Author's note: Hello peeps! I have some important news to tell you. If you are new and haven't noticed anything different, that's okay. As for those of you have been following me for so long, that's right! I changed 'last' to 'fifth'. There will be a continuum after Lover Chosen! Someone had asked me if I was going to continue and introduce new character and the question got me thinking. It wasn't long until these new characters started taking residence in my head. Now they're demanding to be told. And they're very loud! It'll be a while but I will eventually post the next story to my Black Dagger Brotherhood series. So stay tuned to see what happens next to my beloved characters! Later!


Chapter Twenty Eight

One month later…

Taking in a deep breath, Sam reached for the last piece of hair that wasn't braided and did quick work in tying it to which strand it belonged to. His hair had taken a while since every piece of hair had been braided. Now that the last braid was set, the male eyed the outfit resting on top of the bed. It wasn't the usual outfit a male wore to his mating ceremony. This one had to be made from scratch since it was the outfit Mor'rikq'a men wore for the wedding ritual.

It had been a month since Sam was turned into a vampire and they were now having his and Rebekah's mating ceremony. They could've gotten mated earlier but the female insisted they do things differently. After going through is memories, Rebekah had been intrigued by Sam and his people. She asked him many questions that he answered without a second thought. He wasn't even aware at the time when Rebekah asked what the Mor'rikq'a did for weddings. Once Sam told her about the ritual, Rebekah said she wanted to have a mating ceremony as well as be mated through wedding ritual.

Because they were going to do both, Sam had to do most of the work since no one knew what was to be expected for a wedding ritual. The first problem was that the chieftain of the tribe or his predecessor had to be the one to oversee the ritual. Adam couldn't qualify because he wasn't Sam's predecessor and neither could Wrath because he wasn't of Mor'rikq'a descent. It seemed the wedding ritual wouldn't happen when the Scribe Virgin offered to oversee the ritual herself.

The rest of the month went by with Sam telling the others what had to be done for the ritual to be real. One problem the Brotherhood and their females had was the whole sacrificing part of the ritual. In all of the rituals Sam performed, he had to sacrifice a ferruginous hawk in honor of Tetsi for protection and a cougar to Hazuque for family. There had been some questions like if the animals had to be alive to the ritual to be complete. Because Sam had done this so many times, it didn't bother him when he said the animals had to be living. As for the others, they hoped the animals wouldn't suffer for the sacrifice to be complete.

It was interesting when they began turning the garden into the place for the ritual. A good portion of the flowers were gone for the ring to be created and the Brothers had to make sure no branches from nearby trees were close to the torches that would be lit for the ritual. It was difficult to keep Rebekah away when Sam was working with the females on the Mor'rikq'a dress for her. If it had been the women of the Mor'rikq'a, they and the bride would've been in one tent working on the bride's dress. Each dress had been different because it was to represent who the bride was. Sam did his best to make sure the dress lived up to who Rebekah was in her heart.

Another problem was getting her family to participate in the ceremony and ritual. Everyone quickly witness the strained relationship the female had with her family. When they found out about the ritual, they were against it and Sam. Rebekah's father said he would find her a proper male if she wanted to get mated instead of Sam who was too barbaric. Thankfully Esther's parents managed to convince them to take part in the ceremony and ritual.

With the preparations set and the ceremony about to begin, Sam began to dress himself.

Wrapping the black cloth around his waist three times, he tied the end in a tight knot and straightened the cloth. Stitched around the rim was white with blue designs inside it. At the bottom of the cloth was gold in the design of wheat and orange designed to look like stags. Sam reached for his sash that was also black and draped it over his shoulder. The designs were zigzags of purple and red with green circling around the colors. Sam then slipped on the metal cuff he had V make over his wrists. The next piece of jewelry were the beaded necklaces made out of ivory. There were five strands longer than the other that the last strand rested in the center of Sam's chest when he set them around his neck.

The only jewelry pieces that remained on the bed was a metal chocker and metal crown that looked like three vines intertwined.

Embedded in the chocker were three garnet gemstones and one garnet gemstone in the crown.

Steadying his shaky hands, Sam easily unlatched the cocker and wrapped it around his neck. It fit him perfectly. Clocking the chocker in place, he lifted the crown and placed it on his head. There was some difficulty since some of the braids were supposed to slide over it that Sam had to tug at his braids to get them in place.

