A Wolf's Kiss

Chapter VIII - The Fire And the Snow

Pay close attention to this one, some crucial lore reveals :)

Jagur shivered. He had gotten too used to having Ceres sleep next to him. That boy was so damned warm that it always felt as if Jagur were sleeping next to a fire.

He felt terrible for the things he'd said to his mate during the day, but they were words Ceres needed to hear. All the same, Jagur couldn't help but wonder if he had been too harsh with him... all that Jagur had wanted was for Ceres to be safe. By disobeying, he had made that very difficult.

Jagur fought against his every instinct to run out of his tint, grab Ceres and drag him back, so that he may get a few hours of sleep... he chose instead to lay on the harsh ground, shivering because he was too proud to ask his mate's forgiveness.

He didn't need to wait too long. The covering of the tint was pulled back, and Ceres appeared in its opening.

Jagur looked up at him, with his plain expression. He was still angry.

"Are you going to apologize to me?" Ceres asked, crawling on his knees through the tint over to Jagur.

Jagur let out a low grunt in response, patting the ground next to him for Ceres to take his rightful place.

Ceres laid down next to Jagur, and the wolf wrapped himself around his mate.

Jagur sighed lowly, cuddling up to Ceres' warmth. "You should have stayed in Krigarstad."

Ceres opened his mouth to argue, but Jagur quickly cut him off.

"You should have stayed in Krigarstad." Jagur repeated, nothing Ceres could say would change his mind. "You've come to a dangerous place... the Berserkers are ruthless." He clenched his fist involuntarily. Jagur hated them.... they were the most disgusting, vial creatures on the face of the earth. He would have liked nothing more than to see every single one of them dead, but they relentlessly kept coming from over their mountains, and terrorizing his own people.

Ceres looked deep into Jagur's eyes, and he could see Ceres shiver. Almost like he'd seen something that scared him a little.

"I'm sorry..." Ceres said in a hushed tone. "I should have stayed in Krigarstad... no matter how much it would've hurt to... but I was told to come."

"By who? The stars?" Jagur snapped, he instantly regretted it.

Ceres frowned, and Jagur could see he was trying not to cry. It felt like a knife to the chest.

"I'm sorry..." Jagur said, placing a gentle hand on Ceres' cheek. "I just want you to be safe."

"How could I be any safer than when I'm with you?"

He sighed. "When I tell you to run, you run. And you never go anywhere alone, always have me or one of the pack with you... don't trust anyone else. Understand?"

Ceres nodded.

Jagur kissed Ceres' crimson lips and snuggled up closer to him, closing his eyes. Finally, he fell asleep with his mate nestled safely in his arms.

Jagur dreamed that night that he and his pack were raiding a Berserker village. He ran through the crowds of mangled bodies and burning straw huts with his bloody ax slung over his shoulder.

He saw some prisoners being rescued from one of the buildings on fire, probably members of his own pack. Jagur was quick to run over to them.

"The Chief's daughter is still in there!" One of the rescued prisoners exclaimed.

Jagur's eyes widened. She must have been from a different tribe. Jagur wasted no time at all running into the burning building and searching every corner of it with his eyes.