i am the blood of the mountain

The gravity of this moment seemed to consume me almost the instant that I spoke his name. His reaction seemed so in tune to mine, the shiver that coursed over his body not hidden in any way. The sound that he made was so pleasing to my ears that I had to dig my claws into the soft floor of the den, rooting myself to the spot and refraining from going to him immediately. My composure was all that I had, and I barely hung onto it by a tiny string. There was an electricity in the den, so like the day that the storm had waged overhead and the lightning had cracked in the sky. But now the bolts did not light up the sky, they lit up Jericho's eyes and as he looked back at me I knew full well this had nothing to do with the pack. It was so much more important than that. But then his orange gaze dropped away from my eyes, and I could feel the way he traced every contour of my body. My skin prickled beneath my fur as I studied his scarred face and his eyes slowly moved from my paws - still clinging to the floor of the den - up my legs and over my body until once more our eyes met. No smile traced his lips and I found my own features had become almost solemn in this moment of silence that held between us.

Slowly he moved towards me, each step so deliberate it seemed to shake the den even though my world had come to a standstill. I resisted every temptation that coursed through my body to go to him. To let him come to me was a thing that required the utmost patience, but when he stood before me it was all worth it. Many times since that day at the river we have kept close to one another, our friendship blossoming in brief touches as well as lasting embraces. But never before had such anticipation held me in its grips, a nervousness washed over me that made me feel young again, innocent to the world around me. My face basked in the heat of his breath until he stepped forward again and his nose ran along my cheek, sending a pleasurable chill down my bodice that I made no effort to conceal. As his touch moved down my neck the sound of my heartbeat filled my ears, drowning out the night and plunging the two of us into another dimension. One where only we existed, and none could touch us. I never wanted to leave this place, never wanted to part from his embrace again. I could drown in him, perfectly content to forfeit air if I only ever breathed his scent for the rest of my life.

The nuzzles that I felt against my neck set my body on fire, a tingling sensation that I had never known before. This, this was what all-consuming, can't-live-without-each-other, real love felt like. A tiny, breathy sigh slipped from my lips and my claws finally released their grip on the earth as I leaned into his embrace. The vibrations of his voice stirred the tips of my fur as he pressed into my shoulder, and my ears cupped forward as I looked down at him. Hearing those three precious words for the first time took me to another level, singing a song to my heart and blazing a trail through the darkness of the night. He loved me. He loved me.

In answer, I curled my head around and down to his face, gentle kisses issued upon each of his scars and the places of his face that remained untouched by the tooth and claw of lupine. He was more than his scars and his past, just as I was more than a wolf upon a mountain throne. And together we would be so much more than we could have singly imagine. Finally my kisses ceased, and I ran my nose under his chin, giving him the gentlest of pulls, for I wanted to look him in the face when I spoke to him. After all, love enters through the eyes. When I could once more look into those burning pools of orange, I said the only words that could possibly matter in this moment.

"I love you, too."

If this was a dream, I would kill the wolf who tried to wake me.

daenerys