My Perfect Mate Read online

  Joy bubbled inside like a frothy churning stream. He didn’t know what the future held, or if they could change the fate of the amarok children. What he did know was he couldn’t wait to face the future with the woman who dragged her feet behind him. A sudden thought made him frown. He stopped abruptly. Susan bumped into him from behind.

  “Umph. Hey, a little warning would be nice,” she grumbled.

  JP turned and took her face in his hand. “You do want me, don’t you?” He searched her eyes.

  She blinked and her cheeks reddened. Suddenly she reached for him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding tight. “Yes, Jean-Paul. I want you.”

  His hands went from her face to around her back. He crushed her to him. A fear he didn’t realize he had melted away.

  “All right, then.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the path.

  “Hey. You can’t act like that and then rush off. I didn’t even get a kiss.”

  JP stopped. Susan ran into him, again. She growled. He turned and pulled her into his arms. His lips came down hard. This woman made him question himself.

  He took her mouth, demanding entrance. She acquiesced. He dove in, needing to claim her. To make her understand she belonged to him.

  Her willingness spoke to the wildness he felt. His thrusting tongue and gripping hands gentled. She wasn’t fighting him. Her hands held him just as tightly. His lips didn’t press as hard. He ran his tongue gently against hers, then withdrew. Sipping at her lips, he licked and nibbled. Finally, he stepped back.

  Susan’s gaze was dreamy. Her full lips red from his kisses. He caressed her cheek. “Better?” he asked.

  She nodded. He tugged her into his side and started off again. He wanted this ceremony done. Susan was his. The ritual would make that fact, forever. His stride lengthened.

  Susan stumbled. JP was hard pressed not to pick her up and carry her. Instead he slowed his pace to a more comfortable rate for Susan’s shorter legs. They entered a side corridor and went through a large arch carved into the earth. Inside, a huge circle was outlined on the floor. Torches lined the walls. The amarok waited milling around the edges while Aisyt and Ujarak stood in the middle next to a large stone altar. Everyone stopped as they entered.

  Aisyt smiled. “Places, please.” The amarok lined up around the edge of the circle.

  JP led Susan through the crowd to the altar. He nodded to Aisyt and Ujarak. They both changed into outfits from Ynys Afallon as well. A gold silk rope lay on the stone surface. Jean-Paul frowned a moment thinking of the ceremony to come. “Give me a minute.”

  He dropped Susan’s hand and called his magic. He had lived centuries and his magic was strong. Sparkles of light filled the air around them. Soon a swirling mass of light formed beneath his hands.

  He thought of Susan and pulled on her essence. She was lycan and more, she had been human. Still there was something else. He went deeper, searching in her DNA. Ah, here it is, her grandmother was witch-kind. That explained Susan’s affinity with animals. She had a touch of Earth witch in her past.

  Next he touched on his essence. He was Fae. A race created to rule the elements. He was fire, air, water, and earth. He took their two essences and swirled them together. Next he called on the metals hidden in the sides of the cave. Golden flakes flowed from the walls of the chamber in tiny streams and mixed with the light beneath his hands.

  The golden glowing mass of particles started to take shape.

  “Destined Ones, to each belong. Our essences mix, a binding strong. Take form, pleasing to the eye. Our feelings, fused to never lie.”

  The particles started to come together and grew in size. Suddenly, the lights blinked out and the sound of metal hitting stone rang in the room. Sitting on the altar were two gold bracelets fused together. JP picked them up to inspect them. The first bracelet showed wolves running through twining flowers on the side. The second had symbols of the elements around the surface. If he wished, the bracelets could come apart so both he and Susan could wear one. For now, though the bracelets were attached by a huge chain link. He released the catch on each bracelet and laid it back on the altar.

  “Those are lovely. What a beautiful symbol of binding. I must admit, I’m jealous that I didn’t think of it,” Aisyt said.

  “If the lady wishes, I can make another pair for you.”

  “No. I would rather it had been my idea. It loses meaning if you make them for us. Thank you for offering.”

  JP nodded and reached for Susan’s hand.

