15. The Thaw

The details blur together after Ewan and I managed to thaw and chip away the ice enough to reach each other. I remember his arms wrapping around me, so warm and real I wanted to cry, the relief of realizing that I was safe… the rest isn’t so clear.

Healing and bed rest comes next. When I come to my senses during the first week, it’s not so bad passing the time by cuddling up in bed with Ewan for over a week. We spend so much time talking and watching our favorite movies together while I rest and recover. I loved hearing his stories about growing up as a shifter and the mischief he and his packmates used to get up to.

More than two weeks of monitoring and bed rest are required before I’m deemed strong enough to resume my normal life… though my entire life is about to change as I accept the Earth’s transformation. Some protections against magic were put in place as I recovered, though I am once again unprotected and open to magic and the elements.

Ewan drives me to his pack lands while I try to be patient. I’d been so unsure of my decision once. I longed for and feared becoming a real wizard at the same time. After I made up my mind, the time it took to get here was less than a month but felt like a tortuous eternity.

Finally, we arrive and set out into the forest. The same forest Ewan has roamed since he was a little boy. I want to see every inch, learn all the places he loves, and find my own best spots. We trek through the trees on foot, following the path for hikers and vacationers. I don’t stop smiling.

“Just a bit further,” Ewan says as he guides us through the trees. “I won’t lie, I love the idea of you and Earth partnering here on my pack’s land. Are you sure this is the right spot though?”

“Yes.” No doubt in my mind.

”You’ve been here a handful of times and not all of them were good. There isn’t another spot?”

“The university hasn’t removed the garden we created. They haven’t asked any earthbrand to remove it either. But they also roped off the area because they don’t want people getting used to it before the final decision.”

In the event the parking lot won instead, losing the garden will be a much harder blow if I brand there too.

This forest, at least, I can keep coming back to. No member of Ewan’s pack will ever corner me or send me away again. I’m now as welcome as any of them.

“Watch your head.” Ewan holds a branch out of the way as we switch from using a walking path to going off the trail.

We pass a thin looking fir tree and I shudder, feeling a chill. Our journey has led us to an area where the damage from Percy’s magic lingers heavily over the land and trees. I run my fingers over the bark of the sickly tree.

”Don’t worry, Jack. Sights like that are less common than they used to be. We had help stopping the worst of the damage but are taking the rest slow. Some magical fixes have had to wait until we can get an earthbrand we trust here to tackle the rest.” He nudges me with his elbow to clue me in that I”m the earthbrand they hope will help with the rest of the revitalization. It sounds like I’ll be busy once I receive my brand.

“Did I tell you yet?” he continues. “Mr. Brass admitted everything quickly. He probably hoped that confessing would prevent people from digging deeper into the skeletons in his family’s closet. It didn’t work. Our feud looks like the tip of the iceberg. That family is no stranger to dirty tricks. Their secrets are coming to light now and they’ll be held accountable.”

Percy was already being held accountable, at least by the elements. After our final confrontation, he’d been taken to a healing center where magical professionals could monitor him, but they can only do so much. Time and the elements will decide whether his fever-y delirium passes and he regains his sanity.

There’s a reason we brand and use magic in certain ways. We need restrictions and limits for safety. Percy is one of the few modern casters who tried to rewrite the rules to suit his own needs. No caster has ever succeeded at getting magic that way, and Percy is no exception.

As I look around, it appears that Ewan is right. Things are looking up.

The forest stretches out around us, a mix of robust trees and emaciated husks that withered under unnatural frost. There are patches of gray and brown amidst the sea of green, remnants of the damage that was done to this land. However, the skeletal trees with their branches bare and lifeless seem less oppressive than before.

Healthy land is beginning to eclipse the sick parts, and there are also signs of new life. Young saplings sprout up and wildflowers bloom in vibrant colors. A testament to the forest”s resilience and determination to heal.

“Alright, here we are.”

We have to step carefully as a few fallen tree trunks are hidden in the undergrowth. Once we clear the fallen logs, Ewan indicates that we reached our destination.

Towering trees and intense undergrowth surround me. The melody of a nearby stream trickles gently. Sunlight filters in through the canopy of leaves above. It feels like we’re in the heart of the forest.

”Is this the place you told me about?” I ask. “Your best hiding spot for hide and seek?”

”As a kid,” he stresses. ”You have to say it was my best hiding spot as a kid. Us adult wolves don’t just play never ending games of hide and seek all day long.”

”You did as a kid.” And judging by his reaction, I guess the adult wolves sometimes let themselves be ‘roped’ into playing with the younger pups.

“Are we too close to the stream?” he wonders, changing the subject.

The stream must be just beyond the cluster of trees up ahead, but it feels more like a natural part of the forest than the intrusion of another element. Hollow logs with musky moss growing over them and the noise from the stream were probably why this was the perfect spot for a young Ewan to hide and escape the notice of the other wolves.

”It”s perfect,” I say. “If I had chosen the ice element, my parents would have arranged a grand ceremony where prominent icebrands watched me chant and spill blood upon an altar made of ice.”

