"I am not going to leave."

Kore looked at the others who were preparing to leave for the Highland Academy, his brown eyes lingering on his friends, who pulled on each other's tails in a pranking manner, giggling with excitement.

"I can't leave her behind," he added, looking at his trembling hands, "I am all that mother has now."

The youngster thought of the Harpie he had dreamed of embarking on in all the past years, but couldn't due to the curse, and dug his fangs into his lower lip, trying to muffle the cries he felt bubbling up in his throat.

Then he thought of the long-haired pest, his pack's leader allowed to remain in the Nest after murdering more than a quarter of his fellow lykans, including his father. He saw it all. His father's heart being ripped away from his lifeless body, the unsightly woman's eyes, fixed upon him.

"Besides," he said, turning around to face Annia, and Crassus who stood behind him, "You know I am the one that has to take over, now that Pa is gone. My wee mother is too unstable, and we are far too poor to be able to pay the much-needed expenses for the required years in the Academy."

Crassus placed an arm over Kore's slender shoulders, and it pained to see his kin in the state that they were in. The famine had especially impacted the younger ones. Many died. And those who did make out alive until the cruse was broken, had already been scarred for life.

"I don't want you to worry about the expenses, I will make sure to aid you in any way I can," he added, giving the much younger fellow a comforting squeeze.

The eldest Nix brother knew how his decision appeared to the rest.

How could he allow such a person as Maia to remain in the Nest after all that had happened? 

She served her purpose. And she would soon perish for good. It was a miracle she didn't sooner. An empty shell couldn't be sustained in the land of the living.

Besides, she seemed to be a ticking bomb.

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to send her away. She reminded him to much of the mother he had lost in much a similar manner. Perhaps, her uncalculated act, which put her own life in danger, was just the thing that had brought to surface those memories he tried to keep hidden for so long.

Maia reminded him of the one thing that made him and his younger brother so very different.

Crassus' mother was a weak lykan. The White Death, however, the one who birthed his brother, the woman responsible for the demise of many in their family, was the nightmare Crassus thought he buried years ago.

For most of his life, the eldest felt that nightmare which killed his mother stared back at him whenever he looked at his younger brother. His uncanny hair, white as snow. The lines that formed on his face whenever he smiled. Even the manner in which Rex carried himself, it was the spitting image of that woman.

"What kind of son would I be if I were to leave my old mother behind to go pursue my dreams?" Tears filled the boy's eyes, and shoving the Crassus' hand off his shoulder, he sprinted away from the road leading towards the mountain peaks, which sheltered the Northern Gates.

The sun peeked through emerald leaves, landing playfully on Rex's face. The light particles danced on his skin, making small sweat droplets form on his flustered neck, trinkling down his shirtless back, whose muscles tensed each time he ripped the fur off of the lynx in his grasp.

He exhaled sharply, recalling the conversation he had with Maia that past night. He dug his claws in the animal's cavity, cleaning the meat in the water flowing away from the Nest.

His blood boiled, and he cursed under his breath, thinking of how much he wanted her. How she was right there, practically begging for him. And yet, he couldn't have her.

He reminded himself what carnal desires make one do, and he felt the urge to rip apart the food he was preparing. He felt his blood boiling, and an unsettling feeling hunted him.

"Bloody fucking Moon!" he blurted, as Kore came tumbling right against him, tripping onto the forest floor. "Are you alright, lad?" he asked, rubbing his blood-stained hand against his garments, then helping the youngster raise on his own two feet.

"I'm sorry if I messed up that dinner you were preparing..." apologized Kore, stealing a glance at the dead animal at their feet, then quickly rubbed his face with the back of his hand, assuring himself, nobody could see him cry.

Rex placed his hands on his hips, and looked the boy up and down.

"I thought you were leaving today," he remarked, "How come you are wondering out here on your own?"

Kore squatted next to the guy; his gaze pinned to the ground.

"Can't I just stay with you right here?" he entreated, digging his hands in the grass in front of him. "Your company is so ever comfort bringing."

Rex gave him a soft rub on the head, making the boy's long intricate braids frizz up. Kore wanted to protest, but rather he felt he owed the man an explanation.

"I am not just being rebellious, you know?"

"Mhmm," nodded Rex, as he proceeded with his chores.

