Furry Humans
side story - Samantha

This wasn’t how I imagined meeting my mate, my other half, my soul, the one who completes my being. I imagined meeting him on a run or a quick stop in the city and we’ll spend our time getting to know each other which will lead to more — I didn’t imagine or expect my mate to have already been “bounded” and given the false hope that the girl he was with was me.

I didn’t push him. I didn’t hover. I left him alone knowing that replaceing the one who he thought was destined to be with was not will take some time to heal; so, I gave him two and a half years. Two and a half years all by myself, watching my friends mingle and spending their time with their loves, it hurt to watch knowing that my own was so far from my reach.

I wanted his touch. For his eyes to feast on me like one would a diamond, his love to surround me, and his voice to travel through my ears with the promise that he loved me and waited as I had— I just wanted him. The sound of London coughing and gagging pulled me away from my thoughts as I immediately started patting his back and rubbing in circular motion as I reached for his cup.

“Careful,” I mumble, watching his mouth close around the bottle, his throat working to swallow down the liquid contents. “You need slow down, the food isn’t going anywhere.”

The sound of feet thumping against the floor reached my ears as Abigail passes under the archway threshold, a worried look in her eyes, her attention immediately flickers to London then to me.

“Is he okay?”

I nod, bouncing my knee, “He was just eating too fast.” I tell her, pushing his plate away as she walks over.

Her hand rests on top of his head, her fingers sliding through his hair, after a moment her shoulders relax and London places his cup down, reaching for her. I lean back as Abigail picks him up and places him on her hip, he leans his head against her shoulder as he sucks on his thumb.

“I’ll take over now,” Abigail says, rocking from side to side to soothe him further. She turns to look at me, “Thanks again, I hope you didn’t have any plans?”

I shake my head while rising to my feet, “I didn’t, I was just going to go for a run,” I tell her with a smile. “And I like spending time with him.”

She returns the smile, looking down at London before kissing his head. “I know, thanks again.”

“No problem, you know where I’ll be when you and Xavier need to. . .” I trailed off and wiggled my brows.

I laugh that’s followed by a snort when her cheeks begin to redden, “Sam!” she hisses, quickly glancing at London then back at me.

I back out of the kitchen, a smile still playing on my lips, “What? That’s how you got pregnant in the first place.”

Before she could hit me, I dash out the kitchen and down the hall with my laughter following behind me. The mirth-filled moment lasts for a short while as I exit the packhouse and head towards the forest, the smile slips from my lips and the laughter fades as I reach the edge line and stare out into the trees.

The sun was starting to set, the time being around seven in the evening as the color in the sky change, I take in a deep breath of the changing seasons, the cold coming back in full circle. The sun shined through the tree leaves, glittering and sparkling while my eyes follow a leaf slowly fluttering before me as it dropped to the ground.

With another breath, I jog further into the forest, continuing on a path I’ve taken so many times before, the grass has worn down over the years I’ve raced back and forth on. The walk was like my own therapy for the past couple of years, being surrounded by trees and covered in their shadows was a comforting solitude for me to live in my thoughts.

Nature calls out to me as I slow my jog to a walk, losing my shoes along the way, my toes sink into the moist dirt that has been wet from dew fog, birds chirp from the tops of the trees with mother birds tending to their young. Lost in the world, a branch snapping off to the side of me brings my attention to the trees and the eyes that stare at from the depths of the shadows.

I stop in my tracks, staring the wolf in the eye, my body hums with the already known knowledge of who it was before my mind could catch on.

Mason stalks from the tree line, his wolf surpasses the normal height of any other wolf, his huge paws sink into the dirt, his weight leaving prints on the ground as he walked toward me. The muscles underneath his fur ripple in waves at his movements, showing the strength they withhold, and those dark brown eyes staring me down as I stood unmovingly in his path.

He was nothing but a hair breathes away now, my neck tilting to gaze at him accurately, I could feel his breath breathing down on me and blowing small wisps of my hair.

Big brown eyes were all I could see. This was the first interaction we had alone together, other than crossing paths and him turning the other way that was all we had as an “interaction”, staring at him now, so close though he was in wolf form was all I ever wanted; just to be close. My hand twitches at my side, soon I replace myself reaching out — his eyes flicker to my hand but he doesn’t move.

My lips part open when my hand makes contact and sparks immediately shoot patterns up my arm, my fingers comb through Mason’s coat a low rumbling starting from the base of his chest. I step closer, in what little space there was between us, caressing his face, my heart aches at the soft look that overtakes his eyes and soon his snout was pressed into the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent.

The rumbling grows deeper, his front paw moving to the space between my feet to get closer, the sudden action of his tongue over the curve of my neck as if tasting what he smells, it makes me lock up and instant heat to flood my system moving down to my core. The sound of bones shifting and rearranging didn’t reach pass the haze I had fallen into until I was wrapped around Mason’s body his, his hands replace my shoulders and gently push me away from him with flushed cheeks. He was standing before me in his naked glory, his chest presented to me among with other things, he clears his throat gaining my attention.

“Sorry. I couldn’t control him for a moment,” he speaks, his deep voice sending shivers down my spine.

“It’s fine,” I whisper, staring at enjoying his big hands on me.

He looked down at me, the wind blowing my hair into my face. He stares at me transfixed, the warmth of his hand sinking deeper into my soul, the connection between our not breaking until a squirrel far away ran across the ground, scattering leaves and bringing us back. The feeling I felt soon shattered when he dropped his hands from my shoulders and took a huge step back.

“I should get going. . .”

He didn’t wait for me to answer back before he was turning around, showing me his backside and walking in the other direction I’ve come from — him showing me his ass didn’t matter as my mind was on other things.

“That’s it!” I called out him, making him stop. “We just had a moment after who knows how long and you’re just going to walk away like. . like that.” my voice cracks.

He doesn’t say anything nor turns to face me but his shoulders do tense up and his breathing changes.

“How long do you think I’ll be able to wait? Wait for you to finally touch and hold me?”

His head shifts a tad bit to look over his shoulder.

“I get you’re hurt from what happened but what about me? why is it me who has to suffer from a mistake?” I cry, the cool air drying the tears I didn’t know were falling. “Let me be selfish for once, please.”

He exhales a breath into the air, turning back to face the front, “I really am sorry.” and he walks away.

I watch him walk away, the tears coming faster when he fades from sight. I inhale deeply before screaming into the air, the sound echoing around me, my heart aching more than ever, bringing me down to a bottomless pit that consumes my soul whole— my whole being and drowning me in the depths of it. I scream until there’s no air left in my lungs.

“You coward!” I scream after him, my words flowing with the wind with the hope that it travels to him. “I hate you!!”

Though I shouted those words over and over again, crying and putting as much venom as I could behind them, it wasn’t true, it will never be true; I loved him. I really loved him.