by Taylor Fray
“This is amazing. Everything is amazing!” Morgan was giddy. She had never felt like this. Perhaps it was something in the air, but the longer she stayed in this Fae kingdom the more it seemed she was electrified, like endorphins were pumping through her body on overdrive.
“It really is.”
“I’m so happy right now. Why am I so happy, Zak?” She bit her lip, fists balled up with excitement. This was so unlike her.
“The food, the juice especially. It has magic coursing through it. It’s like you’re drinking liquid… youth you could call it.”
“Well I love it! I feel like a could run a marathon just to warm up for a triathlon right now.”
“The first time you feel Fae magic it’s really potent. You gradually adjust to it.”
“Come on, I don’t want to hear any of that. Show me how to fight.” She furrowed her brow and grinned. “Like you do. I hated feeling helpless back there when it was three to one against you. Show me how to use claws and fangs,” she said looking down at her hands. “How to control my wolf.”
Zak smiled. “Alright, I suppose I can show you a little.”
“No, not here,” Morgan said. “Out there in the fresh air, where we have room to run and jump and fight.” She tugged on his arm, taking him out into the lush valley the guesthouse overlooked.
“Alright, just slow down!” Zak yelled after Morgan who had begun running down a winding path. She was running faster than she ever remembered. She realized her body was adapting to her shift. She leapt over boulders, dove between low hanging branches. The forest was beginning to streak around her as she pushed herself. Zak appeared next to her, having caught up, though it seemed like it took an enormous exertion of his speed.
Flocks of glowing faeries scattered away in fright as the two werewolves tore through the forest.
“You’re scaring the poor Fae folk!” Zak yelled. With that, Morgan came to a stop. She was panting and had a big grin on her face.
“Oh come on. They’ll be fine.” She put her hands on her head. “Did you see how fast I was moving? I’m finally getting the hang of this Shifter thing.”
“Yeah,” Zak nodded. “That was fast. But there’s more to being a Shifter than running.”
“Alright, so show me. Claws and fangs. Let’s do it.”
“Which first?”
“I’d think claws are more useful.”
He considered that for a moment. “Everything comes from your wolf.” Morgan nodded like an eager student. “So close your eyes and feel for that animal locked in there. That connection to it. It’ll feel like pangs of desire in your chest, like something that’s trapped inside and wants to get out.”
Morgan’s mind wandered within herself. She began feeling like she was connecting to it. To her wolf. It felt like there was a subtle swirling energy inside her belly. “I think I feel it.”
“Good, now bring that feeling up through your chest into your arms, into your hands.” Morgan did so. If felt like that sinking feeling when you’re on a rollercoaster and you suddenly plunge down a steep turn. It was almost ticklish, the way it traveled through her. “Alright, now pull all of that energy into your hands. And all at once shoot it out through your fingers.”
Morgan did and with a sharp pain like she was digging splinters under her nails, wolf claws emerged from her fingers. She felt stronger too, like she’d be able to tear a deer open with her bare hands.
“I did it!” she said, a big grin on her face. She filled with a predatory instinct as she stared at her claws. It was like an aching desire had turned into a liquid and it was swirling around inside her, its wisps flicking at her lungs and her bones and her sinews. Then suddenly without even trying, fangs grew in her mouth. “Oh wow, I didn’t even mean to do that—” She was interrupted as her mouth changed shape, her nose elongating into a muzzle, her body starting to contort.
“Hey, wait, don’t go all the way.”
It was too late. Morgan was transforming into a full blown wolf. Fur was spreading all over her body, paws were replacing her feet and hands. She snarled and yapped with joy at being released once more. Before Zak could react, she took off in a sprint into the forest.
“Come on! Not again!” Zak gave chase, but now Morgan was becoming even faster as she adjusted to her shift.