A pair of gentle hands helped him from behind.

"I thought everyone was waiting outside," teased Sam once the crown was set.

"Not everyone."

Sam's body went still when he heard the woman's voice. Their hands lingered on his back and squeezed as if to feel him. When those hands slid from his shoulders, Sam spun around and his eyes widened when he saw he stood before him.

"What are you doing here?"

Yeshta smiled at her son. Wearing a light tanned dress that hugged her body and was held only by a thin necklace, tattoos similar to Sam's ran down her body that it looked like every piece of her held its many patterns. Her ash blond hair was pulled back in its unique series of braids that some dangled over her eyes and shoulders. Those bangs swayed as she tilted her head up to stare at Sam.

A pair of light blue eyes with bright green rings stared into brown eyes.

"My son."

The goddess raised her hand and would've touched Sam's cheek when he stepped away from her. Yeshta must've sensed why her son moved away and brought her hand to her side. She settled with smiling.

"What are you doing here?" Sam repeated.

"My mother and I now see eye to eye," she answered. "It has taken her many millennia but she has come to terms with what she has done. Now I am free to visit you whenever I wish. You and your family."

"They are not your family," growled Sam. He knew she was speaking of Sayge and Adam along with their own families.

"I can see you still resent me."

"Shouldn't I?"

Yeshta turned from her son and walked over to the window. Her dress parted in the center between her legs so it revealed the tattoos running all the way down to her toes. The goddess brought her arms up and hugged herself as she watched the commotion outside. Down below was everyone awaiting for the ceremony and ritual to begin.

"I was young and feared my mother. Seeing her angry at me brought a sense of shame that I was afraid. But when she killed your father, my interference could've been the end to me. Instead, Migragoria spared your lives after I gave you and your brothers your gift. All that she demanded was that I return with her and to never see you again. I know I haven't been a mother to you, but I did what I had to do to protect my sons."

"I already know that," Sam snapped. "You gave us your sob story when you came to tell us we could give up our gifts. Migragoria must've been pissed when you disobeyed her. What did she do? Forbid you from ever returning to this plain?"

Yeshta tightened her hold on herself. For some reason, Sam got the feeling she went too far.

"As my punishment, Migragoria created a world where one human year was half a million years. She locked me in that world as a way to remind me who she was. I spent five hundred thousand years in complete darkness. When she released me, I refused to speak to her or your brothers and sisters. I spent my years alone and in silence. Migragoria had meant for me to return to her with complete and unwavering faith. What my mother gave me regret. Regret for never saving your father and protecting the three of you the right way."

Sam remembered when he was in the hospital what Migragoria said. The goddess believed that in giving him a nudge someone would speak to her again. It must've been his mother Migragoria had been revering to.

He ever thought the goddess would do such a thing to her daughter.

"When I heard my mother had played many parts in your recent human years, I feared she would harm you. Then I heard how she visited the Scribe Virgin and her Father during those times. Soon all the gods heard how she punished the Omega. It was interesting how she wanted to push him the same way she did for me. I had just heard about what she did when the Scribe Virgin came to me. She told me how you would be turned into a vampire and how you had finally found your chosen."

Yeshta turned back around to face her sun. The green rings shimmered bright like she was on the verge of tears.

"Migragoria pleaded for my forgiveness. My mother had been watching you closely in hopes of using you in some way to get close to me. She pounced the day your seals had been tampered with. Working in the dark and keeping the other gods at bay, Migragoria did her best to make sure you would remember who you were when you found the woman to be your chosen. Everything she did to help you was her attempt to fix the wrong she did back then."

"And do you? Do you forgive her?"

Yeshta looked away from Sam. "Not entirely. I still hate her for what she did to me. I think my hate will last for another ten thousand years. But she is willing to wait. And it is during her wait that she's doing everything in her power to make things right. This is one of them."

Unfolding her arms and approaching Sam, Yeshta reached out and Sam didn't pull away this time. She cupped his cheek and smiled with pride. And like any mother, she reached down to fix his sash.

"She has also made something else right."

Once Sam's sash was fixed, the goddess stood back to take him in and clapped her hands. Looking back over at the window to see that it was almost time, she patted Sam on the chest as if it was her way of good luck.

"I shall be down with the others. I hope you do not mind. I missed Shadoh's and Sohl's wedding rituals. I refuse to miss yours."

