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The Seduction of Seleste

from the world of the mating season

Coming Home

Chapter 56

Honiahaka and Talisa were married the next day. The ceremony was held on the sun village's great balcony, and wolves from all over the village came to watch as their chief and chieftess were united. The village enjoyed a great feast afterwards, at which Keme and Seleste were given seats of honor.

Keme remembered how roughly Aliona and Enya had bathed him in preparation for the wedding, and afterwards, they had woven feathers into his mane, smoothed him with oils, brushed him, and fussed over him until he was begging to get away. Later when he danced with Seleste at the feast, she told him he was handsome and looked at him as if she had never quite seen him before. Keme supposed maybe he was handsome, all groomed and perfumed as he'd been. But he hadn't felt handsome in all that clumsy attire. Just . . . foolish.

When evening came, Keme and Seleste said their goodbyes as Honiahaka and Talisa sat on their throne chairs in the great hut. Keme stood before them and thought they had never been so radiant. Honiahaka wore a cape of magnificent blue feathers, and matching blue feathers were woven into his mane that set off his pale eyes beautifully. Talisa, meanwhile, was resplendent in a silky white skirt that fell long to her feet. The skirt was slit up each thigh, and a white top of a matching material criss-crossed to cradle her breasts. The newlyweds both wore crowns for the ceremony: silver and sparkling with diamonds. They sat on their thrones beaming, paw in paw, and practically glowing from the day's events.

After promising to visit, Keme kissed Honiahaka and Talisa goodbye, Seleste did likewise, and then they were sent forth to meet the escort of fifteen warriors Honiahaka had prepared for them.

On their way to the sun village's gates, Kel managed to grab Keme and pull him off to the side. He nodded at Seleste and told her Keme would meet her up ahead. Seleste bid Kel farewell and continued on.

"What is it, Grandfather?" Keme asked curiously.

Kel had dressed up for the wedding as well: he wore a cape of dark brown feathers that somehow or other made his green eyes all the more vibrant. His black mane had been woven with matching brown feathers, and more feathered talismans were on his wrists and ankles.

"You have the talisman Zaldon gave you still?" Kel asked. His voice was soft, concerned.

"Yes," Keme told him and showed him his bulging bicep to indicate.

Kel nodded. "Good. I know I was very harsh with you before --"

"Grandfather, there's no need to apologize --"

"Let me finish, pup," Kel laughed and held up a paw. "I wanted to say . . . it may come to pass that Seleste may have to marry another when you reach the summer village."

"Yes," Keme said, and just thinking about it, his face darkened. "I know."

"If this is the case, you may choose to fight the male and win her paw in marriage. You already have status as a hero of the sun on your side," Kel said and nodded at the necklace around Keme's throat. "The council of elders would allow such a petition from you. So there is still a chance you might marry her. However . . ."

Kel heaved a breath, and Keme thought dismally Uh, oh . . .

"If it comes to pass that you can not fight for her, that you must leave those of the summer . . . you will always be welcome here, Grandchild." Kel took him by the shoulders and repeated firmly, "Always. Make sure you come back to us."

Touched by the emotion in Kel's eyes, Keme promised that he would return should it come to that. Kel nodded and pulled him close in a rough hug. Keme hugged him back and smiled as it sank in: he had a family who cared about him, he had a place to go, he had a place in the world!

_ _

Seleste and Keme made their way across the wastelands with Honiahaka's escort, and because the escort insisted on camping each night, it took more than a week. By the time the little wood outside the summer village came into view, it was bright and early, the sky was already blue in the light of day, birds were singing, and plant life was becoming more apparent as they traveled.

Keme took a breath. His family was only miles away. His brothers. His aunt. His parents! He was finally going to meet Kilyan and Avi. The very thought . . . made his breath stop. He wondered if they were thinking of him even now. He was coming to them. Finally, he was coming home.

Keme glanced at Seleste, who was walking at his side. She had spent the last hour looking cold and determined, and Keme knew she silently steeling herself for whatever might come. For once she returned to the summer wolves, her life would be in the paws of the village council again. They would put her on the throne and decide who was worthy of marrying her, and whatever she wanted. . . . it wasn't going to matter in the slightest.

