The cold of winter gripped Boreas like an icy talon once more. Light dustings of snow had begun to appear across the lands, and the black-furred wolf lumbering through the woods stood in stark contrast to the dead browns and grays and pristine whites. Alastor led the way through the woods, guiding his wife to their secret destination with a smile on his face. Little Fiametta had grown from little wiggly nugget into a tumble little puppy, scampering anywhere and everywhere her little legs could take her. Manea had fully recovered from birthing and nursing their little fireball, and before she returned to her duties as alpha in full force, Alastor wanted to treat her to a little bit of pampering and relaxation therapy. He led Manea south from Elysium and through the forest to where the hot springs lay, casting a pleased grin to her every so often while they walked together through the wintry woods.

"We're almost there, my violet galaxy!" he declared, nudging his side a little more insistently into hers and swatting at her hips with his long, flowing tail. Ever the flirt and tease, Alastor let his obsidian eyes move down over Manea's supple form while they walked, drinking her in with a thirst that hadn't been satisfied in a little while since she'd reached the final weeks of her pregnancy. Her already voluptuous body was even more shapely and womanly now thanks to the pregnancy hormones, and his queen was carrying a little extra weight around her hips that nearly made the brute salivate. Ah, but he could rein in his urges for a little while longer. Today was her day, after all! Turning his gaze forward again, Alastor followed the faint scent of sulfur on the air until he found the clearing of hot water springs at the base of the mountains, the air in the clearing misting and foggy with the drastic temperature difference between the water and the air.

"And here we are!" Alastor led Manea over to one of the larger pools of steamy water that he'd prepared earlier that morning to surprise her with. Already he'd gathered some thick furs to use as towels and bedding, a few skins of summer mead he'd bartered off some traveling merchants, and some salmon and venison jerky for his beloved to enjoy during her pampering. Was he spoiling her rotten with this gesture of appreciation? Maybe, but Manea was worth the effort and attention. "Welcome to your personal spa for the day, Manea! I'll be your host, masseuse, chiropractor, and lifeguard on duty! Unlicensed positions, of course." Alastor gestured with a waving arm to her selection of treats. "So what would you like to begin with, my love? A soak in the springs? A massage? This day is yours to direct!"

"Alastor Mendacium"

Manea was certainly very surprised when Alastor insisted on sweeping her away once Fia was fit to be without her for a while and she was recovered enough for a bit of travel. The devoted, work-centered part of herself almost insisted that she needed to stay with Fia or at least tend to the pack before they went anywhere, but Alastor was insistent and it wasn't often that her dear husband got so excited about something he had planned like this. She was intrigued to see what he had come up with so she did eventually agree and came along with him as he lead her further south—although she wasn't sure he would have really given her a choice in the matter anyway. Relaxing certainly wasn't her strong suit, as was proven during her pregnancy, so it seemed like Alastor was forcing her to do just that.

She chuckled and grinned at his excitement as he nudged her toward with an eager swat of his long tail as they neared their destination, her aqua gaze eyeing him curiously. The way his gaze roamed over her certainly didn't go unnoticed and she smirked as she gave a little extra sway to her hips as she flaunted for him just a bit. She knew how much he loved how she looked when she was pregnant and the months that followed as her body slowly slimmed back down to its usual lithe build—although she never did really get back to how she was before her first pregnancy. Her body was more curvy and womanly than it had once been, but that seemed to make Alastor only crave her more so she was certainly not complaining.

The familiar scent of the hot springs reached her and a few moments later Alastor declared that they had arrived as he led her through the fog and mist to one large pool in particular, revealing the furs, the skins that she imagined were filled with some kind of alcoholic drink, and the snacks that were laid out to accompany said drinks. She blinked with genuine surprise at the set up he had laid out for her and she couldn't help but grin as he welcomed her to her spa day with a whole list of options for how she might spend it. As awful as she was at taking time for herself and as much as she insisted she didn't need it she couldn't lie and say that she didn't appreciate this very, very much. She chuckled as she leaned into his side, tipping her head to give his ear an affectionate lick. "You have out done yourself, my love," she purred, her tail brushing his thigh before she slipped away so that she could step into the warm, steaming pool.

