They talked softly for a while, their voices low, like murmurs carried on temple winds. She felt better.
Thornak brushed a thumb gently across her knuckles. "We will leave tomorrow. I need to return to the palace."
She nodded. Then she looked at him, as if trying to memorize the shape of his face, the way his eyes softened only for her. Then she said, quietly but firmly, "Mark me."
Thornak froze, the words hanging between them like a prayer and a promise.
"Lara…"
"I want it," she said, her voice low but steady. "Not out of fear. I want to be yours… and for you to be mine. No more shadows. No more doubts."
Silence fell around them. His chest rose and fell slowly, something raw tightening behind his eyes. He reached out, brushing a knuckle down her cheek.
"You know what this means."
She nodded once. "I do."
"Are you certain?" His voice was barely more than a breath. His hands trembled as they traced the side of her neck, where her pulse fluttered. "This isn't a game, Lara. My mark binds you to me, body and soul. Forever. It doesn't fade. Not even the goddess herself can undo it."
She met his gaze without wavering, eyes soft but sure.
"I don't want it undone," she whispered. "I want you. All of you."
A low growl reverberated in his chest as his canines lengthened, eyes flickering fully Lycan. His lips met hers in a kiss that was not gentle but honest, searing and soul-deep. And when he pulled back, his eyes had shifted, burning gold, his Lycan just beneath the surface.
"Then forgive me," he whispered, voice rough with hunger and awe. "I will never hurt you," he vowed. "But this… it will burn."
He lowered his head slowly, pressing a kiss to the curve of her neck first soft, reverent. Then his fangs pierced her skin.
Pain flared, a sharp, electric fire lancing through her, anchoring her to him in a way no words ever could.
Her knees buckled, and he caught her, cradling her like something too precious for the world. His tongue brushed over the mark, sealing it with ancient magic. He pulled back, lips stained with her blood.
Light shimmered beneath her skin as the mark took shape. An ethereal crescent moon shape, delicate yet unmistakable, but then something had appeared within the curve of the crescent. A single star.
Not a typical five-pointed shape, but a radiant sigil, small, sharp, and glowing with the same pale silver as moonlight.
The pain faded. The bond remained.
Thornak pressed his forehead to hers, trembling.
"You are mine," he breathed.
"And you are mine." She responded softly.
Power surged through her, lighting something dormant deep inside. Lara felt a strange warmth ripple through her chest, not just from the mark, but deeper. Something inside her… shifted.
"Lara?" Thornak reached for her, alarm flickering in his eyes.
The warmth grew hotter. Her spine arched slightly, and her eyes flew wide as a voice echoed in her mind, clear, strong, and achingly familiar.
"You found me."
Lara's lips parted, but no sound came. Only the pulse of that presence, fierce and loving, wild and ancient.
I've been waiting, Narielle. To be marked. To be ready.
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"Who are you?"
The answer was like silver fire blooming in her soul.
I am you. I am your wolf. Nymeria.
She turned to Thornak, wide eyed.
"I heard her," she whispered. "She spoke to me."
Thornak leaned over her, concern in his voice. "Who?"
Lara spoke almost inaudible. "My wolf Nymeria. She's… awake."
Thornak stilled, as if the breath had left his lungs. "The wolf of the Moonguard…" he murmured. "She's returned to you?" He let out a shaky breath. "By the Goddess, truly?"
Jax moved excitedly. Finally, he growled.
The moment her wolf awakened, Lara felt a sudden pull, a deep, primal instinct threading through her veins, as if something buried deep within her had finally come to life.
Her senses sharpened first.
She inhaled, and the scent of the temple's stone and earth seemed richer, more layered, filling her with a sense of connection to everything around her. The faintest hints of herbs and incense that lingered in the air now hit her like waves on the shore. She could hear the rustling of leaves far outside the temple doors, the distant hum of magic from Ninzu's protection spells, and even the faint thrum of Thornak's heartbeat beside her.
It was overwhelming.
And yet, exhilarating.
Lara sat up, her hands trembling as she touched the skin over her heart. She could feel it pounding with a rhythm that wasn't her own. It was the heartbeat of her wolf, pulsing in time with hers, each beat syncing like the threads of a tapestry woven over centuries.
"Thornak," she said softly, her voice trembling, but with something new, something wild, untamed. "I feel… everything."
He lifted her chin, his eyes dark with concern. "Are you alright?"
Lara blinked, the world around her sharper now. Her gaze flicked to him, and for a split second, his form seemed to shimmer, flickering with moonlight, his scent filling the air like a thick, rich forest after rain. She was drawn to him more than ever, a pull in her chest that wasn't just emotional but physical. It was like a part of her was reaching out, urging her toward him.
