Chapter Twelve

Edon

Seeing my mate in her wild form is a magic I never imagined I would get to experience. I have gone through most of my life on my own. No parents to care about me or teach me about being a shifter. No friends to welcome me into a pack or show me about this life. I never thought I would find a mate, my own Luna, a woman and a wild who will love me for the rest of eternity.

Here in the clearing where we first met, she preens beneath the moon. Goddess, her wolf is beautiful. Those stunning emerald eyes of hers sparkle as she bows her head, showing me submission as her alpha. It is something our whole pack will understand--they must submit to me as their leader if we want a united pack.

"Come, my love. Let's let our wilds run free," I tell her, using the connection between us to speak without words.

"Yes, my love. We want to be free," she hums back, her paws pad at the earth beneath her feet, her excitement buzzing through her new form.

Nuzzling her neck, I lick and press my canines to the mark at her neck. The mark that claims her as mine. I must mate her in this form too. Bite her as our wolves, binding us together in all our forms for all of time. But first I want to let us run free, let her enjoy her first moments beneath the night skies as her new wild.

Taking off, I let out a chortle as Bessi whines and pushes after me. I sometimes run for hours in this form. I don't stop to feed or drink, I just run. Sometimes I run right out of Moon Haven, but I am always cautious of the other regions that surround us. We're not allowed to cross pack borders without good reason.

These are things I will have to teach my mate. Where the invisible lines are drawn, and how important it will be not to cross them. I must teach her how to shift quickly to protect herself. How to listen to her wolf when it pleads to be let out.

"I love her," Bessi hums beside me as we race through the woods side by side. "I want to let her be free forever. I love her. I am so proud to have her."

"That's my girl," I rasp back, watching her wolf almost smile at me. "You're going to be such a good Luna, my love. I am so glad you found me that night. So glad to have you at my side. As my Luna, my love. I love you, Bessi."

Bessi stops, rounding in front of me. I stop too, wondering if she is confused or upset. But then her tongue comes out the side of her mouth as her wolf smiles big. I would laugh if I could. In this form, I let out a little rumble.

"I love you, mate. I want to claim you tonight. As my wild and as a woman."

Moving closer, I nod my head, nuzzling her neck again. My mate, without fully understanding it as the sign of submission, of trust, of love it is, bows her head to me, baring her neck. Bending, I press my snout to her fur before I take a deep breath.

Rounding behind her, I push her to the ground gently. We've run for a few miles, but we're bounding with energy. With need. I need to mate her. Need to complete the binding that will promise I am never without her. That I am never alone again.

Bessi moves to a sort of kneel, understanding what I am doing. Moving behind her, I glance up at the moon as it shines down on us. Mounting her slowly, I bend my head to sink my teeth into her neck. Bessi cries out as I push inside her from behind, taking her.

"Yes," I roar as her blood fills my mouth, pleasure making it sweet. As she often does when we make love, she starts to shimmer. It's a kind of beauty I had no idea existed.

My mate is beautiful in her wild.

Rutting into her from behind, our mewls of pleasure loud in the quiet, I never let go of her neck. I pin her beneath me as I take her, claim her, fuck her. It is wild and frantic, her blood spilling from my mouth as we howl in pleasure together.

It is over quick, both of us panting as the bond between us thrums loud, bright, clear. I can feel her pleasure. I can taste her desire. I can smell her submission and her acceptance. This is what we both want, this is the magic she was looking for that night she came out to that clearing, drawn to me without knowing why.

Bessi is my mate, my love, the single most important creature in the world to me.

For the rest of our lives, I will please her, provide for her, and protect her. We will have pups together, and she will be a wonderful mother. Bessi will make the best Luna. And because of her, I will be a strong, determined Alpha.

"I love you," I pant as we collapse in the undergrowth, our bodies tangled together.

"I love you," she whispers back, cuddling back against me as I hold her.

We've come out of our shift, breaths heaving, bodies trembling. Lying in the damp grass and wildflowers, it is the most intimate moment I have ever shared with anyone. In the darkness, I swear you can see our spirits merging together, joining as one being.

Being at Camp Midnight Storm set me free all those years ago. This place taught me to be a good man and a strong shifter. Now it has given me a reason for living. It has given me my mate, my Luna, and the confidence that am going to be a good Alpha to our new pack.

Because I found myself at this camp just as I found my mate, and my future.