I woke up to a cold breeze on my face. I tried to curl up under the warm furs. I always hated the cold season. I would skip it if I could but unfortunately, hibernation is not in the cards for me. I groaned as someone pulled the blankets off me. "Dad let me sleep a little longer. We were up so late last.." My word trailed off as I looked up at blue eyes staring at me. I grabbed my left boot and threw at his face and let out a scream.
"Hey wait, stop screaming. I didn't mean to scare you. You're going to wake the whole village." He looked shocked I was screaming. He jumped to the side as my dad barreled in through the door. He was still tieing his skirt on.
"What the hell is going on in here?" I pointed at the boy I now recognized from when I first got to the village. He was the one who got in my face to ask my name. Why in the world was he waking me up? "Jack, what are you doing in my tent with my daughter?" Dad growled as he stared at the now fidgety Jack.
"My grandma said to come to check up on her. She wanted to invite her over for lunch. I didn't mean to scare Amber." He looked at me. " I am sorry Amber." Why did he always make me feel bad when he's wrong? It's got to be those blue eyes, I have always been a sucker for blue eyes.
Before I could get a word in Orpheus burst into the already crowded hut growling. After seeing I was okay he turned straight to Jack. "What did you do to make her scream? I swear if you hurt her."
"Hold up there wolfie, I just scared her. No need to get all macho on me." He held up his hand but had a smile on his face. I had a feeling he was egging Orpheus on more than settling things down on purpose.
Dad stepped between them which made Jack's face fall with disappointment. "You too both need to get out. Men shouldn't be in a hut they are not mated too. You both know that, now out." He was not taking no for an answer.
They barely got out the door before Jack turned and opened his mouth. "We may not be mates now but I sure look forward to convincing Amber to be mine." He barely finished the sentence before Orpheus tackled him. I rushed out of the tent after them and almost forgot to grab my coat. I pulled it on as I stumbled barefoot outside. I didn't know where my boot I had thrown at Otieno was and didn't have time to search for it.
My Dad grabbed my arm. "Hold up. You don't want to get in the middle. Trust me."
I looked up to see not two men but a black wolf and brown tiger fighting. I knew the wolf was Orpheus which meant the tiger had to be Jack. I was glad Dad held me back. I had no place between these large beasts.
I watched as Orpheus snapped his teeth at Jack. The tiger pounced at the wolf but missed because he simply rolled to the side while racking his claws against the tiger's side. A pained roar escaped the tiger as he lay bleeding on his side. He hissed at the wolf as it stalked toward him. The tiger turned back into Jack whose side was covered in blood from the tear in his side. "I surrender," he said through gritted teeth. "I may not know when to shut up but I do know when I have lost." His laugh turned into a cough.
Orpheus shifted "If anyone is going to be her mate it's me." He said it like it was a fact.
Wait don't I have a say in this? I looked at Dad only to find him smiling proudly. "Good fight. You took him down quick and easy. You make a great mate." What the hell! I thought the one law is females choose their mates. "That's if she will have you that is. What do you think hun?"
All eyes were on me now and my mouth was dry. Orpheus was looking so proud of his win. He was certain I just accepted but I didn't even know if it's what I want. Sure I liked him but you don't just marry a guy you barely know for just that. I thought about the way he makes me smile and get butterflies in my stomach. He was the first person I met when I got here. He never did anything to hurt me. Mating seemed kind of like marriage but Dad said no female has just one male. The reason for this was just because of fertility though. I always thought I would fall in love and then get married.
I must have been stuck in my thoughts too long because I didn't notice Orpheus walk over to me until he lifted my chin to look at him. "You don't want me?" Those sad and confused puppy dog eyes could melt the northern ice caps.