The Succubus and her two Mates

11| A New Day

Ronnie woke first. They had shifted in the night, and she was now spooning Brand with Brock spooning her. It felt so good to be wedged between their bodies. She could feel Brock's morning firmness against her. She was tempted to reach forward to feel Brand too. Realising she was working herself up, she tried to untangle herself without waking them. They might be physical again but she was hesitant - she didn’t want to play with their feelings. She knew the consequences of doing that again - whether she had meant to or not. They were both delicious though…

She expertly wiggled out holding her breath to see if either man woke up. She smiled when Brock, still asleep, just snuggled up to Brand in her absence. Something had definitely changed in the time she had been away from them. It felt good.

Now, in the cold light of day, she took in what her apartment looked like. She crossed her arms while standing in her living room/kitchen/dining room. A feeling of embarrassment came over her. It was very basic and while it was clean it was very run down. The furniture that came with it was old and sad. She could only imagine what Brock and Brand were used to. That hotel room they had would be insanely expensive.

She chucked some jeans on, leaving her sleeping shirt on, and slid on some sneakers. First she cleaned up, then she headed down the street to get some coffee and breakfast. She felt a rush of nervous excitement run through her. She liked the idea of bringing the food back and the three of them spending the morning together.

She couldn’t keep the silly grin off her face, greeting everyone she saw on the street - not caring if they returned the salutations.

~*~

Brand woke up in Brock's arms. He twisted around to look at him, Brock waking with the motion.

“Good morning,” Brock yawned out.

“Morning,“ Brand said cheerfully. He felt amazing.

Brock gave him a big kiss. Only pulling away as he realised they were in bed alone. “Where’s Ronnie?”

Brand shook his head. “I just woke up.”

Brock pulled himself out of bed with an effort. He didn’t want to leave it ever - but he was worried. Could she have run away again? They had agreed to give this a try - he realised they hadn’t got her to promise.

Brand sensed his alarm. “This is her home. Surely she wouldn’t…” He froze, reminding himself that while Ronnie felt familiar to him he didn’t actually know her.

He jumped out of bed too - catching Brock's eyes on him. That kiss had stirred him up like mad.

Brock shook himself and exited the bedroom. The apartment was empty. The bathroom door was open - there really wasn’t anywhere she could be. His shoulders slumped.

They were just standing there with looks of such dejection on their face, when Ronnie burst through the front door. She had a tray of coffees and a big brown bag - Brand smelt the food and found his stomach growling. They had barely eaten anything the previous day.

“Good morning,” she sang. She kicked the door closed behind her and took in the scene of the two of them, both standing with a relieved look on their faces. Her eyes traveled down Brand's naked form. She raised an eyebrow. “A very good morning.”

He grinned at her while Brock rushed forward to relinquish her of her burden. She motioned for him to leave it with her. “I’ve got it. You both feel free to take a seat,” indicating the small square table that was set against the wall, with three chairs around it.

Brand didn’t get changed, he just sat down - his people were very comfortable with nudity, like a lot of shifter societies, so he didn’t think anything of it. He was also enjoying the attention he was getting from the two.

“I wasn't sure what you all like to eat so I got a selection." She set the coffees in front of them and then set to piling all the goodies she got on some plates. She had gotten pastries, donuts, fruit salad and bacon and egg sandwiches. It was a ridiculous amount of food but the two men tucked in. She picked at bits and pieces - she didn’t usually eat breakfast, savoring her coffee. The best breakfast, in her opinion.

"Where do we start?" Ronnie asked, nursing her coffee.

"Well, I think maybe introducing ourselves would be a good start," Brand suggested with an edge of humour in his voice. "Brandon Eion, the eldest son to Thane Eion of the Northern Cat Clans. I am a shifter, my form is a black Jaguar."

"Do all your people shift into the same type of form, like Werewolves?" Ronnie didn't know much about the shifter communities outside of wolf society back on earth. Her life centered more around the misfits of the otherworldly beings, demons, witches and the very occasional vampire- though mainly rogue wolves and demons.

