Beloved

24

A week and some days later, Gaia woke with a gasp. Her eyes darted around the room, but with the blackout drapes over the windows, the room was bathed in a darkness her wolf eyes couldn't penetrate. A shudder convulsed through her body as she felt Dante's arm flex, pulling her closer to his body, and she suddenly understood it was just her, and not an earthquake.

"Gaia?" His voice thick with sleep was tinged with concern. His wolf nudged him impatiently.

"I think it's time," She gasped as another shudder overtook her body, "Dante, I think I'm going to shift!"

Wake up, human! Mate needs us!

Dante's eyes flew open. After a moment of panic he swept the covers off them both, scooped Gaia into his arms, and practically ran down the stairs toward the back door.

Her little body shuddered in his arms as he carried her past the pool and garden, straight to the forest line, where a shifting shed had been built. He carefully lowered her to the ground, and knelt in the snow beside her. He held her hand and stroked her head, quietly encouraging her to try and relax, and picture a wolf in her head.

Gray-star soothed her This will be painful, little one, and I'm sorry for it but try to relax and allow me to come forward

Gaia hissed as her flesh began to itch and her bones repositioned themselves with loud cracks. Dense, pale gray tipped white fur sprouted through her pores as her body and face shifted into her wolf's form. Spent, she stayed on her side panting until she caught her breath, peering up at her mate who was smiling down at her.

When he scooted back to give her room, she rolled to her belly and shakily stood on all fours.

"You did good, Gaia. Come here, beautiful girl." Dante, still kneeling, held his arms out.

Gaia's wolf shyly approached him, happy her mate approved. She let him scratch her cheeks, then lay down and rolled to her back, thoroughly enjoying when he scratched her belly.

"Okay, you ready for me to shift and we'll go for a run?" Dante smiled when Gray-star yipped and lolled her tongue.

As soon as he'd shifted, Gray-star stood still and let the large black wolf that was Cordut inspect her. Soon they were nosing each other and playing. It was clear Cordut wanted to mate, but Gray-star kept him at bay, wanting to explore first. Soon she took off running, and Cordut followed. He caught up to her, then pushed forward at the property line so he was was slightly ahead, leading her through the forest. They played until they were worn, and trotted back to their house, shoulder to shoulder.

Cordut nosed her to go into the shed shift to your human in there, my beloved. The humans store clothes in there

Past the heavy curtain for privacy she saw another curtain, presumably for two people to shift and change at once, and when the curtain moved slightly she could sense Dante on the other side, also shifting.

Gaia hissed as she shifted, her wolf assuring her it would become easier over time. Standing, she found a couple of muumuu dresses were hanging, and there were cubbies with varying sizes and of gray sport style shorts and plain gray or white tee shirts.

She chose one of the dresses and stepped around the curtain, into the early morning sun to see Dante was already in shorts, waiting for her.

Dante smiled as Gaia stepped from behind the curtain. "You're first shift! How do you feel?"

"Energized! And hungry. That was fun, though, thank you for the run."

"Yeah, that was fun, and we'll do it again, soon. Our wolves need to spend time together, too. But now let's go have breakfast, and then we need to go see the doctor for your final check in." Dante grabbed her hand and they walked to the house.

"Oh, yeah, I don't have to do those anymore, do I?"

"Nope. After today our days will be ours."

"Except for planning the ceremonies."

"My mom already has that covered, little mate. But I do have to call my parents. I'll do that after we return from seeing the doctor."

***

Dante called his parents to let them know Gaia had shifted, and Arianna responded they would return in three weeks, and hold the ceremony at the full moon the week after their arrival, which would be a Saturday that month.

Arianna immediately emailed Gaia that she wasn't to lift a finger, because it was the reigning Lina's privilege to coordinate the entire event. Gaia just needed to focus on learning the laws and customs of the pack, and preparing to take on the duties of Luna.

So Gaia continued to read the books between working on her studies. She suggested to Dante they should have Damian and Angelica over, sooner rather than later.

Dante contacted Damian and confirmed they'd be coming for dinner Wednesday.

