her veins that allowed her to feel it
because it seemed like no one else
seemed to be aware of it.
Malik made a move to follow them
as Raven took Tristan’s hand in hers.
She came to a stop and shook her
head at him. “I’d prefer it if you guys
stayed here.”
“Nay, my queen. We cannot protect
you if we do not go with you.”
She laughed at that. “Do you
honestly think that Silas would let
anything happen in the sacred place
that Lunaria blessed?”
Tristan shot her a curious look.
“You speak of the God of the Sun as
if you know him. Aye, this is sacred
ground, but as the royal ruling family
we are always in danger, Raven.”
Raven blew out a breath. This was
not how she had planned to tell him.
Still, she knew safety was a major
concern so she could understand his
hesitation to leave the guards behind.
“I sort of do.”
“You do what?” Tristan asked, not
understanding.
“Well, I kind of met the Sun God
this morning.”
All the males stared at her in shock.
She held up a hand before Tristan
could speak. “It’s a really long story,
which I was planning to tell you, but
I’d really prefer to do that when we
are alone. I’d guess there has never
been an attack here in these woods or
at the clearing, am I right?”
Tristan nodded slowly, his eyes
wide. “Aye, you are correct.”
“Trust me, we’re safe here.”
He studied her in silence for a
moment then nodded with conviction.
“The guards stay here. We will be
fine without you.”
“My king—” Malik began to
protest, but Tristan cut him off.
“My mate has requested you remain
here, so you will. I trust her,” Tristan
declared.
Raven smiled then walked with him
into the forest as the guards set up a
perimeter around the forest. It felt
right. She realized they were taking
the same path that she had walked
with Silas and thought that perhaps he
had meant for her to come here with
Tristan today.
“Can you tell me what you meant
by saying you met the God of the
Sun?” Tristan asked when they were
out of hearing distance from the
guards.
Raven told him of her experience
earlier in the clearing and of her time
with Silas and Lunaria in the Isle of
Dreams, leaving out the part about
what she had seen in the scrying pool
in the garden. When she got to the
part about drinking a drop of both
Silas and Lunaria’s blood, Tristan
stopped as if he were struck by
lightning.
“The Gods shared their blood with
you?” he asked, incredulously.
Oops. She forgot to tell that part to
Savitar and Kadan earlier when
she’d told them she was converted.
“Umm…well, yeah. They said the
conversion would hurt but if I did it
there they could shield me from the
pain.”
Tristan shook his head. “It is not
that. Raven, do you understand that
you now have the blood of the Gods
running through your veins? This is
unprecedented!”
Raven quickly told him about her
suspicions that they had done it
because of their inability to have
children of their own.
“I do not even know what to say
about this.”
Unable to help herself, she grinned
up at him. “Just remember, if you piss
me off, Uncle Silas might come down
here and kick your ass for me.”
She watched the color drain from
Tristan’s face. “Uncle…Silas?”
She laughed and hugged his arm to
her as she started walking again,
pulling him along with her. “I was
kidding, Tristan. Lighten up. They
chose me out of all the women on
Earth because they thought I would
make a good mate for you and your
brothers. That tells me he thinks
pretty highly of you or he would
never have gone to the trouble of
bringing me here.”
Tristan relaxed at that. They
continued to talk until they got to the
clearing. When the waterfall came
into view, Raven smiled at the sight
of a large golden blanket on the
ground covering the bright green
grass. A single ray of sunlight
streamed down on the blanket as if
welcoming them.
“Did you do this?” Tristan asked,
his eyes wide with shock.
“No. I’m guessing it is Silas telling
us he approves of us being here,”
Raven said with a smile. She sent up
a silent ‘thank you’ to the god and
pulled Tristan over to the blanket.
They sat down and Raven unlaced
the soft leather boots on her feet so
she could wiggle her toes in the cool
breeze. Tristan chuckled and she
tilted her head. “What?”
“You have such cute toes.”
She smiled. “It feels good.”
Raven reached over and unlaced
Tristan’s boots, pulling them off to
free his feet. It was comical to see
his legs stretched out next to hers.
His feet were twice the size of hers
and his legs almost twice as long. It
shouldn’t have surprised her, since
her mates were big all over. She lay
down on her back, staring up at the
pink sky watching the lavender
clouds slowly drifting by.
“It’s so peaceful here,” she
whispered. Her life had changed so
much in the last week, and yet she
had never felt more relaxed. It was as
if she had waited her entire life to
come to Arcadia to find the serenity
she had always craved.
Tristan leaned over and pressed a
light kiss on her lips before lying
down next to her. He reached over
and twined his fingers with hers,
enjoying the quiet moment together.
