One month later...

Lyndis stood staring at herself in the mirror as her mother fixed her hair in a long thick braid down her back and interweaved small white flowers as was their custom. She glanced down at herself in her simple white dress.

Their kind's union gowns weren't like most human wedding gowns. Their dresses were simple, thin and flowing in pagan style. It had a few small white flowers intertwined with the cinch just below her breasts to match the ones in her hair. Marion had finished it just that morning.

Lyn gently smoothed the fabric over her stomach and trailed her hands down to her flared hips. The dress fit her form perfectly. She had never been the girly type; there just wasn't much room for it in the life they lived. But this, it made her feel pretty, for the first time in her life. She couldn't help but love it.

She felt her mother securing her braid, and Lyn glanced up to watch her through the mirror.

Marion's expression was still hard to read. Lyn knew she was still taking this hard. She frowned a bit; she had hoped seeing her in the dress may have cheered her mother up a little, that she had found a mate... one that she truly liked.

Gaius had visited her every day since their initial meeting. The second time he came, he made sure to come through the front, and he had spoken to Geoffrey at length before her father let him through to talk to her again, but after that, he'd pretty much won over her whole family with his polite and warm nature.

Well... all but Marius. He'd yet to speak a civil word to her soon-to-be mate.

Lyndis watched her mother's face through the mirror, but it was clear she was far from happy.

In the past few weeks, her parents had been better, but it was clear they still had a lot of healing to do, both with their relationship and emotionally.

Marion moved away from her then, and Lyn glanced back as she dug through some of the spare threaded fabric she had in a basket in the back of the room to finish the cinching of her dress. Lyn glanced back at herself briefly and studied her face.

The white seemed to bring out the blue in her eyes. She turned to her side a bit, observing her hair. Lyn couldn't help but smile; she really did feel pretty.

And she couldn't wait for Gaius to see her...

She heard a slight sniff off to her right, and Lyndis glanced over at Iyana. Her small face was a little flushed, and it became clear to Lyn that she was trying very hard not to cry. Lyndis felt her chest tighten as she swept her gaze over Aurelia and Sylvie who sat beside Iyana.

The three babies were behind them napping on the bed, and all three of the girls were sitting quietly along the edge. They were dressed up as well, but each and every one of them looked miserable. Lyndis sighed.

"This isn't goodbye," Lyndis said gently in French, moving over to pull Iyana into a light hug. Iyana circled her arms around her, but the hug had the opposite effect Lyn had meant it to. Iyana broke out into full on sobs.

"Iyana... sweetheart. You'll mess her dress." Marion said gently. Iyana pulled away and tried to suck in a shaky breath. Lyn frowned and glanced to the other two. Tears were freely streaming down their cheeks as well.

Lyndis glanced away from them and felt a strange tightening in her chest. She had hoped this would be a happy day... something her pack desperately needed. She hadn't wanted it to add to their grief.

Marion moved over to her, but Lyndis didn't meet her eyes. Marion's hands gently cupped her face, and Lyn glanced up at her. Her mother studied her eyes for a moment, and Lyndis gazed back at her. She had the very same blue eyes as her mother...

"Sweetheart... I'm happy for you. Especially that you found a mate you're already fond of. I'm sorry if I seem... It's just... I just wish.." Marion trailed off. She was clearly struggling with the words. Lyndis frowned and watched her closely.

A brief silence fell over them, and Lyndis glanced briefly to her younger pack sisters. It wasn't until that moment that she truly felt their missing presence...

Lyn felt tears start to brim in her eyes as she felt the full ache of their loss. She missed her aunt's warm, gentle nature... Adalie had always been so doting on Lyn; if she were there right now she would have made everything perfect... And Mavis... she was Lyn's age-mate. She would have most likely been sharing in this day with her. She would have taken a mate too... and Lyn wouldn't be alone here.

Lyn felt an even deeper ache as she thought of Arianne and Milena, of all the young ones... and everyone they had lost... she quickly tried to divert her thoughts from them.

It was too painful.

"I wish they were here too..." Lyndis said gently. She was unable to keep her voice from shaking as she tried to swallow down the sudden thickness in her throat. Marion gently pressed her lips against Lyn's forehead.

"No sweetheart. We should not have tears today. I'm sorry... This is a happy day... I'm sorry I forgot that." Marion said firmly and pulled her into a warm hug. Lyn circled her arms around her mother and buried her face into her neck.

