Luna - Beasts of Beauty Series - Book 1

Chapter Sixteen

"Do you want to shift back yet?" 

I grin up at Sam with playful eyes and shake my head as Eliza screams no! in my head. I have no idea how long we've been out in the forest together. After hiding in a drawer in Asher's desk - and giving him a proper heart attack - I insisted on going for the run Sam promised me. 

Except, the moment I shifted into my wolf, my whole body was overwhelmed with bliss. I'm not sure if I'll ever want to stop playing out in the woods. Sam led me out to the same lake and clearing that I had found on my own the other night; I still need to tell him about my encounter with the rogue. 

We ran around together for a little bit, swimming and splashing each other in the lake, before Sam decided to shift into his natural form. I wasn't ready just yet as Eliza was having too much fun, so he picked up a giant stick and has been throwing it around for me to try and catch in the air. 

My father used to do something similar with his rain clouds before Eliza hid herself away. He would chase me around and try and get me wet while I would yip happily and run away. 

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Sam asks, approaching me slowly and running a hand gently through the fur on my neck. I pant softly and lick his cheek in admiration. I hope he knows just how beautiful I find him, too. "I don't know if I've seen fur so white," he mumbles, mostly to himself. "My grandfather's wolf was white," he tells me, "but he was a little more grey-looking. For the short time that we have snow, he used to hide in the banks for me to find him since he blended in so well."

That's cute, Eliza purrs. We should do that.

I step into him and nuzzle up, allowing sparks to erupt anywhere that he touches me. As much as I don't want to shift back, I do really want to talk to him. Eliza objects for a moment, before I promise her that she'll be able to run home. 

Not to mention, we can go for a run whenever we please, now. 

I step back from Sam, giving him a look quickly that I hope tells him that I want to shift back to my natural form. Within seconds, I shift and he grabs my waist and pulls me close. Heat rises to my cheeks as he stares at me so intently.

"How long has it been since you shifted?" he asks me. 

Well, I won't lie, that's not the topic I expected with the way he grabbed you, Eliza grumbles mostly to herself. 

"About ten years, now," I confess to him. "I was around thirteen when Eliza made me hide her away so her scent wouldn't endanger us."

"So, you're twenty-three years old?" he clarifies, his eyebrows furrowing a little. I nod, my eyes widening slightly. Is there something wrong with that? He looks as if he's just realized a few things, as if things finally make sense. "For some reason, that never clicked with me until now," he murmurs. "Does it make you uncomfortable that I'm almost ninety years older than you?" His grip on me tightens slightly, as if he's worried that I will tell him that it does. 

He has a point, though. Most mated pairs I've met over the decades have been within thirty years of each other. I think the largest gap between mates I've heard about besides my parents' gap of twenty-four years was when Marianne was telling me about her parents who have a twenty-five year age difference. 

"Not in the slightest," I finally answer, making sure my voice is confident. He looks relieved as he brushes a hand over my cheek. 

"Witches live to be nearly five-hundred...is that right?" he asks. He takes a shaky breath and I can tell there are so many thoughts running through his head. 

Wolves have a life-expectancy of around three-hundred years and, he was right, mages generally live to be around five-hundred years old. But, I am also a wolf and I've asked my parents what that means for me. As much as they have reassured me that I will live a long, normal life, my parents really don't know how long to expect me to live for; I know they are slightly worried that, for some reason, the combination will shorten my life expectancy.