Twist of Fate (Veredian Chronicles Book 4)

by Regine Abel

  Then again, they would have no clue….

  Stepping back, I circled around him while he resumed thumping his chest and roaring, reminding all in attendance that I was his female. That made me tingle in all the right places.

  A tiny voice roared off to my left. Turning my head, I spotted little Rhadames thumping his chest. Everyone started laughing while Lhor whispered to his son to stop.

  Switching places, it was my turn to thump my chest, claiming my mate while he circled around me. Once done, we stood face to face, hand in hand while all in attendance approached and showered us with zantoya seeds, which represented prosperity so that we would never go hungry. The children threw lashan petals at us so the Goddess would bless us with fertility. And finally, the Elders sprayed lumin water on us so that we would face any challenge in our union with love and wisdom.

  Everyone stepped back again while Ghan and I knelt before my mother. She placed her hands on each of our heads, her palms resting on our foreheads.

  “May the love you feel today forever burn this bright. Listen to each other with an open mind, and speak with a selfless heart. Give strength and comfort when your mate needs it and accept it in return in your times of weakness. In times of hardship, remind yourselves why you fell in love in the first place. Let no harsh words, rumors, or jealousy tear asunder what the Goddess has brought together. May you have a long, happy, healthy, and blessed life together.”

  She kissed our foreheads.

  “Rise, Ghan and Aleina Delphin.”

  We rose to our feet under the thundering applause of our guests. But I wasn’t done. I raised a palm, indicating to all that I requested silence. They complied.

  “We have claimed each other according to Veredian traditions. I will now claim you based on Xelixian traditions that none shall ever dare challenge that you are mine. Ghan of House Delphin, you are my heart, my soul, and my one true love. I wish to bind my life to yours and spend the rest of my days by your side, however long the Goddess grants us. Will you have me?”

  I had always known that Ghan wanted to be claimed according to his traditions, but the expression on his face made me realize I had underestimated just how much. Xelixian males couldn’t ask a female to become their lifemate but had to wait for her to declare herself. While I had claimed him multiple times in the past, I’d never done so in any formal fashion. As a stickler for protocol myself, I should have known how insecure it must have made him feel, even with our Veredian mating.

  “No female can ever touch my heart the way you have. You are my soulmate. Created by the Goddess herself for me and me for you. Yes, my beloved. I would have you and be yours until my last breath.”

  The applause erupted again and this time, I let them be. I was too busy kissing my mate. While our mating would be made legal in Haven and in the Veredian records, we would still need to go to the Fastening Hall to make it binding here on Xelix Prime. When we could do that remained a mystery.

  An orgy of food followed, with a mix of Veredian and Xelixian cuisine. Between bites, Ghan and I circulated through our crowd of guests. I’d never considered myself the clingy type, yet throughout the afternoon, my mate and I were joined at the hip, my arm around his waist and his around my shoulders.

  We were heading toward the table to grab another drink when I noticed Lenora and Zhara eyeballing each other from a distance. The children were all clustered around the dessert table. Thanks to Ghan’s frequent talks with Lenora, she no longer kept herself isolated. However, while she now stood with the group, she still struggled to engage with the other children. None of them shunned her, but her horns made them uneasy, too reminiscent of their Guldan guards.

  Pretending to want a sweet, I dragged Ghan after me and stopped by the table near Zhara.

  “Having fun, sweetheart?” I asked innocently.

  “Yes, Auntie Lee.”

  “You’ve made new friends?”

  She nodded. “They want to play with Rhad like he’s a doll.”

  Ghan snorted, and I laughed. Somehow, I doubted Rhad minded at all.

  Her gaze slipped toward Lenora again, who was eyeing the three of us with undisguised curiosity.

  “Have you met Lenora?” I asked.

  Zhara shook her head.

  “You should go say hi. She’s adorable but very shy.”

  That got her attention. “Why? Because of her horns?”

  I repressed a frown. “Do they bother you?” I asked.

