The Truth Revealed

My heart was racing, I couldn't seem to breathe. I was staring up into black eyes tinged with silver around them. How was he so big? He hadn't looked that big while he was sitting on the edge of my property. I continued to stare, unable to move or breathe. He didn't move either. He just stared into my own blue eyes with a strange intensity, almost like he could probably understand everything that I would say to him.

As my heart hammered in my chest waiting for what could possibly be my own death, he suddenly sat down on his haunches and..... grinned at me!

What?!

I heard a thump... thump... thump behind him and in amazement realized that he was happily wagging his tail and thumping it on my porch. A shocked half laugh, half gasp came out of my mouth. Before I could think better of it, my right hand reached out slowly and began to stroke his thick, black fur. It was surprisingly soft and felt good in my hands. He began to hum and closed his huge eyes, leaning his massive head into the hand that was petting him. He looked like he was.... Happy to have me touch him. I slowly sat down on my porch swing, never taking my eyes off of his as he lowered himself slowly to lay down in front of me. He was still almost above me in size.

I laughed softly. I wasn't afraid. Not at all. In fact, I felt like a soothing baum had been poured over me in warm waves. I knew suddenly that it was from this wolf. I slowly lowered my hand and continued to stare into his eyes.

"You're quite friendly, aren't you?" I asked him softly.

In response, he just grinned even bigger. Then, something odd was happening in my head. I felt.... a second presence. My eyes widened with shock when I heard "I am Jackson." in a deep voice in my head.

It didn't feel like an intrusion, him being in my head. It felt like I had been holding my breath my entire life and now I was finally able to let it out because he was gently expanding my mind to include him and many other thoughts I thought were long dead from the constant oppression from my ex-husband. Being able to breathe felt blissful.

I could also think around the trauma. I had never been able to do that before. I had always been so consumed by it that I had not been able to be who I truly was. The artist. The woman. The person who was her own. Now I could clearly see the path before me was not hidden. It had branched out into many paths that would take me to every dream I had ever had.

There was so much room! So much space for me to finally be able to think and breathe. And this wolf, somehow was giving that to me.

I stared into his eyes again, seeing in them that what I was hearing was actually him. I could see his inteligence and awareness of me. I tentatively reached out with my mind. "I am Miranda."

I heard him laugh softly. "I know." He said. "I have been aware of who you are since before you came here."

I froze at that. "I'm sorry? I believe I would have remembered you." I told him. "I certainly have never seen a wolf where I used to live, let alone one as big as you." Why did talking this way to a humongous beast seem so natural? It was so strange.

He was in my mind again, soothing it. I could feel it. 

"You would not have seen me like this." He said softly. 

I frowned. "Like what?"

"I am not always a wolf, little artist. I can walk as a man."

My heart stuttered for a moment. "Are you... are you trying to tell me that you are a...." I couldn't say the word. It was too ridiculous. Werewolves didn't exist.

Yet, I was having a conversation in my head with one right now. What other explanation could there be?

"Werewolf." He finished for me. "I'm sure it is, as you say, too ridiculous for you as you have never come across one of our kind. But, I assure you we are very real."

"You could hear that?" I asked wondering how he was able to hear what I didn't think I had said in my head. Could he hear all of the thoughts that cross my mind?

"No, not all. Only things that have real emotion behind it or if you directly speak to me."

"So you can hear humans when we are emotional or talk to you directly?"

"No. Just you."

"Why?"

His eyes looked deeper into mine like he was trying to make me understand something, but I just wasn't getting it. "I can hear my mate's thoughts." He said and watched me closely to see my reaction I assumed.

"What's that?"

He stared at me for a moment. He seemed like he was weighing something in his head. Maybe he was trying to decide if I was actually worth talking to since I wasn't seeming to grasp this mate thing.

"Let me show you my other form so we can speak properly and I can explain what a mate is." He stood quickly and darted off my porch and around the side of my house. I heard some commotion and some rustling of clothes (Clothes?!) and then a man walked around and up my porch. I jumped up in shock, even though he had told me what he was going to do.

The large man walking toward me made the air leave my lungs. Gorgeous was the only word for this man. His hair was as black as his wolf, his eyes the same silver rimmed, his face looked like it had been chisled to perfection. He wore blue jeans and nothing else. His chest was well muscled and he stood at least six foot tall. Miranda was a mere five foot one, it was almost funny the way they looked standing in front of each other. She ran her eyes over his arms and chest that was covered in many different tattoos. They looked tribal, but I couldn't be sure without looking them up. He pulled it off well.

Taking a deep breath, she sank back down to her porch swing. "Nice to meet you in person." She joked shakily. "Now kindly explain what this 'mate' thing is."