"You know, Rex," he begun, "Have you ever wanted something so much, like, with all your being!" he exclaimed, twirling the thin grass between his fingers, "As if you know it was always meant to be yours..."

Rex could think of just the thing.

"But then, this whole other thing happens, and then" Kore continued, grabbing tightly onto the grass, "BAM!" he shouted, ripping the grass forcefully from its roots, "All that you were so sure off is gone! ALL GONE!"

Rex frowned, pausing his labor, but offered no response.

"And now, you still want this thing, very much indeed actually, but you know if you do get it, no good will come out of it." Kore started ripping all the grass in front of him in frustration, throwing it in the air, while rambling on about desires, sacrifices and how the world is unfair.

Rex understood the sentiment much too well. He too felt outraged at the world, and he was sure that nothing will ever go his way.

Then, with tears bubbling in his eyes, Kore turned around to look at him.

"I know how little most think of me, because of my troublesome disposition" he sobbed, "The Academy is all that I have been thinking about forever. I want to go so much. I really do!" he fumed. "But the thought of leaving my mother behind..."

Kore's face contorted in an expression of ultimate distain. And he thought once again of the thorn in his side, the murderer who still lived, while his father perished by her hand.

"There are still four hours until the last Harpie to Krayevus leaves" Rex told him after pondering on the matter, "You can still leave if you truly want to."

Rex thought of Maia, and her pinky promise. He wondered if it would be a proper way to assure Kore he will take care of his mother if he did decide to leave.

"You know it wasn't supposed to be like this. Pa wasn't supposed to leave so early. I-" The boy wiped a snot coming from his nose as he wept. "I know that everyone of us is supposed to make sacrifices for the rest of the pack. I know that!" His lips trembled and he violently punched the ground in front of him.

The heavy air burned against Maia's lungs, as she gazed onto the empty Nest square. Rex hadn't visited her that morning. His absence, although brief, left her with the most unsettling of feelings.

She felt stupid for practically begging him to mark her. Why did he bother to show any kindness if he didn't care enough? 

She sighed, brushing her hair away from her face.

She figured a walk would clear her mind. She thought about him more than enough in the past sleepless night, playing and replaying their conversation in her head. The sounds buzzed in her ears, and roughed against her conscience.

She looked at her hand, then at her feet which had those symbols Annia had left on them, the burns which were engraved against her skin before her second death. Fertility, prosperity and whatnot. 

She snorted at the irony.

Maia sighed once more, covering herself with the veil that rested around her shoulders. The soil under her feet come back to life as she pressed against it, making her hurry as to not linger for too long. The thought of leaving her trace behind disturbed her.

She thought of how weary most were upon seeing her, and she hated the thought that Rex would be one of them.

"I know that! But you don't know what's it like to have your own father murdered off in front of you!" Kore's voice echoed in her ears, and she felt the wind whispering his heartbeats to her. "You can't expect me to treat everything just the same, like nothing happened!" exploded he, "I don't want to!" he shouted at Rex, and pushed him away in an angry manner.

"I am not asking you to do that, you kno-" Rex reasoned.

"I hate her!" the younger boy interrupted, his voice echoing between the trees, "I hate that-that," Kore paused his forehead contorting in anger. "That monster! I HATE her with every bit of my blood!"

"Kore!" Rex called out to him, rubbing his tainted hands together.

Kore rushed away, bumping into Maia, his eyes red with fury, making her feel shivers down her spine.

She felt the color leaving her face as the youngster's tears rushed down his cheeks.

"It's all your fault!" Kore spited, "I wish you were dead!" 

He stopped for a second, his freckled cheeks flushing red as he looked the woman up and down, then sprinted away, leaving Maia stunned in place.

Maia recalled the very first slap she received as a young child. The stinging sensation lingering on the surface of her ear, and the ringing left behind.

"I don't want your help," she blurted out, shoving Rex's hand off, as he attempted to help her up from where she fell.

They briefly linked gazes and their insides twisted with inexplicable feelings.

"Unless you changed your mind," she mumbled.

She wished he would tell her he did. That he would have her. In any way.

He clenched his jaw, and felt his heart raise at the sight of her. His senses were poisoned by the fragrance of her unbraided long locks of chestnut brown, which contoured her slender figure, cascading down her bosom which peeked from underneath her garments, all that way to the thickness of her thighs. He barely contained himself the night before. 