  “Wow, Suzy-Q. You look amazing,” Ujarak said smiling. JP immediately felt that ping of jealousy. He pushed it down. Susan and Ujarak were friends. They would need to remain friends to change the plight of the amarok children.

  “Ready for a little magic?” Ujarak asked.

  Susan nodded. It worried JP that she wasn’t being her mouthy self. He squeezed her hand in reassurance. “All you have to do is stand here, sweetheart. Aisyt and I will take care of the rest.”

  Susan opened her mouth, and then closed it. “I’m worried something bad is going to happen. I have this feeling…” she sent mind to mind.

  “Everything will be fine. There is nothing dangerous about this ritual,” JP answered out loud. Susan opened her mouth to speak, but Aisyt jumped right in.

  “Of course the ceremony isn’t dangerous. This ceremony is about love and binding two people together. You have nothing to fear, Susan. JP if you will call in the air and fire towers, I will call in the water and earth. Then we can move on to the binding. Ujarak and I first, and then you and Susan.”

  JP nodded. “Just let me know when to start.”

  §

  Susan watched as JP walked to the edge of the circle in the east. His voice rang loud and clear as he called the element of air to make the circle a sacred space and protect those inside. A sudden wind blew through the room. Susan shivered.

  She wasn’t scared of magic or the ceremony. There was this little niggle, a premonition sounding in her mind. Not danger exactly, a warning. Susan concentrated harder, trying to figure out what the forewarning meant. She blinked, coming back to reality to realize that Aisyt and JP had returned to their original places next to the altar. She couldn’t figure out what the cautionary feeling tried to tell her. She bit her lower lip.

  Jean-Paul picked up the gold silk rope that laid on the altar. He carried it to each place along the circle where they called in an element and held it up in presentation. Finally he returned to face Aisyt and Ujarak. The couple looked at each other. Ujarak smiled, his gaze tender on the woman who would be his mate. Susan blinked back tears. They looked so happy.

  “Destined Ones are forever bound. Created to share in the trials and tribulations of life. To help and support each other, finding true love in the process,” JP intoned. “Join your left hands and repeat after me…”

  The couple turned and clasped there left hands together. Jean-Paul began to wrap the rope around their wrists. “For better or worse, in sunshine or in shadows, in this lifetime and the next, I give you all my tomorrows,” the pair echoed JP’s chant.

  He tied the rope with a huge knot. “As it is commanded, so mote it be.”

  The torches around the room flickered as a breeze blew. Then they flamed up, brightening the room. The floor shook as a mist seemed to fill the air. JP smiled at Susan.

  “The elements are answering and completing the bonding,” filled her mind as she tried to catch her balance. They were answering all right.

  Aisyt suddenly cried out. She clutched her stomach, her face paling.

  “What is it? What’s happening?” Ujarak asked.

  Aisyt sunk to her knees. She moaned, her voice followed by an agonized wheeze. Ujarak reached for her. White lights began to flicker around her and then coalesce around her body.

  “Don’t touch her, Ujarak!” Susan warned. “You’ll make it worse. She’s shifting!”

  Susan winced. She could clearly hear bones breaking and reforming. It happene
d quickly, but the first time could be agonizing. The lights winked out and tied at the wrist to Ujarak was a white female polar bear. The bear roared! She ripped her paw away from Ujarak. He went flying. Luckily some of the amarok around the circle caught him. The polar bear rose onto her hind legs. She growled.

  “Easy, Aisyt. You’re okay.” Susan used her skill with animals to try to reach the frantic bear. She touched Aisyt’s mind and found a confused animal. Where was the Fae? “Aisyt, you have to help me. Come to the present. You and the bear are one.” Susan pressed deeper into the animal’s consciousness. She saw a flicker of light and dove for it, surrounding it and bringing it to the forefront of the polar bear’s consciousness. Susan fed the light until she could feel Aisyt reaching for control. “That’s it! You and the bear are one. You aren’t an animal. You are Fae and nanuk.” Susan withdrew when she felt Aisyt acknowledge her.