“Having to perform for a bunch of stuffy ice casters while you receive your brand doesn’t sound like something you’d enjoy.”

“You’re right about that,” I confirm. “An intimate ceremony with just the two of us is exactly what I want.”

Ewan’s adventures playing hide and seek with his pack while he was growing up are one of the stories he shared with me as I recuperated. Once I heard about his favorite spot to hide out in, it was like something slotted into place and I knew where I had to get my brand.

Standing out here with leaves under my feet, surrounded by the forest, I’m right where I need to be. And so is Ewan, next to me.

“Let’s do this.” I start calling earth magic to me.

”Oh,” Ewan murmurs by my side, picking up on something in the air.

Casting out all my senses towards the forest around me, the sights, sounds, and smells of my immediate surroundings are most prominent. Then something magical takes hold. I feel connected to not just the area nearby but the whole forest. My senses feel sharp and attuned to everything, every twig, blade of grass, and insect and critter in the whole forest.

For a brief moment, my senses are sharper than Ewan’s. Earth and its magic are practically leaping out towards me and all I have to do is accept the invitation it extends.

Time for Ewan’s role in the proceedings.

”Okay,” I say. “Your turn.”

Branding involves a visible mark of power, like a token permanently carried both within us and on our bodies. My parents have their snowflakes.

My mark will be different.

I already know one marking that connected me to the earth and left a huge impression on me. All I have to do is make the mark permanent. Infused with earth magic, it will stay preserved on my body and connect me to my element forever.

“Brace yourself, this might sting.” Ewan pushes my shirt down, exposing the skin under my right shoulder. The same place he left an accidental mark before.

This time, it’s completely intentional when he lowers his lips to the skin there and bites down. I feel his teeth sink in, but there’s so much adrenaline, magic, and excitement coursing through me that I barely feel the pain.

The magic inside me intensifies as it rushes to the bite mark he creates and infuses the imprint of his teeth. I feel it sear through the mark and permanently ink his bite there on my skin.

Maybe it’s risky to have my brand take the form of his bite mark. We haven’t known each other that long. But it doesn’t feel wrong. Both my head and heart are telling me this is the perfect symbol of my connection to the earth. A symbol that connects me to the earth, magic, and Ewan all at the same time.

Ewan’s human teeth leaving a mark on my shoulder obviously won’t turn me into a werewolf. If it did, I’d already be sprouting fur and howling at the full moon. But since this is part of my branding ceremony, his bite will turn me into an earthbrand. I feel it happening. The earth gives me its blessing and the power I need to wield earth magic.

Thinking back to the sickly fir tree we passed to get here, I send energy flowing towards the tree. I feel the thin branches start to thicken and sprout new green needles. The once dull bark turns a warm brown.

”Wow,” Ewan says beside me, his voice filled with wonder. ”Absolutely incredible.”

I turn to him and grin, seeing that he”s not talking about my magic with the tree. He”s looking right at me.

The process is complete. The earth element rests in me, a warm pool of potential that reminds me of flower petals, leaves, and even the pounding of four padded paws over the dirt and grass of the earth.

“I did it,” I say just to hear the words. “I’m an earthbrand.”

Ewan watches me with beautiful blue eyes and a proud smile. “You did it.”

”What do you think?” I ask him.

He watches me very carefully as he thinks over his answer. Is it a hard question? Am I really that different already?

”I think you’re going to be very, very dangerous,” he decides.

Whoa, not what I expected to hear.

”Hey, people who use magic aren’t perfect. We’re just like anyone else, most of us are decent people and some aren’t. But I promise I’m still the same! The Jack you met hasn’t changed. I just have an earthbrand now. I still have absolutely nointerestin using my magic to hurt anyone or anything.” Percy and his family’s dirty tricks set a bad impression, but he does not represent all of us. His ruthlessness and refusal to listen to the elements is what drove him mad and kept him from ever receiving their blessing.

Ewan only grins at me. ”Spoken like a true earthbrand.”

“Thank you.” Despite his weird answer, I had to smile. “I am an earthbrand.”

“You are.” He smiles back, hands cupping my face. “You smell amazing.”

The sweet kiss he gives me only lasts a second as I realize what he meant before. “Oh! You meant I’m dangerous to you? Good dangerous?”

He wasn’t making a comment about Percy or what I’d do with my powers after all. He was saying he liked my new scent.

“Very good,” he promises with a throaty chuckle.

“Has my scent changed completely or something?”

“Well, you carried a fair bit of ice on your scent before.”

“What does ice smell like?” I wonder.

Ewan’s head tilts as he tries to answer. “Kind of like nothing, but a nothing where you know there’s something there?”

“That’s what I smell like?”

“You did.” His thumb strokes over my cheek tenderly. “Now you smell like that amazing moment when everything thaws out and you know winter is over and spring is here.”

“I smell like a moment?” I ask.

“An amazing moment.”

Our lips join and it feels like the warmth glowing in my chest could make all the flowers in this forest bloom. I can do anything with earth magic and him. While nothing can change that I came from icebrands, the traces of ice they left in me no longer have the same power. I can’t use that connection to ice anymore. It’s been replaced by earth magic.

