Tempest of Vengeance (31 page)

“Dev, let her go, right now,” Lash hissed
softly, twisting the knife a little. “This is not her fault. She
couldn’t tell you what she didn’t know.”

“I should kill you,” Devlin uttered,
releasing me. “Stabbing me in the back like this.”

Lash pulled out his knife, and helped Devlin
to his feet. Devlin promptly punched him in the face, and Lash fell
sprawling to the floor, his mouth bloody. Devlin stood over him,
his wound already healing, though blood glistened on his newly
formed skin.

“Stop it, Devlin!” I yelled. “Lash, what are
you talking about? We aren’t mated.”

“You fucking shit,” Devlin said icily,
staring down at Lash. “You’re my best friend, and you do this, mate
the woman I love to yourself, and you don’t even tell me? On top of
everything else you did in Florida!”

“I deserve that,” Lash hissed shamefully as
he got to his feet. “I’m sorry for it. I never intended to hurt you
by doing it, or even to have either of you know.”

I went silent, because I thought I understood
finally.
This is the promise he was talking about, our first
night back together.

“How would I not know?” Devlin said
incredulously. “What are you saying?”

“I was dying,” Lash said softly, his eyes
moving past Devlin to center on mine. “I knew I’d met a woman I
could finally care for, in Sar. I sent her a knife, and carved on
it a symbol that said ‘mate’. With it, I asked her if she would be
mine. I didn’t expect her to say “yes,” Dev, or to ever see her
again even! But she came to me, wearing the knife, and let me have
her—”

“And by doing that, she said ‘yes’,” Devlin
finished, slowly nodding. “You’re right. But she didn’t know what
she was doing.”

“Her actions spoke louder than any words,”
Lash continued, looking at me with pride. “She risked her life for
me, told me she’d let me change her, if that’s what it took to save
my life. That was enough for me. I’ve thought of her as my mate
ever since.”

“That’s why you were faithful to her, taught
T what you did.”

Lash glanced at Devlin and nodded, then
turned back at me, his eyes moist. “It almost killed me, being with
you that night. But you’d come to me wearing the knife, and you
didn’t reject my advances. I had to try to consummate us, even if
it hastened my death.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I cut him off,
shocked. “I asked you what the symbol meant, Lash. You told me to
leave it!”

“You were married then,” Lash said, averting
his gaze. “Your thoughts after I healed were only of your husband,
and your son. I thought if you knew what we’d done, you might tell
me that you couldn’t be my mate, that you wanted it nullified. I
didn’t. I wanted to share that with you, at least while there was
the chance that you would give Devlin your Oath, and ask him to
include me. I wanted to mean something to you, Sar.”

Even if you can’t tell me you love me?
I kept silent, not wanting to speak my thoughts.

“I understand your desire, Lash, but she
can’t be your mate,” Devlin said with a trace of reluctance. “I
want Sar to be immortal, not weresnake. Part of her Oath tonight is
her word not to let you change her.”

“It’s enough she’ll change for me magically,”
Lash supplied quickly. “She doesn’t have to be weresnake for real.
I don’t want her to lose the chance to be immortal, either. We can
still be mated, according to the literal were definition, so long
as she comes to me regularly as both snake and human.”

“That’s why you always wanted this so much?”
I asked, enjoying this romantic side of him I’d rarely seen.
“Because you wanted that commitment from me?”

“Well, that, and it feels really good having
sex with you that way.” He grinned lecherously.

I rolled my eyes, unable to resist smiling
back.

“I’ll agree to this, so long as you don’t
interfere with her and me,” Devlin said reluctantly. “Don’t ever
get between us again, Lash.”

“I’ll defend her with my life, if I think
you’re hurting her,” Lash replied in a low cold tone. “Even if it
means hurting you to get you to leave her alone. You didn’t want
Theo to harm her. That was part of the first Oath she gave you. I
feel the same way about you hurting her. I know you like to hurt
women sometimes. I’ve cleaned up the messes often enough over the
years—”

“Shut your mouth,” Devlin growled.

Lash went silent, but the damage was done.
I’d been feeling romantic about tonight’s Oath, if a little uneasy.
Now I felt like I was making the biggest mistake of my life.

