Epilogue
A sudden stab of pain woke Tessa up. She screamed as her stomach felt like it was being tied up in knots and squeezed. Henri sat up next to her. She didn’t have to say anything. She doubted she could form words in her current state either way. Her mate jumped out of their bed and scooped her up. They had talked about a plan for the time it happened, the time her change hit, but nothing had prepared her for the pain. It felt like her insides were being shredded.
It wouldn’t always be this way. Henri had promised her. The first shift was always the hardest, and that was why some people didn’t survive it.
Tessa screamed again, fighting to get free. Henri’s grip didn’t loosen. Instead he ran faster. Doors slammed open. Then a cool autumn breeze hit her. It should have brought her comfort. If anything, it made her feel worse. Everything was amplified.
“It’s too much.” She panted, pushing against his chest. “Everything’s too much.”
“Listen to my voice, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
She wanted to believe him. He’d told her about what to expect, but the pain overwhelmed her senses. When she shrugged against his grip, Henri put her down. He held her against his chest. He could have kissed her, but Tessa couldn’t think straight. As soon as his hold loosened she screamed and darted away from him. She had to get away, but there was nowhere to go. Half staggering to the river that ran near the compound, she fell to the ground, and the cold water splashed against her. A spasm ran through her body, her nails digging into her palms. Another shock hit her like a lightning bolt. She arched her back and screamed.
There was no telling how long she lay on the ground before Henri found her. Strong arms pulled her from the water and held her against a chest. She opened her eyes, Henri gaze down at her.
“I don’t feel good.” She curled up next to him, craving his warmth.
“I know, sweetheart. Just listen to me. There’s a part of you that’s fighting for control. That’s your animal. The only way a shifter survives is if they accept every part of them, the human and the beast. I need you to picture it, the fox. Can you do that?”
“I’m so cold.”
She was dimly aware of Henri pulling his clothes off, and then he picked her up again. There was a warmth to his skin that reminded her of summer nights lying on the grass, and it chased some of the cold away. “Picture your fox. A vixen. Can you see her?”
Tessa didn’t have much experience with foxes. She’d seen pictures of Arctic Foxes, with beautiful white coats before, and she visualized that. She pictured a long, windy path in the middle of a forest. At the end of the path she saw her. Small, beautiful and quick. Not a predator, at least not in a traditional sense. Tessa felt an instant kinship with the animal.
“Yes, I see her.” The world around her vanished until all she could see was the black eyes of the vixen in front of her.
“Call to her.” Henri’s voice came to her like a whisper on a wind. It reached her through the pain, clearing her thoughts.
“Hey, girl.” Tessa knelt. In her mind’s eye, she wore a white dress that reached her ankles. Her dark hair was now a startling shade of white, hanging loose down her back. The vixen looked at her warily. “She isn’t coming to me.” Tessa reached out a hand. “I’ve never been very good with animals.”
Henri chuckled. “She isn’t an animal, she’s a part of you. A part that you need to accept.”
It felt like forever passed, but eventually the fox moved, her steps cautious and hesitant. Tessa smiled in encouragement. The pain had returned, a gentle slow throb in time with her heart. “We’re both going to die if we can’t get along.” The vixen cocked her head to the side. “You understand me, don’t you?”
She walked closer to Tessa. Yes.
“Do you want to live?”
Yes.
Tessa reached out, her hand trembling. “Then let’s live together.”
****
Henri held Tessa close to his chest. Alphas had the ability to share their energy. A good one guided their members through the change, giving their strength. He only hoped it was enough, as there was only so much he could do. With his free hand, he caressed her cheek. Her skin was pale, her breath shallow. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead to hers. “Come back to me, sweetheart.”
Tessa’s eyes snapped open. With a wild look in her eyes, she pushed him away and scrambled across the ground. She crouched like an animal, and then the change hit her. A scream, loud and primal, filled the air. Limbs extended. Bones popped and reformed. Brilliant white fur erupted from her body. Henri frowned. Boyd’s foxes were red, not white. The screams stopped. A larger than a normal fox, but still smaller than a wolf, lay on the ground.
Her head came up, and she studied him. Then she ran. Henri hadn’t bothered with clothes, and any questions about her shift flew from his mind. There were more important things to focus on. Like claiming his mate. Henri’s shift was swifter, a more pleasant pain like taking off too-tight shoes. A relief. He howled into the air and chased her.