"No, there are many different forms. It is genetic."

"And the son of a Thane, what does that entail?"

He smiled, glancing at Brock. "The title is earned and not given by birth, though the position has been held by a member of my family for many generations. I was preparing for the possibility but so were many others, including my sister."

Ronnie nodded, finding the information interesting. She turned her gaze to Brock.

He cleared his throat. "Brock Stronghold, my parents are the King and Queen of the Dragon Empire, Borliany. We are dragon shifters."

Ronnie choked on her coffee. "You mean you're a freakin’ prince?"

He nodded.

"Fuuuuck..."

Brand laughed at her response. "Brock comes from a very long line of dragon royalty. While there are distinct Kingdoms in the outerworlds, the Dragon Empire is at its head."

"Wow. Okay. Sure." She laughed, almost tearing up from the absurdity of it all.

"I'm Veronika Elliot. I'm half human half Fae." She swallowed a little bit and continued, "I was born and grew up here, in this city."

"How did your family come to be here?" Brock asked.

"My grandmother, who was Fae, a nymph, fell in love with a human man and was banished."

"And your parents?" Brand asked, frowning. The outerworlds were not always known as very accepting.

"My mum died when I was really young and my dad wasn't in the picture." She shrugged at that. "My grandmother looked after me until she passed away when I was fifteen."

"I'm sorry." Brand held her hand.

She shook her head with a sad smile playing over lips. "It's okay. We lived completely in the human world, really only having contact with others that also live here."

"And demons," Brock stated.

"Yes," she nodded, seeming a little guarded. "Yeah. Demons."

"Like last night?"

Ronnie eyed him, suddenly feeling like he was interrogating her. "They are known to frequent those types of establishments. Usually good tippers." She sneered a little at him. Her reaction was too much, so she softened her tone. "They often have dealings at the club. I guess he was a fan. We don't get a lot of royalty coming through." She joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

Her tension at the talk of demons wasn't lost on Brock. He wanted to ask a follow-up question when Brand interjected with his own question.

"Did your grandmother tell you much about our world?" Brand asked.

"A little bit. She would tell me stories when I was a kid, and then I got to know more as I started to work at the club, just as a glorified cleaner at first. The owner is a Werewolf," She explained.

"And… you like working there?" Brock asked.

She raised an eyebrow. Trying to gauge how judgy Brock was being. Was it just curiosity? He definitely seemed more straitlaced of the two. "I started working there just because I needed money and I knew Bobby through my grandma. When I turned eighteen, she let me start dancing there. I always loved to dance and it, um… works well for me."

"In what way exactly?" Brand asked. "We've both experienced the type of power you have. How does it work?"

Ronnie answered cautiously. She hadn't really voiced any of this before outside of Bobby and… it'd been a very small circle. "As I mentioned, I'm an empath- I can also heighten others' emotions or push my own out. It works well working at the club."

"And you can glamour…" Brand prompted her.

She was surprised, she hadn't realised shifters could sense that type of thing, maybe Brock as a dragon shifter but with him being a mammalian shifters it was a surprise to her - more magical beings, fae, witches, warlocks and demons could but she'd never had any of the werewolves notice. Maybe werecats had that slight difference. People just usually guessed she wore wigs and contacts. "Yeah… I've got some base level magic. Glamouring, some elemental-."

"What element?" Brock asked excitedly.

"Oh, um a bit of everything, but it's really so weak," she mumbled, "It really isn't worth mentioning…"

He looked a little disappointed but smiled at her. "We can always see and then help you train. Some elemental magic doesn't come naturally, you need to learn to use it."

"Hmmmm. Maybe," she said non committedly. "What about you guys? I mean, obviously, you've got a fire element as well as your dragon form."

"His is the most powerful fire elemental in all the lands," Brand said proudly.

They smiled at each other. Brock was obviously very pleased with Brand's praise. "Apart from maybe my mother," he interjected.

Brand's smile faded, "Yes. Apart from her. I don't have any elemental power."