I backed away toward the door from the both
of them. “I’m done with violence,” I said, my tone mirroring Lash’s
in its coldness. “I know you both have dark sides, and I’m telling
you right now, I want no part of that. So if you think you can’t
restrain yourselves, say so now, and we’ll call this off.”

Devlin sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you,
Sar. I’m done with that, Lash. If I need to get off that way, I’ll
go to Hillary and Tiffany for that. They are masochists, as you
well know.”

Lash looked at him for a long moment. “So
long as that’s understood, I won’t get in the way of you and her,
no matter what you do together. And if she agrees to do something
that causes her pain, I’m not going to get in the way, either. So
long as she’s willing, it’s okay by me. But you’re never going to
force her again like the first time you had her, Dev. Not ever. And
I won’t stand for you making her cry like you did in the past,
either.”

“I promised her that I would try to be the
man she needed me to be,” Devlin said softly, his golden eyes on
me. “I mean to keep that promise.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Sarelle, do you want to be his mate,
officially?” Devlin said finally. “Or do you want to break the bond
between you?”

I looked at Lash, who was waiting nervously
for my answer. “Can I be his mate, if I’m still married to Theo? It
seems unlikely it’s legal, to say nothing of being moral.”

“You aren’t married anymore, you’re legally
separated,” Devlin corrected grumpily. “And it doesn’t matter,
anyway. The literal rules for weres are that you are mated if you
both promise to be with each other and not another of your species.
Usually, that is taken to mean monogamy, but that is not a
requirement for all types of weres, as some were species allow
several females to a male, or vice versa. I know you aren’t going
to be with another weresnake, Sar. The only requirement besides
wanting to be mated is that you have to be together with your
mate-to-be sexually in both animal and human form. You’ve already
done that. Technically he’s right, you are already his mate, though
in the strictest terms you weren’t really mated to him until you
assumed snake form and let him be with you—”

“Stop with the technicalities, and let her
answer you,” Lash hissed, angry.

“Yes,” I said tenderly, looking at Lash.
“Yes, I want to be his mate.”

Lash let out the breath he’d been holding in
a rush, and grinned back at me, his dark eyes joyful.

“Fine, then repeat after me—” Devlin
started.

“Don’t we need a justice of the peace or
something?” I interrupted. “Someone to make it legal?”

“I’m Vampire Ruler of a continent,” Devlin
said imperiously. “My word is law. But even if I were only a State
Ruler, by law, I have the authority to execute rogue vampires,
discipline errant Oathed humans, kill any human I wish, and
officiate, when necessary, over both Oathing and mating rituals
between any and all supernatural creatures in my domain, along with
other rights to—”

“Enough already!” Lash broke in. “I want to
be mated, not talked to death.”

“Repeat after me, Sar,” Devlin said. “I
promise that from this day forward, I shall be the mate of Lash and
no other weresnake—”

I repeated it.

“—
I promise that I shall come to live
with you, my Oathed One and my mate, for the rest of my days, or
until you both should perish. So I swear, this day of December 26,
2013.”

As I said the final words aloud, he gave a
happy sigh, then nodded once. “I, Devlin Dalcon, accept your Oath,
Sarelle O’Connor McGarran, both on behalf of myself and on behalf
of my brother, Danial Racklan.” He said the words slowly with
pleasure, carefully pronouncing each one. Then he turned to Lash.
“Your turn, Tristan.”

“I, Tristan Valeras, also known as Lash,
promise you, Sarelle McGarran, to be your mate,” Lash hissed
sincerely, the tone of his emotionally charged words uneven. “I
promise to protect you as best that I can, and to be faithful to
you, until my life leaves me. Whatever you need, I will do my best
to provide you.”

Lash turned to Devlin. “Time for your
promise, Darian,” he hissed with a smirk.

“It’s my middle name,” Dev said grumpily,
before I could comment. “My father loved the letter ‘d’.” He
paused, and then began. “I, Devlin Dalcon, promise you, Sarelle
O’Connor McGarran to give you my life’s blood whenever you require
it, and to be your lover until my life ends. I promise to confine
my lovers to women you know of, and give permission for.”

He can’t bring himself to say only Hillary
and Tiffany. But they might die someday, so this is probably better
to say. Maybe.

