"What are they doing?" Katy watched the groups of Omegas bringing loads of wood to a large open area just outside the main compound. They were working non-stop which wasn't unusual. But she didn't hear the usual laughing and joking.
Rhys watched as she studied them. He could tell she was trying to figure it out. She wanted to know everything about pack life, or in this case, death. "They're building a funeral pyre. There will be a celebration of their lives tonight and they will be sent off to a brighter future." They hadn't really discussed this before. He wondered how she'd take it. This must be so foreign to someone raised human in this day and age.
Her head turned to look at him, her red hair blowing around her face in the breeze. "That's why you bury rogues? So they can never be reincarnated?"
"Yes little one, that's why." His hand absent-mindedly reached out to brush the hair from her face. He held onto a strand and let it slip slowly through his fingers. He would never let her slip away.
She couldn't took her eyes off his face. "What will happen tomorrow night Rhys?" She looked a little nervous, but not scared.
He looked into her green eyes, so much like a cat, or rather, a panther. Her scent seemed to permeate it's way into his brain. The tall Were inhaled deeply, ahhhh, mint and cinnamon. "Tomorrow night the pack goes on a hunt. After the hunt, those that wish to celebrate the full moon will mate. Most of the pack will be out in the open." He could see the look of alarm in her face. "There is no shame among the pack Katy." He stroked her face, from the edge of her eyebrow down past her ear, to her jaw where he traced a line to her chin. He smiled at her quick intake of breath. He knew he was affecting her with his touch.
"What if I'm too scared? What if I can't?" She turned away from him. She loved him so much in such a short time. But she was afraid of disappointing him. She couldn't stand the thought of that. She sighed when she felt his hands on her shoulders, stroking down her back. Her entire body relaxed.
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Little one, when the time comes, if you need privacy we'll move to where no one will see us. I won't allow you to be uncomfortable. Being turned is stressful enough, but if it makes you too self conscious, then we will leave the gathering and return when you have shifted."
She whipped around in his arms. "Shifted? I thought it took a while to shift. Karen and Sarah took days to turn. I'll change right then and there?" Her face paled and her green eyes flashed.
"A human who mates at the full moon will turn that very night. The full moon has many effects on us, and the Wolf Moon seems to have its own unique properties." He continued to slowly move his hands up and down her arms, feeling how tight her muscles were. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her any more.
"What is the Wolf Moon? Why is it special?" She seemed to be calming down, a bit anyway.
"The Wolf Moon was named by the indigenous peoples of this continent hundreds of years ago. They called it that because in the winter they heard the wolf packs howling around their villages. Little did they know the full moon in the darkest part of winter held great power for us." She seemed to forget her fears for the moment as they spoke. Rhys thought maybe it would be best to continue the discussion in private. "Why don't we talk about everything that will happen tomorrow so it won't seem so foreign to you." He held his hand out, waiting for her to take hold.
Katy hesitated for a moment but then reached for him and held on tight. She knew Rhys would never let anything happen to her that was in his power to stop. For a fleeting moment she thought of Katya and their daughter. He hadn't been able to save them. But that was a different time and place. And besides, she had seen their future, and they would be together for a long long time. She felt much better as they walked through the woods hand in hand.
They stopped in the middle of a huge clearing. She'd had a chance to explore these woods pretty extensively in the last two weeks. She didn't remember ever coming here with any of her friends. She thought she had gone everywhere within a few miles of the compound. She was sure she would have seen it.
Rhys sat in the very center and pulled Katy into his lap. She leaned against his chest. She could feel his heart beating through her back. It was such a calming feeling. She relaxed her body as he touched her skin, stroked her face, her hair. She thought she might melt into his body if he kept it up. She could feel him leaning into her, taking a deep breath with his nose near her neck. That made her smile. She knew there was something about the mate's scent that calmed the other half. Lila promised her that after she was turned she would understand.
Rhys was having a harder and harder time keeping his wolf in check. He was insistent that there was no need to wait. Rhys was just as insistent that there was. His wolf pouted and laid down. Rhys chuckled to himself. A wolf was so emotional when it came to their mate. He knew once the mating was over, his wolf would settle. He knew his wolf was more than a little worried about losing a second mate. He wanted to be sure she was safe and the best way as far as he was concerned was to have their bond in place. Rhys assured him the danger was over. They would be fine.
After several minutes of silence, Rhys began to go through the procedures for tomorrow's full moon. "Normally the Alpha and his mate lead the hunt. But because Carr is not fully healed, the Doctor thinks it best for him not to shift. So Cole will lead the hunt with Karen. He will take the males, and she the females."
Katy twisted around in his lap to look at him. "Does Karen know that? Is she ready for that?" Katy couldn't believe it. Karen had only been a wolf for ten days. Could she really lead a hunt?
"Her wolf has good instincts. And Lila will be there to help guide her. She'll be fine." Rhys was glad that her own fears weren't overpowering her natural instinct to be concerned with others. "Carr and Lee will wait here, at the clearing, for them to return. He is still the Alpha and he will preside over the festivities. After the hunt, we eat...and then everyone is free to do as they will." With that thought his wolf had to at least have a taste and Rhys leaned down to kiss her neck, his tongue sliding across her skin to her collar bone. He felt the shivers running through her body. "And what a wolf wants is to taste his mate."
Katy felt the change in his body language. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the change in his face and eyes. His wolf wanted her and it took all of Rhys' will to hold him back. It frightened her and thrilled her at the same time. At that moment she realized how ready she really was for this, how much she craved it. She wanted to belong to Rhys forever. She wanted to be able to run through the woods with him, hunt with him, follow him wherever his duties took him.
Rhys felt his wolf trying to take over. He let him taste her and felt his wolf's elation. Rhys found himself lecturing his wolf. "Now that you've had a taste, you can wait until tomorrow night. Then she will be ours completely." His wolf agreed to wait.
"Little one, I will warn you about one thing. The pack will be curious about you and Jenna. They've never seen a Werepanther. They're going to want to see you."
"Aren't there other Werepanthers?" Katy couldn't believe they would be the only ones left.
"There are none in North American that I am aware of. And they are rare in Europe and Asia." Rhys began to wonder if Guillame was a fool. Two Werepanthers in North America. The packs would find out. They would be curious and some could be afraid or worse. He would have to speak with Alistair about his thoughts on the matter. Katy's voice brought him back to the present and their conversation.
