“I’ve had many years to learn how to accept what my reality is,” he explained. “The only thing that is important is my brother and I know he’s fine where he is, so I could care less about my parent’s whereabouts or whether or not they think about me.”
“It just seems so sad when I think about it,” I admitted as I shuffled my body slightly, his arms continuing to hold me close to his chest.
“Don’t be sad, Kota,” he begged. “There’s no need to stress over something that not even I care about.”
“Wait, where’s your brother?” I jumped away from his chest although I was still on his lap, facing him now. “Surely, he’s going to be there tomorrow.”
“Yes, he will be there,” Nathan shook his head at my continuous line of questions. “He’s been studying with an elder sorcerer on the other side of our territory. Kory’s going to portal him in tomorrow morning.”
“Where did he find an elder sorcerer? My father said the last one died over a decade ago.”
“That’s what he wanted everyone to believe,” Nathan revealed. “And when I say everyone I mean the Council. He didn’t want the Council to take advantage of him or force him to do something he never agreed to doing.”
“What would the Council want with an elder sorcerer? Surely, they’re strong enough to do their own dirty work,” I laughed even though I was very much sure the Council was involved in some kind of sketchy activity.
“Elder sorcerers are different,” Nathan began to explain, hesitating in certain areas as he tried to decide which was the best way to say something. “Like the Alphas, they’re connected to the spirits, which give them extra power and strength. They’re not as strong as the Alphas but they’re very close to the same strength.”
“I had no idea the Alphas were connected to the spirits,” I muttered. “I knew that they, themselves, had a spirit within them but I didn’t know that meant they were connected to the others. There’s so much that I don’t know.”
“We can talk about it more later,” Nathan yawned. “We should probably get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”
He lifted me off of his lap and sat me down on the couch, getting himself up to leave my chambers. He was right, and I knew I needed to get all the sleep that I could but that didn’t mean that he had to leave. I didn’t want him to go. Technically, we were supposed to wait until after the binding ceremony to share a bed but we kind of already broke that rule, so I saw no harm in having him stay in my room tonight. Appearance wise, it wouldn’t look good, but I was beyond caring about appearances.
“Wait,” I stopped him after he kissed my forehead. He took a few steps away from me when I finally spoke up and it didn’t take him long to turn back towards me. “Stay with me.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, going over the same risks that I had already gone over several times since Nathan and I started seeing each other in secret.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” I told him as I stood up from the couch. He nodded his head in agreement before leaving my chambers to find some night clothes to change into. I took this opportunity and went into the bathroom where I dressed in my own night clothes.
When I returned to the bedroom, Nathan still hadn’t returned yet. I began unmaking the bed, dropping the extra pillows on the ground and pulling the sheets back. I had just slipped my legs underneath those very sheets when the door opened, and Nathan came into view. He stared into my eyes as he crossed the room towards the bed. I had no intentions of anything happening tonight but when he looked at me like that my intentions didn’t seem to mean anything. He slid his body underneath the blankets and laid his head on the pillow, both of us facing each other. He gripped my hand softly, the warmth coming from his skin was so comforting at a time when I didn’t know that I needed it.
Our eyes continued to be locked on one another’s and after a few minutes Nathan took his hand away from mine and brushed my bright red hair behind my ears and away from my face. I don’t know when I moved closer to him, but I know for sure that he didn’t move towards me. Right as my eyelids closed over my eyes I felt his lips pressed against mine, the heat coming from them had me craving for more. A tingling sensation ran through my entire body as he wrapped his arm around my body pulling me even closer. His kiss deepened as my arms found their way around his neck. With no effort at all, Nathan picked up my body only to lay it down again, this time on my back. He moved his body from the mattress to on top of me, maneuvering his way in between my legs. My hands grasped the sides of his face as his lips found mine again. Heat replaced the tingling feeling as the minutes passed, my body’s cravings growing more every time Nathan’s hands touched my body.
It didn’t take long for both of our clothes to come off, the skin to skin contact feeling much more natural than it had before. He pressed his lips along my body starting at my stomach and working his way up to my neck. Each kiss teased me and the arrogant grin on his face screamed that he was doing it on purpose. When he finally got up to face me, he already knew what I wanted. He dropped his body down onto me and with one motion he entered me while planting a passionate kiss on my lips. The feeling of him inside me satisfied part of my craving but I still wanted more. He started off slowly, thrusting deeply into me, until my legs wrapped around his waist. I don’t know when it became a signal telling him that I wanted him to go faster but after a slight adjustment in position his thrusts became much quicker and I held on to him as his movements sent my body through every emotion there was to feel. It was like a fire building up inside me just waiting to spread to all the other parts of my body. My breathing intensified as I felt my toes start to curl into the mattress. The more that I wanted hit me all at once and as the explosion inside continued to go off over and over again throughout my body, I let out one loud cry, releasing my arms from around his neck.
