Zane

"You didn't mark me," she said again as I slipped out of her.

"I know.." I said, pushing myself up and toppling over to lay beside her, "I don't want to make this something it isn't."

"What do you want it to be?"

I rolled over onto my side to face her, but she wouldn't look at me. My senses told me that she needed to be held or something of that nature, but I just didn't want to lead her on.

"It would..."

"Start wars.."

"Yes.."

"What if it didn't?" She asked, "We..could see if it's possible."

"I am not mated to anyone,"I said, "I truly don't think I have a mate."

"Then what would I be? You said so yourself that I could be your mate without the gods' consent."

"Pet, I don't think you want to be with me.."

"Zane, you're the only person in my life who has shown me kindness and now you have taken something precious from me..why wouldn't I?"

I shook my head, "You're..."

She pulled the blanket up and gasped, her eyes trailing down.

"What?"

"I'm bleeding..should I be? Why?"

I smiled and soothed her.

"Let me tend to you," I grabbed a washcloth and poured some water over it from the canteen, "Spread your legs."

"Oh...my first time..I am so silly not to remember that," she blushed.

"I won't forget it."

Zelda

He wanted to mark me—I felt that much.

He wanted to fight and die for me, but why?

Why would he want to?

Why would I want him to?

I sighed and thanked him for caring so much for me and then he frowned, a look of concern and confusion spreading across his face.

"Where did you get this mark?"

"What mark?"

He pointed down at my leg where wolf scratches had scarred. I always knew people had their reservations about me wanting to enchanted by the wolves. I never understood why I didn't see them as inferiors. They were brutally, chaotically and beautifully made.

"I..got caught down in the valley listening to your music when I was a child," I shrugged, "An Alpha caught me and tried to pull me into the crowd because he wanted me to dance—not in a weird, creepy way—just because he wanted me to enjoy it, I guess."

I recalled to him that night in detail and how I was able to escape because I was afraid of what my parents would do to me if I was caught.

"This..." he sniffed the air and then touched the scars, "This is no ordinary mark."

"Huh? It's just a few lines of claw scars..although the coloring is beautiful, isn't I? A blue hue with some speckled purple..."

He was shaking his head and then stared up and me said,

"This is my father's mark. Before he died, he told me he'd marked my mate..."