Reclaim

• Twenty-Three •

Jenna had cleaned the dishes, as it was something she could do, she called Lily who agreed to teach her to cook and to let her know that Sarah was going to be coming by to see her. Once she had everything sorted, Jarred led her back out onto the deck to relax. The sun was beginning it's descent and the wind picked up making the leaves rustle around the house. Jenna felt her body become sluggish due to the early of the day and the thought of tomorrow's training with Derek.

Both of them faced the forest sitting side by side, her head rested on his shoulder. Her tiger was practically purring as Jarred's hand ran up and down her thigh in a soothing motion. It was the most peaceful time Jenna had had in a long time and she was happy she was enjoying it with her mate.

"So," Jenna broke the silence between them.

Jarred turn his head above hers to try to look down at her. "Yeah?"

"Does your Clan have some type of joining ceremony?" She asked, hoping to gosh they did. It would erase her streaks mark, replacing it.

"What? What do you mean?"

Jenna lowered her head with a sigh. Shit.

"Jenna?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering if your clan did that. With my streak anyone who joins gets a ceremony. It's like a big feast but at the end our Alpha marks you, anywhere on your body, as you're surrounded by the streak. Normally it's a bite." She saw his mouth open in question and she continued. "It shows you belong and are part of the family. When the Leader or Alpha marks you, you are branded with it for life." And it's step one, she thought. "The only way to remove it is if you transfer to a new streak and their Leader replaces it. Or a pack, or clan depending on where your mate is, their leader would replace it." Even then it isn't foolproof, she thought.

Tigers were vicious and possessive of what they consider belongs to them. So they made ways to always be able to belong, even if they left. Some didn't bother if it involved a mate, but some, like Silas, would not allow that. Mate or not, you were there's and nothing changed that in their minds. They were power hungry and wanted it all.

"But why a bite?"

"Because it's a claim of family. It means you belong. That is your streak. I know with wolves they bite as a mark with their mate, but that's not like it for us. Well somewhat, but the way we mark our mates is with our claws." She lifted her hand to show her nails as they lengthened, forming into her tigers claws.

She placed her hand on his denim covered thigh and gently began to scratch him. "Our marks with our claws are more personal with our mates. We place them in intimate places all over. Like a stake of claim for all to see. Because we can scratch hard and deep they last longer than what a bite would, so we used bites as our family symbol. Don't get me wrong though, we also bite our mates too but we always use our claws. " She dug her nail in his upper thigh, not hard enough to cut, but enough to cause him to let out a low groan.

His heart pounded beneath her head. His body was tense and his grip firm on her body. "Oh," he said.

She continued to scrap her claws up and down his thigh to tease him. It was only fair she did, since he let her sleep in a separate room last night instead of with him. She watched him from beneath her lashes. His strong jaw was clenched and his eyes were closed as he took deep breaths. In a snap his hand clasped hers, stopping her from continuing.

"Give me a second," he breathed out and she smiled.

It was quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat and moved on. "Um, no. Derek doesn't mark anyone. The only marks we get or have are from either our mates or from fights that were rough and hard to heal, like I'm sure Derek's will be," he tried to laugh to lighten the mood. "We heal slower compared to you but faster than humans. So when we mate and mark each other, that is the seal that shows you belonging to your mate and their clan." He kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to his side.

Her body grew warm with his actions but her mind drifted. A mark from just him might not even be enough.

"But maybe you could talk to Derek about that though. It sounds like a good idea, and maybe it could help our Clan to be recognized and make our bonds stronger," Jarred said. "We have to see him anyway to let him know we will be taking the beta positions, so you could tell him about that too while we are there," he offered.

"You think so?"

"Yeah I do. So tomorrow afternoon we'll go to Derek's and talk to him. What time does your training with him start?" He asked as he rested his head on top of hers.

"No idea." She shrugged with her eyes closed.

Jarred lifted his head and sat up. "My sister is coming."

"I heard. A while ago," she teased, opening her eyes. "The question is, why is she coming so late. I'm exhausted and ready for bed."

They had been sitting outside long enough that the sun had dropped and the moon had begun to shine above the forest. She liked the night but she liked it more with rest so she could prowl through it, explore the lands and what it had to offer.

Her tiger ears perked and as she became alerted, causing Jenna to sit straight up. Her eyes searched the forest to see what caused her tiger to rise inside her. For a brief moment, she wondered if Cam ignored her warning, but she pushed the thought aside. She searched in and around the trees but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, other than Lily that was heading towards them.

It was a second too late when she figured out the scent.