Winter melts and spring is now coming about in the forest, but with the signs of melting snow that means one thing for Heart…her season is coming and she must prepare.
Ch 19: Snow Thaw, Spring Breeze
The next two months went by in hell fast. Heart stayed with Alastor the whole time during this season. He honestly didn't want her out of his sight. Ever since that scare during that winter storm, he made her stay inside his cave. She would come outside when the winter breeze wasn't blowing and the day was calm. She didn't go too far from his cave though so that she would stay safe and Alastor didn't have to worry. She didn't need to hunt since Alastor did that for her and he had a whole stock for winter.
It was nice, but at the same time she hated it. She felt useless. Why couldn't she just hibernate for winter? She was no use to anyone during this time of the year. Plus felt bad Alastor had to take care of her. He told her it was fine; he didn't mind taking care of her. At the same time, she just didn't feel useful to him. What kind of mate was she if she couldn't even help?
Most of the time she laid depressed in the cave, mainly while Alastor was gone. Her just feeling the way she didn't wasn't helping. She wanted the winter to be done soon so that she could go back out. Plus see her friends that she missed. When the deer would come back her tail would always wag and she would be so happy with him around. She didn't understand it but didn't want to question it.
Right now, the winds calmed and snow lay on the forest floor. The creek by the cave was frozen over. Heart laid at the entrance of the cave and watched as a small snow was falling. Hopefully, this will be the last one of the season. Spring would be coming soon or at least she hoped it would. She saw Alastor's hoof prints from earlier that day when he left to do his rounds.
She sighed and put her head down on her paws as she sat there. "Winter…I hate it." She whispered as she laid there. "I wish I didn't have to miss Alastor's rut. Maybe a pup would have been nice to have right now and keep me company." She says sadly.
Ever since she missed Alastor's rut, she has been upset about it and hating they had to wait till it was mating season for Heart. She just hoped it would be ok with Alastor when that time was around. She wanted to carry a fawn for him and her motherly urges have been extraordinarily strong as of late. Maybe it was just because she was lonely, but who knows what it might have been.
She looked out into the snow and stood up. She then took a few steps out of the cave, looking up into the sky. It was dark gray, almost black clouds that covered the whole area. The snow fell and covered her muzzle. It stuck to her paws. She looked down to see the tracks Alastor had left this morning started to get covered thanks to this snow. She looked down at her pawprint next to his. She had this wave of sadness come over her. She didn't know what was wrong.
"How did he ever love someone like me? Why did he…and why did I? We are so different." She sat in the snow and put her head down. "Love is so weird; I don't even know what there is to love about me."
"I can start making a list." A voice called out.
Heart snapped her head up and spotted Alastor on the other side of the stream. He stood there tall and proud as he always did. His hot breath was leaving his nose as he looked at her. Heart walked forward from her spot up to him, looking at him for a minute with her ears spun backwards.
The hybrid sat down in the snow again. "What is there? I don't know."
Alastor smiled sadly at her and leaned his head down the nuzzle the top of her head. "My wolf, why must you put yourself down so? I know being in the cave is not the best but…I don't know how to help you if you don't tell me."
She looked up at him and nuzzled his nose back. "I don't know. I just feel useless right now in the cave. I can't be out here, helping you."
Alastor nuzzled her in return. "Next year, when it's a day like today with no wind and it's not so cold, I'll take you out with me. How does that sound?" He suggested.
Heart's eyes shined at that. "I think I'd like that." She then chuckled. "But what if we have a fawn or pup to deal with by then?"
"Well, they will be old enough, I hope, to follow us." The deer said with a smile.
Heart's tail wagged. "Thank you, Al. That did make me feel a little better."
"That is why I am here to support you, my love. Now come, let's go inside and warm up." He said and went over the stream.
The two went into the cave and Heart shook the wet snow from her pelt. She turned and watched as more snow fell.
"Hopefully, this will be the last snow of winter. I'm already tired of it." Alastor said as he got up into his mound of furs and laid down. He looked up and saw Heart still at the entrance. "Heart, my little wolf, come and lay with me. Why don't we take a small nap?"
