Forever Changed (The Mystic Wolves) (11 page)

Chapter 11

The woods were teeming with life. Even though most of the critters gave me a wide berth, I could still sense them as I
ran, weaving in and out between the trees. The smell of nature filled my nostrils, the dirt under my feet recharging my spirit and helping me in the same way that the meditation had. It was always like this—the simple beauty of giving way to my wolf and letting go of my human worries.

Her perspective was uncomplicated, stripped down to the basic
instincts. When the world became too much to handle and threatened to crush my determination, by shifting into my furred body, it was easier to see what was important. To my wolf, it all boiled down to the basics: shelter, food, safety, Pack, mate. She wasn’t into the complexities that existed outside her world. As long as those five things were protected, she was happy.

I embraced her way of thinking—our way of thinking, reveling
in these moments. I yipped happily as the tension broke away, leaping over logs and rocks in my sleek form. The sun was starting to make its descent in the afternoon sky and I pounced on different light beams that broke through the overhead foliage. There was no fear, no thought of Julian, or danger. I was simply enjoying that carefree feeling I craved.

A scent caught my attention, causing my ears to perk as I skidded to a halt. It was familiar, welcomed, and I howled my desire for my follower to hurry. Sure enough, seconds later Mason’s lithe black form broke through the trees and my heart began racing. Without waiting
any longer, I took off running again, inviting him to join in the chase, with me as the prize.

He didn’t need to be asked twice, nipping at my legs when he got close
, before slowing down and letting me get a lead on him. We didn’t talk through our pathway, leaving all our humanness behind. We surprised a small herd of grazing deer and Mason growled loudly when I ignored them. I wasn’t hungry, yet. I simply wanted to move so swiftly it felt like I was flying.

With twilight fast approaching, I began slowing down, Mason’s body bumping into mine as we leaped over each other. The need to escape evolved into a more playful
exchange between us. Rolling about, pinning each other to the ground before nuzzling our snouts into warm fur felt like heaven. As the temperature dropped, signaling nightfall, I finally stopped and barked to get Mason’s attention. I was ready to return to the house. Understanding, he bowed his head and we began the journey home.

Five minutes away, he came to a halt and with a quick scan of the area, started to shift back. I followed his lead, letting the change flow over me as my fur turned to skin, my arms and legs replacing paws and tail. I felt energized and full of life. There was no doubt in my mind I’d made the right decision in taking this much needed break.

“Judging by the smile on your face, you feel better.” Mason handed me my clothes and, when I looked at him questioningly, he winked. “I grabbed your clothes when I passed by them earlier.”

“You think of everything, don’t you?” I said, thanking him as I put them on. The brush of the fabric against my skin felt amazing, sending tingly sparks up and down my body. It was one of the funnier side effects
of changing forms. It always left me feeling somewhat overly sensitive.

“I aim to please.” He grinned and I accepted his hand. We started walking down the small path that led to the house, our arms swinging back and forth. There was that comfortable silence between us again, the one shared when two people didn’t feel the need to fill every second with
noise. We didn’t need to, our spirits communicated for us.

Mason kissed the back of my hand
and looked up into my face, a soft look in his eyes, and then kicked a small stone off to the side. The sound of birds chirping and singing in the branches above us filled the air. Paired with the tranquil ambience of the setting sun, the moment was perfect. I could stay here forever and be happy.

This was what it meant to be mated
and to be content with the blessings I had. The thought surfaced and I laughed. Sometimes it really was that simple.

“What?”

“I just realized. It doesn’t matter what Julian does. He can huff and puff, threaten to blow the house down, but despite his best efforts, he can never win.”

“What’s brought on this new sense of confidence?” I’d definitely stirred his curiosity.

“He can’t ever steal this from us. No amount of magic and trickery can change what we have together, what we have with family and friends, it’s forever. He can’t destroy our love. And he can’t touch the strength we have because
this
is what we’re defending.” I stopped and placed my hand over his chest. “I’m not saying he can’t hurt us and that we shouldn’t take him seriously, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that while our weapons are different from his, they’re just as powerful. And when you’re fighting for what’s right, believing in the good of others, it makes you a force to be reckoned with.”

“Wow, this run really did help.” Mason leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. “You never cease to amaze me. I’m not going to lie
; I kind of expected to find you falling apart. You’re under a lot of pressure and I wouldn’t fault you for breaking a little.”

“But what purpose would it
serve? Trust me, it’s tempting to want to cower, to throw my hands up in the air and ask why me, but it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t matter what thoughts I have constantly swirling around in my head, each one begging for me to believe it. When all is said and done, it doesn’t change the fact that I choose to be stronger. I choose to have faith in myself, in us, and in those that stand with us. I choose to place my energy in doing everything I can to make sure we succeed.” I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation of Mason trailing his fingers up and down my arm as we stood there. “Sometimes I wonder if this is why Klothos interfered, if this is why we shared that dream; because if I hadn’t faced the Heart and Death, I doubt I’d be this resolved. Know what I mean?” I glanced up so I could look into his eyes.

“You changed through your experiences. We both did. But yeah, I’ve noticed that quiet determination that’s burned inside you since returning.
To me, you’ve always been brave, but now?”

“I’m totally bad ass.” I chuckled and reached up to kiss his lips. “It’s okay to say it out loud. I know you think it.”

Mason encircled his arm around my waist, keeping me pressed against him as he deepened our kiss. There was such a sweetness to the contact, the way his lips feathered against mine before his tongue traced the seam of my mouth. I knew what he wanted—what he waited for, and I didn’t refuse him. The second his tongue touched mine; it was hard not to melt into him. This was yet another beautiful moment that steeled my spine and resolve to fight. Every time I was with Mason, each time he held me as though I was the most precious thing in his world, it fueled my purpose.

