She didn’t wear a lot of makeup as a general rule, but this was a special day so she used mascara and a bit of lip gloss. Her cheeks were flushed enough that she didn’t need blush. Going back into the bedroom, she looked at herself in the mirror over the dresser. She pulled her long, golden hair over one shoulder, smoothing the tresses with suddenly trembling hands. This was it. She was going to stand up in front of her mates’ family and friends and exchange vows, and then later on they would mark her. The ceremony might be something they made up, something her father could say was meaningless to him, but the marks were forever, and the baby she was carrying was proof that her life was her own now. She hadn’t chosen her mates eight weeks ago, but she was darn sure choosing them now. She’d had a taste of life with them over the last few days, and she knew she’d never want anything – or anyone – else.
A soft knock at the door brought her out of her musings and Max said, “Scarlett, we’re ready when you are.”
She picked up the bouquet and opened the door. Max, standing there in a navy blue suit, smiled. “Oh, honey, you look so lovely. My sons are very lucky.”
“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”
He pretended to dust something from his lapels. “What, this old thing?”
She giggled and took his offered arm.
“Our friends are here, and the boys are waiting. They’re so nervous, Wes won’t stop pacing.”
“Thank you for everything,” she said as he stopped at the end of the hallway and leaned his head around the corner for a moment. The soft strains of classical music filled the air and he looked down at her.
“You’re my daughter now, Scarlett. I’m happy and proud of that honor, and I’m glad you’re part of our family.”
Her eyes stung with tears and she blinked them away as they walked through the kitchen and turned right, stopping at the threshold to the living room. Candles had been placed on every flat surface in the room. The only unlit ones were on a small table in front of the window. Her mates stood in front of the picture window, and Miles, Dana, and Tom stood on their right.
She felt like she was floating as she walked with Max toward her mates. They looked amazing in matching black suits. Their shirts were plain white, and their ties were bright blue, the same shade as her recent eye color change. She released Max’s arm and stepped between her mates. The small table holding their candles was in front of them. Ray and Wes kissed her cheeks, and Wes took the flowers from her and handed them to Dana.
The music was turned down and Ray glanced at his watch. She caught the dial, noting the time was right at sunrise. Ray lifted a lighter from the table and flicked it, the flame erupting quickly. He touched the flame to one of the blue taper candles and then turned to face her, taking her hand.
“I, Ray Miles Fiero, do hereby vow myself to my mate, Scarlett Rebecca Jamison. I swear on my life that I will keep you safe and that I will do everything in my power to make you happy. I was only half a male before you came into my life. I never want to go through those dark days again. My heart is yours forever, Scarlett.”
She blinked at the tears that threatened. She didn’t want to start sobbing because the ceremony was so sweet. Wes picked up the lighter and lit a second taper. He faced her, his eyes glistening with tears as he lifted her hand and kissed the top. “I, Wesley Maximus Fiero, vow myself to my mate, Scarlett Rebecca Jamison.” He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I swear on all that I am that I will be here for you for whatever comes – storms or sunshine, rainbows or clouds. The greatest moment of my life was when you said you were mine. My heart is yours forever, Scarlett.”
She’d spent the previous day thinking about her vows. They’d decided to only say a few sentences to each other, not to make a big huge production of their love. The people in the room with them knew they loved each other. This was just a ceremony to cement their mating – a promise to keep each other safe and love each other forever.
She squeezed both their hands and sniffled, smiling at her mates. Then she let go, lit her taper candle and took their hands once more. “I, Scarlett Rebecca Jamison, vow myself to my mates, Wesley and Ray, for the span of our lives. I swear to be the best mate to you both, to love and honor you both in all that I do. I don’t know where I’d be if you hadn’t come for me. I owe you everything, and I give you my heart forever.”
She could barely see through the tears that filled her eyes, but she knew that Ray and Wes were smiling at her. As they’d planned, they each lifted their candle from its holder and touched the flames to the larger candle. When it lit, they blew out their own candles and set them down. It symbolized leaving behind their old lives and joining together as one.
