Moonspear lawmother

how quickly simbelmyne changed! her face lighting, her voice softly eager. "this is how it is done among the seal hunter people. but we are not there. so you say, 'i want' and you seek him yourself." older women of the village knew every man, including those who did not live among them. it was to these women that younger wolves went to seek counsel for many things. in this instance it was the act of pleasure unaccompanied by a demand for a mate. 
maybe she was not ready to marry but did not want to be surprised by the wedding night. other times, she was only curious with small thoughts of marriage. still others, it was a young woman who already had chosen her man, but wanted to be more skilled when they came together.
"a man does not often marry the one who chooses him simply for First Rite," he said softly, entertaining the thought of simbelmyne working in his lodge. "it is because the first time can create an attachment in her to him, or in him to her, one not good for marriage. jealousy. anger. the mistaking of pleasure for love. that is why they must be separate after for a long time."
a breath, a wind; each seal hunter wished to be chosen, but perhaps a man of the mountain might be better. unless she did not wish to marry for some time; then this buffer of months protected them both from impetuous movement. best for each to find more than one lover before committing to marriage.
his eyes said he wanted her. but this would be her own, and important, choice.