The Bridal Hunt (15 page)

"Meanie? Wife..." Veck called and I crawled a little closer to hear him better.

"Veck..." I said hesitantly, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," he said from the other side, "Why my Meanie hide? Kirch and Bia make Meanie hide?"

"Uh... not exactly," I hesitated.
Oh… how do I say this without hurting him? Can I tell him without hurting him?

"Veck?" I calle
d softly.

"Yes, wife?" he said patiently, waiting for me to continue.

"Um... I uh... Bia and I kissed," I blurted.

It was quiet for a long time and I was worried that he'd left me, my eyes watering as I began to sniffle, trying desperately to keep the tears at bay.

"Veck?" I asked, my voice shaky.

Silence.

"Veck?" a little louder this time.

"Did Meanie kiss Bia? Or Bia kiss Meanie?" Veck asked quietly after a moment.

I hiccupped.

"He kissed me, but.... but... I kissed him back," I admitted, taking my part of the blame.

"Bia force Meanie?"

"No!" I said immediately, "It wasn't like that!"

"Ok," he said after a moment, "Veck let Bia live."

I heard a meaty thud and then Bia groaning as the sound of male grunts and growls rent the air.

I ran from my hiding spot and jumped between Veck and Bia as Veck attempted to pound him into a bloody pulp.

"NO!" I shouted, shielding Bia from Veck's wrath, "Don't hurt him!"

Veck immediately pulled back and snarled, slamming his huge fist into the floor of the cave, leaving a giant ditch in the ground, dust and dirt flying everywhere from the impact.

Forget ditch...
I amended, seeing the large groove in the ground his fist made,
he left a crater...

"Meanie, get back!" Kirch growled.

"You!" I pointed at Kirch, "YOU stay out of this! I'll get to
you
, in a minute, mister!" I growled out as menacingly as possible.

Kirch gave me a look like 'what the hell did I do?' but
I ignored him for the moment, focusing on the current problem at hand.

My shirt sleeve had pushed up, exposing my bracelet.

Veck took hold of my wrist and ran it across the bracelet Bia had given me, looking at me and then Bia and then me again.

"Meanie said no o
ne but Veck," he stated angrily. "Who wife? Who?" he growled.

"Who...?" I asked confused, pulling my wrist out of his hand.

"Who claim
my Meanie
?" he asked glaring at the two possible suspects.

"Claim? NO! No, no. Bia gave it to me as a friendship bracelet. The day afte
r we met. Tell him Bia," I looked at Bia, "Tell him. He wanted to say sorry, that's all. Bia... tell him."

Bia looked from me to Veck and then grunted and dusted himself off.

"I claimed her first, so she's mine first and then yours," he told Veck boldly, looking him straight in the eyes as he said it.

"WHAT?!!" I screeched, while at the same time Kirch roared out in rage and Veck crouched down to launch himself at Bia.

"Like hell!" I bellowed over the noise, keeping myself between the three supposed injured parties to prevent any bloodshed.

"Kirch claim Meanie first, Kirch first mate!" Kirch put in, teeth pulling back into a vicious snarl that dared anyone to say differently.

"Oh, don't you even go there, buddy! Just be thankful you're still here and I haven't found some way to unman you!
Yet!
" I shouted, my voice coming out as a hissed warning at the end.

Kirch muttered under his breath, but backed down, mumbling in his own language as he crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me sullenly.

He looked like someone had just kicked his puppy.

"Hmmph!" I
huffed.

I turned to Bia and held my wrist with the bracelet up to his face, shaking it at him as I ranted.

"Don't hate me, Mina! He said," I mimicked him perfectly. "Nowhere in that sentence was there a 'marry me?', 'be my mate?', or 'hey, wanna get hitched, Wilhelmina?' No, there wasn't. So you can't claim shit!"

I looked at his
stubborn, determined expression and my shoulders slumped a little.

"I tho
ught you were my friend," I sniffed sadly, quietly, sounding depressed and little, even to my own ears.

Bia opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. He reached out for me hesitantly, but Veck wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest, his hands hugging me comfortingly as he leaned down and scooped me up, wrapping me up in his mating fur over Kirch's.

"Please take me home, Veck," I whispered quietly, wiping at a fresh wave of tears as I leaned against his warm chest and closed my eyes exhaustedly.

He didn't say another word, no one did and I was thankful for the repr
ieve as he made his way home, holding me tightly, bundled in his arms.

****

Veck walked into the cottage and set me down, not saying a word as he started up a fire.

"Veck," I said tentatively, shivering now in my wet clothes.

"Take off clothes, Meanie," Veck rumbled, his back still turned away from me.

I stifled my sniffles as best as I could and cleared my throat a little, trying to compose myself. I let the furs I was wearing hit the floor and trembled as the cold air hit my wet skin.

I pulled off my water logged outfit, trembling from the cold.

Now I know how an ice cube feels!

My hands shook badly as I wrung the garments out and attempted to hang them over the backs of the chairs.

I grabbed Veck's fur up off the floor and wrapped it around myself, eyeing Veck as he clutched at the stone mantle on the fireplace, his grip on it turning his knuckles pink.

"I'm sorry, Veck," I said earnestly, my voice trembling as I slowly approached him.

I put my hand on his back and he leaned his head forward, letting it rest against the wall.

"Meanie Veck's mate," he growled angrily, pissed, but purred when I rubbed his back soothingly.

"Only you," I swore.

"Kirch and Bia..." Veck started.

"I won’t' even talk to them again! I swear!" I pleaded when he started to pull away from my touch.