They stayed like that for a while.

Finally, Marion pulled back.

"You look beautiful," Marion said with a warm smile, but there was sadness in her eyes.. not grief this time, but a melancholy look of someone not wanting to say goodbye. Lyn returned the gentle smile and felt her own tears start to well at the reminder that she'd be leaving them.

"Very beautiful..." Geoffrey's voice spoke from the doorway. Lyndis glanced over at him and felt that strange tightness in her stomach worsen at the ache she heard in his voice.

Lyn and her mother were close, but the bond she had with her father was different. The way he was clearly struggling not to show the sadness of giving her away affected her so much more deeply. Lyndis found herself struggling to keep down the tears.

She didn't want to leave them.

Geoffrey moved over to her and pressed a warm kiss to her forehead, and it was all it took to break free her tears. He pulled her into a tight embrace, and Lyn tucked her arms up against his back as she struggled through the sharp emotion deep in her chest.

"We have to get going," Geoffrey spoke firmly, but Lyn could still hear the strain in his tone. She felt him place a light kiss on the top of her head before he gently pulled back from her. She saw him exchange a brief glance with her mother before he turned and quickly left the room. Lyndis quickly wiped her eyes and glanced back at her mother. Marion smiled at her.

"Are you ready?" Marion asked. Lyn glanced back to the mirror. She smoothed the dress down over her stomach and took a slow breath... then gave a slight nod.

-

The ceremony moved slowly. It was traditional, and the whole thing felt surreal.

Lyn stood feeling horribly sad during the meeting of the Alphas, and the subsequent speeches by the Lua Crianca elders. She stood in her place behind her father with her mother. Occasionally throughout the lengthy speeches, her mother gently squeezed her hand encouragingly, but the sinking sadness she felt did not lift until the presentation of the intended.

The moment she finally stood in front of him, she couldn't help but feel a slight weight lifted off her chest and a bit of the happiness she'd lost resurface. He was smiling warmly at her, and she found she couldn't break away from his eyes.

They stood, hands linked, as the elder spoke in Portuguese about the sacredness of the bond. Gaius whispered a translation to her in French the whole while, and she couldn't seem to keep the smile from her face.

Finally, there was a pause in the speech, and Gaius gently guided her forward to present her to his parents. Lyndis suddenly felt a dropping in her stomach, and she couldn't help but glance back to her own parents.

Marion looked to be struggling hard not to cry, and her father had taken on the solemn look of an Alpha. Lyn glanced behind them, to the rest of her family. Her pack sisters were all crying, but her uncles, brothers, and cousins had all taken on that same tense solemn look. They were all trying to keep any sadness from their faces.

Lyndis felt her chest tighten further with emotion... she was about to leave their pack.

A gentle squeeze from Gaius's hand brought her attention back to him. He released her gently at the base of the platform and Lyndis glanced up to Vitor and Carina, the Lua Crianca Alphas.

Lyndis suddenly felt a momentary rush of panic at the thought that her vow of loyalty would not work. Gaius moved back several paces, and Lyndis briefly glanced over at him. He gave her an encouraging smile, and Lyn took a slow breath. She closed the final distance between them.

Lyndis glanced up at her soon-to-be Alphas, and slowly knelt down in the traditional manner. She rested her weight forward on one hand and tilted her head downward. Tears filled her eyes, but she willed them not to fall. It took her another moment to gather herself before she spoke.

"Aharnuz, ad fidem," Lyndis said firmly in the first tongue. Instantly, she felt the connection to her mother break and a new one replace it. A silent tear slipped free, and she felt it trailing a hot wet trail down her cheek. The emotion in her chest was giving her physical pain now. Lyn forced a breath in order to utter the next words...

"Urfarah, ad fidem." Lyndis continued, and as she felt the connection to her father break, she couldn't help the silent sob that escaped her. She stayed kneeling with her head down... and she was glad for the brief moment it took for her new Alpha to lay his hand on her head to give her permission to stand.

Lyn pushed herself up, unable to hide the slight redness from her eyes as Vitor gently cupped her face, and leaned forward to place a light kiss to her forehead. Lyn stood numbly as Carina did the same, welcoming her as a pack daughter.

Finally, Gaius took her hand again, and she turned back to him. She took strength from his eyes as the ceremony continued. She couldn't look over at her family... not yet, she was too afraid she wouldn't be able to keep it together if she did.