  “No. I think they’re beautiful. She’s pretty. Different, like me.”

  This time, I didn’t hide how I felt and beamed at her.

  “Yes, she’s very pretty. You should tell her what you just said. It would make her feel welcomed.”

  Zhara once again surprised me with her level of maturity. Only weeks away from her third birthday, she physically looked like she was five but reasoned with the mind of a seven-or-eight-year-old. She didn’t need me to go into details to understand that, like her, Lenora felt excluded because of her physical difference.

  Without another word, Zhara, fearless as ever, marched toward Lenora who watched her approach with bulging eyes.

  Ghan reached for one of the sweetcakes on the table and fed it to me, a grateful smile on his face. I winked at him while we both stretched our ears to listen to our girls talking.

  CHAPTER 14

  Ghan

  We left Xelix Prime the day after the mating ceremony, or ‘wedding’ as the Veredians called it. I still couldn’t believe I had put myself on display like that. Yet, there had been something visceral and invigorating to claim my female and be claimed in return in such a primal way. For all their peaceful and polished ways, I hadn’t expected Veredians to have remained so close to their tribal roots.

  To Khel and Lhor’s chagrin, Amalia now claimed she wanted a Veredian wedding of her own. While they’d performed respectably, considering how little time they all had to learn the steps, dancing didn’t come naturally to Xelixians. Being part of a crowd had made it okay for them, but to become the center of attention would be a different ball-game. When I teased them about it, Lhor became too nosy about my unexpected aptitudes, forcing me to drop the subject and threaten my mate with a glare to keep quiet.

  She’d found it hilarious, which only fueled Lhor’s curiosity. The fiend suspected something was up and wouldn’t let it go.

  The long journey to Xamora started on an interesting note with all the females on the Tempest going into their season. While Rehmannia tea flowed freely to keep the Veredians’ aggression in check, tensions ran high nonetheless. During the wedding, the extensive display of muscular flesh and luscious feminine curves had stirred interest on both sides. A number of couples had formed between the Tuureans and the First Division, but I wasn’t stupid enough to believe those would be lasting relationships. Physical attraction and lust eventually waned.

  I had gathered the warriors in one of the study rooms of the Tempest specifically to discuss that point. Xelixian males were raised to believe that the onus of making a mating work rested solely on their shoulders. That they were to do everything and anything in their power to keep the female happy for fear she would walk away. And there lay my main concern.

  I didn’t doubt for a minute that being in heat largely influenced the females giving in to their attraction to my warriors. Would that last once their season ended? I believed that at least half of those couples would part ways then. It couldn’t become an issue with the males pursuing the females with unrequited attentions or fighting among themselves over a female’s favors. Prior to discovering they were Veredians, a no-fraternization rule had not been necessary. While I didn’t intend to impose one now, they needed to know that their behavior would be closely monitored to ensure we kept the peace.

  I was halfway through my speech when the door burst open.

  Startled, we all turned to see Aleina barge in, a feral look on her face.

  “Get out,” she snarled at my warriors.

  “Aleina?
” I asked, confused by her odd behavior.

  The males cast uncertain looks my way, wondering if they should comply with her order. That’s when I noticed her markings had gone pitch black.

  “I said, out!” she growled, tearing off her tank top.

  Seeing my mate advancing with her bra as her only top and reaching for her shorts in the presence of my warriors, I lost it.

  “GET OUT!” I yelled at my warriors.

  The warriors jumped to their feet and stampeded out, battling with shock and amusement. Before the door even closed behind the last one, Aleina tackled me to the wall. Spinning us around, I slammed her back against it. Blood rushed to my groin.

  “Yes,” she grunted, tearing at my clothes.

  “You stripped in front of my warriors,” I grumbled against her lips.

  “I told them to get out.”

  “They were still in.”

  “Not anymore. Now you get in. Right now!”

