Considering it was his wedding day, Thearon could have rationalized that the bride may have wanted some extra time to fuss and fix herself to meet the two strangers she would be marrying. That is, if Thearon hadn’t just been informed that his bride had arrived at exactly five o’clock on the dot. Now, he was left pacing before his own wedding, wondering if the other groom had stood him up.
Groom. Even though he had known his entire life he would be marrying both a man and a woman, it still didn’t sit well with him. That it was the man who was late for the wedding, was simply unacceptable. Thearon did not have time for this.
Looking up and down the cultured marble hallway, Thearon found himself in possession of a rare commodity: free time. Granted, it was time he wasn’t supposed to have free but he was still left with no connection to his email or the security system, for the first time in years.
He sighed, being Omega was more difficult than anyone understood because he was responsible for the military side. The leadership required meant that he spent his days sifting through threats against the Tribe constantly. It was hard to spend your days fearful for the lives you were born to protect, even harder was to look at most people with an air of suspicion and paranoia.
Thearon knew it made him seem hard and cold, even to Parker, the one person in this world who might understand what he was going through. But because of the sensitivity of most of the threats, Thearon had to keep many a secret. It was sad that Parker wasn’t the wiser for Thearon’s victories, as they were battles fought in secret. In the end, Thearon thought that Parker probably believed Thearon did very little during his day, because Thearon simply did his job well. Since his coronation, the Tribe had enjoyed a period of peace, something he couldn’t receive credit for it, was yet another trial to bear.
Thearon tried to relax by walking up and down the patterned hallway alternately skimming the checkerboard pattern of the white and beige marble and glancing up at the formal portraits of the royal families that had come before him. As his mind started to relax, he admitted that there was a part of him that was relieved by the sharing of a wife.
Honestly, Thearon could barely juggle his commitments as Omega as a single Werebear with a mistress, much less if he had to add a wife into the mix. Sharing the husbandly duties with Parker would cut his matrimonial commitment in half. If he added the relaxed relationship with his mistress to the mix, it would be like having half a wife. Thearon thought he could swing that with some simple changes to his schedule.
Violet had been one of the original picks for handmaiden before his wife-to-be had chosen another woman. After Violet was let go, she’d been left between jobs and had just enough of the Queen’s sexual training to be interesting to Thearon. For years, she had lived in an apartment just outside of the royal grounds and adhered to a schedule of Thearon’s needs. She was also open to extra visits, so long as she had an hour’s lead time. For this, Thearon paid Violet an allowance and allowed her to stay in the apartment he owned for the purposes of a mistress.
Thearon knew Parker would be furious to know he was tainting the reputation of the LeKing royalty with the scandal of a mistress, but Thearon needed one place where he could go that was separate from his role as Omega. Well, not that Violet ever forgot he was Omega. It was more that his time with her was quiet and short. She asked few questions and it gave Thearon’s mind a break. He was happy with her, though, at their last meeting she had seemed uncomfortable with the idea he was marrying.
Thinking back to their last tryst two days ago, Thearon still wasn’t sure what the woman had been getting at. He’d entered the sunny apartment to find her dressed in street clothing, rather than the standard teddy. Caught off guard, he had asked Violet, “Where’s the lace?”
When she’d simply looked down upon her jeans and high heeled boots, Violet had turned back to him with a question of her own, “Didn’t you text me and say you needed more time with me?”
Thearon still hadn’t been confused at this point, “Yes,” he’d answered. “I gave you the hour’s warning as our agreement stipulates. Our current schedule ended at the beginning of this week and is suspended until the Queen submits her own schedule. At that point, I can merge everything and let you know when our new times will occur. But at the moment, I needed a release. I thought it was clear the extra sessions were still going to be happening?”
“Oh, ok,” Violet was biting her lip. He didn’t like that. Where had his confident woman gone? The no-nonsense one who threw him on beds? “I’m sorry, I thought you were asking me for a different type of time.”