It felt like something was missing when Nathan landed next to me on the mattress. Having his body close to mine would be sufficient enough for tonight but my body craved him being inside me again. I turned around so that my back faced him, and he wiggled himself closer so that his chest was touching my skin. His muscular arm wrapped around me, holding me just under my breasts, both of us relaxing our heads on the pillows. I don’t remember if anything was said or done after that. I drifted off into the best sleep I’ve had since tragedy struck my life.
My brothers were not expecting to find Nathan next to me in bed when they came to wake me, so when they stumbled in just after the sun came up they seemed more than surprised. They were silent at first, hovering over the two of us from the foot of the bed with their arms crossed tightly against their chest. I’m not actually sure how long they were standing there because they let me wake up on my own but, if I had to guess, they had been there for a while. I sat up quickly, covering my chest with the sheets. Without taking my eyes off of my brothers, I hit Nathan’s muscular back a couple of times until his head popped up, looking around him to see what was going on. I could feel him staring at me but all I had to do was point towards the two sets of lilac purple eyes and he was quickly turned around facing his Alpha.
The silence continued as their eyes shot through us, an unexpected guilt filling every inch of me. I wanted to look over at Nathan, but I was afraid to take my eyes off my brothers, not sure what they would do about the man naked in my bed. It came to my attention that when we discussed the binding ceremony last night my brothers didn’t expect us to be fully bound. They thought it would just be the ceremonial part and the rest would come with time. I realized then that I was extremely good at keeping a secret as was Nathan. We had been sneaking around for months and my brothers still didn’t know.
“What are you doing in bed with our sister?” Kody finally asked dropping his arms to his side dramatically. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip your fucking head off right now.”
“Relax, Kody,” I found myself saying without even thinking. My intention was to stay quiet and let them lecture us until they fe
lt better but when Kody threatened Nathan, I suddenly became very defensive. “It’s not like it’s the first time.”
I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know why I had this urge to speak without thinking but that is exactly what was happening. Kory and Kody both shot their heads in Nathan’s direction and Nathan’s head whipped over towards me. I should’ve stuck to the plan. Better yet, I should’ve stayed asleep. This nightmare wouldn’t be happening if I never opened my eyes. My brothers had a really bad habit of ruining the things that made me happy. They had good intentions but bad timing. They’re the like the male version of Luna. I could really use one of her interruptions right now.
“Forget I said that,” I threw my hands up in front of me, my palms facing my brothers, attempting to stop them from killing Nathan.
“There’s no forgetting, Kota,” Kory spoke through his gritted teeth. “You could’ve waited one more night though.”
“That’s none of your business!” I shouted almost dropping the sheet that covered my naked body. The last thing I needed was my brothers seeing all my goods. Enough has gone wrong already in the short time that I have been awake.
“You’re right, it’s not,” he agreed although I could tell he didn’t want to. Kody glanced over at Kory, looking just as confused as Nathan and I. “Honestly, we have bigger things to worry about. The Council’s upset that we’re doing the binding ceremony here instead of back in our own territory and, more importantly, we’re not sure if mom is coming. She’s not letting anyone in her chambers, so no one has been able to give her the message that I sent, and she hasn’t responded to my fire messages.”
“Mom’s not coming?” I questioned, feeling my heart drop into my stomach as he told me the news. I could care less about what the Council wanted, but for my own mother not to be there at my binding ceremony was frustrating. An anger was growing inside me that I am pretty sure had been there for at least a week, but now it was starting to show itself. I knew I was angry at my mother for not being there for us the way she should’ve been. If it wasn’t for my brothers and Nathan I’m not sure I would be as put together as I am right now. I could’ve really benefitted from my mother though. I didn’t need a lot from her, but I could’ve used her comfort. My brothers tried but there was something about a mother’s touch that Kory and Kody just couldn’t duplicate, although, I give them every bit of credit for putting in the effort. I was able to push my anger down, telling myself she needed to grieve and that she would come around when she was ready. Those excuses suddenly didn’t sit well with me anymore.
“We’re trying, Kota,” Kory promised. “I’m sending Kody back home through a portal to see if he can talk some sense into her but if that doesn’t work, I’m not sure what else we can do.”
“You shouldn’t have to be trying this hard to get her to come to my binding ceremony,” I snarled. “Don’t bother sending Kody back home. She had her opportunity to show up when you sent those messages.”
“Kota,” Kody spoke softly. “Are you sure you want to go down that road? You might regret it later.”
“Maybe I will,” I admitted. “But I’m sick of her isolating herself especially when we lost dad, too. We needed to grieve the same way she did, but we adjusted to make it easier on her. All I wanted her to do was show up, nothing more, and she can’t even do that.”
“We’re not saying we don’t agree, Kota,” Kory jumped back into the conversation. “We just don’t want you to make a decision based on anger.”
“Deal with the Council,” I instructed. “No more effort is to be put into mom on my account.”
“If you’re sure,” Kory hesitantly accepted.
“I’m sure,” I answered.
“We’ll leave you to it then. You can breathe now, Nathan,” Kody chuckled as my attention focused on the man beside me. His olive skin was pale as he sat naked before my brothers. I felt bad for him. I should’ve calmed him down before my brothers and I started talking. “The ceremony is in two hours. You two might want to get up now.”
