Calex

Rising to my full height, I stealth closer, avoiding the leaves and cracked twigs until I can crouch in front of her. She looks up at me from under long lashes, eyes dazed. But she doesn't fight me. My heart skips a beat, knowing this is the closest I've been to her without the bond urging us to be near one another. It feels different. Real. Like something chosen, not forced.

If I'm not mistaken, I know what that little display of affection was in the clearing was. But why her wolf vanished after, I don't know. The appearance was too early to begin with.

"Flynn?"

"I'm as surprised as you," he retorts, huffing. "Although, for the lack in presence now could be the missing food and rest. She's weak."

He hates being without answers as much as I do. With the Alpha gene running through our veins, we desire to know everything, to have a plan for whatever comes our way. But our little female is a spectacular mystery.

When she doesn't flinch, I hush my voice in hopes of refraining from startling her. "We have to move."

I receive a weak nod, but it's something. She takes my hand, and I return to keeping our pace slow and manageable. Her body is warm against my side, and it feels right. Wherever our bodies touch, sparks tickle my skin. I want to ask her if she can feel it too, but the silence is comforting her.

Our footsteps sound through the trees, the earthy smells. . . her, it feels complete. Flynn has eased into a sitting position, quietly watching. He doesn't make a peep, nor does he move. It's the quietest he's ever been, and I'm glad he has some peace.

A figure blurs in the distance. Brown eyes gleam back; the fur, dark brown with various lighter shades and speckles of black, lets me know who it is. Reginal bows his head and bounds off. My Mate hasn't shifted, and there isn't any distress radiating from her, so I'll take it she didn't see him. Instead, she stares at her feet, her fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt, and the side of her face presses into my arm. A low noise sounds in the back of my throat, and I guide her over a tangle of roots. If I could forget everything, I'd say this is bliss—my Mate walking with me side by side through the woodlands, enjoying the essence only nature can provide.

Holding back a sigh, I steal another peek at her.

I wish we could stay like this forever.

Time seems to pass slowly as the two of us trek across the woods, but now, it's too fast for my liking. She's facing the depths while I keep my back to the spit. All the outcomes wind up with her neglecting to eat, and none fall in my favour. I wouldn't force her, but I wouldn't sit by and watch her starve, either. One look at it and she'll never be able to stomach it.

Doing the one thing I struggle with when it comes to her, I talk.

"This is for your benefit. Close your eyes," I rasp.

I don't want you to be put off.

"W-why?" Her eyes peer up at me, wide and soaking in the dying sun.
I don't know how to answer the question. For the first time in my life, I'm at a loss for words. I have a feeling this little female is going to surprise me with a lot of things. They feel strange, but I can't help but like it.

"Be honest," Flynn prompts. "We had to bring her food."

"Food has been prepared. I don't want you to look," I answer. "Meat."

Carefully curling my fingers around her wrist, I wait. There's a flurry of emotions—confusion, distrust, refusal—but she takes the first step. I hear the growl emitting from her stomach, then she takes another.

"D-don't try anything," she warns, and I don't stop the small sound coming from within.

She believes there's nothing she can do against me, but she's wrong. I'm powerless against her.

With a deep breath, she blinks, then surrenders herself to me. Her eyes are closed, delicate lashes dust her cheeks, and her hand slips into mine. At first it trembles, but as time goes by, it ceases. Tingles erupt across my palm, lingering at every point of contact. Her sharp intake of breath is enough for me to know she's feeling them too.

Guiding her through the clearing, I never take my eyes off her. We make progress over the grass, eating up the distance to the spit. Halting her by her hip, she shudders but doesn't make a peep. Positioning her body to face the cabin, I soak up the calm in her expression.

So beautiful.

"She is," Flynn agrees.

"You may sit," I instruct. She starts to descend to the floor but pauses. "I got you."

Lowering her to the grass by her hips, I tell her to open her eyes. The green shocks me to the heart, and I falter like a young pup. Flynn snickers in the background, and I snap at him, only for him to carry on as he lays down.

Straightening, I make a move to go behind her, but her head starts to follow. "Don't turn around. Look ahead."

Without a word, she does as she's told, even though I can see the defiance in her gaze. I lease a shaky breath, still unable to wrap my head around this change between us. I shouldn't think about it, but I can't stop wondering how long this shred of peace will last.

"Just be you. That's what she needs," Flynn advises, and the thought of being myself has my throat tightening.

I've done that all my life, and look where that got me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I take it back. She's the only good thing that's come from it.

