LIGHTS

©2003 Elizabeth L. Clark

"Hey -- what happened to the lights?" I winced when I ran into the sharp edge of the table with my bare shin. I felt silly talking out-loud when no one was here but me. I lived alone in this rambling house in the middle of nowhere. I preferred it that way.

The storm had to have been the reason the power had failed. I sighed and lit several candles and two of my three oil lamps. Outside the wind howled and rattled the windows.

"This is seriously spooky." I sighed and decided to light the fireplace and settle in with wine and some munchies to wait out the storm. I knew the phone was gone. It always died when it stormed like this. There was no one else up here on the mountain but me. So I was not worried about being robbed or anything.

Outside a figure crawled through the rain and wind. His nude body was covered in healing wounds and old scars. He saw the lights and took a chance. He made it to the porch and with the last of his energy slammed a big hand against the door.

He slumped to the deck as blackness took him into its embrace. His last thought was that he hoped he was right and that the female inside was the one he sought.

I heard the hand on the door and jumped. No one came here unless delivering something. Cautiously I opened the door and then gasped. I didn't think, I just pulled the man inside out of the weather. He was tall, lean and muscular with raven dark hair that was plastered to his face and shoulders. I couldn't help noticing his beauty as I pulled him in front of the roaring fire.

He was hurt and I had to help him. I placed my hands on his wounds and let the power seep into him slowly. I was shocked at how quickly the wounds healed. Then I felt the difference in him. He was not human. I felt the pulse of the earth within him, the touch of the wolf.

He was a shifter, a werewolf. How did he come to be so injured that he could not shift to heal himself I wondered as I cleaned him and covered him with a soft flannel blanket. He slept deeply, face handsome, body covered in pink splotches of new skin.

Eventually I dozed off beside him. I felt drawn to him as if we were one. My sleep was filled with dreams of past times, faces and places. Many were eerily familiar.

He awoke to the feel of a warm, lush body next to his. She was curled up on his chest, her auburn hair caressing his skin. With tender care he kissed a lock of it, inhaling her scent. When she stirred he found himself looking into peridot coloured eyes that were filled with questions.

I stared at him, lost in his dark eyes. When he kissed me I did not resist. In fact I welcomed his touch. We made love as the storm peaked and then abated. As I knew he would, he shifted as we joined. I cared not. I clung to him as our bodies became one. When we were sated he held me close as his human form returned.

"I am for you beloved, from time immortal."

"I know. I saw it in the dream realm. Stay with me here. You can hunt and I will cast majicks to protect us from the outside world."

He nodded and then words were not needed as we came together once more. The years would bring many cubs, many nights with the pack. but for now it was just us, two souls locked together for all time.