The Last Pack

16. STOLEN MOMENTS AND STORIES

Fidella had the bondage bangle moved to her ankle by the matriarch, before being sent to the bathhouse. Submerging into the water, the uncertainty of the future seemed like a heavy weight of such significance that her shoulders ached with the burden. She bent her knees so that her head was beneath the surface of the water in an effort to silence the sounds and thoughts that were creating such angst.

After discussing his plans with Ewan and Titan, Conri told Ewan to keep the cage open so he could see Fidella as she prepared for the night. It was the first time that Conri had ever instructed Ewan to do something rather than requested, but Conri had been shocked at how natural it felt to assume this new position in the hierarchy. When he approached the water, he could see she was sitting on the bottom of the bathing pool, her eyes were closed and she looked ethereal. Einar’s tail was thrashing from side to side in elation. Both man and wolf were mesmerised by their mate’s beauty. Gracefully, Fidella stood up taking a breath, the waterline finishing across her shoulders like a water bandeau gown, rose petals scattered over her skin.

“Can I come in?” Conri asked her, releasing a breath when she nodded her permission. He took off his subligaculum and was pleased when she didn’t avert her gaze from his naked body. He stepped into the pool slowly, his eyes fixated on her face. When he stood before her, he took a moment to drink in every detail of her radiance, before brushing his thumb over the yellow bruising on her cheekbone.

“Titan told me what happened this morning. We have made a plan, but it will take a while to prepare everyone. I promise I will fight for our freedom, so that these things will never happen again,” Conri held her eye-contact, surging the sincerity of his words into her.

“I was so scared Conri, I completely froze, Isla was roaring for me to let her attack, but I couldn’t even let her out. It made me feel so intimidated and weak, even though I know it could have been a lot worse,” Her voice faltered, and Conri pulled her to his chest, hoping that the sensation brought by the mate bond would provide her with some comfort. Conri realised that he couldn’t offer more yet, because as Titan said, he was powerless against the Heatons.

“Lick her bruise. It will heal faster,” Einar said, and Conri began to slowly tilt Fidella’s head, leaving a loving lick against her injury, pleased at the soft sigh she produced.

“Conri, please can I meet your wolf? Isla wants to meet her mate,” Fidella asked, and Einar was already nodding his head with his tongue dangling out of his mouth with glee.

“Einar, if I let us do this, do not lose control and scare her or leave any mark on her that will get her in trouble, do you understand?” Conri commanded.

“Conri, I would never hurt either of them, now let me out,” Einar lurched forward, switching control, and came to the forefront of their minds.

Equally, Fidella gave way to Isla so that their wolves could meet.

“Are you OK, my Goddess?” Einar asked.

“I am now,” was Isla’s honest reply.

“We only have to be like this for a little longer, and then I will make them suffer for all the pain they have caused,” Einar growled at the end of his vow.

“All we have now, my love, are stolen moments. I won’t disrespect Fidella by going further than she has, but I won’t miss out on this time with you,” Isla declared, and wrapped her arms around Einar’s neck and her legs around his upper waist. In this position Isla was above Einar and leaned down to kiss him, lapping her tongue over his lips and flicking it against his own. Einar held her thighs to balance her, and, for the first time ever, was enjoying being dominated. This was hardly surprising for Einar. Isla would be the exception to every rule for him. Conri managed to regain control because he could feel Einar’s struggle not to claim his mate, and Fidella allowed him to place her feet back down, whilst holding onto her hips and nuzzling her neck.

“When we are free, what do you want our life to look like?” Conri asked, determined to make all her dreams come true.

“I see Isla and Einar running in the forest and rolling in the leaves when they catch up to each other, sitting by the steam to cool off and drink water. I can see a wooden cottage that we live in, a small bed, because we sleep close together and the fur blankets that we sleep under will be made from our hunts together. We won’t have much, but we will have everything,” Fidella paints the picture of their future and for a time they were both lost in it.

Breaking the magic, Fidella whispered, “I have to go now. It’s time. I have a plan to help.”

“I don’t want to let go. What will you do? Conri asked.

“I’m going to help build our pack, to be strong we need to be connected, but we are already connected by the Moon Goddess. I will tell the stories of our past and history, and from this we will become a pack, but more importantly, we will become a family,” She explained.

She walked out of the pool clipping her flimsy garment around her, barely covering the curve of her bum cheeks, and exposing her entire curvaceous thighs. Her determination was in contrast to her outfit. Conri thought she would have looked more appropriate in armour the way she was charging in to make her mission a success.

“She’s a gift from the Goddess, that’s all I need to know,” Einar grumbled, and Conri nodded in total agreement.

Before returning to his cell, Conri took a diversion to the wood shed and found a small four inch by four inch piece of wood and took it back with him to his room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he closed his eyes and thought of the home that Fidella had described to him. He then extended his claw and carved out the pieces of wood that weren’t needed. He pictured the door and the window placements, growing vegetables in the garden and even scratched out a bench on the veranda where he imagined they would sit, while watching the sun set. He smiled at his creation, and hoped that Fidella would like it. It was a promise of the future he would try to give her, but it also brought peace to Conri and his wolf.

Fidella approached the door as the guard turned the key and indicated that she should enter the cell. Stepping into the room, she saw a broad man leaning over a well-lit area in the corner of the room, where he was rocking over small wooden totems. She didn’t want to interrupt, so she took a seat on the floor by his bed. She was conscious that she didn’t want to upset him by sitting on a bed he hadn’t invited her to sit on, so she waited for him to finish and acknowledge her. Minutes later, he turned around to face her, still sitting on the floor, and not approaching her.

“You are the Luna. We have been told not to touch you. I won’t disobey. Don’t be afraid,” the gladiator said.

“I’m not afraid,” She replied. “My name is Fidella. What is yours?”

“Otto.”

“I have seen you fighting in training. You are strong, but you get easily distracted,” Fidella observed.

“I am from the Rhine lands. I was a tracker for my pack there before I was captured. I was thirty-three. Sometimes I lose focus when I catch a scent on the wind, because that skill was deeply set, but now it's never used,” Otto explained.

Fidella smiled at Otto, it was nice that he had shared this with her. She wanted to know who his prayers were for, but didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. Fidella decided to give him something in return, and cast out the mind link to the pack. She told him the story of the first tracker wolf and she could see he was enraptured, even though he had heard the story from his own pack as a child it restored his memory. The first tracker was called upon to find the Luna who had been kidnapped. He raced along the forest, and through the mountains, even managed to follow her where the snow was dense, and the scent was weak. Eventually, he located her and returned her to her Alpha, and as a reward, the Moon Goddess granted him his own mate. He was forever known as the greatest tracker and hero of the pack.

Fidella didn’t sleep that night, instead she told Otto of her own life and upbringing, and the people she missed, and what she hoped her future would look like. Otto had never really felt noticed before, he was a middling fighter and a quiet man, but when Fidella left in the morning, he felt for the first time in fifteen years that he belonged somewhere. He was part of a pack.