Chapter 4 : First Night with a Beast

*Arealla*

The Elder's words lingered through the air, and I could tell that every wolf there hung on to her every word.

'You have to admit that it does sound like there is truth in her words,' a traitorous part of me whispered.

That voice inside my head had started getting louder and louder recently, and I wasn't too sure that I cared for it.

"This bond will be one that no one can break," the Elder spoke again, her voice carried a note of finality in it. "And with that, I declare that our pack has a Luna!"

Everyone erupted in loud cheers, howls filling the air. But I didn't pay much attention to it.

Marcus gently pulled on the cloth that held us together. I swore that if he tried to kiss me, I would punch him. I didn't care that it would most likely break my own hand, and it would probably feel like a fly hitting against him to Marcus. I didn't care. If he so much as tried to kiss me, I was going to hit him.

But he didn't.

He tugged gently on the cloth until it came undone.

It came off with surprising ease.

He must have seen my confusion, because a moment later he explained it to me.

"It isn't meant to be a tight fastening," he said softly, the pack still cheering around us as they dispersed into crowds, talking loudly amongst each other. "A mating bond isn't a prison or a curse. It's a soft warmth, a gentle hold."

I snorted.

"Strange," I told him. "That's not what I'm picking up on in this bond."

Irritation and anger flashed over his face. But he didn't say anything more about it.

"It's time for dinner," he said stiffly. "And then we can retire."

Obviously, the bride and groom were not expected to stay well into the night partying. They would have their own party. I kept comparing this to a wedding because, in all honesty, that's what it felt like.

If Marcus thought we would be having that private party, then I would know that he truly was insane.

Once the cloth was completely off my hand, I shook it loose. Marcus then turned and went to the table that had been set up on the other side of the field. I followed him.

I had barely eaten anything today, and I was ravenous.

We were seated at what was clearly a bridal table, though Marcus still insisted that we weren't married–we were mated. I tried my best to simply ignore him. It was easier once the food was placed before us.

There was steak, probably venison, and so many different kinds of vegetables. I helped myself to my plate without waiting for anything else. These were wolves, after all. I guessed that if I was going to survive here, I shouldn't wait for anyone to serve me.

The food was delicious, and for a moment, I forced myself to focus on just that fact. But aAll too soon, the meal was over. And before I even knew what was happening, we were being led away from where the 'wedding' had happened, with Marcus leading the procession.

We were taken to a different place. It was a house, made of silver stone, and we were shown inside. The wolves that accompanied us saw to it that Marcus and I were both safely inside, and then they were gone.

And just like that, we were left alone in the room, just Marcus and me. And as far as rooms went, this was something astounding.

There were warm furs all over the place; I ran my hand through the one closest to me. It was the softest thing I had ever felt.

"The bears sometimes still attack us," Marcus said, looking a bit tense. "They are no friend to wolves, but some of them see that we are more than that. Some do not."

He seemed a little on edge, more so after the Elder had spoken. Her words had been confusing, to say the least. But I wasn't the least bit bothered by them. I supposed that for him, it was a bit of a different feeling.

Her words maybe had a lot more meaning to him.

But I honestly didn't care. If he wanted to spend the night deciphering what they meant, he was more than welcome to. I wanted nothing more than to sleep, where I could pretend that all of this was nothing more than a nightmare, maybe even a fever-induced dream.

And once I closed my eyes, maybe I would be able to see something better.

I took off the heavy outer dress that I was wearing, keeping on the white slip beneath it, and I got into bed, facing away from Marcus. After a moment, I felt the bed dip, and I turned to him sharply.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

Marcus raised an eyebrow, but got off the bed all the same.

"I gave you my room last night because we were not yet mated," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "But this is my room now, too. And we are mated. I will be sleeping in here, on this bed."

I got off the bed easily. That wasn't a problem to me at all. If he felt that strongly about the bed, then he could very well just have it.

"Where are you going?" Marcus called to me, irritation in his voice.

"You want the bed so badly," I told him. "You can have it. I'll sleep on the couch."

"You will sleep on the bed with me," he growled out at me, a snarl on the end of his words. "That is an order!"

He really refused to understand things, didn't he? He just couldn't seem to grasp the fact that I just was not one of his wolves for him to order around like it was nothing.

Maybe he had never been refused before, and this really was just something new to him. But if he thought that I was just going to roll over, then he had another thing coming. The only reason I was still here was because it was physically impossible for me to leave.

"If you think we're consummating this bond," I told him, my words coming in a rush. "You have another thing coming!"

A smile crossed over Marcus' face then. But it was a strange smile.

"And what would you do if I forced you?" he murmured, his voice soft and low. "Would you fight me off?"

He sauntered toward me as he spoke, slow and languid. I felt like he was taunting me.

"Would you run away from me?" he asked, coming closer still.

I had no idea what his fascination was with being right up close and personal with me. I had seen him speak to more than a few wolves at this point, and he never encroached on anyone's personal space other than mine.

"What if I just say we are going to mate," he whispered, leaning down toward me. His face was so close to mine now that I could feel his breath on my face, hot as it washed over me. "Would you refuse me?"

I felt a wave of emotion come over me then. Something hot, like a heat wave washing over me. I felt a pull to him then, something I couldn't explain–an almost primal hunger. But before anything could happen, I snapped out of it.

And I knew that he had done something to me. Or tried to, at least.

"Stop it," I demanded. "Whatever you're doing, just stop!"

A look of irritation passed over his face, but he stepped back all the same.

"I wouldn't be able to fight you," I answered him honestly. "I wouldn't be able to run away from you," I admitted my weakness without hesitation. I felt no shame at all; why should I? I was born a human, and he was born a wolf shifter. Neither had anything to do with the other, and neither had been our choice.

He was just stronger and faster than me, and that was all there was to it, nothing more.

"But," I told him simply, my words coming clearly. "I would try to fight you. I would try to run. And I would definitely refuse you."

I had no idea why, but I felt like it was important for me to say. And I knew that it was the truth, too. Even if it would likely mean that I was going to lose.

I wasn't going to die; I knew that now. The Elder had explained that his life was tied to mine, though not mine to his. If I died, so would he. So he wasn't going to kill me unless he wanted to die, too.

But he could do anything else to me that he wanted. And there was nothing in the world that I could do to stop him.

"The Moon Goddess would never accept a bond that was forced like that," Marcus told me, straightening a little. "There are wolves that have done it, and there will be wolves that will continue to do it. But it's desperation that makes them act. I am not yet that desperate."

I stared at him. There were a thousand questions going through my mind right now, and I had no idea what to think. This world was as confusing as it was dangerous, and a large part of me was sure that there was a lot more to uncover.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, a tinge of fear in my voice. "What would make you desperate?"

Marcus regarded me for a moment, and I wasn't sure whether he would answer me or not.

"You think your guard detail is for your benefit alone?" he asked me eventually. "You really think that you just came into this world and you would be treated like royalty when you're not even a wolf?"

His words stung a little, but they presumed too much to really have any effect. I hadn't asked to be treated in any preferential way. I wanted to leave. He was doing this all of his own accord.

"If you ran," he told me simply, "if you got any distance between us, and my wolves didn't catch you immediately, I would give chase."

I swallowed hard.

"I would have to hunt you," he said. "My wolf would demand it and allow absolutely nothing less. I would lose myself as a human; I would become the wolf completely. And I would hunt you until I found you. And I would have no control of myself then. Make no mistake," he warned me clearly, "I will do it. My life will not end because of you. I won't allow it."