Dark Woods

Jacob was waiting for me under a pool of florescent street light. An undeniable urge to smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. Merely seeing Jacob and my heart started racing, pounding against my rib cage, aching to be in his strong embrace.

As I approached, Jacob met my gaze for a single burning second before jogging into the woods. I followed his example, speeding my walk to a run and tugging off my outer garments with each step. By the time my bare foot crunched on the deep snow of the woods, my clothing was in a neat pile that I placed by a particularly large tree. The pines thick branches created a nice dry area directly below the sturdy limbs and directly on top of the dead yellow pine needles.

With a graceful leap in the direction of Jacob’s scent, my body shimmered into a second, less familiar, skin. My paws hit the ground, crushing the snow beneath them. I sniffed the air, finding Jacob’s familiar scent of pine and warm earth. A lonely howl echoed out of my being, calling to my mate.

Jacob returned the call. He wasn’t very far ahead of me. I bounded through the snowy woods, jumping and running, in a desperate need to find Jacob. I followed his scent and his howls deep into the forest, far from the prying eyes of others. Finally, I caught up to him, I ran alongside him, our paws matching stride for stride. We ran until the last sorrowful crow of the caws faded to nothing.

Panting, I loped to a stop beside Jacob. Pushing my snout into his rough fur, rubbing against his familiar shape, I tried to memorize everything about my wolf. Jacob allowed me to absorb all aspects of his furry-self.

Eventually though, Jacob nudged me off. He stepped back and circled around me, staring and analyzing. It was a lonely feeling to be parted from his side, the cold wind whipped around us creating a swirl of blinding snow. A soft sad whine emanated from my core.

Hear me. My mind whispered to him.

I ran at Jacob. Pouncing on top of him and smashing him back into the snow. He growled angrily and I snapped at his neck. He threw me off, rolling on top of me and asserting his male status. Again, I snapped at his neck, clawing at him, trying anything to capture his attention. Jacob swiped at me, his paw barely missing, a fierce growl reigning down on me.

Pick me. My thoughts begged.

I growled back, desperate to be recognized, acknowledge, appreciated.

Jacob pushed me back to the ground as I struggled to remove myself from his stance. He pressed harder, hurting me. But it wasn’t paws shoving me down, warm hands smashed against my bare shoulders.

The snow was freezing but the heat emanating from Jacob was enough to melt the snow and warm my skin. I reached up, my smaller hands caressing his soft checks. I pulled Jacob down toward me. He fiercely resisted; I dropped my hands down, not wanting to fight with him. We stared at each other, our eyes breaching the space our words could never seem to cover.

His hand slipped up my shoulder and brushed a strand of snow fleck hair out of my face. Jacob leaned closer his breath heating the air around us. “Shelby…”

He cradled me in his arms and pressed his soft lips to mine. The warmth of his kiss spread through my body, sending tingles of heat up my arms and down my legs, bringing me back to life. My arms wrapped around Jacob’s neck, I clung to him and our kiss.

Jacob.

He pulled away from the kiss, his eyes scanning my face. I read the disbelief in his expression.

Listen. Really listen. I tried a final time to reach his thoughts.

He stared at me reverently. His arms constricting around me, I hugged him, letting everything that was Jacob seep into everything that was me.

How do you do that? Jacob's thoughts infiltrated my own, filling my mind with his husky timber.

Because that’s how it’s supposed to be. Everything is supposed to be simple and perfect. I’m meant for you. Can’t you see that?

“I do now.”

Jacob’s mouth descended on me once more, the kiss consuming us both.