The day had come. Roan was officially returned to 100% capacity, besides the deep scars that marred his handsome features Roan was unscathed. His body worked just as well as before the bear attack if not better. He’d spent the last few weeks of his recovery trying to get himself back into shape. The new pups helped him with that, they were feisty little buggers and he realized quickly how old he was getting.

They were also a good reason to get down to business. The bear was a menace to wolf society, it didn’t have a right to continue to live now that it was hunting wolves. The creature needed to be ended. For those still living and for the dead. Roan was ready to destroy it in his sister’s name. Before they made their way to the cave he wanted time with Iolaire. He’d nearly been killed by the cave bear at their last encounter, it could very well take him this time. He wanted to say goodbye to the woman he loved, to tell her how much he loved her and just how much she meant to him, just in case something happened.

As Resin and Sirius prepared themselves Roan sought Iolaire’s sweet presence in the cottage.

Today felt like a lazy day. The dainty woman was inside her cottage, sprawled out on the new tiger skin that had been gifted to her by her mother. She had the idea to make the large skin warmer, but she had to track down a sheep first. She'd heard word of one of the packs raising sheep. Perhaps they would part with either a whole sheep or a pelt if she asked. Then she could add extra warmth to the striped skin. Perfect for warm, winter snuggling.

"Roan," the woman purred as he entered the cottage. He'd been out quite a bit lately. Now that his shoulder was healed, she imagined he was working on building back the strength that he'd lost. His face looked serious though and so hers went serious as well. "It's time, is it?" She knew the day would come where he would decide to extract his revenge. She just didn't know that it would come so soon.

He found her relaxing languidly upon a beautiful striped skin, he tried to deny his attraction to her in those first few moments. Knowing he would be risking his life in the next day and knowing that he could never return. His name was on her lips as he entered the stone built den and the corners of his inky lips pulled into a grin as he set his verdant gaze upon her. It fell as her intuition told her why he’d sought her out. The mood was somber, but his heart beat heavily as it always did when he saw her again.

”It is.” He started, voice low as he closed the distance between them and curled himself around his dainty mate. Roan was going to make her his wife as long as he returned. ”Soon I’ll present you with an appropriate wedding gift.” He promised her, trying to lighten the mood and give them both hope.

Roan agreed that the time had come to end the life of the bear and Iolaire's heart felt heavy. Her lover said that he would bring the skull back as a wedding gift and the woman grinned. "I know you will." She truly did. Her mother wouldn't let anything happen to him. Sirius wouldn't let anything happen to him. And Roan wouldn't let anything happen to them. Her mother was tried and true against bears. Roan had made a living killing them. She wasn't as worried as she should be, but there was always that chance that something would go wrong. Like poor Dapple, for example.

The tiny fae pressed her body against Roan's, touching as much of him as she could at once. Reaching up, she nibbled the underside of his jaw. There was a playful glint in her green gold eyes. "Are you sure you want me as a wife? I can be rather licentious. A downright degenerate, you know." Her tongue flicked over his lower lip. If he was going to fight bears, she was going to give him something to make him want to come back to her.

However much the possibility of his death loomed over the silver marked titan he wouldn’t invite the possibility vocally. Iolaire didn’t either, as she agreed with him, Roan would bring her the bear’s head. He wouldn’t doubt himself, he couldn’t. He had to come back to his beloved. Forever he’d always have the thought at the back of his mind, Dapple was gone because of his mistake. He’d never forget her or her loss. What was and what would be was difficult to focus on when he had Iolaire pressed tightly against him though.

He hummed deeply at the feeling of her teeth against his jaw, she made electricity course over his skin. Roan completely forgot about the task looming before him as Iolaire spoke to him suggestively. He grinned mischievously as excitement bubbled in his belly, he wanted the dainty healer. More than just physically, his heart needed her just as much and more. ”Are you?” He questioned with deep vocals as her tongue raced over his lips. ”Maybe that’s what I want in my wife?” He questioned while shifting his huge body to envelope her, pressing his chest to her as he straddled her delicate frame. He teased her a bit, and besides pushing her to a more vulnerable position withheld his affections as he waited to see what she’d say or do.

Her suggestive words and tone brought about the reaction that she desired. All somber thoughts were pushed aside. Roan straddled her, putting the small woman right where he wanted her. "You lecherous brute," she purred, her neck craned back so she could give him a glinting glance with one lust glazed eye. Though Io was fine and dandy with making love, she also liked it rough. She liked when she had little control. It all came down to trust and she trusted Roan with ever fiber of her being. There was no doubt in her mind that, no matter how hot and heavy things got, he wouldn't intentionally harm her.

