Epilogue
EIGHT MONTHS LATER…
BANE
My back still stings when I move, the skin stretched out, the scar tissue healed but tight. Georgiy says this is how he felt as well. It helps that he’s been through this too. For so long, I’ve been alone in my struggles, in the trauma I endured, but not this.
Georgiy and I are in this together.
I reach back and gingerly touch it. I don’t mind the scarring much because now I match Georgiy. The two of us have suffered and survived the cruelty of my father.
My father, whose skeleton is now sitting in the basement, a reminder that he’s gone. Dead. And under my control.
It’s funny how for all my formative years, I was under his control, and now he’s under mine. He’s currently dressed up as a fairy for Halloween.
He looks ridiculous. I know he’d hate it.
“Are you ready?” Angel asks me, his eyes bright as he takes me in. He flew all the way here with Mikhail and Casey to witness the branding ceremony—something that I decided must be done between Georgiy and me to prove our love and dedication to one another.
“I am.”
“And you’re sure you want to do this?”
“I’m so sure.”
I shift on my feet in excitement as I look at the irons lying on the bed. One has Georgiy’s initials and one has mine.
Bane Sokolov. My first real last name. The only one that matters.
“Are you sure you don’t mind doing the ceremony with me as your best man?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I’m happy Mikhail is going to brand Georgiy. It’s kind of symbolic.”
“It is.” I clasp his hand, and he squeezes mine tightly.
“I’m so happy for you.”
“I am, too. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“It’s better than a wedding. I think I may have to convince Mikhail to do this, too. It’s so romantic.”
Just as he says that, Agatha pokes her head into the room and tsks when she finds me not getting myself ready as quickly as she’d like. She’s taken the planning of this branding ceremony very seriously, and she will not have any of it delayed or disrupted.
It’s only gotten worse as the day drew nearer. And now, here we are, mere minutes away from starting the celebration.
“The guests are all waiting, little bug, and one even brought you something alive. He insisted you see it before the ceremony begins, but I told him he has to wait.”
My eyes widen, and I tighten the robe around my waist, hurrying after Agatha, asking questions as I go, leaving Angel, my best man, to grab the irons.
“What kind of live present? Is it a person? A bad one? Oh, is it a Frankenstein?”
“You’ll have to see after the ceremony. It’s going to start any minute, and Georgiy is waiting for you.”
I bob my head, my heart thundering in my chest as I make my way to the entrance of the large atrium in Anthony’s house. Angel helped with the decorations, even suggested using his favorite place for our special day.
I know that with Agatha and Angel behind the planning of this ceremony, it will be beautiful. As soon as we stop at the entrance, Agatha squeezes my hand and then disappears, Anthony making an appearance a moment later.
“You ready?” he asks, his eyes meeting mine.
I sniffle loudly and nod. “Thank you. For walking me down the aisle.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
I wipe my leaking eyes as the doors swing open. My gaze swivels around, taking in the low lighting and the plants glistening on the edges of the rows of chairs, the scent of exotic flowers permeating my senses.
And all the people I love are sitting, ready to watch.
Angel and Mikhail wait at the end of the aisle, and right between them is Georgiy. He’s wearing a robe as well, his feet and legs bare, and I know how much this means to him.
What he’s going to do in front of an audience.
I was against it at first, wanting to do this privately, but he insisted. He wanted to do this before everyone we love.
And everyone is here, witnessing it all—our obsession and love. Our commitment to one another.
Anthony squeezes my hand, and I slip it through his bent arm and let him walk me down the aisle.
Georgiy’s eyes never leave mine, and I can’t look away from him.
I can feel everyone watching me. Agatha, Casey, Tatum, Kit and Jax, Luca and Viktor.
Teddy. Not to mention new friends like Nova and Ellery.
Fallow even made an appearance. I wonder if he was the one who brought something alive.
He told me that a hog or an anaconda is a great way to get rid of a body.
Perhaps one of those is waiting for me once the ceremony is over.
I now know why I like him and Ellery so much.
All the people who mean the world to me are sitting in this room.
I stop in front of Georgiy, and he takes my hands in his, bringing them up to his lips and kissing them gently.
“You ready for this?” he asks lowly, and I sniffle, unable to help the emotions filtering through me.
“I am. Are you sure?”
His hand wraps around the front of my neck and he squeezes, making my cock perk up.
“Bane of my existence, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
I swallow back my lust and turn toward Doc, who is standing in front of us. He’s apparently an ordained priest and is the only one I felt comfortable leading this ceremony. Plus, he will make sure it’s done right, not injuring us too much in the process.
“Ready?” Doc asks me, and I nod in excitement, totally sure how I want this night to end.
With Georgiy and me bonded.
Doc clears his throat and addresses the crowd. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today for a branding ceremony between these two men. This is a momentous event, signifying their love and obsession for one another. Do you have the irons?”
Mikhail and Angel step forward, the irons being thrust into the burning embers before them.