Morgan charged through the forest on all fours, nipping and biting at Fae folk and random squirrels, who were no doubt magical in one way or another. The sheer rush she felt, especially with the Fae magic still coursing in her veins, was overwhelming. This is what it must have felt like for all those people she’d encountered on drugs while she did her job. Utter mindless pleasure. Zak was quickly catching up to her, though him staying in his human form gave Morgan a better chance to get away. She sensed him coming up on her. While she was in wolf form her sense of smell was so powerful she could smell Zak’s scent as it mixed with the smell of his clothes’ fabric, the dirt on the bottom of his shoes, and even the scent of berry juice still on his breath as he panted to catch up to her.
She came to a clearing and saw that directly up ahead was the azure lake. She ran headlong toward its glimmering water.
“Morgan, no, stop!” Zak belted after her. Without a thought Morgan leaped right into the lake, hanging long in the air before splashing down to the clear water. Zak came to a halt at the water’s edge. “Really?” Shaking his head, he undressed down to his boxers and dove in.
He surged through the lake, quickly making his way to a doggy-paddling Morgan like he was a shark. She sensed him behind her and she picked up her pace frantically. But it didn’t stop Zak. He locked his arms around her like a vice and began swimming back to shore. Morgan felt her fur soaking wet. She kicked and flailed, nipped and growled at Zak as he plodded out of the lake, water running off of his body. In a moment she was flailing, but had transformed back into a woman, and she was once again, completely and utterly naked. Returning to her senses, she felt a very human embarrassment.
Zak set her down. “What are you doing?” Morgan asked. “I’m naked and wet!”
“Well, should I keep carrying you then?”
“Look away already,” Morgan said as she covered herself as best she could. Zak cast his eyes away and turned around so his back was to her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”
“Forget it. It’s not like I haven’t been naked out in the woods already!”
“This is starting to be a regular thing.” Morgan could hear the grin on his face without even looking. She took a deep breath and her grumpy scowl turned to a grin of her own. Her mind raced and suddenly she ran back into the lake and dove in. The splash of water resounded in the air. Zak turned, startled. “Hey! What—” He shook his head, and walked up to the edge of the lake. “I thought being crazy was only in your wolf form.”
“Well what am I supposed to do? Walk all the way back to the house naked? I’m already soaking wet, I might as well enjoy a good swim.”
“You have a point.” Zak looked back toward the guesthouse. “I think I know where you dropped your clothes. Back there where you shifted. I’ll get them for you.” Zak walked back up the path they had run in their chase.
Morgan lingered in the lake. It was difficult to be annoyed here. The water was cool and refreshing. The moon was shining in a faint blue color. She could see the sparkling lights of fairies in the distance. She felt safe and relaxed. She reclined back in the water letting herself enjoy the surreal experience for a moment. Her whole life she had been tense, she had been tough, she had been aggressive and even ruthless. She had been all these things because she had carried something inside her that was never released. It had only found expression in a constant edge that she had to her personality.
Zak made it back to the lake with her clothes in his hands. “Good thing no fairies would fit in these or they might have been snatched up.” She rose up from the water, standing in the lake so that the water reached up just enough to cover her breasts. Zak held out her c
lothes to her. His boxers were damp and clinging to his body, his hair tussled from the swim.
“You can set them down in the grass.” Morgan said as she moved in the water. She kept swimming, drifting in the water. Zak looked around.
“Come on, we can’t stay out here. What if some Fae folk see you?”
“I’ll splash them and they’ll go buzzing off,” Morgan joked.
Zak shook his head. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll stay out here and keep an eye out. I can’t keep you from enjoying the lake, but I’m going to keep guard.”
“Fine, suit yourself.” Morgan plunged back in, enjoying the clear water, the moon shining so bright that she could open her eyes and see glowing fish swimming near the coral on the lake bed. She rose up again and twirled around in the water taking a deep breath. This was heavenly, better than any resort she could imagine.
