Tyla sighed as the pain receded somewhat and the pleasurable tension began to wind up again. He rocked into her with slow undulations of his back and hips until a fine tension invaded her muscles.
She jerked and gasped as another one of those pleasurable rushes took her over.
Ark muttered something, and he thrust into her hard, arching against her and shuddering, his body gleaming with sweat. He dropped onto her heavily and buried his face against her neck.
Tyla ran her fingers down the groove of his back. As a means of buying safety, having sex with a handsome heron was not a horrible price to pay. She might try to buy herself safety again as soon as the numb ache between her thighs faded. Well, she healed remarkably fast, so it was just a matter of keeping track of how she felt.
She licked a bead of sweat from his neck. “I think that was a respectable first attempt.”
He chuckled and lifted his head. “Nothing respectable about it.”
“Do you think it was enough?”
“I think if we sign those contracts that Teal and Tony sent with me, it will be.” He nipped at her jawline.
“Mating contracts? Are you sure?”
He sighed and sat up, and to her surprise, he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping her legs behind him. He looped his hands around her back and looked down at her. “I did want you at the Crossroads; I just didn’t know why. Every time I see you, I feel at home. The same rush that I feel when I am with my family, I feel with you. I feel accepted and wanted, and I want you as well.”
She frowned. “I am not a damsel in distress.”
“No, you are a strong, capable woman who can solve her own problems with a little bit of help. I want to see you seeing the world for the first time. I want to see you meeting new people and going to new places and discover your joy every time. I didn’t know it in the Crossroads, but now that I have seen you with my family, you are life and energy and love; you have just never had a place to express it.”
She blushed and ducked her head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say nothing and sign the contract. Mom will plan a wedding, and we will invite everyone you know, even your family. Once the contract is signed, your family will have no claim on you.”
He held onto her and scooted next to the basket. With a triumphant flourish, he pulled out the rolled documents. He searched around and found the pen. “Here we go.”
Next to them, he rolled out the parchment, and they read the contracts. Basically, the moment that the document was signed, their inner beasts were bound for life. The legal issues of the human world would be attended to later. All councils, clans and families had to uphold any match made in the Crossroads. Technically, Tyla and Ark had begun their mating dance there. He had postured, and she had ducked.
With a deep breath, Tyla signed her name and handed the pen over to Arkenon.
They did the same on all copies. One was for the avian council in representation of both their bloodlines and one was for the Crossroads archive for verification.
Tyla smiled. “If you let me off your lap, I can file those right now.”
He hugged her. “I never want to let you go now that I have you.”
She laughed. “If you let me sit down and focus, I can have us registered everywhere within the hour.”
“How?”
“I am technically the clan leader. That comes with a few perks. One of them is being able to send documents to and from the council hall and records departments. I used to file marriage contracts all the time.”
He eased her back to the sleeping bag, and she picked up the document to send to the Crossroads. Her wristband heated up, so she made a face and slipped it off. She needed to be all of herself for this.
The scroll glowed and disappeared. She grinned and reached for the next document. It glowed and disappeared. The final document went to the avian council, and she dusted her hands off. “There. We are all official now.”
“What do you think your family will do?”
“I think they will be here as quickly as they can.”
“We had better warn Mom and Dad.” He nuzzled at her ear.
“You do that. I have to finish these presents. The clock is ticking.”
He blinked, “You don’t want to be with me when I tell them we made it official?”
“Do you want to help me sew?” she raised her brows and pointed at the six bags that were still needing to be finished.
“Fine. I am good with needles. Set me up. Oh, and get dressed. The contrast of your skin to the gold of your hair is highly distracting.”
She snorted and looked for her charm. “Where did it go?”
“You don’t need it anymore.”
“I do if I am walking among humans.”
“Have you ever just tried to shift to human?” He smiled with an innocent look while he pulled his jeans on.
Stunned, she took a lock of hair and pulled it around and stared at it while she tried to imagine herself with a completely human shape. To her shock, the hair turned dark blonde and her skin lost its pearly sheen. “Holy crap. How long have you known I could do that?”
“Windi has a talent for archives. She found that most folks said the golden goose lost its power when it wed, but the family of the goose remained wealthy and the money still flowed. I am guessing by power, they meant appearance of being made of magic.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, geese generally aren’t the most intelligent of shifters. Perhaps they just began to err on the side of caution.”
“Or the custom of the wife belonging to the husband meant all of her money now was diverted to his family.”
“Ohhhh. Right.” She winced and picked up her panties. They were still damp, and Tyla was still covered in substances she had never really seen before, but she put them on. It was better than nothing and denim was abrasive.
When she was properly clothed once again, she had another cup of coffee and showed Ark how to do a blanket stitch around the raw edges of the satin.
They sat in companionable silence for an hour while they sewed, and she put the last of the gifts into their appropriate bags.
With her tasks completed, they piled everything into the carrier bags, tidied up the picnic and rolled up the sleeping bag with the small stains on it.
