Taken by my mate

Evadiene

I pushed the door open and went outside, the wind immediately thrashing me sideways. There was a storm rolling through and I got instantly excited. There was so much power in storms and I wished I could spread my wings and fly, but I hadn’t been able to do that in a long time.

“Why do you feel so sad love?” Covyn was the one who had followed me outside and picked up Sequoia as a strong gust of wind made her dig her claws in.

She looked mediocrely grateful to him, and bristled in the wind that swept her whiskers around her face.

“I just…” His question had to be specific. “I love storms, but I feel loss when they come around too.”

He nodded in understanding but didn’t ask more. “Do you want to go for a walk in the storm before the rain hits?”

“Are you scared of a little rain?” I teased. “Afraid you’ll get your fur wet?”

He chuckled a deep laugh. “Do you want me to shift for you? You could ride on my back.”

That brought me some excitement. “Really?”

“Of course,” he beamed.

“Sequoia? Do you want to come or stay with Spencer?” I asked and she jumped down and clawed at the door. “Fair enough.”

I asked Spencer if he would watch her and he was more than happy to, telling me he would be in his room when I returned to retrieve her. When I got back outside Covyn was taking off his pants, tossing them against the house as undercover as possible, and then he winked at me. I raked my eyes up and down him, feeling a heat growing between my legs and I pushed the feeling away before Navi could scent it.

The next moment he was shifting, one fluid motion of bones breaking and rearranging, fur sprouting from every pore over his body.

“Hi Navi,” I said lightly, stroking the fur around his face. “No injuries this time, no excuses.” He nudged my elbow and I laughed. “Nice try, but my elbow is fine.”

He lowered himself onto the ground and the wind picked up, nearly knocking me over but instead I just fell into him. I climbed up onto his back, burying my fingers into his fur and holding on as he stood and started off. It only took me a minute to get the hang of countering my own weight to stay straight up while he walked and then we were running.

The wind pushed my hair back from my face and stung my skin. It made the smile that spread across my face genuine and I couldn’t help but laugh with my delight. I could feel that Covyn appreciated it to, his own happiness radiating through me, and Navi’s large wolven head would turn back every now and again to look.

He ran through the woods for a while, dodging between trees and kicking up dirt and pine needles behind us. Some of his men followed or watched from a distance, I’m sure worried that another one of the outsiders would get a funny idea while we were vulnerable.

After emerging from the woods, back to the areas that surrounded the pack house and all the buildings, he could really pick up speed. He could run almost as fast as my wings could carry me and I stretched my arms out to the sides, clutching my legs tightly around him. When I closed my eyes I could imagine it, I could imagine the feeling of the wind curving over my wings, nuzzling through my feathers.

Before I could stop it, tears were joining the sting of the rain against my face. My feathers had been beautiful, and I thought of the one I had managed to steal away hidden in an old book I had forgotten in my apartment. My stomach lurched at the thought.

How could I have forgotten something so important.

I gasped a pained sound at the thought and Covyn slowed to a trot, worry drifting to me.

“I’m okay,” I rasped. “I just… I forgot something in my apartment. Something irreplaceable that I’ve had for a very long time, and the storm reminded me of it.”

He slowed down and whimpered for me. I pet the hair that I could reach all around his neck and he leaned into my hands.

“Thank you for the run,” I smiled, trying to hide the fact that I was still crying with the wind choking the air back down my throat.

He returned to the kitchen door, sliding me off his back and then turning to retrieve his pants. I was soaked, but after he had shifted back only his hair was damp and he pulled on the dry pants.

“That’s incredibly unfair,” I joked, wringing my hair out a little.

The thunder clapped and I waited, and waited, but there was no lightning. My eyes grew wide and my heart picked up speed. Only one thing brought storms and sounded like thunder, and I had just pranced my scent all over the property like I was mocking them.

Why didn’t I check.

I knew why, I hadn’t seen them in hundreds of years, and there had been many completely natural storms since then. Covyn didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he didn’t know the stories. They were tales as old as I was and many had been forgotten long before these people were even born.

I needed them to figure out my riddles, or I needed Covyn to agree to break the bond or everyone here would die.

In the least I had an answer to my question. They hadn’t descended on us yet so the barrier was indeed a dome and not a tub.

Another boom rang through the air and I could feel the words that came with it enter my head.

‘Novaestarus, we will end your curse. It is time to come home.’

“Inside,” I hissed. Opening the door and running through the kitchen as fast as I could, passed all the cooks prepping for dinner.

I could hear Covyn calling after me but I had to get to Sequoia before she tried to come find me. I could feel the hum to her, what I sought most in this moment, and followed that all the way to Spencer’s room. I didn’t even knock, hearing the howls from Sequoia behind the door as she clawed to escape. I scooped her into my arms and clutched her to my chest, her claws sinking into my chest.

“Evadiene!”

“Luna!”

They both shouted at the same time, smelling my blood, but that was the least of my worries. I stroked her fur gently and began to hum for her. A soft song vibrating through my chest, like my own purr to calm her as she did me.

“It’s okay baby, no matter what happens I will keep you with me always,” I whispered softly to her, ignoring the others in the room.

“Luna, are you alright?” Spencer asked first and I nodded, rubbing my forehead against Sequoia’s for further comfort.

Another bout of thunder had her hissing again and I pulled my shirt over her, clutching her against my skin and covering her ears with the material.

“It’s okay, they’re just being loud,” I whispered only to her, “they can’t get in.”

I didn’t tell her that I knew they’d find a way, but she knew they were crafty like that.

“Evadiene, what’s going on?” Covyn asked, resting his hand on my hip and pressing my back to his chest.

Not direct enough, I pouted internally

“Sequoia doesn’t like where the thunder comes from,” I replied.