Red Is for Traitor

"How did Beta Moonshadow take it?" I looked over to see an older woman named Mina staring at me. How did Sindri take the news that I would be going off on a rescue mission for a few days (If all went well)? He was not happy. I should probably rephrase that, he was anxious, a little clingy (as in he spent all of his free time by my side), and a bit on the annoyed side that I decided I needed to go out and risk being hurt, captured, or worse killed. There may have been a bit of pouting thrown in there, but he would never admit it. However, he did take the news with some grace and let me try going out and helping. He could tell how important it was for me to go out beyond the confined of our village and aid in the war. As I did with Elder Hawthorn I explained the best I could why I felt I needed to risk my life for the cause. He understood a little and let me leave with my small group.
"He was not happy, but as you can see let me come." I smiled at her.
"Could he really have stopped you?" She grinned knowing what I would say. Instead of replying I smirked and stood to make sure we were safe.
The mission was not supposed to be too hard. There was a small hunting group two days walk from the village that had managed to capture a lone wolf. The plan was to sneak in, free the wolf, and slip away without being seen. We did not want to engage the hunters, that was not our purpose of our mission. Thus when we arrived near the campsite we watched them until night fell. Mina, Antony, and I slipped in close while the other four kept an eye out for us. We waited patiently for our signal and then rounded our trees in a crouched position. The beaten wolf's eyes snapped open and he tensed as we quietly approached him. I placed a finger to my lips before pushing back my hood revealing the paint that allied me with the Bear Brook Pack. He must have understood what the blue paint meant because he settle with an anxious look in his eyes. I stopped a foot away from him and waited for him to allow me closer. With a swift nod, I went to him as my partners kept an eye out for any hunters.
The wolf tensed once more when I pulled out my knife. I paused to slow down my movements to let him know what I was doing. His eyes watched as the sharpened metal sawed through the mistletoe laced rope. Once free, I grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the camp. He only looked back once before easily following me to the rendezvous point. Safely away from the hunters I stopped and started inspecting the wolf. He had many bruises with wounds scattered across his body. Where the rope touched was blistered and red. While I tended to him the last of the Red Cloaks assembled, Mina pulling up the rear.
"Where have you been?" I asked not looking up from spreading salve on the wolf's neck.
"Since we took something from them, I decided to leave... a present for them." Looking up at her, I raised a brow in curiosity. "We aren't thieves." She defended. "Besides hopefully they'll eventually understand what an olive branch means."
"Peace." I smirked. "You are clever."
"I try to be on occasion." She grinned. "Although it may take them a while to realize it isn't a stick."
"Why would ya do thaht?" The wolf asked, finally speaking.
"That is ultimately what we want. We want peace between werewolves, hunters, and humans."
"But they hart us!"
"And we them. The only way to stop this war is for both sides to agree on peace. If not it will be long, bloody, and everyone will lose one way or another. I want my mate's son to grow up without having to fight in this war. He has already seen and experienced too much pain because of this fight between werewolves and hunters and it needs to stop. Do you want your future pups, if you do not have any already, to fight, shed blood, and watch people they care about die or get hurt? Because I do not. The world is painful enough without having this corrupting everything." I capped my jar and nodded. "There, you should start healing faster soon. Would you care to come with us to Lobeira Village or do you have a pack to return to?"
The wolf looked at me surprised, "You ahre from Lobeira Village?"
"Yes."
"I will come with ya."
"Excellent, but you must know while you are traveling with us you are not to harm a hunter unless it is in self defense. We try to be as peaceful as we can."
"I... I understand." He grumbled, but nodded his agreement.
"Thank you." I stood and looked at the other Red Cloaks. "We should walk for an hour or so to distance ourselves more from the hunters." The others agreed and began walking. The group made it back without incident. I stood off to the side and watched as the wolf and Red Cloaks were greeted with excitement. Not only did we manage to rescue a wolf, but we did so without anyone finding out. It was a big success.
