Chapter 29

Carissa woke to find Samuel pressing close against her back. They were in a huge, comfortable bed surrounded by candles which softly lit the room. She reached for Pierce, but found the other side of the bed empty.

He is out feeding, said Samuel softly in her mind.

Carissa realized both of them were naked and he was now pressing intimately against her bottom. She inhaled sharply as Samuel persistently rubbed against her, his fingers brushing aside her long hair so he could feather kisses on her neck. She let out a soft moan, giving Samuel more encouragement. He tilted her chin toward him, and she his mouth came down hard on her own. His tongue demanded entrance and she opened for him.

Samuel groaned as he invaded Carissa's mouth. As soon as he and Pierce woke, Samuel wanted her. It had been Pierce who volunteered to leave to feed, allowing Samuel to spend some time alone with Carissa. And he had every intention of using the time to his advantage.

When her bottom arched against his hardness, Samuel couldn't hold back any longer. He flipped Carissa onto her back and was on top of her in an instant. She gasped as he slid home, his hardness burying deep inside of her. He continued to kiss her passionately, all the while his body demanding more from her.

Carissa felt completely helpless as a fierce wave of pleasure crashed over her. She cried out and Samuel answered by driving deeper and harder until he finally found his own release. When she opened her eyes, he was smiling down at her.

"Good evening," Samuel said, his chest still breathing heavily.

Carissa laughed a little. "Hi."

"If this is how I wake each evening, I can see how lifemates become addicted to each other as the years pass."

She sighed in response. "I admit I've never felt anything like this."

Samuel smiled, pleased she was finding out about physical love. "It is only a taste of things to come." He bent down and kissed her lips again. As he was still buried within her, Samuel began to move again, this time slowly, taking her breath away.

Pierce had just landed in the nearby village, transforming from owl to human form. He smiled with invitation at a nearby storekeeper who willingly came to him. Just as he pierced the man's neck with his fangs, he lost his focus when he felt Samuel burying himself deep within Carissa.

Good God. He felt everything. From Carissa's racing heartbeat to Samuel's full release. Pierce felt himself grow hard and hot, reveling in the pleasure he felt from his twin taking their lifemate.

The man beneath his fangs grew limp, and Pierce cursed. He refocused on the man he held, ensuring to seal the wound. He held up the storekeeper as he shook his head. "What-what happened?" the man mumbled in confusion.

"I'm afraid you grew faint," said Pierce with regret as he continued to scold himself for losing his concentration. "Did you eat today?"

"I think so, yeah. I feel so lightheaded…"

Pierce made sure to calm the man's mind, making him believe it was probably no more than a allergies or a minor head cold. He led the storekeeper to his home, ensuring the man's wife attended to him. Pierce felt guilty for what happened. He'd have to remain completely focused on everything around him when his twin was with Carissa. Both of them still had much to learn when it came to sharing a lifemate.

As he flew back to their secret lair, Pierce thought about how Samuel had been right all along and this was meant to be. No one else in their world may understand it, but it was real for them. He still wanted to be accepted by their people. But given the reaction by Julian and the others to their situation, Pierce had to acknowledge the reality they were lucky to even be alive. Acceptance of their union with Carissa was simply too much to even hope for.

He transformed into mist and dove through the ground, reaching their secret underground cave. Entering the bedroom, he found Samuel leisurely kissing Carissa, and Pierce grew hot and hard all over again.

Carissa could feel Pierce's presence in the room. She stopped kissing Samuel and looked over his shoulder to see him standing at the foot of the bed, watching them. She should have felt embarrassed, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted him.

Samuel kissed her one last time and moved off of her. Without a word, he got out of the bed and gave his twin a small punch in the shoulder. Go to her. She wants you.

Pierce remained planted at the foot of the bed, his feet not moving even after his twin left to feed. She gave him a shy smile and he held himself back, clearing his throat. "How are you, this evening?"

Carissa slowly sat up, but didn't bother to cover herself as she had the feeling she needed to use whatever persuasion she had. As usual, Pierce was polite, acting like the perfect gentleman when she only wanted him to take her into his arms. "Can you come here, please?"

He swallowed hard. "I'm not sure I can control myself."

"Is that bad?"

Pierce blinked. "You were just with Samuel…"

She glanced away, wondering if that upset him. "And?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Because you're jealous Samuel was with me?"

His face took on a shocked expression. "No!"

She looked skeptical. "Are you sure? It's hard for me to believe sometimes that you wouldn't feel, you know, angry if he was with me."

Pierce shook his head. "Even though I know its not logical, I cannot be jealous of you with him. We share…a feeling of desire when either of us are with you. I'm just worried that two males are overwhelming. You were just transformed into Carpathian which is challenging enough. And you hadn't been intimate with any male until last night."

"Pierce, you could never hurt me."

"I'm not so sure about that."

Carissa laughed a little. "You really do think too much, don't you?"

He straightened. "I only want to please you."

"Then you need to come here because I want to please you too."

Pierce felt his heart begin to race. "I want you so very badly," he admitted.

