She knew she was stubborn, she knew she had a valid reason to be angry and upset, but the longer this went on the more she wondered if holding this grudge was worth all of this stress that was bleeding out into every other part of her life. Constantly sleeping alone, constantly laying awake wondering if Alastor was ever going to come to some sort of sense and meet her half way, constantly searching for any little relief or pleasure to take her mind off of what was going on... It was causing her to fall behind on everything else in her life and she was seeing the additional strain it was putting on her poor daughter as she tried to help where she could and pick up the slack. It wasn't fair to any of them and it was tearing their family apart—for what? For petty pride and hurt feelings? She still believed she had valid concerns over Alastor's behavior and his too close involvement with Relm, but this clearly wasn't showing him the error of his ways. At this point she was at a loss for how to get the point across to him since physical punishment did nothing and now making him jealous and trying to show him how it felt had only backfired as well.

It was later in the evening, the sun just beginning to set, as she finally reached the end of her rope and went looking for him. At this point she wasn't even sure where to find him since he had made himself so scarce, but she knew she had to. As she combed the island looking for him, she tried to figure out what she was going to say or do, but she knew that it would all be wasted anyway. Nothing ever really went as planned with Alastor so she was probably better off just trying to roll with whatever happened when she found him. The only thing she prayed for was that he wasn't actively with Relm when she finally came across him. With her patience this thin and her body so exhausted from a lack of sleep she wasn't sure if she could keep herself from doing something she'd likely come to regret if she saw him with his other woman after all of this. She wasn't going to just bend to whatever Alastor wanted to keep the peace and she did think that they needed to find some new boundaries to keep this kind of thing from happening again, but for now her biggest priority was finding him.

Just when she was about to head off of the island to start searching their other territories, she did manage to find Alastor's trail. She followed it like a predator hunting their prey, winding her way through Elysium's rocky terrain and evergreen forests, until she spotted his familiar ebony and ruby form up ahead. She happened to be behind him, standing in the deep shade of one of the large trees, the light dying around them with just the last hues of red and purple lingering in the last minutes of the sunset. She lingered there for a moment, surprising even herself with how just seeing him again made her chest grip tightly. More than anything she feared that Alastor wouldn't care. That somehow this rift had felt like a blessing to him and he had enjoyed being away with her and instead spending more time with Relm. She had hardly ever felt real fear in her life and the only times in recent memory that she had been truly afraid were the first time that she confronted Alastor about the pink-furred woman and now. Every time because of her. Taking in a breath to steady herself, she stepped out of the shadows and walked toward him. "Alastor," was all she could manage to say as she stopped a couple of feet from him, nearly holding her breath as she waited for him to turn around.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Alastor was in a dour mood as he had been for the past weeks, his expression sullen and cloudy. Dark brows were knitted together in a morose scowl, his jaw set tight as massive paws thudded over the earth and trudged through the dense pine forests of Alias. The setting sun cast long, dark shadows across the woods, almost entirely obscuring the ebony wolf in darkness as he finished his evening patrol and began to make his way back to the land bridge, bound for mainland Boreas and the den he'd been sharing with Relm. Ever since Manea had effectively evicted him from their familial den, Alastor had simply been going through the motions of his life. He got up, fucked Relm, then set to his daily routines and duties—patrolling, hunting, discussing the state of Elysium's fighters and training regiments with his General, then patrol one more time before coming back to bed Relm once more and sleeping. Wash, rinse, repeat. He avoided the mountain ranges where his home was, mostly so he wouldn't have to see Manea. He really didn't want to see his wife taking long, romantic walks with that new boyfriend of hers, didn't want to smell them all over one another nor the remnants of their salacious acts. He didn't want to go home and smell the stranger in his bedroom or even be in the general vicinity of the pallid fucker.

So the dark dire wolf kept to himself, performing his expected duties as Commander and maintaining his distance from Manea. He knew that if he came near her, there would likely be violence, either towards her or her lover, and that would just make the messy situation even messier. No doubt the prick was enjoying some degree of protection from the Matriarch while she sucked his dick, and he didn't feel like putting himself in even worse graces with her. Alastor heaved a sigh and maneuvered his way through the pine woods towards the southern shore, eventually emerging from the trees to follow the rocky coast to the land bridge. Sunset had almost finished by now, the world heavily plunging into twilight as night crept over the land. Alastor was mentally preparing himself to repeat today again tomorrow as he made for the bridge, pausing just briefly to glance back over his shoulder at the distant mountains. A pang of longing hit his heart for his family, but he was as stubborn as Manea seemed to be, perhaps even more. He could have tucked tail and gone to find her, made his apologies, but they would have been lies. Apologizing meant diminishing what he and Relm shared and admitting fault for something he truly didn't believe he was in the wrong for. Manea had her lovers and he had his. The fact that this was destroying their marriage was just an unfortunate consequence of that fact.

