"Well, how about that," I say looking at Nat, "ready to do our exploring?"
"Yeah, let's go, just let me get a drink of water before we shift."
I watch as Nat walks to our tent to dig out her pink stainless-steel water bottle. I can't help but stare at her ass as she bends down into our tent. I pretend to be looking at the trees as she turns and catches me in the act.
"I saw what you were doing. Don't try to hide it silly. I am your girlfriend, after all." She laughs. I smile at her comment. She is more beautiful than anything I have ever seen, and I love it when she laughs. It seems to lift my soul. I can't wait to see her wolf form.
10. Natalie
As I bend over in the tent, digging around for my water, I can't help but laugh at Alex's blatant stare at my ass. I guess I made it hard on him by sticking it out like I did when I bent down.
Finally, finding my water, I grab it and stand back up. I take a big swig of it as I turn to look at Alex.
"So, do you want to go first, or do you want me too?" I ask, setting my water bottle down on the ground outside of the tent.
"Well, normally, I would say ladies first, but my owl is dying to be free to meet you. He has quite the personality and is getting pretty bossy right now."
"Oh, so you have a connection very similar to what I have with my wolf then. We are two separate beings, but, not right?"
"Right," he says. "Okay, here it goes."
I watch as Alex closes his eyes. It is incredible as his body seems to fill and burst with white light. I have to blink because of the brightness, and as I do, I notice that Alex is no longer standing in front of me, but a gorgeous snowy white owl is flying toward me. I hold out my arm as it lands on my shoulder and nuzzles me with its head.
"You are so beautiful," Alex says through our telepathic bond.
"Thank you; you are too. Oh, I mean handsome. Oh, I don't know, your owl is amazing. Now can you get off my shoulder so I can shift too? My wolf is eager."
"Yeah, just give me a sec to get situated." He says as he flies to a nearby tree. I watch as he lands gracefully and turns to look at me.
"Okay, I am ready." He says.
I bring my focus back and close my own eyes. I feel my inner power boil over, and my bones break and reshape. Not even a second later, I am standing on the ground with four paws and fur. I shake my red coat and stretch, feeling the soft dirt between my toes. I open my senses and hear the breeze moving through the trees and smell the sweet scent of marshmallows. I forgot we had those.
I open my eyes and look up at Alex in the tree.
"Okay, you think you can keep up if I run?"
"No worries there, sweetheart. Let's fly!"
"That was kind of cheesy," I say as I take off at a dead sprint into the trees.
"I don't care. I like your wolf form. Your fur looks so soft and warm."
"Well, thank you. Your feathers were soft when you brushed my cheek."
"Good, I do a lot of preening when I am out." He laughs through our bond.
"I could see that. So, do you want to hunt?" I inwardly smile and feel my wolf smile as well. She is enjoying this.
"Yes, but we will have to do that separately; we hunt differently than you. Meet back in ten with our catch?"
"Oh yeah, deal," sprinting off in the direction of a rabbit. I can smell its earthy scent and feel its fear. I know it can smell me.
A few minutes later, I meet Alex with my catch and notice he has a small rodent. We quickly dine and begin our run again. Well, in his case, flight. We spend another hour like this in the woods before we head back to camp.
As I enter the campsite, I watch as Alex lands on the log next to Addy, causing her to jump and fall to the ground. He just tilts his head sideways before transforming and bursting into a laugh. Calen just watches with an amused look on his face until he notices me in the shadows. He whips his head in our direction, summoning a flame.
I take this opportunity to leave the shadow with a wolfish smirk and sit next to the log Addy is on. She rolls her eyes and throws a look at Calen, who drops the fire and laughs.
"Sorry about that Nat, I thought you were going to attack for a second there. You look pretty fierce."
"Oh, I am sure she can be," Addy says.
I look and see Alex chuckling off to the side. I love how relaxed he seems with everything and our small hunt. It was exhilarating, and I am not quite ready to shift yet. I know I need to, though, so as not to come across as rude and to get a meal started. I know we ate, but I feel like I could eat again.
I close my wolf eyes and let my power bubble over again. As I open them, I am now human.
"So, what are we making for dinner?" I say, moving to sit next to Alex on the log.
"Well, Calen started to get stuff out for hot dogs not too long ago. Are you both okay with that?"
"That sounds good to me," Alex says, stretching.
"Great, I will get them cooked. If one of you wants to get the condiments and another grab the chips, I can have them done asap."
"Great," I say, standing to get the chips.
We spend the next hour eating and chatting around our small fire. I was surprised that the burgers tasted delicious, but I was also more ravenous than I realized by the time we sat down to eat. After sitting for another hour and talking, we decide to turn in for the night.
As I slide into the tent, butterflies erupt in my stomach. "This is it; we are going to do it." I think changing into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before Alex enters.
"You know I hear that, right? Are you ready for us to go to that level?" I hear Alex in my head. I have been working on building barriers to contain my thoughts, but I tend to fail when extreme emotions are involved.
"Sorry, I didn't mean for you to hear that. I believe I am if you are."
