Rieka woke to the feel of warm sunshine on her face. She smiled to herself, hugging the warm thing in her arms. She blinked open her eyes and saw a handsome face sleeping peacefully next to hers. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer. Marrok had such a beautiful sleeping face. Her eyes shot open and she pushed herself to the edge of the bed, moving as quickly and silently as possible. She had been hugging Marrok in her sleep! How long had she been doing that?!
"That was a rude awakening," Marrok mumbled, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. He patted the spot next to him where she had just been laying. "Come back. Its still early. We can sleep a little bit longer. Or," he smiled mischievously at her and propped himself up on one arm. "We could stay in bed and NOT sleep."
Rieka blushed. "You promised to tell me what was going on in the morning."
Marrok groaned and sat up, the white fur blanket falling down to reveal his bare chest. "You really know how to ruin the mood."
She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Either you start explaining or I start leaving." She was shocked at her sudden boldness. A good night's sleep had been the refresher she needed to boost up her confidence and courage. She tried to ignore the fact that the good night sleep had also been made possible because of the pesky wolf king in front of her.
Marrok sighed. "You really are an interesting woman." Defeated, he rose from the bed and walked over to one of the dark red bookshelves. He spent several minutes searching through them until he found an old leather-bound tome. He flipped through a few pages then handed it to her. "Everything you want to know is written there."
Rieka took hold of the book and glanced down at the symbols on the paper she knew were words. She stared hard at the page, willing them to tell her their secrets. Finally, she sighed in defeat and handed the book back to him. "I...I can't read," she mumbled, embarrassed. She had always been forbidden from going to the school because of the color of her hair and her mother had never cared enough to even bother trying to teach her to read. But Marjorie had tried. Despite being several years younger than her, Marjorie had to done her best to try and teach her to read. And she had been doing well. She knew the alphabet and how to spell her own name, but she'd lost Marjorie before she could learn anymore. Since then, she never bothered to try to read again.
Marrok looked deeply into her eyes, saw the hurt and embarrassment that rested in them, and tenderly smiled at her. "Its okay. I'll just tell you. I could probably explain it much quicker and easier than any book anyways." He threw the book onto the floor, trying to make her feel better. It mostly worked. Rieka felt a little less embarrassed.
"My people are called the Lupus Deo. We are the children of the Sun and Moon. Each of us blessed with the strength of the wolf given to us by Mother Moon and the longevity of Father Sun. For centuries my people ravaged the land, killing any and all who wouldn't submit to us. Especially humans." He stopped and looked into her eyes. She smiled encouragingly at him and he continued. "Enraged by our arrogance and lack of respect for life, the Sun and Moon cursed us. Never again would we be able to bear our own children. Any coupling between our people only brought about regular wolves. In order to continue our lineage, we had to mate with those we had once thought inferior to us: humans.
"But the humans were unwilling to copulate with us. In a fit of fear and rage, my people began kidnapping men and women alike to force them. This angered the Sun and Moon more. They punished us again. Now our women can no longer bear Lupus Deo, even with a human man. Only from willing female humans can continue our lineage. If it does done against their will, then she can never bear us any children."
Rieka stared at him, speechless. What he spoke of was truly horrible. Her people, humans, had been nothing more than breeding mares to the Lupus Deos. They still were. And she was brought here to do it. She felt her stomach turn.
"Why the lie?" she asked him accusingly. "Why lie in order to bring us here?"
Marrok scratched his head, clearly uncomfortable talking about the past. "That was something my ancestor started hundreds of years ago. He made a pact with your village leaders promising to give them plenty of game and rich soil to plant their crops in return for one third of their females. My ancestors promised they would be treated well and would live happily. To make it easier for your people to understand, your leaders created the wolf god Ostrythe in the image of my people."
Rieka couldn't believe it. Everything that she had been taught, everything she had lived her foundations of her life by had all been a lie. She was nothing more than a commodity to her village. A good to be exchanged. The truth hit her like a punch to the gut. She had been sold out by her people to give birth to the children of these creatures. Left to fend for herself in a strange place, separated from everything she had once believed to be true.
"So I am just an incubator for your children?" she whispered. "A thing to be sold to the highest bidder?"
"That's not---" Marrok began.
"Don't lie to me again!" she cried, rising to her feet. Everything was a lie. She had no true purpose. She was trapped. Everything felt suffocating. She threw off the red cloak and stared down at the white dress she still wore. 'My wedding dress,' she thought miserably. She chuckled softly and whispered, "And I thought I was going to be a wife."
"You are my faemne, Rieka." Marrok moved slowly towards her, holding his arms up as if she were a wild animal that would flee at any moment. "You are my wife as of the ceremony yesterday."
"I AM NOT YOUR WIFE!" Rieka roared, pulling the flowers from her hair and throwing them on the ground. A sob escaped her lips and all her emotions crashed into her at once. The weight of it all forced her to the ground. Marrok slowly joined her on the ground and tried to wrap her in his arms, but she hit him weakly on the chest. She didn't want him to touch her. Didn't want to be near him. He was the reason she was here now; him and his ancestor. She didn't want him here. And yet, what she felt deep in her chest was an unbearable loneliness deeper than any she had felt in her village.
Helpless to do anything to change her fate, she knew that he was the only one she could rely on now. She let herself be comforted in his arms. As much as she didn't want to be near him now, more than anything, she didn't want to be alone.