Half of You

Traditions of Death - Seventeen

"You have an hour to get him off this territory. If he comes back I will return him to you with no pulse." Payne is not speaking like himself. There is not an ounce of gentleness in his voice, only a promise spoken from the future Alpha of RedFawn. Ryven's lips are pursed as she listens to him.

This was his only mercy, letting him live. I don't think it will happen again, regardless of my input.

Payne's grasp is replaced with a stern foot in the center of Matias's chest. Ryven holds him down, making sure that he isn't going to spring up at the first chance. He's quit moving, but his eyes are still black and void, some kind of wild drawn to the surface that I've never seen in a male before.

Blood seeps into the ground around him, and the rise and fall of his chest is slow. Even though I don't want him, it still hurts some small part of me - like I should be there by his side, tending his wounds. I bite at that instinct, wishing I could make it vanish from my mind.

Ryven watches Payne, giving him nothing but silence. Then she looks towards me, and next the knife. "I will do my best to not let him return." There's something in her look that I can't quite read. I notice now, with her bow hanging limp at her side, that her arms don't carry the muscle mass I'm used to seeing on a wolf.

"Thank you." I have no hard feelings toward her, even as the wolf demands we sink our claws into her flesh for daring notch an arrow towards our mate. They have lost enough siblings.

All throughout the field are lines of flowers that have been crushed, showing where Payne and I entered, where Matias and Payne fought, and later where Ryven walked into the clearing. So much of the beauty of this place has been flattened beneath the violence that just occured. Not to speak of the blood clouding the ground.

I turn and follow as Payne exits. He doesn't seem particularly bothered by leaving Ryven and Matias to see themselves out. Perhaps there is some level of trust between them that I don't yet understand.

"Do you think they will return?" I ask him as we leave the clearing, ducking below the same plants and branches as before until we're back on the path. I need to say something to fill the space that's left. Somehow I feel as if this is my fault, like I should have prevented it.

"No. They won't. At least not for a while." Payne says, and his words are muffled from the injuries on his lips starting to swell. He's still covered in blood, but the urge to gag isn't so strong now. I hate to think that I'm getting used to that smell.

We leave the picnic basket and blanket behind, as well as all of the food. But the knife is still in my hand.

"Would you have used it on him?" Payne motions his head to it. Would I actually be able to plunge it through him if he tried to take me?

"Yes, if he would have tried to take me from you." I say, and instantly feel guilty for it. He is quiet for a long time, so am I. These bonds, all of these feelings, are more than I was ever prepared to deal with. I don't know what's true and what's not, or if all of it is, which might be even worse. Looking up at the sky, I wish that I could see the Moon, speak to her directly and ask for guidance.

"There is something you should know." It feels like stones are weighing down my stomach as he turns his head towards me, both of us still progressing on the path.

"As my mate.. as my future Luna, not only would I like you to attend the games, but it would be expected of you. And to prevent a situation like this.. I think you should know ahead of time that my first mate, Kaya, will be there." Kaya. He says her name like he hates the sound of it leaving his lips. I do too.

He rubs his forearm as we grow closer to the packhouse. I can hear the ambient sounds of wolves talking, pups screaming and laughing. This pack is full of young, old enough to run and talk, which means that in the next year or so there will probably be a boom of pregnancy and birth. Especially with this year's mating celebration having been one of the most successful into past two decades.