Chapter Forty-Eight

Jasmine’s POV

It was even better than the last time.

If I had thought that the last time I had been with Regan was incredible, then there were certainly no words to describe the act of mating.

I had only felt pain for a brief moment when he finally joined us as one, but the very next moment was blissful.

I had lost count of how many times I had cried out his name in my release as he took me to heights that were indescribable again and again.

When he finally joined me to ascend the heights and we cried out each other’s names, I suddenly started to feel a burning sensation on the side of my neck.

“Regan?!” I cried out his name in alarm at the intense sensation of heat, as if the side of my neck was on fire. “What is happening?” I asked, worry making my voice start to tremble.

He separated our sweaty bodies as he pushed off me, holding his weight with his elbows on both side of me as he peered down at me in concern.

I immediately turned my neck to the side to show it to him.

“I feel something”. I told him, hoping he would have an answer.

“You have nothing to worry about, Love”, he said as I turned back to look up at him. “It simply means you’re ready to receive my mark and complete the ritual”, he said.

His words brought me great comfort and quelled the fear that had began to rise within me.

“So all you need to do is mark me then?” I asked to be certain I understood his meaning.

He nodded his head.

“If you are ready, I will mark you now”, he said.

Despite how much I trusted him enough to know that he would never hurt me on purpose, the thought of being marked held the promise of pain that did not hold much appeal to me.

He must have noticed my concern because he spoke again.

“It will only hurt for a moment and you have my word that I will make it all go away”, he said.

I nodded, trusting that he would take care of me as he had all night.

“Are you ready?” He asked and I nodded.

Without wasting time, his eyes began to turn red and his teeth extended on both sides.

I turned me head to the side, exposing me neck to him.

I shut my eyes in anticipation of the pain and felt him lean down before sinking his teeth into my neck.

Though I had been expecting the pain, it was worse than I imagined.

I screamed out in pain and tried to push him away but he held me tightly to himself.

Before long, the pain was replaced by a feeling of ecstasy and a moan slipped from my lips.

On hearing it, Regan retracted his teeth from my neck and began to suckle on the spot he had marked me.

The feeling of pleasure suddenly over took me as he suckled my neck and began to move inside me.

Though I was a little sore, the feeling disappeared instantly as he took us on yet another journey to paradise.

When we cried out our releases a while later and Regan collapsed on me, I felt a feeling of peace so intense that I knew for certain that it was not mine.

Before I could comment on it to Regan, a scorching heat began to trail along my back.

“Regan”, I called out in alarm again, knowing for certain that that feeling could not possibly be associated with the mating ritual.

He hastily moved off me and I sat up to try to reach across my back to rub away the sensations.

“What is the matter?” Regan asked me, worry showing in his eyes.

“My back!” I cried out, tears already making their appearance. “It burns!” I told him.

He immediately grabbed a hold of my arms and turned me around to look at my birthmark.

I felt him tense and go silent.

“What is it?” I asked when he was too quiet, pulling away to rub at the part of my back that my hands could reach.

I turned to see him frowning in worry.

“I do not know”, he said, a look of disbelief on his face before he climbed off the bed and began to pull on his clothes with haste.

“We must go to Nana immediately”, he said, the urgency in his voice causing fear to rise within me once more.

“She will know what that is”, he said, pulling my night dress over my head. “I have never seen anything like that”, he said, wrapping a thick coat around me to ward off the chill of the night.

He rubbed my back as he led us out of the room with haste.

As soon as we stepped out of the house and into the light of the full moon, the strangest thing happened.

I heard a voice in my head.

‘Jasmine’ it called out softly, barely above a whisper.

I came to an abrupt halt, halting Regan in the process as well and bringing his eyes to me.

‘Jasmine’, the voice called again, and this time time it was accompanied by an image.

Even though my eyes were open and I could see the path before us, an image of what happened to be a pure white wolf suddenly appeared in my vision.

‘It is good to finally meet you’, the wolf said to me, although it’s mouth never moved.

“Jasmine!” Another voice called, snapping me out of my trance long enough to finally notice my mate standing before me looking very worried.

“Regan”, I called to him softly as he held me by my arms.

“What is wrong?” He asked, a flash of fear quick to appear and disappear from his eyes.

I could still see the wolf even as I looked at him.

“There is a voice in my head”, I told him, fear and confusion commanding my emotions at the moment.

“A voice?” He asked with a frown.

I nodded. “And…” I started and trailed off to calm myself enough to speak. “And there is a wolf”, I told him.

“I can see a wolf”.