-

"Are you tired?" Gaius whispered in French to her. Lyndis glanced over at him. He sat beside her at their private table of honor. Amidst all the celebrating around them, she'd got a bit lost in her thoughts.

She glanced briefly to the table nearby where her family sat. Most of them were absent now. The young ones had become restless and tired, so her mother, Aldrick, and Julian had gone back to the cottage to put them to bed.

Lyndis glanced up to the starry sky. It had to be approaching midnight by then and had been hours since the ceremony.

She once again looked back to her family table, and she met eyes with Marius. He at least seemed to have accepted the idea now, but she could clearly see his unhappiness. She glanced to her father next, and felt her throat tighten a bit. Even though he looked happy for her now... it didn't make the reminder that he was no longer her Alpha any easier to handle.

She felt Gaius's eyes on her, and she carefully glanced back at him. He gently took her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"It will get easier..." Gaius said gently. Lyndis studied his eyes and smiled a bit.

"I am a little tired." She admitted. It had been a long day. Gaius stood, and offered her his hand.

"Come... I'll show you to your new home." Gaius said with a warm smile. Lyn looked to his hand and hesitated. She glanced back to her family table. They were preoccupied, none of them met her glance. Lyn took his hand and stood. She was about to gently excuse herself from him to say goodbye to her family when he tugged her toward the Alpha's table. Lyn cast him a confused glance.

"We must ask their permission to leave," Gaius explained. Lyn frowned. She had to keep reminding herself they had slightly different customs here. She moved over with him and glanced over to her family's table again. They were all looking at her now.

Gaius waited until she turned her attention forward. Vitor and Carina were watching her now, and Lyn glanced over to Gaius, unsure if she was supposed to be saying something, but thankfully... he did the talking for them in Portuguese. Vitor gave a slight nod and said something else in Portuguese that sounded like a blessing. All at once, everyone who remained from the Lua Crianca repeated his sentiment.

Lyn just smiled awkwardly; she had no idea what they'd said.

"I'll explain it later," Gaius whispered to her as he guided her back toward her family table. Lyn moved straight for her father to hug him, followed by the rest of her family. She didn't say anything to them; she found she couldn't. She hugged Marius last, and he pulled her in tightly against him. For a moment, Lyn didn't think he was going to let her go.

"If he does anything... and I mean anything, you come straight back to us... and you call me if you can't," Marius said in a hushed whisper against her ear. Lyn couldn't help but grin a bit against his shoulder, even as paranoid as the sentiment was...

"Stop worrying so much. And take care of everyone..." Lyndis whispered back. She felt some tears start to sting the corners of her eyes, despite herself.

"I'm your big brother; it's my job to worry." Marius countered, in a more light-hearted tone. He gently released her, and Lyn studied his face for a moment.

He would always be her big brother, no matter how old she got. Lyndis glanced over them all and took a shaky breath.

"Goodnight." She managed out before she turned back to Gaius. He'd waited a short distance away to give her some privacy. She moved toward him and noticed a slight grin on Gaius's face. He wasn't looking at her though.

Lyndis glanced back and knew immediately what he was grinning about. She scowled at Marius by the devilish look he was giving her new mate. Marius did not relent. Lyn turned back, and the moment she reached him, Gaius took her hand again.

"Goodnight," Gaius said politely to her family. All but Marius returned it.

They walked in silence for a while down the dirt path leading away from the pack's ceremonial garden. It had quieted considerably, and she could hear the natural sounds of the jungle all around them. The entire ceremony had taken place outside.

Not that Lyn minded, the evening air was pleasantly warm, and the light breeze had made it comfortable. It was clear the Lua Crianca pack preferred the outdoors with their rituals and housing designs. Everything was very open to nature.

"It was a blessing. Basically... just wishing us many healthy pups." Gaius said to break the silence. Lyn glanced over at him.

"Oh..." Lyn said as she got a strange feeling from his words. The nervousness she had completely forgotten about in all the activity was slowly starting to creep back in now that she was alone with him and they were headed down the path toward what would be the new home they were to share.

She realized it was the first time they were alone together, truly alone. He studied her face for a moment, and he smiled amusedly.

"They didn't mean now," Gaius said teasingly. Lyn felt her cheeks redden a bit at the implication. She felt the slight flutter in her stomach increase regardless; her nervousness just kept building.

