A Wish for Their Woman

by R. E. Butler

  “We’re here for a few more days,” Teck said. “Do you want to stay here in the tent every night, or do you want us to find a place to stay in one of the trailers our family is staying in?”

  Kaya looked past them to the tent. “I like the tent because it’s private, but I wouldn’t mind spending time with your family, too.”

  “Maybe another night here and then we’ll move to a trailer?” Shy offered.

  “That sounds perfect.” Kaya smiled widely, revealing a dimple in one cheek.

  They dressed and then closed up the tent and headed to the city. Kaya wore a simple tunic-style dress with leather sandals. The only jewelry she wore was a silver bracelet on her wrist. When Shy asked about it, she lifted her wrist and smiled down at it. “My parents gave it to me.”

  “It’s lovely,” Shy said.

  “I like your rings,” she said.

  Both he and Teck wore simple metal bands on the little finger of their right hands. “It’s a tradition of our people. Males get a ring at sixteen, and they wear it until they find their truemates. The ring is given to her before they perform the joining ceremony.”

  “We’ll do that at home,” Teck said. “And we’ll marry you legally so that you can have our last name.”

  “I don’t have a birth certificate, though.”

  “We know people who can handle that. Do you know how to drive?” Teck asked.

  “Not really. We have vehicles that the males take to the human cities, but it was another thing I wasn’t supposed to learn how to do because I was a female.”

  “We’ll teach you, if you’d like to learn,” Shy promised.

  They reached the trailers where their family was staying and found their sisters and cousins playing with some of the Centaur children.

  Their sisters rushed to them, bypassing Teck and Shy and hugging Kaya. She laughed as they all began to talk over one another, excitedly asking if she’d take them flower picking.

  “Your mom said you could show us how to press flowers,” Aiyana said.

  “Would you, please?” Malia asked.

  She looked at her mates and said, “Do you mind?”

  Shy said, “Why don’t you go with them? I’ll talk to Mom.”

  Teck nodded. The small group trooped off into the woods, and Shy watched until they were gone. The door to the trailer creaked when he opened it, and he stepped up into the kitchen. His mom, grandmother, and two aunts were seated at the table, drinking coffee.

  “Morning,” his mom said. “There’s coffee.”

  “Where did everyone go?” his grandmother asked.

  “The kids wanted to go flower picking with Kaya,” Shy said as he poured a cup of coffee and added cream and sugar. “I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

  He turned and leaned against the counter.

  “Is everything okay?” his mom asked.

  “Yes and no.” He explained about the dream they’d shared the night before, and the worry that now plagued him and Teck about how to keep her safe.

  “My grandma might know about her kind, but I’ve never heard that word before,” his mom said.

  “Neither have I,” his grandmother said. “Did she really make your power stronger?”

  He nodded. “I’ve never been able to throw fire like that. Sometimes I think that I couldn’t light a match on fire, but I threw a wall of fire around us. It was amazing.”

  His mom said nothing for a moment and then looked at him. “Do you suppose you didn’t have dreams about her like Teck did because you didn’t focus on your Wiccan power like he did?”

  “I think it’s possible. I’ll need to start focusing on that now. She wants to learn, too. I figure we can spend time with Grandma Lorene.”

  “She’ll love that,” his mom said.

  “Do you think you could perform the joining ceremony here? I’d love to be part of the celebration,” Daeton said.

  His grandmother shook her head. “We can’t. The whole den must be part of the ceremony. If we did it here, we’d still have to do it at home, and then it would lose some of its meaning.”

  Daeton frowned. “Oh, right.”

  The joining ceremony was performed with the whole den in attendance. The male was branded with the name of his truemate, a celebratory meal was shared, and then the entire den would shift for the truemate.

  Daeton sighed. “I miss everything being in the Medes Realm.”

  Shy wished she could live in the den, but it was too dangerous for her family. There was a knock at the door, and Shy opened it.

  “Good morning, Queen Sophie,” he said, standing to the side to let her in.