Scowling and shaking his head, Alastor turned and made for the land bridge. He had only taken a couple of steps away from the trees and across the pebbly shore when the familiar voice called out his name. Manea's voice froze him in his tracks. Alastor's shoulders visibly tensed, his fur bristling but smoothing a moment later. When he turned to look at her, his expression was hard and impassive. He had to keep his emotions under heavy check to ensure he didn't lose control of himself. Seeing her hurt him. It felt like a dagger being twisted into his heart. She walked closer until she was only a few feet from him, and Alastor turned to face her fully. Obsidian eyes regarded her. She looked tired; no doubt from a lack of sleep being up all night with whatsisname. "Manea," he responded back, his voice flat and measured and very uncharacteristic for him. There was no mirth, no manic energy or life or any trace of his permanent smile or laugh. He had considered addressing her by her title, but that felt unnecessarily cruel. No matter how much she hurt him, he wouldn't stoop to that level against someone he cared about. The waves lapped at the shore behind him, creating a soothing white noise that felt wholly out of place in this tense moment.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

When Alastor turned toward her she felt that deep, painful ache in her chest grow deeper and it took all of her will power to keep her face at least mostly neutral and keep her ears from flicking back. She wanted to run to him, she wanted to hit him, she wanted to yell, scream, cry... Her emotions were pulling her in so many different directions, but there was really only one thing she needed. She needed for him to come home. The dead pan, hard, flatness to his voice when he did finally great her made her jaw tighten and the squeeze on her chest grip so tight it was a wonder she could even breathe. Seeing him like this, clearly on the way to the land bridge and surely on his way to go back to Relm while greeting her so coldly... It felt like her fears realized, the possible outcome staring her in the face.

There was silence for a moment as her thoughts reeled and she fought with her own emotions. Seeing him hit her harder than she could have anticipated, the loneliness and heartache ringing deeper than she even wanted to admit. But even more than that, the possessive anger seethed in the background and the more she thought about the possibility of losing him the more angry she became. Eventually this pent up mix of fury, jealousy, loss, and desperate love spurred her into action and with a hard, unreadable expression she stalked toward him, holding his ebony gaze with her own, desperately trying to find some sort of emotion there. Anything that could show her that he felt even a fraction of the longing and pain that she felt. This was the longest they had been apart from each other since the day they met and every day of the last few weeks had hurt like hell—and the worst part was she couldn't even tell if he had suffered at all.

Gritting her teeth, Manea lifted her paw and slapped him hard across the cheek, her claws lightly grazing his skin and scattering a few light drops of blood across the pebbled beach of their home. It was what she should have done and had wanted to do when he came home smelling of his lover the day after their missed anniversary and now she was finally getting the satisfaction of it. But in the same breath, as soon as he turned his head back toward her, she leaned back on her haunches and grabbed his head between her paws. There was no conscious plan or thought any more, she just rode this wave of uncontrollable emotion and bared them to Alastor in a way he seemed to be unwilling to do for her. With her large, leonine paws on his cheeks she pressed her muzzle hard to his, kissing him with all of the desperate desire and need for him that had built up in the last few weeks. As fun as Kavik was and as much as she had appreciated what company she could allow herself to enjoy from him, nothing held a candle to how she felt with Alastor.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Manea just stood there for a moment, staring dumbly at him while he stood there like a statue, scarcely moving save for the occasional blink or ruffle of his flowing fur in the coastal breeze. He didn't know what she wanted from him or why she had sought him out. Was it to finally strip him of his rank and cut ties with him? Was it to exile him from Elysium with Relm to fend for themselves? Was she going to attack him as if he were a trespasser in unwelcoming lands? He did not know. The two dire wolves stood there, gazes locked, while Manea slowly brought herself closer to him. Her expression shifted through a gamut of emotions that ranged the spectrum from mournful and remorseful to resentful and furious. Alastor tried not to show how much it stung to see his wife look at him that way, like he was some sort of criminal come to violate her home. A leper being shunned from his community. Did he deserve it? Perhaps. Had he wronged her? In some ways, yes. But she was no more innocent a player than he was. He was semi shocked she still didn't reek of that other brute and sex.

Just as he began to wonder if Manea was going to do anything at all or what she had stopped him for, a blur of purple motion came from the corner of his vision, then his head snapped to the side with an audible smack of flesh hitting flesh. Sharp, fiery pain flared across his cheek, warm wetness dampening the fur on the side of his muzzle. Alastor blinked a couple of times, gazing in shock down at the rocks beneath him to where little droplets of red fell from his snout to the ground. Manea had slapped him—and what's more, she had slashed his face. A ringing started up in Alastor's ears, the prequel warning sign to a slip of his control. He lifted his head back up and slowly turned his wide, stunned eyes back to her. As soon as he did, he felt Manea's paws cup around his cheeks, holding his head in her grasp while she stared long and hard at him. Then her muzzle was pressing hard to his in a desperate kiss, pouring forth all her longing and need for him. In any other situation, Alastor would have easily melted into that familiar affection. But Manea had triggered something in him, and as hot as her hungry kiss for him was, the demon wolf was focused more on the strike.

