Chapter 9 – Imprinting
It was well after midnight when Eragon and his pack made it to the camp where Saphira and the others were. He was surprised to find Arya awake seemingly waiting for him. As he walked towards her she saw the others and stood up in alert, he didn't blame them, as he would've done the same if he had seen five giant wolves walking to him.
Arya he said as he softly pressed his nose to her forehead as the customary greeting between them this is my pack she slowly walked towards them and after each of them had presented themselves she bowed in respect. Why are you still awake? he asked.
"I was waiting for you," she said as she walked towards her bedroll "Saphira told me you were alright but still I couldn't sleep" she whispered. Eragon went to her and laid on the ground beside her, she moved closer and he coiled around her to share in his warmth, it took less than a minute for her to fall asleep. The other wolves were watching him with amusement in their eyes as the laid down around the camp, Jonathan was the first to speak as the rest of the pack listened.
She is the elf you rescued? he asked
Yes he answered not sure why he was asking
And she is your mate?
No Eragon answered almost immediately We are just good friends.
But you feel something for her, he said with smugness in his voice.
Eragon thought for a second if he should tell him or not, but decided that there should be no secrets between him and his pack so he told them. It started when I first saw her face, it felt like vertigo, it felt like she was my sun and stars and that she was the only thing holding me down in the ground, she is my gravity. Everything was quiet for a second and then to his surprise the started laughing, and it wasn't like a quiet laugh, it was a full on rumbling wolf laugh, so loud he thought everyone was going to wake up. Why are you laughing? he asked, annoyed by their reaction.
Lucas was the first to talk It seems that our mighty Alpha has imprinted on the elf he said between laughs and he doesn't even know it.
What is this imprinting? he asked trying to put tune out their laughs.
Imprinting is ancient magic Jonathan said it lets us know when we have found our mate, and it always goes both ways, so I guarantee that she feels the same way you do.
Eragon was astonished, it seemed the universe was in favor of him having a love life, who knew. Does this always happen to us? he asked.
Mia was the one to answer Imprinting lets us know when we find our perfect mate, because we are immortal that could happen anytime, so some wolves don't wait for it to happen and just form a family with someone they love.
This was getting a bit complicated So what happens if they imprint on someone and they already have a mate?" he asked
That's the hard part, because no matter how much you want to stop it, any feelings you ever had for another person or wolf go away, only a deep love for the one you imprinted on remains. Answered Michael.
What about Saphira? I still hold love for her even though I imprinted on Arya
Well that is different, Saphira is a part of you, you are rather one being than two, it wouldn't surprise me that because of you she would feel rather protective of Arya as you do Finished Jonathan.
After their talk the rest of the pack slowly felt asleep, Eragon kept thinking about Arya and imprinting for a bit, he decided that he was not going to say anything to her, he was just going to let things run their course. Even if she felt like him he wasn't going to pressure her into a relationship. With that he fell asleep.
They woke up early in the morning Brom was surprised at seeing the other five wolves, as he hadn't been awake when they arrived. As they packed their camp he explained about how he had met the other wolves and they had decided to follow him. He was going to phase back to a human but Jonathan told him that the Varden would only be near Farthen Dûr, and that they still had a long way to go before they had to change in order to keep their secret.
The trip that would have taken a week or more was reduced to days with Brom and Arya flying on Saphira while Eragon led the pack down on the forest floor. Soon they saw the mountain, so Eragon and the pack decided to phase back into their human form and run the rest of the way. They came up to the entrance while Saphira landed in from of them, Arya dismounted and knocked on a wall with a rock while saying what he supposed was the code phrase. To Eragon's surprise the giant rock behind the waterfall started moving and he saw giant doors opening. They started to walk in and then the doors closed. Inside they were welcomed by a group of soldiers pointing spears and swords towards them.