"I feel alive," she whispered, almost breathless.
And then, she noticed something else. The glow in her eyes wasn't just the moonfire, it was something deeper, something animal. Her pupils shimmered with the silver-blue hue of her wolf, flickering and shifting like liquid light.
Her nails, once delicate, now felt sharper against the fabric of the blanket beneath her. She flexed her fingers, noticing the strange sensation of her own growing strength. Her senses buzzed, sharp and electric, and she could feel a deep-rooted power rising within her.
The faint scent of the outdoors, the cool night air, the distant trees called to her. The wolf inside her was waking from a long sleep, and she felt the hunger of it, the need to run, to shift, to break free of the stillness of the temple walls.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Thornak saw it the way she moved, like a creature on the verge of breaking free, the way her eyes flickered with an intensity that he hadn't seen before. He reached out, resting a hand gently on her arm, but there was a wariness in his eyes.
"You're changing," he said softly, his tone filled with both awe and concern."It is normal for you to feel this way. I am here Lara, and I won't leave you."
Lara nodded, her gaze unfocused as she grappled with the sensation. It was like every part of her every cell was being pulled toward something ancient. Her wolf was no longer a distant part of her; it was waking, taking shape, and it was hungry.
"I feel... the wildness," she whispered. "She's here. She wants freedom."
The words were almost foreign to her, but they felt right, like a truth she hadn't realized she'd known all her life. The call to shift, to run, was so strong it made her pulse quicken. But she held herself in place, still trying to center herself, still feeling the sharpness in her senses, the pull of something bigger than herself.
Her body was no longer just human.
She was becoming something else. Something more.
Her hair, once soft and flowing, now felt different, almost as though the strands were thicker, more substantial, as if she could feel the power of the wolf weaving through her. Her muscles, too, felt tauter, stronger, and her skin, now marked by Thornak's bite, burned with a new heat, like the fire of a forge.
But it was more than physical.
Mentally, she felt sharper. Her thoughts seemed to come faster, more focused. Everything around her made sense in a way it never had before, and yet she still felt an edge of fear. Fear of the power that had just been unleashed. Fear of the wildness that could consume her.
Thornak watched her, his gaze steady. "You're not alone, Lara. You don't have to face this alone."
And for the first time in what felt like forever, Lara believed him.
Her wolf was awake, and though the transformation was raw and unsettling, she knew, deep in her bones, that this was the start of something powerful. And with Thornak by her side, perhaps it wouldn't be as terrifying as it felt.
For now, the only thing she could do was wait and see what came next.
The fire crackled softly in the hearth, casting a warm, amber glow across the stone walls of the temple chamber. Thornak sat with Lara nestled against him, her head resting on his chest, his arm wrapped securely around her shoulders. A thick fur blanket was draped over them both, shielding them from the chill that seeped into the temple at night.
She was quiet for a long while, eyes half-lidded, staring into the flames as they danced. Her body had stopped trembling, though the aftershocks of her awakening still pulsed through her veins, like echoes of thunder long after the storm.
Thornak's fingers combed gently through her hair, slow and rhythmic, grounding her. She let out a soft sigh at his touch, her breath warm against his collarbone.
After a long silence, she finally spoke, her voice hushed. "Is this what it feels like?" she asked. "When your wolf awakens?"
He didn't answer right away. His hand paused, then resumed its gentle stroking.
"No," he said softly. "Not quite like this."
She tilted her face up to look at him. "No?"
He looked down at her, brushing a loose strand of hair from her cheek. "For most of us, the wolf is always… waiting. Sleeping just beneath the surface from childhood. We feel it stirring as we grow. We're taught to listen for it, prepare for it. It comes when the time is right. A full moon. A moment of danger. Sometimes a rite of passage. But always expected. Always known."
Lara's brow furrowed slightly. "So not like mine."
"No." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I think yours was sealed, until now, right until I marked you."
Lara closed her eyes, breathing him in. His scent grounded her more than anything, the forest, the hearth and the earth itself. Her hand slid across his chest and she felt the slow, steady beat of his heart.
"How long… until I change?" she asked. "Fully."
Thornak's hand moved to her back, tracing small circles between her shoulder blades. "Hard to say. It could be days. Or weeks. For someone like you… maybe even hours. The bond awakened her, but the shift… that's something only you and Nymeria will decide. When the time is right."
Lara was quiet again, listening to the fire, to the slow hush of his breath beneath her ear.