“Lahni
what’s with you and Red Cloud?”
Ivy
watched as her new sister-in-law scowled at her younger sister Ari before
throwing some laundry at her. Nyx had told her there was some bad blood between
Lahni and Shiloh, the big clan chieftain of his people. Last night after the
first night of the wedding ceremony, Shiloh had offered a small wooden box to
Lahni and well if looks could have killed; Ivy knew of one clan that would be
looking for a new chieftain. Lahni had refused the gift and grabbed the hands
of her sisters and walked away with her chin held high. Tonight was night two.
“Seriously
Lahni, the dude is blue balled for you.”
Karma teased.
Lahni
groaned, “He comes near me and he’s not going to have any balls at all. Do you
two have anything better to do than make me miserable?”
Ari
and Karma looked at each other and grinned, “No” they sang together.
Ivy
leaned towards Khloe, “I don’t think I have ever seen her this agitated before
and I am not sure how to handle castration at my wedding party.”
Khloe, the eldest girl of the Wahpeton family laughed as she folded
Cinjin’s Misfits t-shirt. Cinjin was
Khloe’s mate and the man was literally the size of a grizzly. Ivy was still a
little skittish around him even though Khloe had assured her that he didn’t
like being in the dog house so he no longer lifted his leg in public. Ivy had
laughed about that until Nyx had come into the house and shook his head at her.
“Ah
Ivy, stick around sister and you’ll learn all sorts of secrets. Bodhi, for instance, is so desperate for “The
One” that he has a secret stash of ‘Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus’
self- help books under his bed under a false board that he thinks none of us
know about. Bodhi is a great guy and I love him but the woman who gets him will
have to have a P.H.D in tolerance. Our brother Caleb, has a beautiful voice but
seldom sings. A wolf has a different sound for different things. Wolves sing,
you know, and Caleb’s vocal talent is beyond anything besides my mother, that I
have ever heard. Nauru, he seems so quiet and very reserved goes every other
weekend to the college and plays football and even does some boxing with some
of the boys. Xander has been in love with Jaycee forever but there was a time
when he wanted to become a minister. He went so far as to even put in for the
priesthood. We were all shocked and our father and grandfather even got up
money to send him all the way to Italy so he could make up his mind.”
Ivy was a bit stunned at this, “What happened?”
Khloe
smiled as she finished a stack of t-shirts and Looney Toon boxers, “He saw
Jaycee and that was all it took. They had known each other most of their lives
but it wasn’t until that very moment when he was sixteen, that he recognized
his mate and vice versa.” Khloe lifted her chin towards Nyx’s other sisters, “The
twins catch glimpses of things and sometimes they can hear things on the wind
but they will seldom tell you the strait of things and no one knows why. Lahni
on the other hand is a tough nut to crack. She’s always been the wild child
that will never change but there was a time when she truly loved Shiloh. I am
not sure what happened and sad as it is, I didn’t push. Just one day when she
was old enough to leave home she did and the next time I saw her she’d gotten tattoos,
an electric guitar, and her hair was blue and purple with bright green streaks.”
Ivy
watched Lahni who was lacing up her Demonica boots. She was dressed in perfect
Cyber Goth attire. Lahni was probably going to go out before she had to be back
for the second night of her wedding ceremony. Tomorrow night would be a full
moon and they would officially be wed. There were two nights of feasting,
dancing, and rituals and then the final would be tomorrow. Ivy wished it was
already done and over with. Not that she didn’t love learning her mate’s
culture, but the past two nights Lahni had looked miserable and Xander was
still not at a hundred percent. He was still pale and slowly regaining strength.
Jaycee never left his side.
***
Lahni
sauntered out to her Jeep. She reached for the door when a large hand prevented
the door from opening. Her eyes flashed gold for a brief second before she
whirled around.
“I’m
going to give you three seconds to get the hell away from my Jeep and leave me
the hell alone or,” her eyes dropped momentarily, “you’re going to be in for a
lot of pain and blood is a give in.”
Shiloh’s
expression never changed. He lowered his head so that their faces nearly
touched, “Do your worst but you will have your ass back here before nightfall. You
don’t want to push me Lahni. I will only go so far.”
“Would
hell be far enough because if you need a ride, I can help with that.”
Shiloh
straightened up and removed his hand from her door frame with the same intense
serious look on his face, “Just be back Lahni. Just be back.”
Lahni
smirked as she hopped in and slammed the door and flipped him the bird. Shiloh
narrowed his eyes and folded his massive arms across his broad sculpted chest.
Lahni turned the key and made sure she kicked up enough dust and rocks to make
her point clear-she wanted nothing whatsoever to do with him. As she turned and
made her way to the road, Shiloh finally let the ends of his mouth form into
that of a smile. This game played both ways but in the end she was going to be
his.
Ivy
stood on the porch with Khloe as Lahni had peeled out the drive. One thing that
went unsaid between the two women was that Lahni’s days of being foot loose and
fancy free were about to come to an end because she was Claimed and she didn’t
even know it. Nyx came out and wrapped
his arms around his girl and reverently let one hand drift to the small little
bump where his child was now growing.
“Night
two is almost here baby and then we are almost done.” He whispered into her
ear.
Ivy
smiled and laid her back against his shoulder. Khloe spotted Cinjin coming out
from the tree line and went running to meet him, shifting in mid run.
“She’s
so beautiful when she shifts. It’s flawless.” Ivy sighed with longing and admiration of her new sister in law.
Nyx
nuzzled her neck, “True but so are you. We’ve been over this baby, you’ll be
able to soon enough. It will become like second nature to you in time.” He assured
her.
Ivy
found her smile again, “It’s early and you still have yet to take me to below
the falls. I can make it worth your while.” She teased seductively.
“Well
then I guess I will have to take you now, this very minute since you’re
offering such an incentive to go.” He pulled her in close and covered her mouth
with his.
Ivy
didn’t need the falls or anything because the safest place in the world and her
happiness was right here in Nyx’s arms. She’d never known love, passion, or
desire like this and soon they’d be having a baby that would complete their lives.
Want to read how it all began? Cursed Awakening is available here:
