The First Wolves

29. RUFUS AND IVY

Ivy was thankful to get away from the fire for a while. As thankful as Winnifred was to get some distance between her and the questions the women asked, they took their bounty to Otto’s little camp. Anna was thrilled to join her father and brother, who were far less observant than her mother. They settled on the ground, Anna resting her head on her father’s biceps as Pepin was finishing a story. The group were enraptured.

“…we walked out of the arena victorious, but your mum had scared them to such an extent that they didn’t start clapping until we were halfway up the street, crushing the rose petals beneath our feet. She wore that coat I made her all the way through her pregnancy, it helped keep our precious secret safe. When you had grown to your final stages, Aoife had to wear a blanket that went over her head that Winnie made her.”

“She sounds like she was a fierce warrior,” Ewan answered, reflecting on the mother he never knew, and was sure he never would.

“She was magnificent!” Winnifred replied, and the Beta smiled at the reputation she had made.

“I wonder if she still has the coat,” Pepin considered.

The pack had learnt not to correct the Beta’s father when he spoke about his mate in the present tense. If he had learnt to survive the death of his mate by insisting she was alive, then they would be part of that illusion for him too. Corrections were cruel.

“I imagine she would still have it with her,” Winnifred interjected. “She was allowed to select items for her execution, so she picked the leather trousers you made her, and the feathered coat. That was what I saw her wearing in the arena, she looked like the Goddess of War.” Winnifred offered Pepin and Ewan a sympathetic smile.

“It must still be with her then!” Pepin announced cheerfully, oblivious to the awkward silence in the wake of his words.

The food turned out to be more delicious than anyone could have anticipated. The elk was already being put to good use for the months ahead. There were many ways to die in the mountains, but Winnifred had made it her personal undertaking that starvation wouldn’t be one of them. Rufus blushed each time somebody thanked him, and Andre was insisting he join him for the next big hunt, impressed by the warrior’s skills.

“Pack members, we will end our night by celebrating our good fortune and blessing the greatest gift that the moon Goddess can give to a wolf: a mate.” He stopped to hold Fidella’s hand, before returning his attention to the pack.

“We weren’t able to perform this evening’s sacred ceremony for Jerrick and Jenny because the second they laid eyes on each other they disappeared for four days.” Laughter broke out and Jenny blushed, burying her head in Jerrick’s chest.

“It all worked out well, because Jenny made a Delta out of him, and the Moon Goddess blessed them both with their free-born daughter.” A cheer erupted from the pack, and June giggled as if she knew she was being spoken about.

“Andre and Melissa requested a private ceremony the day after they found each other, which we were honoured to be part of. Luckily, Rufus and Ivy have more self-control, so the elder Daizus will lead their mating ceremony and bless their union, while we have the honour of witnessing their devotion to each other.”

Caressing the back of Ivy’s hand with his thumb, Rufus led her towards the elder. Warmth and love coated their bond as their eyes connected. The warrior had requested this union from his alpha. He had been blessed by Selene to be given a second chance mate, the rarest of gifts, and it was only right that they should be bonded under her eye. Elder Daizus spoke of how the mate bond was the greatest gift, how she had given her children what she had not been allowed to have: absolute love. Rufus could barely concentrate on her words because his eyes were enthralled by the heavenly glow of Ivy’s face. Due to her childhood in the mines, her skin was very pale, but the way the starry light reflected off her made it seem as if she was one of moonlight’s beams.

“Do you have anything you would like to say?” Elder Daizus asked them both.

“Just that you are all the joy I have ever known, and I will love you with all that I am for as long as I am.” Rufus declared, even though he felt his words were inadequate for the depths of his feelings.

“Rufus, you brought me into the light after a lifetime of darkness. My world started with you, and we will fill it with love and happiness.” Ivy confessed.

There were thunderous cheers and howls that made the water ripple with its power as the newly blessed couple gently kissed. Conri emerged from the crowd with Fidella, and grabbed Rufus' shoulder in celebration.

“I have a surprise for you.” The alpha told them, and led them to the outskirts of the forest, pointing up at the trees.

Secreted in the branches was a wooden platform covered in pillows and blankets. Fireflies flew around them, brightening up their suspended bed. There was a simple ladder running up the tree trunk, and the platform was covered in thick furs, blankets, pillows and jars of fireflies.

“Goodnight,” Fidella called as she pulled Conri away.

While he was explaining that this was what had distracted his hunt for her, their voices faded into the distance.

Ivy started to climb up the makeshift ladders, Rufus closely following behind in case she fell. She seemed surprisingly confident. Launching with her arms outspread on to the comfortable pillows, she watched as Rufus began to rearrange the furnishings. She put his actions down to nerves. While he continued to plump the pillows, she pressed her body against his back, stilling his arms.

“Talk to me, my angel. What are you thinking?” She asked him soothingly.

