Spirits of the Earth

Altira check over her saddle bags once again. Everything was in it's place, just as it had been the last seven time she checked over her saddle bags. The group would be leaving soon, likely within the hour. Six armed guards, two mages, and a knight. Oh and two hand maids. It was a bit much if you asked her. Including her, that was twelve people, it would be impossible for the travel to be discrete. Two weeks of travel, two weeks of adjusting, then a wedding to a stranger. She wasn't looking forward to it.

"How far do you think we could get before they catch us, Rap?" Her horse looked at her, his eyes seemed to display some dejectedness, 'as if I could be caught.' the eyes said. Rapscallion nuzzled against her, sniffing for apple. She pat the side of his head, "Sorry bud, haven't got any for you." Typically, she would ride in a carriage, but her lord husband lived two weeks away by horseback, In Adela of all places! So she chose to ride her beloved horse, one great trek to her new life would be made with a friend.

"You look about ready for the gallows." Came a somewhat jovial voice behind her. Startled, she turned to see two of her brothers, David and Neil. How all of her brothers could move so silently was beyond her. Se looked at the two of them through narrows eyes.

"That is about how I feel, if I'm honest." Her eyes narrowed further "What, now exchange of coin this time?"

Neil shrugged, "Serious matters are not for better. We actually came to wish you the best, and to give you a few bridal gif-"

"You are going to be there, Gods blood. I can't be married in the sight not a single familiar face!" She started, panic rising in her chest. Why wouldn't her family be coming?!

David held up a hand to calm her, "We are all going to be there, Amaya isn't certain she can be, with how close she is, but I know for a fact that she is making Dimitri go in her stead. Even Ceri and her husband will be there." Ceri was the oldest sister, she'd been wed while Altira was still very young. She didn't come around often. "But, as I was saying, we wanted to give you your Bridal gifts, that way you can have them when you go meet your lord husband for the first time."

Neil held up a case of some sort, opening the two clasps and revealing a crossbow. But not just any crossbow. "This is from Amaya, Juniper, and Myself." It was made of some crystal structure, colored a light shade of purple, very similar to the shade of her eyes. Altira lifted it from the case, it was surprisingly light. small enough to be accurately aimed and held by one hand, it even braced itself against her forearm. "Go ahead and cock it." Nodding, though a bit speechless, she reached out to take the singular bolt from the case, it was also made of crystal. Niel pulled away from her. "Just cock it, nix the bolt and pull back on the priming arm."

Altira gave him a queer look, but obliged, pulling back on the priming arm until the string notched itself into the armed position. and to her amazement, the bolt was sitting in the track. She glanced over and saw the empty slot in the case were the bolt had been. "Wha- how?!"

"That is a question better answered by Amaya, but as far as I know, pulling back the priming arm activates a bit of magic that summons the bolt to the track. It's far beyond me. However, Juniper grew the crystals that made it, some sort of amethyst quartz, and I designed it and applied a hex so it can't be broken or used by anyone other than you or your blood. And, best part is, with a little tweaking, it can be hidden in a pocket or drawer or even this little carrying case." He held up a cylindrical case, about a foot in length and not even 6 inches in diameter. He quickly showed her how to store it in the travel case. The Case even had a clip for her riding belt of her saddle latch. Neil had thought of everything.

David cleared his throat and held up another case. It was long and thin. Inside were two swords, long and single edged. There were falchion, the official weapon of House Zamt'ris. "You know." Altira said, "With my family giving me weapons, I almost suspect that my husband may be of poor moral character." She lifted the swords from their slots in the case and tested the balance. It was phenomenal, better than her own swords! These swords were an extension of her arm, better fit and any before it.

While she examined the swords, he explained. "They are forged from star stones. I bought them from University on Arca. Actual stones fallen from the heavens. Michael forged the metal in them himself, and Martin enchanted them as so they can't be used against you. And they are terribly strong swords, I tested them against my own swords."

David unsheathed on of his swords, or what was left of it, about six inches up the blade, it was cleanly cut. "Sheared though folded steel, and not a nick on them. Those swords are a fine thing, and they will fit in your current scabbards." He tossed aside his broken blade and pulled the swords from her scabbards, which rested at her belt. Altira took the opportunity to replace them with her new swords before throwing her arms around her brother's necks.

"I love you both, so much."
------

That was a week and a half ago, they were now in the final stint of the journey. Another few days traveling through this damned forest and they would arrive a lord poncington's estate. That wasn't actually his name, but Altira didn't care. The going was actually much slower over the last two days. The knight's horse had broken an ankle and fallen on him. The poor man had broken his leg in the happening. The Grizzled old man was starting to show the effects of bone break fever but that didn't stop them. He took one of her maids horses, and the two maids doubled up. Still, the old knight set the pace and kept things going, accepting only the menstruation of one of the mages.

It happened as they were looking for a place to make camp for the night. Arrows tore form the trees and claimed the lives of four of the guards and one of the mages before they could even be shocked that they were dead. The two maids screamed while the knight shouted. "Off with you! Run Milady!" And run she did. She spurred into rapscallion and the horse took off, sprinting like it were all he was meant for. The other mage went after her as well but was quickly cut down by another arrow.

As Altira started to lose the ability to ear the carnage behind her, three horsemen burst from the trees. Altira steered Rapscallion around them and pushed onwards, working the crossbow from its travel case, she drove the horse with her knees and primed the bow. Rapscallion was fast, staying ahead of the three other rides and even gaining some distance. After there was about 100 feet between them, she turned in the saddle and loosed the bolt at the closest bandit. It collided with him and the man was dead before he hit the ground. "Keep it up Rapscallion!" she yelled, priming the bow again as they rounded a turn trail.

It had been a very normal day. Raff would even go so far as to call it average, or possibly even boring. He'd spent his time at the local tavern, scamming the same types of drunks, flashing his flirtatious smiles at the same types of bar wenches. Of course he made sure never to take too much, that would draw unwelcome attention, but his coin purse had a pleasant weight to it and made a satisfactory jingle when he shook it.

Home had filled him with the familiar smells that had brought feelings of love and safety all through his childhood and continued into his early adulthood. Some might have criticized him for remaining at his mother's house, but others, namely some of the women that he gave particularly mischievous smiles, liked to tell him how sweet he was for taking care of his aging mother. Ha, his mother was healthy as a horse, age be damned. No, he stayed simply because he had no reason to leave yet. All of his sisters had remained until they mated, and so would he.

Of course anytime he thought of his sisters, their mates, and their little children sent pangs of jealousy through him. A few years ago he might have thought a little differently. His wolf had been younger, more foolish, and wilder; eager to enjoy his life and stand on some pomp pedestal of over-eager masculinity and pursuit of females.

In the last year that had all changed.

Oh he hadn't stopped flirting the skirts off of the less prudish women, but it was less and less satisfying. His wolf was maturing, making him ever more alluring to weak-willed women that couldn't quite place their finger on what was so irresistible about Seth "Riff-Raff" Wayland. He was quite certain that any one of them would have given themselves over to him entirely should he have given the slightest indication that he wanted it.

Not one of them was his mate. They weren't even mate material. It was frustrating, all the waiting. His mother and sisters chastised him to be patient. After all, he was only just now reaching the right age, feeling the desire to find his mate and settle with her. Raff didn't want to be patient. He wanted her now.

With that in mind he left home the moment the sky even hinted at beginning to darken. Clothes were left behind, because the moment he hit the trees a thick pelt provided all the modesty a wolf could possibly need. Raff's paws hit the ground running, hoping that a long, swift run would ease the growing tension. It was more than just the usual impatience he'd felt of late. Today his wolf, his mind, was downright restless. Exhaustion or maybe even a hunt would settle him.

Normally he would have stayed away from the roads. Even if most people wouldn't travel at night, it was still early enough and risky enough that his good sense warned him to stay away. Normally. For some reason he kept finding himself drawn to the roads. He smelled humans. They smelled unpleasant. Bandits, Raff was almost certain. Mostly he would hunt animals, but he wasn't opposed to hunting wicked men.

Especially when cleaner scents mingled with the dirty ones, Raff wasn't the only one hunting this evening, it seemed. He could feel sorry for whoever the bastards had caught.

In a single moment everything changed. One second he was ready to track down and eliminate some human garbage, the next all the air had been knocked from his lungs. Raff stumbled and crashed to the ground, rolling and sliding from the force of the impact; except there wasn't a physical impact at all.

No, this wasn't physical. Not entirely. His nose had caught the faintest whiff of a scent, but not just any scent. No, no, no not just any scent at all. This scent was indescribable. It filled and clogged his nose, making it nearly impossible to smell anything else at all in that breath-taking, heart-stopping moment. This was like the gods taking everything delicious and wholesome and desirable and assaulting his mind with it.

All thought or reason left him. Raff wasn't entirely in control of his own body anymore. Without his awareness, his body had shifted. The wolf would have been faster, but for whatever reason his mind must have unconsciously decided that they hybrid was what he needed as he regained his feet and began his pursuit.

His mate was near. He could scent her. Now his nose could pick up other scents as well. His mind could process, at least on some level, that there were bandits. Bandits close to his mate. His mate was in danger. Nothing else mattered. Someone was threatening his mate.

The forest was just a blurr. Later he might be amazed how he had managed not to run straight into a tree considering how poorly he could focus on his vision when his nose was so very overwhelmed. Almost instinctually he wove between, around, under, over, or through any obstacle that stood between him and his mate Nothing could come between him and his mate. Not now, not ever. Getting to the female that scent belonged, protecting her, claiming her. It was all he could think about.

He wasn't even aware when he hit the road. The bandit's horses realized he was there first, catching the scent of such a dangerous predator. One bandit had already fallen, there were two more still chasing his mate. A few great strides and he was able to yank the first from the back of his horse, claws rending through flesh mercilessly as he ripped through armor and muscle with impunity. The second man was thrown from his screaming and terrified horse.

The horses fled unharmed and unnoticed. Raff dropped the first man and pounced upon the second as he attempted to recover from his fall and escape. His teeth sank into the back of the bandit's neck, severing arteries and crushing vertebrae in his fury. Raff threw his head back and half howled, half roared his victory. Given the degree of his rage it was amazing the men weren't reduced to a steaming pile of entrails and unidentifiable strips of meat.

The temptation was there, but it fell aside in the need to find and claim his mate. What a sight he would undoubtedly be. His mate would see how large and powerful he was, would see how the blood of his vanquished enemies dripped from his fangs and claws, and she would be duly impressed by his prowess. Oh yes, he would be most impressive to his mate, she would see how good and strong of a mate he would be. How well he would be able to protect her and their pups.

Turning from his kills, Raff could smell and hear his mate, she was still fleeing. She must not realize that the bandits were dead and could no longer threaten her.  No, she would have heard his triumphant call. Perhaps then she wished for him to prove himself further by forcing him to catch her. What a little minx his mate was!

There was a bend in the road; it would come back around partially. Feeling exuberant the beast cut through the trees, more than eager to meet his mate's challenge.

Altira heard the startled cry of a horse, as well as the scream of one of the men behind her cut short. Gods be praised, the knight was catching up to her pursuers. The color was starting to return as she finally felt safe again. But the sense of security of short lived as howling split the air. As the howl, she realized, shuddering at the volume and magnitude of the roar that could only come from so few animals. Dragons? No, too far from the mountains. It had to be a werewolf.

The Noble urged Rapscallion faster, as she did so, her finely tuned 6th sense alerted her to something in the wood, fast approaching. Years of playing tag on horseback with Michael and Martin had finally been useful for something! She tugged on Rap's reigns and the horse turned sharply, without sacrificing much speed, and sped into the forest, away from whatever was approaching. Altira lowered herself in the saddle, framing her body against the speeding horse. She vaguely became aware that the crossbow was no longer in her hand, but the case was once again to the weight she had quickly become accustomed to. When had she put it away?

She shook her head and went to focus on more pressing matters, such as trying to sense where this beast was. She shifted her gaze to the right and left, nothing. Raising herself slightly in the saddle, she turned her head to try and focus her hearing on the area behind her like David had taught her. But the think it, when you are going at a breakneck pace through a dense forest, taking your eyes off the area just in front of you can be very dangerous. And today wasn't exactly a lucky day for her.

A branch she didn't see caught her in the top of the chest, slamming against her riding leather and forcing the wind out of her, and her out of the saddle. She landed flat on her back, which again, force what little air she sucked in while falling out of her, while her head bounced against a not so soft clod of dirt. Rapscallion ran on, so focused on the primal something chasing them, that he almost didn't register that his suddenly lighter load meant that his rider had been spilled.

Altira was seeing stars, and trying to get some air into her burning lungs. She blow to her head had driven out the notion that she needed to be running, to be getting away. The danger of the werewolf suddenly forgotten, she knew her head hurt, and that's all that mattered. Her hand went to the back of her head, and thankfully, it didn't come back bloody. Rolling off her back, she went to her hands and knees trying to get her lungs to stop aching, trying to remember was she had been doing before she was desaddled.

What horse alive could truly outrun a determined werewolf? Perhaps if Raff were in his wolf form his mate's mount wouldn't have been able to keep ahead of him for so long, but even in this form he was steadily gaining ground. There was also the fact that he was simply having a lot of fun just chasing his mate. It was a great game to him, and a game that he was going to win.

At least it was fun until ahead of him the tantalizing object of his desire was stuck down from her still fleeing horse. The game was definitely over. Raff was momentarily distracted from the idea of winning. His mate had been hurt.

The beast skidded to a halt, breath escaping in hot, heavy pants as his burning blue eyes watched his mate's every move with care. From the moment he'd seen her begin to fall, Raff's chest had been tight with anxiety, but that melted as she got to her hands and knees. Obviously his mate was not hurt too badly. He could not even see or scent her blood. That was good. Assured that no grievous harm had befallen her, his mind once again was consumed with the drive to claim what was his.

Slowly he circled her in a wide circle, remaining shadowed in the dark. She was perfect. Not that he could truly assess her properly at this distance and with her clothed as she was, but it did not matter. She was his mate, therefore she must be perfect.

Well, mostly perfect.

His nose crinkled at the scent of her coat, lined as it was in soft wolf fur. Raff hoped his mate had not been a wolf hunter. That would have been bad. Of course even if she had, it would not matter. His mate would never hunt wolves now that she was his. Aside from that, the very idea of another wolf's scent on her was maddening, even faint and dead.

Raff had only taken a few moments to admire his beloved female. A more thorough admiration of her could come later. He couldn't stand waiting anymore.

The attack was swift, her weapons the target. The crossbow case and both sheathes would fall to the ground even as claws shredded the offensive coat and discarded it with no small amount of disdain. Despite her clothing being torn to ribbons, those wicked-looking claws never once touched her skin more heavily than a feather being brushed against her might as he pinned her to the forest floor with just enough weight to hold her.

Raff's muzzle was next to her ear, softly growling before he managed to ground out a single guttural, throaty word in his haze. "Mine."

Altira wondered if she had offended some god or deity in a past life. First, being forced to marry a man she had even met, then chased by bandits, and desaddled in a less than pleasant way, and now, to top it all off, this. Strangely, it wasn't fear that flashed through her body when her jacket was ripped from her body. It was anger. Rip a woman's clothes off in the middle of a forest, how rogue! She twisted to strike the the beast with her arm but found as she unlocked her elbows to get a good strike, her arms buckled and she was forced to an even more submissive position.

She realized then, just how in over her head she was. The werewolf was going to kill her. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. Oddly, she still wasn't afraid. If anything, she was more at ease than she had been since learning of her betrothal. She was going to die tonight. It would very likely hurt, but hopefully not for long. She wouldn't have to marry the rich tit of some barony in a land she had never known, she wouldn't have to let her stranger husband force himself on her, and she wouldn't have to pretend to enjoy it. And as strange as it was, Altira, though half naked in the middle of a god forsaken forest, while being dominated by a possible feral beast, was calm. At least, now she could someday tell her brothers that despite everything, she wasn't afraid when she died.

After nothing happened for an incredibly long fifteen seconds. She found herself curious. Yes, pinned by a powerful beast, in the middle of a forest, and her being unable to move, she was greatly curious. What did it want? Why hadn't it already killed her? Why shred her riding close? She wasn't cold per say, the leather was lined with wolf fur on the inside, it had been quite warm. The werewolf was also quite warm, and his fur was soft. If the moment hadn't been so tense, she might have laughed from the irony. Adjusting her gaze what little she could, what she saw made her cheeks go white then refill with color in a great blush. This beast was excited.

There was surprisingly little resistance from his mate. Raff had expected, even anticipated, a fight. Instead the petite woman beneath him grew remarkably calm. He brought his muzzled around, sniffing along her hair, the back of her neck, and down her back as he crawled slowly backwards off of her. He did not smell or sense fear, and her lack of struggle indicated to him, at least, acceptance of his verbal claim.

It thrilled him.

One of his large clawed hands kept a firm hold on his mate's hip, while the other carefully bared the rest of her body, almost like unwrapping a present. Yes, quite like that, as his mate was a gift from Luna.

A tremble of excitement went through Raff as with both hands he gripped his beautiful mate's hips and forced her back to her knees. Without warning he pressed his slightly cold and wet nose against her womanhood, inhaling deeply. Rough paws moved to her thighs, spreading her legs wider for him as his tongue snaked out to get his first taste of his mate, lapping lightly at the velvety slit with his long, broad tongue in a single stroke.

Deep, low growling erupted from his chest, causing his entire body to vibrate with the intensity of it. His mate tastes divine, and she was pure. No other male had ever touched her. Raff could barely contain his frenzied lust. His mate would only ever carry his scent. No other male had ever tried to contaminate her womb with his inferior seed.

His very human mate.

On a subconscious level that had registered with his mind from the moment he had first scented her, but now her humanity was staring him in the face. Quite literally. Raff adjusted his grip on his mate's thighs, hoping not to hold her too tightly. Humans were not as sturdy as werewolves, but he had no care at all that his mate was human. Luna did not make mistakes. If his mate was human then it was because Luna wished it so.

Sadly she was not as excited for him as he was for her. That would be fixed. He could not properly claim his mate if she was not physically ready for him. Impatience really was a battle for him, and so he wasted no further time.

Raff began tasting his mate with abandon. First running his tongue along the outside of her slit, then dipping between her moistening lips to caress and tease and coax her to respond to him. Broad strokes that caressed her from clit to her inviting opening were a prelude to his tongue dipping eagerly into her velvet folds, tasting her deeper as inevitably her feminine juices began coating his tongue.

His pleased growls filled the air around them as he lost all sense of time and his impatience to mount his mate abated slightly in his pure delight at simply pleasuring her. The beast had no intention of stopping until she was either screaming or sobbing in ecstasy. Only then would his mate be ready for him.

