Intended Ch. 05

The Light-Eyed One spoke up again. "We are happy to hear it, Spiritwalker, for there is something we must inform you of as well. Sala and I are now joined in the sacred bond." So even if the Spirits had not told you otherwise, you still could not mate with her, he added in his head.

For a moment, he thought he saw anger blaze across the shaman's face, but the man covered it up so quickly Jakal could not be certain of what he had seen.

"That is what Keta tells me, Light-Eye," he acknowledged casually. "Perhaps the Spirits spoke to you as well. I hope only..." He paused, leaning forward as he lowered his voice. "I hope only that your mating is luckier than ours would have been; perhaps the luck of the Travelers' will bless your union."

What does he mean by that, the Clan Leader wondered. He said nothing to me about the joining between himself and the young woman being unlucky.

"Unlucky?" Keta inquired.

"I am afraid so, Clan Leader," the Spiritwalker confirmed regretfully. "As you know, the mother of Sala's mother made the mistake of trying to use powerful magic, sacred knowledge she could not possibly understand, and it cost the poor woman her life." He cast his eyes downward. "I am afraid that Sala shares more than a little of Mala's spirit within her. It would be...unwise to put the sanctity of the ancient wisdom at risk."

"You lie!" Sala shrieked as she jumped to her feet, blood rushing to the surface of her skin. "The mother of my mother did no such thing, and you know it!"

The Wolf Clan's Leader gaped in shock at her enraged outburst. "Sala!" she exclaimed. "Do you hear yourself?"

Her mate now at her side, comforting her, the young woman nodded. Voice thick with tears, she responded, "I will not stand for him speaking in such a manner about my mother's mother."

"I understand that. But such eruptions of emotion help nothing." Keta glimpsed the Spiritwalker, who gave her a sympathetic, knowing look. She waited in silence as she watched Sala, who visibly struggled to regain control as she returned to her place before the hearth.

After a time, the older woman spoke again. "The Spiritwalker has proposed a gathering on this night, to celebrate your return to us and to reveal your sacred bond. I believe it would be advantageous to all parties if we performed the mating ceremony here. You could still wear the pendants you already possess, but it would appear less...unseemly to have your joining sanctified by our own spiritual leader."

Before his mate could react, Jakal answered, "I am sorry Keta, but I cannot agree to what you propose. Our joining is already sanctified by a Spiritwalker, and witnessed by the Great Spirits as well as our people. To pretend as though that bond does not already exist for the sake of propriety, with all respect, is an affront to our sacred union."

What has happened to the Light-Eyed One since he left us, the Leader asked herself incredulously. I have never known him to be so opinionated, so openly defiant. He seems more and more like...his mate. She was positive there was far more was going on among the three before her than they outwardly displayed. Whatever it was, all held their secrets closely.

"Light-Eye, no one is asking you to pretend you were not previously joined," the Spiritwalker calmly reassured him. "Our wise Leader is merely putting our people's best interest ahead of our personal desires."

"No," Sala refused. "I am sorry, Keta, but we will not do it. It was a great honor to be bonded at Fox Camp. If you wish to celebrate our return, do so, but we will not be bonded again, even if it is only symbolically." She glanced at the spiritual leader and thought she noticed his eyes flare at the indirect reference to the Fox Clan's Spiritwalker.

Looking at Keta with an understanding smile, the shaman stated soothingly, "I think it is clear to all, Clan Leader, that the young couple will not follow your sage counsel. If you make the suggestion for my benefit, I assure you it is not necessary. As I explained earlier, I knew long before their arrival that a mating between myself and the young woman would be ill-advised.

"Perhaps they would not be opposed to a...minor ritual at tonight's celebration, something that might allow our people to share in their joy without sullying the memory of the original ceremony?"

"What have you in mind?" Jakal asked, suspicious the man was brewing a nefarious scheme.

"Oh, I am not certain," he replied nonchalantly. "I will need time to consult with the Spirits and recall the ancient wisdom to discover the most appropriate rite for an event of this nature."

"Sala, Jakal? Can you at least agree to this?"

