Page 36 of His to Take

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“I can’t believethis is happening,” Mary whispered as she looked at Ann.

Ann heard the way her mother’s voice wobbled and tried not to look at her. If she did, she’d cry. Not tears of joy either. She was terrified, now that the moment was at hand. She would be brave, she would get through this, if only her mother didn’t cry.

“Hush now, Mary,” her father said gently and took his wife in his arms. “We all have to be strong now.”

“Thank you, Dad,” Ann whispered and tried not to let them see her wipe a tear away.

The ceremony was to take place in the garden, in a lovely little hidden spot, full of roses and columbine flowers. There wouldn’t be many people, so the 6-foot space would hold them all. He’d shown it to her before he sent her up to change. Her parents had arrived, and by that point, Ann had her dress on. She’d been ready then, in charge of herself, even if his words did ring in her ears.

All of those dreams, they’d shared them? It was the next best thing to real? Her cheeks and chest burned with heat as she thought about it all over again. At least that distracted her from her mother’s tears. She could get past that moment, even if it was something stupid like shame that did it.

“Okay, let’s get this over with.” She stood up in the dress she’d planned to marry Rex in and looked at her parents with wide eyes. She could face this, because it meant they would live. They would have another day to fight for the life they’d hung on to these last few years. They would continue to be survivors, as long as she knuckled down and got through this.

Her mom pulled the short train of her dress up so she wouldn’t fall down the marble stairs, and her dad kept his arm at her elbow. The shoes were a little taller than she thought they were, and she wobbled on her way down. At least, that’s the excuse she made.

Her mom wore the dress, and her dad the suit, the clothes she’d found for them, but neither of them really looked happy about this. It was not a joyous moment. It was a forced moment, a submission to a stronger power. Fuck, it sounded so abysmal, she thought, as she headed out to the garden.

At least she was attracted to him. She couldn’t deny that, no matter how much she wanted to. She wanted him, wanted to know if he was as good in reality as he was in her dreams. He was not only foreign; he was from another planet. For all she knew, the man was a sex god. Or maybe he was terrible at it. Either way, she’d do her best to get through it.

Not that she had any doubt that she’d want it. Maybe he’d cast a spell on her, or he was controlling her with ESP stuff, she wasn’t sure, but as she came near to him, her brain calmed. Then her body went on full alert because, holy cow, he was so hot.

She turned into a 15 year old girl again, with all the innocent want that came with that age. She wanted him, like she’d never wanted anyone else, and it made her feel goofy all over again. She smiled at him as she came to stand beside him. There was another tall man behind him, a man almost as hot as he was, but she only had eyes for him.

Suddenly, she wasn’t afraid anymore, she wasn’t angry, she was just ready to take him to bed.

Another man, smaller than the other two men, but still taller than anyone in her family, was towards the back of the small alcove. The shape was created with hedges, and rose vines grew in the midst of it all. It was a pleasant little spot, and a nice place to have the ceremony.

The man spoke in some language she didn’t understand, and Ann shifted on her feet. Rager made a sound and the man shifted into English.

“Sorry, sir.” He cleared his throat, and looked at Ann. “My name is Agnar, I will join you as a mate to Rager. Do you agree to this?”

Ann looked down to where their hands were joined. She hadn’t realized that he’d taken her hands in his until then. She saw the tattoos on the insides of her wrists and looked over at his arms. She could see tattoos there, but couldn’t make out what they were.

“Ann?” Agnar asked her again, and she looked up at him.

“Yes?” She gazed at him in confusion, the question completely forgotten as she looked at their hands.

“Do you agree to be made Rager’s mate?”

“What? Oh, yes, I do.” She looked up to see amused eyes in a face that should make her tremble in fear. His hair was pulled back and his face was open for her to see.

“Good. Rager, do you agree to be made Ann’s mate?” the man asked, and Ann watched Rager’s eyes flick to him before he answered.

“Yes, I do.”

“Good. Open your hands.”

Rager opened his hands, and Ann followed his lead. She felt a weird sadness when he took his hands away, but his presence itself was a drug, and that was enough for now. Agnar turned away and took something from a table behind him.

“Rager, this is your modalla, your energy that will bond you to Ann.” The man put something that looked like an orange marble that glowed with a white-hot light into Ann’s hands. She expected the thing to burn, but it didn’t. She looked at it, intrigued by the marble that looked so small but felt so heavy in her hand.

“Ann, this is your modalla, your energy that will bond you with Rager.” He placed a dark brown marble in Rager’s hand, one that glowed as hotly as the one in her hand. “Close your hands, and kiss now please.”

Ann leaned forward and closed her hands around the marble, just as their lips met. Her eyes flew open as something invaded her mind, her heart, every single part of her body and soul. She felt something entwine around her, until it felt like her breath had been stolen away. And then she could see him, with the same expression she felt on her face.

She knew him, felt him, inside of her. At the same time, she felt as if she was inside of him. Did this mean they were one? Was this why they called it mates? They were now mates, for eternity?