I really wish he would just get on with it. Kill me, eat me. I don't care. Just stop making me wait. Still she was justifying what was going on. The wolf was obviously excited from the run, Rapscallion used to be that way, especially around springtime! The werewolf was just ripping off her clothes to better access the juicy parts of her flesh. Makes the eating easier. She shivered again as the beast ripped off the rest of her clothing. She couldn't tell if it was because she was cold, or because she was now in the stark nude before a massive beast that could kill her with one swipe. Stop toying with me like a damn cat and get it over with!

And got to it, he did.

She gasped as she felt his nose go press against her bare sex. She knew exactly what he wanted now, "Nooonononononon, stopstoHAAAP!" Her voice curled upwards as his tongue began to assault her, her protests were reduced to moans as her body started to rebel against her mind. How was he doing this to her? Why? While her mind tried to process all of these thoughts and stimuli, her body furthered its rebellion by pushing back against him, her toes curled as wave after wave of pleasure assaulted her mind.

Her internal conflict was quickly coming to boil over. Her rational mind was quickly losing ground to something primal, something deep within her herself, it scared her in the best of ways. He's an animal, for gods sake! But it feels amazing! He's going to kill me! Then why not die fulfilled? Still convinced that she would die at the hand of the werewolf, she realized that her growing lust had the truth of it. As her mind stopped fighting, her body was wracked with rapture.

It was a phenomenal feeling, like every part of her body, every nerve, was alive with fire that didn't burn and ice that didn't freeze. She cried out, her body shook, and her jaw clenched, stifling the cry into a very lewd moan.

As the feeling began to subside, she felt empty. She needed that feeling again. But her reason had been robbed of her by the experience, all she could do was whimper as the high further slipped from her body.

Part of Raff could pleasure her forever. Especially when his mate's initial protests devolved into the most provocative moans and whimpers he could possibly imagine. He thought he might lose it completely when she actually pushed back onto his muzzle, practically begging for more. The beast was happy to oblige her, his growls of pleasure only increasing in pitch the closer his mate came to coming undone.

It was immensely satisfying to feel the intense orgasm rock through his mate's body. His tongue refused to stop, lapping up the juices until he could feel her release subsiding.

As much as the beast had enjoyed bringing pleasure to his mate, his own needs were pressing upon him viciously. Never before had Raff ached so strongly with need. He licked his muzzled as he finally drew his head away from his mate's still quivering womanhood. The beast knew she would feel as if her pleasure was still incomplete. After all, his mate must feel at least part of his desperate need. Surely his mate must want him to make his claim.

His mate was so small in comparison to him, but somehow he managed to situate himself behind her. Honestly he was driven almost purely by instinct at this point and he had to actually force himself to stop, lest he simply climb atop her and rut her mercilessly.

Each breath was a low growl as he took care to position himself for an easy and smooth entry. One hand griped his mate's hip securely as the other guided the tip of his impressive wolfhood to her well prepared entrance. Raff expected an initial panic and hesitation, so his grip on her hip tightened to prevent his mate from accidentally wiggling herself out of the position he wanted her.

The initial penetration was surprisingly gentle for a beast and not an easy feat for Raff. A low, feral growl groaned out of him as his second hand moved to lightly stroke his mate's hip in a gesture that was meant to be both soothing and reassuring.

Inch by inch he slowly, patiently but determinedly, opened his mate to him, gently forcing her womanhood to accept the very nearly too large intrusion. What seemed an agonizing eternity for Raff later, he could feel himself lightly bumping the back of his mate's channel.  For several long moments he merely held himself there, relishing the feel of her warm folds surrounding him, growling lowly and breathing heavily as he gave his mate time to adjust to his size.

Finally he began to move again, at first his thrusts were almost tender, but they steadily increased in both speed and power. Raff was amazed that he'd been able to exercise such a degree of restraint for as long as he had. Now he could hardly keep himself from driving into his mate with reckless abandon.

When the frenzy began to careen towards the breaking point, a clawed hand moved the hair from the left side of his mate's neck as he shifted his position, his thrusts were driving deep and short as his tongue began bathing the side of her neck and shoulder. His mate would be able to feel a growing bulge grinding against her opening insistently.

Raff knew he had to wait until the right moment, and when he felt the first contractions of his mate's orgasm he ground his hips mercilessly forward, forcing his knot to seat itself inside the petite female beneath him. At the same time he struck, teeth sinking savagely into her supple flesh at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Her blood coating his tongue, forging the mating bond and marking her as his.

A moment later Raff was throwing his head back and howling victoriously as his wolfhood erupted deep inside, the tip snugly buried against the barrier to his mate's womb. Never had he felt such a euphoric level of satisfaction as his seed filled his mate and was held inside by his swollen knot. He would have collapsed on top of her had he not planted his hands against the ground on either side of her, holding himself up without fear of her escaping now that they were firmly tied together by their joined sexes.

As her first orgasm was ebbing off completely, Altira closed her eyes and allowed the echoes of pleasure dance across her nerves. She missed the feeling but in it's absence, she felt both drained and alert. She could have very easily gone to sleep in that moment, but her heightened senses made her hyperaware of the fur sliding up her back. Somewhere in her mind, she recognized that the werewolf was mounting her. Her body could only respond to the tentative touch of the beasts hand on her hip, the teasing brush of his fur on her back, the shivers racing up and down her spine while her arms and legs rippled with goose-flesh. Only when she felt something prodding at her very sensitive folds did her mind finally put everything together.

Despite the best efforts of her suddenly frenzied mind, her entire lower body rebelled, not moving in the slightest as the werewolf entered her. One arm reached forward and clawed at the dirt. There was an attempt to try an pull away from the beast, but it was ill fated at best. Her body was severely lacking on physical strength after the rapturous experience of her first orgasm. Instead, her fingers dug into the grass and dirt, clenching the basic flora into her hand as she was further impaled on him.

What surprised that small part of her brain that was lost to lust the most was just how gentle this beast was. The experience was not at all similar than what she had witness the stable dogs doing from time to time while growing up. This was almost calm, intimate? She could feel his hand on her hip, rubbing.

Soft. Slow. Calm.

This wasn't some feral beast that she and her siblings used to horror stories about in. That last part of her mind that refused to submit unknotted itself.

What followed was pleasure beyond description. The feeling of being made love to by something so primal was exhillarating and empowering. The waves of emotion and pleasure that beset her entirely was beyond what she knew how to tell. The feeling of the werewolf in her, over her, around her, It was far to much for her, and it was a miracle she held on for as long as she did.

Or was it? There came sultry fire spreading from within while the frigid ice danced along her skin. But she felt like the ice on the surface of a lake, trying to hold up something just barely beyond her ability to withstand. That's not to say that she felt cracked, or broken. She felt that she was being held together by the force of all her pieces being forced together. She was perched on the brink of another orgasm, but there was something missing! It was maddening! She began to push back against him with what strength she could muster.

When he did finally knot her, her world bottomed out from under her. The pleasure that assaulted her entire being was magnitudes beyond the first. She was aware of the fact the werewolf was clamped down on her, the pain from it only added to the tempest of stimuli that besieged her mind. And like a candle in a hurricane, the gale of pain and torrential pour of pleasure was too much for her. Her body slumped and she was caressed by blackness, lost behind the doors of sleep.

Raff grunted as he felt his mate slump beneath him. Her entire body was now a weight attached to his wolfhood, and her collapse had that weight tugging on him uncomfortably. There were little shocks of pleasure as well, he was still pulsing and throbbing inside her body. That would subside in a few minutes as the last of his seed was deposited.

One arm wrapped about his mate's limp torso, supporting her gently as he slowly rolled them both to lay on their right sides. His other arm wormed its way under her head, supporting her in a more comfortable position and letting his fur and body heat keep her warm in their exposed position.

He moved her hair away from the wound he'd made and gently bathed the area with his tongue again, cleaning the punctures and helping to stop any remaining bleeding. His tongue also swiped any traces of blood from her skin. Raff felt a deep, tingling sense of pride in the mark he'd left. It would scar nicely. The only regret was that he had needed to bring pain to his mate to complete the mating ritual.

She would forgive him, he was sure of it.

It was actually a small blessing for him that his mate seemed to have fallen unconscious. He had obviously exhausted her, and she needed to rest. More importantly, it meant she was calm and he did not have to try to soothe or explain himself to a hysterical human mate while they lay tied and trapped together in a very vulnerable position.

Although he knew that he would have much explaining to do later. For now he felt quite exhausted himself. He wondered if she would believe that the experience had worn him out almost as much as it had her. Either way, they were stuck like this for a while, so he curled his arms protectively around his slumbering beauty and nuzzled his face against her hair before dozing lightly.

Sometime close to an hour later, the sensation of him slowly sliding out of his mate as his knot shrank, and the subsequent flood of his escaping seed, woke Raff. Slowly and carefully he uncurled himself from around his mate's prone form, rising stiffly from the ground.

They were exposed out in the forest like this. It made his wolf on edge. His mate needed to be somewhere safe, warm, and comfortable. His mate needed a den.

Turning to look down at his mate, he admired the sight of her. The beast had been far too caught up in his frenzy before to truly examine the female that Luna had destined for him. His initial assessment had been right. She was perfect. Her body was fit, lithe, the body of a woman that was active and took care of herself. Why had he ever liked women that were round and plush? Or whose hair was not the perfect shade of deep brown that reminded him of polished mahogany?

Huffing slightly, Raff forced himself to focus on the problem at hand, which was moving his mate to his mother's home. She needed, and deserved, her own den, but for now that would have to wait and his room would have to do.

There was more to worry about before he could simply carry her away. He was very proud of his excess, but he doubted his mate would find the viscous liquid smeared across her thighs appealing. Raff found her shredded clothing and gently wiped it away, cleaning her as best he could without water. When she woke up he would make sure to provide her with a hot bath if she so desired.  Not that he liked the idea of her cleaning away his scent, but he also knew couldn't force her to go about sticky and reeking of sex.

The clothing was ruined anyway, so he discarded it when he was done.

Next he gathered up all of his mate's belongings that were not ruined, including her weapons. Securing all he found around his waist, Raff then moved to lift his mate from the ground with great care and tenderness. She was carried cradled against his chest bridal-style as he navigated his way home.

His mother was brimming with excitement when she opened the front door for him, but his mother also understood the nature of the beast. Once she had thrown open his bedroom door, she quickly got out of his way. Her curiosity would just have to wait and she made sure not to look too closely at the woman her son held possessively in his arms, least she draw annoyed growls from the overprotective wolf.

Raff settled his mate gently on his bed, pulling the covers from under her and tucking her in, but it wasn't enough. With a great degree of agitation, the beast paced in and out of his room as he retrieved spare pillows and blankets, swamping his sleeping mate until his beast finally felt she had adequate nesting material.

Bandages and an ointment were left by the door, he gratefully brought them to the bedside and tended to the wound his mating bite had caused. There would be bruising and scaring, but he would not let it become infected. He gently rubbed the cream on her hips and thighs where his rough hands had held her. There was likely to be a little bruising there as well. A pang of guilt washed over him.

Finally he put her things neatly in the corner farthest from her and stalked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Now that his mate was finally safe and comfortable, the beast could relax. Raff shifted from the hybrid back to his human self as he entered the small wash room. His mother had already brought some water and soap for him. He noted that the water was lukewarm at best, and cleaned up quickly.

Returning to his room, Raff quickly pulled on a shirt and pants before sinking into the only chair in the room and watching his mate, or really the mound of blankets his mate was under, intently. He would have loved to have crawled under those blankets and curled up around her, but his mate might not appreciate waking up to a stranger so intimately cuddled against her. More than anything he didn't want to frighten her more than he probably already had. What he wanted was less important than what she needed, and right now what she probably needed was space to wake up and process what he had done to her.

Altira first became aware of the warmth around her, it was excessive but she didn't mind. As more of her body woke up, she became rather grateful for the heat. She was sore. It felt like the ache of an overworked muscle, but it was centralized in her everywhere. Also, she had a headache. And a really dry throat.

Most of the events of the last night were still veiled in the haze of sleep, what she could remember was very dreamlike. Shame, it was a good dream. With urgency, and pleasure. Yes, it was a great dream.

She next became aware that her dry throat was causing her considerable thirst, she needed some water, or coffee. Coffee was definitely the preferable of the two. Maybe one of her maids had taken the initiative and put some to brew. She didn't get her hopes, she couldn't smell anything under all these blankets. She needed to get up.

While sitting up, she became aware of many more things. For one, holy gods was she sore! Had she decided to forgo riding rapscallion and spent all of yesterday running? That didn't seem like her. For two, she became aware of her nudity. That was most definitely not like her. She would never be in such a state of undress while on the road, too many things could happen, like bandits, wild animals, heavy storms... Bandits? Her headache flared as she tried to follow that train of thought. She noticed that her shoulder was heavily bandaged, the dull ache of multiple puncture wounds underneath. Finally, she noticed the man sitting in the corner of the room, watching her. His hair the same shade of red as a werewolf she thought she met in a dream.

She gave a very short, very quick exhale that could have almost have been a puff of amusement. Her brain was trying to process alot of information at once, it caused her head to hurt more. "I.." Her throat was dry and sore, she wanted water, hell, it didn't have to my water, something to wet her lips, sooth her cracked throat. "I guess it wasn't a dream after all."

Warm. Comfortable. Safe.

The words were like a mantra echoing over and over again through Raff's mind. His mate was warm, comfortable, and safe. Why couldn't he stay relaxed? The longer he sat in the chair staring at the unmoving burrow of blankets, the more tension returned.

What was worse was he knew he was being ridiculous. His mate had been through quite a lot. She was probably exhausted and sore. Rest was good for her. It didn't help soothe him. Anxiety was still eating at him. Running into his mate might have been his greatest desire, but the timing felt a tiny bit off. Not to mention his beast hadn't exactly handled it gracefully.

If his mate had been a werewolf it wouldn't have been an issue, but she wasn't a werewolf. His mate was human. Would she resist or reject him?

Just the thought of being rejected by his mate caused Raff's chest to tighten painfully. She couldn't reject him. Luna would not give him a mate that would not love him. The Moon Goddess was not as cruel as that! That wasn't much comfort. Perhaps she could not be mistaken in who his mate should be, but that did not mean that Luna would not test him with a difficult mate. As long as she did not try to leave him he thought he could handle a few trials and obstacles.

At last the mound of blankets began to stir, causing his heart to seize slightly in panic. How was he going to explain everything to his mate? Would she be able to grasp just how important the mate bond was? Would she even care?

Raff held his breath, waiting for something, anything. She sat up and his eyes drank in her disheveled appearance, relishing the sight of her despite his tension and anxiety. Her eyes were a gorgeous color, not entire blue or purple, but some strange shade between. His heart jumped as those eyes finally settled on him.

There was panic, but he did not think it was all from him. For the longest moment he was afraid to even breathe. Would she scream or attempt to flee if he so much as blinked?

Her voice finally rasped out, sounding dry and cracked. Raff actually flinched, as if the statement was an accusation. Maybe it was. His expression and voice was full of turmoil; guilt, anxiety, fear, concern. "No, it wasn't a dream."

Suddenly he couldn't bear to sit still a moment longer. His mate was obviously thirsty. He needed to get her something to drink. She needed to eat. That she was not comfortable was unacceptable to any part of him, animal or man. His nervousness flooded out as he stood up quickly and spoke rapidly, practically tripping over both his words and his feet. "Don't move, I'll bring you some water. Are you hungry? Do you want something specific? Just...just don't move!"

In a moment he would vanish out of the door, leaving it ajar as he hurried to retrieve what he thought his mate might need or want. The tantalizing scents of breakfast would waif through the door. His mother had set out a tray in anticipation of her son's bumbling need to care for his new mate. Raff brought it back to the room, becoming somewhat bashful as he set it on the edge of the bed.

There was a plate of scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, and toast. Also were small serving dishes with butter, jam, sugar, and cream. A steaming cup of coffee was available as well as a glass of orange juice.

"Mother apparently thought this was better than water." Raff mumbled sheepishly.

Altira watched him stammer over his words and leave the room. She wouldn't be going anywhere, not that her sore body could make it far before he came back. Turning her head to examine the bandaging. It was incredibly well done. Tight to apply pressure but not so much that it restricted movement. She could also smell the earth undertones of herbs. Medicine?

She smiled at the smell of coffee, which entered the room before the red headed young man. She added just a bit of cream to the dark liquid before stirring thoroughly before taking a long sip from the quite hot coffee. Her throat felt much better because of it. "Thank you, this is very generous of you and your mother." She turned to the food, it smelled marvelous, so much more rich an odor than most of the food made at Manor Zamt'ris.

That's when she realized just how hungry she was. She wasted no time digging into the food, screw propriety. First thing gone were the eggs, closely followed by the sausage and hash browns. Next went the toast, which she buttered, and the orange juice. Within a few minutes, she was back to nursing the coffee, trying not to think about how quickly she had wolfed down the food. "Thank you, that was very good."

Almost immediately after setting down the breakfast, Raff anxiously backed off. Instead of returning to his chair, however, he scooted back on the floor, sitting on his knees and watching his mate with no small amount of anticipation as she fixed her coffee and sipped at it. He made a note of the small amount of cream and lack of any other addition. He was thirsty for knowledge about his mate, even something as small as how she liked her coffee.

Seeing her smile filled Raff with such an unexpected level and intensity of pleasure and happiness. It was beginning to truly sink in on more than a lust level. He had found his mate. Not just the perfect female for his desires, not just the future mother of his pups, but the woman he would spend the rest of his life wholly, helplessly in love with and devoted to.

Already he had been feeling the burning drive to make her happy, by any means necessary; that overwhelming, all-consuming need to keep her safe and comfortable. Raff's adrenaline and instincts had mostly been employed so far. Now his mind was truly beginning to catch up.

It felt both amazing and insanely humbling.

"You're welcome." He didn't know what else to even say as he watched his mate devour her breakfast like a woman starved. Raff wasn't sure he had even trusted himself to say more! All those feelings were welling up in his chest and threatening to burst out. No, it was best he remain silent before he began blabbering incoherently about the mate bond and how very important she was to him. He didn't want to frighten or overwhelm her.

Vivid blue eyes admired her, a look of genuine pleasure and satisfaction came over him as she complimented the meal. His mother was a good cook, but more importantly to him, he had done well in caring for his mate's needs. At least for a moment. His voice came out almost a low hum. "I'm so happy you enjoyed it."

More silence as he simply continued to run his eyes over what of her he could see. Admittedly not much. He shifted his position slightly, awkwardly. He had no idea how to start the conversation he knew they needed to have.