No more than a second after she'd begun to kiss him, one of the dire brute's massive paws shot up and wrapped tightly around his wife's throat, squeezing so tight she'd scarcely be able to make a sound. Alastor pulled Manea's mouth from his, black eyes gleaming with a wildfire as he gazed hard at her. Blood continued to drip from his cheek, staining her paw where she touched him. Ebony lips peeled back from pearly fangs in a silent snarl while he stared at her. Then without warning, he turned and shifted his weight, throwing Manea to the ground while moving to stand above her, keeping her pinned beneath him with his paw pressing down on her throat. The alpha male's eyes were wild and frenzied, drinking in the sight of Manea beneath him while he held her to the rocky shore. Crimson blood dripped from his snout down onto her face like a macabre rain, splattering her violet visage with red. The paw on her throat flexed, sharp siam claws extending to dig into her neck, but not quite breaking the skin yet. He didn't want to kill her. Oh, but he was showing her how he could. He could so easily dig those claws a little deeper into where her pulse was strongest and rend her throat, letting her bleed out on this beach. He could drag her into the shoals and hold her head beneath the surf until the bubbles stopped and she had stilled. Hell, he could just keep pressing down until he saw those beautiful aqua eyes go dim and her twitching had ceased. In this moment, Alastor was the dominant one, and he was showing her that.

But Alastor didn't want to kill Manea. Her strike had incensed him and he would not let Manea get off with striking him without some sort of retaliation, but as much as the beast within craved her life, both the wolf and his demon desired something much, much more. Fixing his predatory gaze down on Manea while he watched her choke and fight for a little bit longer, Alastor eventually relented and loosened his grip enough for the violet fae to take a breath. Then he thrust his muzzle downward to crush into hers, kissing her back with that same furious need and desperate desire she had shown to him. Black lips parted hers for his tongue to slide into her maw, seeking hers out in a wrestling match for dominance while he stood over her, cascading onyx tail lifting over his back, one large paw still holding her throat while the other clawed at the rocky sand beneath them. No words were said between them—they weren't needed. Their body language and actions spoke for them. How Manea would respond with hers, that remained to be seen.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

There was only a moment where she allowed herself to revel in the feeling of his lips against hers once more before it was abruptly ended by the feeling of Alastor's large paw grabbing at her throat. Her eyes went wide with a strangled gasp and before she could really comprehend what was happening she was thrown to the ground, the impact of the rocky shore on her back making her wince slightly. All at once Alastor filled her vision as he loomed over her, his paw hard on her throat and making it nearly impossible to breathe more than shallow, strangled gasps. When she looked up at him she saw something that she hadn't seen in a very long time—the true demon that she had married. Before they formed the pack, before they had a family, before he had medicines and herbs to temper him, he had been wild and untamed, violent and ravenous. She loved every facet of this brute from the sweet, tender moments she was able to witness with him and their pups to this dark, nearly murderous gaze as his paw squeezed tighter and his jeweled claws dug at the side of her throat. Her blood stained paw lifted to grip near his ankle, but she didn't try to pull his paw away or push him off of her. She held him there, looking up at him with just as much unrelenting, defiant fire in her aqua gaze. As much as that strike was satisfying for her own frustration and anger, she also knew what it could do to him. She wanted to smack the infuriatingly hard, cold exterior off of his face and that had very much been accomplished.

She struggled to take a breath for a long moment more, feeling that fairly familiar, heady feeling of lightness start to creep in from the fringes of her mind, until his paw finally relented enough for her to breathe in a more substantial gasp, making her eyes flutter as she found her way back to full consciousness. No sooner than she had managed to get air into her lungs did he claim her muzzle, pulling a slightly surprised, but pleased groan from the Matriarch. She kissed him back with the same furious, hungry, desperate desire, tasting him on her tongue and feeling the heat of his dominating form over hers. Her back arched off of the pebbles of the shore while her paws gripped around the back of his neck, toes tangling into his thick, flowing fur and claws lightly pricking his skin. Everything she had felt moments before began to ebb away, scorching the earth with brazen lust and primal desire. Her lecherous needs had been a frequent escape the last few weeks, drowning everything out in physical lusts, but this was even beyond that. This felt like a return to what their relationship had sparked from. It reminded her of how he had claimed her on their wedding night, how he had been when he bested her in their ruthless fight and had taken the leather band from her wrist. She didn't think of anything else but him and this moment and she gave a quiet growl of heated need as her hind legs hooked around his waist, clinging to him and pulling him into her while her most base needs screamed for her demon and gave all of her over to him.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Manea responded to the rousing of his violent demons in exactly the way he had hoped she would. She struggled beneath him, but not once did she try to get him off of her. She submitted herself to his dominance, her paw grasping his ankle as if he were a weight keeping her grounded even as he was choking the life from her. It was such an erotic sight and such a turn on for Alastor to see Manea in this state, knowing he had full control over her and she was willingly subjugating herself to him. So often their relationship had been her taking control of him, both in and out of the bedroom. This had been a much needed reminder for the both of them that he held substantial power in their relationship too. He could overpower her, do with her as he pleased, even kill her if he desired it. Just out here on this beach, Alastor counted several different ways he could snuff her out, and no one would ever know. That rush of power reminded the dire wolf of who he was and what he was capable of, and it empowered him to remind Manea of the same things.

