Chapter Eight

Edon

Stalking your reason for being while handling ten campers is not an easy feat. I am exhausted in the best way. I am having the best summer of my life, but I have barely slept, I am wound tight, but I am whistling a tune as I take my campers on a special hike.

We've been on several hikes through Whispering Peaks. Going on hikes, setting up camp, fishing or swimming is just part of what we do at Midnight Storm. Our campers need to learn more than how to start a fire or bait a hook. They need to learn how to capture prey, how to live in the woods during their first shift, how to become one with the land that provides them with a safe haven.

Today we're taking a detour on our way to the landing that is safest for them to shift. Most of my campers are young teens just learning about their animals, about the shift, about being one with the creature inside of them. They need a place where they can explore how their shift works without drawing too much attention.

"Before we hit the mountain, we're going to want to forage on our way. Why would we need to forage before we shift?"

"Because our shifts can take time. It can be hard on our human bodies. We would need food and drink for after a shift."

"You got it." I nod at a young camper, a cat shifter who is embracing his new self. "We can hunt in our shifted form, but let's not forget about our human form. Got to take care of both creatures."

"Stay close to the trail, close enough you can still pick up each other's scent. Forage for your human form, make sure you get water from fresh pools, enough sustenance for a few days."

Nodding at the group, I watch them break up. They stay with their own kind as they head off the path to forage. That is no surprise. I watch the bear shifter, just to gauge how in control he is of his bear. I can hear it humming, telling him how excited he is to shift soon. I smile at the young man who has slowly started to accept who he is.

Turning from the campers, I peer out into the darkness, towards the street. We're still deep in the woods, but my senses are sharp. As a shifter, our sight, our sense of smell, all of it heightened. That is how I smell something wrong at her place even with us being almost a mile away. This trip through the woods is more than an adventure for my campers.

It is a chance for me to check up on my girl.

Bessi has avoided me since our night together. I know it is driving her nuts. I know because it is driving me nuts. I've gone to her place each night, keeping some distance, letting her have her space. Being away from her now is not an option. It would drive both myself and my wild totally mad.

We cannot be without her, we cannot live without our mate.

Knowing there is still a lot to tell her, I planned to go to her place tonight. I wanted to romance her with flowers, with some good food, and tell her how my wolf needs her wolf. That little spark of magic inside of her that I sensed from the start is her own brand of magic, her own wild wanting to be set free.

"What have I told her? No sweets for anyone else," I grumble, glancing back at my campers to be sure they're occupied.

Slipping through the shadows, I follow the unfamiliar scent. It is not hers or either of her sisters'. Not the warlock husband of her sister, either. This is a... normal smell. Human. Without a trace of magic.

Stomping towards the back of her house, I check the perimeter once as I do every single night. I am not the only shifter aware of her sweet scent. Rounding to the front of the house, I see her. Then I see him. Rage blurs my vision, tinging it dark red as I storm up the steps.

"Ramond, whatever would you be doing here tonight?"

Fixing on a smile, I dismiss the man I know from some dealings in town. Nice enough guy. He just has no damn business being at my woman's place. My need to mark her as mine unfurls inside of me as I move to hear, smiling at her stunned face as she lets me pull her close. Once I get rid of her visitor, I push her inside and slam the door behind us, pinning her against it.

Growling, I dip my head to scent her. Humming when all I smell is her and the sweets she bakes, I relax. I press close though, wanting to get my scent on her, wanting her to be covered in it. I dip my head to touch my mouth to her jaw, breathing her in.

Bessi stares up at me with a shimmer in her eyes. It is not tears of sadness or fear. No, she knows she has nothing to fear with me. I could never hurt her. My entire being will now be dedicated to taking care of her, protecting her, and loving her.

"Please no secrets. Make me understand," Bessi begs with those big eyes looking up at me, seeking the answer she needs.

