The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) (40 page)

“I’m sorry, Kyran.”

He pulled a garment bag from his side of the closet before frowning
at her.

“For what?”

“Um, the thing with Lykil.”

He leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek. “I’’m not mad
about that. I actually get it now.”

“Get it?”

“You
’
re like a sister to him. The
sexual innuendos
are for my benefit
, not yours. He knows it pisses me off.”

“Oh.”
Her attention turned
to the bag in his hand. “You never told
me what time I had to be ready.”

“That’s why I came up here. You have two hours.”

“Okay. That gives me plenty of time to figure out what to do with
my hair.”

Kyran went back to gathering more clothes from the closet, stopping
when he had enough clothes for two days.

“Why do you need those clothes?”

“I figured I’d go ahead and grab my clothes since I was already
here. It
’
ll be easier on the both of us if I just grab what I need for the
Rengoring now.”

The mention of the Rite of Cleansing ticked up her agitation. She really wasn’t into the prospect of sleeping alone for two days. Those
two days would be spent on a strict diet, various modes of pampering
to cleanse the skin, and meditation and prayer to cleanse the soul. The
pampering sounded nice enough, but she could do without someone
telling her what she could and couldn
’
t eat. Prayer had never been her
thing, but she
’
d give it a go for the sake of Kyran. Her meditation was
always found at the controlled end of a weapon. She might try and
get Lykil to take her back out to the range.

She walked out into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror,
trying to decide what she should do with her nearly waist-length hair.
Pulling it back into a constricting ponytail was her hairstyle of choice
,
but somehow she knew she had to pull out all the stops she didn’t have.

“
Don
’
t worry about your hair. Someone is coming up to help you,
Ponytail Goddess,” Kyran said as he brushed a kiss to her exposed neck.

She laughed and watched him leave the room. He really had thought
of everything.

THE WALLS OF THE POOL HOUSE
had been rolled back to allow a gentle breeze from the Blue Ridge Lake to sweep through. A heavy
wooden altar, made of dark stained oak, sat front and center in the room.
The altar had four square pillars, with each one hosting a prayer of
blessing and four of The Nine Noble Cannons: Truth, Honor, Fidelity
,
and Perseverance. The altar had been a gift from Omar, to mark the
occasion in case he couldn’t make the trip.

The altar’s beveled top which was decorated with a blend of yellow
Ranunculus and Blue Parrot flowers. Hidden beneath the thick masses
of flowers were rods from which long swaths of flowing fabric in pale
blue and gold hung. The fabric was tied to the front two posts with
braided ropes of Belladonna, Blue Cupid
’
s Dart, and gold tipped Daisies.

Kyran looked out over the gathered group of Lycans, all seated in
gold covered chairs with blue sashes. There were four ten-seat rows, divided up the middle by a pale gold runner.

To his right sat Ronan, Marcela, Angel, his mother, and Jillian on
the front row. Across the aisle on the left side were Omar, Luke, Liam,
Justin and Tyson, who occupied the seats according to his preference
s. The rest of the seating was according to level of dominance.

A glance at the second row showed Derrick and his perpetual sense
of displeasure. Anise was to his left with a barely-disguised smirk on her features as she shot subtle glances at Derrick.

In accordance to tradition, no music broke the expectant silence
that bathed the room, nor was there any to accommodate Alexis as she
walked down the aisle. A few muted gasps disrupted the silence as
Alexis began her trip down the aisle. Lykil was at her arm, her hand
resting on his forearm, while Torin followed behind her, carrying a
large rectangular box.

At the altar, Lykil allowed Kyran to lead her to a stool, carved in the same fashion as the altar by Omar. Kyran drank in the vision that
was Alexis – her long black tendrils a series of cascading ribbons down
her back, her body draped in a dress the same color of his eyes. She was
magnificent in the heavily beaded bodice that flared away from her
swollen middle, the fabric light and airy, dancing around her feet in the light breeze.

Afri stepped forward when Kyran stepped to Alexis
’
side and faced
the goddess. A tentative smile crossed the goddess
’
face before she
turned and addressed the crowd.

“We gather on this day to acknowledge the impending union
between those gathered before us. Should the Gavattage and Godtrande
be given and accepted, I will bless the impending union, and we will
adjourn for two days
’
time, only to meet again on the third day to solidify
the bond between those gathered before me.”

She turned to Kyran and gave him a small nod, indicating him to proceed.

He stepped over to a nearby pedestal and took a heavily-jeweled
box from the top. Kyran came to his knees in front of Alexis and opened
the box. Hiding a smile at her small gasp, he pulled a long braided rope
necklace made of gold from the confines of the satin lined box. At the
necklace’s center was a fifteen carat sapphire.

His grandmother
’
s heirloom dated back to the late 1500
’
s and had
been given to him at the end of the last summer he
’
d spent with his
mother
’
s pack. Its purpose had always been to serve as the Gavattage,
his gift of giving, whenever he should make his intentions clear to
his bride-to-be.

Kyran held the chain stretched between both hands and looked up at Alexis.

“I, Kyran, give you, Alexis, this token of my affection. Should you
accept this and all it symbolizes, I will hold it as proof that you return
my affections and find me worthy to call you my own.”

He held the chain over her head, draping it around her neck and adjusting it as she pulled her hair free of the chain’s grasp.

