Marianne laughed at a joke one of the women in their circle made. Her eyes crinkled at the sides as she gently fisted the rice in her hands, cleaning it. A few droplets of water fell onto her sandaled feet, making her brightly manicured toes twitch. Turning her head, she wiped the tears from her eyes with her forearm, laugher slowly receding as her gaze fell upon her son. Ricky's playful fight with Matt had ended, and as was expected, her son had ended up baring his neck to the more dominant Matt. She sighed in resignation, and her mouth twisted into a wry smile as she continued to observe them.
Beneath the shadow of the large oak, the two were lying in the shade. Ricky tugged on Matt's ear playfully while the other lay comfortably sprawled on his back.
Fisting the rice once again in her hands, Marianne was just about to turn her head back to the conversation when something suddenly caught her eye. She blinked, giving her head a quick shake before focusing back on what she saw.
It was happening again.
A crippling fear rushed up her throat as she stared directly at Matt's arousal. The young Lycan's tail swung back and forth, but it did nothing to obscure the evident state of his young manhood. It had grown double, if not more. And that was a definite sign of concern.
Marianne would have thought nothing of it if this had been the first time she'd seen it. Things like this were bound to occur during the phasing stage. In fact, she expected no less and was anxiously waiting for her own son to experience his first taste of phasing. However, the boy constantly getting aroused when her son was nearby was creating an array of warning bells to go off in her head.
It hadn't been once or twice.
Marianne bit her lip worrisomely, tallying how many times she'd personally seen Matt get aroused beside her son within the three weeks he'd started phasing. Marianne forced herself to think, recalling every time she'd seen them like this. She couldn't keep ignoring it and blaming it on the phasing, not when her stomach tightened in a knot like this. Her brow furrowed as her mind quickly skimmed through the memories of the last few weeks. The two boys were always together in some fashion or another. Whether it be playing in the village, swimming in the river, or brawling in the woods for fun.
The rice clutched in her hands slowly trickled out as her large, eyes widened. Her lip started to tremble as a number formed in her mind's eye. A value she deemed much too high to be considered anything but worrisome.
Drawing her hands out of the bowl, she clutched them to her chest, her sharp gaze unwavering as she stared at her only son.
"Suri…" She whispered fervidly, eyes shifting to the azure blue once again as her emotions swallowed her. When she received no reply from the woman sitting a few feet away from her, she called more firmly, "Suri."
The Alpha's mate raised her head after she had fished a pebble she'd found out of the grain and flicked it to the ground. Warm, almond eyes smiled as she looked upon her longtime friend, all attention now firmly on Marianne. Lips turned in a heartwarming smile, she answered. "Yeah?"
"Suri." Marianne turned her face towards Matt's mother, azure orbs a clear sign of her evident distress.
The smile that graced the Alpha mate's face faltered. Gone was the peaceful countenance and in its place, Suri tensed her features. Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked upon her friend in concern. "What is it?"
Shakily, Ricky's mother stood to her feet, attracting the attention of the other women sitting on the ground. They all stopped what they were doing and looked to Marianne with inquisitive faces.
Gaze focused on Suri's increasing frown, Marianna waved her hand to the others, wordlessly instructing them to get back to their own business. "I need to speak with you."
Sensing something was amiss, Suri immediately got to her feet. She wiped her hands against her thighs and then reached for her friend's shoulder. Fear spread through her like a wildfire as a daunting thought skipped through her mind. Had something gone wrong with attaining the sacrifices? Was someone hurt? She should have been able to sense it if that were the case. She hadn't left the pack bond all morning!
Realizing where Suri's thoughts would have instantly traveled to, Marianne shook her head to ensure it wasn't that. Before the other woman could call out to her through the bond, she put a finger to her lips, requesting the matter be kept private from the pack.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Suri nodded her head and quickly maneuvered through the circle of women preparing for the upcoming festivities. Upon reaching her childhood friend, she grabbed Marianne by the elbow and steered her away from the group.
Her eyes scanned the nearby area before she settled on a tree a hundred paces away to ensure a more private conversation. Upon reaching it, she released her friend and stood in front of her, wiping her damp hands against her jeans once more before gathering her long ebony hair and twisting it, throwing it over her shoulder and out of the way. "What is it?"
"I think," Marianne started, a little frightened to voice her concerns now that she had pulled Suri to the side. Giving her head a little shake, she took a large breath, expelling it before centering her attention on her friend. "I…I think Matt is going to take my son as his mate."
Every muscle in Suri's body tensed at hearing those few words. She recoiled as if slapped, eyes wide in alarm. "Marianne!"
"Look at them!" Ricky's mother motioned with her head, her voice holding an edge of panic. "Really look at them, Suri!" The grip she had on her shirt tightened as she stared out at the two boys. "It's not the first time I've seen him aroused by my son…h—he is phasing. I know that it is natural b—but why always around my son? A—And you know that Matt is by far stronger than Eric…why does he allow my son to bite his ear? H—He shouldn't be doing that…they're not five years old anymore…I—It's not normal…not at their age…not when Matt is already phasing, and Eric is just about to…"
Suri slowly turned her gaze towards the two young teens beneath the tree. Her face was unreadable as she too witnessed her son's arousal and the way Ricky playfully tugged on Matt's ear.
"What if once Eric finishes phasing, they claim each other as mates?" Marianne whispered. Her heart beat like a drum in her chest as she quaked in her sandals. "You know that two males have not been mated to each other in over three hundred years." She swallowed. "And…and that one ended badly."
"No." Matt's mother said, shaking her head at the thought before turning her attention back on her friend. "The chance of it happening is highly unlikely." She said, more to reassure herself than Marianne. She glanced at Matt, feeling a sense of dread wash over her. "As you said…it hasn't occurred in over three hundred years. It's rare and with good reason to be." She pressed her lips together, shaking her head again to dispel the horrific scenario she'd just imagined. "…They die in childbirth, you know that. There is no way for us to take out the pups when the time comes…t—they die…they both die…"
"That's why I'm scared," Marianne whispered as she rubbed warmth into her arms. Even though the summer heat threatened to boil them alive, she suddenly couldn't get warm enough. "You can't stop a mate bond from forming…and….once one mate dies, the other quickly follows…"
Matt's mother turned back to look at her son, catching him lean in towards Ricky and nuzzle his neck. Doubt plagued her mind as she watched on. Her heart rate increased as Ricky leaned down and rested his head on Matt's chest. One arm reached over, allowing a finger to poke at Matt's erection with a childlike curiosity. "T-They're just playing…h-he just started phasing three weeks ago…you know in the early stages of phasing, it's hard to control your body."
"But what if it's not just playing?" Marianne asked, voice trembling as she too watched on. Her fear doubling by the minute. "He doesn't act like that with any of the other boys. Just my son!"
"No." Matt's mother shook her head and tried to keep her friend calm. "No…they're just playing. It's just playing."
"But what if it's not? Are you willing to risk it? Those are our children!"
"Marianne!" Suri raised her voice, her own fear starting to grow and spread to the very depths of her soul, her eyes taking on a violet hue as she gazed on.
"Let's tell Elias." Ricky's mother pleaded. "If it doesn't bother him, then alright. I'd be more than happy to know I was just being paranoid. B—but if it turns out to be what I think it is, w-we need to form a plan of some sort." Marianne whimpered. "I can't let my baby die!"
Matt die? Suri shuddered. Her whole body clamped up at the horrifying prospect.
No.
She couldn't risk something like that. Not Matt. Not her son.
"Alright." Ricky's mother sighed in relief, her countenance visibly relaxing as Suri nodded her head. "I'll tell him tonight at the festival."