Eliane hurried through the gardens, dragging her mate along. She still felt a sort of high from finding her mate, but she desperately wanted to find Aylin. Trying to do anything during the first few hours of finding one's mate was difficult. It was an uncontrollable urge for closeness, a skin hunger like nothing she had felt before. For most mates it turned sexual quickly. Other accounts of it described the strength it needed to fight the biological urges that came over them during that time. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time. It was true magic, two souls meeting and knowing instantly they would be bound for eternity.
Finally spotting Aylin sitting on a bench, Eliane called out in excitement. She couldn't wait to introduce her mate to her friend. Aylin smiled at them, "I didn't expect to see you for another day or two."
Eliane blushed a bit, glancing at her mate, "Well we did get rather distracted for a bit."
Aylin shivered in mock disgust, making gagging noises. Which quickly turned to a fit of loud laughter from both girls. Gilbert just shook his head quietly, his hand pressing against his forehead. She-wolves, he thought with a chuckle.
"Aylin, meet Gilbert. He's the Beta of this pack."
Aylin smiled at Gilbert, quietly assessing him. He stood confidently, but was relaxed. He seemed easy going, but ready to jump into work the moment something needed doing. She felt a bit of relief knowing she was leaving Elaine with him.
"So, any thoughts on a mating ceremony?" She asked.
"We haven't given it much thought, to be honest. I don't care if we have one or not." Elaine shrugged, looking up at her mate for his thoughts.
He shrugged, "No one here would question it if we didn't. I think they're looking forward to a celebration of sorts though. It's whatever you want."
"We'll worry about that later," Eliane decided with a nod.
Aylin leaned back against the bench, wondering how long Eliane would postpone the mating ceremony, "Wanna go for a run?"
Eliane smiled, knowing running was Aylin's way to deal with emotions. "Sure, meet back here in five?"
Aylin laughed as she stood and stretched, "If you'd rather shift indoors you can. I'm going behind the trees."
Eliane smiled, at Gilbert, "Up for a run?"
He smiled, but sadly, "I wish. I need to get back so I can discuss the perimeter check."
Eliane nodded in understanding, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and hurried after Aylin into the trees.
"Don't go far," he called out, shaking his head at the simple wave of a hand he got for an answer. He watched them disappear behind trees, wondering what he was going to do with his new mate. She was so worried about Aylin being alone she didn't even want a mating ceremony.
Aylin stretched her paws out in front of her, enjoying the feeling of being one with her wolf again. She and Eliane had run around the rest of the day, keeping the den within hearing distance. She was lying down now in a patch of sunlight that had crept its way through the trees. It was warm, and relaxing and she swore it was better than some medicines. She felt the energy from the earth when she felt the sun on her skin. It was the only description she had for it.
"A true earth bound Virgo if I ever saw one", Eliane said as she curled up mostly in the shade to her side.
"I'm going to miss this," She said.
Eliane laid her head on her paws and just looked at her, "You don't have to go you know."
"I know, but I don't know if I can do pack life. There's too many rules and orders and shit."
Eliane was quiet, trying to figure out how to convince Aylin to stay here. In the time they had traveled together she had grown rather fond of her, and didn't want her to leave.
Aylin crawled closer, pushing her snout into the side of Eliane's face. She didn't want her to be sad. Eliane huffed, turning her head further away. Aylin huffed back, her tail beginning to wag whether she wanted it to or not. She barked playfully at Eliane, trying to get her to start playing. "Tag!" Eliane said suddenly, turning around and pressing her nose into Aylin's side before dashing away. Aylin stomped her foot, "You tricky little bugger!" She turned, barking as she ran after her friend.
Standing in the open downwind stood a large black wolf watching the she-wolves play, his focus on the halfbreed. A million thoughts ran through his head. So many possibilities, he thought. He wondered if this she-wolf was a part of the land's Alpha pack. He felt giddy, suddenly glad for his business travels that were taking him so far from home. Yes, the meeting with Alpha would be much more beneficial now. He continued on his way, knowing he was closer. The sudden stop he had made had taken him longer than he realized. He continued, knowing this trip would be valuable even if the Central Alpha didn't agree to his proposition.
Aylin lay quietly in a room later that night looking up at the ceiling restlessly. One would think that being on a bed after going so long without one would make it easier to sleep. Frustrated, she rolled over trying to clear her mind. She had finally gotten Eliane to stop begging her to stay. Her mind was made up. She sat up, looking around the room.
She was restless. Her muscles wouldn't relax. Her wolf felt it too. Or did she feel it from her wolf? Frustrated, she tapped her fingers on her knees. Too many walls? Was that it? It had to be. She jumped up from the bed and headed to the balcony. The warm night air seemed to help. She leaned on the stone railing, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Her wolf seemed to be howling inside her. Then she noticed a strange smell that didn't quite fit with the pack smell.
Opening her eyes she looked around at the grass below. Seeing nothing she sighed. I must be tired, she thought as she rubbed her eyes. She looked up at the night sky. It was dark, the clouds were mostly hiding the moon. It's going to rain soon, she thought as she took one last look at the grounds below.
The sound of thunder woke her up a few hours later. She rolled over to look at the balcony. It was dark outside, and she couldn't even see the balcony railing. "Damn," she thought, there goes my run for the day.
She had almost fallen back asleep when there was a knock at her door. Sighing she untangled herself from the blankets and opened the door.
In the hallway stood Elaine with her arms full. Between the basket of foods and drinks, and the stack of magazines her face was barely visible.