Altira looked out at the young man over the rim of her coffee mug. She had more or less remembered every detail of the last night. She felt conflicted. Her rational mind told her that she should be livid, or traumatized, or depressed beyond reason, or all of that at once! She had been raped by this... this thing! Another part of her was very vocal in it's claim, he wasn't a mindless beast, he was obviously remorseful, he had given her very good food and drink. A kidnapping rapist wouldn't do that, would they?

Another part of her wanted to talk to him, it was a very quiet voice in her inner conflict. Perhaps because it was so quiet is why she gave that voice the most notice. Talk to him!

"So, you're a werewolf." It wasn't a question. "And last night we..." Her voice trail off. She said 'we'. She had enjoyed the act after letting go to her inhibitions. She felt the echo of a shiver run up her spine as she called into more vivid detail her memories of the last several hours. "How long have I been asleep?"

All things considered, Raff thought his mate was surprisingly calm as they simply observed each other in silence for several long moments. He wished he knew what was going through her mind. Was it possible that she hadn't yet put all the pieces together?

Raff didn't have much reaction when his mate stated quite matter-of-factly that he was a werewolf. It was true and denying it would be pointless. He wanted her to know what he was. She needed to know what he was. It was the second thing she said that made him lower his gaze guiltily. No part of him was truly sorry for claiming his mate, but he certainly didn't think it had been the best way to go about doing it. His lack of self-restraint had driven him to action before gaining his mate's trust.

For that he was sorry.

"You've been asleep for several hours. The sun is almost up." He managed to drag his blue eyes back up to study her beautiful face. It was hard to focus on something other than just wanting to stare, to touch, to love. "I am so sorry if I hurt you last night. I swear hurting you was never my intent. I couldn't stop myself."

At least she didn't seem afraid of him. She was taking this all very well. Telling the truth and explain himself as best he could was all that could be done. Hopefully by the end she would not hate him. "I never want to hurt you, but I am not sorry for what I did. There's quite a lot I need to tell you, and you've probably got a lot of questions. Maybe we should start simple. My name is Seth Wayland, but everyone calls me Raff."

"My name is Altira. Altira Zamt'ris. And you are right, I have multitudes of questions." She drained the mug of coffee, happy for the warmth and energy the dark liquid provided. "But I think hearing what you have to say will answer many of them. But I have to ask.." She showed him her empty mug and gave him something of a smile, "Is there anymore coffee?"

Perhaps the smile was for him, but really it was for herself, the room had seemed to grow too tense. Her head still hurt, and she wondered if that was because of the fall she took, or if it was because she... was she becoming a werewolf? She was suddenly very aware of the bandaging on her shoulder, he had bitten her, she remembered. She took a deep breath, If she was in the process of changing, there wasn't much she could do. The only known cure for lycanthropy was a complex alchemical concoction, and it had to be taken within a few hours of being bitten.

While Raff was getting her coffee, she flattened out the pile of covers. It was a bit curious, were all these blankets here when she was brought in? Or had they been piled on top of her? Was it a really cold night or something? It was really a staggering amount of blankets. Once they were mostly evenly distributed, she pulled herself into a sitting position, her legs crossed under the blanket. That's when she was first able to smell herself. It was an aroma of rich musk and clean sweat and something else she couldn't place. It reminded her of her nakedness as she pulled one of the blankets around her shoulders. Managing to get it in place as Raff came back in. "Here, sit on the end of the bed, you looked right uncomfortable on the floor."

Altira was a beautiful name. Raff thought it suited his mate quite nicely. He felt his heart skipping and jumping once again as she smiled. In a second he was on his feet when she showed him the empty mug. Taking it and gathering up the tray, he disappeared with both. It made him feel happy that there was something he could do for his mate.

The kitchen is about the time he realized just how pleased he felt simply fetching more coffee for the gorgeous woman in his bed. Raff gave a rather disgruntled look to his mother as he filled the cup carefully, stirring in the small amount of cream his mate had previously.

His mother only smiled knowingly at him.

Raff almost stopped to ask his mother how long he was going to act like a love sick puppy groveling for love and approval from his mate. It was like he was high on her. His mate was like a sweet, sweet drug. Worse yet, one taste and he'd become an addict. Between his anxious desire to return to Altira and fear of the answer, he thought better of asking questions and made his way back to his room.

He couldn't help but smile as he handed Altira her coffee. She had rearranged the blankets while he was gone, smoothing them out to suit her. That pleased him more than it probably should have. As he settled onto the end of the bed he hoped he had given her enough.

"I almost don't know where to start. I guess maybe I should tell you about us. Werewolves, I mean. I have no idea how much you know – or think you know. We have three forms, you've met two of mine, I can also change into a large wolf. Not as big as your horse, but still pretty big." Raff paused to rub the back of his head, trying to think of everything she might possibly want or need to know about his kind. "The moon doesn't affect my shifting. I can shift anytime I like, no full moon required or anything like that. We do follow the Moon Goddess, Luna. We are very strong, our senses are heightened, and we heal very quickly, but silver and wolfsbane are toxic."

Here Raff paused and scrubbed his face tiredly. He had stayed up to watch his mate all night, too anxious even here to sleep and leave her unguarded. It was also the most important part of the werewolf information. "Werewolves believe that Luna predetermines a mate for each of us. We have no control over who our mate is or when we find them. When a werewolf scents his mate, he loses rational control of his mind and is driven by instinct. He will hunt her down, mount her, tie to her with his knot at the apex of their pleasure, and deliver a mating bite at her climax. Here," Raff touched his neck and shoulder in the place where he had bitten Altira several hours before, "And this cements the mating bond. Altogether it is the mating ritual."

Raff looked a little embarrassed as he shifted nervously on the end of the bed. "As I said before he doesn't have control of who his mate is. Luna decides it. The emotions involved with mating are very powerful, extremely intense, and instantaneous. The moment a werewolf scents his mate all he wants out of life from that moment on is to love his mate, protect his mate, and care for his mate's every need."

And to have as many pups as he possibly could with his mate, but that slippery discussion could wait for another time.

Looking directly at her, it wouldn't be hard for her to see the way he was looking at her. Raff couldn't help the adoration and anxiety. He felt truly powerless sitting before her as he cleared his throat. "Last night I found my mate."

Other than the occasional sip of the coffee, she didn't react to what he said. She did find it a bit curious that he had mixed in cream for her. It was good, not too much, not too little, just enough to counteract the bitterness of black coffee. It was how she liked it.

His last sentence brought a bit of blush to her cheeks, but she didn't acknowledge it, instead, she asked her first question. "This need to love and provide for, does it ever lessen or subside?" She found herself intrigued by Raff. The way he looked at her was... intoxicating. She liked the way he looked at her. Not that she would admit it right then. Nor would she admit to the fact that she felt oddly at ease around him. All things considered, she should hate him. He had chased her, robbed her of her purity, and had taken her to an unknown location against her will. But she didn't feel any of that, she felt.. well she didn't really know how she felt, but it wasn't negativity. Least of all towards Raff.

She had come to Adela to be wed to a man she had never met, against her will. Oddly, this was the same situation. Almost. It was common knowledge that most Adelian Lords had a wench or three that warmed his office or one of his beds while his wife was otherwise engaged with duties, such as bearing children or taking care of said children. She wondered if werewolves were promiscuous. She wondered how she would feel if they were, or if they weren't.

"No, it doesn't. I will get better at controlling and managing it, but it will never go away, and I wouldn't want it to." Raff would have to get used to it, but that didn't feel like a bad thing, necessarily. He had wanted to find his mate. Badly. He'd been told what to expect when he found her but he hadn't realized just how strong the mating pull really was. It wasn't something that could be explained, it had to be felt. Now he understood his sister's mates better.

"Altira, I know humans don't have mates. They don't form relationships quite like we do. Which is why I know you might find this hard to believe, but I love you. I loved you the moment I scented you. You have no idea how enraged I became when I realized you were in danger last night. Just the thought of something happening to you makes my heart ache." Indeed, a pained expression crossed his handsome features.

"After I killed those bandits I could think of nothing but finding you so that I could make my claim and protect you. It wasn't right for me to claim you the way I did. You're human, not a werewolf. I wish I could have controlled myself enough to help you understand first. I just couldn't lose you, and I'm not sorry that you're my mate, because Luna has blessed me. You're perfect."  Raff had never felt more vulnerable in his entire life than he did now.

Altira drained the last of her now second cup. She was feeling much more like herself now. She didn't doubt anything he had said. She wondered what would happen now, she was supposed to be meeting her fiancee in a few days. Not that she wanted to. "It is more than a bit odd, hearing you say that you love me. But strangely, I don't doubt it. And here is where things become interesting, The armed force I was traveling with was escorting me to meet a man who I would have been wed to. I had no say in that. And here you come along and change my fate" Her voice was steadily raising in volume, like she was about to yell at him, "And I thank you."

She set aside the empty mug. "I was greatly dreading meeting Lord Rannik. Being so tied to a stranger is a pretty harrowing situation. But for some reason, your presence drives a lot of worry from my mind. I don't know why, but since I laid eyes on you this morning, I knew you wouldn't hurt me, emotionally or physically."

She pulled the blanket on her shoulders closer around herself, "And that in of itself confuses me, I've never met you before last night, and what a first impression that was, not all of it bad, but I have no idea what comes after this. This is new territory for me, and I am at a loss." She took a deep breath, realizing she was on the verge of hysterical rambling. "I'm sorry, I.. I don't think I am making much sense. So I am your mate. As in we were destined by Luna to be together." She ran a hand through her hair, her shoulder was starting to hurt more, whatever medicine he applied must be wearing off.

She pulled the blanket down off her bandaged shoulder and looked at him, "And how long before I first turn? What will that be like?

Raff felt a small pulse of pleasure when Altira said she believed him about loving her, but that was quickly replaced by agitation when she confessed she had been on her way to meet a man she was supposed to marry. His mate had intended to marry another. She had been on her way to mate to another male. It was very difficult for him to suppress the beast's desire to emerge and roar his rage.

She didn't want to mate to that man, and now she was his. He had claimed her; there was nothing and no one that would take her from him now.

Hearing her thank him for "changing her fate" was the only reason he was able to push his anger back and maintain his focus on her as she continued. Knowing that he had made her feel better further soothed his beast and he actually felt a small twinge of pleasure hearing her confess that she knew he wouldn't hurt her. Although at the same time he felt another pang of guilt having her describe being tied to someone a harrowing experience.

"I could never hurt you. It would kill me to think you were afraid of me." Raff said softly, earnestly, as his eyes moved to the bandaging on her shoulder now exposed.

His brow furrowed slightly as he moved to her side and gently peeled the bandage away so he could examine the bite. "Does it hurt? I can put more cream on it and change the bandage. Altira, I don't want you to worry, I haven't turned you. It was only a mating bite. If you ever decide that you want me to turn you, I will, but that's a big decision and I think we should probably hold off on talking about that. This is already a lot to take in. What comes next is I'm going to take care of you, if you'll let me."

Raff looked at her very seriously. "Altira, I know this is all very sudden and not what you had planned, but if you could only give me a chance, I swear I will do whatever it takes to make you happy and prove to you that I am your true mate."

She was quiet for a long moment after that, thinking, contemplating, considering all her options. "As far as I am concerned, I have done what I set into Adela to do. Tying the knot with someone I had not met, it was just a little more literal in your case." She gave him a smile, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it, I'll give you a chance."

She slid to the edge of the bed and draped her legs over the side, "Is there a place that I could bathe nearby? Probably time that I got out of bed." As she stepped out of the bed, the blanket she was using to cover herself was snagged and fell away. At the same time, her legs trembled and she held on to the bed to steady herself. She held up a hand before Raff could intervene. "I'm fine, my legs just forgot they had a job to do and they are a bit wobbly from.. yeah."

Raff swelled with both happiness and a smug pride. His mate had enjoyed being claimed, and she was willing to stay with him. Of course there was an implied "chance", but he knew that Luna didn't make mistakes. Altira was his, and she would come to realize that.

When Altira got out of bed  and actually had to use the bedpost to hold herself up on trembling legs Raff almost gave in to the desire to gather her up in his arms, but her held up hand halted him. Instead his eyes began raking up and down her naked body, not at all shy or subtle.

Raff pulled a light quilt off the bed and wrapped it around her, using the opportunity to lightly pull her against his chest and lean his head down to breathe in her scent deeply. "You can look forward to that for the rest of your life. I will never get tired of loving and pleasuring you. I'm afraid your clothes were ruined; everything else is in the corner. Take some clean clothes from my dresser if you like and I'll draw you a hot bath." His voice had dropped to an almost husky purr as blue eyes gave her a smoldering look and nuzzled her ear gently before reluctantly letting her go.

Luna but she was so gorgeous and she smelled heavenly. Raff wanted so badly to just grab her again and push her back down onto the bed. He hadn't even gotten to kiss her yet.

He hurried off to the bathing room before he got carried away. His mother had partially filled the large copper tub with clean water while large pots of boiling water were hanging over a fire. Raff emptied them one by one into the bath, testing the temperature after emptying each pot to make sure it was not scalding. The water was almost too hot when he finished. The pots were refilled and placed back over the fire so more hot water could be added if she wished to soak for an extended time.

Raff returned to his room feeling more relaxed than he had since he'd first picked up his mate's scent the previous evening. "It's ready."

She left safe in his arms, happy there. Damnit, why did he let go? Altira sighed, maybe she was the lovesick puppy. Maybe he was too cute for his own good. Jerk. She slowly walked over the dresser, her legs increasingly becoming more steady. After a few minutes searching, she finally found a pair that was only slightly too large instead of so large it would be a struggle to keep them from falling off. Her face reddened about what she had agreed to. Living with a werewolf. Or werewolves, he had mentioned his mother, hadn't he? What was she like?

She didn't have too long to think about things as Raff returned, the bath already drawn. "That was quick." She stood and walked over to him, the quilt still hugging her form. "Lead the way."

Raff couldn't help but smile as Altira came towards him. She looked quite scrumptious with nothing but a quilt wrapped around her. He couldn't help but think she'd look so much better without that much. Who needed clothes anyway?

Luna help him, but he was going to be in so much trouble. How was he supposed to continue living when he could hardly think without circling back to being consumed by thoughts of her?

"It only needed the hot water added. " Raff blushed a little sheepishly as he held out his hand to her, "My mother again. I'm not sure if she's trying to help me make an impression or save you from my bumbling, honestly. Probably save you. After you've had a chance to clean up and dress I know she will want to meet you. I hope you like her; she's going to love you."

As they left the room together they would enter directly into a rather spacious living area, with a kitchen and dining table taking up half of the space while the rest looked like a lounge focused around a large stone fireplace.  Above them was a loft with another lounge area and along the wall were more doors that lead to more bedrooms.  Past the kitchen was a short hallway that leads to the bathing room where the large copper tub was filled with lightly steaming water. There was another large stone fireplace here with the large pots heating more water.

"I'll lay out a few towels for you. We don't have any fancy bath oils, just regular soap. I actually don't like the oils, they smell too strong and I like the way you smell already. If you want some I'll get them for you later, though." Raff let go of her hand and moved to a small closet filled with towels and wash cloths, pulling out a couple of fluffy towels and one of the clean cloths.

He turned towards her and inched towards the door. Raff really didn't want to go, but she probably wanted to relax and have some privacy. "Do you need anything else?"

She took his arm, more out of reflex than anything. Being a member of nobility meant she was escorted everywhere, if not by lords or lordlings, then by a manservant who's job it was to make sure she didn't trip and break something. The hated those menservants. Even so, she didn't mind being next to Raff. He smelled nice, like a forest.

By the gods they had a nice house. She didn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't this. This was open but not so open that it felt empty, spacious but still close. It was comfortable, she could definitely enjoy it here. What she could see of it, at least. Altira was unable to spot his mother, oh well. She made note of where the towel closet was. When he asked her if she needed anything else, a smile flashed across her lips, "Actually, there is."

Her good arm snaked out from under the blanket and snagged him by the front of the shirt. With surprising force, she pulled him into a kiss. Lips mashed together for one second, two seconds, before she pushed him away and proceeded to usher him out the door. "Out with you. Out. Eat something and take a nap. I've heard your stomach growl twice and you look about ready to drop. I will find you and wake you up when I have finished bathing." She closed the door and slip the bolt home before turning and letting the quilt fall free of her shoulders. "I have always wanted to do that." She said to herself through a smug smile.

There was no time to react; Raff was shoved out of the bathroom while his mind was still reeling from the rushed, unsatisfying kiss. He heard the bolt slide into place and stood stunned for several moments. Honestly, with the way things had happened, he hadn't been sure how long it might take him to coax his mate into kissing him. This was not what he had expected!

Part of him wanted to be disgruntled and annoyed that such a hasty mashing of lips had been the first kiss he had shared with his mate, but the rest of him felt giddy and light that Altira had kissed him. She had not allowed him to kiss her. She had simply grabbed him and took it.

Raff couldn't wipe the goofy, dreamy grin off his face as he ambled into the kitchen almost zombie-like.

His mother had reappeared and she chuckled softly at the look on her son's face. A plate had been set out for him and Raff fell into his chair and dug into his breakfast. It wasn't hot and fresh like it had been for Altira, but he could hardly care. He ate mechanically. His mate had told him to eat, and if she hadn't, his mother would have. Not to mention he was famished. Dinner had been skipped over the night before. Another stupid grin as he recalled happily why he had missed dinner.

It was the same reason he had gotten virtually no sleep either. As soon as he finished eating he stretched and yawned before rising from his chair and attempting to head back down the hallway towards the bathing room.

"Oh no you don't." His mother said softly, intercepting him, standing at the entrance of the hallway with her arms crossed. Raff growled lowly at his mother, annoyed that she was standing between him and his mate. "Don't you growl at me, young man. You haven't slept all night, don't think I don't know. Now you go to your room and stop fussing. Nothing is going to hurt your mate in this house. You don't have to guard her."

When Raff didn't move she thrust her arm out, pointing at his bedroom. "Go to bed. Now."

It was a battle he wasn't about to win. Raff threw his hands up with a huff before turning and stalking to his room. Or sulking. Once he was in there, his mate's scent surrounded him and he found himself completely messing up the bed. All but the bottom blanket, his blanket, was thrown onto the floor, along with the extra pillows. He curled himself around that blanket, the one that had laid against Altira's skin as she slept.

With his face nuzzling against a section of it, breathing deeply of her scent, Raff managed to pass out semi-content.

It was about thirty minutes later when Altira emerged from the bathroom. Her hair was clean, her skin grime free, and she looked remarkable more comfortable. The clothes she had borrowed from Raff hung loosely around her, but she didn't seem to mind. Balled up in her arms was the quilt. She gazed around the room, not seeing Raff sleeping in any of the lounging areas. Very quietly, she crept over to the bedroom she has slept in and sighed in relief when she saw him passed out on the bed.

