Chapter 102: Gravemaw Welcome
Koda;
"Alpha, are you okay?" Rowan questions as I take the tenth lap of my walk.
I found a clearing in the woods and have spent the past five minutes walking in circles. Rowan doesn’t understand why, and I can not explain it to him.
The feel of his warm tongue sliding through my fingers and the image of the juice sliding down Elián’s throat and dispersing into the collar of his shirt pop up in my mind again, and I groan as I stop walking.
I’m done for!
Seriously!!
It was just one SIMPLE mistake, and I’m as hard as a rock.
For the seconds I stayed in that carriage, I was so close to wiping off the juice with my tongue. Hell, I was going to rip his shirt off and taste every inch of him if it came to it.
My thoughts kept spiralling from one perverted instance to another, and the boy just sat there, staring innocently at me as he ate like he didn’t understand the chaos he just caused in my system.
I didn’t want to do anything stupid, so I excused myself from the carriage.
It’s been approximately five minutes, and I still can’t get the bulge in my pants to die down.
Since when did my self-control become this thin!? Ugh! This boy would be the end of me.
"Alpha Ko..."
"I need a bath," I announce, and Rowan blinks at me in confusion.
"O...okay... I’ll find the nearest river." He replies, and I nod as he walks off.
"Elián... please don’t do stuff like that. It’s already hard enough to control myself with those pheromones of yours..."
♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡
The chirping of birds crashes into my slumber, and I snap my eyes open.
I slept off. After coming back to the carriage and resuming the journey, I kept my distance from Elian but fell asleep.
Now... It’s morning.
I rub my eyes, and that’s when the scent hits me.
I sit up as my heart skips a beat.
I recognise this scent... It’s the beautiful scent of home. I take a deep breath to fill my lungs, and my heart leaps at the recognition.
The sweet...earthy scent of rain-doused soil, crushed flower petals, ripe, fermenting fruit, and wood smoke carried from cooking fires.
I’m home... We’re home.
I haven’t seen Mother in so long, I can barely contain my excitement.
Elian is still fast asleep beside me, but this time he’s leaning against his door.
I poke my head out of the window to check, and a massive grin splits my face when I see the group of people waiting by the town’s entrance.
"They’re here!!" A little girl screams in excitement.
"I just saw Alpha Koda!!" A young boy’s voice follows, and immediately, the sounds of Gravemaw’s traditional drums rent the air.
My carriage slows to stop, and I can barely wait for it to stop completely before opening the door and jumping out.
A massive smile splits my face as I stare at my people. Particularly at my flawless mother, who’s standing in the midst of them in her beast form.
"¡Ampuna Ma Wàá!!" A little girl for the crowd sings loudly, and the rest of the group joins in as they sing our tribal welcome song.
I watch as Mother begins to dance with them, and tears rush to my eyes.
Oh, how I’ve missed home.
"Igana Tosè Mbá!!"
They continue singing, and two young boys rush over to me.
"Do you remember us, Alpha Koda?" One of them questions, and I stare at their innocent faces, but nothing comes to mind.
"You taught us how to catch our first batch of fish during one of the Fish festivals. Do you remember? We were only 5 at the time. And since then, we’ve been fishing champions of the whole sleuth!!" The other boy says, and my heart skips a beat.
They are young teenagers now. If not older!! These are those little boys I taught?
"Madu and Mihan?" I question as I instantly remember their names, and they grin wildly from ear to ear.
"We’ve missed you, Alpha! The whole village has!" One of them says, and I look back up at the people happily singing and dancing to welcome me.
"Come join us!" The other boy says, and I don’t get the chance to protest before they drag me to join the commotion of dancers and singers.
However, the one person I’m most eager to meet is my mother. On getting to her, words aren’t needed.
I throw my arms around her, she wraps her fluff bear arms around me, and I can’t help but chuckle.
While I was younger, she always shifted into her beat form, as for some reason it always stopped my sulking or crying. Now that she’s seeing for the first time in years, she’s done it again.