I hear the tent flap move and turn to watch as Alex enters the tent. I watch as he sheds his clothes, leaving only a pair of bright red boxer briefs on. I continue watching as he kneels to the ground to sit next to me on our small pallet of blankets. He reaches out to grab my hand and pulls me closer.
"Nat, if we are going to do this, I want you to know that this is not what I had in mind for our first time. I want it to be special, yes, but I also realize being out in nature like we are is special too. We are connected to mother earth in our own way, and I love that we share that, but I want to tell you something before we do this." He takes a deep sigh.
"From the moment we met at that party, I knew you were special. Since then, I have fallen head over heels for you. I love you."
I sit and stare at him a bit shocked at his statement, but at the same time, I feel elated. After all, he is meant to be my mate, and I have been falling for him. Am I ready for that, though? What about my parents? They aren't even real mates, so would they understand the bond I have with mine.
"Alex, I love you too. I know this relationship isn't typical for my species, but I am glad to have it. Are you sure you love me, though?"
"Nat, I know you were raised with those traditions that you have mentioned several times during our relationship so far, but you know how I feel. I don't care about your traditions; I just know that I love you."
I smile as he finishes proclaiming his love again and lean into him. I lean my head up and press my lips against his. As our kiss deepens, I feel something snap into place within me, and I know that we have started the sealing of our mating bond. It is uncontrollable, and with that feeling, my emotions intensify. It seems to have the same effect on Alex as he gently lowers me to our pallet. He lays on top of me, holding his weight in his arms, and we continue our kiss. As he turns to trail kisses along my neck, I uncontrollably bare my teeth and bite into his shoulder. He doesn't pull back or wince as a small number of blood trickles into my mouth. He now has the mark of a mate given from my wolf. Our passion increases as I kiss the same spot, and we spend the rest of the night, making love and wrapped in each other's arms.
11. Alex
The weeken
d seemed to go by in a blur. Nat and I both spent a lot of time with our animals loose running and hunting in the woods. It was refreshing. We spent the night in each other's arms.
Now back on campus this Monday morning, I feel somewhat lost without Nat next to me. I also feel achy, and the spot on my shoulder seems to burn. I don't know why she bit me, but it seemed to intensify our bond, making love to her also helped with that. I can't help but ponder on the bite more when my phone beeps.
Nat: Hey hope your morning back has been good. I miss being in your arms and running free.
Me: It has been okay. I feel the same.
Nat: We should go camping again soon.
Me: Yes.
Nat: So, I know we are supposed to get together tonight, but I have been summoned to my parents. I think I may be in trouble.
Me: Really, what do you think you are in trouble for?
Nat: Not sure, but I can text or call you after I get done having dinner with them.
Me: Okay, that sounds good. If you need a rescue, though, let me know.
Nat: I will.
Me: Do you think I could meet them sometime? If all is well anyway.
Nat: Yes, we can figure that out.
Me: Are you worried or something?
Nat: Well yeah, just a little. You know how they are.
Me: Everything will be fine. Don't worry.
Nat: Famous last words of a fool ;-)
Me: :-P
I laugh aloud as I slide my phone into my pocket, eliciting a few funny looks from passerby. I think she is worrying too much about this dinner thing. I look around me and try to decide where I want to go to study now. The air is crisp and cold, but the warmth of the sunlight shining down makes it comfortable outside. It seems like a perfect day to sit out on the lawn somewhere to study.
I make my way in the direction of the fountain located at the center of campus. It usually is safest to sit out and study there. I can occupy one of the benches and get some work done and not be at risk of getting soaked by the crazy sprinklers.
The smell of chlorine lingers in the air as I reach the fountain and see Calen doing what I had in mind. He is sitting on the bench closest to the fountain with a book in his hand.
"Hey man, how is it going?" I say, walking up to him.
He looks up from his book and smiles. "Hey, long time no see. How was sleeping alone after your exciting weekend?"
"Eh, it was okay. I missed having Nat with me though. How about you? Don't think I didn't notice Addy crawling out of your tent yesterday." I sit my bag on the ground and take a seat at the other end of the bench.
"It was weird. We are already planning living arrangements now that we know our mating bond is complete. What about you and Nat? I see she has given you the obligatory wolf-mate mark."
"What?" I say with a confused look on my face. "We haven't talked about mating. Is that what this mark means? Oh shit, does she realize that?"
"You and her never talked about it? I can smell the mating bond all over you. I am sure she knew what was going on."
"Well, if she did, she didn't relay that message to me." I sit and ponder on that for a moment. I have a new understanding of why she is worried about dinner with her parents tonight. Calen just watches me.
"You seem worried, Alex. Is it the shifter tradition thing? Addy mentioned something about that while we discussed the mate concept. She said it is becoming more frequent that shifters are mating outside of their species."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that, I am worried a little. Nat says her parents are weird about their beliefs and that they are very traditional. Does that mean they won't approve of me? I told her I loved her this weekend and want to eventually marry her. I am not one that just looks to date for the hell of it anymore." I say in a rush.
"Hmm, I think you and her need to sit down and talk about this. She has obviously claimed you and I am sure you are noticing a new connection to her that only mates attain. Maybe you both can figure something out when it comes to her parents. Love always prevails after all." Calen says, standing from the bench.