But all of a sudden an enormous splash resounded next to her. She gasped in fright as she felt an arm curling around her waist. Her fear dissipated as she realized it was Zak. Even before she turned to see his face, she knew the feel of his body now, she knew his scent, she knew his strength. They were standing in the lake the water halfway up to their chests.
“Come on we have to get back, it’s getting late,” he said as he held her elbow in his grip.
“I’m still enjoying my swim!”
Zak pulled at her, but she resisted. “Come on, don’t make it a fight.” Though he was enormously stronger than her, she enjoyed testing her strength now that she had shifted. They tussled in the water, twisting and pulling at one another. They exchanged grips and pushes, spins and pulls, but eventually Zak overtook her and he locked his arms around her. Wrestling with one another had left Morgan panting, blood pumping in exertion. Zak’s arms were clasped around her so that she was completely immobile from her shoulders down. She had always dominated every man she had ever been with, but Zak was different. He was a wolf who could take whatever he wanted. As he stared into her eyes, droplets of water beading on his stubble, his face only inches from hers, he looked like he was about to say something, but didn’t know what. His brow furrowed, as he seemed agitated, torn almost. As if a hunger was growing inside him.
His growl began vibrating in the air, that growl she had felt when she first met him, that growl that had drawn her irresistibly to him. It reverberated through her and made every hair on her body stand on end. She was completely at his mercy. His hulking mass of flesh was wrapped around her like a boa. She began trembling as she felt him hardening against her below the water, and shocked herself as she gasped ever so faintly and her knees buckled as her nipples rubbed against his bare torso.
“Morgan… I can’t tell you how beautiful you look.” Then his lips suddenly seized hers. He kissed her with, sending pangs of wild desire through her. She kissed back, their lips merging together in a warm, wet affection, in a tenderness and roughness all in one. She broke free of his grip, only to fling herself back into it. She clamped an arm around his neck, clenching the hair on the back of his head. She ran her other hand against his waist, against his abs, against his chest and shoulders, feeling the contours of his body, the changing texture of his hair and his flesh
Then she pulled away, looked into his eyes and slapped him as hard as she could, water bursting off of his. He stood there completely at a loss, just staring wide eyed. “You think you can just flip me on and off like a light switch?” She still remembered the night at Bradley’s Inn.
She stepped out of the lake, covering herself with a giant leaf from an exotic plant. Her clothes were under a tree, neatly folded. As she got dressed, she thought she might have been a little harsh, but then again, it was hard not to take that night personally, however right Zak’s intentions had been.
She heard Zak’s sloshing footsteps behind her. He had pants on again, though they were soaking wet now.
“We should head back,” Zak said.
“You head back. I’ll go when I’m damn well ready.” Apparently she still had some anger left over.
Frustration brimmed on Zak’s face as he nodded. He turned and walked away.
She slumped against a tree. What the hell just happened? She was behaving like she was in high school, falling over herself for a boy. After a while she just went through the occasional man for some physical pleasure, and they were glad to oblige. Over the years she had been the one to use a man, then kick him out of her bed as soon as he had served his purpose. The thought of real love had receded to a distant memory, some fantasy to be outgrown. So why should Zak be any different?
So it ate at her, that she would be all riled up by Zak. She didn’t understand. She knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She could feel it in his kiss, in the way he squeezed her close to him. And yet, she could sense there was some part of himself that he would not give her access to, not just on a physical level. There was some deep emotional place, perhaps having to do with the fallout with his family, that he guarded more than anything.
The thoughts made her realize that in all of the surreal turn of events up until now she had not really stopped and found out why—why he was banished from this clan, why he had closed himself off, why that Gestaffos monster had mentioned something about his “last” woman. Yes, he was a wolf, a beast, whatever he called himself, but he was a tortured one, a wolf caught in the iron trap of his past. She was going to find out, and this time, she wasn’t going to rest until he told her the damn truth. All of it.
She made her way up the path and barged through the blue archway of the house. She spotted Zak sitting on the couch.