  “I hope I’m not intruding,” she said.

  “Not at all,” his mother said. “We were just talking about our people’s joining ceremony.”

  “I came to speak to you about that, too, actually,” Sophie said.

  “Oh?” his mother said.

  “Even though Kaya isn’t a Centaur, she is my adopted daughter. I feel like I made a big mistake by shoving my nose into her business. I had no right, and I’m very sorry.” She looked at Shy. “I hope you and your brother can forgive me.”

  “Of course,” he said.

  She smiled in relief. “Good. The reason I stopped by is that Kaya’s going to be leaving with you in a few days, and her father and I would like to join the three of you in the way of our people.”

  “What’s the ceremony like?” Shaylee asked.

  “The female is carried to her male by one of his relatives. The leader of the herd performs a marriage ceremony, and the herd celebrates with a big meal. We kind of…ruined the meal yesterday. Arsen and I would like to make it up to all of you. And I want Kaya to know that although it’s not our way, I do believe now that she found her destiny with you and your brother, and I’d never do anything to stop her from being happy. She may not be my born daughter, but she’s mine all the same.”

  “Kaya went to pick flowers with Teck and the kids,” Shy said. “When they get back, we’ll bring her to your home so you can talk.”

  “Thank you.” Sophie smiled, said goodbye, and left.

  “That’s so neat,” Shaylee said.

  “And, yay, I’ll be able to be at some kind of ceremony with my family,” Daeton said.

  “What was your ceremony like?” Elizabeth asked Daeton.

  As Daeton shared the details of her joining ceremony, Shy looked out the window in the door, wishing that Kaya was there with him. Deciding to make breakfast for her and Teck, he set down his mug on the counter and got to work in the fully stocked kitchen.

  “You okay, honey?” his mom asked as she joined him.

  “You know what? I’m better than okay. I was feeling like I didn’t really fit anywhere. Now, I do. Kaya was the best thing to ever happen to me. I got my truemate, but I also got my brother back.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder and hugged him. “I’m so glad. Your dads and I have been really worried about you two. It wasn’t normal for there to be a rift between twins like you and Teck.”

  “Kaya’s our connection,” he said, cracking eggs into a bowl. “I hope she likes my cooking. I finally get to be a caretaker for my family. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

  “She’s a lucky young lady to have you for a mate.”

  “I’m the lucky one, Mom.”

  Chapter 7

  Kaya looked at the gown hanging from the door of her bedroom closet. It was a traditional Centaur joining gown. It resembled a dress that a Greek goddess would wear. Layers of the sheer ivory fabric created a billowy gown, with an empire waist and a long train. The shoulders were gathered with thin golden rope, and the tasseled ends would brushed her waist.

  She looked at her moman. “You were so angry.”

  Sophie stood in the open doorway. She wore a similar gown, but hers was dyed dark purple. Her hair was curled into fat ringlets, and she wore her crown – a tiara made of golden strands woven around emeralds and sapphires.

  “I kn
ow, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for so many things – that I didn’t believe in your dreams, and that I didn’t see how unfair your papan’s decree that you’d marry a Centaur or leave would be. Whether it feels like it or not, we really did want to help you build a good life.”

  Kaya let that roll around in her mind for a moment. “I just wish you’d believed me. The tattoos are the symbols for Teck’s and Shy’s names. And the sword on my shoulder blade was because I had a dream where we fought in a battle and I wielded a sword. It was why I asked Papan to teach me.”

  Sophie smiled sadly. “You’re not a Centaur, and there aren’t other groups that we’re aware of who dream of their mates. But we didn’t believe you, and I’m sorry for that. I know it doesn’t make up for how alone you must have felt, but I can tell that you and your mates are connected deeply.”

  “Will we be allowed to come back to visit?”

  “Why wouldn’t you?”

  “Because there are two mates for me, and not just one.”

  “Of course you’re welcome here. This is your home, and you’re our daughter. We’ll send correspondence to each other through the mail. The box the herd uses is checked once every two months when the males leave to purchase supplies.”

