A/N: Okay everyone, I'm back with more. I hope those who are reading enjoyed the double whammy I gave you guys in the last chapter as a make up for making you wait so long for that it.
All I have to say this time around is I'm really excited for this chapter. It's one of those chapters that have a bunch of scenes I visualized when I first started contemplating writing this story, and now they are finally here.
Okay, onto the routine. Honourable mention goes to "Something Good Can Work" by Two Door Cinema Club (I suggest you look it up) but the song chosen for this chapter is a great one by the great Coldplay. "Us Against the World," does seem to fit the theme of vampire warriors, don't you all think? Now make those warriors fall in love. Once you read the chapter, I think you'll understand well why I chose this song.
Us Against the World
Oh morning come bursting, the clouds, Amen.
Lift off this blindfold, let me see again.
Bring back the water; let your ships roll in.
In my heart she left a hole.
The tight rope that I'm walking just sways and ties.
The devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes.
And I just want to be there when the lightning strikes,
And the saints go marching in.
Sing slow it down.
Through chaos as it swirls, it's us against the world.
Like a river to a rain drop, I lost a friend.
My drunken as a Daniel in a lion's den
And tonight I know it all has to begin again,
So whatever you do, don't let go.
And if we could float away, fly up to the surface,
And just start again.
And lift off before trouble just erodes us in the rain,
Just erodes us in the rain.
Just erodes us, and see roses in the rain.
And sing, slow it down.
Slow it down.
Through chaos as it swirls, it's us against the world.
Through chaos as it swirls,
It's us against the world.
I love that song. *Sigh*
Okay so keep that in mind through this chapter. Let's get on with the show.
Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, the Brothers aren't mine, yada, yada, yada.
Chapter 13: Perfect
As the sun started to rise and Mr. M was about ready to trance out for the day, his mind kept going back to the fight he'd found earlier in the night. And to his favourite opponent.
He couldn't believe he'd come into contact with the Promise. The frickin' Promise of all vampires! Fighting alongside those horrible brutes that race called warriors. He'd heard that she'd been fighting for quite a while now, from lessers who had caught glances of her facing off with others. Though he found it hard to believe, it was said that none of her opponents ever came out of a fight. That's why it was so hard to keep tabs on her because all the Society had to go on was the ramblings of the fearful and awed morons who had seen her fight, maybe, but never an actual opponent of hers. Plus, she was thought to be dead. Last summer when the Fore-Lesser, Mr. X had vamp-napped the queen, he'd shot the Promise square in the chest, or so he said. So, yeah, Mr. M had been skeptical.
Until now. He'd seen the Promise in action.
She was a beast, so strong and powerful and full of fight. Angry, too, it seemed when she was fighting. But why wouldn't she be? They were trying to wipe out her race.
That was another thing that got him about the Promise fighting. She was a ruler of the race, right alongside with the king and queen. Shouldn't she be more carefully guarded and not thrown carelessly out into the fight with the race's enemies? She was invaluable to the vampires. The fucking idiots believed her to be the bringer of life to the race and all that bullshit. If she died, they believed they would be at a total loss. So why was she out and about, just begging for something pale and soulless to find her?
Well, after seeing her in battle, he could imagine that it was her choice and they believed she could take care of herself.
He would show her that she couldn't.
Because of her value to the race, she was an even hotter commodity than the Brothers. Even though it seemed that they should have more protection for her, it was clear that those Brothers were crazy over her. When the lessers had started shooting, those Brothers dove to get her skinny ass out of the way first, not even giving a shit about themselves. If she were to be made the Societies little info puppet, the whole Brotherhood would come stampeding. He'd heard that had happened a few times in the past when she'd been captured. Why not try that again?
Plus she was the king's baby sis. And more importantly, the mate of a Brother. There had been two warriors with her tonight and though they were both protective over her, the way that blond one had looked at him when he'd been speaking to her was nothing but an assured murder, which only came when a bonded male's female was threatened. Plus, his scent was all over her. It only made Mr. M all the more excited towards finding her and taking her.
For himself.
Catching her would definitely boost him in the ranks and in the eyes of the Omega. He was making it his life's mission to finding her again. But when he did, he was definitely planning on keeping her for himself for a while. She was one of a kind, that Promise. She was a conundrum. She had the looks to be as delicate and beautiful as a butterfly, but he knew that she was tougher than that. He had felt her right hook. Was dealing with the after effects of it now. She probably thought she was stronger than anything else out there. He would enjoy beating that self-satisfied attitude out of her. He would enjoy having her try to beat him as well. He would have fun using the "gift" that the Omega had given him on her. She would fight him tooth and nail, and even when she was all worn out, she still wouldn't submit to him. He would fuck the fight right out of her, make a toy out her, a fun little play thing, and guessing her will, it would take a long time. And probably leave a few war scars on him, too.
He could not fucking wait. It was going to be perfect.
He was getting hard just thinking about it.
