In Reach?

The next day

Mira’s POV

I wake up to an empty bed. I’m not surprised. After what happened last night, I’m sure Liam wants to check on Aiden. He was restless the whole night.

After freshening up and taking a hot shower, I go downstairs. Everybody in the kitchen is just staring at me. But I don’t want this attention on me. I just go to the infirmary. I know Liam is there. I can feel him.

Walking into one of the clinic rooms, I see Liam and a sleeping Char sitting around Aiden’s bed. Liam instantly looks my way. I remain in the doorway not wanting to intrude. But he gets up and walks to me to hold me.

He kisses my temple. “Morning.”

“How is he?” I whisper as I look at Aiden, still passed out.

He releases a deep breath. “He’s doing better. Char just wants to keep an eye on him to make sure. She doesn’t want to leave his side. I’ve never seen her like this. I think she really got a fright.”

I lean my head against his chest. “No mother wants to watch their child die. But I’m glad he’s doing better.”

There’s a silence as we watch Aiden and Char sleeping.

I turn in his hold to look at him. “Are you free for an hour or so, or do you have to get back to work?”

He looks down at me suspiciously. “No. I can spare an hour. Why?”

I bite my lip, a bit shy to ask. I mean, it’s not like it’s a date. But then again, it sort of feels like it.

“I wanted to know if you would like to,…… go for a run?” Crap, I can feel myself blushing.

But I don’t hear a response. So I look back up at him, and he has a glint of a smile on his face.

“I mean, I think it would do you some good to get your mind off some things for a while. And I still need to get a hang of the whole shifting thing. But you don’t need to worry about trying to teach me. If you’re too busy I can ask someone else.” Oh goodness, I’m babbling.

But he stops me before I continue.

“Let’s get going then.”

He pulls my hand as we make our way out to the woods. He looks excited and happy. It makes me happy to see him like this. He’s been so stressed out lately. And at least now I can look at those amazing dimples again. I haven’t seen them in such a long time.

He pulls me into some deep part in the woods, because I don’t see any patrols nearby.

“Don’t worry. No one’s here.” He says as he takes off his shirt and unbuckles his belt.

This just makes me nervous. I forgot about the whole getting naked to shift part. And Liam is making it even more difficult with those gorgeous abs.

“What’s wrong?” He lifts my chin to look at him.

“I just,….do I have to get undressed just out here in the open?” I say as I fumble with the hem of my shirt.

He snorts. “Mira. You should know by now that nudity is very normal for wolves. But I won’t lie. I don’t like the idea of other men seeing you naked, which is why I sent them away from here.”

He starts lifting the hem of my shirt and pulls it over my head, smiling. “And don’t even think of trying to be shy in front of me about getting undressed.”

He unbuttons my jean shorts and pulls them down. “I’m the last person you need to be shy around.”

He stands up and takes his own pants off.

Come on, don’t be shy in front of our mate. My wolf coaxes me.

So I start taking my underwear off as well. Just as I take my panties off, I see him staring at me with a hungry look. He kisses me gently and whispers into my ear, “You’re the embodiment of a goddess.” He brushes my hair behind my ear, which I'm thankful is long enough to cover my breasts.

“Do you know how to shift into your wolf?” He takes a step back and looks at me directly, keeping his focus on my face.

I slowly shake my head. “I’m not sure.”

“Okay. Can you hear your wolf, can you feel her?”

I nod.

“So all you have to do is just picture yourself shifting into your wolf, - that your hands become paws and fur growing on your body. You’ll feel that your wolf’s presence gets stronger, like she’s pushing through. You just need to let her take over.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

Liam takes a step back and looks at me. Oh great, not like I want to make a fool of myself. I look down at my hands rather and try to picture them as paws. I’m a little nervous so I close my eyes for a better image. I can feel my wolf pushing through as I release a loud purr. That’s when I hear the sound of bones breaking, but I don’t feel any pain. When I open my eyes, I’m looking down at black paws on the ground.

I did it. I shifted into my wolf, and it didn’t hurt. I look up to see Liam, and see him smiling at me with such adoration. I feel like smiling back, and I don’t know if I’m doing it, or just looking like a very toothy wolf.

I hear more bones breaking and see Liam shifting into a massive black wolf. He walks my way and licks my snout before rubbing his body against mine.

What is he doing? It’s like he’s rubbing his scent all over me. Oh wait. He wants his scent on me. But I get a startle when I feel him sniffing my behind. I yelp as I jump away.

L: There is no need for you to be shy. All of you already belongs to me.