Gaia decided to try her hand at lasagna and planned a meal around it, even asking Dante to procure a specific pinot noir. She made the sauce and prepared all the ingredients the day before, storing everything in individual containers in the refrigerator. She found Dante watching her when she closed the refrigerator door.

"Whatch'a doing?"

"I made the sauce and prepared all the ingredients, except the noodles."

Dante nodded slowly. She'd done this with a few dishes, but he was curious. "Why?"

"Because nonna used to tell me that if I make tomato sauce from scratch to prepare it at least a day ahead of time to let the flavors ripen."

Dante smiled, "You learned quite a bit from your grandmother."

"Mhmm," Gaia nodded.

"I'm glad she left you her recipes." The cookies Gaia had made the week previous, the day of her first shift, had taken him back to his childhood.

"Yeah, mom was really surprised when I asked her where she'd stored them. She's really happy I'm using them."

"Uh huh," Dante crossed his arms and tilted his head, "So, what are we going to have for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, I have stuffed peppers ready to go in the oven. I decided since at least some of the ingredients were the same, I'd just double a few things and make both dinners at once."

Dante stepped toward her and scooped her up in his arms so her legs wrapped around his waist, and gave her a long, passionate kiss.

"You are amazing." He grinned as she blushed. "You want to let your wolf out?"

"Yes!" Gaia giggled, squirming in his arms. She wanted to run ahead of him, but he swatted her bottom and told her to settle down.

She pouted and gave him her best puppy eyes. It was like he know she wanted to run ahead to get to her stash of snow balls to pelt him with.

He smirked as he opened the door, carrying her through. "Don't pout at me. I found your secret arsenal." He'd stumbled upon a nest of about fifteen to twenty snow balls behind the shed when he was on a recent perimeter check.

She blushed a deep red.

"Uh, huh. My sweet, innocent, gentle little mate is a mischievous little minx." He playfully nipped her nose.

"I have every right to make the playing field even." She stuck her tongue out.

"I can think of better things for that tongue to do."

Gaia popped her tongue back in her mouth and blinked owlishly at him.

Dante laughed. He set her down at the side of the shed she usually used and kissed her forehead before heading to the other side.

Gaia went behind the curtain and quickly undressed and shifted, shaking her coat against the brisk air.

In their shifted forms they greeted each other, then ran and romped, chasing each other through the snow drifts. As they watched the moon rise, a light snow began to fall and they trotted back to the pack house together.

Dressed and back in the house, Gaia put dinner into the oven, then joined Dante in the den where he'd turned on the electric fireplace.

After dinner, they both wanted showers. Dante murmured against her ear they could shower together, smirking as the blush rose in Gaia's cheeks.

When he entered the bathroom as she was undressing, she yelped and looked up at him in shock, "I thought you were joking!"

He peeled off his pants and kissed her forehead, "What's to joke about? We both want to take a shower, and this way will be faster. And more fun." He felt her heart rate increase and saw her pupils dilate.

She gaped and let her eyes drink him in as he stripped to his boxers in front of her, licking her lip with he reached into the shower to turn on the water. She felt color rush to her cheeks when he peered over his shoulder and smirked.

"See something you like, baby girl?"

Gaia nodded shyly, then her eyes widened and her blush deepend.

Curious to see what she'd do, Dante turned the water back off and faced her, his voice husky, "Help yourself. I'm all yours."

Gaia blinked, then tentatively stepped in front of him and gently traced her hands across the muscles of his shoulder, arms and chest. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, letting her fingertips graze his nipples. Her eyes flew open when she felt something bounce and nudge against her abdomen. She looked down, gasping when she saw a bulge tenting the thin silk covering his loins. Her wide-eyed gaze flicked up to Dante's face and seeing his amusement emboldened her.

She rolled her lower lip between her teeth and let her hands trail down his rippled belly to trace the 'v' shape of his hip bones, catching the elastic of his waistband. She knelt before him to slip his boxers down, over his bulge and down his legs, her eyes widening once more when his semi-erect penis bobbed in freedom.

Leaving his boxers to fall, she gently stroked her small hands around his thighs, stroking upwards. She watched in fascination as his cock sprung to attention when her hands reached the base and his balls. She peered up at Dante's face once more, entranced by the lust she saw in his eyes as her hands stroked the length of his cock, testing its girth in her small hands.

