Darak by Cara Bristol

Author:Cara Bristol [Bristol, Cara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cara Bristol
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Darak

“And then the judge will say, ‘Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, blah, blah, blah,’ and you say…” The female directing Lexi’s sister’s wedding cued me to speak.

“No. She’s not my mate. That’s my mate.” I pointed to Lexi who watched from the field of chairs. Arranged in rows, most of the two hundred chairs were vacant, but I’d been told that tomorrow they would be filled with guests who would witness the mating ceremony. There would be more people at the ceremony than populated some of the tribes on Dakon.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake! This is just for practice.” The wedding planner rolled her eyes and sighed. “Not for real.”

“It’s okay,” Toni said. “He doesn’t need to say anything. He’s not the one who needs the rehearsal anyway.”

On my planet, there was no such thing as a practice mating. If you asked a female to be your mate, and she said yes, you were bonded. No matter how slight the chance, I couldn’t risk getting mated to the wrong female. When Toni’s future mate, Phillip, had been delayed and hadn’t arrived in time for the rehearsal, she’d asked me if I’d take his place during the practice. I’d assumed I would only have to stand in front of the roundish, open structure called a gazebo—not recite special words to my mate’s sister.

I sought out Lexi. Heat flared across the distance, and arousal purred within me. As my horns tingled, I wished she stood here with me, and this was for real. I’d recognized she was my true intended the instant I met her, but she’d been slower to acknowledge the special feelings between us. The physical aspect had always been there, but her heart had taken longer to open. Ever since yesterday, I’d sensed the change in her, evidenced by her soft, bemused gaze, her warm smiles, the way she found little ways to touch me.

One day soon, when the time was right, I would ask her to be my mate in the Dakonian way, and we would seal the commitment in the Terran way.

“All right, then. After Phillip says, ‘I will,’ the judge will say, ‘Do you, Toni, take Phillip to be your lawfully wedded husband, blah, blah, blah.’ You say…”

“I will,” Toni said.

“Then the judge says a few words about the circle symbolizing eternity. The ring bearer steps forward—ring bearer, where are you?” The wedding helper sighed in exasperation and scanned the garden area.

“Jaxon? Get your butt over here!” shouted one of Toni’s female attendants. Her son was supposed to carry the mating rings on a pillow. Presently, the kit chased a flower girl through the rows of chairs. I had a hunch he had picked out his future mate.

At his mother’s shout, he darted to the gazebo and waited.

His mother glared at him. “Sorry, Toni. He’ll behave better tomorrow. Won’t you?”

He nodded.

“No problem,” Toni said.

“Then you hand your bouquet to your maid of honor so you can exchange rings,” the planner instructed.

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