~HARPER~
"Where do we even begin?" I pondered aloud, more to myself than Carter. He seemed to be more intrigued by my hair as he ran his fingers through the silky strands.
We were still snuggled under the covers, though Carter had gotten up at some point during my nap to put on some black joggers.
I was nestled against Carter's left side, his right hand behind his head as we stared up at the ceiling, lost in our own thoughts.
I think we both really wanted to embrace this calm moment before tackling the numerous questions I had running in my head.
"Well…how does it feel to be a wolf shifter?" Carter asked.
"I don't feel very different. Stronger? And from time to time I feel weird emotions? Like I can tell they aren't really mine? I know they aren't Reika's," I explained. "It’s nice to know what I am now; I have this sense of belonging. Other than those few additions, though I feel like the same old me."
Reika was curled up with her eyes closed, but the slight movement of her tail told me she was awake and listening in.
"I think that’s because of the bond. I'm not as knowledgeable in that department," Carter confessed.
"Bond?" I asked. "Like…our mate bond? Which by the way, why don't we have a mark if we're mates?"
I moved to lie on top of him, placing my elbows onto his chest and resting my head in my hands. He gave me a questioning look, his expression revealing a hint of his disappointment at my changed position.
I rolled my eyes.
"You can still play with my hair in this position," I added. He smirked and reached out to play with the ends of my hair that rested on his chest.
He has a cute side to him.
"Guess it makes it easier for him to think when he's semi-distracted."
Hmm. That could be true.
"You do have one," he replied to my mark question, not looking directly at me.
"No, I don't," I countered.
"You do." His response was firm as his eyes met mine, and I frowned.
"I think I'd know if I had a mark of any kind on me," I retorted.
"It's not visible because there's a spell on it." He seemed unbothered by the hint of attitude in my voice.
"Then where is it?"
"How much do you remember?"
"Hmm. Not everything? I recall the times we'd run to the forest and our declaration to bring peace to all races. I know you're a prince, a part of the Royal Pack of Moonshine, while I'm…I guess a Princess? Of Blessed…Lake Pack. Which again, that doesn't make much sense to me. Wouldn't my last name be Blessed Lake?" I elaborated.
He smirked. “Take the ‘b’ from ‘Blessed’ and attach it to ‘Lake’ and you get…?”
“You’re not serious.” I gasped. Blake. It had been there the whole time.
“No one would see the relation. Smart, right?”
“I guess so,” I replied.
Guess there was some major thought process put into this.
"Sit up for a second."
"You just want me to sit on your lap or something," I argued.
"You're not wrong."
"You don't like serious topics, do you?"
"Hate them. They're boring, and then I have to listen to my wolf's banter about everything being irrelevant."
"Is his wolf the one asking for us to sit on his lap?" Reika asked.
"Is your wolf the one nagging at you? Wanting us to sit on your lap?" I elucidated.
Carter nodded and Reika's excitement made me grin.
"I like him."
Girl, sit down. Don't even know the wolf's name.
"Technically, wolf shifter’s wolves don't need names. I'm just special."
I absentmindedly rolled my eyes at Reika's sassy reply, wondering where she got it from. Carter was watching me, a smirk on his lips that caught my attention.
"What?"
"You have cute expressions when you're talking to Reika. Interesting to watch." He commented with a shrug at my long pause. I was surprised he didn't think I was weird or something.
"Oops. I didn't mean to not finish the conversation, and isn't that weird?"
"You talking to your wolf? No. All wolf shifters do it. Just takes time to learn how to do it almost simultaneously so people don't notice."
"You mean I can talk to Reika while talking to you?"
"Not exactly, but you'll be able to kind of separate the conversations and keep up with both of them, replying to your wolf while absorbing the next set of information that's being said to you. It takes a while to learn, but you'll get it," Carter explained.
"Interesting," I replied, and he slid his hands in my hair.
I stared into his eyes as we shared an intimate moment before he mumbled, "Lap."
There was a slight change in his eyes; hints of gold shone through in the turquoise eye while the golden eye was a lot more vibrant.
"His wolf is impatient," Reika noted. "I like."
Shaking my head, I grinned. "That was your wolf, wasn't it?"
"Ya. I had to shove him away," Carter defended, looking a bit annoyed before he relaxed once more. "I still want you in my lap though."
With a giggle, I moved off Carter's chest and he sat up and shuffled back until his back was pressed against the headboard of the wooden bed. He positioned his legs so the soles of his feet were pressed together.
Patting the space between his legs, he gave me a seductive smile that made me lick the bottom of my lip.
"And I'm called the crazy one. Hmph," Reika snarked.
