by R. E. Butler
“I do,” Gen said, his voice hitching slightly with emotion. “As the chosen escort of her royal princess, I bring her today to be joined to the prince.”
Gen kissed Deci’s cheek and squeezed her hand before giving her to Tosh. Tosh linked their fingers and smiled at his mate.
“Prince Tosh, do you declare this day that December Merricks is the one true mate of your heart? Do you swear to be true only to her, to honor, love, and protect her all the days of your life and into the great beyond?”
“I do.”
Bao smiled, his blue eyes crinkling. “Princess December, do you declare this day that Tosh Okida is the one true mate of your heart? Do you swear to be true only to him, to honor, love, and protect him all the days of your life and into the great beyond?”
Tosh felt the connection between himself and Deci deepen and sweeten. He’d valued her as his mate before this moment, but nearly losing her had brought a keen sense of awareness to him. He didn’t just care for her; he loved her. It seemed impossible to love someone so much in such a short time, but he did.
“I do,” she said, her eyes glistening with tears.
“I declare you officially mated. May your lives be filled with joy,” Bao said.
The nest cheered as Tosh drew Deci close. He looked down at his beautiful mate, feeling like the luckiest male in the universe. “I love you, Deci.”
Her eyes widened and she smiled. “I love you, too.”
His dragon preened like a peacock. Tosh kissed Deci, and the nest cheered louder. Their kiss ended with them both smiling.
Quon took Bao’s place, opening a leather-bound book; the spine creaked with age. Jun and Liu slipped forward silently and laid a green, fabric-covered pad in front of his and Deci’s feet, which was meant to protect their clothes from the ground when they knelt to accept their crowns.
Two young males, holding green velvet pillows with Tosh’s crown and Deci’s tiara on them, stepped up next to Quon. Deci made an almost inaudible gasp at seeing the tiara he had designed specially for her.
The nest quieted, and Quon cleared his throat. Tosh and Deci knelt on the pad, with their hands clasped. The two males with the pillows knelt on either side of him and Deci and held the pillows in front of them. Tosh released Deci’s hand and placed the fingertips of his left hand on his crown. He nodded at Deci, and she followed suit, placing her fingertips on the sparkling tiara.
“I present to the nest Prince Tosh Okida and Princess December Merricks, who have joined together in truemating according to our laws, to be granted the titles of king and queen, lawful rulers of the nest for the length of their lives. Will you accept them as your king and queen?”
The nest erupted into cheers, and Tosh could feel the acceptance of his people. He was finally claiming the crown that had been his father’s.
“Will you pledge an oath, Princess December?”
“I will,” Deci said.
“Do you swear to honor your king, to love and protect the nest to the best of your abilities, and to always act with fairness and justice?”
“I swear.”
Quon lifted the tiara and set it on Deci’s head. The delicate emerald-and-diamond covered tiara sparkled in the sunlight. It was formed of white-gold ivy, with leaves made of emeralds and studded with diamonds.
“Will you pledge an oath, Prince Tosh?”
“I will,” Tosh said.
“Do you swear to honor your queen, to protect her and your children to the best of your abilities, to uphold our laws, administer justice, and act in all fairness?”
“I swear.”
Quon lifted the crown that had been in Tosh’s family for generations and placed it on his head. The white-gold crown of ivy was heavy on his head, and the weight of it reminded him of the great responsibility that being king brought with it.
“May your reign be long and good, as sweet as orange blossoms, and as lovely as the emerald stones in the queen’s tiara. Arise, King Tosh and Queen December.”
Tosh helped Deci stand, and they turned to face the nest.
“Long live the king and queen!” Quon shouted.
The nest repeated his words and then cheered, the forest coming alive with the sounds of their joy.
Tosh turned to face Deci and cupped her face. “You’re the most beautiful queen in the world, and you’re all mine.”
“I love my tiara,” she whispered, reaching up to touch it.
“I had to make good on my promise for you to have one. You wouldn’t be a proper queen without a crown.”
Her gaze searched his and she smiled, her eyes glistening with tears. “I feel like we’ve come so far in a short amount of time, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, or with anyone else. I’m ready to start the next chapter of our lives.”
“Me too, sweetheart,” he said, bending to kiss her.
The nest cheered louder, and Tosh and Deci broke the kiss with smiles. Deci wrapped her hand around his bicep, and they waved at the nest as they strode down the makeshift aisle and headed for the mansion, where the celebratory meal would be served. The traditional roasted venison meal had been ruined by Deci’s abduction, but Liu, Gen, and the other caretakers in the nest had quickly prepared another meal.
As Gen, Liu, and the other helpers scurried ahead, Tosh said, "How do you feel, my queen?”
“Like I’m dreaming.”
“Neither of us is dreaming, but if we were, I hope to never awaken. You’re my dream come true.”
“You’re mine, too.”
