Our Hearts Collided (MxM)

Chapter 17

I gave Simon a nod, to which he grinned.

"He's very excited, but I promise he'll behave." His ear twitched. "I'm still here, so there's no need to worry."

Simon's eyes softened, staring into mine as I felt his wolf's presence shift. Shifting into our wolf forms was different compared to our wolves taking over. And for Simon and his wolf, the transition was so smooth; I could've blinked and missed it. One moment they were brown, and then they were amber.

I sucked in a breath, his wolf's presence in its entirety now, and as promised, I still could feel Simon within those amber eyes. My wolf let out a content whine before saying, mate.

His wolf didn't move; his eyes fixated on mine. Through our mind link, his wolf mirrored the same word back to us, his voice as soft and gentle as Simon's embrace. Behind him, his tail lightly tapped the earth, but he hadn't made a move to approach me.

Mate, my wolf cooed again. Touch mate.

My feet were frozen in place, though. Taking a step closer meant the closer my wolf was to breach the surface. Could I reign him in enough? Would this work?

And yet, despite the yearning and pull of our bond, Simon's wolf remained seated, simply tilting his head with his kind eyes. Taking a deep breath in, I took a half-step forward. The only movement was from his wolf's tail. I could do this, I told myself. Nothing terrible had happened; my wolf was stable, not clawing at the surface to be freed.

Little by little, I took a few more steps, closing the gap between us. What felt like minutes had gone by as I slowly worked up to get near him until there was only a foot between us. His tail swayed from side to side; his eyes still fixed on mine as my wolf hummed contently in the back of my mind.

And as if struggling to contain his excitement, Simon's wolf stepped forward, his muzzle reaching mine and giving an affectionate lick. He whined, his ears drawn back as I returned the gesture.

"Mate," he cooed, licking back and nuzzling his head against my neck. For a second, my wolf had surged forward at the sound of his voice, only to retreat as quickly as Simon's wolf had taken a step back.

He reminded me of an excited puppy, the way his rump shook from the aggressive tail-wagging and playful yips he'd let out, circling me. Simon hadn't been kidding about his excitement, and yet, his wolf was still patient, never getting too close to rouse my wolf out, even though I knew he'd love to be out and running around.

The guilt of holding him back was distressing. A part of me wanted just to let my wolf free, let him enjoy this moment finally, but the fear was paralyzing. Losing that sense of control over him only brought terrible memories and a looming threat of what-ifs again. But seeing his wolf this excited to see us and not have a chance to run with his counterpart must've felt awful.

"Soon," his wolf cooed, approaching me slowly, dragging me away from my thoughts. "One day."

His amber eyes looked through me, reaching both my wolf, who hummed in agreement and me. Simon's wolf gave a chaste kiss against my cheek before walking toward the tree line. "Follow me. I want to show you something."

Despite his reassurance, the looming idea of just letting my wolf out seemed like the right thing to do, for my wolf's sake, at getting the chance to be around each other for a second. Simon and his wolf deserved that; my wolf deserved it after all these years.

Not now, my wolf urged to my surprise, his voice further in the recess of my mind.

His wolf's tail flicked, looking back at me with an expectant look. Follow him, my wolf said.

Like Simon, his wolf led the way, a few paces ahead of me, but close enough that he'd near my side in denser parts of the forest. The path was still easier to trek than the trek to Arthur's pack, but none of the clearings or trails we had passed seemed familiar. Of course, I wasn't familiar enough with the hunting party trails, but the air and foliage felt as different as the first clearing.

And yet, his wolf traversed the area like it was the back of his hand, taking a couple of unexpected turns till the trees became more sparse.

Before I knew it, Simon's wolf had brought us past a tree line to the lake's edge, further East than I had ever ventured, just below the mountains. The lake's shore was wider, with a patch of sand and lush grass nestles between two rock formations. I didn't know such a place existed along the lake, completely different and otherworldly to the rest of the lake's terrain closer to the pack.

"My favorite place," he said, just as the wind picked up, running through his coat. Behind him, the lake's surface rippled as the low-lying clouds appeared to graze its surface. To his right stood the mountains, where tiny waterfalls formed where the clouds hugged its peaks. It was something out of nature magazines, but a hundred times better and more stunning, especially with our mate before us, sitting there in content as the last rays of the sunrise caressed the mountainside.

When his eyes met mine, I was in a trance, a complete unescapable trance I didn't mind losing myself in.

"Our favorite place," he smiled as bright as the setting sun, and he couldn't have been any more right.