“I promise to never be with another woman
sexually on the grounds of our home, the land called Hayden,
without your permission. I promise to let you be with your mate,
Lash, as a snake, to be alone with him, to coil with him when the
need arises. I promise to protect you, support you, and love you.
So I swear, this day of December 26, 2013.”

“I accept your promises,” I said softly,
feeling tears well up in my eyes.

“It is done,” Devlin said, giving me a smile,
though his eyes were troubled. “Come to us, Sar. We’ll consummate
it with you now. I will have my lawyer draw up the legal papers in
the morning.”

I came to them with a soft sigh. Lash and
Devlin embraced me between them, trailing kisses down my neck. I
lost myself in the sheer joy of their touch, and the relief that
finally I had made a choice for myself that was my decision, for
better or worse.

* * * *

I woke up the next morning feeling wasted.
Lash and I had drunk almost a bottle of wine each, though Devlin
had had a glass too in there somewhere. Devlin was lying on my
chest, his arms around me, and Lash was against my back, his arms
around my waist under Devlin’s.

“Good morning, Mate,” Lash hissed softly, as
I looked up at him a little bleary eyed. “You look a little worse
for wear. Do you feel okay?”

“I’m okay,” I croaked out. “I just never
drink that much...usually.”

“It was a lot for you,” Lash hissed,
laughing. “I probably would be hurting too, but I had a lot more to
eat than you did.”

That and your alcohol limit is probably
measured in cases of wine.
I gave him a kiss, and he pulled me
against him, his hard erection against the middle of my back. He
moved his hips against mine suggestively, sliding his hand down
from my breasts to caress me intimately.

“Again?” I asked, and kicked myself mentally
for phrasing it like that.
Damn Theo.

Lash scented the air. “What is it? You’re
upset.”

Oh, forget it, Sar. He’s happy with Jenny,
and you’re happy here with them. It will take some getting used to
for this to become your life, but it’s better this way for
everybody. This way, everyone gets a happy ending, including
you
.

“Mate?”

I gave him a loving smile. “Yes, I’m your
mate now. You have only to tell me you want me, Lash, and I’m
yours.”

“Then I want you now, Mate,” Lash said
eagerly. He kissed me, winding his tongue around mine and stroking
me gently. I moved over slightly, letting go of Devlin and turning
to Lash. He embraced me, quickly entering me with a sigh. “I love
the feel of you,” he hissed in my ear. “Part of me still can’t
believe this is real.”

“Why, when you know how I feel about you?” I
said between kisses.

“Because you aren’t like any of my past
lovers,” Lash replied, without missing a stroke. “By the time I
knew the difference between a ‘good’ woman and an ‘easy’ one, it
was too late. No good woman wanted me near her, even weresnake
women.”

“I was once anyway,” I quipped.

Lash gripped my face, making me look at him
as he loved me. “Hush, Mate. You’re a good woman. You tried to be a
good wife to Theo, a good Oathed One to Danial and Devlin. You gave
them children, when they told you they wanted them. You’re a good
mother. You went through a lot in the last years, but you never
gave up trying to do what was right.”

“You’re being too generous.”
And something
of a chauvinist, not mentioning my chainsawing ability.

“You tried to keep your promises to Danial
and Theo, and kept most of them. Even when Theo was taken, and
Devlin took you, you were faithful to Theo. You protected Devlin,
keeping what he did to you secret to keep him safe. And when you
knew he was, you told Theo the truth. And you told him the truth
about you and I, too. He wouldn’t have found out, otherwise, not
from any of us.”

I put my hands against his chest, stopping
him. “How do you know all this?”

“I’m very intelligent,” Lash said proudly.
“And I got a lot of inside info from Brian.”

I laughed, and Lash took the opportunity to
thrust into me deeply, changing my laugh to a low moan. “I feel
lucky you wanted me,” he said, kissing me down my neck. “And I’m
going to spend the rest of my life showing you how happy it makes
me that I’m your mate.”

“Then stop talking and show me now,” I said
lustily.

“Yes, shut up and stroke her,” I heard a
languorous voice say, then Devlin appeared behind Lash, his golden
eyes full of desire.

“You’re awake,” I began, then Lash turned my
head and kissed me, cutting off my words.