The North

Chapter 19

We all know a ring on your left ring finger often means someone's in a relationship, engaged, or married. Does your culture have a different way of signifying these things?

Chapter 19
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“Braid it again.”

Eyeing the reflection of the male standing behind me, freshly dressed and hair neatly pulled back, I narrowed my eyes.

“Why? What does it mean?”

Hati smirked and moved to lean against the wall beside the small mirror I was using to make sure I didn’t look how I felt; as if I’d run the length of Alba and Nirribhidh all over again. My muscles ached deliciously, the place between my thighs still throbbed, and my neck and shoulders were littered with small red marks from Hati’s teeth that hadn’t healed yet. Not that Hati’s skin didn’t also boast similar marks more easily hidden by the thick woollen tunic he wore.

“It doesn’t mean something to everyone,” he said, a flicker of heat reaching his eyes as he reached out to brush his knuckles over my throat. “To some, it shows a female is unmated and. . .looking.”

I spun around to face him properly with my mouth hanging open. “Looking? For a mate you mean. You had me broadcast I’m ready for a mate to the whole pack, to your council?”

“Not the whole pack. Like I said, to most here, it simply means you decided to braid your hair day. Don’t give me that look; even if you didn’t know its true meaning yesterday, you understood the intention. You knew it meant something. And you did it.” He grinned and puffed up, all smug male pride. “For me.”

That was true enough. Even while irritated with his being presumptive, I found myself plaiting a braid without thought, drawing a smirk from my Alpha. Clasping the end between my fingers, I looked around for something to tie it with. Hati gripped my wrist to stop me and reached behind his head, freeing his hair to offer me the ancient looking strip of rough leather he often used. I frowned at it, and felt the weight of the world come back down on my shoulders.

I couldn’t take it.

“Hati. . .I don’t regret what we did but. . .”

The rest of the words wouldn’t come; but he had a duty to his pack, had promised to pick a mate from the females born to those who sat on council. I would never be accepted. I brought nothing to the table.

He grunted and shoved away from the wall to stand behind me, taking the end of the braid from between my fingers to tie it himself. A sour tang tainted his scent but it didn’t stop me from being tempted to breathe it in anyway, remembering how it felt to be completely enraptured by him, how warm he’d been at my back as we’d slept, how satisfying it had to wake up and see him as no other did; asleep, vulnerable, and he trusted me with him in that state.

A purr nearly slipped past my lips, and Hati growled.

“You are one of the most stubborn wolves I’ve ever met,” he muttered, tugging on the braid so my neck bowed back, harder again until I fell against his chest. “I’m going to come to your room tonight; if you still feel as you do now, if you don’t want this to go any further, don’t open the door when I knock. If you don’t answer, I will leave you alone from then on. You need not fear repercussions, your place here and on the council is secure no matter what happens between us. This decision depends solely on your feelings, and what you want.”