The two looked into the sober eyes of their Leader, and recognized she had reached the limit of what she was willing to allow them to refuse. They turned their eyes toward each other in confirmation before redirecting their attention back to her.

"Splendid!" The Spiritwalker reacted so delightedly to their agreement that even their host questioned his enthusiasm. "As that is now settled, if you will excuse me, I have preparations to make." He stood up and addressed the Clan Leader. "The celebration will begin tonight, after the sun drops from the sky. I will inform the others; the three of you need only to arrive at the Gathering Place at the appointed time. Good day."

The couple also rose to depart when Keta stopped them. "Jakal, Sala, anyone with eyes can see something flows beneath the surface between yourselves and our spiritual leader. Will you not speak of it to me?"

The young woman faltered. "I, I simply do not approve of him disparaging Mala's memory in such a way."

"And you are certain this is all which troubles you? I sensed the tension between you and him long before he ever mentioned the mother of your mother."

"Keta, perhaps the Spiritwalker only brought up Mala once in this particular conversation. However, do not forget he first made such a claim many years ago, right after her death," the Tracker pointed out. "It is difficult to forget such an assertion, even after all this time."

The Clan Leader pursed her lips and nodded tersely. She knew they still withheld the full truth, but it was obvious she would get no more from them at this time.

As Sala and Jakal enjoyed a mid-day meal with Yaja, Belak and Nefa, they discussed their meeting with Keta and the Spiritwalker.

"There is something I do not understand," Nefa confided. "Why have you not told our Leader what the Spiritwalker has done to you, Sala? How can you bear witnessing him act in such a false way?"

"Believe me, it is not an easy thing to do." Sala admitted. "Before Jakal and I left the Fox Clan, we spoke at length with the old spiritual leader about how to best approach exposing him to the others.

"She believed, as we do, that there will be only one opportunity to make our accusations if we wish for them to have any lasting impact. The Spiritwalker is very clever and will use every advantage at his disposal to keep the upper hand."

"We must wait for a moment when he is more vulnerable," Jakal explained. "Right now he is wary. He knows we dance with him, and because of this, is more prepared against an attack."

"Keta is a strong and able Leader of our people, but she also puts a great deal of emphasis on decorum. I think had you revealed his crime at that first meeting," Belak speculated, "she would have insisted on discretion. The added pressure would work only in the Spiritwalker's favor, providing him more time to craft a defense."

The two mates nodded their agreement.

"One thing which does work in your favor is that you are a Light-Eyed One." Yaja cocked her head toward the Tracker. "I mean you no disrespect, Sala, but if he was not at your side, I am not certain how successful your plan could be, without proof. And even now..."

Jakal balked. He knew Belak's mate spoke aloud only that which they all recognized privately. Still, it greatly angered him to think that a powerful individual could get away with harming another simply because his status made his word more credible than another's. Wrapping a strong arm around his woman, he clutched her to him and kissed her forehead.

"You are correct, Yaja," Sala acknowledged. "Knowing I would not be believed is the reason why I left in the first place. And I tell you freely, I would not be before you now if it were not for Jakal." She pressed her body into his. "It is he who gives me the courage to even try."

After bathing in the stream with Nefa and Yaja, Sala, along with her companions, returned to her mate's dwelling to prepare for the evening celebration. Although she knew the gathering was the Spiritwalker's idea, which alone was enough to completely turn her off from the event, she did welcome the opportunity to revel in her joining with Jakal.

She still had to remind herself at times that it was all real. After Mala died the young woman withdrew in on herself so much that she could not, or would not, let another close to her again. Over the years a number of young men, both in and out of their Clan, attempted to interest her in a possible joining, but she would put them off for so long that eventually they set their sights elsewhere. As a result, Sala was considered rather old for an unmated woman; females of her age typically had been bonded for several years with at least one child at the hearth.

Her unmated status did not prevent her from actively pursuing pleasures of the body; in a unstated way she was actually quite popular among the men. The fierce abandon she exhibited when coupling with another contrasted so sharply with her day-to-day interactions that it enhanced the eroticism of the encounters. As the mother of her mother before her, Sala was a woman of strong passions and opinions. But until Jakal, the furs remained the only place where she truly allowed herself to be touched by, affected by, another.

