Soft white rays of light flitted across my face as the full moon shone through my curtains. I opened my eyes to see it winking from behind a few wisps of clouds.
*How long was I asleep this time?
**You needed it, my love. Ella, sing-songy even in her head, was gazing at me lovingly, doe eyed and smiling. We both lay naked, our legs tangled and one of her arms over my hips. Her other hand was holding one of mine, fingers interlaced. I traced her skin with my eyes, searching for the truth about what transpired hours ago. As soon as my eyes found the split, circular scar, I gasped in shock.
“Oh, Shit! I bit you, I bit the shit out of you. Oh my, Ella, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me, I didn’t mean to…I…” I cried out, so hurt that I had done such a thing.
**Shhh, love. It’s okay-
**No, it’s NOT okay! Having no idea why I would bite her so deeply that it left a mark like that, I was distressed and worried.
**Maren, my love- I have been waiting so long to call you that, by the way… We are mated now, this mark- this is your mark. This is what an Alpha does when they mark their mate.
I still felt horrible, despite her disregard for my actions, even though I felt that I wasn’t in control…
**I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you-
**It wasn’t painful, it was an out-of-body yet entirely pleasurable feeling, which I will treasure forever, Maren. The love in her eyes was so pure, I kissed her without warning, apologetically and tenderly.** She pulled away first, with more on her mind.
**It’s okay, love. The primal part of our beings took over and we made love. You claimed me as your mate, eternally, when you marked me as I climaxed. We are mated in almost every sense, bound by this bond now through this lifetime and into the afterlife.** I could feel my heart rate jump, as she spoke of forever. The finality of the decision I made while I lusted after her. I knew she could hear me thinking, but I continued unapologetically. Being now just a day or so away from my nineteenth birthday, I had made the decision to make a bond with this woman for the rest of eternity. I wasn’t even sure what “mating” meant, other than the context it was used on Animal Planet, let alone how this bond worked...
*How could I just decide so hastily to spend forever bonded to Ella? She’s beautiful beyond compare, flawless and pure, my favorite person on this earth, but can I do her justice from now until eternity?* The experience we shared, “mating” was absolute bliss, is that what it’s supposed to be like? I do love Ella, I know I do. I suppose I always have, it was only recently that I felt sexual attraction to her, but I suppose our love grew naturally, not magically. That’s what I’m scared of- magic. I want to be certain that I won’t ever hurt her, because if our love is natural and not as a result of some magical hogwash, then it is meant to be.
**That’s exactly it, my love.** Ella interrupted my mental mess with radiance. **We are fated to be mates, our silver threads of destiny are intertwined and always have been. I’ve felt it for a long while now, I just had to wait for you to reciprocate it. It was foretold to me when I was a child myself, I just had to leave the timing up to fate. How strange would it be for a woman, four or five years older than you to just walk up and tell you this before you were ready? I laughed out loud at the thought.
**Yeah, I probably would have thought you were crazy and cried to mom and dad.
**Exactly. Holding it in was a daily struggle, but there was no sense in traumatizing you before you even understood what love was. We are as one now, stronger together and bonded for eternity, and I know you’ll never do anything to intentionally hurt me.** She let go of my hands and brushed the few strands of hair off her neck, giving me an unobstructed view of the mark I made. It was amazing that it had healed completely in so little time.
*Wow, it’s completely healed already, a beautiful scar in place of the open skin I left earlier. Must be an “elemental” thing, like fast healers or something…*
Inspecting it, I noticed that scattered around the main scar itself, were two large diamond shapes, along with six smaller ones.
**Is each mark specific to the person that bears it?
**No, each mark is specific to the person who makes it, my love. This is the mark you’ll leave on anyone you choose to mate in this way, with the forever bond.** Ella’s eyes were glittery as she explained.
**But, I thought it was fate? What do you mean, “choose”? And who? Can there be more than one mate?
**It’s rare, but not unheard of. So yes, there can be more than one mate. Fate sends them in the right direction, at the right time, and the choice belongs to each person individually. You can choose to mate, or you can choose to reject your mate.
*Wow, imagine having multiple lovers. That’s insane.
**Mates are not to be confused with lovers, Maren. Ella’s tone changed slightly, a little more aloof, which was strange to hear coming from her.
Mates can be lovers, but lovers are not always mates. If someone chooses to take a lover before they find their mate, they break the bond before they ever find it. If someone mates, they can then take lovers if they choose, which does not break the mate bond, but it can still damage the mate emotionally unless they approve. This type of scenario is usually for producing children, exploring other sexual interests, or even polygamy. Also not unheard of but it takes a strong bond to endure.