She gave a soft groan of pleasure as she slowly sank into the water, the warmth of it immediately seeping into her muscles and soothing the aches that lingered from the rebuilding she was having to do after her pregnancy. She settled with her forelegs over the edge of the pool, her body stretched out over the lip of stone under the water as she peered up at him with a grin. "Would you pass me one of those skins, darling?" she asked, pointing to the mead filled vessels. "And then I think you should join me for a bit of a soak... And if you wanted to rub my shoulders I certainly wouldn't complain."

"Manea Mendacium"

Alastor did so enjoy the way Manea liked to show off and flaunt herself for him, as he noticed when she gave her voluptuous a little extra sway with her steps, very nearly tempting him to derail their path just to ravage her then and there in the winter woods. He knew Manea would have loved if he'd done that just as much as the surprise he had in store for her, but he was so looking forward to getting to spoil his wife, so he reined in his baser urges for now. He did love how her body had transformed after having their children, however: her slender form taking on more supple curves in all the right places, her trim and toned stomach nestled perfectly between rounded chest and curvaceous hips. Manea had been stunningly gorgeous to him before, but the way her body had changed during and after pregnancy had turned her into a drop dead sexy fertility goddess in his eyes. She was more beautiful now than she ever had been before, and it did indeed make the brute crave her in primal ways more often than ever.

The surprise that painted her features had been just the reaction he'd hoped for as he revealed her surprise to her. The more he explained, the more she grinned, and he was rewarded with an affectionate lick to one red-tipped ear that flicked from her gentle affection. Alastor gave a laugh and smiled brightly when she complimented his efforts. "Nonsense! This was nothing compared to-" Alastor's words were cut off by a sharp inhale of breath when he felt Manea's silken tail brush up the back of his thigh, drawing near to some very sensitive parts of his anatomy, but just avoiding them. "-to all that you've done to show your love for me." He finished his sentence and shot a smoldering lecherous look to his mate. He had planned for the two of them to enjoy some sex together during her spa day for sure, but it seemed Manea would be testing his ability to hold himself back today, making herself as teasing and tempting as she could be. If she wasn't too careful, then she'd have her massive dire wolf foregoing his plans in favor of some more physical plans with her.

Manea chose the hot spring first and settled herself into the steaming hot water of the large pool. While she got settled in, Alastor moved over to the side of the spring and gathered up the supplies and snacks, bringing them closer to her for ease of reach. When she asked him for one of the skins, Alastor happily nodded and grabbed one of the full mead skins, passing it to her with a soft chuckle when she mentioned how he should join her and brought up a shoulder rub. "It would be my pleasure, my alphess," he said in rich, husky baritones, a charming smile on his face while he subtly stroked Manea's dominant side with his words. After making sure the other mead skins and fragranced oils were easily in reach, Alastor hoisted himself over the earthen lip around the hot spring and lowered himself into the pool of water, also releasing a sigh and a pleased murr as the warmth seeped through his body, chasing away the winter chill. His flowing black coat melted like strands of liquid obsidian in the water, clinging to his toned form in obvious ways while he moved to position himself with his back to the wall of the pool, seating himself comfortably on the ledge of stone that ran around the inside of the spring.

Alastor then reached over to Manea, grabbing her by the waist to pull her closer to him with a playful smile, the water making her feel even lighter than she was to him and easier to manhandle and maneuver. He slid his queen to his side, leaning in to nuzzle her cheek and the side of her neck affectionately, and then hoisting her up to settle her on the ledge in front of him with her sitting between his legs and virtually in his lap with her back reclined into his chest. Massive onyx paws slid slowly from Manea's waist up her slender sides until they rested on her shoulders. Soft paw pads pressed and squeezed over her shoulder blades, working in smooth and rolling motions to work the tension out of her shoulders and upper back. "How's this, my love?" he asked in his deep, almost growling tones, leaning in to nuzzle and kiss tenderly along the back of her neck while his paws continued to work over her back and shoulders, seeking out any points that made her react strongly to know where needed the most attention.

"Alastor Mendacium"

A grin curled at her lips as Alastor very obviously stoked that side of her that loved the strength and dominance he made her feel, a little rumbling purr of a growl sounding in her chest. While he got settled in the water she took a long draw from the skin of mead, the taste and warmth of it filling her mouth as she drank. She turned her gaze toward him, getting a glimpse of how the water smoothed his fluffy obsidian fur against his toned body and humming with delight as she enjoyed the sight of him. It was as close as she had gotten to really seeing his heavily built muscles since the time after he lost all of his fur and she was already very much enjoying the choice to have him get in the water with her.

