I was frozen in place. Paralyzed as I stared into the darkness. The area-dungeon- began to spin as the energy pulsed through me like lightning bolts. Please... I sputtered out. I don't want to turn dark, I tried to say but the words failed from my weak voice. The energy was becoming too strong, too powerful, too painful. I tried to pull my hand away but my muscles wouldn't even budge.
Then I noticed my veins were turning black. It looked like oil working its way up through my arm slowly and creepily. Just when the pain was becoming unbearable, it started to ease. The black disappeared from my veins quickly as if it were fog on a mirror. I fell backward onto my bum as my muscles were instantly functional again.
I held my arm that was touching my wolf. It was still throbbing and shaking. My wolf stood up slowly shaking her fur out and threw back her head to howl. It was a mesmerizing howl, reminding me of a sweet cello. I just watched in awe while listening to her beauty.
Something on my right shoulder began to burn. What the hell? Ouch! I yelled as I looked to see what was burning me. A symbol appeared, like a tattoo that was suddenly branded onto my skin. There appeared, on my skin, were two Koi fish circling each other. One white and one black. Yin and Yang. What the hell was happening?
Forgetting my arm as the pain began to dissipate, I looked up at my wolf. She was all black with white on the tips of her fur. It made her look old. She had white socks that I hadn't noticed before. Her eyes were no longer black but an icy blue. What happened? I asked, hoping she could communicate with me and I wasn't just talking to myself. We are now one. Our minds are now combined. We face the same light and the same darkness, together, she replied walking up to me.
Now can we run? Can we play? I have been locked in here for ages! She starts prancing around, like a pup that was begging to play. Despite feeling overwhelmed, I had to figure out how to shift, that was the point of this. What do I do? I asked her.
She stopped to look at me and cocked her head sideways; it was just about the cutest thing ever. Go back out of your mind, we are now one, she finally said. Following her directions, I found my present self, my consciousness back through the internal tunnels. Finally, I was able to flutter open my eyes.
All I could see was bright gray and a glooming figure over me. I blinked a few times to clear my vision, my breathing was heavy. The figure over me cleared and I realized Zayden was holding me. I was laying with my head on his lap. He had one hand underneath me and the other cupping my cheek. His warmth instantly radiating through me, comforting me.
"Zayden? Why am I laying here?" my voice strained.
He held an expression of worry and concern. I shifted my body a little, realizing I was drenched in sweat. Just fantastic, Zayden seeing me sweating like I just came out of hell. I couldn't help but notice how comfortable his presence felt. I felt pulled towards him much more than before.
"You fell over, moaning and screaming" his voice was shaky. "I felt that you were in pain, and then your arm," he picked up my right arm.
He moved it at an angle gently to expose the Yin and Yang Koi on my shoulder. I scrambled to sit up, noticing my body felt weird. I had the energy I haven't had before.
"I found my wolf" I muttered as the thought of energy, specifically, dark energy, lingered in my thoughts.
Zayden just stared with wide eyes.
"That's great, but I am not sure what happened when you found her. I have never seen anyone react that way," his voice filled with worry, "I don't know what that symbol means, the witches may be able to tell us more," he suggested, pointing at the Koi on my shoulder.
I want to run! Can we run? I heard my wolf interrupting my thoughts. I could feel her anxiousness.
"She wants to run," I told Zayden with a small smile.
I felt completely out of it like my mind was somewhere else. Zayden nodded and the next thing he did I didn't expect.
"Let's run," he smiled as he just stripped off his clothes, and shifted into his wolf.
The second time I have ever seen him shift. He shook his fur out and wagged his tail while staring at me intensely with his dark gaze. I still was shocked even though I knew what was happening. His dark grey fur glistening as moisture from the mist stuck to the ends.
"So you just shift? Without telling me how to shift?" I complained, annoyed.
I could tell he was amused as his eyes glimmered with humor. Alright, girl, let's do this, I told my wolf as I got up and went behind the biggest tree I could find. I took off my clothes, making sure Zayden couldn't see me. I was feeling very self-conscious around him, more than usual. I could feel my wolf jumping around in excitement, which made me giggle.
I wasn't sure what exactly to do, so I did what I thought to be accurate. I focused my mind on shifting, tensing myself and letting my wolf push me. I visualized myself shifting into my wolf. Suddenly I began to feel a lot of internal heat, and pain. I saw my hands growing fur and forming into paws. A muzzle formed in my view from my nose and jaw. I heard my bones crunch and snap as sharp pains shot up my legs and arms. My spine felt like it was breaking into a billion pieces.
It was over quicker then I thought it would be. It felt odd on four paws, as I stumbled over my feet. Yes! I can run! My wolf yipped in excitement. I let my wolf take over, it was the least I could do for her since she was trapped there probably much longer then she should've been.
Zayden's wolf came up, sniffing and wagging his tail playfully. My wolf sniffed back and jumped sideways, come back to nip at him playfully. She then bounced her hip against his in a joyous manner. Her joy and feeling of freedom radiated throughout me... us.
Zayden took off running and we ran after him through the forest as the grass brushed against our feet. I felt free, and peaceful like my wolf and I could run forever. Eventually, our run took us back to where we were sitting before we shifted. Slowing down and stopping, Zayden shifted back with no shame. He stood there naked and grabbed his clothes casually.
I couldn't help but watch his muscles tense with each movement he made. My wolf seemed just as intrigued in watching him as I did. Is he our mate? I asked her. I would love him to be, she replied. Her response intrigued me, probably because everyone here just took a big guess at everything. That he was most likely our mate.
"You gonna stand there and stare at me all day or are going to go shift and get dressed," Zayden turned around smirking.
He crossed his arms over his chest after he had put on some pants. My cheeks felt inflamed but it comforted me a little he couldn't see them underneath my wolf's fur.
I trotted to the tree I had my clothes stashed beside and focused my mind on shifting back to my human form. It came more quickly and natural this time. I felt the heat again and this time the pain was less and the shift seemed quicker. I quickly grab my clothes and got dressed, worried that Zayden would come over without a warning. I walked back out from the tree over to him, and he was smirking.
"What?"
"So you get to stare me down while I am naked but I don't even get a glimpse of you?" He teased.
"I didn't tell you to shift back in front of me," I scoffed.
"I didn't tell you to keep looking when I shifted," he argued back, raising his eyebrows.
I stumbled over my words and finally failed at saying anything. I huffed and crossed my arms, feeling my cheeks heat up from embarrassment.
"Are you ready?" Zayden chuckled, staring at me in amusement.
"Yeah, are we done for the day?" I asked, eager to get back to my room and relax with Aaylah.
"Yes, we are done for tonight. Would you like dinner at my place tonight?" He asked.
"Only if you if you remain dressed the whole time," I teased, grinning.
He smirked and an odd look flashed through his eyes. An emotion I didn't recognize.
"Deal."
Audience:
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