The chirping of birds around the building slowly brings my mind into a state of sleepy consciousness. I turn my head, resting it against Jay’s chest as he continues to doze beside me. He holds me close, even while fast asleep. I can’t help but smile to myself at how protective and caring he actually is, despite being a massive buffoon. I can tell that he genuinely cares about me now that I’ve had any misunderstandings cleared up.There is no doubt in my mind that my feelings for him have grown since our wedding day. Though if this is love or not, I can’t quite tell. However, things could be so much worse and I could have found myself in an abusive relationship, or with an Alpha who did not treat his mate as kindly as Jay does. Even with the bond being almost impossible for him to ignore, he does nothing I might dislike.At this point in

The looming mountain before us made me feel extremely small compared to anything else I have ever seen. I hope we don’t need to trek up there, because I know I am not equipped to do anything like that! Even walking through the forest was hard enough! As I continue to gaze up at the gigantic mass of earth, Jay places his hand on the small of my back in comfort.“Don’t worry. We should be able to find his cabin on the ground easily enough. It won’t be up there,” he tells me and then looks at me with the usual dopey grin plastered all over his face. I can tell he is about to either crack a joke or flirt with me, so before he gets the chance, I tap him on the nose.“I know that. Why don’t you find the cabin instead of whatever you’re suddenly plotting in that mind of yours?” I tell him with a disapproving glance. I’m not upset with him, but I am tired and want to find the cabin so I can fina

“So which will it be?” Bucky asks me with a tilt of his head. “It is completely up to you, and both come with advantages and disadvantages. I can help awaken either side, without the risk of your mind turning to mush, but I’ll need to know so that I can prepare. Or the witch-blood will need that. Werewolf one… is more about awakening the wolf within, so less of a hassle…” he trails on and on to where I have to shoot him a look that tells him to be quiet for five seconds so that I can think. “Being stronger is better, but I won’t have to look ugly and fly broomsticks, would I?” I ask, cutting him off as he is still rambling on to me about this and that. Bucky pauses and looks at me in thought. “Why? Do you have some kind of skin disease?” He questions. I shoot him a glaring look before he holds up his hands innocently to me. “You will not change in appearance if you become a witch and broomsticks are optional, though they don’t help you fly.”

Opening my eyes, I can hear the fighting going on outside of the cabin is still going on. I am also still standing in the same place as when the ritual started. Bucky looks tired, but he offers me a brief smile. With him succeeding in waking up my wolf and us joining as one, it is no surprise that he is pleased with himself. A sudden slam against the side of the building snaps my attention to the fight outside again.I do not know how shifting works, let alone how to fight, but I can feel something is different about me. I can’t quite place what that something is, though. Looking at my hands and then my reflection in the window, I see nothing physically different about my body. I glance back at Bucky and shrug helplessly.Just as I am about to say something to him, a familiar voice echoes in my mind, ‘our first shift might hurt a bit, but I will fig

When Bucky had said male werewolves go crazy during those moments around their mate, I hadn’t fully understood the level into which the mating process would drop. Last night had been… something else. It was late in the afternoon now, and Jay was finally asleep. Had I known, it would have been such a long and involved process, I would have tried to make him wait until we had gotten home. Though thinking about it, I doubt I could have held off that long, either.With a soft sigh, I turned over onto my side and laid there, watching his sleeping face for a while. I wanted to sleep too, but if I did, I was sure we would be up all night again. It wasn’t like me to sleep away the day like this. Though it would be understandable if I did. With a yawn, I decided leaving Jay’s side would not make me feel any more alert, so I opted to cuddle into him instead.