Will didn't have any issues the rest of the evening. He flopped backwards onto the bed with a groan. I chuckled and shifted into wolf form before jumping on his chest to gaze down at him. He opened his eyes and smiled up at me. "You have no idea how hard it was to not feed you that dessert."

  I wolf-grinned at him in amusement while wagging my tail. I had sensed his internal struggle during supper, but since it was just the mate bond being its usual pushy self, it hadn't worried me. He grinned at my expression as he linked his hands behind his head.

  He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, quite relaxed now that we were alone. I lay down and slid halfway off his chest before shifting back to human form. I was now leaning on top of Will's chest while the rest of my body rested on the bed.

  His eyes opened in surprise, and I grinned at his reaction. I said, "Yeah, I felt it as I was eating. I didn't pry, but it was quite clearly reflected in your surface emotions, although you did manage to maintain your composure remarkably well."

  Reaching up to caress my cheek, he said, "What exactly can you sense? I know in theory that Omegas can sense general emotions, but I am not sure how much they can pick up."

  I tilted my head as I considered it. "It does depend on how strong one's ability is, and mine is pretty strong in that area. I can pick up a person's overall mood if they are in the vicinity. If they are close by, I can look deeper, so to speak, and sense the weaker emotions or if someone is trying to hide an emotion. I generally don't look below the surface, neither do most Omegas."

  He inquired, "What do my surface emotions show at the moment?"

  "Mostly contentment, some curiosity, and an undertone of love." I grinned.

  With a faint smile, he raised an eyebrow. "Just an undertone of love?"

  I chuckled as I admitted, "It pretty much leaks through your other emotions like water through a sieve."

  He rolled over so that I was underneath him while he was propped up on his elbows. He grinned at me. "Let's see if this has any effect."

  He leaned down to kiss me on my lips. Sparks exploded from our kiss, and it felt like a shock to my system. Like a powerful drug, it was addicting and I instantly wanted more. I reached up to run my one hand through his hair as our kiss deepened on its own accord.

  His hands moved to lightly hold my head on either side as a low possessive growl rumbled in Will's chest. His own emotions were as chaotic as my own. Desire and want were the most noticeable emotions in Will's aura at this point. I wasn't much better.

  Will gently broke the kiss as we breathed hard. Neither of us had been prepared for what had just happened. Will's eyes were dark as he panted, "It might be best if you shifted. Your wolf form doesn't provoke such emotions."

  I swiftly shifted before leaning up to lick the side of his face. He relaxed and rolled to the side so he was lying beside me. He said, "I hadn't expected that, and from your reaction, neither did you."

  I snuggled closer to him without answering. He chuckled at my lack of response. His desire and want had swiftly receded once I shifted, to be replaced by a protective mindset. He scooped me up before climbing under the covers. His arms held me close as we slowly fell asleep.

  ~

  It no longer surprised me to wake up curled tightly against Will's chest. One would think that he was scared of me disappearing as he slept. I thought about simply relaxing, but I had my own priorities this morning. I managed to turn my head to examine his brown hair. I nuzzled my nose deep in his hair, it was so soft. I exhaled slowly in contentment, although I did resist the urge to lick it like I had the other day. He would probably think that there was something wrong with me if I did it again.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I tried to extend my senses to pick up Will's emotions as he slept. It wasn't easy since sleep created a barrier in the mind as the subconscious took over. I wasn't entirely sure that I would be able to do it, although our direct contact gave me a chance. A few moments later, I picked up little flickers deep in Will's mind. I concentrated on them, trying to identify them. I had never delved so deep into someone's mind before. It was an odd feeling, like swimming down through pitch black water as I tried to see the bottom.

  I could see his emotions like dozens of small glittering pebbles; and I could guess their identity, the brightest ones were love, contentment, protectiveness, and possessiveness. I was surprised to see small flickers of jealousy and fear. These small pebbles were all scattered around a larger golden stone with a soft and steady glow. It was oddly familiar, but I couldn't place it.

  I pushed myself deeper into Will's mind, trying to identify it. I hovered right above it as I looked at it, still confused by its presence. It was somehow influencing all of his other emotions. Where the others were simply flickering or glittering, this one gave off a steady faint glow. I was having great difficulty remaining this deep in Will's mind, and my ability to sense emotions was being taxed to the utmost. Despite the short distance between my senses and this weird stone, my senses were unable to identify it. I reached out to gently touch it since the contact would allow me to know exactly what it was.

  A lightning bolt of light slashed through my mind and body as I was blasted back into my own head by the force. I winced as the worst headache I had ever experienced hit me like a semi. Will also jolted awake; I felt disorientation, concern, and confusion wash over his now-awake mind. It felt like my senses were suffering from whiplash, and his emotions were like bright sunlight during a major hangover. I quickly shielded my bruised and battered senses, which provided some relief.

  Will glanced around the room groggily before looking down at me. "What happened?” he asked. “It feels like someone blinded me with the brightest camera flash ever invented."

  It was so strange to not be able to know which emotions he was experiencing. I kept my mind voice quiet so that he wouldn't be able to detect just how bad my headache was. "I was trying to identify an emotion in your mind, and I think I accidentally touched the mate bond. Simply coming into contact with such a powerful thing overwhelmed my senses and has given me a nice headache as a souvenir."

  That was one thing that I had been warned about when my ability to sense other emotions had turned out to be stronger than average. Do not come into contact with a mate bond or attempt to influence it. An established mate bond was a link of incandescent energy between mates, and could be found if one dug that far into someone's mind. I had never pried into someone's mind like that, but other Omegas had shared their memories of what it looked like.

  For someone to touch it with their senses would generally knock them out cold for days. I hadn't recognized it for what it was since the bond hadn't been completed yet. The only reason I was still conscious was because Will was my mate and I had only touched it, which had temporarily flared it into life from its semi-dormant state. Its sheer power had caused my headache, although I suspected that if I had tried to harm or damage it, that it would have flattened me.

  Will looked at me in worry. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, my senses are just a bit bruised, and I have shielded them for the time being. They should recover quickly enough. Don't expect me to guess your mind frame or level of control while I have my shields up."

  "Are you sure you are okay?" Will looked somewhat doubtful.

  I grinned at him despite my pounding head. "You said you felt as if someone had used a camera with a powerful flash. Well, your eyes were closed because you were asleep, but I was looking right at the camera without realizing what it was when the flash went off. Much like a camera, it will take a bit for the spots to fade."

  Will sighed and leaned his head against mine before muttering, "You really have to start sleeping in so that I wake up first."

  I snickered and twisted my head so I could nuzzle his neck. My stomach growled, and it was his turn to chuckle as he sat up and stretched. I couldn't figure out how he didn't have kinks in his back and neck from sleeping while curled around me like that all night. I shook to try and straighten out my fur, which didn't help my headache any. I yawned and shifted so that I was sitting on the edge of the bed in human form.

  Will looked at my face, obviously trying to see how much my head hurt. I had been expecting it and carefully composed my face so that he wouldn't be able to see the battering ram pounding away merrily in my head. He relaxed and said, "Feel like a run before breakfast?"

  I really felt like curling up in the darkest corner I could find while waiting for my headache to fade, but that would give me away. It was either help out in the kitchen or go for a run, and I didn't think that my head would be able to take the clanging and banging of heavy pots. I said, "Why don't we go to that thick section of the forest to the north?"

  Will nodded and grabbed a change of clothes. I picked out one of my new outfits before we both headed off to the bathrooms to change. The forest to the north would be dim due to the dense canopy, and the underbrush was thick enough that we wouldn't be going very fast through it.