Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
brENEK
We were in no rush to leave the tent that morning, taking our time to give Jamal the attention he craved, but eventually our growling stomachs urged us to rejoin the clan. After such a powerful release, my body needed sustenance, and I could tell Torgrind felt the same way.
Jamal pouted about it, making noises about wanting another round first, but his stomach gave him away, growling loud enough that both Torgrind and I could hear it.
I chuckled, scooping him out of bed and setting him on his feet so Torgrind and I could clean him up.
He practically purred with each of us pampering him, and by the time we were all dressed, his smile had returned.
“Okay, let’s go. I want to thank Simon for his idea. Maybe he has more!”
Torgrind shook his head, amused, and I snatched Jamal around the waist to pull him back to us when he tried to take off. “Always so quick to run off. What are we going to do with you?”
He grinned at me over his shoulder, stealing a kiss before I set him on his feet again. “You said you didn’t want to change me. You’ll have to learn to keep up! I–”
“Jamal!”
We’d just barely stepped into the village center when a familiar voice called out. Jamal’s smile fell, and his brows furrowed as he turned in the direction of the speaker. “Amir? What are you doing here?”
The soldier who had escorted Jamal to our clan crossed his arms over his chest, his expression foreboding as he said, “Your father sent me to fetch you. The prince has left and the scandal avoided. It is time for you to come home.”
My blood turned to ice in my veins as a horrifying realization hit me.
We’d never discussed our intentions to claim Jamal.
Between learning to share with my clan brother and keeping Jamal out of trouble, I hadn’t gotten the chance.
After our conversation the day before and the moment shared this morning, I’d thought it was understood, but we’d never actually spoken the words.
Jamal was too wild-spirited for me to leave things to chance like that.
For all I knew, he could wish to go just to escape the boredom–
“No.”
My fear spiral ended so abruptly, it made me a little dizzy. I blinked at Jamal, watching as his chin lifted stubbornly. There was no hesitation, no uncertainty in his eyes. He was sure of his words.
“Wha– What do you mean no?” Amir asked incredulously.
“I mean what I said. No, I won’t be going back with you. If you have a problem with that, take it up with them.”
He waved a hand at me and Torgrind, and we both stepped up together to flank his sides.
It brought me great pride that he would reach for us instead of trying to fight the man on his own.
The soldier looked furious at his refusal, but when sizing up Torgrind and myself, he seemed to think better than to force the issue.
“Brothers?”
Idrull’s voice sounded amused as he joined the conversation.
I hadn’t had a chance to see who else was in the village center, some liked to share meals with other clans while we were at our resting area, but the Clan Mother was seated under one of the shades nearby, and I assumed our clan leader had been with her.
He stepped up between us and the soldier who still looked close to losing his temper, raising an eyebrow at us.
“Is there something I need to know?”
I didn’t even need to share a glance with Torgrind to know how to answer. “Torgrind and I wish to claim Jamal as our bondmate. He belongs here with us.”
Idrull looked to Jamal, since it was his choice as much as ours, and Jamal raised an eyebrow in challenge. He didn’t need to say the words out loud.
Chuckling, Idrull shook his head. “Now I owe Frida a trip to the capital. She bet me this would be the outcome,” he said quietly enough that he wasn’t overheard by anyone but us. “As a bonding gift, I will deal with the escort. Go. Enjoy your meal. We will discuss a ceremony later.”
Letting out a quiet breath of relief, I nodded to my clan leader, putting a fist against my chest and bowing slightly. Torgrind did the same. Jamal took one of each of our hands, tugging us along once we were dismissed, heading for the Northern Clan’s village center instead.
“I want to eat with my friends. Let’s go.”
He pulled us away, ignoring the indignant squawks of his would-be escort and smiling brightly instead.
I kept a sharp eye on the soldier to ensure he didn’t do anything stupid like follow and smiled to myself when Jamal tugged on my arm to get me to move faster.
Claiming him would always be an adventure, but to me, it was worth it to keep the man who stole my heart.
JAMAL
I found Simon seated on his bondmate’s lap, half-asleep and lounging lazily against him as the barbarian hand fed him fruit from his bowl. Prince Zakai was nowhere to be seen, but I assumed he’d join us eventually and sat beside Simon, snickering at the tired look on his face.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “How are you so perky in the morning?”
Shaking my head, I explained, “I’m not, usually. These two woke me up in the most perfect way. I think I have you to thank for that. I know better than to assume they wouldn’t ask questions to keep me safe and comfortable.”
Torgrind grunted his acknowledgement, not looking the least big embarrassed as he scooped me up and sat with me in his lap while Brenek went to fetch our meals.
I knew it. They’d looked confused when I first brought it up, like they didn’t think it was possible.
I knew they wouldn’t try it without someone explaining it to them first.
Simon sat up, looking a little more alert when he grinned at me. “They did ask, but I thought they’d chicken out. How was it?”
“Amazing,” I replied, breathless just remembering it. “I’ll feel the ache for the rest of the day, and I truly don’t care. How often can I do it?”
“How often can he do what?” Prince Zakai asked. He looked disheveled and more alert than Simon had been. Simon noticed as well and eyed him suspiciously.
