Alissa

  I felt my body burning up. Something was eating through my insides. It didn’t get far; my Beast Kin healing took care of the damage as it appeared. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. My wolf whined and clawed at something, trying to go somewhere. The pain grew as she clawed it away.

  Suddenly something yanked my mind away from my body. Wherever I was going, a giant chestnut brown wolf was traveling with me. Somehow, I knew that it was my wolf. The question was, where were we traveling in such a hurry?

  In the distance, I saw a light. We were approaching it rapidly. A giant shimmering blue wall appeared in front of us just as we were nearly upon the light. The wolf whined and clawed at the wall. She needed to get through but whatever the wall was, it was preventing us from doing so.

  I sat there for what felt like hours while she kept circling the light. Every once in a while, she would attack the wall. Finally, she seemed to give up. Her bulk collapsed to the ground next to me as she whimpered and whined. My hand unconsciously reached up to her head. Scratching behind her ears.

  She let me, knowing that I needed it just as much as she did. I didn’t even know why I needed the comfort. After a while, she got back up and walked over to where the wall was, and tried to attack it again. Her arm met nothing. As soon as it touched the ground, she was off. Running into the light. Some force latched onto me, pulling me along with her.

  As soon as the light stopped blinding me, I found myself inside her body. Around me, people in robes were running and screaming. Looking around frantically, I found what had drawn me here.

  Eli was lying on a bed. It was then that I really got a sense of how big my wolf was. I was standing on all four paws on the ground, my face looking slightly down at him lying there. My eyes looked him up and down, taking it his injuries.

  His flesh reminded me of a dry lakebed. All cracked and dry. I couldn’t make out what color his skin was through all of the dried and oozing blood. My wolf pulled me back and took over, going to him and lightly licking his face.

  She whined at him, urging him to get up. His eyes fluttered under his closed lids. His breathing seemed to relax, and his head tilted toward us. A soft scratching sound from the other end of the room had her spinning toward it and growling.

  Standing in the doorway was an older woman and an ancient man. Neither looked nor smelled of fear. They both took a step forward. My growl grew louder in warning. “Well, we can’t have you scaring everyone in the academy. How about we talk.” The man said, his hand waving.

  The door behind them closed and the walls shimmered. All the sounds outside the room cut off. “There we go.” He said, “So, I have a few ideas about how and why you are here.” I stopped growling, though I kept my teeth bared as I watched them. “First, the why. If I had to guess, you are his mate. For now, we will ignore how it is possible given that you two have not met as you are. Instead let’s focus on the bond itself and how it affects both of you.”

  “A bond between a mage and a Beast Kin has been documented a couple of times, though the records are spotty. What we do know is that it gives both of you abilities that you would not typically have.” He took a deep breath to continue. “One such ability saved his life already. You may not have noticed when it happened, but he was able to draw on your strength enough to cast a spell and protect himself when he didn’t have time. As for you, you were able to travel here, even if only temporarily using the excess mana in him to do so.”

  I tilted my head in confusion. Not understanding what he was saying. “While he didn’t have the mana to pull your body permanently across, the mana he did have was enough to create a temporary tunnel. Once the mana sustaining it runs out, you will be pulled back.”

  “As for why you are here, that would be because he is injured if I had to guess.” The woman spoke up. “Problem is that the injuries are from liquid mana burning through the threads they traveled down and manifesting. It was the manifested mana that allowed you to arrive. So, in a way, your being here is using up the mana that is present in his system.”

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  “Saying all that, we don’t mind you being here.” The older man said, “But we cannot have you scaring off the staff. Those people you scared from the room were trying to heal him. As long as you can avoid hurting or scaring anyone, I will allow you to stay.”

  Hah, allow us to stay? Like he would be able to take us if we went against him. He must have seen the defiance in our eyes because he gestured. A thin strand of some material manifested in his fingers. It came from me and traveled off to the distance.

