

Seb takes a sip of his coffee. “Must be that lack of nerves he told us about.”

I’m about to reply when I feel a heavy hand slam onto my back, and almost choke on the eggs halfway down my throat. I look up to see Em’s uncle Viggo, standing there with a grin on his face. He’s in his early fifties, hair an icier shade of blonde than hers, his face tan and weather-worn.

“So,jenge!” he says jovially. “The day of your rite is finally here. Never has a stronger man made his way up the mountain.”

“Don’t encourage him,” says Gabe.

“What? This young man has been training since before his father said that he wanted to give up the seat. I don’t think I’ve seen someone this prepared to meet Móra in my lifetime.”

“Oh, Kier here is a master at preparation,” Seb says, leaning back in his chair. “I’ll never forget the Biology presentation where he tried to cover the gaps in his knowledge with Fast and the Furious lore. What was it again, Gabe?”

“The mitochondria is the NOS of the cell,” he and Gabe say together, and bust up laughing.

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