The Journal Keeper (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (21 page)

Nikolas chuckled, positioned behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, his legs on either side of her. His lips pressed against her fluttering pulse, and Rianne visibly relaxed. Dorin could smell the lingering scents of arousal and sex, both Nikolas’s and Rianne’s. Frustrated that he had missed out on the morning’s activities, Dorin gave a slight huff as he settled down beside his partner and his mate.

“I see the two of you enjoyed yourselves today,” Dorin commented with a wry smile, eying their attire.

Nikolas had on a pair of trousers and nothing else. Rianne was wrapped in a robe, the belt cinched around her waist displaying her voluptuous curves. Dorin couldn’t be certain, but it looked as if the robe was all she had on. The thought sent a shaft of heat through his body, and his cock stood at attention. Nikolas’s quick cough hid a laugh, and Dorin shot him an annoyed glare.

“I’m sorry,” Rianne blurted out, blushing furiously.

“Why are you sorry,
danalya
?” Dorin asked, taking one of her hands in both of his.

He couldn’t stop himself from stroking her soft skin, luxuriating in the feel of her warm palm.

“I…Aren’t you upset?” Rianne asked, shifting nervously between Nikolas’s legs.

“Why would I be upset?” Dorin frowned, his thumb rubbing across the back of her hand in an attempt to soothe her.

“Because…because Nikolas and I…” Rianne stuttered, trailing off uncomfortably.

“
Danalya
, do you not remember? I was your first. Was Nikolas angry when he found out?” Dorin asked her gently.

“No,” Rianne whispered, biting her bottom lip.

“Just as I am not angry that he spent time with you today. You belong to us both, Rianne. There will be times when I cannot be with you, but Nikolas can, and vice versa, just as there will be times when the three of us will be able to come together. Hopefully the latter will occur more frequently after tomorrow.” Dorin smirked, leaning forward to kiss her sweetly.

As soon as he pulled away, Rianne shot Nikolas a worried look, but the Head Guard handled it flawlessly, giving her a kiss of his own. Dorin smiled when Rianne allowed herself to enjoy the kiss, signaling she had accepted that neither one would be jealous of the other. He knew it was natural for her to worry about jealousy, having not grown up as he and Nikolas had, but he had hopes that she would come to understand and love their culture as much as they did.

Rianne smiled softly when she and Nikolas parted, her stormy blue eyes turning on Dorin with an intensity that stole his breath.

“I love you, Rianne,” Dorin breathed, unable to hold the words back.

When her eyes began to shimmer with tears, he thought he’d said the wrong thing, but she launched herself from Nikolas’s arms into his. He caught her with a soft grunt, nearly falling backward from the force of her attack. She buried her face in his neck, her cheek wet with tears as she clutched him desperately.

“I know it’s crazy, but I think I love you, too. Both of you. And it scares me so much.” Rianne sniffled into his skin.

“What scares you,
capora
?” Nikolas asked, moving closer so he could run a soothing hand up and down her back.

“What if it doesn’t work? Or what if one of you wakes up one morning and realizes you’ve made a mistake? I can’t go back to my home, and…staying here would be too painful,” Rianne practically sobbed.

“Rianne,” Dorin gasped, shocked that she didn’t understand how the mating worked.

“
Capora
, mating isn’t like human marriage. Mating is forever. No matter what happens, no matter how many times we may drive you crazy or you rant and rave at us, we will
always
belong to you just as you belong to us. The only thing that can separate us is death,” Nikolas promised her.

“Didn’t Carme tell you this?” Dorin asked, knowing the fox had told Rianne about some of the traditions of their world.

“She did, but…I still wasn’t sure. How do you know we won’t be the first to fail?” Rianne asked.

“Because mating joins souls, not just bodies. When we stand before my father tomorrow, he will join us as mates by creating a bond of our souls, just like he did with Nikolas and me when we were young,” Dorin told her.

“The two of you share a mating bond?” Rianne asked, looking between the two of them.

Dorin leaned forward and kissed the little line between her brows, erasing her intense concentration while Nikolas snorted from beside her.