I watch the flames, the way the metal starts to redden. My dick perks up even more.
Georgiy’s eyes are hot on me as well.
I may completely melt by the end of this. This is too fucking hot.
“Disrobe,” Doc says, the lights growing lower. I insisted on this, not wanting people to ogle Georgiy’s back. He doesn’t know I did this, but I can see the appreciation in his gaze when I finally meet it. The fabric is pooled at my feet, and I can feel the way he consumes me.
“Get in position,” Doc says, and Georgiy moves up the steps, his hand linking with mine.
We discussed how we wanted to do this.
How much I wanted to be connected to him while his name was branded on my skin.
It was really the only way.
We stop in front of a large chaise lounge, and Georgiy lowers himself onto it, his cock hard and ready. I’m ready, too. I prepped ahead to make sure this would be easy to take, that there wouldn’t be any issues. I don’t want to wait.
I straddle his thighs, and I feel his fingers dig into my hips as I lower myself onto him, inch by incredible inch, until he’s fully inside me.
My nose hits his, and I breathe him in, unable to look away.
Doc is chanting something in the background, but I can barely hear it.
I can only sense Georgiy, filling me up, his hands gently sliding up my scarred back, his breathing stuttering out of him.
“Now, your vows,” Doc says, and Georgiy blinks, his lips parting as he begins to speak.
“I vow to be yours, Bane of my existence, until death attempts to part us, and even then, I’ll follow you into the afterlife.
Because you have consumed me—body, mind, and soul—and I refuse to live another day parted from you.
I love you.” His voice lowers and he whispers, “You, Bane, are the best boy. The things I want to do to you.”
My eyes are leaking as he settles a bruising kiss on my lips, shifting me on his cock and making me emit a startled moan.
“Bane, not yet. Your vows,” Doc suggests.
I clear my throat, holding onto the sides of Georgiy’s head, forcing our gazes to meet and hold.
“Georgiy, you were an unexpected surprise, and one I can never regret. I will wear you in me and on me for the rest of my days. No one will come between us, and if they do, I will make sure they die. Very messily.”
I kiss him this time, my tongue sliding into his mouth and my hips arching slightly, feeling the press of his dick inside me.
Doc says a few words, but I can’t understand them, can’t look away from Georgiy, his blown-out pupils, the flush on his cheeks.
I hear the clang of the iron, the smell of smoke as Doc approaches with the brand, Mikhail near him. Both are clutching it, and I know it’s time.
“Georgiy,” Doc asks, “do you take this man to be your obsession, to have and to hold until death do you part?”
Georgiy doesn’t even hesitate. “I do.”
His hands tighten on me as they sink the brand into the side of his hip, the scent of burning flesh filtering up between us.
Georgiy’s jaw tightens and his nostrils flare, but then it’s over and the brand is removed, leaving my name on his skin.
And now it’s my turn.
“Don’t come,” Georgiy whispers.
“It’s gonna be hard not to,” I say, feeling his dick twitch inside me.
“Bane,” Doc interrupts. “Do you take this man to be your obsession, to have and to hold until death do you part?”
“I do,” I whisper and eye Angel stepping up to me, Doc in tow, before feeling the burning-hot poker light up my nerves as my skin is singed. My cock twitches as pain shoots through me. And when it’s finally pulled away, I’m panting. Unable to move.
And Georgiy doesn’t even blink.
Doc’s voice booms around us.
“These two men have been joined and will never be parted. And those who try to harm them will have to go through this family. All here who are witnesses to this vow, say that you agree.”
Voices in the atrium well up around me, a promise, a vow to protect Georgiy and me.
“To those in attendance, who have witnessed the love they have for one another, please welcome the Sokolovs,” Doc shouts, and I can hear the happiness in his voice. It mirrors my own exuberance.
A round of applause hits my ears, but I don’t look away from Georgiy. I can’t. This right here is my future.
“Now, as requested by Bane and Georgiy, the mating ceremony is next and can be observed by those who would like to stay. Those who want to leave, there are refreshments in the dining room. Bane and Georgiy will join you shortly.”
A few people get up, meandering out, but some stay. Viktor and Luca. Kit and Jax. Casey and Teddy. Their eyes are on us, watching us as we consummate this bonding.
They watch as Georgiy starts to move, his cock pistoning in and out of me as I bounce on his cock. My fingers dig into his shoulders, holding onto him tightly as he takes me. Over and over.
And our eyes never look away. We are intent on one another. Resolved in what this means.
Letting people see the obsession and be a part of our mating.
It doesn’t last long. The idea that people’s eyes are on us, that this is our commitment ceremony, that we now wear each other’s brands on our skin, makes us both tip over the edge quickly.
And when Georgiy fills me up, my own cum spurting from my cock, my name is on his lips.
Bane Sokolov.
The man I now am, the man I will be until I die.
Bane and his reaper—forever and ever.
Thank you Erin Russell for letting me borrow Fallow from your series Sins of the Banna.