Twenty-Two
I place the lantern out in front of me so I can steady my footing over the fallen branches and leaves. The moon is full and bright in the sky giving me more visibility of the trees around me and bathing them in a soft ethereal glow. I pull my scarf higher up my neck to keep me warm. The temperature must be around freezing. The warmth of my magic is now dormant in my body. I tired it out.
I listen out into the quiet whisper of the wind for any sound of Sam, anything or anybody else. There’s nothing but the sound of the branches reaching out for each other. The creaking of their limbs as they rub together in the breeze.
I call out into the night. “Sam!” And wait patiently for his reply. Nothingness fills my ears.
I walk further, deeper into the woods, in hopes of finding him there. My heart races with anticipation. Will he be OK? How does he feel? Does he even want to see me? My emotions run high with the outcomes of seeing him. The sleepy tingle of my tired magic stirs within me, the warming sensation trying its best to serge though my veins and warm me from the winter chill.
I find myself in the familiar clearing where I first saw himin his magic form, the moonlight bathing the woodland floor in a sea of light making it look like a silvery pond. I stand for a moment admiring the beauty before trying to call out for him again.
“Sam, I need to talk to you!” My voice carries through the woods but silence greets me again. He doesn’t want to talk. He really does need some space. I don’t even know what Gloria has told him. Us being twin flames? My mother agreeing for me to marry into a family of people who have killed our kind for our powers? Me contemplating going through with it? I don’t know.
I decide to head back to the cottage, but something rustles in the thicket across from me. Two large green eyes appear above a grey muzzle just poking out of the undergrowth. He slowly stalks out showing his large silver coat. He stops and stares directly at me before a low rumble growls from his throat.
My own magic is now fully awakened and burning my fingertips. Unsure and ready.
We stand there, both staring at each other. Not moving. Unsure of each other’s next move. I decide to break the silence. “We need to talk.”
His green eyes stare into mine, acknowledging what I have just said. My heartbeat is racing against my bones.
Sam’s body begins to tremble. His fur, once thick and wild, shudders and recedes, the hairs melting into his skin as though pulled by an invisible force. The muscles in his legs and back tense, contracting and shifting, as his bones crack and reform with an unsettling sound. His claws, sharp and powerful, retract into human hands, fingers elongating and smoothing as the pads of his paws smooth over into skin.
His face, once elongated into a snout, pulls inwards, the muzzle shrinking and narrowing, leaving behind the features of his human self. The fur that had covered his body fades completely, leaving his skin exposed in the cool night air, thetransition complete.
Sam stands there for a moment, breathless, feeling the weight of his human form settle over him. My heartbeat thuds in my chest, slower and more grounded than it had been moments before.
Sam’s hands, now trembling slightly, flex as he regains full control, feeling the rawness of the change slip away, replaced by the steadiness of being himself again.
I revere him. His muscular body stands before me, the droplets of sweat on his chest glistening in the moonlight. His hair is swept back off his face. His eyes meet mine.
My heart now beats in my throat. I sprint towards him, branches snapping underneath my feet. I jump into him, grabbing his shoulders as he grabs my legs and pulls me into him tightly, his forehead resting on my own.
“Sam…” My voice quivers. “Sam, I—”
“I know.” His voice is quiet and low.
I wrap my arms tightly around his neck, pulling myself closer into him. I just want to breathe every part of him. Touch every part of him. Our bodies like magnets that can’t get close enough.
“I didn’t know, I promise I didn’t know.” I can feel myself wanting to cry and kiss him all at once.
“I know,” he replies again, his breath tickling my skin and sending shivers down my spine.
“I fell in love with you for you, not what you are, not this twin flame shit, just you.” I can’t fight it. The tears fall and I kiss him, hard and needy.
He pulls away slightly, releasing himself from my starved lips. “Say that again,” he growls.
I stutter at the sound he makes. “I said… I said it was just you.”
His eyes are now glaring into my own. “Before that.” His voice is angry and impatient.
Fuck. I said I fell in love with him. And I did. I love Sam. I love everything about him. I want to be with him every single moment of every single day. I want him inside me. I want him around me. I want him touching every part of me. I want him. I love him. And I would do anything to protect him.
I kiss him once more, gently on his lips. “I love you, Sam.”
His breath quickens and his heartbeat now sounds through his chest into my own. He lowers us to the ground, placing me on my back as he stays on top of me. His eyes shift to animalistic and hungry.
“Say it again,” he growls again in my ear. The vibration runs down my body to my thighs.
