War of the Races Ch. 25

"From this day onward you are the wife of Espowyes," He said softly, "He has given his oath to provide for you. It is your right, if he does not provide for you, to bring your claims of neglect and oath-breaking to the village chieftain and speak before the council. He will be admonished to keep his oaths first, and then if he does not you may seek a nullification of your union and appeal for a new husband. These are your rights Hlina Reas Alvasdottir, as one of the Howling Forde Lupus."

When he was done Wanageeska turned to Espowyes and suggested, "You may wish to take her to the river and let her bathe, so she is not humiliated in front of the village by her incontinence."

Espowyes nodded and Wanageeska left them. Hlina watched Espowyes as he led her to the river. He wore pants much like Wanageeska, and the more she watched him the more she saw much of the older man's resolve in the younger. She found herself smirking, but didn't mind it. Espowyes coat of fur was a mottled blue-gray. He was not as pretty as Wanageeska, but on second and third observation she thought she found him just as attractive.

The wind picked up, coming from behind them. When the scent of her arousal wafted into Espowyes nose he turned with wide eyes to regard her in surprise. She smirked at him and gave her best "I ready when you are" looks.

Clearing his throat, he mumbled, "After you bathe, we will go to your camp and gather your things."

She nodded and her smirk curled up into a full smile, "How long have you known I was watching you?"

"We caught your scent almost a week before you found our village," Espowyes admitted, "We followed you all the way back. When it was determined that you were going to discover us, most of my brothers said we should kill you and dispose of your body."

"Why didn't you," She asked.

"You were alone, and naked," Espowyes replied with a shake of his head, "I sent my brothers away and with a promise that I would kill you if you tried to leave our territory, but even if you are a Prime I could see that something was not right. So I waited, and watched."

"You don't think very highly of me, do you?" She asked, suddenly changing topics.

"Every wild Animal in this world is raised to fear the Primes," He mumbled under his breath, "Fear later becomes prejudice and hatred once you are driven from your home a few times when Primes come hunting and killing any Animal they find. So no, I don't think very highly of you. What you have accomplished on your own is extraordinary, but beautiful as you are, it will take time for me to see anything other than a Prime when I look at you."

He paused then, and thought about what he said before continuing, "I must warn you, I am not alone in this. Most of the village will be suspicious of you until you've proven you're not just another Prime."

"I... understand," She answered a tad bit breathily. She hadn't expected to be ostracized purely because of her race. She hadn't experienced it in her previous life either, but she knew it. Racism seemed to proliferate wherever humans existed, apparently. There seemed to always be those that thought they were better than others because of one reason or another. Culture. Religion. Skin color. Eye color. Height. Weight. A million different reasons to hate, kill, and terrorize, and in return spawning and enflaming more hatred, more killing, and more terror.

A cycle that can only be stopped by one thing... Love...