But mostly she didn’t have to concern herself with the heartbreaking reality of staying forever young while Conall aged and died. They would age together. They would have a family. Hopefully.
She laughed to herself. She was perhaps the only person on the planet who wanted to grow old.
Thea watched with fascination as Conall’s body morphed into his wolf. He didn’t seem to feel the pain she remembered feeling, and a little uneasiness shifted in her gut. Would it always be painful for her because she wasn’t born to it?
And then she became aware of a new feeling, one that emanated from Conall. His energy, one that tasted of his spice, earthiness, and her mingled scent, one that felt like a solid wall of power moving toward her, made contact. It surrounded Thea, pressing in around her. It was his alpha energy, much more magnified now that she was wolf.
It eased a little as Wolf Conall padded across the room toward her and licked at her face. Thea laughed and it came out as a hoarse bark. Conall gestured with a jerk of his head for her to come off the bed.
Shakily, Thea flexed her muscles and stood on her four trembling limbs.
It was the weirdest feeling in the world.
“Dinnae think.”
They both turned to see Callie standing in the doorway, her gaze on Thea. “Dinnae think about it, Thea. Just trust your instincts.”
Taking that advice, Thea relaxed and let the wolf take over. With a graceful, swift movement, she jumped off the bed on all fours, laughing at the feeling.
The wheezing, joyful sound made Callie chuckle as she pushed the bedroom door wide open. “Happy running.”
Conall padded over to Thea. He was much bigger than she was, powerfully built. He nuzzled his face against hers and her heart squeezed inside her wolf’s chest. With a low, excited growl, he gave her one last nudge and ran ahead.
Instinct completely took over and Thea ran after him, leaping down his staircase with ease and out the front door James was holding open.
Conall waited in the driveway for her and then took off again.
She ran.
And she was lightning fast.
Thea kept up with Conall and he made a sound of approval in his throat as they tore across the road and up into the tree-covered hills. Then Thea pushed her new limbs to their limits, charging ahead of her mate, delighting in the sounds and smells of the surrounding land. Everything was just … more.
Thea didn’t know how long they ran.
Sometimes Conall would catch up, sometimes he’d fall behind. There weren’t trees everywhere, and Thea felt a little warier out in the open of the Torridon hills, but the view beyond them overpowered that wariness.
She drew to a halt. From here she could see where Loch Torridon fed into the Atlantic Ocean. It was breathtaking.
Soon Conall herded her back toward the trees. Running like this, it differed from when she’d been fae.
She wasn’t as fast.
But this was better.
It felt like soaring.
When they reached the trees, the breath was knocked out of her suddenly. She rolled among the brush and bracken of the woodlands to find her mate had just wrestled her to the ground. A primitive feeling replaced shock.
He wanted to play.
Delighted, Thea lunged at him.
They wrestled in the woods, rolling, pinning, nipping playfully at each other.
Much to her bemusement, she discovered that although she was faster, Conall was now stronger. He seemed to take far too much pleasure in that discovery. She snarled at him as he pinned her beneath his oversized paws, and the bastard gave her a wolfy grin, his tongue hanging out comically.
It was hard to stay mad at him.
When he let her up, Thea sniffed around the woods, taking her time learning her new senses. She could smell the different plants and trees that grew there, smelled the different soils, the insects, the animals hiding from them. She could smell her mate stronger than any other scent.
And she could hear his heart as well as her own.
Moreover, she could hear the little beating hearts of the animals who waited for the large predators to leave. In the distance, Thea heard music playing from a house.
It was a marvel.
Eventually, however, weariness set in. Sensing it, Conall nudged her and began to lead her back toward his home.
Once they’d returned, Thea stepped over the threshold and halted at the sight of the people gathered in his sitting room. She recognized faces from the pack meeting. Uncertainty filled her as they peered at her in shock and curiosity.
Conall brushed against her, drawing her attention to him, and she watched as he lunged upstairs. Glad to be away from the scrutiny of the others, Thea followed him into his bedroom.
Watching from the doorway, she felt the air crackle as he shifted. In less than a minute, he was human again. And naked. He watched her, affection warm in his eyes as he pulled on his clothes and then came to kneel, their faces level. Conall caressed her fur. It was a lovely feeling, a tingle that sparked all the way down her spine. No wonder Wolf Conall had liked it when she’d petted him.