^ Picture of River

"He tried hard to help me. You know, he put me at ease. And he loved me so naughty, made me weak in the knees. Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on."
~Joni Mitchell, 'River'

~~~

*River's POV*

My body aches after the shift is completed; my bones exhausted from the process of breaking and reforming.

If I had known shifting after five years would be this painful, I never would have gone feral in the first place.

Heh.

...That was a joke.

Seriously, though. I'm not sure what Roman's deal was, but if he's ever unfortunate enough to run into me, I'm going to rip him to shreds. Or maybe let my hot new mate do it. We'll see.

Speaking of my hot new mate...

My eyes lock on Landon, feeling my heart rate accelerating. He's beautiful. His golden blonde hair is unruly, curling every which way. Those blue eyes twinkle with happiness, erupting butterflies in my stomach. Damn, Ryland got lucky!

"Hi, River," Landon grins, kneeling down so that we're the same height. He reaches his hand out cautiously, trying not to frighten me. Wanting to show him that I'm okay, I dip my head under his hand, allowing him to pet my fur. The contact makes our bond hum, and I decide to test our mind link.

'It's nice to meet you,' I try saying to him. His blue eyes light up, and I know I was successful.

"It's nice to finally meet you too," Landon smiles brilliantly. "I've been looking forward to meeting you for months. And as much as I want to keep talking to you, someone else is dying to meet you as well. Is that okay?"

I nod eagerly, knowing exactly who he's talking about. My mate. Oh my goddess, I'm actually going to meet my mate! I have a mate!

Landon's grin widens as he nods his head, standing up to pull his shirt over my head. I don't turn away, allowing my eyes to trail over his toned body as he strips the rest of his clothes. Hey, he's my mate too, isn't he? I'm allowed to look.

The sound of bones snapping makes me wince, and I whimper with every pained shout Landon releases. He should shift more often, so his body grows accustomed to the transition and the pain won't be as bad. Plus, I want to see my mate as often as I can.

Fuck, I haven't even met him yet, and I'm already falling for him.

Silver fur sprouts over his body as his claws elongate, digging into the soil. His blue eyes glow brighter, and my tail wags when I can sense his wolf pushing through.

His body shudders as the shift is completed; where Landon once stood is now a beautiful wolf with stunning silver fur. His glowing blue eyes peer into mine, swirling with so many emotions that it's hard to name them all. But one does stand out to me, and I'm left speechless that he's already looking at me with such a strong emotion.

Love.

'River,' his voice drifts into my mind, much deeper and sexier than Landon's. I resist the urge to purr and roll over.

'Hi,' I respond lamely, immediately mentally kicking myself. Really, River? That's the best you could come up with? Freaking 'hi'?

'I'm Leo,' my mate tells me as he steps closer. 'I was listening to Landon's conversation with you and noticed how he failed to even mention my name.'

'That's okay,' I say, this time with a slight purr. 'I prefer that you tell me yourself, anyway.'

Something flashes in Leo's eyes, making my stomach do a million little flips. We just met, and I'm already reacting so strongly to him. Is this what the mate bond is like? Maybe it's stronger because Landon and Ryland already mated.

'How are you feeling?' Leo murmurs in a low tone that nearly makes me roll over. 'With everything, I mean. It can't be easy, waking up after five years and being thrown all of this new information. Having been feral, having a new mate... are you doing okay?'

Warmth fills my chest, and I step forward to brush our noses together. The contact sends bolts of electricity through me, and Leo blinks in surprise.

'Thank you for worrying about me,' I mentally smile at him. 'It's not easy, that's for sure. I'm still processing it. I don't think the full reality of it has hit me yet, because I'm not freaking out. Or maybe, waking up to a hot mate eased the pain.'

Leo barks a laugh. 'You're very honest. I like that.'

'What about you?' I ask him. 'Was it hard knowing I was feral?'

'The hardest,' Leo sighs, and I bite back a dirty joke. 'I knew I needed to wait for Landon to be ready, but it was fucking painful knowing you were just out of arm's reach. It hurt to know my River was hurting.'

My ears twitch. 'My River...' I echo, feeling a blush rise under my white fur. 'My Leo.'

Leo purrs, nuzzling his nose against mine. 'Always.'

Is this what it's supposed to be like? Is it normal to instantly fall in love with your mate? Well, I don't care if it's not. I'm already falling in love with Leo, and I don't give one single fuck about what anyone thinks about it.

'I want to go for a run with you,' Leo announces, and my breath hitches. For wolves, running together is very intimate. We only run with wolves that we trust entirely, since we tend to let our guards down while running for pleasure. I instinctively want to say yes, but the aching in my bones protest.

I drop my head shamefully. 'I don't think I'm strong enough to yet.'

Leo nudges me with his nose, but I refuse to look up.

'River, look at me,' Leo instructs, huffing when I keep staring at the ground in shame. 'Come on, look at me, baby.'

My head automatically raises; my heart thumping wildly from the pet name.

'I understand,' Leo says tenderly. 'You've been through a lot, and that shift probably took a lot out of you. We can move at whatever pace you're comfortable with.'

I shift my paws, feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed. 'C-Can we cuddle for a bit? I want to feel close to you.'

'Of course, baby,' Leo's soft voice makes me melt, and I lower myself to the ground. Curling up into a ball, I purr when I feel Leo drape himself behind me; wrapping around me like a protective blanket.

We lay like that for what feels like hours, talking about anything and everything. I tell Leo about my life before the rejection, and he opens up to me about his previous mate. I hate myself for the twinge of jealousy I feel, knowing my mate loved someone else. At the same time, my heart aches for him as he talks about Elias, and I'm saddened that he had to experience such a loss.

This isn't going to be easy, adjusting to a life that I've missed out on for the past five years. But I have a feeling that if I have Leo by my side, everything will be okay.

~~~

:')

I loved writing from River's perspective. He's the inner gay voice that lives in all of us

Thoughts??

Next chapter, we're going to be introduced to a new pair of mates! Any predictions on who it will be??

Q: What's your love language?
[mine is quality time]

See you next time!
-Gumbie