Damar looked at my trembling body and then slowly leaned in. I was bracing myself for his marking, while wondering if I would be consumed by the same warmth I felt when Fenric marked me.
Then, I felt his lips brush on my neck. It brushed softly, almost ticklish but the next thing he did was completely different from what I had expected.
He did not dig his teeth into it, but rather hooked something around my neck and then pulled back.
He held my hand and said,
"Not like this."
"What?"
I was confused, but then I noticed what he had hooked around my neck.
It was a necklace... Made of shiny silver scales. His scales.
He strung his scales together, just as any male from his tribe would do when they find a female they like very much.
This was a silent profession of how much he liked me and wanted to be with me.
Something so precious...
"I don't want to mark you like this, Arinya. You're scared." He threw his face away sadly. "I don't like that you're scared of me."