When he kissed Manea, he half expected her to fight back then, but to his surprise and delight, his violet queen gave herself up to him instead, meeting his passion with a fiery passion of her own. Alastor uttered a hungry growl into Manea's mouth as he made out with her, their tongues sparring while she wrapped herself around him, forelegs looping his neck to tangle her toes in his flowing fur. Her back arched beneath him, allowing Alastor to slip the paw on her throat underneath her and tug her slender body up tighter to his. When she growled back into his mouth and hooked her hind legs around his waist to cling tighter to him, Alastor nearly lost his mind. His brain was swimming in wild, carnal lust, every part of him aching for her—though some parts more than others. His claws scratched at her back where her held her, digging into her warm skin and secure his hold on her. This was a primal and savage form of desire, and it was a harken back to the early days of their love. Alastor was also reminded of their wedding night, of the untamed and unbridled mating they had shared in the wake of their bloody fight where he'd been named Mendacium. That same lust now set his blood ablaze and clouded his mind until his only thoughts were of Manea and claiming her over and over again until they were both spent and exhausted and she was totally and unquestionably his once more.

Manea gave a quiet growl of heated need and squeezed her hind legs around his waist, tugging his hips down into hers. Alastor released a lecherous growl in response when he felt her heated flesh make contact with his, every muscle in his body rippling with a shiver. She was giving all of herself over to him and his desires, and the demon inside him reveled at the feast they were about to gorge themselves on. Parting his mouth from Manea's with a heavy gasp, the panting dire wolf shifted his hind legs apart to get a better stance, his paw pulling his claws down her back until he was gripping around her waist to angle her hips up into his. Then Alastor pressed himself forward and joined their bodies roughly together with a lustful snarl. Obsidian eyes rolled back behind fluttering eyelids. The dire brute grit his teeth as he immediately settled into his rhythms, taking Manea right there on the beach while he clung to her in a possessive, passionate, frenzied fashion. A final touch to his total dominance over the Matriarch, the Commander bared his teeth and lunged forward with open jaws, sealing them around her exposed throat to both hold her steady and let her feel the prick of his fangs against her neck while he had his way with her and slaked both their desperate needs in one frantic, ravenous swoop.

- fade -

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

With Alastor's foreleg around her back, pulling her lithe form up into his, molding her into the masculine planes of his body, she felt like she was whole once more. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew the real crux of the issue wasn't resolved, but in this exact moment she couldn't care less. She had given herself over entirely to her demon and he was devouring her just how she liked. Nothing else mattered. Her head tipped back as she lost herself in the pleasure and wild, lustful abandon of everything her husband was. Even though she fully submitted to him and was reveling in the powerful dominance of her mate, she still kept her hind legs hooked around his waist and her forelegs draped around the back of her neck, refusing to let him escape her grasp until they were both fully satisfied. The last thing she felt before her mind went completely blank and was completely lost to the throws of pleasure was the sharp grip of his deadly teeth grasping around her throat, making her gasp sharply and eyes fly open before they rolled back behind fluttering eyelids, the quiet of the island night punctuated by their mingled sounds of wild pleasure.

- fade -

At some point after they had ravaged each other in bloody, wild, passionate love for longer than she could possibly keep track of, she had passed out with her head on his chest. The last thing she remembered was the warmth of his body against her own, the sound of his heart beat in her ear, and his scent filling her nose. The wear and exhaustion this whole situation on top of the wild, vigorous sex they enjoyed had put on her finally caught up to her and she was pulled easily into unconsciousness. When she eventually woke up and blinked open her eyes she immediately realized the sound of the waves was gone. A quick glance around with bleary eyes told her that she was back in their bedroom. Slowly she came back to her senses, shifting and realizing that there was still the familiar, warm weight of Alastor's forelegs around her and the softness she felt wasn't bedding at all, it was the long, soft fur of her husband's coat.