She took another quick drink from the mead she was offered before resting it with their other supplies at the edge of the pool and was about to turn toward Alastor—only to have him grab her around her waist and pull her over to him. She grinned and laughed lightly, willingly getting swept up by her husband as he pulled her against him. Manea hummed happily as he as he sat her in front of him with her back to his chest, her paws slipping down to brush along the outsides of his thighs under the water while his traced over her sides and up to her shoulders. She immediately melted under his touch as he started to rub along her shoulders and back, her eyes drifting closed with a pleased rumble in her chest, her head tipping back slightly as he kissed along the back of her neck. "Mmmm that's perfect," she purred, a little grin still lingering on her lips while she enjoyed all this pampering he was spoiling her with.

Alastor always treated her as if she was some kind of goddess and spoiled her as such, which she enjoyed always, but while she was savoring the feeling of the tension in her muscles being melted away by the firm kneading of his paws and the steaming hot water around them she couldn't help but think about how she had very nearly lost all of this. She still wasn't even entirely sure she deserved this much pampering after what she had put him through. If anything she felt like she should be doing all of this for him instead of the other way around. The brith of their second litter had made her think about a lot of things and reconsider even more. It lingered on her mind while she relaxed into him with the silence they rested in, only the gentle sound of the water around them filling the air.

While he massaged her, her own paws traced along his back legs, making a circuit from his outer thighs down nearly to his paw and back again, fiddling and giving him a bit of affection while her mind wandered. After awhile she pulled away from his paws, blinking open her eyes as she turned around to face him, giving him a relaxed grin as her forelegs wound around his neck. She pulled herself into him, straddling his lap while they continued to soak in the hot spring, the warmth doing wonders for her sore muscles. Her paws traced along the back of his neck while she admired his handsome face thoughtfully, one of them slipping up to let her soft toes trace along the edge of his ear. "You're far too good to me," she said softly with a quiet chuckle, brushing her lips against his, her paw moving down from his ear to brush his cheek.

"Manea Mendacium"

Alastor loved Manea. He loved the way she laughed. He loved the way she smiled and grinned. He loved the way she looked at him and the way she saw the world. He loved the way she behaved and acted in all the things she did. Alastor loved Manea so, so much. The light and airy laughs he got from his wife when he scooped her up brought a bright and beaming smile to his own face, and the way she melted with happy murrs as he rubbed her back was all so much fun for the enamored brute. He felt her soft leonine paws brush over the outside of his thighs, tracing the red flame marking on them to pull rumbling murrs of his own. He enjoyed her little affections while he massaged her back and shoulders, working from her shoulder blades down along the smooth and taut dorsal muscles along her slim sides. Her body had returned to its magnificent lithe shape remarkably well, though Alastor did appreciate the subtle changes that came to her body from her pregnancy, like her wider and more womanly hips that were currently pressing back into his lap while he spoiled her.

Manea complimented his work, and Alastor responded with a low chuckle, giving her shoulders a firmer squeeze to coax more of those delightfully fun sounds from her. "Good. This day is all about making you feel good, my Manea. I want to do things perfectly for you," he told her in low, rough tones almost directly into her violet ear. Alastor continued his work, seeking out every sore spot or knot in her muscles and kneading them out with focused and diligent paws. Sure, he was pampering Manea and spoiling her, but in his eyes she was perfect and worth all of the grand treatment in the world. To him, she was a goddess. How else could anyone explain how she had appeared from thin air to save him from maddening isolation, bringing him power and purpose, strengthening and encouraging him, and giving him the greatest gift of fatherhood. Perhaps a part of this was a bit of an apology to her, an attempt at atonement for his behavior during the culling ceremony of their most recent litter, when he'd abandoned her and their newborn daughter. Yeah, he still hadn't fully forgiven himself for that yet. He needed to show Manea he was still all in on their relationship, that she was still the most important thing in his world, and that nothing that had happened had changed anything between them.