"Meanie claim Bia," he stated simply.

"No!" I practically yelled.

"Meanie kiss Bia too. Meanie claim Bia," he snarled and stopped, pausing for a full minute, then shook his head and sighed resignedly.

He started to lift his head up and glanced at the door.

He growled viciously, coming from somewhere deep within his chest, his frustration evident, then stopped and looked down again after a moment

I thought he might be contemplating leaving me and I panicked, wrapping my arms around his waist in a death grip.

"I love you! I'm sorry! I didn't know what the bracelet meant! I'm sorry I kissed Bia back! Just please, don't leave me!" I cried desperately.

Veck tugged me off of his back
, despite my best efforts to hold on and I thought for sure he was rejecting me.

I stepped back and stumbled a little, a sob escaping me as I turned my back on him and went to run from the room.

He chuckled a little and scooped me up, holding me close.

I was a little too busy crying
, blubbering ridiculously, to realize he wasn't upset. It took me a full minute to realize he was laughing at me.

"Why are you laughing at me?" I spluttered, incredulous
, wiping my face. "I thought you were mad at me? That you might want to leave me."

I craned my neck to get a good look at him.

"Not mad. Veck never leave Meanie." He smiled at me, grinning from ear to ear. "Veck jealous of Meanie's mates. Veck not jealous now."

"They are not my mates!" I snarled angrily.

"Veck first mate, Meanie?" he asked thoughtfully, ignoring my tirade, expression hopeful.

"I thought you were mad about Bia and Kirch? What's with the sudden happy man attitude?" I harrumphed indignantly, trying to keep up.

"Veck first mate?" he stubbornly asked again, impatiently waiting for my answer.

He was fidgeting, getting agitated in his impatience, anxious.

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Yes! And Veck is my
only
mate! My
only
husband, my only anything!" I insisted.

"Meanie loves Veck. Stays with Veck always. Veck first mate. Veck
try
to be nice to Meanie's mates," he said happily, kissing me hard on the mouth, cutting me off with a kiss when I kept trying to talk.

I pulled back and huffed at him, cupping my hand over his mouth.

He licked it and chuckled.

"Are you even listening to me?" I persisted, exasperated with him at this point.

"Yes. Veck Meanie's favorite."

He moved my hand and beamed at me.

I snorted and couldn't help it when a small chuckle escaped me too.

Then it bubbled up into an all-out laughing jag and I went with it, the absurdity that is my life catching up to my tired brain. My overtaxed mind has gone to mush! Leaving me a giggling mess.

Veck carried me to the bed and lay me down, slowly unwrapping his mating fur from around me, smiling when I tried to stifle the giggles that kept escaping me.

He ran his hands over me caressingly, dipping down to take one of my nipples into his mouth.

He sucked greedily and my giggling ceased.

I cradled his head to my breast, gasping in delight when he swirled his tongue around the tightened bud.

"Veck," I moaned softly, running my fingers through the short, thick fur on the top of his head.

He pulled back and ran his thumb over the glistening tip of my hardened bud.

"Veck not please Meanie? Meanie need three mates to keep Meanie happy," he said teasingly, cupping his hand over my sex, his other hand still plucking at my hardened nipple.

"You're suddenly taking this whole three mate thing rather easily," I observed, gasping when he pinched my nipple.

"Veck think. Whole time home. Mad at Meanie's mates, not Meanie. Veck no like Meanie with mates. Meanie safe, though, if mates with Meanie. Protect Meanie better. Veck know Meanie be wanted by other Lo denaii. Veck not like, but Veck first mate and Meanie stay if Meanie has lots of mates to keep Meanie… busy."

I laughed a little and maneuvered myself so I could reach for him too, grasping his erection in my hands.

"You don't mind as much because I'll have my own personal body guards and I’ll be too busy with all of you to tell my head from my ass. Wow, thanks," I snickered dryly, my hands stroking his manhood as he tried to focus on both our conversation and what we were doing to each other.

"Yes. Meanie safer now. Meanie… happy,
" he admitted.

"If they're my mates, then they can fuck me too, can't they?" I taunted him a little, loving the possessive gleam that entered his eyes.

He snarled and pounced on me suddenly, grabbing my hips as he slid his engorged erection through my juices, running himself along my slit.

He snarled at me and bared his teeth in an angry smile.

"Meanie tease Veck." He’d stated the obvious.

"Yes." I smirke
d unabashedly.

"Meanie wants Veck mad?"

He gave me an angry glare and I smiled at him saucily.

"No, I want you to get wild and wooly with me.
Show me why you're my favorite." I giggled at him.

He picked up my hips and slapped my ass.

I yelped and swatted his hands away playfully.

"None of that, sir!" I growled at him, not really meaning it
, enjoying this, enjoying him.

Pretending all that other shit with Kirch and Bia hadn’t just happened, blocking it out momentarily, I arched up into him, brushing myself against him wantonly.

Right now is just us, just him and me, he and I.

"Bad wife." He pretended
to glower at me.

I grinned
and ran my hands down his face, tracing and smoothing the frown lines.

"Only with you," I promised.

He leaned down and kissed me passionately, his tongue sliding against mine as he slipped it into my mouth.

I moaned and rubbed myself against him
more persistently, ready for him to enter me.

When he didn't immediately do anything but kiss me, I grew impatient and lifted my hips up to impale myself on him.

I wriggled around on his shaft until he was buried to the hilt.

He still wasn't moving his hips, so I pinched his ass, irritated when he wouldn't budge.