CHAPTER 30

Growing up with her grandmother, Shana always knew there was more to the world than what everyone else saw; even before she had her Awakening and became a full fledged Crier. She knew that apart from her kind, there were various other species she might not even get the chance to encounter in this life and with the way she had lived her life before Asher; with her head bent and keeping a low profile, she had assumed she would not even get to meet any other kind at all. But her duties had brought her to a shifter, and one she loved.
As much as she knew about the existence of his kind she had never seen a shift, had never seen a wolf, not to talk of one as beautiful as the one before her. She had no basis for comparison but if they were all as beautiful and enthralling as the one before her, then she could confidently declare that the wolf shifters were the most beautiful race there is.
She moved towards him hesitantly, forgetting all about acting surprised. He captivated her, drew her as much as his human form, if not more. In his wolf form which seemed larger than logically possible, she felt so safe..and powerful and that was a weird way to feel. She stretched out her hand to touch the soft fur of his fore limp; which was way more than her height. She looked up into his eyes, the grey, gold flecked orbs tracking her every move.
She swallowed convulsively. Even his eyes were beautiful and they compelled her to want to say so much. Between the ice glazed blue of his human form and the grey of the wolf form, she could not choose which she loved more.
Standing next to the big wolf, her head barely coming up to just his limps, she allowed her fingers to move through the snowy fur, soft and warm, a perfect cocoon she would love to get wrapped up in. She watching him moan and before her, he went down on all fours.
"You are so beautiful," she whispered, more to herself than him but he heard all she said clearly and he growled happily
She laughed in delight, the sound travelling through the dark, silent night. She moved to caress his snort and he sniffed her in delight. She looked into his grey eyes again, their gaze locking this time around. Gone was the weariness and doubt and in it's place, she could see the fire, ferocity and possessiveness in his eyes and she knew those strong emotions were for her.
Asher wanted to let go and howl happily at the moon but he kept his cool. When he had pictured her reaction when he finally made a clean breast of things, he never pictured her chuckling and running her fingers through his furs and hell, it felt so good. He could just stay still and let her do just that to him all day. He had picture her fainting then waking to run off on him. He had also pictured her just panicking and shouting with fear in her eyes then running off. All he had allowed himself to imagine was her running away, rejecting him because all his life, that was all he had ever gotten after revealing himself. He could not allow himself to imagine acceptance, did not even know how that felt, until Shana.
She was so calm, not even showing any surprise. It was almost as if she already knew what was coming but he doubted that. His race had kept their secret safe from humans for thousands of years. Those that had been unfortunate to find out about their kind without being taken into the packs as mates had to pay with their lives. And one thing he had been very careful about while working closely with her for the past weeks was to never let her notice any change in his eyes color, he never moved too fast and he had ensured he did not take long whiff of the air when she was around. If she noticed his body was warmer than normal whenever he held her in his as, she never mentioned it. So he was very certain there was no way a normal human and one like herself would know about his kind. They guarded their secret too closely.
He happily sniffed her palm inhaling her scent. His wolf gave a sound like a chuckle; she thought he was beautiful. He pushed her with his head, making her lose her balance and falling ungracefully on his bent limps. She chuckled as he dropped his head to hers and wrapped himself around her. She was so small and he was careful not to break any bones. "I really wanted you to do that," she said, taking a deep breathe and relaxing against the giant mountain of fur and warmth. He growled something back at her.
"You know, we've got to figure out a way for us to communicate when you shift instead of you growling at me," she said with the laugh evident in her voice.
"There's something we can do about that," he growled in response. Then in a sudden burst of movement, he swung her onto his back, taking off into the wood with her clinging unto him for her dear life at first, then relaxing unto him to enjoy the run.
It was just like in his imagination but without the rain.
He was happy. He finally found what had always eludes him in life; feeling of belonging. He was going to spend the rest of his days clinging unto it, clinging unto her, like his life depended on it.
Her tinkling laugher mingled harmoniously with the song of the night bird and creatures, making him rise with her still clinging unto him on his hind legs and he howled at the moon, thanking the moon goddess for giving him what his heart most wished for without him consciously knowing it.
Shana felt herself flying through the air. It was the most blissful experience of her life. Although she could not make out most of what was before her eyes in the dark, she trusted she would not come to any harm with Asher.
She felt free, rubbing her cheeks against the broad back of the wolf in happiness, wanting the feeling never to stop, wanting the voice of reality never to intrude and she should forever luxuriate in the feeling of security.
But he soon came to a halt in a large clearing. She looked around, her sight aided by the moonlight filtering through the canopy provided by the trees.
Shana was let off as Asher dropped to all fours then he rose again and shifted back into his human form, as naked as a jaybird.
Her sixth senses told her what was coming next.
It was time she had to make use of feminine wiles she did not know she possessed until she met him. Now was the time, she thought as Asher moved to take her in his arms, not feeling he least bit uncomfortable in his own skin. "Where are we?," she asked looking around but not at him.
"You could call this place my hidden fortress," he answered looking around with her.
"It's so peaceful."
"Just the very reason I love the place. I practically grew up in this very place. I had my first shift here," he answered with a sad smile, mirroring the one she had seen in the car but she did not ask him about it.
"What was it like? Your first shift I mean," she asked in a rush.
"Mine happened earlier than was normal and it was painful at first but i got used to the pain. I felt so....." He did not say anything after that but she could guess. From the little she had seem through Adam, his next word was 'alone'. Asher had been alone through his first shift.
"How early?"
"I was nine," he answered with a shrug. Shana's heart went out to the little boy but she did not let him see any trace of pity on her face. He was too proud and he would not like that.
"Enough questions for now and I know you probably have a lot more," he said as he looked deeply into her eyes, searching and reaching to the deepest part of her soul. "But I think they are going to have to wait."
She did not really have any questions but she nodded nonetheless. What was presently taking predominance in her head was Asher standing naked so close to her. She could not think of anything else as he moved his hand across her cheek, barely touching her as she moved her head along with his hand. He was the naked one but she felt so open before him, with him staring so intently at her.
" You are mine, Shana Johnson." The sudden and proprietary way he said the words made her swallow hard and did things to her inside. She could almost hear the butterflies fluttering around in her belly as she continued to stare at him without saying a word.
" You said something about being able to communicate in my wolf form," he said bending his head to hers. "There's a way."
"How?," she wanted to ask but her vocal cords refused to cooperate with her.
There were no words to explain the experience. Growing up, Asher had witnessed the silent communication between mated couples and he could never understand how it all worked but he had envied them. The silent eye contact, the way a mate could sense when the other was in distress even when they were miles apart and most of all, the quiet energy of possessiveness and misery that seemed to surround them. He really never liked having to be responsible for another person but those things had been a major turn on for him.
And there was no way Shana would understand unless she saw it firsthand or experienced it herself.
"Do you trust me?," he asked her with his heart in his eyes.