When he finally found the perfect tree, he admired it as the merchant gathered a small stand for it and began to rattle off instructions on how to set it up in the den. It sounded simple enough, and his attention began to wander. He spotted a human male walking down the street with several females tucked around him as he took turns kissing and caressing each of them.
The merchant at his side made a disgusted sound. One of Bero’s secondary eyes turned toward the male while his primary eyes continued to watch the scene in front of him. The merchant gestured with a small hand ax toward the group.
“Shameful. Women may outnumber men, but I’ve never understood why so many men toy with their feelings in such a way. I’ve seen that guy out here every day with a different group of women, and every day there is never one accompanying him who was with him the day before. No doubt he, like many other young men around here, has sired children on more than one unsuspecting woman. All those girls hope that maybe she will be the one to change him. Even if he marries her, it won’t necessarily change anything,” he said, his lip curling in disgust. “They do it because they know the women will just accept it. There are plenty of good men, mind you, but not enough. Certainly not enough to offset that rabble.”
The thought of Betani’s human mate treating her that way made anger flare in Bero’s gut. He tamped it down before he started growling. There was no way he was going to leave his female in the Citadel to be preyed upon in such a manner. She belonged to him and his triad. They would have no other and she would be cherished as she deserved.
Bero thanked the merchant and shouldered the tree, holding it tight with his upper arms as he departed the square. The flower he bought for Betani hadn’t yet succumbed to the cold and he was eager to return. He wanted to see her face light up and hear the happy sounds of the younglings when they saw his offering. He wondered about the elderly female who he’d met on his way out but dismissed her from his thoughts. She had been small and frail. No doubt she’d scurried to hide in her home knowing that there were Ragoru there.
It took him little time to return to Betani’s tiny den and, when he pushed through the door, he was greeted with the overjoyed sounds he’d anticipated. The air had a strange scent of aggression from his brother, but it was fading and Furis was calm as he helped him set the tree down on the floor. Nik and Alis were everywhere at once, shrieking with delight over the tree. Bero could appreciate the human tradition if it brought such pleasure. He entertained a vision of rogs happily scurrying after their human siblings with glee when they brought in a tree from the forest.
Holding the image close to his heart, he smiled down at Betani and presented her with his small gift. Her eyes widened as she fingered the delicate ruffled petals, a wistful smile tugging at her lips. Her eyes shone with appreciation when she looked upon the candy, but no more so than the look she gave the flower. She met his eyes, a sheen of tears in her own.
“Thank you,” she whispered, just loud enough to be audible for him. “I don’t think anyone has ever given me a winter-grown carnation before. It’s beautiful. I will go put it in water.”
On silent paws, he followed her back into the kitchen and admired the lithe way her body stretched as she removed a tall cup from the cupboard. Water flowed from a spigot into the cup before it was turned off and she gently sank the stem of the flower inside it. She set it down and admired it until she noticed that he was holding other packages.
“What is all that?”
Bero beamed and handed it over for her inspection. Her eyes went wide as she looked over the strange human markings on the paper wrappings.
“Bero, this is too much.”
He gave the packages a doubtful look. He and his brothers could easily eat that in one day.
“It is not all that much meat, but it would suffice to add to tomorrow’s meal. Is it not your Mother’s Night?” She nodded wordlessly so he pressed on. “On the Withering Days, Ragoru present all manner of meat that we have hunted to our female as a declaration of our eternal pledge to care for her and any young born from her. It is not as much as we would like to give you if we were able to hunt, but…”
He trailed off as he watched the color climb high in her cheeks and her fingers grip the meat. She took a deep breath and slowly let it go before meeting his eyes.
“Are you saying that you want me for your mate? You want us for your family?”
His tail twitched nervously and cursed Yeril again for being unconscious.
“Yes, Furis and I are in agreement. Everything about you is right to us, not only your scent but the goodness of your heart. We couldn’t ask for a better female to make our own. We also love your offspring and would be proud to call them our own.”
“What of Yeril?”
“Yes, Yeril…” He grimaced with uncertainty.
She laughed with a wariness in her eyes as she pulled away.
“Perhaps we should shelve this discussion until later then.”
He didn’t agree but remained silent as she stored the meat into a curious box lined with ice and followed her back out into the primary room, where Furis already had the tree braced in its stand. His brother flashed a cocky grin as Nik and Alis cheered triumphantly. The smile on Betani’s face, however, was unrivaled in its beauty and for a moment Bero forgot to breathe as he stared at her in open admiration until Alis giggled at his side.
With an amused snort, he lifted little Alis high in his upper arms so she could set the strings of berries and popped corn on the dark green branches. Nik was likewise balanced in Furis’s arms. Betani disappeared for a moment but returned with her hands laden with colorful curved pieces.
“Candy!” Nik and Alis trilled together with excitement as their mother distributed it between them. These too the younglings hung on the limbs of the tree, and when they finally stood back and admired it with expressions of awe, he couldn’t help but to enjoy the sight himself.
He admired it up until the point when he heard a low, dangerous growl behind him.
