“So this blanket fort is our nest?”
Blushing, I nodded. I didn’t even realize that until right now. I just wanted somewhere cozy for us. “You’re my mate, and I wanted a place for us to be comfortable in the storm.”
Hale wiggled his hips and pushed his hard cock against my own, causing both of us to groan. “You’re my mate, and I’m yours.”
Wrapping my legs around his back, I pulled Hale as close as I could get him and whispered over his lips, “Damn right, you’re mine. Owls mate for life, just so you know.”
Hale smiled, and fire reflected in his eyes as he finally leaned in for our first kiss. “Don’t worry, my little owl, this reindeer isn’t letting you go.”
The slight electric spark I’d felt the first time we touched zinged through me when our lips touched, then settled into a warm glow in the pit of my stomach. While the first touch was gentle and soft, exploring and sweet, it quickly became carnal and frantic. I couldn’t get close enough to him. The glow in my gut was growing to a burning need that only Hale could extinguish. My blood felt hot, my mouth needed to explore every inch of his skin, and my hands needed to memorize every cell of his perfect body. Gasping for air, I pulled my mouth away from his, rocking my hips against his rock-hard cock in a mating ritual as old as time. Words were hard, but I managed a few. “I need.”
“I know what you need.”
His hips pushed into mine, and I sighed at his understanding. I needed, and he was going to take care of me. Falling into his control, I let Hale take charge. My legs were slick against him, and I knew my body was ready. I ripped at the robe still clinging to his back. He took the hint and sat up for one moment to take off the offending garment and then ripped mine off, too.
At last, skin to skin, I sighed into his mouth as we kissed again and again. All the while, his hands were moving me to the perfect spot. Our lips parted, and the fire was reflected in his green eyes as he, at last, slowly entered and made us complete. I sighed and let my head fall back onto the nest of pillows behind me. “Perfect.” I sighed, closing my eyes to focus on the feeling of fullness and completion.
“Yeah, you are perfect.” Hale’s words were a growl above me. When he slid almost free for the first time, I opened my eyes to meet the fire in his. Where before he’d been full of gentleness and hesitation, now he was all power and possession. My hole tightened around him, and he groaned and grunted, “You’re perfect, little owl. And from this day on, you’re mine.”
I could feel his growl all the way to my soul. The word mine seared its brand on my heart, and I knew we were mates from that moment forward. We were frantic and rough, tearing at each other to get as close as possible. I rolled him under me and rode him while he held on and bucked to get as far inside as possible. We worked in tandem to find release, and when it was done, we did it again and again and again.
The sun was lighting the sky outside, and the fire had almost gone out by the time our mating frenzy was done. I had no idea how many times we’d come or how many hours had passed. Exhaustion pulled at me, but I was worried about the fire. More storms were coming, and we had to have warmth in the house in case the power went out again. I think I murmured the word fire, but I couldn’t be sure. I felt myself being carried to the bathroom, washed quickly under warm water, and then laid to sleep on my bed's crisp, cool sheets. I reached for Hale, but he said he’d return after caring for the fire. Sleep pulled at me almost immediately, but unlike all the years of my life up until now, where I could never fall asleep with someone else in the bed with me, now I couldn’t fall asleep until I felt Hale slide in and hold me close.
7
COMET
Agray squirrel, a few flying ones, and a chipmunk greeted me on the kitchen windowsill when I finally got the energy to leave Alden and got up to make breakfast. They chittered excitedly at me, and I could only guess they were telling me about the snowfall the night before. The glare through the window from the morning sun reflecting on the newly fallen snow was almost blinding, so I adjusted the window shade, then went to get the critters their breakfast. Next to the bag of corn by the porch door, I found another bag full of birdseed. Gathering both in my arms, I went out into the cold morning air and set out the corn cobs on the spikes placed around the porch rail. After the squirrels had each claimed a corn cob for themselves and sat noisily munching away, occasionally chittering at me or each other, I gathered the birdseed and trudged out into the fresh snow to spread the seed for the songbirds I could hear in the trees surrounding the clearing. I was still only wearing the thin robe from the night before and hadn’t even bothered to put on shoes when I came outside, so I was quickly cold with teeth chattering as loudly as the squirrels munching corn. Looking around the clearing at all the wildlife enjoying the crisp morning before more storms moved through later today, I decided I would join them.
