Chapter Seven- Bonded

Allura licked her lips as she resumed her flower search with Lance and Pidge close by, the former looking for more flowers while the latter gathered herbs and other ingredients for herbal remedies. Their late afternoon lunch had been great; cooked salmon and blueberries with water to drink. She knew she would burn all of that when she changed but that didn't concern her. It's been almost forty-eight hours since I first changed, but I am very comfortable being a wifewolf and I'm certainly not an evil, dangerous beast everyone thought my kind are.

Her ears heard a soft moan and her nose flared as she smelled a human nearby. She sniffed vigorously and recognized the scent as Keith's. Curious, she tracked his scent to a clump of bushes that formed a ring. She parted two of them and saw the prince curled up on the ground and clutching his lower stomach. "Keith?" she asked softly.

There was a pained gasp and an eye cracked open. "Allura?" he asked hoarsely.

"What's wrong?" She entered the ring, knelt beside him, gently felt his forehead, and jerked back. "You're sick!"

"I'm dying. I think I ate some poisonous berries."

"No," she whispered in horror.

"It's all right. No one will look for me as I left word that I wouldn't come home. This also solves your love dilemma. You're more than free to choose a werewolf."

"Keith, I had already chosen a werewolf mate. Keith," she said urgently. "There is a way to recover from this. My kind have a remedy cure for the berries but one must be in wolf form to take it."

"So…it only works for your kind." Keith's eyes then widened. "If I was bitten, then I could take the remedy."

"Yes, but would you want to be a werewolf?"

Keith coughed a laugh. "I've been wanting to be bitten since last night."

"Oh," she said softly before raising her voice and calling, "Lance! Pidge!"

"Allura? What's wrong?" Lance asked as the two werewolves showed up and parted the bushes. Lance looked at Keith with concern. "Is he all right?"

"No, he ate those poisonous berries. I told him about the remedy and what he would have to do in order to take it. He's willing to be bitten."

"Really?" Lance asked, sounding concerned and Allura intuited why. She snuggled up to him. "This doesn't change anything between us. Our Bonding will still happen."

Lance hugged Allura before handing her his basket and heaving Keith into his arms. "Then, let's head home before nightfall."

Keith laid in Lance's arms, deathly ill but still marveling at how strong the werewolf was. It was as if he weighed very little. "Keith," Lance said. "Do you really want to be bitten? If you are, you can't return home."

"I understand and I already left word yesterday that I would not be returning home. I had wanted to be bitten last night."

"You are not like most humans. I would like to have you as a pack brother." Lance shifted Keith so he could take hold of Keith's hand before passing through the barrier with Allura and Pidge behind him. Once in the village, Lance laid Keith on the ground and Pidge called, "Bring the berry remedy!"

"At once, alpha," one replied.

Pidge went to all fours as he looked down at Keith. "Once night has fallen and I've changed, I will bite you into a werewolf. You will feel a little better as the berries are not lethal to werewolves. The remedy will then cure you of the abdominal pain."

"Understood." Keith saw his surroundings darken with night and then lighten with lamps before looking up at a pair of gold wolf eyes. He felt teeth pierce his flesh and he gasped at it. He then howled as he shifted to wolf form. He felt cooler and his stomach didn't hurt as much. It was still painful though and he whined in pain and shut his eyes. Why am I making wolf sounds? Can I not talk? He then heard howling in a singsong tone as well as warmth around his ears, muzzle, and throat. He heard barks as well as words. **You can now use wolf speak and are part of the pack. Ah, here's the remedy.**

Keith opened his eyes to see wolves around him and a bowl of liquid in front of him, a slight plume of steam drifting off it. He leaned his head forward and began to lap up the soup carefully. He felt his stomachache ease as he drank and when he had finished, he felt a lot better. He exhaled a little. **I don't feel sick anymore,** he barked, using wolf speak for the first time.

Pidge chuckled. **Of course you don't. You're a werewolf and we have the remedy to cure the abdominal pain those berries cause us."

Keith got to his paws and saw that he and the others all looked alike. How can they tell each other apart? Scent perhaps? **Allura?** he asked.

**I'm here, Keith,** a wolf on his right answered before nuzzling a cheek. **You live here now.**

**Yes and you'll stay with Allura and me while the village builds you your own house,** Pidge said.

**You live with the alpha?** Keith asked Allura as they followed Pidge, the former stumbling a little.

**I was named second alpha after gaining wolf speak and allowed to live with him. Lance will move in once we're Bonded.**

**When will that be?**

**In a few days,** Pidge spoke up. **Allura and Lance still need to discuss details such as a private ceremony or before the whole village.**

**And as alpha, I hereby declare Lance and Allura Bonded for life.** Pidge put a paw on Lance's left shoulder, then on Allura's, and finally howled. The howls of the village echoed him, Keith's howl the loudest one. The prince adapted to his new life and was quite happy. His new home had been completed earlier that day and he and some others would travel to a different town to purchase some furniture; some of which would have to be modified like the table. The legs would have to be shortened.

The village formed a line to congratulate the couple before heading off to eat, prance, or sing in howls, barks, and yips. There was an air of joy and celebration and Keith watched as he waited in line.

He had ventured into a village in a robe and hood two days ago to hear that Romelle would be crowned queen the same day as the Bonding as she was the only royal left. The villagers had commented to each other of where Keith and Allura had gone and there were rumors that the two had eloped and left the planet. Only we hadn't, he thought. We're wolves and live in a secret village. I've learned that aside from turning into wolves and speaking our own language, we're no different from humans. He finally reached the head of the line and nuzzled the cheeks of both as he had seen the others do. **Congratulations.**

**Thank you,** Allura said. **I know seeing me with another is not easy for you.**

Keith shook his head. **Not at all. You said it yourself: When you became a wifewolf, our engagement ended. I may end up finding someone else.**

**I'm sure you will,** Lance said. **There's a few wifewolves who will come of age in a few weeks or months. Perhaps, you could befriend them so that when they're available, you'll know who you'll want for your mate.**

**Perhaps, you could introduce them to me, Maybe start with the ones who'll come of age in a few weeks.**

**I think I will while we're prancing. Come on.** Lance led his mate and Keith into the crowd where they pranced, sang, and chatted with young wifewolves.

One day, I'll Bond, Keith thought. And it'll be like this. He gazed at the celebration and joined in as another song began.

The End