Regina, shocked at Emma's sudden stop, gasped at seeing the yellow glow to her eyes. She knew what that meant, and that if Emma felt that Robin, or anyone was a threat to who she considered her mate, she should have not stopped in her attack until they were dead.
As Ruby landed beside Emma, she flicked her tail angrily, her ears pinned back against her head, and her teeth bared in a fierce snarl. "Emma. You…How?" Regina stuttered under the intensely searching look she was receiving from the blonde Sherriff. The only response was a mismatched set of deep growls. The growl of the wolf was directed at Robin, the immediate threat to her mate. The second growl was much lower, coming from deep in the blonde's chest and directed solely at Regina. It did not sound threatening, and the timber sent a shiver through her entire body.
Seeing that neither moved, Regina hoped to take charge of the situation and prevent any disaster if possible. "Emma, you need to leave here. Go finish your run. We will talk tomorrow. Please, go." Regina calmly implored, hoping that she could get through to Emma in her semi-feral state. She knew that most wolves were not in control of their actions during wolfs time, but Emma hadn't changed yet, so she hoped that she was in control enough to listen to her.
With a movement she was becoming all too familiar with, Emma shook her head, and tried to force her body to relax against the instincts that were driving her to kill Robin for attacking her mate. After several deep breaths, she was able to grunt a few words to the group, making Regina's heart hurt upon hearing them.
"This is my territory. We run free here. Do not try to hurt my mate again, or I will kill you." Emma ground out through clenched teeth, hands clenched into tight fists. It was taking all of her control not to lunge at the man, but on some level she knew she did not want to hurt Regina, and killing him would do just that.
Robin made to protest, but was silenced by a wave of Regina's hand, removing his voice. She knew any aggression by him would result in two very upset wolves, and after learning that Emma considered Ruby to be her mate, the likelihood was that none of them would survive if she lost control. That she had even spoken was a testament to her strength, something Regina had always secretly prized about Emma.
"We did not know that this territory was claimed, or that you were with your mate. We only sought to help someone who we believed to be in danger, which we now know you are not. We ask to remain at the camp we have made not far from here, so long as we respect your claim." Ever the diplomatic royal she was trained to be, Regina continued to try to direct the situation to a peaceful outcome. Carefully watching the blonde, Regina was hopeful that Emma would be able to surprise her again by speaking to them.
"Agreed. They do not follow us, but they may stay for now." Emma barked back, never moving her eyes from Regina. She did not hold Emma's gaze, but did not submit either. Her growl rumbled again, this time with approval. "You may do as you wish on our land." Not waiting for a reply, Emma turned from the group and placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder, both disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Shocked at the entire exchange, it was several moments before Regina realized she still had Robin silenced. He was gesturing wildly attempting to garner her attention, but she had remained lost in thought over what she had witnessed. Absently flicking her hand towards the man, she was met with a tirade of angry questions that had obviously continued on from when he did not have his voice.
"-did she do that?! What was that thing with her?! She has magic?! What's this about her mate?! That wolf?! And why did you silence me like that?! I could have taken care of that wolf, and we would all be safer!" Robin continued to shout, arms punctuating the air as he spoke.
Heaving a heavy sigh, Regina began explaining what had just occurred to the irate and oblivious man. "That wasn't just a wolf, but a werewolf. Two, in fact, with the full moon out. That means it wolfs time, when they are at their most powerful and also the most out of control around non-wolves. And yes, Emma has magic, strong magic that isn't controlled even at the best of times. I just avoided our slaughter!"
"What do you mean 'our slaughter?' It was one wolf and Emma. She isn't very powerful, can barely light a candle from what you have told me. And it would have only taken a moment to take care of that wolf." Robin defended, still not realizing what had almost happened.
