I kicked the ground with the toe of my boot. Of all the times for Caesaria to hurry away, it had to be now.

“Fancy running into you out here.” Darius’ voice sent a tingle down my spine.

I turned to face him. He had a bandage around his upper arm but was still in good spirits. “I was just leaving. Places to be, things to do. All that.”

He put his hands up in defense. “I was just thinking of getting lunch. Nothing more. Care to join?”

I tucked my hair behind my ears and stood up. After yesterday’s chaos in the woods, I didn’t want to be alone with him. But he still owed me a lot of explanations. “Only if you’ll give me some straight answers. With the Alignment tonight, I want to make sure I’m ready.”

Darius nodded. “Of course.”

We walked over to the Grand Cabin, but instead of going toward the dining room, Darius took a detour to the kitchen, checking the hallway to make sure we were alone.

“What are you doing?!” I hissed at him.

He pressed a finger to his lips. Trust me.

I glared at him. Stop doing that! You know how much I hate it. I couldn’t help but link him back.

Gotta love a little adventure. From the kitchen, he filled a basket with various foods including bread, cheese, leftover brisket and macrou, and a little wine.

“Wine?” I asked. “Really?”

“Technically it’s prosecco,” he replied as if that made it all the better. “Thought we could use a bit of fun.” Once satisfied, he led me out of the Grand Cabin to one of the trails. We walked along it in silence until we came to another clearing.

“Wow.” If I had thought I’d seen beautiful, I was clearly mistaken. This was even more breathtaking than the main lake with the waterfall. Large boulders dotted the grass by the water and purple flowers sprouted up from the ground.

“I thought you might enjoy being close to the water today. It might help ease your mind for tonight.”

“Thank you,” I said as we sat down to eat.

“So, what questions do you have?” Darius poured us each a glass of wine.

I swirled the liquid around in my glass, unsure if I was actually going to drink it. “I’ve seen Ray go through the shift and it terrified me. I want to prepare myself for what it’ll be like.”

Darius leaned back on his elbows then sat back up, wincing. He was clearly still in pain from earlier. “It’s definitely a shock to the system.”

“Did you mean it when you said that after tonight, we won’t have that connection anymore?”

Darius cleared his throat and wouldn’t meet my eyes. “That is true.”

“And what if our connection doesn’t go away?” My gaze flickered up to meet his. I hated that I needed to ask the question, but I still didn’t trust him. “You said it yourself, there are other reasons for it.”

He visibly tensed next to me. “That would only happen in extreme circumstances.”

“What sort of extreme circumstances?”

“The kind that would involve us getting together.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Right. Well, I don’t see that happening any time soon. So is there anything specific I need to know for the transformation?”

“You’ll need to focus on something that brings you happiness. The transformation itself is painful and it’ll help with the process, I promise.”

I sipped my wine. That was exactly what Rosie had said when Raydir had his first shift. “Will I remember anything? And if I’m…if I have the harsh wolf spirit, will Ray be safe?” Everything he’d done so far was to protect me. The least I could do was return the favor.

“Whoever has the harsh wolf won’t remember who they are until the Alignment is over. And yes, Raydir will be safe. If he has the harsher wolf, then you’ll be safe too.”

My head buzzed, pounding from the information. I looked out over the water. It called particularly urgently today.

“I know it’s a lot to process.” He reached out to place a hand on my knee but pulled back almost instantly.

I inhaled sharply. “Thank you. I think I’m going to go for a swim. The water will help me clear my head.”

He nodded. “See you around then.”

***

As always, the lake was a wonderful way to clear my head. But as soon as I returned to the cabin, my heart began to beat faster and my brain swam with worry.

“Arwyn, what’s wrong?” Raydir strode over from the sofa and wrapped me into a hug.

I let out a shaky breath. “I’m just worried.”

He led me over to the sofa so we could sit down. “You’re going to do great, I know you are.”

“Thanks.” I sniffled. “God, this is pathetic. I chose this, I should be more prepared. I should—”

“Hey, stop it.” Raydir brushed my hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my cheek. “You are the strongest, sexiest woman I have ever met.”

My lips quirked into a smile. “Sexiest?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He leaned forward, kissing me. “Definitely.”

I stood up, walking to the closet and coming back a few minutes later with the art supplies. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to give you this. I wanted everything here in Darqua to feel good, familiar.”

“Arwyn, this is…I love it.” He kissed me again. “And I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I smiled against his mouth. “And I’m glad you like it.”

Raydir’s eyes twinkled as he smiled and went to light a few candles. Darkness crept over the sky, sending shadows across the cabin. I was grateful for the new sources of light.

But in the dark, an image appeared in front of me. The shadows danced as they replayed the scene, morphing into silhouettes. Darius. Me. The kiss. His lips locked on mine.

“Ray, I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “For Darius. For how he kissed me.”

My heartbeat quickened, the romantic moment between me and Ray extinguishing like the flame of a candle.

He sighed, walking back toward me. “I wish you’d stop apologizing for him.”

“Why?” The air between us shifted.

“Because the more you keep bringing him up the more I wonder if it actually did mean something.”

“Ray, you know it didn’t.” I rested my hand on his.

Raydir shook his head. “That’s what you keep saying but I don’t know how much longer I can keep believing it.”

Tears stung my cheeks. “It’s because of that stupid mind link.”

Raydir frowned. “Ours?” I shook my head.