I ignored her and crawled over to Carter's lap. Once I was situated, he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my right shoulder.
I felt a sense of tranquility come over me, and whatever anxiety I’d had previously had melted away. These feelings, though, were not mine.
"Were you anxious?" I inquired.
He didn't respond right away and I didn't need an immediate answer, knowing Carter's behavior was rather normal for him, like when I'd have my moments with him in his wolf form.
"A little. I'm still trying to accept the fact you remember me…like the child me and about us. Even though you’re here with me, I was worried I'd blink and you'd be gone. My wolf feels the same. We're just worried this is all a dream."
I loved his honesty and closed my eyes as I relaxed against him, placing my hands over his as they pressed against my belly button.
"I'm not going anywhere, Carter."
He didn't reply, and I didn't need him to as a flicker of joy flooded my senses. After a minute of peaceful silence, Carter lifted my left hand.
He began to brush the back of my hand, and I was curious as to whether he was doing it for a particular reason or if he was intrigued by something I couldn’t see.
"What are you doing?"
"Revelabis," he whispered, and my body shivered at the tingle of power that wrapped around his words and enveloped me like a separate entity that hugged my flesh.
I closed my eyes and it felt just like when I'd placed my hand on the rocks, my mind drifting to a completely different scene.
"Carter. Why do I have to hide our mark? It's symbolic!" I huffed, puffing out my cheeks as I swung my legs up and down.
We sat in the medical room, waiting for the nice witch to come back.
I was in a teal dress that had gold sparkles and my hair was up in a bun. Carter wore a teal dress shirt and black pants and his gaze caught mine.
"Who taught you the word, ‘symbolic’?" he asked with a wide grin. He appeared impressed by my vocabulary, which only made me smile with confidence.
"Daddy did! He said this mark is symbolic because…it uh…rep…that complicated word…it's important!" I gave up trying to think of the exact wording he used.
"Represents our bond with one another," Carter replied as he slipped his hands into his pockets while facing me.
"Yes. That! Why do we have to hide it? Makes no sense."
"Remember, your mom said we have to go away for a bit? You're going to your relatives, and I'm going to stay with my friends," Carter explained.
"But I don't want to be away from you. This is silly and has nothing to do with our mark."
Carter looked deep in thought, blinking his eyes a few times. "My wolf said it’s to protect us. It's a royal mark. If strangers see it, we could get in trouble."
"But..." His wolf had a point, but hiding the pretty mark made me sad. Carter moved to the table and turned around so his back faced the medical bed. He lifted himself to sit next to me on my left side and reached out to play with my hair like he always did when he had to talk about something important.
"Princess Blessed Lake. What's more important? A mark or your life?"
"My life," I mumbled, shyly turning my head to look at him. "But…this mark is important. It reminds me of you."
"I know, Harper, but you're more important. My dad already left to help your dad with whatever is going on. Your mom is only waiting because she wants to make sure we're both settled in our new places. It's only temporary. We won't be away for long. It's not like removing the mark is going to make you forget me. It's just a symbol that proves our royal status together. Our love for each other lies right here." He pointed to my heart on my chest.
"In my heart..." I whispered, and Carter nodded.
"You have your locket too. If you get worried or lonely, just use the magic word and you'll see our picture together. Since you always keep it with you, it's like I'm always with you as well."
"I guess that's true. Okay. I'm not sad anymore!" I cheered.
Carter grinned happily and reached out to give me a side hug. "I can't be around and not comfort my princess. That would be bad of me as your prince."
I laughed and hugged him back.
"My one and only prince is the best!"
My eyes slowly opened and I needed a few seconds to compose myself.
Taking a conscious deep breath, I lowered my gaze to the back of my left hand and my jaw dropped at the now-visible mark.
The tattoo was absolutely stunning. The stark black ink took up the majority of the back of my hand. At first glance, you could make out the shape of a crown; three pointed edges with a single howling wolf sitting in the middle. The wolf was a silhouette, with a tiny crown on its head.
What made the mark badass was the fact that the crown shape was actually made up of three mountains. Each mountain was distinct. It was as if three uniquely different places had morphed together to become a unified whole.
Three circles created the base of the mountain-shaped crown, one circle carefully placed at the bottom of each mountain. In the far right circle, there was a half-moon that shone rays of light all around. In the far left circle was a chest plate that had a shield symbol on it.
Finally, in the middle circle was the stylized curve of a river, with tiny stars raining down from the sky.
I had no idea what these images represented, and no other memories resurfaced as I continued to idolize the marking with my astonished gaze.
