Chapter 195
A croak spilled from Marian’s parted lips.
She wrapped her arms around herself as her eyes took in the creature before her.
Is this…my Reyland?
My bear?!
This is not a bear!
What…what is this?
Of course, she knew he had become muscular; of course, she knew he had thinned out. But knowing something and seeing it right in front of you, under moonlight, with just you and it, and no one else around, that had a different kind of impact.
And yes, she had seen him last night, but tonight, something felt different.
Reyland’s face was to the sky again.
His back was to Marian.
Every muscle was rippling.
All his clothing was on the ground, about a yard away from where he stood.
His lids shut, and very slowly, very deliberately, a deep sound filled the area. Marian blocked out all outside ears. Freeing Reyland from doing anything other than what he needed to do.
His body started to bend and break and split.
His nails extended and hairs – fur – formed on his back, his shoulders, his legs, and his arms.
He cried out and Marian had to prevent herself from calling out to him or running to his side.
He was shifting, for the first time in his life, and it was painful.
Marian had all but forgotten how painful it could be. She had first shifted at the age of twelve, earlier than most, and had gotten used to the pain fast.
Naturally, like all shifters, the pain stopped after a while, much sooner if one shifted very often, which, as a warrior in training and then a full warrior, she had.
His screams became a deep roar as his skin exploded. His toes extended and his back arched as he fell to his knees.
His claws were like knives.
His fur was near white.
His teeth, his fangs were dripping with saliva as his wolf, his Lycan, growled.
He was magnificent.
The Lycan rose to its full height, powerful hind legs carrying a powerfully built upper body and a large head.
His back, shoulders and head were very similar to a wolf, but the rest was more similar to human form.
This was a Lycan’s body. Something half-way between human and wolf.
The Lycan howled to the moon, and Marian could have sworn that the moon shimmered in response.
It was a long, loud cry to his mother, to his goddess, on his first transformation.
Marian fell to her knees, while keeping all sound caged, away from anyone but her and her…what was he now?
The Lycan’s head snapped to Marian, and she inhaled sharply, her eyes wide.
Lycans were rare creatures. They were mostly talked about in fairy tales. Marian had never been a fairy tale kind of shifter, but she knew the stories.
Lycans were wild, prone to violence, and could speak with their wolf mouths. But Marian had never heard of a white Lycan. White wolves, yes…but Lycans?
Marian had never seen such a being as the one before her.
But as she stared at it and as it growled in her direction, every thought in her head vanished.
Deep, blue, sapphire eyes stared at her from the Lycan’s wolf face. The entire eyeball, one single color.
Marian shifted backward on her buttocks. She wanted to run, but her legs would not respond.
She blinked, and the Lycan was standing over her, hunched down, sniffing at her, growling in a deep voice that vibrated in her chest.
Marian had forgotten to breathe.
When he sniffed at her, she inhaled, and…she swooned, falling even further, lower to the ground.
The scent was of the rain, the woods, and dawn. Then it was snow, the forest, and the ocean. Then came pine, ice, and snowstorms.
Marian’s mind was in a whirl.
Just then, words Marian had never hoped to hear in her life, had only dreamed of hearing, filled the space she had created to contain the sound around Reyland and herself.
Even before the words, Dinka had already sent out a howl within her that had shaken her entire being.
“Mine!”
Marian’s heart almost exploded.
She covered her nose and mouth.
She couldn’t breathe.
Everything was overwhelming her. Her stomach churned, and the Lycan stepped back, it howled again at the moon, throwing its head and arms back and pushing its chest forward.
Marian choked and gasped for air, still trying to find her feet.
She turned her back to the creature and, using a tree she had backed up against, pulled herself up to a standing position.
As she gained her balance, a claw slammed against the tree stump and a wet muzzle nuzzled her neck.
She spun and was nose to nose with the hot breath from the blue-eyed Lycan.
Marian inhaled, breathing in the Lycan, and…she collapsed.
\==========
When Marian’s eyes opened again, Reyland was dressed.
He was flushed pink, a smile was on his bow-shaped lips.
His eyes were dancing.
When he heard her stir, he rushed to her side, his eyes electric.
“Amber and smoke! Oak and honey! Jasmine!” Reyland breathed.
“Is such a thing possible?!” he exclaimed.
Marian stared at him. She could not speak. She had no voice.
Instead, she reached for him, kissing him with all the energy she had, which at that moment, wasn’t much, but Reyland helped.
He drew closer, his hot tongue finding hers as they offered a kiss to the goddess, as they shared their gratitude and their hopes.
Marian’s hand moved to his shirt, and Reyland pulled back.
He rested his forehead against hers.
“Mary,” he gasped. “We can’t do this now,” he breathed, rocking her, and himself, back and forth.
“Yes, we can,” Marian whispered huskily.
“No. Not now,” Reyland rasped.
He held her face as she stared at him with eyes that made him close his as he continued to speak.
He was smiling.
“We need to bring peace to our people. Only then can this make any sense,” he breathed.
“What peace?” Marian asked pleadingly, her words and her meaning two completely different things.
Reyland opened his eyes and kissed her forehead.