  “This is the spell keeping you here. If I were to break it, you would be pulled back in an instant.” Releasing it, he said, “However, if you are able to abide by my conditions, I will help you stay here until he awakens.”

  Eli

  My body was stiff. I didn’t even want to try to move any part of my body. Quickly though, I realized something was different about my bed. My blanked felt like it was made of fur. It almost reminded me of the one dog I had. She had loved to cuddle up with me when the chill of winter started. But that had been one side of my body, with clothes in the way.

  Fur not only covered one side, it seemed to wrap itself around my legs. Opening my eyes, I looked down at the head that was nuzzled up to my neck. Her eyes were looking directly at me. As soon as mine met hers, I knew who she was, even if she was in a different form.

  The chestnut brown wolf snuggling up to me was Alissa. “Long time no see Alissa.” I whispered. Her tongue came out and licked my face before I could even react. Before I could jump away, one of her legs landed on my chest and pulled me closer.

  Then my face went crimson as it dawned on me. I was naked, in bed, with the woman I loved. Moving my arms in an attempt to get out of her embrace, her body didn’t budge. Instead, she growled low until I stopped struggling against her and gave in.

  The sound of the door opening and someone walking in caught my attention. I couldn’t move my head enough to see who it was, but Professor Olivia’s voice was distinct enough for me to place it. “Well, that explains the growling.”

  It didn’t sound like she was surprised by a giant wolf sitting on my bed. “What happened?”

  “We found the rest of the group shortly after everyone teleported back. Each of them was dead,” she said. Her tone sad. “When we tried to teleport back, the spell failed to lock onto the academy circle. At that point, we knew something was happening. Professor Hill and I flew as fast as we could. But given the distance, it was over an hour before we reached the academy grounds.”

  “What we found was beyond what either of us thought possible. Somehow Sabastian Carrington managed to turn most of the first years to his side. Our arrival surprised him enough that we were able to take him out from above. Unfortunately, we were not fast enough to save Professor Bennett or a few of the students. We wouldn’t have been fast enough to save any of you if not for the shielding spell.”

  “What’s going to happen to the professor or the students that participated?” I asked after spitting out some fur that kept flying into my mouth. Alissa’s fur was way too close to my mouth but she refused to move.

  “Sabastian is no longer a professor at this academy.” She said, though she didn’t sound as happy as I thought she would be if things were going poorly for him. “He is currently awaiting trial. However, it is unlikely that he will get more than a slap on the wrist for his actions.”

  “And if he had managed to kill all of us?”

  “Likely nothing would be different. None of that matters now though. For now, I will leave you and your mate to rest. Class starts again in a few days. I know your enchanting teacher is expecting you on the first day.”

  Before she could leave, I asked her “How did she get here without anyone knowing?” Alissa flexed a paw and poked my skin with the tips of her claws.

  “Mate bonds between mages and Beast Kin yield some unexpected abilities. She felt that you were in danger and that you had the ability to allow her to come to you. What she didn’t know was that that very mana was what was hurting you.”

  “But why didn’t she show up as soon as it started to hurt me?”

  “She did. Your shield blocked her from doing so.”

  “Can she do this anytime I am in danger?”

  “You don’t have the mana to sustain such a connection. She isn’t even permanently here. The mana is allowing her to be here and where she was at the same time. Her wolf form was the only one able to make the transfer due to it not being in this world at the time. As soon as the mana is used up, she will be yanked back to her body.”

  “Will there ever be a time where she can teleport herself to me?”

  “Maybe if you are able to gather and hold enough mana to do so. Before you try that though, the amount of mana needed for this burned your insides quite badly. The amount of mana needed for her to transfer permanently would be orders of magnitude more. Now, get some rest. You will need the energy for what is coming up.”

  She left with that cryptic message. I didn’t care though. For now, I was going to cuddle with my wolf for as long as I could. Wrapping my arms around her neck, I put my forehead against hers and fell asleep.