Mr. M smiled to himself as he thought about all the games he'd get to play with his perfect little toy when he caught her.
The dream state that Rhage was currently living in was too erotic for him stand. Waking up, he decided he needed to live out the dream for himself in real time.
He rolled over and reached for his female, but as his fingers searched, she wasn't anywhere in the silk sheets.
He sat up, groggy, confused, and aching. Where was she?
He quickly became aware of the dim sound of a piano playing.
Pulling on a pair of sweats that now called this place their home, he went to the source of the sound, knowing there was no other place Shailene could be.
She was there, wearing his black T-shirt, sitting on the bench in front of the huge glossy black instrument, using it to make what he assumed magic to sound like.
He was brought back to the last time he had seen her like this, back when they were in limbo. She had been totally absorbed as her fingers glided across the black and white ivory, and he remembered loving the passion with which she'd played, how it seemed to bring her joy, as well as him. Back then they'd been constantly going back and forth with their relationship, but in that moment, he'd been happy just to watch her.
And also like last time, he found himself totally aroused.
"That's beautiful," he said, also like the last time he'd walked in on her.
The music cut off sharply as she tensed in surprise, but she quickly relaxed. When she turned around though, this time her face was radiant with a smile.
"Stop sneaking up on me," she said, but she sounded like she was happy to see him.
He smiled back and quickly went to her. "You usually see me coming."
He kissed her deeply when he was seated next to her and then held her tight, getting a nose full of their mixed scents and loving it. He wondered if he'd ever get used having the privilege of seeing her first thing when he woke up.
"Hi," he said when he let her go.
"Hi." She shook her head, trying to clear it. "What was that for?"
"No reason, really," he told her. "I just like kissing my Shailene."
"Mm… 'My Shailene.'" She slid closer to him, and he wrapped his arm around her. "I like the way that sounds."
He growled low in her ear, tightening his hold on her. She laughed and started playing very softly.
"Did I wake you?" she murmured
"Nm-mm," he denied. He focussed on what her lovely fingers were doing. "What are you working on?" he asked. "Is it the one from the last time?" It sounded like it, just fuller, like she'd added more to it.
"Uh-huh," she murmured. "I don't know where it came from, but I just felt like I had to finish it today."
"What's it about?"
"It's a love song," she told him, and then in the same breath, she added, "It's about you."
His head shot around to really focus on her. She'd said it so casually, as her saying something like that didn't make his whole life. "You're amazing, you know," he told her.
"You're biased," she retorted.
"No, I'm right." He kissed her neck. "Will you teach me to play sometime?"
"I don't think so," she said with a laugh and gestured to the piano. "You see, the thing about this thing is, it wasn't made for a warriors big, brutish fingers."
"I thought you liked my fingers."
"On my body, not on my piano," she explained.
"C'mon." He kissed her neck again. "I'll be a good student. And I promise to pay you well."
"Tempting, but no."
"Okay. If you won't teach me, will you at least play for me?"
She smiled at him. "I can do that."
She seemed to steel herself, then her fingers rested on the black and white keys.
Rhage watched and listened in awe as his female did her thing. He thought that she looked strong and powerful out in the field, but here, with nothing but a piano, she true was a warrior. He could see it with all that poured out of her as she played, he could hear it in every note as she pressed down a new key. She looked like the world had melted away from her, and likewise, he felt the same way. As absorbed in her music as she was, he was completely consumed by her, and she was too great for words. For lack of a better word, she was perfect. His Shailene was perfect and there was nowhere else he'd rather be, but in this small room with the female he was lucky just to look upon, let alone touch. The female of his dreams, the one he would love forever and then a million years after that. If it was possible, watching her, listening to her, made him love her even more.
When the last note of the sweet, romantic piece that she'd composed drifted into the air, Rhage's mind was nothing more than melted muscle. He was amazed, and filled with loved, and even more turned on than he had been. But he tried to put a lid on his baser instincts. Though at the moment he was of the same mental capacity as silly-putty, there was something more important than sex on his mind, something more important than everything.
She turned to him, looking kind of nervous for whatever reason. "What'd you think?"
"Will you mate me?"
She did a double take. "What?"
"Will you mate me?" he repeated. She still looked confused. "I want to mate you." Still nothing. "I want us to get married."
She still had that blank look on her face and he was running out of ways to ask her.
She got up from the bench and paced. "I…you…what?"
He laughed a little and went to where she was freaking out. Taking her hands, he said, "I want us to be mated. Officially."
"You want to get mated?" she whispered. He nodded. "Why?"
He winced. This was so not how he imagined she would react to his proposal. "Because I love you," he said, like it couldn't be more obvious if a blimp wrote it in the sky. "You're the one person in my entire life that's made me feel like I couldn't go on if you weren't in my world. I know that I'm never going to want or love or need anyone the way I want and love and need you. Like I said, you are my rahlman, my pyrocant, my nalla. I would make you my shellan, if you are willing."
"Your shellan?" she asked.
