by Sable Sylvan
“Can you let me help take care of you?” asked Lance.
“Worry about yourself, Lance. How are you going to get home?” asked Zelda, motioning to the dark streets. “We haven’t had a blackout around here in years...the building has a private generator.”
“Don’t worry about me,” said Lance with a laugh. As a polar bear, he could just get into his shift and wait it out in the woods, even though they’d be a bit warm for his shift’s tastes. He could always just find an icy pool and take a dip, sleeping soggy wet, just the way he liked. “But...worst comes to worst, we can camp out.”
“Camp out, like, outside?” asked Zelda, the thought of going out into the snow sending a shiver down her spine and making her cold.
“What? No,” said Lance, pointing up at the large glass ceiling covering the living room. “We can just camp here, and look up at the stars.”
“The stars?” asked Zelda. She looked up: the glass ceiling was usually useless, as the lights and smog of Seattle made it impossible to look up into the sky, but above them, there were pinpricks of light that Zelda hadn’t seen in person in years, as the bright Seattle nights made it impossible to go stargazing.
“You’re cold,” said Lance, noticing that Zelda was still just wearing her fancy dress. “Get changed, into your warmest pajamas, and I’ll get the blankets.”
“We’re going to make a mess?” asked Zelda. “I’m not sure Lorelei would like that.”
“Hey, Lorelei’s not here,” said Lance.
Zelda went to her bedroom with Lance. Lance looked through Zelda’s extra linens and picked out the thickest blankets he could find. He brought them out to the living room, making a second trip for pillows, while Zelda got changed.
Zelda went into her walk in closet and found the cutest pair of pajamas she could find. They were pink with white polka dots and white lace trim, the top short-sleeved and the pants short-legged. She slipped them on with a pair of slippers before heading out to the living room, where Lance was spreading the blankets on the floor, with cushions and throws from the couch. “Oh my God, you’ve wrecked the place,” said Zelda, stifling a laugh. “Lorelei’s going to be so mad!”
“I thought you had a cleaning service,” asked Lance, looking over Zelda. She looked no warmer than she had when she went into the closet, although she was blushing pinker. The sight of Zelda in those cute pajamas sent his heart beating faster.
“Yeah...every other week,” said Zelda.
“Well, what’s done is done,” said Lance with a mischievous grin. “Sit down, there’s something I want to show you.” He tapped the spot next to him.”
Zelda gulped: every girl knew that when a guy wanted to show you something, it was probably his dick...and from most men, that’d be gross, but Lance was different. Zelda walked over and sat by Lance, her thigh against his.
“Give me your hand,” said Lance.
“Okay,” said Zelda, nervously. She knew exactly where this was going.
Lance took Zelda’s offered hand and guided it up, rather than down below the sheets. “You see that big star over there?”
“Which one?” asked Zelda, extending her finger so her index finger was pointing.
“That bright, bright white star.” said Lance. “The brightest one in the sky. Do you see it?”
“Oh, yeah,” said Zelda. “What is it?”
“That’s not a star at all,” said Lance. “That’s actually a planet, Jupiter, the largest planet.”
“You’re telling me we can see Jupiter from down here?” asked Zelda. “No frikkin’ way.”
“Yeah, and if you have a telescope, you can even look at all its bands of colors,” said Lance. “Burnt umber, sienna, pale beige...all shades of orange and yellow and brown. It’s gorgeous.”
“Do you spend a lot of time looking at the stars?” asked Zelda.
“Of course I do, I’m a frikkin’ bear,” said Lance with a wide grin. “Usually, on nights like this, I’m in the woods with my clan.”
“Your clan? Wait, what did you mean ‘nights like this’?” asked Zelda.
“Didn’t you see?” asked Lance. “Look up: what do you see?”
“Just the moon,” said Zelda.
“Just the moon?” asked Lance, incredulous. “Zelda...I’m a shifter. The moon’s a big frikkin’ deal to us, especially to bear shifters. I bet we love it more than the wolves.”
“Why’s the moon such a big deal?” asked Zelda.