Gaius paused, and tugged her gently to a stop. He must have noticed her breathing uneven. She felt his fingers beneath her chin to lift her eyes up to meet his own.

"I told you... at your pace. We won't do anything until you're ready. We have a month before the Blood Moon." Gaius reminded her. Lyn studied his eyes, and he gave her a warm smile. She felt herself relax a bit...

"Come on... it's not much further." Gaius said and continued on. Aside from the Lua Crianca central pack house, the elders and the beta's accommodations that were all lumped together in a central square, the rest of the pack houses were spread out along the perimeter interspersed throughout the jungle.

Lyn had never known a pack that gave their pack members so much space. Most pack living arrangements that she had seen were closely packed together, but they were very social creatures, so it hardly mattered. The Lua Crianca's were scattered over miles of jungle.

They reached a crossway in the dirt path, and Gaius guided her onto the leftmost walkway. She caught her own scent somewhere ahead and knew they had to be close. She didn't own much, but what little belongings she had were picked up earlier that day by a Lua Crianca caretaker to be brought to her new home.

Gaius gave her hand a firm squeeze as they crossed into a clearing in the trees, and the large two-story Brazilian style house came into view. Lyndis glanced up at it, surprised by the size. She'd expected something much smaller.

"To your liking?" He asked when she didn't immediately say anything. Lyndis glanced over at him and studied his eyes for a moment.

"How many kids do you plan on us having?" Lyndis replied. Gaius laughed.

"If you're up for filling it, I don't think I'd mind," Gaius said with a grin. Lyn blushed and glanced away again.

"Naw... in all seriousness, my father had them built for us at this standard size. I'd actually have preferred a smaller one." Gaius said in a more serious tone.

Lyndis glanced around the house. Most of it was either open... or had large paned windows that slid open. Something else occurred to her then. Gaius's scent was very prominent here, and not in a visitor type way; he hadn't just been there earlier to check on things. Lyn furrowed her brow and glanced over at him.

"You've been living here?" She asked.

"Yup... my parents kick us out of the pack house at eighteen. The next four houses down that way are all my brothers." Gaius said. Lyn stared at him in surprise. Most Alpha's children stayed at home until they were mated, she'd never heard of a pack that separated them from the main house prior to that.

But that at least partially explained why she hadn't seen much of the older male children at the central house when they'd been staying there.

"I'm not kicking our children out," Lyndis said firmly. Gaius chuckled.

"I think we're kind of getting ahead of ourselves a bit," Gaius said. Lyn again blushed. She hadn't realized what she said...

"Come on... I'll show you around." Gaius said and took her hand again to guide her forward. He took her through each room of the house. The kitchen became an instant favorite, it was large and had all manner of modern conveniences that Lyn didn't always have the luxury of using. By the fresh scent of the metal on some of the appliances, she had an inkling it had recently been upgraded.

Lastly, he brought her into the master bedroom, the one they were to share now. Lyndis glanced around. It was spacious but remained cozy with its furnishings. A slightly awkward silence followed once he finished the tour.

"And... you can do whatever you want with everything. I don't care for that kind of stuff... though I'm getting the impression you don't either." Gaius said as an afterthought.

Lyn felt like she should be annoyed that he could read her so easily, but she wasn't. Lyn glanced around again; she liked the way it was. She hardly cared about wall colors and furnishing decor and all that shallow material stuff. Lyn liked things that were functional, and this place was.

It went silent again, and Lyn fiddled a little with her dress. The braid in her hair were starting to pull a bit uncomfortably now, and Lyn reached up to slowly start undoing it just to keep herself busy in the awkwardness that ensued. Gaius moved over behind her and gently started helping. Lyn didn't protest.

Finally, she felt his fingers threading through her hair to untangle the last of it, all flowers gone. And again... it went silent. Lyn focused on the sound of his heartbeat.

"I know today must have been hard on you. I'll take a spare bedroom, and let you get some sleep." Gaius said to break the thick silence. Lyn immediately frowned and glanced over to the large bed. It seemed foolish to sleep in it alone, but it was more than that, Lyn didn't want to be alone. The sudden thought of it made it almost hard to breathe.

Today had been an emotional drain on her, she was in a different pack now, and it felt foreign and strange. He at least had become familiar. She glanced back at him and met his eyes.

"No... I'd like it if you stayed." Lyndis said. She hated the tone of her voice. Lyndis was never the emotional type, at least... she never thought she was.