Rolling her eyes, Regina tried to understand how she was supposed to spend her life with someone this dull and uninformed. "Magic is fuelled by emotion. Emma is clearly affected by the werewolf curse too, given her eyes, and the behaviour of the other werewolf that was with her, who just happens to be a young woman from town. It is a full moon tonight, wolf's time, meaning their emotions are at an all-time high, fuelling their rage and power. You attacked Emma's mate, Ruby, who was in wolf form, which for most wolves means she should have killed you or hunted you until moon set at the very least. For whatever reason, she stopped her attack and was able to rein her anger in long enough to listen to me. And as for power, she may be untrained, but she just 'poofed', as she calls it, twice in just a few moments, and had no trouble taking someone with her the second time. There are very few magic practitioners that can successfully do that alone, but to do it with that ease with another person, especially untrained, tells you just how much power she really has. She could have killed all of us here, myself included, with a flick of her wrist, and you think you could have 'taken care of it'?!"
Realizing just how little he really understood by the doubtful look on his face, Regina knew she needed to take some space from Robin before she said something she regretted in her anger. "I'm going home." Raising a hand to stop his reply, she continued. "No, I don't need you to escort me there, I will go on my own. You were given permission to stay where you were, so long as you stay away from them, so I suggest you return to camp and stay there for the rest of the night. Go back to camp and take care of your men and Roland, we will talk tomorrow." Without waiting for another response, Regina took herself home in a cloud of purple, arriving in her bedroom.
Relieved to be back at the mansion, Regina stripped her clothing before heading for the shower. 'Mate. When did that happen?' She was still having trouble connecting the Emma she knew with the dangerous and powerful woman she had seen tonight. She knew that Emma had an amazing potential for magic as she had been born with it, but the ease with which she had controlled her power tonight was breathtaking.
'Mated. To Ruby. At least she gets a happy ending. She, of anyone I cursed, deserves it.' Turning the water to the highest temperature she could stand, Regina stepped into the shower and let the water mix with her tears at her own lack of happiness and the frustration of her situation.
Half an hour later, Regina left the shower, as it began to finally run cold, and was no longer soothing. Regina dried her body with one of her favourite towels and then began applying moisturizer, following her normal bedtime routine.
As she slipped into the soft sheets of her bed, she could hear the sounds of what she was sure was Ruby and Emma demonstrating their love in the clearing not far from her home. Trying to ignore the images her mind conjured, Regina fell into a fitful sleep plagued with yellow ringed green eyes and the scent of lilac, rain, and something wild.
Appearing in the clearing that they had started their evening in, Emma set about gathering the items from the hiding spot. Ruby waited patiently as Emma slung the cloak around her body, the shift back to human not nearly as painful as her earlier shift to her wolf form.
Watching Ruby shift back to her human form, Emma struggled with the arousal that pooled low in her belly. Standing in what little light the moon still offered in the small hours of the morning, Ruby was breathtaking. 'Ours. Our mate.' The thoughts had started to blur into one, but Emma was too enthralled to notice. All Emma knew in that moment was that she wanted Ruby more than she had ever wanted anyone before.
Still feeling the power and heavy emotion of their encounter in the woods, Emma crossed to Ruby, locking eyes, silently asking for permission to follow her instincts. She was in control, and would not give in if Ruby did not want to take this step just yet.
Ruby was stunned by the grace with which Emma moved. The power she had unconsciously demonstrated, and the devotion she had shown to her, declaring her as her mate to Robin, it was moving. No one had ever defended her, the way Emma just had. She claimed Storybrook as their territory, marking her an equal in every way in the claim.
Before their encounter with Robin, their run had had been playful and full of joy, something Ruby had never experienced before. Running with her mother's pack had been freeing, but never had she felt bliss in being a wolf before. Emma didn't fear her in any way, she just accepted her, loved her, and wanted her for her, and was willing to tell anyone just that. Ruby was more than ready to allow Emma to show her just how much she was loved and wanted by her.
Pulling Emma flush against her, Ruby began nipping along Emma's jaw, nuzzling at her throat, drawing a growl of desire from the blonde. Tangling her fingers in her in hair, Ruby claimed Emma's lips in passionate, breath-stealing kisses. With a quick tug at the tie holding it in place, Ruby's cape fluttered to the ground, although neither woman paid any attention to its loss. Hands continued to roam, and what minimal clothing Emma wore was quickly torn from her body, their passions rising as the moon was still shining on them, driving their instincts ever higher.
