His Virgin Mate(13)

But when we all woke up after a second night of restless sleep, I knew I wasn’t the only one who’d been dreaming. Not just one night, but two. We were all edgy over breakfast, quiet. If Katie and Dani were like me, they were thinking about the man in their dreams, what he’d done and most especially, how they’d felt.

God, I’d gotten hotter in a dream than with any real man on Earth. If he’d kept going, I’d have let him. A stranger. The scary and exhilarating part was, I’d have come for him, too. No longer wondering if I was simply asexual, I shuddered under the slightest touch of his fingers. His kiss made my entire body burn. I’d never felt anything like it and I wanted more.

But he’d stopped. Not touching me. Not taking me, filling me with his cock. I couldn’t even get laid in a dream. Which seemed rather pathetic.

“You all know you were matched to Everis.” The Officiate’ s stern voice brought me back to the real world. “What you may not know is that six thousand years ago, explorers from Everis scattered across the galaxy to colonize new worlds. Earth was one of those worlds.”

I nodded. I’d already heard this story from Warden Egara. Treva continued.

“You have all been told that you are descendants of those colonists, survivors from our world who mated with humans. What you may not know is the significance of the mark you all bear and how it might help you find your one true mate.”

“What?” Katie squirmed and I crossed my arms over my breasts in defense. The floor-length gowns we all wore were beautiful but thin. And we were naked beneath the bright display of color, for we each chose our own.

Treva nodded. “The legends say that long ago, an Everian Hunter so pleased the Divine with his honor and bravery that he was granted a gift, a perfect mate. This Hunter, the very first Hunter of Everis, was granted many special skills. Enhanced speed and strength. An unfailing instinct for the hunt. A strong mind and an iron will. This Hunter had survived a mighty battle and carried the marks of his struggle on his body.

“The Divine saw this and promised the Hunter that a perfect mate had been created for him. Their minds would be as one. Their bodies would unite in perfect harmony. He would find solace and peace in her arms unlike any other.” Officiate Treva paced before us like we were soldiers and she was our drill sergeant, but not one of us moved or dared ask a question. I felt like I was in preschool being told a fairy tale.

“The Divine promised the Hunter would know his mate by a special mark placed on her palm by the Divine and loving goddess herself, a mark that matched his exactly, a mark that would feel as if on fire when his mate was near.”

“Holy shit.” Dani’s whispered words didn’t carry far, but I heard them and shared the sentiment, although I remembered Warden Egara finding it strange my mark was elsewhere on my body. I wasn’t going to worry about it. It heated and tingled now as if it just woke up. I immediately thought of Von, of his mouth on my breast. Was that truly how he’d known about the mark there? Did he really have one in the exact same place? Did it heat and ache and burn, as mine did?

“Are you saying that an Everian male with a mark just like mine is my true mate?” Dani asked.

I leaned forward, eager to hear this answer. It was completely unbelievable, even though Von had murmured the exact thing to me the night before.

“Yes, Dani. And no.”

I blinked, confused. “Then what’s the point of this story? I don’t understand.”

Treva stopped pacing and faced us with her hands locked behind her back, her face more serious than I’d ever seen her. “The legend of the marked mate is true, but a marked match is rare. Fewer than one in a hundred find their marked mate. First, you must trigger a psychic connection that causes dream sharing. After that, your Hunter must come to you. He must hunt you to prove his worth, find you, no matter where you are on this world. It is a rare and beautiful gift to have a marked mate.”

“What if he doesn’t find us?” Dani asked. “Or what if they don’t want you, after they meet you? Or dream you? Or whatever?”

Treva looked doubtful, but she shrugged. “It is extremely unlikely any of you will have a marked mate on Everis. If you do meet your marked mate, you will know. Your mark will awaken, become warm, hot even. And tingle.”

Katie looked at me and nodded as she rubbed her palm. Dani tilted her hand so her palm was up and stared at it. She hadn’t mentioned it heating up, but she did look at the mark there with an odd look, something like surprise.

“You must dream of him, you must establish a link before he can find you. However, if you do have a marked mate, and he is here, in this building, you are not required to choose him. You are free to choose any male at this gathering. Any male here will be thrilled to be chosen, and will accept you as a mate whether your marks heat or not.”