The Second Mate | Spin-Off ✗

chapter 19

"Hi Brielle," he cooed, continuing to walk towards a smiling Opal.

The sight of Brielle in James' arms did a number on Opal as he made his way towards her. The light in both their eyes twinkled in the sunlight. "May I sit down next to you?" he asked softly.

"Of course," Opal replied in the same manner, and she watched James settle himself on the space next to her with Brielle resting her head against the crook of his next.

"We're taking a break before we head off into the forest to do some more training, they'll be in their wolf form," James informed her as he leant against his right arm. The thought of shifting made Opal's stomach squeeze. It had been a while since she last shifted, Citrine hasn't indeed seen the light of day, her fur hadn't basked in the sun. The last time she saw her wolf form was after she gave birth. Her wolf begged to meet her pup and shifted only for a brief moment before crawling back into the space of Opal's mind.

"Oh, I see," she mumbled softly, playing with the tufts of grass as she reminisced the last painful moments of her shift. Upon noticing her change in demeanour, he ever so delicately leant forward.

"Are you okay?" he asked her while patting the back of Brielle.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," she shook her head of those thoughts as she gave him a comforting smile. He needn't worry about things he can't control. James returned half a convincing smile before returning to his position.

"If you say so," he told her. "Are you hungry? There's food in the basket if you'd like," he offered.

"I'm okay. I think breakfast is going to keep me going for a while," Opal replied before she decided to lay on her back and enjoy the sun. James watched her look so peaceful in the outdoors; he couldn't help but stare at his soulmate who looked like the living embodiment of the goddess above. His heart did somersaults as he took a breath in, her scent making him go dizzy.

"Did you want to come with us into the forest?" James asked her as Brielle's small hands went to grab James' cheek.

"I-I don't know, would it be okay if I tagged along?" she questioned, peeking out from under her eyelids to see her pup squeezing James' cheeks. A laugh formed against the base of her throat. "Brielle doesn't squeeze his cheeks, he might not like it," she grinned.

Upon hearing her melodic laughter, he turned around and just took it in. Her laugh, like a song, calmed his nerves and made everything in his body set alight. Nothing was better than hearing her laughter, knowing that she was happy meant everything.

"It's okay; it doesn't hurt," he smiled before gently poking Brielle's cheeks.

"Gah!" the chubby pup squealed and smacked her tiny fingers against James' face.

"Brielle! You don't smack other people," Opal scolded, getting up from her position.

"It's fine, Opal; it didn't hurt me. It did surprise me, though," he chuckled. "Don't worry. She won't harm me, won't you, Brielle?" James smiled his tone of voice in a slightly higher pitch.

"Still, she shouldn't be smacking people's faces like that," Opal replied disapprovingly.

"Don't worry about it, she's just a pup, and to answer your question, of course, you can come and watch," he beamed and tickled Brielle's stomach, earning a round of laughter to escape her small lips.

-

Three hours later, it was safe to say that training was over. James walked over to Opal who sat on a picnic blanket by a large tree with sweat trickling down his forehead, a tired smile graced his lips.