Her scent peppered the air. It was uniquely hers, sweet, with a new streak of wildness about it. She was making her way down river and wasn’t being too quiet about it. Tessa wanted him to chase her, and he obliged. With his body close to the ground, he weaved through the trees and jumped over the fallen branches.
There she was. Her color made it near impossible for her to disappear, but she was like a dancing light. Mesmerizing. Beautiful. Free. Henri circled around her, making sure that the wind didn’t carry his scent, and stopped near the trees, his black fur making him invisible.
She yipped as she looked down at her reflection, as if she couldn’t really believe what she could see. His mate was stronger than she gave herself credit for. When her back was to him, he crept out of the shadows and leapt. Tessa rolled out of the way, and while he couldn’t see the smile on her face, it was there in everything that she did. She was feeling playful. With one massive paw, he swatted at her. He put no real strength behind it, and as she danced away again, he caught her hind leg. Tessa snapped at him, but there was no intent to hurt him.
“You are mine.”
“Am I?”
“Always.” He filled that word with all the love he felt for her. A feeling he couldn’t put into words if he’d been human.
Tessa lay down on the ground and rolled onto her back, showing a pale pink belly. Her message was clear. I trust you.
Henri shifted back into his human form and ran his hand over her body, and her fur was soft against his skin. A caress. He kept his hand there and poured power into her. The fur melted away, bones retracted and somehow became larger. Then Tessa lay naked on the ground. Shifting into her animal had left a mark on her. Her hair had been dark before, but now it was white. A lazy smile crossed her lips as she stretched out. All those curves demanded to be worshipped and adored. Henri crept up the length of her body, kissing her breasts, flicking and teasing her nipples. The moan that came from her lips was the sexiest sound he’d ever heard. His cock grew rock hard, and his mate spread her legs. As they kissed he reached between them. He groaned as he found his target.
“You’re already so wet for me.”
“Well, your kiss has been known to have that effect on me.”
He circled her clit, and the words died on her lips. He kissed her again, and she put her arms around his neck. The leaves underneath them were damp from the rain, and with the utmost care, he pushed inside of her. Henri’s animal roared in an approval. The claiming needed to be primal. He bit into her neck as he moved inside of her, and Tessa screamed but it wasn’t in pain but release. Blood touched his tongue. He’d made sure not to bite down too hard, only to mark her. Tessa would heal quicker, but the wound would throb until it did.
He rolled onto his back, and Tessa lay against his chest. Letting her rest was the furthest thing from his mind. He needed his own release, and she was so warm, wet, and willing. He touched her hips and with a slow and maddening pace, made love to her. The small cries that escaped her red lips spurned him on. Tessa sat up, and he drank in the sight of her. The way her breasts moved as she rode him. The tangle of her white hair that fell over her shoulders.
“Goddess, you’re beautiful.” His release started in the pit of his stomach, and it swelled and twisted in his gut. One. Two. It hit him like a baseball bat to the back of his skull. He groaned out her name, and Tessa collapsed against him. He moved her hair from off her back and ran his hand against the curve of her back.
After a moment, she moved her head and peered at her hair. “When did my hair turn white?”
“When you shifted back into your human form.”
“Is that normal?” He watched as she pulled at a strand and stared at it in bewilderment.
Henri touched either side of face and guided her face towards him, kissing her forehead. Some of the tension left her body and she went back to resting her head on his chest. “I’ve heard of it happening, usually when shifters stay in their animal form too long. Most of the time it’s their eyes, but it isn’t unheard of that people carry over their beasts’ coloring. You look beautiful, Tessa. It suits you.”
“I’ve tried to stay in the shadows for such a long time. To hide away so nobody can hurt me.”
“That isn’t you anymore, sweetheart. Every shifter has an inner strength, and she wouldn’t have bonded with you if she didn’t know it was there. My wolf senses it as well. He wouldn’t have recognized the mating bond and it wouldn’t have mattered what I felt.”
“And how do you feel?” She raised her chin on his chest. The white strands of her hair fell on either side, pooling on the ground on either side of him. He’d never met anyone like her. The strength that she didn’t think she possessed but he knew was there the moment she’d tried to run for help when Paul Bolton had tried to kill her. The compassion she showed. She was his perfect match for both sides of him.
“I love you, Tessa. I couldn’t be prouder that I’ll have you by my side. Mates bring both sides of the emotional spectrum to a pairing. We make a whole.” He kissed her, wanting to drown out her doubts. “This is your home. I’m your home.” He whispered against her lip.
“I love you, too, Henri.”
The End