Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1)

by Beth Valentine

  Taavi stop. I can’t. It’s too much. Turn it off.

  No. I’m getting one more out of you before it’s my turn.

  He brought the vibrator out of her, lifted his head, and applied the buzzing toy to her clit, inserting his fingers into her at the same time.

  Natalie screamed from the assault to her sensitive nerve endings, begging him to stop and begging him to continue. She hated and loved him in that instant. Her nerve endings were screaming, riding the line between pleasure and pain. She could feel the pressure in her tighten, pulling his fingers inside, before it released and she exploded.

  She came down gasping and sweaty, completely depleted and ready for sleep. She opened her eyes to slits and watched as Taavi turned the toy off and threw it onto the bed, before wiping his face off and making his way back up her body.

  He grinned and said, “Nicely done, alaila. Now it’s my turn.”

  Natalie just nodded, too exhausted to move.

  She watched as he grabbed himself, positioning himself at her opening, and pushing gently inside.

  They both moaned, panting as the fire ignited once more.

  “Holy crap, Taavi. You’re going to kill me,” Natalie cried as he started thrusting into her, pounding faster and faster.

  She could feel herself tighten again; once more building to the euphoric state Taavi seemed to love driving her to. He thrummed her clit, adding that small bite of pain, sending her once more into the abyss.

  Only this time, she saw a white light and Taavi’s soul, reaching out to her.

  They had found out that only in times of extreme sexual release were they able to see each other’s souls.

  So Taavi made it his mission to drive her insane, each and every time they made love.

  His release came, his deep groans and mutterings of “I love you” accompanying his inevitable collapse on top of her. He laid his face in her neck and mumbled, periodically kissing her, before rolling over onto his back.

  “Wow. That was the most intense one yet.”

  “That’s because you tried to use sex to kill me,” Natalie mumbled, too tired to do anything else but lay there, replete.

  Taavi rolled to the side and brought her with him, arranging her on his chest as they settled in for the night.

  “I did, didn’t I? You came so hard that last time I thought my dick was going to break.”

  Natalie chuckled, and could feel herself starting to drift to sleep.

  I did, didn’t I?

  She repeated his words, smiling when his chest shook with laughter.

  Sleep, alaila. Tomorrow is a big day.

  ‘Kay. Love you.

  I love you, too, Natalie.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The next two days were a whirlwind of chaos. Ben and Kayla followed Natalie everywhere, whether it was hanging with Selly and Lity, cooking with Juaran or sparring with Team One and Two.

  All the men took a liking to the stoic Ben and flirty Kayla; even Andris shed a smile or two at her antics. He even said she was worse than Tali, which sent Tali into a rant of annoyance. Apparently, she liked being the worst of the worst.

  Aaden had seemed to take a special interest in Kayla, which didn’t help when Kayla wouldn’t stop flirting with him, and every other man around. He followed her around, trying to be inconspicuous about it, but Taavi and Natalie along with Aaren had definitely noticed. When they had called him out on it, he had just stared at them with a quirked brow, and didn’t say a word.

  The day before their bonding ceremony was supposed to happen, Ginny and Harken arrived; Ginny a ball of energy and maternal worry and Harken, looking better than when she had last seen him, all fatherly.

  It was great seeing them interact with Ben and Kayla, seeing her old family blend seamlessly with her new one.

  Tali and Ginny had ordered dozens of a white flower called cadalia, which smelled an awful lot like caldaili.

  According to Lity, the cadalia flower, when pollinated, produced the purple substance that was harvested to make into caldaili. Natalie really didn’t care, but Lity was so excited to explain that Natalie, Ben, and Kayla, sat there listening for thirty minutes while Lity explained about how to make cadalia into caldaili.

  The men took Ben into the market to pick out something to wear for the bonding ceremony, while the women took Kayla shopping.

  Kayla was so excited, she darted from stall to stall, chattering at the owners before something else caught her eye, and away she went. She finally stopped in front of the stall where Natalie and Ginny had bought the dresses.

