Chapter 47
The Ceremony
“ F uck,” I growl as I release into Taylor.
I have her pinned to the wall outside our new master bedroom. I couldn’t wait to get inside the room. She saved my life with her little ass.
I allow my gaze to roam over her. She has sweat dripping down her face and all over her body. I couldn’t go another minute without having her. Once Reilly was able to remove the blessed iron, I had to steal Taylor away to have my fill.
Fucking her has helped me regain my strength. Without the iron in my system, her nearness is doing its job. I do believe her sleeping next to me kept me alive.
“Oh my God, Bray, that was amazing. Um, but shouldn’t we be at the ceremony?”
I dip my head and take her lips. “I need you more. I could hear you crying for me, baby. I’m so sorry I worried you.”
“Are you serious? None of this would have happened if not for me. What I did was reckless.
“I could have made my children fatherless trying to play a hero. I’m so sorry. I’ll never do something like that again,” she says and hangs her head.
I reach to lift her chin, making her look into my eyes. “You got me back here and got me help to save my life. I’m a lot to carry. You have no idea how much power that took. To say I’m proud of you is an understatement.”
She rolls her eyes and snorts. “I was trying to bring us here. I landed in the basement with you on top of me.”
I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. “You got us here. That’s all that matters. You feel me?”
“You know, I’ve been wanting to ask you something,” she says and bites her lip.
“What’s that?”
“I mean, I haven’t spent a ton of time around the others, but it seems like you embody the biker lifestyle a lot more than they do. What’s up with that?”
She’s adorable as she tilts her head to the side, peering back at me as she wrinkles her little nose. I rumble with laughter, feeling lighter than I have in a while. I place my forehead to hers.
“Kendrick came up with the idea, but I had to do the research. I sort of committed to it a whole lot more than anyone else as I dove into the lifestyle, visiting other clubs, learning how they lived and what went on in the clubhouses. I did all the research before we got back together to build the structure,” I say and peck her lips.
“That makes a lot of sense,” she says and nods as if in thought.
“Okay, now that your curiosity is appeased, let’s get going before I fuck you again.”
“I wouldn’t mind that.”
I’m already hard inside of her. I move in closer and crush her lips in a hard kiss. She cups my face in her palms and moans into my mouth.
“One more round. It’s for my health and strength,” I grunt with a smile as I start to thrust into her tight, wet pussy.
***
I walk into the temple with Taylor tucked under my arm. The ceremony will begin shortly. We’ve decided to tell everyone about the babies after it’s done.
I look down at my mate with a smile on my face. After the last three days, I know we can make it through anything. To keep her safe, I would stand in the line of fire all over again. That’s how much I love her.
Taylor looks happy, but I can feel the pain she’s in over her father’s death. I wish there was more I could do about that in this moment. I will have to allow time to deal with that.
“Shall we get started?” the master of ceremonies, Nuvos, asks.
The golem oversees all super weddings, blessings, and bonding ceremonies like this one. Shit, I’ll have to talk to him about our wedding ceremony. I have a damn fiancée and babies on the way.
I’ll have to ask Taylor if she wants to follow her human traditions of blessing our little ones. It’s not uncommon for my kind. I’ll let her make the choice.
“Yes. They’re setting up for a celebration upstairs. We shouldn’t keep them waiting,” Kendrick calls out, interrupting my thoughts.
Fucking golems and their stone cakes. His ass better not rush this shit and do it wrong because he wants to eat.
“Ah, yes. I was informed there would be a stone cake for me. Let’s be quick,” Nuvos says.
I roll my eyes as he speaks to my thoughts. I grab Taylor’s hand and lead her to my spot on the crest engraved on the floor. My brothers all do the same. Once I position her to stand before me, I give her a wink and bite my lip as I push thoughts of what I plan to do to her after the ceremony into her head.
“Bradan, stop,” she snickers breathlessly through our bond.
“I just want you to be prepared for what’s to come. I haven’t had enough of you. We will continue.”
“I think I already knew that.”