“What is all this?”
7
Yeril stood in the human dwelling, his sides heaving with barely controlled fury. His memory of everything that had happened since they stepped into the human gathering place was hazy. He remembered feeling unwell but little else after that moment. He panted as his eyes shifted around the room, his body tense for any attack.
His triad brothers stood around a bright, unnatural tree holding human offspring in their arms. The den was comfortably warm and had a pleasing, familiar smell that sought to put him at ease. It was like a fragment of memory. He fought it off, determined that it was some trickery of his delusions while he was ill.
“What is this?” he repeated, his voice deepening on an angry snarl. He felt alarmingly vulnerable and he instinctively sought to protect himself and his triad.
Furis set down the young male he held and approached with all four of his arms outstretched in supplication, risking his limbs against Yeril’s temper. Yeril peeled his lips back from his fangs, his chest vibrating in a display of dominance. He didn’t miss the way Bero hugged the small female closer to his chest as she whimpered. The sound pained his heart, but he needed information to soothe his confusion before he could offer comfort to the younglings who he’d inadvertently frightened.
“You were ill, brother. None would help us. We walked through the streets seeking aid until snow and winds obscured everything before us. We were certain that we’d lose you and perhaps die ourselves. That is, until Betani found us.”
“What is a ‘betani?’”
“I’m Betani,” a soft female voice sounded from behind the shelter of his brother’s thick bodies. They reluctantly parted to expose the female to his temper, and Yeril’s breath hitched as he drew in a deep breath, drawing her scent into her lungs as she grew nearer.
He recognized her. The kindly one.
He hadn’t been aware of more than flashes of brown and green as he now saw in the tresses falling around her sh
oulders and the bright green of her eyes, but he would never be able to forget the sound of her voice or the sweet scent of her.
That was what had seemed so familiar to him when he scented the den. He just hadn’t made the connection. He groaned, wanting nothing more than to gather her up against him and sink into the comfort of her warmth and drink in her scent. She was real! He hadn’t imagined her. Never before had he cared what female he gave himself to. An offer from any would have satisfied his needs. But not now.
He stretched a pale hand out to her, and she eyed it warily. His heart fractured knowing that he’d been the cause of distress and her distrust at this moment. Finally, he dropped his hand, willing to leave it for now, and looked around the room, taking in the garish colors.
“What is this chaos?”
“It’s our decorations for Mother’s Night, you old Scrooge,” a tiny female piped up from where Bero had set her. Her mother shushed her with a stern reminder to be polite. The small male stepped in front of the female as if willing to sacrifice himself for her safety. Yeril blinked at the sight, his ears flattening in confusion. Though he didn’t know what a ‘scrooge’ was, the entire situation struck him as rather amusing.
A low laugh rumbled from his chest, gaining in strength until he had to gasp for breath, his sides heaving with the effort to control his laughter. Bero and Furis relaxed and came up to him, caging him within the embrace of their arms. The affection and familiarity of his triad washed over Yeril and he relaxed.
Furis drew away and gestured to Betani. She approached, eyeing him with uncertainty. Bero reached out to her and gently took one of her hands. She glanced at him but didn’t pull away. Then the younglings were pulled forward by his brothers. The sweetness of their scents stirred his instincts. Above them all, the driving instinct of mating rose to the fore, unable to be ignored. He could feel his cocks pressing against his sheath as all of his being focused on the female in front of him.
Their female.
The call of the Withering Days to draw his mate to the floor and breed her repeatedly beat at him. It took every bit of self-control not to follow through on his instincts.
“Betani, this is our triad lead, our brother Yeril. Yeril, this is Betani, the female Bero and I wish to claim, and her offspring Nik and Alis.”
He jerked his head and regarded his brothers with surprise.
“You have chosen?”
Bero jerked his head in a firm nod. “We have. It is not their custom for the females to choose like Ragoru females do. We have been courting her with the intent to make her our mate. We wish only for your agreement. Betani will not commit to us without knowing of you.”
A small shudder wracked Yeril’s body and he recognized it for what it was. Yearning. His triad had a mate so close within their keeping. A female to adore and care for. A family with younglings already given to them for their love and protection. He met Betani’s eyes and willed her to see all of him.
“She may not know of me, but I know of her. Even if I couldn’t see her in my delirium, I look for her and when she came, she was my only solace in the chaos of my mind. The comfort of her voice. Her scent calls to me, and every part of me recognizes her as our mate.”
Betani’s breath caught, her eyes widening during his short declaration. He saw her strength that refused to back down or be intimidated even as he watched her fidget with uncertainty. She was such a contrast of strength and vulnerability. It made him want to be everything for her.
“I think I’d best take the kids over to my neighbors so we can all discuss this privately.”
He disliked his newly gained offspring being parted from him to go to a stranger unseen by him, but he acquiesced. As Betani ushered the young out of the den, Bero and Furis looked at him beseechingly. They were depending on him to do what a lead male does: attract the female and secure the mating bonds with her.
Never was it more important than at that moment that he succeed.