When the Spiritwalker took her body, she grieved not only for the violation itself, but for the loss of the single haven she still possessed where she might let down her guard. Her esoteric inheritance and the subsequent death of the woman who bestowed such wisdom upon her unintentionally resulted in a powerful mistrust and longstanding fear of putting herself at the same risk. She hid her vulnerability behind a mask of wit and sarcasm, but the truth was, anyone who might have wanted to truly know her never stood a chance. Even Nefa, the one person she considered her closest friend, Sala kept at arm's length.

It struck her as more than a little ironic that the man from whom she purposefully distanced herself for the sake of her own vanity, the man who so many tried to claim for themselves only to fail, was the very man she ultimately mated. He was the first individual since Mala with whom she shared her many secrets. He was the first individual with whom she shared herself completely.

When the women arrived at the Light-Eye's residence he was not inside, so as they agreed the night before, Nefa and Yaja waited with his mate until he arrived. Sala thought it a little ridiculous, embarrassing even, to be watched over as a child is tended by her mother, but it was one of the many conditions she and Jakal agreed upon before executing their plan. The man was not about to undertake a difficult, dangerous task only to put his woman at risk through a simple lack of vigilance.

After setting a pot of water over the hearth to heat for tea, Sala beckoned her friends to join her in the sleeping area to assist in choosing clothing for the gathering. To their great surprise a choice was already displayed upon the furs: the intricately beaded tunic with long, deep fringes the young woman had worn for her bonding ceremony only days before.

While her guests examined and admired the beautiful garment, Sala felt a pulling, a twisting deep inside her which hardened her nipples and dampened her inner thighs as she recalled her mate's reaction when she wore that particular piece of clothing. I had no idea he managed to acquire it, she thought with a private smile. She had to admit it had been difficult to give up, but she never imagined she might be able to keep it.

She suddenly realized someone was speaking to her. "Sala, will you try it on? I cannot wait to see how it looks on your body."

"Yes, of course, Nefa," she replied blankly as she returned from her fantasy. Her companions exclaimed in awe as the pliant leather skimmed over her curves.

"By the Spirits, Sala," Yaja gasped. "How does Jakal restrain his body when you wear such a garment?"

The young woman blushed. "Not easily," she disclosed to their titillated twitters.

"Never mind the Light-Eyed One. How will the rest of the men restrain themselves this night?" Nefa gushed.

"I am sure they will find it just as challenging as I," a masculine voice broke in.

The women jumped at the unexpected intrusion only to find the Tracker standing at the entryway between the living and sleeping areas, his long arms spanning its width. His stance askew, his eyes sliced the space between himself and his mate as if nothing else existed. Sala's pulse quickened as his gaze stripped her naked.

While the two mates locked in a visual joining, Yaja nudged Nefa with an elbow. As they left the residence they called out to their friends that they would see them again soon, though neither expected, nor received, a response.

Steadying her trembling voice, Sala remarked, "I, I did not know you managed to acquire the tunic."

"Does it please you?"

"Oh yes," she breathed, barely able to speak from the way his bold blue eyes penetrated her.

"It is not often I take advantage of my status, but I do make exceptions when the need is great," he conceded, skulking toward his woman.

Both their lips' smiled as their bodies came together, and, feeling the greatness of his need, Sala thrust her hips forward and ground her groin against his.

Unleashing a rumble of pleasure from within his chest, Jakal crushed his hard figure into her soft curves, trying to merge their bodies. He then slid a hand under the fringe and between her legs, growling to discover her dripping with arousal. All at once he fell to his knees and crouched beneath her.

Grasping her head in her hands, fingers outstretched, the woman expressed a long, slow moan as her mate parted her lips and nuzzled her sensitive opening, exploring the aching folds within his hot mouth. She arched her back when his tongue contacted her engorged bud, her fingers blindly groping for him. Reaching his head, they pulled his long hair at the roots as her hands clutched onto him to keep from losing her balance.

"Uhhh...Jakal...Mmm, yes. Take me, take me to the Other Side," she begged.

Her pleas spurring him forward, he concentrated his efforts on her quivering node until he heard her screams of relief as she pulsed against his tongue.