"Please stop thinking," she interrupted. She held out her arms. "I need you to hold me."

He couldn't help himself and was on the bed in an instant. And he wasn't a gentleman. He was on top of her, shedding his clothes with a mere thought and taking full possession of her mouth. Carissa arched up to him and Pierce shuddered with the effort to get himself under control. His head dipped down and he nuzzled her breasts. He felt her tremble, her hands gripping his powerful shoulders.

Carissa gasped and tried to pull Pierce closer. She felt him hard against her, his desire pressing intimately into her flesh. And then he was moving inside her, pleasuring her with sure strokes that made her cry out.

Feed from me.

Carissa heard his demanding plea in her mind. She pushed away any misgivings about what she was doing and reached for her new life. She heard Pierce groan in ecstasy, the warm liquid tasting like sweet wine filling her. He moved deeper and harder, demanding even more. And then once again she was swept away, the pleasure so intense Carissa clung to him.

Pierce lifted his head and looked into her eyes. "I love you."

She laughed a little. "I love you too. I'll have to tease Samuel, though. He didn't say that afterwards."

"That's because I'm the better twin."

"Now you sound like Samuel."

Pierce huffed. "Perish the thought."

Her eyes widened. "Um, you're still bleeding."

"You need to lick the wound shut. It will heal from your saliva."

"Oh," she said, realizing she still had a lot to learn. Reaching up, her tongue stroked his neck, and she felt him shudder. It was amazing how she could make him so quickly aroused.

"You must stop thinking like that or I'll keep you in this bed forever," Pierce warned her. Before she could tempt him more, he pulled away and stood. Within moments he was dressed in a dark red silk shirt with black trousers.

Moments later, he had Carissa dressed as well. She glanced at herself in the mirror and found he'd chosen a beautiful white sweater with cream pants. She ran her fingers over the soft fabric. "I've never owned anything like this."

"You look beautiful."

"Samuel would prefer me in jeans, you know."

Pierce rolled his eyes. "You have to wear what you like, not please him."

She raised an eyebrow. "Or you?"

"You will please me no matter what you wear."

"She doesn't need to wear anything at all," said Samuel as he strode into the room. He grinned boyishly at her. "That's my favorite outfit." He laughed as Carissa blushed.

"So now what?" she asked. "We have to stay here until the Prince says otherwise?"

"Yes," answered Pierce. "But think of it as a small vacation. We would love to show you more of our homeland."

Samuel nodded. "Or it could be more like a honeymoon. We could just keep you here." He walked beside Pierce and hit him in the shoulder. "By the way, you could have warned me."

"Warned you?"

"Some local guy I found in a bar is more than just a little lightheaded."

"What?" asked Carissa.

Pierce grimaced. "We're not used to…having such intense emotions."

Samuel crossed his arms over his chest. "He means when one of us is with you, the other feels everything that's happening."

Carissa blinked, her cheeks growing pink again. "Are you saying, that you, ah, felt what Pierce was doing…with me?"

"Everything."

Pierce gave her a curt nod. "It doesn't help us focus too well." He looked at his twin. "I think we can learn to block it out to a certain extent. It will just take time."

Samuel shrugged. "Not like we can't just be with her at the same time."

"I prefer our arrangement when we woke this evening, thank you."

"Why? There's no jealousy between us when we're with her."

"Look, don't push it, Samuel. I'm still having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that I share a lifemate with my brother."

"I'm just saying-"

"I get what you are saying, so shut it."

Carissa sighed. "I'm going to have to listen to this a lot, aren't I?"

"Yes," they both answered.

"I did say you could have some arguments in your head without me."

"Where would the fun be in that?" asked Samuel.

Pierce suddenly stiffened. "What is it?" asked Carissa.

"It's Mikhail. He wants to meet with us at one of his guest homes."

Samuel frowned. "Why? So he and the Dark One can continue to question us?"

"It is only the Prince," answered his twin. "We need to meet with him."

"I still don't like this," grumbled Samuel as he reached for Carissa. He guided her to the secret doorway where a staircase led to the surface. Pierce followed closely behind and within moments the three of them transformed into owls, once again flying into the night.

Pierce descended to the location the Prince had set within his mind. It was quaint cottage nestled in the woods. As they landed, Mikhail appeared on the porch to greet them. Once in his human form, Pierce stepped forward and they clasped forearms in a warrior's greeting. Samuel did not move.

You must greet the Prince properly, hissed Pierce.

Why? It's not like he greeted me too warmly yesterday.

Mikhail calmly stepped off the porch and held out his arm. "Samuel, warrior, brother, it is good to see you again." Surprised the Prince came to him, Samuel accepted his greeting. Mikhail gave him a sincere smile as they released each other's arms. "I have not even had the chance to thank both of you for protecting my assets."

Pierce bowed his head. "We are honored you still choose to leave them in our care."

When Mikahil faced Carissa, she stayed close to Samuel. She was still a little afraid of this ruler who had thought to condemn one of her lifemates.

He gave her an elegant bow. "And thank you Carissa Brooks."

"Why are you thanking me?" she asked in a small voice.

