by R. E. Butler
I was at once both elated and freaked out. It was incredible to have found my mate within this strange realm and so soon after arriving, but what if he didn’t understand the mate-call? I had no idea how to seduce a man and I hadn't done much over kissing and fooling around with other were-bears.
"Is your wrist okay?" He said, stirring me from my swirling thoughts.
"I think so. But it does hurt."
"We'll get it looked at soon."
"Where are you taking me, anyway?"
He chuckled and the sound was wonderful. "I thought you'd never ask. It's not good to be so trusting, you know. Especially not for someone as beautiful as you."
"You didn't answer my question." I tweaked his side with my finger and thumb and he snorted a laugh.
"True. I'm taking you home." He looked over his shoulder at me as I straightened from where I was leaning on him. "My name is Perseus."
"Daeton."
"What are you, Daeton?" I liked the way he said my name, like he was rolling a piece of candy across his tongue.
"Bear."
"You don't look very furry." He smiled, showing perfectly white teeth.
"I haven't shifted yet. They told me I wouldn't shift for another few moons."
"Who are they?"
"My guards, the ones that took down that Vehsi before you snatched me away."
"I saw them. My people will bring them here when everything is sorted out. Are those Dire Wolves tracking us yours, too?"
"They belong to Prince Aedan. We're on our way to his castle."
He stopped abruptly and I slid against him. "Are you his bride or something?" His voice came out on a snarl.
"No!"
He let out a relieved breath and said, "Then why are you going to see him?"
I sighed. "It's kind of a long story."
"Alright. But I want to know everything. If I have to fight the prince for you, I just want to know what I'm getting myself into beforehand."
My mouth fell open on a soft gasp and I couldn't stop my grin when he kicked off again and said, "Don't act so surprised. Our kind have truemates just as any other supernatural creature. You're mine, and I'll be damned if I'm going to give you up to the prince."
I stifled my laugh. Wouldn't Rysk and Tyrant be surprised? We stopped to shop and I picked up my mate instead.
The land behind the marketplace was lush and green, with rolling hills of vibrant wildflowers and stands of tall shrubs and trees. He headed towards the hills at a fast gait and what the guards had called a settlement loomed into view. The homes had the appearance of barns, with wood slatted walls and thatched roofs. The double doors at the front of the homes were large, tall enough for the Centaurs to enter without ducking. Dozens of homes dotted the area at the base of the hills and when he slowed to a trot, the sound of water rushing nearby sounded like a waterfall.
Centaurs and human women came out of their homes to greet us, waving and smiling as if they were expecting us. Perseus headed towards one of the larger homes where a plump woman with dark hair pulled the doors open and waved us inside. Just inside the doors was a large gathering room with a kitchen off to the left and a seating area to the right, complete with fireplace and hearth.
"Slide down, sweetheart," Perseus said, steadying me with his hand on my waist and taking the whip from me with his other hand. The fresh soreness from riding on his back without a saddle was quickly forgotten when I landed on the wood floor and my feet tried to shatter as I yelped in surprise. He tossed the whip into the corner and quickly scooped me up in his arms as Rysk and Tyrant raced into the home, cursing and calling my name.
"Calm down." I said to them, "I'm perfectly fine."
Perseus moved towards the kitchen and put me on a high counter, his gorgeous face etched with concern.
Rysk growled, "Put her down this instant."
Perseus shot him an angry glare as he began to untie the laces of my tennis shoe. "She's in pain. You clearly pushed her too hard and she's not used to such physical exertion." As if my body had decided to make a point, both Rysk and Tyrant made shocked gasps as my shoe dropped to the floor and Perseus gently tugged off a very bloody sock.
"Moman," Perseus called over his shoulder, and the plump woman came up. She picked my foot up gently in her hands and said, "I'll draw a saltz bath. She'll need a few days to recuperate while her wounds heal."
She smiled at me, introduced herself as Perseus' mother, and walked out of the main room through an arched doorway.
When my other foot was free of sock and shoe, he circled my ankles with his fingers, massaging them lightly and said, "You'll stay here with me until you're healed."
"We don't have time to stay." Rysk said, "And you have no say in what we do or don't do."
"That's not entirely true." A deep voice said from the doorway as a large Centaur stepped through the arch and entered the room, two others flanking him.
"Papan," Perseus said, stepping away from me for a moment and greeting the man by clasping forearms. "This is Daeton. Daeton, this is my father, Cosmo, and my brothers, Casper and Abrax."
His father had black hair touched with streaks of gray, kept long and tied behind his head in a loose tail. His brothers looked slightly younger than him, and both wore their hair long like he did. Each man wore identical smiles, friendly and welcoming.
The three Centaurs moved to me and Cosmo took my offered hand and kissed the top. "You are as lovely as the reports said. And clearly compassionate and strong." He pulled my arm up gently and looked at the whip mark that curled around my wrist like a red snake. "The mark will never disappear; there is an alloyed poison in the leather that marks permanently."
I withdrew my fingers from his grip and looked at the mark. To think that beast had planned to whip a child, knowing it would scar him forever, made me want to go find him and strike him with it. "In my den, battle marks are worn with pride," I said, smiling as I ran my fingertips over the lightly raised mark. Axe would have been proud of me.
