Blood Bond (7 page)

When Starr refused to break the bond
forming with Sorin and Lucian, her parents had moved from the castle and turned
their backs on her. Their only contact these days was through stiff letters and
an occasional meeting when Starr ventured into Bulgainia. The separation
bothered Starr, but she knew there was no way to bridge the gap. Like Sorin and
Lucian, she had made her choice long ago and must live with it. Still, she
didn’t think she could be so blasé about either of her parents dying.

The reality of how short time was, even for
a vampire, hit her. She reached for Sorin, touching his arm. “What about your
sister? Don’t you want to get to know her again?”

He shrugged. “I never really knew her at
all, and from what I remember, she allowed Mother to rule her life. She was
twelve when I was banished. I doubt she remembers anything of me at all. When
we returned to Necheau eighteen months ago to deal with the anthropologist, Lia
didn’t even look at me.”

She could see the way they were withdrawing
from her and knew it was time to drop the subject. She wouldn’t give up trying
to get Lucian and Sorin to approach the Pack again, since things had changed in
the werewolf community with the arrival of the anthropologist who became
Lupina, but now wasn’t the time. She didn’t want to spend a moment of their
short month together wasted on angry words or bitter feelings.

* * * * *

To her frustration, Sorin and Lucian
refused to give her even a hint of what they had planned for later as the day
wore on. They kept her in a constant state of suspense, and it was with a
feeling of aggravation that she stood by the fireplace later that night,
watching Sorin and Lucian disrobe. She had already removed her clothing and now
walked to the bed.

“No,” Sorin said. “Not there.”

She looked up at him, posed to question his
words, but her eyes fell on something Lucian held. It was thin and red. “What’s
that?”

He tossed it to her, nodding when she
caught it nimbly. “Tie that around your hips and come outside. Don’t wear
anything else.”

“Not even shoes,” Sorin added, as he walked
to the door and opened it. Before exiting, he winked at her. “Don’t keep us
waiting too long. The moon won’t be full forever.”

Lucian followed him out before she had a chance
to question either of them. Starr stared down at the scrap of silk in her hands
and slowly stretched it out. It was a scarlet sash. She frowned, realizing
there was something significant about the garment, but unable to recall what.
It was something Ylenia had mentioned long ago, but she couldn’t remember to
what it related.

With a sense of hesitation, she draped the
sash around her hips and tied it in a knot on one side. Was she wearing it
properly? She didn’t know, and they weren’t here to ask.

She had spent the day wondering what they
had planned, but now, she was almost too worried to step outside and find out.
There was something different about their moods. Excitement, yes, but also
apprehension. Were they as uncertain about whatever was coming as she was? That
thought did nothing to bolster her confidence.

She took a deep breath and exited the
cabin. Starr frowned when she saw Lucian lighting a small bonfire. It was much
too hot to need a fire. Before she could query him, he rejoined Sorin, who beckoned
her forward. Her feet obeyed, as her mind questioned their intentions.

She stopped walking when she stood before
them, waiting to see what happened next.

Sorin was the first to speak. “The moon is
perfect tonight.”

“For what?” Neither of them answered.

“Perfect,” Lucian echoed.

Sorin cleared his throat. He appeared
uncomfortable. “It can’t be official, of course, but it’s the best we could do,
with just the two of us.”

She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Welcome to your Mating Moon Ceremony,”
said Lucian, flashing white teeth in a feral grin. “There will be no
challengers, save us.”

Her frown deepened. “What is a Mating Moon
Ceremony?” As she asked the question, her memory stirred. She knew she had
heard the term before. Even if she hadn’t, she had a pretty good idea of what
was happening. “Sorin, Lucian, I—“

“This is our wedding ceremony, Starr.”

She shook her head at Sorin, denying his
words. “I can’t do this.”

Lucian’s grin faded. “You won’t accept us?”

She sighed. “You know I can’t. Our time
together is finite. Once we return to the castle—“

“You are our wife.” Sorin spoke the words
with quiet conviction. “You have been emotionally since the day we bonded, if
not physically. Last night, you accepted our claim on you. Tonight, you will
accept both of us as your mates.”

“I can’t!” Her voice echoed through the
forest.

Sorin and Lucian stepped forward, as one.
“We would rather die than deny what is in our hearts,” Sorin said.

She trembled as they reached for her,
drawing her into their embrace. She could feel her resolve weakening as Lucian
stroked her back, while Sorin caressed her stomach, just above the sash.
“Please don’t make me do this.”

“We don’t want to force you,” Lucian
whispered in her ear. “We want you to accept us.”

“You want to accept us,” Sorin said firmly.
“Do not worry so much about the future. Seize the moment,
dragostia
.”

She closed her eyes, trying to fight the
seductive pull of their words and her own heart’s cravings. She opened her
mouth to refuse, but Sorin’s lips settled over hers, sealing off her protest.
She whimpered as Lucian’s mouth drifted lower, to kiss her neck. She should
step away, but it was so difficult to fight them and herself.

“Will you accept us as your mates, Starr?”
There was a note of formality in Sorin’s voice.

“Accept us,” Lucian whispered, and his
breath tickled her skin.

Starr took a deep breath and made herself
step away from them. With obvious reluctance, they let her go. “I can’t accept
you. We will all end up hurt if I do.”

“No more hurt than we’ll be without you.”
Lucian made no attempt to hide his suffering, and it hit her in the stomach
like a physical blow. “Now that we know how it can be—“

“—how it should be—” Sorin interjected.

“—we can’t go back to the way it was. We
need you. You need us. Don’t fight it.”

She took a step back, hoping that putting
distance between them and her would let her think more clearly. “It’s
impossible. I can’t mate with you.”

