Lycan's Affection

Eleanor felt a sudden wash of relaxation as Conaan's lips met hers, one that was different from everything she'd shared with Alexander. She found her fingers seeking his robe, and she held on to it tight, so she wouldn't fall, her knees turning to puddles under her.

He slowly broke away, his eyes still closed, his lips slightly parted.

She swallowed, looking up to him, her chest heaving.

"Eleanor..."

She met his eyes, the intensity behind them weakening her even more. She found herself drawn in, the feelings she thought she couldn't have for anyone else suddenly seeming a bit too little.

"Is this...how a mate bond should feel?"

He shook his head, his face moving to the side of hers, his thumb caressing the other side of his face.

"If you are referring to how I feel, then it is not just a mate bond."

She swallowed. "What could be stronger?"

"What I felt before it."

She said nothing, choosing to believe in the rapid rush of her heartbeat. His lips moved slowly against her earlobe, his hand moving around the skin of her cheek and neck, then gliding over her jawline.

"I promise I will wait, Eleanor. Till the day our mate bond feels too weak."

"Someday," she said, her voice low. Her heart had already accepted the truth her mind sought to refute, and she couldn't help but melt further into his arms, letting the world around them fall into a blissful oblivion.

"Somday," he echoed, smoothening her hair. "Someday."

Brandon finally put off the fire, supervising the lycans as they took care of the debris outside the hut. He waited till they were done, and he walked inside. Esmeralda was lying on the floor, her clothes tattered, her hair all over the place. She was barely breathing, her chest heaving, but each breath she took was shaped exclusively in Conaan's name.

With a small sigh, he went to her, then wrapped the blindfold around her eyes, then moved her out.

She would probably gain consciousness in the ship that would lead her far away from the lycan territory, or not. Anyhow, Conaan did not care, and he hadn't wanted her body in his lands either. He had deemed it too disgusting.

Once Brandon was done setting her off on the ship, he turned back, setting the ship on track to a destination even he didn't know.

Eleanor touched the small seal in Conaan's large dressing table, her eyes filling with curiosity. "Is this the royal seal?"

He turned to it, then shook his head. "It was a gift from my father." He quickly tied up his hair, realizing unconsciously that he had become more comfortable with showing the scar.

She nodded, then said nothing, continuing to explore his room, like it was the first time she was there.

"Can I show you something, Eleanor?"

She turned, nodding immediately. She felt a slight awkwardness, one that came with having to admit feelings she never believed was there. And the awkwardness she felt with the fact that she didn't want to leave his room, even though it was already going to be morning soon, and she had spent the night in his bed, his hands carefully wrapped around her.

She'd always questioned how she was able to hurt her mate, how she was able to stay apart. But maybe she hadn't been able to. Maybe he had taken the bond for both of them, and here he was now, giving her share back. She found the feelings intense, and she wondered how she was able to carry all of it alone.

Conaan slowly led her to his large balcony. It was to the side of the palace, an unexplored, untreaded path, something like a secret door. The large drapes he always kept closed had shielded it from her view all the times she's been there, and it seemed like a new place altogether.

"What is this?"

"Wait till the sun rises. We have a few minutes."

She nodded, then waited with baited breath, her hands gripping the edge of the balcony railing. Conaan stood beside her, his hand on the balcony railing too, an uncomfortable distance between their hands.

"Is it my father's spirit wolf?"

He nodded. "And a little more. Be patient."

She nodded a little pensively, not sure if she wanted to see it. She had left, without turning back, hurting him and everyone who had ever loved her. Conaan was alive to forgive, her father not so much. She felt her heart drop when the lazy orange fingers of the sun started to stretch across the sky, illuminating the sky.

"Look over there," he said, his eyes pointing to the center of two large dome shaped buildings.

She moved even further, her eyes taking in the view.

"You can only see it once a day, and I hoped we would see it together one day."

Her father's spirit wolf was beside his father's. Each, almost transparent aninal graceful in its sight, each one looking as majestic as could be. But as Conaan had promised, there was a bit more. Right next to them small engraved cursive. It seemed like bits of the two buildings formed it and as the sun rose, the orange glow filled the empty spaces up with light.

"Eleanor is missed."

She turned to Conaan, but he kept his eyes focused on the wolves and the little message.

She felt her eyes moisten up, her chest filling with tears she probably should have cried a long time who.

"I did not show it to you to make you cry. I wanted you to know he never hated you. That's why I kept his last words there. So you see it."

She swallowed. "I made a mistake, years ago. I am still making a mistake by staying here, this distance between us, I am still making a mistake not admitting anything or baring myself to you."

He turned to her, his eyes softer than she had ever seen them, then moved his hand closer to hers. Slowly, he let his hand cover hers, and a small smile took over his lips.

"I can cover the distances you can not. It is that easy."

She swallowed, turning to the wolves that were slowly starting to diminish with the rising sun. "My father..."

Conaan swallowed, then moved a little closer to her. "They are both in a better place, I believe. That is all I need you to hold on to."

She gulped, and he brought his hand to wipe off the tears. She turned to him again, her chest heaving, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I heard I am a little hideous when I cry."

He smiled, his eyes crinkling. "They might be right."

She laughed, bringing her hands to wipe off the rest of her tears. This time, she felt no reservations to cover their distance, her hands wrapping around his frame, the sense of calm washing over her and her lycan wolf, the sort of calm they could both only find within the arms of their mate.