“There are things about Vrakken training,” I say finally, “that aren’t written down. Things learned the hard way. Besides I have a past with Purnas.”
She studies my face, searching for cracks. “Meaning?”
“Meaning I’ll tell you another time.”
Disappointment flashes, quick, controlled, but she nods. “You always say that.”
“And I always mean it.”
We walk a little farther in silence. The Wildspont murmurs softly around us, roots shifting beneath stone, listening. Then she speaks again, quieter now.
“What is it like?” she asks. “Being Vrakken.”
I stop. She stops too, turning to face me fully. There’s no accusation in her eyes. No fear. Just honest curiosity, stripped of politics and suspicion.
“What part?” I ask.
She considers. “The bond. Mating. The… stories.”
I almost laugh.
“Most of what you’ve heard is exaggerated,” I say. “And the rest is deliberately misunderstood.”
Her brow lifts. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the safest one.”
She folds her arms. “Humor me.”
I exhale slowly. “Traditional Vrakken mating has ceremony. Witness, blood, old sacred law. But not everyone follows the old rites anymore. The bite is the physical anchor, not the whole of it.” I pause. “The bite is not ownership. It’s recognition. A physical anchor for something already chosen. But mating is uncommon in the Vrakken community since me live for thousands of years.”
Her pulse flickers through the bond in interest, heat, something sharper.
“Does it hurt? The bite I mean.” she asks.
“No,” I say honestly. “Its mostly pleasurable .”
She swallows. “And the bond? Is it always… like this?”
“No,” I answer, just as quietly. “This is different.”
“Different how?”
“Faster,” I say. “Deeper and…less patient.”
Her gaze drops, then lifts again. “That doesn’t sound accidental.”
“It isn’t,” I agree.
We stand there for a moment, too close, the bond humming in that dangerous, contented way that makes my instincts lean forward even as my mind pulls back.
“I don’t want to pretend,” she says suddenly. “About this. About us.”
“I’m not asking you to,” I reply.
“But you are holding back.”
“Yes.”