Sorin and Lucian shared a look. What passed
between them was inscrutable, but a quiver of disquiet worked its way up
Starr’s spine. She resisted the urge to prod their minds for more information.
“What?”

Sorin straightened to his full height. “By
rights, we now invoke a claim on you. We have one moon-cycle to convince you to
accept us as your mates.”

Her eyes widened. “What? You can’t do
that.”

“It’s our way. The Pack has followed this
tradition for hundreds of years.”

She glowered at Sorin, who sounded so
arrogant. “You have turned your back on the Pack and their ways.”

“Not in this,” Lucian said. He crooked his
finger. “Come to us, so we can complete the ceremony.”

Her feet propelled her forward. Common
sense tried to reassert itself, but the force of her desire muted its sensible
urgings. Starr stopped within inches of them and waited, wondering what would
come next. She didn’t expect Sorin to untie the sash from her waist, nor for
Lucian to hold out her arm and place his hand atop hers. When Sorin put his
hand under hers, she watched with fascination as the two men worked together to
bind the sash around their hands, joining them.

“At the next full moon, you will have to
give us an answer, Starr.”

“I have my answer—“

Lucian put his finger to her lips. “You
didn’t let Sorin finish. You can accept us before the moon-cycle ends, but you
can’t reject us for the duration of the claim.”

She glowered at him. “Who makes these
rules?”

“Men,” Lucian said, and then laughed. “Our
ancestors, I suppose, who liked being able to claim the women they had their
sights on.”

“Things were simpler once,” Sorin said
softly, with a gleam in his eyes. “A man saw the woman he wanted and claimed
her.”

She frowned at him, feeling a tad
disgruntled. “How have things changed?”

He grinned a long moment before answering.
“She couldn’t reject him back then.”

“Lucky times have changed,” she said
sarcastically.

They both laughed. Lucian drew her back
into his arms. “They haven’t changed that much,
dragostia
. You won’t
refuse us.”

She nodded to emphasize her resolve. “I
will.”

A throaty chuckle escaped Sorin. “No, you
won’t. By the time we’ve finished with you, you won’t want to.”

She held her tongue, knowing she couldn’t
refute his statement. She already knew she didn’t want to refuse to accept them
as mates. It was only because she was duty-bound to do so that she had summoned
enough willpower not to agree as soon as they presented the Mating Moon
Ceremony. How would she maintain her determination for a month, with the two of
them doing everything in their power to weaken her resolve?

Chapter 6

She was still in a state of bemusement when
they brought her inside and led her to the bed. She stood passively as they
untied the sash and dropped it on the floor. Starr let Lucian lay her back, as
she stared up at Sorin, enjoying the heat of desire in his eyes. Tonight, he
would be her lover too. She shivered with anticipation, but wondered at the
change of scenery. She started to ask, but her voice emerged as a husky croak.
She had to clear her throat before she could speak. “You told me earlier that
we wouldn’t be using the bed.”

“We were optimistic,” Sorin said. “If you
had accepted us, we would have had the Consummation Ceremony. Since we had to
invoke the claim, we will not make love under the light of the full moon this
month.”

“Instead, we’ll spend the next four weeks
seducing you senseless,” said Lucian, before lifting her leg around the calf
and bringing her foot to his mouth. He kissed her ankle gently before lowering
her limb to the bed.

When they rose, Starr tried to sit up.
Sorin pushed her carefully back against the pillows. “Lie here and wait for us
to return.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Starr slowly
relaxed and watched them walk into the kitchen. What were they planning now?
Her aching pussy hoped it involved something sensual and satisfying.

As Lucian filled a porcelain basin with
warm water, Sorin poured oil into a small glass bowl. The scent of rose bay
caused his nostrils to twitch, reminding him of nights spent running through
the mountains as a wolf, in the days before responsibility weighed so heavily
on all of them. Perhaps they had all been naïve, assuming the queen would be
able to easily assume Valdemeer’s role in ruling Corsova. She had slowly
adjusted, but not without a lot of help from those closest and most loyal to
her.

Thinking of loyalty, he swallowed thickly,
wondering how the Protector would feel about their blatant disregard of the
tenants of Starr’s position. They couldn’t claim ignorance. Both he and Lucian
had full knowledge of what they were doing. Would it matter to Anca if she knew
love drove their desperate actions, leading them to break tradition and
possibly risk all their lives?

In his optimistic moments, he assumed she
would. After all, her deep love for Demi was obvious in every glance. How could
she fail to understand their need for Starr, and her need for them?

In his grimmer moments, he imagined her
taking a more pragmatic view if she ever found out. As the leader of the
country, she would surely point out that only tradition and following the old
ways had allowed their way of life to continue for centuries. She would
certainly mention that the three of them were too insignificant to assume they
could be allowed to change anything.

How would she deal with them if she ever
found out Starr was no longer pure? Would she sentence them all to death, or
order they be banished? Would she blame he and Lucian, or would Starr be
punished as well?

He felt a moment of doubt at continuing
with their plan, but it faded. As of last night, it was too late to restore
Starr’s purity, and call him a selfish bastard, but he ached to have her as
Lucian had done. He felt empty inside. Damn the consequences, but he had to
join with Starr. Six years of aching frustration was too much for any man to
bear and still be reasonable.

Starr had grown impatient by the time they
returned. She watched as Lucian set a basin on the small table near the bed.
Her gaze wandered to Sorin as Lucian got onto the bed and settled on one side
of her. She saw a small bowl in his large hand and wondered what it contained.
When Sorin set it carefully on the bed beside her, within easy reach for
Lucian, she craned her neck to see what the liquid was. The scent of rose bay
reached her nose.