He could feel it in his bones.
It was a familiar sensation, but this year something was different.
Slipping through the grasses as easily as a snake might slither, the silver dusted man approached the knoll with not but a few things on his mind. What a turn life had taken, and although things were not as he'd really imagined them to be, he faced each day with new found peace and patience. Her unexpected reappearance was the spark that had lit the fuse, and the chain of events that followed had sewn a seed that he knew would blossom into a bright future - one he'd been searching and waiting for all his life.
A gentle wind rustled the ebony coat of the wolf who, by all means, had nearly everything he had ever wanted. It whispered to him the end of a deathly winter and the dawning of a new season; its tone seeped with hope, and it washed over him as a lullaby washes over a weary child.
There is a certain resolution in his achromatic stare as it meets the falling gleam of a vast sea of stars, each so bright that they collectively outshone the sliver of a crescent moon. From atop the quaint hill he felt as though he could be one of them, hoisted into the night sky by something divine, to be a light for the world instead of a shadow upon it. Quietly he would remain at their mercy, captivated, savoring the nature of the effect their primordial power had over him as midnight took hold of the world.
But as she traveled she began to wonder, was it the air that was changing? For no amount of breaths could sate her; however calm she felt the itch could not be scratched. Surprised as she was to find her mate's scent leading away from the trees as well, the black-furred female took the trail with a prayer in her heart that it might distract her from whatever feeling was clinging to her ever fibre of being. The path gave way to grasses and shrubs she took only moments to recognize. But the man's scent lead away from any crime scene and moved swiftly in a direction she'd never ventured, leading an ascent up a crest in the terrain Ava had failed to notice before.
Within a minute she laid eyes on him, his stoic silhouette illuminated by starlight. As her amber stare followed the outline of his musculature her blood ran redder than ever before, driven by a tenacity with which her heart had never beat before. No hesitation shackled her as she strode forward, warmed by his presence beside her, and trailed the underside of her jaw along his spine as she came to stop before him completely ablaze. The stars were captivating, of course, but with such a handsome visage so near Ava could hardly remove her stare. "What an evening, isn't it, my love?" She breathed, tail wavering behind her.
Had it not been for the fact that he knew she would be waiting for him now, he would have braved the evening alone here in this place. It wasn't just the stars or the sway they held over him. No, there was something else afoot that he couldn't place, as though he should...stay. He knew he should be getting along, at least making his way home's direction, but it wouldn't hurt to stay a little while longer. Would it? Where he was poised to stand and make a move, instead he merely shifted his weight, extending a hind leg and aimlessly wriggling his toes until the blades of grass slid inbetween.
His eyes closed the sound of her pad fall against the rustling of the spring grasses, and he readily soaked up her earthen redolence as she approached. Heat followed her touch up the length of his back like wildfire, and despite how flushed he felt he simply shivered. His demeanor became delightfully childlike, but he attempted to mask it as her voice broke the forever quiet. "What an evening, isn't it, my love?" As breathtaking as the evening was, it was she who truly was stunning.
"It's perfect, now," he replied softly, eyeing Ava as she came to stop before him. It never mattered how dark the world was, her feminine, golden eyes glowed as if there was some light inside of her illuminating them. Reaching for her, he placed a tender kiss upon her cheek in greeting, bumping her chin affectionately as he pulled away.
The sweet essence of the blackberry blooms enveloped the pair as they connected upon the grassy knoll. Behind her figure tiny flashes of light erupted here and there, and the fireflies' presence brought him back to that first night on the lake shore. He stood before her soaking wet, less of a king than his once-title purported, and in light of the wretched turns his life had taken then her warm stare made him feel special. Looking into those same eyes now, he felt special still, though she'd become much more than he'd ever dreamed then.
Smoothly he slipped to his feet without lifting a eye from her, the words slipping from a wry grin with ease. "Does your boyfriend know you're out here all alone?" Immediately he felt rather silly, and it had been an eternity since he'd even attempted to play for anyone, but tonight he couldn't help himself, and Ava was ravishing.
Just the tone of his voice brought forward a cheeky grin from her expression, her narrowed eyes fixating on him indefinitely as he rose from his perch. The sprightly banter that followed the twinkle in his eye prompted a girlish giggle to bubble from her throat, a front for the flush that she felt beneath her black coat. Ava felt her skin coated in smoldering embers, glowing red and fiercely hot, little fires sparking along her spine with every beat of her heart. A devilish desire ignited in her chest, the ferocity of her want aching in her bones as she watched the firefly's glow light up the planes of his face. Inching closer, her amber eyes almost giddy with passion, a message glowing within their depths. Sugar, don't you want a taste?
"Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't," she returned, her voice candy-sweet. "But I can hardly be bothered to think about him with such a handsome stranger so close..." Every breath she took just filled her lungs with his scent, exhilarating and provocative in a way only Kade could be to her. She could not resist but to lean forward, teeth grazing the outer rim of his ear as she whispered, "It's just you and me tonight," an obvious and enthusiastic innuendo wrapped around her murmured words.
The electricity between them was profound. He read the look in her eyes as only he could, and he did want every inch of her now. Leaning into the little space that was between them, he soaked up her words as a red hot sensation radiated from his head to his toes. Resisting her felt like the hardest thing he'd ever done, like a battle waged against the pull of her own desires, and one he wasn't sure he would win. He didn't want to. The thud of his heart drumming in his chest was heavy; each of his senses were heightened, and the pulsing of blood throughout his body left him feeling weak. A soft growl resonated somewhere deep down and his silver eyes locked onto her golden ones. In an instant he could have taken her, unleashed everything he was feeling upon the one who was only his to have...