Chapter 13
Deci doodled on the edge of a notepad while the phone buzzed in her ear. It had only been a week since she and Tosh had been mated and crowned, and her schedule had filled up fast. The nest females had not had a leader since Tosh’s mom had been killed, and they were anxious to have someone listen to their issues and help them. First on the agenda was remodeling the spa that had been the scene of her abduction.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Yolanda! It’s December Merricks. How are things going with the school?” she asked the administrator of the school where she worked.
“It’s coming along well. The students are anxious to get back, and I’m sure the parents would like to get their kids out of their hair as well. What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to let you know that I won’t be coming back to work. I’ve met and mated my truemate, and I’ve already had people pack up my home.”
“Oh, that stinks! Well,” she said with a laugh, “I mean that’s wonderful for you. Congratulations! But it stinks for me because you’re a great employee.”
“I’m sorry for the short notice, but I had to wait for someone to come back to the office so I didn’t have to leave my resignation on the answering machine. My life has taken a hectic turn. I don’t mean to leave you high and dry, so I have a friend who is willing to come and help out for a while if you need someone to fill in.” Alli had said she’d be happy to sling food for shifter school kids. She thought it sounded like fun.
“That’s very sweet, but we have a temp agency that we can reach out to. If I do end up needing an extra hand, I’ll let you know, though. Good luck with your mating. I hope you have a wonderful life.”
“Thanks, Yolanda. Take care.”
Deci slipped the receiver back into the cradle and then pressed the intercom.
“Yes, ma’am?” Jun asked, her voice slightly tinny through the system.
“When is the dinner with the females?”
“In two hours.”
“Good. I’ll see my next appointment, and then I’ll get dressed.”
Deci had set up a meeting with the females who were the mates of the leaders of the various groups in the area. Tosh had offered to take her to meet them personally, but she decided she’d like to get the women together in one place, and her new home seemed like a good location. The males were going to meet with Tosh in the library. Dinner was being served in the dining room, and then they would have dessert in the library w
ith the males.
After meeting with a young female who needed financial aid to go to college, Deci turned off her computer and went to the room across the hall to see Jun. After the banquet to celebrate their coronation – and much later after Tosh had ravaged her a few good times and she’d nearly lost her voice from screaming his name in pleasure – Tosh had told her that she needed an assistant. As queen, the nest females would be reaching out to her, and without the buffer of an assistant, Deci would find herself very busy and without any help.
She could have asked Liu to be her assistant, but she decided to ask Jun. The pretty female had been in the library long enough, and her vast knowledge of the history of the nest had already proven to be invaluable.
“I’m going to shower and dress. Is everything ready?”
“Yes, ma’am. You’re in good hands.”
She smiled. “I know I am. See you in a little bit.”
Deci hurried upstairs and found Tosh looking like a wet dream as he strode from the bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around his waist and water droplets from the shower glistening on his skin.
She growled and he grinned. “I was all by my lonesome in the shower, sweetheart.”
She slid against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and tugging experimentally on the towel.
“I’ll make up for it if you join me for mine.”
“I love how you think.”
* * *
Tosh watched Deci fuss with the centerpiece on the dining room table, pushing the flowers this way and that and making what he could only guess were imperceptible changes. He leaned against the archway, smiling as she bent over the table to straighten a piece of silverware. His dragon trilled, and she straightened and looked over her shoulder, blushing. He loved to see her blush.
“It looks wonderful,” he promised.
“Thanks.” She joined him and settled into his arms. He kissed the top of her head.
“When is the last time that the leaders all got together?”
He thought for a long moment and then said, “There was a new shifter group that came into the area a while ago – white lions. The bear den invited their entire group and all the leaders of the other groups to a dinner in their honor. Not all the leaders are mated, though.”
She nodded. “Right. Midas the tiger king is still single, and Mishka the vampire leader is.”
He’d been surprised that Mishka didn’t send his regrets. Although each of the shifter groups had an alliance with the vampire coven, the groups didn’t usually hang out. Vampires, at one time, had held shifters against their will to feed from them, and shifters had long memories.
The doorbell rang, and Deci straightened, going on her toes to brush her lips across his. “Thank you for indulging me in this.”
“I’d give you the moon if you asked for it, poacher.”
Her eyes narrowed and a mischievous smile crossed her lips. “Thief.”
Gen opened the door and introduced Adriel and Filene, the king and queen of the bear den.
Filene shook Tosh’s hand and then embraced Deci. She handed her a fabric wrapped gift, which turned out to be an embroidered, leather top made by her son Ash.
“I can’t wait to wear it!” Deci gushed.
“It’s the tradition of our people to bring a handmade gift for newly mated females. Our son Axe went hunting for a white deer for the hide as an homage to your polar bear.”
“It’s so beautiful. Please thank both of your sons for me.”
Next came the alpha wolf, Adam, and his mate, Cinder; then Jesuit the falcon king, Chance the white lion king, and their shared mate, Danica; followed by Midas, and finally Mishka.
