This is the story of Alora and her wolf Thana. Daughter of a fearless warrior, who died in battle, Alora trained her whole life to live up to the memory of her dad, the Silver Dread. She became a deadly wolf and build a reputation of her own. Alora...
"So, it's happening." It took Kasthor about ten minutes to process my confession.
"Do you know who he is?" He asked, serious as his eyes.
"No." I was being honest.
"Let's make the best out of our time together then." Kasthor flipped us around and pushed his nose deep into my hair as he repositioned himself between my legs.
That night, there wasn't an inch of my skin left un-kissed by him. We kept each other up all night, talking, dreaming, and loving each other.
The night was so fulfilling I wished I could stop time and live in this moment forever. We were together, wrapped in each other, with the scent of us lingering in the room. How I wish I could have his tan skin always available for me to lose myself in it.
"I love you," I confessed from the bottom of my soul.
"I love you. Fated or not, I will love you until I die, maybe even afterward." Kasthor responded.
As I heard him, two tears rolled down my eyes, landing on his chest, and then I saw them disappear on his skin. Almost as if he had absorbed them into his heart to keep them forever in him. I found joy in the thought of having my tears living in his heart—a piece of me always with him.
"Kasthor, tattoo me."
As usual, I don't know where the idea came from, but I blurted it out as fast as it came to my mind.
"Your wolf can't mark me, but you can. I want you to tattoo me." I continued to explain my spontaneous idea.
"I will, only if you tattoo me too." He had a big smile on his face.
———— I had never tattooed anyone before. I had seen plenty of artists working on their craft, but that's about it. I know I should be nervous, but this feels so right that there's no room in my mind for second thoughts. I am actually excited about it. My first tattoo would be the first tattoo Kasthor has ever done, symbolizing my first love. Sounds befitting of the situation.
After our breakfast and morning run, Kasthor and I took a steamy shower together. We were getting all the dirt off each other and taking advantage of the moment for a quick make-out shower session. Then we came here to Amuleto, Miriam's studio.
The place is impeccable and so bright. It smells like olive mixed with isopropyl alcohol. There's a beige loveseat and a metal stand lamp to the right of the waiting room. Kasthor and I were practicing our tattoos on some fake silicon skin under the sharp instructions of Miriam the pack's most beloved tattoo artist.
Miriam is Beta Mathias' mate. They had been together for almost ten years now since the day she turned twenty. She is an impressive wolf with a keen eye for art. Being the bohemian she was, she was all in after Kasthor, and I explained our love-driven motives to her.
We wanted to mark each other symbolically and cheat on destiny for not matching us.
"Do you have your designs?" She asked us shortly after agreeing to teach us the basics of tattooing.
"Yes, here." I handed her the drawing we did a couple of hours earlier.
Kasthor and I decided to get a matching design. A drawing we both grew up knowing.
The symbol represents the love story between the Sun Warrior and the Moon Goddess.
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In the early times, when the Desert was first born from the Sun, the Moon Goddess was wandering free through the night sky. During one of her journeys through the vast emptiness of space, she felt the warm embrace of light. At first, it appeared to be a tiny freckle in the distance, but as she got closer to the source, she felt a warmth growing. A new feeling she had never felt before. The brazing Sun noticed her beauty and spirit from afar and tried to warn her not to come close to him. He didn't want to be responsible for the destruction of such a majestic creature. As the Sun spoke his warnings to the goddess, she felt hypnotized by his tenor voice. She tried to touch him, but she quickly realized she couldn't go near him. She couldn't be with him without getting hurt. So, from the distance, she waited and waited. Thinking about how to be with him until an idea occurred to her. She understood they could never be together, but that didn't prevent her from witnessing his power. The clever Moon hid behind the Desert lands. There, she was safe. From there, she was able to admire the full power of her lover without destroying herself. Ever since, the Moon Goddess has honoured us with her presence in the Desert, where she is safe and able to love from afar.
"Are you ready?" Kasthor asked me gently as I got comfortable on the black patted chair.
Our eyes were pinned on each other as I nodded in reply. Kasthor had a black latex glove on his right hand that hardly fit and a bottle of isopropyl on the other. He cleaned thoroughly the lower left side of my neck, by my jugular, the spot where my neck meets my shoulder.
One day, soon, my fated mate will be marking me on the exact same spot but on the opposite side. It felt right to have Kasthor's mark on my neck, which is one of our most sacred spots. The neck is the most vulnerable part of our body.
I felt tingles on my skin as Kasthor began his work. He was so stern and focused that his pulse never wavered. The moment felt so intimate that Miriam left as soon as she realized Kasthor got the hang of the ink gun.
"Thank you," Kasthor said as we both stood in front of the mirror admiring his precious artwork on my skin, then he kissed my temple.
"For what?"
"For letting me mark you... in a way. For carrying a piece of me on your skin forever." He said in a deep whisper.
I couldn't stand to see him in pain. I wished it was him the one meeting his mate. The sadness in his eyes clouded all the joy of his spirit. I wanted to take all his pain away, but I couldn't.
As a matter of fact, I am the one responsible for such misery.
I turned around facing him, and placed my left hand on his shoulder taking his hand with my right hand. We locked eyes, and after giving him a quick smile, I swayed us slowly. Kasthor imitated my moves, and we slowed dance, at the tune of our beating hearts, our bodies glued to each other. I followed the lead of my heart and started to sing one of my favorite songs loud enough only for us to hear.
"For so long, we have enjoyed this love... Our souls got so close... That I hold your taste, but you also carry a taste of me." I poured my heart out on every word that escaped my mouth.
We both know this song, it is the one Luna Saurey, Kasthor's mother, used to sing to our late Alpha at every celebration.
"If you happen to deny my presence in your existence... it would suffice with my embrace and small talk... so much of my life I gave to you... that now you are constrained to carry... a taste of me." The deep voice of my sweet Kasthor took over the song as we continued to sway to the sound of our voices.
"A thousand years will pass and many more... I don't know whether there's love in the eternity... but in there just as in here... in your mouth will carry... a taste of me." We continued the song together, our voices intertwined, mixed with the sorrow and joy of our love.
We hugged, incapable of releasing each other from the prison of our arms.
"It's your turn to mark me, my love," Kasthor whispered in my ear.
