Jared looked at me in all seriousness.

"But what about your family?"

I shrugged.

"What about them? You are my family now. You and Lucian. And knowing that he's like you, he will never fit into a civilized society without being forced to be something that he's not. You've tried that for a while now. You know how that feels, and I don't want that for any of you. But that also means that he's gonna live out here with you, while I... "

I grabbed both of Jared's hands and looked at him intensely.

"I don't wanna live without being close to you. And I mean all the time, which includes when the moon is full."

But then I giggled, and made Jared slightly confused.

"Besides, my dad is dying to make my room into a man cave, with a pool table in the middle and a little bar next to the window where my bed is."

"Really?" Jared said with a laugh, and I smiled.

"Mhm. Besides, it's about time I move out of my parents' house, isn't it? You've been more than patient enough living there with me for the past few months, and they should have an award for not kicking me out at least a couple of years ago, to live at the college like everybody else."

"So..." Jared started but had to clear his voice to continue. "You're really staying this time?"

I bit my lip and let my eyes do the talking, and the usual flash of yellow sparkled in his eyes. And before I knew it, he embraced me and lifted me up so fast that the water splashed around us like a fountain. I shrieked and laughed. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck before our lips crashed together so hard that both of us moaned and chuckled even more. And with my legs wrapped around Jared's waist, he walked us out of the water and over to the bonfire.

Our bodies were cold and covered in goosebumps, and I shivered a bit when he put me down on a blanket in front of the fire. I felt revived, somehow. New. Energized. And I knew my aura sparkled just as much as the millions of water droplets that covered my skin like diamonds.

I leaned back on my elbows with Jared between my legs and was fascinated by the way our bodies glowed in the light from the fire, and even though he sat on his heels, he was still towering over me like a small mountain. He looked like a god. The King of the wilderness. His muscles bulged under his skin every time he moved, and his hair was dripping wet and left miniature rivers running down his abs to his Adonis belt. It made me shiver, but not because of the cold. The fire that grew between us was one that put the simple bonfire to shame, and the passion in his eyes was so intense that the world around us disappeared.

A pang of anticipation made me blush when he leaned over me and pinned my hands down on each side of my head. He wasn't hard yet, but the way he slowly rolled his pelvis and simulated what he wanted to do with me while he kept our eyes locked, had an instant effect on both of us. I knew he wanted to take it slow, since it was such a special night for us. As did I. However, that seemed to become a bigger challenge than we expected, and the reason was simple and very understandable. We hadn't been intimate since before the birth of our baby, and even though I'd been ready for a few weeks now, we'd decided to wait until our wedding night. What we forgot to add was the two days it took to get here, and now I suddenly felt overwhelmed with need for him.

This would be our belated wedding night. It was the final chapter of our separate life stories, and the beginning of a new one together. And when he leaned forward and placed the softest, most feather light kiss on my lips, I melted right in front of him, showered with the love from his eyes. Big, brown ones that I knew so well, with the typical glimpses of yellow, framed by long, dark lashes and bushy eyebrows. Although he meant to take things slow and linger with the moment, it soon became torture for both of us. Romance lost against primal instincts. Sensuality lost against unhinged desire. His natural dominance made me weak, but not in the way you'd expect with a past like mine.

If Jared was a normal man, I would probably always draw links back to the person I wanted to erase from my memory. But Jared wasn't normal. He wasn't violent or had bad intentions, and despite the times when the beast in him shone though, he triggered way different things inside me than fear. It made me obey his tiniest signals with a passion that should've made me ashamed. But not with him. Because that was his goal and top priority. To drive me totally wicked by lust.

I trembled when he let go of my hands, so he could push me down and hold my hips in a tight grip. He was so powerful, and he made me feel powerful too simply because of the way he adored me. So when he stroked his thick and now fully erect shaft along my entrance and created a pressure that made me wanna scratch my nails down his back, I didn't want to wait anymore. Foreplay and cuddling could wait until later. Right now was all about getting lost in the whirlwind that was about to sweep us away, and I was ready enough and then some.

I locked my legs around his waist and moved my hand down between us, and I could see him close his eyes when I formed my fingers around his member and stroked a few times. A sticky droplet made his tip smooth when I spread it in circles with my thumb, and when I squeezed a bit, he leaked even more. And it was hotter than hell! He even twitched a bit and groaned when I guided him along my slit, impatient and throbbing.

"Now," I whispered and placed him right where I wanted him, but he shook his head with a pained expression.

"This was supposed to be..."