After experiencing so much death... so much loss... she thought that part of her couldn't possibly still be intact. But right now... she felt it fully. She felt vulnerable and unsure. This pack did not feel safe yet, the pack bond just felt heavy with its much larger size, and the ache of the loss of her family pack hit her fully then. Lyndis suddenly found herself fighting back tears.

No... she told herself angrily. She did not want him seeing her like this. She didn't want him thinking he was burdened with some helpless, fragile mate. The Alpha in her was infuriated at herself for showing such weakness, but at the moment, she found she couldn't help it.

Lyn took a shaky breath as she felt his strong hands cup her face. He leaned in and pressed a light kiss against her forehead, before he nuzzled affectionately against the side of her face. Lyn closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the contact.

"I'll stay then," Gaius said as he nuzzled his forehead against hers. Lyn brought a hand up to lightly brush her fingers along his at her cheek, finally opening her eyes to meet his own. There was no frustration there, no strained desire, only concern.

Lyndis lost the fight against her tears... he was so gentle, she was so lucky... why did she feel so sad about this? He pulled her fully into his arms as her tears broke free. Lyndis couldn't stop the soft sobs as she buried her face into his shirt and hooked her arms beneath his shoulders. He rubbed her back and nuzzled her hair as she cried.

She didn't even fully understand what she was crying about... their recent loss... losing her pack... saying goodbye to her family... everything just felt like it had been building inside her and had finally reached its breaking point. She had been the strong one for so long, for once, she just wanted to be able to cry, to feel sad... and for someone to comfort her. He pulled her tighter against him, and she welcomed the embrace.

She wasn't sure how long they stood there before she felt the flow of her tears start to slow. Lyn sniffled a bit and finally calmed enough to come back to herself. Instantly, she hated that he'd seen that... she was not delicate or fragile or whatever else he might think.

She pulled away from him and took a deep breath. She glanced up at his eyes; he was watching her with concern and a bit of confusion.

"I'm not weak," Lyndis said firmly. The confusion in his eyes deepened.

"I didn't-" He began.

"You said I was delicate. I'm not." Lyndis practically growled. She could see she was only confusing him further, but she didn't care.

"I didn't mean it badly... I meant it more from an emotiona-" Gaius began, but cut off abruptly as Lyndis shoved him back toward the bed. He stumbled a bit before he got his footing, and Lyndis grinned at his shocked expression.

She didn't know exactly what she was doing, but she knew she wanted this... she needed this. Lyndis moved over to him and gripped his shirt as she leaned up to meet his mouth in a rough, albeit slightly awkward kiss.

She wasn't experienced in this, the first real kiss she'd ever had was with him at the conclusion of their union ceremony only a few hours before, but she was acting purely out of instinct.

He emitted a low growl against her mouth at her forcefulness; Lyn could feel his wolf stirring as it reacted to her own. His hands slowly moved up to rest against her lower back and tugged her body forcibly closer against him as the kiss slowly became heated.

Lyndis let herself get lost to the moment and tilted her head backward to let him guide her mouth as they tasted each other. Finally, he pulled back, leaving her breathless.

"Lyndis..." Gaius started, his voice slightly strained now. Lyndis breathed deeply as she gazed up into his eyes that now held a glaze of lust. She knew her own must hold a similar glaze, her fur side had awakened...and she wanted to feel him inside her, for him to make her his own. Lyndis gripped a bit tighter at the fabric of his shirt and watched him intently.

"You have nothing to prove to me... we shouldn't-" Gaius began firmly, but it was clear he was now struggling with instinct. She knew what he wanted to do to her and she wanted him to.

"You said at my pace. I think I'm the best judge of what I'm ready for." Lyndis practically growled as she cut him off and leaned forward again to press her lips against his, but he stopped her with his hands gently on her shoulders. Lyndis studied his eyes for a moment. He was clearly conflicted.

"Please..." Lyndis said, surprised at the tone of her own voice. His eyes found hers again, and they stared at each other for a moment.

"I need this." Lyndis continued, her breathing slightly uneven. She saw the change in his eyes at that; it was clear that was all he could take.

Lyndis gasped slightly as she was pinned firmly onto the bed. She tilted her head back and exposed her throat as she felt her inner self reacting to the dominance of his. He leaned in over her and nuzzled against her neck as he planted soft kisses down along the curve of her shoulder. Lyndis felt her breathing increase at the feel of his lips against her skin. She knew she must be flushed.

