The Succubus and her two Mates

16| What if I went with you?

The space either side of her was empty when she woke. She sat up rubbing her eyes. She assessed and while she felt a bit tired she wasn't hungover. She recalled the night before and felt a twinge of embarrassment that she had gotten so drunk. She was usually the one to hold it all together - that must have been very strong wine.

She padded over to the door and opened it to see if she could see the men. The suite seemed to be empty. She had a look in the other room, noting they had all slept in Brock's room. She figured it was both of their rooms now…

She saw another shopping bag on the small dining table - she could see it was from a woman's clothing store, so she opened it up. It had a couple of summer dresses in it. Grabbing a green one, she went back to the room to take a shower. She wasn't concerned about where the men had gone.

She was flicking her hair through colours when she heard the men return. She settled on a natural auburn, wavy, and skipped out to greet them.

They were laughing about something when they saw her. Both inhaled deeply as she hugged them in turn.

"What's the plan today?" She asked.

"I'll be leaving shortly after eight this evening." Brock said, his fingers playing with her hair.

"I'll be staying behind," Brand explained. "Brock will be back towards the end of the week. If you don't mind, we'd like Jon to stay with you when you're not with me - at a distance where possible."

She fidgeted with the side seam of Brock's shirt. "What… what would it be like if I went with you guys today?"

Both men were surprised and she could feel their delight.

"That would be amazing," Brock said as he pulled her back into his arms.

"Still on the same conditions, guys," she said quickly. "I'm not saying I agree on the mate stuff. Just… I like spending time with you, and it makes sense I understand all the various aspects of what it means to be with you both."

She could feel their disappointment, but their consolation was that she felt something for them.

"What would, I guess, happen? What is expected of me?"

Brock and Brand glanced at each other. "You will meet Brock's parents, the King and Queen. They will have expectations, but maybe we can talk with them first. Explain that this is going to take time."

"And isn't a done deal," she reminded him.

They both nodded. When Brand spoke, Ronnie could tell that he was choosing his words carefully. "You do need to be prepared for their judgment. Dragons, let alone the royal family and their closest subjects, are not known for their tactfulness."

"There's no point going too far into this without knowing what I'm getting myself into," Ronnie said honestly.

Brand's smile was warm as he added, "We have our annual spiritual celebrations at the end of the month - I'd love for you to see my homeland."

They discussed the travel arrangements. Ronnie just wanted to buy a few things and pack what meager clothes she had. Brock made her take a credit card - how he had one she didn't ask. He told her to buy whatever she wanted but pack light on clothes as he would ensure she had everything she needed at the palace.

Palace? Ronnie repeated the word in her head. Surely not a palace palace…

~*~

Ronnie ran about town, Jon with her, buying a few things. Their chit chat was minimal - she had tried to engage him but his monosyllabic responses proved to her that he was content to just do his duty. She dragged him around, loading up his arms. He c****d his head at her as she drew them towards a dispensary but followed her in. He had already purchased items of this nature for her a few days earlier.

She hesitated outside an adult shop. They made eye contact, and she could have sworn there was a wicked smile in his eyes. She made him wait outside, promising that it was the last store. She was quick in her purchases, feeling a little self-conscious, though she didn't know what would be available away from this realm. She'd heard magic was used like technology here on earth. Maybe they had magical lube, she laughed to herself at the thought.

They swung past the bar and Ronnie spoke quickly with Bobby. She promised to send word to her when she got to the Kingdom, not that she knew how to do that, and would send word when she could, when she'd be back.

She was deep in thought on the drive back to the hotel.

"We will be meeting the Lord's at the airport. And will be heading there now."

"Hmmmm?" She looked at him in the front seat.

"Our departure time has been brought forward."

She felt her pulse quicken. "Oh. Okay. Everything alright?"

He just nodded.

~*~

Brock was waiting at the bottom of the stairs of his private jet when the car pulled up. He strode to the car and opened Ronnie's door. He gave her a quick peck then went to help Jon grab all her shopping bags. He snatched the bags from the Demon, scowling at him. Ronnie apologised for the bags - she had planned on loading them into a suitcase but by skipping the hotel she had just done her best to consolidate, hiding a few of the bags that were a bit obvious on the contents.

“Don’t you worry about that," Brock assured. “Please excuse me. I’m not mad at you.”

Brand met her as she entered the main cabin and directed her to a seat that was configured as a four seater, facing each other. The plane had a lounge area with a bar to the side and a door towards the back.

She looked around at its opulence. An attendant greeted her as she was buckling in and offered her a drink of champagne. She took it.

"Why do we need to leave earlier?" She asked, settling in.

Brock frowned slightly. "Jon decided to inform my mother that I had found another mate.” His lips were a grim line. “I was ordered back.”

Jon shrugged. “My oath is to her. It is very specific.”

Brock licked his lips. “I had planned to take you to our summer home. Ease you into this.”

Ronnie raised her eyebrow at Brand.