"You have chosen to become one of us and saved two of our most intelligent warriors. Without you, we may have lost one or both of them."

Carissa looked into his eyes and saw his expression was sincere. He was a man simply trying to protect his people and she couldn't blame him for his concern about the possibility of Samuel being a vampire.

Mikhail gestured toward the cottage. "I do not know where you are staying during your visit. If needed, you are more than welcome to stay here if you wish."

Samuel wanted to decline but saw the look in Carissa's eyes like she was a little excited to see the inside. Most women probably didn't care to stay underground in a secret cave, no matter how much they tried to make it comfortable.

Pierce bowed his head. "Thank you, Mikhail." He held out his hand and Carissa walked over to him and took it. They walked inside with and Pierce felt her squeeze his hand.

This is beautiful, she said as they walked into a cherry hardwood entryway.

I'm sure Mikhail had the local town people build it by hand. He is very good about ensuring they have work.

They walked into a large sitting room with a cozy fireplace. "I love this," said Carissa walking over to the mantle which had candles on it.

Samuel waved a hand and a steady fire appeared while the candles glowed with flickering flames. He faced Mikhail. "What changed your mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"About me. About…us?"

"The SongMaker did declare you to be lifemates," replied Mikhail.

"And that makes you fully accept us? I highly doubt it."

Mikhail tilted his head. "I never wanted to be suspicious of you. The circumstances are unique and you cannot blame the males for reacting in such a negative way."

Samuel crossed his arms over his chest. "We came here to uphold our honor. We never had any intention of hiding our bond with Carissa."

"Many of the warriors do not believe you. They point out that you and your twin should have reached out to us immediately once you knew Carissa was meant for both."

"We didn't know what was going on," replied Samuel in a low voice. "If you think it's hard for our males to accept, imagine what it was like for us."

Pierce winced at his brother's tone. Do not let your emotions get the best of you, brother.

"I cannot imagine what you both went through," replied the Prince patiently. "But there are many unanswered questions about the three of you. Some are even concerned the union will send our unattached males over the edge."

"Because we are mere fledglings," hissed Samuel with heavy sarcasm. "Is that it? They think we somehow cheated to find a way to bond with one woman to save ourselves?"

"Or I created it to save the lives of my favorites," pointed out Mikhail.

The twins glanced at each other, never thinking about such a rationale. But Carissa agreed on their private link. That's what Tyrell said he once believed.

Mikhail sighed. "It is a difficult situation. Some have even suggested I should not acknowledge the three of you are rightful lifemates."

"You mean Gregori," said Samuel flatly. "It's not a surprise he nor his twin brothers will ever accept us."

"To be fair, he did admit that both of you have skills in the financial world unlike any other."

Pierce, in his diplomatic demeanor, spoke in a quiet voice. "While we may not like what the others may think, it is still good we returned. We did not want to hide this from anyone, Mikhail."

"I believe you. And despite what others think, it is my wish to formally acknowledge this union and accept you unconditionally."

Pierce and Samuel were stunned. The Prince had just announced his decision that in his eyes, they were rightful lifemates. His decision would be final on the issue to their people.

Mikhail continued. "You are invited to my home tomorrow evening. We are having a gathering, something we are trying to do more often to bring our people closer together. Armando will also be there. The children are most anxious to see him since his return."

"It would be an honor," said Pierce, still overcome from the invitation.

The Prince gave Carissa a warm smile. "And you have many others to meet. Most of the women will be there with their lifemates. They are already most anxious to meet you."

Carissa felt her chest swell with hope as she remembered Lucy's words. Maybe she would find new friends, maybe even a new family.

But a voice on a private link to Mikhail made him suddenly grow still.

Mikhail, you must come to the school at once.

It was Armando and his tone was grave. What is it? Are the children safe? I thought you were not going to continue teaching until a few more days.

I came by the school to organize some things. Unfortunately, I found Josef in a fight with Nikolai.

A bad feeling began to spread in his gut. Are either of them hurt?

There was a pause.

Armando? Tell me.

If I had not intervened, it may have been fatal.

Mikhail sharply exhaled. Over the last few months, Nikolai and a few of the children had suddenly grown physically. The majority of the children remained small and true to their age as found in the cave. But a few, including Nikolai had suddenly developed into young adults. It was astonishing to many when they found Nikolai was now very tall with broad shoulders and a strong physique. But he remained vulnerable with the fact that he had much to learn. He became easily frustrated with how he lacked the skills of so many ancients. While he helped at the school, he typically kept to himself.

Josef, on the other hand, had grown in his abilities. Even Mikhail had to admit, Byron's nephew was growing into a full fledged Carpathian male. Unfortunately, that didn't mean Josef had improved with his judgement.

How bad is Nikolai hurt?

Another pause. Josef was the one who would have died.

Mikhail stiffened and addressed the twins. "Forgive me, but I must leave. I hope to see you tomorrow evening." He quickly transformed into an owl and few off into the night, leaving the twins to wonder what happened.

Author's note: Thanks in advance for any reviews. -Anne