Chapter 53: The Only One Male Enough
#53 of The Mating Season 4
Chapter 53: The Only Wolf Male Enough
"So you finally did the right thing, huh?" said Kilyan, smiling proudly at his friend.
He and Aros were in the latter's hut, sitting around a fire, and sharing nothing more than a sweet berry juice that Aros himself had concocted. Aros had always been very good at cooking and mixing drinks, and Kilyan and Keeno had been amused to find Aros swapping recipes with their wives. Aros considered cooking not a burden or a task but an art, a loving act of fatherly affection and care. And Mora and Nyssa were always very grateful: Aros could really cook, while their mother (who was supposed to teach them how to cook for their future families) couldn't cook worth a damn.
At the moment, Aros was kneeling near the fire, presiding over a rabbit stew that he had cooked for Kilyan and himself. Keeno had also been invited to the dinner but had not come, and Kilyan thought he knew why: Zalia had realized -- even if Keeno hadn't -- that her husband had engaged in a drunken fuck with his childhood friend and she was adamant that such a thing would never happen again. Keeno was no longer allowed to visit Aros -- at least not until Aros proved to his family and friends that he was cleaning up his act. No more drinking, no more slacking. Aros had to straighten up and fly right or else Zalia might never let her husband visit his friend again.
"Yeah," Aros answered Kilyan with a little laugh. "I kinda can't believe it. I mean . . . I never thought in a million years that I could let Lila go. I love her, Kilyan." He glanced at Kilyan with largely sad eyes, then back at his pot of boiling stew. "The thought of me without Lila -- it frightens me. I need her, no matter that it hurts. I need her so desperately . . ."
Kilyan watched sympathetically as Aros' paw trembled on the wooden ladle he was poking the stew with.
"But, Aros," Kilyan said gently, "Lila was making you miserable. You were always drunk and skipping patrol to keep her from her lovers. I hated seeing you like that! I like this Aros -- the clean, sober Aros who takes care of his daughters."
Aros swallowed thickly and nodded. "I know, Kilyan. That's why I put her out. We've always made each other miserable, Lila and I, and that night . . . I -- I couldn't take it anymore. But the truth is, we love each other. She was only doing those things to hurt me for lying, for pretending I didn't like cock. If I had been honest in the beginning, if I'd t-told her I was fucking around on her, she wouldn't have cared! She would have forgiven me and we would have gone on together. I even asked her to, but she insisted on being with Roc." Aros glowered at his stew, his dark eyes glinting.
"I should kick Roc's ass," Aros went on. "He knows how Lila and I feel about each other, he knows that even though we were going through a bad patch, we could have worked things out. But what does he do? He not only fucks my wife, he marries her."
"Roc's a dick. We all know that," agreed Kilyan. "But, Aros, if you get back together with Lila, do you really think the two of you could be happy again? I mean, I don't want to see you hurting anymore -- I mean it!" Kilyan grabbed Aros' arm and looked him hard in the eye to make sure his friend understood that he was serious.
Aros smiled fondly at Kilyan: such a true friend he was! Had always been! He smiled to himself as he ladled out the stew into wooden bowls. He handed Kilyan a bowl and sat back with his own. "No, Kilyan," he answered, stirring the stew around with his spoon, "I promise you that if I ever got back with Lila, I wouldn't let another disaster happen. I'd really try to make it work. She would too, I know she would. But . . . it doesn't matter anymore. She's married to Roc now. Remember?" Aros finished grimly.
Kilyan nodded, his eyes fixed darkly on his stew. He didn't want Aros and Lila to get back together: their anger, their need to seek vengeance on each other, their passionate lust was the only thing that had kept them together all these years. They cared about each other, certainly, but Kilyan was well aware that the only reason they really felt as if they needed each other was because no one could fuck Aros the way Lila could, and no one could fuck Lila the way Aros could. That was really the magnet in their otherwise wild and unpredictable relationship.