They straightened themselves, and Tyla focused on looking human as they walked down the path from the barn to the house. Time to meet her officially registered family for the second time.
Chapter Ten
Aggie hugged her the moment she got the news. Argus smacked Arkenon on the shoulder and kissed Tyla on the cheek.
Windi was teary-eyed and clapping.
Andros came up, and he solemnly said, “Welcome, daughter.”
Formally, she replied, “Thank you, Father. My skills are at your disposal.”
Argus grinned. “Really? We can go back to the casino?”
Arkenon scowled at him, and Aggie smacked her youngest on the shoulder.
Tyla had to ask, “You are aware that my people are not in favour of me marrying?”
Aggie nodded. “Arkenon and Chuck gave us the briefing before you arrived. We don’t know it all, but we did know that there is going to be backlash from your clan leader.”
Tyla rubbed her neck. “I am my clan leader. It is a position that one of my kind always holds.”
Aggie nodded. “Go and take a shower and freshen up. You can now move in with Arkenon if you like, since you have joined your lives and would only sneak together anyway.”
The shower was more of a command than a hint, and Tyla blushed as Arkenon shepherded her down the hall and in to retrieve her clothing.
“Take what you need; I will take the rest to my room.”
Tyla sorted out some more jeans and new underwear. With a nice, soft sweater in her arms, she headed for the bathroom, her thighs sticking to her jeans. She played with her shifting from golden goose to human and back again.
The mixture of her blood and h
is semen came off with a little scrubbing, and by the time she came out of the shower, she noted one very obvious thing. Her dirty clothing was gone.
Shrugging, she put on her clean clothes and wriggled her toes in the fluffy socks. With her body clean and the scent of sex scrubbed off, she emerged and headed for the family room.
“Does anyone know where my clothing is?”
Windi was clearing a section of the living room and using a measuring tape and writing numbers down. “Mom probably grabbed them to fling them in the wash. She does that.”
“Do you mind losing a roommate?”
Windi paused and ran over, hugging her violently. “I am losing a roommate and gaining a sister. This is totally the most awesome Christmas ever.”
Tyla laughed. “Good. Now, what are you doing?”
“Measuring for the tree. Once everyone is here, we go out and get a tree, then we haul it home.”
“When are the others arriving?”
The door opened and Chuck and Ivy came in, arms loaded with bags and boxes. Two men were on their heels, and introductions were quickly made. Ivy’s hug rivalled Windi’s, and Chuck picked her up and twirled her around.
Arkenon came out with wet hair and a foolish grin, putting his arm around Tyla as he introduced his other two brothers. Needin had an eager gleam to his eye and Reginald looked exhausted.
They helped their mother get the meal on the table, and Reginald’s weariness faded as he soaked in his family. Tyla was fascinated. Her family exhausted her or made her wary.
After dinner, Tyla washed the cast iron casserole by hand, and since she was alone in the kitchen for a moment, she played by flicking her hair from gold to blonde and back again.
Reginald came in and he blinked. “What is that?”
She blushed, busted. “I was just playing. Sorry.”
He looked confused, and she quickly finished working on the cast iron, putting it away. She sought the protection of Arkenon, and he made room for her, cuddling her against him.
Reginald came in and asked, “Is anyone else concerned that we are harbouring a wanted fugitive?”
She stiffened. “I beg your pardon?”
“Two men came into my office today and asked about you. They had a picture of you and told me that you were a fugitive.”
She sighed and looked at him. “Did they say what from?”
He frowned and rubbed his head. “No, they just said that you were on the run.”
“Not really. I went to the Crossroads and then I came here. Arkenon is my mate and the forms have all been filed.”
Reginald paused. “Seriously?”
She decided to be frank with her new family. “Seriously. Your brother is mated to the golden goose. The goose’s family, however, wants her back. Their financial affluence depends on her, but if they wanted her to stay, they should have let her live a little.”
Ark hugged her close. “Tyla was raised under house arrest. She had never even made a snowman until yesterday.”
Reginald sat down. “You fell in love with a mythical shifter.” He rubbed his head. “Of course you did. How many tattoos does she have?”
“None.”
“Oh, good lord. It is love.” Reginald smiled. “Congratulations, both of you.”
Tyla nodded. “Thank you. We are expecting them to come calling, by the way. If you don’t want to be involved, I respect that.”
“Of course I will be. You are family. Now, who wants to go out for the tree?”
It seemed the night’s activities were set. They trudged out to the nearby forest where Agnes had tagged a few candidates and Windi made the final choice.
The men began to take turns with the chainsaw and then axe as they trimmed off the lower branches.
Aggie, Ivy, Windi and Tyla all led the way back home, and Tyla was unsurprised to see one of her brothers and one of her sisters.
Aggie looked at them and raised a brow to Tyla.
“The woman is Nixa and the male is Tyrone, my twin.”
“They are here to take you home?”