“Alright, enough!” she yelled as she marched to him. “You’re telling me what the hell is going on with you! You’re telling me why you’re banished, what you did. I’m tired of you thinking I can’t handle it. You think I haven’t seen the worst the world has to offer, you think I haven’t lived it?”
“What I did in the lake… was completely foolish. I lost control. It’s difficult not to. You’re beautiful and I care about you.” He looked right at her with those powerful, commanding eyes. “Forgive me.”
She nearly buckled at his sincerity, but she dug into her resolve. “It’s about more than that. If I really mean something to you, if I’m more than just some stray you found and need to help, if I’m more than an obligation, then you should trust me. Isn’t it time you told me what really keeps you locked up inside yourself?” He looked back at her, unsure of what to say. “What happened between you and your clan, Zak? Who is this “last woman” of yours? Who… who are you?” He looked up at her. Morgan could tell by his glazing eyes that this was difficult for him.
“I’ve fought… demons. I’ve fought… dragons, sorcerers, and facing what happened, facing all you’re asking me is still more terrifying, is still more painful.” Morgan was shocked to see that his eyes were beginning to water just slightly, the vein on his forehead bulging as he tried to contain himself. “I was married, not long ago,” he confessed, damp hair dangling over his eyes. “It’s been just ten years in fact. My wife. Her name was Emily. And she… meant everything to me. Her mind was radiant, her heart was open and vulnerable in every way. She was beautiful, and caring, brilliant and powerful.” Morgan’s heart sank, partly in an immature possessiveness, partly in sympathy for him, partly in dread of what he would say next. “We had begun a life together. And we were going to get away from all the fighting and the death that comes with being a Shifter. I always told her, this will be my last battle, but there would always be one more. So she began seeking a way to create the perfect life for ourselves, through magic. She was a mage, a witch.” Zak’s head sank low. “When we were married, I promised her three things. That I would love her, that I would be honest with her, and that I would protect her. I never thought that last one would be the most difficult. That it would be where I failed.” Zak looked up at her, his eyes hollow with regret. “She died, Morgan. She died because I let her be killed.” Zak began trembling violently. His fangs protruded. “
I let her be killed! My own wife!” His muscles clenched as he stood and trembled like a caged animal.
“Zak. You can talk to me.” As she approached Zak , he pulled a chair between them.
“No. Stay away from me! Don’t you see I’m dangerous? Don’t you see I’m a monster?” In saying that he gripped the chair so hard he splintered it.
Morgan watched in disbelief as he stood on the border of frenzy. It was true that any person who saw him this way, fangs and claws glinting, a red haze in his eyes, would scream, would run in terror, but not her. She held her ground. “You’re not, you’re a good person.”
He shook his head at that. He gripped what remained of the chair and flung it across the room, as if to vent some of his anger. He panted, struggling to breathe deep and get himself under control. “My father’s name is Gustav. A lot of people know him as Gustav The Red. Because he’s cursed. He’s cursed with the Red Rage. It runs in our family. When we are in our Krinos form and the Rage takes hold, our fur turns the color of blood. And we lose all control. We kill without mercy, without regard for innocence or guilt, without regard for good or evil.”
“But I’ve seen you fight… You’re not like that.”
Zak shook his head. “I’ve never shifted to Krinos around you. Even growing up, I shifted to that form with no repercussions. The Red Rage had never touched me. I never thought I had inherited it. But when I found out that Emily had been killed by the Black Hand, because of me, because I wasn’t there to protect her, I found out then. I found out that the Rage is inside me as strong as anyone in my family. That day I found out, when I saw her dead body for myself. Everything, my vision, my fur, my blood, boiled red. I went on a rampage like a rabid beast. I killed innocent people in my rampage. Ten. Twelve. I don’t even know.” Morgan held her hand to her mouth, as she gaped in disbelief. Tears began to bead in her eyes.