Viking Claimed (Triad Series Book 4) (11 page)

“This is how I picture you,” Aki murmured. “Wild and beautiful and ready to kill.”

Morek’s mouth twitched. “And bloodied?”

“Aye—that too.” Aki brushed his finger over Morek’s full lower lip. “But only so that we can tend to each other’s hurts afterward.” He framed Morek’s face with his hands. “You bring me peace.”

“That is good.” Morek didn’t look away from Aki’s gaze. “As you make sense of everything that I am.”

“I look forward to fighting alongside you.” Aki paused. “Do you think the Oracle could find a place for me here? I do not wish to return to the city.”

“But what about your Female?
Our
Female?”

Aki went still. “I haven’t asked her. I will endure that place if I must but…” He shook his head. “I fear I will not thrive there.”

“It is not where I would choose to live either, but perhaps if we are together and it is what our Female requires, we shall be content.” Morek turned his face and kissed Aki’s palm. “You should go.”

“I should.” Aki reluctantly released Morek and waited until he stood, which brought Morek’s hard cock right to his eye level. He gave a regretful sigh. “I wish I had time to bed you properly and thoroughly.”

Morek palmed his cock, releasing a thin trail of pre-cum along the length. “I will think of you while I take care of myself.”

“You will not share this with another?”

Morek brought his wet fingers to Aki’s mouth and rubbed them against his lips. “I am yours now. I will not fuck anyone without permission from my mates.”

Aki sucked Morek’s fingers clean, making the other man groan. “Good. Until tomorrow, then.”

He didn’t dare touch Morek again or he’d be pushing him down onto the bed and rolling with him in the covers.

“Tomorrow.” Morek moved out of his way. “Sleep well, First Male.”

Aki glanced down at his aching cock. “I suspect I will sleep as well as you do.”

Morek’s laughter followed him out of the door and back to the guest quarters. Elli was still sleeping. Einarr and his guests had disappeared and Aki barely managed to crawl into bed before he too was fast asleep.

Chapter Six

The clothes laid out for Aki and Einarr were more elaborate this time and of similar fabric to the ones the Oracle’s bodyguard wore. The silky white robes were long and tied at the waist with a wide sash. They helped each other get dressed and combed and braided their long hair as if they were going into battle. A servant brought them goblets of wine, which was the only sustenance offered to them. It appeared meeting the Oracle involved several rituals, but they were both comfortable with that.

There was no sign of Frey or Elli. Einarr told Aki that the females were being cared for by the Oracle’s own handmaidens and would meet them at the ceremony. Aki hoped that was true. He’d had an absurd dream that Elli’s fears about the Oracle had come true and he’d been mated with a strange blue plant.

Even as they walked through the pink rays of the dawn’s early light, Aki carried with him a sense of unease. At the door to the inner sanctum of the Oracle, a group of people favored with an individual audience had already gathered. There were several parents with a young adult and many couples who seemed to be seeking their third. The atmosphere was taut with suppressed excitement marred with a hint of awe.

Aki saw Ungar and Morek standing in front of a large golden door, their spears crossed in front of it. Neither man made eye contact. There was still no sign of Elli or Frey.

Suddenly, a young woman with a tall headdress stepped forward and solemnly banged the gong hanging by the door three times. The massive doors opened and after Ungar and Morek stepped in behind her, the crowd was allowed to progress in to the inner sanctum.

“Is that the Oracle?” Aki murmured to Einarr.

“No, I believe that is Neeve, the Oracle’s First Daughter. She is mated to Ungar and Morek’s cousin Willow, and one of the Earth super soldiers, Ian Mac.”

Aki studied the tall, gracious woman. She reminded him of someone he had met before but he couldn’t remember whom.

“Neeve met Ian Mac on Earth and brought him and the other soldiers back to Pavlovan with her. She saved their lives.”

“She has been on our world?” Aki marveled at all the connections that fate had allowed.

“Aye.” Einarr steered Aki toward the back of the row of benches. “Ungar said we would be near the end of the ceremony. The presentation of the young adults always goes first.”

Aki sighed and resigned himself to a long wait, aware of his inner tension as if he should be ready to fight a battle but unsure why. Was he picking up Elli’s uncertainty? He hoped not.