Heart's ears went up at his suggestion and she walked down into the cave and jumped onto the furs with the deer. She laid down next to him, their pelts touching as she snuggled up to him. She draped a wing over him as well. The wolf nuzzled her muzzle against the side of the deer's shoulder and up his neck. He looked down at her with a smile and he leaned his head down to start licking her ear. She made a happy yip and relaxed as she felt him lick her. He went right between her eyes and gave her a few gentle licks. She relaxed and already felt she was going to fall asleep. Just these moments. These close moments. Made everything melt away.
The deer went and put their noses together. "I love you." He breathed out.
Heart's tail wagged, "I love you too." She opened her eyes and looked at him in his red ones. "Why me?" She questioned.
Alastor pulled his head away and tilted it a moment. "What do you mean my love?"
"Just…why me? Why am I so special? Choose me out of anyone that could be better for you?" Heart asked him as she looked away with her ears back and put her head on her paws.
The deer put his nose to her head and nuzzled her. "Don't say such things dear. I know that your brain has a lot to think about when I am not around. Don't think such things." He licked her muzzle. "You are different, but in a good way. I've never loved any other demon. When I started to have feelings for you, I knew you were special and I want to keep having that feeling around you. I feel I'm as light as a feather and could fly myself." He tells her softly with a tiny chuckle as he nuzzles her.
Heart smiled a little and looked at him. "I have that same feeling around you too. I just…ever since I was a pup…I've been treated differently…in a bad way." Her ears went back again. "I just never thought anyone would love me in a romantic way and want to be my mate." She started to have tears build up. "I don't want to be alone." She cried and her tears fell. "I don't want to be an outcast. I don't want to be pushed aside. I just want to be normal…appreciated…accepted."
Alastor felt bad for his mate and pushed closer to the wolf. He nuzzled her then started to lick the tears from her muzzle. "Shhh, calm my love. Calm. You're ok." He whispered to her. "You are here with me now. There is no such thing as normal but you have friends here now who appreciate you. I know not everyone has accepted you but I have. I want you. I'd never push you away. I love you so much."
Heart let out a small sob before wrapping her wing around him more and held him close. She put her nose into his fur and tried to take some calming breaths. She listened to him talk and was soothed by his words. He was right though, she had friends now. Something the pack would never give her when she was a pup. She had a place to call home, her home. She has a mate…despite not having mated yet, but he was hers. That is all something she never thought she'd have. This is a life she never would have pictured….but she didn't want anything else or change anything.
"You're perfect." She whispered as she nuzzled him. "I don't know what I would do without you. The life I would have…if I'd even still be alive." She felt tears again.
Again, the deer leaned down to lick her muzzle. "Shh, dear, I know. I am happy to have you in my life. To have you here with me. I never knew I could love anyone, but you changed that." He told her and he saw the hybrid's tail wag. "Let's take our nap. I think we both need one." He says as he puts their noses together.
She nodded. "I agree." She said softly and let out a yawn. She put her head down over his legs and rested there. It wasn't long till she was also out like a light. She definitely needs a nap since she hasn't been sleeping well the last few days.
The deer looked at her and smiled. He put his head over top of her neck and slowly started to drift off already. "I love you, my little wolf. Forever and always." He whispered to her before he fell asleep.
[Three Weeks Later]
Slowly but surely, the snow had stopped falling. A thin bit still laid on the ground, the temperatures were slowly rising and things started to come back to life in the forest. Heart opened her eyes this morning to the sound of a bird outside. It's the first thing she noticed when she woke up from the cuddling position her and Alastor were in as they lay on the pile of furs in his cave.
The hybrid lifted her head from Alastor's chest fur and yawned. She heard the bird outside and it was registering in her head slowly. Spring was slowly returning back to the forest. Her ears perked up and she smiled. She turned to Alastor, nuzzled against him, and started to lick his chest fur. "Wake up Al." She said between her licks.
The deer groaned a moment and just enjoyed the feeling of his mate's tongue on his fur. "Don't want to." He said softly in his sleep.
She giggled. "Does the Lord not want to be Lord today?"