As he gazed at her, he recalled of how he wondered if her cheeks would flush red as they touched. He wanted to rest his head against her slender neck, to taste the sweetness of her pale skin under his kisses.

Only the gods knew what he had to do to keep his desires at bay in the past night.

Rex grabbed the fresh meat he had just procured, placing it in a twig basket along with the rest.

"Be careful," he warned on a gentler tone, blocking Maia from stepping on the slippery side of the bank as she attempted to get away from him. 

"I thought it over, and I still stand by what I said," she insisted, retreating behind him in the direction of the Nest. "This would change everything!"

"I am not going to mark you no matter how many times you ask me to," Rex declared. "And you shouldn't wander off into the forest by yourself, you are still healing."

"Stop pretending like you actually care about me, or that you understand what's it like to go through what I am going through right now!"

Rex turned around, looking her right in the eye.

"I never claimed I do!" he exclaimed. "I probably never will know what you are going through. But, believe me," he emphasized, "if it was really in my power to make things any easier for everyone, I wouldn't hesitate to do it!"

"You sure seem to be holding back to me!"

"I don't want to mark you!" he puffed, wondering how could she make him feel so angry, and yet how he still burned for her in such a manner.

"Ha!" she exhaled. "You are all talks! I can't believe I actually thought we meant it when you promised you were going to be there for me."

She turned around to walk away, when he felt his heart tense beyond his control, prompting him to grab her by her waist.

"I meant every word I said to you," he declared.

"You are hurting me," she whined, trying to pull away from his grip, small vines climbing from the earth towards his feet.

Rex clenched his jaw, taming the thoughts forming in his head, he knew he ought to let go of her, and the thought of bringing her pain alone burdened him too much.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration.

"Look," he begun, releasing her from his grip. "Marking is...personal."

He sat down on the warm grass, and she placed herself next to him.

"For my kind, to be able to mark someone, and to be marked, was a gift from the gods, as I told you," he pondered, wondering of the best of words to describe what it was like to them. "Marking happens when two souls decide to become one. When you let someone mark you, a bond is formed." He paused, clasping his hands together. "It's not just any bond, and it can only be broken when the one who marked you dies."

"I still don't understand your issue with the matter. I shall have no rule over you, it's not like I am marking you," she said. "Not that I could ever even do that."

"You don't get it." He sunk his face into his palms, his white locks cascading downward. "That bond is so much more than you can imagine. Your senses become linked; you will be feeling their scent intensified-" He looked up at her, brushing his hair backwards from his face. "You will want to listen to all that your sire asks of you, do you understand? Your desires, and every inch of you will want to be there for the one who marked you..."

He swallowed uncomfortably at the thought that one day there would be a lykan he'd have to mark, someone who wouldn't be her. Oh, how he wanted her.

But all those were treacherous desires. She deserved to be loved, in the most sincere way. And that was not something he could offer.

"You will want to be one with them."

"But..." she interrupted, "you said it won't be the same for me cause I'm not your kind. You don't know if all that will happen for sure. What we do know is that it will stabilize my condition. I won't harm anyone if I am marked, Rex. That is all that I want."

"Are you even comprehending what I am saying?" he frustratingly questioned. "Do you want to literally link your life to someone you don't even know? Someone who is responsible for you becoming like this?" He paused puffing in anger. "One should have the right to choose who they want to spend the rest of their life with, and I don't want to take that choice away from you!"

"But I am saying that I want this!"

"Woman, do you hear yourself?" he retorted, stepping inches closer to her, making her back hit against a tree. "In the worst-case scenario, the wolf venom from my bite could be fatal to you!"

"But do you hear me?" she raised her tone, their faces close together "I want this!"

Some hair strands shimmied downwards from behind her ear, as her eyes wondered down at his shirtless chest, raising up and down, his breathing hot and heavy. Shivers ran through her spine, and her mouth ran dry as her hand, now the only thing separating them, pressed against his bare skin.

"I asked Annia, you know, what it is that you call a digressive," Maia finally said, not sure if what she felt were her own heartbeats or Rex's. "Say it!" she commanded, their faces inches close to each other. "Say that you hate me. That you hate the thought of tainting blood. Tell me the real reason why you don't want to mark me!"