He started to tug down the straps of her dress, and Lyndis pushed her weight up to help him pull it down further. He stopped once the fabric was pooled down to her waist, and she felt his hands slowly caress up along her sides. Lyndis didn't meet his eyes.

They hadn't shifted together yet, it was the first time he'd seen her bare, and she couldn't help the slight apprehension she felt at him seeing her scars. She felt his fingers gently trace the small pink line against her right side, her freshest scar that carried with it the reminder of their current loss.

Lyndis took a slow breath as he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against it. She felt tears build in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall as he trailed light kisses up along her skin until he was nuzzling against her neck again.

He didn't say anything; he didn't have to. Lyndis relaxed against him when it was clear he didn't care. She ran her hands up along his back to fist the fabric of his shirt and tug it upward. Gaius pulled back enough for her to pull it off him before he leaned back into her, and she felt his skin against hers as he kissed and nipped along her neck.

Lyndis arched into his warmth as she got a gentle jolt through her body at the feel of his hardened form against her softer one. He took a deep breath of her scent and emitted a low growl against her ear. She knew he could smell her arousal.

Lyndis swayed her hips upward against him with mounting impatience. She could feel her wolf fully, the eagerness to be mated. It stirred a strange excitement in her she'd never felt before.

He pulled back and gripped her hips for a moment, before he roughly yanked down her dress over her legs, leaving her completely bare beneath him. Lyndis watched him closely with glazed eyes; she could feel his wolf reacting to hers, the eagerness had infected him too.

He pushed back from her and off the bed, and for a moment, Lyndis felt a crushing disappointment, before she noticed he was removing his pants. He slid his hands beneath her thighs and yanked her to the edge of the bed. She could see the mounting impatience in his eyes.

Lyndis took a deep breath and glanced up at him as he pushed her legs spread and caressed his hands up slowly along her inner thighs. Lyn couldn't help her sudden tenseness at the unfamiliar feel of being touched so intimately; her breath caught slightly, and she felt herself start to tremble.

Gaius immediately stopped.

"No..." Lyndis said quickly before he could pull away from her. She glanced up, the lust in his eyes had faded a bit. Lyn pushed up against her elbows and grabbed his hand before he had a chance to pull away.

"I'm sorry..." Lyn said quickly. Gaius took a slow breath. He was watching her intently.

"I think this is too soon-" Gaius began.

"I want this." Lyndis cut him off with a growl. Gaius studied her eyes for a long, tense moment. Lyn emitted a slow irritated breath.

"It's just... this is new to me," Lyn said, feeling silly stating the obvious. But how could he expect her to be completely relaxed? He studied her eyes for a moment, and Lyndis knew how pleading she must look, but at that moment, she didn't care.

To Lyn's relief, he gently pushed her back onto the bed with a hand on her chest, and followed through with a warm, soft kiss, far less eager, but heated with passion regardless.

Lyn arched her body against him and moaned lightly into his mouth as he caressed his hands slowly down her side. She couldn't help but tense a little when he caressed onto her thighs again, but he didn't stop. She concentrated on the feel of his fingers against her sensitive skin and tried to get used to the unfamiliar sensation of being touched like this in such an intimate area. She liked it, but her body reacted in a way she couldn't control.

Finally, she felt herself relax into his caress, and he broke the kiss to trail warm kisses down her neck and onto her chest. Lyn tried to calm her breathing, she was hot with need, but he seemed intent on taking his time now.

She emitted a slightly frustrated breath and shifted her hips a bit, but he continued his slow trail down to her nipple. Lyn bit her bottom lip as he planted a soft kiss on the sensitive nub, before taking it between his lips for a hard suck.

Lyn inhaled slowly as a slight shiver ran through the length of her body. He didn't linger long there and continued downward.

Lyn's breathing increased as he gently brushed his lips against her lower abs, before planting a soft kiss against the scar just below her belly button. He pushed her legs spread wider, and Lyn gripped the sheets as she tried to keep from tensing when he brushed his hands up along her inner thighs again.

He slipped down off the bed slightly and gently placed a light kiss at the inside of her right knee, then a few inches lower.. and again slightly lower than that. The slow procession of kisses along her inner thighs toward her center had her trembling by the time he reached the focus of her heat. She was practically dripping now, and she didn't know how much more of this she could take.

Slowly, he leaned in, and she felt his hot breath against her a moment before his tongue licked up between her soft folds to her clit.