I felt someone walk up to me, but did not look away. "Was it as terrible as you thought?" I asked as arms went around me.
"No, but I still don't like it." Sindri replied also watching the excitement. "You and the Red Cloaks did well. The hunters didn't see you?"
"No. They were completely unaware of our movements."
"You amaze me." I grinned and leaned into him. "We can try you going away for longer and longer, but can we do it in small increments?"
"Yes." I turned and hugged him tight. "Thank you."
"I wouldn't be able to stop you anyway. Right?"
"Maybe not with this time frame, but I would respect you vetoing it if you had a logical reason other than 'I said No.'" Sindri laughed at my poor impression of him. The voice was too low. "Where's Zane? Usually he is the first in line to greet us."
"You mean you. He's working with my mom and the other pups on working as a group. They've come a long way since everyone arrived."
"They have." I sighed. "I do not want him or any of the pups to fight."
"Me either."
"This war needs to end soon before they are forced to."
"We're trying, Macha."
"I know... I know."
Every couple of weeks I would leave the village with a group of Red Cloaks to go save wolves or humans. Each time the distance would be farther until Sindri informed me the distance was too much for him. Three weeks. I could be away from him for three weeks before the time apart started to drive him crazy with anxiety. I respected that and would only travel with groups that fit within the distance. The Red Cloaks respected my restrictions and some would switch groups with me so I could still go out and help but not be in a group that traveled farther. Overall it worked for everyone.
In late fall I was on a mission when the first snow storm occurred. We were delayed by three and a half days making our time gone longer than three weeks. The two wolves gave me strange looks as the anxiety I tried hard to hide hit them like troubled waves. Ranya gave me a reassuring smile knowing why I was anxious. I did not mind being delayed, I was more worried about how Sindri was fairing. I decided I would have to shorten my time away during the winter months in case snow delayed us like in this mission.
Once we arrived in the village one of the Alphas informed me that Sindri had gone with Corbin to safely guide a small pack back here since hunters were chasing after them. I nodded and helped the new wolves and humans settle in before making my way to my cottage. Exhausted I went to sleep with ease and had no dreams that night. The next day I dressed in a warm dress since the days were colder now since the first snow and I kept the fire going to warm the house. I spent my time restocking on salves and reorganizing the different plants that have had time to dry since I picked them. It was not until that night when the setting sun was hidden by dark grey storm clouds I heard a knock on my door. Confused as to who would be stupid enough to be out in the beginning of a snow storm (That was proving to be bad already), I rushed over and found Sindri shivering. I stepped aside to let him in.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I cried once my brain caught up to the fact that my mate was in my cottage. I took his cloak that was damp with snow and dragged a chair before the fire so it could dry.
"I tttthoughtttt III cccoulddd mmmmmake itt bbeffffore ittt sssssssttarttttedd." He replied shucking off his boots and moving to stand near the fire.
"You are an idiot." I turned with my fists on my hips.
"Hhhadd tttooo ssssssseee yoooou."
My face softened remembering that we had been apart longer than my wolf was used to. "Alright,I will let you off this time." I stepped closer and placed my hand on his cold cheek. He closed his eyes and nuzzled it. "Strip, you need to get out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold."
He grinned with his eyes still closed. "Wwwooolffff."
"Even wolves get sick. I'll find clothes that Arawn left here." I dropped my hand and easily found clothes that would mostly fit him. I placed them on the table and waited for Sindri to pass me his clothes so I could lay them out to dry. Once I placed his pants before the fire, he wrapped me in a hug with his face pressed to my neck. His cool nose skimmed my neck causing me to lean into him and biting back a moan. I missed him.
"I like your dress." His warm breath caused the hair on my neck to stand up from the contrast of having turned cold from his nose.
I licked my lips, "It was my mother's. Papa gave it to her one Solstice. I recently found." He hummed causing a shock to shoot through my body. I felt his breath quicken to match mine and then his lips pressed to my neck. My head tilted to give him full access while my eyes shut. A moan escaped my lips as his lips traveled up to the junction of my neck and jaw.