  A beautiful deep golden dress had caught her eye. Kayla asked the man to try it on, and when she came out, she gaped at herself in the mirror. It was a silky satin dress that flowed to her knees; it had two straps that tied together in front of her throat before winding around her neck and tying there, creating a deep pocket for her cleavage to be on display.

  “Wow. I love it. Can I have this one?”

  Ginny smiled and patted Kayla’s shoulder. “Of course you can, dear. It looks stunning on you. Absolutely beautiful.”

  She walked off to go pay for the dress, leaving Natalie, Kayla, and Tali alone.

  “You’ll upstage me, you attention hog.” Natalie playfully shoved her shoulder.

  Tali scoffed. “I hate you both. Now none of the men are going to look at me. Not like they were looking much before,” she mumbled. “But still, it’s the principal of the thing.”

  Kayla wound her arm around Tali’s waist and squeezed.

  “Don’t worry, Tali, baby. You’ll still have my eyes. Girl crush all the way, remember?”

  Natalie shook her head at those two. Those crazy women had become fast friends, and Natalie loved it, her two sisters getting along.

  It was going to be a perfect day tomorrow. Having her sister, brother, her new parents, her other sister, and her soon to be husband.

  Nothing could go wrong now.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The day started off beautifully, not a cloud in the sky, just straight sunshine.

  Today, she would become Mrs. Taavi Larn, and she couldn’t wait.

  All the women who were going had decided to wait until they got to their destination before getting ready, though they did their hair. Makeup and dresses would have to wait. The women invited were, of course, Kayla, Tali, and Ginny, with Lity and Selly, since they had become very dear friends to her. The men invited were Harken and Ben, with Aaden, Aaren, Andris, and Ty – Taavi’s brothers – rounding out the party.

  According to the ancestors’ journal, no special priest or pastor was needed. Only someone who loved the couple, and Tavanni who would bless the union, were needed. They didn’t have to write their own vows, their ancestor had written the necessary words to bind them together, legally.

  They packed up a few cars, adding the clothing that would be worn for the ceremony, the women’s makeup, and the cadalia. They drove the two hours up to Dielarta, parked and unpacked, and started the twenty-minute hike to the town.

  When they arrived in town, they decided to have their lunch there to introduce Kayla and Ben to their little slice of seclusion, which unsurprisingly, they loved.

  When they finished lunch, they gathered their things and began the hike to the lake where Taavi and Natalie had camped beneath the stars. They reached the lake, the men going to one side and women to the other. They tied sheets to the trees to act as dressing curtains and changed into their finery.

  Since the guys didn’t have to put on makeup, Tali had drawn a very specific, detailed diagram on how she wanted the space to look for the ceremony. The curtain they used to change behind would be used as a sort of white platform for Taavi and Natalie to stand on in front of the water, surrounded by the cadalia.

  It would look idyllic.

  The women, one after the other, came out from behind the curtain, their hair up, and dresses shimmering.

  Once Tali had taken a step out, she walked up to stand with Taavi on the white shee
t. They both watched the other women take their places before Natalie made her entrance.

  She was wearing the deep blue dress Ginny and Harken had bought her so long ago. It fell in a straight blue line to the top of her feet, tightening up just under her breasts. The halter-top made her chest look amazing, but her hair, falling in waves, covered the bare back. The front of her hair was pinned at her crown, and her head was wreathed with a small ring of white flowers.

  She felt like a fairy princess.

  As she walked to Taavi, she realized she had no idea what to expect. They never went ring shopping, never talked about the vows they were to say, and she was nervous.

  Relax, alaila. You look beautiful.

  Natalie smiled at Taavi, relieved that he knew exactly what she was thinking, and knew exactly what to say to give her peace. She wasn’t in this alone; she had him, her soon to be husband, and their family.

  Taavi looked so handsome, his dark brown hair was slightly longer than when she had first met him, and was rumpled from running his fingers through it. He was wearing a loose white shirt – open at the collar, reminding Natalie of pirates from so long ago – and dark blue pants that showed off his bare feet.