It was the middle of the day and there was a real possibility that someone could walk in on them. She was the healer, after all. That served to excite the tiny fae even more. Pressing her little body against his, she whispered sweetly. "If you don't seize the moment while you have it, we could be interrupted, then you'll have to wait all day to have me. Neither of us want that, do we?" Such a tease.

Roan couldn’t help his lustful grin as the she wolf made little protest to his position, the mood between them shifting easily between extreme emotions. Slowly the silver marked titan was becoming more experienced and he learned her lovely body without hesitation. The trust between them seemed unbreakable. Roan chuckled deep in his chest, ”Your lecherous brute.” He corrected her as she pressed herself against him.

Her words tickled his ear with a whisper as she reminded him how easily they could be interrupted. He rumbled deeply, the corners of his lips pulling back to reveal his brilliant teeth in an eager grin. ”You’re right, I should take you now.” He was careful with her, but he put force into his movements as he rolled the dainty woman onto her back and forced himself between her legs. The whole way Roan was prepared to stop his rough actions, but Iolaire seemed to want it as much as he did.

Excitement raced through his body as he touched the dainty woman, his heart beat heavily against his chest. Adoration, love, and lust lingered in his vibrant emerald eyes as he took her in. Hardly believing that she was all his, every delicious inch of her. Roan slowed himself and his eager actions and took the time to appreciate the view beneath him. With all the sweetness of the love he had for her the dark brute leaned down to kiss her softly, a stark contrast to the heavy hand he used moments earlier. When he came back he would make her his wife, he’d make her his own just as he was in those blissful moments.

-fade?-

Everything that he did to her, she went with willingly. Being man handled was enjoyable and was one of the major benefits to her diminutive stature. Roan could throw her every which way and she couldn't stop him if she wanted to. Which she didn't. So when he tossed the small lady onto her back, she merely growled playfully and pulled him down to her.

"You are my lecherous brute. All mine." She agreed with him before using her small paws to pull the man that she loved down into a kiss. Iolaire's inner fire was a raging inferno. She wanted him and she wanted him now. The woman's desire burned hot in her gaze as she used her body to tell the silver man just what she wanted.

His name was on her lips the entire time. She whispered it in his ear as he held back, but was calling it out soon after.

-fade-

Afterwards, sore and satiated, Iolaire lay in her lovers embrace. God's, how she adored this man. Still on her back, she looked up at him, pouring every ounce of that love into her gaze. "If you're going to keep loving me like that, we might need to build a home further away from listening ears." She smirked. She had been rather loud, but there was no helping that. Roan brought that out in her.

As she watched his scarred face, Iolaire made a deal with whatever higher power might have existed for his safe return. If heaven and earth saw fit to bring him back to her, she would sacrifice whatever was necessary. Whatever was asked of her, she would give. For Roan, she would give anything.

All too soon satisfaction settled over the silver marked titan as he heaved a contented sigh. His dainty love looked up at him sweetly and he held her close to his chest. Roan couldn’t help the grin that pulled the corners of his lips back as she warned him about the pair of them being forced to move. Iolaire’s voice had filled the cottage and any passerby would not have to guess what was going on within. His expression shifted into a sly smirk, feeling proud of himself for causing her vocal pleasure.

”Best start packing.” Roan returned breathlessly, only half joking. He didn’t care who heard, but he wondered what he’d get out of her if they were more secluded. Roan wouldn’t stop, as long as he was still in this realm. He would never stop loving her. Roan pulled her to his chest and rolled the both of them over so that she was draped over his chest and he was on his back. He sighed again, finding nothing but love in her golden green eyes. He absolutely had to come back to her, he’d never rest in peace knowing he’d abandoned her.

He reached up to kiss her again, ”I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.” He chuckled teasingly, shifting from kiss to nuzzling his nose into the soft fur at her ears as he embraced her dainty form. He had to let go, but he didn’t have any desire to do so.

Roan told her that she'd best start packing and the little dame laughed aloud, pushing him lightly. "I'm serious. We'd be further from the garden, but I want our home to be our home, not just some place where I lived that you now live." If he wanted to move to a different place, build a home together rather than stay in the cottage, she was willing to do that for him.

When he rolled with her, depositing her on top, Iolaire gracefully draped her body across his. One hind leg hung over the wide of his large frame, but for the most part, she curled up on him like a kitten. His declaration made her smile and she returned the kiss gladly. "That makes two of us, darling." There was no way that she could ever tire of this. Not unless something happened and he changed drastically. Of course, all relationships shifted with time, but still... she would always love Roan.

Iolaire curled her little body, pressing her cheek against his chest. "You'll take my mother and Sirius, right?" Io had already spoken with her mother on the matter. She trusted the older wolf to both stay safe and to keep her brother and her mate safe. Sirius was a loose cannon, but she hoped that having children might make him a bit more cautious. Not that she'd been able to ask him. He'd been very busy with his new brood as of late.

