The Howling

Chapter 2 (K's POV)

Luna led the way now, no hesitation as she pushed through the hedge of ferns and into the meadow. I wished I could see her face. I could imagine how lovely the place looked on a day like this.

I could smell the wildflowers, sweeter in the warmth, and hear the low burble of the stream on the far side. The insects hummed, and far away, birds trilled and crooned. There were only some birds nearby now-our presence was enough to frighten all the larger life from this place.

She walked almost reverently into the golden light. It gilded her hair and made her fair skin glow. Her fingers trailed over the taller flowers, and I was reminded of Persephone. Springtime personified. 

I could have watched her for a very long time, perhaps forever, but it was too less to think that the beauty of this place could make her forget me in the shadows for long. She turned, eyes wide with amazement, a wondering smile on her lips, and looked back at me.

I moved to the center of the meadow and stood in a patch of low grass, listening as her hesitant footsteps crossed the same distance, hearing her heartbeat as she stood next to me. Time seemed to slow with her pulse. The sound of the birds in distant trees turned sleepy. The cascade of the little stream grew somehow more languid. My body relaxed.

She whispered, "About this mating thing... can we just take our time with it? Since we're mates, we're technically stuck with each other after all." I laughed softly and said, "Of course. Whatever you want, little wolf." She grinned and said, turning to me, "Little wolf? That's new. But oddly, I like it."

I gazed at her face. Her eyes grew round after a moment, and her pupils dilated, though the light had not changed. My breathing accelerated, and suddenly the quiet in the meadow seemed to be humming. The electric current raced between us, and my desire to touch her was, briefly, stronger than even the rational thoughts of my mind.

My body sang with the throbbing electricity. More than anything in the world, I wanted to feel the heat of her lips against mine. For one second, I struggled desperately to hide my thoughts from her.

She whispered, "Don't. Don't try to hide your thoughts. I'm not looking anyway. And even though I'm not looking, I can feel you struggling. Don't. Do what you want." 

I put my hands on either side of her face, leaving her plenty of room to move away if this was unwelcome. Her breath caught, and she automatically angled her head closer to mine. Her eyelids slid shut. I closed the tiny distance between us, and pressed my lips softly against hers.

Though I'd thought I was prepared, I was not entirely ready for the combustion. It felt as if a new sun was bursting into being where our mouths met, and my whole body was filled to a shatter point with the brilliant light of it. 

I only had a fraction of a second to grapple with the potency of this kiss before it impacted Luna. She gasped in reaction, her lips parting against mine. Her arms wound around my neck, her fingers twisted into my hair. She used that leverage to crush her lips more tightly to mine.

She was everywhere. The piercing sunlight turned my eyelids red, and the color fit, matched the heat. The heat was everywhere. I couldn't see or hear or feel anything that wasn't Luna. 

For one brief, never-ending second, an entirely new path expanded behind the lids of my eyes. I could see the pack and Heli's coven mixed into a strange collage with Sooha and Riverdale. I could see years passing, and meaning something as they passed, changing me. I could see the perfect white wolf I loved, always standing as protector if I needed her. For the tiniest fragment of that second, I saw the bobbing heads of two small, black-haired children, running away from me into the familiar forest. When they disappeared, they took the rest of the vision with them. 

After a few moments, with the lightest force possible, I eased her face away from mine, leaving my fingertips in place against her skin to keep us together. The light that had filled my body during our kiss lingered. 

I felt so much happiness, I wasn't sure how to contain it all. The overwhelming joy and general bemusement made me wonder if she felt the same. With a soft chuckle, I pulled her into a hug.