"Thanks, I guess we will need to talk. She is meeting with her parents for dinner tonight. Are you headed off?"
Calen picks up his bag as he says, "yeah, I have another class starting soon. I will see you later this week. Bye, friend."
"Okay, see you around." I reach into my bag for one of my books to study. I am a bit distracted with my thoughts, which makes it difficult to focus.
I think back to our first date. I guess that is when the mate stuff started. I was able to hear her thoughts and communicate with her while also being extremely attracted to her. Okay, the attraction may or may not have been the bond. She is gorgeous.
Also, the fact that I have been able to hone in on her moods and even more so now must be part of it too. I literally can feel her anxiety and stress to the point that I can taste it right now. It is not helping with my focus either. I stand and gather my things, trying to understand why she didn't share that with me and what else she may be hiding. Is she keeping other secrets that I need to know?
With bag in hand, I head off toward the parking lot. I stick to the sidewalk, which increases the time it takes for me to get from point A to point B and also lets me enjoy the sunshine. I will have to find something to keep me distracted until I hear from her later.
Arriving back at the house, I slip down the hall and into my room without being noticed. I want a few more minutes with my thoughts before I join the chaos that is my roommates. Focusing, I make a mental reminder to discuss our mate status the first chance I get. I then turn my attention to my room to do some tidying up. It helps me to clear my head, and I then head to the living room.
Entering the room, I see everyone sprawled out on the couch, flicking through a list of movies on Netflix. The girls are sprawled out together on one of the sofas, and there are several bowls of popcorn situated on the coffee table.
"Hey guys, how is it going?"
They all turn to look at me and murmur the varied responses along the same lines. A few "fines," and "goods" are said before Derick selects a movie. He picks an action movie that instantly draws everyone's attention. The film helps me stay distracted for a few hours until a strong feeling of emotional pain and sadness hits me mentally and makes me physically double over. This causes everyone to whip their heads in my direction.
I look up groaning and notice everyone's concerned expressions.
"Dude, are you okay? Do you have a bad case of gas or something?" Eddie says.
"Yeah, I have some tums and Pepto in the medicine cabinet if you need it," Derick says.
"I think I will be okay." I pull out my phone and see a text from Nat sent not two minutes ago saying,
Nat: Hey, I am heading back to the dorm. I will talk to you tomorrow.
Her message and the emotions I experienced have me springing from the sofa.
"You sure you are okay?" Stevie says as I turn to leave the room.
"Yeah, I gotta go see Nat, though. Something is wrong. I may be back late. See you guys!" I say.
Lainee fires out as I exit the room, "If you need some female backup, we are here."
It is almost as she reads my mind, or maybe she can see the worry written across my face. I don't respond and sprint down the hall to get my keys. I run out the door, and Nat's emotions intensify so much that my magic responds. My keys fall to the ground as my owl bursts out, and we fly toward the school. Several minutes later, I find myself hovering over the parking lot next to her dorm seeking her car and hoping to help my love.
12. Natalie
My day started as a typical Monday. Wake up, prepare for class, the same routine. I did wake up in a somewhat empty mood since Alex was not with me. This new mated bond has me out of sorts but in a good way. I feel more connected to him and want to be near him all the time. I am not sure if it is healthy, but it is part of our bond. I love it.
Walking through the grass with a light jacket pulled tigh
t around myself, I feel a strange unease descend upon my shoulders like a blanket. I shiver while trying to focus on making it to the building a few yards in front of me where my next class is held. Pulling the door open, I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket, signifying that I have a message.
With a frown, I slide it out and open my messages. I see that it is from my mom.
Mom: Hey, Dad, and I would like you to come home for dinner tonight. Can you be here around 6?
Me: Yeah, do I need to pick anything up for you?
Mom: No, I have everything I need. See you then.
Still frowning, I close out that message and pull up my message with Alex. I take a deep cleansing breath before beginning the text while also finding a good place to stand out of the flow of traffic. I still have a few minutes before my next class starts.
Me: Hey hope your first morning back has been good. I miss being in your arms and running free.
Alex: It has been okay. I feel the same.
Me: We should go camping again soon.
Alex: Agreed.
Me: So, I know we are supposed to get together tonight, but I have been summoned to my parents. I think I may be in trouble.
Alex: Really, what do you think you are in trouble for?
Me: Not sure, but I can text or call you after I get done having dinner with them.
Alex: Okay, that sounds good. If you need a rescue, though, let me know.
Me: I will.
Alex: Do you think I could meet them sometime? If all is well anyway.
Me: Yes, we can figure that out.
Alex: Are you worried or something?
Me: Well yeah, just a little. You know how they are.
Alex: Everything will be fine. Don't worry.
Me: Famous last words of a fool ;-)
Alex: :-P
Smiling and feeling a little better, I silence my phone and slide it into my bag's side pocket. I don't want it going off in class, and I need to start my mental preparations for the conversation I know will occur tonight. I have put it off long enough, and the camping trip helped push it to the back of my mind, but I need to deal with it head-on now. I need to tell them about Alex, especially since we are officially mated.
Breaking Traditions- the Shifter and the Mage Page 7