”We could start looking,” he suggested innocently, he didn’t want to force her to move. She built this cottage with her own paws, he couldn’t ignore that, and the garden was so close and it was in a great location for the rest of the pack to drop by.. ”For a getaway den.” For the nights they would need it most, when the two of them wanted to get really rough with each other. Also just to get away from everything. If it were up to the silver marked titan he wouldn’t tell anyone where it was. He didn’t get Iolaire to himself often enough.

She fit herself comfortably on his chest as he pulled her over, she was all his. The feeling of his deep love for her was uncontrollable. She returned his kiss and his words, there was no way he’d ever get enough. He wanted to wake up holding her every morning, after falling asleep with her in his arms. Roan didn’t want to be without her.

Iolaire curled into him as she spoke about the impending mission. He had to come back to her. Roan gently caressed the fur of her scruff with a massive paw, back and forth along her neck and shoulders. ”I will.” He didn’t want to endanger either of them, but both wolves wished to see the cave bear dead as much as he did, and Roan knew he wouldn’t return if he went in alone. There was still a chance, there always would be, that something went horrifically wrong. He prayed to whatever higher power that might hear him that he wouldn’t join Dapple anytime soon.

”Iolaire.” She said her name softly, living the way it felt on his lips. ”Will you show me her grave?” The mood already sombered he squeezed her gently, reaching up to press his cheek against her skull to give an embrace for his own comfort.

"Ahh, a second home." Iolaire grinned, staring down at the man who possessed her heart. "Moving up in the world." She joked, but she was also serious. She'd started out with nothing. A pup on the run. Now here she was, happy, a wolf of high standing with family all around and Roan beside her. Well... beneath her, currently. "I wouldn't mind a place where we can go to ensure our privacy." Two-toned eyes flashed mischievously. They'd just finished and she was already willing to go again. She couldn't get enough of him.

Those thoughts simmered down as talk shifted to the hunt. He would take her mother and brother with him. That was a relief. He then asked if she would show him Dapples grave. Wrapping her forelegs around him as much as she could, Io pulled Roan close. "Of course I will. We can take flowers for her. Or we can build her a shrine. She won't be forgotten." Io was crafty. Whatever Roan wanted to do for his sister, she would make it happen.

The two of them were on the same page about their second residence, Roan would have moved entirely. He would happily become a hermit with his little wife in the middle of the woods where no one could ever interrupt an intimate moment. He had a debt to repay to Sirius and he knew Iolaire would never leave the man’s pack. Roan didn’t miss the look in her eyes, but their conversation shifted from canoodling, to the harsh pain of loss.

Iolaire could feel his heart sink as she wrapped her limbs around him and held on tight. The corners of his lips pulled back slightly as he basked in her comfort and reassurance that he could pay his last respects. The act of returning to the bear’s cave and giving Dapple a real burial gave Roan an even deeper respect for the dainty healer. ”I think I’ll give her the bear’s heart.” He said without hesitation as he realized he was already dealing out pieces of the creature and there were two other wolves set to hunt with him. He wanted to wear the creature, to make it into armor so no bear could do what it did to him. He was going to give its skull to his wife, a promise that he would eliminate any threat to her. The heart to be left on Dapple’s grave, to prove he had avenged her.

Roan said that he would give his deceased sister the bears heart. "A fitting gift. I'm sure she would appreciate it." Though she was fairly confident that Dapple's soul had gone to wherever souls go, she imagined that souls might still be able to see the world of the living.

Though Roan may have worried about taking the entire kill for himself, she knew that her mother wouldn't want a piece of it. Resin's only decoration had always been her scars. She wasn't one for capes or baubles. The things that she did kill, she gave to others, just as she had given Iolaire the tiger pelt.

Curled up on Roan, Iolaire's eyelids began to droop. He was so soft and warm. The steady rise and fall of his ribcage as he breathed was as good as a lullaby.

Roan never had any real opinion on the afterlife, he didn’t know if Dapple’s conscious still existed somewhere or not. Hopefully if she did, his only family would see what he was about to do and smile down on him. Io believed his gift to her appropriate, and his lips turned up slightly in a grin. He accepted that he couldn’t change that past, he could only prepare for the future. One that contained him and the end of the wolf eater.

He didn’t say anything more as Iolaire started to doze softly on his chest. Roan would try not to disturb her, even though he couldn’t sleep he wouldn’t stop her. When Resin and Sirius were ready they would seek him out. Until then the silver marked titan would meditate and focus himself on his future wife. He was determined to return to her, and return to this peace she brought him.