The First Daughter raised her hands. “While we mourn the innocent Hakron lives taken by the Etruscans in Quoxor Province, we must still maintain our traditions. Nothing should stand in the way of our religion or our faith. To not celebrate would make us seem afraid. We ask that all who are mated here today make an offering to the Gods in the name of the Hakron dead and honor them.”

There was a light touch on Aki’s shoulder and he looked around to see Morek behind him.

“What is wrong, Viking?”
Morek asked. “
I have seen Elli Slavin. She is beautiful.
”

“
She’s here
?”

“
Aye.”
Morek frowned. “
You doubt her
?”

“
Nay, I just feel that something isn’t right
.”

Morek patted his shoulder. “
I hope not. We’ve had enough excitement at this Temple in the last year to last us several lifetimes
.”

“
So Ungar told us. He said that Ian Mac is reorganizing the security. Perhaps there will be an opportunity for me here after all
.”

“
You should speak to Ian Mac when he returns next week. You will like him
.”

Ungar cleared his throat and glanced meaningfully at his twin. “It is almost time. We should progress to the front of the hall.”

Aki stood and slowly followed his brother down to the bottom of the steps leading up to the dais where the Oracle sat on her throne surrounded by her priestesses and handmaidens. He hadn’t looked directly at her yet. There was something about the power shimmering around her and from within her that demanded respect.

“
Frey
,” Einarr breathed his female’s name like a prayer.

Aki hardly dare look to see if Elli Slavin was there as well. Only Einarr’s pointed nudge made him raise his head.

She was there.

Joy expanded in his chest, and Morek patted his back. “
See? All is well.”

She smiled at him a little tremulously, but it was enough. His gaze took in the simple white one-shouldered gown she wore and the wreath of flowers in her unbound hair. She looked beautiful, and she was his.

“Einarr Bloodaxe,” the Oracle’s daughter called. “Please ascend the stairs.”

Einarr’s face paled as he started up the steps and came down on his knees in front of the Oracle who laid her hand on the top of his head.

“You have traveled far, Einarr, and have found your new home.”

The Oracle’s voice chimed sweetly, but held undercurrents of power that resonated throughout the large audience chamber.

“Aye, my lady.”

“Do you wish to accept your mates?” The Oracle gestured at Frey and at Ungar who also mounted the stairs and knelt at her feet. She touched their heads as well and then rose from her throne, holding both of her hands palm down over the three of them.

“With the power of the Gods within me, I bind you three to each other for all time. If this is not your wish, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Aki’s breath hissed out as the blast of power echoed from Einarr’s mind to his. For a moment, he could actually sense the Oracle’s ability to bind a mated Triad’s thoughts into one three-stranded braid.

When Aki opened his eyes, the three were holding hands and the Oracle was bidding them rise and kissing each of them. He took a deep breath and braced himself for what was to come. For some reason, the climb up to the Oracle’s throne now looked very arduous indeed. He risked a glance into her face as he approached and realized, with a jolt, that she was the female he had spoken to at the sacred spring the previous night.

She winked at him.

Aki had a sudden sense that everything was going to be all right.

“Elli Slavin?”

Elli started as her name was announced and walked over to the Oracle’s throne. She went down on her knees and bowed her head. Her heart thumped so hard she was sure everyone could hear it and she feared she might pass out.

“Aki Bloodaxe and Morek of Hakron?”

Elli froze as the Oracle called out two names rather than one. A Hakron warrior? She glanced at Aki as he kneeled down on her right and then at the unknown male who took up the station on her left. His mind flowed toward hers in a soothing stream and she took a quick glance at his face. Gods, he was beautiful and a perfect foil to the blondness of Aki.

“I…” Elli stuttered.

“You have something to say, Elli Slavin?” the Oracle asked.

Having been humiliated at one mating ceremony, Elli was determined not to be made a fool of again.

“With all due respect, Oracle, I was not expecting two mates.”

The Hakron warrior’s hopeful expression disappeared and beside her Aki stirred as if he was about to protest.

“You object to this pairing?”

“I—” Elli stared into the anguished grey eyes of the unknown male. “May I speak to him for a second?”