I took off the robe and dropped it on the porch rail, then shifted into my reindeer in the blink of an eye. At first, there were alarm sounds from the squirrels and some of the birds at the new intruder in their midst, but I lay down in the snow and sunned myself for an hour, occasionally sniffing the snow or rolling around to scratch and itch. Eventually, all the birds and animals sensed I meant no harm and came out to investigate the food I’d distributed before my transformation. Time passed, and the sky became slightly overcast to indicate more approaching storms. I knew it was risky, but I decided to run back to the campsite and get my things before the next snowfall. I needed clothes, but also, if anyone came upon the site, I didn’t want them to think I’d disappeared in the storm and alert the authorities.
Standing up from the ground slowly so as not to startle the birds around me, I turned to start my run down the mountain when I noticed movement on the porch. Turning back, I saw Alden walking down the stairs toward me with a dreamy look in his eyes.
“You’re beautiful, Hale. And huge. I never dreamed your reindeer would be so tall and the antlers so wide.” He approached cautiously, which wasn’t necessary, but I stood still like I did for the birds and squirrels so I didn’t startle him. His hands touched my neck first, so I rubbed against his hand and sniffed his arm while dipping my head once to show him he was welcome to explore. His hands traveled up one antler from the top of my head, so I bent down to allow him to slide along the branches of my horns and feel them as much as he liked. His hands then drifted down my side and along my back, where he laid his head against my side and buried his face in my rough fur.
“You smell wild but familiar at the same time. It must be the mating. This is my second time seeing you, but you already feel familiar and comfortable.”
This was said in a bemused, hushed tone that I don’t think he meant for anyone to hear. I felt the same way about him, though. He was familiar and a comfortable presence already. I had never let many people touch me like this, mainly because I had never been around many but also because it was a very intimate thing to allow another being to see you in your true form. I had not one issue with Alden touching me like this. Hell, I’d even let him ride me like a horse if he asked. Thinking about that, I shook my head to let him know I was about to step back. Then, when he was a short distance away, I shifted back for a moment to tell him my plan.
“I’m glad you like my shifter form as much as my human one. I’d love to stay, but I was thinking I needed to run down to the camp and gather my things before the next storm got here. I don’t want anyone to think I disappeared last night and call for a search party.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. Yeah, we need to do that. Were you going to walk down and back? It’s several miles away. I have my jeep in the garage, but I’m not sure the roads close to the camp would be passable.”
Gathering his face into my hands, I leaned down and gave him a huge kiss on the lips, taking my time to get a handful of his delicious ass in the process. When he was thoroughly bemused and starry-eyed, I leaned back. “My little owl, I don’t need a jeep to get through the snow. Neither do you, for that matter. I’m a reindeer from the North Pole. I can run there, gather everything, and be back in less than an hour.”
Blushing all the way down his neck and into the collar of his fuzzy robe, he rolled his eyes. “Well, duh. I just saw you shift, so yeah, you’ve got this, I guess, but do you mind if I fly along? I can help you get the packs on your back so they don’t slide off.”
Grinning from ear to ear, I kissed him silly one more time before answering. “Mind? I was hoping you’d want to come along. There’s nothing more beautiful than new snow in the woods. Race ya!”
I let him go in a blink and shifted back, hooves stomping the snow and him just standing there, not moving. I shook my antlers the way I meant to go, then took off at a run down the trail I had traveled just yesterday.
Had it really only been yesterday that I had met him? My mate already felt like such a big part of me. It was hard to imagine we’d only been together a little over twenty-four hours. My hooves broke the crisp crust covering the snowy trail, and my breath fogged in front of me as I ran down the mountain trails toward the camp. It wasn’t common knowledge, but reindeer could run as fast as forty miles an hour for some distance. I didn’t go quite that fast since the trails were tricky, and some branches and trees had fallen in the night. I looked behind me several times to see if Alden was following, but I never saw him. Maybe he had changed his mind?
Focusing on the last trail, I finally turned onto the main trail into the camp and saw it was still empty. Good. I hadn’t wanted to worry anyone unnecessarily. I approached the shelter where I had left my pack but saw movement inside as I rounded the corner. Quickly shifting in case it was a stranger, I hid behind a tree to check out the situation until I heard a familiar laugh coming from the opening.
“Come on out, slow poke. I got all your things together, but you need to hurry up. I’m freezing, and I didn’t bring anything to put on before I shift back.”
Sure enough, Alden was standing in the opening of the enclosure with my tarp wrapped around his shoulders, waiting for me to come and help him get my things. I walked up, and his mouth dropped open in shock. “Wait a minute, you’re dressed. How did I not notice that before? How can you shift back and have clothes on?” His teeth were starting to chatter in the cold, so I ran up and pulled him close to share my body heat with him.
