But Violet could feel it as well. Could feel his wolf ready to break free. Could feel his other half, the other part of him, ready to be unveiled.
“Violet, I gotta tell you somethin’,” he whispered, flipping her hand over so her palm was up. “Somethin’ about you. Somethin’ about me.”
Violet swallowed hard as she watched his fingers trailing over her palms. Her fingers twitched with each touch, and she sucked in a breath, feeling the tingly nervous energy bubble in her stomach once more. It was like this, more and more with him. She couldn’t explain it, but she already knew what he was going to say.
“It won’t matter for a few years,” she told him, cutting him off. No one ever figured out their soulmate until they were older. Nineteen or twenty seemed to be the norm. He didn’t need to tell her now. Besides,what if they were wrong?
“I gotta say it anyway,” he whispered, and caught her chin with his finger to lift it up so she would look at him. “I gotta say it. I need you to know.”
Her lips pressed together as she looked up at him, and she nodded slightly. Right. He needed to say it anyway. He never was one to waste words. If he had something to say, it would be important.
“You belong to me, Violet. Me and you. I can already sense it. Feel your heart beatin’ with mine. And when I come back after tonight, I don’t need a few years to know. I’m gonna already know. I know it now.”
She sucked in a deep breath and nodded her head. They were too young, her only fourteen, him only recently turned fifteen, but his certainty cemented her own.
“So what do we do?” she asked, uncertain of what the future would hold. You couldn’t deny your soulmate. It had happened, a few times, where particularly violent couples had denied each other. They always ended up in some sort of fight, and the magic of the town fought back. Strange things would inevitably happen. What would happen to them, if they denied it? “We’re too young.”
“I told your Ma,” he confessed, looking bashful. “She said... she said if I’m right... We can do somethin’ about it, until you’re ready. Until we’re ready.”
“Okay.” If Henrik thought it was best, so would she. She wanted to be with Henrik, wanted to explore her feelings for him, but every wolf mating she knew of ended up with them pregnant and building a house and they were still way too young. Henrik would need a few years to learn his wolf. She would need time to complete her training. “I... I’ll talk to her about it.”
“Should talk to her tonight,” he told her, his voice cracking. “Because, when I come back, I’m gonna want—“
Leaning forward, Violet pressed a quick kiss to Henrik’s cheek. She had done it before, but knowing what he was about to do, knowing that he felt the same way she did, that he knew their connection was so much more than they already knew, it felt bigger. It felt important. It felt like...more.
“One more time, for good luck.”
His words surprised her, as he was never one to ask for more from her than she willingly offered, but as he turned his head, offering his other cheek, she knew what she had to do. He was asking for another cheek kiss, but that wasn’t what she wanted. They were teenagers now, close to being adults, and after tonight, he would be a full shifter. She was already deep into her training.
They weren’t children anymore.
Leaning forward, Violet pressed her lips to his. It was quick, nothing to it at all, and she jerked away from him as soon as it was over, nervous. He hadn’t kissed her back, but she had also jerked away so quickly, so it wasn’t like he had a chance to respond.
“I just- one time, for luck.”
Henrik was staring at her, a dumbfounded look on his face. His eyes were wide, and she watched as his nostrils flared and his eyes dilated. She knew he was processing what had just happened. Had she overstepped? Did he not want it? Was it too much?
“Do it again?” His voice was so hopeful, like he was uncertain to even ask.
She would be brave. She could be brave. One more time, for good luck.
And because she wanted to.
Violet leaned forward and kissed him, not pulling away this time. She wanted to touch him, to touch his cheek, but she was scared to move her hands from her lap, where her fingers were tangling together.
Henrik was hers. He was going to be hers. And after tonight, every lesson her mother taught her would be one step closer to being with him. It would be years, but the wait would be worth it. Together, they would survive the wait, and once they were both adults?
She would be proud to be his. Proud to be his mate.
It was as natural as breathing, kissing him, and then pulling away from him slowly. She opened her eyes to see him still frozen, leaning forward with his eyes closed, and she giggled, amused with him. Her Henrik. The other boys might make fun of him for his big ears and his big mouth, and the way he stumbled over himself, but she liked him. She really liked him.
But now she was scared for him.
“Be safe tonight,” she whispered, knowing what was to come. It wasn’t like he would actually get hurt, but the idea of him being out there, shifting into a new form, running in the woods, it worried her. She didn’t want to lose him. Couldn’t lose him. Not before she had him.
He blinked as he opened his eyes, and she stared back at him, waiting for his next words. Instead, she was gifted with his dopey grin as he lifted his hand and moved to touch her braid.
“You are the best thing in my life, Little Witch. Of course I’m gonna be safe. Gotta come back to my favorite girl.”