"Macha." He growled out. I looked up into his beautiful strange eyes. The normal turquoise was changed as the fire flicked off them intensifying his desire and need. They begged the question we had been skirting around since he started courting me. Was I ready? Fuck yes I was. Without saying a word, my hand knotted in his hair and pulled him down to crash our lips together. Needing no other confirmation, his arms disappeared from around my waist and skillfully unclasped my leather belt before starting on the laces on the back of my dress.
The angle of my head was awkward, but I did not mind. Before I knew it, his hands gently pushed off the dress and let it pool around my feet. As I turned to face him, I kicked the material off to the side so it would not catch on fire. My arms looped around his neck pulling us as close together as possible. His callused hands held on to my hips and pulled was even closer than we already were. A small part of my brain that was not completely taken over by the desire to bed this man, preened at knowing that I was the reason he was hard. Realistically I knew I probably caused quite a few men to get an erection because they lusted after me, but they were not Sindri. It felt good knowing what he did to me, I did to him.
We stood in each others embrace kissing for a few moments before Sindri picked me up and carried me to the bed. With the strength of a man who trained everyday as both human and wolf, he carefully placed my down on the bed without breaking contact. He towered over me without making me feel like I was not his equal. Unlike all the other men that had tried to... do things to me, he did not try to dominate me or force me to do anything I was not comfortable with. As his hands touched every inch of my body, my own hands touched as much of his as I could. When he could barely contain himself anymore, he looked up at me. I stared back knowing what he wanted. A small bit of fear and embarrassment crept over me. "I do not know what I am doing." I quietly admitted.
With a small smile that softened a little the intensity of his eyes, leaned up and kissed my forehead. "It's okay." We slowed down after that. Instead of letting our desire drive us, he spoke softly as he talked me through what he was going to to. First with him slipping a finger into my sex. I gasped at the intrusion but it soon turned into a quiet moan. His mouth stayed near my ear as his teeth grazed my earlobe or his tongue flicked it. After some time he added another and then a third. My mind and body was going crazy with everything he was doing to me. When I thought I was going to unfold, he pulled out his fingers eliciting a whine from me. He chuckled, kissed my nose, and shifted so he was in between my legs. Everything up to this point was in preparation for this moment. His eyes never left mind as he instructed me to bring my legs up to where his waist was. I did as I was told and tensed; fear once again flood over me. He leaned down and grazed his nose near my eye. "Do you trust me?" He whispered. I nodded, of course I did. "Try to relax, it'll feel uncomfortable but it will hurt less if you are not tense." I nodded again and closed my eyes to relax. "Good. Macha look at me, please." I opened my eyes and stared into his. My hands went to his shoulders just in time for him to start to push into me. At the intrusion, I cried out, dug my fingers into his flesh, and arched my back. My breathing came out in shorts spurts as he waited for me to adjust to him. I could see the struggle in his eyes, his desire to push fully into me but knowing I could not take it yet. I nodded when I felt myself relax around him. Slowing inching into me, I watched in wonderment as his eyes kept shifting from his turquoise to silver. When he was fully sheathed, his head bend down so our foreheads were pressed together. We were both panting for two different reasons.
Soon after he started pulling out. I let out a sound I had never heard myself make causing him to grin. I would have glared, but I was not in the right state of mind to even think to do so. A slow rhythm started of him pushing and pulling, entering and leaving. Every couple strokes his pace picked up until he was grunting while I met his every thrust. The only sounds in the cottage were the howling winds outside and grunting and gasps we were eliciting. I only broke eye contact with him when I finally climaxed. I arched my back and closed my eyes as pure bliss exploded through me as if I was completely intoxicated with a high. By the time my mind returned to my body, Sindri's lips and breath skimmed my shoulder while his hips sputtered and slowed. When he stilled he breathed as though he had run miles and dripped sweat to match the false assessment.