It is then I see it. It flashes in her eyes the same way my wolf flashes in mine. Many humans can become shifters, they can make the transition to be our mate. It is not uncommon for us to find mates amongst them. They just have to be willing to make this change, to make the leap from the world they know to the unknown.

Bessi is willing, she is waiting to take that leap.

"There she is sweetheart. Open up to her. Let her be free. My wolf adores her, Bessi. Just the way I adore you."

Her breathing slows down as she pushes on my shoulders. The air between us sizzles with want. With how badly I want her, and how badly my wolf wants to mate. It is her want too, for me, and her wild's want to be free, to become who she never dreamed she could be.

"What is it...this voice...this thing inside of me?"

"Oh, sweetheart, it is the other half of you. Of all of us. We all have this thing inside us. Not many of us can handle it, can hear it, can let it become what it wants to be."

Stepping forward, she pushes me again, hurling a shout at me. It is not her anger, not her confusion driving her. It is still all about want. Bessi glimmers with want, with need. Things only I will ever be able to sate for her. Because I am her mate, and she knows it now.

With this new wild coming to life, she grows powerful. Her shoves become harder, until I stumble back against the wall with a thud. My wild girl leaps at me, tearing at my clothes, her mouth sealing to mine. I welcome her kiss, the taste of her awakening the need to mate her fully.

"Let it go," I whisper against her throat as I rip her top off. My head bends so I can sink my teeth into her flesh. Bessi moans loudly, making my cock rock hard as she yanks at my zipper and slips her hands inside my jeans. "Don't hold it back, sunshine."

Spinning, I lift her, slamming her against the wall. Her whimpers tell me how she likes it, how much she loves how rough we're being. Her nails score down my back, her tongue lashing at my skin where her teeth mark it at my shoulder. I push her panties aside and pull her down, thrusting up to fill her.

"Fuck, there it is," I roar as I settle deep inside her. "There it is. You feel it too, don't you baby? You feel it when I'm inside you. You need me inside you, don't you? To feel full, to feel complete."

"Yes, yes, yes," she chants, head thrown back as I fuck her hard, slamming up into her, her body thudding against the wall. "Don't stop. Don't stop, baby, please. I need you. I need you."

"I need you too, baby. I need you," I pant, bending my head to suck at her breast, tongue flicking at the budded nipple.

Pushing off the wall, she sends us both tumbling back. I hit the floor with a thud, but neither of us stop. Her hands claw at my chest as she rocks on my cock, her tits bouncing as she takes what she wants from me. I smack her ass and she mewls, telling me to do it again.

I do as my sweet girl asks. I red her plump ass with my palm, smacking again and again. I watch how greedy her pussy wraps tight around my cock as she bounces on me, It's the most erotic thing I have ever seen. When she bends close, sinking her teeth into my shoulder, I am done for. My girl is marking me the same as I plan to mark her.

"Mine," she purrs, licking at the blood she draws from the deep bite. "You're mine. Say it. Say it, Edon. Tell me you belong to me."

Cradling her face in my hand, I nod as I stare into her eyes. "I am. I am yours, sweet Bessi. I belong to you. Completely. Irrevocably. Forever. I am yours to claim, sweetheart. As you are mine."

Bessi sits back, chin stained with my blood, her orgasm ripping through her. There is a before and after moment. The us that existed before this moment, even before we met at the clearing when my first thought was to protect her. Then the us after this moment, when we both know we've found our soulmate, our other half, part of ourselves.

We never have to be alone again, and we know it.

Falling against me, she pants my name as I cradle her close. I hum with pleasure as she licks at the marks her teeth left. I long for the binding marks to stain our skin the way they will once we truly mate.

Our human and our wolf will have to mate in a ceremony meant to bind us together forever. Before we take that step, I must give her a choice. Despite the wild inside of her, she deserves to know all she will be getting, and all she will be giving up.

Now I will take her to the camp, to show her a little of my world—hoping she can accept it and make it her world as well.