  My shaft jerked in response, and I put her down long enough for her to strip out of her shorts and underwear. I didn’t bother stripping, only freeing my cock from its confines. Sneaking my hand between her thighs confirmed her arousal level had her more than ready for me. I lifted her back up and barely had time to align myself with her opening before she impaled herself on me. We both cried out from the exquisite pain. Although soaking wet, her core wrapped around me in a tight glove. Impatient in her need, she didn’t want to wait to adjust to my size and wiggled in my arms, urging me to move.

  “Patience, love,” I said through clenched teeth, fighting my own urge to rock in and out of her.

  “No! I need you now. Take me. Hard!”

  The hunger in her voice was my undoing.

  Giving in to Aleina’s demand, I pounded into her with lustful abandon. Her inner walls gripped me, tugging at the sensitive skin of my cock with each stroke. I wished I could bury myself even deeper, lose myself in her. Devouring her mouth, I swallowed her choked cries. She clawed at my shirt, no doubt aching for closer contact. Holding her propped against the wall with one hand under her bum, I tore off my shirt with the other. She welcomed the sound of the tearing fabric with a bestial grunt and pressed her burning skin against mine.

  Aleina was blistering hot inside and out.

  Abandoning her mouth, I licked the markings alongside of her neck. She cried out my name, her body trembling with an impending release. Her pleasure always did crazy things to me. Knowing that it was I, Ghan Delphin, making this beautiful goddess unravel made me insane with desire and an incredible sense of power. Picking up the pace, I drove myself in and out of her with even more force, allowing the tide within to rise.

  Her body seized. Head thrown back, she shouted at the ceiling, the guttural sound halfway between agony and ecstasy. Blinding light struck me. My mate’s name tore out of my throat, sounding more like a bestial growl. My movements became erratic while I continued to pump in and out of her, filling her with my seed.

  Still trembling, Aleina looked down at me with smoldering eyes. Her hunger hadn’t been sated yet and wouldn’t be for a while, either. Based on my observation of the Praghans over the past three years, Amalia would wear out both her mates and still be good to go. I would face that challenge head-on.

  Still buried inside her, I kissed her again. This time, slow and sensual, pouring in all the love I felt for her. Now that we’d taken the edge off, I intended to carry her back to her quarters and see that she was properly satisfied. She shuddered as my lips slid down to her neck while my fangs descended. Aleina gasped when they sank into her tender flesh and dug her nails into my back.

  As always, my mate’s oxytocin flowing through my veins felt like liquid orgasms flooded my system. But this time was different. It didn’t push me to the edge of another climax but made me rabid to take her over and over again.

  Carrying her over to one of the desks, I put her down. Eyes glazed, she gave me a confused look.

  “Ghan? What are…?”

  She squealed when I abruptly turned her to face away from me, then bent her over the desk. Protesting, she tried to push herself back up, but I held her by her nape, pinning her down.

  “Stay!” I growled and buried myself to the hilt.

  She cried out but immediately stopped fighting. Her sexy moans and the sound of flesh meeting flesh filled the room. Nails clawing at the metal surface of the desk, Aleina pushed back against me, meeting me thrust for thrust. Brushing her hair aside, I leaned down and licked the obsidian markings that tapered off in a V shape between her shoulder blades. She screamed and shook violently, her inner walls clamping down on me.

  The need to drive her as mad with lust as I was rode me hard. Sinking my fangs into her neck again, I injected her with my Thylin venom.

  Aleina went wild.

  Her skin erupted in goosebumps, and she bucked back into me so brutally she almost knocked me off my feet. Holding on to her hip with a bruising grip, I released the magnetic clasp of her bra with my free hand. Slipping in front of her, my fingers wrapped around one perfect globe and squeezed it tightly before pulling her up.

  Hands resting on the desk to support herself, she arched into me, her back resting against my chest while I rocked in and out of her. Her flushed skin was slick with sweat and feverish. With my climax imminent, I let go of her hip and found the swollen nub between her legs. She detonated the moment I touched it, but that didn’t stop me or my hand.

