Ruthless -ON HOLD-

Spoil of War

Thepack has been quiet throughout the whole ceremony, but now they seem especially hushed. As though they too are realizing the permanence of this union. My heart once thundering loudly in my ears, now beats slowly and softly, a butterfly trapped. There is no going back now. I am now lawfully bound to a savage. He owns me. I stare at my palm, disbelieving of the mark there. The moon has accepted us as mates and tattooed me with my fate. There is no escaping the moon's wrath for rejecting your chosen; may death be our mercy indeed.

My father's voice shakes me from reverie, "Now that you have both accepted the Oath, it is time for your wolves to be united." Dad says, sheathing the blade he'd used to cut into our hands.

The union of a couple's wolves is more a formality than anything. It doesn't invalidate the mating if our wolves don't complete this step. It's believed in most packs that the wolves must accept each other in order to have a successful mating, and by doing this after the humans are moon bound it encourages the wolves to accept each other. Typically, the couple shifts and goes off together, often choosing the privacy of the woods, where they court each other and get accustomed to the other. A lot of wolves choose that time to copulate their mating to complete the bond. I hope Cole doesn't want to practice that particular tradition today. A bitterly cold wind gusts around me, seemingly taunting me, reminding me of another good reason not to have sex in the woods at the moment. Even as wolves.

Surreptitiously I glance up at his face, anxious he might think I'm attempting to challenge him again. He really is a man to be envied. His strong jaw is set, and his brows seem to naturally curve into a relaxed scowl. His body seems to have been carved by the moon herself. Granite shoulders broad and flowing into powerful arms. Muscles rippling over every square inch of this Alpha, strength earned from a ruthless regiment, I'm sure. I train every day, rain or shine, sickness and in health, but I could never dream of possessing that kind of strength. My eyes rove back up to the stubble blanketing his cheeks and jaw, the strong nose with the bump in the bridge, the eyes that are shocking, and so bright and looking right at me. I looked away, a flush rising high in my cheeks, fearing the worst. If he makes a scene in front of my own pack about my disrespect, I will actually die.

I stare down at my freezing toes in these flimsy slippers before I snap my eyes straight back up to his, realizing that I am his equal now in the eyes of the moon and the pack. I have pledged my life to him and therefore I am no longer a threat. I am allowed to look at him freely. He smirks slightly, as if reading my mind.

We're still staring at each other when I notice that my hands are trembling, so I tuck them back into the paws of the black bear. Though my palm no longer burns, I can feel the brand tingling, healing. Absently, I uncurl my fingers from the toe pads and brush them over the mark, amazed when I encounter smooth flesh rather than the raised edges of the vows that were there only a moment ago. I am tempted to look and see if it's still there, though I know it is.

Our gazes are still locked, however, out of my periphery I notice he is not having the same fascination with his mark. His hands are relaxed at his sides without so much as a twitch of curiosity from his fingertips. Cole raises his chin to challenge my stare with his own, reminding me that while the moon herself might consider us equals, in his mind he will always be the Alpha. And to a Recluse, being a Luna doesn't mean shit.

When I don't back down from his scrutiny, he smirks ever so subtly, then reaches out a hand to his left without breaking away from our stare down. A man steps up to Cole and this time I make myself look away. It was no wonder how Cole had formed such a powerful pack; if all of his members were as big as this guy, it was understandable how he's become virtually unstoppable. This strange mountain stands as tall as Cole but rather than jet black waves, his blonde hair is neatly slicked back. I can't help but make note of how he was slightly broader than his Alpha. There is an air of authority permeating from him that indicates his title. If my assumptions are correct, this is Cole's Beta. There's a stereotype that Recluse wolves are lean and mean, scavengers. But these two are living contradictions to the myth; built as they were, like stone walls, broad and sturdy, and intimidating as hell.