Auror

I wake up, and we’re still lying in the same position as we slept. I need to clean and feed her; it's my duty as her mate to ensure her well-being.
Slowly, I start to move us.
"Please, just a few more minutes," she says. We slept with our minds connected, and it’s so pleasurable.
"Love, I need to take care of you." As soon as she hears me, she wakes up startled, her hair shining with the same intensity as her heartbeat.
"What did you call me?" She blinks a few times, and I can tell she thinks it was a dream.
"Love, isn’t that how humans express their feelings?"
"Yes, I know, it’s just that…"
"Ann, you know that when I say you are my mate, it’s a kind of Férnus declaration, but I don’t want to live only in the realm of my species' feelings with you. I need you to understand what I feel and express it in the most human way I know."
"I love you, Auror Vont’in."
"I love you too, my mate Anira Montecião." I kiss her forehead. "Now let’s take a bath, and then I’ll feed you."
Her smile is her way of agreeing. I won’t close my mind to her throughout the heat cycle; it makes her stronger, and she confirms that she will keep it that way too. I carry her in my arms to our bathroom and do everything I need to do after setting her down on the sink counter.
Under her watchful gaze, I heat the bathwater. When everything is just right, I get in with her, feeling our muscles relax and listening to the soft moans she makes, which make my fur stand on end.
Relaxed, I decide to show her something I’ve kept from her. I don’t know how she’ll react when she sees it. I want to show her the image I have of my human form. I only have one memory, shown to me by my mother when I was condemned. It was how she saw me, how her care and protection for me would be eternal even though I was condemned.

***

Anira


I’m startled when a scene begins to unfold in my mind. It’s Auror through his mother’s eyes. I feel the love and care she had for him; even though her son was condemned to darkness, she preferred that to seeing her own father kill him.
Auror was a strong, tall man. His golden eyes were there, and despite his sadness over his condemnation, he smiled at her. His brown hair fell over his eyes, his masculine face was square, and he had a short, dense beard. He was beautiful.
My heart raced when he looked into the eyes of the Férnus I had never seen. The hatred was palpable, but soon the vision fades, and I return to understanding where I am.
"You were very handsome."
"I wish you had seen it." I feel the quiver in his voice, not because he’s going to cry, but out of embarrassment. This feeling overwhelms him because he cannot be a complete Férnus for me.
"You are perfect for me, Auror. I loved seeing your human version, but it doesn’t make me miss it."
"I know. I can feel the truth in your words." I settle more comfortably against his chest.
"Who was that Férnus who stared at you before you ran to the hill house?"
"Bourn Moriah, Clint’s father." The sorrow Auror feels nearly makes me cry.
"I was afraid of him, Auror. That look seemed like a promise of revenge."
"Bourn is just a male saddened by the loss of his only son, Ann. He hasn’t done anything to me for three hundred years, and he won’t start now."
"I don’t see it that way. Revenge, when fed daily, corrodes everything. Not even time erases the desire to fulfill the promise etched in his eyes."
"You needn’t fear. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to try anything against me." His words don’t convince me. "Now we need to get out. We need to eat for the next heat cycle."
We get out of the water, and I run from the bathroom as soon as I put on my robe. Auror’s amused look is certainly due to his way of drying himself, splashing water everywhere like an oversized, clumsy Saint Bernard.
I’m wrapped in my robe when I see him emerge from the bathroom wrapped in his, already dry, with fur that looks like it’s been brushed for hours. This frustrates me; I need to spend all my time drying my long hair.

***


Auror


I smile at Ann and her thoughts when I arrive in the room.
“Don’t look at me like that, it’s not fair.” Pouting, she crosses her arms.
“Let’s eat, and when we come back, you can dry your hair.”
I wrap my arms around her small, yet sturdy body.
“If I weren’t locked in here, they’d dry naturally.”
“I’d like to see them dried like this.”
“It turns into a grand, awkward mane. Even yours is more put together than that.” I smile at her words. “It’s very unfair.”
“Let’s eat and stop thinking about it. You look beautiful no matter what, Ann.”
As we walk to the kitchen, Ann’s words come back to my memory, so I close the door, cutting off her access.
“Did something happen?” she asks as soon as I end our connection.
“No, just giving you a little privacy,” I say, and she believes me.
In the kitchen, she decides to heat up our dinner, but for some reason, she doesn’t cook my large steaks.
“Aren’t you going to cook them?”
“No, I think eating my food the way I like it isn’t as enjoyable for you.”
“I don’t mind,” I assure her.
“But I do. You can’t hunt and act as usual just for me.” I raise my eyebrows to understand where she’s going with this. “You don’t say it, but I can feel through you when we’re connected, the desire for raw meat is there.”
I continue to stare at her. I’ve done everything to keep this side of me hidden, but Ann is perceptive and intelligent. Our bond grows stronger every second, and she must have picked up on something.
“Is it okay with you?”
“Yes.”
With that said, we proceed to dinner, and I have to confess, raw meat in my mouth is as pleasurable as being buried in her warm, wet pussy.