Keme thought of Kel's words and had to wonder what his grandfather had meant. If someone else wanted Seleste, there was no way in hell he wasn't going to fight for her! Why wouldn't he? The thought that he might have to walk away from her, it didn't seem real. But the closer those distant trees grew, the realer it became, until Keme took Seleste's arm and stopped her.

When the escort halted and looked at them curiously, Keme asked them to continue on.

"We'll catch up. This won't take long."

The escort hesitated uncertainly but did as Keme asked. Seleste watched them go a moment before she frowned up at Keme.

"What is it, Keme?"

Keme took a deep breath. "Seleste, you know I want to claim you --"

"But?" When Keme stared at her, she added, "I can sense the 'but' that's coming a mile off. Why wouldn't you be able to claim me? Keme, you're a hero of the sun! Do you know what an honor that is? The village council won't say no." She smiled to reassure him.

But standing there looking at each other, they both knew how easily things could unravel.

Keme took Seleste's small paws in his own and looked at them. "Seleste, whatever happens, know that . . . I love you."

Seleste beamed. Keme could tell she wanted to kiss him, but it would have been foolish: in the distance, a group of armed summer wolves had approached the escort. Zaldon had sent word ahead of them, and apparently, a group of summer wolves had been posted to await their arrival. To kiss within their sight - before knowing whether they could marry or not - would have been more than foolish.

"We should go on," Seleste said a little glumly.

Keme sighed. "Yeah."

They approached the little wood together, and glancing at Seleste, Keme knew she was thinking the same thing he was: this little wood was the first place they had met.

The group of summer wolves that awaited them consisted of all males, warriors who carried spears and wore feathered talismans on their upper arms. The summer wolves were talking quietly with Honiahaka's escort when Keme and Seleste approached. One stood in the lead, and the sight of him almost made Keme stop short.

The male in the lead was dark gray, muscular, and . . . he had wings. Keme couldn't believe it. He stood there and just stared. Stared and stared without meaning to. The wings were tucked away on the male's back, but Keme knew that once opened, the span was probably huge. Were there more like him in the village? And was this normal?

The winged male had a very grim disposition. His long dark mane was loose around his thick neck, and while he wasn't the largest of wolves, Keme still got the impression he could easily break him in halves. He was wearing the leather thong and skirt that Seleste had once described to Keme: he was a royal protector. Glancing around, Keme realized that many of the males present were royal protectors. He glanced at Seleste to see if she recognized any of them, but her eyes were fixed on the leader alone.

Seeing Seleste, the winged male came forward, and with a deep bow, announced himself as Inden and welcomed "her highness" home. He then informed Seleste that he would be her escort to the great hut and that her husband was awaiting her.

"Husband?!" Keme croaked. He bit his lip when everyone stared at him.

The winged male scrutinized Keme with his flat, serious eyes, then he looked at Seleste inquisitively. Looking at him, Keme was reminded a bit of Soomse. Only Soomse had never been so serious.

"Yes, I remember you, Inden," Seleste said. Keme could tell she was trying not to sound dismal, but she was failing utterly.

Keme just stood, feeling helpless, feeling angry. But he reminded himself that he still had a chance: he could always challenge the male for Seleste. Reflecting on Inden's words, he had to wonder how skilled his opponent was. He knew he could easily use his super strength to snap anyone in half who wanted Seleste, but somehow . . . that didn't seem fair. No, if he was going to fight for Seleste, he would at least hold back his strength, no matter that he had no intention of losing.

"Please," Seleste said, and she looked flustered and miserable, "escort me, Inden. I am ready to go - and oh!" She looked at Honiahaka's escort as if she'd just remembered they were there. "These are the sun chief's warriors. They are my guests and will stay the night at my home."

"As you wish, your highness," Inden returned dutifully. He waved to the warriors that were with him and ordered them to move out. The other royal protectors snapped-to and regrouped.

Keme stood as one frozen as Seleste and Honiahaka's escort followed Inden and the royal protectors to the village. It took him a moment to realize that a small group of wolves had remained behind. He tried to push his misery aside as he looked at them.

Four males had remained, and only two of them were royal protectors. The other two were not: their penises were bare in the sunlight. The oldest male was incredibly tall, a big silver warrior with white stripes around his happy eyes. His silvery mane was pulled back in a single plait that fell down his back. He carried a spear with feathers hanging off it, and after passing his spear off to a young boy who stood at his side, he stepped up to Keme and offered his paw. Keme almost laughed: the spear was easily bigger than the boy, who nearly fell over catching it.