  Natalie approached the blanket, taking her shoes off before she stepped onto it, and grabbed Taavi’s hands when he offered them. She looked into his face, so in love with the strong bones of his cheeks and nose, his luscious lips, and stunning green eyes.

  Obviously, he could hear her because he quirked his brow and smirked.

  See something you like, eh? I knew I was irresistible.

  I’m just lucky you can almost match me in looks. I couldn’t very well marry an ugly man, now could I? What would people think?

  Taavi coughed a laugh, squeezing her hands before turning to Tali.

  Tali stood tall, a smile on her face, and an open book in her hands.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today to celebrate with Taavi and Natalie. Since we really don’t know how this thing is supposed to go, I’m going to copy a bit from the journal, and then probably wing it.”

  Everyone chuckled at Tali, and then fell silent, waiting for her to continue.

  “Well, I’m going to start, I guess. Taavi and Natalie, I want to tell you a little about the soile-miena bond. It is said Tavanni, our Creator, once was lonely, and created a woman. Now this woman, she was beautiful and kind to all the creatures Tavanni had made and after spending time with her, he knew that he loved her. So he gave her part of his soul, to make her his wife, making her as immortal as he was. They spent many wonderful years together before they decided to make a child. Their son was mighty and brilliant, loyal and kind, but he was lonely; so they gave him a sister. She was fierce and cunning, but soft spoken and a perfect balance for her brother. Their family spent many happy, fun filled years together, but as the children got lonely, Tavanni and his wife could see they were growing unhappy. So Tavanni took part of their souls, and created a man and woman to take them into themselves. This was the soile-miena bond. One person, split apart, and when they reunited, they were made whole once again.”

  Natalie was spellbound, never having heard that particular story before, and thought it was so beautiful. Taavi was the literal other half of her soul. She wished Tali would go on, but apparently she was done, fishing through a hidden pocket in her dress to come up with two identical rings, one small and one large. The rings were made up of a black band, shot through with emerald green and sapphire blue.

  She looked up at Taavi, seeing his small smile, and knew he had those made for them.

  Do you typically have rings?

  Taavi gave his head a small shake.

  No, but Ben told me about the rings when we first met, and I liked the idea and wanted you to have something of your wedding ceremony here with us today. Plus, I like the thought of people knowing you’re mine, whether by knowing us, or seeing these matching rings.

  They’re perfect. The green and blue, represents you and I. I love them.

  Taavi smiled again, grabbed the rings from Tali and slipped Natalie’s onto her ring finger. He handed Natalie his ring and waited patiently as she slipped his on for him. Once they had done that, they grasped each other’s hands and turned back to Tali, who was holding out the journal.

  “Now, this passage here,” she pointed to two small paragraphs, “is where you’ll both read from, one at a time, starting with Taavi. Then Natalie, you’ll start where he finishes.”

  Taavi looked at the paragraph, read it a few times, and turned back to Natalie.

  “Natalie, I take you to bond, forevermore, our souls together, as they should be. I take you to be my wife, friend, lover, helper, and soul. I will always use my strength to protect and shelter you, keeping you from harm, until the day I meet Tavanni. I will protect and cherish you, and any children Tavanni blesses us to have. I will love you all the days of my life.”

  Natalie sniffled, moved by the words that obviously meant so much to someone long dead, and meant so much more to her and Taavi now.

  She blinked a few times to clear her eyes, read over the paragraph and turned back to Taavi.

  “Taavi, I take you to bond, forevermore, our souls together, as they should be. I take you to be my husband, friend, lover, helper, and soul. I will always use my heart to comfort you, to protect you as much as I’m able, from the world outside when they try to tear you down. I will cherish you and I will bring the children Tavanni blesses us with into this world to protect them and give us the family we will be lucky enough to call our own. I will love you all the days of my life.”

  Once Natalie was done speaking, Tali took out a sheer white scarf and bound Natalie and Taavi’s hands together.