“I think I am undeserving of you, but I’m too selfish to give you up. After tonight we will be one. One complete soul, living in two bodies. My biggest fear is that one day you will need me and I won’t be there to save you.” Rufus admitted, lowering his head.

Twisting his neck, so that he looked at her, she kissed the scar that ran down his face. It was his shame, and her reminder that he would do everything he could to be there when she needed him.

“You have already saved me, Rufus. You helped me be the person I was meant to be the entire time, you make me believe I am worthy of your love, and that is how I want to be protected. If anything happens to me, it won’t be your fault, just like it wasn’t your fault when your little daisy flower died.”

It was all he needed to hear. He lifted her onto his thighs, her legs wrapped around him naturally, and he kissed her tenderly, pouring his devotion in to her through their intimacy. She broke their kiss, leaning back and pulling her tunic over her head, casting it aside and watching his expression. Rufus’ glugged at his confident mate. Gasping at the sight of perfection, he followed the curve of her collar bone, the throb in her neck as she anticipated his touch. Tracing his rough soldier’s hands over her porcelain skin, he noticed the goose bumps that trailed behind his exploration, leaving a path that he intended to trace back with his tongue. She leaned forward, and placed her palms on either side of his cheeks, imagining the sensation of his prickly stubble on her more intimate areas. The idea excited her. It made her feel alive. Rufus was bewitched by her scent. He trailed his nose along her collar bone, and spent time softening her marking spot with his nibbles, sucks and kisses, all the while Ivy pushed herself closer to his obvious erection. Each sensation she felt was a healing, cleansing balm, washing away the past and replacing it with their future. She let her finger tips tingle over his battle scars, they were the permanent medals of his bravery. He let his lips linger a little longer over her bones that jutted out, and the little scar on her arm that she told him had come from when she had broken it climbing in the mine as a child. They took their time savouring each imprint of passion that they gave to each other, learning each other's preferences, building the desire until it left them aching for each other. When Rufus kissed from her navel to her pubic bone, Ivy had no control over her body as her hips rose up to meet him. Reading her responses, Rufus was sure to commit her pleasure spots to his memory. Repeating what made her feel good, he eagerly lapped at her core. Attending to the bud, which was a delicate sweet pea, he slid his finger into her, and stroked the wet velvet skin inside her body. He felt God-like from each of her moans, indicating she was closer to the edge of delight. She coiled tightly around him, then cried out her pleasure as it consumed her.

Rufus could hardly contain his urge to grind his bulbous c**k against her pink, wet threshold to heaven, because he was convinced that was the gateway to a euphoric eternity.

“Let me…” Ivy began to say, desperately wanting to give him the weightless experience that he had given her.

“No, I can’t…I need you around me, I need to feel you move with me. Let us become one.” Rufus softly whispered, licking her marking spot until she tightened against him.

She nodded. Holding her forehead to his, their tongues entwined in a deep and desperate kiss. He pushed forward, laying her gently on her back, and nudged her opening steadily. Delving deeper, keeping his pace slow and measured. He crossed his arms beneath her back, collapsing any gaps between them, thrusting into her body while he read each of her facial expressions. In the back of her mind, she felt as if something powerful was within her. Her mouth ached and her fangs descended before she realised she could feel her wolf was there. Moving with Rufus like the leaves responded to the wind, he turned his face to the left as he prepared her marking spot for the final time. Mirroring his intentions, her mouth fell onto the marking spot on his right, and the way her teeth grazed over the area made his buttocks clench in exhilaration. Her tightness only increased as she reached her end once again, and her sudden gush coated him. He felt her slightly pierce his marking spot, delaying his thrusts so that he could reciprocate. She wanted them to experience all the best things in life together, forever. He bit down on her soft skin, which would signal to all that she was his, and felt her reciprocate. The slight pain was followed by the relief of pure love, and it made him capitulate to his own intense pleasure as his orgasm covered her open thighs. Their tongues lapped at each other’s marking spots, helping the wound to heal. He reached over to pick a leaf from the tree, removing the excesses of his milky expulsions from the apex of her thighs.

“We didn’t discuss pups, and I didn’t want to presume,” Rufus explained shyly, after finally figuring out why the basket of linens had been provided.

Ivy just smiled at him, the fact that he could consider her wants at the peak of being consumed by pleasure, just proved she had all she would ever need in her mate.

“What do our marks look like?” Ivy asked, fighting off her sleep to spend more time with her love.

“It’s going to be circular, it looks like wolves nuzzling each other. Forming a perfect circle”, he replied, wrapping her in his arms.

“Perfect” she sighed, and Rufus couldn’t agree more.

His mate was snoring in his arms, and he was trying not to laugh at such an extraordinary sound coming from his beautiful Ivy. Sleep was luring him into a slumber with far more ease than he could ever recall. The final coherent thought that he still remembered the next day was that he was finally the finished version of who he was always meant to be.