My Perfect Mate (14 page)

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 happened 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.

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.”