  “Behold, this is a gift from Tavanni. May your souls meet and connect. May they become one soul, as they were meant to be.” She finished tying the scarf around their hands, binding them together. She looked up at their audience and said, “Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Taavi Larn.”

  Amid the applause, Tali jumped up and down, shrieking and hugging Natalie, then Taavi, all the while they struggled to unbind their hands.

  When they finally managed it, Taavi took Natalie into his arms, lifted her off her feet and kissed her with all his might.

  We’re one, alaila. You and me, forever. I love you.

  Natalie moaned into his mouth, dueling her tongue with his as she sank her fingers in his hair.

  Forever, Taavi. Forever.

  They broke apart only to be engulfed in a group hug.

  Ginny was crying, so happy she couldn’t contain herself. Harken was laughing, his eyes wet as he congratulated them. The men from Team One and Ty took turns hugging her – Hannan copping a feel and getting a warning glare from Taavi.

  When Kayla and Ben grabbed Natalie, they just held her tight; not moving, not speaking, just held her in their arms. She couldn’t help herself as they held her. She thought of her family not being there, of them not being able to see her marry this amazing man, and she cried. Kayla cooed to her as Ben rocked them all from side to side.

  You okay, alaila?

  Yeah, just give me a minute please.

  She heard Taavi as he dragged the others off a little ways, trying to give them some privacy.

  Ben pulled back and gently grasped her chin.

  “What’s all this, Nat? Why are you crying? Is it because of your parents and brother?”

  Natalie nodded, still too choked up to get any words out.

  Ben nodded, his face thoughtful.

  “You know, my wife believed that God would let her see me now and then, when she knew I was feeling lonely or sad. And I never believed her when she said she thought she felt her mother sometimes. But since she died,” his voice cut off before he cleared his throat. “Since she died, I’ve felt her when I was at my lowest. I felt peace, and love. Happiness. So Natalie, I believe your parents are here now, I believe your brother is here now, watching you get married to that man, standing over there, w
atching you like a hawk.”

  Natalie looked up and saw that Taavi was staring at her with barely concealed intensity, and she smiled. He relaxed and turned back to talk to Andris.

  Natalie looked back at Ben and closed her eyes, searching for her family. She wasn’t sure if she had made it up, or if God or Tavanni really allowed it, but she could swear she felt her parents kiss her cheeks and her brother wrap his arms around her shoulders.

  She smiled, and opened her eyes.

  “You’re right. They’re here. And they’re happy for me. Thanks, Ben,” she said, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

  “Well, that was emotional,” Kayla said, wiping her cheeks and fanning her eyes. “Stop that. You’ll make me cry, and we all know I get splotchy when I cry. Now come here.” She grabbed Natalie and hugged her tight. “I’m really happy for you, jelly bean,” she whispered into her ear.

  “Alright, let’s get back to the party,” Natalie said, pulling away from Kayla and grabbing their hands, pulling them back toward Taavi.

  She let them go and walked right into his arms. He kissed the top of her head, and nuzzled her hair.

  You know, he’s right. I swear I could feel approval when I was saying those vows, and the only way I would feel that is if your family approved and were here, watching.

  Natalie tipped her head back.

  For real?

  Taavi nodded. He pulled her back into his arms and she laid her head on his chest, sighing. It had been a great day. Emotional, but beautiful.

  Natalie pulled away from Taavi again, smiling when he frowned.

  I’ve got to pee, so quit looking at me like that.

  Taavi smirked and released her.

  “Go, I don’t want you wetting yourself. We’ll be here when you’re done.”

  Natalie wandered over to the white sheet that the women had dressed behind, but thought it would be a little awkward if they heard her or – heaven forbid – saw the pee trail.

  She wandered a little deeper into the forest, keeping the sheet in view, before coming to a large rock. She squatted down behind the rock and did her business. Thankfully, Taavi had shown her which leaves to use as toilet paper, so she cleaned up and stepped out from behind the boulder.