Page 7 of Own To Obsess

Once the boat docked, guards beckoned Shaya to follow Kardos as he disembarked and climbed into a carriage-sled waiting for them. Shaya entered cautiously, watching Kardos for any signs of anger, but he sat on the bench and didn’t even look at her. Layers of fur covered his massive bulk, making him even larger than he already was, and the gleam of jewelry she glimpsed from beneath his outerwear suggested he had also specially dressed for the occasion, but his beard was wild and overgrown, even his hair looked rough and ungroomed. And although her fingers twitched to tend to his hair, the wildness of it made him even more gorgeous to her, and deep within, her arousal for him stirred.

Kardos barely glanced her way as she sat down. He banged the wall of the carriage and called out to the driver and as they started to glide through the snow, his head remained turned toward the window.

Shaya couldn't help but watch him. The oppressive feeling she always had whenever he was around seemed to have increased tenfold, but strangely she welcomed it. Anything was better than the complete absence of him, especially with the way the bond dominated her chest. She turned to look out the window but she couldn’t help remaining tense, trying to deal with the pressure of his anger toward her versus her growing desire for him.

The Central Island looked similar to Nyek Island, snow and rock everywhere, except there were more buildings clustered together along the harsh landscape and more carriage-sleds traveled in different directions. They passed by an enormous mountain range, and Shaya held onto the window frame, her mouth open at the sight. It was brilliant white and almost shone in the sunlight. She’d never seen any natural element so high or wide before, and certainly not so purely white. It looked like it could’ve been made out of snow but it that was impossible.

Finally the carriage slowed to a stop, and Shaya breathed a sigh of quiet relief as Kardos exited the carriage and the oppressive feel of him lessened. The guard standing next to him beckoned her to exit as well. There was another crowd gathered a few feet away and she stilled, summoning all the courage she could before climbing out and facing them.

As she settled on unsteady feet, Shaya was caught by the unique beauty of the huge building behind the crowd. This had to be the high chief’s temple. Square and wide, it had three different colored levels of the main structure and each had matching colored roofs that slanted down around the wall. However, the most amazing thing about it was that the walls shimmered and changed color ever so slightly.

The building sat perched on a small hill, and a long slanted stairway led from the wide doors and ended near to where she and Kardos stood.

Strangely, the crowd either side of the stairway was just as silent as the one on Nyek Island, watching both her and Kardos carefully, the only difference was the colors and patterns on their furs.

Kardos turned to her, blocking her view of the temple and the crowd as he unwrapped her from her furs.

“Kardos,” she whispered, suddenly very self-conscious. “I'm going to freeze if you take off my furs.”

“We're going straight inside the temple,” Kardos said roughly, his voice low. “You will not have time to freeze.”

With that, he threw her furs back inside the carriage, then turned toward the path and made his way to the steps.

Shaya followed him, aware of the eyes on her, her self-consciousness growing stronger the longer she remained exposed. As she glanced at the crowd, she caught the expressions of some of the people and was dismayed to see scowls and anger in their expressions. After that, she kept her head down, watching only for the next step that led her up to the temple.

Halfway up, murmurs skipped through the crowd and grew louder as she and Kardos came closer to the temple. Shaya couldn’t determine what they were saying, even though she listened carefully, trying to remember everything she had learned about Mayaros. But the words were low and slurred and quick, and their voices all overlapped with a bitterness in their tone that she struggled to listen to. The repetitive sound ofcannich ottowas the only phrase she heard. She glanced at Kardos’ broad shoulders, but he continued striding up the stairs as if their words and obvious malice meant nothing. And somehow, that comforted her.

When they reached the wide doors, a young man in a collared tunic greeted them, bowing deeply and then beckoning them to follow. Shaya stayed as close as she could to Kardos, trying to keep up with his long strides as they were taken through several semidark corridors lit at wide intervals with candle lamps. Thankfully it was warm inside and a smoky yet aromatic woody fragrance encased them as they headed deeper into the building.

They entered a large hall with a deep brown oak floor and the walls were sculpted into different arched panels that had been patterned and colored to match the shades of yellow, green, and red on the walls outside.

In the center of the hall, a set of stairs led to a high platform upon which sat a robed man who was clearly an Alpha. Broad-shouldered and stern-faced, he had a similar presence about him as Kardos, and a flare of panic came over Shaya when his eyes landed on her. This had to be the high chief.

Kardos came to a stop in the center of the space. Shaya stopped behind him, unwilling to move too far from him, but the man leading them beckoned her forward and gestured for her to stand a few feet to Kardos’ right.

Once they were in position, there was complete silence as their guide exited. There was only stillness while the high chief looked down upon them both. His dark hair was braided across his head and away from his face, and his thick, multi-colored robe made him look wide and overbearing, even from a distance.

Shaya clasped her hands together to stop them from trembling, but the flutter of nerves in her stomach felt like it was spreading over her whole body.

“This is your plan?” the high chief said, somewhat sternly to Kardos. “This is what you intend to argue with the shinnos and tribe leaders?”

Shaya’s stomach tightened and she blinked rapidly, disarmed that he spoke in the Common Tongue. She glanced at Kardos and noticed his jaw was hard and his eyes were firmly locked onto the high chief, but he said nothing.

After a long moment, the older Alpha rose to his feet and made his way down the steps of the platform, his eyes locked onto Shaya.

Shaya darted her eyes away, fear rising in her at his approach. There hadn’t been any indication of the high chief’s temperament or personality in any of the documents when she’d been learning about Southern Lands, but it was clear that the high chief was responsible for the whole Land and therefore was the one to uphold traditions and make decisions benefiting his people. Since she had taken matters into her own hands when she bit Kardos, she had no idea what he was going to do or say.

When he reached the bottom of the platform, he headed directly toward her and she held her breath as he came to a stop, his dark eyes running over her from the top of her head down to her feet. He began to circle her slowly, peering at her as though he was examining every visible inch of her. Shaya’s trembling became worse and intensified when she glanced at Kardos and saw he was watching the high chief intensely.

Finally, the high chief returned to stand directly in front of her, then glanced at Kardos. “Tell me who you are presenting here,” he said, his voice slightly softer than when he had initially spoken.

“This is Katashaya,” Kardos said, his voice gritty. “My mate.”

Shock gripped Shaya, squeezing the breath from her lungs. Kardos had not only called her by her actual name but also said she was his mate! She tore her eyes away from the high chief to look at him, her brows raised, but Kardos kept his gaze straight ahead.

The high chief nodded and stepped closer to her, peering down at her with a hint of both sternness and curiosity. Shaya’s clasped hands tightened as she stared at him, immediately seeing the resemblance to Kardos. They had the same strong jaw and broad shape. The sharp angle of their noses were identical and the intensity of the high chief’s gaze almost matched Kardos. But where Kardos was light, the high chief was dark—his skin had a golden tone and his hair and eyes were dark brown. It was clear he was much older, yet he wore his age well.

“Greetings, Katashaya,” he said, his deep tone also reminding her of Kardos, especially as it was now… soft. “Welcome to the Southern Lands.”

---