Ray lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. Then he slid a ring on her finger and met her gaze with a smile. Wes lifted her right hand and did the same. They both said, “Marry us, Scarlett.”
“Of course I’ll marry you,” she said, then hooked her arms around both of their necks and kissed first Wes and then Ray.
“Then you’ll be ours in every way,” Wes whispered in her ear, “and we’ll be yours.”
They turned as the witnesses began to clap and cheer and Scarlett brushed the tears from her cheeks before twining her hands with her mates’ once more. Their dad was first to greet them, and then their uncle, followed by the Charmings. Everyone went to the kitchen except the three of them, and she found herself held tightly between them. “I wish we were able to be married now,” Wes said, “but I’m so glad that you’re almost officially ours.”
“Almost?” she asked, smiling as she looked up at him.
Ray’s fingers ghosted over the side of her neck and she shivered. “
Almost
.”
Wes chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. “You look so beautiful, love.”
“I agree,” Ray said, kissing where he’d brushed her neck. “I think we have the most beautiful mate in the world.”
She kissed her mates and then they walked into the kitchen together to eat their mating ceremony meal. It was different from any wolfy traditional meal she’d ever known, and she smiled as she sat down between her mates and looked over the feast. There was a bowl piled high with bacon, a potato casserole, a frittata, and a platter of french toast with little bowls of fixings.
“What sounds good?” Wes asked.
“Everything,” she said. The light breakfast she’d had before the ceremony had been enough to tide her over, but the scents in front of her made her stomach rumble.
He set two slices of french toast on her plate, a wedge of frittata, and a scoop of potatoes. She topped the french toast with strawberries, a sweet glaze, and chopped pecans, and then snagged three pieces of bacon. While everyone ate, the Charmings shared their memories of Ray and Wes as youngsters, and Miles and Max added plenty of funny stories about them, too. Scarlett felt right at home at the big family table, and she couldn’t wait to go to Ashland to live at the boarding house with the pride. She’d been jealous of Melody having an instant home and a big family thanks to her mates and the pride, but there wasn’t a need for jealousy anymore. She had everything she needed with her two mates.
When the meal was over, she thanked Dana for all her help and said goodbye to her and her husband. Ray and Wes hurried her out of the kitchen and down to the basement, locking the door before they descended the stairs. Ray picked her up in his arms at the bottom of the stairs and carried her toward the wood-burning stove. Wes followed, turning off the overhead light. She smiled at him over Ray’s shoulder.
“You guys look really handsome in your suits,” she said as Ray put her down on a thick rug in front of the fireplace.
“We wanted to look our best for you today,” Wes said.
Her heart sped up. “You guys always look wonderful to me.” She laughed. “That sounded a lot cornier than I meant it to.”
Ray rubbed his palms up and down her arms. “Sweetheart, nothing that happened this morning is as important to us as your happiness. We want to mark you, but it’s been an early morning and if you want to rest for a while, we can do that.”
She blinked up at him in surprise. “Really? You think after all that we did this morning that I’d be happy just going to sleep? No, I want you to mark me. I want us to be
official
, not just almost-official.”
Ray grinned. “Whatever you want, Scarlett.”
“Just you guys, that’s all I need.”
Wes placed electric candles around the perimeter of the wood-burning stove. The soft glow of them lit up the area where they stood, and she grabbed Ray’s suit jacket and pulled him down for a kiss.
He growled softly, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. Wes pressed against her back, his hands sliding up her sides and curving around to cup her breasts. Ray kissed her eagerly as Wes nuzzled her neck, his teeth grazing her skin and making her toes curl.
She felt the zipper loosen on the back of the dress and wasn’t sure who was pulling it down and who was stroking her flesh as each inch was bared as the dress slipped to the floor. Ray cupped her cheeks, nibbling on her lower lip as he ended the kiss. Wes helped her step from the dress and he disappeared for a brief moment then returned to their three-way embrace.