“Hold on. Did everyone get woken up with sex except me?” He spun to glare at his bondmate. “You realize how unfair that is?”
His bondmate just smirked at him, saying something in the barbarian language I didn’t understand. I glanced over my shoulder at Torgrind, who thankfully translated for me.
“He said Simon mentioned a specific place he wanted to fuck, and going too early would have been cold. He was waiting for the weather to heat up.”
“Go where?”
“A waterfall,” Simon replied, switching back to Erabi.
“It's further south and a bit of a journey, but I’ve heard it's amazing, and there’s a spot on the rocks behind it where we can be as loud as we want, and no one would hear us thanks to the noise of the falls. I want to go there.” He wrinkled his nose at his bondmate.
“If you don’t bring me, I’m going to be pissed, I hope you know. ”
He only got a kiss on the tip of his nose in response, but I could tell Simon wouldn’t let this go easily. I didn’t blame him. I wanted to go there as well now that I knew of it. It sounded fun.
When Brenek sat down beside us, handing us each a bowl, Torgrind told him about the conversation and the waterfall. Brenek didn’t even hesitate to suggest going ourselves the following day. We weren’t going to interrupt Simon’s fun today after he was nice enough to share the location with us.
Leaning against Torgrind’s chest, I popped a fruit into my mouth, looking around the village center. It wasn’t the life I thought I’d have, but I didn’t mind. I’d give up the castle and the capital and all that came with it just for these two barbarians.
A huff of laughter drew my focus to Zakai. He raised an amused eyebrow at me. “You really have changed.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then shut it again. I didn’t know what to say to that. It still felt like judgment to me.
Simon snorted from his spot on his bondmate’s lap. “What? Like you weren’t completely smitten with your own barbarian and allowing him to do things you’d never let anyone else get away with? Need I remind you what questions you asked me when it was your turn?”
Despite his complexion, Zakai’s cheeks pinkened, and he elbowed his friend with a scowl. “Shut up. You’re no better.”
Simon didn’t even argue with that. “I happen to like the constant attention Feigrind gives me,” he grinned, unrepentant. “He can ‘handle’ me all he wants.”
Sitting back, I took in their words with a frown.
When they’d spoken before, I’d assumed judgment.
I thought they’d been pointing out a flaw when they said I was being handled by my barbarians.
But apparently, it was a common thing amongst barbarians, and now that I was paying attention, their tone was commiserating, not judgmental like I thought.
“I happen to like the pampering,” I said, testing the waters.
Simon pointed at me with a smirk. “See? He gets it.”
Zakai rolled his eyes. “We all get it. They spoil us. Who would wish to argue otherwise?”
Snickering, I relaxed a little more. I was a little embarrassed that I’d reacted the way I had the last time we had this conversation, realizing now that they hadn’t meant it like I thought, but neither drew attention to my tantrum.
When I looked over my shoulder at my barbarians, I smiled to find them both conversing easily with each other, no snark or snide comments to be found.
When Brenek handed me a cup of water, I took it without question, offering him a piece of fruit from my bowl and grinning when his lips wrapped around my fingers.
Perhaps I had changed a little. But I no longer saw it as a bad thing.
They weren’t trying to control me or stifle me.
They were protecting me and caring for me in the ways they knew how.
When it grew too hot, they moved us to a spot under more shade.
When I got hungry, they brought me food.
And when I took water over ale during the afternoon meal, they both gave me these soft proud smiles that lit me up inside.
I wasn’t the only one who changed. Torgrind softened his stance a little, joining a card game with me and telling Brenek to distract me so he could win a few rounds.
The cheat. Brenek too was more patient and didn’t leap to anger if Torgrind poked at him.
Their competitiveness was still alive and well, but they were kinder about it, their comments teasing instead of inciting.
And when we all were in bed together, their whole focus was on me and making me feel good. I had no complaints about that.
I expected some pushback when it came to my father.
He’d had me working beside him since I was just a child, and my refusal to return wasn’t accepted immediately.
He rode out to the clan with my mother, intent on forcing me home, but between my barbarians protecting me and my mother seeing how happy I was, he didn’t stand a chance getting his way.
The clan leader threw our bonding ceremony while they were visiting and sealed the deal too, just to ensure no one else could intervene.
I’d expected after we were properly bonded that I would be forced to find a job in the clan.
All I ever knew was working, stealing as much freedom as I could in my off hours before returning to the grind again the next morning.
But apparently, according to many in the clan, since I ended the rivalry between Torgrind and Brenek, I’d done my job, and keeping them from fighting was enough.
I wasn’t required to work. I got teased about it sometimes, and Simon said I leaned into the ‘bedwarmer’ idea harder than any other male bondmates he’d ever met, but I ignored him.
I helped when I felt like it, mostly with the horses because I enjoyed their company, but I liked that I wasn’t required to do more.
After over twenty years of working in the castle, I figured I deserved the break.
Here, in the clan, with the barbarians who’d stolen my heart, where no one expected me to change or make myself smaller, I felt like I could finally breathe.
I wasn’t going to give that up for anything.
Now, I felt like I had a more interesting job to focus on. Getting my barbarians to admit they love each other as well. They’d yet to accept it. I looked forward to proving that to them next.