Page 30 of Demon Rejected
Right next to my human self was Sparky, beautiful and strong, made of flames. She started running around my human self until she wrapped herself around her. The human accepted the fire magic. Sparky bared her neck to me in a gesture of submission. A growl filled my mind, but I wasn’t scared. I knew who it was—the beast. She was more afraid of us than we were of her. A beautiful red with white streaks walked from the forest towards me. Magic surrounded her and Sparky walked toward the beast. It was the first time I noticed that the two of them had the same size and appeared similar. Just like that, they merged into one.
A new wolf stood on the spot, my Fire Wolf and the White Wolf, with red streaks. Her fur was the color of a sunset, same as mine, and her eyes threw flames around her. She was mine, the embodiment of power. Just like that, I melted into her. I wanted this to happen. It was time. She waited for me for so long. My body stood and I jumped. Flames engulfed my body. I was the wolf with fur in the colors of sunset and fire.
I stood there, calm, watching Matt, who watched me in awe.
“I always knew that you have it in you. You are beautiful, my Little Flame."
Matt shifted. The grey wolf with green eyes I came to love stood in front of me. Our wolves moved around each other, sniffing their aura, but neither one submitting. It was as if two Alphas met and respected each other.
Just as Matt’s wolf stepped closer, a deep horrible sound like a wild screeching erupted inside my head. A call:
Mate.
Mate.
Mate.
I was unable to resist it. It was something older than time that started like a fire boiling me on a cellular level.
Mate.
Matt’s Green eyes started into my red ones. He barked, a short joyful bark that invited me to play, and he ran, with me chasing him. Matt was right all the time. The forest and the mountains felt so different in wolf form. Not only that, I was aware of each sound and movement. I could smell and hear so much more than I did as a human. I was still me, but this was a new version of me, a side I still had to get to know.
Matt led me towards the waterfall. He jumped down with me on his back, only this time I jumped right next to him as an equal, as a partner, strong and confident in my abilities. The wolves swam inside the lake, but we both emerged as humans. The night in late October was cold and the water was freezing. However, the heat from our bodies created small clouds of steam.
I landed on my back, laughing.
“You did it, Little Flame." Matt lay next to me, his warmth radiating and pulsing in waves of deep green and emerald blue, with his cheek resting on his palm and his muscular body pushing on his elbow.
As I was about to answer, looking down at myself, I saw what he meant. My body was in human shape again. “That was so incredible."
“Yes, nothing beats being a wolf."
“You should have told me..." I stopped mid-sentence because my wolf was clawing at me again. She called, Mate, mate.
My core melted under Matt’s gaze. Suddenly, the cold October night was feeling so incredibly hot. Water dripped from his long hair. One strand hung over his forehead. My body moved closer to his. Our noses touched and my lips got close to his ear, as close as possible without touching him.
“Matt, my wolf keeps calling out ‘Mate.’ What does it mean?"
“There’s a legend, a wolf legend that says that each one of us has a perfect mate. Someone that is everything we need and want."
“That sounds like magic. And do you have to be with your mate?"
“It’s magic, but we still have free will. Of course, you don’t have to, but why would someone choose not to be with the person that is perfect for you?"
He was shivering. I became aware of his body and each of his breaths. Raw hunger clawed at my insides, calling out his name.
“Mate, is your wolf doing the same thing?"
The moon spun a net of silver. The light felt brighter as it reflected from the surface of the lake.
“Yes. My wolf thinks that you are my mate."
* * *
Matt
How was it possible for Scarlett to look even more beautiful under the moonlight?