She couldn’t completely resist him, so she leaned in and stole a kiss. As soon as their lips touched, Nick understood, at last, everything he’d ever heard about Heartborn. Even the simple touch was intoxicating for both of them. Her power, heightened by the Fulness that was pulling at them from every direction, rippled through him and made him aware of how much she wanted him in ways that weren’t possible with any other kind of wolf.
He returned the kiss, and his fingers dug into her skin as the sensation rocked through him. It didn’t last long, though, before he had to actually push himself away from her to shift, falling backward away from her on all fours as he allowed the Fulness to draw out the wolf within him. He wasn’t an especially large wolf, but he was much more obviously strong as a wolf than he was as a human, with short fur the same dirty brown color as his hair. There were spots of blonde above his shoulders and in a line down his back that generally faded into his hair when he was human, but were much more pronounced otherwise. He looked back up at her as if waiting for her to follow him, but she could feel him taking in another long look at her form in the newly-risen moonlight.
It was only moments after him that the Fulness took her as well, and gracefully she shifted into a smaller dark brown wolf. Her fur was just as unblemished as her body, a solid brown color that actually shimmered a little in the moonlight from the gloss that was similar to the gloss in her hair.
As a wolf she went over to him and licked the side of his muzzle and then she buried her face into the side of his neck for a moment, inhaling the scent of him. I’m running out of patience already.
So was he, but he couldn’t afford to admit that at the moment. It would be too much of a risk, and he had to stay clear-headed enough to remember that, for the next two days at least. Run with me instead, then. He answered her kiss, then ran off towards the center of the compound. Other wolves were already starting to raise a cry in the chaos the Fulness brought about in their kind, impromptu races and games of all kinds breaking out as the moon took hold of them all.
Zara barked a few times in something that resembled a giggle and she took off running after him, since races and games were one of the most fun things of the Fulness. If she couldn’t convince him with her first choice of activity, she could accept the second best. For a few days, at least.
* * * * *
Outside the compound in their home without windows, Orlando rested his head on one of the pillows of their bed, his fur sighing against the singed black fabric as he sighed out the deep breath he’d taken before he shifted. He should’ve known better than to fear it that time, he was so completely filled with energy, but the anxiety of the Fulness wasn’t something that was likely to go away just in a single month, no matter how good that month had been.
Are you alright? He asked her as she jumped up onto the bed with him, her fur still the only source of light in the dark room.
Candra circled around a few times, then plopped down right next to him and snuggled close. She licked his face a few times and then nodded. I’m always alright this way. I like being a wolf, remember?
I thought you preferred being human? “Especially recently,” he thought to himself, but didn’t say so, even silently.
I like being human too. I just didn’t know that it could be as easy as it is. With you. I’m used to being a wolf out in the open.
He licked her fur and adjusted the pillow beneath them so it was beneath her head as well, staying right up against her without even considering moving away. The Fulness has never been like this for me. I’m usually…or…I was usually never a wolf unless it was on a night of the Fulness. I never had enough power to be one, unless I’d just been a part of a lightning storm. Even then…those were not fond memories for him, and she could hear the pain in his tone.
Candra rested her head on top of his paws. She loved everything about being near him, and the more she got to know him, the more she realized that it wasn’t just about the attraction they were born to have with each other. Orlando was kind and gentle, and he was always as concerned about her as he was fun and funny. He was everything she had ever wanted in a friend and more. It was easy to want to be around him. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.
So you keep reminding me. She could feel the smile in his words as he bit playfully just behind her ear where he knew she was ticklish.
Candra barked as she tried to roll away from his attack, but she only rolled inches away. Hey!
Hey, you knew the risks when you signed on here. I’m a wild animal. And I do bite on occasion. Orlando continued to tease her unrelentingly.
Candra tried biting him back in places that she had discovered were a bit ticklish on him as well, but he was adept at dodging her. She was learning all sorts of things about him, and about herself. Two can play at that