Breathy moans began to fill the night air in the clearing, mixed in with growls of pleasure and want. Still feeling the power in her body, Emma quickly became the aggressor, dominating Ruby's lips, dipping her tongue in to taste her mate's mouth.
Lowering Ruby to the ground with almost reverent care, Emma began exploring every curve and dip of Ruby's body with her lips and tongue, starting with the hollow of her throat. Nipping at the mark she had made, and drawing moans of pleasure from Ruby's lips, Emma moved to taste every inch of deliciously exposed flesh.
Returning to the mating mark as if my a magnetic pull, Emma began to suck heavily, leaving a large reddish- purple mark in the middle, highlighting the mark for the world to see. 'MINE!' As her hands continued to explore, tracing down Ruby's ribs and across the toned plane of her stomach, Emma can smell the mixture of both of their arousals, flooding her with more desire than she had ever felt before.
When Emma's fingers slid slowly lower, finally reaching the soft, neatly trimmed curls at the apex of Ruby's thighs, a throaty groan left her lips at the moisture she found there. Unable resist any longer, Emma gently ran her fingers through the soaked folds, swallowing Ruby's gasp in another kiss as she massaged gently.
Unconsciously, Ruby's hips began to cant into Emma's fingers, seeking for the gentle touch to be firmer. Breaking their kiss, and lowering her head, Emma took a hardened nipple into her mouth, sucking hard, before soothing with her tongue, only to bite it a moment later. Not resisting the tug on her hair, Emma followed the direction given, and shifted to Ruby's other breast, bringing her free hand up to the other swollen tip to pinch and roll it gently.
As the volume of the sounds continued to grow, so did the scents in the air, until they overwhelmed both woman. Pulling back from Ruby, Emma's eyes were again glowing yellow, and a rumbling growl had begun to build in both women's chest. "MINE." Was growled simultaneously by both women before they met again in a clash of lips, teeth and tongue, all thought of gentle caresses forgotten.
Harshly, Emma entered Ruby with two fingers to her knuckles in a single smooth motion, earning a barely softened scream of desire from the older wolf. Thrusting deeply, Emma responded with only a growl, setting a punishing pace for her mate. She wanted to claim her completely, to please her as no one else could. 'MINE!'
Ruby begged, eyes closed, breathing coming only in pants and strangled whimpers. "Ugh, harder… deeper Emma! OH GOD! YES!" She didn't care that they were close enough to town for people to hear them or that they could be found at any moment. Only she and her mate existed in that moment, safe from the world and completely lost in one another.
Pulling completely out of the velvet walls that were tightly gripping her fingers, Emma moved down Ruby's body until she was able to see the glistening folds in front of her, close enough for her to taste. So she does, running the flat of her tongue from her entrance up and around her clit, moaning aloud at the taste of her mate flooding her tongue. Flicking the bundle of nerves with the tip of her tongue, Emma is amazed at the sounds she is pulling from the woman above her. Lapping at every drop of moisture her tongue could seek out, Emma is lost to everything outside of pleasing Ruby. Her mind a haze of Rudy's body and scent, licking, sucking, gently scraping her teeth, and then soothing with her tongue again.
"More. God Emma, more. Please, more. I need MORE." Ruby begged into the night air, unable to say what she needed. She wanted to feel claimed, to feel Emma everywhere, and to feel joined to Emma completely. The moon had yet to set, but she hadn't shifted back when Emma had removed her cape, and her desires were racing through her blood like the need to breath, her wolf's instincts and drives pushing her for more.
Unable to think beyond the haze of her instincts to please her mate, Emma raised her hand to Ruby's temple, and let her magic find what her mate needed in her mind, knowing she was unable to speak properly herself. Feeling her magic wrap around them both, Emma opened her eyes at the new sensations flooding her body, seeing what Ruby had desired at that moment. Rising to her knees, Emma looked down at the fully erect cock now throbbing at the apex of her thighs, the unfamiliar weight bobbing in the air.
