23

A R Y A

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I had a hard time suppressing a snort as I sat down as well, but when Zaira laughed out loud, I joined in her laughter.

"I'll try again this time, sis." Zaira batted her eyelashes innocently as Reah stabbed her with her eyes, then reached across the table for my hand. "Arya, will you help me?"

"I'll ask Joy about a matching ball gown for Reah in a moment."

Zaira cheered while Reah gritted his teeth. "If I didn't have Koray on my lap, you'd all be running away from me!"

Zaira brushed aside Reah's threat. The two were obviously friends, trading blows like Rowtag and I did. I clawed my hand into the cream sweater I'd slipped on this morning and tried not to think about Rowtag anymore. Instead, I imagined what it would be like when spring finally came to an end and it was summer here – surely by then it would be warm enough to wear my old leather clothes and with just a skirt and a plain leather tie around the waist to run the woods.

“I wasn't sure you'd get the ball. Joy told me about some inconsistencies.” Zaira broke into my thoughts.

"Well, I wasn't exactly sure at first." I shrugged. I would never tell what violent discrepancies they were.

"There's no doubt now?" Reah arched an eyebrow and looked at me expectantly.

I boldly met her gaze. Somehow I didn't get the feeling that Reah liked me very much. Maybe it was because she saw less Xenos because of me? Or that he now also had a mate? Or was there just something about me that she didn't like? “Aee”, that was definitely the reason. "No. I've already asked Joy about the prom dress she promised and luckily for me she hasn't promised anyone else yet."

"And what about the arranged marriage?" Zaira objected, eyeing me curiously while sipping her lemonade.

My hand, which was about to grab my glass, froze in midair. "How do you know about this?"

“Xenos didn't say anything, don't panic. But not only werewolves whisper. It makes the rounds between the trunks.” Reah threw Koray up and caught him, making him shriek and burst out laughing.

Zaira held up a hand in warning. "Reah look, I'd rather not do that..."

"Daddy, what are you talking about! He loves it!” She pushed him up again. "Wasn't Schnucki?"

Koray laughed out loud.

What rumor was going around? That the chief of the most dangerous tribe wants to marry me? Or that my father wanted to sell me to the worst paintings? Or that the chief's daughter had run away from her duty and behaved beyond dishonorable? I took a sip of lemonade. "Won't happen."

Zaira glanced briefly at Xenos on the training field. Then there was a little smile. "I thought so."

Reah wanted to say something, but just at that moment, she threw Koray up in the air again and he vomited a white gush of milk over her top. "“Iihhh!"“ Reah grimaced in disgust and groaned. ““Oh God, “I think I'm going to throw up!” “Koray Schnucki, that's really not nice!”

"That's what happens when you kick him up after a meal." Zaira didn't even bother to stifle her laughter, but threw her head back and laughed uncontrollably until she cried. I couldn't hide my grin either, even as the foul smell of milk and bile wafted across to me - another thing I hadn't known about children for a long time, and honestly I'd love to undo it.

"“Ha-ha!"“ Reah grimaced. "You two pranksters think that's super funny, don't you?"

"Sorry, Reah." Zaira laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Okay actually no, it serves you all right."

"Yeah, yeah just laugh." Reah got up and quickly placed Koray on my lap. "Here, I can't take another second in this top." Then, with a last sniff at her shirt and a disgusted puckered mouth, she left the pavilion and headed towards the packing house.

My laughter stopped instantly as I looked at the little boy on my lap and immediately grabbed his waist as he moved.

Zaira giggled. "Don't be afraid, you're doing well."

"I'm not afraid," I replied automatically, but of course that was a lie - my tight grip on the boy was proof enough. “Heaven Arya, pull yourself together! “I forced myself to loosen my grip a little and he twisted in my arms and looked up at me. His light green, shimmering eyes, which reminded me of the enchanting ponds in the jungle, looked back at me.

"Aya," he mumbled, smiling, and chuckled when I complimented him. His hands dipped into my hair, tugged at my individual braids, and then deeply studied the white patterns on my arm. I gently stroked his dark curls.

"See, not that difficult, is it?"

My head snapped up at Zaira and the corners of my mouth turned up. "Koray is an adorable child."

There was so much love in Zaira's purple eyes it gave me goosebumps. "True enough, he is."

"How come he's already speaking when he's only six months old?"

“Werewolves grow fast, especially in the first three years. Koray can already stand on his own and it won't be long before he'll be running away from me.” She laughed happily. 'The pregnancy was shortened, too, as I'm sure you figured out. Three months, like wolves.”

how about me Gis had a pregnancy of nine months, not three. Well, I'd like to take three months instead of nine. At that thought, my heart beat faster. A child of Xenos and me - “our child”. What would it be, werewolf or gi?

"I see you and Xenos have become closer." Her eyes strayed down to the large hickey on my neck. One of many, but he was the only one visible to others.

“I'll only see them. I alone”, Xenos had whispered to me yesterday, with such a possessive twinkle in his eyes that I felt all wet.

"“Aee”, um..." I had never discussed this with anyone else. And everything was still so fresh.

"You're mates, aren't you?"

I nodded, my fingers tapping the tabletop restlessly.

"I'm glad!" Zaira beamed, but I saw the slightly confused expression.

"What?"

"It's actually none of my business, sorry." A faint blush on Zaira's cheeks.

"Go ahead."

"I'm just amazed Xenos hasn't cemented the bond yet." She bit her lip, then rolled her eyes. "Well, actually, it was pretty much the same for me and Aramis, come to think of it..."

My fingers stopped tapping. "What do you mean “fixed?"“

She looked at me in astonishment. "He didn't tell you about it?"

"No." Lost in thought, I watched Koray trace the white lines above my wrist. I was already wondering why we didn't have a sign. We were mates, weren't we? A bond that bound our souls together. So why didn't I have a sign? Where was our symbol? I had figured that after all, we might still need a ceremony. Even if that seemed a bit strange to me since our souls were already connected. Shouldn't a sign appear automatically?

“You do have a bond, you have been chosen by the moon goddess herself to find each other, but a mate bond is only irrevocable when your partner marks you. It is only when the covenant is made and the marking is ended that the bond becomes unbreakable - then you are bound together forever.”

"Mark?"

“Of course.” Zaira brushed her long ivory hair behind her shoulder, revealing the bite mark on her neck.

"Oh!" A little primitive, almost animalistic. Once upon a time I would have recoiled at the raw dominance this sign represented. Still, when I thought of Xenos giving me his mark, I shuddered wistfully. For a moment I wondered why he hadn't tagged me yet - at least not properly. As a result, I felt ashamed that I had even questioned his motives. I knew how I would have reacted - as I always do. Only yesterday I found out that I was his mate, that I was bound to him. I had left my tribe for him, given up my whole life for him - even if there wasn't really much left anyway - it was too soon. Too much at once to give him all of me. And he had known - and respected - that. As always.

He hadn't pushed me, nor had he pressured me. He had simply taken as much as I was willing to give. My heart fluttered in my chest and I grew warm. I couldn't help but search for him with my eyes, but I didn't spot him in the crowd anymore.

"Well, if Xenos has half as much talent in bed as Aramis, I'm sure it won't be long before that hickey gets replaced," she whispered.

"Look, my sister's getting really naughty." Now it was Reah who laughed as she sat in a chair wearing a new top while I tried to keep the blush from my cheeks.

Luckily, no one paid any attention to my blushing face as Aramis swung himself over the pavilion's parapet and joined Zaira.

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