Blinking with surprise, she lifted her head, looking down at Alastor's peaceful, sleeping form beneath her. The shock slowly melted into warm emotion that softened her expression with a loving smile. Without really realizing it, a soft haze of tears collected in her aqua gaze as she watched him for a long moment. There was such a heady feeling of relief and joy that she couldn't possibly describe after weeks of sleeping without his familiar form against her. She was still very tired and could have easily fallen back asleep then and there, but there was something else she wanted more. He had soothed the primal desire she had for him to fight for her and claim her, but the softer side of her that only Alastor really knew needed more for the genuine love and devotion she had to her mate. Stretching out her body over top of his, Manea gently slipped her paws around to the back of his neck while she brought her lips to his throat, leaving a gentle trail of kisses that traced the length of his neck, slowly and gently rousing him from his sleep. Her kisses continued up along the curve of his jaw, pressing tender affections to each part of him she could reach.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Alastor didn't know how long he and Manea had spent ravaging each other absolutely senseless there on the beach, their snaps and snarls of passion drowned out by the waves of the ocean at their side. All he knew was that it was dark by the time he came down from his sex-fueled high, the sky a sea of stars with swirls of color from the borealis as it danced above their heads. Both Mendacium wolves were left disheveled and bloody, marked by one another's claws and teeth in the throes of passion. He could still taste lingering remnants of iron on his tongue. Had he bitten her hard enough to draw blood? Oh well, she deserved it. Dark eyes shifted down to the violet fae, unconscious and sprawled out across his chest. For a long while, the obsidian-furred wolf just watched his mate sleep, a calmness he hadn't felt in some time soothing his heart and mind and a sleepy smile making its way over his lips. One of his large paws stroked gently over her head while she slept, running his digits between her soft fur and grazing each of her ears in turn, running paw pads delicately over the ridges of her crests atop her crown.

Alastor contemplated just going to sleep here on the beach with her in the warm summer night, but the rocky shore was already starting to make his back ache. Carefully slipping from beneath his slumbering wife, Alastor slid her lithe body across his back and carried her back up into the woods, making his way with lumbering, tired steps through the pine trees and up the mountain paths until he had returned to the familiar space of their home. Slipping silently into the darkness of the caves, Alastor carried Manea all the way to bed, settling her down in the plush furs before curling up alongside her and gently pulling her back up to lay across his chest. Holding her in his arms, Alastor watched her sleep for a few minutes longer before deep, restful sleep finally took him.

- several hours later -

The giant wolf had slept soundly all through the night. The exhaustion that had drained his body and soul since their fighting had begun had left him far wearier than he realized, and while denning with Relm had been satisfying in many ways, it never truly restored him like this did. Here, he was back home, in his own bed, with his mate wrapped up in his arms, pleasant dreams dancing about in his head. Those blissful dreams were leisurely disturbed by the press of soft kisses to his sensitive throat, the sudden contact sending little shivers quivering through his form. His slow, steady breathing stuttered, and gradually those abyssal eyes peered open, staring blearily down at the purple fae draped across his body. The corners of his lips curled upward in a little grin while he murred in response to her affections, massive paws rising to settle on her back and stroking down her sides, following the smooth plains of taut muscles and feminine curves while Manea kissed up along his jaw and throat wherever she could reach. Now this was a nice way to wake up.

"Good morning..." he mumbled in husky tones beneath his breath as he drew in a deep breath, ever so slowly coming back to consciousness from such deep sleep, though he was still obviously very groggy. His paws kneaded at Manea's shoulders, massaging between her shoulder blades while she teased him and lay across him, wrapped around him like a fine cashmere robe. "This is a pleasant way to start the day..."

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

A little grin tugged at Manea's lips as Alastor's body reacted to her affections, feeling the little shivers that ran through his body at the contact with his sensitive throat. Even with just one night of sleeping in his arms again she already felt more rested and rejuvenated than she had in weeks and it almost made her angry at herself for letting it go on for as long as she did. She had been trying to make a point, but in the end she had only hurt herself more than she imagined she hurt him so it felt like a futile effort. Laying across his broad, muscular form and feeling his large paws roam across her body as he slowly woke up just reminded her of how much she never wanted to lose this. "Good morning..." she replied back softly with a quiet chuckle, giving the side of his throat another, slightly firmer kiss while her front paws traced up over his chest and slipped around the back of his neck, stretching her body out across his even more with a low, pleased rumble in her chest at the feeling of his paws rubbing at her shoulders.

When he mentioned how this was a pleasant way to start the day, Manea kissed along his jaw till her lips found his, giving him a tender kiss before letting her aqua gaze find the deep abyss of his own. "It really is..." she agreed, a little smile tugging at her lips as her paw followed the back of his neck up to his ear, letting her feline paw trace the edge of his red-tipped ears. "This is how we should start every day... Wrapped up together like this..." The emotion she had been trying to fend off crept into her voice before she could stop it, but she just kept playing with his ear, looking down at him with an overwhelming mix of relief and love. She wasn't someone that often let her emotions fully come to the surface. In fact, Alastor was really the only one that really saw the more vulnerable parts of herself that she usually kept hidden. Maybe that's why this had all hurt as badly as it did—because the one wolf she had trusted with her entire heart and soul, her confidant, her soul mate, had begun to no longer feel like he was entirely hers.