"Yes. Officially mine." For all the world to know.
"So this is a possessive bonded male thing," she concluded, and he rushed to reassure her.
"I'm sure that's playing a role in my wanting to mate you, but it's more than that. I want to honour you, and take care of you." He looked her deep in the eyes, trying his hardest to convey that this was what he truly wanted. "You've saved me, in more ways than you know." A reference to not just those times in the field or the beast, who was almost unnoticeable lately, but also to the loneliness he'd felt before she came around, and to his self-destructive nature. "I want to be there for you the way you've been for me. I made a vow to protect you when I became your ahstrux nohtrum, and I vow to take care of you in our mating. So…Shailene, blooded sister of Wrath, son of Wrath. Will you mate me?" he asked.
There was silence and just when he was thinking he should have gone about this better, ever so faintly, she said, "Okay."
"Okay?" he asked, making sure he'd heard her right.
"No, I mean…." She took a deep breath, looked up to his face, and in a voice that came from not just the Promise, but from Shailene herself, she answered again. "Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes!" she yelled and jumped into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She was holding him so hard, he felt and heard his spine crack.
He held her back, rejoicing in the happy sound of her mixed laughter and sobs.
"Yes, yes, yes," she chanted in his ear. "Yes, I'll mate you."
He felt her lips on his skin, on his chest, his collar bones, his neck, his jaw. On the tear tattoo on his cheek.
He started to laugh as she continued. "And just when I was thinking maybe I could have done that better."
"No," she mumbled against him in between kisses. "It's perfect. This is perfect."
He pulled back so he could look at her. "It will be," he vowed. He took one of her hands from around his neck and placed it over her heart, so she could feel it beat for her. "From this point on, I promise to make everything perfect for you."
"We'll make everything perfect for each other," she corrected him. Then she kissed him, hard and passionately and melting his brain matter again. "I love you," she said, sounding like she was putting everything she had into the sentiment. "I love you." She kissed him again. "I love you." Another. "I love you, I love you, I love you…I love you."
He held her so tightly, he worried that he was hurting her ribs, but she wouldn't loosen her hold on his neck either, so he assumed it was all cool. He was wholly happy in this moment. He had his female in his arms, she was safe and happy and apparently loved him, and he was going to make her his shellan. What more could be done to make him any happier?
Well there was one more thing that he wanted in this moment…
As if they truly were connected, and Rhage was starting to believe maybe they were, he smelled her raspberry scent start to rise in the room.
He got impossibly harder as a result.
"You know what we have to do now, don't you?" she whispered in his ear, her voice sultry and erotic. Her hands ran through his hair, sending shivers down his spine at her touch.
"What do we have to do now?" he asked, though he had a pretty good idea of what was on her mind. His hands lowered to hold her by the ass.
"We have to celebrate," she said softly. "Take me to our bedroom and I'll show you how."
Our. She'd said our, he thought with satisfaction.
Before he could dwell anymore on the word and all it entailed, her hand slipped down between their bodies. With no time for preparation on his part, she pushed right inside the sweat pants and onto his cock, shocking the hell out of him, making him groan, and knocking him a little off balance.
She laughed in that throaty way of hers as he regained his footing, the laugh that came when she knew the effect she was having on his body and his mind.
"To our bedroom, my shellan?" he asked desperately as she stroked him.
"To our bedroom, my hellren," she answered.
He promised to fulfill her every wish and he could think of no better way to get started than this.
Shailene was still glowing with happiness as she and Rhage walked through the vestibule door and saw that the table was being set for First Meal. She was beaming from what had happened between her and Rhage, excited to share the news with the family, and scared shitless of how to tell her brother.
The usual sounds of balls cracking in the billiard room, loud male chortles and pounding rap music—tonight it was Public Enemy's "Rebel Without a Pause"—filled the foyer and Shai had never been so happy to be home.
"We telling them tonight, or do you want to wait?" Rhage asked from behind her. He had his arms wrapped around her and they hadn't been able to not be touching in some way since he'd asked her to mate him.
"Tonight," she answered immediately. "I want to do this as soon as possible. So we tell them tonight, after we talk to his Highness." She looked back at him. "Is that okay with you?"
"Of course it is. Tonight is perfect." He turned her around and kissed her as if they weren't in the middle of the foyer with the doggen running back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room and the Brothers weren't a hundred feet to their left. Soon though, she didn't give a crap about how public they were and started kissing him back.
"Look who's here, boys," someone shouted. "The love birds are finally back."
Cat calls and whistles sounded as the Brothers all came out of the billiard room and surrounded them. She sighed and stepped away from Rhage. She could hardly believe there had been a time when she used to thank the Scribe Virgin when one of her warriors interrupted her and Rhage. Now she just wanted to boot them all in their asses, which she was of full authority and capability to do, for their smug and suggestive comments.
But it seemed that Rhage didn't care what they said. He pulled her back to him without a single glance at his brothers.
