Fownso had been able to extract the venom of the snake from Cassandra’s dried blood. But the results were astounding, he had never seen such venom before. It was a rare kind, a kind which developed in female snakes as a defence mechanism against an enemy. However, he was unable to pinpoint the species because the venom was dangerous but common amongst several female species.
He informed Siroos of his findings, which left him stumped too. He had tried to locate the snake, but without any scent and evidence, they didn’t have much to go on. With Elders breathing down his neck and keeping a distance from his mate, this was excruciating.
Tomorrow was his mating ceremony with Cassandra, and his consciousness gnawed at him. He couldn’t help but ponder over his decision until Faris arrived with wine to cheer him up and give him a carefree night.
"Come and enjoy your last dance, brother. Our future Luna might not appreciate you ogling at the exotic dancers," Faris teased Siroos.
The man in question sat with his arm perched on his propped knee with the other leg bent.
Action classy, mood unenthusiastic.
The spirits inside of him wished to be with their mate and not here sitting idle and chit-chatting.
More men had gathered around the cackling bonfire of orangish yellow hues. Their tanned but joyful faces illuminated by the golden light, their sharp features becoming extremely prominent. The smoke rose like wispy tendrils, dancing to the rhythm of the drum being beaten at the side.
The lunar cycle of the month was about to be completed so a waning moon adorned the night sky. The knitted sheets from jute and camel hair had been laid out, lined with cushions. The gentle breeze swayed their hair and loincloths.
The men sat snugly with hookahs, smoke pipes and tankards of strong alcohol and wine. The kind which would burn the throats as it would mingle with the taste of the raw tobacco, stuffed in their hookahs and pipes.
The smell of roasting meat mixed with the scent of burning wood and tobacco, creating a rich, earthy aroma that flooded the air.
"I told Ranon to come but he and his duties to his mate," Faris made a meh face, seeing his best friend was missing.
"Maybe, you should learn from him and seek your own out. Stop whoring around so much," Siroos advised in a bored voice.
"Just because you and him got trapped, doesn’t mean I have to. Just as it is, I enjoy my freedom so thank you very much," Faris relaxed against the cushion and spread out his tanned legs.
Siroos shook his head, knowing the day his brother would find his mate, he would fall harder than them.
Just then the two belly dancers emerged from the shadows and stepped into the firelight. Their dazzling outfits shimmered with gold and red threads that caught the light with every movement. The flimsy flowing skirts swirled around their long tanned legs while the bejeweled belts held them around their shapely waists.
Their bodies glistened with a special scented oil they had drizzled all over their bodies.
Veils of sheer fabric covered their faces, leaving only their dark, kohl-lined almond-shaped eyes visible. Dark and passionate, their gazes swayed from one man to the other and focused on their Alpha.
Their ankles held these delicate anklets with tiny bells strewn in them. They jingled creating music of their own as they moved.
The rhythmic beat of drums filled the night air as they bowed in front of their Alpha and extended their hands to their forehead, asking permission to proceed.
It used to be one of his favourite pastime activities, to watch the belly dancers. But today he was irritated, almost annoyed.
"Go on," he grumbled, seeing Kela. She was one of the dancers and used to be Siroos’s personal favourite. But the moment he laid his eyes on Cassandra, all other women had melted into the background.
The men cheered, excited to enjoy the dance. Faris had almost reclined himself in comfort. The dancers moved in time with the music, their hips began swaying in a hypnotic rhythm, their bodies writhing like snakes. Both of them were snake shifters.
Siroos watched them with a dark glower, the ominous feeling he couldn’t shake persisted in his stomach.
Kela’s movements were fluid and graceful as if they were one with the music itself. Her lusty eyes never left Siroos as she tried to enchant him like she always did. But today was different, he was different.
The men watched in silent admiration, their eyes followed the dancers’ every move. Some whistled, others drank and smoked. The firelight reflected off the dancers’ jewellery, casting tiny sparks of light into the night. The dancers twirled and spun, their skirts flared out like lotus in full bloom. The music heightened, and the dance became more intense and more passionate.
’Kela is a terrible person but an incredible dancer,’ Faris mind-linked Siroos, he had never liked Kela because of how proud she acted just because she had Siroos’s interest.
The game of the eyes and heart began. Kela boldly stepped closer to Siroos with each step, her stance seductive while his expression uninterested.
Faris noticed the shift in his brother.
’She doesn’t interest you anymore,’ Faris narrated sluggishly through the mind-link, drawing a slow drag of smoke from his hookah.
’No women interest me anymore,’ Siroos answered, taking a big gulp of the strong alcohol from the tankard.
’Dangerous behaviour brother dear. Elders won’t be pleased; this was their idea to arrange a dance night for you, but you sulk,’ he mercilessly teased his elder brother.
Siroos remained unmoved.
The skewered camel and goat meat was served so men could enjoy food with the dance. Taking a piece of tender meat, Faris relished it but Siroos seemed to have lost his appetite.
"You think I am not aware?" Siroos answered, pushing his plate away and summoning Kela forward. He knew the elders must be secretly watching.
With exhilaration rippling through her body, she rushed towards Siroos and kneeled between his legs with her head low. Her full chest rose and fell from the exertion of the dance. Any other day Siroos would have been mesmerised by her beauty and voluptuous body.
Not anymore.
"Dance for me, Kela. Don’t touch me though," he passed clear instructions, tilting his head to the side and watching her without any zeal but out of duty. He had spoken so low that only his brother and Kela could hear him over the beating drums.
She gulped with fear dancing in her eyes but did as was told.
The night seemed to stretch on, with the dancers and the fire. Time lost meaning in the desert for others but it seemed to stretch for Siroos.
Every moment spent without his mate seemed agonising. The vastness of the sky and sand amplified his misery for there was no escape for him. Bound to his duties he silently watched Kela, trying to weave a spell which did not affect him.
As the music finally slowed, Kela and the other dancer came to a graceful halt. The men bellowed their appreciation. One of them grabbed the other dancer and had her in his lap, she willingly went. The dancers were fair game; they belonged to no one, and unmated wolves could have them for the nights of passion.
The fire crackled, sending a shower of sparks into the air as Kela lifted her beautiful eyes with lashes so long they touched her eyelids. Desires danced so effortlessly in them and she did not attempt to hide them.
Taking off his pouch from his adorned belt, Siroos tossed it into her lap.
"Your reward," he announced loudly and stood up. Breaking the circle of light they sat in, he left the constricting desert night they had tried to enjoy. A moment of beauty and grace has turned into a night of torture for him.
Kela watched him leave with contempt; her desperate eyes never wavered from his receding back as Fairs’s heart-wrenching words wrecked her already wounded heart.
"He has found his mate. It’s better to forget his affections. You won’t find them, no more."