8
Betani didn’t bother explaining to Grandma Rose, but she hadn’t needed to. Her face was scarlet when she asked her elderly neighbor to watch Nik and Alis, earning a gleeful cackle. Truthfully, Betani couldn’t think of a thing to say.
She couldn’t deny there was a good possibility she’d end up mated to them before the night was out. Nor could she deny that she yearned for them as powerfully as they seemed to be pulled to her. Not only that, but she’d come to care for them over the last few days. Even Yeril had been a consistent presence, despite being unconscious. She couldn’t bear the thought of them leaving her to continue alone after they returned home.
Kissing Alis, and even getting in a quick peck on Nik’s cheek, she assured them she would be back for them in the morning. Alis bounced with an eager smile on her face, and even Nik was grinning from ear to ear. They hadn’t missed Bero’s declaration. So, instead of whining about being left with Grandma Rose, they were happy to rush Betani out the door.
The males were clustered together when she re-entered her house, but drew apart, their ears tilting toward her as they scented the air. Their bodies were stiff and alert. She recognized the hunting behavior. They were making a visible effort to restrain themselves.
She approached slowly until she was able to lower herself onto the couch and clasp her hands in front of her. Bero moved first, his body slinking toward her, lower to the ground than she had expected. Their eyes met and she relaxed, nodding her acceptance, and his comforting weight curled around her right side.
The warmth of his muzzle stroked against her cheek as he whispered to her.
“Be our mate, Betani.”
Furis followed, approaching her left side. She lifted an arm to welcome him as he hesitated just inches in front of her. With a loud, happy sigh, he dropped around her left side and curled into her, whispering his own entreaty that she mate with them. She did not answer, but she could hear the heartbeats of both males as she faced off with the unknown… Yeril.
His ears flattened and turned toward her again as if he were uncertain how to proceed. A dominant rumble vibrated from him as he paced before her. With his chest out and his massive arms thrown back, he made an intimidating vision. But it wasn’t fear she felt. Lust settled deep in her belly, but aside from that, she admired the male in front of her. His presence—that had become a source of comfort for her—was magnified a hundred-fold. She doubted anything could ever get through his guard. It was an instinctive knowledge.
Part of her whispered that it was all happening too fast. She didn’t really know them. Another part of herself reminded that doubtful voice that she’d thought she’d known her husband and took his vows to heart, and he hadn’t bothered to be faithful to her.
No, she knew deep within that she could trust the Ragoru triad.
Yeril released a low snarl, his claws digging into the fur falling from the back of his scalp.
“Traditionally we would offer you our hunt to entice you to join our den. We have nothing on hand to offer you.”
Betani looked at him curiously.
“I ask for nothing but your protection, your affection, and the comfort of a home.”
His eyes fastened to hers as he released a shuddering breath.
“You would have that and more. You and our younglings, Nik and Alis and all those we may have in the future, would be the center of our family and that which we cherish and adore.”
She licked her lips. She could feel the weight of the future bearing down on her, and her heart sang with excitement.
“And what would you have of me?”
The dark gold of his eyes, stark in his white fur, seemed to turn molten before her eyes, burning with an endless heat.
“Only your love, female. We need nothing more than you, Betani, and the younglings you have already blessed our den with.”
“You truly don’t mind taking in human children?”
He shook his head, his heavy brow dropping and his ears flattening against his head.
�
�They are of you, Betani. They have our love and devotion as much as you do. We do not see them separate from you in our affections. We would not be able to love you properly if we were unable to love them.”
His hand drifted out to her again as he did just moments before.
“Will you accept our claim and come together with us as our mate?”
Swallowing back a happy sob, Betani nodded, a giddy energy rushing through her.
“Yes, I accept you. I want to be your mate.”
As the words left her lips, Yeril closed the distance between them. He did not crouch like a gentle lover but approached her like a conqueror. His touch was gentle, however, when he pulled her to her feet. There was just enough power behind his grip to make her gasp as he drew her against him. Bero and Furis grumbled but did not protest. Instead they watched, their pupils blown out and their bodies tense as Yeril dropped his muzzle to sniff at her. The warmth of his breath against her skin made Betani quiver with desire.
Yeril made a pleased sound and drew her up even tighter against him. Betani closed her eyes as she felt two rigid lengths brush against her. Her mind scrambled to comprehend the fact that he had not one but two cocks and both of them were swollen with desire just for her. She pushed back, wishing to see exactly what she’d be dealing with. To her surprise, Yeril slackened his grip so she could step away.
Her mouth went dry as she stared at the two thick members jutting up toward her. A vivid blue, they were, to her mind, beautiful. Beaded with tiny bumps, though the lower cock had more beads and bulges, they were a tactile dream. Even the sloped head of the upper cock made her squish her thighs together for some small relief. It was a sharp contrast to the lower cock that had a rounded, tapered head, and yet they worked together. The tiny drops of blue precum welling up on their tips inspired a sharp yearning in her.
Stars, Snow and Mistletoe: A Holiday Naughty List Collection Page 10