"Nice to see you're both home, though I'm sure we could all do without the sucking face," Vishous said as welcome.
"At least it's better than them screaming at each other all night and day," Phury offered.
"No, because now we have to deal with them screaming in a different way," Butch alluded, and the others all seemed to think this was hi-fucking-larious.
"Butch!" she shouted, shocked and mortified. They were working really hard on ruining the home-sweet-home thing she'd had going on.
"Don't bother denying it," Z said dismissively. "The way you two have been terrorizing this house, there was only one way the aggressive sexual tension was going to be resolved and that was by you two fucking."
And just when she thought she couldn't hate them anymore.
"Oh my God, she's blushing," V said incredulously. "I can't believe she's actually blushing."
"So it is true," Butch said.
"Of course it is," Tohrment said. "Even a human could pick up the bonding scent radiating off her."
"True," Butch agreed. "It's all over you, girl."
"Exactly," Rhage spoke up. "Which means you're going to have to deal with me if you don't leave her alone."
"That's what happens when a male of our kind falls, Cop," V explained. "They mark their females, and they become unbearably possessive." The last part was clearly targeted at Rhage. "We'll be lucky if we ever get to hang with Shailene again."
"Looks like we've all lost our Shai," Butch said with mock sadness.
"Rhage has fallen into Grace," Phury laughed. "Never thought the day would come."
"So this is an opportunity that can't be passed up," V said. "I've been wondering the answer to this question for decades now." There was a dramatic pause. "What's Rhage like where it counts?"
"Is the shithead really as good as he likes to boast?" Z inquired.
"You're fucking kidding me," she muttered, while Rhage laughed his ass off. At the moment, she wanted to kick his as much as the others.
"No, we're very serious," Tohr said. "Over a century of having to deal with him running his mouth. Now you can finally give us the proper deets."
"I'll bet he's good to her," Butch inputted.
"He probably has some domination tendencies," Phury suggested.
"Uh-uh," Zsadist argued. "He puts up a big front, but with the pansy way he's been panting after her for so long, he probably just lies down and lets her do whatever."
"I'm with Z," Butch said.
"I think Phury has a point," Tohr said.
"I don't know, they're both pretty aggressive. I bet when they get down, it's one big, night long wrestling match," V offered.
"I bet she can take him," Phury wagered.
"Oh, totally."
"Completely."
"She's been handling his ass for decades, now. This situation is just the equivalent to an artist taking on a new medium."
"So, Shai," Butch said, turning the attention back to her. "Which of us is right?"
"Oh God," she mumbled, bringing her hands up to cover her face.
"Does he make you call that out?"
"Does he make you call him any other names?"
"Do you guys role play?"
Okay, it was waaay past time to end this little convo.
"Why do you guys want to know so badly?" She looked each and every one of them in the eye. "Is it because you all want him for yourselves?"
They all fell silent at that and she smiled. "It's no one's business but mine how Rhage is in bed. And if you must know, then take this convo to the locker room and leave me out it. Now if you're so desperate to crack some balls, do it on the pool table. I'd be happy to kick all your asses into the room if you want."
They were silent before V let out a deep guffaw. "I see falling in love hasn't declawed you."
"You're damn straight. Now go. We love you guys, but we have a king to deal with."
They all laughed at that.
"They think we're giving it to them bad." Tohr laughed harder. "Wait until you hear what my Lord has to say to you."
"Go away!" both she and Rhage yelled.
They chortled on their way back to the billiard room.
"God, it's like dealing with a bunch of twelve year olds." She turned and buried her face into his chest. "Can we move out?"
He laughed and stroked her hair.
"How did we end up with them?"
"It's called life, babe," he offered as explanation. "And sadly, they're in ours."
"I vote we move out."
"You can't leave me here with all that testosterone to deal with."
Both Shailene and Rhage turned to see Beth and Boo waiting on the steps.
Shai smiled. What a breath of fresh air Beth would be after that encounter. "Hey, Beth."
Beth hugged them both. "I'm glad you're both home. Do you plan on staying?"
"I don't know," Rhage said thoughtfully. "Shai wants to leave."
"You can't do that to me," Beth refused. "You won't leave me with them, Shai."
"I'd be taking one with me," she reminded her.
"The female to male ratio in this house would still be way off."
"Well if it means so much to you, I'll give you mission impossible: make them"— she gestured to the billiard room—"stop acting like ass hats."
Beth laughed. "I'll try. But in the meantime, Wrath is waiting for you." She started walking towards the kitchen.
"Wait." Shai started to panic. "You're not coming back up with us?"
"I think I'll sit this death match out. Instead I'll go see what I can do for First Meal. And after the doggen kick me out, I'll go deal with the ass hats." She turned to leave again. "Good luck," she called back.
Great, Shailene thought. At least if Beth was going to be there, Wrath might remember to control his temper. Now they were walking into a minefield.
Shai stared up the suddenly ominous looking steps. "How do you want to deal with this?"