During his massage, Alastor felt Manea's paws idly tracing along his back legs, running from his outer thighs down almost to his hind paws and back again. It was slightly ticklish but immensely relaxing too, drawing quiet little rumbles of delight from the behemoth of a wolf. Before he was finished with her, he felt Manea pull away from him, furrowing his brow quizzically and fixing Manea with a curious look while she shifted about in the water to turn to face him with this pleased, relaxed grin on her face. His violet goddess settled herself back in against him, straddling his lap while she wrapped her forelegs around his neck and pulled herself into him. Alastor gave a husky rumble of understanding, grinning back at her while his massive black paws came to rest on her curvy hips, holding her to him as they relaxed in the steamy hot water. All the while, Alastor held Manea's gaze, losing himself in her profoundly beautiful aqua eyes while his paws roamed along her back, still occasionally kneading or rubbing her muscles—though they did begin to wander a little lower to around the base of Manea's tail, squeezing and massaging around there appreciatively. Her paws trailing along the back of his neck coaxed rumbling murrs from him, the brute admiring his beautiful fae's face as she did to him. When one of her paws trailed up the back of his neck, he drew in a sharp inhale, followed by a breathy sigh while she stroked the edge of one red-tipped ear with soft toes.

Alastor gave a slight tilt to his head to lean into his mate's touches. She knew he liked having his ears played with, and it showed with how she targeted those velvety erogenous zones atop his blocky head. Quiet murrs continued to rumble deep in his throat while he savored her affections, eventually flexing the digits on one paw while it rubbed down her back to gently drag his claws down the curve of her spine from the middle of her back to just above her tail. Her words made the brute chuckle low in his chest, the corner of his lips curling up in amusement while he lifted his muzzle to brush his own lips back against hers, feeling her every breath wash over the end of his snout. "I could never be too good to you," he responded in his rich, baritone purr. "You're worth everything I could give you, Manea."

"Alastor Mendacium"

Manea never felt like she had been ungrateful for her husband or had taken him for granted, but after what they had gone through with Fia's birth and the gleaning ceremony that had followed she felt like she needed to treasure and cherish every moment with him all the more. As they sat in this hot spring, pressed into one another with his paws roaming her body she felt more complete and at peace than she had since that day. Every day he proved more and more how he was truly the soul that had been made for her, meant to complete her and balance her in every possible way. A little grin tugged at her lips as he insisted that there was no way he could be too good to her, that she was worth everything he could give her, she decided that it wasn't her decision to make over whether she was worthy of his love and attention. He had seen the very best and worst of her, had endured more than she should have ever had to ask of him, and yet he was still here treating her like the goddess he seemed to believe she was. If he had seen her soul laid bare and still decided she was worth all of this then maybe she was.

Manea pressed a tender kiss to his lips, her paws still trailing along the back of his neck and along the back of his shoulders, giving him a bit of the same attention and massage he was giving her. "You know..." she said quietly, her gaze finding his again even though her lips didn't stray far from his. "When I learned about soul mates in the Mendacium beliefs, it felt like the thing that I would be chasing forever. My family had made it seem like this unattainable ideal to have someone that could complete me so entirely and could fit together with me the way they said a soul mate was meant to do. Hardly anyone in my family felt like they had truly found the soul mate they were meant to find and had simply settled so that they could have their children." She looked at him wistfully with a proud grin lingering on her lips, her paw returning to his ear while she spoke simply because she knew how much he enjoyed those little affections. "Something drew me to Boreas and it felt like a wild shot in the dark coming to a place where my family had never lived, but... I knew there had to be something for me here. And then I found you."

Her paw gently stroked over his velveteen ear, tracing over the edges of it while she got lost in her thoughts, devoted love deep in her aqua gaze. "I remember when my grandmother was teaching me and giving me lessons on the Mendacium ways before she passed... She was the one that taught me about the marriage ceremony I did with you. She was the only one I had ever known to give the Mendacium name to their mate until one of my aunts did the same when I was a little older. Seeing her and my grandfather together when I was really little... That's what I wanted. She always told me that the Ancients would make sure that I found my true soul mate if it was really meant to be, that I would know when I had found the one that my soul remembered from another life and now here we are... And I believe she was right." Her tail brushed across his hind legs under the water while she tipped her muzzle to brush along the side of his, pressing an affectionate kiss to his cheek while her paw slipped away from his ear, her forelegs slipping around his neck against to hold herself tight to him.