"Now!" I begged and angled my pelvis to make it easier for him. And eventually, he caved in. With his jaw clenched and flaring nose wings, he stared at me while he inched himself into my deepest. Then he cursed when he thrusted a second and a third time, before he fell into a rhythm that made my toes curl and eyeballs roll back.

The muscles in his back were tense like violin strings while he held himself up on his arms and gradually became more forceful. But I loved it, and I chanted his name to make him give me his everything while he rammed into me with murderous hip thrusts. Then he reminded me to stay quiet because of Lucian in the tent, and I giggled from embarrassment. But when he changed the position and lifted my legs to rest on his shoulders, he hit me so good that I moaned anyway.

Stroke after glorious stroke pushed me up toward the great peak, and when I thought this was it, he managed to bring me even further. My skin prickled, my nipples perked up, and my back arched, when it finally came rolling like an avalanche. Brutal and inevitable, but oh, so welcomed. And since he didn't stop until he'd unloaded months of pent-up desire with a rumbling growl, it felt like I didn't get to calm down before the next wave hit. But eventually, our worst hunger was stifled, and he laid down next to me and held my hand while we looked up at a heaven filled with stars.

"That was number one of many," he said quietly and chuckled, and I knew it was a promise he would keep. "Close your eyes."

"But Jared, you don't have to do..." I started when he obviously wasn't going to let me rest quite yet. I mean, it wouldn't have hurt to wait a few minutes.

"Close your eyes," he repeated and efficiently cut me off just by the sound of his voice. And when I obeyed, he hummed an approval. "Good girl. And promise me to keep them closed until I tell you to open them no matter what happens, okay?"

I gulped, then nodded.

"Do you trust me?" he asked as soon as I'd shut the world out, and my eyes flew open again because he sat up and leaned on his arm.

"Nuh-uh. Keep them closed. I promise you are safe."

I nodded again and squeezed them shut while I tried to tell myself to follow his orders.

"Do you trust me, Skylar?" he finally asked, and I nodded and smiled, then bit my lip to hide my excitement. I knew what he was going to do. He was going to fulfill the promise he gave me when he proposed.

"I'll be careful, but it will hurt."

"I don't care. Take me, Jared. Bring our spirits back together again," I said, and I meant every word.

A deep growl made it feel like the air vibrated between us, and I envisioned him baring his teeth and snarling like a snarling wolf. But he didn't bite me like I expected him to. Then again, what did I expect, really? The answer was simply nothing. And since he didn't allow me to open my eyes, I was left in bewilderment for what to expect next.

First, he gave me a kiss so soft and tentative that when he pulled back, I put my arms around his neck to keep him there. Surprisingly, he grabbed my wrists and firmly put them back on the ground so all I could grab was the blanket or moss and grass.

"Lay still."

He let go of my hands and used two fingers to stroke from my neck and down to my breasts, before he cupped each of them in his large palms and kissed them in turn. I knew he could be gentle, but I never realized how feather light his touches were until that was all I was allowed to focus on. So when he caressed my curves down to my waist and forward to my stomach, it left me breathless and full of goosebumps.

We were both satisfied for now, but the way he repeatedly stroked his fingers from my belly button and down between my thighs soon was starting to make me yearn for more. And when I felt the warmth of his hand cover my lady parts, I sighed and smiled. However, after teasing me with just a few light strokes and removing his hands, I groaned a protest that made us both chuckle quietly.

"You're insatiable," he murmured and dug his face into my neck. Maybe now was the time? But it wasn't. He just did like he always did and inhaled my natural aroma and let out another growl.

"And so incredibly beautiful."

He moved closer to me, and even though he didn't embrace me, I felt engulfed in his aura and complied when he wanted me to spread my legs a bit more. That gave him room to give me what I wanted, which was to bring me to another of those scintillating climaxes I was addicted to. And this time he didn't stop. Skillful fingers found my swollen pearl, still sensitive from our lovemaking, and rubbed slowly in circles. If this was a distraction from what was about to happen, he did an excellent job, because I already struggled to lay still.

Circles turned into strokes that went all the way down to my entrance, and I tilted my pelvis up to make him slip inside, which he did. But only a couple of times. Then he went back to the lingering torture that was driving me crazy.

"Jared... Please," I begged, and his reply was a more distinct growl. He moved a bit, and I noticed he was growing hard again when he rubbed himself against my thigh. It was only brief, so I was unsure whether it was accidental or not. But that became irrelevant when he straddled me, prepared to conquer my body once more.

He didn't give me a warning. The moment it took from his fingers left my warm cave to it being invaded by his stiff length was so smooth that it caught me off guard. It was such a slick movement that I gasped, and instinctively threw my arms around his neck. And this time he allowed it. He rocked us both to the rhythm of a song that was made just for us. He claimed me. And his heavy panting told me that we had finally arrived.