  Susan opened her eyes. JP held her close, his eyes wide. Ujarak shifted. His polar bear approached its mate making short chuffing sounds. Aisyt lowered to four feet and nosed Ujarak.

  “I think they’re going to be okay now.” Susan pushed JP away from the bears, just in case.

  “I can’t believe this. She’s actually a polar bear. Her form shifted, that’s not a glamour spell like her wolf form.” JP shook his head.

  The bears continued to nuzzle each other. White lights sparkled and coalesced around them. When the lights cleared. Aisyt and Ujarak stood naked before them. Ujarak crushed Aisyt against him. Tears ran down his face. “I thought I lost you.”

  “I didn’t know this would happen. I don’t know of a Fae bonding with a shifter before. I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” Aisyt asked her voice quivering.

  “No, no. I’m all right. Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know. Let me try a simple clothing spell. We’re standing here naked in front of everyone.” Aisyt whispered something even Susan’s lycan hearing didn’t understand.

  There was a flash of light and Aisyt and Ujarak were clothed in the outfits they had on before.

  Susan turned to look up at Jean-Paul. He frowned. She felt an answering jolt of pain. Now that he knew he would be turned into a lycan like her, he didn’t want to go through with the ceremony.

  “That’s not true. I’m worried I won’t have control. I connected to you through the mating bond. You had to search for Aisyt’s consciousness. I don’t want to hurt you or anyone else.” JP brushed a hand over his face.

  Aisyt and Ujarak came to them, hand in hand.

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Susan said. “You know what’s going to happen. So you’re prepared for it. Aisyt didn’t know. Her consciousness fled from the pain leaving the bear in control. I brought her back to the forefront.”

  “Thank you,” Aisyt said. “I would hate to have hurt someone.”

  “Susan, I…” JP shook his head.

  “Okay. We don’t have to go through with it.” Susan gave him the out he wanted. It hurt, but he was her mate. She didn’t need to go through the ceremony to be happy.

  “If you don’t bond with her, then you won’t become mortal and age with her,” Aisyt said, a warning in her tone.

  “What do you mean? He’ll stay young while I age and die?” Susan asked.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what will happen. Only by going through the ceremony can his life force merge with yours. If you had magic, that would merge as well. My life is now tied to Ujarak’s. We will age and die together.”

  Susan looked back at JP. Sure, right now, it didn’t matter if he was immortal. Sooner or later though, this could be a problem. What would happen when she turned forty or fifty? She’d begin to look old and JP never would. She would die and he never would. It was his decision. She only wished he loved her enough to age with her.

  Chapter Ten

  Jean-Paul grabbed Susan as she turned to walk away. He pulled her up against him. “You are so willing to give up on me, on us. We go through with the ceremony. Now.” Susan looked up at him. He kissed her hard. It angered him that she would think so little of him. His mouth claimed hers, his hands holding her face close.

  “Not of you, but perhaps of myself. I can’t believe you want me so much,” floated into his thoughts. JP used the link to search Susan’s mind. She needed to trust him more, but yes, the underlining thought was that he didn’t want her because she wasn’t good enough. He’d have to build her self-confidence. He pulled back and stared into her eyes. “Believe it! You are mine. I am never letting you go. Not this lifetime or the next.”

  Aisyt picked up the gold bracelets on the altar. “If you’re going to bond, take each other’s left hands.”

  JP released Susan’s face and reached for her left hand. Aisyt went around the circle asking the elements to bless the binding.

  “The shift will hurt, stay with it. You and the wolf will be one,” Susan reminded him, squeezing his hand. “I will help you if I can.”

  “I wouldn’t think otherwise, sweetheart.” Jean-Paul smiled. It warmed his heart that she offered her assistance. He grasped the mating bond linking them together. Susan was his anchor; her feelings were his compass. He touched briefly on her memory of her first shift. Now that he knew what to expect, he could do this.

  Aisyt stopped in front of them. “Repeat after me…”

  “For better or worse, in sunshine or in shadows, in this lifetime and the next, I give you all my tomorrows,” JP and Susan chanted.

