Page 31 of Red

Rager gave him a disgusted look. “It is not that simple, and you know it. These are things you’ve been taught as much as I have—more so because of your calling as an ivorul. You know as well as I do that it’s not just about our need to breed or even being in a den with a female during it, or else we never would have survived our adolescence in our mothers’ dens. This is because of Arie.” He hesitated and Warol’s ears pricked, a weight settling within his chest as he knew what their lead was about to say.

“We are already bonding to her, Warol,” he sighed at last. “Whether she’s Ragoru or not. Whether we’ve been chosen or not. Our bodies recognize her as our mate and seek to fulfill our natural impulse. If you don’t want to mate with Arie, then Kyx needs to take her away.”

Warol’s ears flicked uncomfortably. He was right. It was something that he’d been aware of for some time and had fought every step of the way, unable to see how it could possibly work. Because of that, the human’s presence had pricked at him ever since he met her, and it had been something that he’d struggled with. He knew it just as well as Rager. That it had also challenged his expectations and all that he’d been taught to be most sacred was another matter.

But that was until he’d come close to losing her and realized how precious of a gift she was. And then he nearly succumbed to the kingdom of Father Efru and understood how close he’d come from never experiencing the joys of a life with her that he wished to share. Ever since then, he’d savored every moment and every touch from her. He allowed himself to feel pleasure in her company rather than railing against it.

And the desire. The heat of need that licked through him whenever he scented her arousal became the sweetest of scents that flavored the air. He was able to take pleasure in it too without castigating himself over how unnatural it was. That she wasn’t Ragoru.

Of course, she wasn’t. She was Arie, and he craved and quickly came to adore the subtle nuances of her humanity that made her so incredibly beautiful to him. Not the least of which was her generous and sweet nature. No matter that he’d treated her badly, she hadn’t used the opportunity to hurt him but had gently cared for him and worried over him. She touched him with compassion and affection, something that he hadn’t experienced from many people, outside of his triad.

There was no other female he could even imagine trusting to touch him or care for him the way he did her. He had always approached mating as a matter of necessity and family. He hadn’t anticipated enjoying a close relationship with his mate other than having the satisfaction of caring for her and their rogs. Now that he had come to know and love Arie, he couldn’t imagine enduring that sort of life.

“There is one problem with your little speech, brother,” he growled. “The female choses. She has seen plenty of what you—and all of us—have to offer, and she hasn’t chosen us. She has not even spoken of wishing to remain with us.”

Rager grunted in agreement, his ears flattening. “She hasn’t,” he agreed. “But she hasn’t spoken of returning to The Citadel either.”

Warol’s ears pricked. He was right. She hadn’t. Other than a bit of restlessness from being stuck in the den so much with little to occupy herself with, she actually seemed pretty content. She didn’t shy away from any demonstration of affection either. Aside from mating and breeding, she was their mate in every way.

“So how do we convince her to choose?” he grumbled.

Rager sighed. “I don’t think she understands. We may need to make the claim without it.”

Warol stared at his brother in horror. “You cannot mean that we mate her without consent!”

“What?” Rager gave him a shocked look that immediately eased a significant amount of Warol’s anxiety. “No! I mean that we issue our claim verbally to her and our desire to be her mates.”

“You had me worried,” Warol sighed as he dragged a hand down his face and muzzle. “So, we break with tradition. A little break,” he added for clarity and his lead nodded. “And we lay out our intention.”

“That is what I was thinking,” the male agreed and Warol nodded.

“Excellent. Then I’m glad that you’re the one to do it,” he muttered as he spun away, determined to continue on his walk to release more of his tension.

“You would leave me to do it alone,” Rager growled in affront and Warol grinned as he glanced back at him.

“Mating, as you recall, rests on the alpha,” he reminded him as he stalked away.

He could feel Rager’s irritated gaze boring into him, and he smiled as he allowed his pace to pick up. It wasn’t that he didn’t plan to be supportive, but he simply wasn’t taking the chance of being trapped in a larger participatory role in whatever the male had planned. If he was expected to convince Arie, it would likely end in disaster. Unlike Rager, who was skilled at speaking, he wasn’t a male of soft words. For all of his strengths, when it came to his role within his triad and what he offered his family, patience and being able to argue his position in a way that didn’t cause outright hostilities to rise had never been his strong suit. He only knew how to say things directly as he felt them, and he knew exactly what he wanted to say to her. He wanted nothing more than to look into her blue eyes and say: “you’re not going to The Citadel. You are ours.”

He shook his head and sighed deeply. What a disaster that could easily turn into. It was far better to leave it to Rager and let the lead convince her as he ought. He wouldn’t be doing it alone. Kyx would be there, and he would have Warol’s support so long as he didn’t have to be the one to make the claim and risk making her withdraw from him in anger.

Rager growled in annoyance as he watched his brother lope away. He’d been under no illusion as to what his brothers would expect of him, even if they agreed with his plan, but he’d hoped for more from Warol too. How could the male be so uncomfortable with speaking his heart when he was an ivorul? His gifts should have made him a natural orator so to speak to the hearts and spirits of his people. He probably would have been too if he hadn’t been so scarred by his past. He suspected that the male lacked trust in himself as much as he did others.

But he wasn’t surprised either. This duty had always fallen to him, and he never minded before—but he never had so much to lose either. If Arie rejected his claim, he was certain that his heart would crumble into the wind or fall like ash to the earth. The difference was that this time he would have his triad to help him keep himself together and strengthen his considerable courage and resolve.

Grunting quietly to himself, Rager sighed and turned back toward the den. At least the stubborn male was in agreement. He hadn’t been entirely certain that he would be. He knew that Warol had become increasingly attached to Arie, as well as demonstratively affectionate as any of them with her to the point to where the male obviously relished every moment of attention from the female. Still, he had been uncertain if that would be enough when it had been something that Rager had worried over, too, from the moment that they met Emala.

For Ragoru, mating was simple. The lead male presented himself to an unmated female and she chose. It gave a triad purpose and expanded their family adding a mate and rogs. Most triads came to adore their mate over time. It wasn’t expected to find that love first, especially not with someone who was not their own kind. It had felt as unnatural to Rager as it had to Warol in those early days with Arie, and yet while Warol’s protests became more vehement, Rager had softened more and more toward the female, appreciating her warmth and kindness. His instinctual desire for her that came out during the night stopped shocking him and had begun to delight him, and with it a greater appreciation for the unique beauty that she possessed.

Thanks to Kyx dragging it out of him, he now recognized that part of him had been waiting for her to claim him, to demand that he give her what they secretly enjoyed in a limited fashion during the depths of the night. To give her love and comfort—and adoration—for the rest of her days. He’d been ready for that dream and that waiting had become an eager anticipation when he became aware of Kyx’s familial secret. He had begun to yearn for it until the thoughts of it consumed him. And still he had held out until his quarrels with Warol with a vain desperate hope that if he were patient enough and a good enough male that Arie would see his worth.

But Kyx had been right to point out and remind that she was not Ragoru in form, in spirit, or in mind. She didn’t understand anything about this, which was something that he’d overlooked in his eagerness to be recognized and seen by her. As well as his stubbornness to adhere to the way he always courted females—not that it had ever worked in their favor. Yet, it was the youngest of their triad who had been the one to remind him of his mistake but also to encourage him to take action as he wanted to but had been afraid to do. In result, he’d been angry with Kyx for forcing him into that position of vulnerability, but now?

Now, he felt an anxious seed of hope planted within him as he spun around and headed back to the den to make his plans.

Chapter

Eighteen

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