The Wolf's Light. --2,401

         On a hot summer night, Rayn decided to take a walk in the woods before bed to relax herself. She always felt at home in the woods with all that nature surrounding her. Rayn could control nature, she could make the flowers bloom, heal the trees, fix the patches in the grass. She looked up at the sky, taking in the beauty of the night. The stars twinkled like they were winking back at her from above. The leaves crinkled as she walked barefoot on the grass. As she walked down through the path from her home, she heard the slightest movement to her left. Her heart raced as she peered through the trees and bushes. Rayn could see fairly well in the dark, but as she looked, she saw nothing out of the ordinary, so she chalked it up to being a forest critter. Rayn continued to walk further into the woods, as she did she felt the hairs at the nape of her neck stand up. She felt as if someone was watching her, or maybe stalking her. Her adrenaline spiked but she tried to keep calm so whoever or whatever was out there didn't catch on that she knew there was someone out there.
         The wolf known as Lucas when he is in man form, hid in the shadows of the bushes and trees. He watched as the woman turned around to walk back to her home. He knew that she was trying to not act scared, though he could hear her heart beat fast in her chest. As she walked, he followed. He could not help himself, she was beautiful with her long straight dark hair, it looked black in the night. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he panted, watching her curved body sway. He may be a wolf now but there was a man inside that wolf, wolf and man were in agreement she was beautiful and meant for them. With his super hearing he heard another wolf running towards the girl. He thought maybe they knew each other so he scented the air, then growled low and deep, as he realized that other wolf was from the rival pack, which dedicated themselves to harming humans, thinking that humans were beneath them and were only cattle. Lucas shot out to intercept the other wolf's attack, knocking into him. As they rolled in the leaves, he heard the woman stop and shift, probably turning around to check on what the noise was.
         Rayn heard growls erupt from the far left of her, she took a step toward it, but then decided against it. She didn't want the animals attacking her. Rayn walked quickly to her little house, closing the door and going to the window to look out. The forest was dark, but she didn't see any movement. Rayn decided to just go to bed and forget about the noises she heard outside.
         The next morning Rayn woke up feeling refreshed. She put the coffee on while she went to shower and get ready. Rayn showered fast and got ready for work. She owned a little flower shop, the shop was attached to her home, and she had converted her garage a couple years ago to the little business. She loved being in there with all the flowers and taking in the scents. Rayn filled a mug of coffee adding sugar and milk before heading to her flower shop which was called Rayn's Flowers. It wasn't a very creative name, but she still loved it. She unlocked the doors, switched the sign to open, and put out some flowers for her customers to see. Rayn went to the back to get some more flowers when she heard the bell at the top of the front door jingle. She looked over her shoulder as she heard the bell and went to the front. A gorgeous man stood in the front she looked him up and down, Rayn just couldn't help herself. His features were chiseled, his hair dark and short at the top, his body looked ripped. Rayn gave herself a mental shake, before she drooled, and asked "H-how may I help you?"
         Lucas looked up from scanning the flowers, wondering which to get for his mother, and couldn't believe it was the woman from the forest. Lucas cleared his throat "Hi, I'm looking for some nice flowers for my mother. I've been gone a while and I want them to say sorry, I haven't visited much" he laughed softly.
         Rayn smiled and went over to some yellow lilies. "These are good for that kind of occasion." She picked up a handful of the lilies and wrapped them up. Rayn handed them over. As his hand reached out to take them, their fingers touched. She felt an electric shock where their fingers touched. She gasped and took her hand back quickly. She wondered if he had felt that or if it was just her imagination. Rayn smiled nervously "Here you go, that will be twelve dollars."
         Lucas smiled back "Thanks, by the way, I'm Lucas." He said as he held out his hand. Rayn hesitated but shook his hand and got another electric shock.
         }She bit her lip from gasping again, he would probably think there was something wrong with her if she hadn't. "I-I'm Rayn, it's nice to meet you." She took her hand back and walked to the register. He followed behind her, rang up the flowers and looked at him waiting for him to pay. Lucas started and got out his wallet and took out the cash handing it over to her. Rayn smiled at him "Have a good day."
         Lucas smiled back "Actually I was wondering if you wanted to grab some coffee sometime?"
         Rayn blushed and thought about it. "Sure I would like that."
         "What time do you go to lunch?? How about then." Lucas asked.
         Rayn looked at the time and nodded "That would be good, lunch is at one thirty, I'll see you then." Lucas smiled and waved goodbye.
         As the hours passed, people came and went. Rayn kept looking at the clock, as the minutes ticked down she got more and more butterflies in her stomach. After the last customer, she closed the shop for lunch and went to the bathroom to freshen up. She fixed up her hair and put a little make up on, which she never did. Though, this was also her first date in a while, so she figured she should pamper herself a bit. Rayn heard the bell above the door jingle, she smiled widely and then tried to compose herself. She went to the front and was greeted by Lucas, he had two coffees in his hand. Rayn walked over and took one "How was your morning?"
