Lycan tired easily though, and Seath could feel it. Although the wolf didn’t want to, Seath nudged Lycan back to the table. Lycan jumped up and laid down, eyes focused on Seath who leaned his head on the table at Lycan’s shoulder.
Chest heaving from the exertions, Lycan stared at Seath.
Pack. Mate.
Mate.Lycan answered, surprising himself at how easy it was.
Lycan felt the stone under him, different in his altered form. He nuzzled Seath, enjoying how free it was in this form to show affection for the one he was falling for by the day. He laid there a while, the pulse of the rock under him, Seath’s patient gaze on him as he took in the feel of his shifted form, of his senses enhanced even further than they had been in his human form, even after being restored.
Shift back now, mate. We can run tomorrow.
Lycan lifted his nose, smelling the scent of earth and sea outside the stone cavern. He wanted that. He wanted the moon on his fur and Seath by his side. He wanted to dig his paws into the dirt and run until he was exhausted. Then he wanted to lay wrapped up in Seath’s wolf under the moon. His wolf yearned to be strong enough for more time in this form.
And not just that. He wanted the Pack too. A run in a forest full of wolves. To lay in a pile of his family.
His wants came easily in this form. Things he yearned for as a man, but often couldn’t find a way to express. It was all there, somehow putting a name to those feelings and making sense of something that had been confusing before.
You will have it, love.All of it.
Smiles didn’t happen in this form, but he moved his head, nose to nose with Seath, appreciating his Alpha’s support.
There was something different about this, too. His wolf didn’t have a before. There was just now.
Lycan laid his head back to the stone, knowing that he was too weak yet for all his longings, but soon.
Shift.
Lycan obeyed his Alpha, transforming into his human form by simply leaning into the command. In a ripple of fur to skin, he was back on the stone as he had begun the coven.
His body sagged, exhausted and worn. Shifting healed something in his mind, that was true. But, his body was still a bit weak. Enough to matter. Eating well and resting had been good for him. So had the physical efforts in the gym. But he had also endured difficult heats and a fated mating. None of that was easy on a body still recovering from the sort of trauma he came from.
Seath shifted too, hand back on Lycan’s shoulder.
“We will break the circle now.” Serepta murmured some words in the witch language and the air of the room changed once again.
Seath set Lycan on his feet, but stayed behind him, a hand on his hip to keep him upright as Lycan thanked everyone with a tear-streaked face.
“You have given me a great gift.” Lycan said, drinking the draught Serepta insisted he have when the coven dispersed to all but Caine, Serepta, Enid, and Seath.
The rest were off to catalog and discuss the magic that had transpired in the coven, and to settle the Fae in the Pack House for the night. Seath would have to join them in the morning, to make sure they were given the proper amount of time due to their kind.
“We are righting a wrong. A terrible injustice was done to you, Lycan. And I am pledged to change it.” Serepta said, her eyes bright but the strain of the work showed around her eyes and mouth.
Enid nodded her agreement. “The Elves will give our help as needed, Serepta. This must be corrected.”
“And I thank you both. But, I need to see him to our den before he collapses,” Seath took the empty cup from Lycan, and pulled him even closer. “See Jamie for anything you need. I will never forget the help you gave today.”
Serepta nodded, and he could tell she had learned more while in Lycan’s mind and was ready to record her findings or discuss them with the other coven members. Whatever that was, it would need to wait for another day.
Their den was cool when Seath carried Lycan into it. He wasn’t completely out of it, but he was exhausted. The threshold had brought in the scents of lavender from the garden, and Seath made sure to thank it, getting a quick, warm press of air in return.
The ceiling above their nest was made in part of overlapping panels, folded together to form a ceiling like any other. But, when he cranked the lever at the wall, the panels opened on well-oiled hinges, exposing their bed to the night sky.
Seath cranked it now, after he had tucked Lycan into their nest, making sure the ceiling was adjusted to let in the moonlight as Serepta had suggested. They were bathed in it as Seath kissed his mate and Lycan melted against him in return, practically purring as his wolf nature stayed near the surface.
Seath chuckled, amazed at the beauty of Lycan’s wolf. He was still entranced, man and beast, by the man in his arms. It might still take time, connecting wolf and man together, but Lycan already felt stronger, more whole, and Seath wanted to protect that.
Wolf dreams took over in Lycan’s mind as he drifted to sleep in Seath’s arms. He was running in the moonlight, the strong, large wolf next to him playful and protective as they crashed through the forest.