  “It would be nice if we could use the Internet or cell phones.”

  “I’m afraid your papan is too worried about what could happen if anyone found out about us.”

  Kaya didn’t agree, but she wasn’t the king and didn’t make the rules. The Centaurs in the Mortal Realm lived in fear of discovery. In the Medes Realm, the Centaurs’ nature wasn’t kept a secret. They lived openly and without fear. But life was different in the Mortal Realm, and Kaya knew that she wasn’t going to be the one to change their beliefs.

  She glanced at the clock on the dresser and said, “I need to get dressed. Will you help me?”

  “Of course.”

  Kaya stripped out of the satin robe as Sophie removed the dress from the hanger. Kaya wore a white, strapless corset and a pair of matching panties.

  “Was Bry upset that you and Papan offered to have our joining ceremony here?”

  Sophie helped Kaya into the dress. “He’s gone.”

  “Gone where?”

  She shrugged. “He heard that Arsen had sided with you and was allowing the mating to proceed. He petitioned Arsen to break your mating and give you to him, which your papan didn’t appreciate. Bry was told in no uncertain terms that your mating was approved and no one was going to tell you to do anything except have a happy and long life, and he took off. Some of our warriors saw him leave through the portal to the Medes Realm with a satchel, so it’s believed that he went to visit his older brother.”

  Bry’s brother, Manu, lived with the Centaurs in the Medes Realm and was mated to a human female.

  “I hope he finds happiness someday,” Kaya said.

  “I do, too. I think he believed you were his only hope of finding a female with long-life.”

  “There are plenty of other supernatural creatures out in the world who have long-life. I never understood why he wanted to marry me since I didn’t care for him in that way.”

  “Males are strange.”

  Kaya snorted. “To say the least.”

  “Your papan would never have forced you to marry a male you didn’t want. I hope you know that.”

  “Bry seemed to think that he would.”

  “No, never. He wanted you to choose a male from the herd for yourself. Someone you cared for. I thought Bry was a good fit for you, but I can see now that he wasn’t.”

  “Well, it’s in the past now. I’m mated to my dream guys, and Papan is going to join us. I can’t wait.”

  “Under normal circumstances, you’d be off on a honeymoon in your new home for three days, but as you’re going to be leaving for the states in a few days, I hope you won’t mind not sticking with that tradition.”

  “It’s no problem. We’re going to stay in the tent by the lake again tonight. It’s pretty romantic out there.”

  “I’ll bet,” Sophie said with a smile. “You look lovely.”

  “Thank you for letting me wear your dress.”

  “I’m happy to see you in it. I hope that someday your daughter or daughters will wish to wear it, too.”

  Sophie left to finish getting ready, and Kaya walked into the small bathroom and fixed her hair. She braided two thin sections of hair at her temples and crossed them over the top of her head. She pinned the braids to look like a headband. If she were marrying a Centaur male, she would be wearing a smaller version of Sophie’s tiara, because she would be taking on the role of herd princess, and her husband would become the prince and future ruler of the herd. But that was a life out of reach for her now, and she couldn’t be happier. If she’d never dreamed of Teck and Shy, then who knows how her life would have turned out. But she did dream of them, and she was happily mated to the two sexiest males she’d ever laid eyes on. Her dreams came true the moment they found her crying at the lake.

  After applying a little makeup, she took one last look at herself and then smiled. Even though she and her mates already belonged to one another, she was still a little nervous. She’d feel better once she saw them again. Being away from them for the last two hours was torture. Her body hummed for their touch, and her thoughts were never far from them.

  She exited her former bedroom and followed the sound of low, feminine voices to the kitchen. Daeton, Elizabeth, Shaylee, and Filene were sitting at the kitchen table. The conversation stopped when she entered the kitchen.

  “Oh, that dress is so becoming!” Elizabeth said as she stood. She wore a hide vest and skirt. Daeton, Filene, and Shaylee were dressed similarly.

