Chapter Ninety

*Ariya*


I woke up still wrapped up in the blanket that smelled like Ivan. I heard footsteps coming but kept my eyes closed. I didn’t want to get up just yet. After the memories I got I just wanted to lay in bed and cry. I was hoping that Ivan didn’t get the same memories but a part of me knew he would. I wanted to hold him close and take his pain away. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do that. The door clicked open and the smell of food hit my nose. I wasn’t sure if Ivan was alone but I guessed he was because I could still remember him. I cracked open one of my eyes and looked over towards him.
“Just me, princess.” Ivan laughed, flashing his wolf eyes at me.
I went to get up to go over to him but he held his hand up telling me to stop. He set the food down and came over to me. I looked at him curiously.
“You look so cozy, I wanted to just join you instead.” Ivan said, kissing me softly on the lips.
“I’m extremely cozy. You spoiled me with this blanket. Boss is going to end up taking it from me, saying it’s too much privilege.” I giggled, moving so I could lay my head in his lap.
“I hope not.” Ivan laughed.
“Ivan.” I started but stopped, unsure of what to say.
“I’m ok, Ari. Really. But we have a lot to talk about.”
“Is there time?”
“Should be. I checked in with Boss before I came in here. He said he wanted to see how many more memories you would get if he let you just sleep and eat for the next few days. He also said he was working on something and that it should be ready in a week or two…We might be running out of time, Ari.” Ivan said, the worry showing on his face.
I sat up and took his face gently in my hands. I kissed him softly and then looked at him seriously.
“Then let’s not waste any time.” I smiled at him.
Ivan smiled back at me, his wolf eyes glowing, “I love you, Ari.”
“I love you too, Ivan.” I said, burying my head into his chest.
Ivan held me tightly, breathing in my scent, “I just don’t want to freak you out about the mate bond.”
“It can’t be that bad, can it?” I asked.
“I guess it depends on how you look at it. I’m also not sure if we’ll be able to complete the mate bond while we’re here.” Ivan sighed.
“You’re forgetting my superpower, aren’t you?” I laughed at him.
“Superpower?” Ivan laughed, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Yes! My ability to figure things out. Duh!” I laughed, kissing him.
Ivan laughed with me and for a moment I could see the stress start to melt off of him. I was happy seeing him laugh. It felt like it had been a while since all of our memories kept coming in and how much they hurt. But I knew it really hadn’t been that long. It just felt like it.
“You’re right. But I still worry, Ariya. I need you to know that you don’t have to do any of this. I also want to make sure that you want to do this. I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to do and I don’t want you to feel like you have to. Not now. Not ever. Ok?” Ivan said, seriously.
“I promise I’ll be honest with you, Ivan. I won’t lie to you and I will tell you how I truly feel. But I want the same from you. Even if we aren’t on the same page with it, I think we both need to be willing to be completely honest with each other. I know this isn’t a joke. I don’t know all that a mate bond entails but I trust you to tell me. But I also trust you. I wouldn’t be with you if I didn’t.” I told him, holding his gaze.
“I promise you, I’ll tell you how I truly feel.” Ivan said.
I hugged him tightly and then adjusted my spot so I could still be near him and touching him but also so we could look at each other.
Ivan took a deep breath, “I guess I’ll start from the beginning. So as wolves we sometimes have mates. Some explain it as a person we’re destined to be with. Others explain it as a person that you were with in a past life and wish to spend every life together. It doesn’t happen all the time but it does happen. When we first see our mate our eyes change color, usually to a color that’s meant just for them. In my case with you, that color is blue. Typically wolves have a yellow eye color like Caleb. As an Original Navi Wolf we are able to communicate with other Original Navi Wolves and the Blood Born Navi. Except when we find our mate, if we find them, our eyes change and our mind is blocked from everyone. There’s always some exceptions but that’s pretty much what happened to me.”
“Exceptions?” I asked.
“Yeah, for instance my parents were mates. My Mom was bonded to a Blood Born Navi, your Mom actually. But when she met my Dad it didn’t change the bond that our Mom’s made. They were able to continue communicating but until my Mom and Dad completed their version of the mate bond they were blocked from everyone else. For me, I met you before I shifted for the first time so I’ve always been blocked from communicating with anyone. Each mate bond is different based on who your mate is. Because I’m mated to you and you're a Blood Born Navi, it’s a lot more complicated.” Ivan said.
“How so?”
Ivan shifted uncomfortably, “To complete a regular bond, the Blood Born Navi has to feed until death would happen for a human and then offer their own blood for the Original Navi Wolf to take a bit of. It doesn’t turn us but it completes the bond. For a mate bond it’s different.”
I could tell that Ivan was nervous to tell me but I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say, “It’s ok, Ivan. You can tell me.”
Ivan locked eyes with me, “For us to be able to complete a mate bond we first have to have acknowledged our love for one another. Since we’ve already done that we can actually do the steps to complete the mate bond. To do that we would have to have sex.”
Ivan paused, looking at me. I could tell he was searching my eyes for any bit of fear. When I didn’t say anything he decided to continue.
“There’s more. While we have sex you will have to feed from me to the point of death for a human and instead of you offering me blood, I would have to take it. Which means I would have to bite you.” Ivan said.
“That’s it?” I asked.
Ivan looked at me stunned, “What?”
I blushed, “I mean I assumed the blood part for me. When you explained about the blood part to complete the bond for a regular bond I figured that would be part of ours too. Sex wasn’t too big of a leap and makes sense if you think about it. We’re mated so it’s not too hard to put that piece of the puzzle together as being part of our requirement to complete a mate bond. I’m guessing completing a mate bond is like giving all of ourselves to each other. I thought there would be a catch, honestly.”
Ivan turned red, “There is, kinda.”
“Oh?”
“We have to complete all of it at our climax.” Ivan blushed.
“Wait, what? Seriously? So you go, I go, I finish feeding, you bite down. All of that? At the same exact time?” I asked, my eyes wide.