Fine
I nodded to Cas and got down on all fours. The transformation was slower than I was used to, but in no time, Iris stood where I was moments earlier. Her light gray fur shone in the filtered light in the clearing. Capien circled us, and Iris walked up nuzzling his hand. She purred when Caspien ran his fingers into our soft fur.
“Lovely.” He murmured.
I let Iris and him have this time before Caspien knelt down and changed into a large black wolf, almost double our size in a few seconds.
Iris growled in approval, and they nuzzled each other before Atlas broke off into a run. Iris kept up with him well.
The late afternoon sun rushed through our fur, the scent of warm overturned dirt hit our nostrils, the only sound was the wind and the soft crunch of underbrush under our footsteps.
The trees grew sparse, and we came upon a shallow creek where we stopped to drink. Atlas growled, making Iris’ head snap towards his before dipping shyly.
I let her take complete control, slipping to the back of her mind so that they could have some semblance of privacy.
Flint and Iris had some alone time, playing and toying with each other until they completed the final act of our mate bond.
I felt our bond reach out to each other, tethering together in a way that was concrete, solid, unyielding.
I knew at that moment that nothing could break this.
Not rejection.
Not death.
We were one; we were us.
We lay there in wolf form for long moments, which felt like hours, but the sun was still bright above us.
Let’s get back to the road. I have something else I want us to do – Caspien linked.
I slowly got to my now wobbly feet, a rush of pure bliss coursed through me.
Atlas’ eyes showed me he felt the same.
We curiously followed him the way we came; it was slower this time but no less exhilarating.
He shifted back and threw on his pants.
“Don’t worry about your underwear.” He said.
My brows tugged, but I trusted him and that I would find out soon enough.
My parents were standing by the side of the road in another car, Emmett between them.
“I don’t understand.”
“I thought we could see if Emmett was ready to shift; he told me that he wanted to.” Caspien said, “You want to try that?” He knelt at Emmett’s height.
“Yes,” He nodded enthusiastically but shifted from foot to foot.
“You don’t have to be scared; if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work.” Caspien said placing his large hand on Emmett’s small shoulder, “We have all the time in the world to practice, and if your wolf is only there sometimes, or not there anymore, then he will be back.” Emmett looked at Caspien timidly with wide eyes.
“And if you don’t want to try, then we can just go for a walk; how does that sound?” Caspien asked.
“Good,” Emmett smiled.
“Thanks for bringing him,” Caspien told my parents, “You’re going to be late, though.”
“To what?” My mom looked at my dad, who shrugged.
“Your date,” Caspien said.
“I’m not dressed for-” My mom looked down at her jeans.
“I own the restaurant, plus,” Caspien shrugged slightly, “You’re the only ones there.” He fixed them with a smile.
My mom’s eyes were wide.
“Thank you,” She said.
“We appreciate it,” My dad said, shaking his head.
“I appreciate you, both of you,” Caspien said, clasping his shoulder.
“Have fun,” I said to them, I knew Caspien-style dates, and my mom was about to have the shock of her life. They both were.
I reached my hand to Emmett, and he took it, looking up at me.
“Let’s have some fun,” I said to him, “This is a beautiful place. I’m sure we can find some treasures.”
Emmett smiled widely, bouncing up and down, taking Caspien’s hand in his other one.
“We brought that back, right?”
“Yes, of course, love,” I smiled at him, “We just need to unpack it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find new treasures to add to it when we do.”
Emmett tugged us forward. We spent a while looking for new things, Emmett explaining to Caspien what he already had and what he was looking for.
Once we found a triple acorn hat, a leaf that had prematurely started to slip to autumn before it fell, and a speckled rock that was almost the exact version of one, he found with my dad but half its size, Emmett was calm and distracted. “Do you want to give it a try?” Caspien said, his voice soft.
“Sure,” Emmett nodded.
“Not because you think we want you to, but if you do,” Caspien went on.
“There’s no pressure. I didn’t shift until I was a lot older than you, a lot bigger.” I said to him.
“I want to,” Emmett smiled.
“Okay then,” I looked at Caspien.
“I’ll shift first so that we can guide him in both forms,” Caspien said; he almost sounded nervous.
Caspien slipped behind a tree and prowled back out the large black wolf that was Atlas.
“Wow,” Emmett bounded towards him, “You’re huge,” He laughed, wrapping his hands into his fur.
Caspien carefully sat down so as not to knock Emmett. Emmett crawled on top of him and almost fell over the other side.
I laughed, taking a seat on the cool grass.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.