Page 7 of Night’s Bride (Ragoru Origins #3)

Emily watched curiously from where she was reclined on a pillow near the low table in the living room as her mates attended to their various tasks. They had certainly been busy over the last few days. Vikt was constantly at the small shrine, one that she only just recently noticed over the hearth, paying respect to four carved figures set there.

“Vrel made these,” he had announced proudly as he lovingly set them on the mantle, one by one. He had delivered a teasing grin to Vrel, who had been reclined at her side. “He became very popular in the clan once Sabol saw them and spread the word. Even now he is still making the little gods for other triads,” he added with a chuff of laughter when Vrel’s ears lowered and flicked back with embarrassment.

He murmured to them now in a low voice in some sort of droning chant or prayer while throwing various dry flowers and sweet herbs onto the fire. She helped her mother often enough with reverence to the Mother to recognize the act of ritual and prayer. Vrel, on the other hand, sat in a corner of the room keeping busy with one of his many projects far away from where she reclined so as to not soil the cushions. It had become, more or less, their daily routine that was only interrupted when one of her mates left the house.

Overall, day-to-day life with her mates was not only good, filled with affection, hot sex, endearing antics, and laughter, it was also peaceful. And if it seemed a bit too quiet at times, it didn’t take much effort for her to kick the bee’s nest, so to speak, and stir things up. Despite their mild personalities, her mates possessed an unexpected playfulness with each other which they were happy to include her in. Just thinking about it gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling. She smiled fondly at Vikt’s backside, admiring his lithe yet powerful silhouette. Vikt and Vrel didn’t possess the bulk that many other Ragoru seemed to have. From just a glance, she had seen how much larger Trish’s triad was. Even Sabol, who possessed a leanness to him in comparison to those males, was comparatively large when compared to the graceful build of her mates. And yet she found lean strength to be beautiful and graceful like that of dancers.

She was quite fortunate to have a pair of males who were not only wonderful companions but enjoyable to watch. Not only was his bottom nice, but he had a very nice tail that was currently twitching tantalizingly at her. It was perfectly made to tug. And tugging on tails always led to being chased around the house until she was breathless with laughter, and occasionally even resulted in a good frisky romp. More than anything, however, tugging their tails had quickly become a sort of love language between them that brought them closer in a sense of play even when it did not lead to sex. It was that closeness she craved.

She licked her lips and crept closer to it but immediately froze when Vikt’s ears turned toward her. She bit back a grin at the realization that she had been caught. He turned his head and peered back at her over his shoulder, his yellow gaze pinning her with a predatory light. The corners of his mouth curled faintly, and he abandoned the hearth to prowl toward her, his tail stiff except for the tip that flicked playfully. Emily giggled and scrambled back along the cushions, only to fall backward with a shriek of laughter when he pounced. His muscles coiled and released in a fashion that sent him vaulting onto her so that he landed in an intimate crouch, his muzzle brushing her jaw and neck. His breath teased her skin as he breathed her in. That was erotic in itself and would have stirred her arousal above all except for the fact that his two lower hands that were not bracing his weight suddenly climbed along her torso lightly, tickling her.

Emily burst out laughing as she wiggled in an attempt to escape the delicate brush of his claws over her.

“Vikt! You are evil! G-get off,” she sputtered around her laughter.

The male rumbled in amusement, his tongue flicking teasingly along her neck in cold, slick swipes that were somehow just as cold as his damn nose that he was tucking into the warm crook of her neck.

“If my rya is wishing to be entertained by me, then I’m happy to amuse her,” he growled playfully in response, his teeth nipping in butterfly brushes that made her elbow him in helpless protest. “It is not evil to indulge my mate’s playfulness.”

“Maybe I was staring because I wanted to jump your cocks?” she challenged breathlessly as she grinned up at him.

He smirked in reply and lowered his head so close to hers that she could see each distinct band of yellow and gold within his eyes. “When you want my cocks, you have an entirely different look and scent,” he murmured. “You may have been admiring your mate, but this is my playful rya. The one who wishes to play catching games with her mates like a little rabbit.”

She grinned up at him. “Are you saying that you like my tail?”

He chuffed at her, his four eyes gleaming with amusement. “I am saying that you are a ball of unfettered joy who enjoys chaos.” He glanced over at Vrel for confirmation. “Is that not right?”

Vrel coughed pointedly and straightened with a large bucket in his hand. “I have too much to do to be caught in the antics between you two again. I am going to go out and grab some snow to melt before I fetch my beeswax. I need to make up my wood polish so that I can get this finished.”

