Chapter 53: Chapter 53

A R Y A

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I loved watching him while he slept. He always looked so relaxed. His facial muscles were completely relaxed and his hands were slightly open. I had been waking up steadily throughout the night, ready to wake him from his nightmares, but he continued to sleep peacefully next to me. His arms wrapped around my waist, deep regular breaths and a leisurely heartbeat. As well as every night I spent with him before the burglary. While I'd be keeping an eye on him for the next few nights, I was almost 100% sure his demons wouldn't haunt him as long as I was with him. As long as he knew I was safe.

Smiling, I ran my fingers over his bare chest and enjoyed the soft chirping of birds in the background that filled the small clearing. We still reach the flower meadow. His tanned skin shone in the delicate morning rays of the sun.

Yesterday I was wondering if we could ever get it right again. His self-hatred of what he had done weighed heavily on him; threatened to distort him. Meanwhile, my faith lay in shambles as I tried to rebuild one brick at a time. I had wondered if too much had simply broken. If the pain of all the hurts and wounds we'd inflicted on each other was too deep.

But here in his arms, I refused to give in to those doubts and give them a light hearing. I had made a vow to him and I wouldn't break it - neither of us would.

He had cupped my face in his hand, rubbed his thumb along my jawline, and then very slowly leaned down to me. "I would never put my hand on you." Deeply shaken, he had kissed my discolored skin. "I would never hit my “kitten”."

"I know," I'd said, wishing I could take any guilt out of his soul. Instead, I'd kissed him lightly on his chest, just like I'm doing right now. My mouth pressed against his warm skin, trying to breathe as much love into him as I could while clasping my hand with his so that the newly formed symbols came together. The brown, gentle lines of the symbol of togetherness and love were burned into our skin, as well as into my heart. I would prove to him that it wasn't always his fault, that he couldn't take responsibility for everything. I then lay down to listen carefully to his heartbeat when I felt a hand on the back of my neck.

"Morning," he whispered hoarsely, his hand on my hip digging deeper into my bare skin. He rubbed his thumb over the tender bite site on my neck. "Slept well?"

I shifted my position so that I could look up at him and shuddered at the look he gave me. "Hm. You?"

"Hmm." He grabbed my waist and pulled me all the way onto his body with ease, as if I were nothing more than a featherweight. Denn ran his hand up to my neck again and closed around it. Very possessive. His bright blue eyes flashed. "Kiss me, “kitten”."

We both lay there naked and I felt the undeniable proof of his lust against my stomach. I stretched up and did as he asked. My loose braided hair fell around us like a curtain as our lips met.

He groaned softly and hugged me even more. Then he licked the mark. "You feel so good. If I could, I would take you here and now."

I chuckled softly. "If you could?"

He lifted his head and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "We have a busy schedule."

"Oh, have we?"

Again that loving gleam in his eyes that I loved so much. He smiled. "Naturally. Look forward to a stacked desk and countless conference meetings.”

Wild fluttering of thousands of butterflies in my stomach. "Can't wait." Then I laughed and jumped up.

Xenos groaned in annoyance and rubbed his face, but the corners of his mouth twitched. "And I thought you were going to make me postpone my plans and beg me like yesterday - ufff!"

I threw myself on him. "Never mind, I've never skipped a day in my life," I said, forcing myself not to run immediately.

He laughed and his arms encircled me again. "Then we have something in common." He snapped at my bottom lip. “One day we have to change that.”

"Someday, but not today." I couldn't help but grin as joy rushed through my veins, pumping all my hormones. He shared his duties with me, shared his life with me.

The oath burned in my heart and made me tingle as he smiled tenderly at me. "No not today."

Since then, our silent oath has held. Weeks went by in which he showed me over and over again how important I was to him. Weeks in which my trust in him grew.

Georgie's friends had asked me to be their “Tazim” as well, Chatima, who now also lived at the pack site with all the other gis, had told me about his great idea and despite the hard blow Devon's death had caused the pack and the marks , which he had left behind, the pack wanted to have a celebration for the admission of their Luna shortly afterwards.

I'd asked Xenos how they were going to get over it so quickly, and he'd simply said, 'Devon's death will always be a sad thing for us. Everyone in the pack has a role, is important for our cohesion. But Devon wouldn't want us to cry for him - you know him. He would snap at us if he found out that we weren't enjoying and living our lives to the fullest.” And while I understood and could relate to this point of view, I still realized how much his death had affected him. So I was there for him. Every sleepless night.

Joy was no better, she had been withdrawn for days until the pack intervened. I wish I could do something for her, but only time would help here.

"When are you going to tell me your best friend has a crush on you?" Xenos grumbled as we headed for the portal that took us to the border of pine forest and jungle, werewolf territory and gi territory.

We were in the process of making an agreement with some tribes on the border. Trade deal meant to mend the relationship between werewolves and Gis and who knows, maybe more would follow the tribe we visited today.

"Excuse me?" I spluttered. That was probably the most ridiculous thing I had heard in a long time. "I beg you, he is my “Faruh”."

"Well, not in his eyes." He stopped in front of the golden swirl and gave a curt nod to indicate a direction. "Look at him."

scrunched up while his eyes were on us. I frowned. He may have seemed a little taken aback when I told him about my connection to Xenos, but... Rowtag was my best friend, he was happy for me. I held my pinky up in the air, waiting for him to return the gesture. And he did, with his usual grin, albeit a tad delayed.

