Traversing Worlds

Arc One Ch. 31

Gripping the stone tightly to her chest Audrey found she couldn't believe the Moon Goddess had really given them her blessing. She had been selfish and cowardly, while she desperately tried preserving her own life. Even going so far as to cross lines she might not have otherwise.

She looked up toward Aaron who had grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly. "We will deal with things together from now on." He spoke softly as the door opened revealing a taller than average male with long brown hair that had been placed into an intricate braid. His expression went from cold to hostile as he looked from Audrey to Aaron who didn't shrink away from his gaze.

"Mina is this the mutt whose been spreading the lies?" He asked without taking his eyes off of the much small male.

Peaking past him Mina seen Aaron before noticing Audrey holding hands with the lying mutt. "That's him Fourth Uncle." Mina confirmed as she spoke with venom in her tone.

"Aaron isn't a mutt or a liar." Audrey tentatively spoke out though it was obvious from her tone she wasn't quite ready to speak out against her family.

Mina couldn't understand why Audrey would defend the stray mutt when he'd been the one to spread lies about her. A formal mating implied more than a simple union between two wolves and their Pine family was one of a small few with a large number of female descendants, many wanted an exclusive union along with the benefits that came with it. Yet knowing all of this she still wanted to continue protecting him.

"So then it's true that you considered his mating proposal without informing grandmother?" Her question left Audrey at a loss as she wasn't able to voice out the perfectly reasonable lie.

Aaron squeezed her hand noticing how she'd suddenly started struggling with herself. "Is proposing my love to her before the Moon Goddess wrong? This had nothing to do with making connections between our two families." Speaking gently he took the palm sized stone out of Audrey's hand. "And here is the proof if you don't believe me." Aaron held up the stone containing their formal writing system.

The unpleasant expression on Fouth's face turned twisted as he felt the Moon Goddess power coming from the stone. He could do nothing more at this point but to remove Mina who had appeared ready to tear the mutt's eyes and feed them to him. Once he returned to his mother's side he would report this new development.

Audrey felt like her heart was going to explode as she watched the two of them leave without much prompting. "Thank you." It did little to properly express how she currently felt while still managing to carry her meaning. Aaron bent down and kissed the side of her head happy to be of help.

Kira walked casually down a path, she was currently thinking about what Audrey said about her Third Uncle. She didn't know much about the circumstance at that time but she still managed to figure out what he'd done that was so bad her Grandmother would send into the untamed northern territory to reflect on his mistakes. He'd been the type who didn't know how to take no for answer as the Pine family came only second in power to the Alpha but influence wise could be considered stronger. 

So Kira had put together that when Karin had arrived in the Pine Wood pack with a daughter in tow she caught a lot of attention and not all of it good. During their first two years in the Pine Wood pack many of the males who'd felt they would make for a better mate had gone about trying to woo her away from Edwin. Many of the female wolves around their age mentioned being impressed by his courage to not fight with those who showed her affections. Such a confidence had a few of them trying to get his attentions and much to their, disappoint he'd kindly rejected them all while Karin acted as he had and remained unmoved. Most respected this stable relationship and continued on with no hard feeling something that wasn't shared by everyone.

From what Audrey gathered her Third Uncle hadn't taken being rejected very well and began stalking when his attempts at getting Edwin to fight him failed. Though she couldn't give her any details surrounding the murder it was made clear even back then that it was suspicious as not too long after he was being sent away. There wasn't much of an investigation into this matter either because her Grandmother had asked the Alpha privately not to. As for his sudden and unexpected return even she didn't know but knew he blamed her father for getting him sent away.

Kira rubbed the side of her head; did these wolves not have anything better to do? She wondered ideally while thinking about how she should handle this man who broke apart the original's family as things had changed. The Stonemason pack still stood strong, the Frost family wasn't scattered and the bonds between them were also strengthened. While her own character's position had changed to one with enough strength for her to take him on without fighting.

Thinking about how she was going to do it brought a smile to her face. A few wolves young and old noticed and felt the urge to smile as well.
This good mood quickly evaporated as she ran into someone while she hadn't been paying attention. Giving a curtsy apology in passing without much thought as a hand stopped her. Annoyed she glanced up finding the one wolf she'd been trying to actively avoid for the moment. Marcus.

Marcus blinked down at the much smaller she wolf he'd been trying to find since he made it passed the pine wood forest. She didn't seem too happy with him currently as he continued holding onto her wrist.
"It's you...from the first day." He said unable to believe she was the one he'd been searching for all this time.

"Are you apart of the Blue Valley pack?" She questioned him with a terse tone.

His smile broadened. "Yes. I am Marcus. What about you?" He asked wanting to know everything about her though he'd settled for a name.

Her frown deepened. "Kira." 

"Do you not like the Blue Valley pack?" He couldn't help but ask seeing her face show such a expression.

"No, your pack has it's own methods that allowed it to survive for this long. I don't like others randomly grabbing me." She said pointedly while staring at his hand still holding her.

He didn't appear at all sorry while taking his hand back, her attitude did cause him some slight confusion. His attention were normally more welcomed especially with unattached females. Her scent also didn't carry a strong secondary scent either.

Kira brushed passed him as he struggled to come up with some way of getting to know her better. "Wait!" He called out in a panic.

"Hm?" She turned and looked at him with a clear look of 'I am waiting' on her face.

"How about dinner?" He asked lamely.

"What about it?" She countered seeming even more eager to leave.

"Let's have dinner together, I want to get to know you better."

"I am busy." She said turning to walk away again.

"Then lunch tomorrow." He shot out in hopes that she might agree.