Each female brought Deci a mating gift. Cinder, who was a special kind of hybrid Wiccan-wolf, brought a charm, which resembled a dream catcher, to hang over the bed. The charm promised to ensure that their mating bed never grew cold. Danica brought a woven container of potpourri, which was made from the royal flower garden.
As the males and females parted ways, Deci blew a kiss to Tosh, and he winked at her.
“Congratulations on your mating,” Midas said as Tosh entered the library where the females would join them for dessert. He sat at the large round table, which had been placed in the room just for the dinner.
“Thank you. Thank you all for attending,” he said. “While I would do anything to please my mate, I do think she had the right idea in us getting together. It’s important to me, the same as it is to all of you, that the people I love and care for are protected. Sending a few of our people to guard the Wiccans on the full moon isn’t going to help us get to know each other.”
Jesuit nodded. “Danica feels alone at times because she’s the queen. She doesn’t know if nest females are friends with her because they like her or because of her position.”
Adriel said, “There aren’t a lot of female bears. Filene was thrilled to get this invitation.”
Gen announced their dinner. Unlike the females who were dining on lobster and crab ravioli and other fine-dining foods, the males were eating what they enjoyed best – rare steaks, loaded baked potatoes, and plenty of good beer. Except for Mishka, who smiled pleasantly, and watched as they ate.
While the meal progressed, they discussed issues relating to their various shifter groups, and Mishka shared that the anti-vampire group, The First Church of Humanity, was still a problem for them. Tosh was thankful that there were no hate groups targeting dragons. He didn’t want to think about how concerned he would be if a group of people decided to try to kill his entire nest.
Shaking out of the dark thoughts, he smiled as the library doors opened and the nest caretakers arrived with chairs, with the females following close behind. Tosh moved his seat over enough for a chair to be placed for Deci, and when she sat next to him, he lifted her hand and kissed the top.
“How was your dinner?” she asked.
“Delicious but missing my sweet mate.”
She blushed lightly and he kissed her.
“I can’t wait for dessert,” she said.
“Me too,” he said with a whisper, his voice dropping to a husky tone.
Her blush deepened and the others at the table began to chuckle, trying to hide their amusement.
Changing the subject with a wink, Deci said, “When the spa is open again, I’ve invited the females to come for a day of pampering.” She glanced at Mishka. “I’d be happy to invite Arissa, too.”
“I’m sure she would enjoy it,” Mishka said.
The evening wound down, as stories were shared and the history of their different groups were rehashed.
When all but Mishka had departed, he turned to Tosh and said, “Our interrogation of the human scientists from the warehouse is completed, along with the intel that was received from the warehouse. I’ll have Brone email you the official report. In short, however, the scientists were trying to find a breeding drug that would throw a shifter into a heat cycle so great she would be unable to resist having sex with any male around. They were planning to sell the drug to the highest bidder. They were hoping to eventually be able to test it on humans.”
Deci shook her head. “A human isn’t equipped to go through a heat cycle.”
“I think that was the point. It was being tested on shifters first, and then it would be eventually diluted for humans. There are apparently humans who would like to make their females insatiable.”
Deci shivered and Tosh pulled her a little closer to him. “What did you do to the scientists?”
“They’re dead and they will never be found. Their work is gone. The drug that had been stored at the warehouse was destroyed when the building was, and the instructions for how to make it are now lost forever.”
“Good. I’d hate to think of anyone else being hurt with that drug.”
Tosh agreed.
Mishka smiled at Deci and kissed the top of her hand. “Thank you for the warm welcome to your home.”
Deci and Tosh said goodnight, and then
Gen shut the door, flipped the deadbolt, and engaged the security system.
“I know I’m safe, but there’s a part of me that’s terrified that there are people out in the world that are so evil they’re trying to create drugs to force a mating heat,” she said.
“I’m sorry that you were taken and hurt. I’m sorry I failed to keep you safe.”
She growled softly, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “You didn’t fail.”
He tipped her chin until she was looking at him. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, she rose on her toes and kissed him. “You. Didn’t. Okay? Seriously. The dragons who orchestrated things are the ones who failed at being good people. I’m glad that no one else has to suffer. And more than that, I’m thankful that the threat to your throne is gone for good.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an excellent queen?” he teased, dipping his head to kiss her.
“I have your example to follow, and you’re a pretty excellent king.”
He caught the subtle scent of her arousal as he stared into her beautiful eyes. With a growl, he lifted her into his arms. She giggled in surprise as she threw her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“It’s time for dessert.”
The End
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Also from R. E. Butler
Wiccan-Were-Bear Novella Series
A Curve of Claw
A Flash of Fang
A Price for a Princess
A Bond of Brothers
A Bead of Blood
A Twitch of Tail
A Promise on White Wings
A Slash of Savagery
Awaken a Wolf
Daeton’s Journey