"I'm Zane," said the tall male and grinned. "I'm your brother!"

Keme looked up at the towering male, whose joy was so infectious that he smiled back without thinking.

Zane laughed. "Welcome to the family!" he said, and before Keme could protest, he was being choked in a hug.

"Zaaaane," cried the young boy. "Leave 'im alone - anyhow, it's my turn!"

Still grinning, Zane stepped back, and taking his spear from the young boy, he gave him a shove in the back that nearly made him fall. The boy caught himself, and after glancing irritably at Zane, he looked shyly at Keme and stammered, "H-Hi, I'm Aviine. I'm your b-brother!"

Keme smiled at the young boy. "I'm your brother too," he joked and was glad when the boy seemed to relax.

Aviine was short and gray, with large curious eyes and a long gray mane that fell well past his shoulders. His ears were solid black and poked from a mane that was loose but for two braids that held the shorter strands in check. Feathers were woven behind his left ear. He was slender, though his muscles were there. He looked about fourteen or fifteen summers old, a young warrior in training. Looking down at him, Keme wanted to ruffle his mane and had to restrain himself.

"You look just like Dad, just like they said," Zane said in amusement. "And oh yeah - boys!" he barked.

The two remaining warriors stepped forward. They were clad in leather thongs and skirts and were clearly royal protectors. They were both as incredibly tall as Zane, but they lacked his jovial nature entirely. They seemed more like the winged warrior: grim and hard and unsmiling. Their fur was dark gray, as were their manes, and the only way to tell them apart was the way they styled them: one wore his mane in a single plait much like Zane, and the other wore his mane loose. They regarded Keme coldly and did not speak a word.

Keme didn't know what to say. "Um . . . nice meetin' ya?"

The males didn't smile.

"My boys," Zane said proudly, "Mio and Zee - get your heads out your asses," he snapped at them, "and say hullo to your uncle!"

The one with the braid sneered. Besides that, neither of them changed disposition.

Zane's face darkened. "What fluff did LiAnh fill your heads with this time?" he demanded.

Watching the anger that suddenly flashed in everyone's faces, Keme got the impression he was witnessing an argument that had happened many times before. An argument about him.

Aviine looked miserable and uncomfortable, and Mio and Zee looked on the verge of protesting - protests that an impatient Zane had heard a thousand times before but was going to have none of now.

"You're grown males with wives and children and you're acting like this? You shame your father. Get out of my sight," Zane said irritably.

Glaring at Keme, the males turned abruptly and stormed off, spears on shoulders. Zane watched them go with his lip curled in disgust, then turned apologetically back to Keme.

"Um . . . what was that about?" Keme asked.

Zane sighed and pushed a large paw back through his mane. "Our brother LiAnh . . . he's very close to my boys. Always has been. So whatever he does, they emulate to a T. He, uh . . ." Zane rubbed the back of his thick neck, as if he didn't know how to explain and had no desire to. "Come on," he said and jerked his head at the woods. "I'll explain on the way."

"Kay . . ." Keme said uncertainly.

Walking along with Zane and Aviine, Keme looked around and suddenly realized that this was the first time he'd seen the area in broad daylight. It was beautiful. As they emerged from the woods, the grazing fields stretched away down the rolling green hills, and little flowers dotted them as females led their sheep and goats in the morning light. There were very few livestock, and Keme could only assume many had perished in the fires. Following Keme's gaze, Zane confirmed as much.

"So much was lost," Zane said sadly. "Mio and Zee both lost their homes. Burnt down clear to the dirt. They're staying at my home now with their kids, their wives, and my wives.Crowded, lemme tell you. I've got two wives, and just when I think the boys are outta the house. . . ." Zane laughed to himself.

"And LiAnh's house was right next to theirs," added Aviine and shook his head as if it was a shame. "So he lost his house too. Stayed with Dad and me for a long time."

"And me," repeated Zane with a laugh. "As if it was your house too!"

Aviine's ears flattened. "Shuddap, Zane!"

Keme smiled.

The three of them made their way to the village gates, and Keme could already hear the murmuring of the gathered crowds. The guards at the gates nodded them inside, and as they entered, Keme could see Seleste being borne up the streets on a litter. Wolves emerged in droves from tattered, burned huts to reach for the litter, tears in their eyes. It suddenly occurred to Keme that the summer wolves had thought Seleste was dead.