There are so many possibilities open to me now. I can’t wait to discover them all. Right now, I don’t want to do anything but this.

I understand exactly what Ewan means as we keep kissing. My heart feels just like the moment when winter ends and spring is here to stay.

* * *

When my parents arrive to meet Ewan’s family and his pack, my mother steps right out of her vehicle and into a puddle of mud. Her champagne-colored pumps will never be the same.

I hope this isn’t an omen for things to come.

Mother only shudders briefly and soldiers on, and I don’t question why she thought semi-elegant footwear was appropriate for a barbecue. In her defense, I doubt she’s attended one before.

“Relax.” Ewan wraps an arm around my shoulder as we follow them up the path to the backyard. “Everyone will get along fine. Your parents are nice.”

“You think my parents are nice?” I stop in my tracks, sure I haven”t heard him right. ”I can’t imagine what they were like while I was hurt… That’s a total lie, I imagine they were quite high strung.”

Ewan gives me a knowing smile. ”Just like you.”

”But you still find that charming in me, don”t you?” I ask, needing reassurance. “Right? Am I still charming?”

He chuckles lightly. ”Incredibly so. And your parents have their own charms.”

“They do?”

“You were hurt,” he reminds quietly. “Them being high strung seemed pretty normal.”

“Right, yeah.” An injured son does warrant high strung behavior. “But if they’re still high strung now…”

Ewan pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around my midsection. “Relax, we get along just fine. In a very twisted way, Brass brought the three of us together. I was trying not to freak out while you were recovering, but all I could think about was you and how much I needed you to be okay. Nobody else got that better than your folks. So yeah, we bonded and we’re all good.”

“Oh. Good.” The thought really warms my heart, but ‘good’ is all I can manage.

Now that I’d finally declared my decision and was an earthbrand, my parents were… they were the same people and yet I was also getting to know them all over again.

We really should catch up with my parents, but in Ewan’s arms with his eyes happy and bright because I’m healed and in one piece, we enjoy a few moments to ourselves. Leaves crunch underneath our feet as we linger on the garden path, and the vibrant energy of the pack lands buzz around us with a natural presence that calls to me.

Not even a single cloud lingers in the sky today. The bright sunny day is the best weather we can hope for when the Oakley pack is hosting a barbecue. Shifters and friends of the pack gather on the lawn behind the main house and enjoy themselves. None of them seem bothered by the muddy state of affairs that carries over from a storm yesterday.

Sam is manning one of the many grills. Casting a mischievous glance at my prim and proper parents, he makes a decision. “I’m gonna bring them a plate of the messiest ribs ever. Let”s see what happens.”

“Sam,” Ewan warns.

“What, you don’t wanna see that?”

“…Maybe,” Ewan admits. He laughs when I give him a look of betrayal. “Relax, this is gonna be great.”

Aiming for ‘good’ or even ‘fine’ seems much more reasonable. ‘Great’ is overly ambitious.

When introducing my parents to Ewan’s uncles, none of them know what to do with each other. Both pairs stare at each other for a good fifteen seconds of silence while I wonder if I should create a minor mudslide and call this whole thing off.

It’s awkward.

Rowan recovers first, greeting them with a broad grin and firm handshakes. ”We”re delighted to have you here. It takes an exceptionally strong person to overlook the rocky start our pack had with Jack and come to our rescue regardless. You”ve raised an extraordinary man.”

”Thank you.” Father’s polite nod is a huge show of respect for him. “We feel the same, given your son barreled through traps and kept on going to rescue our son when he was in trouble.”

”No, hold on,” Mother says immediately. “That’s not right.”

Oh God. “Mom—”

“These are the alphas,” she hisses urgently under her breath. “They aren’t Ewan”s parents.”

”Really?” Father turns slightly to confer with his wife. “I thought they were the parents.”

Her hair stays perfectly in place as she shakes her head in exasperation. ”I”m certain they”re the alphas.”

”Then they’re the parents and the alphas, so what?”

”So what? We”re here for 15 seconds and you’re already committing a faux pas. We want them to like us.”

We can all hear their mini argument, even me. From the alpha’s expressions, the effect of my parent’s overdramatic, whispered argument is somewhat charming. They were probably expecting stiff, uptight ice types.

My parents are that, but it’s clear they also care about making a good impression here.

”We’re the alphas and Ewan’s uncles,” Rowan clarifies. “And since his parents aren’t here yet, we’re happy to take full responsibility for how he turned out.”

The joke lightens the mood.

”Excuse us,” Father says. ”We’ve haven’t been to a… a wolf pack… gathering before.”

”That’s fine. Just be yourselves.”

My parents process this newfound information, and it is my mother who regains her composure first. Taking the arm of the other alpha, a man towering over her with a dark beard, she delves into a spirited discussion about her ideas for earth/ice partnerships and the potential magical and monetary benefits of combining two opposing elements.

”Is that good?” Ewan whispers.

”Great,” I assure. ”My parents live for networking and strategic connections. For them to recognize your value and seek to leverage it alongside their own is the highest compliment they could give.”

It looks like we”re all going to get along just fine.