31. Amethyst
Thirty-One
Amethyst
“ I believe you owe me a frolic beneath the moon.”
I nearly choke on my pizza as laughter bubbles over. Catching my breath, I scold, “You cannot say frolic while I’m eating.” Skyler chuckles, a downright seductive smirk tugging at his lips.
From his porch, the full moon shines brightly across the surface of the lake. The view is truly breath taking. His house and the land surrounding it must be one of the most beautiful spots in Tarot Lake. I relish the sweetness of the last pineapple alongside the tang of pepperoni before standing.
“How do I do this?” I ask, almost dreading the answer. Skyler joins me, laying his hand atop mine on the balustrade. “It’s as natural as breathing. You are a wolf. Allow your instincts to take over.” I clutch my other hand to my chest. “I haven’t been able to except for when I was dreaming.”
“Start small,” he suggests, gliding his thumb across my bottom lip. “Let your fangs elongate. Imagine what you saw in your dreams.” My cheeks heat as delicious dreams flood my mind. My chest warms, heart racing. I squeeze my thighs together as the exhilaration reaches my core.
Skyler allows his own fangs to sprout, only encouraging my fantasies.
With a deep breath, I close my eyes and envision that cream wolf.
I think of the way it felt when we became one.
The enhancement of my senses, the quickness of the blood flow.
Brushing my tongue over my teeth, I focus my energy on the canines and let go, casting out any subconscious reservations.
“Yes!” Skyler claps. “That’s it, Amethyst, keep going.” I feel the fangs stretching over my chin and let the sizzle of power continue. My head tingles, hearing suddenly crisp, picking up tiny details of the forest I hadn’t noticed before. My spine curves, adjusting to having four legs.
The bones stretching and reforming are uncomfortable. Though not painful like I expected. I guess I can thank my sensual dreams for that. Below me, a thud ripples through the grass.
“Jump down and join me, love. You did it.” Skyler’s voice caresses my mind.
“Imagine what you want to say and I will hear it. Any wolf can communicate in close proximity, but mates can always speak into each other’s minds.
” My eyes widen as I take in the rich scenery.
The lake sparkles, the prismatic depths calling to me.
“ The lake, it’s beautiful.” Propping my front legs up on the balustrade, admiring the cerulean and lavender shades of the water, the breeze whispers through my fur.
“ The crystalline waters. Appearing only to mate bound pairs on a full moon.” Skyler explains as I add a hind leg to the thin surface, precariously balancing.
Using my hind legs, I push off the railing, landing unceremoniously beside Skyler.
He is stunning in this form. The varying shades of browns in his fur make the green in his eyes stand out. They hold a distinctly human expression; pride mixed with desire. “ There’s not a scene in the heavens or earth that could compare to your beauty, Sunlight. Human and wolf alike.”
Butting my head against his shoulder, I drop my front half down, wiggling my tail back and forth. “ Race you, handsome!” The grass is springy beneath my paws, wind refreshing against my face as I dart to the water’s edge. My paws hit the reddish silt, and I release a victorious bark to the moon.
“ Hah! —” My gloating is cut short as Skyler barrels into me, knocking us both to the ground. Rolling until I come out on top, I lick his nose with a playful smirk.
“Our ceremony?” I ask, peering out across the vibrant lake.
Skyler moves, both of us pushing into a sitting position.
“ Only if you’re ready.” Vigorously lifting my head up and down, I make my intentions clear.
“ I don’t want to be apart, Sky. You are so deeply embedded in my heart, I’m not sure I can bear being without you.
“If that’s what you want,” I add, searching his eyes.
“There is nothing I want more. You are the air in my lungs, the beat of my heart. I exist to love you.” We stand, answering the beckoning call of the water. Just as it gently ripples at my paws, Skyler explains the ceremony.
“ Once we drink the water, we will be allowed to breathe under the surface. From what I’ve been told, one of the stones will glow brighter than the others and touching it will transfer its magic onto our skin.”
Nodding, I lap at the surface, the water cool and sweet against my tongue. Skyler follows suit before wading into the depths. The prismatic surface cracks like glass around him as he dips under the water. Gliding underneath, I find him waiting in his human body.
“We need to be in this form for the marks to appear. Focus your mind on your human form and will your shape to change.” With a nod, I shut my eyes and suck in a breath, still in awe of breathing underwater.
Already the transition comes more easily to me.
Limbs shrink, ears fading into the waves of my hair.
Opening my eyes, the bottom of the lake is littered with sparkling stones.
I realize with a hitch in my breath this is what my necklace is made of.
“Moonstones,” Skyler gestures. “Only wolves can see their true luster. They appear more like a pearl to everyone else.” The stones are gorgeous, and this is surreal — a watercolor fever dream. A fantasy realm.
The iridescent stones cast their glow along the curves of Skyler’s body.
Hues of blue, green, and lavender paint across his skin, highlighting the muscles along his arms and abdomen.
My eyes glide down greedily, reminiscing on our time in Vrynthis.
I raise my sight, catching his gaze through hooded eyes.
His eyes devour my body with the same smoldering desire. “Once we find our stone, we will accept the bond verbally,” he says, voice husky. That same seductive tone slips into my mind, “Then I’ll take you to my bed to accept physically.”
I thank the Goddess we’re underwater as arousal ignites my core.
“Well, we better hurry up and find this stone, then.” With a groan, he dips lower in the water, tugging me down by my wrist. I scan the floor of the lake, not seeing any particularly bright stones.
“How far does a pair typically have to go to find their stone?”
Skyler opens his mouth to respond, but I gasp, throwing out a hand in his direction.
“Wait, there!” Nestled just below the muddy lakebed, a sliver of lavender light leaks out; the refraction so bright it almost appears solid.
Diving down, I gently brush the mud away, freeing the stone and taking it into my palm.
Its surface ripples with otherworldly colors. Turning to face Skyler, I proudly present him with my finding. Eyes glowing, he doesn't speak a single word. Yet I can see the future he promises in his devoted expression. Placing his palm atop the stone, his thumb grazes mine, the touch feather light.
“I, Skyler Ashford, accept you, Amethyst Owens, as my Goddess given mate.” The stone vibrates between our palms, and despite the water surrounding us, I feel the ghost of a tear slip down my cheek.
With contentment in my veins, I repeat the words.
“I, Amethyst Owens, accept you, Skyler Ashford, as my Goddess given mate.”
With the acceptance spoken, bands of color snake out of the stone and wrap along our skin.
The sensation is like a paintbrush. I can’t help imagining the Goddess herself painting us as if she created wolves as her canvases.
The bands wrap around Skyler’s left hand and wrist, settling into the shape of a sun, wispy tendrils of light licking up his arm.
A smile stretches across my face as I stare at his new iridescent ink. Once the feeling of the brush strokes fade, I tilt my chin down to see my chest.
An awed “Oh” slips past my lips, catching sight of the remarkable, feathered wings that stretch from shoulder to shoulder. Skyler brushes the fingertips of his sun-infused hand across the wings, the contact exhilarating.
“Beautiful,” his voice is a whisper, “and mine.”