7
After a night of frolicking through the snow, the moonlight faded and with it, my energy.
I settled in next to Mathis and watched as the sun began to rise over Pyramid Mountain, tipping the rocks with splashes of color. Clouds drifted across the coral sky, hinting toward a beautiful but cold day. This winter had been particularly frigid, but today, I couldn’t feel the bite of the wind through my fur.
Mathis shuffled next to me and rested his head on my shoulders. A sense of belonging and happiness welled within me. For the first time in my life, I felt content.
Today was the day. By sunset tonight, I would become a permanent werewolf. Though not unless Mathis and I…
I felt better about us mating today than I did yesterday. And even better than the night before that. I might not remember him, but I knew what I felt. Knew that I could trust him. We laid there in silence, watching the sun crest over the mountains and listening to the serene sounds of nature waking.
But with nature came the humans.
The first sound of children rose in the distance, near a resort. The day had started. Mathis rose up from the ground and nudged my shoulder. With a huff, I climbed to my feet and trotted after him, across the frozen lake and back home. The entire town knew of the werewolf pack, but we strove to keep ourselves removed from them.
Once across the lake, Mathis broke into a jog, pushing us at a steady pace down the road. But rather than enter the town, he skirted alongside the trees and followed the back paths. Maybe the humans didn’t mind our presence, but their pets felt differently. For some reason, dogs hated us. And even as we moved, I could hear their telltale barks as we passed.
Mathis trotted into his backyard and nudged open the patio door. I followed him into his living room. Right. Now came the hard part. Shifting back. I had no idea what to do. What if I couldn’t shift into a human? I’d never learned the process, and…
I grunted the moment a wave of pain swept over me.
All right then. Apparently, it wasn’t that difficult.
Mathis brushed against me, then nodded a silent encouragement.
I staggered forward, my head bowed. So far, it wasn’t as bad. No waves of nausea, no snapping bones… Oh, nevermind. There went my leg. I gasped and buckled beneath my own weight.
The shift came faster this time, rushed as though my wolf was eager to retreat back into the darkness. Following Mathis’s previous advice, I didn’t fight it. And before I knew it, I was standing on two shaky legs. I pressed a hand against my heaving chest and stumbled toward the nearest seat.
I dropped onto the plush seat and hung my head between my bare legs.
“How do you feel?” Mathis asked as he draped a blanket over my bare shoulders.
Regardless of the lingering aches and pains, I grinned. “Amazing.”
He gave a soft chuckle, then rounded the chair and kneeled in front of me, covered in a pair of boxers. “I wasn’t sure you’d enjoy this.”
I lifted my head and met his gaze. How anyone could hate shifting was beyond me. Such a freeing experience. To run with abandon, to feel connected to the earth, to finally feel united. As though I’d always been at war with myself, always struggling to find that something that was missing. And here it was. Everything I’d ever wanted, kneeling at my feet.
“I know I said we’d make this permanent,” Mathis started, “but if you’re tired—”
I slid off the chair and silenced him with a heated kiss. His lips parted and, ah…his tongue tangled with mine. One smooth stroke after another, his movements purposeful and divine. With a low growl, he wrapped his arms around me and took me to the floor, discarding the blanket without a second thought. The floor was cold beneath my back, but I couldn’t have cared less. Mathis was warm and mostly naked above me. Right now, that was all that mattered.
He drew back and stroked his fingers down my jaw. “Are you sure about this?”
“God, yes,” I whispered.
Relief smoothed his face. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted you.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Who’s to say I didn’t?” he asked with a wink.
I couldn’t help but laugh. He was right. Maybe he had. I had no way of knowing. But still, I suspected…
“You’re so young,” he murmured, his eyes drinking me in. “There’s an eleven-year gap between us.”
“So?”
He chuckled and leaned down, his teeth grazing the side of my jaw. “So, when I was twenty-five, you were fourteen. I was a bit busy trying not to think about you that way. Then when I was thirty, you were nineteen. Still too young.”
“And now?”
“I still think you’re too young for me,” he teased. “But at twenty-one, who am I to make that choice for you?”
I placed a hand against his chest and pushed upward. Eyes the color of the forest regarded me. “Does my age bother you?”
“Not right now,” he murmured with a wicked grin. “Hard to care about anything with you stretched out beneath me.”
“Mathis. If we become mates, that’s permanent. Seeking out that witch was stupid, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. I never would have done it if I’d realized if would affect you too.”
Compassion softened his face. “All you did was force me to acknowledge my feelings for you.”
“But if my age is going to be a problem, then we shouldn’t do this.”
He leaned over me and nipped at my earlobe. “Age is just a number, isn’t that what everyone says?” His breath brushed against my throat. I shivered, my fingers tightening against his sides. “Believe me, it’s not a concern anymore. I want you in my life, Juniper. More than I can say. And losing you is not an option.”
“Mathis—”
“Shh.” He brushed his lips against my mouth and threaded his fingers through my hair. “Juniper, I’ve always been attracted to you. But these past couple of days made me realize how much. When Piper told me you had to choose a mate…I nearly lost it.”
I lifted a brow. Nearly? The hole in his wall told an entirely different story.
“The thought of you becoming someone else’s mate, touching him, loving him…I would have killed him.”
“What?” I squirmed beneath him and met his gaze. “Why?”
“Because you’re mine,” he said in a soft voice. “And I’m yours. Nothing will ever change that.”
D’aww. There went my heart again, all melted into a puddle of goo on his floor. “So, what do we need to do to become mates?”
His mouth curved. “You mean other than knockin’ boots?”
I burst out laughing. “Yes, other than that.”
“There’s a ceremony with the pack, but it’s little more than a formality. The most important part is what’s about to happen.”
“And…what’s about to happen?”
“Give ya three guesses.”
Pretty sure I only needed one.
The sensation of his mouth slanting over mine was one I knew I’d never grow tired of. The feel of him above me, his knee sliding between my thighs and his fingers trailing down my body gave life to all my fantasies. This was better than I’d ever imagined.