a volcano. We create holes on the
other side of the mountain range
every few months so the volcanoes
never erupt, but as the pressure
builds the minerals in the earth
combined with the lava create these.”
“It is so beautiful,” Raven breathed
out. She looked up at him in awe.
“You made this for me?”
“Aye,” Tristan said, his voice
rough with emotion. “Savitar told me
that it is customary in your world to
wear rings to announce you have
taken a mate, but here we gift our
mates with a mating torque. Will you
wear it for us, Raven?”
Tears stung her eyes and her throat
tightened. “I would be proud to wear
it, Tristan. Thank you for this gift. It
means the world to me that you made
it.”
“I would try to bring down the stars
from the sky if you only asked, mate.”
Tristan moved around to her back
and Raven reached up to gather her
hair so she could raise it. Tristan
gently placed the torque around her
neck. It fit snugly, but it was a
comforting feeling to feel it. It meant
she belonged to her mates.
To all three of them.
Tristan placed a soft kiss on the
back of her neck that sent a shiver of
desire racing up her spine. “My
mate,” he whispered.
“Mine.” Raven turned, clasping his
face in her hands and kissed him
hard, sharing all the passion and love
she felt for him. He growled in
response and his tongue stroked
against hers. He took control of the
kiss, shoving his hands in her thick
hair to hold her still as he ravaged
her mouth. It was a kiss of
possession, of love, and it set her
body on fire.
When he pulled back they shared a
grin.
“I want to see it. You can’t give me
bling like this and expect me not to
check it out,” Raven said, making him
laugh.
He led her over to a work station
where four warriors were making a
gilded frame around a large mirror.
After asking them to hold it up so she
could see the torque, the males
quickly complied.
All of the males smiled as she
cooed and awed at the sight of the
beautiful necklace around her neck.
With her leather outfit she really did
look the part of a warrior queen. She
would wear it with pride knowing
that Tristan had made it with his own
two hands.
Another man joined them who
looked identical to Damos and Kell.
Tristan informed her that he was their
brother, Malik, Nyla’s other mate that
Raven hadn’t met yet and his
personal guard when out of the
palace.
Raven instantly liked Malik just as
much as she did the other two of the
triplets. Malik threw his head back
and laughed when she told him that
he had his work cut out following
Tristan around since she had a
feeling the two of them often found
trouble when they were together.
Tristan and Malik’s innocent smiles
didn’t fool her. Malik’s smile turned
into a wince when she mentioned that
he and his brothers had obviously
gotten all the common sense out of all
of his siblings.
He bowed his head in shame. “I am
deeply sorry for the way my younger
brothers and sister behaved the other
day. I—”
“No worries, Malik.” Raven said.
“I don’t blame you, Kell, or Damos
for the way the others acted. Not
even a little bit. Everyone has an
asshole or two in their family. I
certainly did. You can’t pick your
family.”
Tristan rubbed her back as Malik
shot her a look of gratitude. She
noticed that Malik wore a thick, plain
gold torque around his own neck,
similar to the ones she had seen on
Nyla’s mates. When he noticed what
she was looking at, he smiled.
“These are what mated males wear,
my queen,” Malik explained.
“Please call me Raven.” She then
turned to Tristan with a frown. “How
do I go about getting one of those for
you guys?” She switched to saying
the rest of her thoughts through their
bond so the others couldn’t hear.
“I’m not about to wear your torque
and have you three run around
without one like you’re single so
other females can continue to lust
after you.”
Tristan raised a brow. “Jealous,
mate?”
She growled at him.
Tristan laughed. “My brothers and I
have made matching torques for you
to give to us. You have only to ask
and we will proudly wear them.” He
stroked her cheek with his hand.
“You never have to fear that any
other female would ever come
between us. Even though we have
not physically spent any time
together since that first day, you
have been in my thoughts every
moment. You own my heart, Raven.
Body and soul, I am yours and only
yours.”
Raven laid her head on his chest,
not caring that the other males were
watching. Tristan’s arms wrapped
around her, surrounding her with his
warmth and love. She pressed her
lips to his chest, right over his heart
and felt a shudder of need wrack his
body. She could feel the depth of his
feelings for her and knew that his
words were true.
He was hers, just as she belonged
to him.
“Aye, we belong to each other.”
She pulled back and saw that
Tristan’s glowing eyes were blazing
with emotions. “You heard me?”
He nodded. “Aye, you opened your
mind to me.”
“I meant it, Tristan. Mate.”
Tristan’s mouth lowered to hers
and she went up on her toes to meet
him. The kiss was gentle and sweet,
saying all the things that both of them
wanted to convey to the other without
words. A roaring cheer filled the
building, startling Raven into pulling
back.