  They gazed into each other’s eyes. Jean-Paul smiled when a ring of flowers sprung up around Susan’s feet filling the room with the fragrance of spring. She would be able to control the element of Earth as her ancestor did before her. Susan gasped. A smile lit her face.

  A wave of fire suddenly washed over him. It settled in his stomach. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out. Lights began to swirl around him. He released the catch on the bracelet as another wave caught him. Unable to stop himself he moaned and clutched his stomach.

  “I am here with you,” Susan’s voice rang in his mind.

  His bones popped and broke. He fell to the ground. Agony. He could hardly breathe. He could feel Susan trying to block the pain. It was no use. He wanted to say something light to ease her mind. The pain beat at him. Something ran under his skin. It tried to get out. His flesh felt burned, every whisper of air caused pain. There was a sudden wrenching. His skin broke open. Fur ran down his body. He cried out. Suddenly it was over. He panted. His senses reeled. He blinked his eyes open. Everything looked inside out. All color was gone. He closed his eyes tightly.

  “JP, you’re okay. Merge with the wolf. You’re holding yourself separate. The wolf knows what’s normal. Let it guide you.” Susan’s voice seemed worried.

  Jean-Paul lay perfectly still. There was something else here. A wildness. He touched it, tentatively. It brushed against him. It wanted out. Not to hurt, but to love. To play. Its mate was close. It wanted her.

  Susan buried her hands in his fur. JP felt the answering happiness her touch caused. A thumping came from his behind. He wagged his tail. JP merged his mind with the wolf’s essence. The animal was strong and ferocious. It was also loyal, loving, and wary. It didn’t like the smell of a polar bear so close to its mate. It wanted to protect her.

  He blinked his eyes open and the strange black and white sight didn’t bother him anymore. He could see clearly. Tears dripped onto his muzzle. When Susan saw his eyes open, she buried her face in his neck and sobbed. “I’m sorry, so sorry. I never wanted this to happen to you.”

  “Susan, stop. You’ll make yourself ill. I’m fine. It took me a minute to acclimate, that’s all. It’s not every day a Fae becomes a wolf.”

  “I know. I’m sorry you had to do this for me.”

  “I’m not sorry. In fact, I think I will like running as a wolf, especially if I am chasing my mate.”

  Susan chuckled and lifted her head. “I think I would like that too.”

  JP rolled to his belly and licked Susa
n’s face. He could taste her salty tears. Her sorrow possessed a scent, salt and mustiness. His wolf wanted to ease his mate, make her happy. He licked her again. “Now, how do I shift back?” More than anything he wanted to hold Susan in his arms.

  “Picture yourself in your human form. Make the picture as complete as you can. The shift back will hurt as well, but the more you practice the less pain is involved. Don’t fight the shift, keep the picture in your mind.”

  Jean-Paul built the picture of himself in his mind. The wolf part of him receded and suddenly his bones broke again and reformed. Fur sank down under his skin and his muzzle retreated back to his regular nose and jaw. This shift was much faster and the pain over in a moment. He blinked his eyes open and color flooded his senses. Susan kneeled next to him, her face worried.

  He reached up and brushed his fingers over her cheek. A cold breeze against his skin made him realize he was naked. A warming spell whispered brought the temperature back to normal.

  He rose to his hands and knees and then to his feet. Susan stood with him. He pulled her against him. Great Goddess, he wanted her. Surely she could feel how much. The wolf’s wildness seemed to merge with the Fae’s. Erotic pictures of Susan filled his mind.

  “So, now what?” Ujarak asked taking Aisyt’s hand.

  JP let his fantasies fade. When he took his Destined One, it would be in a real bed, not on top of sleeping furs surrounded by sled dogs. He called a clothing spell. The ripped and tattered cloth, the only thing left of his former outfit, laying on the ground reformed into a snowsuit and boots. JP stepped into the suit and zipped it up, before stepping into the boots.

  “It’s time to go home,” he answered.

  §

  Home. Susan didn’t even know where that was anymore. She wouldn’t be returning to Margot and Mathis’s house, nor would she be comfortable in the Alpha’s Lodge with Jared and Esme. She looked at JP. He was her home now.