"I guess we just… go," he suggested, and she was happy that he sounded a lot more confident than she felt.
She loved this part. She loved that she didn't have to act so strong all the time, that she could be nervous or scared and not have to worry because Rhage was there for her. He would take care of her, be her strength, protect her—all the things she thought she'd never need, let alone want, from another person. She just hoped he would know that all of that went vice versa.
"What do you think, Boo?" she inquired of the cat. "Do you think we're gonna make it?"
When all he did was purr and rub himself against her legs, she prayed that was a good sign. She looked back at Rhage.
"I got your back," he whispered in her ear.
"And I got yours."
They bumped fists and started up the stairs, hand in hand. Slowly.
They stopped outside Wrath's study, and the last time Shailene remembered being this scared to face her brother was when she'd told him she'd been fighting lessers. But this wasn't the same. She only had to tell her brother, her only family, the only person who has been there for her, who has loved her for her entire life, that she's getting mated to a male who was meant to be her protector, never her lover.
Crap.
God, she hoped this worked out. She didn't know how she'd handle Wrath not accepting their love.
"Ready?" Rhage asked her.
But she did know one thing.
"One more thing." She looked him deep in the eye. "I want you to know that no matter what Wrath says, I love you, and we're getting mated."
"You mean that?"
"I promise," she whispered.
They kissed one more time, a quick passionate kiss, and then while looking into her eyes, Rhage knocked on the door.
"Get your asses in here," was Wrath's reply through the door.
"Ready?" Rhage asked her again.
She took a deep breath and nodded. Preparing herself for this as if she were about to walk into an army of lessers, she held Rhage's hand tightly as they walked through the door.
Wrath wanted rip Rhage's head off as he smelled the bonding scent all over his little sister. He wanted to retch as he saw her walk into the room hand in hand with him.
It was moments like these that he wished he was completely blind.
It's not that he didn't want his sister to be happy. He swore to the Virgin that he did. It was one of his greatest desires, for her to find the happiness that he'd found. He'd just never thought of the implications of her finding that happiness.
For example, he hadn't thought it would burn him so much to smell the bonding scent that was all over her, even though with that kind of happiness it was a given. He chalked it up to hating the idea of her having sex. To him she was still the small female he'd always been happy to provide for and protect. Now she stood in front of him with a male at her side, a male asking him to take over all those responsibilities.
She'd grown into a strong, beautiful, powerful female, and Wrath couldn't be more proud of her. He supposed that he should have seen this coming. Everyone he knew loved Shai. It was only a matter of time before she loved someone else besides him back.
Maybe that was his problem with this whole thing. Of course there was the feeling that one of his trusted warriors had gone behind his back, but there was also the fact that he would have to share her love with someone else. Maybe he was an immature, selfish shithead and didn't want to give up the only thing that had been a constant in his life. He hated to admit it, but that was probably the reason he wanted to play target practice with his brother's head.
They sat down in the seats on the other side of his desk. There was nothing but silence as the three of them all sorted out what to say. The smoky smell of Shailene's nervousness and the mild smell of Rhage's determination struck him.
"Explain," he commanded.
He saw their blurry images look at each other briefly and he could just about see the way they drew strength from each other. He could imagine how they said a silent "I love you" with their eyes and how maybe Rhage would squeeze her hand in reassurance.
He knew all those things, because he and his shellan did them all the time.
"Rhage," Wrath said, almost softly. "How did this happen?"
"I couldn't tell you, my Lord," he admitted, and he Wrath picked up on no scent of deception. "It just did."
"You were supposed to protect her, not sleep with her."
Shailene scoffed. "Sound familiar, Wrath?"
Yeah, it did. She'd said the exact same words to him the night he'd met Beth.
"Turning my words against us, huh?"
"I'm in to recycling."
"Since when are you an environmentalist?"
"Since now."
More silence.
"Rhage, how could you do this?" he demanded.
"Wrath, it wasn't just him—" Shai started.
Rhage cut her off. "No, Shai, it's okay." He turned and looked at Wrath. "I'm sorry, Wrath, if you think we went behind your back. The truth is I never meant for this to happen. When you asked me to be her ahstrux nohtrum, I said yes because I wanted to follow orders and protect her. I never planned to get this close to her. But I'm not sorry that I did. I hope you don't expect me to apologize for that because I'll be straight up with you. I can't. I won't."
Wrath had to give his brother props for standing his ground and sticking by his female. Commendable was what that shit was.
But they weren't off the hook yet.
"So where is this thing between you two leading?" he asked. "What happens now?"
"We're going to be together," Shailene stated, as if it was already a done deal.
He smirked. "You say that like it's written in stone."
They glanced at each other again, and Wrath could pick up on the taking-strength thing again. Shailene was nervous, as damn well she should be, and Rhage was doing a good job of making her feel more comfortable.
Wrath ground his teeth together when Rhage caressed her hair in a gesture of the utmost affection. But then Shailene nodded, and they turned back to the pissed off king.