Leaning her cheek into his for a moment, she let her eyes close and just let herself enjoy the feeling of him molded to her body, finding her missing puzzle piece in this amazing brute. She was quiet for a moment as she sat like this, still straddling him with her stomach and chest leaned into his, until finally she spoke again to get the words off of her chest that she had been wanting to find a good moment to say since Fia was born. "I know we're okay now, but... I still just want to apologize to you one more time. I don't feel like I did my duty as your wife to really prepare you for what was going to happen. I think I was too afraid of my own emotions going into it to fully be prepared for yours. I don't know if talking it through more before hand would have changed the outcome for either of us any, but I'm still sorry."

"Manea Mendacium"

Alastor had no idea the depth of Manea's introspection, how far her pensive thoughts had taken her in the weeks that followed their daughter's birth and the debacle that the gleaning ceremony had been. He'd done his own thinking and reflecting in time, but the ordeal had shaken Manea far more than it had himself. Ironically, the ensuing argument that they'd had in the heat of the moment had rent his heart open and left him vulnerable to considering ideals and beliefs beyond himself. He had found himself wanting to believe Manea's family's beliefs, that their children weren't simply gone forever, that there was a future where he could see them and be with them once more. That perhaps he wasn't damned for all eternity and there was some otherworldly adventure waiting for him when his time came and he drew his last breath on this mortal plane. It sure as hell beat the alternative at the very least! And it was Manea's love and devotion to him that had broken him down and gotten him to come around to at least considering the possibility of something more and forces far beyond his control that maybe didn't have such tangible proof—although her explanation of how his own mutations and gifts hadn't manifested until he had joined his soul with hers as a Mendacium was pretty damn good evidence to her point.

The two lovers floated there in the hot, steaming waters for some time, just gazing adoringly at one another. Every time Manea grinned at him, he would grin back, and as she pressed a tender kiss to his lips, so too would the dire brute move his mouth against hers in harmony. All the while her paws continued to roam across the back of his neck and over his broad shoulders, pulling gentle hums of delight from the wolf, treating him to the same massaging affections he was still showering her with. Manea spoke, explaining her own history with the Mendacium beliefs of soul mates, and how she had been led to believe that it was some far-flung notion bordering unachievable. Alastor's focus was on nothing but Manea while she spoke, bearing her soul and her past to him in this intimate moment, his massive black paws continuing their work along his wife's back from shoulder to rump, occasionally flexing his digits to add some light scritching of his claws to the sensual massage. He felt her paw move up his neck back to his velveteen ear again while she gazed at him with nothing short of pure love, his own obsidian gaze shining for her alone while he tilted his head almost comically and leaned into her touch.

While Manea played with his ear, Alastor murred in response under his breath, an adoring smile painted on his visage when she told him that she felt she had been drawn to Boreas for him. She told him a lovely tale of how her grandmother taught her the marriage ceremony she'd performed for him, how her grandparents had been soulmates and how they had been the example of what she wanted in her own life—then honored him by claiming she had been right when she found Alastor. The dark brute chuckled, his paws moving to wrap around Manea's waist beneath the water's surface, keeping her body held close to his while she straddled his lap, her limber tail brushing over his hind legs beneath the water to tease him with gentle strokes and tickles. His paws flexed, dancing his claws over the tops of her hips in reply while he leaned in to brush his muzzle back against the side of hers while she nuzzled and kissed over his face. Their chests and stomachs were pressed together beneath the water while she fit herself to him, wrapping herself around his body like a robe while they held on to one another and showered the other in loving little affections. This moment was perfect and intimate, and Alastor's dark eyes slowly slid closed to savor it with his beloved wife.

There was quiet between the two for a spell while they cuddled in the natural hot spring, just content to enjoy one another's presence. Manea was the first to break the silence, and when she did, her apology drew a quiet grumble from the dire brute. "Don't do that, blaming yourself like this was your fault," he spoke in low, husky tones accented by a reverberating growl in his voice. "I don't think anything could have really prepared me for that. It's easy to think about, talk about, but living it is radically harder. I don't blame you, Manea. But if it helps, I accept your apology." Alastor shifted his muzzle up, nuzzling her cheek so he could reach one of her ears with delicate bites with careful teeth rolling the appendage between them. "I'm sorry too, for not handling myself responsibly, for abandoning you and Fiametta like I did, for stealing away that day which should have been full of love and joy from you." He could never give her back that day or make it right, but he could do better for her and their future children so this didn't happen again—assuming Manea still even wanted to have any more children with him after the trauma he'd subjected her to.