Gripping onto the front of his shirt, I returned his love with an added layer of my own devotion. As long as we continued having these quiet moments together, as long as we could enjoy these intimate exchanges, I could conquer anything. His courage became my courage. His unswayable faith became mine. We were perfectly matched, even before the Fates became involved. This was exactly how I imagined it would be with my mate, with Mason. It was a divine mixture of blinding fireworks and passion along with tender, sigh-inducing, breathless interludes like this.

I would never be able to get enough of him. He was everything I’d ever hoped for and dreamed of, and the steady stream of familiar emotions through our connection told me he felt exactly the same way.

When he slowly withdrew, my eyes closed to savor the last brief touch of his lips; I knew this was what heaven was like. It
wasn’t so much the physical, but the quiet conviction of loving and being loved. Completely.

“I love how romantic you are, sweetheart.” Mason brushed the side of my temple, an affectionate smile on his face.

“It’s because I’m married to my hero,” I whispered.

“And I married the one who owns me heart, body, and soul.”

“You’re quite the poet yourself.” Tilting my head to the side, I offered him a crooked grin. “You still didn’t answer me, though.”

“Hmmm?” He was already inclining forward for another kiss.

“My comment about Klothos,” I reminded him.

“Sorry, I got a little distracted by my sexy,
bad ass
wife.”

Unfisting his shirt, I kept my hands on his chest, patting him in mock chastisement. “True, but I still want to know
your opinion.”

“Well, I think you might be right. It wouldn’t surprise me, especially seeing Klothos admitted she int
ruded for a specific purpose. Even though it didn’t make sense at the time, knowing now what’s approaching on the horizon, it does.” Mason shrugged, wrinkling his forehead. “Regardless of the whys, it served a good purpose. Like you said, you’re stronger now because of it.”

“Yep, so let’s get going and see if Vivien’s made any progress on the binding spell.”

“Lead on, my fearless warrior.” With a soft slap on my behind, Mason took my hand again and we began walking home.

****

Devlin was pacing back and forth, talking quietly with someone on his phone when we entered Mason’s office. We didn’t get but a few steps inside before Daniel sprang up from the sofa chair, a wide smile on his face. Something must have happened to make him this happy.

“Good
, you’re both here. I was starting to think I needed to go hunt you both down. But, you know, the last thing I want is the emotional trauma and scars from interrupting two newlyweds.” He winked, his excited smile turning into something cheekier as he wiggled his eyebrows at us.

“Whatever
.” Mason chuckled, rolling his eyes at his best friend. I loved watching the two of them, their bantering and easy-going relationship still strong and thriving after all these years. They were more like brothers than anything, both willing to give their lives for the other; and once Mason introduced me as his future mate, Daniel fully embraced me into his life, as well.

“I’m delicate, my Liege. There are some things that can never be unseen.”

“Like your naked ass because you were too lazy to dress after a run?” Mason was the one to now raise his eyebrows, folding his arms across his chest.

“
In my defense, there were extenuating circumstances!”

“Really? You don’t think laziness covers it?”

“Well . . .” Daniel scratched his head, his reddening face unable to hide his embarrassment. “It wasn’t so much I didn’t want to get dressed, more like I couldn’t. I forgot where I left them.”

Mason barked out a laugh, slapping Daniel’s back. “Hell, that makes your walk of shame even funnier.”

“You tell anyone, and I’ll share a few of your stories. I’m sure Darcy would love to hear about the time you thought it was a good idea to challenge Big Bertha.”

Mason coughed, his eyes widening, and it instantly piqued my interest. “Big
Bertha?”

“I think that’s enough. Didn’t you say you had news for us?” Trying to change the subject, I wasn’t deterred. Based on the death glares Mason was throwing at Daniel, this was something juicy.

“No, I think I need to know who Big Bertha is. Old girlfriend? Crush?”

“Neither
.” Daniel snickered.

“Daniel,” Mason warned, taking a step forward to silence his friend
, if needed.

“Who was she?” I glanced between them, laughing at how Mason’s tone wasn’t deterring Daniel in the least.

“It was a huge bull one of the pack members owned. It was this mean, ornery beast with the biggest set of horns you’ve ever seen. You couldn’t get near it without Big Bertha snorting and stamping his hoofs aggressively. Everyone kept away from the holding pen, not wanting to get trampled on; but not our Mason. With all his twelve-year-old bravado, he decided he could tame the animal. He bragged to anyone who’d listen that as the Alpha’s son, the bull had to listen to him. He marched up to the fence, climbed over, and demanded obedience from the creature. He declared if Bertha ignored his authority, he’d be left with no other choice than to issue a challenge and the bull wouldn’t want that because Mason would definitely win. He stared Bertha down, completely fearless, every inch determined to be the hero of the day.”

“What happened?” This was such a cute story and I could just imagine Mason doing this—the young boy bravely approaching the animal he felt bullied his pack.

Daniel burst into laughter, unable to get his words out properly until he stopped. “Well, it was about a week before he could sit down properly. I’ve never seen him try to scale a fence so fast. Luckily, Big Bertha helped him over, catching Mason under the leg with his horn and throwing him clear over. Left a huge gash and a bruised ego. I’m pretty sure people still talk about it.”

“I thought I’d never live that down
,” Mason groaned.

“My courageous hero
.” I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his waist and kissing his heated cheek. “Do you have a scar?”