“We share a soul bond,
capora
. It is why we will share you. When I was banished from Bearsalei, I came to Wolvden because it’s the only other territory in Laurasia cold enough for polars. When I met Dorin, he knew the likelihood of me surviving without my clan was dismal, so we formed the soul bond, tying me to the Royal Pack and, more importantly, to him. While we are close, the bond we share is that of brothers. You are the only one who we will ever have a mating bond with,” Nikolas explained further.

Dorin shared a look with Nikolas as Rianne leaned her head against his chest. Dorin knew it was a lot of information to take in, but it would all be worth it if she could accept what they were offering. To be completely bonded with their mate was something neither wanted to give up, but they could not rush her into the mating. Still, with her head resting on Dorin’s chest, he knew it didn’t matter how long they had to wait. She would eventually be theirs.

* * * *

He watched as the maids set up the throne room for the ceremony that would take place tomorrow, bonding the prince and Sir Nikolas with the human. Everyone was talking about it, running around excitedly. He knew once she became queen it would become near impossible to get her alone. Already she was heavily guarded wherever she went. When the prince and Sir Nikolas weren’t with her, she had four members of Nikolas’s regiment with her.

He nodded to one of the footmen as he walked by, trying to blend in with those around him. It wouldn’t do any good to get caught before he’d finished the job. So far he’d been lucky. The prince had been too preoccupied with getting the human to safety to worry about looking for who was shooting at her in the field. When he’d taken the shot through her bedroom window, no one had thought to look up above the smithy, which was positioned almost directly beneath his intended target. They’d assumed the shot had come from the battlements along the wall opposite the human’s window.

At first his job had been simply to scare the human into returning to her world, but once news spread of the prince’s plans to take her for a mate, his orders had changed. He’d learned not to ask questions a long time ago. He fingered the burn mark along his forearm, a constant reminder hidden by the shirts he wore.

“You there,” a voice called, causing him to stop short. “What do you think you’re doing? You should be preparing the dining hall with the rest of them,” the man said.

He recognized him as Sir Nikolas’s right-hand man, Kesring, and quickly bowed before hurrying to the dining room. Soon, he thought, he would be able to shed his lowly position within the castle walls. As soon as he was paid for his job, he would make for the coast of Siverly and spend the rest of his days basking in the hot sun. He just had to kill the human.

* * * *

Nikolas attacked the man before him, the broadsword sure and heavy in his hands. The wolf he was fighting was a competent swordsman, but he had yet to take his skills into battle. Although they would mostly be in their animal forms if there ever was a war, every warrior needed sword skills. It was Nikolas’s job to prepare him in case the always-present turmoil between the royal families and the revolutionaries turned into a full-blown war.

Somewhere in the castle, Dorin was preparing for their mating ceremony, making sure everything was ready and perfect for their mate. In her room, Rianne would be surrounded by females, all of them eager to help the future queen prepare for her big day. Nikolas was too anxious to stay inside the castle getting ready. Instead he took out his anxiety on his men, growling in frustration when they proved inept at taking him on.

“Gods above! Do none of you train when I’m not around?” Nikolas snarled, tossing his opponent to the ground in disgust.

Wisely, none of the men around him chose to respond. Nikolas strode toward the well, angry that his nervousness was still present even after a good sparring match. He doused his head before drinking a ladleful of water, taking a deep breath when he’d finished.

He spun around to return to the list, but stopped short when he found the witch standing right behind him.

“Hello, Nikolas.” Morna smiled shyly, appearing innocent and childlike despite her advanced age.

“Morna,” Nikolas greeted, bowing his head respectfully.

“I heard you discovered Lady Rianne has been translating my dear brother’s journal,” Morna said, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Nikolas scowled in response, suspicious of the witch’s motive for seeking him out.

“It would be unwise to force her to stop,” Morna told him seriously, losing all traces of joviality.

“And why is that?” Nikolas asked, unwilling to show how wary he was of the slight woman.

