For a moment, he simply stared at her.
Surprise flickered across his face. He did not fully understand what had moved her to make this decision, but one thing was certain.
From this moment on, she was his responsibility.
Weijie stepped closer and lowered his head. His lips brushed against her neck, gentle and reverent.
"It will hurt a little.." he warned softly.
Ningning shivered as she felt the faint press of his fangs against her skin. At first, it was only pressure. Then, suddenly, a sharp heat spread through her veins, as though fire had been poured beneath her skin.
She gasped.
Her hands clenched tightly as the pain intensified. It burned, fierce and overwhelming, and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.
Just as she felt she could not endure it any longer, the sensation eased.
Weijie's tongue swept over the mark, it was slow and soothing, until the heat faded into a lingering warmth.
He stepped back.
Ningning immediately raised her hand to her neck.
Beneath her fingers, she could feel it. The marking's raised lines and intricate patterns, as though symbols had been carved into her skin.
Her heart raced for a moment.
"It's done.." Weijie said, his voice softer now. "We have marked each other." then pointed to the similar mark on his chest.
She looked up at him, still trying to steady her breathing.
"Now.." he continued, "we must unify our bond by the fire. Only then will we be husband and wife."
She blinked.
How did he even know about the term husband and wife.
And was the unifying their bond by the fire, was it some kind of marriage ritual?
"How does the bond by fire work?"
Weijie turned to face the tree, deep in thoughts sometimes he did not understand the reason why the ritual was even created.
They never did it, for as long as he could remember, he'd never seen a ritual done for mates.
There were few females and everyone shared them.
It would be too selfish to bond with the only available female.
But his female wasn't from the snake tribe, he didn't have to share her with anyone, he had found her himself and he had no intention of sharing her.
"It is preceded by the oldest male in the tribe. The female is dressed in beautiful mammoth robes, we will turn round the sacred fire, hand in hand and after we mark each other on the forehead with blood we will get from bitting a bit of our finger and place it on the other head.."
Ningning nodded, she guessed this was this cruder version of a wedding.
"Can we go back to the cave now?"
Weijie nodded, he was happy that she came to find him. He reached and picked her up.
Ningning let out a yelp, she wasn't sure she would get used to being lifted off the ground so easily.
"You walked here bare, your feet must hurt. I will carry you back. Then I will cook for us.."
-_-
Ningning lips twitched, she definitely liked that he was doting but she doubted he knew about seasoning.
"I will make it." Ningning patted his shoulder, this would be the perfect time to test out the cookbook and the pots.
[Ding!]
[Ding!]
[Doudou is very proud of you. Here is your reward, I even added an additional reward. You will need it in the not so distant future. Heh]
Ningning had a bad feeling about that additional reward.
[Do you want your reward now or later?]
….
"Of course I want it later, how am I supposed to explain to Weijie that a mirror suddenly appeared from no where? Stupid Doudou!"
[-_-]
[Do not bite off more than you can chew Dumpling. I don't get paid enough for your attitude. Your new task will appear in three hours. Enjoy your free time.]
Ningning lips twitched, but at least the pesky system wasn't going to disturb her for the next three hours.
"Watch your steps. There's a lot of pointy rocks here.." Ningning warned, she was lucky not to pierce her foot when she was climbing up.
Weijie smiled, her attitude had changed drastically, was it because she had accepted to be his mate?
Either way he liked it.
"Little piggy.." Weijie called, then he chuckled when he saw the annoyance immediately appear on her face.
"Ningning, my name is Ningning so you can stop calling me little piggy.."
Weijie chuckled as they entered the settlement, again all eyes were on them but this time they were of disbelief and annoyance.
It was hard not to notice the mark on Ningning's neck.
There was barely a handful of females and Weijie had claimed the newest one. He didn't even give them a chance for the next mating season.
And there were a few that couldn't swallow it down.
They stepped forward before Weijie could take another step.
Three males moved to block the stone path, their shadows stretching long in the torchlight.
The one in the center was broad-shouldered, his scales dark and uneven along his spine. His name was Karu, a hunter known for his strength.
To his left stood Hezhi, whom Ningning had already met—sharp-eyed, smiling faintly as though he were merely watching a play unfold.
The last was Qiao, youngest out of the trip, his tail restless, eyes burning with undisguised desire.
The murmurs around the settlement died instantly.
Even the market stalls went quiet.
Karu's gaze locked onto the mark on Ningning's neck and his pupils contracted.
"So it's true.." he said slowly. "You actually dared to mark her."
"Yes." Weijie replied. His hold on Ningning tightening.
Qiao laughed incredulously. "You didn't even bring her before the tribe elder.."
Weijie finally glanced at Qiao, if not for the fact that his female was in his arms, he could have given Qiao a much deserved beating.
"And why would I do that? I don't need his permission to pick a mate. She chose me to be her mate"
Henzhi titled his head, his eyes never feeling Ningning's face which made her uncomfortable.
"How greedy of you Weijie. She chose you? Did you even give her a choice? You know we lack females and you mark the first female you bring back.."
…
Ningning shivered, was she meant to be shared?
A thought entered her mind, one that made her feel a sudden cold.
What if Weijie wasn't the one who picked her up?