Lykil stepped forward with the box that Torin had been carrying,
setting it on Alexis’ lap. The god stepped back to the edge of the altar before Alexis managed to flash Kyran a small smile.

Some insecure part of him buried deep within reared its ugly head,
causing his heart to race. Occasionally, a Gavattage was declined, but
the occurrences were rare and never between Soul’s Mates. Still, Alexis
had the power to reject him, to return his gift and carve out a life of
her own. As his Soul’s mate, she would find it just as hard for her to be without him as it would be for him to be without her. He let out a calming breath and relaxed in the knowledge that Alexis loved him.

“I, Alexis, accept your Gavattage, fully return your affections, and
accept your intention to call me your own. I offer you, Kyran, my
Godtrande to keep for all of your days. Let this serve as proof of my intentions and visual confirmation of your worthiness.”

Kyran waited patiently as she opened the box
’
s clasp, ready to accept
her Godtrande, her gift of acceptance. She pulled a viciously curved short sword out of the satin lined box.

The sword, made of Gardinian metal, was a perfect gift from a
woman who knew and loved weapons. Along the face of the curved hilt were the symbols of the wisest and fiercest gods in Gardas. The center of the blade was decorated with Lykil’s mark.

A sudden rush of power as he touched the hilt drew a gasp from
him, causing Alexis to jump. Kyran smiled at her. The blade
’
s latent
power had caught him off guard. He paused in his appreciation of the
blade to glance at Lykil, who gave him curt nod. The weapon was
laced with the God of Destruction’s magic, a fierce protection spell if there was ever one. Along with Lykil’s magic, the sword boasted the
blessings of Nivar, the Highest of the High; Vili, God of Wisdom; and
Ire, Goddess of Health.

Afri stepped forward again, nodding to Kyran and Alexis in passing
, to address those gathered.

“
I acknowledge all oaths and gifts given and accepted and conclude
those that stand here to be worthy of each other. This impending union
is worthy of my blessing, and so it is given. I now bid you go forth and
ensconce yourselves in Rengoring. In three days
’
time, we will gather
again, and I shall bind you,
as is your wish
, with my blessing of matrimony.”

Afri made a small bow before she stood and disappeared. Ronan
ushered everyone out to the poolside deck for a light feast. Kyran and
Alexis remained behind, watching the last of the pack filter out into
the late afternoon sun.

When they were alone, Kyran took Alexis
’
hand in his own and
brushed a kiss across her knuckles. He glanced down at the sword that
was sheathed as his side.

With a nod of his head, Kyran gestured to the sword.

“You had no idea what this was, did you?”

A slow smile crept over her features. “Actually, I designed it. I’ve
handled it before and didn
’
t feel anything from it. So when you gasped,
it caught me off guard.”

She tossed Lykil a withering glance. It only earned her a shrug and
a smile.

“You have good taste. Thank you,” Kyran said. “You, too, Lykil.”

“Don’t mention it, Lycan. I did it for her anyway.”

“I didn’t delude myself to believe otherwise, but thanks all the
same.”

Lykil inclined his head and made his way out of the pool house
over to Ronan. Kyran watched as most of the visiting Lycans gave him
a wide berth. They cast sidelong gazes at the god, but all of them made
an appearance to not look intimidated by his presence. Unfortunately
, their nervous energy danced on the gentle breeze.

“Lykil is going to be fun to explain to them.”

Alexis laughed with a nod. “Maybe Derrick will be more pleasant
company.”

“I doubt it. Being difficult to tolerate is his god given duty, or at
least that’s the way he acts. Besides he excels at it.”

Alexis
’
stomach growled, reminding him of his own hungry state.

“Come on; let’s go eat before there’s nothing left.”

She nodded and took his hand, letting him lead her through the crowd.

***

Alexis stood off to the side, talking to Anise. The female was an
enigma. She radiated power, not in a sense that it could be readily
de
tected by others, but in slight mannerisms that likely escaped Derrick
. Obviously, anything to do with her Tor chaffed the Aleser to no end, and any reprieve from his presence was a welcome distraction.

At the moment, they were discussing pregnancy. Anise was
completely fascinated by the possibility of a hybrid child and what
implications it meant moving forward.

It put Alexis at ease to have Anise treat her like just another female
.
She had
prepared
herself to be regarded with veiled disgust and whispered
ruminations of the abomination that she was carrying. She stopped
short of anyone wishing death on her child. That school of thought
was reserved for Hunters. The genetic union between the two species
was likely as welcome to the Hunter cause as her continued existence.

Alexis tried on occasion to gain insight to how Anise viewed the prospect of one day marrying Derrick. But Alexis lacked subtlety, so
after many roundabout turns at seeking the information to no avail, she
gave up. The female was evasive when discussing Derrick, sporadically
meeting the watchful gaze of Derrick as if to ensure that he was perfectly
aware of her presence.

Of course, Anise
’
s Tor was aware, but what amused Alexis the most
was that, in a far corner, Omar was just as aware. She smiled, making
it appear as if she smiled at Derrick before she steered the conversation
back toward more innocuous things.

It didn
’
t take long for Derrick to find a means to intrude. Alexis
was glad that Ronan and Lykil joined her, but they only came to usher
her away to Kyran.

She found her soon-to-be husband near the lake’s edge. His back
was to her, but she saw the tension leave his body at her approach. The
thought that she put anybody at ease, especially a Lycan, amused her.