Tristan’s
arms
remained
around her, comforting and offering
support.
“Honor to your mating!” the males
in the building roared out, loud
enough to shake the rafters.
Like when she had addressed the
elite warriors, she bowed her head
then recited the formal acceptance
and thanks. The warriors working in
the forge roared out another cheer
and her guards, Arkady, Tirk, and
Jordyn beamed at her with approval.
“Well done, my queen,” Malik
said.
“My queen,” Tristan whispered.
“My heart.” The pride in his voice
made her feel ten feet tall.
Raven and Tristan were waylaid as
more males came over to greet her.
They were curious to meet their new
queen and she took the time to speak
to all of them. Word had obviously
gone out that she demanded to be
spoken to directly, because each
male looked her directly in the eyes
when asking a question. They were
still very respectful of Tristan’s
presence and she noticed that all of
the males stood a healthy distance
away from her, and the unmated
males even further back.
It could have been because of
Tristan’s fierce frown or the way he
kept his arm secured around her
waist the entire time. No matter the
cause, she liked the way he stood by
her side, protecting her while still
allowing her to talk to his people.
Tristan called a halt to the
conversation when he noticed that
Raven was starting to get affected by
the extreme heat inside the building.
The males bowed to them then went
back to work as Raven, Tristan and
their guards left.
“What would you like to do now,
little one?” Tristan asked once they
were standing outside the building,
their guards trailing behind them.
“There is somewhere I’d like to go
with you,” she said.
Tristan’s face paled slightly when
she asked him to take her to the
mating pool. “We cannot go there
without my brothers, Raven. It is a
sacred place and—”
“Savitar and Kadan know we’ll be
there. They will meet us there later,
but I told them I wanted to spend the
day with you alone first.”
Tristan’s glowing eyes brightened
with lust and hope. “Are you willing
to complete the mating ritual with
us?”
Aware they were standing on the
street, Raven fidgeted. “Ah…can we
talk about this later?”
She silently cursed when Tristan’s
eyes dimmed. Shit, she really didn’t
want to have this conversation here
out in the open, but she could feel the
rejection Tristan tried to hide from
her and had to say something. She
shot a glance at their guards. “Guys,
can you give us a minute?”
“Of course, my queen,” Jordyn said
from where he was standing a few
feet away.
“Jordyn!” Raven complained.
Jordyn turned around and smiled at
her. “I forgot, my…Raven.”
“My Raven! She is mine!” Tristan
growled.
Jordyn blanched and backed away
quickly. “Aye, my king. Forgive me.”
He and his brothers hurried to
move further down the street, where
they could still protect her yet far
enough so they wouldn’t hear their
conversation. Malik shook his head
at Tristan before strolling away
casually.
Raven sighed when she was
standing alone with Tristan. “Yes, I
want to do the mating ritual with you
guys, but it seems sort of strange
since you and I haven’t even spent
any time together yet, Tristan. Plus,
anal sex is new to me and I’m still
sort of weirded out by the whole
thing so I’m asking you to be patient.”
Tristan sent her a sheepish smile.
“Aye, that had just occurred to me.”
“I do want to be with you. Even
though we haven’t had much time
together I feel that I know you, inside
and out. I’m just asking for some time
to let my head catch up with my
heart.”
Tristan nodded solemnly. “I can do
that. Forgive me pushing too hard. I
am just anxious for you to truly be
mine. We can take this as slow as
you need.”
Chapter Twelve
“Can you pull over right there, right
before the trees?”
Raven’s arms were wrapped tight
around Tristan’s waist as they flew
over the terrain on a hover-cycle. It
was an exhilarating feeling, far better
than being on a regular motorcycle.
They were literally flying. When they
had first taken off on the hover-cycle,
Raven had let out a loud whoop of
joy that had made Tristan laugh. She
loved seeing the sights of the city as
they flew through the streets, but
loved the rush of speeding over the
sand even more once they were out of
the Citadel.
They had traveled a few miles
outside of the city when Raven
pointed to the place she wanted
Tristan to stop. He halted the hover-
cycle right before the tree line that
surrounded the small clearing where
the mating pool was hidden. The six
guards following them also came to a
stop, surrounding them in a protective
circle.
Raven got off of the back of the
hover-cycle and stretched her arms
over her head, making Tristan snarl
at the guards when he noticed they
were watching her. Malik grinned
before looking away. Even though
Malik was Tristan’s personal guard
whenever he left the Citadel and he
took the king’s safety very seriously,
she could tell that they were also
close friends by the way they
constantly
pushed
each
other’s
buttons.
Raven picked this as the stopping
point because she could feel the
pulse of magic in the air, signaling
that they were at the barrier where
Lunaria’s safeguard began. Perhaps it
was the Gods’ blood running through