She felt the jolt through her entire body.

Lyn's breath caught as he swirled his tongue around the small bundle of nerves. She couldn't keep her hips from bucking a bit, and she emitted something between a whine and a moan. Her skin felt hot; she knew she was flushed from head to toe.

He didn't relent with his tongue, and Lyn squirmed against him as she struggled to breathe at the foreign feeling of building pressure deep inside her lower pelvis. She arched off the bed and tried to push away when it felt like it was becoming too much, but he didn't let her. He tightened his hold on her thighs.

Lyn turned her head to the side as she concentrated on breathing from the intensity of the sensation, somewhere in her mind she knew what he was doing to her, but she'd never once had one or even touched herself with that intent.

Just when she thought she couldn't stand it any longer, the pressure released and she felt the intense rush of ecstasy through her entire body that blurred all her senses. Warmth flowed through her. She arched and tensed completely from the overwhelming new sensation. The noise she made she didn't even recognize as herself.

Lyn couldn't breathe, she couldn't even move as the shock waves of pleasure coursed through her. She felt him move above her, but she was too unfocused to notice what he was doing until she felt something smooth and hard pressing firmly against her soft wet entrance.

Lyndis turned her head to the side and groaned pleasantly in encouragement for what he was about to do as she still floated from her pleasure high when he suddenly shoved his hips forward in one hard motion.

Lyndis gasped at the feel of being filled and stretched to a painful level, the sensitivity of her recent cum adding to the intense sensation. He felt so hard and big... like an unforgiving rigid pole inside her.

She grit her teeth and arched against him, but he tenderly caressed along her hips, and pushed her gently back into the bed. She felt herself trembling.

"Relax your hips..." He said with an obvious strain in his voice. Lyndis glanced up at him and could see the glazed look in his eyes that he was now obviously struggling with.

He made a slight fist in the blanket beside her head as he forced himself to stay still. Lyndis took deep slow breaths as relaxed her hips beneath him and slid her thighs up higher along his waist. The discomfort was already beginning to fade as her healing took over.

She felt the excitement of her wolf then, reacting to his own that was obviously exhilarated at the feel of being inside her. He leaned down into her and nuzzled her neck. Lyn eagerly tilted her head to the side as he found the sensitive spot at the curve of her shoulder and bit down, hard.

Lyn jerked as it sent an electric current though her body, straight down to the heat between her thighs. The noise she emitted she barely recognized as her own as he drew his hips back and started to thrust, rough and eager.

Lyn wrapped her arms around his back and griped his shoulders as she felt him plunge into her depths over and over, unforgiving and hard. He was so big deep inside her pelvis, she felt so full... she was sure it should be hurting her, but it just felt... amazing.

Every thrust gave her sparks of hot pleasure. She grit her teeth, the sensation was almost overwhelming.

Finally, he let up on her neck, and she felt him place a gentle kiss against the healing bite mark he left. He pushed up on his arms, and Lyndis met his eyes. He was focused fully on thrusting now, and Lyn started to push her hips back against his in eager encouragement.

She suddenly wanted it harder.

Lyn felt the pressure start to build again. She grit her teeth and closed her eyes as she focused on the feel of him pushing and pulling deep within her tight inner walls. It didn't take her long to reach her peak.

Lyndis arched up, her whole body tensing as she felt herself hit that tipping point. She pressed up firmly against him and tightened her legs around his waist as she struggled to breathe.

His thrusts became erratic and rougher, and Lyn realized he was nearing his end as well. She felt the exhilaration of her wolf at the intensity of that thought; she was about to be mated. Lyn nuzzled at his shoulder a moment before she bit down hard, making her own temporary mark on his skin. He growled low just as he lunged his hips forward hard. It was all it took to send her back into blissful oblivion.

As she came back to herself, she lay panting beneath him on the bed. Lyn let her head fall to the side as she felt the sudden wave of exhaustion. She felt Gaius above her as he gently grinded forward between her spread thighs into her still pulsing tightness. He was groaning in pleasure near her ear. She emitted a soft moan of protest.

She was too sensitive but too tired to wage a proper objection. She had never felt so emotionally and physically drained.

He pulled her up into his arms then, and held her tightly as he nuzzled against the side of her face and neck. Lyn felt the strong pull of her new mating bond, and it brought tears to her eyes. She nuzzled back against him, and let herself fall asleep in his arms.