Brand sighed. "We were going to try and keep you just for ourselves for as much of this trip as possible. The Queen wanted you brought to her immediately. We compromised and will be having dinner with them tonight." He paused before continuing, taking note of Ronnie's expression. She hadn't really expected to meet the parents so soon. He spoke a little stiffly, "When we arrive we will settle you in your room, and then we will collect you for dinner. I hope it's okay, but we will have one of the handmaids come and explain some etiquette."

She shrugged. She was cool with that. She didn't want to do anything dumb. She'd heard that some outer places were super conservative and old old fashioned. Like knights, old fashioned.

Brock seemed distracted. She could feel his anxiety and he occasionally had a facial tick or tensed his fist. Ronnie reached forward and prodded him - poking him in his side. He laughed at the motion and grabbed her hand, lifting it to his mouth and kissing it.

"She can be a bit direct and blunt, try not to take it to heart. And she is royalty, so don't respond in kind."

"Jesus Brand," Ronnie exclaimed. "I feel like I'm about to meet Attila the Hun."

They didn't know who that was, but they got the gist.

There was some darkness on Brock's face. Brand was studying him as he spoke, "The Queen is very discerning, particularly where Brock is concerned. With Brock as their only heir, she is very invested in what his relationships will mean for the future of their Kingdom. I obviously couldn't meet that requirement..."

Ronnie sank deeper into her seat. That was a lot to think about and something she hadn't connected when they explained his position. Of course, he needed to have children. She chewed her lip. She hadn't planned to have children ever. She kinda felt like her line needed to end with her.

Stupidly, it really only started to dawn on her how absolutely crazy this all was. What she was doing. She was interplane traveling with two, albeit hot, men she'd known for less than a week- to be what?- Some kind of royalty power throuple? She'd done some crazy s**t before, but she was starting to grasp the enormity of what she was doing.

"What if you don't..?"

The men seemed to sense her unease and both lent forward towards her grasping her fingers.

Brock's voice was gruff. "There is no rush for any of that. My parents have no plans to step down anytime soon. She can be tough but I will explain that she cannot influence anything between the three of us. We will do what we want at our own pace."

She felt such conviction from him. He was sure he would protect her and Brand with all of his being.

Brand took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

He turned to her. "It's going to be okay," Brand assured her. He brushed a strand of her hair from her face. The tips of his fingers just brushed against her skin. "There will be people you don't like but have to pretend to. But there will be some great people too. It's not all boring work. Plus I'll be there." He smiled at her.

She gave him a warm smile. It's cool, she thought, but her palms got a little bit sweaty.

"So, how does this travel work?" She asked.

Brock responded, "We fly through the point where our two worlds connect."

"And where is that?" She queried. "That sounds like the start of a Bermuda triangle story."

Brand actually understood that reference. "You technically can't pass through it without wanting to."

"It's magic. I get it." She laughed. "How long until we arrive?"

"About three hours."

She was eyeing the attendant and trying to scope out if this plane was fancy enough to have a bedroom in it.

"What shall we do to kill time?" She asked coyly, draining the rest of the champagne.

~*~

"Crell." Bobby passed the goblin a beer. "Thank you for coming."

The best of the Netherrealm, nodded its head. He was wearing his human glamour. Bobby couldn't understand why he chose the look he did. He looked like a goddamn serial killer.

It had taken days before she could even get a message to him- finding he wasn't in the human realm. I had no idea he had a way in and out. They were apparently hard to find if you weren’t in the know.

"We had a demon here the other night-"

"Jakub," Crell offered.

Bobby raised an eye, so he wasn't acting alone.

Crell continued, seeing the question in Bobby’s face, "Lady Veronika is home now. Sent to watch over her."

Interesting, "Well he did a s**t job."

Crell frowned. "Is the Lady okay?"

Bobby flashed her hands. "She's fine. She says he attacked her, but she wasn't alone. Jakub is dead."

Crell didn't bat an eye. "Unlikely, he swore an oath."

So, this demon did think he was helping her. Damn fool to take a dragon on one on one.

"What was he doing here in the first place, Crell?" She crossed her arms under her breasts.

"I must make sure she is kept safe."

"He's gone, Crell. Go find another sadist to suck up to."

Crell gave her an impassive look. It gave her the willies. Goddamn fiend.

He stood. "I will assign another."

"Don't bother. Ronnie's not working here anymore."

Her words had his head whipping back around, a look of fear clear in his eyes. "Where is she?" His voice trembled.

Bobby studied the demon before her. Was he actually worried about Ronnie? …or was he afraid of what his master would do to him?

It was dawning on Bobby that Crell thought he was coming back.

No way, she thought, surely they killed that fucker.

“She is safe. Safer than she ever was with your so-called master,” she spat the word.

Crell seemed to think for a long moment. “Will you not tell me where the Lady is?”

They stared each other down for a moment. Bobby felt her wolf stir inside her. She rarely had to rely on it, but she felt an edge of threat. She wanted to tell him to go f**k himself. He had no power here. Even when that fackwad had been around, Crell had been practically nothing but a butler.

“He’s gone, Crell,” she said instead.

“We shall see,” he responded ominously. “Regardless, I must keep her safe.”

Bobby sighed. “Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.”

Crell gave a short nod and, turning, left.

~*~