Page 1 of Deadly Reckoning (Broken Ashes #7)

Neith

A s much as I adore River kissing me senselessly right now, I have no idea what prompted him to do so, and I’m not entirely sure that it’s the most appropriate thing to be doing right now.

We need to head back to help the wolves and call the compound so that we can get the wolves that are loyal to Derek from Calia and Eamon.

I don’t know what is going to happen with them, but if I were in charge, then they would forfeit their lives.

Pulling back reluctantly, the smile immediately falls off my face when I realize that River’s eyes are full of unshed tears.

What the hell? I barely manage to restrain myself from putting my hand in front of my face to see if my breath smells, because that is the only reason I can think of for why he’s so upset.

I dismiss my wayward thoughts, and my expression fills with concern as my hands move to cup his cheeks, “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

“Are you alright, man?” Coen asks, closer than he was before River kissed me, since they were all walking ahead of me when I decided to come back here and check in with River.

I briefly move my eyes away from River, who still hasn’t answered my question, and look around me.

All of the guys are here, all looking slightly concerned.

I can just about see the backs of Asher, Rana, and the others moving further into the trees.

Logan must sense me looking in his direction, because he glances over his shoulder and grins at me.

There’s a certain amount of knowing in his expression, and I narrow my eyes.

I’m reasonably sure that he knows what all of this is about.

He turns back around and follows the others out of sight.

“What’s going on?” Reed asks. “Why did Logan tell us to come back here, and then make everyone else carry on?”

River’s gaze is still on me, and he still hasn’t put me down, as he studies me closely, his expression a confusing mix of seriousness and happiness.

“You’re my mate, my True Mate,” he tells me, worry clouding his expression completely and replacing the happiness.

My eyes widen, and because I’m a giant dork, I smack him on the chest and exclaim, “What? Are you serious? How do you know? Are you messing with me right now, because if you’re messing with me, it’s cruel and I will be majorly pissed off.”

“You want to be my mate?” he asks, sounding unsure.

I pull a ‘what the fuck face’, that’s the only way that I can describe it.

“Are you fucking kidding?” I retort. “Of course I want to be your mate, you wonderful man,” I add for good measure.

River beams at me and I grab cheeks, squeezing them, and making the guys laugh, “However, if you do not tell me how you know I’m your mate, then I’m going to do something, I don’t know what, but you probably won’t like it. ”

The guys burst out laughing at my very unthreatening threat.

“You better tell her, man,” Coen says, through his laughter. “The last time she gave me that warning and I didn’t listen, I ended up missing an eyebrow.”

“Oh, my god!” Ransom exclaims. “I remember that you had me make you a potion to grow it back quicker. You told me it was one of the other dragons that did it to you.”

Coen grins, and I burst out laughing. That was funny, and he definitely deserved it, although I can’t quite remember why he did right now.

River’s eyes shine with mirth while he listens to the exchange.

“Well?” I ask him seriously.

Still with his mouth smooshed, he replies, but it comes out all garbled and doesn’t make much sense, so I let go of his cheeks so he can talk properly, and I actually have a chance of understanding what he’s saying.

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, my eyebrows practically dancing on my forehead as I can’t decide if I need to frown or raise them with surprise. It must look so weird.

“You have my mark,” he repeats, that worry entering his gaze again.

I frown. The only marks I have are my unicorn one and my Bonded Warrior one.

My eyes widen, the butt on my butt.

I wriggle until he puts me down, and then spin around in circles trying to see my ass.

I’m far too excited and shocked to think logically right now.

If I were thinking logically, then I would realize that if I stop and just twist slightly, then I would be able to see the mark like I did when I showed him.

“It’s like when she got her wings,” Reed says, sounding amused, that I’m once again spinning around in circles trying to see something that’s behind me.

Why is this becoming a thing that I do?

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Griff says as he catches me and stops me from turning in circles. “Take a deep breath, and slowly show us what River is talking about.”

I kind of take a deep breath, but it’s more of a gasp than anything else, and then turn around, moving the rip that I made in my dress so that it’s over the mark on the top of my ass.

The guys all lean closer to get a better look.

“Okay, so what does it mean?” Coen asks.