The paw that was playing with his ear started to wander, stoking over the top of his head and cheek, admiring his handsome features and enjoying the familiarity of him for a quiet moment. "I'm so glad you're home..." she said with her voice still hushed in the quiet, early morning den, her voice catching slightly as her ears folded back against her head. "I've missed you so much... My stubborn, hardheaded, demon..." She chuckled a bit as she labeled him with a string of descriptors as she blinked away a few tears that threatened to collect in her eyes. She had known that having him home would make her feel better and more complete, but she hadn't really allowed herself to understand just how deep that cut had gone or how soothing it would be just to have her soul mate back with her—even if the issue that caused this wasn't really resolved.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Manea continued to tease and cover his exposed throat in little affections, pressing her lips firmer to his throat, her nips and kisses sending delightful shivers down his body that came to rest in his most southern regions. Groggy black eyes gradually began to sharpen and focus on the beautiful visage of his wife, watching her tease him like a pro with a floaty, loving smirk on his lips. As soon as she heard his deep baritone rumbles, those kisses made their way up along his jaw until he tasted her lips on his, drawing low, vibrating murrs from the giant brute she was using as a body pillow. Waking up to his beloved mate gracing him with these tender affections was everything he had missed in his daily life, and he hadn’t realized how much he’d taken his life for granted. Manea’s soft feline paw stroking the edge of his fluffy ear made it twitch beneath her touch, but he did not pull away from her, enjoying her touches. He gave a hum in agreement to her statement. This was indeed how he would have enjoyed waking up every morning—although he might have enjoyed being wrapped up in her in much more carnal ways every morning, this was an acceptable alternative.

The pair of mates lay there for a short while, basking in the afterglow of their night before and the early morning tenderness they shared. In Manea's visage he saw just how badly she had needed this. The vulnerability in her aqua eyes betrayed how hurt and alone she had been without him. None of this had been easy on Alastor either. Being away from his family, listening to the sounds of Manea fucking her new boy toy silly at all hours of the day, knowing they were coupling in their own bed... It had twisted things inside the demon wolf. This helped ease that madness. His own large paws roamed leisurely up and down Manea's back, stroking her sides, rubbing over her from hip to shoulder while he contented himself with her presence and drank her in. The feel of her fur between his digits, her scent rich in his nose, her warmth and weight draped across him... It was everything he had missed.

She spoke in hushed tones, as if afraid to disturb the stillness of the dawn. Alastor gave Manea a sleepy smirk and slid one huge paw up to wipe the tears from her eyes with ginger paw pads before leaning up to place a gentle lick to the end of her snout. "I've missed you too, my stubborn, fiery galactic queen..." he rumbled back in deep, low tones. His head reclined back to the bedding with a sigh, still gazing up at her through groggy, half-lidded black eyes.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Even though she did still feel as though he had gone too far and pushed her tolerance to its breaking point, she did also acknowledge that she had lost sight of just how devoted Alastor really was. Her own jealousy and fear of the 'what ifs' had made her question things she should never have to question and worry over things that she knew would never actually come to pass. It had just been so easy to spiral into the fear of heartbreak and rejection, of having put her already fragile trust into the wrong paws. But laying here like this, pressed into the wolf she loved more than life itself, leaning into his gentle touch as he wiped away her tears, and enjoying the feeling of his paws roaming over her body—it all assured her that it had all been in her head. The situation wasn't one she would have chosen, but she had to make herself believe that Alastor would hold true to his promises regardless of the consequences if it ever came to that. Thinking anything else was only tearing her apart and she couldn't live without him.

As he reclined back into the bedding, she reached forward to slip her forelegs around the back of his neck, pulling herself up his body a bit with a hint of a grin on her lips as she tipped her muzzle up to press a kiss to his lips. A deep relief and love still showed through in her aqua gaze and it was hard to keep herself from falling right back into passionate, carnal pleasures with him as she continued to celebrate having him with her again. All she really wanted to do was make up for lost time for the weeks that they had been separated and just reaffirm to herself that this eternal, never ending spark between them still burned just as intensely regardless of the things trying to come between them. She pressed several lingering kisses to his lips, humming quietly under her breath at the feeling of his large paws sliding over her feminine curves.

Still, she knew they needed some kind of compromise or to actually talk about what was going on if they were going to keep from falling into this pattern of distrust and worry again. It was worth putting off her desires for a moment longer to do that so that she could have the peace that peace of mind. No mater how much it bothered her she knew he would eventually go back to Relm when he left here and she needed new boundaries for them both before that happened. She sighed softly and leaned back a bit to let her gaze find his again, her paw stroking over his cheek and feeling his soft fur under her paw pads.

"I know neither of us want to give up our lovers, but could you just make one compromise for me? Just come home every night. I'll concede and let you be with Relm during the day whenever we don't have something going on with our pack or family that needs your attention, but I just want you here with me at night." That didn't feel like an unfair compromise or too much of an ask for her own peace of mind. It was such a little thing in the grand scheme of their relationship, but it had hurt more than she could describe to lay here alone at night without him. After a beat of thought she added softly, "And just... promise me that if anything happens and I have to enforce our laws then you won't hate me for it."