"How the hell? You know what. I don't wanna know." Aylin grabbed the magazines and dropped them on the bed.
"You have to help me plan a few things," Eliane said as she poured a cup of coffee from the thermos, "And I believe that'll be easier with plenty of caffeine."
Aylin sipped the coffee quietly as Eliane started talking about gardens and flowers and benches. She closed her eyes, trying to get her sleepy brain to follow what she was hearing.
Eliane went quiet suddenly, prompting Aylin to look up at her, "What?"
Eliane just stared quietly, narrowing her eyes for a moment. "What did I just say?"
Aylin sighed, closing her eyes, "Something about emerald green?"
Eliane rolled her eyes, "Drink your coffee sleepyhead."
Aylin sat quietly on the bed while she woke up, listening to Eliane walk around the room being nosy. "You got lucky," she said after a few minutes.
"Lucky?"
Eliane pointed at the balcony, "You got a room where the sun doesn't come blaring right in through the door you lucky bitch. Gilbert's room has a built-in alarm with the sunrise directly in front of the window."
"Oof," Aylin smiled, "Sucks for you."
Eliane feigned feeling insulted, "Feeling better now?"
Aylin nodded, "Yup, I think im awake now." She poured a second cup and held it up at her friend, "You may retry."
Eliane squeaked with excitement and hurried back to the bed, picking up the closest magazine right as welcoming howls started going off. She closed her eyes angrily, "What is it now?"
Aylin shrugged, "Its your pack."
Eliane narrowed her eyes at her, but pressed her lips shut as she got up and went out to the balcony to see if she could see anything. "Must be on the other side of the grounds, I can't see anything,"
"Wanna go be nosy?"
"Not particularly, but I think I may have to since I'm mated to a Beta."
"Want some support?"
"If you're up for it."
"I'm just nosy enough to be."
Exchanging knowing smiles, they hurried out the room, following their ears to the front entrance. Eliane walked out first, instantly spying Gilbert next to the Alpha and walking slowly over to them, standing directly beside him. Aylin quietly stood beside Eliane, unsure of where else to stand.
"What's going on?" Eliane whispered to Gilbert, just loud enough Aylin could listen.
"The alpha's daughter is returning, we got the call a few days ago, and caught her scent a few moments ago."
"Where's she been?"
"She was sent out on a scouting mission a few days before we had that run in at the perimeter and Alpha found you two."
Aylin imagined this is what the grounds looked like when they had arrived. Pack members began shifting and howling, darting quickly into the trees and bush. Aylin began to feel her chest tighten, her wolf was pushing for control. Her wolf was going to push her way out and Aylin wasn't going to be able to stop it. She was angry, it had been a while since she hadn't been in full control.
Fine, she told her wolf, giving up the fight. She felt herself slide deeper into the pressure as her eyes blurred before refocusing. She felt the warmth of the sun on her fur, she felt the ground under her hands and feet at different angles as she became aware of her wolf form. The transformation was always hazy, the pain suddenly stopping and pressure building over her entire body. It wasn't as ungodly painful as the movies led people to believe. The magic of the transformation dulled the pain. Shifting wasn't a sin that you had to pay for with the pain of shifting. It was a connection with the magic in the world. Different races had developed different ways to use the magic. They were able to transfer the spell to other people by force, but that did not mean that the transformation part was painful. That's why some wolves that changed from human to werewolf went crazy: they were angry, they didn't want it or believe in it and fought it every second, causing their wolf to go insane with anger and the pain of rejection.
You see, the spell of transforming into a were-creature pulled magical energy of a specific method, a specific connection with an animal chosen long ago when the spell was first created. The spiritual side of that animal was attached to the spell and created wolves based on the human's traits. When the spell was transferred to a human.
Aylin shook her body to release the tension, feeling the consciousness of the wolf more clearly. "Hello again," her wolf thought warmly.
"Why did you do this?" She asked, using the wolf's senses to see if there had been something she couldn't detect.
"Mate," Her wolf stated simply.
She took a deep breath through her nose and felt the magic connecting to another soul, and she knew this other person could feel it happening too. Is this why Elaine had just frozen? Was this why mates just froze when they saw each other? They could literally feel the universe picking them for each other? What else could describe this feeling?
Her wolf whined, anxious to see who it's mate was. Aylin began to smell honeysuckle mixed with cedar, and she knew that was the smell of her mate. She felt the two of them becoming closer, the distance between them was closing but not fast enough.
She lunged forward, straight into the trees towards that scent. She could almost hear her mate through their connection doing the same thing. She ran around the trees, dodging everything in her path. She was jumping around one tree when she jumped right into a grey wolf. It was her. Her mate.
They sniffed curiously at each other, neither sure when they could get closer. The connection popped into place, and their minds flooded with each other's thoughts.
"Aylin."
"Davi."
"Eighteen."
"Nineteen."
They could see each other's feelings and thoughts in the moment. Both of their fears, joys, anxieties all out in the open, so to say. Slowly, they took steps forward, neither believing they could find someone so soon. They touched noses, and a fire seemed to spread on their skin. They could hear guards coming. How long had they stood there in silence just feeling and listening to each other.
"Shit, my parents are probably worried sick about me." Davi said.
Aylin, rubbed her nose against her cheek, "I'm sure they'll understand."
Devi leaned into the touch, "They're the Alpha and Luna of the pack."
"WHAT?" Aydin felt sick all of a sudden.