“I didn’t know that kitsunes have mate marks,” Raiden says with a frown that tells me that he’s currently wracking his brain trying to figure out if he did know that, and he’s just forgotten.

River shakes his head, “You wouldn’t have. It’s kitsune only knowledge. I didn’t tell you guys about it because I thought that I couldn’t ever have a mate, so there wasn’t any point in me explaining it to you.”

The guys all sigh and look at him with exasperation clear in their expressions.

“You realize that we could have cleared up this whole mate thing within the first week of Neith arriving if we had known about mate marks?” Van asks him seriously, his eyebrow raised.

“We’ve all been trying to figure out ways that we can convince you that Neith is your mate,” Reed adds.

“I’ve been trying to gather evidence to prove that she is,” Raiden says, looking pointedly at River, who by this point is looking slightly sheepish.

He rubs his hand on the back of his neck, “Sorry, guys, I really didn’t think that it was going to happen. You know that.”

“Why not?” I ask curiously.

I don’t know why River would think that he can’t have a mate when it's actually really common for kitsunes to have mates. I frown, at least I think it is. Honestly, I have no idea if what I know is right or not anymore.

“Because kitsunes can only have a mate that is as strong as, or stronger than they are, and I have nine tails,” River explains to me.

Realization dawns on me, “Oh, and you’re the only kitsune with that many, possibly ever, but most likely for centuries, and because of that, you thought that you could never have a mate.”

“Yes, and kitsunes are only supposed to find their True Mates in another kitsune,” Raiden adds. He frowns slightly, “Kitsune True Mates are not supposed to be able to be another species.”

River nods.

“Are you sure I’m your mate then?” I ask, feeling slightly unsure, and incredibly upset at the notion that he may not actually be my mate.

It’s more than I could ever hope for. I had come to terms with the fact that I was going to lose them all at some point, most likely when they found their mates, other halves, or whatever it is that their particular kind of supernatural has, but now I’m not.

River’s mine.

He is officially mine, and no one can take him away from me.

I like that more than I thought I would.

Especially since it means that I am River’s as well, and I didn’t think I would like the fact that someone has a claim over me, but it’s River.

There is no way that he would ever take advantage of the fact that I am his.

“Are you okay, Neith?” River asks me worriedly, and I can see the insecurity in his eyes. He’s had a pretty shitty past dealing with women who didn’t appreciate how amazing he is, and it’s clearly knocked his confidence.

“You’re sure I’m your mate?” I ask him.

He nods, “Yes. You have the kitsune mark, which all kitsune mates get, and you also have my initials and the number of tails I have. That’s specific to me, and how I know that you are my mate, and not someone else's.”

I grin, “Thank fuck for that.”

The guys burst out laughing while River just stands there looking slightly stupefied.

“You want to be my mate?” he asks, his expression still mystified, which just makes me like him even more.

Moving forward, I put my hand on his chest, and he grabs hold of it, holding it above his heart, “Of course I do. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.”

He doesn’t say anything, but his eyes practically glow with happiness, and he bends over to kiss me again.

Mine.

Yeah, I’m more than happy about this turn of events.

When I pull back, the guys are all grinning at us happily.

Doc smirks, “She used the Alpha voice on Amari to stop her from attacking us and so that we could get to Asher and heal him. I knew then with one hundred percent certainty that she was your mate. Not that I was really questioning it before then.”

I frown slightly, “I did? I did wonder why she actually listened to me when you said that River would be the only one who was able to help.”

Doc nods, “Yeah, I honestly didn’t think that you would be able to calm her.” He looks back at River, “I was trying to work out a way to prove to you that the only way that she would be able to do that is if she were the mate of an alpha. I was going to get all of the guys to help me.”

“So how did you figure it out then?” Reed asks curiously. “I find it hard to believe that Neith just happened to have a rip in her dress over the exact right spot, to reveal her mark to you.”

River nods, “It was Logan, actually. He called Neith my Luna Regia, and I explained that she wasn’t. He argued with me and wouldn’t let it drop.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t snap at him,” Van says with a raised eyebrow.

River smirks, “I did have to remind myself that it wasn’t good practice to rip off the head of someone you’ve just saved.”

I burst out laughing along with others.