We left nothing, but our paw prints in the snow

Chapter 30

A/N: Okay, I know that this is a very short chapter, but making it longer felt wrong, so I thought it better to leave it the way it was.

Chapter 30:

I couldn't resist. Mate and I hadn't had fun together since winter had arrived, and I craved his closeness once again, so once the pack had howled about the hunt, a good distance away from our kill, which was unusual, I led him into the sunrise.

I saw a grin stretch his black lips, showing off his sharp teeth.

An indentical grin found my lips too, which was closely followed by a growl of pleasure. I suddenly felt robbed of the time Mate and I should have had together, alone. But things had gone so strangely.

“You seem happy today Love.”

“A new nick-name?” I asked, amused.

Mate laughed, “You're radiating with it, so it was a slip of the tongue, one could say.”

“Just because you licked your lips doesn't mean that the 'Love' part was a slip of the tongue.”

“Do I get a new nick-name?” Mate did something akin to a pout.

“Careful, that doesn't suit you.”

“You wouldn't dump me.” He was very self-confident. Let's see just how much fun I could get out of this.

“You want to find out?” I asked teasingly.

Mate faked thoughtful, then replied, “Maybe not.”

“Thought so,” and I went forward and licked his nose.

“More teasing?”

“Was that a demand or a question?” I asked acting innocent.

“You know damn well it was more a question of disbelief than anything else.”

I responded by licking his lips.

Mate growled, and pushed me gently. I obeyed and lay down on my back, curling my faw-paws to my chest and letting my hind-legs go as flat as possible.

My wagging tail bumped into his, and he pinned me to the snowy floor.

“Now what, Alpha Male?” I asked.

“New nick-name?” he replied, copying my ealier comment.

“Didn't you want one?” I asked, faking hurt.

“This position suits you,” Mate told me, and I felt embarrassed, like I had the first time I'd met him.

“Don't start,” I warned, because I knew where this might lead, and we had to bare in mind that I wanted to get the pack moved before the winter was out. Being pregnant would make that very difficult.

“You're safe. I won't let us get carried away.”

“We both know that your hormones are going into over-drive.”

“We both know that yours are too,” was his reply, and I had to admit, the thick smell of hormones in the air was clearly coming from two sources; him and me.

“So what are you going to do about it?” I asked.

The rougish glint in his eye should have warned me of the dangers ahead, but instead of seeing them as dangers, I saw them as fascinating adventures that we could share, adventures that we never got to have. I longed for those adventures and I thought that, because we had so much time robbed from us, surely we could steal one day back, couldn't we? How could one day be wrong?

Mate's eyes showed feelings that mirrored mine, and I let the rougish glint spark a desire inside me. The only other time we'd bonded in this way, Two-Eyes, Shadow and Nacht had been the result. Somehow I knew that if we did it again, it would be so much more amazing than last time, because I'd grown up. I could sense that I was finally an adult, and I would enjoy it so much more. But I knew we couldn't go there, because I couldn't afford to fall pregnant again.

The desire in me was burning with irresistable promises, and I sensed that it would only get worse – or better – if we continued, but I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk us kindling life inside my belly, so I decided that I had to stop now, then and there, before we both got carried away.

It was like physical agony, but I rolled so that Mate fell off me and I got to my paws.

“What's wrong?” Mate asked.

“We'll get carried away. I was already almost incapable of stopping.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Hey, after we've moved, I promise that if you want, I'll get pregnant twice at the same time to make up for this. But we need to think about the pack.”

“You're right.”

Now I knew why one day would be so wrong. If I let myself have one day, I won't be able to stop myself from taking more.