Right as Yeshta was about to leave, Sam caught her arm and pulled his mother into a hug. Her body went stiff as if she hadn't expected him to do something like hug her. She then brought up her arms to hug him back. They stood there in each other's arms for a while until Sam had to let her go. Yeshta patted Sam one last time and vanished. There was no bright light. One second the goddess was there and she was gone the next.


Everyone stood as a sign that Rebekah and her father were at the entrance. Because he stood in the front, Sam turned around in time to see Rebekah's father lead her down the aisle. The female was dressed in a dark blue dress that her eyes stood out thanks to the color. Starting out sleeveless and hugging her chest, the dress bloomed when it reached her waist. Eight portions of the dress parted around Rebekah's legs and seemed to flow around the female. Colors of white and green covered the dress in complex patterns, especially around the eight parts for they each possessed their own design. Running up one of the parts and wrapping around the female's chest was an aqua colored bird with its wings open and flowing down her back. In the bird were black patterns almost identical to the ones on Sam's body.

Rebekah wore a headband that had beads the color of blue and black laced around her forehead and down the side of her face. Draped over the female's hair was a silver veil with the same colored beads sowed into them. On top of the headband was a smaller and much slimmer metal crown that vied over the beads and had a garnet in the center.

When Rebekah looked up and saw Sam waiting for her, the male felt his heart beat faster. The sight of seeing Rebekah wearing a dress the women of the Mor'rikq'a would've made for a woman to marrying their chieftain brought back so many memories of his people. This time the memories brought a sense of joy over Sam. He could only imagine what his people would've thought if they had met Rebekah.

Once Rebekah stood next to Sam and her father walked over to stand next to his shellan, they turned to face the Scribe Virgin.

The goddess didn't start the ceremony.

At first, Sam wondered what prevented the goddess. He even looked over to the side where his mother stood. Some of the Brothers and females noticed the strange woman because they had casted glances over at her with curiosity. It was when Sam looked at Yeshta did he notice she was looking down the aisle.

"Now we can begin," said the Scribe Virgin. She then raised her hand as if for someone to take it.

"Yes we can," came a male voice.

Everyone started murmuring that both Sam and Rebekah turned around to see who had spoken.

Sam swore he felt his knees nearly buckle.

Standing down the aisle were three men and two women. The women wore dresses almost like Rebekah's except they had been designed to their liking. The woman with long white hair wore an amethyst dress and the woman with brown hair wore an amber dress. Next to the women were men who wore identical outfits and hairstyle to Sam. Even their crowns and chokers looked the same except for the gemstones.

As for the older man who stood in the center, he stood about three or four inches above Z who was the tallest Brother and was built like the vampires even though he was human. His outfit was similar to the others as well. More braids rained down over him since his brown hair was much thicker and much longer. Strapped to the man's waist was a scythe sword that had a black and green ribbon tied to the hilt. As for his crown and choker, they were embedded with gemstones as well. The only thing different about his crown was that it seemed much older than the others.

One man had sapphire gemstones while the other two had topaz gemstones.

And the older man held a staff carved completely out of stone.

Behind the man was Sohl and Shadoh with Althea and Ida by their sides.

Sam didn't need his mother to tell him who the man holding the staff was. All he did was take one look at the man who stared back at him with brown eyes.

Ixa.

Tapping his staff once, Ixa approached the Scribe Virgin and stood next to the goddess. Sohl and Shadoh stepped up to where they stood behind Rebekah and Sam while Althea and Ida joined the crowd who were staring at them. Sam would've continued to stare at his brothers where were right in front of him when Rebekah wrapped her hand around Sam's and gave him a squeeze. Feeling her touch brought him back to reality and he turned around to face his father and the Scribe Virgin.

"Some believe living alone through time is unbearable," began the Scribe Virgin. "But it is Fate's way in saying it is not ones time. We must continue on forward through the years until we are no longer alone. It is through this wait we find the one who makes the wait worthwhile. It is through the one you choose who will lend you that strength to continue on for as long as Fate will share."

The Scribe Virgin waved her hand and the Brothers stepped into the ring. Bending down to one knee, Sam raised his sash to bare his back to the males. Unsheathing their daggers and asking the name of Sam's shellan, they carved a letter of her name each time he called out her name. When Nightmahre carved the last letter, Sam lowered his sash back in place and stood up in time to see Rebekah staring at his back.