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

The two wolves laid there in one another's embraces for what felt like a blissful eternity. Tucked away in the darkness of their private bedroom, entwined together in the way lovers and soulmates were meant to be, it all just felt so right. Alastor knew what he'd been lacking in his life, what he'd been missing when he and Manea fought and fell apart, but they had both been too stubborn and prideful to make the first moves toward recovery. Turned out all it took was a slap. The powder keg that was their relationship took care of the rest after that. Alastor had never once even considered a reality in which Relm took Manea's place. Even at their worst, when they'd yelled and seethed at one another and she'd gone off to suck her boyfriend's cock while he'd fucked his anger out into Relm, he never once thought that the pink woman would replace his violet queen. Even now, he couldn't consider that a possible reality because of how absurd it sounded. No matter how badly or violently he and Manea fell apart, he was confident that nothing would ever sever the ties that bound them together.

While he relaxed into the familiar bedding he'd missed so dearly, his beautiful, sexy wife pulled her svelte body further up his frame, wrapping her long slender legs around his neck to press loving kisses to his lips. Alastor returned each and every one, murring under his breath with delighted rumbled from within his broad chest. Just like Manea, he too felt the urging call of their primal instincts wanting to fall back into those carnal pleasures with his mate after spending weeks apart, but he reminded himself that there would be plenty of time for all the make up sex they could handle. There was no harm in some early morning cuddling while they mended the rift in their marriage. After all, if there was one thing last night should have shown Manea, it was that his lust for her had never abated during their time apart. Manea's quiet hums of pleasure brought a proud smirk to the demon wolf's lips, his massive paws still roaming over her feminine curves, giving her shapely hips an appreciative caress and her rump a lecherous squeeze. His movements were slow, methodical, as if he were worshipping her body with his paws, and in a way perhaps he was. Alastor wanted to make Manea feel good in every conceivable way, no matter how big or small the gesture.

Manea's sigh brought the dire brute's eyes to open again, peering up through half-open lids into the aquatic gaze of the fae atop of him, leaning his cheek into her paws while she stroked and caressed his face. His wife's words surprised him a little. She was willingly accepting his fucked up relationship with Relm? The why was answered for him when Manea explained that all she really wanted was for Alastor to be with her every night. The usually cold and demented wolf felt his heart wrench knowing that Manea had suffered equal amounts if not more than he had for his absence at night. She had found their nights apart the worst. Alastor could attest to that. During the day, it was easy enough to distract himself with his pack duties or banging Relm. But at night... when he was lying awake and alone, that was when reality hit him the worst. While he was still getting over his initial shock, Manea was adding another condition, one that genuinely took him off guard. His brows knitted together, and one of his roaming paws moved up to stroke the back of Manea's head comfortingly.

"Heavens would burn and hells would freeze before I could ever hate you, my soulmate," he rumbled in reply. "I don't intend to break our laws. I also do not intend to spend my days with Relm. Our relationship isn't like that. You don't need shared custody of me. All I wanted was the same freedoms you took with Irilyth and that albino fucker. I want to be able to care for her and be passionate with her like you are with them without worrying if you're going to go off on me for it. She is no replacement nor substitute for you, Manea. I will manage my time with her better, and ensure that the fae I committed myself to takes precedent like she always should have." Alastor leaned his muzzle up a fraction of an inch to catch Manea's lips with his own again in a tender kiss. "I'm very sorry I missed our anniversary night." There was a genuine sincerity behind those obsidian eyes while Alastor did the exceptionally rare and admitted fault. "I don't suppose you'd give me another shot to make it up to you...?"

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Even as Alastor's paw stroked over the back of her head with comforting affection and he vehemently denied that he could ever hate her, she still worried how he might actually feel if those things ever came to pass. He was nothing if not a protective father that loved his children more than life itself so whether they were pups born out of their marriage or not she could still see him wanting to do everything he could to protect them and if he had to watch or at the very least know that she had to kill them to uphold their laws and promises... His assurances and promises to her now were wonderful, but she didn't know how he might feel if it happened. She fully believed that he didn't intend to break their laws, but contraceptives were not perfect things and she was still not fully convinced that Relm was telling the truth about taking them regularly. There were many things that could happen that were out of his control and she dreaded the day that she might have to actually act as the Matriarch and law keeper of their family.

Still, she allowed his assurances that he could never hate her ease her worries at least slightly and she relaxed a bit under his touch. She did appreciate him saying that she didn't need to share custody of him and that she didn't have to give Relm all of his days. She fully didn't understand his relationship with Relm with how he much he cared for her and yet he said his relationship wasn't like that with the pink woman where they would be spending their days together, but perhaps she needed to stop trying to understand it. It was just a part of his life the same way Irilyth and Kavik were now part of hers. She was admittedly a possessive, jealous woman that wanted her husband entirely to herself, but that wasn't fair to him. She would prefer that they be able to share all of their lovers so there was no secrecy or suspicion lingering on her mind, but that did not seem to be how things had settled and she needed to find a way to be okay with that.