  Holding my own release at bay, I pursued my ministrations, single-minded, until I wrested yet another climax from her. Her scream hurt my ears and would no doubt be heard all the way to the docking bay. But I didn’t care. Only once she collapsed, boneless against me did I finally surrender to the blissful inferno that exploded in my belly, spreading fiery tendrils up my spine and down my legs. With my own deafening roar, I filled my mate once more with my essence, reveling in the sparks of pleasure riding every single one of my nerve endings.

  Feeling wobbly, I lowered us to the floor once the last of my seed had been spent. I lay her on top of me to protect her naked, burning skin from the cold floor. Heart pounding, breathing labored, I still reeled at how we had both lost control. My warriors would have a field day with that one, not to mention we hadn’t exactly been discreet with the growling and shouting. Half the ship had probably heard us.

  My face heated and yet I felt no regret, other than concern that I might have been too rough with her. But the purring sound rising from my mate’s throat reassured me. I’d never imagined myself delving into rough sex, yet here we were. Once our pulse had settled down, I ran a loving hand down her back.

  “We should go back to your quarters and clean up, my love.”

  She lifted her head from my chest to look up at me. Her eyes, darkened to a burnished gold, still sparkled with rabid hunger.

  “I’m not done with you yet.”

  Her hand slipped between us and she started rubbing me with slow strokes.

  “You’re mine!” she hissed, almost threateningly.

  Oh Goddess!

  * * *

  Getting back to Aleina’s quarters—our quarters—was a mix of a walk of shame and a chest thumping parade. The amused and impressed looks that greeted us at every turn convinced me the walls had only spared them the visual, but not much else.

  My cock felt so raw I could barely walk straight. The way Aleina kept eyeing me, I suspected we might still be at it had she not suffered a serious case of soreness herself. Although my mate confessed she would have drank Rehmannia tea to control her urges had I not been ‘fixed,’ I thanked the Goddess—and Vahleryon Praghan—for enabling me to cater to my female’s needs.

  Even if they drove me to an early grave.

  Taking pity on both of us, Aleina had procured some healing cream to spare me the infamy of asking one of the healers to take away the chafing discomfort. However, at the rate we were going at it, we’d run out before we completed our ten-day journey to Xamora.

  In between bouts of fe
ral sex, training, and strategic planning, Aleina and I talked a lot about our future. We both wanted children even though we couldn’t have any of our own; at least, not for the foreseeable future. My heart soared to discover we were on the same page regarding Lenora. I had begun to suspect Aleina might be in favor of us adopting the child when she had brought her to watch the movie with us. Despite my hope, I hadn’t wanted to press the issue since infertility remained a sensitive topic for many Veredians, especially first generations like my mate.

  I saw much of myself in Lenora and could relate to her challenges. The trust in her eyes whenever she looked at me moved something deep within, the same fierce protective instinct that Zhara stirred in me. The blossoming friendship between the two girls warmed my heart further. Nothing would please me more than for my two princesses to become like sisters. Although certain she would accept, we would slowly introduce Lenora to the idea. But first, we needed to sort out a few more things, such as our living arrangements.

  Eventually, Aleina would want to settle on Tuur, in Haven with all of her Sisters. It was predictable considering she’d devoted over a decade to making it a safe home for her people. After terraforming the inhospitable planet, the original Tuureans had spent years recreating the flora and fauna of old Veredia to the extent possible. While she would have preferred for her mother and niece to join them, the trip between Tuur and Xelix Prime could be done in less than two days at warp speed.

  The idea of Tuur as a new home didn’t really appeal to me, but as a Xelixian male, it was my duty to keep my mate happy. I felt no particular attachment to the population of Xelix Prime. They never cared much for me either except to the extent I could wage battle on their behalf. But the Praghans were the only true family I had ever known, and Khel was not only my best friend but also the closest thing I had to a brother. It pained me to be parted from them and my precious little Zharina. At least, we would remain in touch via vidcom and frequent visits whenever possible.