Asra's wolfy eyes stared at me with confusion, and I held my breath as I awaited his answer.

Instead of his creepy-ass voice in my head, he lowered his snout and whined softly. My fingers dug into his fur, not understanding his answer. Perhaps I just imagined his voice in my head? That would make sense, right?

"Just tell me, dammit, as creepy as it is. I am not having a one-way conversation." I huffed, agitated.

His eyes darted between mine. 'About ten minutes.'

My eyes widened, definitely not imagination. "Ten minutes! Did I drown? Ten minutes!"

'Ten minutes.' His wolf licked his snout. 'I carried you out of the water, but then I was forced to shift.'

"Why?" I frowned, cocking my head.

'You marked me. It's a full moon.' He cocked his head in return, ears flapping at the side of his head. 'My body betrayed me and I shifted.'

"Why would that happen? Can you not just change back?"

He snorted, hot breath fanning my face. It was funny how mere months ago I was terrified of these creatures, and now I lay naked against one.

I heard him chuckle in my mind, reading my thoughts.

'Wolves get a little excited after they complete a mate bond, that is all I will say.'

His wolf barked a laugh, a strange sound for an animal if you ask me. It was like he was trying to heave something up, like a hairball. Was he perhaps not a bunny-wolf, but a cat-wolf?

Silence wrapped around us, and it drew my attention back to the lake. My towel was still floating like a turd, having somehow been swept back into the water. I must've not chucked it far away enough when I aimed for Asra's smug face.

"I never got to swim." I pouted.

'You were teasing me.'

"You threw me in the water." I crossed my arms. "Plus, that lake is... Magical."

'It's enchanted. Of course, it is magical.'

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Less sarcasm would be great wolf-boy."

He growled softly, moving close to nibble his front teeth on my arm. I laughed, jerking it away from his teasing.

"I mean, when we are in that water together, I feel such an intense pull. I cannot describe it." I explained. "Everything feels warm and then when we..."

'Made love?'

My nose crinkled, another laugh tumbling from my lips. "Right. Is that what happened? Seemed like fucking to me."

He huffed, moving to bite me again, but I landed a tap on his jaw and pushed him away. He grumbled, my back vibrating with the sound.

"When we fucked..." I shot him a look, amused. "I felt like my whole body was... floating. Like I was on fire."

He cocked his head. 'You did?'

"It didn't for you?" I frowned.

'I didn't feel like I was about to combust into flames, but it feels ethereal. Out-worldly.'

"I felt it the first time, too." I mumbled, ignoring his amusement. "When the entire pack was in the lake and they forced me to get naked to feel the magic."

'So did I.' He admitted. 'I didn't think you did since you are human.'

My eyes widened. "I barely knew you back then, but I couldn't understand the strange... pull that wanted me to get closer to you."

'Do you remember what the lake is all about?'

Frowning, I shrugged. "Mya told me it was to help heal and I believe she said it purifies your soul."

'It heals in a way.' He lowered his head onto my lap. 'But it also helps to connect you to fate. The naked-lake thing was a ritual. The goddess blessed the water herself, and on a full moon, submitting yourself to the embrace of the lake changes you.'

"Changes you? How?" I wondered.

'It heals your soul, banishes your worries, brings you closer to one another...' His nose poked my torso, sniffing. 'You smell a lot like me now.'

"You mean a wet dog?" I laughed.

His head raised and if wolves could glare, he sure was trying. I grinned, lifting my hand to scratch at his snout. His fur was still soft and dry, and in the moonlight, you could barely see the difference in colour. It seemed to thin, the darkness almost glinting with a deep brown colour.

"Now I've bitten you-

'Marked me as yours.'

I gave him a pointed look. "Now that has happened, will I always smell like you?"

'Yes, and I, of you.'

"What do I smell like?" I wondered. "Do I have a smell other than soap?"

'You smell of flowers.'

"Flowers." I deadpanned. "Flowers."

He huffed, nudging me with his paw again. 'Yes, Tulip, flowers.'

"Brilliant, so I am a middle-aged single woman."

I heard his human laughter through the mind link, happy to see I had tickled his funny bone.

"Can you shift back yet?"

'I will try.' He bowed his head.

The enormous wolf moved, and I had to catch myself as he rose to stand. His furry torso brushed my head as he stepped over me, and I avoided his dick just in time before he swatted my face with his tail.

How wonderful! Dog balls.

