Abnormal Little Me (Completed)

Chapter 44: Claws and Sharp Teeth

Hi guys! Sorry it took me longer than I said. I didn't like the ending I had written for this chapter, so I rewrote it. Hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to vote and comment. Love you all <3

He sighed deeply.
"Oh boy, and here I thought that finding an answer to what love is was hard. You know that there is a ceremony for soul-mates, right? It's only symbolic, like a marriage. I say a few words, give my blessing and the couple goes off to hunt together. The bond that we currently share, like the ones who didn't went through the ceremony, isn't as strong or powerful as the one people who had it have. Their bond is like oxygen. It's always there and if they try to cut it off, they die. They always know what the other is feeling and where they are. Don't be mistaken, even if we didn't go through the ceremony, if you die, I die. Our link isn't as permanent as their. We need to search for it to know what the other feels or where they are. Now, I only preside the ceremony. I don't follow the couple during the hunt. It's a very personal experience. All I know is that the moment the bond strengthens varies from couple to couple. You also have to remember that there isn't a lot of soul-mates. There is currently three couples, us included. You already know about Ylna and her soul-mate, Myrie. Prior and his husband, Levian, who you have yet to meet, are the other one. There was another one, but they died a couple of years ago."
"Was the woman's name Zynia?"
"Yes, how do you know?"
"She was my mother."
"I should have known. Having a soul-mate often is genetic and your parents were the only dead couple who's baby was unaccounted for. We thought that after your mother died, your father went crazy and killed you and the doctor before dying. We had no reason to believe that their baby was still alive. To come back to the main subject, your parents, like the majority of the soul-mates I've come across, which is less than thirty couples by the way, had their bond completed when they made love for the first time."
I unconsciously recoiled at the thought and Rilos saw me, obviously.
"Lyra, you know very well that I'll wait for you to be ready before doing anything. There was exceptions to this. One couple simply kissed and their link opened."
"But we kissed before, why didn't our link open?"
"Like I said, it really depends on the couple and... never mind."
"No, what were you about to say?"
"Well, first, we aren't like other werewolves are we? I wouldn't be surprised that our bond completes itself in a way that never happened before."
"What else?"
"Look, I don't want to tell you this, mainly because it's just a theory. The ceremony happens the day that both of the soul-mates finally become adults, right after the coming-of-age ceremony. Do you understand where I'm going with this?"
I shook my head.
"Obviously, before their coming of age, most soul-mates had kissed and some of them had already had sex, but after their majority, they have something more."
"They have their wolves. Mine is nowhere to be found and you think that it might be an obstacle to strengthening our bond. Rilos, I..."
"No," he cut me. "From now on, you are not allowed to apologize for something that was not your fault. Is the fact that you are not able to call your wolf your fault?"
"No."
"Good, then don't apologize. Beside, it could just as well be because we didn't go any further than kissing."
"That's true. Wait, you didn't talk about biting at all."
"I had hoped that you would have forgotten it by the end of the conversation. There is an intermediate between kissing and making love."
"Biting?"
"Biting. It's not something that you do out of the blue like Henina did. It comes with built up tension. I'll get back to it in a moment. The soul-mate ceremony is very private, as I told you before. There is rarely more people than the couple and me. For that reason, outsiders don't really know what happens during that time. All they see is a couple coming out of the forest with a very visible bite here."
He pointed the skin at the junction of his neck and shoulder.
"Biting isn't part of the ceremony. I don't even think that it's part of normal werewolves lives. For soul-mates' wolves, it's a way to show others that we belong to the other person."
"Isn't that a bit archaic?"
"Try resonating with animal instinct. Beside, biting, in this case, isn't done to hurt."
"How can biting not hurt?"
He chuckled deeply, placing his elbow on his leg and his chin in his hand. His pupils had dilated.
"Sweetheart, a lot of actions that might seem painful at first can be pleasurable if done correctly, at the right time and with the right person. That includes biting."
"Why are you looking at me like you want to devour me?"
He smiled playfully.
"Maybe because that's the case." 
"Rilos, are you flirting with me?"
"Lyra, the question is: When am I not?"
"You still didn't answer my question. Are you going to bite me?"
He got up and kneeled in front of me. He smiled softly, taking my hands in his.
"I can't tell you that I never will. One, because my wolf wants to do it a whole lot. Two, because I want it as well. And three, because one day you might stop being scared and want me to do it and I'd hate to come back on a promise I made."
"You and your wolf want to bite me?"
He was chewing the inside of his lip, conflict in his eyes.
"Look, Lyra, I don't want to scare you with this."
"I'm not scared."
"What did we say about lying? I feel your fear and your heartbeat is fast and loud."
"Just because my body is scared doesn't mean that I am. I am not afraid of you."
"Considering how scared you were hours ago, I find that hard to believe."
"I did not spend 7 hours out of my mind for nothing. My body better start accepting what my mind already has. I am not scared of you, understood? Can you answer me now?"
"The answer is yes. Yes, my wolf wants to bite you and I feel the same way. We want to show everyone that you belong to us. He's even hoping that you'll bite back."
"Your wolf wants me to bite you?"
"Possessiveness goes both ways. He hopes that one day, you'll want him just as much as he wants you."
"Are you wishing for that as well?"
"Yes," he said, looking at me directly in the eyes. "I love you, Lyra, and you can't comprehend how much, yet."
"Is my wolf going to want to bite you?"
"I don't know, sweetheart. Why don't we let her figure this out by herself?"
"Okay. Rilos?"
"Yes?"
"Can I, um, could you give me a hug, please?"
"Are you sure about this, Lyra?"
I nodded.
"I gave you one before, now I want you to do the same."
He slipped his arms around my waist and mine naturally went around his neck, my head resting on his shoulder. I don't know who needed this hug the most, me or him.
"You promise that you won't do it before I'm ready, right?" I mumbled against his skin.
"Always."
"Can I see your wolf?"
"Anything for you, sweetheart."
He changed and a familiar giant ball of black fur replaced him. He was jumping around, wagging his tail and whimpering. I kneeled down and hugged him hard.
"I know, I missed you too. I'm sorry. Maybe I should let him know that you need to be let out more often."
Now, don't go believing that our wolves are a separate entity from us. They are us, just without any filters. Only raw emotions, which are multiplied by a hundred. The part of our mind that reasons everything disappears. For Rilos, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders, it probably was the most liberating moment in his life. His wolf only cared about one thing, me. And I wasn't hard to please. He pushed me down and started licking my face enthusiastically. I laughed at his display of affection.
"Rilos, stop it, come on. I'll have to take a shower if you continue."
He looked at me, an eyebrow raised, and licked me even more.
"Even if you do that, you are not coming with me in the bathroom, big bad wolf."
He grinned at the name and licked my neck. I felt his teeth scrape it. I knew that he hadn't done it on purpose, but I couldn't stop my breathing from hitching. At the same time, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. It had been almost half a year since I last felt it. I thought that it would never happen again. Rilos had stopped his antics and had sat down beside me. His head was tilted looking at my chest, like he had felt it as well. I slowly placed my hand on my heart. Nothing happened. Maybe it was my imagination playing tricks on me. Mean tricks. Rilos carefully moved his paw and gently clawed the skin over my heart. Tears spilled from my eyes as I felt my heart getting clawed.
"It's her," I whispered. "Rilos, I feel her! She's here."
Rilos changed and embraced me as I sobbed harder.
"I can feel her, Rilos. My wolf is here!"