The Isle (Chronicles of the Irish Princess Book 1)

Later that night Kai and I were laying in front of the fire in our room. He was playing with my hair, the music was soft and his eyes were glowing.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Your eyes are glowing. What is it?”

He kissed me slowly. His thoughts flowed to me and I saw just what he wanted. I pulled away.

“Luna, what is it, I didn’t mean to scare you. I wanted to show you I loved you. Please come back.”

“Tell me that isn’t the only thing you want from me.”

“What, of course not. Leah I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know you’re scared and that your instincts are telling you this is all too much, but you need to push past them. You aren’t human. One day you’ll be a queen. You should have been treated like one your whole life.”

“I wasn’t. I was treated like nothing. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to get so upset. I just, I’m not ready Kai. Not for that or our wedding or our bonding. I’m so afraid of all of it. But I know that my father and Oran won’t let us wait much longer. I just, I wanted things to be like a normal relationship with us. I’ve wanted this for so long and now, now it’s being thrust forward into something I only dreamed of.”

He pulled me into his lap and hugged me. “Leah, I am trying to push them for more time. I know you are still adjusting. But they might not give it to us. If your mom is being corrupted by the spirit then we might not have a lot of time. But I promise you that I won’t make you do anything you aren’t ready to do.” He kissed my neck. “Soon my mark will rest here. You’ll be my Princess. Forever.”

I pulled his lips to mine. He tasted so good, like peppermint and chocolate. His arms wrapped around me and pulled me closer. Our foreheads touched allowing us to talk and kiss.

Kai… I’m scared of the bonding. Is it gonna hurt? Will people be watching?

No and no. I’ve asked my mother about it. There’s a small pinch at first, but then it feels good. The part of the ceremony where we bite each other is done in complete private. Once we complete it you’ll bear my mark on your neck. Mine will fade but you will always have mine. To let others know that you are taken. You’ll also get a mark on your wrist. Kinda like a tattoo, but it comes from the bonding with your mate. When it happens between wolves, they will get their marks at 15 and then find their mate. The process is more electronic and advanced than in the past.

What will the mark look like?

Kai lifted his sleeve revealing a Celtic mark. Rather it was a new mark created by joining the mark for wolf with the Celtic knot. It stands for mated and alpha. The love inside the Celtic knot is for mated the number of turns in the knot determines status. Alphas will have two, betas one, and all others will just appear with an infinity in their wolf. I've been told that yours may look different because you are not a wolf. But your aunt has the same markings as your uncle. It could also look different because I am from two different tribes. Irish and Ponca. It could look more Native when we bond, mine could change to reflect that. For now mine shows I am a mated member of the Irish Pack. An alpha.

Oh.... It is so different. My aunt doesn't have any of those markings, maybe just the wolf, which does look more native, but hers has stars in it. Two of them.

That's because she is mated to someone from my Tribe. All the Packs have almost the same base, a marking for wolf that reflects their country of origin. Romania for instance, has a tilted cross and the ends of the cross point to the next extension of it. An alpha of that pack would have three triangles lining up from left to right, top to bottom.

I never realized there was a way to differentiate packs.

Don't worry you'll get it eventually. Sarah and my mom can help you.

Great. I sighed.

He looked up at me. "What?"

"I just, your mom."

"Leah, she knows more about this than anyone, she doesn't want to plan things for you, she understands that you need to do things on your own time, but she also knows that your father wont put up with this much longer. She pushes because she knows you can handle it. I know you can too. Will you please think about it more. I don't know how long we will be able to hold off your father."

"I feel so rushed. We aren't even 18 yet, well I'm not. But don't you think we are young?"

"No." He said, "In pack terms we are almost old. Most pack members find their mate within the first couple years after turning 15 and are bonded attempting to have children within a year or so."

"Attempting?"

"My mother was lucky to have me, the only reason I made it was because of your Aunt. Not only are your powers used to protect us from Aideen, but they also help packs to keep having children. Without you, we are nothing. Now that your powers are activated there will be a boom in the wolf population. When your grandmother died we saw a drop in successful births."

"I had no idea."

Kai sat back. "I know. But you can't push back anymore Leah, our people need you. My people need you more than you'll ever know."

"I'll try to do better. Split my days between your mom and Emilia. Maybe even start planning for our ceremony. I just have so much to figure out. My father, my mother, us. I've put you on the back burner and I shouldn't have. I'm so sorry Malakai."

He pulled me in for a hug. "Shhhh, it's okay. I know you didn't mean it. I love you, Leah."

"I love you more."

He kissed me slow like it was our first time again. One hand rested on my cheek the other was wrapped around my waist. He pulled me closer to him and held me. The kiss deepened and I let his tongue enter my mouth. He explored every inch of it before pulling away. My eyes locked with his and a spark lit within me. Quickly I pulled him into bed and began kissing him more. I was not being as gentle as he had been with me. I didn’t want to be. I wasn’t fragile I wouldn’t break. I liked his sweet side, but I wanted to see the wild side also.

Kai moved us around so that he was more or less on top of me and moved my hair to the side. He trailed kisses from my ear to my collar bone slowly, as if to torture me. I heard a rumble come from within him and wondered if the wolf had taken him over. When he looked me in the eyes I knew it to be true.

I sat up abruptly and pulled away. “Kai, we need to stop. Not because I want to, but because we need to. You’re losing control of the human side of you. I know you don’t want to do anything you’ll regret.”

He sat back and looked at me head tilted. Then his head bowed and when it lifted my Kai was back. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, you didn’t hurt me.”

“Did he bite you?”

“No, I didn’t let it come to that. Your fangs weren’t even out. Kai, calm down I’m alright.”

“That was close Leah.”

“I know.”

“No you don’t. I was ready to bite you.” He sighed frustrated. “We have to be more careful. No more getting carried away. I might not be able to fight him next time.”

I looked down ashamed of what had almost happened. It was my fault.

“Luna, it is not your fault. It is good that you are becoming more comfortable with the intimate side of our relationship. We just have to be careful is all.”

“Maybe I am more ready than I thought.”

“Leah, you’re a girl, emotional and thrown out of her element. The only thing you know is that you love me.” He kissed my head. “After hiding your feelings for so long all you want is to show how much you love me. I assure you that when things are over and done with I won’t do a thing you aren’t ready for.”

“What if I am?”

“Then we test the waters. I won’t hurt you Leah.”

I began to cry, “I want so much to have a normal relationship. Where we make mistakes and figure it all out together. I want to be with you Kai. It’s all I’ve been able to think about since we’ve gotten here. That is why I can’t concentrate. You are too damn sexy.”

He looked amused. “I’m too sexy?”

My eyes widened with the realization of what I said. Slowly my head nodded. He smiled at me, kissed my head and proceeded to lay us down in bed.

“Time to rest luna. I’ll still be here in the morning for you to drool over. You’ve got a big day.”

Instinctively I curled into him and rested my head on his chest. I heard him being to hum as he played with my hair lulling me to sleep.