He says through the bond with a snicker. But this voice of Liam sounds a little too cheeky. This isn’t Liam. The bright glow of gold in his eyes confirms that. It’s his wolf.

M: Where is Liam?

He walks closer to me again, all tall and proud.

L: I am Liam, just in his wolf form.

M: But,……you seem so different.

He huffs out as if annoyed.

L: Let’s just say that he and I have a complicated relationship. He keeps trying to reel me in,……like he’s trying to do right now.

I see him shaking his head.

L: The more I keep trying to show just how strong we really are, the more he tries to force his control over me, even in wolf form. He hasn’t shifted in a while, I bet he didn’t think I would take a chance, when he has his guard lowered, to gain back some control that he’s been robbing me. Besides, I’m still pissed at him for not listening to me when I told him you are our mate.

M: So, does this mean I sort of have two mates?

L: No. I’m just another half of Liam you haven’t fully become acquainted with.

He says as he rubs himself more against my fur.

L: And I can’t wait for us to get to know each other more, mate.

He starts shaking his head again and I can hear a low growl.

M: Liam?

I nudge his neck with my snout.

L: Mira? Crap. That annoying wolf. He didn’t do anything did he?

He looks up at me sniffing me all around.

M: No, he just said he wants to get to know me more.

L: Pfh. He’s sadistic and controlling. I wasn’t expecting him to push through so suddenly.

M: Liam? Why are you and your wolf so different? I thought a person is one with their wolf.

L: Honestly, I don’t know either. We certainly don’t have the same idea of doing things. He’s just power hungry. But don’t worry. I’ll keep him in line.

M: I think that is what’s making him angry.

Liam licks my snout.

L: You need to stay close to me at all times. Okay?

I lick his snout back, hoping he takes that as a yes.

He starts running into the woods, and I try to catch up with him. It doesn’t take long though. I think my smaller wolf is making it easier to run faster. Running over bushes and past trees is really freeing. I get a rush when I run past him. It makes me wonder just how fast I can run.

M: Catch me if you can?

L: Race you to the river.

He says as he takes a sharp turn to the right. Shit. I don’t even know where the river is. He’s using his advantage of knowing the area against my obvious advantage of speed. But I’m quick to follow him. It doesn’t take long, before I can smell the damp grass, that I know where to go to. I push myself further. My paws are barely making a sound with their quick and soft footfalls. Just as I run past him, I see the river up ahead.

L: Slow down.

But I’m too excited that I keep pushing myself faster, eager to feel some form of tiredness. But by the time I reach the river, I’m too fast to stop myself in time. I’m going to fall into the river, which I know is filled with cold water and lots of rocks. There’s no time, so I keep running and use the momentum to jump over the river. Hoping I will have enough speed to make it to the other side.

I somehow manage to land softly on my feet without tumbling, just a few quick steps to bring me to a stop. I turn around and see Liam finally reaching the river. His wolf actually looks worried.

M: I win.

I say excitedly, as I tip toe with my paws.

L: Fuck Mira. You almost gave me a heart attack.

He walks closer to the river and starts drinking. I go for a drink too, but the instant I lower my head I tilt my head to the side, looking at my reflection in the water. I’ve never seen my wolf before. So I don’t know what it looks like. I have white-grey fur, but my paws are black. It sort of looks cute. But huge ripples of the water wash the image away and has me looking up at Liam walking my way. He rubs his neck with mine.

L: Beautiful. That’s what you are.

We both look up as we hear thunderous roars coming from the sky. It looks like a storm is coming. How? The sun was out just a moment ago.

L: We better get back.

He nudges me to start walking next to him. But then the rain immediately starts to fall. We both start running back to the main packhouse. But that’s when I realize, we left our clothes on the other side of the woods.

L: Don’t worry about the clothes. They’re already wet. Let’s go straight to the house.

I follow him, but yelp with fright when I see and hear a lighting strike right ahead of us. Liam runs faster and I don’t hesitate to follow him. When we get to the front porch, he immediately shifts back to his naked human form. I follow suit. Just as he walks inside, he grabs some clothes from a cupboard near the front door. I bet this does come in handy. He hands me a huge shirt, and he quickly puts on a baggy short.

I’m still dripping wet when he pulls me up the stairs. He takes me to the room where he hands me towel, and drags me along again. I’m standing in the office with him now, trying to stop the dripping from my long hair with the towel.

“If you have to work, I can leave.”

He looks at me annoyed, but he looks so sexy, practically wet and shirtless sitting behind that desk.

“No. I want you here with me.”