She pushed Ray’s jacket from his shoulders and he shrugged out of it, tossing it behind him. She loosened his tie but he stilled her hands, pulling the tie over his head before he began to unbutton his shirt. Wes undid her strapless bra as Ray began to strip, watching her. Her nipples hardened immediately when Wes tossed the bra aside.
He cupped her breasts and kissed her neck. “I loved knowing you were wearing what we picked out under your pretty dress. I couldn’t stop fantasizing about getting you undressed.”
She tilted her head back to look at him, meeting his mouth as her hands gripped his slacks and tugged. “Get naked,” she whispered against his mouth. Her stomach flipped at the thought of making love to them. She didn’t know how their time would go, but she knew they would take care of her.
Wes chuckled and gave her nipples a light tweak. She turned to watch them both strip. Ray was down to his boxer briefs and a wicked smile. Wes slowly bared himself for her, each inch of his sculpted body just for her. They both had amazing bodies, their muscles hard-won from working on the farm. Her cheeks flushed as heat filled her. All the deliciousness in front of her was all hers.
Wes, clad only in dark boxer briefs, stepped close and curled his hand gently around the back of her neck. He drew her close and she melted into him as their lips met and then parted, their tongues sliding and dancing. She couldn’t stop the whimper that seeped from her throat when he ended the kiss, but Ray replaced Wes so quickly that it morphed into a moan.
Ray held her close, his hand sliding into her hair and grasping it gently to hold her where he wanted. Wes began to kiss down her back. Her nerves sparked as he moved down, his hands spanning her waist as he knelt behind her. He kissed her lower back, his tongue tracing a pattern as he growled and nipped at the edge of her panties. Ray lifted from her mouth and her eyes opened slowly as he gazed down at her.
“I love you, Scarlett.” His voice was hoarse with emotion.
She gripped his arms as Wes pulled her panties down her legs. “I love you, too.”
Wes kissed both her cheeks, chuckling when she gasped, and then Ray knelt, pulling her down with him. On her knees between her mates, she met Ray’s eyes as Wes ran his hands down her arms and ringed her wrists with his fingers. He tugged her hands back and planted her palms on his thighs.
“Hold on to me, baby,” he said, giving her wrists a gentle squeeze before moving his hands slowly up to cup her breasts. Ray kissed her like he could climb down inside her and she squeezed Wes’s thighs.
Wes trailed his fingers down her stomach to her thighs and hooked his hands around her legs, tugging them apart. She leaned against him as Ray smiled against her mouth and slipped one hand between her legs.
She could feel how wet she was as Ray slid one finger past her clit. Ray groaned and Wes’s hands tightened on her legs. She could feel his erection against her back and she wanted to touch him, to touch Ray, too, but she kept her hands where Wes had placed them.
Ray sank his finger into her pussy and she moaned, her head dropping back against Wes’s shoulder. He wiggled his finger, curling it inside her and stroking deeply. Her stomach clenched and she gripped Wes’s thighs, her nails biting into his skin as Ray latched his thumb onto her already swollen clit.
Ray rubbed her clit and stroked her slick walls as she pressed back against Wes, trying to tilt her hips. Wes held her tight so she couldn’t move as Ray drove her forward to bliss. Ray’s thumb began to wiggle her clit back and forth as a second finger joined the first, both of them stroking and curling at places inside that she hadn’t known existed. She closed her eyes as heat bloomed inside her, her body trembling as her climax raced over her. She cried out as she came, shuddering against Wes as Ray kept up the friction on her clit, her climax stretching into white-hot pleasure. They moved around her, closing in on her, and she opened her eyes as Ray leaned down, fangs glinting from his parted lips.
“Yes,” she hissed as their mouths closed on either side of her neck and their fangs slid into her flesh. The pain was sharp but brief, and she let go of one of Wes’s thighs and clutched Ray, her nails digging into his arm as she came a second time, her body weeping around his fingers.