"No." He said softly and moved his head to look down at her. "I want to stay here with you for a bit longer."
"Take the day off today honey. Just relax and enjoy the weather." Heart suggested to him.
The deer sighed in content. "I just might. Starting with sleeping in with my wonderful mate." He said as he nuzzled her.
Heart's ears get warm with a blush and she puts her nose in his fur. "Oh, you flatter me love." She says softly.
Alastor chuckled. "I'm allowed to." He says happily and just relaxes with her, the bird outside then starts to chirp again. "Ah there is the sound of spring. Hopefully, the little Chickadee finds her way back soon."
"Chicka flies south too with the others?" Heart wondered, knowing she hasn't seen her friend all winter.
Alastor nodded. "Yes, she does, winter is hard for me when she isn't here. I need eyes in the sky sometimes."
Heart's ears went back. "I'm sorry I can't help you." she says sadly.
"Now now little wolf. It's ok. Don't be sorry. Winter is calm so I am ok when everyone is gone." He told her. "Demons are asleep or not as active so I don't have to worry too much."
"Ok if you're sure. I just want to feel helpful." She told him.
"I know dear. Don't worry." He licks her head gently. "Let's just relax and nap a little more."
Heart relaxed and smiled. "Ok, that does sound nice." She laid her head back down against his chest and wrapped a wing around them. "I love you, my great buck."
"I love you to, my little wolf." He nuzzled her head and laid down.
They both managed to fall asleep again and they laid there for another hour before Alastor woke up. Heart was still asleep against him so he stayed there and just enjoyed being close to her. He nuzzled close to her and licked her head softly as she was sleeping. He looked around the cave and was just so at blush that he could have her here. At the same time, she might want to go back to her own den for a while.
It would be very lonely in his cave without her, but he also understood that she liked her den as well. Perhaps…he can have her move into his cave when they finally mate. She can still have her den. Perhaps use it as a birthing place for their young. He remembered how much work she did for her den to make it comfortable.
Alastor managed to get out of the hybrid's hold and stand up to stretch. He went to his stash of meat and pulled out a piece that they each could share. He realized that his stock was getting low. With holding Heart here for the winter, it went down faster than it has in the past. He had to make sure to hunt a bit more this coming year. Especially if they will have a family in the future. He was sure Heart would help to; her pack instincts were hopefully still intact.
The deer pulled the meat up to the main part of the cave where Heart laid. He went up to her and shook her a moment with his hoof. "Darling, time to wake up."
Heart mumbled in her sleep and just nuzzled into the fur under her.
He chuckled, "Come now dear, we've slept in enough already." He nuzzled her neck and started to lick her muzzle.
She grumbled a bit and slowly started to open her eyes and felt him licking her. "Ok I'm up." She said softly and yawned. She sat up more and then got off the furs and stretched. She shook her fur and yawned again. She looked and saw the meat in the middle of the cave. "Oh, you have breakfast already?" She asked with a wag of her tail.
"I do. I figured we could share a meal together before we go out and explore what it's like outside." Alastor told her.
"That sounds wonderful Al." She says and walks over to the meat.
The deer follows and the two laid side by side as they share their meal together. Sometimes Alastor would lean over and lick the blood from Heart's muzzle and she would do the same for him. They enjoyed the closeness and the grooming slightly.
"I thought we could go visit your den today." Alastor said after he took his last bite.
"Hopefully, it survived the winter. If something moves in then I guess I'll have to see how it goes."
"I wouldn't want anyone else in that den." The deer said with a growl.
Heart was surprised. "Why?"
"Well, it's your den. Plus, I thought maybe…" He paused for a moment and tried to think of what to say, his ears going back.
The wolf smiles. "What do you want to ask me Al?"
"Well…I was thinking that…maybe you can use that den for…when you are ready to give birth to our young." He said a bit shyly.
"Use it as a birthing den?" She wanted to make sure she understood.
Alastor nodded.
Heart smiled and nuzzled the deer under his jaw. "You're cute." She whispered and pulled away. "So, you're saying you want me to move into your cave with you? Permanently?"