"I’ve missed you, Ma’..." I whisper, and she tightens her hold on me.
*******
Elián;
Dum
Dum...
Dum...
I pull my eyes open as the insistent sound of banging ruins my peace. I sit upright and let out a breath as I massage my neck.
Goodness. I feel so stiff... and numb...
What time is it?
And what is all that drumming??
I stare into space for a few seconds, and it takes a while for me to realise that I’m in a carriage.
A carriage?
Wait... I dreamt about Koda... Was I actually with him!?
I blink in confusion as I try to remember anything useful, but nothing comes to mind.
The only thing I can remember is Koda... the scent... warmth... and feel of him.
I can’t remember anything else. Not even why I’m in a carriage. How did I end up here?
Where’s Alana?
HAVE I BEEN KIDNAPPED?!
I jolt in fright when I hear little kids laugh as they run by, and my heart starts pounding.
What the fuck is going on??
I open my window, and I’m welcomed by the sight of little kids running about in baggy, sack-like clothes.
Where am I?
The door behind me opens, and I whip around in fear.
"Good morning, Master Elian. Do you want to come out?" The impeccably dressed young man questions, and I recognise him.
This is Rowan. Koda’s aide.
What is he doing... Hang on... Did he kidnap me?
"Alpha Koda has been waiting for you to wake up." He adds as he points ahead, and my thundering heart calms down.
"What’s... What’s all this commotion?" I question, and a faint smile tugs at his lips.
"A welcome party for you and Alpha Koda. You should see it. It’s quite beautiful." He replies, and I stare at the young man. His bright blue hair catches the light in a way that makes it look almost animated. His slit, reptilian eyes study me, and as he tilts his head lightly, I realise that I’ve been staring.
"Sorry," I mutter, and he smiles.
"I’m a blue Iguana. My kind has gone extinct... I’m one of the very few left." He then says, and my lips part in awe.
He bows at me and walks away, leaving the door open.
Blue Iguana.
There are blue iguanas?
I’m startled out of my thoughts when two little girls rush over to the door.
I stay frozen with wide eyes as I stare at them, and they stare back.
One has flawless dark skin and has her hair in pigtails. She has gorgeous brown eyes and looks no older than eight. The other has skin like milk and has hair as messy as a nest on her head, with freckles all over her pretty face. She looks a bit older.
"Wow... You’re pretty." The little darkskinned girl says to me in a tone filled with admiration, and I feel my fear thaw.
"Mama, Alpha Koda’s wife is really pretty!!" The second girl screams, and I freeze.
"No, wait. I’m not his..." I begin, but the girls ignore me.
"I don’t think she heard you. Let’s go tell everyone." The little girl says, and my eyes widen.
I try to grab them to stop them, but they sprint off, leaving me dazed in the carriage.
Wife!?
Did they just call me a wife? Do I look like a girl!?
I can’t have them spewing such crap. Where did they run off to?
I rush out of the carriage, and when I look up, every motor function in my body hits pause.
What is this place? It’s so beautiful...
It’s so... different from Howleroot, the Ashfang Estate or anything I’ve ever seen since I got here.
There are fruit trees everywhere, flowers and bushes... it looks like the place has a golden hue over it.
It’s so magical...
My eyes travel down to the people, and I blink as I stare at them. Bulky, dark skinned men dressed in nothing but leather pants that are much like the ones Koda wears. The women are dressed in breast tubes and straw skirts.
They are all singing and dancing as some of the women happily throw flower petals in the air while dancing along to the drum and singing in a language I’ve never heard before.
I remain frozen as I stare at them, but what really takes the cake for me is the massive, blonde grizzly bear dancing in the middle of all this commotion with Alpha Koda happily matching its movements.
What am I staring at?
Koda notices me and stops dancing. He smiles largely at me and swings his hand happily... calling me to come over.
However, I remain rooted to the spot.
That is, until the bear here was dancing with, turns in my direction and freezes.
The people around notice this, and as if on cue, all eyes turn to me.
The drummers stop drumming, and silence consumes the space.
Am I about to be bear food??