         "It was good, not much happened." He hummed, tapping his chin as he tried to think of anything eventful that happened. Lucas thought on how he had a pack meeting telling his Alpha what happened last night. His Alpha wanted him to watch the woman closely to see why the other pack wanted her, though he doubted the Alpha had meant for him to have a date with her. He turned his focus to the beautiful woman before him. She smelled of flowers and berries. That combination made him want her even more. They ended up talking about their likes and dislikes, about their pasts and just about anything really.
         Rayn was having such a good time, that when she looked up at the clock two hours had past. It was way past lunch and she needed to open up the shop again. She looked a little disappointed as she said "I need to open the shop again."
         Lucas glanced over at the clock with surprise "I'm sorry I didn't realize that it was so late, it was great chatting with you." He got up and put his hand on her cheek. Her lips parted as she licked her lips. Lucas leaned down and kissed her deeply. He pulled back to get some much needed air. Rayn was breathing hard as she looked up at him, her fingers went to her lips tracing them. Lucas smiled, said goodbye and that he would see her later.
         As the weeks turned to months, Rayn and Lucas went out every Friday and hung out on the weekends. Lucas forgot that he was supposed to be getting information on her and just enjoyed what they were sharing. His Alpha was getting irritated with him, he hadnât found out anything useful as to why the rival pack would want her. Though everything was perfect with them, their relationship was progressing, they had steamy nights, sweet nights, and just veg on the couch. She shared her powers with him, telling him that she was the light and in turn he shared that he was a werewolf. Lucas told her that she was his mate. A person that was fated to be with him, a bond that was unbreakable. There would be no other for either of them, they were soulmates. That was when Lucas realized why the rival pack wanted her. There was a myth that if you obtained the light and opened the portal to the other side, then you would have the ultimate power, what that power was he didn't know but he didn't want to find out.
         It was a busy Friday afternoon when a man came in to Rayn's shop. She noticed him immediately, even though she was helping a nice old lady pick some flowers for her husband's grave. Rayn excused herself from the lady and went up to the weird man to see if he needed help, to get him out of her store quickly.
         As she approached the man, he turned and walked out. Rayn stopped where she stood and wondered why he would come in if he wasn't going to buy anything. She shrugged it off and went on with her day. It was closing time so she turned the sign to close and went to put all her flowers in the fridge. Rayn thought about locking the door as she was walking to the back room but thought against it. She knew that Lucas was coming tonight, if she was busy he would walk in and wait for her. He was sweet like that.
         The bell above the door jingled, she looked at the clock in the back room and smiled, Lucas was early. She called aloud "I'll be right there Lucas, let me just put these flowers away and then we can go." Rayn frowned, wondering why he didn't say anything back. Maybe it wasn't Lucas, maybe it was a customer, if so she better tell them that the store was closed. She walked back to the front and saw that it was the man from earlier. He stood there scanning the shop. Fear skittered up her spine, but she tamped it down there was nothing to be afraid of he was probably here for some flowers that he didn't buy earlier. Rayn cleared her throat "C-can I help you?"
         The man bared his teeth menacingly, his teeth grew, his face elongated, his bones cracked and reformed turning him into a wolf. The wolf growled and that's when Rayn's flight instincts kicked in. She fled to the back so she could get to the back door and out into the woods. Rayn could protect and hide herself there. Rayn burst through the back door only to skid to a stop as four other wolves circled her. She sent a plea for help down the mating bond to Lucas. She hoped he would get here soon. Rayn looked around wildly to see if she could use anything to aid her until Lucas could get here. She saw that the roots from the trees grew close to her shop and projected in her mind the roots grabbing each wolf and throwing them far off to the side. Rayn ran as fast as she could when the wolves were out of the way. She threw up thorn walls, so that they couldn't get to her. She slowed to catch her breath and looked behind her. Rayn didn't see the wolves anymore, her heart calmed. She stood still thinking on why they would want her, she only ran a flower shop, and she was nobody. Deep in thought, Rayn heard a branch crack behind her, then a growl. She turned quickly just as a wolf jumped out at her and bit her arm.
         Lucas came running in wolf form following the bond to where he felt Rayn was. He heard her scream, his heart picked up in fear for her. Lucas ran faster and saw Rayn on the ground blood covering her arm. The other wolf looked at him as though he was grinning with pride at what he had done. Lucas let out a loud growl and he jumped at the wolf. He fought hard, every time Lucas would get a grip on the wolf's coat, the wolf would shake him off and take a chunk out of his hide. Finally Lucas got a grip on the wolf's neck and snapped it. He huffed thinking "Finally it's over." Lucas changed back to his human form, running over to Rayn. He checked her pulse, it was steady. He carefully lifted her off the ground and brought her back to her home. Lucas placed her on the couch, ran to the bathroom to get the first aid kit, and bandaged her up. He lifted her head so she could sit, letting her head rest on his lap. Rayn's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, giving him a shaky smile.
         Lucas pulled her up into his lap and hugged her gently. "Don't ever scare me like that again Rayn, you took 10 years off my life and you know wolves live for a long time." He laughed relieved.
Rayn buried her nose into his neck taking in his scent "Don't worry it will never happen again."
         Lucas pulled back and looked at Rayn "Marry me." He stated. Rayn looked startled. Lucas smiled "I know that we are already bonded but I want to see a ring on your finger letting everyone know your mine."
         Rayn felt as if her heart would explode. "Yes!"