mates’ thing...Do you really care for both of us, or is it something your family expects you to do?”
She finally looked up. “My family would never force me to choose a mate, or two. I meant what I said. I want both of you.” Her eyes darted from Ivan to Liam. “I guess I should explain how the mating works since you’re claiming you’ll stay. My birthday was on the day of the full moon this year, marking the beginning of my fertility cycle. My sex drive peaks, and my hormones take control. If I find my mate by the third-quarter moon, we’re joined—assuming we take the vows of love, loyalty, and life. If I don’t find my mate or my mate refuses the vows, I have to wait seven years for the next fertility cycle to seek another mate.”
Ivan frowned. “Sounds complicated. You said something about only true mates being able to get you pregnant. How will you know it’s us before the joining? And what’s the vow of life?”
Her voice softened. “A couple of my cousins possess the ability to know if a woman is expecting. We won’t be allowed to go through the joining ceremony if I’m not carrying your children. Only true mates may speak the vows and be joined for life. No divorce. No annulment. The commitment is until parted by death.”
“Wow, your joinings are a hell of a lot stricter than marriage laws.” Ivan seemed to consider the seriousness of taking that leap.
With his heart in his throat, Liam mulled over all the requirements for binding himself to Jolán. “Even if we love each other, we can’t become joined if you aren’t pregnant? That isn’t fair. How would anyone but us know whether or not what we feel is real?”
She heaved a sigh. “My emotions during the fertility cycle can be confusing. When my body is telling me to mate, it doesn’t discern between love and lust. Sexual attraction blurs the lines. Even now, desire is all that matters.”
That explained her aggressive nature during their encounter yesterday morning, and the love-lust line was a bit blurry from his perspective as well. “I guess getting pregnant protects you from joining with the wrong guy then, but I still don’t get why some of the woman in your family have two mates instead of one.”
“Great Grandmother says it has to do with the balance of power in our fight against Kazmer. The final confrontation is building. Every time one of us finds a pair of mates, he tries to prevent the joining from taking place. Before that, he hadn’t interfered since the prophecy predicted the uniting of our family with Sandor’s and Konrad’s clan of warlocks. Great Aunt Magdolna and her true mate, Boldizsár, are finally together after seven cycles of separation.”
A quick calculation of the time Jolán’s aunt and her love had spent apart cramped Liam’s stomach. “They waited forty-nine years to be together? Wait—Sandor and Konrad are warlocks? Okay, I get why you have to erase the memory of anyone who leaves.” Did he dare ask what other not-quite-ordinary people lived in the mansion? “The guys with the swords. Amalric and Ranulf. What are they?”
Her breathy exhale warned him the answer wasn’t one he expected. “They, um, hitched a ride with Lujza when she returned from rescuing a spellbook from the, um, fourteenth century. They’re knights. Grant and Ethan are pirates from the early seventeen hundreds...sort of. They’re also Protectors. Men trained to protect certain witches and their families. Orsolya is their charge.”
Ivan let out a low whistle. “You can travel through time? No wonder you need to keep secrets. Knights and pirates. Geez, we’re only a couple of construction workers.”
She lifted their clasped hands to her cheek and cupped Liam’s jaw with her other hand. “Your occupation isn’t important. Love and lust don’t care about those things. Fate brought us together for a reason, and that we’re still alive is a miracle.”
Turning his head to kiss her palm, Liam had to agree.
She finally looked up. “My family would never force me to choose a mate, or two. I meant what I said. I want both of you.” Her eyes darted from Ivan to Liam. “I guess I should explain how the mating works since you’re claiming you’ll stay. My birthday was on the day of the full moon this year, marking the beginning of my fertility cycle. My sex drive peaks, and my hormones take control. If I find my mate by the third-quarter moon, we’re joined—assuming we take the vows of love, loyalty, and life. If I don’t find my mate or my mate refuses the vows, I have to wait seven years for the next fertility cycle to seek another mate.”
Ivan frowned. “Sounds complicated. You said something about only true mates being able to get you pregnant. How will you know it’s us before the joining? And what’s the vow of life?”
Her voice softened. “A couple of my cousins possess the ability to know if a woman is expecting. We won’t be allowed to go through the joining ceremony if I’m not carrying your children. Only true mates may speak the vows and be joined for life. No divorce. No annulment. The commitment is until parted by death.”
“Wow, your joinings are a hell of a lot stricter than marriage laws.” Ivan seemed to consider the seriousness of taking that leap.
With his heart in his throat, Liam mulled over all the requirements for binding himself to Jolán. “Even if we love each other, we can’t become joined if you aren’t pregnant? That isn’t fair. How would anyone but us know whether or not what we feel is real?”
She heaved a sigh. “My emotions during the fertility cycle can be confusing. When my body is telling me to mate, it doesn’t discern between love and lust. Sexual attraction blurs the lines. Even now, desire is all that matters.”
That explained her aggressive nature during their encounter yesterday morning, and the love-lust line was a bit blurry from his perspective as well. “I guess getting pregnant protects you from joining with the wrong guy then, but I still don’t get why some of the woman in your family have two mates instead of one.”
“Great Grandmother says it has to do with the balance of power in our fight against Kazmer. The final confrontation is building. Every time one of us finds a pair of mates, he tries to prevent the joining from taking place. Before that, he hadn’t interfered since the prophecy predicted the uniting of our family with Sandor’s and Konrad’s clan of warlocks. Great Aunt Magdolna and her true mate, Boldizsár, are finally together after seven cycles of separation.”
A quick calculation of the time Jolán’s aunt and her love had spent apart cramped Liam’s stomach. “They waited forty-nine years to be together? Wait—Sandor and Konrad are warlocks? Okay, I get why you have to erase the memory of anyone who leaves.” Did he dare ask what other not-quite-ordinary people lived in the mansion? “The guys with the swords. Amalric and Ranulf. What are they?”
Her breathy exhale warned him the answer wasn’t one he expected. “They, um, hitched a ride with Lujza when she returned from rescuing a spellbook from the, um, fourteenth century. They’re knights. Grant and Ethan are pirates from the early seventeen hundreds...sort of. They’re also Protectors. Men trained to protect certain witches and their families. Orsolya is their charge.”
Ivan let out a low whistle. “You can travel through time? No wonder you need to keep secrets. Knights and pirates. Geez, we’re only a couple of construction workers.”
She lifted their clasped hands to her cheek and cupped Liam’s jaw with her other hand. “Your occupation isn’t important. Love and lust don’t care about those things. Fate brought us together for a reason, and that we’re still alive is a miracle.”
Turning his head to kiss her palm, Liam had to agree.
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