Ever so quietly, the crept into the bedroom, stepping on discarded blankets in order to muffle her footfalls. When she was close enough, she cast the quilt over him like a fisher would cast a net. She then stalked out of the room, same way she had come in. She had been so focused on finding Raff and making sure he was sleeping that she hadn't noticed the woman standing in the kitchen watching her with a bemused grin.

She walked over and blushed slightly, "I figured he might be cold, sleeping curled around a blanket like that." Altira curtsied to the woman, the long shirt making an excellent hem to curtsy with. "Hi, I'm Altira."

Talia Wayland was a petite woman with the same bright blue eyes as her son; they even held the same sparkle of mischief if you looked closely. Her hair was a light strawberry blonde, with a few strands of grey beginning to sneak in but her face was that of a woman not really old enough to have a son Raff's age.

Her smile was warm and more than a little amused as Altira curtsied, her new daughter was quite the sight engulfed in her baby boy's too large clothing. She was certainly a pretty little thing. Actually, Altira was a bit taller than Raff's tiny mother. "There's no need to stand on formality in this house, child. You're among family here."

Talia had obviously been looking Altira over before she stepped forward and hugged her gently, embracing the young woman that Luna had chosen for her only boy.

"Aren't you just the prettiest young lady? Raff dragged you in here a bedraggled mess and has been hoarding you selfishly." The words were accompanied by a good-natured chuckle. She knew her son couldn't help his overprotectiveness with his new mate. Her Reuben had been much the same way when he'd made his claim on her. It always reminded her how much she missed him when each of her children found their mate.

"I am so happy for you both. My boy better take good care of you, if he doesn't you come tell me. He won't ever get too big or old for his old momma to set him straight, you hear?" Talia laughed again and stepped back, keeping Altira at arm's length and looking her over again with obvious approval.

Hugging. That was new one. Growing up in a Noble Family meant things were always pretty distant. In regards the physical contact, most physical contact was limited to the arms and shoulders, even when dancing! The only exception was if she got hurt. Nan, her wet nurse, would always spend time hugging and coddling the crying youth until the pain stopped. Altira was blinking back tears as she returned the hug. This woman made her feel safe, for entirely different reasons than Raff did. Gods, she even spoke like Nan.

Altira's face was just a bit puffy when she pulled away, but a smile plastered across her face, "Thank you, ma'am." She run a hand along the side of her head and settled her hair on that side behind her ear. "I just hope he wasn't literally dragging me." She chuckled in the way that one does when trying not to let the inexplicable tears fall before mock scowling in the direction of the bedroom.

"I hope I am not transgressing by asking this, but are you a werewolf too?" She asked, while turning back to face the woman, "and please tell me if I am crossing any social lines, I am afraid I am in over my head in all matters werewolf."

"What's this "ma'am" business? I'm Talia, or mom, momma, mammy, nana, or any other term used for mother or grandmother you like." She was still smiling warmly at Altira, already knowing that she liked the young woman for more reason than simply her being Raff's mate.

Goodness, but the poor girl liked almost ready to cry! Talia shot a real glare in the direction of her son's bedroom. By now she had guessed that things hadn't exactly been what would be called smooth in her son's claiming. "Oh don't you worry, dear. He carried you in here like you were the most precious, fragile little babe that he was afraid would break if he breathed wrong. Try not to take too much offense if he tries to treat you like glass. They can't help it. It's a male wolf thing."

Talia moved over to the table, pulling out one of the chairs and settling down before gesturing for Altira to join her. "I've been a werewolf for over thirty years, dear, and don't worry about causing offense. You can ask anything you like. I hope my son explained at least some of what has happened, but I guess he must have if you're still here and mostly calm. I was human when Reuben, that's Raff's dear daddy, Luna rest his soul, claimed me so I know how crazy it can feel trying to figure it all out."

"Yes, Ma- Talia." Yes, Altira liked this woman, just she couldn't bring herself to call her mom, yet. Sliding into the chair across from the werewolfress, "I guess part of the reason I am so calm is how I was raised. Ever since I was twelve, I was told that I would being wed to a stranger. Sure, this isn't at all what was planned for me by my parents, but who is to say it is better or worse? I've always dreaded the idea of marrying some man, but for some reason, I don't feel the same way about being bound to Raff. I guess that's what confuses me the most, what makes him different?" She paused to rub lightly at her temple.

"All things considered, I should hate him. In the form of a beast that I thought would kill me, he proceeded to, from my perspective, rape me." Even as she said it, she didn't sound convinced as to that was what happened. "Yet I don't feel taken advantage of, or soiled. If anything it's quite the opposite."

Talia listened patiently, nodding her head sympathetically. She had gone through much the same experience as Altira had, in regards to being claimed by a beast without prior consent. The older woman also knew what it was like to feel confused about the conflicting emotions in connection to their new mate.

"When Reuben claimed me I resented him at first. He spent the first week groveling, begging for my forgiveness. Logic tells you that what happened was rape, but something else questions that. I don't think the mate bond only goes one way, even with a human mate. I know that I couldn't stay angry at Reuben for long. Some deep, instinctual, maybe even primal part of myself told me that as wrong as it seemed on the surface, things were actually exactly as they should be." She sighed wistfully and absently touched an old scar on her shoulder, in exactly the same spot that Altira now had her wound. What caused it was obvious.

"You have to understand that he really couldn't help himself. I'll still give him an earful for not explaining everything to you first, but even Reuben couldn't help himself. None of my daughter's mates could either, but then my daughters were all werewolves already and knew what was happening." Talia sighed again while giving Altira a rueful smile. "It is hard to grasp just how much they love you at first. Humans don't know. They really don't. I didn't. Werewolves feel so much more deeply."

"Raff loves you with everything he has, and maybe that is why you don't feel violated by what he did. You feel safe and protected whenever he is near, don't you? It is probably part of the mate bond. I never stopped feeling that way, as long as Reuben lived and was near. My son truly is wholly devoted to you. He would do anything to make you happy. It is part of the mate bond."

She leaned forward slightly, looking at Altira very seriously now. "If you tried to leave him it could very well drive him mad, because he can never stop loving you. He would die for you this instant if it meant protecting you.  I don't want to overwhelm you, but you do need to understand how serious this is for him."

Try as Altira might, she couldn't maintain eye contact with the woman when she leaned it. It was like a automated reaction, as soon as their eyes touched, hers faltered. There was just so much intensity there, so much undeniable emotion. She couldn't do it. That was until she said those few words that truly struck to her. She looked up into Talia's eyes with shock and concern. Her voice was barely above a whisper, she didn't trust herself to talk any louder, "He would die for me?"

Memories came flooding to the surface, A cougar, a startled horse, her brother, long hours spent by a bedside waiting for something, anything. By the time she had pushed the memories back under the surface, she was walking towards the bedroom. Walking into the bedroom.

When she looked back on this moment, a few days from now, when her logic was yet again around her. She would shake it off as being far to storybook. Nearly in tears over a stranger, how dramatic. But perhaps Talia was right, and in that moment, when so many memories of a time she did not wish to recall came rushing forward, some deep, instinctual, maybe even primal part of herself told her to get up. Go to him.

She pulled the quilt away and ripped the blanket that Raff was snuggling away. With this odd mix of natural grace and emotional forcefulness, she slid under the quilt and wrapped herself around him. Her arms snaked under his and gripped his shoulders from behind while she buried her face in his chest.

Not caring if he was awake enough to understand was she said, her trembling voice told him, "There are men who would die for duty, there are men who would die for love. Then there are men who would die out of duty to who they love. You aren't allowed to do that. You aren't allowed to die." She held herself against him fiercely, going so far as to entangle her legs with his.

Raff was jerked awake by the sudden ripping away of the blanket that held Altira's scent. He'd been pleasantly dreaming about her, but this was much, much better. He had no idea what had made his mate crawl into his bed and entangle herself with him so fiercely, but he wasn't about to argue.

It was a bit bemusing when she informed him that he wasn't allowed to die. He fixed the quilt to make sure that Altira was covered adequately.

"I wasn't exactly planning on dying anytime soon, Altira." Raff soothed, though he was obviously perplexed at the sudden clinging. To show that he definitely didn't mind it regardless of confusion, he wrapped his arms around her, and one hand gently stroked down her back while the other ran through her still slightly wet brown hair.

His lips found their way to her forehead, kissing her tenderly. Raff didn't like that something had upset his mate. Part of him knew that it must have been his mother, but how his mother had upset her was anyone's guess to him. "Don't worry, I'm never leaving you."

And somehow, those few words calmed her. It the back of her mind, Altira hated just out quickly her emotions were going from stoic to confused to nearly raving with anxiety and now to absolute calm. It was like riding a poorly saddled horse at a full sprint. Nothing was consistent. But for the moment, she was calm, and she enjoyed the calm. And she certainly didn't mind the way he held her. Cocooned between him and the quilt, she liked it.

"You had better not..." Without realizing it, her body relaxed further. She was still tired, dreamless or not, her last rest had not been a restful one. So she has no qualms as her mind started to drift off, after all, she was safe. In his arms. She was safe.

"Yes ma'am." Raff chuckled softly, hands still gently stroking her hair and back as she began relaxing against him. Content that his mate was no longer upset, he settled himself again, joining Altira in drifting back to sleep.

Their bodies would remain tangled together as they slept, Raff often nuzzling his face against her hair or neck, even in sleep her scent served to soothe him in the most pleasant of ways. His arms would also occasionally squeeze her just slightly for a few moments, as if reassuring himself that she was still right where he wanted her to be.

Raff's dreams were filled with Altira, and very, very pleasant dreams those were! If his occasionally sleepy groans weren't proof enough, his mate would find another incriminating piece of evidence poking against her lower abdomen damningly.

Naivety is a curse. It really is. It was maybe an hour or so later before Altira started to stir. Pressing herself closer against Raff in an effort to stave off waking up, the Nobless because aware of.. something... poking her in the abdomen, just above the waist line. She slid away from Raff slightly, rubbing at the tender area. Apparently she had been being poked for a while.

Still half asleep, she began to feel around for whatever it was that had been so uncomfortably prodding her. She found it closer to Raff, it was strange. Firm with just a small amount of give, and warm. She squeezed it, trying to figure out what it was while not wanting to move or get up, or disturb the werewolf who was still sleep while loosely embracing her.

Her curiosity starting to wake her, she began to run her hand along the strange warm thing, trying to see if there were any other clues she could uncover without untangling herself from Raff.

At first the slumbering werewolf didn't have much reaction to Altira's innocent exploration, but it did not take long for him to stir. Shifting and groaning softly, she'd feel the object jump slightly in her hand, before his hips unconsciously ground towards her, into the unintentionally teasing hand.

If Raff thought his dreams were good, then waking up was even better.

"Did you find something you liked?" He asked with sleepy amusement, before exhaling sharply. Damn but everything about her turned him on. Raff had no doubt that he'd started it; even in his sleep he wanted her. Since she was having a nice feel, he moved his hand down to firmly grasp her adorable rear end and pull her more tightly against him again.

She had been about to voice her complaint, how this strange thing jabbing her in the gut had woken her up. But then he grabbed her ass. She inhaled sharply as he pulled her closer, mewling as she suddenly realized what it was that was back again to jabbing her in the lower abdomen. she tried to form words to explain as her face burned a very hot red, but beyond small and quiet unintelligible noises, no sound came from her lips.

There was only one course of action. Bury her face deeply into his chest and never, ever come back up. And that's exactly what she did.

It was impossible for Raff not to laugh softly. Altira was extremely cute when she was blushing and flustered. His blue eyes were flashing playfully now that he was more fully awake and his little mate had buried her face against his chest in embarrassment. 

"You make the cutest noises."  Raff was still chuckling as he moved to kiss the top of her head, her hair tickled his lips and her scent filled his nose like an aphrodisiac. His voice dropped once again into a husky murmur. "That's all yours, you know. You're welcome to touch me as much as you want, Altira. I like it when you do."

Raff knew that she had been a virgin; his sweet little mate was so very innocent. It would be a great deal of fun for him to teach her all about things her body could feel that she had never known before. "We're mates, Altira. You don't have to be shy about what you like or want. If it helps, think of me as your husband."

Was it the memories of the last night that caused a warmth to begin to spread from her core, or what is because of his touch and his words? Was it her desire or her curiosity that drove her to action? She couldn't say. What she could say was that Raff was right, her shyness and shame were both responses of a human upbringing. She was around werewolves, they had no place here. At least, that is what she would tell herself.

She pushed away from him and squirmed out of his grip, rolling off the bed and landing on her feet very quietly. It was graceful, almost cat-like. She held her hand up to him, a very obvious sign for him to stay. She crept to the door, and very quietly peered out into the main room. No Talia. She very quietly close the door. She then turned back to Raff. As much as she tried not to be, she was blushing, and not able to make eye contact with him. But with a determined look on her face, she slid the borrowed pants off. It wasn't hard really, there were too big for her anyway, they very eagerly fell to the floor, she thought. The oversized shirt still covered the most of her, from her upper thighs down were exposed and lovely. On the sides of her thighs were some really dark bruises, from their first encounter.

After a moment of standing there, building up the courage, the slowly crossed her arms across herself and snagged the sides of the shirt. Her blush deepened as she slowly pulled up, baring herself before him. Her chest was also a mass of bruises, from the branch that had plucked her from her saddle at a very high speed. Her back was likely also just one massive bruise, though neither of them could see it at the moment.

Still unable to look at him, she spoke just above a whisper, "Your turn."

A soft growl rumbled in Raff's chest in protest as Altira wiggled out of his grasp and out of bed, but he didn't try to stop her from getting up. Her raised hand did stop him from rising from the bed, but his blue eyes followed her, an intense, hungry, almost predatory gaze.

At first he wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but Raff couldn't help but smirk when he realized she was trying to give a measure of privacy to the room. His mother wouldn't disturb them, but he thought better of bringing up the fact that no matter what Altria did, his mother was probably going to know exactly what they were doing. Yes, best not to point that out. Especially with the way his little mate was blushing as she turned around even with the door closed and her illusion of secretiveness.

Raff's breath hitched lightly as she let his pants slide off her hips and down her long, slender legs. Something about her innocent hesitation was incredibly sexy. Although he wished at the same time that she would look at him. Her eyes were gorgeous, and he felt that he hadn't gotten to look into them directly enough. Hopefully that shyness would pass as she became more used to him.

It took longer than he would have liked for her to lift the shirt, but at the same time, Raff forced himself to be patient and let her do it at her own pace. After all, he had gotten to set the pace of everything the night before whether Altira had liked it or not.

Another growl came from him as her body was exposed. Altira had a very lovely figure. It wasn't overly curvaceous, but it was a very healthy, and incredibly sexy, body. What caused him to growl was the revealed bruises that covered an alarming amount of her flesh. The ones on her thighs had been his fault directly, but he felt indirectly responsible for the ones on her chest as well. If she had not been fleeing from him she'd have never been struck down from her horse.

When it was declared his "turn" Raff did not hesitate to rise from the bed, tugging his shirt over his head and revealing a lithely muscled torso. He was not a hulking pile of muscles as some might suspect of a werewolf; his frame was tall and lean. Noticing that she still wasn't actually looking directly at him, Raff took his time unlacing the front of his breeches before letting them fall to the floor carelessly as he stepped out of them and stayed standing next to the bed, looking very comfortable with his arousal on full display for her. He hoped that his open, unabashed display of desire for her would reassure Altira.

"Come here, my gorgeous little mate." Raff encouraged softly, fingers beckoning her invitingly.

When Raff stepped out of his clothes, Altira kept her gaze somewhere between his shoulders and his stomach. Her blush didn't further darken, which was a good sign. She ebbed closer to him, slowly was all that was needed, there wasn't all that much space between them in truth, maybe three or four feet. Raff probably could have reached out and pulled her to him. She was grateful he did not.

When she was close enough, her hands reached out and tentatively touched his abdomen. Solid, firm. Altira flattened his hands against him, pressing against him, feeling out just how much hardened his muscles were beneath the skin. She was always watching what her hands were doing. Slowly, her hands ascended from his abs to his chest, and unbeknownst to her while her hands explored Raff's body, her blush began to fade.

She smiled when she was almost to the top of his chest, "For a werewolf, you really don't have alot of hair." The comment was made with a small giggle as her eyes raised from his neck to meet his. Her breath caught in her throat. His eyes were staggeringly beautiful. Why had she not noticed them earlier? Like stars. No, like beacons from the darkness, guiding a path to safety.

Somehow standing still suddenly seemed like a daunting, maybe even impossible, task; Raff wanted nothing more than to pull his mate against him. His fingers actually itched the desire to reach out and touch her was so strong. It became infinitely harder to remain immobile when her delicate fingers pressed against his stomach, gliding up his body slowly.

Raff's eyes fluttered softly a few times, his breathing accelerating up a few notches as his hands fisted at his sides. He was determined to let her do what she wanted without being mauled in the process. It wasn't his turn to touch.

He focused on watching her reactions, observing as the blush slowly faded from her cheeks.

Their eyes met, locked. The sound of her giggles mingled with the rushing of blood and thundering of his pulse. His hands flexed a few times, loosening the tightness in his fingers that his fists had caused, before Raff finally couldn't stand not touching her anymore. One hand moved to ghost along her side, while the other reached up to lightly brush his fingertips across her cheek.

"You know I can fix that if you like me better hairy." Raff chuckled softly as he lowered his lips to hers, kissing Altira slowly and gently, not at all like the mashing of their mouths earlier.

Cheater. She had been about to reply with snarky comment. Or was it going to be a cheeky comment? What was she going to comment on? She could only seem to focus entirely on his lips pressed against hers in a slow and tender kiss. It excited her, she wanted more. More of the kiss, more of him. Something stirred within her, spreading fire beneath her skin. She was almost certain that he could feel her heart threatening to burst from her chest.

She deepened the kiss, her arms winding around his neck. One merely hung onto him, short of clinging, the other went further north, into his lush hair. It was not to last though, in her inexperience she had forgotten to breathe, and soon she found her body unwillfully pulling away and filling her aching lungs with air. And how good the air was. It was rich with his scent. Like the morning after an night of rain, and like a crackling campfire during a silent night.

Raff couldn't stop himself from groaning softly into the kiss as her fingers slid into his hair, it felt amazing. A soft growl sounded as Altira pulled away, gasping for air. His hands moved down her body, grabbing her thighs suddenly and lifting her so that her legs were wrapped around his waist much the way her arms were around his neck.

