Red:
Stepping out onto the icy plains I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. Luca was being so sweet and supportive but I knew that my power was tied to my emotions. Emotions that I was having trouble keeping in check as I struggled to regulate my breathing.
Somehow I knew that Luca could feel my anxiety as I saw his eyes soften.
"Red, let me go first." He said gently.
I nodded, trying to swallow the bile that I could taste in the back of my throat.
"Sometimes the best way to avoid an anxious situation, is a distraction." I stared at him confused, as his lips twitched into an ornery grin. His hold on his blanket loosened until it hung low on his waist.
"A big distraction." He said darkly, a mischievous glint in his eye as he completely dropped the blanket.
"Luca!" I squealed, covering my face with my blanket. Peaking over the edge I yelped as I glimpsed his exceptionally large distraction. My wolf purred, as appealing as his human form is get on with it to I can see my other half! She smiled in my head.
"Aren't you cold?" I giggled, trying to avert my eyes.
"Maybe...a little. Why? Not enough to impress you?" He continued to smirk, standing completely naked and proud in front of me.
Peeking out over my blanket again, my head spun with the sight, in all his glory. If this was him affected by the cold then, oof was I in trouble when it came to the warm confines of our bed.
Clearing my throat, I forced myself to look him in the eye as I smiled sincerely.
Goddess thank you for blessing me with a mate that can make me smile, even when facing my deepest fears.
"Thank you Luca, I think I'm ready." I said. He smiled, his eyes steadily holding mine as he knelt down on the ice, preparing for the shift.
"Alright, Red. I want you to formally meet my wolf and see the power that I vow I will always use to protect you." I nodded, composing myself as I felt the air around us shift. A wind suddenly picked up, swirling around Luca, gently at first but then strong enough to stir the fog arising off the ice. The air crackled with electricity as Luca begin to tap into his power.
I felt the hair on my arms stand on end as electric energy began pouring off of him in waves. Keeping my eyes trained on him, his face blurred as his eyes blazed a deep blue. His normal white hair lengthened as hair began to erupt from his skin, traveling down his back and along his arms. His shift was so smooth it astounded me. His muscles lengthened, bones shifted and in one fluid moment a large white wolf was standing before me.
He appraised me with his deep blue eyes before taking a few cautious steps towards me. I met his gaze with confidence. I was not afraid of him, or his wolf. Reaching out my hand, he touched my extended fingers with his cold nose. Nuzzling into my palm, I ran my fingers over the delicate soft fur of his face and ears. My movement elicited an adorable rumble from the wolf in front of me.
I smiled wide, finally feeling like I could trust him, both of them, with my deepest secret. I crouched in front of the white wolf looking him squarely in the eyes.
"Luca – " I began when the wolf softly growled. "Lucian," I corrected myself, as he nodded slightly.
My wolf was howling in my head, she wanted out and she wanted it now.
Bowing my head, I tapped into my own power. I could feel my wolf pacing inside of me, ready to burst out and join with her mate in our purest forms. Opening my eyes once more, the normal gold flecks that tinted my grey eyes swirled until they turned to silver.
"I would like to you meet my wolf. Her name, is Grey."
Luca:
When your wolf takes over it's like you take the passenger seat of driving a car. You can still see everything that is going on in the outside world through the front windows, but the only influence you have on the driver is your words. You can suggest the direction of where you would like the car to go, beg and plead with them, but unless you take the wheel yourself you have no real power.
As Red knelt before us I could feel Lucian's excitement rise. He has been waiting eons to see the physical embodiment of his mate, our mate. In unison, our breathing quickened as she looked at us with her gold and grey eyes, like flecks of molten metal, bits of gold swirled in their depths until they began to cool into a sparkling silver. The clear grey became darker, shining back at me with stunning clarity.
Her eyes still piercing mine, I watched in awe and horror as her flaming red hair began to grow a deeper shade. The shade of blood. I stood paralyzed as crimson fur sprouted along her cheeks, down her shoulders and across her arms. Bowing her head, she placed her hands on the ice as the blanket fell away to reveal her wolf form. Shaking out her fur, she stood tall before me.
I promised her that she couldn't hurt me, I was wrong.
Standing before me was her large crimson wolf, as her slate grey eyes bore into mine. My breathing began to quicken to an erratic pant as panic flooded my senses. All I could see staring back at me was the monster from my nightmares, images of blood splattered across the ice seared their way into my mind.
She was just like him, the blood wolf that tore my world apart and haunted me to this day. Her wolf stood much larger than a regular she-wolf, obviously being descended from a line of strong Alphas.
From his line, I gasped at the realization.
Lucian did not hear my words, his mind was cut off from mine as our body moved under his control.
Lucian was spellbound, his deep blue eyes stared into hers with a passion. His eyes trailed along her form, feeling her emotions swirling beneath the surface. As she continued to gaze into Lucian's eyes, I felt her meet his longing. I felt a pressure against our consciousness as she tried to mind link with us. I pushed the feeling back as Lucian growled deeply.
I will hear her voice, he stated then cut me off from our link. He was still in control and I was forced to watch in horror.
Circling each other, their eyes remained trained on each other's every movement, each muscle as they flexed and stretched on each other's forms. Drawing the circle smaller and smaller, I felt Lucian's mouth water as our canines lengthened with a deep twinge of longing. The part of our mind that was still my own was swallowed by despair. Seeing the embodiment of my childhood fears, now combined with the sweet form of my mate was too much to bear. Images of my mother's cold, lifeless eyes flashed through my mind.
Sensing Lucian's intent, Grey slowed her movements, approaching us with white flames dancing in her eyes and the slightest hint of red flames igniting at the tips of her fur. Drawing closer us, the flames did not hurt Lucian, instead it ignited a burning desire deep in our core. Tilting her wolf head to the side, in the most sincere display of trust, she offered her neck to us. Lucian's body shuddered as he approached her hungrily.
He would have taken her right then and there, forever marking her as his own. As our own. But before he could, I took back the wheel.
It was all too much. The white flames shining behind her eyes, the red flames pouring off her fur with an intensity that I feared would scorch my bones, just as they had my fathers. With a roar I broke through Lucian's trance, the eyes of our wolf form lightening to reveal that I had taken control. Her wolf whimpered and gaped at me in shock as I reared my head back, receding several steps from her.
Our internal struggle against our innate duality ignited the electricity that permeated the air causing ripples of shocks to radiate outwards. I heard her whimper, her eyes searching mine for what she did wrong. The silver metallic sheen was broken by golden flecks swirling in their depths, I knew that they both were seeing me.
I did the only thing I could, I ran. I forced my wolf form to run far away from her, from the crimson wolf that was both our mate and our enemy.
What in the Goddess name are you doing? Lucian screamed in my head.
She is our mate, she is mine to claim. You will not take this from me!
My head was swirling from so many thoughts, emotions that I barely felt the pressure of her wolf trying to mind link a second time.
Look at her! She is like him, the one that murdered my mother and tore our lives apart! I screamed.
She is not him! She is our mate, our destiny! Lucian cried, the force of his words stabbing into my mind like sharp knives. The pressure was too much, light seared behind my eyes.
She is a monster! I screamed at him, suddenly I felt the pressure snap, ceasing entirely. I was too overwhelmed to realize why as I kept racing into the emptiness of the icy plains.