"It may as well be, Wrath. We're getting mated," he told him.
Wrath went ram-rod straight in the back. His mind took a little vacay as he tried to keep seated. Mated? Mated?
Shailene winced as she probably got the gist of his reaction from his head, which was throwing off F-bombs like you read about.
"Mated?" he managed to grind out through his teeth.
His sister winced again.
"Yeah, Wrath," Rhage continued carefully. "I asked her to mate me this afternoon—"
"And I said yes," Shai finished.
Mated?
Calm the fuck down, he chanted to himself. Calm the fuck down…
"Wrath—" Shai started.
"I want to talk to Rhage," he stormed, cutting her off. "Alone." Then without even waiting for her to leave the room, hell, to even get up from her seat, he addressed Rhage. "Have you lost your fucking mind?"
He felt the shift in his sister as surely as if it was his own body. Apparently, she didn't like his tone.
She got out her seat. "Wait a minute, Wrath—"
"Shailene!" he boomed, standing up as well. "I want to speak to Rhage. Alone."
"Wrath, don't you dare—"
"Shai, I think you should leave," Rhage said, and her head whipped around to stare at him incredulously. He looked back. "We need to talk. And it's probably best if we do it without you."
There was silence for a moment as she looked between the two males, but Wrath and Rhage only had eyes for each other.
And cue the stare down.
Shailene left without another word, and Wrath was left with his brother. Or rather, future brother-in-law.
Fuck.
"Wrath—"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "My sister, Rhage. My sister. I trusted you with her and this is what happens? She starts acting crazy, depressed, angry as a mofo, and it's all because of you." He stared at the other male hard. "Now you tell me you plan on getting mated? Excuse me if I think this is a shit-tastic idea."
"It's going to work out, Wrath," Rhage said.
"You were supposed to protect her, serve her, honor her—"
"All I want to do is honor her," he cut in. "It's all I ever wanted. Now I just want to do it in a different way."
"You know she's a female of worth, don't you?" he demanded. "She's not a whore from One Eye or Screamers or ZeroSum."
"Of course I know that," Rhage growled. "And unless that nose of yours is malfunctioning, you should know that I don't see her as a whore from those cheap clubs downtown."
Wrath couldn't argue with that, even though he wanted to.
"Wrath, I love her," he said earnestly. "I love her so damned much. I'm bonded to her. Hell, I think it goes deeper than that. She's a pounding in my chest that I can't ignore…hell that I don't want to ignore. I want to protect her and care for her and cherish her for the rest of our lives. The other females, they don't mean shit to me. Giving up my open sex life isn't at all hard to do when I know I can have Shailene all for myself. She's everything I want."
"I want to believe you, Rhage, I do, but your past behavior with other females and my sister make me skeptical." Which was a polite way of saying I don't trust your womanizing ass as far as I can throw it with my sister's heart.
"I'm never touching another female again," he said adamantly. "She's it for me. I don't want any other. I never will."
"And your beast? You going to use my sister to take care of that now that you say you won't use the human females?"
His expression darkened. "That has nothing to do with this. With her around, I don't need sex to calm the beast. She takes care of it for me."
He started pacing back and forth. "I understand why this would piss you off. She's your sister. You love her. You know my past, so why would you want her around a male like me." He stopped pacing and faced him again. "But think of Darius. How would he feel if he knew what has become of you and Beth. He asked you to protect her, and now you're mated. Sound familiar?"
Wrath growled. "You better be real fucking careful, Hollywood. You sure you want to go down the road of bringing my shellan into this?"
He didn't slow down, though. Then again, he never had been good with boundaries, which was why they were here now. "It's the same thing as what's doing here. When you met her, you never thought you'd get so close. You were just carrying out the request of a friend, a brother. You never meant to fall in love with her, but you did. And I know for damn sure you wouldn't change it if you could."
Wrath growled again, but this time it was more because he hated that Rhage had a point.
Rhage continued. "Now think of D. Beth's the guy's daughter. I know for you there's not much difference in the relationships of you and Shai and D and Beth, but how would he react to you two? He'd be so pissed he'd be spitting fire. But he'd get over it eventually, because he would know that you love her with everything you have, and that you'll always be good to her.
"Wrath, you don't have to like it. I get that you don't. But you do need to understand that I will always be good to and for your sister. No one and nothing will ever come before her in my world. She's taken care of with me, and she always will be. And I am dead fucking serious about this."
It was Wrath's turn to pace as he mulled over the Brother's words. Rhage sounded pretty damn sincere, and he wanted to believe him. He didn't want to ruin the relationship he had with Rhage over this. It's just that when it came to little sis, Wrath was ready to kill. And he didn't care who it was.
"Send in Shai," he commanded abruptly. "I want to speak with her now."
Rhage didn't argue, just went to the door. But before he left, he said, "I hope you'll give us your blessing."
The next moment, Wrath's sister was where the Brother had been.