His eyes widened in surprise. But before he could say anything, the burning in my back grew so much worse that I let out an ear deafening scream.

Pain exploded throughout my body as I felt my bones begin to crack.

I was deaf to everything other than the pain, my mind in a complete daze where I could see Regan calling out my name but could not hear him.

As though out of my body, I saw him carry me and begin to run. Though not towards the healing house where we were sure to find Nana.

Instead, he took the opposite way and headed into the woods, running with me in his arms even as my bones broke further.

I let out scream after pain filled scream as my body started to burn hot.

It felt like someone had tossed me into a furnace of fire and torment.

‘Breathe’ I heard that voice in my head say again. ‘Breathe’ it urged again.

Seeing as I had nothing to loose from doing so, I tried to breathe through the pain.

After what felt like forever, I felt Regan lay me on grass and I shut my eyes tightly, welcoming a sudden darkness that over took my trembling, hot body.

By the time I opened my eyes, the pain had disappeared. All that was left was a feeling of strength.

I had never felt so strong before. So slowly, I opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was my mate, no more in his human form but now in his wolf form, Rage.

But Rage was staring at me as though he had never seen me before. As though it was the first time he was seeing me.

But his stare was not in a bad way.

In fact, his eyes roamed over my body in complete adoration and it was as I looked away from him that I noticed something strange.

Something strange about myself.

I looked to where my hand was supposed to be to see a white paw instead of my human hands.

Belatedly, I had started to realize what was happening.

White fur completely covered where the rest of my body should have been and I finally realized.

I had shifted for the very first time in my life.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I tried to stand, immediately falling back.

Rage came around to stand behind me and help nudge me to stand with his head, and finally, I stood.

Cautiously, I took slow steps, still unable to believe that I had finally gotten my wolf.

Rage led me to a small pond and nodded for me to look in.

I did as he wanted and saw my reflection in the pond.

Staring back at me was the white wolf I had seen earlier.

She was my wolf.

‘It is good to finally meet you’ she said in my head once again. ‘I did not mean to frighten you earlier’, she said.

‘No, it is not your fault’, I told her. ‘I was being too foolish to recognize what was happening’, I said.

The soft sound of laughter echoed in my head.

‘What shall I call you?’ I asked her.

‘Whatever you wish’, she said. ‘ I am yours to name’.

My wolf sounded so calm that I instantly loved her.

‘I might need some time to think on it’, I told her and she simply nodded.

I turned to see Rage sitting on the grass, staring lovingly at me.

Or rather, us.

‘You are breathtaking’ I heard a voice that unmistakably belonged to my mate say in my head.

‘I can hear you’, I said softly to him. ‘I can hear you in my head’, I said.

He let out a laugh before nodding.

‘Of course, you can’ he said. ‘You have a wolf now’, he said happily, and stood to start to walk around me, sniffing me as he went.

I laughed happily as he began to lick me with his tongue.

‘Would you like to go on a run?’ He asked after he was done.

I could feel myself brighten up at the thought of going for my first run. So I wasted no time in nodding my head.

‘Come then’, he said, leading the way out of what I started to recognize as a small part of Rage’s sanctuary.

He led the way, turning back from time to time to see if I was keeping up. He started with walking, increasing his speed as he did so, and before I knew it, we were already racing past trees.

We were running so fast that I barely saw the trees flash past me as I ran, trying to keep up with him.

He was very fast, even though I knew he was going easy on me.

Soon, I had gotten used to the pace and increased it, running faster and passing him in the process.

He chased after me and we soon turned it into a game.

That is, until Rage came to a sudden stop, looking at me in surprise.

I stopped as well, wondering why he was looking at me that way all of a sudden.

‘What is the matter?’ I asked, puzzled.

‘Jasmine’, his voice said in my head. ‘You are glowing, Love’, he said, the awe in his voice clear as day.

At first, I thought he was simply paying me a compliment but as he continued to stare, I looked around and made my way to a pond of water to see what he was talking about.

When I saw it, I all but gasped, moving back in surprise at first before going back and taking in the sight of my reflection in the water.

Since my wolf was pure white, the parts that were touched with the light of the full moon were glowing. But what stood out more, what I was certain was the reason behind Regan’s awe was not my fur, but the marks on it that glowed brightly.

It seemed that my wolf also bore my birthmark on her back. Only that while mine was hideous, hers were the most beautiful silver lines as if they were drawn by the Moon Goddess herself.

I looked back at Regan, confusion and disbelief clear to see as I asked aloud.

‘What is happening to me?’