"I know I'm breath-taking, love, but try not to pass out." He couldn't help but smirk as he captured her lips again, not giving her much of a reprieve at all. Raff deepened the kiss, letting his tongue slide teasingly along her lips, seeing if he could coax her into allowing him to plunder her hot mouth.

Altira hummed with joy as Raff lifted her off her feet, nor did she complain when they resumed kissing. She rather found that she liked kissing him. She liked the his strong arms could hold her in while they kissed. She loved the way his hair felt. And she especially love the shiver of anticipation as his tongue brushed against her lips.

Something in her snapped as the shiver ran the length of her body and continued to spread outward. The hand in his balled into a fist, the hand holding onto his back clawed for better grip as her legs tightened around him. She wanted more of him. Her lips parted slightly as her tongue came out to greet his like an old friend. With a warm embrace.

When her hands gripped his hair tighter and clawed at his back Raff couldn't stop himself from moaning happily. He loved the little tingles the rough treatment caused. It wasn't quite painful, but it could be. His hands squeezed her a little, probably aggravating the bruises already on her hips and thighs, but he hoped he could spur her on to scratch him harder. Or pull at his hair just a little more. He'd never liked women to do that before, he'd always found it annoying, but when Altira did it...

Her tongue was warm and soft as it slid against his, causing his chest to rumble happily in a silent growl as he took advantage of her tentative response to absolutely devour her. His kiss was passionate and demanding as he explored the inside of her mouth hungrily for several long moments.

Raff turned and lowered them both to the bed, resting only part of his weight on his mate as he kissed her deeply again and again. Eventually he broke away to allow her to recover, letting his lips move to her cheek, ghost across her jaw, lightly breath in her ear, and finally lower to nurse the skin on the unbitten side of her neck. His hands, no longer needing to support her, had moved up her body, lightly caressing her flat stomach until he could cup one of her breasts, thumb gently gliding over the nipple before teasing it with a soft, circular stroke, testing her reactions.

She was starting to lose grip with herself, her mind was aflutter as the passion of this tantric experience threatened to ignite her. The pain coming from her hips wasn't truly pain, it was yet another powerful connection to her mate. Her legs squeezed against him as she sensed the world moving around them. In that moment, the two of them were the center of the universe.

Her head laid back against the bed, she was soaking in Raff, his touch, his scent, his heat. Moaning softly as his hand ascended its way up her body. His warm, calloused hand sent shivers across her skin that left gooseflesh in its wake. Her hand continued to tangle itself in his hair all the while. The fingertips of her other hand sated itself with running up and down his back.

Shivering though she was, it could not be said that she was cold. she was quite hot. Burning actually. Her skin tingled wherever it lost contract with his.

Raff was insatiable as his mouth moved down Altira's body, seemingly intent on tasting every inch of her, paying particular attention to her breasts. Those he completely lavished with his lips and tongue before moving down her stomach. He paid special attention to any spot that made his mate squirm, taking extra care to give more attention to those erogenous zones.

This was different than the previous night, but similar at the same time. Raff was enjoying being in much greater control of himself. It had been hard to truly admire, appreciate, and worship as his mate deserved during the heat of the mating frenzy.

He slid down her body further, finally reaching the source of the maddening scent of Altira's arousal. Smelling her strong desire for him was intoxicating, tasting her was even better. Raff's tongue was not nearly as long or broad in his human form, but he certainly wouldn't let that deter him from delving greedily into her sex. Although he had to wonder if she liked the feel of his skin or his fur sliding against her body better.

In hindsight, it was probably a bit silly that she tried to make sure Raff's mother wasn't right outside. She was trying hard to stay quiet, she really was, but it was a losing battle as Raff went south of her navel. A low guttural moan ripped from her lips as her hands slipped into his hair. Slightly pulling, mostly holding him in place as her body shook under his ministrations. Unwittingly, her legs parted granting him easier access.

It wasn't long before her legs started to tremble and she pulled harder at his hair. In order to mollify the restlessness in her legs, they wrapped around his torso. Holding onto him tightly as her muscles involuntarily tighten, a light orgasm waxed over her to the sound of low moans. As quickly as it had appeared, it subsided and Altira once again laid down, not realizing that her back had hunched forward during the small climax.

Raff growled softly, happily each time his mate pulled at his hair a bit roughly. He loved the way she tried to hold him in place; the way her legs parted before eventually they were wrapped around him and trembling as he felt the gentle orgasm shake through her body.

There would be no time given to Altira to catch her breath or recover.

He lapped up her juices with a smirk before introducing a new element to his tormenting. Raff's mouth centered on the little bundle of nerves while he began to gently use his fingers to stimulate the inside of her sex, testing her readiness for him while he worked to drive her to another climax. That first orgasm had been small and too easy. Raff wouldn't be satisfied unless he brought her to an earth-shattering conclusion.

The reaction was immediate, her muscles tensed as she sucked air through her teeth. Between her pulling in his hair and her sudden desire to curl up into a ball, her body was wrapped around his head. Almost possessively, like a starved animal over the only food it had seen in days. It was some small wonder that she hadn't pulled any of his hair out, or maybe she had? Were it not for her clenched jaw, her moaning would be quite audible, as it were, the muffled sounds were still less than quiet. But that's not to say it hurt, no, in fact, it was alot like being encased in ice that burned. Or boiling water that stole the heat from you. The woefully short lived afterglow was quickly replaced by something far stronger. Like the tide abating so rapidly that the only logical result was a massive wave. Her nest orgasm was a tsunami.

Her body relaxed and tensed in rapid succession while her upper body fell back against the bed. Her legs refused to let him go, like it were a mandate from heaven. There was no stopping the lewd noises this time, Thankfully, her pleasure addled mind would never remember just how loud she was.

A surge of pleasure washed through Raff as he drew out uninhibited sounds of ecstasy from Altira as her second climax washed over her. Not to mention the satisfaction that he felt knowing how well he had pleased his mate. It made up for the fact that his scalp was beginning to tingle unpleasantly from how hard she had been gripping his hair.

With her legs still wrapped around him, Raff finally lifted his mouth, looking up Altira's body as she lay back on the bed once more. It was a delicious sight and he licked his lips before softly kissing his way back up her body.

His lips found her throat again, kissing and nipping gently at her skin as he let his mate simply bask in the aftershocks of pleasure for a few moments. Raff's own arousal was becoming painful to bear, but he ignored the discomfort of his wanting. His mate had passed out immediately after her second orgasm the night before; he wondered if she even remembered being tied to him. Thinking of knotting Altira sent another painful throb of lust right to his groin. He wanted to tie to her as often as she would let him!

"I want to change now," Raff murmured huskily against her ear, "I want my knot buried inside you the next time you climax." Not to mention when he climaxed! It wasn't the right time for his mate's womb to conceive, but he still loved the idea of her filled with his trapped seed.

It was Raff's voice that pulled her from her blissful reverie. What he had said was oddly erotic, even though she didn't quite understand what he way saying. She was a smart girl, she was able to intuit a few things. He wanted to change, he must mean he wanted to continue this as a werewolf. Though, she didn't quite know what he meant by his knot. Perhaps if the experience of last night didn't hold such a dreamlike affluence to it, she may be able to recall more than just feelings. Perhaps, if her upbringing had included a conversation or three about sex beyond 'Let your husband have his way, it may hurt  but he will take care of you' then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have trepidation gnawing at the back of her head.

Her hand went to the nape of Raff's neck, just where the skin gave way to fur. His hair was so soft, and she loved it when Nan rubbed there whenever she got headaches, maybe he liked it? She reached back into her memory again, trying to find something to absolve the knot of anxiety balling up in her gut. What she could remember was a fervor so great, it tore her consciousness asunder. She wanted more of that. He could give that to her. Slowly, she began to nod, "Okay, I am yours."

It would have been so easy to transform and take her right then, but Raff waited, lips softly brushing against Altira's skin lovingly as he allowed her to process what he wanted. Her fingers buried in the hair at the nap of his neck, lightly stroking, drew a soft groan and shudder from him. Luna preserve him, but everything she did felt amazing to him. He couldn't get enough of her touching him, how or why seemed not to matter.

Nervousness, trepidation, maybe even fear.

Raff could sense all those things coming from his beautiful mate, so soft, sweet, and innocent as she laid beneath him. Permission was given. He pressed his lips softly against her ear. "Relax, love. I will never hurt you. I promise."

Raising his head, Raff let the change take him; it only took a few seconds for the man to become the hybrid. Altira would be able to feel his soft fur against her inner thighs as he shifted on the bed, making certain not to rest too heavily on her much smaller body. Unlike last night, she wasn't on her knees for him, and he did not move her into that position.

Instead his large clawed hands lifted her hips off the mattress as he positioned himself. Raff was more than ready; his knot was already swelling slightly, eager to join with his mate. His pale eyes were intense as they locked with hers staring into her beautiful blue-purple ones while he slowly slid into her smoothly, not stopping until all but his knot filled her.

Then he let his eyes fall closed as he growled lowly with pleasure.

This was much different from the previous night. The angle provided pressure and friction in different ways, not necessarily better or worse, but different. Of course this was all fairly new and different for Raff. No other woman had ever felt his hybrid form or knot. There was the fact that his mate was no longer virginal as well. He had already stretched her once, and found it easier to do it again, although she still felt amazingly snug. Luna didn't make mistakes, she fit him perfectly. At least he thought so!

Being mindful that his mate was still new to this, his thrusts were passionate and powerful, but he was careful to adjust them as necessary so as to ensure his mate was feeling as much pleasure from their joining as he was.

Until his knot began to swell more as both of their releases neared.

The bulge was ground and battered feverishly against her in quick, short thrusts. Raff's breathing was heavy and erratic when her sex finally admitted him. Climax was instantaneous for him as he threw back his head and roared his victory. Altira would be able to feel him throbbing deeply and hotly as his seed flooded her womanhood.

Raff was trembling softly as he held himself above her, panting as he dropped his head forward to rest lightly against her shoulder.

As Raff changed, Altira's eyes widened with amazement. She had heard of werewolf transformations, but never did she think she was going to see one. He was magnificent. Even in the dim light of the room and through the fur, she could see his body, lean and strong with muscle. Like well restrained violence. A gasp sounded as Raff lifted her lowed half from the bed, how gentle his touch was, it was like she weighed nothing. Part of her was quite glad that the werewolf wasn't out to hurt her.

She found his eyes to be quite calming, like starlight. When he parted her nether lips, it was all she could do to keep from groaning. She was tender there, from his earlier treatment, and while her eyes closed, a lewd smile painted itself across her face. This felt good. It wasn't long before he had once again reduced her to moaning and squirming.

When he knotted her, the shock of the sudden fullness caused her breath to hitch. So that's what he meant. Sex itself was foreign to her, this was something else entirely. That's not to say it was uncomfortable or painful, it was just extremely different than anything else she'd felt before. She didn't have long to contemplate it though, the force of the knot squeezing past her most sensitive areas that threw her over the edge. Gripping the blanket and mattress with excessive force, she howled out her own victory, entirely unwitted to her previous desire to keep things private.

At first Raff could only hold himself there, panting heavily as he nuzzled his face against his mate's neck. He felt completely spent, and acutely aware of Altira's entire body, especially where they were joined, as his knot was quite sensitive, and his wolfhood was still throbbing and spilling his seed  inside her.

When his breathing calmed Altira would find her body cradled and lifted carefully from the bed as Raff changed their position. The large beast made himself comfortable, sprawled on his back on the much too small bed, forcing him to keep his legs bent up, but that hardly bothered him. He settled his mate atop him, her head only reached to his chest with their hips securely sealed as they were.

He finally stopped throbbing within her.

All the shifting around had caused his knot to rub and pull inside her a little, causing almost painful aftershocks of pleasure for Raff, but he only growled softly in contentment. His arms were still warmly wrapped around her, hands lightly stroking her back and sides.

He had never been happier in his life.

She was content, and just barely starting to become aware of her surrounding again when she felt Raff rearrange them. She could feel his fur across her skin, caressing and teasing, tickling and soothing. She could also feel their physical bond making itself known within her. She couldn't help but stir, trying to draw her legs together only further accented the mass of his desire within her. It wasn't painful, but the feeling of being overfilled was something she could only endure for so long, even with as grand as it felt. Allowing her legs to part relieved this pressure somewhat, but it brought a restlessness to her lower limbs. Finally, she wrapped her legs around his own bent up legs, which eased both the pressure and her restlessness.

Her own comfort seen to, she looked up to gaze upon Raff's face, shivering in pleasure from both the echoes of her climax and the slow rubbing of the werewolf's hands. Or were they paws? It didn't matter, she was extremely aware of the claws at the end of each of the digits, though they didn't bother her. She ran her own fingers through the soft fur across his chest, two short to entangle her fingers in, but she was content with the feel of it all the same. "That was.. wow." She didn't know how to describe it, any of it, her feelings, what they did, how amazing she felt in that moment. So she didn't. Instead, she buried her face in his fur, almost like how a cat would nuzzle into something while her took hold of what fur she could with her hands.

Each movement of his mate sent that familiar becoming shock of pleasure-pain through Raff, but he managed to remain still while she settled. Not easy, since she made him want to squirm – or make love to her all over again. Ah, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was spent.

Raff was happy just to continue stroking his hands over her smooth, soft skin. He liked the feel of her lying on top of him. Her weight was nice. Not that she weighed much, but it still felt good. Sharp claws were gentle as a feather touch, although they rarely even made contact with her skin. Being extremely careful not to harm her was a given. It would have killed him to hurt Altira.

A deep, rumbling chuckle was given in response to her assessment of his performance.

"Agreed." His voice was lower, raspy, and near a growl. It was still recognizable to someone that was familiar with his voice. A happy, low rumbling growl was given as she nuzzled into his chest, her fingers felt good running through his fur, much as they had when they'd been tangled in his hair.

"I love you, Altira." Raff really did.

The head of hard blush warmed her face at his words. She could feel the truth of them down to her very core. And she became jealous of him, because she couldn't yet echo that sentiment. The part of her mind that wanted to commit itself to him was berated and assaulted by ideology that had been taught to her all her life. She couldn't love him, look what he'd done to her, she'd only just met him on the besides! Yes, she was quite jealous of him, to feel so purely, uninhibited by human ideology and expectation.

A memory crept into the forethought of her mind, a time when she and Amaya would discuss all manner of things, that particular conversation was about motivation. Amaya had told her something interesting, the actual phrase was just beyond her grasp but it was a very human statement, the defining trait of all human conflict. Why there were no truly evil things, only people with their own self interest at heart. And like that, it came to her. No one is truly against you, they are merely for themselves.

Even as she thought of the phrase, she knew that Raff wasn't like that. Some part of her was unshaking in the belief that Raff would live his entire life living for her. Protecting her, seeing to her needs, pleasing her. It was the resolute conviction of this small part of herself that silenced her human aspect. It was then that another phrase came to mind, 'The Past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.'.

She wasn't in the Courts anymore. If she did somehow come back to that life, it would not be the same. The was her present. She resolved to embrace it like it had her. Lifting her head Raff's chest, then further lifted her upper body onto her elbows, doing her best not to dig into his chest with them. She wanted to look into his eyes again. His marvelously beautiful eyes. They carried such ambiguous intensity. "I love you too, Raff."

Raff gave a soft grunt as his mate started moving again, her elbows lightly pressing into his muscled chest. At first he wasn't sure what she was doing. He looked down at his little mate bemusedly; his expression was one of utter adoration, even easily seen in this non-human form. Their eyes met, and Raff felt his heart melting and seizing at once.

It had been a spur of the moment thing, telling Altira that he loved her. Not that it wasn't true, it absolutely was true, but humans were funny about love. He certainly didn't expect her to say it back; which is why it surprised him so much when she did.

He kept thinking that he couldn't be happier since finding her, but Altira seemed determined to make his heart explode from sheer joy at every turn. Raff's eyes softened, full of love and elation as he studied her pretty face. Did she really mean it? Humans felt love differently than wolves. There had been expectation that it might take time for his mate to admit to that level of commitment on her heart.

"You make me so happy." Raff had moved one of his hands from her back to softly cup her face, his head moved forward to he could press his forehead against hers, eyes closing blissfully as he absorbed the moment greedily.

She closed her own eyes, her cheek pressed warmly into his hand while Raff pressed his forehead against hers. It was oddly cathartic for her, being so intimate with someone. The Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court kept all public displays of affection to a minimum. With the exception of newly married couples, it was rare to see anyone getting so close.

One arm went up along his neck, the fur was thicker here, longer, she couldn't help herself as her fingers combed through it. Savoring the lavish feeling of the soft fur and warm skin beneath. "I can tell." She briefly pulled her hips together, stoking the glow of pleasure that was ever present where the two were joined.

Raff remained as he was, unwilling to move in the slightest. Not that either of them could move very much just then! He relished the closeness, the tender sweet moment. Everything in him hoped to Luna that there would be many, many such moments.

This was a whole new world for them both. Never had he felt the need or desire to have a sweet, loving relationship with a female. Everything had been superficial and about pleasure – seeking a release for his natural urges and drives. It wasn't that he hadn't been good to other women, he had always given as much pleasure as he received, but there had never been love or true affection. Maybe fondness.

Raff didn't know about Altira's noble upbringing, about how little affection she was used to. Perhaps there was a reason for the cool, distant behavior some humans clung to.

For werewolves it was much, much different.

Now that he had found his mate, Raff held no care about if public displays of affection were proper or not. Unlike noble husbands and wives, werewolf mates were extremely open about their love for one another. Displays of affection were not something to be kept behind closed doors, but viewed with amusement and pleasure by those around the happily mated couple.

Love was never a bad thing, so neither was expressing that love.

Of course then Altira was teasing him. Raff let out a low, rumbling growl as the pressure increased on his knot, stimulating him and stirring the want in him. He truly wished that he could make love to her again, but it just wasn't going to happen for at least a couple hours. Even if he couldn't make love to her yet...

"Keep that up and it will take even longer for us to untie, love." Raff chuckled, pulling his head back and looking at her with sparkling, amused eyes.

She moaned lightly, her mind now focusing on his member deep within her thus making the feeling of overfullness hard to ignore. It was like she had just gorged herself on a very large meal, stopping just shy of being ill, but much lower south. "Speaking off, Does this happen every? And how long does it normally last? The.. um.. swelling will go down after a while, yes?"

She adjusted herself again, trying to relieve some of the pressure before adding, "That's not to say it's unpleasant!I'm curious and all of this, it's quite a bit to take in.." Realizing what it was she said, a sly grin parted her lips, "And I mean that in all it's clever little implications."

