They walked a block in silence. Jacque was thinking about the question Alina had asked about what Fane had told her. Was she talking about the bonding or blood rites stuff? Or was there more that Fane hadn’t talked with her about? She would ask him tonight if there was more. She was really hoping it wasn’t something like, 'for the good of the pack you must produce a male heir within one year of the bonding', because that would really, really suck.

“Fane has explained to you about the bonding ceremony and blood rites, I hope,” Alina said, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah, he told me about it. Not in great detail, but the gist. The blood rites thing is definitely non-traditional compared to what we do in our bonding ceremonies,” Jacque joked.

Alina laughed, appreciating the good humor that Jacque obviously took in everything.

“So, because you're female I know that you'll break it down a little better. Will you give me a clue as to what to expect?” Jacque asked Alina.

“In the ceremony, Vasile will first bond you and Fane. There are three things that must happen for a bond to be made. First you will say vows. I have a copy of the vows you will say to Fane and Vasile has a copy of the vows Fane will say to you. After the vows, the male presents the female with an offering, a way to show her that he can take care of her and provide for his family,” Alina was explaining her when Jacque interrupted.

“He’s not going to give me a dead animal, is he?”

Alina laughed. “No, that is what a real wolf would give his mate. The symbolism is the same. The offering must be something of value that required him to sacrifice in order to get it. As a wolf sacrifices energy when on the hunt, so must a male Canis lupus sacrifice to provide for his family. Want to know what the catch is? Just as a female wolf can turn away a male wolf’s offering, so can we. You don’t have to accept what Fane offers to you.”

“What did Vasile give to you?” Jacque asked Alina before she could tell her mouth not to say what her brain was thinking.

“Before you hear it, you must first realize that Vasile and I have been mated for over two centuries, so what was ‘in’ then, is most definitely not ‘in’ now,” Alina teased.

Jacque was shocked to hear how long she and Vasile had been together.

“Well, I must say you don’t look a day over thirty five,” Jacque told her.

“Now that you know just how long ago it was when we bonded, I will tell you that Vasile gave me two things. The first was something I needed. My family was poor and we didn’t have much, so he gave me a horse. She was beautiful.”

Jacque watched as Alina’s face alighted with the memory of an animal she'd obviously loved.

“She was sable with dark chocolate mane, tall and very elegant. I named her Cosmina, which means beauty. Thesecond thing requires an explanation as well, maybe a small history lesson. In that day and age, wealthy families and nobility all had family crests or signets. Vasile comes from a long line of Alphas, which are our equivalent to royalty, and so his family has a signet. The signet was used to identify the family you were from, the social class you were in, and in our case, the pack you were in. Different families carried their signets in different ways. Vasile’s was a ring,” Alina held out her hand to show Jacque the gold ring.

It had an oval-shaped face and on the face was a grid of four diamonds. In each diamond there was a symbol. The top left was a crown, the top right was a wolf, the bottom left, a sword, and the bottom right, a full moon.

“The crown represents the royal lineage, the wolf distinguishes that we are werewolves, the sword is to testify that as the Alpha family we are the sword of justice, and the moon is to acknowledge the importance of the females in the Pack,” Alina explained.

“So what was the significance of giving you the ring?” Jacque asked.

“It was his way of offering me a place in the royal line. He was telling me that no matter my lineage, if I bonded with him, I would be accepted as the Alpha of the female Pack members. In essence, he was offering me unconditional acceptance,” Alina answered.

“I take it that was really significant,” Jacque said.

“Yes, it was.”

“And what is the last thing required for the bonding?” Jacque asked.

“Since you are human, this final act might seem very weird. The third thing is the blood rites, where you will exchange blood and Fane will put a visible mark on you for others to know you are his.”

“Ok, you’re right. It is quite freaky-deaky to me because we don’t go around biting each other, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. Does it hurt?” Jacque asked, sounding very nervous.

“Well, I’m not sure how it is going to be for a human. It does cause some discomfort. It is a bite, after all, but some find it pleasurable because it is so significant to the bonding. It’s the way you complete becoming one with your mate,” Alina said, making it sound so normal, even though it was definitely so not normal.

“Well, I’m not going to say I’m not nervous because that would be the understatement of the year. I'm trying very hard to keep an open mind,” Jacque told Alina.

“I think Fane is very blessed to have you as his mate. I know it is going to be a big change for you, especially once you move to Romania, but…”

“Wait, wait, throw it in reverse. What do you mean move to Romania? Fane has not said a single thing about moving to Romania!” Jacque didn’t realize she was yelling, on the sidewalk, in the middle of her neighborhood.