"Alastor Mendacium"

It was difficult to not blame herself, but she knew Alastor spoke the truth when he said how impossible it really was to have prepared for it. She had known what was coming, had completed the same ceremony many times on behalf of other family members, and even she had a difficult time forcing herself to go through with what had to be done. Still, even if he hadn't put any of the blame on her after the dust had settled, it did ease her worries a bit to have him accept her apology. As powerful and capable as she usually felt, she still often didn't feel worthy of the devout dedication that he had committed to her and the sacrifices he willingly made for her. He had given her the world and in return had earned her heart and soul that she had committed to him for the rest of eternity. She hummed softly with contentment and pleasure as his teeth found her ear, her head tipping slightly into the affection as it added to the light, pleasant tingles that had been dancing over her skin from the feeling of his body pressed to hers and his paws roaming and massaging over her.

His apology also wasn't needed, but it did help as they continued to mend the hurt from that day and make amends, binding themselves back together even more strongly than before. She gave a small shake of her head and left a tender kiss at the top of his cheek where the ebony fur gave way to the ruby that underlined each of his eyes. "It's not your fault either. You love our children so deeply and that's a quality I adore about you. I do not blame you for how you reacted, but I also accept your apology all the same." She leaned back just enough to be able to brush her muzzle against his, her gaze finding the obsidian pools of his eyes with a small, hopeful grin that pulled slightly at her lips. "Besides... You'll have a chance to make it up to me next time." There had certainly been a moment in the aftermath of Fiametta's birth where she had considered the possibility of having to give up having children for the sake of their marriage, Alastor's sanity, and their family. But, as they found one another again and worked out the reasons behind what had happened, she knew that wasn't the answer. They had already been blessed with three perfect, stunning children, but she would always want more. She loved being a mother more than most things in her life and squandering the gift that they had been given of being one another's soul mates, of finding the other half meant for one another felt like the biggest insult she could imagine to the Ancients that had provided this to them.

In the wake of the emotions that she laid bare for him, all that was left was the pure adoration, love, and undeniable lust for this brute that fit her like no one else and balanced her so incredibly well. She pressed a kiss to his lips, starting more loving and tender at first, but quickly building with intensity and desire as she pressed her body tight to his. Her forelegs looped around his neck while she kissed him more deeply and passionately, her eyes drifting closed and tongue finding his with a quiet moan. The taste of his mouth was welcome and familiar, every part of him feeling like home. As long as she was with him she felt like she could take on the world and like she was the most powerful and beautiful wolf that had ever roamed these lands. She shifted how she was sitting in his lap to press her hips more firmly and temptingly into his, slowly rocking and moving against him with the gentle sway of the water around them, feeling an entirely different kind of heat from that of the hot spring building up in her belly and making it feel like she couldn't possibly be close enough to him.

"Manea Mendacium"

When he accepted her apology, Alastor saw and felt Manea begin to relax more wholeheartedly against him. It seemed like all she had needed to give herself permission to shrug off whatever guilt she carried was his acknowledging of her regret and his acceptance and love for her. There was just no way Alastor could find it in his heart to blame his violet angel when they had both suffered the tremendous loss together. But despite the pain, here they were together, binding the wounds in their hearts and tethering themselves together even more strongly than they had already been before. Their relationship had endured the trials and would grow all the stronger and more resilient for it. Manea was the parts of him that made him whole, his truly better half, the balance to his chaos, his breath, life, and love. Nothing could ever change that nor diminish the love he carried in his black heart for her. He was hers for all time, just as she was his. The dire brute was totally and utterly devoted to his queen, his goddess among mortals. Not even Death itself could keep them apart now.