"No, but Brand was the clan's top warrior, he had been slated to be the high-"

Brand cut him off. "That doesn't matter now."

He didn't like Brock bringing up what he had been on the path of as part of the cat clans. He had come to peace with his decision but didn't need to be reminded. It had pained his family, though they had accepted his wishes in the end.

Ronnie noticed the quick tension between the two men. She could feel the guilt and remorse coming off of Brock. Brand felt okay, though there was that twinge of regret - nothing beyond a what if feeling. She felt people experience that many times. It wasn't a regret that weighed him down. Just made him pause.

"What's that?" She asked. They were being quite candid and this felt like them shutting her out.

Brand sighed. He didn't want to keep anything from her. He looked at Brock- in the look he was asking who would explain.

"Let's go down to the couch," she suggested. They had finished their breakfast. The men had devoured it all. It satisfied her in a way she couldn't really explain.

Brand started talking first once they were seated. He and Brock sat on the sofa and Ronnie took the armchair.

"We were both aware of each other, our people are allies and my father had dealings with the royal family as part of his position in the clan," Brand started to explain.

"We'd even met before. When we were kids at the trials," Brand added.

"Trials?" Ronnie asked.

"It's a competition where all the various Kingdoms come together - it's a week of different trials, battle games, acts of strength and cunning. It was open to all teens - it's a way to prove your capabilities and bring honour to your people when one of us wins," Brand explained. "It is common for the family of leaders and those in high ranking positions to participate. Brock won every year I attended." He laughed. "Many others were very unhappy they had come up the same time as him - there really was no competition."

Brock smiled sheepishly. He looked impressive and the way he had fought the night before - it had showcased his skill. Until that dirty move from the demon, he was assured the win. Ronnie could picture him excelling in the type of bouts she imagined a tournament they were describing would have. She bit her lip a little bit as her eyes trailed across his broad and bare chest to his large biceps. She'd not seen many men bigger than he was.

"So, the year we turned eighteen,” Brand continued,” which would be the final year we could participate, we both attended as usual. Brock's position as it was meant he didn't really hang out with the other contestants, and I didn't make it to the late stages to face him off - we didn't actually come into contact until the last day at the closing ceremony."

Brand's voice became wistful. "Everyone gets keyed up by the prospect of finding their mate. When I sensed him, I knew immediately…" Brand trailed off.

Brock cleared his throat. "I sensed him too. I remember feeling-" He and Brand looked at each other. "A bubbling excitement. It was a perfect sense of clarity. But… when we found each other at the event… I didn't handle it well…"

Brand just nodded sagely. "I myself had been with any gender, but Brock was not-" he stopped, waiting for Brock to speak for himself. They had aired this before, though things were changing now.

"I had never been attracted to a man before," Brock finished. "It was a shock and I was confused. Hurt… very angry."

Ronnie's heart clenched. Brand's eyes were darkening with the memory of it. "What happened?"

"We tried to ignore it- stay apart," Brand replied. "We realised pretty quickly that that wasn't going to work." He elaborated after seeing the quizzical look Ronnie gave him. "The desire to be with one's mate once you find them is very strong."

The meaning was not lost on her. He had said the other night that they couldn't just forget about her.

"My dragon almost went crazy," Brock recalled.

Brand patted his knee. More like he always did, not lingering. Ronnie felt Brock's twinge of pain when Brand pulled his hand back.

"So, I moved to the Dragon Kingdom and we sort of tried to have at least a friendship…" Brand seemed a little lost for words and Brock's face turned into a scowl.

"I never let us be mated to each other," Brock said angrily, "I caused us a lot of pain." He grabbed Brand's hand, lacing their fingers. "I have a lot to make up for."

Brand's face softened, and the two gazed lovingly at each other. Ronnie examined their love for each other. She felt it wash over and through her. She'd never felt that kind of love before meeting them- so complete. Whatever darkness had cloaked them had melted away - it was still fresh and raw, but she could feel the connection they had in their souls. She hadn't met a fated couple before.

It was beautiful.

~*~