Epilogue
Maris
As it turns out, stealing the books and almost burning down the whole village was unnecessary.
The curse seems to be working itself out.
The small changes I’ve been noticing lately weren’t in my imagination.
Gray is more human now, and actually spends some time fully human before the curse makes her revert back to her half-wolf state.
There’s no rhyme or reason to it, no spell or curse we managed to find in the books, nor anything we did.
It just happened one day. When I went to sleep, I was laying next to a wolf creature, my wolf. When I woke up, there was a muscular, very naked woman with long gray hair curled up next to me in bed, snuggled against my back with her nose buried in the back of my neck.
Needless to say, we had a bit of a shouting match before I finally managed to get it through my head that it was Gray I was looking at and not some random woman who had snuck into bed with me.
Even now, it’s still a surprise to see her like this, with long gray hair that brushes her shoulderblades, her mismatched eyes peering at me from beneath dark, full lashes.
Her lips are full, a thin scar running through the lower one, always slightly parted like she’s about to say something that never quite comes out.
Her fingers are long, her nails short and pale compared to the claws I’m used to.
She’s still taller than me, broad shouldered and sturdy; she might not be a wolf any more, but I’m certain she could still carry me if she needed to.
As if she can sense my eyes on her, she glances up from stacking wood, offering a bright smile that shows off her teeth, still just slightly too sharp to be human.
Her bare feet make no sound as she pads over to join me, snuggling against my back.
Her hands tighten against my hips and she buries her nose in the crook of my neck, offering a gentle kiss.
She still loves to hold me like this and inhale deeply, even if her senses aren’t nearly as good as they used to be.
“Feeling okay?” she asks.
I nod and she hums softly, clearly pleased. As a human, she can’t purr or growl like she used to, but she knows that humming produces the same vibrations, so she likes to do that because it’s the closest thing she has to a purr.
I turn in her arms, rubbing my knuckles gently over her sharp jaw. It’s still so strange, to feel the softness of human skin when I touch her rather than her fur, but I’m getting used to it.
Just like I’m getting used to our new cave, farther from my village or any other for that matter. It’s taken weeks for us to move everything into the new cave, and it’s finally starting to feel like home.
It’s hard not to feel the urge to look over my shoulder, prepared for someone to chase us or lay a trap, but we’re far from my old home; no one knows us here, nor are we close enough to any human settlements to pose a danger to them.
There’s no reason that we can’t live here peacefully, but it’s hard to remind myself of that.
"Do you miss it?" Gray asks quietly, her breath warm against my ear. "Being closer to... civilization?"
I consider this, watching the late afternoon sunlight filter through the entrance of our new cave.
It's smaller than our old one, but cozier somehow.
We've arranged it carefully over these past weeks. Our bed is in the deepest recess for warmth and safety, there’s a small cooking area near the entrance where the smoke can escape, and shelves carved into the rock walls for our stolen books and the few belongings we managed to salvage.
"No," I say finally, and I'm surprised to realize I mean it. "I thought I would, but... no. This feels right."
Gray pulls back slightly to study my face, those mismatched eyes searching for any hint of deception. It's one of the things that hasn't changed about her, that intense way she looks at me, like she's trying to memorize every detail.
"Even with all the uncertainty?" she presses. "Not knowing when I'll change back, or for how long I'll stay human?"
I reach up to cup her face in my hands, running my thumbs along her cheekbones. "Especially with the uncertainty."
Her brow furrows in confusion, and I smile.
"Gray, for most of my life, I knew exactly what each day would bring.
I'd wake up alone, tend to my garden, try to sew something good enough to sell in the village even though no one would ever dare to buy from me.
I'd go to bed alone, and do it all again the next day.
" I brush a strand of her gray hair behind her ear.
"It was safe, I suppose. Predictable. But it wasn't living. "
She leans into my touch, eyes fluttering closed. "And this is?"
"This is everything," I whisper. "Waking up next to you, whether you're human or not.
Not knowing what we'll discover in those books we stole, or whether we'll find a way to give you more control over the transformations.
Not knowing what's beyond those mountains to the east, or whether we'll decide to find out together. "
When she opens her eyes again, there's something bright, and possibly full of wonder, in them.
"Besides," I add with a grin, "have you seen yourself as a human? I'd be crazy to complain about that."
She laughs, a rich sound that echoes off the cave walls. "Flatterer."
"It's not flattery if it's true." I trace the line of her jaw with one finger. "Though I have to admit, I miss your purr sometimes."
As if summoned by my words, she begins to hum again, that low, vibrating sound that makes my bones resonate in sympathy. I melt against her, letting the familiar comfort of it wash over me.
We stand like that for a long moment, just holding each other as the sun continues its descent toward the horizon. Then Gray stiffens slightly, her head turning toward the cave entrance.
"What is it?" I ask, immediately alert.
She's quiet for a few heartbeats, listening to something I can't hear. Then she relaxes. "Just a deer, I think. My hearing isn't what it used to be when I'm like this."
There's a note of something in her voice - not quite sadness, but a kind of wistfulness that makes my chest ache.
"Do you miss it?" I ask, echoing her earlier question. "Being... the other way?"
She's quiet for so long I start to think she won't answer. When she finally speaks, her voice is thoughtful.
"Sometimes," she admits. "I miss the strength, the speed. The way I could protect you without having to think about it. And there's something about experiencing the world through those senses that's hard to explain. Everything is so much more... intense."
She pauses, considering her words.
"But I don't miss the isolation," she continues.
“Being terrified to be around anyone, hunted like a monster even if I never did anyone any harm.
And as much as I loved being able to sense your emotions, your heartbeat...
I love being able to talk to you even more.
Really talk about everything and nothing. "
I think about this, remembering all the months when our communication was limited to touches and simple words, when so much had to be conveyed through glances and gestures.
"We could try to find a way to control it," I offer. "With the books, or maybe if we traveled farther, found someone who knows more about curses than we do."
Gray shakes her head. "Maybe someday. But honestly? I think I like the unpredictability. It keeps things interesting."
She grins at me, and there's something wild and free in the expression that reminds me of the creature I first fell in love with.
"Besides," she adds, "this way you get the best of both worlds. A fierce protector and a conversationalist."
"And excellent company on cold nights," I add with a smirk.
"And that." Her grin turns wicked. "Though you seemed to enjoy the cold nights well enough before."
Heat flares in my cheeks, and she laughs at my expression.
"Come on," she says, tugging me toward our makeshift kitchen. "Help me with dinner. I want to try cooking that fish I caught earlier, and I'm still getting used to having less sensitive taste buds."
As we work together, preparing our simple meal as the last light fades from the sky, I find myself thinking about the future. Not the careful, planned future I used to imagine for myself, but the wild, uncertain, absolutely perfect future that stretches out before us.
Maybe we'll stay here forever, carving out a life in this hidden valley. Maybe we'll grow restless and explore what lies beyond the mountains. Maybe we'll find a way to give Gray more control over her transformations, or maybe we'll decide we like things exactly as they are.
The only thing I know for certain is that whatever comes next, we'll face it together.
And for the first time in my life, that's more than enough.