Lake Rodney [m] forever

He held her—enraptured, as he had been from the moment they had begun to grow close during his stay at the mountain. His teeth worked gently along her nape—her words both a balm and a spear.

He held title of father—certainly—but he knew the other men she laid with felt a certain entitlement to their child as well. It was different between Maggak and Acrux—and he found himself wallowing in the guilt of it when he found his head clearer during his travels.

What he wanted to demand was that she name him—give him a new name. A fresh start. Shed the words his mother had whispered to him on her death bed—that he was nothing like the man who had been his own father.

“If you’ll have me,” he murmured instead, not wishing to burden the moment further, nor her as he continued to explore her once more, reminding himself of the woman in which he currently sought a bride price for.