Manea smiled a bit as he promised that Relm was not a replacement for her and that he would manage his time to make her a priority more often. That was all she really wanted. There were things she could wish for if they lived in a perfect world, but at the end of the day if she was just his priority the way he was hers then she could be content. She returned his tender kiss happily, humming quietly while her paws trailed gently along the back of his neck. When their lips parted and her eyes met his again, he did something that she wasn't sure she had ever heard Alastor do. His apology was not only rare, but it was genuine and real and it made a smile pull across her lips with her love and appreciation at the gesture showing in her aqua gaze. Perhaps his apology was several weeks late at this point, but she was just happy to have it.

She chuckled softly as he asked for another chance to make it up to her and she scratched lightly at the back of his neck, leaning up to give him another soft kiss. "I would love for you to make it up to me," she told him with a little grin. "But first... I think I have some making up of my own to do for you. Because you're right... You deserve to have the freedom to enjoy your time with her the same way I enjoy my time with my lovers—even if I'd rather just keep you all to myself. I need to just trust you." With another kiss, she pulled back a bit with a more lecherous grin and asked him, "Why don't we start with what I was going to do when you came home on our anniversary...?" She started slowly and savoringly working her way down his body, her paws feeling across his chest, sides and stomach, her lips following the same path with kisses and nibbles, claws combing through thick, fluffy fur. The relief and the love she felt poured out in her affections while she reclaimed her brute as hers, working her way lower and lower. She knew that she was not perfect in their relationship either and he deserved better from her as well, but this could be the turning point for them both. Neither of them had come from great examples of what a relationship should be and they were going to figure it out together.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Alastor could watch that smile growing on Manea's lips all day long if given the chance. Seeing her happy and so full of love and bliss made him feel alive and brought him a peace nothing else in this world seemed to be able to. While he spoke, giving her his assurances and apologies, she remained quiet and took in all in. And when he was done speaking, Manea responded by stroking the back of his neck with delicate affections and pressed her lips to his again and again, peppering his lips with soft, loving kisses. She agreed to let him make amends in his own way and compensate her for the anniversary he had managed to ruin with his stupidity. That made the demon brute smile; he wasn't often given second chances, but already he had an idea of what he could do for her to make up for missing their special day. He would need a little bit of time to prep it, but that worked out, since he knew her heat season would be coming up soon, and if he could time things right, he might be able to give Manea an even greater night than just their anniversary alone would have been.

Manea wasn't done with him yet though, and the violet fae surprised him by continuing to claim she had some making up of her own to do as well. She felt she hadn't been treating him fairly with his freedoms to pursue Relm the same way she had been pursuing her own lovers on her own. A curious brow raised above dark abyssal eyes. He fully hadn't expected this turn of events with Manea. It seemed she was at least beginning to acknowledge and understand where he was coming from—even if it was a little undermined by her remark about wanting to selfishly keep him to herself. Alastor easily returned her kiss, still lying flat on his back while he watched his gorgeous wife lift herself up off of him to grin down at him, seeing the lustfulness in her expression while she gazed at him. Her words tempted and intrigued him. She had planned something to surprise him with first on their anniversary and hadn't gotten to give it to him. Now it seemed like he would be finding out what had been in his sultry, salacious wife's mind for him that day, and he couldn't be more excited!

Before Alastor could make a remark or do anything, Manea was already beginning to ever so slowly work her way down his body, savoring each inch of skin and muscle she passed over with tender touches and affectionate kisses. Her large, soft tiger paws and warm lips worked in tandem across his body, feeling up and over his broad chest, trim sides, and toned stomach, making his muscles tense and quiver with each touch that sent ripples of lust racing through his nerves. Alastor murred and rumbled his delight in response, watching with intrigued eyes and a lecherous grin while she nibbled her way down his belly, claws combing through his fur while she slid lower and lower. "Mmm I think I see what you have in mind, my sexy mate..." he purred in husky, nearly growled tones. A giant paw lifted to find the top of Manea's head, stroking over her brow and encouraging her onward, lower down his body to the destination between his legs he wanted her to be and where she was no doubt headed. "Careful, my darling, there's a choking hazard down that way..." Alastor flashed Manea a cheeky, roguish grin, chuckling under his breath while he waited with bated breath for Manea to go lower and make his mind go blank.

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"

Manea continued to slowly and savoringly move her way down over Alastor's form, enjoying all of him and treasuring having her handsome soul mate back in her paws again. As she moved further down his body she heard his comment about knowing what she had in mind and soon felt his paw resting on top of her head which only confirmed that they were on the same wavelength. She gave a low, delighted hum at the feeling of his insistent paw, her claws grazing the skin over his waist while she pressed more firm kisses ever lower along his stomach. His comment about her heading toward a choking hazard caught her off guard and a little snicker of laugher escaped her, amusement and lust intermingled in her aqua gaze as she glanced up at him with a salacious grin of her own. "Hmmm, I think that's a risk I'm willing to take..." she purred in response, still grinning and chuckling as she continued on, her large paws gripping at his hips as she went to work bringing him every delightful moment of pleasure she could manage, picking right back up where she had wanted to be on their anniversary night. Any of the lingering resentment or anger melted away as they got lost in each other once again, enjoying themselves and each other again and again.

- fade -

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"