Page 46 of Own To Obsess

The tribe greeted them enthusiastically, offering food, clothes, jewelry, and special items for their leader and his mate. As usual, they approached in families, and after the parents, it was the youngest child who was always the first to speak. This seemed to suit Shaya, who relaxed every time she was speaking to a child, and Kardos was pleased she spoke in Mayaros. She even picked up one of the toddlers who had been struggling to reach her to give her a gift, and it was clear by how delighted she was to hold and play with the child that she had strong Omega instincts for motherhood. Kardos battled with the powerful waves of possession, desire, and domination that descended on him. He wanted Shaya pregnant.

Rozalia guessed that it was the lingering existence of her blocks that prevented it during her Haze after she bit him, but the blocks were now gone. It meant he would most definitely be impregnating her the next time she entered it. And he couldn’t fucking wait.

The only problem that arose in the villages was when a couple of sisters gifted Shaya a colorful, well-made wrap for her head, which caused some tears, and when one of the tribesmen congratulated Kardos on his success at the hearing. Shaya became quiet and withdrawn after that.

Kardos instructed the pack to increase their speed so that the tribes people would stop approaching them. He wound both arms around Shaya's waist and she rested her head on him; he instinctively purred for her although he wasn't sure she could feel it with their thick furs on.

He took them around the other villages, explaining that they were organized into self-sufficient hubs.

“What do you mean?” Shaya asked, tilting her head back to look up at him.

“In each village, there are a number of swordsmen, archers, food specialists, dressmakers, nurses and so on.”

“Why?”

“So that if there is a very bad storm or if one of the villages gets destroyed or trapped in, we have a better chance of the people surviving on their shared skills.”

Shaya was quiet for a while as they continued touring the villages, but nodded in agreement. “That seems smart. Do all the tribes do that?”

“Most of them. It was something set up by a high chief from Tribe Nyek quite a while ago. It was recognized that it benefited most of the tribes, but some of them don't bother.”

As they traveled through the last village, children ran alongside the carriage, shouting and waving. Shaya laughed and waved back at them, and when they stopped at the edge of their village to wave them off, she turned in Kardos’ lap, rose up on her knees, and waved goodbye over his shoulder.

Kardos was unable to keep his eyes from her smile and when she looked at him, and slipped her arms around his neck, he grabbed her round ass and pulled her toward him so her lips landed on his. The bond swirled and revolved as she kissed him and he wished she wasn’t so tightly wrapped so he could slip his hand between her legs.

She pulled away and looked at him strangely before stroking the shaved sides of his head and settling down in his lap sideways. But instead of watching the landscape ahead she sat in deep thought.

“What are you thinking?”

She was quiet for a moment. “Lots of things.”

“Tell me.”

She hesitated. “The hearing that you went to….”

Kardos couldn’t help but tense.

“That was because of me, wasn’t it?”

He was quiet for a moment. “It was because you bit me, yes.”

Her eyes lowered before flicking back up to him. “Do you regret that I did it?”

“No!” In his disbelief, his answer came out much stronger than he intended and she jumped, startled. Kardos transferred the reins to one hand and lifted her chin so her eyes met his. “Never,” he said forcefully. “I’ve never regretted it.”

Shaya tried to lower her face but he wouldn’t let her. “I-I… “ She swallowed. “You were so angry, for so long.”

“I was angry about a lot of things,” he said firmly. “Including the fact that you’d be disobedient, I’ve never wished you didn’t bite me, Shaya.”

Her breathing increased as she blinked up at him. “But you were still angry even after I was punished.”

Kardos frowned. “What do you mean?”

Her shoulders lifted slightly. “For days after my punishment ended, the bond hurt with your anger,” she said. “You didn’t talk to me. And you leave every day and don’t come back until late in the night.”

Kardos’ stomach dropped. The bond had hurt her? He released her chin and took the reins again, gripping them hard in his frustration. “None of that was intentional, Shaya. A one-way bond is unbalanced, you were likely feeling it heavily because of that reason. I didn’t talk to you because I was focused on what I needed to do each day and… I was finding out from Rozalia how you were doing.”

“You were?”

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