Nuvos begins and we fall silent. I’m excited for this. Especially as she will be able to talk with her friends and Frost now. She’ll be taking her rightful place at my side as we do our part to run the Immortal Iron Brothers. Taylor was meant for a throne.
Just as my heart swells with the thought, something begins to go wrong. In unison, our mates all lift into the air, their heads back and their mouths open. What the fuck?
Bonding ceremonies don’t happen this way.
“Nuvos, what’s happening?” Kendrick demands. He then begins to roar when he’s not met with an answer. “ Nuvos .”
The sisters now have their palms turned out at their sides. Lightning jumps from Ray’s palm to Taylor’s. Then flames jump from Taylor’s palm to Billy’s. From Billy’s palm jumps water into Lee Ann’s palm and from Lee Ann’s hand flows sand into Ray’s and the cycle repeats.
“ Some shit is going down. I need everyone down here in the basement. Protect my queen and my children. No one leaves here alive if they touch her,” I rush through the mind link to the wolves.
A beam of blue light surrounds Nuvos as the sisters remain in the air above us. The hairs on the back of my neck begin to rise. This is getting worse by the second.
Kendrick quickly surrounds the sisters in a tornado of wind to protect them. I follow with a wall of fire and Ardan with a wall of ice.
I go to throw a blast of flames at the beings who begin to rush the room. Their front line turns to ash. I go to throw another, but these motherfuckers move like this was all planned out. They target Reilly first. Instantly, he’s encased in the center of some type of chained sphere.
“Blessed iron,” I mutter to myself.
The next thing I know, I’m being hurled back against the wall. Rage rushes through me and I begin to burn with anger. Fire radiates out of me, but the chains are causing the fire to consume me instead of pushing out.
“Taylor … Taylor,” I bellow.
I roar as I continue to try to burn myself free. Too angry to stop and think about what I’m doing. As the flames consume me, I keep burning, keep fighting.
I need to get free. My mate, my children.
Taylor
I’m thrown back in time. This time, I feel as if I’m a small baby. I’m in a basket looking up. There are beautiful clouds above me.
I kick my little legs and coo. Beside me are three others. My sisters.
A face comes into view as I continue to look up. A name pops into my head as I see the face. Tanr?.
However, he doesn’t reach for me. He picks up one of my sisters. He beams up at her as he holds her over his head, then kisses her cheek and brings her to his side.
I start to fuss and kick harder. I want to be picked up too. Tanr? smiles down at me and winks as if to tell me my turn is coming. I quiet down.
“We are gathered here to bless these four ? —”
He’s cut off and I feel like I’m falling. I continue to fall until I’m in another body. This one feels familiar. Annaniah.
Memories of my life as her fill me. I stand before a mirror, and I can see her face. She is beautiful with her long, thick, dark hair and pretty brown eyes and skin. Her gaze is that of a warrior.
I remember Kendrick training her to be fierce. I remember it being hard, but I never gave up. Suddenly, I’m engulfed in flames and it’s like I’m falling again.
This time, I’m not in a human body. I’m in spirit form. I feel stronger and more powerful. A howl sounds and thunder rumbles around me.
“I did not get to bless you that day, my child. You were one of two I missed. However, I’ve never forgotten you.
“I had to bless you in another form. All of this was for this time. Use the spirit of the fire wolf within you.
“This is your battle to be won. Annaniah, Api Kecil, Taylor Ann. No matter the name I call you by, you are who you are. A chosen one.”
Everything goes black and I’m surrounded by flames. Two figures walk through the darkness and Annaniah and Api Kecil appear. We all stand in silence at first.
Api Kecil is the first to break the silence. “We are all one. You were gifted with a fire that burns bright. You are your mate's equal. He taught you how to use your powers through me. Remember.”
“We are also one. Kendrick helped me train to become stronger, faster, better. Remember.”
“Tanr? made you for this moment. Don’t second-guess yourself,” they say in unison.
“Remember.” Echoes in my head. “You are ready.”