Rising to his feet one more, Jakal tore off his leather leggings and flung them away. Placing his large hands on either side of her waist, he lifted Sala high off the ground and impaled her on his upright organ.

They both groaned as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist, his stiff manhood fully sheathed within her smooth canal. His palms gripping her buttocks, he lifted her body then lowered it, using the force of the earth to thrust himself deeply inside her. Mashing their lips together, tongues stabbing mouths, the man carried them both to the sleeping platform.

Keeping their bodies joined, he lowered her atop the thick layers of luxurious furs. Standing at the edge of the platform, holding her hips high with one strong arm, he pulled out of her and replaced his member with his fingers. Thoroughly coating them with her essence, he traced his wet digits in a line to her second opening.

Sala screamed with pleasure when one of them slipped inside her puckered hole. "Oh yes, oh Jakal...mmm...yes pleeease," she cried, imploring him to continue.

Listening to her beg as she arched her body, trying desperately to push herself against his thrusting finger, Jakal struggled with the urge to enter her tight passage immediately. Clenching his jaw as his organ throbbed, its head wet with its fluid, he forced himself instead to tease her open further with a second finger added to the first.

The fullness she felt as he slowly stretched her open made her delirious with her need to have him inside her. Sala could not take the torment any longer; she needed him to fill her now.

"Jakal, please, do not make me wait. I need your manhood to fill me inside."

"Are you certain?" he asked, gritting his teeth. As much as he desired to be inside her as well, he did not wish to harm her by moving too quickly and wanted to be sure.

"Yes, by the Spirits, YES!"

Removing his digits from her orifice, Jakal thrust into her sopping sex once more. She had grown so wet her juices slid down her slit and toward his ultimate destination. His shaft now completely slick, once again he withdrew and placed the tip of his member at the pursed bud of her rear entrance.

Jakal pushed forward, and when Sala remembered she needed to relax to ease his passage the muscular ring yielded and all at once the head of his organ was inside.

As both of them moaned from the sensation, the man looked down at his mate and saw her chest and face flushed, lightly glistening with perspiration. Her hair strewn about upon the furs, she stared at him with half closed eyes and nodded weakly, signaling him to continue.

Nudging forward with steady pressure, he groaned from the incredible tightness of her clenching hole squeezing his length. "Ohhh Sala, the tightness of your body's embrace torments me."

"Keep going," she urged, gripping the furs beneath her. "The fullness of your manhood... Uhhh...so much pleasure."

At last he was in all the way. Holding the woman by her hips, both lovers cried out at the exquisiteness of their union as Jakal began stroking deeply in and out of her narrow canal.

Sala could feel every curve, every vein of his thickness as their friction brought her higher and higher to the brink. She was certain she would die from rapture as their bodies joined in such an intimate way.

Looking down, the man watched as the muscular band of her back opening stretched taut around his thrusting organ and he moaned with renewed arousal. The closeness he felt for her, the trust that was required to commune in this most intimate manner was hastening his peak.

"My wild, glorious woman, I love you!" he cried out, unable to hold on any longer.

The sensation of him jerking inside her as Sala felt his warm seed spurting in her snug depths made the ring clutching his shaft begin to throb. She lifted her hips one last time, grinding herself deep against his base, her body shaking as she let go of the edge.

"OH YES! Yes, my love, yes!"

Still quaking with the aftershocks of their pleasures, the Light-Eye collapsed onto his woman, breathing heavily, both their legs hanging off the edge of the platform. When he was able, he rolled off her and knelt to the floor, retrieving an object which had fallen from the furs in the course of their lovemaking. Returning to his place beside her, he presented the item to her.

It was a three-pronged comb, carved from a piece of wood, smoothed carefully so not a single splinter remained. A pattern of intersecting lines, etched at deep angles, decorated the handle and provided a sturdy grip for the user.

"Jakal, it is beautiful," Sala exclaimed, genuinely moved. "First the tunic, now this; it is too much," she insisted.

He kissed her, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand as he stared into her rich brown eyes. "You are wrong, sweet Sala. All of it pales compared to what you have given me."