  “Your mates are waiting for you, but first we have a special gift,” Daeton said.

  The females stood and walked out of the trailer, and Kaya joined them. Perseus had agreed to carry Kaya to her mates in the Centaur tradition. He was in his half-shifted form, and his dark horse body glistened in the afternoon light. Adi was next to him, holding a bouquet of the wildflowers she’d helped the kids pick earlier that day. Blue and green ribbons encircled the stems.

  Kaya gathered her skirt and squatted down in front of the sweet little boy. “These are for you,” he said, handing her the bouquet.

  “Thank you so much. They’re beautiful.”

  “Moman says we’re cousins now because you’re marrying Teck and Shy. Will you still be my friend even though you’re married?”

  She smiled. “Of course! Before I met Teck and Shy, you were my friend. Now we’re family, too, but we’ll always be friends. Okay?”

  He smiled in relief. “Good.”

  She kissed his cheek, stood, and turned to her new family. “I’m so glad you’re here. I can’t explain how everything worked out so perfectly except that it was fate.”

  “Welcome to the family,” Elizabeth said, hugging Kaya with a sniffle. “I couldn’t have imagined a better mate for my boys.”

  Kaya’s eyes stung with tears, and she blinked them away. She didn’t want to ruin her makeup before her mates saw her. Daeton brought over a small stepstool and placed it on the ground next to Perseus. He offered Kaya his hand, and she stepped up onto the stool and swung up onto his back.

  “Lead the way, Adi,” Perseus said. “We’ve got to get your cousin to her mates.”

  Adi straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin, and then he pranced out in front of Perseus, his tail swishing back and forth.

  “He’s so adorable,” Kaya said as Perseus followed slowly behind him. Kaya’s new family walked behind them as they made their way to the center of the city where the ceremony would take place.

  “He thinks the world of you. He was worried you wouldn’t like him anymore because of the time difference. Now you’re seventeen years apart.”

  “I’ve always thought of him as a little brother,” she said. “The age difference doesn’t matter because we’re family by heart, and now by mating.”

>   “I love you, Kaya,” Adi said loudly, glancing over his shoulder. “We’re family for real now.”

  “I love you, too, Adi,” she said, stifling a giggle at how sweet the little Centaur was.

  “Oh, holy crap he’s a cutie,” Elizabeth said.

  “He gets it from his papan,” Daeton said.

  When they reached the center of the city, Perseus slowed to a stop. Kaya saw her mates standing on either side of her papan, who was dressed in his best clothing and wearing his crown. Sophie stood next to him, her cheeks wet with tears and a wide smile on her face. The herd and the visiting family members stood as everyone but her and Perseus took their places in the crowd.

  “Ready to marry your mates?” Perseus murmured.

  “More than ready.”

  “Good,” he said with a low chuckle. “I can tell they’re anxious to see you again.”

  Perseus moved slowly down the aisle. Kaya couldn’t take her eyes off her mates. They looked so handsome. Their onyx hair was left long. Each wore a single, thin braid that was adorned with feathers and beads. Their upper bodies were bare, and stamped, leather cuffs were fastened around their biceps. They wore hide trousers and moccasins. Ekho moved to them and placed another stool at Perseus’s side. He held out his hand to her.

  Kaya took Ekho’s hand and swung her leg over, sliding down slowly until she felt the stool under her feet. She stepped down onto the grass. Ekho kissed her cheek and moved away with Perseus until she was standing alone in the aisle. Sophie walked toward her, brushing at fresh tears, and linked their arms. They walked a few steps forward until they stood between her mates and in front of her father.

  Arsen cleared his throat and said, “There’s nothing that brings a father more joy than for his daughter to find her heart. Who stands with Kaya today and gives her to these males?”

  “I do,” Sophie said. “As Kaya’s moman, I proudly give her hand to these males.”

  “Do you come today, Kaya, willingly to join with these males in the tradition of our people?”

  “I do, sire,” she said.