Love was what she felt – a deep devotion to the kalik whom she had met on that fated day on Misty Mountain. It took the place of the anger that had been rooted within her loins against her father. Against Lolita. Against all of the wolves who had abandoned her. Instead, she now was back to her normal self – warm, loving, carefree, fun-loving. It was exciting and new. Her and Harries went for long walks, had flirtatious talks… and then there were the compliments. No one had ever paid to her the attention or the flattery that Harries did. Each morning when she woke she thought of him and yearned to reach him, and when she left him she thought of naught but the sadness of leaving him. He was her last thought before she fell asleep and her first thought when she awoke. He was her all and she could not wait for the question she was sure that he would ask her – to become his mate. She would run away with him, leave Cold Summers behind. Apollonia would surely miss the royals – they had always cared for her. Eventually, she would miss her father. Maybe even Lolita. But she would happy with Harries… for forever.

When she was without him, she often found herself daydreaming as to how their life would end up, and today was no different. She had awoken with the dawn, the first warm rays of the sun caressing her pelt as he so often did – always by accident of course. An innocent bump while they walked side by side, a single step too close. As it warmed her slowly from the chilly wintry breeze that swept deep through her coat, she began to ascend the steep slope that would lead to the peak of the Misty Mountain. They had, the night before, agreed upon meeting just where they had first laid eyes upon one another. She had no doubts that today would be the day – the fateful day – that he would at least ask her the question that she had been craving for the last few months. To be his mate. She paused as a call rang down the cliff, the wind warping it into a lonesome croon, but there was no doubt as to who had let loose the call, or to whom it was for. It was Harries, calling for her!

Her heart leapt into her throat, and then began to pound increasingly faster. Resuming her motions, she scrambled up the mountain path, not wanting to make him wait a moment more. Not wanting to wait a moment more to hear the words that would surely fall from his perfect lips. Once she finished the ascension, her emeralds laid upon the brute, his perfect form erect and defying the wintry wind, his chest just inhaling once more in order to regain the air used in the call. “Harries…” Her vocals were little more than a whisper, and she ran to him, pausing a step before rubbing her cranium underneath his chin, inhaling deeply when her nares reached his shoulder. His stench was intoxicating and she finally felt as if she was completed. She was ready to throw away her ties to her father and to all others aside from Harries. Her heart was completed by him and he was her all. “Harries… I know why you wanted to meet here. I feel the same way. Harries… I love you.” Backing away, a smile formed upon her lips and she raised her gaze to meet his, waiting for the fated question that she longed to hear. That she would never hear…