Cruel Union (Brutal Universe #1)

7. Slade

7

SLADE

A urora took a deep breath when we stepped in the front doors of the Holy House . It was a large round area, built of pure white Zithian marble, shot through with veins of purple-blue sapphire. Marble pillars arranged around the circumference of the room were decorated with images of the four faces of the Goddess .

“ Who are these people?” she asked, gesturing to the images. “ Are these the Goddesses you worship?”

“ Just one Goddess with four faces,” I corrected her. “ The Maiden , The Mother , The Lover , and The Crone .”

“ So many faces…” She looked around, studying the different aspects of the Goddess .

“ Who do you humans worship?” I asked.

“ The Goddess of Mercy , of course,” she said primly. “ She guides us through every aspect of our lives. This is a very beautiful Holy House , though,” she added.

I nodded proudly.

“ My mother designed this place. I remembered her telling me that every woman resembled one or more faces of the Goddess on a daily basis so I should never expect to see the same face twice in a row once I entered into a Binding .”

“ Is your mother here?” She looked around curiously.

I shook my head curtly.

“ She died ten years ago.”

“ Oh …” To my surprise she laid a hand on my arm and looked up at me. “ I’m sorry. I still miss my mother, too.”

I hadn’t said that I missed her…but it wasn’t strange that Aurora had picked up on my emotion. The internal pull between Fated Mates was already asserting itself, now that we were in close proximity. It would grow even stronger once we had finished the ceremony and our Partial - Binding was complete.

“ Thank you,” I said, putting my hand over her much smaller one. She was so tiny…so delicate. I was seized with two contradictory urges—part of me wanted to wrap her gently in my arms and keep her safe forever…and the other part wanted to push her up against one of the pure white stone pillars and take her long and hard while she panted my name.

I pushed both impulses away with some difficulty and we walked further into the Holy House .

“ Did your mother choose all this art?” Aurora asked. She was looking at the statue in the center of the circular room. It was the Goddess with all four of her faces on display, each pointing in a different direction— North , South , East , and West .

I nodded.

“ She did. She was extremely devout—she came here to pray almost every day. Probably to beg forgiveness for her husband and her son’s sins,” I added darkly.

Though I knew my mother hadn’t approved of the family profession, I wished she was here now, to see me entering into a Binding at last. True , it would only be a Partial - Binding —a full Soul - Binding wouldn’t take place until I had knotted Aurora and spilled my cream in her womb in a Deep Seeding —the ultimate act of possession and intimacy. Until that happened, I could still lose her if she chose to leave me and the separation would cause me great pain.

In addition to the risk of my new bride running from me, The Thirst —a burning desire that all Brutal males feel to drink from their Fated mate once a Partial - Binding forms between them—would torment me until Aurora allowed me between her legs to taste her sweet juices. The longer she made me wait, the worse it would get.

The risk of flight and the pain of The Thirst were the reasons my cross- Clan crew had been surprised when I informed them that I was only going to do a Partial - Binding . But I didn’t want to rush the curvy little human or force her into an Unwilling Soul - Binding . Especially now that I was almost certain she was a virgin.

I wouldn’t have been upset to find she wasn’t, of course—though I would have been murderously jealous of the male who had been with her. Just the thought of another male putting his dirty fucking fingers on her or his shaft inside her…

All right, so I would have been fucking upset, I admitted to myself. I was glad she was probably a virgin. I didn’t care if my sentiments were selfish or sexist— I wanted to be the one to bring her pleasure for the first time. The first to taste her juices and fill her sweet pussy with my shaft and her womb with my seed…

“ Hey , Boss , you’re here!” Rive’s voice surprised me out of my lustful thoughts and I turned to see my Second in Command coming out from behind a pillar. His eyes glowed green and the silver paint on his curving horns—a sign of his rank—gleamed in the dim light.

“ Yes , I’m here.” I nodded. “ Where’s the priestess?”

“ Getting the candles ready to light. Care to introduce me to your Lady ?” Rive asked, eyeing Aurora with eager curiosity.

I felt the possessive Darkness rising inside me and had to tamp it down. I reminded myself that my Second was only being polite—he knew better than to show anything other than friendly interest in my Fated Mate .

“ Aurora , this is Rive , my Second in Command ,” I said, turning to her. “ And Rive , this is Aurora —my Fated Mate .”

“ I’m your what?” She looked at me, startled. “ What does that mean—‘ Fated Mate ?’”

“ Exactly what it sounds like, my Lady ,” Rive said, answering for me. “ We Brutes believe that the Goddess — She of the Four Faces —has set aside the perfect woman for each of us. Until a Brute finds his Fated Mate , he will not enter into any kind of permanent or lasting Binding .” He took her hand and bowed over it gallantly. “ I am very pleased to meet the Fated Mate of Clan Cruel’s Head Enforcer .”

“ Aren’t you a silver-tongued son-of-a-bitch,” I growled as he straightened up, grinning. “ Is anyone else here?”

“ No , and I don’t expect there to be— I kept the ceremony quiet.” Rive frowned. “ Are you sure you don’t want your Sire here to see you get Bound ?”

I shook my head.

“ If I invite him, I’ll have to invite Lyrah too. You know how I feel about her. Fuck that.”

“ Yes I know—enough said. And no swearing in the Holy House .” Rive shook his finger in mock indignation. “ Ah —here comes the priestess now.”

As he spoke, a female dressed in a long, red robe came towards us. The crimson cowl of her robe was up, hiding everything but her glowing red eyes.

“ Greetings , children,” she said smoothly as she glided up to us. In her hands she held four tall candles—one pure white, one deep blue, one scarlet, and one black. When she reached us, she threw back her hood, revealing the rest of her face and head.

I heard Aurora give a muted gasp and she took a slight step backwards before finding her courage and coming back to my side. I could understand her momentary fear—the priestess was a Sympath —a race composed of all female beings who are uniquely suited to the worship of the Goddess due to their physiology.

Much like the statue of the Goddess in the center of the Holy House , Sympaths had four faces—each with different features. When one face was speaking, the others were quiet—the eyes and mouths closed. Otherwise trying to have a conversation with one would have been fucking chaos. Of course, during a holy ceremony things were different—then all the faces got involved.

“ Greetings , Mother ,” I said respectfully, for that was the face the Priestess was showing. It was middle aged with lines of wisdom and care at the corners of her eyes and mouth—a face that had been marked with both joy and sorrow.

“ Greetings , my son,” she said formally. “ I understand that you have found your Fated Mate and are ready to Bind yourself to her.”

“ I am.” I nodded. I waited to see if Aurora would object or not, but she seemed slightly stunned by the Sympath priestess and said nothing. I wasn’t surprised. I was pretty fucking sure they didn’t have anyone who looked the four-faced being on the tiny planetoid where my new bride had grown up and lived such a sheltered existence.

“ Very well.” The priestess nodded. “ I shall place and light the candles to call the blessings of She of the Four Faces . Then the ceremony can begin.”

She walked up to the statue of the Goddess and began placing the candles. The white one went into the cupped hands of The Maiden , the blue candle went to The Mother , the scarlet candle was for The Lover , and the black candle went to The Crone . The priestess lit them as she placed them.

Then , with a motion of her hands, she lowered the lights. Soon the only illumination in the entire round marble room was the golden glow of the candles.

I felt a knot of tense excitement forming in my belly. At last the moment I had waited for was at hand.

Finally I would Bind Aurora to me and Bind myself to her.