"It's so big," She breathed, continuing to stroke the length. When a glistening drop of precum oozed out, she stuck her tongue out to taste, eliciting a groan from him. It tasted slightly salty and somewhat sweet, and she hummed in appreciation, wanting more.

The shape of the bulbous tip against her tongue reminded her of a lollipop, so she wrapped her lips around it and let her tongue swipe, hoping to extract more of his liquid. When none was immediately available, she let the head pop out of her mouth, and ran her tongue down to his nut-sac, her hand gently stroking his dick out of her way.

Wondering how much of his penis she might be able to take in her mouth, she swiped her tongue back up his shaft to take the head back in her mouth. Then she slowly slid more of his shaft into her mouth until the head hit the back of her throat. Tears erupted from her eyes as her throat constricted painfully and she eased off, her tongue gliding against the veiny texture.

"Oh, goddess," Dante breathed, and both his hands grabbed the counter behind Gaia. He groaned again as her hand that wasn't stroking his length began to gently massage his scrotum in her open palm. He watched in fascination as her lips slowly descended, and his tip hit the back of her throat, and then she began to hum as she slid back up the shaft until just the head was still in her mouth.

Getting used to the sensation, Gaia picked up her pace of bobbing her head so half his penis was in her mouth in between breaths.

Dante groaned again, feeling the tightness in his belly as her throat constricted his tip. He wanted to grab her hair and fuck her pretty little mouth, and it took every ounce of control he had to grip the counter and just watch. Smelling her arousal, he knew he couldn't last long. A few more strokes and he knew he was about to release.

He whispered, "I'm going to cum."

Gaia eased off his shaft until just the head was in her mouth, stroking the length with both her hands. She moaned as her mouth filled and overflowed with his cum faster than she could swallow, she peered at him through her lashes as she licked his length to get it all. Then she licked his body as she rose to her feet.

Dante bent to catch her mouth with his, kissing her deeply, his tongue dancing with hers, tasting himself. His hands finding her breasts, fumbled unclasping her bra, tearing it from her body. Then his hands stroked down to her waist to unbutton her jeans. He knelt, pulling her jeans and underwear down, and freeing one foot he threw her leg over his shoulder.

He gazed at her glistening lips before plunging his tongue into her folds, relishing her soft cries and moans. His hands let go of her hips and buttocks, one reaching for her breast, the other teasing her swollen nub.

Gaia's hips bucked and she threw her head back as an orgasm overtook her.

Dante lapped her juices, then unhooked her leg from his shoulder and turned her around so she bent over the counter. He kissed her puffy lips once more, then let two fingers replace his tongue in her canal, curved to stroke her g-spot, while his tongue traced her spine to the nape of her neck as he stood.

Meeting her eyes in the mirror, he rasped, "Cum on my fingers, baby girl." He watched her eyes roll back, her nostrils flare and her mouth part as she moaned and whimpered her sweet, soft cries, her pussy pulsing and coating his hand with her juices. When her muscles finished contracting, he withdrew his fingers and brought them to her mouth, tracing her lips.

"Taste my fingers, baby. Taste how sweet you are."

His dick sprung to attention once more as she sucked on his fingers, watching him lick her neck with lust in her eyes. His breath caressed her ear, "I want to be inside you."

"I want you inside me," Gaia whispered. She gasped when he wrapped his arm around her waist to lift her, and slid is cock deep within, her eyes never leaving his.

She came twice, her juices gushing around his cock and down both their thighs, before he felt his own release building. He reached around her neck, stroking his mark, and kissed the nape of her neck, bringing her back to the edge, so they would climax together. He roared as she cried out, then doubled over her panting, watching her closely as her body calmed.

"I think we earned that shower, baby girl," Dante rasped as he slid out of her.

Gaia nodded, "Mhmm," a smile tugging her lips as she peered over her shoulder at him. "It's a good thing you turned it off."

"Yeah, that wouldn't have been fun." Dante reached into the shower to turn the tap on. Within a few moments the room was steaming up and he followed Gaia in.

They took their time washing, then drying each other. Dante massaged her body butter into her skin, then he made love with her again after they climbed into bed.