The deer put on of his hooves over the other and looked at her shyly. "Yes…I would like you to."
Smiling, Heart answered. "I will, but on one condition first."
"What's that?"
"We have to be fully mated first before I move into your cave."
"M-mated first?"
She nodded. "Yes. I ask this just because it feels right to me. I want us to be fully mated officially before I move into your cave."
Alastor paused for a moment and took in her words. If this was the only condition then he saw no issue in it. He was used to being alone but this winter season with Heart has made his life so much better. Realizing it made him want her here all the time. He wanted someone to come home to. To see every day. To enjoy their company. "Ok, I can agree with those terms." He finally answered.
Heart's tail wagged and she gave excited yips and licked his neck. "Thank you, Al. That means a lot to me." She said happily.
The deer's heart soared to see the wolf so happy. He smiled and looked at her lovingly. "You are so adorable." He told her with a chuckle. He licked her muzzle in return and then stood up. "Come now. Let's head out and stretch our legs. You can stretch your wings as well if it's not too cold."
Heart got excited and stood up as well. She stretched again. "Yes, I think a run or a flight will help me a lot." She said and turned to go to the cave entrance.
The deer followed behind the wolf and the two got to the front of the cave. They looked out to see the sun was out. There was some snow still on the ground but it wasn't much. It was melting. There was still a small chill in the air but it wasn't as bad as it has been.
Heart walked out towards the stream and took a drink and breathed in the fresh air. "Its wonderful out here today."
"It is. Definitely signs of spring ahead of us dear." Alastor said as he walked up next to her and took a drink from the stream.
Heart went and rolled around in some grass that was exposed from the snow. She made happy noises as she rolled around. Alastor watched her and chuckled happily that his mate was this excited to finally be out of the den.
"How about a slow run to get our legs warmed up?" Heart suggested as she stopped rolling in the grass and stood up.
"We can. How about the wolf chasing the deer?" He suggested and jumped over the stream.
"Ah a game of tag?" She wondered as she followed him over the stream.
"Tag huh? Well then-" He walks up and takes his hoof and boops her nose. "-Tag. You're it." He laughed and then ran off.
Heart took a half second to realize what happened and laughed as she started to chase after him. They ran through the forest that was mid thaw from the snow. The ground felt wonderful under her paws as they went around trees and jumped over fallen ones. Was glad the forest was still alive and kicking after the dragon attack. It was her home. It was their home. She wouldn't want anywhere else to be.
After a few minutes of running, she bumped her side into the deer. "Tag, you're it now!" She said before she took off again.
"Sneaky wolf!" Alastor called after her and followed.
She laughed and was just so happy and excited as they ran. Eventually she unfolded her wings and started to flap them. Before she even realized, she took off the ground and was flying. She just flew up and up without a care in the world. She went so high and even did a spin. The wind in her fur felt wonderful and wasn't cold at all. Alastor watched her from down below and smiled while he panted, catching his breath as he watched Heart soar the sky.
The hybrid was so lost in the moment and in the breeze that she forgot about Alastor. She stopped mid flying and turned around to go back to the ground. She spotted the deer as he watched her. She landed in front of him and let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"That was wonderful. At least I know I can fly still after months of not doing it." She said happily. She went up to Alastor and went into a slightly submissive stance and licked his neck. The deer thought this was odd but knew wolves had their own signs of affection sometimes. "Thank you, Al, for letting me stay with you and taking care of me. I'm forever grateful to have the chance to live another year." She told him as she stood up again.
The deer smiled and licked the wolf between the eyes. "Of course, my love. I'll always look after you and if we have a family then I'll look after all of you." He told her happily.
Heart wagged her tail with joy. "I love you."
"I love you too." Alastor's tail was also wagging slightly. "Come my little wolf, let's go to check out your old den." He said and started to walk again.
Heart nodded and followed close to Alastor's side and made sure their pelts were touching as they went. It was honestly the best morning and it was amazing to finally be active, especially with Alastor. The day at least was nice with the sun out and the snow melting. The forest was beautiful and because of the snow, the trees were bear and you could see for a mile or so ahead.