Looking back at the panting wolf under her, and scenting the spike of arousal in the air as Ruby took in her new part, Emma felt a surge of arousal at the knowledge she was about to take her mate fully, as she gave herself as much.
Ruby's yellow-ringed eyes darkened, and her tongue darted out to lick at her lips, desire causing more wetness to pool in her cunt. Pulling Emma back to her previous position over her, Ruby captured her lips again in a searing kiss, drawing Emma flush against her.
Shifting between Ruby's legs fully, Emma gripped the base of her new member, and guided the tip of her cock to Ruby's entrance, slowly entering until she was fully sheathed in Ruby's velvet walls, holding still as they both adjusted the intense feeling. Locking her legs around Emma's hips tightly, Ruby began to grind in slow circles, before rock her hips up into Emma, setting a gentle pace.
'OURS. MINE. OUR MATE. OURS. MINE.' bounce around in Emma's and Ruby's mind's, spurring their actions on faster, their previous tenderness forgotten. Emma's cries and moans of pleasure joined Ruby's as they began to frantically strain against each other, sweat beginning to trickle down their bodies. "Emma, god, Emma, harder. Fuck, fuck, Emma. Agh, fuck." Ruby cried out, locking her arms around the blonde's neck, holding her tightly as she panted into her ear.
Gripping Ruby's hip in a bruising hold, Emma shifted her hips, and began to thrust into Ruby as hard and fast as she could, need causing all thought to leave her mind. "FUCK." Fell from both their lips at the sensations they were sharing, animalistic growls and screams of pleasure echoing around the clearing.
Feeling the coil in her belly tighten further, Ruby panted into Emma's ear, as she continued to thrust up into her. "Fuck…Emma…Emma…I'm…I'm gon…gonna…CUUUUUMMM" Ruby cut off with a scream, raking her nails down Emma's back, leaving deep scratches that broke the skin in several places. Emma responded by increasing the power and speed of her thrusts, driving Ruby's pleasure to rise higher. 'MINE.' Ruby raised her head, and instinctively sunk her teeth into Emma neck, marking her as her mate, and completing the bond between them.
Emma, overwhelmed with both pain and pleasure, began to buck wildly into Ruby, her nails breaking the skin where she held her hip. She had been struggling to hold back her own orgasm to come with Ruby, and hearing her scream, while feeling the nails down her back pushed Emma over the edge. Reaching her peak, Emma felt Ruby sink her teeth into her neck, creating a mate mark of her own. Emma's vision went white as her entire world seemed to come to a standstill of ecstasy. The pleasure coursing through her was too much, and she felt her power push out from her with the excess, pleasure radiating throughout her entire being.
Panting as her vision returned, as well as her ability to breath, Emma felt Ruby gently lapping at her neck, helping to clean the wound. They were still wrapped around each other, Emma still inside Ruby, neither wanting to move after such an intense moment. Shaking her head, Emma found that her instincts were almost non-existent, and that she could only feel a pleased contentedness coming from her wolf. She felt like herself again, but beyond joyfully happy.
Moving to be able to see her mate, Emma looked down into Ruby's eyes, seeing vulnerability there that she had never seen before. Ruby was blushing, and had a small smile on her lips, but her eyes played all of her tumultuous emotions like a movie for Emma to read. She wondered how she had ever missed the feelings that she had for Ruby, or the feelings that Ruby clearly had for her.
"You are so beautiful." Emma stated, punctuating her statement with a kiss. "How did I miss this between us? I knew I liked you, but looking into your eyes, holding you now, how did I never realize it was love?"