“Well...I’m glad you asked,” said Lance. “I’ll tell you the story I was told...about where bear shifters came from. My grandmother told me that the shifters came from the stars: there are trails that are meant to lead us home, through the stars. Some say that the first bear shifters followed a trail of stars down to Earth...others say we’re supposed to be following our own trails, and find our own home.”
“What trail do you follow?” asked Zelda.
“I’m a polar bear...so I follow not only the stars, but the auroras,” said Lance. “If we’re lucky, we might see one tonight. The electrical activity would explain why there was a power outage.”
“I saw an aurora once when I was little...before I got sick, of course,” said Zelda, turning to Lance. “When Lorelei took me to Iceland with her on work.”
“Did you meet any shifters?” asked Lance. “I’ve heard the polar shifters over there are huge.”
“I can’t remember,” said Zelda. “Honestly, it was so long ago...but what I do remember is the lights.”
“What else do you remember?” asked Lance.
“I don’t remember a lot,” admitted Zelda. “Well...Lorelei has pics of me as a kid, but everything’s a blur from before age five. Sometimes I have this weird dream about this couple: there’s a tall man with brown hair, and a woman, tall, athletic, but with hair and a face like mine. I know it sounds stupid...but sometimes I wonder if there’s something Lorelei hasn’t told me. How did you two meet?”
“Truth be told? I was drinking at the hotel bar, and she approached me to make conversation,” said Lance. “I was sure she was hitting on me at first, but she then insisted she had this daughter I’d adore, who would love to get to know me.”
“She was trying to set us up the whole time?” asked Zelda. “Wow...never thought that’d be Lorelei’s style.”
“The way she went about it was...weird,” said Lance tactfully. “It was like a sales pitch or something.”
“Probably because she’s always in work mode,” said Zelda, making excuses for her adopted mom.
Lance saw something out of his peripheral vision. He looked up and saw what he’d been waiting to see since the power had gone out. “Hey...look up,” said Lance, nodding up and motioning towards the glass ceiling. “Quickly, I don’t know how long they’ll be there.”
“How long what’ll be there?” asked Zelda as she turned her head, but as soon as she looked, her own question was answered.
The sky was glowing brighter than it had been glowing before. It was as if a rainbow was sleeping in the clouds: shades of purple and blue dominated the color spectrum of the vision, but green, and even yellow and pink, were also present, mixing with the other colors to form every color imaginable, from shades of pale yellow to tones of deep orange. The glowing shapes in the sky moved, waving back and forth like a flag.
The aurora borealis: the chances of Lance and Zelda witnessing the phenomena together was astronomically low, far lower than the very high chance that Lance would reach for Zelda’s hand without a word, and far lower than the equally high chance that Zelda would take Lance’s hand in hers and squeeze it back as they watched the aurora above them swirl, forming shapes against the clouds.
“What do you see up there?” asked Lance softly, as if speaking loudly would scare the aurora away.
“I see everything,” said Zelda, her eyes locked on the rays of glowing light, a light which seemed to have no source. “I see...I see everything, Lance. I see my past, my present, and my future, all at once. It�
�s like there’s a path leading me somewhere...and for the first time in my life, I wish this tower was taller, so that I could touch the sky. What do you see?”
The depth of what Zelda had said struck Lance. She could be silly at times, naïve and sometimes difficult, but Zelda had a deep heart and a way of seeing the world that continually surprised Lance, a trait Lance valued deeply. “I see the same thing I see every time...I see a bear,” said Lance.
“Who is it?” asked Zelda.
Lance was further shocked. Usually, humans didn’t refer to animals using the word ‘who’, instead using the word ‘what’. “It’s...my father,” said Lance. “It’s like he’s looking down at me through the clouds, watching me...and then the face changes, the face of the bear, and it’s my mother, guiding me...and then my grandfather and my grandmother, together, guarding me. The face changes, and so does the expression, but it means I feel like I’m home no matter where I really am.”
“And where is home?” asked Zelda.
“Right now?” asked Lance. “It feels like it’s with you.”
Chapter Seven
Lance lifted Zelda up and carried her to her room, opening the door and laying her down gently on the golden sheets.
