Chapter 5 #2
“Won’t she be jealous seeing you talking to me?” she asks in a flirtatious tone. “I don’t want to make an enemy of the queen when I just arrived. Will she be joining us?”
The air in the room changes.
Even the servants seem to notice it. They lower their eyes as they finish setting the platters on the table and quickly retreat, closing the heavy doors behind them.
Now, it’s only the three of us.
Just how it should be.
Vaela looks down at her plate. “Is she in the castle?”
Cassius leans back in his chair and takes a slow sip of wine. He enjoys making people work for answers. I prefer ripping the truth open and laying it bare.
“She is,” I say.
Her head snaps up. “Oh? Will she be joining us?”
Cassius shoots me an amused look. “Go ahead and tell her, Tovik. You’ve never been one for subtlety.”
She looks at Cassius then at me. I can tell her heart is racing. I can hear it. “Tell me what?”
“Our mate,” I say, “is you.”
She nearly chokes on her sip of water. “Excuse me?”
Cassius is loving this as he leans back in his chair, arm extended on the empty chair next to him. “Don’t sound so shocked, Princess. It can’t come as too much of a surprise.”
“Oh, yes it can,” she says, fanning herself with her hand. “To be told you’re the mate of not one, but two wolf shifters, that you’re going to be the queen of a land you’ve only just stepped foot in… That is quite the surprise!”
“You felt something when you saw us,” Cassius says. “I saw it in your eyes.”
“You belong to us,” I say. “Just like we belong to you.”
She shifts in her chair as she whips her head from side to side, not sure who she should look at. “Is this a cruel joke?”
“We would not joke about mates,” I say.
Cassius just grins at her. “That tingling you’re feeling on your neck. Does it feel like it’s missing something?”
She slowly touches one side and then the other. “How did you know?”
“We knew as soon as we saw you,” Cassius says. “Just like you knew the moment you saw us.”
Her cheeks turn pink again. She’s never been more beautiful.
Vaela grabs her wine and drinks half the cup in one swallow.
“So, you’re saying…” she stammers, “that I’m going to be the queen? Here?”
“Our pack will love you,” I say.
“Pack?” she says, coughing in shock as she stares at me with wide, crazy eyes. “I’ll be the queen of a pack? Lovely.”
Cassius places his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his fists. “It may take some time, but soon you’ll understand.”
“Understand what? That you two are mad?”
“Understand that you’re home,” I say, taking her hand.
She looks at my giant hand resting on hers, swallowing it completely. Cassius takes her other hand and she looks at that one too, still in disbelief. But at least she doesn’t move them. She doesn’t pull away.
She’s feeling it. She must be.
She presses her thighs together beneath the table.
The sweet heady scent of her arousal fills the air. Cassius’ nostrils flare. My heart pounds. My cock throbs so hard that I grip the edge of my chair.
She wants us as much as we want her. I can almost taste her lust.
Cassius’ eyes darken as he drags them down her body. I can feel his wolf going crazy inside, just like mine is. The three of us are already connected, the bond curling around us, tightening with every look and every breath.
It’s torture not being able to act on it. To not clear the table with a swipe of an arm, throw her on top of it, tear off her clothes, and ravage her until she’s trembling with all the orgasms we’re going to mercilessly devastate her with.
Cassius releases her hand and refills her glass. I’d rather cut off my arm than let go of her, but I do as well.
Her hand is trembling as she takes a long sip of her wine.
“So,” she finally says. “How would this work?”
“Have you never seen farm animals in the springtime?” Cassius asks with a large grin.
She turns as red as her wine as she smacks his arm. “Not that. The bond. The mark. How does that work?”
“When you’re ready,” Cassius says softly, “it will happen. You can leave that to us.”
The words settle over the table.
“You’re sure of this?” she says, still not quite believing. Maybe if we bend her over the table and show her how hard she’s making us, she’ll understand. “Absolutely certain?”
“Absolutely,” Cassius says.
She looks at me and I nod. “Yes.”
“And you know this after seeing me once? We haven’t even finished dinner!”
“As soon as your scent reached us in the courtyard,” Cassius says. “We knew. Our wolves recognized that you were the one. Then, when we saw you, we realized how deep our love ran. How intense the mate bond could be. Yesterday, we lived to serve the kingdom.”
“Today,” I continue, “we live to serve you.”
Her expression softens. “I need time,” she whispers, backing away from the table. “To think.”
She suddenly rushes to the doors and pushes them open. She gives us one last devastatingly beautiful look before fleeing through them, disappearing into the castle.
My heart pounds as the doors slam shut.
I push away from the table and stand up.
“Hold on,” Cassius says, grabbing my arm. “We have to give her some time.”
“I’ve waited thirty-two years for this night,” I say, unable to hide the anguish in my tone. “Do not make me wait more.”
“One more night will not kill you.”
“It might.”
He smiles. “I feel your need, Tovik. Believe me, I know what you’re going through. It’s just as bad for me. But she’s not like us. She’s a human. This is all new to her. We must give her a minute at least.”
I sit back down with a huff. “One night,” I say, cursing under my breath. “For I won’t be able to wait any longer than that.”
“Let’s pray to the gods that we won’t have to,” he says, rubbing his eyes. “I won’t be able to stand that much torture either.”