Revelations, PT II

When I dropped my hands, Tak was nowhere in sight. I looked around the room, curiously. I turned to my side and almost fell from where I was sitting.

Next to me, taking up the entirety of the bed, was the largest wolf I could have imagined. Its fur was a glossy black, the tips of its ears shading towards a burnt brown. The paws on the wolf were big enough to cover my face. Its tail was long and shaggy, thumping against the bed softly. The wolf yawned softly, a whining sound, and studied me intently with glittering, green eyes.

Green eyes....?

I cautiously stretched out a hand for this new wolf to sniff, which it did, disinterestedly. It was looking at me with a strange awareness, almost nervously. What would a wolf as big as it be nervous about. I received a tiny lick on the back of my hand, and took that as permission to pet. Its fur was incredibly soft, but somewhat wiry at the same time. As my hand sank into its fur, I heard a voice. Tak's

"What do you think?" I looked around. Where was he hiding?

"Where are you? This is a strange joke," I said, beginning to get tense. What, the big family secret was some rare wolf?

"What do you mean, where am I? I'm right in front of you," he said, sounding amused. I slowly turned, meeting the wolf's eyes. It cocked its head, panting softly.

"Tak?!" I cried, yanking my hand away. When I didn't hear a response, I tentatively put my hand back on the wolf's...Tak's...paw?

"Yeeeess?"

"Holy- what the- " I was speechless.

"So, that's the secret," Tak said, touching my hand softly with his nose. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think," I gasped. "Are you… did I take too many herbal medicines from your grandfather? Is this like a peyote trip?"

"We don't use that, really," he replied, meeting my eyes again.

"How in the hell am I hearing you? You're not talking. I'm tripping, I'm absolutely high out of my mind and hallucinating," I said, covering my ears. Tak put a paw on my uninjured leg.

"No, you're not hallucinating. And right now, I can only talk to you when we're close, touching in fact," he replied. "As time goes on and we- and things move forward, it probably won't be like this for long."

"Like what?" I asked, removing my hands from my ears. It didn't work to block out his voice.

"Where we have to be touching for us to speak. You'll be able to communicate back with me, too."

"Why would you tell me this? You'll be put under experiments if people knew. You'd be killed!" I cried out.

"I trust you," he replied, simply, cocking his head to a side. One of his ears flopped forward, and I laughed, losing control.

"I can't believe this," I said. "Why me? Why are you showing me this?" I stopped laughing, covering my face with my hands, trying to breathe. When I regained control, I laid my hand on his paw again.

"The reason you ran into me, and I ran into you, was because I could smell you," he said, softly, laying his huge head over my hand. "I couldn't figure out where you were, and it was driving me crazy. I needed to find you right away, so I began running after your scent. The next thing I know, someone crashed into me, and I lost balance trying to catch myself. I was upset, at first, thinking that whoever had knocked me over was costing me time I needed to catch up- but then I realized it was you."

"What's so special about my smell?" I asked, suspiciously. "Am I like rare meat?"

He huffed. "You're my mate," he said, gently. "We can tell immediately when we meet our other half. I could sense my mate nearby, and it was driving me to find you."

"This is too much," I said. "I can't even think about this right now."

"I wasn't joking about going at your own pace, Lain," he replied softly. "And if you needed any proof about what I'm saying- that you're my mate- you haven't been speaking out loud since I said I trust you."

I was surprised, too surprised to speak when I realized what he had said was correct. I didn't even think about it- speaking with him in a kind of internal dialogue had happened naturally.

"You don't have to accept what I'm saying right now, you'll be able to see for yourself," he said, raising his head. "In time I have no doubt you'll see that we are meant to be together. Until then, we can get to know each other, how you want, and until you get comfortable. It was hard for me, too," he admitted, laying his ears back. "I wanted to show you right away, that first night, to bring you here and introduce you. It was torture watching you walk away."

"This is a lot to take in," I said, testing out speaking without using my voice, consciously.

"And you can take your time doing so," he replied softly. "I want you to feel safe, as well as happy."

I sat for a moment in silence, looking over his wolf form appreciatively. "Do you guys… how do you know if you can do this?"

"It usually starts when we're in our mid teens," he replied. "We always see our elders shifting, so it's something we look forward to."

"Were your parents... shifters?" I asked.

"My mother was, my father wasn't," he replied. "It didn't affect us. My brothers and my sister all have the ability." I heard him chuckle. "Don't think about it too much, this early."

"So when Dowan and Kangee were fighting- I saw the claws," I said, finally. "That's what I thought I hallucinated back then, too."

"More than likely," he sighed heavily, his enormous body heaving with the gesture. "They are still working on controlling themselves. Grandad takes a firm stance on anger like that."

"Do you lose your clothes, then?" I asked suddenly. Tak laughed, uncontrollably.

"Yes. I take them off before shifting, and I have to put them back on," he chuckled. "You're more than welcome to-"

"Ahhh!" I yanked my hand away. He huffed, rolling onto his side. I could tell he was playing, but the tomato color my face had turned wasn't.

"All right," I said, finally, out loud, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face. "That's actually pretty cool, Tak."

He yipped, making a bow, then pawing at me. "I'm glad you think so," he replied, when I touched his coat.

"So, now what?" I asked. "Now that I know the big secret, what happens?"