Chapter Two
Azuran
Always last to leave the party, Terra’s freshly fucked smile is simultaneously bright and soft while bidding farewell to the host couple, giving the woman a lingering hug.
Soon we must say goodnight. Vulf whimpers, and I sift my fingers through his fur to disguise how closely my feelings mirror his.
The connection between realms flickers, then goes dark for three long seconds before returning. Judging by the angle and the fat drops of water that continuously blur the scene, I deduce we’re watching from a puddle and hope for a peek up our sweet woman’s skirt.
Vulf lets out a yip of relief. I place a distracted kiss on his snout.
If I fancy myself attached to our human, my pet is more so.
As though breathing would become laborious if he were uncertain of her safety for too long.
I think their shared lone wolf upbringing is partly to blame, but I suspect there’s something quite bigger at play.
Hopping from puddle to puddle is tedious, but I manage to keep the connection steady, only missing flickers of time between views of long, bronze legs, gathering dark drops of muddy water splashed by black boots.
Usually, we ensure our beloved makes it home in the dark city streets before cutting the feed.
Of course, we must gaze upon her sleeping, moonlit face to sleep peacefully ourselves, which often takes a few hours for a restless mind like Vulf’s.
Terra stops abruptly. A neon green light flickers over the puddle’s surface, casting her in an electric glow, like a lightning goddess who wields the earth. My heart seizes at her beauty, but she’s human. Even if I could silhouette her in my lightning, she possesses no magic of the Elementals.
“Something’s wrong.” Vulf scampers from my lap to the wall. His hand hovers in the air, as though he can reach through the mirror to comfort her.
Terra’s shoulders slump. Her sniffles are quiet at first, then crescendo into a snarl of frustration.
My wolf mimics the sound, fists knuckle-white as he transforms into flesh and bone.
Interesting. He is so attuned to her, even from a realm away, he tries to present in a form that would be familiar.
“What is happening, Azuran?”
All the ferocity is gone from my Stormcloud, drained like the blood from his complexion and replaced with terror.
I approach with caution. Vulf harbors a frightening beast, unique in both power and ferocity, but with a tender heart.
Growing up an outsider and being cast out when his true self was revealed dampened his spirit long before we met.
“We know nothing yet. Our girl is strong. Have faith.” My sturdy voice belies none of the turmoil within, and Vulf visibly pulls himself together at my reassurance.
Hopefully I’m not wrong.
Our attentions return to where Terra fumbles with her communication device. With quick breaths and a shaky smile, she seems more herself in moments. To anyone else, at least. Not to two highly skilled males who’ve been watching her for months.
“Chad! Hope I didn’t wake you. Just wondering if you want some company.
” Terra’s voice is too high-pitched. She paces, nodding along to whatever Chad says with a smile so fake I want to fuck it off her pretty face.
She lets out a shriveled laugh and stops in her tracks.
“Uh—okay. Thanks.” She lowers the device and shoves it in her pocket. “I guess.”
Vulf’s grip on my hand tightens. I don’t recall taking his hand, but I force my muscles to relax. I must remain calm.
Terra takes a few deep breaths. She extends her arms and shakes them. Like a second skin, she slips back into the easy, breezy woman from the party, with a pleasant smile and a glimmer in her eye that masks the sadness.
“She’s okay now, right?” Vulf prods. “She’s okay.”
It appears that way, so I nod, but neither of us backs away from the mirror.
Terra takes a wrong turn. She’s no longer headed home, and for some reason, I know this meeting with Chad will not be like the parties.
Through the small mirror of a land vehicle across the street, we watch Terra approach a tall, slender brick building and knock on a metal door.
An obnoxious buzz sounds, and she disappears inside, abandoning my connection with her for long, agonizing moments.
Vulf’s whines grow pathetic, and I long to harmonize them with my own panicked cries.
When next we see her, Terra isn’t herself.
“Does that mean you don’t want me to stay?” she’s saying from behind a facade I do not care for one bit. It isn’t her. It’s a version of her that asks for approval. A goddess like her doesn’t need approval from worthless human males.
“You can stay on the couch. God, I can smell you from here.” The man whom I assume to be Chad stands bare-chested in a cluttered bedroom.
His entire presence screams his unworthiness of her.
“You’re like, uh, what are those hot, slutty demon chicks?
” He snaps his fingers and laughs. “You’re a fucking succubus!
A slutty succubus. Take a damn shower, demon. ”
Terra’s faux smile falters, brightening in that false way when Chad claps her on the shoulder on his way out of the room.
Terra rushes into the washroom, managing to shut it before the tears fall.
She stares into the mirror. Big, doe eyes that no longer shine like they did hours ago. Warm mahogany hair that clings to strong cheekbones. The type of woman who could command mountains to grow, or forests to bloom. Yet here she is, staring right at us as she cries.
I’m strong, but not that strong.
“It’s about time my dear pet got a pet of his own, isn’t it?” My anger is blessedly absent from my tone, by some stroke of luck.
“You can do that?”
Can I? I’m not sure. But the hope in Vulf’s tone, the way his wolf comes out to play, tail wagging, big, watery eyes locked on mine, means I must try. I turn back to the woman stepping into the shower. I owe it to her as well.
“I asked a question, pet.”
“Yes!” Vulf cries. “Yes, please, let me have her.”
“Very well. You deserve a treat.”