Rebekah.

Once the Brothers left the circle, Ixa tapped his staff on the ground and a spark ignited. Soon a row of flames surged around the circle until making a complete loop. The fire danced around the antlers that contained the fire from spreading and casted shadows of their horns. Ixa tapped his staff a second time and it crumbled away to where a stone dagger rested in his hand.

"You have until sunrise to be with your family," spoke the Scribe Virgin before disappearing in a bright light. Now it was Ixa's turn to continue with the wedding ritual.

Behind him in a burning circle of its own was a ferruginous hawk tied to a stand and a cougar laying in a cage with a sacrificial slab right in the center and a bowel on top. Sam heard his brothers walk around him and Rebekah as they approached the animals. The first animal to sacrifice would be the cougar so Shadoh approached the cage and opened the front. Sohl picked up the bowel right when the cougar jumped out of the cage and hopped on top of the slab. It hissed and bared its fangs at Ixa who held the knife in his hand. Raising his other hand, Ixa manipulated the slab to form smooth rock chains to wrap around the angry creature and laid it on its side.

Ixa ran his hand through the beast's fur as if to calm it and recited a prayer to the creature before slicing its neck. Blood poured from the wound as the cougar gave its last breath and died. Sohl stepped up and placed the bowel under the steam of blood. Ixa removed the chains the same time Shadoh picked up the body and placed it in the fire that burned behind him. Instead of the cougar burning slowly, its body instantly turned to ash ones it was laid on the coals.

Shadoh untied the hawk and held it by its leash as he approached Ixa. With Sohl holding the bowel under the hawk, Ixa made the same slash at the hawk's neck as he recited a different set of prayers for the hawk. Once the last drop filled the bowel, Shadoh took the dead hawk to the fire and its body burned as quickly as the cougar's when it touched the bed of coals. As Shadoh went to stand next to Sam, Sohl handed his father the bowel of blood and took his position next to Rebekah.

When Ixa faced Sam and Rebekah, he held out the stone dagger in one hand while balancing the bowel in the other. Sam looked over at Rebekah who stared at the bowel. He had explained to the female what was to happen next. She surprised him when she said she would do it since it was part of the ritual. So Sam took the dagger from his father's hand and made a cut across his hand. Making a fist and turning it over the bowel, eleven drops to represent each of the gods dripped into the bowel. Ixa nodded and turned the bowel over to Rebekah. The female swallowed as she took the dagger from Sam and made the same cut across her hand. Giving the bowel eleven blood drops, both Sohl and Shadoh produced two ribbons matching the color of Sam's gemstones and wrapped them around their bleeding hands.

"We offer the blood of Spihrit and Rebekah to the god Hazuque in honor of family and the goddess Tetsi in honor of protection. May the gods look over this union and guide them for the journey that is to come."

Taking out a thin stick that had been shredded at the bottom, Ixa mixed the thin pieces around in the blood and flicked blood on Sam and Rebekah eleven times each. Sohl stepped forward to take the bowel from his father the same time Shadoh walked around both Rebekah and Ixa so he could stand in front of his brother.

Sam removed his chocker and handed it to his brother who turned to face Sohl. The brother carefully poured blood over the chocker and when eleven drops hit the center gemstone. Shadoh then turned on his heels to face his father who had retook his dagger and held the tip of the dagger over the center gemstone. With one tiny tap, a sliver of the gemstone chipped off and fell into Ixa's hand. The dagger returned to its staff form and Ixa tapped the bottom to the earth eleven times when the staff shifted into what looked like an arm ring. Crushing the sliver in his hand and opening it, a garnet gemstone in the shape of a sunburst. Ixa took the gemstone and placed it in the center of the arm ring where it fit perfectly. At the same time, Shadoh and Ixa slipped both the chocker and arm ring on Sam and Rebekah.

"Do you, Spihrit, swear to the gods to take this woman to be your wife?"

Sam looked down at Rebekah who met his gaze. "I do."

Do you, Rebekah, swear to the gods to take this man to be your husband?"

The female smiled when she said, "I do."

"As the gods as our witnesses, you, Spihrit, son of Ixa, and you, Rebekah, daughter of Ehzra, are now wed."

Everyone cheered as Sam kissed his shellan and she her hellren.

"We're not done yet," he breathed against her lips.