"The last few months," said Zane as he lumbered beside Keme, ". . . they've been hell. As I'm sure Grandad told you - how is Grandad?" he asked as an afterthought.

"He's good," Keme answered. "Dragged me around by the ear a bit, but besides that . . ."

Zane laughed. "Yeah, sounds like Grandad. And Roan? How is he? Didn't he mention me at all? You didn't even recognize me - I thought you would."

"Roan _never_mentioned you," Keme teased. Roan had actually mentioned Zane twice.

"That bastard," laughed Zane.

"K-Keme!" Aviine stammered eagerly. He stumbled along on Keme's other side, his skinny legs working to keep up with Zane's large strides. "Is - is it true that you're strong like Mom? Can you throw me in the air?"

Keme grinned. "How high?"

"Don't even _think_about it," Zane scolded. "Dad finds out I let Keme do it, he'll have my hide. And I'm not taking the fall for your shenanigans." He nodded at Keme, as if to say he washed his paws of it.

Keme cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like an abashed pup. "You had something to tell me?"

"Oh . . ." Zane said darkly. "Right." He sighed heavily. "Our brother LiAnh - I belong to Dad's second_wife, just to make things clear. Her name's Ohana. She should've been out in the grazing fields. We dodged one by not runnin' into _her." He chuckled. "You and Knucklehead here belong to Dad's third," he said and gave Aviine a hard ruffle on the mane what was irritably smacked off. "But Roan and LiAnh, they belong to Lea. She's Dad's first wife. So that means they're first in line for everything."

"I can sense you're driving at something . . ." Keme said playfully. His attempt to lighten the moon went ignored: both Zane and Aviine were starting to look very grim. What was going on with this brother of theirs?

"LiAnh hates you because . . ." Zane stopped uncertainly.

"Because?" Keme prompted. "How could hate me? We've never even met!"

"Because he hated Wynn," Zane said and shrugged.

"Wynn?"

"Our sister. They never got along. She had Avi's strength, just like you. Sometimes she'd accidentally hurt him, and then, she was always getting all the attention . . ." Zane's voice trailed off and he sighed miserably. "No doubt LiAnh thinks it's going to start all over again with you. And . . ." Zane laughed humorlessly. "To be honest, he's probably right. Dad's gonna focus on you as soon as you arrive. LiAnh was crowned chief, and Dad didn't even come to the ceremony because he was out in the woods somewhere, thinking about your arrival --"

Keme halted. ". . . crowned chief?"

Zane and Aviine halted as well. They watched Keme uncertainly.

"Well . . . yeAH," Aviine squeaked. He cleared his throat and blushed a little: his voice was changing. He looked at Keme and his eyes practically glowed as he said, "It's because of LiAnh that the village has held up all this time! He organized everyone after the uprising. We managed to send for help and start rebuilding because of him --"

"It was LiAnh who stopped the uprising in the first place," Zane added. "So many died, and it was our brother who brought everyone to their senses."

"He . . . lost his wife," Aviine said in a sad whisper of a voice. "She died in the fires. He hasn't been . . ." Aviine bit his lip miserably. "I don't know who he is anymore now. She was everything to him, and when he lost her . . ."

"Becoming chief is all he has," Zane explained. "There is no higher honor. The fact that Dad missed his crowning because of you . . ."

"I can sympathize," Keme said, "but him hating me for this is --"

"I know," Zane said darkly. "I never said LiAnh wasn't a prick when it comes to Dad's attention. He's son of Dad's first wife and that makes him a first son. That Dad would ignore him over you is a slap in the face. You'd have to understand the culture to really grasp it." Zane shrugged. "But there it is."

Keme just stood as one stricken.

"Well . . . he's not _that_bad," Aviine wheedled when he saw the look on Keme's face. "I mean, sometimes Wynn and LiAnh got along, didn't they?" He looked at Zane for confirmation, and Keme realized he was too young to have known Wynn.

Zane shrugged heavily. "Sometimes. Anyway," he clapped Keme on the shoulder, "don't worry about LiAnh. You've been lost to us for so long, there's nothing wrong with Dad paying you a little attention . . . Keme?"

"What's the matter, Keme?" Aviine cried, eyes large. "Say something!"

Keme swallowed hard: if he wanted to claim Seleste, he would have to kill his brother.