"Probably the same way I did, not thinking about it, and focussing on everything else that has been going on. I'm still amazed that Belle and I found each other, so missing this isn't that big of a surprise. It's not like I would have thought there was someone else out there for me once I found my True Love, and I know you would never have tried to interfere because I was happy. You are too much of a closet romantic for that." Ruby giggled. She reached up and tucked Emma's hair behind her ear, gently cupping her cheek. "But I don't want you to think for a second that I love you any less than I know you do me. As fast as everything feels, it really hasn't been for me. I've felt this way for a long time, I've just had to try to pretend that I haven't because I thought it was wrong. But it's not, and I am so happy that you feel the same, if that light that went out is any indication. "
"Light?" Emma looked around and noticed that several trees had bark and limbs missing, some of the smaller trees were completely uprooted. Car alarms could be heard going off in the distance.
"It looked like the light from True Love, like when the curse broke, only a lot more intense." Confused that Emma had not seen what she had done, Ruby simply smiled and pecked the woman above her. There would be time for that later, and she wanted to enjoy their afterglow for the time being.
"Oh. Wow. Glad we were in the forest when that happened. And I don't doubt our love Rubes. I can feel it. And hell, we are part of fairy tales, if things happened normally, I would be worried." Chuckling at the look of adoration aimed up at her, Emma felt her heart swell at the knowledge that she finally had the woman she loved in her arms. Cupping Ruby's cheek, Emma leaned down until her lips were almost touching Ruby's. "I love you. You are my mate. My True Love. And that will never change."
"I love you too, my mate." Losing themselves in the kiss, Ruby and Emma began to move against one another, their passion beginning to build again. Knowing she was too tired to continue, Emma broke the kiss with a few small pecks to Ruby's lips, earning her a beaming smile from the brunette.
"Let's go home to our other mate, and see if we can't figure out what to do with your new little 'extra' a bit later, hmm?" Ruby pulled Emma down again into a deep kiss that left them panting, before pushing her back with a wolfish smile. They moved apart slowly, with several kisses and caresses shared before beginning their search for whatever clothing remained. They redressed in whatever clothing hadn't been shredded in their urgency, but not much was left.
"Think you can do that 'poof' thing again and get us back to our room? I don't fancy giving the town a show of my mate's body tonight." Ruby chuckled. "This sight is solely for Belle and I, for now."
"Anything for you." Smiling, Emma wrapped Ruby in her arms, and kissed her soundly, allowing her power to swirl around her as she sent them back to their sleeping mate.
Across town in the forest, Robin and his men sat around the fire, discussing the encounter with the wolf and the Sherriff, and how they would protect the town from its savagery if she refused to. When the wave of power hit them, they were knocked to the floor of the forest, their fire was put out, and the lines of their tents snapping from the branches they were tied to.
"What the bloody hell was that?!" Robin yelled into the dark forest around him, searching blindly around the dark forest for the source of the danger. Leaving his men to scramble to restart the fires, he knew that something big had happened, and it would change everything. "Get those fires up and get camp remade, NOW!" He would not be caught unprepared again.
As the wave rocked through her home, Regina was awoken to the sound of car alarms blaring up and down the street. She could feel the power that had been released; it was more powerful than the True Love magic that she had witnessed in the past. This felt wild, almost dangerous, but familiar at the same time.
Leaving her home, she walked to her front yard, looking at the homes of the neighbours up and down her street. Every home had damage, ranging windows being broken, to shutters blown off, trees and bushes uprooted, and fences knocked down. Following the direction the past of damage took, it seemed to point to an area in the woods behind their homes as the course. 'What could have caused this much damage?' Regina wondered. True Love magic was powerful, but never violent in its release. 'It's almost like it was a shockwave. All these properties damaged and trees downed everywhere... My tree!'
Rushing to the back of her home in a panic, Regina was relieved to see that her tree was untouched. When the council took power after the curse had broken, she moved her tree to her yard and placed a barrier spell around it to ensure its safety. Looking around, Regina saw that nothing on her property was out of place, and in fact, her tree seemed fuller, with more leaves and fruit than it had ever had before.
Looking to the properties on either side, of her own, she could see the devastation that had occurred to the forest, and to her neighbours. 'What the hell happened out there?!'