Wrath looked at her, really looked at her. She was tall for a female, but that was probably the only thing about her that could be even remotely opposing. She looked delicate; slim, likely to be crushed at the flick of a finger. She looked like a figure of beauty, of artistry, not war and blood.
Of course Wrath knew that she was stronger than that. He couldn't see it with his piss-poor eyesight but he could feel it when he touched her, and knew that if one looked closely enough, one would be able to see the slender muscles that made up her small build. If someone spent enough time with her, they would see the fierceness and passion with which she lived and loved, her immense kindness, her all around strength.
But she was still the female he carried out of that burning castle all those centuries ago. No matter how old either of them got, that wasn't going to change. At least for him, it wasn't.
He'd made a promise many years ago. The last words their father had said to him had been a request, rather than a command like he'd been used to. "Save her, save yourself," he'd begged in the old language. "Protect each other. She's special, Wrath. Don't let her go." He promised he would protect her. He promised he would never let her go. And now she was standing in front of him, asking him to go against that.
Let her go, he thought to himself.
Could he? He'd never thought about it before, never thought he'd have to.
"Wrath, I love you," she started when he said nothing. "You know I do. And there's only one thing in the world that I want other than Rhage, and that's your approval."
"Really?" he asked doubtfully, because she sure as hell didn't seem to care about his opinion when she started this thing. Come to think of it, she never seemed to care about what he thought.
She sighed. "That's not true Wrath. Your opinion means everything to me."
He scoffed. "If it mattered that much to you, then you would care about the fact that I hate it when you screw around in my head."
She smiled a little, then was serious again. "I care, Wrath. Now, with that being said, I also want you to know that we're doing this. Rhage and I are getting mated. With or without your approval."
"Oh really?" he growled.
"Yes," she said, calm and clear.
"What if I forbid it? What if I make a royal decree or some shit that says you can't mate him? What will you do then?" he challenged.
"We'll find a way around it," she said. "If we can't, we'll leave together." She looked him straight in the face. "And I will never talk to you again."
He didn't doubt anything she said. To do that, to forbid her mating, was the ultimate oppression and it was unforgivable.
Lucky for him, he would never do that to his sister.
"You really want this? Him?"
"What can I say, Wrath?" She shrugged. "I love him."
"And he loves you," Wrath admitted.
She smiled. "I know he does. And like I said, we're getting mated no matter what. But I really want you to be there."
"Really?"
"More than anything."
"Come here, Shailene." When she was perched on the other side of the desk, he stood right in front of her, towering over her. He took both her hands in his. "Shailene, I want you to be happy. That's all I ever wanted for you. And if it's Rhage that makes you happy…then I want you to be together."
Her head whipped up to look at him. "Seriously? Like, for real?"
"Yeah, I guess so. The greatest gift a person can give another is their love. And if Rhage is the one that makes you happy to get out of bed every evening and excited to get home every morning… if your heart breaks every time you look into his eyes, the way mine does with my Beth, or even with you sometimes, then you've found the person whose already given you everything. And I can tell that you do all that for him. So how could I stand between that?"
"But…you were so angry. Why?"
He took a deep breath. "I don't know, Shai." He shook his head, not sure how to continue. "I guess it's just because…you're my sister. And you getting mated means I'll have to let you go. And that's something I never…prepared myself for."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You've been the one constant in my life. The one thing I always knew for sure was that you were going to be there, that I had to protect you. And now you're standing here asking me to give all that up, to let another take that on and it makes me…"
"Pissy?" she finished for him.
He laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's as good as any other word." He shook his head. "I'm a little scared as well."
"Of what?"
God, he couldn't believe he was going this deep with the shit that was in his head and, yeah, even his heart. But he could when it was just the two of them. "Of letting you go, and then losing you. I don't want to share your love with another male. But then again, I have to remember that you already did this for me with Beth. It's time I return the favour."
"Wrath…are you jealous?" she asked suggestively.
"Don't be ridiculous," he grunted, as if that would give him back his manhood after all he just confessed.
She laughed and squeezed his hands. "You had to know this would happen sometime. I didn't expect it either, but, here it is."
"I know," he said and released her. "Go get your male back in here."
In the next minute the three of them were seated just like they had been at the beginning of this meeting.
"Here's the deal," he started. "If you two really think this is what's right for you, I won't stand in the way. Go on and get mated."
Shailene let out a sound of pure excitement and relief, while Rhage wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you, my Lord," he said.
"With that being said, Rhage, if you ever hurt her again, I will have your balls framed and hanging in my study. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," he agreed.
"But I'm not worried about that." He stared at him hard. "I know that you are a male of worth. Are you worthy of her, I think hell no. But no one is or ever will be. I know you love her, I know you will cherish and protect her, I know she will never want for anything while she's with you. Am I right?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright then. There's just one more thing left to say." He looked between to two, truly meaning what he was about to say. "I'm happy for you two."