“I really doubt that they are delivering Christmas gifts.” Tyla sighed. She came forward with her new family and smiled at the two on the porch. “This is a conversation for inside.”
Nixa spluttered. “Tyla, what happened to your hair?”
It would have been easier to make them think she had lost her power. It would have been easier, but she would have to live with the lie. She wasn’t starting her new life with a lie. “Inside, Nixa.”
Tyla moved past them, and the Talifors followed her, the Orwells brought up the rear.
With boots, gloves and coats removed, Tyla led her siblings to the family room.
The other ladies joined them.
Nixa looked around. “I am not sure that you want them to hear this.”
“Shoot. If I have screwed my life up, they have a vested interest in it.”
Tyrone scowled and sat back with his arms crossed. “You have to come home.”
“No.”
“You do. We have hired mercenaries to retrieve you, and if you don’t return, they will take you by force. The avian council is aware of it.”
Tyla leaned forward. “You have missed the update then. The avian council will no longer support your claim to me. I have a mate, my mate has a family and they now have possession of the golden goose.”
Nixa paled. “You can’t do that to us.”
“Of course I can. You are all adults.”
Nixa began to cry. “How will we live?”
“Like normal people do. Get a job.”
Tyrone snorted. “No Orwell has worked a day in their lives for three hundred years.”
Tyla looked at him and narrowed her eyes. “Wrong, dumbass.”
“What do you mean; we do not dabble in trade. We never have.”
“One member from every generation has worked eighteen hours a day, every day. From the time the golden goose manifests, they are locked in a room and forced to use their talent, their luck and their very bodies to make money for the family.”
Nixa sniffed. “It is a privilege. We protected you.”
Windi burst in, “From what? Life? She had no clothing, no identification; she doesn’t even know how to drive a damned car!”
Tyrone waved that away. “It was too dangerous.”
Ivy hissed, “Who were you to judge? You could come and go as you pleased. You spent the money she earned. I bet you were one of the boys to cut her hair for money as well.”
Tyrone leaned back. “I didn’t know you remembered that.”
Tyla snorted. “Didn’t remember you and Ekhart holding me down and sheering me? Me screaming and crying in panic because you sliced my skin as well? For my entire life, I have given my all to the family, and now, I am done.”
Nixa blinked, “But, how could you be so greedy after all we have done for you?”
Tyla sat staring at her in shock. “What was done for me?”
“You were protected, clothed and fed.” Nixa frantically thrashed about for something else.
“Everything provided to a prisoner and all paid for by my own efforts. What else?”
Nixa whined, “But we are family!”
Ivy whispered something to Windi, and the woman scampered away, returning moments later with a tablet computer.
“You are right, and what I have learned in the last few days is that family doesn’t lock you in a room and make you make money for them while they party downstairs. Family wants you to be happy no matter what you choose, even if it isn’t what they would want for you.” She took the tablet and started to type with one hand, entering codes and working on automatic while she watched her siblings try to come up with a reason for her to return.
“By the way, Tyrone, you are going to have difficulty paying those hunters.” She smiled brightly. “I have frozen the accounts of all family members until you call off the hunt. Anyone attempting to remove me from the Talifors will find that all of their funds ha
ve been transferred to aid organizations around the globe.”
Tyrone’s phone was in his hand before she even finished her rant.
Nixa looked like she was going to faint, and it was at that point that the rest of the Talifors arrived with their tree in tow.
Chuck immediately went to Ivy and pulled her inside his jacket. The more warm-blooded men hauled the tree into the corner and plopped it into the stand that Windi had prepped earlier. Once the tree was stable, Arkenon took Ivy’s place next to Tyla and the rest of the Talifors stood behind the couch.
“The hunters have been called off.”
Reginald jerked behind her; she could feel it.
“Just so you know, if any influence is brought to bear against the Talifors, the accounts will not merely be frozen, they will cease to exist. Go home now; I will call you with an offer after Christmas day. If you want the Orwells to maintain the place they currently occupy, you will answer that call.”
Tyla inclined her head. “Your funds will be released Christmas morning. I want you to think about what you would be giving up.”
Agnes gave the Orwells a glacial smile. “You can go now. We are going to have a tree-trimming party, and I do believe that you are not in good spirit.”
It was a silent three minutes while the cashmere coats and hand-tooled boots were put on. Her siblings slunk out of the Talifor home, and Tyla did what she had wanted to do from the moment she had seen them. She crawled into Ark’s arms and cried.
Chapter Eleven
The tree-trimming party raised her spirits. Watching Chuck half-shift and putting the star on top of the tree with his lower half all scaly and snaky. No one could put tinsel on like a snake man.
Eggnog flowed, cookies were eaten and carols were sung.
Tyla sat with her new mate and relaxed.
When everyone split up for the night, Tyla headed to bed with Ark, and she looked at all the designs he had framed on the walls. “These are all yours.”
He chuckled. “Yes. I was a doodler from the moment I was born.”
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