Dark Moon | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 28

Klaus hadn't been able to stay focused for very long.

He'd been leaning back in his chair, watching her scribble, when he had a feeling wash over him that subconsciously made him straighten up, his eyes flashing golden just for an instant. He watched her for several moments without speaking, unable to shake the knowledge he seemed to have suddenly stumbled upon. He didn't know how it happened, but he just knew. "You're going to go into heat soon," he announced, as if he'd discovered the cure for cancer. "I can sense it. Maybe tomorrow or the day after that."

Esmeray became flustered, and looked up from her notes. "What an odd thing to say," she told him, trying to pretend that wasn't immediately bringing up memories that she wanted to keep buried in the meantime, so she wouldn't be tempted to climb back onto his lap. "I can't imagine how you can sense it. I never know exactly when it's going to happen."

Klaus was still looking at her intently. His wolf grew more and more attracted to her every day. Perhaps there was a connection forming even without intimacy— he felt as though he could almost see her aura if he squinted (or maybe he was only seeing her with a reddish-pink tint around her because he'd been facedown on his crimson blankets for the past hour). The desire to pounce on her was heightening, and he was trying to keep it down, because he didn't want to be disrespectful and scare her off.

"I never got to live with wolves," he said, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, but still being curious about her behavior and the connection he felt between them. "I don't quite understand it all. Female wolves seem to have a terrible time. They have different things to worry about each month. Turning, heat, menstruation. Male wolves... we can sense it all, but we don't really do much."

"Well, that's because the male wolves weren't very important in the early days. I know for a fact the Poldark Pack had a matrilineal monarchy. The others may not have, but females were highly respected and were believed to have superior spiritual and physical connections with the world. We were revered for what we went through each month. Males were really only necessary to procreate. Nowadays, almost all Alphas are males."

Klaus furrowed his brows. "Male and female wolves all try not to trigger their gene. Female wolves stay away from male wolves when they're not feeling well. Male wolves typically make themselves Alpha, or earn it, perchance. Most practices have been forgotten. No one speaks of such intimate things in wolves anymore."

"There used to be a sort of celebration, at least in our Pack, for the females. It was strange, but almost all the females tended to be on the same schedule, give or take a few days. There would be a two week period where men would make themselves scarce unless they had wives. Those who were unmarried were instructed with getting extra food to help with females's cravings. The married men were to do whatever their wife wanted— which was usually to help sate their desires. The Pack grew all the time because pregnancies were constantly taking place."

"Hold on. If everyone was on the same schedule, wouldn't children of a certain generation all be born very close to each other?"

"Yep. I'm the anomaly there— my mother wasn't a wolf and didn't go into heat, and with her magical practices came a very irregular cycle. I was born months apart from those my age. And for the most part, females of the same generation all tend to go into their first heat at around the same time, signifying they're mature enough to start looking for a partner. After the monarchy was abolished, the first heat stopped being so significant, because anyone and everyone could try to become Alpha at any point in time. I'm glad for that, because it meant I got teased less than I would've. I was a very late bloomer."

"I'm confused, love. I don't understand why that didn't happen to you before. Didn't you already—?"

"Yes, I had my period, that wasn't something I could avoid. I was on track for that. But I couldn't start going into heat until I triggered my gene. Menstruation and heat, in the old days, were very separate things. I honestly don't know if it goes hand in hand now that they don't go with traditional rituals anymore. I triggered my gene later than the other wolves in my age group, and even when I did trigger it, my witch nature suppressed it so much that with the combined overwhelmed feeling that I had lingering all the time from the teasing... I was never able to do it. It's hard to explain. My body just wasn't normal. Biologically, there's a lot wrong with me, by wolf standards. As the Alpha's daughter, I would have been the first pick of any eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, regardless of whether they wanted to be Alpha or not, but also mostly for those intending to rule if my father was defeated in a tournament. Had I been a normal wolf, I expect that as soon as I had my first heat, many of the wolves would have challenged my father to try and become Alpha, so that they would have permission to marry me."