“Are you aware of an alternate universe in which we don’t adhere to minutes, hours and days?” Thearon had snapped. He didn’t have time for this.
At the change in his tone, Violet changed her own as well, “I guess I dreamed of a world in which I wouldn’t have to worry about time at all. Not waiting for yours or submitting to someone else's. I thought you were asking for more.”
“I did ask for time with you.” Thearon said looking down at his watch, “Time that, by the way, is quickly dwindling. I expect you to be ready for me when I ask.”
“I’ve always expected you to enjoy your time with me. I don’t know if that’s going to be true from now on,” Violet hedged.
“Do you intend to change your sexual persuasion? Perhaps become a nun? So long as you stay the same, I will enjoy you as I always have.”
Violet looked closer at Thearon and her eyes cleared as if she’d suddenly seen something in him that answered her question. At that point, she’d performed a striptease of her everyday clothing and Thearon had made a mental note to text her that it was just as sexy as the usual lace and silk. As far as their conversation, he still wasn’t sure what her problem had been. Thearon didn’t know if it stemmed from Violet feeling uncomfortable being with a married man or if it was because she harbored some Cinderella fantasy that he loved her enough to shirk his responsibility and run off with her instead. The fact of the matter was, Thearon thought, as he looked at his watch, by this time of day, Thearon had hoped to be married already. The later the ceremony went, the longer he was away from security concerns.
Thearon paused in front of the last family portrait, the Alpha dressed in that god awful red antique jacket and the Omega looking stern and fierce in a popular suit design of the time. It wasn’t hard to mentally replace the men in the painting with Parker and Thearon. Fate picked the LeKing Tribe Alpha and Omega well. What had always interested Thearon as a young boy, however, were the women in the paintings.
Each of them was unique as a snowflake nestled in between seeming carbon copies of the men. No two of the women were alike though all were beautiful. As his soft leather shoes whispered up the hallway, Thearon was greeted by a veritable buffet of beauties. They were curvy, tall, willowy and athletic. Some had dark hair and tan skins others had blue eyes or long graceful necks.
The only common element was the look in the women’s eyes. Each one looked like the cat that had got the cream, like they were harboring a deep satisfaction. It was a mystery Thearon puzzled over, though as a grown man, he wondered if it was because two busy husbands meant more time for the Queen’s own paramour.
Thearon was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming quickly down the hallway. It was a long affair that ran the entire side of the palace. The palace structure was built just outside of New Orleans proper, around a complex series of caves built into the natural landscape. Caves were sacred to the Werebears and every Werebear Tribe was set up around large cavernous areas in which to conduct and celebrate rituals no matter where in the world they lived.
As Parker turned the corner, Thearon could see the man already had his hands lifted in submission.
“Listen Thearon, I apologize. I’ve been fielding emails from the Loupbrun Tribe all day. Paulette is paranoid about a group of Werebeasts that are in for Mardi Gras. It has taken all of my political charms to talk her down from the wall. Add that to the wedding and, well, I just wanted to
take a turn around the gardens to clear my head. That’s understandable right?” Parker seemed to pause to give Thearon the opportunity to commiserate, but Thearon only blinked.
Parker decided to explain further, “Then, by the rose bushes, I got stuck talking about crop rotation with Peter, you know the gardener in charge of the wheat? Anyway, he was bringing up some good points about the new law we’re considering on genetically enhanced crops and…”
Parker was finally close enough to Thearon to see that his tirade was not making a dent in Thearon’s anger. And though it hurt that yet again, Thearon wasn’t willing to acknowledge the hardships of being an Alpha, or an Omega for that matter, Parker had to admit that he’d screwed this up pretty bad. Parker sighed in submission, “Listen I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to be so late. It’s just a lot to take in. We’ve spent our whole lives knowing this was going to take place and yet it didn’t seem real till about a half an hour ago.”
Thearon watched as Parker’s hand gripped the back of his neck, pulling down on the tight muscles. Thearon felt his own resolve crack a little. “Yeah, your detour into the garden forced me into my own space to think about things. The way I look at it, there're some pros and cons to the setup, but they’re not worth cataloging because we’re gonna do this anyway. Like you always say: Tradition dictates it.”
