2. Forty- seven

"You're going to show me your wolf?" I asked again, surprised by his words. Where did he get this idea from? I have known Ethan for more than three months and I haven't seen his wolf. I have found myself wondering what he would look like in his raw, animal form but I never had the guts to outright ask him about it. It was a weird conversation starter. How do you ask someone to show you their wolf anyway?

Honestly, I never actually felt that level of security in my and Ethan's relationship, which could give me the confidence to ask him about it. Funny, how he brought the matter on his own, without any hint or nudging from my side.

"Yeah. Why? You don't want to?" Ethan joked, knowing fully well that I was jumping with curiosity and excitement at the prospect of his wolf.

It has been a little over six months since I came to know about the existence of werewolves. Back home, I had seen so many pack members shift in their wolves and I had even ridden on two of them but nothing could take away the thrill of watching someone shift. 

When a person shifts into a werewolf, every bone of their body breaks and rearranges to support the shifting or transition. So, it most definitely is painful but for a viewer like me, who can only hear the sounds of bone cracking and see the fur sprouting, it's an intriguing experience. The magic and charm of watching someone shift was never going to go away for me. At least, I hoped it didn't.

I quickly unlatched my seat belt, opened the car door, and jumped out of the vehicle, eager to see Ethan's shifting process and his wolf. Ethan laughed at my eagerness and I beamed at him in return.

He walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk of his car. He took out a bag, put it on his shoulder, and motioned for me to follow him.

"So, how did you get this idea?" I asked as I followed Ethan into the woods. He kept walking deeper into the woods, so no one could see us. Well, he didn't have to worry about that, this place looked deserted and completely devoid of human inhabitance. How did he even find this place?

"I have been thinking about it for a while now, honestly. I decided I wanted to do it and show you my wolf after you told me about our Batair situation. And I wanted to see something for myself."

"And what's that?" I asked as I carefully avoided the tangle of roots, which would have taken my clumsy self down on the ground.

"I have a suspicion but I won't know if it's true in my human form. I'll tell you when I know for sure." He said, his voice sounding ominous in the forest.

I looked back to see how far we had come from the tree line, only to see that the tree line was nowhere in sight. We must have covered more ground than I thought, but then again, we have been walking for fifteen minutes now.

"I think it's deep enough!" Ethan looked around the forest and then turned to face me. Okay, so this was the place he would shift.

"Here, take this." He motioned me to take the bag from his hand, the same bag he had taken out from the trunk of his car.

I took it from him, eager to know what was inside. It was light enough, so I opened it. Inside the bag, there was a pair of jeans, boxer briefs, and a pair of socks.

"I need you to hold onto that. I'm going to need those after I tear off my clothes after shifting." Ethan said, pointing at the bag.

Did that mean he wasn't going to be stripping? I wanted to groan and stomp my feet like a child but I didn't have the guts to tell Ethan that he had taken half the pleasure of seeing him shifting away. 

I reprimanded myself as soon as the thought crossed my mind. Hormonal Zara was reminiscing about the abs she had felt while she made out with Ethan the other day.

"You look a little disappointed." Ethan points out and I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. What was I even supposed to say?

He laughed at my dumb self pulled the hem of his shirt and threw it at me. His laugh echoed in the first while I hid my red cheeks from him by stuffing my face into his shirt while inhaling his cologne at the same time.

"You looked like you needed a show!" Ethan laughed at me while I narrowed my eyes at his smug expression.

I immediately took in his sculpted and shirtless body. If objectifying women was bad, I was sure objectifying men was bad too, but please could you blame me when someone this good was standing in front of me? My eyes raked over his muscles and finally met his eyes, which had a burning in them. I think I know what he was thinking which made me blush even more.

Ethan smirked at me and made a show out of unbuttoning his pants. He kicked off his shoes and stood in front of me, in all his semi-naked glory. Let me tell you people, Ethan in just his boxers is a sight for sore eyes!

"Well, here goes nothing." With that, Ethan hunched over and I immediately knew that he had started his shifting process. I clutched the straps of the bag tightly as I watched him groan, as he shifted. His bones broke and rearranged, his mouth transformed into a snout and fur sprouted from his otherwise clear skin. A few seconds later, a wolf was standing in front of, where Ethan had just stood.

A completely black wolf. Dark as the darkest night.

Harper's wolf was white while Ethan's was black. The irony wasn't lost on me.

I took a few steps forward, checking to see if his wolf was comfortable with me. I knew the wolf wouldn't attack me because it was Ethan but I had to know if his wolf was comfortable with me. When the wolf didn't retreat, my confidence increased and I covered the remaining distance between us with confident strides.

He wasn't as tall as Harper was, but somehow, looked just as deadly. I hesitantly put my hand forward to show his wolf that I was going to touch him. Instead of backing away, he leaned forward and let me touch his snout. 

I smiled at the fact that he took the first step, which meant that Ethan's wolf was comfortable with me. The thought made me flush with happiness and pride.

I took hold of his huge wolf face and looked at his giant beast eyes, which seemed to be gouging my every move. I moved my hands gently through his thick black fur, watching my fingers disappear in the thick coat. The wolf purred under my hands and I smiled at his closed eyes and the sounds he was making.

I chuckle at the soft purring machine that is Ethan's wolf. He sure likes to be a pet. He growls when my hands stop and I laugh at how adorable it is.

After a few moments, his wolf nudged me and then lowered to the ground a bit. I knew what he was trying to say. His wolf wanted me to get on his back and go for a ride. Well, if I had known his wolf was into this kind of thing, I would have worn a jean or something and not a stupid sundress.

I pout and point to my sundress. "I can't. I'm wearing a dress."

The wolf rolled his eyes and scoffed at my words. He nudged me again and bent even lower, signaling me to get on top of him, not caring about the fact that I was wearing a dress. I huffed at his demanding wolf and shook my head.

His wolf growled in return and nudged me again. I finally gave in as I remembered how amazing it felt to ride on the back of a wolf. So, I gave in to his pleas. 

I adjusted my sundress so he couldn't peek at me and then climbed his beast of a body. I felt his muscles clench as he stood up to his full height after I carefully placed myself on him. He trotted a few steps in the forest to make sure I was comfortable. 

He growled, alerting me that he was going to increase his pace. I bunched his fur in my hands and leaned forward to maintain my balance as Ethan's wolf started to run through the forest.

My ponytail whipped as the air struck us. A few of the tendrils escaped the hair tie and I laughed at how amazing it felt. I had missed this, riding on a wolf was one of the best things I had ever experienced and I would never get tired of it. 

The world blurred as the wolf increased his pace. He bounced around, effectively dodging trees and roots, all the while making sure that I was still on top of him, and not flying away after losing my balance. I would crack my spine against a tree if I were to accidentally lose hold and balance.

After a few hours of running, his wolf made its way back to the spot where Ethan had shifted and where I had left his bag of clothes. 

His wolf lowered slowly and I climbed off of him, enthralled and amazed by the experience. When I got off, he picked up the bag with his teeth and disappeared behind some bushes, to shift back and clothe himself.

I untied my ponytail, which I was sure a mess at the moment, and did it again. I adjusted my dress and calmed my beating and adrenaline-filled body for a few moments while I waited for Ethan to come back in his human form.

A few minutes later, Ethan came back, fully clothed, and as soon as he came within touching distance, I flung my body on his and hugged him as hard as I could. "Oh my god! That was amazing." 

He put his arms around me and hugged me back, clearly pleased with my revelation. Ethan pulled back a little to look at me and smiled softly at me.

I smiled back. He leaned forward and captured my lips and I eagerly kissed him back.