Shailene was up out of her seat and in his arms in the same second and he accepted her openly.
I love you, he thought, knowing she'd hear.
"I love you, too."
When they separated, they looked to Rhage. He was standing, holding out a hand for Wrath to either accept or reject.
Wrath would take it a step farther than that.
He walked over to his brother, stood right in front of him. He reached for the other male's face, tilted it down and kissed his forehead, holding the connection between them. It was a pledge of respect from the king to his warrior, a reaffirmation of their bond. It was Wrath's way of telling Rhage that nothing had changed between them, that he still loved and trusted him.
When Wrath let him go, his response was to thank both him and the Scribe Virgin in the Old Language.
"Oh, look at you guys," Shailene gushed, sounding maybe for the first time like a real female. "Getting along for once. This is beautiful."
They both grunted.
"Whatever, Shailene."
"Don't get used to it."
"Typical males," she muttered to herself.
"Let's get down stairs, shall we?" Wrath asked. "You two have announcement to make."
Vishous was relieved that all seemed well when Wrath, Rhage and Shailene came down for First Meal. Rhage and Shai were still pulling the lovey-dovey routine and Wrath wasn't protesting so he took it to be a good sign. Everyone at the table could feel the difference in atmosphere now that Shailene and Rhage were happy again, and it was the most delicious breath of fresh air for V to not have to deal with all that negative energy. Unlike Shailene, V couldn't turn his powers on and off. They came and went as they pleased, as if his body was a hotel for the pain in the ass curses.
Vishous observed the two of them. Rhage had his arm wrapped tight around her and she was cuddling close into his side. They found the smallest excuses to be touching each other, whether it was Rhage brushing hair out of her face so he could look at her better, or Shai pressing a kiss to his chest or shoulder in thank you. V noticed that it wasn't so different from the way the king and queen interacted.
Love, he guessed, made people totally lose all their inhibitions when it came to the objects of their affection. It made people want to scream about it from the roof tops and put it on display for everyone to see and be jealous of.
V noticed something else as he watched them. There was the feeling of…something in him. Of course he was happy for the two but there was something else and he couldn't quite put a name to it. Was it resignation? That seemed as good a feeling as any to describe it.
He knew with pain-staking clarity where it was coming from.
V had been in love with the Promise.
It was quite understandable if you thought about it, or at least that's what V told himself. She had been the one to bring him here, to his family with the Brotherhood. She'd found him, saved him from the lonely, hard and miserable existence he'd chosen for himself so long ago. And immediately they'd had a connection. V knew from the start that he could trust her, and what the hell, he fell in love.
Nothing had ever happened between them, thank God. He hadn't wanted it to. He hadn't wanted to love Shai, hadn't wanted to love anybody. And after a century and a bit, he'd realized that what he felt was more grateful admiration than true love and his feelings had died down to friendship. But there had been lingering emotions there, and so many moments when he wished he could just give into what he wanted and live out the fantasies that had been riding him so hard. But now that she was with Rhage, he could feel it all drift away. He was never going to be with Shai, and that was okay, because what he felt for her wasn't really love. What she had with Rhage was love, and he couldn't be happier for them.
"Hey," Shai called out eventually, and everyone immediately shut up. When the Promise was talking, it was kind of a natural reflex.
"Everyone, I need you all to listen up," she said, and both she and Rhage stood up. They were holding hands tightly, staring into each other's eyes. "We have something we want to say."
Everyone waited in anticipation for what they were going to say. They turned to the table and looked at each one of them. "We're getting mated. Tomorrow night, and we expect all of you to be there."
Everyone stayed silent, like they couldn't believe what their ears were telling them. But there was a clap that came from out of nowhere. A loud, slow, clap.
It was coming from Wrath. He was clapping. He was smiling. He was…happy…about this. About his sister being mated.
And the rest of the room followed suit. Beth ran up to give Shailene a hug, while the fighters in the room broke into a chant that vibrated through the room.
V had to smile. This was good, and he didn't need to see the future or read minds to know. This was a good thing happening to two of his best friends. This was perfect.
A/N: Okay, not a lot of action in this chapter but I don't think it needed it. This chapter was informative. Not to mention sweet and romantic and a little "AW!"- inspiring ;)
I chose "Us Against the World" for obvious reasons, but "Something Good Can Work" by Two Door Cinema Club would have been for Rhage's proposal and for the two of them trying to convince Wrath, and for V's sentiment at the end. Just wanted to make that little bit clear.
So Shai and Rhage are getting mated. There are still some things that need to be dealt with, like what's the Scribe Virgin gonna say? After all, Shailene was put on this world to protect and serve, not get mated. Plus, the big SV don't like Rhage too much :$. And what about Hansen? How's he gonna feel about "his" female mating another male? And not mention that there's a crazy lesser stocking the Promise now. Anything you guys want to see in particular regarding any of these ideas? What about the mating ceremony?
Lemme know, either PM me or COMMENT! Thanks so much, I love you all.