Standing up straighter, Parker feeling his resolve, said “And tradition has never led us wrong so far.” Thearon watched as the man’s eyes skimmed the portraits lining the hallway. “Now it’s time for us to fulfill our final requirement to become a royal family.”
Walking toward the cave entrance, the men could hear a string quartet softly playing in the acoustic space. After announcing their presence to the staff member at the door, Parker leaned back “Do you think she’s going to be pissed at us?”
“Parker, I’m pissed at you. I don’t think I could’ve lived with myself had I been stood up by my groom. You should really start praying she even walks down the aisle.”
“Oh, I’m going to get us through this, I think. If she was just walking down the aisle to your ugly mug she’d turn around and run.”
Thearon stayed silent, but gave Parker the slightest of pushes as the doors to the cave opened, enveloping the room with a loud clatter. When Parker turned around to reprimand the Omega, all Thearon did was wink. Whatever life married to another man meant in the bedroom, life was always going to be amusing at the very least, thought Parker.
CHAPTER TWO
Lavinia was shaking like a leaf and looking down at her bridal bouquet. Rolling her shoulders back, she forced herself to relax. That one of the grooms had been so late to the ceremony didn’t bode well in her eyes, but she hadn’t asked which one was late. Lavinia didn’t want to start off her relationship with the men wondering why one of them didn’t value her. They didn’t know her yet, she thought as she stood taller, nothing mattered until she walked down the aisle.
Smoothing out the front of her dress, Lavinia watched as the crystals caught the candlelight. The cave was stunning this evening. It was made out of a golden brown colored stone and entirely lit with beeswax tapers. They sat in small alcoves along the walls and from crystal chandeliers from the ceiling. The interior of the room wasn’t the same as a human chapel, it was an empty space that could be filled in a myriad of ways to serve the needs of the Tribe.
Tonight, it was filled with rows of Werebears masked for privacy but present to bear witness to the marriage vows. The Werebears were picked at random from a lottery system and, like the rest of the clan, would be invited to the celebration after the wedding was complete.
Suddenly, the string quartet that had been playing softly in the background stopped. Lavinia froze, sure that their silence indicated that the missing groom had run for the hills. But just as the panic started to well up inside her, they began again with the opening notes to Pachelbel’s Canon in D. The sweet familiar notes were naturally amplified by the acoustics of the cave and they rang in Lavinia’s ears like the sound of an alarm, as if it wasn’t until this very moment that she was going to get married. Taking a deep breath, she said a prayer to the gods, and as the music climaxed, she stepped forward into the cave proper.
The room was aglow and as she walked the long aisle trailed by her chapel length train, Lavinia was in awe of the ceremonial display. Flowers filled the space in heavy bunches of rich blooms; each flower a version of white that ranged from the purest of snow to the antiqued ivory of old lace. The effect was rich and sweet at the same time. She walked through her Tribesmen and fought the desire to try and identify people. All she could see was the color of their eyes beneath the black masquerade masques and capes they each wore and try as she might, it wasn’t enough to find a friendly face in the crowd. With nothing left to distract her attention, Lavinia finally looked toward her future.
The men awaiting her in front of the final masked and cloaked officiant were as different as night and day. Both men were tall, exceedingly tall. The first was as golden as the candlelight in the room; his hair was blonde, which shimmered in the light. He wore a red jacket that reminded her of a prince from the fairy tales she had loved as a girl. He was Prince Charming incarnate with an easy smile and kind eyes that seemed to draw her forward down the aisle.
The second man was as dark as the first was light. His olive skin was tanned even darker by the sun, the effect was deepened by the dark suit he wore. A modern cut that skimmed his bulk. Not that Prince Charming was a slim man by any means, but the darker one was positively muscular. It looked like he could turn and punch a hole through the wall behind him and the expression on his face looked just as hard. But his eyes, too, were kind if not as open as Prince Charming. She felt like the second one was a Pirate Prince, instead. So she had Charming and her Pirate, and Lavinia felt bad pegging the Pirate for being the latecomer to the proceedings but Charming looked far too proper to be late for anything, ever.