“She needs to finish the translations, Nikolas. We’re counting on her,” Morna said, leaving his question unanswered.

“Who?”

“With the translation, he will finally rise from his resting place,” Morna continued, as if she hadn’t heard him.

Nikolas backed away from the witch, feeling the magic pulsing around her. He gripped his sword tightly, prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect the people around him from the crazed woman.

She blinked once and the magic fell away. Morna gave him a happy smile, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

“Oh, I’m so thrilled to attend your mating ceremony! The roses were quite put out when Rianne didn’t choose them for her hair, but I reminded them it was her day and if she wanted lilies, she was perfectly fine in having them. I don’t think they’ll do anything to sabotage the lilies, but I should go check on them just to make sure,” Morna told him before skipping off toward the queen’s hothouse.

“Strange, that one is.”

Nikolas turned to find Kesring watching Morna leave. His second in command gave him a sly smile when he brought his attention away from the witch.

“Are you ready?” Kesring asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Nikolas answered nervously.

“Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. I saw your mate, and she’s as eager as a rabbit for this to all be over with. I overheard her say something about the two of you leaving her at the altar. Not sure what she meant by that, but Carme was quick to reassure her,” Kesring informed him.

“Must be something to do with the human marriage ceremony,” Nikolas muttered as they entered the castle.

“Ah, right. I heard the prince tell the king she was a mite nervous about the two of you leaving her one day. Those humans are a strange bunch, giving up their mates so willingly,” Kesring frowned.

“From what I understand, it’s become worse in the past century,” Nikolas replied.

“Well, whatever goes on with their mating, I’m just glad we’re not a part of it,” Kesring said with a nod of his head.

Nikolas chose not to respond as they had reached his room. He could hear the women in Rianne’s room, giggling and talking as they finished preparing Rianne. Her laughter rung out above the others and Nikolas instantly felt his entire body relax. She hadn’t run.

He hadn’t realized he’d feared her disappearing until he heard her laughter, but knowing she was in the room next to him banished his nerves, and he was able to get ready without itching to fight someone.

* * * *

Rianne looked at her reflection in the mirror and didn’t recognize the woman staring back at her. Once again, Carme had done a fantastic job with her attire. The dress was a dark purple, a symbol of her joining into the royal family. The thick band around her bust was lavender, adding a touch of brightness to the dress. Additional fabric of the same color had been sewn to the seams of the dress at four points, adding volume to the skirt. The fabric cinched in at her hips before spreading out wider until it reached the floor. Carme had woven a matching ribbon into Rianne’s hair, which was in a braid down her back. A few strands of hair framed her face, and the braid was relatively loose, softly adding a touch of volume to her otherwise flat hair. Carme’s helper, Enid, had managed to bring a bit of color to her face with some soft blush and a brown powder similar to the eye shadow sold in pharmacies back home. Now that it was all together, they joined her at the mirror.

“You look beautiful, my lady,” Enid sighed, admiring the dress.

“I can’t believe you made it in such a short amount of time,” Rianne said to the otter at her side, running a hand down the bodice.

“Oh, I’ve been working on it since the prince and Sir Nikolas brought you here. I knew you’d need it sooner or later.” Andraste nodded, leaning down to fix the folds of the skirt.

“Well, it’s simply breathtaking.”

“And now, for the final touch,” Carme said, coming forward.

She had a necklace in her hands, a beautiful string of diamonds and amethysts. Rianne lifted her braid as Carme fastened the beautiful piece of jewelry into place, a large amethyst coming to rest just beneath her collarbone.

“It’s beautiful,” Rianne breathed, fingering the stone reverently.

“The queen had it sent up. She left this with it,” Carme explained, handing her a note.

Rianne, this necklace has been passed down from generations of Wolvden queens. It seems only right that you wear this as you take the next step in becoming the future queen. I know you will make a wonderful queen, just as you will make a wonderful mate for my son and Nikolas. Know that if you ever need us, Silal and I will be there for you. As of today, you are as much our daughter as Nikolas and Dorin are our sons.