Soon her den came into view and Heart got excited. She took off running ahead of Alastor and made it to the area and looked at the rock overhang. She looked at it with a wag of her tail and started to make happy yipping. Alastor saw this and was happy that his mate was happy to see her den. The hybrid went inside the den, sniffing the entrance first and didn't find anything weird. She got in and saw everything just how she left it. She didn't see anything weird or different about the den. Her little wall that kept out the cold was still there and all the extra things she did to try and keep out the weather.
Alastor stood by the entrance of the den and looked in. "Everything ok in there dear?"
"Its fine." She called out and went over to her bedding that was dead and shriveled up thanks to the moss and leaves being exposed. "I need to get new bedding. That will take a while." She said a little saddened she had to find all new stuff for her bed.
"You might have to wait for more of the snow to melt love before redoing your bed." Alastor told her. "Besides, I want you to start living with me."
"I know honey but I still want to stay in my own bed till mating season." She tells him. "Maybe we can mate in here."
"It might be too small for me, love. I might not have room to mount you." He admits to her.
She then puts her ears back nervously. She didn't want to admit to the deer that her season was starting sooner than she thought. She could feel it. This would be her first time being in heat since she was now of age technically. Even so she could feel the changes in her body. It knew what to do and it knew what it wanted.
Heart sighed and went out of the den. "Your probably right. We could do it in your cave?"
"I want to have our first mating to be in a wonderful place." Alastor said and nuzzled her neck. "Somewhere special and secluded from everyone."
Heart paused to try and think. "Well, I guess that is a point. To be honest my real parents did the same. They found a small spot where no one could see them and they could be alone."
Alastor's ears went up. "I know a place we can go…A place I've never taken you. Nor have you been to."
"Where?" She wondered.
"My island, in the middle of the lake." He told her.
The wolf's ears went up and she was surprised. The island she saw every time she went to the lake to get water. She knew Alastor went there after he hunted or when someone crossed his borders. He took them there to take care of them. Mostly likely the reason behind his meat supply in his cave. She was surprised.
"The island?" She made sure. "You…want to take me there?" Her ears went back as she had a sudden spike of fear. She knew what Alastor was capable of with his magic. What if….he-
Alastor saw how she was standing and the fear in her eyes, "Don't think that way, my wolf." He said and quickly went up to her and nuzzled his nose against her muzzle. "I don't want to do that to you. I love you." He licked her ears. "I love you so much, I don't want any harm to come to you. I myself would never harm you."
Heart looked up at him with her ears to the side. "I love you too…I trust you." She told him.
"Thank you, love. I want to take you there so we can be alone. It's a place no one goes except me. So, I thought it would be the best spot for us." He told her as he licked her nose.
"Thank you, my buck. That is sweet of you to think of." She said and licked his nose back. "Maybe we can go there in a few days?" She said shifting her paws.
"I think that sounds like a date, my little wolf." Alastor smiled. "I have to clean it up a little bit but that won't take me too long. You'll love it darling."
She smiled in return. "I can't wait to see it." She was happy that she was experiencing her first mating season successfully with someone who loved her so much.
Alastor shifted on his hooves a moment, "Would you like to hunt together as well? We can take it there and it can be our meal that night?" The lord suggested.
"A hunt…together?" Her ears went up and her tail wagged. "We've never hunted together before." Heart said as she loved the idea.
Alastor nodded. "Yes, I thought that would be a good test of our mating before anything happened. Shows if we can work together. I know I am not a wolf but I know how to hunt." He told her.
She nodded. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, my buck. We can make something work out. I know it." She wagged her tail more and then went up to him to nuzzle his neck.
Alastor went and nuzzled her back.
She loved him. He loved her. Together, they were going to make something special. Something the both of them thought they would never have…a family.
Hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be interesting.
I hosted a poll on my Twitter, it was for if there should be a smut scene in the next chapter and I am here to tell you that there will be. Of course, this might be weird for some so I'm making sure to put it at the end of the chapter and I'll give you a warning when it starts so that people can skip over it if they want to.
Other than that, have a good one!