“Try not make us uncles yet,” Kory said as he turned his back to us, walking towards the door to leave. Nathan fell backwards onto the mattress and actually started to breathe again when the door shut behind my brothers, their laughter disappearing with them.
“Are you okay?” I asked cautiously. I bent down next to him and rested my head on his shoulder as I waited for his response.
“That was the worst thing that could’ve happened,” he finally said.
“Actually, the worst thing that could’ve happened was if they killed you,” I reminded him. “You got off easy this time.”
“I’m never sleeping with you again,” he mumbled as he covered his face with his hands.
“Why am I being punished?” I asked, pulling myself away from him.
“You seduced me,” he accused jokingly.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Nate,” I laughed as I threw the sheets off of my body, attempting to leave the bed so I could get ready for the ceremony. An oversized hand grabbed my arm gently and pulled me back towards the middle of the mattress. I found my head on top of his chest as he bent his head towards mine. His lips pecked mine softly as his hands traced my body. They were warm to the touch and sent a numbing sensation down my spine. I could’ve stayed there forever and never moved a muscle, but duty called.
I moved away from Nathan for the second time that morning and left the bed for good this time. I saw him moving around behind me as I walked towards the bathroom but once I shut the door behind me I had no idea where he ended up going. A bath had already been drawn when I entered the bathroom, which made it easy for me to get my day started. It would be an interesting day, that I knew for sure. In two hours’ time, the binding ceremony would start and when that was over we would split up and begin our search for Malachi in the forest. It did seem rather dramatic to go through all of this just so a message can be sent if anyone actually found Malachi, but we had no other choice. We needed an exact location in order to send a fire message the same we did with a portal and if we were off in the forest Nathan and the others could be anywhere. We wouldn’t be able to pin point where to send the message. This was the only way and for the most part everyone seemed to be in agreeance as long as you didn’t count the Council but we never counted them so there was no point in even thinking about them.
Sitting down in the bathtub, I welcomed the heat of the water covering my body. It wasn’t cold, but the heat was comforting anyways. At first, nothing went through my head, which seemed strange because on a day like today, I should have a lot going on up there. It wasn’t until I was half way done with my bath that I suddenly realized that Nathan and I would be husband and wife after the ceremony. I knew this bit of information and yet, it was like I was learning of it for the first time. It was what I wanted even though it’s happening much sooner than I had anticipated. I liked it when it was Nathan and Kota but after the ceremony it will be husband and wife. A fear that I didn’t know I had came over me as I dunked my head underneath the water.
We were going to be legally and ceremoniously bound to each other for the rest of our lives. I struggled with the happiness inside me and the unknown within my mind. What if the blood ritual was wrong? What if Nathan and I weren’t meant to be? After today, we would have no choice. I was overthinking everything, making no sense at all. I knew in my soul that Nathan was the right man for me. We complimented each other and balanced each other out. I wasn’t even eighteen yet and this was all being thrown at me as if I had been prepared for it my whole life. I was only prepared for one thing growing up and this was definitely not it. Kory was the one who was to be prepared to be thrown into a binding ceremony at any moment. He was the only one who would be ready for something like this. I needed to calm down. Actually, I needed to get myself together before anyone else saw me like this. The last thing I needed today was to be questioned by a bunch of people about whether or not I was doing the right thing.
I
couldn’t sit in the tub any longer. I needed to distract myself from all these ridiculous thoughts beating me up on a day that should be one of the happiest of my life. It wouldn’t be the ceremony of my dreams but at least the ones that I truly cared for would be there to support me. Well, almost everyone. I still couldn’t believe that my mother wasn’t responding to any of the messages that Kory sent. I needed to rid myself of those negative thoughts as well, but they were harder to dispose of. Worrying about the unknown of my future is one thing, it’s actually natural to be worried about such a thing, but my own mother not coming to my binding ceremony? That hurt on a whole new level. It never would’ve gone down this way if my father were still alive. No matter what was going on in our lives, my father would make sure everyone was put together enough to not only attend the ceremony but also behave.
I would deal with my mother later. It wasn’t important enough to focus on it this much and I needed to get ready for the ceremony and then quickly change my thoughts to Malachi. I should’ve known that he would ruin my binding day along with everything else. I stared into the mirror and saw my bright red hair taking center stage. I wrapped the towel around my body as I turned away from the mirror and walked over to the closet full of the dresses that I’ve worn through the years at Werewolf Castle. There wasn’t one dress in here that was formal enough for a binding ceremony but one of them would half to do since it was last minute. I touched each of the dresses as I walked through the closet, my hand dragging along as the fabrics hit my fingertips. It was harder to pick one than I had anticipated because they were all beautiful. Any one of them would’ve been perfect for a ball or a party but nothing caught my eye as a dress you would were to your binding ceremony.
“Kota?” a feminine voice called from the bathroom. I recognized it and walking towards the door I had entered through, I wasn’t surprised to see the person who possessed it.
Deprived (Daughter of an Alpha Book 2) Page 5