Fifteen days passed by quickly. Dieg was cutting firewood to keep it stocked for the winter, it's getting colder and colder and Astri feels that winter will be harder.
A feather beastman arrived bringing Astri more winter clothes, bed sheets and tapestry. The clothes are very good and expensive looking, but if it was sent by Lee then this was something expected.
At night, Astri noticed that Dieg's energy was down as he was eating.
"Are you all right, Dieg?" She asks.
"Yes. I'm fine." He answers, with a little smile.
Noticing he was lying, she sits closer to him and holds his hands to make him look at her.
"You can't lie to me. Tell me."
"It's nothing. Nothing you should bother."
"If it's about you, I will always worry, Dieg."
He smiles, feeling warm inside. He holds her face, feeling her smooth skin.
"Wayde and Lee are strong. Lee is strong and rich, he can provide you anything. I'm weak. I'm afraid that you don't want me anymore." Dieg says.
"You're unique in your own way, Dieg. You might not have as many marks as them, but for me, you have qualities that no one else has." She says.
"The only thing you see me doing is being unsure of myself."
"That's not true. No one is so sure of themselves. I'm not sure of who I am, but I'm happy because I have you here with me."
His smile gets bigger, making her smile too.
"You make me smile all the time. You're kind and playful. You help me with finding a way to shift. You always rub my head until I sleep. Everything you do makes me happy. You're not weak, Dieg. You're strong because you make me feel great. Don't worry about marks, you will have many one day. You can't wait until you have them before you decide to be happy too." She says, holding his face.
He brings her face closer, feeling blessed to have her as a mate.
"You're perfect.. I'm the happiest just because I have you too."
They kiss tenderly, and before they notice their kiss is deeper and more passionate.
Dieg roams his hands around her body slowly, like asking for permission on each step. But when he saw her naked under him was almost wrecking all his self control.
He promised he would be gentle and he will do everything to keep that promised, even if watching her face in pleasure makes him go to the skies.
He never tasted something so delicious, never felt happier and complete. Astri feels that their connection was deeper and there was no reason to delay what both wanted.
—-
"Good morning, my treasure." Dieg softly says to her, who was laid on the bed in between the bedsheets.
She opens her eyes slowly and sees breakfast ready for both of them on the bed. She smiles and moves her tired body to sit down.
He didn't hurt her, he just has a stamina that made him taste her every way he could. But like Wayde, he was kind to clean her after they finished.
"Good morning, darling." She says, still tired.
"I thought of letting you sleep more, but it was getting late and we didn't eat all dinner yesterday."
"It's all right."
She looks at his wolf mark on his right thigh, now it has wings around him. Like embracing the wolf with huge wings.
"I love it. And my mark on you reacts the way you said. Appears only when I touch." He says.
His spousal mark is on her left shoulder. Wayde's mark was on her right shoulder.
"Your beast mark must be wide. We're on every shoulder. Normally the marks stay in the shoulder and go to the middle of the back. Or your beast form has big wings." Dieg says with his mouth full.
"Pity it doesn't appear yet. It would help to know what I am."
"You will soon know. I'm sure."
He kisses her head.
"Wayde must be on his way back. I wish there was a way to know if he's fine." She says, everyday she worries about Wayde.
"If you still have his spousal mark, it's because he's alive. If his life was in danger you would also feel on his mark. He's fine. I just wish he gets stuck somewhere so I can spend more days with you."
She giggles, punching his arm lightly.
"Don't say that! What if it were you in his place? Being away for so long."
"Yeah. I wouldn't sleep or rest until I was back. I'm sure he's overworking the other beastmen with him just so he can arrive sooner."
Astri misses Wayde a lot. She was worried that her feelings for him would cold down, but it actually grew bigger.
The feeling of having a mate is very different from having a simple boyfriend. She never had sex before Wayde, but she had human boyfriends, and she never felt the same.
During the morning, and Astri's usual time with Claud, Dieg goes to check things with his father.
Everyday Shung would smell Astri's scent on Dieg, but now it was stronger and when Shung checked Dieg's mark he saw wings on his wolf pattern.
"Look who woke up differently today! Congratulations, son! That's why you came later." Shung speaks, happily.
"You lucky bastard! You're the spouse of the most beautiful female of our tribe." Another male says.
You're brave too. Wayde is her mate, leader Lee is her future mate too. Her mates are powerful. I have only two marks, I don't have a chance." The first beastman who talked to Astri in the tribe, Dean, speaks.
"Astri doesn't care about marks or even looks." Dieg says proudly.
"Can I pursue her then?"
"Of course not. Stay away." Dieg growls.
Shung laughs.
"Astri is a good female indeed. She's different. She's very kind and polite to everyone. Your mother likes her too, especially when she sends good food." Shung speaks.
"Astri says that she believes she needs to show how thankful she is for my parents having me and raising me. Or else she would never have met me." Dieg says, in love.
"LUCKY BASTARD! She loves you." The other two males are envious.
"And I love her. Don't come near her if you don't think you can defeat me."
Dieg is in the clouds all morning. While he was walking and patrolling the village, he saw the feather beastman who guards Astri landing in front of him.
"Go guard lady Astri. I need to go check the tree houses' construction." Fletcher speaks.
Dieg nods and Fletcher flies away again.
Dieg shifts and runs happily to Astri. She was washing her clothes and putting them out to dry.
He shifts again and runs to her, he hugs her from behind removing her from the ground and twirling her.
"Ah!! Dieg, you will make me dizzy!" She laughs.
"I know, but I can't hold up! I love you too much!"
"Silly wolf. Ah!! Stoop!" She keeps laughing.
He finally stops and then helps her with the clothes.
"Let me help you. We can smell that the rainy season before the snowing season is coming. So it will be good for you to have your clothes clean and dry as soon as possible." Dieg says taking the bucket with wet clothes.
After they finished, Dieg asks a guard to take the clothes inside the cabin in case it starts raining.
Dieg calls Astri to bring her somewhere she will like.
She rides his wolf and he runs inside the forest, after several minutes of running and turning on trees, they arrive at a beautiful clearing full of colorful flowers.
"Oh my… This is so beautiful." Astri looks around. Dieg shifts to his human form and dress.
"Do you like it?" He asks.
"I love it! I want to bring some of these flowers to our home."
"I promised myself I would bring my mate here when I had one."
Dieg is such a kid about many things, but he knows how to be romantic without even realizing it.
"What a lucky girl! I wonder who this lucky girl is?" She looks like really wondering. He giggles and hugs her from behind.
"I'm the lucky one!" He says, then bites her shoulder.
"Ow! Ow! Crazy wolf! Help!"
He laughs hugging her. Wind from nowhere hits them, then Dieg smells others nearby.
He senses danger and Astri notices his change of energy.
"What is it, Dieg?" Astri asks.
He looks around, then two black snakes, two dark grey wolves and a black leopard appears surrounding them. All of them were showing their teeth and they had red eyes.
"When so many Monsters arrived here?" Dieg asks himself.