Everything, it seems,” he answered her eventually, sighing deeply and crossing his arms on his beefy chest. “Gareth cannot be your Guardian any longer.” Well she knew that much, and even agreed with it. “And you will have to meet with the Alpha and put yourself forward for mating. It’s time. You know that now.”
She would not argue, no matter how much she wanted to. David always knew what was best for her, even when she did not. He’d always done right by her. Never steered her wrong. So be it, she thought, her heart shattering. I will reconcile myself to being the bargaining chip I’ve always known myself to be. “Yes, Den Father.”
“ Soon,” he replied, taking her hand in his own, much larger one. “I will no longer be your Den Father, and you will be a Den Mother in your own right.” He gave her a quick, uncharacteristic hug, squeezing the life from her for one wonderful moment. “Forget about him, Little Wolf. He may not gain even the ear of the Alpha, much less anything else.”
Huh? “Who, Den Father?” Something was not right here. She was still missing something.
His eyes snapped to hers, as if she was being deliberately obtuse. “Gareth, of course,” he told her, face set.
“I wouldn’t want him to gain the ear of a gnat, much less the Alpha!”
The deep rumble of his laugh poured through the room. “Always the wild-cat, even for a wolf,” he teased.
Beth sat in confusion as the bedroom door eased closed behind David. What was going on here? Why would he think she’d want Gareth to approach the Alpha concerning her mating? Unless… oh God . He knew. He knew about the night in the Den House. The night when she’d almost… oh God. Could things get any worse?
Apparently, they could get worse. Much worse. Two weeks had gone by, along with her first heat, and she was scheduled to meet with the Alpha this afternoon concerning her mating ceremony, in which she would be presented to the community as a female ready to mate. It involved a lot of dancing around a fire, shimmering between wolf and human-form, showing off her best attributes. There would be a sparring session, in which she would face the Alpha female of the pack, and prove herself capable of defending her Den House and her future cubs. And there was an examination to be performed by the pack healer, to ascertain that her virtue was not to be questioned.
A lot of preparations had to be made, and a lot of practice with her old instructor, Patina, to be done. She could not possibly dance for the pack without honing her skills. Patina was meeting her in the woods tonight. She would bring the drums, Beth must bring the sass. Sass, she had, in spades.
The short walk to the Alpha’s Great House seemed to take forever. Snippets of gossip reached her ears, and scraps of reflections reached her mind. She wished she knew how to tune them out. The gossip, such as she heard, wasn’t very awful in any way – unless truth hurt, which it did. There were whisperings of herself and Gareth, much of which she didn’t catch. But she had a pretty good idea what was being said. Foolish Little Wolf, falling for the wiles of an attractive Guardian.
The bits and pieces that filtered through to her mind however, they hurt. The derogatory terms the other un-mated females referred to her in were nasty and plain untrue. She was still un-mated, no matter what they believed. Things with Gareth hadn’t progressed quite that much in the short time they’d had together.
It felt like the walk of shame, if she was honest. People staring, some pointing, others giggling and still others, gathering in the shadows beneath the trees, assessing her. The un-mated males. They discussed her as if she was a side of beef. “…hot to trot…wouldn’t mind taking a shot at her…drive a man half crazed…how far Gareth got?” She tried not to
She would not argue, no matter how much she wanted to. David always knew what was best for her, even when she did not. He’d always done right by her. Never steered her wrong. So be it, she thought, her heart shattering. I will reconcile myself to being the bargaining chip I’ve always known myself to be. “Yes, Den Father.”
“ Soon,” he replied, taking her hand in his own, much larger one. “I will no longer be your Den Father, and you will be a Den Mother in your own right.” He gave her a quick, uncharacteristic hug, squeezing the life from her for one wonderful moment. “Forget about him, Little Wolf. He may not gain even the ear of the Alpha, much less anything else.”
Huh? “Who, Den Father?” Something was not right here. She was still missing something.
His eyes snapped to hers, as if she was being deliberately obtuse. “Gareth, of course,” he told her, face set.
“I wouldn’t want him to gain the ear of a gnat, much less the Alpha!”
The deep rumble of his laugh poured through the room. “Always the wild-cat, even for a wolf,” he teased.
Beth sat in confusion as the bedroom door eased closed behind David. What was going on here? Why would he think she’d want Gareth to approach the Alpha concerning her mating? Unless… oh God . He knew. He knew about the night in the Den House. The night when she’d almost… oh God. Could things get any worse?
Apparently, they could get worse. Much worse. Two weeks had gone by, along with her first heat, and she was scheduled to meet with the Alpha this afternoon concerning her mating ceremony, in which she would be presented to the community as a female ready to mate. It involved a lot of dancing around a fire, shimmering between wolf and human-form, showing off her best attributes. There would be a sparring session, in which she would face the Alpha female of the pack, and prove herself capable of defending her Den House and her future cubs. And there was an examination to be performed by the pack healer, to ascertain that her virtue was not to be questioned.
A lot of preparations had to be made, and a lot of practice with her old instructor, Patina, to be done. She could not possibly dance for the pack without honing her skills. Patina was meeting her in the woods tonight. She would bring the drums, Beth must bring the sass. Sass, she had, in spades.
The short walk to the Alpha’s Great House seemed to take forever. Snippets of gossip reached her ears, and scraps of reflections reached her mind. She wished she knew how to tune them out. The gossip, such as she heard, wasn’t very awful in any way – unless truth hurt, which it did. There were whisperings of herself and Gareth, much of which she didn’t catch. But she had a pretty good idea what was being said. Foolish Little Wolf, falling for the wiles of an attractive Guardian.
The bits and pieces that filtered through to her mind however, they hurt. The derogatory terms the other un-mated females referred to her in were nasty and plain untrue. She was still un-mated, no matter what they believed. Things with Gareth hadn’t progressed quite that much in the short time they’d had together.
It felt like the walk of shame, if she was honest. People staring, some pointing, others giggling and still others, gathering in the shadows beneath the trees, assessing her. The un-mated males. They discussed her as if she was a side of beef. “…hot to trot…wouldn’t mind taking a shot at her…drive a man half crazed…how far Gareth got?” She tried not to
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