Raff let out something between a laugh and a groan. Luna, but his mate really needed to stop squirming, it was maddening! His knot was never going to go down if she didn't. At least she was able to find amusement in the situation. He'd heard stories about human mates that took time to come around to the idea of being tied.

"If you stop moving so much, yes, the swelling will go down. Last night it took close to an hour before we came undone." He didn't want to go into great details about size of knots and how the larger the knot the longer it took. Raff's sister Nerissa had told him once that Cortland took even longer than an hour to finally be able to remove himself. Then again, Cortland was practically a behemoth brute.

Grey wolves, tch.

"In this form, or as a wolf, yeah, it'll happen every time. As a man, no, it will almost never happen, unless your womb is ripe. That's what it's for. The knot holds my seed in so it doesn't leak out, giving your body more time to process it. Between that and the sheer quantity, much more than a human, it significantly increases my chances of impregnating you." Raff couldn't stop himself from giving a happy hum at the very idea of putting his puppy in his mate's belly.

Altira was already gorgeous, his wolfhood actually twitched inside her thinking of her flat belly swollen so enticingly with his offspring.

"I see.." Despite Raff's own happiness, Altira was far more thoughtful. She'd heard stories of when her mom had been pregnant. Each time was complicated for its own reasons. She'd been told a multitude of times that her job was to produce heirs for her lord husband. It seemed was also the case if she were to stay with Raff. Now that the emotions of just a short while ago had been burned away in a flash of lust, she found herself wondering what would come next.

Even though she had- rather swiftly -resolved to stay with Raff, there were two rather blaring problems with that plan. For one, Altira was of Noble Blood, sister to the High Lady. There would be no doubt that once news of her not arriving at her formally betrothed's estate, people would come, actively seeking to find her to gain the favor of a noble family. Secondly, what about her family? She didn't know what they would think if she brought a werewolf in tow. Well, that was only half true, her father would definitely object.

Then, of course, there was also the problem of her "duty". She couldn't get pregnant now! She was only nineteen! It would be different if she were wed to a lord. An army of servants to wait on her every want and need, a wet nurse to care of the child while she recovered from giving birth. More servants to care for the child if she didn't feel well. As far as she could tell, it was just Raff and his mom out here.

Worst yet, she was completely unable to see and appreciate the irony of allowing her mind to fret of becoming pregnant while they were quite literally joined at the sex while the viscous mixture of their pleasure was processed within her.

I see.

What Raff wouldn't give to be privy to his mate's thoughts just then!

His happy enthusiasm died away swiftly at the less than thrilled reception of that information. What had he done wrong? A small well of panic rose in him. Altira wasn't happy. Why wasn't she happy? Was it the idea of having his pups? How could that be unhappy? Raff was raised in an entirely different atmosphere and culture than her, of course. Pups were always reason to be happy.

Humans were different.

What if Altira never wanted to have his babies? Raff couldn't even comprehend the lack of desire to have children with one's mate. Humans were different, but they had babies all the time. Indeed, humans seemed to breed like rabbits. At least to him. Not that a werewolf wouldn't gladly have as many pups as they possibly could, but there weren't even a fraction as many werewolves as there were humans, between being hunted and generally small numbers of werewolf children born...

He had to say something. Surely his mate would want his pups.

"Is something wrong?" It was probably comically for a werewolf to sound timid, and his expression was no longer happy, more crestfallen. "Is it about me wanting to impregnate you? I can't help it. I will always want to do that. I love you, and I want to give all that love to our children too. You're not going to get pregnant now. It is the wrong time; you're not in a fertile state right now. If you did get pregnant you know I would take care of you and our baby, right? I'm not like a human male that would abandon you or expect you to do all the child-rearing."

Raff was rambling, and he forced himself to stop with a low whine. Blue eyes were studying her face anxiously, obviously seeking and needing some kind of reassurance.

She felt horrible watching his happiness bleed away into worry. Worse still knowing she caused it. Damn it! Why could she not cut off her stream of thoughts? "It's nothing, Raff. I'm just being pensive. I don't know about werewolves, but humans have a bad habit of worrying about things without reason." She reached a hand up to rub the side of his head, showing that she was trying to be sincere. Of course he would help, wolves were pack animals after all. But eventual pregnancy was just one side of the die, there was still the fact that people would eventually be coming to look for her. When they did, what would happen? She didn't think Raff would just let them take her, nor did she think those who sought her out would be too keen on letting a werewolf come with them! What would ha-

She forced herself to stop following that train of thought. It had been less than a day since her caravan was set upon, and other three days before they would be expected to arrive. Further, it would take a runner a little less than a week to get work of the missed arrival. Even longer to organize a search. She could take some time to get more used to her surroundings. More used to the events of the past day.

Her other hand rose to entangle itself in the fur at the base of his neck while she laid the side of her head against his chest, listening to his heart, the steady cycle of his breathing. Both of these were powerful. If she wasn't so awake, she might've fallen back asleep. That wasn't to say she wasn't worn out, the frenzy of sensation had left her quite drained for energy, but she wasn't tired. She had no desire for sleep.

Raff didn't like worrying about things he couldn't do anything about, he'd never been a dweller. Still, it pained him to know that his mate was unhappy and ill-content. He couldn't help but wonder what it was she was worried about. Maybe there was something that he could do to put her at ease? What if there wasn't anything he could do? Just the thought of being helpless to help his mate unsettled him.

Thankfully Altira began to soothe him simply by resting her head on his chest and tangling her hand in the fur of his neck. His large paws stroked her back gently, loving the feel of her under his furred hands and the light weight of her resting against his body.

Altira might not have had any desire to sleep, but unlike her, Raff had not spent the night blissfully asleep and his brief napping had not left him feeling duly rested. So she would find that the large beast beneath her easily returned to a dozing slumber as he held her lovingly in his arms.

At least until their bodies finally became untied. The knot finally shrank to the point that it was able to slip out of her, unleashing a torrent of no longer trapped seed with it. Blue eyes snapped open at the loss of the sensation and warmth of his mate's body surrounding his wolfhood. Given that he was beneath Altira more of the mess dribbled onto him than her. He didn't seem too bothered by the substance itself.

Raff let out a low groan before his body shifted and shrank back into that of a man. His voice was a little gruff with sleep, but his tone was fairly pleased and playful. "I seem to have made a mess."

Altira sat, a haughty expression across her face, "The common Riff-Raff are always making a mess." She couldn't keep up the act for long, as the cool air reminded her of the late autumn season. With a shiver, she grabbed a blanket from the ground- which had quite the pile -and draped it over them as she laid back down. This time settling into his side, which she had to admit was quite comfortable. It almost made up for the vacancy she felt at the removal of something she has just adjusted to.

Part of her itched with the desire to find out as much as she could, she told that part to shut up, she was enjoying herself. She didn't want to talk, she didn't want to think, she was content as she was. Nestled into his side, forehead pressed to the muscles of his chest.

"Yeah, well I am going to really enjoy making this particular kind of mess with you as often as I can get away with." Raff countered as his mate grabbed a blanket from the floor to cover them with. As a werewolf his body generated a lot of heat, so he often didn't even notice the cold, but felt a slight kick in the gut as he realized he'd let his mate get cold. It made him slightly angry at himself. As her mate he should be taking care of her better than that!

Raff let Altira get settled against his side before grabbing another blanket and tucking that one around her as well. He adjusted himself slightly until he could comfortably rest with his head nuzzled against his mate's hair, inhaling deeply to let her scent swamp his brain with soothing chemicals.

"My beautiful Altira," He murmured softly, "Are you comfortable? Do you need anything? Food? Drink?"

"I'm fine, Raff. I want for nothing at this moment." She didn't move from her comfy spot, her body flush against his, arms folded against her chest between them. Perhaps the second blanket was a bit much as Raff did produce quite a bit of heat, but she wasn't complaining. For the most part, she wanted nothing but to lie there with him, like a pile of dirty laundry that someone has been meaning to clean for the large part of a long while. Like she didn't have to deal with the pressing issues at the back of her head as long as she could lay there and be content. She wouldn't have to face the question tickling the back of her throat, 'What happens next?'.

What would happen in an hour from now? Would they be having sex again? Not that she would mind, the scare tactics the priests used to scare women into maintaining their virginity had twice been proven wrong. What would happen in a day? What would she learn of this life being laid out before her, or would it just be more sex? What about a week from now? Eventually a search party would go out for her, and if they found Raff and his mother... there mere thought sent bile to the back of her throat. She didn't want to think.

Thinking would eventually lead her to recall the events of last night. Those who had traveled with her were dead because they were brave enough to guard a noblewoman into a strange land. That particular thought hung like a stone around her neck.

Altira nuzzled herself closer to him. She just wanted to lay there and be content. Damn the world around her, let her have this.

Not that his mate could see it, but a content and sleepy smile curved Raff's lips before he gave a soft kiss to the top of her head. What more could a werewolf want out of life? His beautiful mate was curled up against him, both their bodies temporarily sated, and while not perfectly happy, his mate seemed content. Greater happiness would come with time - Altira still had a great deal to adjust to now that she was a werewolf's mate and not a lord's wife, as she'd expected to be.

Raff frowned softly, recalling that the beautiful woman beside him was supposed to be with another man according to her human life plans. She'd seemed relieved to no longer have to go to him, though. And she had professed that she loved Raff, although he felt insecure in that. Humans didn't love quite like werewolves did, and he knew enough that humans could be strange about falling in love. It had all happened so quickly, could his human mate really love him already? Luna he hoped so. He wanted nothing in the world than for Altira to love him.

Not even pups! And he really wanted those.

Putting heavy thoughts from his mind for later, Raff gave a content sigh and closed his eyes. He could have fallen asleep, but instead allowed his mind to simply wander over thoughts of the future. His mate would need a proper den - house - of her own. They could not stay with his mother forever. Altira deserved a home that was hers. Maybe that was one reason his mate had seemed less than enthusiastic earlier when he'd mentioned getting her pregnant - Raff hadn't even provided her a proper den to raise pups in, how could he foolishly expect her to be excited for them?

"You should talk to mother later. I know it has been a bit of a wild day for us, but she can help you begin planning our den. Mother designed this one. Do you like it? I hope you'll love ours even more when it is finished." Raff was speaking quietly, and perhaps rambling just a little in a sleepy voice.

Both his arms were loosely around the beautiful woman sharing his bed, fingers lightly stroking over her flesh. The touches weren't at all sexually charged as before, but loving and affectionate. he just liked touching her. Wolves were social creatures - touch and smell were very important to him. Both strengthened bonds and connections.

She wasn't really listening to him, her finger silently traced over the bandage on her shoulder. She was snuggling against the creature that caused this. But she didn't feel any animosity because of it. She slowly traced over the the parts of the bandage where the various puncture wounds were wrapped underneath. She was amazed at how much it didn't hurt. She could tell by when she examined it while bathing that it was going to be an impressive scar. Eyes glancing up at Raff, she suddenly had an idea.

Unnesting herself from his side, she crawled back over him. Resting on his chest she stared into his eyes, and without saying a word, she reached leaned up an sunk her teeth into his left shoulder. At the thick of the skin where the shoulder started to meet the neck. Altira clamped down hard, hard enough to taste the warm metallic flavor of blood. Her jaw then relaxed while her tongue ran along the bite mark, ebbing the light flow of the crimson liquid.

She may have just crossed a boundary, definitely would have if he had been human, but as Raff was a werewolf, for some reason, it felt right. She licked the bite mark again before leaning back and looking at him. Her purple eyes daring him to find fault with what she had just done. Her own bite mark tingled and the small hairs on the back of her neck stood erect.

Almost asleep, his mate's movements brought forth a soft grumble from Raff as he opened his eyes to watch her curiously. A soft smile curved his lips as Altira settled herself on his chest. Any irritation at her moving and disturbing his comfort vanished as he looked into her purple eyes. His mate had such gorgeous eyes. All of her was gorgeous.

Raff had thought she was just changing positions, so was taken completely by surprise when suddenly his mate was no longer staring into his eyes, but had her teeth sunk into the flesh of his shoulder and neck. He gave a soft yelp, but it quickly turned into a low rumbling growl.

He was completely taken aback. When a werewolf mated to a human it usually took a while for the bond to be completed. Humans usually got squeamish about what it took to bring the bond full circle. It had taken weeks for his father to convince his mother to return his mating bite. Raff had heard stories of wolves that had taken much longer than that - months to get their human mates to bite them.

Altira hadn't even been told to bite him. As far as he knew he'd mentioned nothing about her marking him as he had marked her. It pleased him that his mate had instinctively known what he needed and hadn't hesitated to give it to him.

Raff looked up at her, blue eyes sparkling as the blood stopped flowing. The bite was already healing, but unlike other wounds, it would scar. He gave a low chuckle, hands moving to Altira's hips and stroking her gently. His pleasure with her was more than obvious, Raff was definitely not unhappy with what she'd done. "You'll have to do that again once I've turned you, then you can really sink your teeth in, love."

"What did you just say?" Her voice was quiet, scarcely did she even breath. This morning had been a torrent of conflicting emotions but this revelation- after previously being told that she hadn't been turned -it sunk into her gut like a dagger. Perhaps she was overreacting, surely there was nothing wrong with being a werewolf. After all, Raff and his mother seemed well put together. And, sure, maybe he was a little strange in the fact that he delighted in being bitten, but there were worse outcomes. And, sure, there were people who hunted werewolves, but the largest organized group was the Order of the Moon, and they were leagues away. And, sure, they regularly sent out hunting parties for the sole purpose of killing werewolves and vampires... parties that... her older brothers were typically on...

This revelation twisted the aforementioned dagger.

She would never be able to return home. She would never again get to see her sisters. Or her brothers. Or get to meet the niece or nephew that Amaya was about to bring into the world. It was too much.

She was across the room and pulling the door free before she even knew her feet had hit the floor, how had she gotten out of Raff's gentle and loving grasp? She couldn't answer that. Despite her nakedness, she fleet-footed her way to the only place she knew of with a lock. The bathroom door slammed shut, and a heavy bolt slid into place. Sitting on the ground with the door against her back, Altira hugged her knees to her chest, shaking with a silent sob that hadn't quite crested into the realm of audible noise.

Funny how such quietly spoken words could shattered Raff's contentment. He hadn't thought about what he'd said before he said it. Of course his mate had seemed a bit concerned when she'd asked what it would be like to turn into a werewolf earlier. Who could blame her? Her relief at being told she wasn't turning should have warned him to keep his big mouth shut. It was a huge commitment, changing her very species for a man she had only just met - far too big of a commitment considering the other commitment to him she'd agreed to at least attempt to make.

His chest tightened as he frantically fumbled for something reassuring to say, but Raff didn't get a chance to try to comfort her after his stupid comment. Altira was out of his arms and running naked through the house before he could so much as open his mouth to apologize or explain.

"Altira!" He jumped out of bed and followed her rather helplessly as she found the bathroom and locked herself inside. Raff stood naked outside the door, heart quaking as he felt her churning emotions. Sobs weren't needed to be heard, he could feel her tears. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I didn't think. Please let me in."

Some part of her recognized that she was being foolish. Locking herself in a bathroom solved nothing. Aside from the small windows aligning the top of the wall to let in light, there was no way out. And those windows were to small for even her. Eventually she would have to open the door, whether from hunger or controlled emotions it didn't matter. Eventually, she would go out and face him. Face the fact that this was her life now. There was no turning back.

She could feel, physically feel, the worry that Raff felt for her, and Identify it as such. The anxiety she felt so strongly from him only added to the instability. She felt wrong for causing him such unrest, rather, it made her physically ill. But at the same time, she was so torn. She wanted to be comforted by her brother Micheal, like he used to do whenever she hurt herself in one was or another.

The desire only sunk more needles into her chest. Her brother, who had always been a foundation that she could push back against no matter the circumstances, he was a member of the most prestigious protectors of mankind. He regularly went on werewolf hunts. Micheal would undoubtedly rebuke her, laying with an enemy of mankind, not once but twice. An again it hurt to refer to Raff and his mother an 'enemy of mankind'. It hurt like she'd just cut herself. They'd been nothing but kind to her. And she betrayed them in her thoughts.

Immobilized by her own emotional instability, she ignored his pounding and instead allowed herself to fall on her side. Hugging her knees in a fetal position. Trying very hard to ignore the somewhat dried fluids on her inner thigh that were suddenly making themselves so extremely noticeable.

Their emotions were feeding off each other, intensifying and reflecting off of each other's hearts in a way that was only going to continue escalating the situation. Raff knew this, but still he ached and wanted to destroy the door keeping his mate from him. She was unhappy and he needed to comfort her. It was an instinct so strong and undeniable that he might have acted on it and splintered the wood beneath his hands if not for a soft growl coming from down the hallway.

Raff looked over his shoulder at his mother who was scowling at him quite fiercely. He gestured helplessly at the door, things exchanging between mother and son without the need for words. Talia knew that her son had upset his mate - probably quite avoidably and stupidly.

"You're not helping. Go, clear your head. That will help more than anything you can do here." Her voice was soft, but authoritative. It did not matter how old her son was, that he now had a mate, or that he was currently standing naked in the hall looking rather helpless and miserable, Talia Wayland expected to be obeyed.

Giving one last frustrated look to the bathroom door, Raff dropped to all fours as his body shifted into the wolf. He was out of the house in moments, the werewolf stopped only to give one mournful howl before sprinting full speed into the forest.

Talia moved to the door and knocked very gently. "Altira, child? Would you like to talk about it? You might feel better."

It was a solid minute, approaching two, before any response came from the other side of the door. Quietly, the bolt slid open. Altira sat against the wall, about two feet from the door. Wrapped in the blanket that she'd left in the bathroom. Though she kept here eyes down, she didn't stare at anything in particular.

"It smells like him. And oddly, I find that reassuring." She spoke softly, without inflection, "It also smells like sex, and clean sweat, and others.. werewolves. Similar to Raff yet unique. I take it this blanket has been around for a while." Her face was streaked, her nose partially clogged, "About seven years ago, because I was foolish, I fell off of a horse. Somehow, when I landed, I ended up hitting my head pretty hard, and dulling my sense of smell. Now that I can smell and differentiate scents is.. different and somewhat startling. But not bad."

Only then did she look up at the woman, "Why do I feel wrong for wanting to like Raff? Why do I want to like him if it feels so wrong?" There were tears again in the corners of her eyes.

Talia waited with the infallible patience of a mother, grandmother, and matriarch. It was quite expected for it to take time for her daughter-in-law to decide whether or not to allow her entrance to the bathroom. Even if it was her house, she didn't mind giving control of the room to Altira for the time being, the poor young woman needed it.

When the lock finally unlatched she slowly and cautiously entered the room, closing the door behind her just in case her son was foolish enough to return too quickly. The last thing needed was for Raff to set poor Altira off again.

