Page 95 of Whispers of the Water

My cheeks flushed at the sight, but despite myself, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his perfect, naked form. I wanted to devour every inch of his bare skin, and my hands begged to reach out to him. I suppressed the urge as I waited for his transformation.

After shedding all his clothing, his body contoured until he was crouched on all fours. His body shrunk and shifted with loud snaps, making me grit my teeth. The popping of bones and snapping of flesh finally stopped as lush, black fur with white tips covered his new form. Within seconds, a Silver Fox sat in his place.

I swallowed hard as a new set of emotions flooded me. Seeing this little animal in front of me again after so long had my heart thundering. I had spent weeks obsessing over what it would be like to meet and see him, and now that he was here, I didn’t know whether to cry, laugh, or remain still.

His round eyes stared up at me, waiting for my response. Grinning from ear to ear, I held out my hands for him. His paws padded across the bed as he made his way over to me, and I could barely sit still, the excitement making me fidget. I knew this was Rune, not your everyday fox, but seeing him like this was all I could really focus on at the moment.

Rune’s paws brushed against my folded legs. A giddy laugh slipped past my lips as I ran my hands gently through his coat. The fur was silky as it glided through my fingers, and his tail gave a contented flick.

My finger hooked behind his ear, scratching tenderly. He leaned into the gesture and closed his eyes against the massage. I bit my lip to fight off the threat of another laugh and shook my head at him. The blue gem of the necklace twinkled in the light, and I found myself beaming at him.

Overcome with nostalgia, I said, “Who would’ve thought that the fox I saved that day would end up being the man I fell in love with?”

His eyes bore into mine with a fierce desire. I kept my eyes locked on his as his body morphed and shifted. Bones regrew into place with cracks, and black fur gave way to golden flesh. The transformation looked and sounded painful, but Rune didn’t even bat an eye. He kept his focus on me until he rested on his knees in front of me, naked and human.

I stared up at him, holding my breath. He was so close, the heat from his nude body radiating off him. The fire buried deep in his eyes didn’t help my aching desire to reach out and touch him.

Running the back of his hand softly against my cheek, he asked, “Do you regret it? Do you regret saving me?”

I shook my head. “Not even a little.” He tucked my blonde strands behind my ear as I asked, “Do you regret saving me?”

“Never.” He paused and reached next to us to grab his black boxers. He slipped them back on as he seemed to be weighing what to say next. After he resettled on the bed, he slowly continued, “Sometimes I regret dragging you into this mess, forcing you to put up with all the drama and chaos. I regret making our beginning a deal instead of something wonderful that you deserved. I regret not opening up about how I really felt toward you sooner. I planned on giving it a real shot after we talked that day in the field. I was ready to try, but as we headed here, as we got closer to my mother, I locked up again.”

Surprised, I asked, “What about getting closer to your mom had you freeze up?”

“The realization that I could turn into her.” His eyes—now clouded with desolation—fell to the bed. “It’s true that I was afraid of reverting back to the angry asshole version of myself, but it was more than that. I’ve been so afraid to fall in love, because I saw what happened to my mother when she did. She loved my dad fiercely, so when she lost him, she became …” Rune fell quiet, and his eyes squeezed shut. Turmoil strained his features, and even though he couldn’t find the words, I knew what he meant.

Myra was a monster. A true, living monster.

He took a deep breath and barreled on. “I was afraid I’d end up like her. If I fell in love, whether it be with a Fae or a human, I was afraid of that day when I’d lose them. I was afraid of losing my mind, my very soul, along with them, until I was left hollow. Unable to feel anything for anyone. Including my own flesh and blood.”

My heart fractured with the admission, and I realized just how hard it must’ve been for Rune to finally give in to what he felt. I also realized the true depths of Myra’s brokenness. She was merely a husk of a person, a ghost wandering life lost. Seeing your own mother become that would no doubt deter you from following down that same path. So, what did he do? He had closed up. He had hid himself away from anything that could’ve pulled him in that direction, guarding his heart as though it were made of fragile glass.

“What made you finally open up about how you felt?” I asked, leaning in close as I ran my finger along his brow and down his jaw.

“A few things. Keeping my feelings in check became harder when I saw the way you were with my brothers. Every time you made them laugh or welcomed them with open arms, it got harder not to fall even deeper for you. Then we started fooling around, and while I had gone into that thinking it would be no big deal since that’s what I’ve always done—sex with no feelings tied to it—it was definitely not like that with you. But the biggest thing that encouraged me to open up was—” He took a moment, the silence gathering, until finally, he glanced over my shoulder at the wall behind me and finished, “My dad.”

I froze and let his answer seep into me. I turned around enough to see the photo of his dad hanging proudly on the wall. “Your dad?” I glanced back at him as he nodded.

His eyes never once left the photo. “He loved, and he did so just as vehemently as my mother. Instead of focusing on my mother’s version of love, I focused on his. Some thought he was weak for loving my mother. For loving me. Now I realize it made him stronger.”

Rune found my eyes again and finished, “When I thought about how happy my dad was, despite all the dark shit happening with our kind, I understood that my feelings weren’t something to be afraid of. Sure, my mother’s love got distorted after he died, but that didn’t mean my story had to end that way. I know my dad wouldn’t want this for her. Things out of our control may happen throughout our lives, but I know now that it will be worth it. Being with you wholly and fully will be worth anything thrown our way. Just like it was worth it for him. So, I decided to love the way he did, not the way Myra did.”

I smiled warmly and moved to sit directly beside him so that the photo of him, his dad, and Myra faced us. I leaned my head against his shoulder and slid my hand into his. “Can you tell me about him? I’d love to know more about your dad.”

“My dad—” he started in a slow whisper. He swallowed hard before continuing, “Was everything to me.”

I squeezed Rune’s hand as a sign that I was here. He was safe. Talking about this was okay.

“My dad liked books.” Rune glanced at his full bookshelf and gave a slight chuckle. “I guess that’s something I learned from him. He loved to read every chance he got. I can remember so many nights when I’d sneak out of bed to go to his library where I’d always find him reading by the fireplace, a book in one hand and my mother’s fingers in the other. They’d laugh when they saw me trying to sneak in, but they let me sit with them anyway. Mother would hold me while my dad read us a story.”

My throat tightened with a bittersweet pang. It was such a beautiful tale. And a heartbreaking one. It was a memory full of warmth, love, family, and fun. But also painful, raw, and aching, because that’s all it was for him now. A memory.

“He sounds amazing,” I whispered.

I felt him nod slowly. He fell quiet, and I held onto his hand while rubbing a soft trail up and down his arm with the other. It wasn’t much, but it was a comfort I could provide in that moment.

“I hate those damn books.”

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