Instead, he held her gaze with sovereignty until the world faded to next to nothing in the wake of everything Ava was to him. It was only then that he would slowly step away, circling her upon the quiet hilltop beneath the beautiful, deadened branches of the solitary tree without tearing his gaze away for a single second. From her back side, the silver tips of his ebony coat brushed against her shoulder as he drew nearer, his breath hot against her neck as he slid his muzzle to her ear. "I'll make it a night you'll never forget." Though his words were but a tender murmur meant only for a lover's ear, the tone behind them was unmistakably sober.
"We can do this..." she murmured, but whether it was a question, a confirmation or an interjection she still hadn't decided. With her eyes closed she felt his heat, every part of their bodies that touched was burning with an abandon so wild she doubted the fire could be tamed. Yet for a second the ink-colored female held her breath in her throat. Unwilling to turn away, for she would never deny him, Ava merely twisted her neck in the slightest that she might look upon Kade from the corner of her golden eye and smiled.
A moment of admiration later, she made her proposal, one they had both agreed upon that frozen night in the Falls, that she would repeat if only for the sake that they would not become traitors and runaways out of blatant lust. "I your Queen, you my King, and a family of dark princes and princesses?" That was what they wanted, and they could make it work - they would make it work, some how. And as long as she could recall this, sometime after the throes of passion, Ava could (in good conscience, in hindsight) let Kade ravish her the way she'd always wanted, since their days on the beaches.
As intoxicating as the whole of this spectacle was the bold fact that he knew they were playing with fire. The rules were clear and he knew them all too well, and was willing to abide by them. Hadn't he always? Had he not been loyal, nearly to a fault? Loyal to the point that he had forfeit a life of his own? In his heart he knew that what he had with Ava was not some commonplace, everyday fling. This love was timeless, and honest, and stung him to the core. It would be everlasting, and he had known long ago that it would change his life. It already had. There was no looking back now, and he wouldn't.
Ava's last words would unhinge him completely. A vision of his sons quarreling, a daughter dancing along the banks of a dark river...the vision of a bright-eyed Queen at his side, to face each day together. The thought of becoming old and grey and how peace would feel as his last breaths slipped away...All were only dreams, but they did not have to be so anymore. He would give her this and all he had to offer. But not before they had one last dance.
"...In a kingdom that will endure all of time," he whispered, so close that the gentle breeze that rustled their dark coats couldn't slip in between.
And with the gentlest nip of her cheek he simply disappeared into the night, the sway of the grasses in his wake the only sign that he'd been there at all. Wind whipped his face and tears streamed from the corners of his eyes as his strides sucked up the vast expanse of the blackberry meadow. He didn't look back - he didn't have to; she would be there, on his heels, he was counting on it.
The delicate pinch of his teeth against her cheek reignited the insatiable feeling grating against her bones, this time entirely unhindered by even the smallest afterthought. His body pushed forward and Ava followed immediately. The wind against their movement washed her in the scent of Kade's fur, of sweet Cedar sap and flaming desire. One deep inhale flooded her being with his scent, twisting her lips into a coy grin. A delicate push of her paws propelled her to his side, filling the space between him with nothing less than purpose and grace. After all, it was her place, as it had always been and as it would always be.
Against the darkness of the night that shrouded them danced a multitude of little lights, blipping in and out of view at whim. Reaching over she allowed the tip of her teeth to graze the Guardian's ear as she murmured, "Let's follow the fireflies. I trust them..." Somewhere beyond the crest of the hill and bathed in moonlight was a place for two lovers in the dark, and it was theirs tonight.
"Let's follow the fireflies. I trust them..." And he did without much thought, nipping playfully at her chest. Bounding away from Luna Hill and through the darkness was like jetting through the atmosphere, where the tiny, glowing dots that hovered just above the ground were equivalent to the stars themselves. It felt like flying, this high of love and hope. His pace was smooth and care free, his strides something like those of a fawn as he dodged between and leaped over the spread of blackberry plants, pausing here and there to look for Ava before swallowing up even more space. The wind cut through his silver-speckled coat, cold and indifferent, howling in his ears as he ran faster and faster. The field could have gone on forever, the lightning bugs infinite in number, and he would have chased them into eternity if she were on his heels. In the far distance, however, he could make out the silhouette of the treeline, and it reminded him that the space was not truly as vast as it seemed tonight. He could have led her there, into the privacy of the thicket, but he didn't. Out in the open for all the world to see, beneath the glimmering starlight and crescent moon, he waited for her...
Ava knew his body and would know it well, he was formidable and handsome, composed of the kind of power that muscles alone could not create. The straight spine, the stoic stare, all together he was the Guardian. But his dark form, bounding through the berry-sweetened air, moved effortlessly, the silver embroidering of his coat preventing him from slipping into the shadows of the night. And if she could not be moved, Ava would be content to watch him dance in the darkness forever - but she had power beyond that, and a will and desire even greater, to join Kade at his side.
So she did, bounding off into the wild night behind him, feeling every blade of grass beneath the leather of her pads. The cold wind that brushed against her cheeks could not dampen her grin, joyful and certain that she had found the one to run with her forever.
And then they stopped, two shadows entangled in the moonlight and woven between the beads of light that flashed around them. The open air did not intimidate her; in fact, its vulnerability inticed her. That need to touch him back still beneath the surface of her skin, only intensifying as ever moment passed. The heat surrounded her, flames licking the endings of her nerves ruthlessly, she felt no hesitation. Dressed in a sultry smile, Ava inched ever closer and closer, so the two of them could dance again.
end ;)