The older woman joined the younger one on the floor, although she kept enough distance so as not to crowd her. Talia didn't speak at first, only listened. She understood being comforted by her mate's scent. Even years after his death, Reuben's scent had a calming effect on her. It would kill her if his scent finally faded from the blankets, sheets, and clothes she kept that had been most heavily saturated in his distinct musk.

"Yes, it has. You're going to feel and experience a lot of strange things in the next few weeks, Altira. The mate bond effects human mates almost as much as they do werewolf ones. I saw where you took a nice bite out of my son. Completing the bond like that makes it stronger." Talia paused and sighed softly, "I'm afraid I can't really tell you exactly why you feel wrong for it, but I can tell you why you want to like and love him - the mating bond. He is your mate. You are destined for each other. Nothing can keep you apart, your souls yearn for each other. If they didn't you wouldn't be mates."

Her hand went to the bandaging on her shoulder, only to realize that she hadn't put it on after the bath. The bite itself was already scabbing nicely. "I don't even really know why I did that. I just figured, maybe if I was going to make this work, It should be on even footing..." What followed was silence as Altira contemplated just how much she should tell this woman.

"After I bit him, he told me that I should take another bite after being changed..." More silence. "My two oldest brothers, one of which I am very close with, were previously members of the Order of the Moon. The Order seeks protect humans from that which might try to hurt them. Fae Cults, Vampires, Demons, Primal Witches... werewolves."

Altira's face began to crumple, "I'm not going to get to see my family again. Never get to my sisters' kids. Never get to hug my mom..." Her voice seemed to get smaller as she went on before she finally broke back into quiet sobbing, her face buried in the blanket.

Talia wasn't sure what to really say to the idea of Altira wanting to be 'on even footing' with Raff to make their mating work. It was good for mates to be balanced partners to an extent, but she had never known a human to bite their mate so quickly. She had waited months to return Reuben's bite and fully accept the mate bond.

Her lips pursed into a frown when she was told Raff had mentioned turning her. That was a very sensitive subject, far too delicate to bring up teasingly so soon. Well, Talia knew men were idiots and her son wasn't an exception.

It was the next bit that had her stiffening, though. Altira's brothers were wolf killers? That made things much more difficult for everyone. Nothing changed in regards to the fact that Luna didn't make mistakes and Altira was her son's mate, but it did complicate how to integrate her new daughter-in-law into the family.

"Oh sweet child." Talia murmured softly as she moved to gently put her arms around the poor sobbing woman. She felt very sorry for her in that moment, but not pity, empathy. Her family hadn't had any wolf killers, but she had lost her family by mating to Reuben as they refused to accept him. The choice had been both easy and incredibly difficult - Reuben won that battle every time.

"I know it isn't the same, and you will always want your family, but Raff will share our family with you. We already love you. I have three daughters, and they all have mates. Did Raff tell you? You've got little nieces and nephews to meet now with your new family. And...don't say never. I'm sure if your family was just made to understand how much you mean to Raff..."

Altira only cried harder as Talia wrapped her arms around her. The young nobless actually held the woman closer. Crying into her as opposed to the blanket. And there they stayed while Altira just released all the built up emotional pressure. It took a few minutes, but slowly, she calmed down. It was a few minutes more before the young lady pulled away, wiping her eyes with her palms. "No, he hadn't told me. He's spent the morning catering to me and my inconsistency."

"I feel like a wreck. Just following whatever emotion is strongest at the time." She sniffled slightly, rubbing at her nose, "My head tells me that this is all wrong, that I shouldn't be here. I don't even know where exactly here is... But at the same time my gut tells me that it doesn't matter. That I'm safe, that I can trust my surroundings." Her voice carried an wavering inflection, like she might cry again. "And I'm scared. I've always known what was going to happen. And now everything seems so uncertain. I just.." she made like she were trying to grab the right words out of the air but to no avail, "I can't even really put into words why I'm crying.. And that just makes it worse."

There really was nothing to be done but for Talia to hold her upset daughter-in-law and allow the poor thing to cry it out. It wasn't shameful, or all that uncommon. She could remember her first few weeks mated to Reuben. Talia had been a wreck and bawled her eyes out inconsolably on more than one occasion as everything overwhelmed her. It was an understandable reaction to having one's entire life turned upside down and changed irrevocably.

"He's going to spend the rest of his life attempting to cater to you, child. It's in his nature, and feeling like a wreck is natural. You've been doing better than I did back when I was going through all this." Talia offered soothingly, "I know it is hard right now, but you're a strong one, I can tell. Raff will help you through all of this, but you don't have to be afraid or uncertain about your future, Altira. What do you want to happen going forward? Whatever you want, whatever you decide, I will support you, and your mate will do anything to make you happy."

Talia wasn't worried that this beautiful young woman would leave her son. If the noises she'd heard coming from Raff's bedroom and the bite she'd seen on his neck were any indication things were going fairly smoothly insofar as their bond forming and strengthening.

Altira calmed further as she listened to Talia. She'd been through this too and, by all appearances, she turned out pretty well. "Thank you.."

She had to admit to herself, the worst part about her feelings at the moment was how she didn't feel like herself. She was a strong woman who was taught to be strong by the greatest men in Moonspear. She didn't cry so easily. Maybe she hadn't planned on being mated to a werewolf, how anyone could plan for that was something to wonder.. But she was still Altira Zamt'ris! And she would face whatever life could throw at her.

All things considered. There were worse fates. She was alive, she was fed, and she was safe. Everything she knew about was very likely wrong. After all, Raff and his mother weren't savages.

The young lady took a deep breath and stood up. Pulling the blanket over herself, "I think I'd like to get dressed now. I can't stay locked it the bathroom forever." She offered the motherly werewolf a shaky smile. Her eyes were still puffy, but she wasn't going to cry anymore.

Talia smiled and patted Altira's arm in a very motherly fashion when the young woman thanked her. Thanks weren't necessary at all, but she accepted it gracefully regardless. She rose to her feet as her daughter did, nodding her head slightly. It was a relief to see Altira getting a hold of herself. Not that there was any shame in crying, breaking down, or having a moment of weakness, but she much preferred her family to be happy, confident, and strong.