"So where are the girls?" Kilyan asked to change the subject.
"They said they'd hang around your place, actually. To help Ohana out with Lea."
"That's kind of them. They are sweet girls, Aros, and will be good wives to my son. I'm proud to have them in my family and I hope they will bear my son many pups -- and leave them with you, not me."
They both laughed. They ate their stew, talking more of their children and the future grandchildren they might have. Kilyan was shouldering his spear and bidding Aros goodbye when they both heard a shout. Kilyan stiffened.
"AROOOOOOOOOOOS! AROS! BABY, YOU COME OUT HERE TO ME!"
Aros had stiffened as well, his ears straight up on his head as if he'd been struck by lightning. He swallowed thickly and glanced at Kilyan: his friend's face was dark and full of foreboding.
"Don't let her back in this hut, Aros!" Kilyan warned. "Don't!" And with that, he left the hut with his spear on his shoulder.
Aros went to the fire and sat, bent on taking Kilyan's advice. Who had he been kidding? Getting back together with Lila? It would never work out. He set to work building the fire up, getting it crackling and roaring in order to drown out the sobbing shouts that were ringing in the streets outside his hut. But there was no drowning out Lila's voice, and pretty soon, Aros had his paws pressed down hard over his ears.
"AROS! AROOOOOOOOOOOOOS! BABY, I'M SORRY -- I -- AROS! BABY, COME BACK TO ME! YOU COME OUT HERE TO ME -- I NEED YOU! AND ONLY YOU! ONLY YOU CAN LOVE ME, HONEY!"
Aros couldn't stand it anymore. He went to the window and peered out. Lila was standing out in the snow, tiny flakes clinging to her gray mane and fluttering lashes. Her lashes batted out glistening tears, and she stood there with her tail limp behind her, her ears down, those pretty eyes fixed on the curtain of the hut. She fell to her knees without warning, and falling forward on her paws, she bowed her head and screamed with a sob in her throat:
"AROSSSSSSSSS!" Her voice cracked, and she rasped to the snow, "God, baby, forgive me . . . you know I c-can't live without you . . .!"
Aros rushed out into the snow, ignoring the angry shouts of wolves from their windows. He swung Lila into his arms, and they kissed frantic and frenzied as he carried her into the hut.
The next morning, Kilyan and Keeno took the usual route to meet Aros for patrol. They walked side by side to his hut, their spears on their shoulders, and each was wrapped up in their own thoughts before Keeno spoke:
"So. Did it blow up in his face?"
"Nope."
It was the first time either of them had really be alone together for weeks. Kilyan had been very busy helping Ohana take care of Lea: with Lea so large with pup that she was now restricted to the hut, Ohana had to tend the goats in the pastures on her own. Ohana had also inherited a great deal of house work: Lea had always been such a tender thing when she was near giving birth. Kilyan had done his best to help, even taking days off work to look after Lea. He was also so busy with helping Inden get settled into their village that he scarcely had time for friends.
Keeno halted. "What do you mean? Aros and Lila hate each other --"
"And love each other just as much as they hate," finished Kilyan with a laugh.
Keeno shook his head and rolled his eyes as they continued on. "Nuts. The both of them. They deserve each other!"
"You know what, Keeno?" Kilyan said with a little smile. "You may just be right."
["God, I feel like hell tonight. Tears of rage I can not fight. I'll be the last to help you understand. Are you strong enough to be my man? Nothing's true and nothing's right. Just let me be alone tonight. Cuz you can't change the way I am. Are you strong enough to be my man? I have a face I can not show. Make the rules up as I go. Just try and love me if you can. Are you strong enough to be my man? When I've shown you that I just don't care, when I'm throwing punches in the air, when I'm broken down and I can't stand - would you be man enough to be my man? Lie to me. I promise I'll believe! Lie to me . . . but please don't leave!" Sheryl Crow, Strong Enough.]