Carter inhaled deeply, and I could feel him move his chin from my shoulder. I looked over my left shoulder and leaned slightly to my right to get a better glimpse of his face, noticing the exhaustion in his eyes that looked like they fought to stay open.
"Carter? You okay?" I asked with concern.
I lowered our hands and moved in his lap so I was sitting sideways, my left side facing his chest. I reached out with my right hand to brush against his left cheek and he gave me a weak smile.
"Ya. I'm not supposed to use magic, but I reacted out of impulse. I'm fine. I just need a minute or two," he assured me.
"You always do things for others before thinking about yourself," I scolded, and he chuckled lightly.
"As if you don't do the same. It's in the Alpha genes." He grumbled his response as he slid his arms around my waist. "At least I get a hug."
"So clingy," I mumbled, my cheeks growing hot, but I turned my body a bit and wrapped my arms around his neck to give him a hug.
My body tingled at our touch, making me wonder if revealing the mark on my left hand awakened anything more between us. I tried to tame myself, noticing how my breasts pressed against the warm fabric of the grey gown I wore.
"Do you have the same mark?" I whispered.
"On my right hand. I'd show you, but more magic is needed to reveal it. Maybe later," he replied quietly.
A glint of joy ran through me, and I couldn't help but feel relieved that we were truly bonded. I tried to sort through the flood of thoughts in my mind, thinking about the memories I'd just relived.
We had to hide our bond mark because we were going away. Something must have been going on and our parents wanted to keep us safe? I mentioned having a dad, which means both my parents could be alive? Does that mean Carter's parents are alive too? Actually, do all the other wolves have parents? And I have to ask about Ian's parents. Are they really dead? Too many questions.
Carter lifted one of his arms up to gently rub my back, and I opened my eyes slightly while he whispered.
"Don't worry. I know everything that happened before—and even now—is making you feel overwhelmed, but I'll help answer all of your questions. Some of them I may not know the answer to, but I'll work with you to find the answers. I know the others will help as well."
"Did you feel my worry?" I asked.
"Yes. It was basically a sudden spike of anxiousness. It's different from how it feels with the pack," he explained.
I pulled back to see if he looked a bit better compared to minutes earlier. He did, but I figured he'd need a nap sooner rather than later.
I rested my head back against him, enjoying the hug as much as I sensed he was. It was intriguing how I craved his touch, another thing that piqued my curiosity.
"What three things do you want to tackle first?" Carter asked.
"What happened when I was dying? Like…when I heard the Moon's voice and blacked out. I also want to know how much time has passed since and where we are exactly. Finally, are the others safe and if so, where are they and what happened to our place and Dolly?"
"That was at least six questions," Carter noted in amusement.
"I tried," I replied earnestly, which only made him chuckle and hug me tightly.
"I know," he whispered, and I was surprised by the sudden kiss he laid on the flesh of my bare shoulder. I'd distracted myself before, but the kiss only reminded me of our body-to-body position and how I really wanted to do other things rather than talk.
Damn body.
"Ask him if he feels when you're turned on?"
I'm not asking that!
"Hmm. That's not fair. My input matters," Reika argued. I mentally groaned.
"Reika has a question before you answer mine."
"Hmm?" Carter removed his lips from my flesh, and I leaned back to stare into his eyes that were a little darker than before.
"Do you…um, feel everything? I mean, with this bond between us? I know you're going to explain about what happened, which probably includes that, but she wants to know the extent of how much you can feel…if that made any sense."
A sly grin formed on his lips and he answered.
"Are you wondering if I can feel your growing lust for me?"
"Nailed it!"
NO!
"N-no! I don't feel anything at all. I'm just asking a general question. Don't flatter yourself," I grumbled. Embarrassing.
"Teasing you is fun," he replied. "To answer Reika's question, no. I don’t feel everything. It’s all based on the intensity of the emotion. Say, if it takes over a good part of your emotional state either very quickly like a sudden spike, I’d feel that versus a gradual increase that has no settling time."
"So either when you’re scared or suddenly happy, or having sex. Got it."
You're unbelievable. I can't believe that was important enough to talk about now.
"It's vital information for me to know so I can use it against you at some point later," she replied.
I sighed. I can't with you. Can we please focus?
"I wasn't stopping you from focusing. Carter's waiting for you to pay attention."
Oh?!
I looked up to see Carter's calm expression, waiting for me to tune in. "Sorry," I apologized, and he brushed it off with a shake of his head.
"Don't worry about it. Ready for some answers?" he inquired in preparation for what felt like a long explanation. With a confident nod, I took a deep breath and replied.
"Let's get these questions answered."