So much information to absorb, I don’t quite understand it all just yet. I'm grateful for Ella, for explaining all of this to me. I do really love the mark I made, I wonder what it symbolizes. How did it heal so quickly, Ella must be in great physical health, I know she tastes like a fantasy. Fighting back laughter, Ella whispered to me,
“You and I have more in common than our bond. We are hybrids. Human and mysticals. You and I share both Fae and Shapeshifter ancestry.”
*BOOM! Did I just hear a bomb drop? Did she just say-
**Don’t be so surprised, silly. Did you really think that a human could possess seven gifts without a drop of mystical blood in their body?
**Uh, Ella, yeah. Yes, yes I did. How many people, including you, concealed my gifts from me for all these years and now I’m learning that I’m some sort of fucking unicorn that is somehow related to the woman she just lost her virginity to while also making some sort of magic eternal blood bond-** Poor Ella had not expected me to snap.
**Okay, I see you’re not used to my sarcasm, I'm sorry, love. I was attempting some lighthearted humor, it’s not really a natural thing for Fae. I’m human, Fae, and Lycan, but more Fae than anything. My father was Lycan and human, his parents were a Lycan and a Lycan-human hybrid. My mother is Fae. So Humor is hard sometimes, I can be serious when I need to be, passionate and empathetic always.
**Lycan is another name for shapeshifter? I felt bad for letting her have it after she tried sarcastic humor, so I took her hand in mine again, allowing the physical connection to speak my apology.
**No, Lycan is a type of shapeshifter.
I paused for several minutes, taking the time to organize my thoughts, as every explanation she gave me was a segway to more questions.
*I’m a human and mystical hybrid. I have gifts. Seven, apparently. I read minds, I freeze time, I control elements and I converse with trees. I have a mate that I’ve loved for a long time. We made love. I lost my virginity. I want to do it again…* There it was again, I could smell her arousal mixing with my own. The thought of how absolutely amazing it felt for her to kiss me and touch me made me wet, I could feel my nipples tensing into buds.
“I want to feel you inside of me this time, Ella.” Breathily, I proclaimed my desire to her.
“Not yet, my love.” Unsure if she was now playing hard to get, I searched her angelic face for answers. I once read in a fiction novel that Fae were enchantingly beautiful, which explained why Ella’s stunning features were unsurpassed, but wondered what else was true about her mystical bloodlines, mine as well.
“Maren, I have to tell you something-” I was caught off guard when she spoke out loud, supposing that I was getting used to our mind-link. I directed my eyes to hers, giving her my full attention.
“Maren, I love you endlessly and I am incredibly elated that we can finally share this bond, but there’s something you have to know-” I cut her off with another kiss, her intensity was so fucking sexy and I was overcome with the desire to slide my fingers inside her warm, wet pussy. She pulled away again.
*No matter, I’ll make her pine for my touch again…
“Maren, I know it’s hard to focus right now, and I’ll tell you why in a minute, but you have to listen-”
Still staring into her eyes, I wasted no time and cupped my entire hand over her hot pussy, swirling my thumb over her clit to stimulate blood flow for more intensity. I could see flecks of black surfacing in her irises, but this time, I knew what it meant: her lust was bubbling. She blinked hard, fighting to suppress the animal instincts begging me to make her cum, but this time in my mouth.
“MAREN! STOP!” I took a pause, not wanting to force her to do anything she didn’t want to.
“What’s wrong, baby? You don’t want to?” I felt silly asking.
*Hours ago, I was still a virgin, now I’m practically forcing myself on her. What am I doing? I need release! I want to feel the electricity again, but this time, both of us orgasming together. I’m a fanatic now, the feeling is a high that I need.
**Please put your hands on me, Ella? I need to have you inside me like when I slid inside of you. I want to feel it so badly! Begging felt so silly, but a new desperation was coming from seemingly nowhere and it was the driving force behind my madness.
“Maren, you are still a virgin, I'm tryingto explain!"
I was watching her mouth move, thinnking about kissing her and not fully focusing on her words.
"You have another mate!” Ella’s words shook me from my sex hungry craze. “I can’t touch you like that, not unless he gives me permission, and if he gives me permission to physically penetrate you before he does so himself, he is giving up his bond.”
My stomach suddenly wretched violently, pain searing through me at the mention of a relinquished bond. My chest ached, sending blood pounding into my ears. I knew instantly that wherever my other mate was, the mere thought of it was fracturing his heart into tiny fragments. Taking my face into her hands, Ella whispered the pain away.
“Look at me, beautiful. I’m not going to give into your advances in the light of this full moon. He is waiting for you, for years he has been waiting for this night.” Ella dropped her hands and stood in all her naked glory, skin radiant in the moonlight. I was awe stricken at the sight of her.
*I really do love her.
A thunderous, echoing howl rang out in the distance.