“I’ve wanted you for so long,” said Lance, putting Zelda down as he started to unbutton his shirt. He threw the flannel over shirt to a corner and pulled the undershirt off, over his head, revealing his broad chest...and revealing something else.
Zelda ran her hands over Lance’s chest. Over his left pec was a mate mark: it was the first Zelda had ever touched. Although she’d seen pictures of mate marks online, she hadn’t actually touched one in the flesh. Over Lance’s heart was a symbol: a capital letter Z, the skin golden, but around the letter Z were flourishes of black, like vines crawling, all around the letter, keeping it bound. “Your mate mark...is the same as the first letter of my name,” said Zelda softly.
“I knew since the day I met you that this mark was about you,” said Lance. “You have no idea how many Zoë’s I’ve been on dates with, Zelda. I’ve been looking for you my whole life.”
“And...if we sleep together...” said Zelda slowly. She knew what would happen, everyone did.
“That’s right,” said Lance. “Then we’ll know for sure.”
“And if I’m not your mate?” asked Zelda, looking up at Lance.
“Don’t worry about that...princess,” said Lance, pulling Zelda up close to him and giving her a deep kiss. Lance pushed Zelda’s skirts up and felt her wetness: the thin fabric of her panties was already soaked with Zelda’s wanting.
Lance got down on his stomach and pushed Zelda up on the bed before pulling down her panties and pulling himself up to press his face right up against Zelda’s sex, his arms keeping her thighs spread, as he licked at her honey pot. Zelda tasted like she smelled: absolutely delicious, and Lance went to town on her as Zelda clutched his head and pressed his head further in.
Zelda had never had oral sex before, or any kind of sex, but this was so much better than just kissing. As much as she loved Lance’s mouth against hers, she didn’t exactly have a clit on her tongue, and Lance knew how to work that nub six ways from Sunday.
Lance rubbed against the clit with his tongue and then with his fingers, the pads of his fingers as amazing against her sex as they had been in her dream.
Lance licked against the clit while he explored Zelda’s sex with his fingers. “Tell me how you like it, baby,” said Lance.
“I don’t know,” admitted Zelda. “I’ve never done this before.”
“Never...?” started Lance.
“Never had oral, never had sex, never even kissed a guy before you,” admitted Zelda. “It’s not like I meet a lot of guys.”
“Hey...we’ll go slow then,” said Lance. His bear roared at the thought of claiming the mate, and man and bear knew they’d have to please Zelda and make her gentlest fantasies of her first time come to life.
Lance nuzzled against Zelda’s inner thighs, which were ticklish from not being touched often, as they were a place that only Zelda and the various aestheticians had touched. No man had ever been inside that secret space before.
Lance caressed her clitoris with his lips, kissing it deeply as he felt her wetness with his fingers.
Lance held his fingers in place inside of Zelda, rubbing back and forth against her G spot. He found it with a bit of searching, but it was ready and wanting, and he wanted to make her squeal, hard. Every rub of the spot made Zelda clutch the golden satin sheets and say Lance’s name, over and over, until the name became just small moans in her mouth, and then, mere gasps.
“I want you in me,” moaned Zelda, pulling Lance up by the scruff of his neck so that he could kiss her. Lance positioned his head at Zelda’s entrance, which by now, he’d opened up with his fingers so that Zelda would be able to take him without any pain.
The tip of Lance’s thick shaft was the hardest thing for Lance to slip in, as Zelda was tight from arousal, but he pressed in, even as her tunnel clamped around him. “Is this too fast?” asked Lance.
“More,” begged Zelda, reaching up to Lance. “Lance, I want more.” She pulled Lance in close so that she could feel his firm body against her own soft core, Lance’s every touch driving her absolutely wild.
Lance slid all the way in, the expression on Zelda’s face one of pure awe. She had never thought that sex would make her feel so, well, full, but Lance had filled every last inch of her, from entrance to end, and Lance’s thick cock was twitching inside of her, one way and then the next...but once Lance put his hips to work, making gentle round shapes as he threw his hips back and forth, and to and fro, his rhythm remained strong and steady, each pulse into Zelda bringing him closer to release.
