She's Golden

Tenth Phase: Always

"Julian?"

George was going crazy.

George's wolf was going crazy.

And while she tried to remain calm as Julian gasped for air before her, inside the alarm bells were ringing and she's about to two seconds away from going over the edge.

He couldn't breathe!  He was gasping for air, clutching his chest, and his face was all red.  The fact that his clothes clung tightly against him didn't help matters either.  And then there was that comment about the punishment for being an naughty librarian...

Yeah, that was a good idea - NOT.

Any traces of her calmness and her ability to navigate tense situations flew out of the window.  Her wolf was at its wits end, freaked out to see her mate in such distress.  George was right behind her.  She'd meant to play around with him a little, but she never meant to get him so upset that his lungs would stop functioning! 

The worse part was that she could hear everything.  She could hear the racing of his heart, the wheezing of his lungs, and the shortness of breath.  She could smell the fear that was released from every pore of his body.  He really wasn't expecting this to happen, and it frightened him.

She felt so helpless - what could she do? 

He needed help, and she needed to help him?

But what could she do?

"Oh my God, Julian!"  George rushed over to his side, trying to keep her panic at bay while attending to his distress.  Shifting was NOT a good idea right now, even if the wolf insisted on rescuing her mate.  "Julian!  Julian are you all right?  Do you need a doctor?"

"N-No," he managed through his labored breathing.  Good, he can still talk a little!  That's good!  "I just...I need to..."

"Shh!  Don't talk, just keep breathing, okay?" she instructed.  "I need you to relax, okay?  I need you to breath in and out slowly, okay?"

Julian nodded, but he was still having a hard time.  Her frustration rose to a danger level, and her wolf was clawing to get out.  One press of her soul, and she'd be a white furry mess trying to make a bad situation better by making it even worse. 

"Come on, Julian, you can do this," she softly pleaded.  I can't...I can't stand to see you like this.  Please, please get better.  "Please, you have to calm down okay?  Look at me - inhale slowly and exhale slowly, like this."

She reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder without even realizing it.  On cue, he looked up and their eyes met in one electric instant. 

Now, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

In that one moment, she knew of no tension.  She knew of softness, of warmth, of timidity, and of passion.  His eyes were too open too hide anything back - and gazing at him, she couldn't hold anything back either.  The pounding of her heard flooded her ears, mixed with the jubliant howling of her ecstatic wolf.  There was no mistaking it - the affection he had for her in his eyes.  Even if he could barely breathekay, he could be affectionate, and he certainly carried his feelings for her in those eyes.  She could see them all, swirling before her, unashamed and unafraid to be discovered.

Just like my dad...one look and he was already deeply in love with my mother.  He didn't have a chance. 

It wasn't always like that.  Well, maybe with the rural wolves, it was like that.  They were much more keen on the idea of mates and whether the mate was human or wolf, the minute they found each other, it was on.  But for the most part, it wasn't like that.  Just because you found your mate, didn't mean you were happy about each other.  Some people were keen on courtship, others were quick to reject each other in ways that would be too hot for Steve Wilkos or Jerry Springer.  Most people took their time getting use to the idea of accepting their mate.  While wolves were simple in their desires and only wanted one thing, the human psyche was much more complicated and therefore  more likely to make one simple courtship a comedy of errors.