Severing the meat into slices, I take them to her. Her eyes are expectant, but her features are bashful as she extends a hand toward me. "Thank you," she murmurs, heat crawling into her cheeks.

Nodding, I sit across from her. I take the first bite, chewing slowly, then swallow. I watch her from under my lashes, waiting for something, anything that may frighten her from her food. She eyes it wearily, but I can tell she's starving. Her tongue darts over her lower lip, her eyes darken, and I can hear her stomach howling to be filled. I hate it.

"You're not eating." She winces. I curse myself. "What's wrong?"

Flynn praises the effort I made to change my approach, and the reward of her breathy exhale spurs me on. She's not afraid.

"It's from a dead animal, isn't it?" she whispers, and my spine is ramrod straight. "I mean. . . there's a roasted animal behind me, isn't there?"

"She got you there. Good luck."

I growl at Flynn and drop my gaze to the floor. "I'll take you inside if that's what you desire?"

Hesitance lingers in the air. Her body stiffens, and I know I've put us on a defrosting lake. When I meet her eyes, they shift away from me. "N-no. I'm fine here."

Out in the open, as far from me as she can be.

"I-I don't mind, it's different, that's all," she stammers, and it hits me in the chest.
She doesn't think it's disgusting—that I'm wrong.

My lip quirks, and I drop my line of sight to the meat in my hands. When I look up, she's eating. Not even five minutes pass before she's devoured it, and I know the look on her face all too well. She needs more.

Reaching across the distance between us, she flinches. I stop. Debating between resuming and backing off, I narrow my eyes and inch closer. "Take it."

She stares at my portion like it's going to bite her. "I can't, it's yours."

A low growl breaks free. There's a trickle of that familiar scent, and I reign it in. "There's more if I need it. Have it."

Meeting me halfway, she hesitates, then she takes it. Gratitude brightens her features, and it's like I disappear as she feasts. I admire her and the work she does on it. The last two slices she slows down and picks at, but the sated look on her face takes the edge off the tension in my body.

Turning my view to the sky, the white clouds that had dotted the sky have cleared off, the sun is on the verge of setting, and I know in a few hours, the moon will arrive. And so will her transition.

Stretching on the way to my feet, I extend my hand for her to take. "Come, little one; you need to rest. Tonight is going to be straining for your body."

The mere mention of tonight brings a wave of that putrid smell. There's no way around it—she has to face it. The only thing I can do is be there for her when it comes.

Composing myself, I say, "Rest for now. I'll be near for when you wake."

Her fingertips dig into the earth, tugging the strands. Her body is rigid, and it doesn't sound like she's breathing.

"I-I don't want to do this anymore," she whispers, dropping her head in her hands. "I want to go home."

I can tell she's in two minds about running, but her body won't get her far in this state. Before she can act, I grip her shoulders. "You know it has to be this way."

Tears dribble down her face, and it disturbs something in my chest. What I do know is that I despise the sight. I want a beaming smile instead.

"Don't make me do this," she whispers, using her arm to dry her face.

No matter what I say, she's going to revert to hating me. Although, I'd rather her be safe and hate me, not chasing that affection and see her in trouble. "Inside, little one."

"I hate this," she whines, climbing to her feet. "I don't want to change."

Knowing there's nothing else for me to say, I scoop her up. She struggles against me, but I don't relent. Her heartbeat hammers violently in her chest; the sourness returning to her scent as perspiration beads at her temple.

She tries to pry my fingers away. Her nails dig into my arm as she shoves at me. But none of it works, and my Mate knows it.

"Let me go!" she whimpers, wriggling. When I don't, she screams up at me. "God damn it, I said let me go, you brute!"

She snaps at my throat with her teeth, and I bare mine at her. In an instant, she turns her face from me. Storming up the steps with her, I slide the door open and stalk toward the bedroom.

It isn't much, but it will do her until tonight.

Throwing back the sheet, I tuck her in. She defiantly stares toward the wall, and it stings. Swallowing it back, sensing the shift back to how things were, I take a step back. "Sleep. I'll be outside."

With that, I storm out of the cabin into the fresh air. The peace is over. Of course, it wasn't going to last long; nice things never do. Gritting my teeth, I dispose of the boar and take down the old spit. Maybe thinking I'm the right male for her was wishful thinking.

Flynn growls, resuming his pacing. "Everything is going to be OK."

I let out a rough sigh. "Right now, Flynn, all I want is for her to make it through the shift." With that, I shut him out.

Breathing in my own space, I clear my mind and gaze up at the sky.

Moon Goddess, please let her find peace after the transition