"Indeed, the same applies for our kind," Cosmo said. "Perseus, we'll prepare a feast in the groves. Elektra will bring an appropriate outfit for your bride."
Everything went very quiet on my side and Perseus looked at me with a quirked brow and a soft smile. "We can wait on that a few days, Daeton."
I shook my head, reaching for his hand as my heart pounded out a staccato rhythm in my chest. Turning it over in my hand, I stroked his fingers. "I remember your hands, from the dreams. When our eyes met across the street in the marketplace, I felt something click inside me. And when you pulled me up onto your back to get me out of danger, I felt that connection grow. And now," I raised his hand to my mouth and kissed his palm, "I know who you are. You're my mate."
He bristled with pride and moved closer to me, dropping his head slowly as if he would kiss me, and I really, really hoped he would. And then Tyrant broke the sweet scene by growling loud enough to shake loose the rafters.
"That is impossible! She is meant for our prince!"
Chapter 5
"Excuse me?" I looked over at them.
Rysk shoved Tyrant back a little and said with a stiff voice, "Apologies, princess, but we are on a mission from our prince to bring you back safely as soon as possible. We don't have time for this."
Cosmo said, "You're not taking Daeton away from my son, I can tell you that right now. So you'd better just explain everything so we can decide how best to proceed."
Rysk opened his mouth to protest but I raised my voice, "I'm not going anywhere without Perseus. And I don't care what you or Aedan think, I'm not walking away from the mate-call. It would make me insane. So stop blustering and sit down and tell Cosmo and Perseus everything that's going on."
They shared uneasy glances but relented. Perseus stood protectively beside me, holding my hand, listening as Rysk and Tyrant shared my story. If it hadn't happened to me, I would have found the whole thing absurd. To think that a wizard could kill a were-bear and gain enough power to basi
cally destroy anything and everything he chose was beyond strange. But once more I was reminded that in this world, where men could be half horse and women could have furry bodies, anything could happen.
Cosmo nodded to Perseus after the story was over. "I'll go speak with the council, but if my wife says that Daeton needs a few days to heal, then you're not leaving until then. We'll put you up in one of the empty homes." He turned in a slow circle and moved out of the house with his other sons behind him.
"This is unacceptable, princess." Rysk said hotly.
"It is what it is." I said, giggling when Perseus inspected the bottom of one foot and tickled me accidentally. Well, I think he did it accidentally.
When the silence continued, Perseus looked over at them, "If you'd prefer, you are welcome to head on to the castle and tell the prince of the developments. The wizard would be a fool to set foot inside the Centaur camp. We will keep her safe."
Both men shook their heads. "We are unable to leave her."
"Then I guess you're stuck here." I said, and then tried to soften things. "I'm thankful for all that you've done to keep me safe so far. No one could have predicted that I'd find my mates along the way to the castle. I'm new in this realm, but I do know that I want to be with Perseus. Whatever that means for his people, for us, we're just going to have to wing it from here on out."
"Did you say mates?" Rysk asked, disbelief coloring his features.
Perseus answered, "There are two of us for Daeton. Me and a male with fur on his hands and black claws."
I looked at Perseus in surprise and he chuckled, his mouth curving into a slow smile. "Yes, little sweetheart, I had the same dreams as you, starting a few moons ago. It's the way of our people, to dream-share with mates before we meet. When our eyes met earlier, I knew exactly who you were even though I hadn't seen your face in the dreams. I remembered your hands, too, though." He picked up my hand and kissed the tips of my fingers. My eyes widened at the little bolts of electricity that shot through me at that simple action.
"I saw a woman with black fur earlier." I said, clearing my throat.
"Ah, they're not usually around these parts. She was probably a Lepardish, their settlement is west of here, but they occasionally come for goods. The male in our dreams had blonde fur, and I think he was most likely a Leonemen. Their settlement is far north of the castle, though, so I don't know when you'll meet him."
I grinned up at Perseus, amazed at his accepting nature. "When it happens, it'll be perfect."
"True. Now if we can just make sure you don't get injured finding your second mate, that would be fantastic." He smiled again, a thousand watt one that made my stomach clench.
His mother called from inside the room she'd entered that the bath was ready. "Come on, sweetheart," he scooped me up in his arms and carried me away, calling over his shoulder, "You guys make yourselves comfortable, we'll be a while."
Perseus carried me into the large bathroom and kissed my cheek before he set me down gently on a padded chair. “I’m going to talk to the council with my father, sweetheart. You're in good hands with my mother.”
He smiled down at me and left the room, sliding a door shut behind him. His mother, Elektra, said that the tub was filled with healing saltz that would speed recovery. Alongside the human-sized tub she set out several towels, a bar of soap, and a jar of shampoo. Before she left, she said she’d return with a dress for me.
I stripped and hobbled over to the tub, sliding down into the almost-too-hot cloudy water that had a salty scent. I groaned in relief as whatever “saltz” was began to work. My skin tingled pleasantly and I dunked under the water and then washed my hair. The jar of shampoo smelled like wildflowers. I had to wash my hair twice to get it to feel clean, and then I set to washing my body with the soap.
