Maris

I should be ashamed, but on the list of things I'm feeling, that isn't one of them.

Because I think I'm in love. I mean, I’ve never been in love, but I have a feeling this is what it should feel like.

The butterflies, the companionship, and the feeling that I could say or do anything and she would not judge me.

To feel safe.

I've always known that women turn my head as much as men; it's just something I realized when I was younger, acknowledged, and never thought much more about it.

I always appreciated the beauty of the women in my village, even if they were never kind to me.

I never expected to... feel anything for a wolf creature, but now that I've acknowledged the start to these feelings flowing just beneath the surface I can feel them taking shape, digging deeper into my soul.

And yet, now that I know it’s Gray, it feels right. We grew up together, both victims of a world that hates us. I don’t know what happened to her pack, but something must have for her to be on her own, just like I was all alone in the world after my mother died.

We did our best to watch out for each other; I put out food and she protected me from the rest of the village as best as she could.

If she had been a human, that protective, caring nature would have endeared her to me, so the same should be true of even her half-human form.

It’s definitely not what I expected, but in no way is it a deal breaker either.

And the attraction, now that I know she’s mostly human under all that fur, makes sense.

She’s everything I could hope for in a significant other.

Kind, caring, protective. Her love for me burns in her eyes every time she looks at me, so I know my feelings are reciprocated.

If I need some time to work through how I feel, if this is really love when I have so little experience with it, I have no doubt she will wait patiently for whatever my decision might be.

It’s a comforting thought, and one I hold onto with both hands.

Gray and the curse she has been trying so hard to tell me about gives me hope. Perhaps I can help her to break this curse.

But even if I can’t… I think I can be happy with her just the same.

Fur and all.

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