I could still feel his punishing kiss on my lips as he looked down at me. The curiosity in his eyes and the way his fingers dug into the flesh of my hips as I tried not to be any closer to him, showed how possessive he was. He had to be a God, but which one I didn't know, my lips refused to let me speak in case he were to strike out at me in anger. I've read thousands of stories based on Mythology where a pathetic human got too close, loved too much, and was hurt because of it.
"I can not come to Earth yet, my body is much too weak. But I will come for you, and there is one thing you must understand," his strong fingers found my chin and lifted my head so I was staring into his dark eyes, "I do not share, no one is to touch you the way only I should. I will not harm you, but I can not promise that the man who touches you will not feel my full wrath."
"That is ridiculous, I don't even know you," the words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. His eyes crinkled as he smiled down at me.
"You will, in time. All you need to know for now is that you are mine, I have claimed you because you have called out to me. We are now one, and no one will ever take you from me. You will always be protected for as long as I have power in your world, but even though I am weak for now, you will never be out of my reach, know that little wolf."
He kissed me again, but this time I could feel his darkness seeping into the kiss, into my being. It was like a tidal wave that I couldn't stop, even if I wanted to. For some reason the urge to kiss him back took over me, I tried to fight it but the pull I felt towards him won. I was being seduced by darkness, and it felt amazing. The kiss was passionate and hungry like it's been centuries since he last felt affection. He pulled away, licking and biting his bottom lip, eyes closed as he savored the lingering taste of my lips.
"Someone else has kissed these lips, but that was a time before me," he whispered a little more to himself than to me, "Everyone will want you now because you have the scent of a God on you. The smell of power, my power, rushing through your veins, my darkness, and your light. My name, little wolf, is Hidite, God Of Death, War, and Chaos, "I watched as he turned and looked down into the bottomless pit of stars, "It is time for you to go, I can not keep you here any longer. I will come for you, little wolf, and when I do, be ready."
He kissed me one last time, and when my eyes closed to enjoy the moment, my head tilting back into his palm everything went black. I could faintly hear my fathers chanting the sound growing louder and louder until I could open my eyes. I gasp for breath and sat straight up on the table, everyone grew quiet as I panted, looking around quickly and then up at the stars. The moment I looked up a shooting star flew across the sky, and I knew it was him. It had to be. A hand touched my arm and I looked at it, then up to the owner. Onyx was sitting next to me with worry etched across his face, he looked at my lips and I could see the moment where his worry grew.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Your lips are black, are you feeling sick? We need to stop the ritual, it's hurting her," he yelled the last towards my father who lowered the book to look at me. When his eyes saw my blood-covered lips, his eyes grew wide. He slammed the book closed and rushed to me, his hands cupping my face as he examined me.
"What happened?" He asked me.
"The ritual, it wasn't what you thought it was. He came to me, told me I was his, and he said... He said if anyone was to touch me, they would feel his full wrath."
"Who came to you?" Onyx asked, anger in his tone.
"Hidite," I looked up to the sky, just as a feeling of warmth settled around me.
"No, you are meant to mate with Aspen. I don't know who this Hidite is, but you will go through with the mating, and I will find a way," my father yelled, mostly towards the sky. The torches blew out, leaving us in complete darkness. My father reached out to grab me, to hold me close to him in a protective stance, but I could feel him tremble. I could feel the fear radiating off of him in waves, and for some reason, I liked the feeling even though I wasn't the one causing the fear. I needed to be the cause, it had to be from Hidite's influence, there's no way I could ever feel this way before I met him.
My father picked me up bridal style off the table and carried me inside with quick strides, I didn't realize how cold I was until the warmth of the room surrounded me, soaking into my flesh and bones. I don't fully understand what happened, or if the moment I had with Hidite was even real or not, but I know that my father won't listen. In three months I'll still be on my way to Aspen's pack, only now I'm confident on the choice I'm making. I don't want to go, I want to be with Onyx, and maybe Hidite? But I only just met him, and who can actually trust a God?
The moment my feet touched the ground I went straight back to my room, stripping the blood stained white dress off my body and tossing it to the floor. I stood under the hot stream of water in the shower for what felt like hours until I felt clean enough, and the next order of business was to brush my teeth, and floss, lots and lots of floss. I hardly doubt I'd ever feel clean enough after that ritual, but what makes it worse is that for three whole months, I'm going to have to repeat it over and over again until it's perfect. Does that mean every time I go through it, I visit Hidite? What will happen with the repeated exposure to the God? Will I survive this?