Tristan finally broke the silence with
a sigh. “Forgive me, mate. I believe
all that you have told me, but it is
still hard to fathom.”
Raven laughed. “You’re telling me.
Imagine my surprise when I woke up
and saw Silas standing there. It
scared the crap out of me.”
“That is an interesting visual. You
certainly have a way with words,”
Tristan said with a chuckle. “So, you
are a true Arcadian now.”
“I guess so. I’m still not exactly
sure what that means.”
“For years, Arcadians roamed the
universe as a peaceful race. It is said
we traveled the stars to distant lands
in search of other life. When they
realized that other races were not as
advanced, the travels ended. But
being such a dominant race, wars
ravaged the planet as warriors fought
for power and supremacy here on our
home world.”
Raven could imagine a race of all
alpha males growing bored being
constricted after having the ability to
travel after so many years. Still, the
thought of the damage done to the
entire world was scary.
“So, you used to space travel, but
you don’t anymore?”
Tristan sighed. “Our technology
was destroyed. We almost caused the
destruction of everything you see, but
we were able to end the war before
that happened. Over the years the
cities separated themselves, closing
off their borders to outsiders. It is
said that during the wars, the male
genes took over and more warriors
were born to help with the fighting,
but when the cities segregated
themselves, loss of females became
even more pronounced.”
He paused for a moment before
continuing. “There is a prophecy that
has
been
passed
down
for
generations. It has been said that one
day out of the ashes of the destruction
would come the return of the Great
Ones, the true shifters. But as time
has passed it has become nothing
more than a legend. The only time I
have heard reference to a true
Arcadian is in that prophecy.”
“So, I’m like…famous,” Raven
said turning to him to wiggle her
brows.
He laughed as he turned his head
toward her. “Aye, you are.” His
expression sobered. “I will never be
able to tell you how much it pleases
me that you chose to stay with us. It
shows that you trust us and for that, I
will always be grateful.”
“I do trust you,” Raven said then
took a deep breath. “That’s why I
want you to help ease me into the
whole anal sex thing.”
Tristan froze. He blinked at her,
barely able to believe what he had
just heard was real. He could feel the
apprehension emanating from her in
waves.
Earlier
when
he
had
mentioned the mating ritual when he
and his brother would take her
together he had felt her fear. It made
him angry at himself for pushing her,
but for her to give him this gift after
the tumultuous relationship they had
so far made his heart ache.
He was humbled by her trust in
him.
Tristan loved her absolutely and
staying away from her these last few
days to allow her to get acclimated to
their world had been pure hell. He
knew she was leery of him since that
first debacle when he created the
blood bond with her, but he promised
himself he would do whatever it took
to earn her trust again.
And now she was giving him the
chance.
His cock had turned to stone,
pressing against the soft leather of his
pants at the mere mention of being the
first to claim her ass, but he needed
to make sure she really wanted this.
“Are you sure, little one?” he asked
softly.
She nibbled on her lower lip in a
way that made him want to kiss her to
make her stop. “I’m sure. Okay, let
me clarify that. I’m sure I want you to
be the one to help me with this, but I
can’t say I’m completely sold on the
whole up the butt thing because until
now it has strictly been an exit not an
entrance type thing so—”
Tristan placed a finger over her
lips to stop her rambling response.
“I will do all in my power to show
you that it can be wonderful between
us. I can bring you pleasure from
fucking your ass, but if you do not
like it we can stop at any time.”
Raven stared up at him with those
startling green eyes accented with
gold and silver flecks. He could see
the change come over her as sheer
determination filled their depths.
“Okay, I’m willing to try it.”
Determined to make this good for
her, Tristan began his seduction by
slowly removing her clothes. He took
his time, pressing light kisses along
each inch of her naked flesh that he
uncovered. Once she was naked, he
all but tore his own clothing off so
they were both bare to the sunlight.
Kneeling over her he looked down
on her lush body and felt his dick
throb with the need to be inside her.
She looked like a goddess, laid out
before his eyes wearing nothing but
the torque he had made for her. Her
inky black curls spread out around
her head and her dark-pink nipples
tightened as the cool breeze swirled
around them.
His hand reached down to stroke
over his heavy erection as he saw the
pearly liquid seeping from her little
slit as she parted her legs for his
view. He had seen her naked body in
the memories of his brothers, but
nothing had prepared him for the
reality of her.
She was so beautiful she took his
breath away.
“Mine,” she growled. His eyes
widened as she reached out to slap
his hand away from his cock.
“Aye, it’s yours, mate. Every inch.”
She swallowed. “Yeah, and there
are a lot of inches.”
“Do not worry, little one. I will not
hurt you.”
She nodded. “I know.”
Tristan slowly parted her shaking