Lance ran his hands over Zelda’s bountiful curves. “God, I love your body,” said Lance, rubbing his hands over her waist and then, up to her breasts, feeling her bosom move as he flowed in and out of her as smoothly and strongly as a wave against a cliff. Lance cupped each breast in his hand before giving it a gentle butterfly kiss, as if anything harder may break Zelda’s delicate pale skin.
Lance moved Zelda’s braid over her shoulder. “May I?” asked Lance, fingering the fine braid.
“Be gentle,” said Zelda, running her hands through Lance’s hair roughly, the short hair thick and soft as a rumpled bear skin rug.
Lance undid the ponytail holder at the bottom of the braid and put it on the chrome mirrored night stand gently. He fingered the braid, splitting the bunches of hair beneath his touch as if separating wheat from chaff, although Zelda’s hair was the cream of the crop, every strand natural, undyed, untreated, except for with high quality hair products and serums. However, the shining gloss of the hair couldn’t just be attributed to caviar creams and pearl pomades. Her hair almost seemed magical, as if it had a light from within, but it was merely the soft warm lighting of the bedroom, which had cast everything in a golden glow.
The feeling of Lance’s hands through her hair was something that Zelda considered chaste and innocent, but which drove her body wild, as if the sex was primal and animalistic, the kind of sex that Zelda had never known she’d wanted. “More,” begged Zelda...or rather, whatever was controlling Zelda, because in many ways, Zelda no longer felt like her normal self. It was as if there were two Zeldas: old Zelda and new Zelda, the Zelda that sketched handsome men and the Zelda that took them into her bed and rode them from below, bucking her hips up against Lance to push him further into her, even when there was nothing left to push in.
“You got it,” said Lance, letting loose entirely. There was no time for tender games or gentle petting. He clutched onto Zelda’s love handles and lifted her hips from the bed so he could drive into them fast and hard, pushing into her over and over and using his leg muscles to drive the hips into Zelda faster and faster.
Lance had gone from zero to sixty in two seconds flat, and the friction inside her canal was driving Zelda nuts. Lance’s hands were busy ke
eping a hold on Zelda, his finger pads rough against the soft skin of her waist and hips, pressing her hard enough to bruise any fine fruit’s flesh. Lance’s hands were leaving red marks that deepened with every clutch, but in the moment, it didn’t even hurt, as Zelda wrapped her legs around Lance, pulling him into her, closer, while Lance kissed and nibbled on her neck, not hard enough to hurt, and not daring to bite lest he accidentally break Zelda’s skin.
Lance had never wanted a woman more than he’d wanted Zelda, and he’d never expect the penthouse princess to react to his body in such a primal way. Zelda wasn’t just lying back like a dead fish: she was active, even from below him, pressing him with all parts of her body and pulling him close as if she wanted them to truly become a beast with two backs.
Zelda held onto Lance’s shoulder as he drove into her, her other arm around the pillow propping her head up so it wouldn’t fall off the bed from all the strong motions, angling him so he was hitting her right against the G spot, and she gripped tight as she felt it coming, hard and fast: her orgasm, the first she’d ever share with another person.
“Oh, Lance,” moaned Zelda as she came around Lance, her orgasm pushing her to levels of ecstasy she hadn’t felt before, in waking moments or in dreams. “Oh, Lance!”
“That’s right, princess, come for me,” ordered Lance, smattering Zelda’s face with soft butterfly kisses. “Come on, babe. Keeping coming for me.”
The feeling of Zelda’s folds around his hardness was enough to drive Lance over the edge, and as he thrust in, one big final thrust, Lance spilled inside of Zelda, who was still in the throes of ecstasy.
As Lance came with Zelda, the most amazing thing Zelda had ever seen happened. The mark on his chest started to glow. The sigil in the shape of the letter Z glowed first, glowing bright gold, golder than Zelda’s own hair, illuminating the space between the werebear and the woman in a warm yellow light. Then, the curls around the Z started to glow, turning gold, so that the entire Z was illuminated in bright gold light. Lance’s eyes flashed as the bear within roared a victory roar, as finding a mate was the ultimate goal for any bear. Finding a mate was all that shifters needed to do, their most primal instinct, and finally, Lance was with his fated mate.