"There you are!" I wrapped my hands around his arm and pulled him with me. "Now let's go."

We stayed for hours on the grounds of “Erikrun”. Her “Chief “ welcomed us a little distantly at first, but as soon as he discovered the patterns on my skin and I greeted him in our own language, the last barriers finally fell. He had shown us around, explained to us in detail how they lived up here, so close to the northern border, and then invited us into his tent to discuss business with us.

We had made a covenant, a treaty that included the cooperation of their tribe with our kingdom.

"It's my pleasure doing business with you," “Chief te Erikrun” said brokenly in the Werewolf tongue, bowing first to Xenos, then to me.

I did the same and gave Xenos a look to encourage him to do the same. He did it without hesitation.

"“Aee”, I agree," Xenos then replied when we had straightened up and smiled slightly. It was the second time I saw him with his golden crown. When he put my tiara on my head today, I asked him about it.

"Tell me, why don't you ever wear a crown?" I was used to the chief wearing a headdress as a mark of honor.

"Any man who must wear his crown to prove his title," he adjusted the tiara for me until it was perfect, "is not a true king."

I had thought about it silently, and had come to the conclusion that I agreed with him. I looked up at his sparkling crown again. Today he had only put them on since I had told him that a “Chief” would only respect him as a king.

Then the canvas opened and an “Erikrun” warrior peered inside. "They have arrived, “Chief”."

"Excellent!" the chief exclaimed enthusiastically, then turned to face us. “I must introduce you to each other! Come, come! And while you're at it, stick to dinner."

"“Aee”, it would be an honor."

His eyes sparkled and he started walking out of the tent. We followed him, but as soon as we stepped into the sun I froze.

My “Seetohu” must have noticed me at the same moment because he twisted his mouth. "What is she doing here?" he asked “Chief te Erikrun”, spitting on the ground. "“Kurekza”."

Xenos, who had been standing behind me, growled so loudly that everyone around us jerked to him and stared at him, slightly startled.

I stopped him by his arm just as he was about to march toward my “Seetohu” with a deadly glare. "Not yet. Let me do it."

His knuckles cracked, but then he stepped back and pulled me to his chest. Silent display where I belonged. And what judgment awaited anyone who dared to hurt me.

"We are here to forge a bond between “Erikrun” and the kingdom of the werewolves," I said loudly and clearly in the rough, hard syllables of my tongue.

My father scolded “Chief te Erikrun” with looks. "I hope you didn't get involved with those barbarians?"

"They guarded the borders of the beast," “Chief te Erikrun” soothed my father. "Besides, this “Chief” is one of us."

"Arya is not one of us," Father said coolly, then turned to me. “Tell him “Kurekza!” Tell him who you really are. How dishonorable your heart really is.”

"What's he saying?" Xenos growled, his hand clenching into a fist on my stomach.

I put my hand over his fist and stroked his knuckles soothingly. Then I traced our symbol on his wrist. "That I am only a “Kurekza”, only an exile."

He growled ominously. "Arya..."

I squeezed his forearm, asking for his patience. And he gave it to me. ““Aee”, “Seetohu”. I'm not who I used to be. Am I one of you?” I shrugged. "I don't know."

"There you are!" Father exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"“Aee”, I am not Arya, “Ahivi te Honaw”, or Arya, “First Arrow te Retani”, nor will I ever be Arya, “Chief te Retani”." And I didn't want to be that anymore, I didn't want to be “Chief” anymore. Because who knew if that would even be the right term. “Chief” was the masculine form. My mother was always called “Nalii te Chief”, the chief's wife. No, I didn't want to be chief. I wasn't a chief.

I stared at the blue paint on my skin and suddenly I was proud of who I was. I straightened to my full height, feeling Xeno's strong, steady heartbeat against my back and drawing strength from it. “No “Seetohu”, I am not all that. I am “Queen te Moonwater”.” I lifted my chin and looked at him steadily. "I am queen of the werewolves and the gis."

It got quiet. Nobody moved. Then the low murmur broke the silence until one by one bowed slightly. Everyone except my father, who watched with disbelieving eyes.

I feel a kiss on my neck. Then he rubbed his scratchy cheek against mine. "This is my queen." He kissed the pinna of my ear, then whispered harshly, "“Ehsi teriakei paku nea Nazuta."“

I whirled around in his arms, and looked at this beautiful werewolf that was gifted to me. How could I have deserved him? I wrapped my arms around him, suddenly forgetting Father's presence, and kissed him in public. My “Seetohu” would never understand what connected us two. He would never understand what such deep, limitless love felt like. And for that, I felt sorry for him.

"We're going, son."

I heard “Chiefs” protests, then my “Seetohu” refusing to meet him until another voice crystallized out.

Xenos peered over my shoulder at the arguing “Chiefs”. "Who is this?"

“That,” I turned, the corners of my mouth curling up in anticipation, “is Nzuak. The fiancé I told you about."

"I remember." Xenos growled, his body suddenly tense to the limit. "I also remember your bloody wound." Then he grabbed my chin. "It's mine," he ordered.

I nodded to him and let him go. "Go."

His eyes shot out lightning bolts, and then he sped off, straight for the bastard.

He would take revenge for me, protect me as his wolf demanded. And I had no problem giving it to him because the vow still burned deep in my soul, reminding me how important he cared about me even as his words from earlier rang in my ears.

“You make that werewolf proud.”

There I stood in front of the tent, watched as he finished off Nzuak and smiled slightly. Because I trusted him.

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