When he offered up his own apology, however, Manea simply shook her head to dismiss his fault and leaned in to plant a delicate kiss to the ruby red fur that streaked beneath his abyssal eyes. She spoke to him softly, assuring him that he was not to blame for loving their children so deeply and intensely. She adored that protective paternal side of him. Alastor gave a low rumble of acknowledgement, a small wistful smile on his lips. When he'd first gotten together with Manea and she had explained the importance of family and raising children to him, he had laughed at the notion of himself being a father. Now it was what he lived for, the chance to raise all the little Alastors and Maneas that they could make—not to mention all the fun in making them as well. Manea drew back just enough for their gazes to meet again, and the dire brute saw that hopeful grin on his fae's lips as she mentioned him having next time to make it up to her. Dark eyes shimmered with an ever-present lust for the wolf in his lap, a sly grin stretching across his lips while an intrigued murr rumbled in his throat. He was thrilled to hear that Manea still wanted to keep having children with him, After this last birth, he'd feared he'd ruined her love of being pregnant and having puppies. Both the paternal and the lustful sides of him were ecstatic that wasn't the case, and it seemed there would be several more Mendacium babies in the future. "And believe me, I intend to make it up to you in spades, my love," he purred in reply, flexing his paws to let sharp siam claws dance over the skin of her back and hips beneath the steamy water.

With all the trimmings pulled away from their emotions to lay bared to one another, all that was left in Alastor were his baser feelings for the gorgeous and incredible woman in his arms. Endless love, absolute devotion, and an unquenchable lust for this amazing fae that completed him and made him feel whole and untarnished. Their muzzles didn't move away from one another's in their close proximity, obsidian and aqua eyes never glancing away until Manea pressed kiss after kiss after kiss to his lips, her affections beginning slow and tender, but soon building in intensity and urgency as their lusts flared to life like a fire in a forge. He felt Manea shift her body on top of his, pulling herself tighter to his form with slender forelegs entwining around his neck as they made out with passionate desire that could never be sated, only eased. Alastor's eyes drifted closed with a deep, rumbling murr of delight, lips parting to greet her tongue with his own and welcome it into his maw. The taste of Manea's mouth was familiar and arousing, as was the sensations of her tongue dancing with his, making him feel most at home with her wrapped around him like she was. Manea made him feel handsome, sexy, rugged and manly, all with the things she did to him and the way she treated him. But above all, Manea made him feel whole—like pieces of himself that he'd been robbed of had been returned with her. She fit him like a missing piece to a jigsaw puzzle.

And speaking of fitting him like a puzzle piece, the way the violet fae shifted the way she was sitting in his lap so her hips pressed more firmly into his send a rush of hot lust spiking through Alastor's core. Alastor groaned deeply into his wife's mouth, brow furrowing and muzzle scrunching a bit as the pleasure of her rocking and rolling hips working against him built to a slow, pulsing heat between his thighs. His paws groped at Manea's rump, doing nothing to inhibit her movements and encouraging her on with heavy breaths and a stream of throaty murrs and grunts. Manea was stoking the fire in his belly so masterfully, driving the dire brute mad with her teasing and pleasing. Alastor slid one paw up Manea's back, pressing his paw pads to the top of her spine and rubbing ever so slowly down the length of her body, following the natural curve of her back with claws extended to carefully rake his claws through her fur, giving her rump an especially firm squeeze to coax her on as she set his body ablaze with a lust so hot for her it would have cooled the hot steaming water they were bathing in around them.

"Alastor Mendacium"

Manea's back arched under his touch as his paw ran down the length of her spine, a delighted murr escaping her while her hips continued to roll and rock against his as she teased them both and worked their lust up into a wildfire. When she leaned back from his lips with a soft gasp, her eyes flickered open to a heavy lidded, desire filled gaze and a daring grin lingered on her lips. Her claws combed through the thick fur on the back of his neck and she scratched lightly at his skin, while her body pressed all the more tightly to his and a soft, breathy groan left her at the firm squeeze that he left on her rump. He wound that hot coil of fire in her core hotter and tighter than anyone else could ever hope to. He made her feel like the only other wolf in this world with the way he looked at her with those obsidian eyes that she adored so much. As she rocked her body against his, working them both up in the process, the world fell away and she felt like she was putting on a show for him and him alone. She could care less if anyone else came to the hot springs or saw them in their element of passion and lust. As far as she was concerned they could look and watch all they pleased—it certainly wasn't going to stop her from taking advantage of their first time in what felt like ages to ravage each other.

Feeling all of his body pressed to hers and the warm water moving and rushing around them with her heated movements, it took no time at all for her to shift her hips till she could join them together. She gasped and groaned at the sensation, her back arching and claws digging into his skin at the back of his neck, freely letting her sounds of pleasure and reactions fill the air around them as she lost herself in their pleasure. All of the emotion, all of the release led up to this and she was going to savor every moment of it.

- fade -

"Manea Mendacium"