Written for LindyRose for the Sparkling Cauldrons Anniversary Exchange
The Forest of Destiny
The ethereal blonde hummed merrily as she made her way through the twilight forest with a basket on her arm. Seemingly unaware of any possible dangers in her wild surroundings, she occasionally stopped to pick a flower or plant and add it to the growing pile in her basket.
Paul, in his wolf form, had been on a lone patrol when his keen lupine sense of hearing picked up the cheerful sound through the distance before he went to investigate. He just couldn't believe his eyes, however, when he saw the beautiful, pale, and almost fairy-like girl walking...alone and barefoot, but also completely unafraid...through the darkening woods.
Paul immediately felt an almost desperate need to protect the delicate female that he didn't quite understand. Whatever the instinct was, though, made him tread to her destination on silent paws in the shadows alongside her path.
The woman finally led him to a small clearing where she had obviously made camp since an old safari-style tent stood there and a fire immediately started to crackle within its stone circle at her arrival. The sight confused Paul completely – especially since he knew the setup hadn't been there when he'd passed by earlier.
His momentary distraction meant that even the battle-hardened wolf that was Paul's alter-ego jumped in surprise when the mysterious woman issued an unexpected invitation.
"Would you care to join me for a cuppa?" she spoke aloud to the shadows.
How did she know I was here? Paul wondered incredulously. And what's a cuppa?
Her accent was lovely, though, and so was she. Therefore, the temptation to step forward and join her was almost irresistible. In fact, he only came to his senses when he looked down to see his furry paws.
I'm still a wolf, he reminded himself, and I don't have any clothes cached away in this part of the forest. A strange naked man in the woods probably won't make the best impression on her, either.
Therefore, he continued to wait.
However, the woman spoke again with casual unconcern as she put a teakettle over the fire and added a few things from her basket to it. "You needn't hide. It's quite alright to come as you are. I assure you that I've seen far stranger things before."
Just then, it startled to drizzle. That was nothing unusual for the Pacific Northwest, so the wolf just ignored it...at least until the woman spoke again with a touch of irritation.
"Now you're just being silly. Come to the fire at once so you don't get cold and wet...or attacked by wrackspurts!"
Her tone...and unusual wording...caused him to do a surprised double take - especially when he saw the woman had somehow also acquired a couple of chairs, a table, and even tea cups! Not only that, but she looked completely dry and comfortable in the light rain even though she had no obvious shelter that he could see.
What the hell? he thought and stepped forward...almost involuntarily...in his curiosity.
To his astonishment, she did not scream or run when she saw his huge wolf form emerge from the shadows.
"Well...aren't you gorgeous?" she exclaimed with an admiring smile, instead. "I'm Luna, by the way."
The wolf could only growl in confusion, though, when he finally saw the carved stick in her hand and realized that nothing was normal about the situation. Nevertheless, the not-quite-menacing sound was immediately cut short when Luna actually shushed him.
"Oh, hush!" she commanded gently. "After all, a little magic can't be too much of a shock to a shapeshifting wolf, which...if I remember the lore correctly...also means there are vampires nearby. However, if you'd like to discuss this further, you're welcome to change. If your lack of clothing is holding you back, I believe my expedition partner, Rolf, left some items in his room from our last trip to find the Blibbering Humdinger. Just go in, down the hall, to the left, and watch for Nargles."
How could she know all that...and what are Nargles? Paul...more bewildered than ever...wanted to ask.
However, to do that, he needed to be human. Therefore, eager for answers, he followed her directions. The large wolf's eyes widened even further, though, when he pushed past the tent flap and saw the other side.
It is magic! He realized immediately. After all, the bigger-on-the-inside space couldn't be anything else!
Paul was suddenly human...and naked...again, though, so he didn't stop to stare. Instead, he quickly found the proffered clothing and managed to squeeze himself into the largest pair of pants there. He ignored the obviously too-small shirts, however, before he rushed back out to talk to the woman himself and figure out exactly what was happening.
However, all of his questions flew out of his head the moment he saw her with his human eyes for the first time.* When dark brown met light blue, their connection was immediate and absolute. His life changed forever as his current world shattered, and then rebuilt itself around her. His perpetual anger faded away and he knew he would never want anyone else. After all, he was completely hers now...heart, body, and soul.
She's my imprint! The wolf within him also howled for joy at the realization of a long-denied dream come true when he noticed the woman...Luna...had been equally affected somehow.
"Oh my! I wasn't expecting that!" she declared in her soft dreamy voice as she stepped closer. "I guess Firenze was right when he said he'd seen it in the stars that I'd journey to this particular forest and find my Destiny." She paused before she donned a gorgeous smile just for Paul as she placed a hand wonderingly upon his hard bare chest. "I simply didn't realize that destiny came with quite so many muscles."
Paul just grinned in reply as he bent down to kiss his magical mate for the very first time.
Notes:
*It's never been fully explained, but my personal headcanon is that the pack members have to be in human form…and make eye-contact…in order to imprint.
At any rate, this was a lot of fun and I would have loved to have written even more for these two. Unfortunately, this fic was for a drabble exchange with a word count limit of only 1000. Therefore, I simply had to restrain myself. LOL!