As she moved closer to the men, she watched as their eyes moved up and down her body. Their warm glances igniting a fire in her blood. Suddenly, the corseted dress felt too tight to hold her and Lavinia felt her bust swell with warmth and longing. In the same instant, she felt the effects of desire as she watched as the men’s eyes also widened in approval and longing. Lavinia felt a weight lift off her shoulders. At least her looks were pleasing to the men. That was one hurdle that would have been hard to jump had they found her unsatisfactory.
When Lavinia finally reached the men and the music stopped, they took their places on either side of her a hairs-breadth away from touching her shoulders. She felt like the valley between two mountains. The officiant began speaking about the history of the Tribe and the importance of the balance the Alpha, Omega and Queen brought to the ruling of their people.
Lavinia could hardly concentrate. She wanted so badly to look at the men. To take her time in dissecting their looks, to try and figure out whom they were. As the officiant droned on, Lavinia tuned him out. Love was not a subject touched upon during the royal LeKing ceremony. As romantic as it sounded to be brought together by fate, the purpose was really to best rule the Werebears, and it appeared as though the notion of lust or love was merely luck.
Quicker than Lavinia expected, she was asked to hold out both of her hands. The men each placed a ring on the ring finger of each hand. The Alpha’s on her left; the Omega’s on her right. Both were eternity bands of pure diamonds, which took her breath away to look at in the candlelight. After the giving of rings, it was time for her to give her own in return and for each to make a vow to the other.
Together, as if choreographed, they formed a sort of triangle with their bodies. First, she was asked to face Charming. Looking into his blue eyes, Lavinia’s breath caught. They were as clear as a summer sky and warm as a summer day. She thought she could stare into them forever. Her expression must have said as much, because the corner of his lips lifted in amusement. Taking her hands, Charming vowed to honor her and keep her till death did they
part, then Lavinia did the same. Finally, she took his large and smooth hand between her own and slid a plain gold ring onto the ring finger of his left hand.
Before she could drop her hands back to her sides, Charming reached forward and took her elbows, playing with the sensitive skin he found there. The Officiant asked that they seal their vows with a kiss, and Lavinia watched as his handsome face moved toward hers. It would be her first kiss. When his lips met her own, they softened for a moment, slanting over hers, a gentle entreaty to marriage. Almost quicker than a blink, his face lifted off of hers again and she was left wanting more, like a flower whose sun had gone behind a cloud.
Not that she had too long to mourn, of course. Next, she was turned to the Pirate who stared down at her stoically, though his gaze never left Lavinia’s. His dark blue eyes seemingly trying to have a conversation with her while Lavinia tried to give him a look that signaled, “Pay attention!” It must have worked as his lips quirked up as well,giving Lavinia a look at a man who could literally stop her heart. The smile transformed him into an entirely different man, one that Lavinia vowed right then and there, she would get to know better.
They traded their vows and Lavinia slipped on the final ring and she took a deep breath, preparing herself for the second kiss of her life. The deep breath must have drawn attention to her cleavage because the Pirate’s eyes flicked down and his eyes darkened in response to the bounty he saw there.
This time, as the Officiant called for the sealing of the kiss, the Pirate wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned down. Hard lips melded her own softness and a flick of a tongue instinctively had her parting her lips slightly. A warm tongue dipped in just a little to taste the forbidden fruit and Lavinia was dizzy with the new sensation. Lip-to-lip she had been prepared for, but the invasion of his tongue was a sensation she’d never been able to fathom. It was delicious.
His lips too left hers and Lavinia was left all on her own again. The men shook hands and the crowd gave a cheer as it was announced they were officially married. Arm-in -arm with each man they headed back down the aisle with the merry snapping of cameras. Lavinia, for the first time in months, actually felt happy.
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