Sohl and Shadoh stepped out of the ring to take their spots next to their wives on opposite sides of the circle. Ixa did the same and was greeted by Yeshta who he wrapped his arm around her waist. Taking Rebekah's hand, Sam led her to the center of the ring where they stood alone.

"Now to complete the ritual." Ixa waved his hands at his sons who got down to the ground and placed two drums between their legs. The brothers were handed the drum stick from their wives and they tapped the rim of the drum as if to get the beat ready before hitting the drums themselves.

Sam and Rebekah danced together to the beat of the drums. Even though the first dance was meant to seal the marriage, they never took their eyes off of one another throughout the dance and night.


Five years later…

Migragoria waved her hand and a black pit opened. The sound of chains clinked as the Omega was lifted out of the world he had been imprisoned in. Dropping the god on the ground, the chains shattered into darkness and vanished. For a while, the Omega laid still on the ground that Migragoria thought he might be traumatized. He finally stirred and raised his head up at the goddess.

"Your time is done," she told him.

The Omega gave her a weak nod.

"Spihrit is now a vampire so he is no longer under my rule. But do not think that this will allow you to act as you did before. He may be vampire, but he is my grandson by blood. He, along with his niece and nephew, have my blood running through their veins. That means their families are tied to me. You may fight them as you have and nothing more. Dare disrupt the order of things and you won't have a chance to reconsider your act."

"You mean you will kill me?" asked the Omega in a tired voice.

"I do not care what your Father says. I will strike you down if you ignore our laws again. And the law is that you are not to interfere with my bloodline. You may send your pathetic creations to fight the vampires for that is what they are. Nothing else. So much as raise a pinky at them and you will die."

As the Omega acknowledged the law that the old gods had set, Migragoria waved her hand and vanished in a shadow. She had other pressing matters to attend to. One of them had to do with her daughter. Yeshta had yet to speak to her but they were seeing one another. Right now her daughter would most likely need her by her side for what was to come today.

Migragoria smirked to herself as she left for the plain of the gods.


Rebekah panted as she sat up in the bed. The room spun around for a second but she demanded for her vision to work right. As for her hearing, that sense was working perfectly because she could hear the sound of a young crying for the first time. Once her vision became clear, Rebekah saw Sam standing at the foot of the bed holding one of their sons.

The female had gone into labor an hour ago and was afraid for her young. She had half a month left when her water broke. So Rebekah spent the last hour nearly breaking Sam's hand giving birth to their sons. What astonished the female and those helping deliver her children was that she hadn't bled once while giving birth. As for her sons, they had been delivered safely without any problems.

Rebekah remembered when Edynn gave birth to Esther. Not once did the female bleed or suffer complications. The same thing happened when Adam and Rayna were born. Then there was the time when Sayge gave birth to Bayne and Hhavoc. It was like the fear every female went through when giving birth never touched them. The miracle happened to Rebekah because her sons were fine.

Perhaps it was the fact that both Sayge and Adam were descendants to Sohl and Shadoh. There must've been some part of the half gods that made it over the generations that helped the females when they were to give birth. This hypothesis must've worked because Rebekah still had Sam's blood in her system right before she went in labor.

Walking back into the room was Vishous and Ehlena with two young asleep in their arms. All three males had a thin line of black hair on their heads just like Rebekah's.

She had given birth to triplets.

Sam walked over and sat next to his shellan as he handed her the third born. The young fussed a bit until he settled perfectly in Rebekah's arms. Ehlena carefully handed over the second born to Sam who he held in one arm and wrapped a protective arm over the first born when V handed him his son. Rocking the young in her arms, Rebekah smiled when he opened his eyes and she found a pair of brown eyes staring back at her.

"What are their names?" asked V.

Rebekah tore her gaze from her son to look at Sam. He smiled at her as he shrugged his arm holding the first born.

"This one is Håkon." Sam shrugged his arm holding the second born. "His name is Zamir."

When Sam eyed Rebekah, the female rushed her fingertips over the young's face as he yawned and went to sleep. "Yuri. His name is Yuri."

As Yuri slept peacefully in his mahmen's arms, Rebekah carefully leaned against Sam as Håkon and Zamir slept like their little brother. And as Sam leaned down to kiss his shellan, they both smiled when tiny red seals flickered over the brothers' fingers before floating away in the air like flames.