Wanting to collapse but knowing he would probably squish me if he did, he unsheathed himself (causing me to gasp at the loss) and fell to the bed on his side. I turned my head to watch as he caught his breath; I could feel my eyes drooping. Although he was so close it felt as though a canyon was between us. Disliking that very much, I rolled over so I was laying with my head on his shoulder and arm across his stomach. I winced a little at the pain when I moved but I did not mind too much. He rumbled happily at the contact as he enclosed me in his arms.
A couple hours or so later, I woke to find my mate still sleeping. Not wanting to wake him I kept my head where it was but let my eyes wander over his skin. For the most part it was smooth and still perfectly tanned, but every so often a silver scar would disrupt the homochromatic of his skin. I carefully extended my hand to touch the largest of scars; the one I gave him. The scar was large compared to all the others and pink where the others were white, lighter shade of his skin, or silver. It would never disappear or near disappear like its brethren and it would be a constant reminder of how hunters had tried to kill his son. Maybe I was just being morbid.
Taking my eyes off the imperfection, I looked over my shoulder to see the fire dying. I sighed and carefully extracted myself Sindri. He made a face at my loss but did not wake. I placed my feet on the ground only to almost let out a yelp at how cold the wood was. Making a face I looked around for anything to throw over me while I made the journey to the fireplace. Spotting my sheet that had fallen off while we were... busy, I wrapped it around me and stood. I nearly fell at how weak my legs still were. I wanted to laugh, but refrained in fear of waking my tired mate. Still biting my top lip I carefully walked to the fire and brought it back to life. I stood there a minute and watched the flames dance as I thought about how everything between Sindri and I had changed and yet did not. I was his. There was no going back now. I no longer had the choice to back away and find a nice human boy to wed. I smiled. Good, I did not want a human.
I was taken out of my thought by a voice, "Macha?"
I turned my head to find Sindri blinking groggily as he pushed himself up on an elbow. I smiled, "The fire was dying. I do not believe we would like to freeze with the storm still raging." I carefully made my way back to the bed and sat down with the sheet still wrapped around me. I suddenly became self-conscious of my nakedness. I looked at him with my head tilted. "Your eyes were shifting." He looked at me confused as if I was speaking in another language. "While you were... um thrusting, your eyes kept changing like they were not sure if they should be turquoise or silver."
His face morphed into an 'Oooh' face before he replied, "That was because I wanted to claim you."
Now it was my turn to be confused. "I do not understand. Did you not um claim me? I am pretty sure you did. I was there... mostly." I grinned when he made a face.
He chuckled as he stretched up to kiss my lips. "Oh Macha."
I giggled unable to help myself. "I really do not understand though. Does this not make us official mates? Are you still courting me with the added bonus of having sex?"
"Macha!" He barked out a laugh at my bluntness. He sat up and pulled me into his lap. "You are most definitely my mate." The tension I did not realize I had eased. "Any wolf will know that you are mine now."
"Does that go the same with you? I do not want to get into a fight with a she-wolf."
"Yes, they will know that I am mated to you... officially now." I felt him grin into my hair. "What I mean by claim is I as a man have taken you as mine, but as a werewolf I have not."
"Why not?"
He pulled me away so he could look at me. "Because when I do, I am going to mate with you."
"Um, I believe we did just mate."
Sindri's lips turned up a little as humor filled his eyes. He wanted to be serious, but I was entertaining him. "When male werewolves mate we are similar to our pure wolf kin. We develop a knot-"
"I understand now." I quickly cut him off. I was well aware of what happened when wolves mated. I frowned as my mind thought it over. "I am afraid you may have to wait a while to mate with me. I do not believe my body would be able to handle a... um knot." My cheeks lit up like Rudolph's nose. Sindri's eyes shone with amusement as he pulled me into his arms.
"We might have to practice then." I heard the grin rather than saw it.
This time I pulled away to look at him and with a sigh I replied, "That might be for the best..." Within two seconds my facade crumbled into laughter. He growled playfully and tackled me to the bed, planting kisses down my neck.