My nose wrinkled, but he didn't seem to listen to my mind as he didn't react. Before me, his back arched and, much to my displeasure, he shifted. I winced as his bones began to snap and shrink, and fur became skin, until he was crouched on two legs. His dark hair was damp, but those deep blue eyes were still the same.

"Much better." I grinned.

Asra rolled his eyes, coming to stand before me. He was naked, and the moment he was before me, my eyes dropped from his face to stare at his dick. I mean, how could I not when it was literally right there? It hadn't even shrivelled up like a prune, still semi-hard.

Intriguing.

"Let's go for that swim." He held out his hand, distracting me.

My attention crested, and I took his palm, allowing him to pull me to stand. My feet felt awfully baby-deer like and I staggered. His hand gripped me tightly, leading me to the lake's edge. I pulled him back before he entered, shaking my head.

"I want to jump in."

"Jump? The ground is the same level as the water. I don't think you can do a cannon ball from here." He sarcastically drawled.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled him to the waterfall. He followed me silently, and I was aware of the eyes on my bare ass because my skin crawled with awareness. It was peculiar. I seemed more attune to surrounding things. The moss and rocks beneath my feet felt... more textured than before, and I could smell the freshness of the water and greenery around me.

Coming to a stop at the top of the waterfall, I peered down at the drop with excitement. Asra's hand tugged me back, and I turned to him expectantly.

"You sure about this?"

"Please, I jump every time." I scoffed. "This time, I just happen to be naked."

"Ah yes, my nudist mate."

I grinned, rounding him and letting go of his hand to walk backward. He was cool and collected until I reached the edge, and then I noticed the way his body tensed. Teetering on the edge of the waterfall, I winked at him before raising my arms and falling backward. My body soared, falling through the air within seconds before I crashed into the lake's surface.

Its warmth embraced me, and I swam all the way to the bottom. My hands trailed through the sand like they did every time, and I rolled over onto my back to stare up at where I had fallen from. Just in time, I saw the enormous mass of Asra fall before he crashed through the water. Millions of bubbles surrounded him and I swam up to him, finding his blue eyes already locked on me.

I smirked, latching my hands onto his thighs as I pulled myself up into his body. God, these thighs...

He was surfacing, so I held on tight to his shoulders until we broke through the top. Gasping for breath, he surprised me when his hand pushed my hair out of my face for me.

"You have some good lungs." He commented.

"Thanks." I laughed. "It's called challenging my dad to underwater competitions."

He chuckled softly, wrapping his hands around my waist. "Do you feel the lake now?"

I cocked my head, staring into his eyes. They were bright with curiosity, the reflection of the moon behind me glimmering in the deep blue. I shifted my attention to the lake, my eyes closing with a smile as I felt its embrace.

"It feels warm and like it would hold me up for hours without effort."

"So, you do." He hummed, fingers trailing up my spine. "Do you feel complete, Tulip?"

I paused, unexpecting that question. It felt rather personal, and I was unsure what I was supposed to say.

"I guess so. I don't feel so... empty. Maybe it truly has purified my soul." I smiled.

Asra chuckled at my words, shaking his head. "I don't think it has gone that far. However, I believe what we have done has changed us."

"What we have done?" I repeated, cocking my head.

"Mating and marking in the water." He stated. "The goddess-blessed water, of all things. I have never felt so in tune to you as I do right now."

It's true. I could feel his every breath in tandem with mine. I could feel his heart beneath my palms, recognise the adoration within its depths. His skin was hot under my touch, but those strange electrifying jolts seemed to have lessened to a comfortable hum. They disappeared when I wasn't concentrating, and weirdly I missed it.

"I have always felt drawn to you." Admitting this to him, my eyes dropped. "I always felt like... I needed you. But I didn't want that back then. It confused me."

"I feel it too." He mumbled, kissing me softly. "You are my every breath now, Tulip. We are tied together."

"Hopefully not literally." I joked. "I will need some privacy to poop."

He shook his head, narrowing his eyes playfully at my joke. "You are my mate now. Mine."

"Yes, I know." I rolled my eyes. "I bit you, you know."

He grinned, moving to nip at my nose. "You accept me."

"Okay, Jack Frost." I swatted his shoulder. "We are whole now, I get it."

He laughed, but didn't comment further. We just floated for a while, and I couldn't help but just admire him. His blue eyes, firm jaw, messily damp hair and broad shoulders. My eyes followed the trail of his tattoos along his neck and finally settled on where I had bitten him.

The mark was still red, but did not look like it was fresh.

"I can't believe I actually bit you and didn't gag once." I muttered. "Something in my head was telling me to do it. I couldn't help myself."

