Bailey POV
I can barely remember who I am anymore, let alone how to shift back. My body is hurting all over and I have been wandering for what seems like forever, my lycan seemingly determined to go in one direction and not allowing me to change it. It's drawn to something or is that someone? The most delicious scent drifts towards my nostrils and my lycan growls deep in my throat, the smell becoming intoxicating the closer we get to it.
We see her. The girl. She's stunning. The hair is a vibrant blue that reminds me of the ocean and the sea. Her eyes are like giant jewels and her skin is almost glowing. My lycan wants to lunge towards her but I struggle with it, trying hard to hold him back, not wanting to scare this beautiful girl away, who stares at us intrigued, although not as afraid as I would have thought she would be. I want to touch her. I want her to touch me. I feel this insatiable need to be with her. My lycan is furious at my stubbornness.
She opens her pale pink lips and sings. The song is eerie and yet it calms me, my soul feeling peaceful for the first time in a long time. I sit, closing my eyes, my lycan practically purring at the noise. I hear her approach and feel the softness of her hand as it strokes my head and feels the coarseness of my fur. She's gentle. Tender. One touch from her and I feel the sparks that I never thought would happen to me in a million years. My body begins to feel heated. I know what she is. I know who she is to me. Does she feel it too? Does she know the reaction she's bringing to the surface? Is she aware of what she does to me, my Lycan?
Mate. A sacred bond that even lycans are desperate to find. The second half of their soul. They don't feel complete until they find them. No wonder she smelt so amazing and why my Lycan refused to change direction. I've been cursed in this lycan body for over a year now, unable to change back, and yet, I've not gone feral or lost control of my senses. I've merely remained lost if that makes sense. But now, now I feel different. The more she sings and the more emotion she puts into it, the more my lycan feels and the more my body begins to change.
What is this? Magic? She has to be a hybrid of some kind. The song is a clue. I don't care what creature she is. She's mine and she'll stay mine. She steps away and I feel my body beginning to ripple, feel my body beginning to change. It's painful due to not shifting for over a year. I keep my screams inside until I'm standing there, looking down at my naked human form in amazement. She did it. She managed to make me human again. I quickly scoop her up in my arms as I notice that she's about to lose consciousness. She must have drained her energy or something, I think absent mindedly, turning back in the direction I had come from.
Mate. We have our mate at long last.
I don't answer. I'm kind of pissed that my lycan took over for so long. Lycans are dangerous when they transform and are quicker and stronger than the usual shifter. My lycan senses my anger and merely chuckles in my mind. I stride swiftly back towards my pack, the Shadow Moon Pack, my eyes on the slight female in my arms, enjoying the feel of her against my bare chest. She's so light, she barely weighs more than a feather.
Won't my pack be surprised to see me? Their king, come home at last. I begin to run, feeling the hardness of the ground beneath my feet, feeling my strength beginning to return to me. Instead of being exhausted or drained, I feel rejuvenated. Like I've been hibernating and just woken up. I'm excited to see my Beta Thomas and how he's managed the pack in my absence after dealing with my problem for so long. We had agreed he would be in charge while I tried everything to transform back. My friend would be pleased to see me and no doubt happy to pass the reigns back to me.
I had my Queen. The female moaned slightly in my arms and I tightened my grip, concerned she might try to roll over or fall out. I felt protective of her. My lycan was ready to kill anybody who tried to touch her. He was fierce but this went beyond that. He would rip another shifter or lycan limb from limb if they tried anything with her. I guess the mate bond is enough to make another jealous but it's scary how determined he and I are to protect her. Once we reach my pack she'll be safe though and there should be nothing she needs protecting from, I think grimly.
Hours pass. She continues to slumber, surprising me. I don't mind though. I like keeping her safely ensconced in my arms. I'm careful to keep an eye out for annoying rogues but they tend to keep well away from Lycans. We have a particular smell that warns them away from us. Unless they desire death or are so far gone they've become irrational, they tend to leave us alone. We gave them the same courtesy. Rogues weren't all bad, as shifters like to claim. Some of them had been turfed out of their territories for stupid reasons or because their Alpha had banished them. My own pack consisted of Lycans and a mix match of shifters as well as other supernatural creatures. Our kind tended to have mates from all different races and we didn't judge or discriminate. A mate made you stronger, so you would have to be pretty stupid to reject them based on what they were.
I finally reach the border of my own territory. I'm slightly winded from the running. It would have been quicker to run in lycan form, but after being stuck as one for so long, I'm not so eager to transform so quickly again. I stride over the boundary line and am immediately accosted by a patrol who surround me as I hold tightly onto the girl, refusing to let go of her.
"State your business" a voice booms, that sounds oddly familiar.
Could it be him? I almost want to laugh. What a coincidence he happens to be out on patrol right now.
"Do you not recognize me?" my voice is even by comparison and I raise a brow, staring at them challengingly.
Silence. The group glances uneasily at their leader, a man with dirty blonde hair and green eyes who studies me intently. He shakes his head and then peers at me again.
"King Bailey?" he says hoarsely as though unable to believe his eyes, while the rest of the group gasps in disbelief "is that you? It can't be" he says but his eyes widen as he looks me over "it is you" he whispers, flinging himself forward and clapping me on the shoulder.
"Forgive us King for not recognizing you" one of the guards say and they immediately drop down to one knee and bow their heads.
"Do not fret. I hardly recognize myself right now" I say, nodding down at the woman as the men look towards her curiously, causing my lycan to growl lowly in my mind.
"Thomas" I say nodding down at her "I found my mate."
His mouth drops open "Your mate? Is she the reason..." he pauses.
"She is the reason I am back here in human form today. I wandered from our territory and followed her scent. She sang and I changed" I said with a frown as the guards stood back up "I have an idea of what she might be but I won't be able to find out until she's awake. Dare I to assume that my bedchamber is still empty and awaiting me?"
"Of course but um" Thomas pauses "because you've been sleeping in it as a Lycan it is torn up" he pointed out "maybe a guest bedroom while we fix it up?" he suggested.
"Good idea" I tell him, beginning to walk "I had forgotten the state I left it in. Get that fixed immediately. I have a feeling I won't have as much trouble shifting to lycan form and back so much anymore."
He grins "Your wish is my command my king. It's so good to have you back and be Beta once more" he sighs "but you might regret becoming King once more" he warns as I stare at him amused.
"Not if I have my queen" I tell him meaningfully "and not if I have anything to say about it."
We strode into the large pack house.