I had just leaned back to relax a little after I was done when Elektra knocked on the door and came in with a pile of white fabric and a small basket of items. She put them down next to the chair I’d sat on and pulled a small stool over to the tub and sat down. Pulling my hand up from where it rested on the side of the tub, she took a small nail brush, rubbed it against the bar of soap, and began to scrub my nails. It felt heavenly.
“So ask what you want to know.” She said.
“What?” I opened my eyes and looked at her.
Smiling, she said, “I know you’re curious about being married to a Centaur. I’m from your realm. I’ve been here for nearly seventy years, but I was born in Canada. In Canada, there is a Centaur settlement hidden deep in a mountain range. The men would come down to the city where I was born to trade once a month. Men from this realm journeyed to the Canadian settlement through a portal to find brides. When I turned 18, I met Cosmo and he told me we were truemates and took me away.”
“But I’ve never heard of Centaurs except from myths. How does no one know about them if they’re running around human cities?”
“They can shift into human form and remain that way as long as they like. Their natural form is the half-horse shift and they’re most comfortable that way.”
Well, that answered the question that had been banging around my mind when it came to our wedding night. My stomach flipped. Holy hell, I was getting married tonight!
I realized that my sister-in-law Elizabeth must have felt exactly the same way that I did. One decision changed her life forever and with a simple ceremony she found herself married to my brothers. For me, stopping at the booth to look at the dress created the scenario for me to find Perseus. I don't know when I would have met him if we had simply rushed through the city as the guards wanted.
As she scrubbed the dirt from my fingernails, she let me have the silence I needed to let the weight of the situation settle in my mind. I’d had the dreams for so long that it didn’t worry me to find Perseus, to know that he was one of the two men I’d dreamed about. But getting married without my family with me started to burn in a special way. I was in a different realm with strange creatures, and even though Perseus was gorgeous and his parents were kind, they weren’t my parents or my brothers or my sister-in-law.
When I started to cry, Elektra finished her task and handed me a soft cloth, promising to return in a few minutes to help me get ready.
I felt both too old to cry and too young to go through this alone. My mom and I had talked openly about sex and love, but I really missed her right now. I hadn’t actually ever had sex. I had done some things, with bears from other dens during our full moon celebrations, but never more than light petting and kissing. My nerves at what lay ahead of me tonight tangled like a hot knot at the base of my spine. Would it hurt? Would I bleed? Would he be disappointed that I didn't know more about sex? Suddenly, the romance novels I'd devoured didn't seem like nearly enough preparation for my actual wedding night.
My tears were gone and I was wrapped in a towel and sitting on the chair, chewing on my thumbnail, when Elektra came back in. She said nothing after pulling a small vanity table with an attached mirror over to me, stepping around behind me and rubbing at my long hair with a towel as she pulled a comb through. My onyx hair was half-way down my back now, straight as an arrow and soft as corn silk. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, cataloging my high cheekbones, coppery skin, and dark brown eyes with thick lashes. I was tall and plenty curvy.
When my hair was completely dry and combed to a lustrous gloss, she put the small basket on the vanity in front of me and reached for a long white ribbon. She began to talk about the Centaur marriage ceremony as she braided hair from my temples with ribbon, weaving them behind my head and tucking small pink flowers into the braids.
"You'll spend the night with Perseus here in our home and for two days we'll give you the home to yourselves. The morning of the third day, there will be a celebration and normally plans would begin for Perseus to build your home with the other males in the settlement. But since you are leaving to travel to the palace, then those plans will wait until you return."
"I don't know how lo
ng that will be." I met her blue eyes in the mirror, the same electric shade as Perseus'.
Her smile was sweet and genuine. "It won't matter, Daeton, the length of time that you're gone. Today you will become my daughter, and our home, our family, will be right here waiting for you when you are ready to come home."
As she spoke of home, I realized that marrying Perseus might mean that no matter what happened with the wizard, taking him away from his family and back to my realm would be cruel. Clearly they kept the nature of their existence tightly under wraps, so moving my big horse husband back into the den wasn't really an option. I lost myself in thought again as she fixed my hair, and by the time she finished I'd only come to the conclusion that I would have opportunities to see my family by going through the portal, but that here in the Medes Realm and the town of Cholas, was where I was going to call home from now on.
Chapter 6
The dress was made of several layers of sheer white fabric. When Elektra dropped it down over my head, careful to avoid the crown of flowers she'd painstakingly woven into my hair, I found myself dressed in something from the pages of a book of Grecian myths. The slim shoulders of the dress were gathered with golden braids that fell to my hips. The neckline was a low v that gave me good cleavage and ended in a waist gathered with more golden braids that dusted the floor. It draped to the ground and my feet were encased in soft leather sandals that she cushioned with fur after rubbing ointment into my blistered feet.
She tended the wound on my wrist to ensure it continued to heal, but the pain was all but gone in the middle of my growing excitement. Cosmo knocked on the door, and when Elektra opened it, he stepped into the bathroom wearing a leather vest with bands on his arms and his long hair was out of the tie, the sides braided.