"Yes, you should get dressed. You'll feel better facing things with some clothes on, especially as the company arrives. I think you were too distracted to notice, but there was some howling going on. My daughter Nerissa is on her way with her pups. Her mate, Cortland, is out running with Raff. They're all going to want to meet you and welcome you to the family. Do you know much about werewolf hierarchy?" Talia didn't want to overwhelm her new daughter with information, but she wasn't expecting to introduce her to Cortland quite yet, either.

~~~~~~~~~~~


Raff was breathing heavily when he padded to a stop in the place where he had claimed Altira the night before. Cortland was already there, slowly circling the area, pausing to sniff interesting scents – he'd lingered a long time over Altira's shredded clothing, the entire area was saturated in the human woman's scent, but even more overpowering was Raff's scent and the distinct smell of sex and arousal, though they were beginning to fade. There were also hints of blood.

With Raff now present Cortland began following the trail that Altira had left in her flight. They paused to examine the remains of the bandits that Raff had killed, but quickly moved on once more as those were hardly interesting. Human scum that threatened the mate of any member of their family were deserving of worse fates than death.

It was the initial crime scene that the wolves examined now. Last night Raff had been too consumed with claiming his mate and seeing to her safety and comfort to worry about figuring out everything that had happened. Cortland had a more level head and the distance of not having his own mate threatened to look at the incident more objectively. So far no humans had disturbed the area and bodies were strewn across the road, both bandits and soldiers that had obviously been guardians for Raff's mate.

They had a lot of work to do, with Cortland directing the clean-up. First the wolves found a suitable place to build pyres, constructing a structure for each of the fallen men that had been part of Altira's party. In their hybrid forms they lifted and moved each corpse with great care and respect. While not knowing any of these men personally, each had died trying to protect Raff's mate and both wolves treated the fallen soldiers with reverence. Each man's belongings were found, sorted, and placed upon his pyre before they were finally lit.

Both wolves howled mournfully as the fires burned.

The few corpses of the bandits were handled with far less consideration. Dragged off the road and partially covered with dead branches to hide them from general passersby, no other amendment was made for them. As far as the wolves were concerned scavengers could feast on their remains for all they cared.

Altira's belongings were found and set aside, Raff would take them to his mate. Surely she would be pleased with having her things returned to her. The scents of two women marked the remaining items, but there had been no female corpses to burn – which worried both wolves greatly. If the bodies were not here then the women had been taken. Considering the sordid nature of the bandits, they would be in great danger.

The women's belongings were secured to Raff's back and Cortland led the charge through the forest as they followed the trail of those bandits that had survived their assault. Two very angry wolves circled the bandit encampment, locating the bound, bruised, and weeping women before coordinating their attack. No mercy was shown when they struck, and against two wolves the wicked, cowardly men stood no chance.

Altira's maids were quite in a daze by the time the men were dead. Probably in shock from the sheer amount of trauma they had been through in the last several hours. In their hybrid forms Raff and Cortland helped the stunned women dress with clothes from their belongings. The two young women eventually began sobbing again and clinging to their rescuers, regardless of their beastly appearance. Both women were lifted and gently carried away – away from the den, and away from Altira, back towards human civilization where they belonged.

With their limited possessions in hand, the poor girls were brought to the far edges of the nearest town and gently left on the road, with encouraging nudges towards the town center. With final wide-eyed looks at the werewolves, they turned and ran, slightly stumbling, together to freedom and safety.

More family was already coming? Once again she became aware at the stickiness between her legs. She have a short glance to the tub across the room. Unlikely that there would be time for that. Oh well. Altira turned back towards the matriarch. "Werewolf hierarchy?" She asked, stressing the first word, "Nothing. Never even heard the two words used together like that. But I know that wolf packs tend to follow one male leader. My education was more focused on reading, writing, riding, sewing, and the like. Though my brothers taught me to use a sword and shoot a crossbow."

Of course, now that she thought about it, it made sense. Just like humans had a hierarchy to help keep order, so much any species. This sounded like information she should have, but was the bathroom really the best place to have this conversation?

"There are...similarities." Talia said quite seriously, as there were some parallels between regular wolf hierarchy and werewolf hierarchy. She'd seen Altira's glance at the tub and was glad the young woman hadn't actually attempted to head for it. There wasn't time for that and it would be best if she left the mess where it was for now.

"Either way, run and dress child, before they get here. Nerissa won't care if you're naked, but I'm certain you would. When you're done come to the great room and I'll give you a rushed lesson on werewolf structure and etiquette - you're going to need it when Cortland gets here." Talia looked at the tub, then back to Altira. "And don't clean up."

Altira squirmed just a bit as she was told what she couldn't do. She wasn't overly fond of the way the dried fluid pulled at her skin, but she was sure Talia knew best and was looking out for her. She nodded politely, Bowing shortly out of habit before leaving the bathroom. It didn't take long her to get dressed. Oversized clothes didn't fight while they were being put on. She did however rummage through Raff's dresser to try and find a cloth belt. Fruitlessly.

Altira came out of the bedroom looking much more like herself, her eyes looked considerably less puffy, and she looked far more comfortable now that she was covered in something other than just a blanket. In the great room, she sat across from Talia. Folding her legs under her in the rather comfortable chair. "So, what do I need to know?"

Talia had given Altira one last sympathetic smile before the young woman disappeared. She knew it wouldn't be the most comfortable for her new daughter to go about with that dried on her skin, but for now it was just best to have that extra scent of Raff on her.

When Altira returned she was sitting comfortably in a chair by the fireplace, a low fire burning in the hearth. She waited until her daughter was seated comfortably and asked before beginning. "Werewolves often live in family groups, or packs, just like normal wolves. My children and their families all live within a certain range, covering the territory of our pack. You were correct that there is a male at the top of the hierarchy, and in this family that is Cortland, the mate of my daughter Nerissa.

"The alpha male is the leader and patriarch of a pack, and as such he is the primary protector and guardian of the entire family - each male is the protector of his own mate and pups, as Raff is now yours, but Cortland also holds a responsibility to protect each member of this family, and that now includes you. As the key provider, protector, and leader of this family it is expected that he is shown a certain level of respect. Now, a wolf shows respect and submission in various ways, At family meals Cortland must begin eating first, at family gatherings if Cortland speaks everyone else must fall silent and listen - his decisions are final. Do not argue with him when he gives an order, but more often you will find him making suggestions. He is a wise and noble wolf, so you should always take his words into consideration." Talia paused and chewed on her bottom lip, trying to consider what else would be important in the immediate future.

"When Cortland and Raff arrive, and I know this may feel difficult, you should greet Cortland first. A simple bow and introducing yourself are fine. You will be expected to submit to him as your alpha as you are joining this family. Acceptable shows of submission are exposing your neck or bowing your head. If you were in wolf form you could also roll onto your back and expose your belly, but that won't be pertinent for quite some time, I'm sure. Now this part might be difficult for you, but every wolf that enters this house, with you being so new, is going to want to sniff you. Smell is important to us and they only wish to learn your scent. And try not to get too nervous - no one expects you to be perfect, and if you make a mistake just gloss over it. Cortland is a reasonable wolf and will not get angry at you, especially if you are trying to learn.

"Once you've greeted Cortland and he's returned your greeting you should immediately go to your mate. Raff is anxious being away from you and will feel calmer once he has been able to touch and scent you again. Do not be surprised to see Nerissa also immediately going to Cortland and having the same treatment. Also do not be alarmed if Raff begins growling anytime Cortland looks at you too long. It is silly and ridiculous, but he will be jealous and leery of him even knowing that Cortland is mated and has no sexual interest in you. Which is why I asked you not to clean up. I know it isn't the most pleasant feeling, but for now it keeps Raff's scent very heavily on you. This will keep Raff's wolf calmer, knowing that, and pardon this explanation, his territory is marked. It also emphasizes your rank within this pack. As your mate, Raff now shares his rank with you, which is a beta - just below the alpha." Talia sighed and leaned back, feeling that she'd given a great deal of information for Altira to try to digest on such short notice. She'd just thought she would have more time before Cortland came to greet the newest member of the family.

Altira leaned forward slightly while listening intently, this was something she could do! She'd been raised by nobility, so social protocols were in her blood. She'd learn them, commit them to memory, then from there, into instinct. "So, Cortland is the Alpha, highest male, protector, eats first. Greet him first- bow and introduction -then go to Raff. Brace for sniffing." With each statement, she her thumb to another finger on her opposing hand, "Does Cortland have any Honorifics that need to be used? Specific wording for introductions? Which would be better; a slight bow of the head, or slight bow from the waist up?" The more info she had on protocols the more comfortable she felt.

Then she remembered something. "My brother once told me that you should never look a wolf in the eyes, does that apply here?" It seemed like there was no part of Altira that was the girl that had been crying in the bathroom not even a half hour ago. She seemed more focused, determined, and best of all, stable.

Talia smiled at Altira, pleased with how well she was taking the information given, and nodding her head in approval with each "tick" she made on her fingers to highlight key details. It also felt good to see how much calmer her new daughter was. A distressed member of the family could easily set the entire family on edge, wolves were quite empathetic like that.

"In a formal setting you would address Cortland as Alpha or Alpha Wayland, but that won't be necessary here. If you were a wolf it would be different, and there will be a formal induction once you've been turned...if you choose to turn. Neither Raff nor Cortland would demand that, I hope you understand that. Even if you stay human for the rest of your life we will accept and love you just the same." It was true, and Altira probably didn't really fully realize that it wasn't just Raff or her that would love and protect her, but the entire family.

"As it is, you will be submitting to the Alpha and he will accept your submission and then you will be officially considered a member of this pack - again sharing your mate's rank. As for the eye thing, your brother is not wrong. Eye contact is fine, but to maintain it for more than a few seconds is rude, and can be considered challenging or threatening. How much eye contact is acceptable has a lot to do with rank, but those intricacies we don't have much time for. This mostly applies to Cortland, if you meet his eyes you should always lower yours respectfully within a couple seconds unless he's demanding your gaze, and you will know if he is. Raff, on the other hand, you may stare at as long as you please." Talia winked at Altira playfully.

"Ah, and my daughter Nerissa, as Cortland's mate, is technically the Alpha Female, Madam Alpha, or Alpha Bitch...whichever term you want to consider, all are correct. You should show her great respect as Cortland's mate, but it is not quite as rigid. As with Cortland you should lower your eyes respectfully when your eyes meet and listen when she speaks, but I am sure that you will quickly realize that there is no reason to be ill at ease around either of them. They both care for the pack very deeply and they equally share responsibility for everyone's safety, comfort, and happiness. Which is probably why they were so eager to come so quickly to meet you." Raff was the family baby, being her youngest, and that meant Altira was the last mate to be enfolded into the pack, all new family members for some time would be pups.

Altira listened intently, likening all these rule to another court. Every court had its own rules and intricacies, this realization helped her to smother her doubts that she had been facing just a little while ago. Courts and their rules were something very familiar to her, "Okay, so I'm pretty sure I've got this. Cortland and Nerissa are mated, they are the Alphas. Eye contact is okay, but shouldn't be maintained. Should I submit to Nerissa too, or just Cortland? Also, how will Cortland 'accept' my submission? I feel like that could be useful information."

To be honest, she probably didn't grasp the full depth of submitting, but everyone bows to a King.

"Submitting to Nerissa isn't necessary, unless you've done something to warrant discipline, but I don't see that as a problem, child." No, Talia really doubted it would come to that, Altira seemed to have a good head on her shoulders and was learning very quickly. She didn't have a chance to finish the rest, as the door flew open and a young girl of six raced to jump into Talia's lap with a squeal.

Nerissa followed carrying a young toddler. Nerissa had Raff's coloring, dark red hair and piercing blue eyes, of a height with Altira and looking only a little older than her. "If you were a wolf it would be different when Cortland accepts your submission, but I imagine you're going to receive a hug and be welcomed quite warmly. Don't let all these social formalities or his size fool you, Cortland is quite the teddy bear."

As the door burst open, Altira straightened in her chair and pulled her legs out from under her. it was not proper for a lady to be lounging as she was. Old habits were coming to the surface. The young nobless glanced to Talia and back to Nerissa. Should she stand and greet Nerissa? She didn't know. Talia was focused on the young girl now in her lap.

She drew on instinct and stood, looking the new woman in the eye for just a second before politely dipping her head in a small bow, "Hello, I am Altira. Raff's mate. It is a pleasure to meet you." She'd been taught that it was better to be over-formal than rude.

Nerissa smiled at her new sister warmly, a slight amusement twinkling in her bright blue eyes. Without preamble she stepped forward and placed a hand on Altira's shoulder and a kiss on her cheek. "Yes, I know, just as you know I am Nerissa, Raff's sister and Cortland's mate. It is so nice to meet you. Our family feels that much more complete now with my baby brother finding his beloved."

She stepped back to give her new sister just a little space as Talia came up with the girl in her arms. Nerissa nodded to the two children. "These are my daughter, Ashley, and my son, Joseph. Children, say hello to your Aunt Altira."

"Hello!" Ashley said brightly, while her younger brother, much more shy, smiled and waved bashfully before turning his face to hide against his mother. Both children possessed very dark hair and brown eyes.

A light blush touched Altira's cheeks as Nerissa brushed her lips to the younger girl's cheek. Seemed public displays of affection were increasingly common here, she idly wondered if she would ever stop blushing at little things like that. It was common enough in the Connloathian Courts! Then again, she'd never been to Connloath. "The pleasure is mine." She replied with a warm smile.

Nodding to each of the children in turn, her warm smile filling with adoration, "And it's good to meet the two of you as well." She turned back to face Nerissa, "You have two beautiful children."

Little Ashley's face lit up at the compliment, Joseph squirmed to try to hide against his mother even more, and both Nerissa and Talia smiled. "Thank you, sister. They are my little treasures. Now come, sit. There is no need to stand on ceremony or stand at all for that matter."

Nerissa took a seat on the couch and patted the place beside her invitingly while Talia moved to the chair across from the sofa. "I am so eager to get to know you. My brother is young and rash, but in the last few years he has been so excited to find you, he worried how long it might take for Luna to guide his mate to him. It does not come so quickly to everyone."

Altira sat next to Nerissa, angling herself in order to better chat openly with the two other women. "Well, I can give you some basics about myself now, and fill in the details as time goes on if you want. Raff and I have had an.." the young noble cleared her throat, "..eventful morning, so we haven't shared too many details about ourselves yet."

"I'm the youngest daughter of the Zamt'ris family, I have four brothers and four sisters. I am nineteen, my Nameday is during Midwinter. And ironically, Luna lead me to Raff while I was on my way to meet a man that my father had arranged for me to wed." Altira has purposefully used the name of Luna, she wasn't overly religious herself, but she could tell that the Moon Goddess meant quite a bit to the few werewolves she now knew by name.

Talia and Nerissa both gave a faint chuckle at Altira's description of her morning with Raff. Of course they both knew what that meant, it was difficult for newly mated wolves to contain themselves. Not to mention Nerissa could smell her younger brother, and sex, all over the young woman seated beside her. She made no comment for the sake of a human's modesty.

Not to mention the quick little rush of information her new sister was giving them even as little Joseph had begun to peek curiously at Altira from around his mother. Mother and daughter shared a look when they learned that she'd been on her way to an arranged marriage. Nerissa shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to make of that news. It certainly wouldn't have been pleasant for her brother to hear, but if it was not already known to him he should probably be told. "Does Raff know about this?"

Altira's own perception of the morning was much different than the one that sent both the werewolves to chuckling. Sure, she'd had sex- very good sex, she admitted to herself, but the emotional instability and the ups and downs, and the internal conflict is what more held her focus. She didn't particularly find it all that funny. Oh well, maybe it was a werewolf thing that she'd yet to pick up on.

But Altira had said something wrong, she could see it see it in their faces. Was it the fact that she'd been betrothed before Raff came into her life? Altira almost found it humorous in an ironic way, like both god and man had agreed that she would meet her intended, but they disagreed on who he was. Her brow furrowed slightly, "Well, yes. He growled a bit, but was quickly over it, it seemed to me.."

"I've never known my brother to show such restraint. You must have done or said something to calm him." Nerissa said pensively with a frown, knowing that such news would have been upsetting and infuriating for any jealous new mate.

"I think Raff had more pressing issues on his mind and that you underestimate your brother. He has been very eager to please Altira, taking good care of her. Losing his head over a man that means nothing wouldn't be taking very good care of her, now would it?" Talia was surprised that Raff hadn't gone off too, but she'd rather not leave her new daughter thinking that her mate was a man with an uncontrollable temper - he wasn't, but from a human looking at a werewolf it might have seemed that way. "Besides, everyone knows men are hot-headed and unreasonable, it is a mate's gift to be able to soothe him."

"It is a good skill to be naturally adept in, but a great one to learn if not." Nerissa agreed. She'd never had issues keeping Cortland's wolf in check, but as a wolf herself she knew the way wolves think. Altira didn't, but she was sure to learn with a mate like Raff. "So this former betrothed of yours...you have no desire to wed him?"

Nerissa was obviously anxious over this news. Talia had already spoken to Altira of the significance of the mate bond and what her leaving Raff would mean for him, but Nerissa was worried for her brother. It was never pretty when a wolf was rejected by his mate.

"None whatsoever." Altira proclaimed adamantly, "The idea of being wed to a stranger against my will was, quite unsettling. It went against every idea I had for my own future. And sure, they were perhaps the fantasies of a girl who read far too much fiction, but it was still my life! I begged my father for weeks to call of the betrothal, but he would have none of it.."

It the short pause of her sudden tirade she realized, once again, just how similar her current situation was. At least on a basic level. The bite mark on her shoulder was a physical representation of being bound to someone she'd only just met. Except unlike any wedding ring, she couldn't take this one off. Her hand went up to the well forming scar. Slipping easily under the shirt to feel the scabbing.

"But with Raff... it's different. I feel at ease around him." A small smile pulled at the corner of her lips. Barely noticeable to herself, let alone any observer. Unlike any wedding ring she had imagined in the last month and a half, this didn't feel like a burden.

There was a momentarily relief that crossed the faces of both women, but Nerissa quickly changed her expression to wary as Altira explained how opposed she had been to being wed to a stranger. After all, this wasn't an dissimilar situation. Instead of gaining an unwelcome husband the newest member of the family had been claimed by an unknown mate.

Joseph leaned around his mother to peek wide-eyed and curious at Altira, and his little nose twitched occasionally. The young boy was obviously fascinated by the woman that smelled unfamiliar and yet familiar at the same time. He inched closer to the new aunt his mother had claimed, brown eyes still watching her every move shyly.

Nerissa relaxed again when Altira said that she felt at ease around Raff. "So you are alright with what has happened? I know it was sudden and unexpected for you, but Raff's been dreaming of meeting you for years and I know my brother will be a good mate. "

Altira opened her mouth to answer, then closed it. Was she alright? She probably shouldn't try to think too intently on the question at that moment, least she broke down once again. Time, That's what she needed. To process things slowly. Take them as they came. After all, it wasn't like she could change the past, and tomorrow would have to see itself. What was important is that right now she was safe.

She took a deep breath and started to speak again, "Much as happened in a very short amount of time. I am still adjusting, but..." She gave a small smile, it was both unsure and confidant, "I will be Okay. Raff has already shown me more care than I could expect from just about any Lord, and according to the both of you, that's just the beginning."

Talia fixed Nerissa with a frown, but forced it away when Altira answered the question as best she could. Being human once herself she knew that wolves could be pushy and, not unsympathetic, but not really understanding of how difficult the mating could be to really process and adjust to. Her daughter hadn't gone through any of this emotional turmoil at her mating to Cortland, she'd known everything to expect and had embraced her mate readily. It wasn't quite as easy for humans.

"Nerissa, stop badgering your poor sister. This is not an interrogation. Now your men will be returning in a few hours and they'll be hungry. I'm making mincemeat pies for supper. Who's going to be the chef's assistant?" Talia's eyes sparkled slightly as she pointedly did not look at Ashley, who's hand had immediately shot up and who was practically bouncing and wiggling with anticipation.

"Me Nana, me! I wanna help!" The poor girl was ready to burst with excitement.

"No volunteers?" She said theatrically with a grin.

"NANA!" Ashley humphed and giggled, jumping up to take her grandmother's hand and tug her expectantly towards the kitchen. "Nana come on."

Nerissa and Talia laughed as the older woman finally stood and went with the bouncing girl into the kitchen to begin cooking an offering for the ravenous wolves that would descend upon the house in due order.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot. It's just that Raff is the baby of the family and I can't help but feel protective of him. I'm sure everything will be fine." Nerissa said sincerely.

Watching Talia and Ashley brought a smile to her face. She would be alright here, truly. "You're fine Nerissa. If the situation was reversed, I am sure my brothers and at least two of my sisters would put Raff on the spot. I'm the baby of my family, too." With that, she stood and walked over to the kitchen area. Wanting to watch as she was almost certain that if she tried to help, she would be getting in the way.

Sure, she could track and hunt, skin and gut any game animal out there. Except for maybe wild boar- they were extremely dangerous and impossible to hunt alone. But cooking had never been her strength. Ever. But she could burn a piece of meat enough that the non-charred insides were very edible. That's not to say it was good. It would still taste burnt.

It would become readily apparent that Talia had done prep work on the pies sometime earlier in the day. A large mixing bowl held the filling of minced beef, apples, raisins, and spices. Little Ashley was happily sprinkling flour onto the ball of dough that her grandmother was dutifully rolling flat for the crust.

Nerissa followed Altira into the kitchen, smiling at her mother and daughter before taking a seat at the table to watch them work together, knowing more help wasn't needed, or wanted. Her daughter loved getting to help Talia all by herself like a 'big girl'.

Joseph had also followed them into the kitchen, he looked at his mother, almost indecisive about doing to her, but instead he grabbed a fistful of Altira's pants leg in his little hand and clung to her as he began sucking on the fingers of his other hand. Even as a toddler he smelled the familiarity of his uncle on the woman and was instinctively drawn to his new aunt.

Without looking up from her work Talia addressed Nerissa. "So I am thinking that a family hunt needs to be done soon. It's always so nice having the whole family together, and we have a wonderful reason to celebrate. Everyone can meet Altira so she can be fully welcomed into the family, and roasting the kills over a bonfire will make quite a nice supper. Imagine all the children playing while us grown-ups catch up."

"That sounds like a splendid idea, mother." Nerissa turned to Altira with a smile, "Would that be alright or is it too much? Everyone really does want to meet you, and honestly we just love any excuse to gather the whole family together. Years ago, before I was born it was common that whole packs lived together in a single, large den. I almost wish that we all did now."

Altira quickly found herself entranced by watching Talia's hands, watching how she cooked. It was something she occasionally had done back home. Already she noticed a difference she couldn't quite place. Certainly both the cooks at her manor and Talia were quite efficient, but there was just something so fundamentally different about the way they cooked. Talia's hands were precise and tender, she made the chefs of her family home look utilitarian in practice.

She felt the light weight settle onto her pants leg, and only just managed to snag the waist of Raff's pants before it fell off her waist, where it had been hanging precariously loose. Without really taking her eyes off Talia, she squat down and scooped up the little boy, cradling the tyke against her hips like she'd seen Ciel and Amaya do with Ciel's sons whenever they came to visit. She gave him a curious glance, unsure if Joseph would start to fuss as little kids often did whenever new people tried to hold them. A slight twinge pulled at her chest as she realized she'd never gotten to hold Ciel's sons without them fussing.

It was only when Nerissa spoke that she pulled her eyes away from the small boy in her arms, "I don't see why that would be a problem. The more the merrier, right?" In truth, Altira didn't know exactly what she'd agreed to, she hadn't been listening, she'd been focusing on Joseph and the memories and realizations of her past that kept poking at her.

Joseph immediately settled when Altira lifted him to rest on her hip. The young boy clung to her shoulder with his free arm and continued to suck on the fingers of his other hand contently as he looked up at his aunt with childish curiosity.

Nerissa looked at this display and smiled warmly, very happy to see her son feeling so safe and secure with their newest family member. Of course she had expected it would be so. It was still nice to see.

"Oh how wonderful. We'll set it up for a week or so from now. Everyone will be so happy, and they'll all adore you. You're such a good mate for Raff. I can already tell." It wasn't as if Luna would curse her poor brother with a bad mate! "Just remember to be firm with him and keep him in line. If he gives you too much trouble come to me and mother and we'll help you straighten him right out. Us women have to stick together, after all. The males are such dumb brutes sometimes."

Okay, she needed to stop spacing out. What was 'it' exactly? Well, she had a week or so to find out. Altira shifts her hold on Joseph ever so slightly, making very sure that her borrowed pants won't fall by accident. "I think I may be able to handle that, I grew up with four older brothers after all, but I'll absolutely seek you both out if I need help." And despite showing much confidence, she knew she'd be coming to them a lot.

She was once again reminded of how she never could have predicted this particular path her life had taken. A year ago, she'd met and been a potential bride for the high lord! And now.. now she was at the precipice of an adventure far greater than the heroic romances she used to read with her sisters. The realization brought a smile to her lips. It was a genuine smile too, not one that she was putting on to ease Raff or Talia.

She had escaped her fate of being married- sold off to a lord for political gain, being forced to bare him heirs without a certainty that she would even be cherished. She could finally have the adventure she had always dreamed of. Probably. Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself, but this new line of reasoning was so liberating, to finally have broken free of the fate befallen a nobless.

"Not a whit.. we defy augury.." Altira spoke the remembered line of verse to herself, her grin broadening as she realized just how much this meant to her.

Speaking of impending fates, her eyes darted up to make contact with Nerissa's "Is it alright that I'm holding your son? If I'm holding him still when I first meet Cortland?" Altira remembered halfway through speaking that Nerissa was an alpha, and that she shouldn't maintain eye contact. Her eyes lowered, focusing instead on the taller woman's mouth. That'd be a tough habit to break. "I don't want to step on any toes... or should I say tails?" she quirked the corner of her mouth up, hoping to smother her small blunder with a bit of levity.

"Be sure that you do, my brother's a good wolf, but he's thick and stubborn as the rest of the males." Nerissa said with a soft snort. It seemed to be an ingrained trait of male wolves to be stupidly possessive, aggressive, and stubborn. On the plus side, she didn't think her new sister was going to have too much trouble keeping Raff in line.

Both of the women looked at her curiously as she began speaking, to them, cryptically. They knew of no verses or quotes like that. Wolves didn't generally have as much exposure to human things quite like that. Even Talia, who was born human, had been a poor one.

The next questions were much easier. Talia smiled softly at Altira and shook her head. "You are his aunt, you are always welcome to hold him. Or any of the children. Don't be surprised if they seek you out, not just to meet you out of curiosity, but for any and all reasons. You smell like their uncle, who they know is an adult they can count on to always care for and protect them. You're as much family to them now as he is."

"But you should give him to me for now, Courtland won't mind that you've been holding him, but for the proper first greeting you shouldn't have a baby on your hip." Nerissa chuckled, rising from her chair and moving to her side, holding her hands out for her son. "The men are coming. We should go greet them now."

Raff was large in his hybrid form, but Courtland was massive next to him, and covered in jet black fur as they came sauntering from the woods to stand before the house.

Altira handed her nephew back to his mom, then quietly followed the two women outside. Squinting slightly as she stepped into the early evening light for the first time that day. She was admittedly a bit nervous meeting Cortland, he was the Alpha Male after all, what if did something wrong, and was cast out. Altira thought she had remembered reading that somewhere- wolf packs will cast out detrimental members to preserve the survival of the whole. The irony that she was now worried about being sent away when just that morning she was been worried about being forced to stay wasn't lost on her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get her head on straight. With a slow exhale, her eyes opened- and there they were.

Altira involuntarily looked to Raff first, it was only then that she realized just how much taller than her he was. In that form, Raff dwarfed the nobless. She had probably looked like a child in his arm as he brought her home the night before. But looking over to Cortland, she couldn't help but gawk. Cortland was taller than two of her! Altira felt very small- glancing between the two males, but what she didn't feel was fear, and the nervousness from just a moment prior had melted away.

Remembering what Talia had told her, Altira bent at the waist, bowing deeply towards Cortland, she introduced herself. "I am Altira." and after the briefest of pauses- added, "Raff's mate."

Raff's attention was wholly focused on Altira the moment his mate appeared from the den. He felt his heart pick up a beat or two as she looked to him and he gave her a wolfish grin that he hoped was encouraging. There wasn't a single worry or doubt in him that his mate would not be accepted completely by his pack, the family would adore her as much as he did. His mother already seemed to very much like her.

And why not? She was wonderful.

Every pair of eyes were drawn between Altira and Cortland as the alpha looked down at the tiny woman in front of him. His brown eyes roamed over the new female appraisingly as she bowed respectfully to him and he let out a rumbling chuckle at her introduction. Beside him he head Raff grow softly and he rumbled louder as he cast his eyes to his beta that immediately stopped growling.

The much larger black wolf rolled his eyes with a smirk – newly mated pups and their possessive protectiveness. Cortland leaned down, drawing in a deep breath as he took in Altira's scent. He could smell his son faintly on her, which pleased him, but far more prominent was the scent of Raff, his new pack member was thoroughly saturated in the other male's scent and he let out a soft chuckle. It was a good omen that the human woman even allowed her wolf mate to mark her so.

Ignoring the fact that Raff was growling again, the huge black hybrid placed a hand gently on Altira's head. "I am Cortland, and it is good to finally meet you. As the alpha of this pack I welcome you to our family, Altira, now please go hug your mate before I have to scruff him."

Raff stopped growling, managing to look sheepish as Cortland's hand fell away from Altira and the black beast stepped towards his own mate, Nerissa moved quickly into her mate's arms as he lifted her up and buried his nose against her neck, inhaling deeply and somehow looking more relaxed almost immediately.

Gods above, Cortland's hand on her head completely covered the back of her head. She had no doubt that if the massive alpha had desired, he could have crushed her head in a single hand, no more difficult than crushing an egg. Altira idly wondered how any humans had ever managed to kill a werewolf. Looking at Cortland, it just didn't seem possible.

Doing as instructed, she moved into her mate, sliding her arms around him and burying her face in his chest and breathing deep. It was interesting. Cortland made Altira feel unassailable, like no harm could befall her or anyone else when Cortland was around, but Raff made her feel truly safe a knot of tension between her shoulders relaxing as she breathed him in, as his arms wound around her. She wondered if that's how other members of this pack felt about Cortland compared to their own mate.

Her own mate. She took another deep breath of him and tightened her arms around him. And yet again, she wondered why any part of her had wanted to rebel against this. Fuck it, fate had seen fit to deliver her from the dreadful fate of being the bride to some nameless fucking lord, she was practically living in a fairy tale. This was already much better than what her father had intended. Time to commit to it.

"I'm sorry I freaked out earlier Raff. This is just a lot to take in over the course of a day. But I think I've worked through the bulk of it. I'm not going to cry anymore." She made this proclamation quietly, practically talking into his chest, she was hoping that he'd be the only one to hear it, but she couldn't be sure, she wasn't yet used to a werewolf's sense of hearing.