"Something in your head?" He wondered, and my eyes flickered to his to find him confused.

"Yeah, like a voice, or... a need." I nodded. "Telling me to bite you. Shouting at me, really."

"A voice? What did it sound like?"

"Myself." I shrugged. "Going on instinct, I would say it was my inner demon."

His eyebrow quirked. "That is interesting. Rather like how you heard me when I was in fur."

"I am full of interesting things." I quipped before pushing away from his body.

"I know you are," He smirked, watching me move. "Things I would like to understand."

"Oh yeah? I'm feeling generous. Ask me a question." I grinned, floating on my back to stare at the moon.

"One question?"

"I may give you two." I smirked slyly.

"Okay then." He hummed. "Who gave you the scar on your shoulder?"

I froze, totally not expecting yet another personal question. My body tilted in the water, and I avoided his gaze. I could feel my defences raise brick by brick, and Asra knew, because he swam closer and pulled me near him. My side pressed into him, and his hands drifted my hair over the opposing shoulder. I felt the featherlight touch of his fingers grace the large scar across my shoulder and goosebumps rose on my skin.

"It is a knife wound, isn't it?"

"Yes." I mumbled.

"How? I have wanted to know for some time. All these little scars, you never indulged me." He murmured. "I know little about your past."

I could say the same about you, I thought.

"Because it is a pandora's box I dislike opening." I admitted.

"Opening it can help you heal," He pointed out.

"But it also gives you a reason to go on a hunt for supper." I huffed, glaring down at my hands in the water.

I slowly rose them until they settled on his hard chest, and a shudder ran through me at how built he was.

"That is true." He chuckled.

I hummed, and we fell silent again. I knew I could trust Asra with my life and body. My past was just something I didn't like to visit. Too many cold, dark memories of what Darius had done to me would resurface, and I didn't enjoy remembering them.

But for Asra...

"It was a day like the rest, I guess." I began. "It was January, and I went to get some kindling from the store and pick up a few things for dinner, only to come back to chaos."

I felt Asra tense, and I swallowed thickly. It had been one moment that truly terrified me. I could feel it now, choking me until I couldn't breathe. This was the first time he used something other than his hands, something that would leave a scar. Unhealable, memorable.

"We had been dating for about a year, and I had only ever been victim to his hits before." I explained, and he growled. "Darius was home from the brothel, stinking of alcohol. He had heard on the... grapevine that I had been overly flirty and comfortable with the man in the coal store."

"He was drunk, slurring crap about me and I had snapped. This was before things got so bad I changed myself, so this was the first time that I shouted back at him properly." I winced. "After arguing with only words, I had thrown the bags on the table and turned to leave in a temper, but the kindling split and a piece whacked him in the shin. It was kindling. It was nothing painful, but he acted like I had stabbed him."

I shuddered, remembering that terrifying look in his eyes. He had hovered over me, his face so dark with a promise of pain that I didn't seem to register the threat. It was almost laughable, a sight I didn't believe to be real.

"So... with my back turned, he took the knife from the chopping board and sliced me right in the shoulder." I shuddered when Asra snarled. "It went in pretty deep... Then he forced me to the floor and choked me until I passed out. He must have beat me and touched me as I lay on the floor, because I woke up in agony... I still remember his words to this day. He told me I was worthless, and my place would always be below him, and I believed it. After that, I started to truly fear him."

"What happened next?" Asra barely contained himself.

I spun to face him, running my hands across his shoulders in comfort. "I assume after he had his fun, I bled out in the recovery room all night, because that is where I woke. Darius came to me the next morning, sober, apologising for my lesson in behaviour. He stitched me up but did a poor job of it because it ended up infected. He took me to the doctor where I had to tell them I fell in the shower and the glass pane shattered and stabbed me."

"That man does not deserve to live," Asra growled, his pupils dilating.

I shushed him, kissing him softly. His admission and protectiveness warmed my heart, and I pushed all the dark thoughts aside to comfort him.

"I'm still here, aren't I?" I mumbled.

He blinked, the blue swirling with mixed emotions. "None of that should've happened. If I had only hunted near your town sooner..."

"If nothing." I shook my head. "I cannot change the past, and neither can you."

"I can damn well try." He grumbled, sighing loudly. "Tulip, I have never felt so out of sorts, yet so grounded when I am with you."

I laughed, wrapping my legs around him as he swam. "At least you recognise how important I am."

"Of course you are. You are my mate."

"And you are mine."

"Say that again, and I will take you on the shore again." He warned.

I grinned. "You... are mine."