Tipping right at the edge of our orgasms, I felt a sharp pain in the crook of my neck when his teeth punctured my skin. I cried out and my eyes opened wide and found him lying on top of me almost the same way as he did on the cliff right before I thought he died. He hadn't transformed completely, but I could clearly see who he was under the full moon. But just as the pressure from his teeth disappeared, he returned to his old self again, and started thrusting into me like there was no tomorrow.

It didn't take more than a few seconds. The climax had already lingered inside us, waiting for its release, and now he gave us his best and succeeded with a crash that I was convinced could be heard from miles away. Obviously, that wasn't true, but it knocked me out to the point that I couldn't breathe, until I suddenly panted like I'd been suffocated for a long time. Almost like I was reborn.

Jared rolled over to his back and pulled me to his chest, and my hand automatically went up to my neck. It hurt but it didn't bleed much, and it was like being wrapped in Jared's arms made the pain gradually fade and go away. Then I froze after inspecting my wound. It literally felt like it was disappearing under my fingertips.

"You heal faster now," Jared said when he saw how startled I was, and his voice was raw and dark. "It'll be gone in a few minutes."

Even though I had my doubts, it turned out that he was right. My skin had fully healed about five minutes later, leaving a vague soreness right at the puncture marks. All that was left was billions of thoughts about other things that would change in my body.

"Just ask," he said, and chuckled warmly.

"So... Uhm. Obviously, we have some kind of telepathy going on since you can read my mind," I started, with a hint of humor in my voice. But Jared hummed a no.

"That has nothing to do with being a werewolf," he stated. "I think that's just something special between us two. I don't know."

"Huh," I said as my mind continued to spin with questions. Then I realized that it was easier to see. I was even able to see things that had been hidden by darkness quite far away. No wonder Jared didn't have any problems finding his way through the woods at night. He was far from blind, like I had been.

"Can I run as fast as you now?"

Jared laughed.

"Try," he said, but then pulled me back when I tried to get up.

"Not now, my Louve. I'm not done with you yet."

His words and his lowered voice made me shiver and blush. I didn't mind that. I could always run later. But right now my curiosity was bigger than anything.

"What about strength?"

"You'll be stronger than before, yes," Jared smirked, and I finished the sentence for him.

"...but not as strong as my big, bad werewolf husband."

I pursed my lips together and gave him an unamused squint, which caused him to laugh out loud. Then my eyes widened into the size of dinner plates.

"Oh, my God! I'm gonna be all hairy!"

I suddenly felt like crying, and Jared pulled me tight again and peppered my whole face with kisses.

"I won't mind," he chuckled, and I felt him smile.

"But I don't wanna be hairy!"

I frantically searched the skin on my arms to see if it had changed and was relieved when I couldn't spot anything different.

"Relax, Louve. You'll need it in the winter."

"Oh, my gosh! The winter. I didn't even think of that. There's gonna be snow and ice everywhere, and it'll be cold... We're gonna freeze to death Jared! I don't wanna freeze to d..."

Jared quickly pulled my head back by my hair and kissed me until we ran out of breath. And panting, he assured me with his gaze.

"We're not going to freeze to death, and I will keep you warm if you get cold. I promise."

I pouted a bit but felt comforted by his words.

"We can buy that apartment you talked about, and be there during the hardest winter months..."

"And go back and forth before and after full moon? No, thank you. That was the whole purpose of this." I turned my head a little and pursed my lips again. "But maybe we could buy a new tent?"

Jared chuckled and rolled on top of me again, but this time he was calm and in the mood for cuddling. I sure didn't mind that.

"Whatever you say, Louve. But I still think we should buy that apartment and act civilized every once in a while. At least to have a place to welcome your friends and parents when they visit."

"Act civilized," I mimicked, and giggled. "You make me sound like a beast."

"That's because you are..." he said, but the yellow glimpse in his eyes and his wide smirk told me it wasn't meant in an offensive way. And with his typical low growl he continued. "...when I make you cum again. And again... And again..."

I squealed when he tickled me, but I knew that both of us needed some time to catch our breath. Oh, this was going to be a long night. A long belated wedding night.

Now I was his Louve in every kind of way. For eternity.

*****

In the shadow of the forest, hidden behind the thick trunk of an old tree, two eyes were watching them from a distance. Although they were curious, their gaze was empty. Dead. Cold, small feet were naked against the floor of moss and pine needles, and her blonde hair and blue, worn-out dress were lightly and barely noticeably swaying in the breeze. Her eyes became glowing red, and she smiled.

Then she disappeared.