“No, the one with Darius. God, I hate that I have one with him. I can’t stand it. It’s only made things worse.”

Raydir sighed and rubbed his fingers over my back. “Darius has certainly complicated things.”

I sniffled and looked back up to his green eyes which seemed to glow golden in the flickering candlelight. “I never wanted him.” Until now. But what had Darius given me? Only pain and grievance. It wasn’t worth that. “I don’t want him.”

“Then there’s only one thing left we can do,” Raydir said.

“What’s that?”

“Pray that your link with him goes away on the Alignment tonight.”

In the candlelight, I could see each of the individual freckles on his face. He’d hated them. I loved them. Each one was unique. Each told a story. Some were like stars. Others like scars. All of them beautiful just the same.

He ran his hands down my sides, resting them on my hips. “How about I paint you? Help get your mind off of the Alignment tonight? The feeling of the brush on skin…remember we used to paint each other’s hands as kids?” The annoyance in his voice had now dissipated, leaving almost as quickly as it had appeared.

I smiled at the memory. I’d forgotten. It had been a coping mechanism we’d use whenever one of us was feeling anxious.

Raydir leaned forward, his breath hot on my cheek as he whispered in my ear, “Ever been painted naked before?” His hands snaked down to encircle my waist.

I pressed my lips against his. “Well, I guess there’s a first for everything, isn’t there?” Without hesitation, my fingers reached to undo my top, pulling it off over my head and then down to my pants.

Ray grinned. He instructed me to sit in front of him on a blanket while he prepared the paints and took off his own shirt. After a few moments, I felt the prickle of a paint brush against my back, sending a shiver down my spine.

“God, you are breathtaking.” His left hand traced the curves of my body while his right hand used small, precise brushstrokes over my back.

I blushed, trying not to move. “You’re too much, Ray.” Heat radiated through me as his hand grazed over my breasts, then lower, and his lips nestled their way to nip behind my ear. Wow, he sure can multitask.

“Oh, sorry. I’m getting paint all over your front,” he apologized, starting to pull away.

“No, it’s ok.” I turned around to straddle his waist and pulled his hands back onto my body, gliding them down further as I pressed my body into his chest. “I like the messiness.” I reached up to trace a finger along the cord that held his praesidium crystal.

He smirked, leaning down to kiss me, slipping his hands all over my body and leaving colorful fingerprints as he went.

My heart thumped hard in my chest and a pounding echoed through my head. What was happening? I tried to ignore it and keep my focus on Raydir. Our bodies began to move in a rhythm before I felt him pull away.

“What happened?” I asked, sitting up. “What is that?” The thumping in my head grew louder.

“It’s almost time.” His eyes darkened.

Black spots danced in my vision and I clutched my head, the pounding growing louder. “Gahh!”

Raydir pulled his shirt back on and handed mine to me. “We need to go.”

I hurriedly dressed and nodded, taking his hand as we left the cabin.

Darius was the first to spot us as we ran up from the cabins.

“How’s she doing?” he asked.

“She is right here,” I grumbled. “And my head feels like it’s on fire.”

Raydir looked up at the sky. I wasn’t even sure how it was possible he was doing this well unless he was just that good at hiding how he felt.

“Gahhh!” I howled in pain, doubling over. My breath came in shorts spurts, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest. “I-I c-can’t do this.”

“Yes. Yes, you can, Arwyn! Look at me.” Raydir turned my face toward his with his finger so that my eyes met his. “Focus on me. Tell me what you see.”

“I see…green.” My fingers clutched at the grass. “With flecks of gold. Your eyes, they shine differently tonight.” I squeezed my eyes shut as my body began to morph. “Ahhhh!” Tears streamed down my face. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this!”

“Arwyn, please,” he begged. “I need you to focus or the pain will be unbearable.”

I nodded slowly, trying to relax my breathing. My mind trailed off to memories with Arabella. Her laugh echoed in my mind as my limbs contorted. The image shifted to one of me and Raydir. This was my 18th birthday and he’d taken me dancing. I focused on how it had felt to be in his arms that night, his green eyes sparkling with mischief.

“It’ll be ok, Arwyn. You just have to focus.”

Protect me, I tried to link to him.

Howls from the other wolves sounded in the distance. It was time. Time to give in to the wolf who had been hidden away from me. My vision began to change; the colors of the valley began to morph and blur. The scent of watergrasses hit my nose almost instantly. I knew where I needed to be. With one low growl, I bounded away.

Several other wolves were gathered in the distance as I surveyed my surroundings. A dark grey wolf and a blonde wolf trotted toward me. The blonde wolf stood its ground protectively in front of me as the grey wolf bared its teeth. I growled back.

Arwyn? Are you okay?

“Awooo!” The link with Raydir had returned, but I wasn’t sure how long it was going to last.

I pawed at the ground, glaring at the two wolves in front of me.

Ar, are you in there?

I growled and stepped forward. You have no power over me.

Arwyn. Baby, please. You can fight this. The blonde wolf nudged me with his nose.

She has to fight this on her own.

Will you two stop and leave me alone?! I bared my teeth. Take another step, I dare you.

Arwyn, fight it!

She can only have one of us.

That was it. I stood my ground before leaping at the grey wolf. He easily deflected, causing me to land hard on my shoulder.

The grey wolf bowed his head, his eyes glowing. Go. He growled.

I kicked at the ground, taking off in the other direction before I blacked out.