He’s looks very worried, and it’s like he wants to wrap me in his arms with how over-protective he’s being lately. Is my life really in that much threat. I don’t know why Dahlia would even want me.

“Am I in danger?”

“Not if you’re with me.” He starts going through the paper work on his desk, and I know he probably has a lot of work to get done.

My attention immediately gets taken to the large map on the wall. It looks like mostly forest and mountainous terrain. There are four crosses on the map, probably marking something. It looks hand drawn, but very detailed. It even has a map grid on it. This could be a piece of artwork. I wonder if it’s real.

“Where is this?” I ask still looking at the map.

“It’s in the northern mountains. Very rarely populated.”

“Is that what the crosses are, - where people live?”

I hear a chair move. “That’s where Dahlia might be.”

“Dahlia?” I turn my head just to find him right behind me, holding me.

“Yeah. We tracked her people to these locations. All we know is that she should be at one of them. But we can’t figure which one.”

Why would he be tracking her location? What does he want to do when he finds her?

“I thought you all were waiting for her to make the first move.”

He sighs deeply. “I don’t want to wait for something bad enough to happen before I decide to take action. I want to stop her before it even comes to that.” He kisses my temple.

“Have you figured out why she wants revenge against you?”

“I don’t know what it could be.”

Then we hear a knock on the door.

Liam goes to open the door revealing Noah’s amused face as he looks between Liam and I. That’s when I realise what we actually look like. Liam is shirtless, and I’m in nothing but a t-shirt.

“Really Liam? Now you’re getting her to walk around the house half-naked.”

But Liam moves slightly, blocking my view of Noah.

“What is it Noah?”

“I just wanted to give you an update on Aiden’s condition. Char says he’ll definitely pull through. But he’s still very weak and hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Thanks. Let me know as soon as he wakes up.”

“Will do.” Noah walks away as Liam closes the door again.

He walks back to me with another smile on his face.

“So, walking around half naked, huh? Are you trying to turn me into your Jane, Tarzan?”

Grhh! “How do you know about that?” He growls out as he grabs me and picks me up, with my legs wrapped around him.

I giggle as he walks us to the couch. He sits keeping his hold on me, making me straddle him. “A little birdy told me.”

“Char.” He says already knowing who it is.

He leans back in the couch as he tucks my hair behind my ear.

“Tell me something I don’t know about you, something no one knows.” He softly says as he plays with my hair.

“Well,……I’m a bit of a geek.”

But he just raises a brow waiting for me to elaborate.

I sigh, knowing he’s going to judge me now. He’s probably going to wonder why a grown as woman like me would like such stuff.

“I’m a bit into anime. I love the idea of cos-play but I never had the guts to actually do it.” I can feel myself blushing so I just look away. “It’s one of the things I love about being a dancer, the dressing up part.”

Liam tilts my chin to face him again and he has the brightest smile on his face, I can’t help but feel the tingles in my stomach at seeing those dimples.

“Oh, you’re definitely going to have to give me private shows now.”

“Huh?” I bite my lip feeling nervous again.

“Oh don’t look so innocent. Not now that I know you would want to do it.”

But he kisses me before I could rebut him, pulling me against him.

Grh. I hear a rumble in his chest before he pulls away from the kiss.

“We should stop, before I lose control again.” I just nod in agreement.

But I can feel him hardening under me, and it’s too distracting, especially since I’m not even wearing any underwear. So I climb off of him and move to sit next to him on the couch, but leaning against the arm rest so I can face him. I tuck my legs under my, but he pulls them and lays them over his legs. I can see him admiring me, and I can see the hungry look growing again.

“So tell me something about you.” I try to bring us back.

That night Liam and I spent the entire day just talking, telling each other about ourselves. There were times we laughed so hard, I cried. He was annoyed when he found out I wasn’t ticklish, but it gave me the chance to find out that he is. Damn, I love seeing those dimples on him. He told me about all his battle scars, and I told him about all my internal scars from my foster families. It was just so comfortable. We just talked, and couldn’t hear enough of each other, wanting to know every single detail. He told me about his sister, and how he would love me to meet her, but she’s lives far away. He told me how he grew up living a normal life, and I corrected him, explaining why it is he grew up privileged.

We then took a nap on the couch, in each other’s embrace. I was so happy, I knew Liam felt it as he kept kissing my forehead with a smile on his face. But just before I fell asleep, my mind went back to those thoughts, those visions which kept me worried and afraid. The visions of blood and war and Liam’s heart-breaking anger. How can those possibly be the future when everything is going so amazing right now?

What does this mean Selene? You can’t possibly take all this away from me, when you brought me here to find Liam.