The Oracle’s daughter spoke. “You doubt the Oracle’s choice for you?”

Elli risked a glance upward at the Oracle as the crowds around them muttered and whispered. “I have been disappointed once before.”

“That is true. You may speak to him,” the Oracle decreed.

Aki touched her shoulder and murmured. “Elli, this is the Hakron warrior I told you about.”

“The one you met on your journey to the Temple?”

“Aye.” Aki looked rueful. “The one you told me not to mention so as to not complicate things.”

“
Oh…”
Elli breathed. She turned to her other side and held out her hand to the quietly waiting Hakron warrior. “Do you think you are mated to Aki?”

“Aye, I do. The Oracle foretold the coming of the two warriors from another time to my brother and me on our eighteenth birthday. We have waited ten years for the prophecy to be fulfilled.” He held her gaze. “But if you do not want to consider me, as a your Second, I will not contest your choice. I wish you and Aki to have every happiness in this world.”

She pushed against his mental barriers and he let her in without protest. His mind blended seamlessly into hers offering her everything, hiding nothing. After a long moment she sighed. “Thank you.”

“You are most welcome, Elli.” His smile was as beautifully direct as his thoughts.

“Are we done now?” The Oracle cleared her throat. “Elli Slavin, I will ask you once again. Do you accept your mates, Aki and Morek?”

Elli took a long slow breath. If she wanted Aki--and Morek was certain his First Male had finally appeared--then she must be theirs. It made sense to her on a visceral level she had never believed in before. It was time to take a leap of faith and throw off her old fears. She nodded as both men took her hands in theirs.

“Yes. I accept them both.”

The Oracle raised her hands. “With the power of the Gods within me, I bind you three to each other for all time. If this is not your wish, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

“I object!”

A gasp ran around the room, and for a second, Elli thought she’d been pushed back into the past and that Carlin was speaking again. She risked a look down the stairs and blinked hard.

Carlin
was
standing there.

The Oracle’s First Daughter clapped her hands. “This matter will be resolved in private. Everyone who is not involved may leave and continue to celebrate their own mating.”

Elli winced as the crowd started to whisper and point at her. Why was this happening again? What the frak did Carlin
want
?

The Oracle beckoned for Carlin to approach the throne. “Why are you disrupting this most sacred of ceremonies?”

Carlin went down on one knee and kissed the Oracle’s beringed finger. “I beg your forgiveness, Goddess, but I could not let this mating stand.” He turned to Elli. “You were promised to
me
. I was named your First Male when you were eighteen.”

Beside her Aki gave a low growl. “You lost her.”

Carlin winced. “I was a fool. I allowed myself to believe the couple I met off-world were my true mates.” He kept his gaze on Elli, his expression hopeful. “I don’t want them anymore. I want
you
.”

Elli shook her head, and Aki took her hand in a firmer grasp. “Elli is my female.”

“And mine.” The Hakron warrior took her other hand. She felt surrounded by their concern and love.

“We will not allow you to take her from us.” There was a distinct threat in Aki’s words.

The Oracle put a hand on his arm. “You will not fight within my sanctuary, Viking.” She turned to Carlin. “You say this Triad of yours is irretrievably broken?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Where are the other two members?”

“They are currently in Pavlon City.”

“Then we shall bring them here to find out their side of this story. Once I have spoken to them
I
will decide how to proceed.”

Aki opened his mouth and then seemed to think better of arguing with a Goddess.

“We will reconvene this meeting as soon as they arrive tomorrow.” The Oracle studied them all. “I expect you all to behave yourselves in the meantime.”

Everyone bowed as the Oracle left. As soon as she had gone, Aki took a menacing step toward Carlin and the Hakron male grabbed hold of him.

“Aki…”

Picking up her skirts, Elli ran down the steps and out of the sanctuary. Whispers and mutters followed her flight, and yet again she was an object of curiosity and pity. How dare Carlin turn up like some spoiled child expecting to get his own way again? It was so like him.

Morek clamped his hand down hard on Aki’s shoulder. “Do not fight him. Promise me.” He sent an urgent appeal to Einarr and Ungar who appeared in the doorway.