Emily glanced curiously at his work area but whatever he was crafting was covered once more with fur. She made a face in protest. “You always keep your projects hidden away. Why won’t you just let us see them? We are your family.”

His head ducked slightly, his ears twisting back and flicking forward again bashfully. “Of course you are, rya, but it is not ready.”

Vikt chuffed sympathetically. “Do not tease him, rya. Vrel has always been this way since we were rogs. He enjoys the big reveal and gets even more restless and twitchy the closer to the end he gets. Go on then,” he said to Vrel, “before you come right out of your fur with your excitement.”

Vrel flashed his twin a grateful smile that completely melted Emily’s heart before hurrying out the doorway into the snow. The blast of cold air and snow was enough of a distraction from her shenanigans that she wiggled out of Vikt’s grasp only to give him a fond smile as she burrowed against his chest and into his fur.

He chuffed again as his warm hand stroked her back. “Cold again, Emily?”

She nodded against his chest. “I have to admit that the winters here are a bit more brutal than I expected.”

Vikt made a soft sound of agreement in his throat. “It can even be hard on Ragoru. In this weather it is easy for even a strong male to become disoriented and lost only to freeze to death before he can find shelter.”

Emily drew back to look at him with disbelief. “What is good is all that fur then?” she demanded. “You cannot tell me it is ornamental.”

“Of course not. We can withstand much that the world throws at us, but storms like this and the coldest of days and nights are something different to contend with. We are not gods,” he chided softly, and Emily felt her lips pull upward at his tone. Even when she was being ridiculous, he did not raise his voice or make her feel stupid.

Tipping her head back, she rested her chin against his chest and smiled. “It is a good thing I have you to keep me warm. We humans are ridiculously fragile.”

“That you are,” Vikt agreed with a fond chuff of amusement. “But I happen to like small, soft, fragile females who have spirits far too big for their bodies.”

She grinned at that observation and was considering a good come back when Vrel burst back into the house in a state of panic. Her head whipped around to him in surprise, but she was not left guessing long because he gestured toward the door urgently as he looked over at Vikt.

“In… in the snow. I need you to help me,” he pled. He was so rattled that his voice practically shook, and Emily found herself quickly climbing to her feet in response only to be gently nudged back toward the cushions by her other mate.

“Remain here,” Vikt rumbled. “I will assist Vrel. We will be back shortly.”

Vrel nodded in affirmation, but he kept glancing back toward the door so anxiously that the idea of being left inside rankled. If there was a problem, she wanted to be by their side dealing with it, not hidden away from any potential threat. She frowned as she watched them slip out the door. It only took her a moment longer to decide to follow them. Fighting her way out of the cushions, she headed toward the door only to reel back at the last moment when it flung wide open again and both of her mates hurried inside, dragging something large in a pale silvery-gray hue between them. She gaped for only a moment before the snow blowing into the house reminded her to rush over and shut the door, then followed them back over to the cushions where they deposited an enormous Ragoru.

Her eyes went round as she crept up to Vrel’s side and studied the male. Other than possessing a pale color compared to the warm sable gray of her own mates, he was much larger than Sabol, or any of the males in Trish’s triad. The fact of the matter was, if he were standing, he would likely be a couple heads taller than her own mates and possess nearly twice their bulk.

Who the hell was he? Someone from the clan?

She didn’t think so. After Evelyn, there had been no visits from any of the neighboring Ragoru. She didn’t know how much of that was due to courtesy toward the newly mated and how much was due to their reluctance to share physical space together when unnecessary, but the pamphlet seemed to hint at a natural territoriality with the species. It didn’t seem likely that a male would just show up randomly around their house.

“Do you recognize him?” she whispered.

Vrel and Vikt shook their heads in the perfect mirror of each other.

“We are not close to all of the clan, but we would recognize their scent markers from the respective territories within the clan’s denning lands. He does not smell familiar.”

Vikt scratched his ear. “He may be new. It does not happen often, but on occasion someone new will turn up looking for the promise of a home. I have never heard of anyone turning up during the winter.”

Emily bit her lip as she stared down at the male. He was an unknown and that made her nervous about having him in her home. He was so much bigger than her mates that it would likely take him little effort to harm the males if he happened to awaken unexpectedly.

She could ask Evelyn for help… except she hated that she wouldn’t be a part of the trip down to the little red door that marked the woman’s house. Her plans to hunt for it had been interrupted by the snowstorm that had descended upon the woods over the last few days. And now, because of said storm, she would be stuck at home while someone else went.

“I suppose we should fetch Evelyn,” she commented with a heavy sigh.